At this time, the atmosphere in the side hall of Yugan Palace was not good.
The Queen Mother, the fourth prince Song Mo, the second prince and the third prince, as well as the royal family and important civil and military officials were all there.
"I am very doubtful. Prince Gong, you said that Huang Kao appointed Song Mo, the younger brother of the fourth emperor, as the new emperor. But Song Mo is only fourteen this year, right? He is neither a direct descendant nor a eldest son. He has not yet reached the crown. What virtue can he do? If Huang Kao If you want to make someone younger, why not make him the crown prince's son, Song An? They are all the same young, but isn't it justifiable to make Song An a different name?"
Facing the doubts from Prince Cheng, the second prince, Song Mo showed no expression. His father was really kind, leaving such a trap for him!
King Cheng's doubts are reasonable.
"Where is Wei Zili? Let him come out. Emperor Daxing will probably leave other words. Ask him!" a minister suggested.
Wei Zili and Lu Desheng were burning paper for Emperor Daxing in the main hall. The concubines were also crying in mourning. They didn't say anything and ignored all the commotion in the side hall.
Until Wei Zili was invited over.
"Wei Zili, did Huang Kao leave any evidence for his fourth brother to ascend the throne?" King Cheng asked actively.
Wei Zili lowered his eyebrows and replied calmly, "The emperor once left three secret edicts. Once these three secret edicts are published, they will be correct." It was a secret edict before, but now it has become a posthumous edict.
As soon as these words came out, everyone reacted. The will in the hands of Prince Gong was one of them? So who has the other two?
"Whose hands are the other two secrets?" Song Mo asked Wei Zili directly.
Wei Zili shook his head, "I don't know."
In other words, there are still two imperial edicts in the hands of all ministers.
The three princes at the top looked at the ministers below calmly, and the ministers also looked at each other.
Song Mo said loudly, "Fellow ministers, do you know who has the edict? Please show it."
No one moved.
"A country cannot live without a king for a day. Ministers who hold the imperial edict must not delay such an important matter for the country." Prince Gong also advised him.
The fourth prince's heart moved, and he looked at the palace attendant on the side, "Go to the main hall and invite Lu Desheng."
Everyone thought of Lu Desheng in unison. Will one of the edicts be in his hands?
In fact, they admired Lu Desheng very much. Emperor Daxing took away so many ministers this time. Everyone thought that he would also be taken away. After all, Emperor Daxing liked him so much, but he was the one who slipped through the net. The fish survived.
Then thinking about the edict that he most likely held in his hands, everyone felt sad. Emperor Daxing, how much do you love Lu Desheng? You gave him one guarantee after another, and giving him a gold medal to avoid death was not enough. , and gave him another testament... Was it because he was afraid that he would accidentally kill himself, or because he was afraid that he would not live long enough.
Not long after, Lu Desheng was invited to the side hall.
I saw him staggering in, his eyes were red, his eyelids were swollen, and his voice was nasal.
Lu Desheng opened his eyes as red as rabbits and said, "Edict? What edict? I don't know." Just now he had been kneeling to burn paper for Emperor Kang Cheng, but now he could hardly walk.
Seeing him like this, the ministers feel awkward. You are the only one who is the most pure and kind minister. Are they all so cruel?
Several princes were also uncomfortable. Lu Desheng's behavior seemed very unfilial to them.
The Queen Mother said angrily, "Lu Desheng, if the imperial edict is in your hands, take it out and don't hide it. It will delay the important matter of the inheritance of the country. Can you afford it?"
The Empress Dowager was in a very bad mood. When Emperor Daxing passed away, he did not even leave a decree for her to be favored or granted a title! She is his biological mother, yet he treats her like this! Unfilial son! Also, he took his uncle away and left the annoying Lu Desheng here to irritate her!
Lu Desheng cried out, "The Queen Mother, I really don't remember this happening." Hum, I won't take it, what's the matter?
"Why don't the Empress Dowager and your three highnesses ask the other ministers? If nothing happens, I would like to go back to the main hall and continue to mourn the emperor." In fact, he should have called the emperor Daxing, but just called the emperor cordially, as if the emperor was still there.
The Queen Mother couldn't see him like this, and immediately said coldly, "You are so reluctant to part with the emperor. The emperor was the most interested in you when he was alive. Why don't you go down and be buried with the emperor?"
Wei Zili, who had been silent until now, suddenly said, "The Queen Mother, the Emperor Daxing has left an edict. After his Daxing, no one is allowed to kill a minister in the name of being buried with him!"
Ministers:...
The Queen Mother choked even more.
The Queen Mother was slapped in the face, and the ministers quickly lowered their heads: The general meaning of this decree is that the people I want to take away have been taken away personally. After my death, you can kill anyone you want, but you cannot bury them with me. Killing in name, I won’t take the blame!
Emperor Daxing really left well prepared.
The Queen Mother became angry and said, "Go away, go to mourn the emperor!"
Lu Desheng rolled to the ground and returned to the main hall. He immediately took three pillars of incense and burned them for Emperor Kang Cheng, silently saying in his heart, "The Emperor bless the Emperor, bless the Emperor."
Several princes and ministers allowed Lu Desheng to leave the side hall because he bluntly said that he had no edict and made it clear that he would not cooperate. They couldn't force him by torture, right?
Since it is known that one of the wills is in his hands, it is important to find the other one first.
Song Mo lowered his eyes and could only ask him privately what he wanted.
The second prince and the third prince looked at each other with unclear meaning in their eyes.
Unfortunately, no matter how much they asked, another edict never appeared. As a result, things entered a subtle stage.
However, although the legitimacy of the fourth prince's succession was not confirmed because the two posthumous edicts did not appear, with the endorsement of Prince Gong and the Queen Mother, the funeral of Emperor Daxing could be organized. The funeral was presided over by the fourth prince, and the second prince and The third prince assisted.
Chang'an prison
Lin Ran and others sent the Qin family to Da'an Prison and left. Sheng Huaixing left later. He said hello to Lord Yuan Wang, the Sizhi King of Dali Temple.
Later, the Qin family was divided into two groups, men and women, and were imprisoned in two adjacent cells at the end, which were relatively quiet and clean. The jailer also brought them two bundles of straw.
"Thank you."
"polite."
Lu Songli knew that they had been taken care of.
"Let's try our best to clean up this place." Lu Songli suggested.
She is well aware of the importance of hygiene. People are most likely to get sick in a dirty and messy environment. Not to mention their female relatives, old and young, and a mother who just gave birth.
When she said she wanted to clean it up, the jailer also sent a broom.
Lu Songli did not let them do anything. As for the female relatives, Mrs. Qin was not in good health. She was probably frightened today. Her face was very pale now. She was holding her newborn granddaughter without any effort. She would not let Nie Yunniang, a pregnant woman, work. . Qin Jia pulled her sister Qin Zhen along in a sensible manner.
Lu Songli first started to clear out a relatively dry area and spread half of the straw for Nie Yunniang and Mrs. Qin to sit down and rest.
