Chapter 401

Emperor Jianyuan, Xie Linyang, fell seriously ill and remained unconscious, refusing to attend court for several days.

The ministers were discussing the matter with great concern, and when they all went to the palace to visit him, they were all stopped by Eunuch Shunfu.

Shunfu Gonggong still insisted on Emperor Jianyuan's wishes and not to reveal the reason for his injury.

Besides the fact that the emperor's decree could not be disobeyed, he also did not want Princess Zhaohua to be attacked by the crowd.

Although he was not from the previous dynasty, but was promoted by Emperor Jianyuan, no one could bear to see a beauty like Princess Zhaohua suffer.

The ministers were in a state of panic. Those with younger relatives in the palace sent their wives to inquire about the situation, but of course, there was still no news.

Prince Yi, Zhu Mingsi, looked at the intelligence report handed to him by his subordinate, a cryptic smile playing on his lips.

He just found the situation somewhat interesting, and also somewhat strange.

Would someone who rebels and ascends to the throne value emotions more than the throne? So much so that even if his life is threatened, he would still keep a beautiful woman by his side?

He never expected that Xie Linyang was such a romantic.

Zhu Mingsi was the only prince of the Dayong Dynasty who did not share a royal surname.

He was also the greatest contributor to the founding of the Great Yong Dynasty.

Of course, he was not a former official of the previous dynasty.

Zhu Mingsi deserves a large part of the credit for Xie Linyang's successful rebellion.

Did Zhu Mingqi not want to be emperor himself?

Perhaps he didn't want to at first, but after the founding of the People's Republic of China, as Xie Linyang regarded him as a thorn in his side and wanted him dead at all times, he started to think about it.

Given his achievements and influence in the court, the relationship between him and Xie Linyang was a life-or-death struggle.

If Xie Linyang's power wasn't insufficient, and if there weren't another force in the court, Xie Linyang would have already taken action against him.

It can be said that the current court is barely maintaining stability, entirely due to the checks and balances among the three forces.

Emperor Jianyuan was on one side, Prince Yi was on another, and the other side consisted of the former officials of the previous dynasty.

This is a hidden danger left over from the founding of the country.

During the transition of the dynasty, Xie Linyang did not purge those powerful families, which made the transition less bloody but also made it more difficult for him to seize power later.

However, Zhu Mingsi knew that these former officials of the previous dynasty did not actually want to rebuild the Great Sheng Dynasty; they simply wanted to supersede imperial power.

They didn't care who became emperor.

The so-called "ironclad aristocratic families, but ever-changing emperors" is a metaphor for the ever-changing imperial families.

"Hmph," Zhu Mingsi sneered.

However, the appearance of this former dynasty princess is about to stir up trouble.

"Your Highness, Su Yanqiu, the compiler Su, requests an audience."

A voice came from outside the door. Zhu Mingsi put down the letter in his hand and replied, "Come in."

Yesterday, he received a gesture of goodwill from the newly appointed top scholar, Su Yanqiu. He didn't know what this person wanted from him, but he knew that Princess Zhaohua was Su Yanqiu's widowed sister-in-law.

Feeling that things were getting more and more interesting, Zhu Mingsi turned his head and met the gaze of Su Yanqiu, who was walking into his study.

Both of them were unassuming individuals. Prince Yi possessed a powerful aura and held considerable power, while Su Yanqiu had also grown rapidly. Despite being a newcomer to officialdom, he had already learned the true skills of those old foxes.

After Rong Rong was arrested in public that day, Su Yanqiu finally learned Rong Rong's identity.

Princess Zhaohua.

It is indeed valuable and sensitive.

The pearl of Dasheng was lost among the common people and was found by his elder brother by chance. What kind of fate is this?

Rong Rong should have lived a carefree life, but her country was destroyed, her family was destroyed, and she was even kidnapped by the enemy. How heartbroken Rong Rong must have been.

Su Yanqiu regretted not being careful enough. He should have found out Rong Rong's identity sooner, so he could have stayed away from the capital or made sufficient preparations before entering the capital.

They wouldn't have ended up in this situation.

Who in this world is more powerful than the emperor? How can he rescue Rong Rong, who has fallen into the emperor's hands?

The thought of what Rong Rong might have gone through caused Su Yanqiu immense pain.

At this moment, he had long forgotten about the hierarchy between ruler and subject; all he wanted was for Rong Rong to be happy and free!

He approached Prince Yi because he wanted to board Prince Yi's ship and rescue Rong Rong.

The meeting between the two was kept very secret. Apart from Zhu Mingsi's confidants, no one knew that the top scholar had visited Prince Yi's residence that day, and no one knew what the two had discussed.

In short, after returning home that day, Su Yanqiu found that there were many more friendly colleagues around him.

There are also superiors who value him.

The memorial recommending him was also sent to the palace, but unfortunately Emperor Jianyuan was still in a coma, so he had to wait.

Zhu Mingsi felt that Su Yanqiu's identity was very useful. Su Yanqiu and Princess Zhaohua had a past relationship. As long as Princess Zhaohua said a few good words, Emperor Jianyuan would also give Su Yanqiu an important position and treat him as a confidant because of Princess Zhaohua.

Furthermore, Su Yanqiu himself is quite extraordinary; even without his help, it's only a matter of time before the other party is promoted.

However, what he found even more interesting was that Su Yanqiu was willing to risk rebelling for Princess Zhaohua.

Su Yanqiu could have easily gotten promoted and made a fortune, but he insisted on saying he was rescuing Princess Zhaohua and getting on his big ship.

This behavior, this choice, is simply incomprehensible.

This also made Zhu Mingsi realize that Princess Zhaohua was probably not so simple.

Zhu Mingsi merely thought about it for a moment, perhaps subconsciously becoming wary of Princess Zhaohua.

But he had many other things to do and soon forgot about Princess Zhaohua.

After some time, Emperor Jianyuan finally woke up, his injuries were brought under control, and the morning court resumed as usual.

Su Yanqiu was also promoted smoothly.

As the top scholar in the imperial examination, it's understandable that he was the first to leave the Hanlin Academy.

But his promotion after only three months still shocked many people, especially Wang Chen, Su Yanqiu's classmate.

Wang Chen also passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi, but he did not enter the Hanlin Academy.

However, he had the financial means to stay in the capital.

He knew that Su Yanqiu would be extraordinary in the future, but he did not expect Su Yanqiu to rise through the ranks so quickly.

He guessed there was something going on, but he didn't understand the specific reason. He had gone to Su Yanqiu's house to inquire about the situation, but unfortunately he didn't get any useful information.

However, Su Yanqiu's sister-in-law was not seen; it seemed she was not at home.

Wang Chen couldn't help but feel some concern for such a memorable beauty.

When Rong Rong saw Xie Linyang again, she found that he was much weaker and more haggard, and had become increasingly abnormal.

The imperial edict appointing Rong Rong as empress has been issued, and the Phoenix Seal has also been placed in Rong Rong's hands.

However, no coronation ceremony was held.

The reason was that Xie Linyang was unwell and he didn't want others to see Rong Rong.

He felt his possessiveness towards Rong Rong growing stronger, and at the same time, he became increasingly self-conscious when facing Rong Rong.

No one in the court objected to Emperor Jianyuan's decision not to hold a ceremony to officially recognize Princess Zhaohua as Empress. However, some people felt that without the ceremony, Princess Zhaohua's position as Empress would be undeserved.

It will be much simpler to abolish the empress in the future.

They were too happy to care that Emperor Jianyuan's behavior was against the rules.