He looked at his nephew with some worry: "Princess..."
Liu Che's face was particularly pale, but he still smiled and reassured everyone: "Okay, it's all over."
Her voice was low, but with a soothing power: "Nothing will happen again."
…
The emperor, wearing a great cloak, looked down at the imperial capital from the highest point of Weiyang Palace. A chamberlain approached quickly and respectfully replied: "Your Majesty, we have entered the capital and are expected to arrive in the capital soon."
The emperor did not comment, waved his hand casually, and said: "Summon the prime ministers and people from the Ministry of Rites, Taichang, and Zongzheng Temple to see me."
The chamberlain took the order and left.
Today is not a day of rest. All the officials appointed by the emperor are on duty at the official office. After hearing the news, he looked at his colleagues and had some vague guesses about what the emperor wanted to discuss.
Is it possible that we really want to establish an imperial concubine?
The people in the Ministry of Rites were in a dilemma for a while.
Setting an unprecedented precedent, a female protagonist succeeds to the throne. How does this happen?
As an official in charge of etiquette, if he lowered his head without saying a word, he would definitely be ridiculed and disgraced by the world, but if he took the lead in opposing...
For this kind of difference in political opinions, the emperor would not kill him, but even so, I'm afraid he wouldn't be given any good fruits!
The Minister of Rites was almost dying of embarrassment. When he saw Zong Zheng standing in front of him, he felt at ease - the sky was falling and there was still a tall man holding him up!
After all, the throne is a family matter, what does it have to do with him, a part-time worker?
If Zongzheng takes the lead in opposing, then he will follow suit. If Zongzheng also nods...
He should just honestly go to the table and request to resign.
The Minister of Rites sighed secretly, and came to the imperial court with Zong Zheng and Taichang who looked worried. Unexpectedly, the emperor made an unexpected proposal.
Pursuing the posthumous title of Donggong, who has been dead for many years, as the emperor? !
Ah this...
What's going on with this outrageous yet somewhat reasonable feeling? !
It has always been the case that a person who is a son calls his father the emperor, but it is rare that a person who is a father calls his son the emperor. However, although this is rare, it is not unheard of.
After all, the East Palace is the East Palace. After decades of ascending the throne, this is the only prince who has been officially canonized. He has the legitimacy to be promoted as emperor, and the emperor, the contemporary emperor, is also willing to do so. , if you want to posthumously make him emperor, what are the etiquette problems?
But the problems caused by this are huge.
The East Palace became the emperor, and the posthumous emperor was also the emperor. He became the great clan congenitally, and at the same time, he excluded the kings from the succession sequence of the throne!
Don't think that this is a small thing, it sounds like there is no difference - if the kings become Xiaozong, aren't they still the sons of the emperor?
The sons of kings are still the grandsons of the Emperor.
Of course it’s not like this!
After the kings became small sects, they also lost the right to worship their ancestors. From now on, the descendants of the kings can only regard the kings as their ancestors, but they cannot recognize the emperor or even the founding emperor of the dynasty. For the ancestors!
This is the harshness and cruelty of the etiquette system.
For example, Liu Bei, a clan member of the Han Dynasty, as the queen of Xiaozong, before he proclaimed himself emperor in Southwest China, he could only call himself "I am the queen of King Jing of Zhongshan", but he could not claim to be "the queen of Han Gaozu". , right here!
Only the emperor can openly claim that he is the empress of the great ancestor. The sons of other small sects dare to claim to be the empress of the great ancestor - such a well-known transgression, you have no nostalgia in the world. Is it? !
There was nothing wrong with the Emperor honoring Dong Gong as the emperor. After all, Dong Gong had no heirs. However, when the Emperor took a fancy to Dong Gong's daughter and promoted her to the title of Princess of Zhenguo, The problem is huge!
This is obviously paving the way for Princess Zhenguo!
But what can Zongzheng say, and what can Taichang say?
The emperor didn't say anything.
The matter could only be passed silently.
