The Guangqi Change

The chill of the early morning has not completely faded away, but the courtyard deep in the narrow alley is already filled with a colder than frost. The embers in the stove are slightly warm, but they can no longer warm people's hearts.

Song Yao'er was washing dishes with cold water, her fingertips red from the cold. She watched her mother, Chen, sitting on the threshold, staring blankly at the scattered strands of twine in a broken basket. Her father hadn't returned all night. Hearing about the incident in the palace, he was afraid...

"Bang!" The courtyard door was pushed open roughly, hitting the earthen wall and shaking off the dust.

Captain Wang's greasy and somewhat impatient face appeared at the door, his face full of greed, his eyes full of lust and greed, and his small round eyes made people feel uncomfortable. Behind him were two personal soldiers holding swords.

He swept his eyes around the yard and finally landed on Song Yaoer. He looked at her with a scrutinizing look. Although Song Hu's daughter was not as pretty as a flower, she was also a bud about to blossom. He had been thinking about her for a long time, and now, hehe.

Chen suddenly woke up and found that the person who came back was not the head of the family, but someone else. She seemed to understand something.

She almost crawled to her feet: "Wang, Lord Wang, Song Hu..."

Captain Wang waved his hand, interrupting her greeting. His voice was gruff and condescending, "Song Hu is dead. Last night, during the palace riot, he followed the prince's followers into the Purple Palace and was shot dead by the royal supporters. According to the law, your family is considered a member of a rebellious group. The males will be exiled and sent to the army, and the females will be enslaved."

Overnight, the white-headed mandarin ducks flew away without their partner, and Chen lost her husband.

The bowl in Song Yaoer's hand fell into the wooden basin with a "bang", splashing cold water, wetting her lapel. A tear also dripped into the wooden basin. She had lost her father.

Captain Wang's gaze fell on Song Yao'er's pale but beautiful face again. He grinned, revealing his yellow teeth. "Since Song Hu has been with me before, I'll give you a chance to live. Why don't you just follow me? Even though you can't be my second wife in your current status, being a concubine who warms my bed is worse than dying on the road."

Song Hu is dead? Song Hu is dead! Chen opened her arms, trying to stop something, but she couldn't stop anything. She couldn't make any sound either. Without her husband, she was even more vulnerable.

"How?" Captain Wang urged.

The wind blew through the broken window frames, whimpering. No one in the room dared to stop it, allowing Song Yaoer to be bullied.

Song Yaoer raised her wet hand and sloppily wiped away the water droplets that had splashed onto her face. She raised her head, looking past Captain Wang's greasy face and towards the gray sky outside the courtyard. She said softly, "Is being your concubine a good outcome?"

Captain Wang's fake smile froze. "You don't know what's good for you! Being exiled means being shackled and flogged all the way. When you get to the countryside, you'll be worse than cattle or horses. You have no shame!"

Song Yaoer slowly shook her head, no longer looking at him, and turned to her mother: "Mom, I'm going with you. Whether it's conscription or exile, the worst that can happen is death. I'd rather die with a clean conscience than live with someone like that."

Chen couldn't hold back any longer, so she hugged her daughter and burst into tears. Her cry was hoarse and desperate, as if she wanted to cry out all her suffering. Her younger brother was frightened by the cry and started crying too.

Captain Wang spat, his face showing undisguised anger. "What bad luck! You ungrateful wretch! Just wait to be fed to the wolves in the north!"

He turned around and strode away with his personal guards.

The cries echoed in the narrow alley. This small courtyard was just a microcosm of countless corners of the capital after the earth-shaking changes last night.

"The Guangqi Change", the pen of history is as sharp as a knife. Behind these four words, there are thousands of heads falling to the ground, the scalding blood dyed the stone slabs of Caishikou red, and tens of thousands of people were strung together with iron chains, crying and wailing as they embarked on the long road to the bitter and cold desolate land.

Suddenly, the capital seemed to be ablaze with white banners, and behind the closed doors and windows of every household, weeping continued day and night. The decree had been issued for the ascension of a new emperor, and the nation was celebrating. How could funerals proceed? Were they cursing the new emperor?

The linen can only be hidden at the bottom of the box, the paper money for the sacrifice must be secretly burned in a deserted corner late at night, and even tears can only be shed when no one is around, for fear of disturbing this peaceful and prosperous era that has just begun.

Most of the people living in the houses went to the place of exile, but the Purple Palace now has a new owner.

When Captain Wang stepped out of the courtyard in his leather boots, the bells in the imperial city were ringing to celebrate the new emperor's ascension to the throne. The dragon robe that once symbolized Prince Yong had been replaced by a bright yellow dragon robe.

Emperor Guangqi Ning Yanli held Ning Chengze in his arms and walked steadily onto the Danbi, which symbolized supreme power.

He walked to the large dragon throne and lifted his son in his arms a little higher so that he could overlook the spacious and majestic hall. The child's pure eyes reflected the golden splendor and were filled with ignorant curiosity.

"Zer," Emperor Guangqi's voice was low and gentle, "Do you see? From now on, this is your position. You are the crown prince, and in the future you will be the emperor here."

Princess Yong, now the queen, stood quietly a few steps away. The gorgeous phoenix robe pressed down on her, looking a little heavy.

She looked at her husband's back as he held their son in his arms, her eyes complex and indescribable. There was a sense of relief that everything had settled, but deeper inside, there was a hint of confusion and heaviness.

After all, this road is climbed by stepping on the bones of loved ones.

