On the fourth day of the first lunar month in the thirteenth year of Jinglong, the eunuch Fang Diaosi saw that the time had come, but the emperor still did not get up. He was worried that he would miss the time and delay the morning court. After thinking about it briefly, Emperor Qing reviewed the memorial all night last night and did not favor anyone. The concubine quickly walked to Fuling Palace and waited quietly outside the door.
But the time of burning the incense had passed, and there was still no sound from the palace, and the personal maid seemed to be nowhere to be found. Worried about the emperor's safety, Fang Diao Si ignored the etiquette and pushed the door open and walked straight in.
A moment later, a sharp exclamation came from the Funing Palace, Liang Qing Emperor Feng Jing'an passed away!
The news quickly spread throughout Daliang, and the whole country burst into mourning. Emperor Liang Qing succeeded to the throne at a young age. He was diligent in government affairs during his thirteen years in power, and he loved the people like a son. He was a rare wise emperor. Now that he died suddenly, how could the people not be sad and sad. It was the Spring Festival, and the red lanterns symbolizing joy and peace hanging outside every door were particularly dazzling. Before noon, people across the country spontaneously took off couplets, took off red lanterns, and hung up white paper lanterns and elegiac couplets. , to commemorate the leader of a country who died young.
Emperor Qing of Liang succeeded to the throne at the age of eight. Now he is only in his early twenties. He is also good at keeping in good health. He even studied under Li Xian, the first swordsman of the Liang Kingdom. Among the emperors of the Liang Dynasty, he can be regarded as the best in both civil and military skills. It is unbelievable that he died suddenly in the palace. Moreover, the whereabouts of all the personal maids were unknown. The Royal Forest Army had already sent troops to search everywhere, but no one was alive or dead, which made the matter even more suspicious.
At this moment, in the Zichen Hall, the Empress Dowager Liang was sitting on the left side of the dragon chair, deliberately leaving the center position free. Empress An's eyes were red, and she stood tremblingly with her clothes twirled. Prince Guang Feng Jingquan, the brother of Emperor Qing, frowned. Staring at Fang Diao Temple who was kneeling in the center of the hall, hundreds of civil and military officials were lined up on the left and right. The civil servants were led by Grand Master Jiang, and the generals were led by Li Xian's son Li Jian. Everyone was waiting for Empress Dowager Liang to speak.
Empress Dowager Liang suppressed the grief in her heart and asked in a trembling voice: "Fangdiao Temple, can you tell me in detail what happened this morning?"
Fang Diao Temple is now over fifty years old. When Emperor Qing succeeded to the throne, he tried his best to promote himself, who was not powerful at the time, against all odds. For Fang Diao Temple, Emperor Qing had shown him the kindness of knowing him and he never used it as an excuse. The eunuch looked at it, and now that he was driving to the west, Fang Diao Temple was naturally very sad, so he respectfully replied: "Reporting to the Queen Mother, this morning the old slave saw that Your Majesty did not get up, so he went to the palace to check and saw that there was no sound in the room. , in a hurry, he violated etiquette, broke in privately, and found... His Majesty has passed away!" Thinking of the separation between master and slave, Fang Diao Si couldn't bear it anymore and burst into tears.
Queen An was infected by the atmosphere and began to burst into tears. Seeing the two people showing their true feelings, most of the civil and military officials also shed tears silently.
At this time, a light cough broke the cry, but King Guang asked from the palace: "Fangdiao Temple, according to you, when you entered the Funing Palace, the emperor's brother had already passed away? And there was no third person. Are you there?"
Fang Diao Si had been in the palace for many years, but he couldn't hear the hidden meaning of King Guang's words. He quickly fell to the ground and said in a sharp voice: "This old slave is loyal to His Majesty, which can be learned from heaven and earth. When King Guang asked this question, could it be that he was suspicious of His Majesty's death and the old slave?" Is it related?" Not to mention that Fang Diao Si was a favored minister of Emperor Qing. Even if it were anyone else who was randomly labeled as a rebel, he would not take kindly to it. He stared at King Guang with his eyes wide open and asked him to Make it clear.
Feng Jingquan sneered: "You are a brave eunuch, and you dare to speak harshly even when you are about to die. If I don't have conclusive evidence, how can I accuse you unjustly in front of all the civil and military officials! Come here, call the imperial doctor!" Not long after, a frail old man appeared. The man who was summoned to the court was none other than Jiang Hua from the imperial hospital. He also had another identity: Jiang Hua was the cousin of Jiang Qing, the imperial master.
