The chill of early spring in the north has not diminished even a little with the retreat of winter. Today is the day when Mu Sheng, the new crown prince, will preside over the court meeting on behalf of the emperor.
At this time, in the Great Hall of the Four Seas, the left and right prime ministers, six ministries and nine ministers, and hundreds of civil and military officials gathered together, but everyone seemed to have a solemn look on their face, which seemed to indicate that something big was about to happen.
Before the start of the court meeting, the ministers climbed up the royal road to the main hall and filed in. The newly appointed guard Gao Zhong also came to the main hall and took his seat with great concern.
At this time, Zhi Su Nei Shi Tian Jian, who was now the father-in-law of His Royal Highness, who was on his right, saw Wei Gao Zhong arriving, so he went up to greet him: "Master Gao?"
When Gao Zhongzhuan saw Tian Jian greeting him for the first time, he bowed and said, "Master Tian, what's the matter?"
After all, Tian Jian is now the official father-in-law of His Highness the Crown Prince, the future head of state, and one of the Nine Qings, so he should not be looked down upon.
Tian Jian looked solemn and asked in a low voice: "Master Gao, I heard that Your Majesty has been seriously ill and has not been in court for several months. Master Gao, did you order preparations for the new king's enthronement ceremony in advance? Could it be that Your Majesty..."
Gao Zhong naturally knew that the late emperor had ascended to heaven long ago, but only a few people inside and outside the court knew the truth.
Hearing this, Gao Zhong could only pretend to be polite and said: "Master Tian, it seems that I can't hide anything from you. According to the news from the palace, His Majesty is already seriously ill. I'm afraid it will be difficult at this moment."
When Tian Jian heard this, he sighed and said, "Thank you, Lord Tian, for informing me. Your Majesty must take care of your dragon body!"
Deep down in Tian Jian's heart, he didn't know whether he should be happy or sad. What he was happy about was that his son-in-law, Chenglong Kuai, was about to sit on the throne of the emperor, and he was also going to be the head of the country. Will the Tian family be able to flourish in the future? Sadly, the old leader who appreciated him and promoted him to Jiuqing was about to die, and he had mixed feelings in his heart at the moment.
While the two were chatting, the official visitor in the hall sang loudly: "Quiet, ministers, His Royal Highness has arrived."
When the ministers saw the prince arriving, they quickly stopped whispering among themselves and sat upright to greet the prince.
After a while, Mu Sheng, dressed in formal imperial robes, accompanied by Yang Jin, the regular attendant and general manager of the inner court, went up to the main hall to accept the congratulations from all the ministers.
When the minister saw the prince arriving, he bowed slightly and said, "I wish you all to welcome His Royal Highness to his thousandth birthday."
Mu Sheng bowed in return and said, "Your Majesty's family, please excuse me."
After His Highness the Crown Prince finished speaking, he turned around and sat in the prince's seat set up separately on the right side of the emperor's throne to listen to politics, just like the story of the former prince.
This grand court meeting in early March happened to coincide with the Qing Dynasty Festival, which was the day for ancestor worship. The prince was originally going to the Ancestral Temple to worship his ancestors, but he had to formally read out the emperor's edict, so he was delayed.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the ministers in the palace all had serious faces and sat upright. They all knew in their hearts that the emperor was terminally ill, and most of them had also received some rumors.
At this time, Huo Zheng, Prime Minister Huo, led the crowd out, saluted the prince, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, your Majesty is seriously ill now. I thought that today's court meeting will be postponed. I have arranged a sacrifice to hold a ceremony for your Majesty to pray for your dragon body." Ankang, as the prime minister, I should follow the example of others and go to Changle Palace with all my colleagues to pray for His Majesty."
Of course, this was what Huo Zheng and Mu Sheng had discussed in advance. Mu Sheng naturally nodded in agreement and said, "What the Prime Minister said is true. As a son of a man, you should lead by example."
After finishing speaking, all the officials in the hall, led by the prime minister and the prince on the left and right, went to pray outside Changle Palace.
At this time, hundreds of wizards had already gathered outside Changle Palace to open the altar. The wizards shook their heads and muttered words. The official visitor came forward to open the edict and read out the congratulations. After reading, the officials naturally wrote letters to congratulate his birthday and pray for the health of His Majesty's Holy Body. …
Mu Sheng saw a few streaks of green smoke rising into the sky from the three altars, and for a moment his heart was filled with mixed emotions.
