Chapter 81 Yang Guifei (XI) Illness

Flowers fell all over the ground. Lin Jiaojiao was squatting in the courtyard sweeping the petals. Her fingertips were stained with some golden petals, and her nose was filled with a sweet fragrance.

Ling said yesterday that she would bring some new flower seeds today. She wanted to clean up the garden so that she could plant some hardy wintersweets. Then she could enjoy the plum blossoms and listen to the snow with him in winter.

"Madam, someone is coming from the palace!" The voice of the captain of the guards came from the gate of the villa with a hint of urgency. Lin Jiaojiao's heart tightened, and she put down the broom and walked quickly - someone coming from the palace at this time was probably for urgent matters.

Two eunuchs from the Eastern Palace stood at the door, their expressions respectful. "Madam, several veteran officials from the front courtyard are in the Eastern Palace seeking an audience with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. His Highness has sent a servant to invite you in, saying they have something important to discuss."

Lin Jiaojiao was stunned for a moment. An old minister wanted to see her, and he wanted her to come through? She glanced back at the unswept osmanthus flowers in the courtyard, touched the jade pendant in her collar, and said softly, "Please wait a moment, eunuchs. I'll change my clothes and come right back."

After changing into a simple and elegant skirt, Lin Jiaojiao got into the carriage, feeling very nervous. She didn't know what the old ministers were discussing, nor did she know why they wanted her to pass. She could only pray silently that nothing unexpected would happen.

When the carriage entered Chang'an City, she drew aside the curtains and saw that the streets were busier than usual, but there were few smiles on the faces of the people. She thought it was because of the flood in the south of the Yangtze River this year, and the relief food and money had not yet arrived, so everyone was worried.

Outside the East Palace study, several old officials dressed in court robes stood, all of them gray-haired and beardless. Among them was the former Crown Prince Li Ying's teacher, the Minister of Rites, Lord Zhou. Seeing Lin Jiaojiao approach, Lord Zhou was the first to bow and said, "Madam, I have long heard of your great name. I have invited you here today to discuss important matters. I hope you will not be offended."

Lin Jiaojiao quickly returned the greeting: "Master Zhou, you are very polite. I wonder what important matter you gentlemen want to discuss with me and His Highness?"

As he was speaking, the study door opened and Ling walked out, his expression calm but with a hint of majesty: "Jiaojiao, come in. The gentlemen are here for the sake of the court. We have no ill intentions."

Entering the study, Lin Jiaojiao discovered a memorial on the table, densely signed with signatures, headed by Lord Zhou's handwriting. Ling picked it up and handed it to her, "Take a look! This is a joint petition signed by all the senior officials, requesting Your Majesty to abdicate and allow me to ascend the throne early to stabilize the government."

Lin Jiaojiao took the memorial, her fingertips trembling slightly - persuading the emperor to abdicate, this was a huge matter. She quickly scanned the content, which was nothing more than "Your Majesty is old and lacks energy", "The prince is wise and has the support of the people", "I earnestly request Your Majesty to abdicate to bring peace to the world", and so on. At the back were the names of more than 20 court officials, almost covering the main officials of the six ministries.

"Your Highness," Lord Zhou stepped forward, his tone earnest, "Your Majesty has recently issued another decree to build a new palace and has also requested the transfer of 500,000 taels of silver from the treasury, saying it is for the construction of the 'Yuhua Pavilion' for the beauty. The floods in Jiangnan are still raging, and the soldiers on the frontier are short of food and clothing. If this level of extravagance continues, the treasury will sooner or later be empty. Your Majesty has no other choice but to come up with this idea of ​​persuading you to ascend the throne. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

Ling nodded, his eyes darkening. "I understand Lord Zhou's intentions, but abdication is a serious matter. His Majesty may not agree. If it causes unrest, it would be bad."

"Don't worry, Your Highness!" Minister of War Zhao said quickly, "The Imperial Guards and the Thousand Oxen Guards have expressed their willingness to support Your Highness. As long as Your Highness agrees, we will go to the palace to see His Majesty. Even if His Majesty disagrees, we can make him understand that the current court situation is no longer under his control!"

