In the Chengyun Hall, the main hall of the palace, Zhu Houcong knelt down facing north. Zhang Jin stood in front of him with fear.
Even if it's turned in one direction.
After all, the person kneeling in front of him is the future emperor.
Princess Xingxian's concubine Jiang and his side concubine Wang, the princesses Zhu Qingyuan and Zhu Qingyi who had not yet been canonized, and all the ministers of the palace filled the hall and knelt down, each anxiously waiting for the edict to be announced.
The emperor had no heirs for a long time, and now he was seriously ill. No prince in the vassal family was not worried about his fate.
If it's good, it'll be great, but if it's bad... it's also hard to imagine.
Jiang's face turned pale and she looked at her son worriedly from the corner of her eyes.
Could it be that the previous memorial had angered the Queen Mother by asking her son if he could ascend the throne after his period of filial piety was over?
It is not that there is no precedent for a vassal prince with a small number of people to be removed from the throne. There is only one male in Prince Xing's palace, which can be said to be the weakest in the prince's palace.
Zhu Houcong is very calm now.
The eunuch who announced the decree looked in awe.
For more than a year, I have been keeping my filial piety, studying to keep fit, and doing nothing.
Apart from offering sacrifices to the mausoleum, he didn't even leave the palace.
Now it seems that there are indeed no butterfly wings.
"...The prince of Prince Xingxian is kind, smart, benevolent and filial. He has grown up..."
Among the crowd, Zhou Zhao heard that Yi's decree actually asked the prince to release the prince in advance, which was really against common sense.
For such a big event as conferring a royal title, of course, an imperial edict should be issued. Now that the decree was read out in the name of the Queen Mother, the smart people in the palace already understood what had happened: the emperor died.
After he finished reading, Zhu Houcong immediately started to act, and asked with choked eyes: "My father-in-law, your majesty has already done a great job, and now he declares it as the Queen Mother's decree?"
Before he came just now, he had done something on his sleeves. I rubbed my eyes while kneeling to listen to the announcement, and now my eyes are red.
The acting skills are also a bit poor, but how dare Zhang Jin comment on this?
He had already held the imperial edict, ran to the south of Zhu Houcong and knelt down: "Your Highness is smart, benevolent and filial, and your Majesty has indeed done a great job! I dare not hide it. The imperial edict has been issued and the world welcomes His Highness to succeed the throne. I am also a member of the welcome group day and night." I'll arrive ahead of time and ask His Highness to release the King of Xijue first so that he can accompany the welcoming delegation to Beijing as soon as possible to ascend the throne!"
There was silence in the hall for a moment, and many people had their mouths wide open, their faces full of disbelief and ecstasy.
Following the great rule!
The Crown Prince...is going to be the emperor?
Xie Changjie, the left commander, was so excited that he almost jumped up. Then his eyes suddenly showed fear and he looked at Zhu Houcong uneasily.
"After the great unification, this..." Zhu Houcong was still acting, "The little king has not yet completed his filial piety..."
"Your Highness, that's why we have this decree in the first place. Please put the country, the country and the country first!" Zhang Jin held the decree high and knelt down to beg him to accept it, his voice was sad and sincere.
"But after all, Xiao Wang did not fulfill his full filial piety to his father..." Zhu Houcong acted awkwardly.
"Your Highness's filial piety is known to everyone in the world, and the Empress Dowager and the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty have praised each other." Zhang Jin advised righteously, "But now, Your Highness shoulders the important responsibility of inheriting the throne. This is also a great filial piety to the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty! "
"...mother concubine?" Zhu Houcong acted fearful and uneasy.
Jiang's heart was bursting with flowers, but her eyes were also full of tears: "It is pitiful that Your Majesty has just arrived in his thirties, and the Queen Mother is grieving... Your Majesty, since it is the Queen Mother's holy grace and the love of all the princes in the court, I would like to express my gratitude in advance and accept the decree." Bar."
Zhu Houcong then looked north again, saluted, and received the imperial edict: "...Eunuch Zhang, how come the imperial brother's edict ordered the young king to succeed to the throne? What does it say?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, I really don't know." Zhang Jin immediately began to express his merits, "His Majesty passed away on the night of Bingyin, and only left a legacy when he was in power. That night, the Queen Mother and all the elders discussed and elected His Highness. The servant first received Yi's order and rushed here overnight. When the servant set off, His Majesty's edict had not yet been drafted. The slave did not dare to delay for a moment, and traveled day and night, just hoping to be the first to ask His Majesty to release the edict and accept the edict. I am afraid that the reception group will only be ready in two or three days. We are about to arrive in Anlu, please make preparations in advance!"
The imperial edict has been issued to the world, and Zhang Jin does not need to conceal the news of establishing Zhu Houcong as emperor. This does not mean that he takes away the credit of reporting the news.
It took him only eight days to get here from the capital, more than two thousand miles away. It can indeed be said that he traveled day and night: he couldn't really sleep in the carriage, he had to rest at night.
And the welcome group only lasted two or three more days, and it was said that there was no delay, which was very hard.
So the merit of welcoming him is not just to be the first to brush his face in front of Zhu Houcong. Traveling far away in this era is very risky and tiring, let alone being on the road all the time?
"Eunuch Zhang, thank you for your hard work." Zhu Houcong helped him up, "Eunuch, your name is Jin? Which word is Jin?"