Prime Minister Zuo Huo Zheng, Wei Wei Gao Zhong and other key ministers accompanied the Crown Prince to Changle Palace.
After entering the palace, Huo Zheng glanced at the silent body of the emperor on the imperial palace, bowed, turned to His Highness the Crown Prince, and said: "Your Highness, the late Emperor has traveled to the west on a crane, and it will be a long night and many dreams. Today afternoon, I will be waiting for you." We will officially announce the late emperor’s edict to the outside world and support His Highness in inheriting the throne.”
When Mu Sheng heard this, he nodded slightly and said, "It all depends on the Prime Minister."
Huo Zheng turned his head and glanced at Gao Zhong, who hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Majesty the Prime Minister, the late emperor's mausoleum is about to be completed. I have made everything ready and am waiting for the day when the edict is read out."
Huo Zheng said: "Very good, thank you for your hard work, Mr. Gao."
Gao Zhong said: "Master Xiangguo, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, these are all matters within the scope of minor ministers."
After the blessing activity was over, the civil and military ministers dispersed.
In the afternoon, in the East Palace, an eunuch hurried to the inner palace to report the news. At this moment, Ruimui's expression was solemn. She put on the white mourning clothes for Mu Sheng. She also knew that something big happened today.
Mu Sheng secretly brewed some emotions, then bid farewell to Ruimui and followed Yang Jin, the general manager of the inner court, to the Sihai Guiyi Palace.
In the Palace of Four Seas Returned to One, all the civil and military officials from the DPRK and China gathered together. The Crown Prince Mu Sheng was dressed in white mourning clothes, with a sad expression on his face. The ministers in the hall looked shocked when they saw His Highness the Crown Prince was dressed in mourning clothes. They all basically guessed what happened. .
Huo Zheng held the edict in his hand, stepped forward and choked with sobs: "Everyone... Colleagues, Emperor Daxing passed away in Changle Palace at the third quarter of the day today. I have been entrusted by Emperor Daxing to help protect His Highness the Crown Prince. This is the last edict of the late emperor, and it will be read out immediately. .”
After Huo Zheng finished speaking, the cries of the ministers in the hall started gradually, and most people could not hide their shock. Regardless of whether they were sincere or not, the ministers still knelt down one after another, kowtowed in the direction of Changle Palace and cried sadly: "Your Majesty..."
Huo Zheng saw the grief of all the ministers. After a while, he put his hands on each other and comforted the ministers, saying: "All of my colleagues feel the same way. Emperor Daxing gave his last instructions, which I never dare to forget. Now that Emperor Daxing has passed away, I will take care of you." Read out the late emperor’s edict.”
The prime minister of the left, Huo Zheng, stepped forward, opened the edict, and read out: "In response to the fate of heaven, and by the order of the emperor, the edict says: Since I followed the late emperor's imperial edict, I have swept across Liuhe and defeated the princes of Guandong. The letter has the same text and the carriage has the same track. I am afraid of the majesty and virtue of my hometown, and stopped the centuries-old carnage in the world. Since then, there has been peace in the sea, and the foreign guests have been submissive. I control all directions, control all the people of nine states, carry out important military and state affairs, and employ people and administration. I am not tired of hard work. Dare to take it easy, your thoughts will be continued, and you will be cautious day and night...Now that all the ministers are working hard on the affairs of the country, they are all safe, and I am happy to pass away in peace."
"The Emperor's fourteenth son, the Crown Prince Mu Sheng, is endowed with benevolence, filial piety and wise friends, and will be able to inherit the great power. The late emperor dedicated his great power to enshrine the power of the gods and to care for billions of people. He will succeed me on the throne, that is, the emperor. To take the position, that is, to abide by the rule of the public, to hold the position for twenty-seven days, to announce the release of the service at home and abroad, and to have the Xian envoys hear about it, on the fourteenth day of March in the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Emperor Datong."
After Huo Zheng finished reading the edict, he turned his head, bowed and saluted the prince and said: "The country cannot be without a king for a day, and the throne cannot be vacant for a long time. Your Majesty, please take your place immediately and let all the ministers pay homage to you."