Emperor Guangqi turned around holding his son and his eyes fell on the Queen's face: "This will be our home from now on. No one can drive us away."

Ning Chengze turned his little head, his clear eyes looking at his father with a childlike innocent puzzlement: "Father, where is the Emperor? Where are the Crown Prince and the others? Ze'er hasn't seen the Emperor for a long time. He gave Ze'er a little wooden horse last time, and Ze'er hasn't had enough of it yet. I want to take it to the Emperor to play with him."

The hall instantly fell into a subtle silence.

The gentle smile on Emperor Guangqi's face froze for a moment, and a hint of impatience and gloom flashed through the depths of his eyes. He was silent for a moment, his arms tightened around his son, and his voice softened: "Grandpa Emperor is ill. Very ill, and needs to rest well. From now on, father will take Ze'er to see him more often, okay? As for the Crown Prince..."

He paused, "He went to a very far place and will never come back."

Ning Chengze nodded, not quite understanding, a smile spreading across his face: "Okay, Ze'er wants to go see Grandpa Huang! Bring the little wooden horse with you!"

Emperor Guangqi hummed softly, and finally sat down on the dragon throne while holding his son. The huge chair back made his figure look even more lonely, and the child in his arms looked as small as dust.

The new emperor, holding the young prince in his arms, finally ascended the supreme throne. This throne, stained with the blood of his loved ones, felt like an inescapable curse. Could the father and son escape the bloody fate brought on by this power transition?

In the most remote corner of the imperial palace, there is a cold palace with its doors and windows closed. Outside the palace, armored soldiers stand, monitoring every move inside.

Inside the hall, the light was dim.

The deposed Crown Princess Shen, the former mistress of the Eastern Palace, was now only wearing a half-worn plain palace dress. She sat on a small stool, holding a porcelain bowl filled with a strong-smelling medicine.

On the low couch before her, curled up with a vacant, dazed young man, was the deposed Crown Prince Ning Chengji. Once a brilliant and astute heir to the throne, his mind now resembled that of a two or three-year-old, thanks to that bowl of "soul-guarding soup."

Shen scooped up a spoonful of medicine, blew on it carefully, and brought it to her son's mouth. However, Ning Chengji turned his head away suddenly, and some of the medicine spilled on his clothes.

"Ji'er, be good and take your medicine..." Shen's voice was tired and pleading.

She stubbornly scooped another spoonful and tried to feed it.

This time, Ning Chengji simply waved his hand and knocked over the spoon, and the dark brown medicine juice splashed all over Shen's hands and sleeves. The medicine in the bowl shook violently and almost spilled out.

Shen's hand froze in mid-air.

She didn't bother to wipe the spilled medicine. She just stared blankly at her son staring at the murky soup in the bowl. Then, big tears rolled down her cheeks, one drop, two drops... more and more, more and more rapidly, splashing into the bowl of bitter medicine, creating tiny ripples.

The more medicine I take, the less I take, and the more tears I cry.

This dramatic change in the palace goes far beyond this.

In another palace not far away, Concubine Jing tightly hugged her two children, the fifth prince Ning Yanhe and the sixth princess Ning Lingyao. The two children were so frightened by the solemn atmosphere in the palace in recent days that they dared not make a sound. They just snuggled in their mother's arms with their big, frightened eyes.

Concubine Jing's body was shaking uncontrollably. The new emperor's decree had not yet been officially issued to the harem, and everything seemed to remain the same as before.

But she knew that it was just the calm before the storm. The bloody purge of the previous dynasty had already loomed over their heads. It might be okay for others, but she had a prince!

The hanging knife may fall at any time. Their existence itself is the "remnants" of the new dynasty. Will the new emperor let his younger brother go?

She doesn't know.

Even if there is an imperial edict to cover up the shame, everyone knows that the new emperor, like the deposed crown prince, is also plotting to usurp the throne. Will he allow his younger brother to live?

She really doesn't know.

At lunch time, the palace maid placed the food box on the table and left. The dishes looked no different from usual, and there were even a few snacks that children liked.

Concubine Jing glanced at the bowls and dishes vigilantly, pulled out a plain silver hairpin from her bun, and carefully touched the tip of the hairpin over each piece of food.

When the tip of the hairpin was pulled out from a bowl of seemingly clear soup, the shocking black color instantly pierced Jingpin's last bit of hope.

"Ah!" She accidentally dropped the silver hairpin to the ground, making a crisp sound.

"Mother?" Ning Yanhe called timidly.

Concubine Jing rushed to the table and used all her strength to overturn the entire table!

"Crash!" The cups, plates and bowls were smashed to pieces, soup and dishes splashed all over the floor, emitting a mixed smell, and the exquisite snacks rolled in the dust, covered with filth.

The two children were frightened by this sudden change and burst into tears.

Concubine Jing had no time to comfort them. She fell to the ground, looking at the mess on the floor and her crying children. Could it be that the new emperor really could not tolerate them?

What kind of name would be given to them, and what would be the reason for them to die? She didn't know.

"Let's go, let's go!" She struggled to get up, hugged Ning Lingyao tightly with one hand, and held Ning Yanhe's little hand tightly with the other hand.

"Let's go to Xuehan Palace and look for Concubine Yu!"

She dragged her two frightened children and stumbled out of the palace gate, heading towards Xuehan Palace. Like a moth to a flame, she plunged into the unfathomable shadows of the palace.

Behind him, only the mess was left, indicating that the harem of this new dynasty was far from seeing the true dawn, or perhaps there had never been a dawn.

No one knows what it will take for the new emperor to feel completely at ease.