Zhang Jin was immediately overjoyed: "Beautiful brocade, a cheap name is an insult to Your Highness Qing Heng."
Isn't that what you came here for?
The eunuchs in the palace all relied on the emperor's favor to have the chance to be reused.
Although His Highness may know that he exists, but now it is his name that matches him!
"Xiao Wang has remembered it." Zhu Houcong nodded, "Zhang Fengzheng, please accompany Eunuch Zhang on behalf of Xiao Wang. Xiao Wang will first go to the Father God to worship and tell each other."
Zhang Jin thanked him and said: "Your Highness is so kind, and I will keep it in my heart. However, the Queen Mother has an order. After announcing the decree, I will return to the post house to join the welcoming group, and I am not allowed to stop for a while."
Zhu Houcong originally wanted to ask for details, but he could only frown when he heard this.
Zhang Jincheng was terrified, and he also knew that this was a great opportunity.
But now His Highness has not accepted the imperial edict. As a prince, it is extremely taboo for him to discuss anything privately with Eunuch Bingbi, the Supervisor of Ceremonies.
"Since the Queen Mother has a destiny, then Zhang Fengzheng should give it to Eunuch Zhang on behalf of the little king."
Zhang Zuohui came to his senses and walked out with Zhang Jin.
He is the official of the palace. When Zhu Houcong ascends the throne, he will definitely be one of the great eunuchs in the palace. What should Zhang Jin reveal to him in private?
Zhang Jin did have a good relationship with Zhang Zuo.
From the dragon's grace, one can become a great person in one day.
This Zhang Zuo, as well as the accompanying eunuch on the prince's side, will definitely be appointed as the ceremonial eunuch in the future.
Why should old ministers like Zhang Jin rush to fawn over them?
There were no outsiders in the palace, and many people knelt down immediately: "Congratulations and congratulations to Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty..."
"Slow down!" Zhou Zhao suddenly shouted, "The edict has not yet arrived, everything will remain as before! Are you trying to trap His Highness in injustice?"
After saying this, he glared dissatisfied at Xie Changjie, who took the lead in bowing down.
Although his official position is low, his qualifications and age are older, so Zhou Zhao's stoppage is still very important.
He only felt that the quality of these current palace officials was far inferior to that of Yuan Zonggao.
"Master Zhou's words make sense. Let's keep everything as before." Zhu Houcong nodded, "If the welcoming group will arrive in only two or three days, there is no need to worry. Mother and concubine, the child is unfilial, so we can only obey the order and be released first."
During the period of filial piety, there is a process for seizing love and releasing one's obedience according to etiquette.
At least go and worship in front of King Xingxian’s tomb.
It's not easy to attack Jueben.
But now the purpose is to keep it simple, so it doesn’t take much effort.
After everything was done, the important people in the palace gathered in Chengyun Hall to discuss the major events ahead.
"Zhang Jin really didn't know the contents of the imperial edict." Zhang Zuo reported, "But the servant still asked who was in the Ying group, Dingguo Gong, Liangge Lao, Gu Dayong, Shouning Hou, Cui Prince Consort... Yingli There is nothing wrong with His Highness's succession to the throne. The servant also asked some details about the proposal to establish His Highness. What Your Highness, the Queen Mother and the elders meant was that His Highness would be the successor to Xiaomiao as his son, and he would follow the instructions of his elder brother and his ancestors. Datong."
Jiang's face suddenly turned pale: "What? What about my Xingwang lineage? This won't work!"
All the officials in the palace fell silent for a moment.
That's the throne!
Zhu Houcong frowned: Why is this different from what Lao Qin said?
I remember Lao Qin once said that Jiajing only found out that he was wanted to ascend the throne as the crown prince when he arrived at the outskirts of Beijing, and only then did he start to make fuss about the great etiquette in the future.
At that time, there was a lot of wrangling, and in the end, in order to become the emperor first, both sides made some concessions before ascending the throne first.
Why is there clear news now?
Zhu Houcong now understands that true history cannot be completely restored. Historical materials are recorded and even modified by later generations. After hundreds of years, it cannot be said that they are completely different, at least it is difficult to distinguish between true and false.
And what he knew was only limited to "Old Qin Once Said" and what he had learned over the past year.
"Master Zhou." Zhu Houcong asked for help, "According to the ancestral teachings, is this necessary?"
"It is indeed true in the "Huang Ming Ancestor Instructions." Xie Changjie immediately began to persuade, "Your Highness, in the future you will have many heirs, and your second son will inherit the title of King Xing. The lineage of the royal family will not be cut off. The princess is your highness's biological mother. It is only natural that he should be ranked first among all kings in favor and honor."
In his opinion, this is not a problem at all.
Zhu Houcong looked around and saw that most of the officials in the palace were nodding, ignoring Jiang's pale face and about to cry.
I'm afraid in their eyes: The emperor's throne is so great that he can still persuade His Highness to violate etiquette and law?
This is the common intention of the Queen Mother and the elders. If Your Highness does not comply, how can you still have the throne? Where do they have the power to follow the dragon?
But do they really believe in the need for an heir to succeed to the throne?
"Master Zhou, what do you think?"
Xie Changjie's expression changed.
No wonder the Imperial Master has always been extremely prominent and highly respected. Now that Zhu Houcong is a master of the Zhou Dynasty, he, the boss of the royal palace, is like a transparent person.