At this time, Mu Sheng was still crying. Yang Jin, the chamber manager who had been accompanying him all the time, had no choice but to help Mu Sheng and guide him to sit on the emperor's throne. After sitting upright, the look of sadness on Mu Sheng's face softened slightly.
When the Prime Minister of the Left, Huo Zheng, saw the new emperor ascending to the throne, he nodded slightly to the official visitor in the main hall. The official visitor immediately stepped forward and sang: "My ministers, after the imperial edict of Daxing has been read out, the world has been decided, and the foundation of the country has been established." In order to be honest, please come forward to congratulate the new king."
Upon hearing this, all the civil and military officials stepped forward and bowed and saluted: "Long live the Jin Dynasty, long live your Majesty, long live my emperor, long live, long live..."
Reading out the late emperor's edict is only the first step. Mu Sheng is still the acting emperor, and his true identity is actually the crown prince. Only after the funeral of the late emperor can his enthronement ceremony be held, and only after the enthronement ceremony can he officially succeed to the throne. Become a true emperor who rules the world.
Mu Sheng glanced at the audience where all the civil and military officials were bowing to worship him. There was not much in his heart. At this moment, his thoughts seemed to be drifting into the distance. At some point, everything in front of him seemed like a dream. He remembered When he first came to this world, he was in a panic, and the past flashed through his mind like images...
After the congratulations, Yang Jin, the general manager of the inner court, saw that the prince was in a trance. He thought that the late emperor had passed away and the prince was too sad, so Yang Jin had to help Mu Sheng to rest in the back hall.
After the late emperor's edict was read out, and until the evening, the left prime minister Huo Zheng and other ministers were still in the palace discussing the funeral specifications of the late emperor and how to implement the etiquette regulations. These are very important matters. There was also the new emperor who wanted to change his reign and what year he should be named. Wait... Instead, Mu Sheng was sitting in the back hall in a fugue state.
Reminiscing about the past, Mu Sheng suddenly remembered the former chief minister of the imperial family, Lu Liang, Eunuch Lu. He didn't know where he had gone. After the late emperor ascended to heaven, he most likely accompanied him to the vigil. He didn't know that Eunuch Lu had actually been killed by Prime Minister Zuo a long time ago. Huo Zheng died.
Mu Sheng looked back at Yang Jin, who was carefully serving beside him, and asked: "Yang Jin, where is Eunuch Lu going? It seems that I have never seen him since I entered the East Palace? He served the late emperor for many years and worked hard with great achievements. The late emperor passed away. Why is he missing?"
Yang Jin's body trembled slightly when he heard the words, he thought about it, and then said with a heavy heart: "Your Majesty, Eunuch Lu was so sad when he learned that the late emperor ascended to heaven. He didn't eat water or rice for seven days in a row. Since then, his health has been deteriorating. Soon So I went."
When Mu Sheng heard this, he sighed and said, "Alas! I can't match Eunuch Lu's affection for the late emperor. When I officially succeed to the throne, I will reward his family generously."
Hearing this, Yang Jin knelt down and kowtowed excitedly: "I thank you for your adoptive father. Your Majesty, please leave this matter to me. In the past, Eunuch Lu took care of me in the inner palace, so I must show some filial piety to you." of."
Mu Sheng nodded slightly and didn't say anything. He had just carefully observed Yang Jin's tone and demeanor. When he mentioned Eunuch Lu, his tone showed a trace of guilt and uneasiness. Obviously he wasn't telling the truth, but he probably guessed it. Come out, how could Eunuch Lu, the closest person to the emperor, disappear inexplicably? It is very likely that someone was silenced in order to cover up the truth about the death of the late emperor.
The figure of Huo Zheng flashed through Mu Sheng's mind, and he couldn't help but feel nervous. He was really cruel and ruthless. He suddenly asked about this matter today just to test whether Yang Jin was involved. It seemed that Yang Jin might have been arranged by Huo Xiangguo. people.
Mu Sheng sighed in his heart, Huo Xiangguo! Huo Xiangguo, you really have great hands and eyes. Are there people you have placed inside and outside this place? Not even the inner court was spared.
"Love is always the same across thousands of rivers and mountains. Can you vote for me? Just one vote will do!"