Immediately afterwards, there are a series of things to discuss, including the records of daily life, the improvement of the ritual system of the East Palace mausoleum, the posthumous title of the king, and the posthumous title of the emperor in the East Palace. What about the crown prince?
Logically speaking, one should be revered as the queen, but Dong Gong himself was revered as the emperor because of his death. Can the crown princess get the title of queen during her lifetime?
The emperor had no interest in participating in discussions such as this. After taking control of the established direction, he left the table to meet with his close associates who had returned to Beijing.
He listened silently as the minister reported everything about his trip one by one. Tang Zuo didn't even miss the words "Princess" when he called him anxiously. In the end, the minister said everything he needed to say and was just respectful. Kneel before the emperor, waiting for possible questions.
The emperor sat on a cushion made of crane feathers. After being silent for a long time, he suddenly asked, "Raise your head."
The ministers raised their heads after receiving the order.
Just listen to the emperor saying: "What kind of person do you think Princess Zhenguo is?"
He thought briefly for a few moments, but before he could answer, the emperor suddenly raised his hand, stopped what he was saying, and asked another question: "Does the princess of the country like me?"
The minister said respectfully: "The princess is similar to your majesty."
The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly and stroked his beard: "Tell me, the princess of Zhenguo is so in line with my wishes, is it because she is purely in line with my wishes, or is it because of her ability to guess people's hearts? Superb?"
The nearby minister's heart was aroused, but he forced himself to calm down and said: "You don't even know something, how can I know it with my stupidity?"
The emperor looked at him coldly, and after a few moments, he suddenly laughed: "Why are you so cowardly? Can I still eat you?!"
He also cheerfully ordered the people around him: "I'm going to prepare a banquet. I'm very happy today and let all the kings come to the palace to have fun together!"
Chapter 99
After receiving the summons, the kings really forced a smile. After stuffing the banknotes into the hands of the chamberlain who delivered the summons, they carefully asked: "Didn't we just have a banquet a few days ago? Why is my father so interested again?" Have you summoned us for a talk?"
Because the kings were not asking about anything taboo, the chamberlain told the truth: "It's probably because the envoy the emperor sent to Beiguan brought back good news. The emperor was very happy because of this." Cheerfully, I specially intend to summon all the kings to join in the fun..."
Kings: "..."
Ah, have fun together.
Must be happy.
Who dares not to be happy?
Dad is happy, as a son should endure even the greatest sorrow. Is there anything in the world that is bigger than the emperor?
King Chen couldn't help but recall the turmoil that happened in the palace after Concubine Shu passed away.
At that time, Princess Ding'an had just left the country, and Concubine Shu fell ill. Because Fang Jieyu was recommended by Concubine Shu, she couldn't help but devote herself to her old master, but she also contracted the disease unexpectedly.
At the beginning, no one cared about this.
The women in the palace were delicate and expensive, and some of them took tonics when they had nothing to do. What's more, Concubine Shu was old and suffered from common illnesses. Unexpectedly, the two of them could not afford to fall ill at the same time, and died soon after. Got it!
As one of the four concubines and the biological mother of King Ji, Concubine Shu is naturally noble. However, no matter how noble she is, she cannot surpass the emperor. At that time, Princess Ding'an had just left the country, and the emperor was feeling unhappy at that time. Looking for A Taoist came to make calculations and found out that everything was unlucky that month.
As soon as this comment came to the ground, the emperor's face turned completely gloomy. When the people from the Shang Palace Bureau and the Ministry of Rites took a look, they thought, who can care about you, Concubine Shu? Let's go!
The funeral arrangements were hastily finished.
And because of that comment, neither Concubine Shu nor Fang Jieyu received a posthumous title.
Concubine Shu was King Ji's biological mother. Her mother's affairs were so poor after her death. As a human son, how could King Ji feel better?
It's just that I was afraid of the emperor. No matter how unfair I was, I didn't dare to show it. I secretly set up a sacrifice in the house and paid homage to Concubine Shu in a grand manner.
