The emperor's funeral was held as scheduled. On this day, the imperial court ordered the whole country to mourn.
Queen Mother He took the lead and conducted the highest-standard funeral ceremony.
The princes, princesses, the queen and Concubine Liu and other concubines, the prime minister and the civil servants and military officers all conducted the funeral in an orderly manner under the command of the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites.
Lu Feng and all the servants in the palace also put on mourning clothes.
During the funeral, no accidents occurred.
By the time all the rituals were completed, three days had passed.
The next step was to choose a day to bury the emperor's body.
Although the emperor passed away, all affairs had to continue as usual.
So under the secret push of the queen, the ministers in her camp proposed the support of the new emperor in the court.
On this day, Lu Feng was going to leave the palace to visit the Shadow Guards to see how Wang Yi was doing.
Although Concubine Liu Guifei has been leaning towards Queen Mother He, these things cannot be left behind, just in case they come into play at a critical moment.
But before Lu Feng reached the palace gate, he saw the eldest prince and dozens of people approaching him menacingly, and the soldiers could not stop him.
Lu Feng quickly stopped and stood aside, watching the eldest prince and others walking over.
Wen'er had already sent him news, saying that the queen and the eldest prince would make big moves in the near future, but Lu Feng didn't expect that they would choose this time today.
After weighing the situation in his mind, Lu Feng decisively turned around and walked back, quickly returning to Concubine Liu's bedroom.
"Look at the eldest prince leading his people to the court?!" Concubine Liu was a little surprised, "It seems that he is trying to force the Queen Mother He to give up his throne."
Lu Feng said:
"This is indeed an opportunity, it depends on how they do it."
Concubine Liu stuffed a grape into Lu Feng's mouth, "You go and have a look, it's not convenient for me to go."
"Okay." Lu Feng smacked Concubine Liu's face, and immediately walked out of the palace and headed to the court.
By the time Lu Feng arrived, there was already a huge fight in the court.
He didn't really go into the court, as he would have looked like a fool. He just took a break outside the court with a young eunuch on duty so that he could eavesdrop.
I could only hear the eldest prince saying inside:
"After the death of my father, the government and the public are in turmoil. It is urgent for a new emperor to take office to stabilize the people's hearts. The second and third brothers are incompetent and mediocre and cannot take on big responsibilities. I, the prince, have recommended myself. What's wrong?"
"Is it possible that the Queen Mother will not let go until there is internal and external troubles? Or maybe the Queen Mother has other plans?"
"The Ai family has said that it is not appropriate to discuss this matter at this time. It will be postponed for the time being. The Ai family has its own discretion. Although the second prince and the third prince are indeed not heirs capable of shouldering important responsibilities, the matter of choosing a new emperor is not a trivial matter. The eldest prince is also How can you prove to the Ai family and the officials that you are a talented person capable of taking on great responsibilities?"
At this time, Prime Minister Zhao Song came out to start the performance.
"The Queen Mother's words are wrong. As far as I know, Your Majesty praised the eldest prince many times at that time and told me that the eldest prince will definitely become a great talent in governing the country and ensuring peace of the country. The imperial court has not yet established a prince. If you don't support him anymore, Establishing a new emperor is not appropriate for both sentiment and etiquette."
After he finished speaking, a group of ministers behind him all echoed.
However, Xu Lu, the Minister of Civil Affairs, put forward a different view. He said:
"Wei Chen has heard a lot of rumors about the eldest prince. For example, he and a group of princes drunkenly caused trouble in Yihongyuan in the capital. He took money from people and used their connections to arrange people to work in the yamen. He even molested women in civilian clothes. .According to the words of Wei Chen, the matter of supporting the new emperor must be considered in the long term."
"Hmph! A long-term plan?" Prime Minister Zhao Song flicked his sleeves and was very dissatisfied, "I wonder how long Mr. Xu meant by a long-term plan? Could it be that all the ministers have to wait for a year or two?"
"This is a bad statement. No matter how you say it, there must be a suitable time. How can it be appropriate to say it like this?" said Xu Lu, the official secretary.
The ministers belonging to the Queen Mother's camp also echoed his words.
In short, both sides are bickering and quarreling.
Empress Dowager He was thinking about quitting the court, but Prime Minister Zhao Song and a group of people suddenly knelt on the ground and directly admonished her about supporting the new emperor.
For a while, the situation was stalemate.
"Wei Chen begs the Queen Mother to think twice. If the Queen Mother insists on having her own way, Wei Chen will not be able to kneel down." Prime Minister Zhao Song shouted.
After he finished speaking, the ministers who were with him also followed suit, threatening to force him into the palace.
Although Queen Mother He was a female figure, she still had courage.
She stood up angrily, "If you like to kneel, then kneel."
After that, he got up and returned to the palace.
This farce also ended with the departure of Queen Mother He. After Lu Feng learned what happened, he also quietly left, leaving only the ministers in the court staring blankly.
After returning, Lu Feng told Concubine Liu the general situation and continued what he had to do before.
After leaving the palace, Lu Feng came to the Shadow Guard's office wearing casual clothes as before.
"Master Wang, I haven't seen you for a long time. You have changed a lot."
Compared with before, Wang Yi was no longer depressed and lonely, but more capable and majestic.
"Hahaha. Master Lu must be here to see the results of the past few days. Please sit down."
After inviting Lu Feng to sit down and asking his subordinates to serve tea, Wang Yi picked up a stack of information from the desk and handed it to Lu Feng, "Take a look, Mr. Lu, if you are satisfied."
Lu Feng took it and read it roughly.
Wang Yi's work efficiency is really outstanding, and all the officials he asked to investigate were written on it. Whether it is corruption in small matters or major corruption, I remember every detail clearly.
"Not bad." Lu Feng was very satisfied.
"I'm not bragging. If Master Lu wants to know what the corrupt official is doing at this time, I can immediately send a message to the supervisor to draw a picture of the scene and send it to him."
"Hahaha. I have no doubt about Lord Wang's talent and the ability of the Shadow Guard. I believe that the imperial concubine will also appreciate it when she sees this."
After reading it briefly just now, Lu Feng realized how corrupt the corrupt officials in Daxia are today. Even though the capital is so prosperous, the people can only complain about these vampires in private.
This is true in the capital, let alone other places.
Wang Yi took a sip of tea and said, "Since Mr. Lu is one of our own, I don't need to hide him. My people saw the eldest prince leading someone into the palace. What happened?"
Lu Feng did not give a direct answer, but asked:
"I wonder what Mr. Wang thinks of the First Prince?"
"Incompetent bungler."
In just eight words, one can hear Wang Yi's disdain for the eldest prince.
"Hahaha. Mr. Wang is really quick to talk, which makes Lu admire him. Anyway, as long as Mr. Wang does a little investigation, he will know it. I will tell you that the eldest prince entered the palace just to force the queen mother to support him as the new emperor."
"If the Queen Mother really does this, then Daxia is not far from being destroyed." Wang Yi said.
"The Queen Mother naturally knew, so she temporarily postponed the matter despite the pressure from many ministers in the court."
