The commoners could tell that Li Qitian and Xiong Jinshui were either rich or noble. They couldn't afford to offend them. Some of the bolder ones immediately became curious about Li Qitian and kept glancing at him from time to time.
Li Qitian took a deep breath to calm himself down. He didn't want to do anything to the onlookers on the spot. He really wanted to reveal his identity as the Emperor so that these people wouldn't dare to act rashly.
But when he was about to say it, he held it back.
At this time, the Emperor's image had been completely destroyed. If Li Qitian revealed his identity, he would most likely be questioned by the commoners. Could he arrest all the people who questioned him?
Since he couldn't, he couldn't embarrass himself in front of the commoners. He had to maintain the image of the Emperor, so now was not the time to reveal his identity.
Li Qitian stood in place with his hands behind his back. He waited for Xiong Jinshui and his men to disperse the crowd. Then, he tore down the notice and held it in front of him with both hands.
He didn't bother to look at the words on it. He just held the paper closer and carefully observed the big seal of the Imperial Jade Seal.
It seemed to be real …
"Return to the palace. Order someone to open the storeroom and find the imperial edict of the previous dynasty to compare. "Li Qitian went with a dark face.
Xiong Jinshui hurriedly agreed and ordered someone to make the arrangements.
Li Qitian called a few of his trusted officials over and compared it for an entire afternoon. Finally, they were able to confirm that the Imperial Jade Seal was indeed real. Even the parts of the seal with the bumps and bumps, the parts that weren't smooth enough, and the angles were the same.
In the imperial study, everyone was frowning and deep in thought.
Li Qitian said, "Everyone, do you think the identity of the Prince of Beiji is real?"
Back then, he had indeed ordered people to massacre the harem of Beiji. He didn't spare anyone who should be killed. But in such a big palace, he couldn't kill everyone by himself. Naturally, he had ordered his subordinates to do it.
Among them, who was it that had carelessly let the prince go? Or was there someone who had intentionally left a prince behind?
"What Zhou Lian? We have never heard of him!" Li Qitian took a sip of tea and casually threw the teacup on the table. The tea spilled all over the table. Xiong Jinshui was so scared that he immediately wiped it with his sleeve.
The officials looked at each other in dismay. One of them stood up and said, "Replying to Your Majesty, the previous dynasty did have a prince named Zhou Lian. He was born of Yu Pin. Back then, Concubine Yu was only a noble lady. She died after giving birth to a prince. The Emperor of Northern Ji posthumously conferred her the title of concubine. The prince was then given to Concubine Lian, who was the head of Fu Chun Palace, to raise. Later, it was recorded in the Imperial Clan Court of the previous dynasty that Concubine Lian's servants had failed in their duties. The little prince had drowned in the pond in the imperial garden when he was only five years old. The drowned prince was called Zhou Lian. However, no one would have thought that he was still alive. If he were still alive, he would be sixteen or seventeen years old. "
Li Qitian narrowed his eyes coldly.
He naturally understood the internal strife in the imperial harem. The incapable emperor of Northern Ji had no other abilities, but he had many children. It seemed that Zhou Lian was not valued.
"A prince who was supposed to be drowned has suddenly appeared." Li Qitian sneered. "Either the records were wrong and he deliberately faked his death, or someone impersonated him! I think it should be the latter. "
A prince whose birth mother had died.
He had been with Concubine Lian since he was young. How could he have thought of preventing Concubine Lian from faking her death and escaping? He must have really died.
So now, someone was using the imperial jade seal of the previous dynasty to impersonate a prince of the previous dynasty!
Li Qitian made this judgment. He was so angry that the roots of his teeth were itching.
Seeing the Emperor like this, the officials did not dare to say anything.
Li Qitian rubbed his molars angrily. "What do you mean! You dare to order the world in front of me after obtaining the imperial jade seal of the previous dynasty? That Zhou Lian is simply shameless! We should tell the constables below to search the entire city for notices that were not posted in time. "
From Li Qitian's point of view, this was the best solution at the moment.
"Who on earth dares to spread rumors? Once I catch them, I will not let them off easily!"
The officials bowed their heads and hurriedly did as they were told.
However, the process of searching was like searching for a needle in a haystack. The constables had limited manpower. Li Qitian later sent more Jingji Guards to help, but the house-to-house search was very disturbing to the people. They used the excuse of arresting a famous bandit, but it made the people panic. The entire capital was shrouded in tension and solemnity.
The people who had just experienced the baptism of war were most afraid of such a thing happening. Everyone was discussing it in private. What famous bandit? In the end, they all linked it to the matter of the "notice" a few days ago.
Thinking about it this way, it made sense. The current Emperor had seized power from the Beiji Kingdom. Now that a prince of the Beiji Kingdom had appeared, the current Emperor was naturally afraid that the Beiji Kingdom would rise from the ashes.
There were many smart people. Everyone thought of this reason and naturally did not dare to discuss it anymore.
Finally, the people in the capital no longer talked about the previous dynasty's prince and the imperial jade seal. However, the capital also showed signs of dark clouds looming over the city, and it was in a state of panic.
Just as the Jingji Guards were wantonly searching, notices were posted on several main streets overnight. The location of the imperial jade seal was the same as last time, and the content was more or less the same.
However, this time, the previous dynasty's prince, Zhou Lian, used his status as a member of the imperial family to severely criticize Li Qitian for being selfish and not caring about the lives of the people.
The people had seen enough. When the Jingji Guards and Shuntian Prefecture arrived and tore down the notices, everyone had seen enough.
The search continued for more than 20 days, but there were still no clues.
At this time, a fast horse rushed into the capital. The rider on the horse raised a report of victory and shouted loudly, "Victory! Victory! Prince Zhongshun and Duke Dingguo attacked the Tatan capital and captured the Tatan Khan alive. Now that the Tatan people are without a leader, they have already ordered people to come out and surrender! The family of the Tatan Khan and the traitor Lu Heng have been escorted into the capital to await Your Majesty's decision! "
The rider on the horse urged the horse all the way to the imperial palace and repeated it loudly. He seemed very familiar with it. It was obvious that he had said this many times along the way.
When the people heard this, they immediately clapped and cheered. The tension and haze of recent days were swept away. Everyone said, "Let's go, let's go to the city gate and see them escort the Tatars and traitors!"
"Yes, yes, yes! For so many years, we have been bullied. We have really vented our anger! "
"Prince Zhongshun and Duke Dingguo are mighty! This battle really wasn't easy! "
… …
The people were jubilant. Even the elderly and the people who had experienced the Tatan's iron hooves were so excited that they wiped away tears.
It was because of the years of war that their lives were precarious and they wandered from place to place.
What they longed for was a peaceful, stable, and self-sufficient life. Prince Zhongshun and Lu Heng worked together to achieve this!
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