I saw Jiang Hua kneeling on the ground: "I am here to see the Queen Mother and Prince Guang." Jiang Hua didn't know what his intention was. He was willing to risk the crime of disrespect. After greeting the Queen Mother and Prince Guang, he ignored Queen An alone. With a smile on his face, Prince Guang asked, "Mr. Jiang, may I ask when exactly my brother died? What was the cause of his death?"
Dr. Jiang stood up slowly, bowed and said, "Reporting to the prince, I have carefully examined your majesty's dragon body. There are no external injuries and no signs of poisoning. However, I found that there is some cotton wool in your majesty's mouth and nose. It should be He died of suffocation. As for the time, it should be around Mao hour." As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar in Zichen Hall.
King Guang asked sharply: "Is what the imperial doctor said true?"
"In front of the Queen Mother Guang Wang and all the civil and military officials, how dare Wei Chen talk nonsense." Jiang Hua looked calm, "We Chen has been a doctor for more than forty years, and I believe that I will definitely not look away. The cause of His Majesty's death is only I'm afraid it's unusual." Although Imperial Physician Jiang didn't say it directly, everyone in the hall heard the implication, and Fang Diao Si was no exception. He scolded in a sharp voice: "Old Jiang Hua! Our family has always been on good terms with you. River, why did you frame our family in this hall and put me to death!" After saying that, he wanted to get up, but it was a pity that Fang Diao Si was old and had no strength to tie the chicken. At this moment, he was being beaten by several people. The big and round Jinwuwei pressed hard, how could he break free.
Doctor Jiang continued: "Wei Chen always acts impartially and will never wrongly accuse a good person, let alone shield any traitor. Jiang Hua is just telling the truth. Why should Fang Diao Si be so excited? Maybe there is something wrong in his heart."
Before Fang Diao Temple could retort, King Guang shouted sharply: "You eunuch, you dare to plot to kill the emperor's brother, and you ignore the law and run wild in this hall, disrupting the court! Someone, drag this eunuch out and behead him!" "
Li Jianping had always been on good terms with Emperor Liang Qing and had a friendship with him. Hearing this, he stood up, pulled Fang Diao Si up, stretched out his big hand like a cattail leaf fan, and slapped the latter hard twice. He was a filthy man, but when he saw Fang Diao Si, he was still making quibbles. He became so angry that he ripped out his tongue! Fang Diao Si was in pain and covered his mouth, blood dripping down his fingers.
The scene was so bloody that Empress Dowager Liang and Empress An quickly turned their heads away, unable to bear to watch any more. When Li Jian heard Fang Diao Si's cry, he felt even more upset. Without regard for etiquette, he drew out his sword and struck it down hard. With a flash of cold light, Fang Diao Si's head fell to the ground, and his eyes were wide open. , staring intently at King Guang on the stage.
Seeing this, Taishi Jiang said in a deep voice: "You are so bold, Li Jian, how dare you disturb the Holy Master!"
After Li Jian vented his anger with the murder, he came to his senses. When he heard what Taishi Jiang said, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. Even though he held military power, he did not dare to bear the crime of the following, and he quickly knelt down on the ground. He kept kowtowing: "I deserve to die for my crime. I have disturbed the Queen Mother, the Empress and His Royal Highness Prince Guang. Please forgive me for this!"
Hearing this, the Empress Dowager Liang said in a warm voice: "General Li, please rise. You are so eager to protect the Lord. Why are you guilty? I, Daliang, are so lucky to have the help of the general. The Ai family is a little tired, so all my dear friends, please step aside first."
After hearing this, all the civil and military officials resigned one after another. After a while, only Empress Dowager Liang, Empress An and Prince Guang were left in the huge Zichen Palace. The Empress Dowager Liang had a sad look on her face and said in a solemn voice: "An'er died in vain. The Ai family is very sad. But the country cannot be without a king for a day. Quan'er, from now on, I will hand over Daliang to you. As for your wife-in-law, I want you to be well." She must be taken care of, so don’t treat her badly.”
Prince Guang was ecstatic in his heart, but his face remained calm as he said, "My son, I obey the decree!"
On the fifth day of the first lunar month in the thirteenth year of Jinglong, the Empress Dowager Liang announced to the world that because Emperor Qing had no heirs, King Guang took over the throne. The country was named Yonghong and the emperor was named Liang Wu. Fang Diao Temple was killed on the spot for treason and was executed. The corpses of the nine tribes were hung outside the city, left to be beaten by wind and rain, and eaten by birds, as a warning to others!