But Princess Ji is also afraid - to put it harshly, you can't harm the living for the sake of the dead, right?
Concubine Shu is also an old man who has served the emperor for many years. Now she has ended up in this situation. If the emperor did not do it on purpose, who would believe it?
How come other elderly people in the palace have posthumous titles after death, but not my own mother-in-law?
This is the emperor clearly planning to slap my mother-in-law in the face!
There were still some things that Princess Ji did not dare to say to her husband, so she could only withdraw from everyone when her biological mother passed by, whispering in a low voice: "Although my mother-in-law has some minor illnesses, she will not suddenly lose her life. She is still alive." There is Fang Jieyu, she is still young, did she really die of illness, or was she fake?"
Princess Ji's mother looked calm: "Are you a fool to be a prince? You would doubt such a simple truth, wouldn't he?"
He added: "On that day when Concubine Shu died, the palace also sent people to invite you and the prince's serious son and daughter-in-law to say goodbye to Concubine Shu. Haven't you seen Concubine Shu's remains?"
Princess Ji held the hand with the veil and paused: "When we arrived, the body of the concubine had already been moved to the coffin..."
Princess Ji's mother sighed, but asked her: "Has it been nailed?"
Princess Ji shook her head: "Not yet at that time."
Princess Ji's mother asked again: "In that case, has the prince opened the coffin to pay homage to his deceased mother's body?"
Princess Ji's face changed slightly and she shook her head again.
The husband held his hands on the coffin, and the veins on the back of his hands were stretched out, but in the end he did nothing. He just knelt down and kowtowed three times towards the coffin.
Princess Ji's mother said: "You can detect something is wrong, and of course the prince can also detect it. It is obvious that the coffin is not nailed, and it only needs a little force to open it. Why didn't the prince do this?"
Princess Ji remained silent, while Princess Ji's mother patted the back of her daughter's hand and sighed: "Because the lid of the coffin has not been opened, the mask of peace can still be maintained. If it is really opened, then It's all over. Between the emperor and the prince, someone must pay something for it. Who do you think this person will be?"
Princess Ji's throat was sore and she didn't turn away to wipe her tears.
Princess Ji's mother held her daughter's hand with pity: "It's not easy to be the daughter-in-law of the Tian family, but how easy is it to be the son of the Tian family?"
"When the prince was in the palace, he cared about you and the child, and he has already taken a step back. But after all, Concubine Shu is his biological mother. As a son, his mother died so unexpectedly and died so poorly. He is a son of a human being. Is it a good thing to say nothing and do nothing? Maybe the emperor will think that the prince is cold and heartless..."
Princess Ji's tears flowed down, and she said sadly: "When will this kind of day end!"
"Silence!" Princess Ji's mother changed color after hearing this, and suddenly raised her hand to cover her mouth: "You dare to say such things, don't you risk your life?"
At the end of this day, won't it be the day when the emperor dies? !
Princess Ji sobbed and nodded, sobbing silently.
However, the emperor seemed to have completely forgotten about Concubine Shu's death. Within a few days, he happily started to hold a palace banquet. All the kings came out with smiles on their faces and entered the palace happily. Only Prince Ji and his wife were still there. Be filial to Concubine Shu and dress plainly and simply.
I want to force myself to laugh, but I really can’t. What if the Emperor angrily scolds them for showing no signs of sadness or filial piety for losing their mother just now?
Then stop laughing.
But if a person is determined to find trouble, and he is an absolute superior, then he can find it no matter how hard he looks.
After the dance and music ended, the emperor gave wine to the kings to drink together. When he caught a glimpse of King Ji's unhappy expression, he became furious and said on the spot: "Why do you look like this when your father is still here?!"
Pishou snatched the stick from Jin Wuwei's hand and was about to hit him.
If it were just Concubine Shu who died, the kings might not be able to figure it out, but even Fang Jieyu, who had been favored recently, would be gone, so the clues would be quite clear.
