Seeing the queen, Lian Yan bent his knees and said solemnly, "My nephew is late for rescue, please punish me!"
Queen Zhu's eyes moved slightly and she looked Yuan Chen up and down. When she saw that he was unharmed, she turned back to look at Lian Yan. Her smile was a little gentler and she said, "Brother Yan, get up quickly. You have made great contributions today. I, by virtue of my Why punish you?"
As a mother, she naturally knew who Yuan Chen had under his command.
Lian Yan was not Yuan Chen's party member, but he was willing to lend a helping hand at this juncture. She kept this in mind and didn't reward him. How could she punish him?
Lian Yan breathed a sigh of relief, responded in a low voice, and then stood up slowly. His eyes moved to the face of his future mother-in-law, and he met her eyes and smiled shyly.
Fang Xu felt funny and glanced at him lightly, but didn't respond.
Concubine Xiao stood aside, like an outsider, twisting her fingertips together, wanting to ask about the Xiao family's situation, but she didn't know whether she should speak at this time.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Concubine Xiao's hesitant expression. Queen Zhu lowered her expression and asked softly, "Chen'er, has everything been resolved?"
"All the rebels were killed. We won. Father, he..." Yuan Chen paused, his eyes moved to Song Huixin's face, and he remembered the way she rushed into the Yangxin Hall without hesitation, and whispered, "My son was a step too late, and he died under the sword of the eldest emperor brother."
Song Huixin's eyebrows moved slightly, and the hand holding Fang Xu's arm tightened.
Fang Xu kept his expression low, pursed his lips slightly, and patted the back of her hand gently to comfort her.
Queen Zhu opened her lips slightly and wanted to say something, but she froze in place. After thinking for a long time, she finally swallowed the words on her lips.
"That's all...it's all fate."
Queen Zhu sighed softly, the boulder pressing on her heart suddenly disappeared, and her voice became lighter.
"The way you go from now on depends on you." Queen Zhu looked at Yuan Chen, her eyes full of love, and her tone was a little softer, "I hope you will be strict with yourself, treat your loyal ministers well, and love your heirs. Don't let anyone let you." Tragedy repeats itself."
Yuan Chen straightened his expression and responded in a deep voice, "My son, I would like to obey my mother's teachings."
Queen Zhu raised her eyelids slightly, looked at the white fish belly in the sky, and lowered her voice, "It's almost dawn, lead people to search the Yangxin Palace, don't let others dig out anything."
"Yes." Yuan Chen looked sideways at Lian Yan with a smile on his face, "I'll leave this to you, thank you."
Lian Yan nodded with a serious expression, "Don't worry, I'm here."
Yuan Chen hummed softly, and when he turned his head, he took a deep look at Song Huixin and then disappeared into the night.
-
next day
The people of Dayan never imagined that when they woke up, the sky above them would change.
Manager Lu hurried into the house, his knees weakened, and he knelt on the ground, "My lord, something big has happened!"
At that time, the Duke of Qi was still sleeping soundly, and two beauties lay crookedly on the couch, naked.
Manager Lu didn't pay attention to the spring scenery in front of him, he just cried loudly, "My lord!"
Duke Qi was shaken and opened his eyes, filled with confusion, "What's wrong..."
The two beauties also woke up and saw Manager Lu in the room. They screamed in fright and quickly pulled the quilt to cover their bodies.
Manager Lu knelt on the ground, his voice trembling, "My lord, something big happened in the palace! The eldest prince... he rebelled!"
"What?" When Duke Qi heard this, he suddenly lost all sleep, his eyes widened, and he asked, "When did it happen?"
"Last night." Manager Lu was frightened and couldn't stop trembling. "There was news from the palace that the eldest prince had rebelled, forced the palace to kill his father, and started a killing spree in the palace."
Duke Guo of Qi sat up, picked up the clothes on the shelf, and put them on his body haphazardly. He kept asking, "What happened next...what happened next?"
Manager Lu swallowed his saliva and whispered, "The fourth prince arrived with his troops, but it was too late. He only saw the emperor's body. We had no choice but to suppress the rebels first and wait for the decision today."
When he heard that the emperor had been killed, Qi Guogong's legs softened and he fell back on the couch, "The body... where is the eldest prince?"
"The eldest prince did not want to be a bandit and committed suicide in the palace."
Qi Guogong closed his eyes tightly and almost couldn't breathe.
The sudden change caught him off guard and left him in chaos.
"Now that the emperor has passed away suddenly and the position of crown prince is vacant, the court will inevitably be in chaos." Qi Guogong shook his head slowly, looking panicked, "If the bet is not right..."
He didn't dare to think about this outcome.
"No... I won't fall into that situation!" Qi Guogong gritted his teeth and murmured in a low voice, "When I think about it, there will be a way..."
"My lord, it's too late." Steward Lu pursed his lips and whispered, "The palace sent a note saying that you should enter the palace immediately."
"What?" Qi Guogong was shocked, and the color on his face receded.
-
Outside the main hall, Queen Zhu was dressed in mourning clothes with a white velvet flower on her head. With tears in her eyes, she looked at the coffin parked in the hall.
The princes and princesses stood behind them, all of them crying.
All the officials took off their hats and tassels and bowed their heads in silence.
The palace attendant held up a tray with a pair of golden scissors on it, and whoever stopped next to him had to cut off a lock of hair.
The emperor died suddenly. The palace officials searched the Yangxin Hall but could not find the edict of succession. The cabinet was also undecided and had no choice but to persuade Queen Zhu to choose someone.
Queen Zhu remained silent and shed tears.
Several people in the cabinet looked at each other, and no one dared to speak again.
"Now that the position of Crown Prince is vacant, I would like to ask the Empress to make an idea as soon as possible." Mr. Zhuge spoke quietly with a calm expression, "The fourth prince, Yuan Chen, was born in the middle palace. He is a wise and wise man, so he is the best candidate. "
"Mr. Zhuge's words are wrong." General Fuyuan on the side sneered and said loudly, "The fourth prince's talent is indeed extraordinary, but he is still immature, so there is inevitably something wrong with him."
Shen Ji raised his eyelids and glanced at him calmly.
Fuyuan General Cen Zhenjiang was the second prince's maternal ancestor, so he must have had some thoughts behind his words.
"With the weight of the country and the country on you, who can't be considered immature?" Mr. Zhu Ge stared at him and said with a smile, "When the new emperor ascends the throne, he will be assisted by me."
Cen Zhenjiang laughed solemnly and said in a bad tone, "This matter is related to the fate of the country. I'm afraid it's inappropriate for just one person to make the decision?"
"Empress, I also agree that the fourth prince will inherit the throne."
When the man's voice came, Cen Zhenjiang's smile faded, he looked back and met Shen Ji's warm and smiling eyes.
Seeing that many eyes were focused on him, Shen Ji's smile deepened, "The fourth prince is kind, filial, courteous, and talented. If it weren't for the fourth prince's sharpness yesterday, the palace would have become a living hell."
"That's right," Xie Li stepped out slowly, straightened his back, and raised his voice, "The fourth prince has done a great job in rescuing me. He is also the legitimate son of the middle palace. He has never made any mistakes in the few years he has been in the court. He is the most suitable candidate for the crown prince. "
Lu Qingfeng followed closely behind, clenched the wat board in his hand, and said in a deep voice, "I second the proposal."
"The same goes for me."
"I thought that the Fourth Prince was the one everyone wanted!"