Lin Jiaojiao looked at Ling, her heart filled with worry. "But... Your Majesty is the Emperor after all. If I force him to ascend the throne, won't he be known as someone who's forcing the emperor to abdicate? That would be bad for His Majesty's reputation."

Ling held her hand and patted it gently. "I understand your concerns. In fact, I have already made up my mind. We should not rush to persuade him to ascend the throne. Instead, we should have Lord Zhou and the others enter the palace to refute the idea of ​​the cultivation palace. Then, we should report the disaster relief in Jiangnan to His Majesty in detail and see his reaction. If he still refuses to change his mind, it will not be too late to raise the issue of abdication."

The old ministers nodded one after another, and Lord Zhou said, "Your Highness has considered everything carefully. We will follow your arrangements, but Madam..." He looked at Lin Jiaojiao, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself.

Ling understood what he meant and said softly, "If you have anything to say, just say it."

"That's right." Lord Zhou paused, his tone becoming more cautious. "Your Highness and Madam's relationship isn't questioned. Your Majesty's invitation to join the monastery was facilitated by your Majesty under the pretext of 'praying for blessings,' not a true cancellation of the engagement. Your Highness might deliberately use the fact that Madam hasn't officially returned home to incite criticism from the court officials by alleging that Your Highness 'privately took in a monastic and disregarded etiquette,' in order to incite criticism from the court officials. It would be better to allow Madam to temporarily return to the Zhongnan Mountain villa, and then, after Your Highness ascends the throne, bring her back to the palace as 'Empress,' so that she can be brought back to the palace in a legitimate capacity and avoid giving Your Majesty any leverage."

Lin Jiaojiao felt relieved. It turned out that the old ministers were not worried about "ethics", but about Tang Xuanzong's difficulties. She was about to speak, but Ling held her hand first: "I understand your concerns. Okay, I will make arrangements for these."

Mr. Zhou quickly bowed and said, "Thank you for your help, Madam."

After the old ministers left, only Lin Jiaojiao and Ling were left in the study.

Ling hugged her and said softly, "His Majesty caused you to suffer so much in the temple because of his own thoughts. Now I will never let him use 'rituals' as an excuse to keep you hiding."

Lin Jiaojiao leaned in his arms, feeling at ease. She knew that Ling was not only planning for the political situation, but also clearing her name and preventing her from bearing any unwarranted "criticism".

In the afternoon, news came from the palace.

After the old ministers entered the palace, they rejected the order of the Xiuxing Palace in front of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, and presented the account book of disaster relief in Jiangnan.

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was so angry that he slammed the table and scolded his old ministers for being "evil-minded", but no one dared to agree with him. In the end, he could only leave in anger and lock himself in the bedroom without even having dinner.

When Ling received the news, he was planting wintersweet seeds with Lin Jiaojiao. He put down the small shovel in his hand, and a sneer curled his lips. "He's only angry now, but it's too late. When he forced you to enter the temple, how could he not have imagined this day would come? Zhao Heng, go and make arrangements. At tomorrow's morning court, have the Minister of Revenue present the treasury's income and expenditure ledgers, and have the Minister of War discuss the situation on the border. I want everyone to know who is in control of the government now."

The captain of the guards agreed and left. Lin Jiaojiao looked at Ling and whispered, "Will His Majesty really make a fuss about my case? Should we have Zhao Heng prepare some evidence in advance?"

"No need." Ling shook his head. "No one listens to him now, even the court officials. Even if he mentions you, it will only make people dislike him more. Gao Lishi will keep an eye on him and won't let him cause any trouble."

At the next morning court session, Ling sat in the main seat of the East Palace, looking at the memorials submitted by the court officials. Most of them were about disaster relief and border defense. No one mentioned the matter of the cultivation palace again.

The Minister of Revenue presented the national treasury account book, which showed that the national treasury had a considerable deficit, all due to Emperor Xuanzong's extravagance in recent years. The rewards given to his new favorite beauties alone accounted for 30% of the national treasury expenditure.

In front of the court officials, Ling issued an order: "From today on, all unnecessary expenditures will be suspended. The money saved will be used for disaster relief and border defense. In addition, the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau will stop producing luxury goods and instead produce cotton clothes to send to the border for the soldiers to spend the winter."

The court officials all bowed and said, "Your Highness is wise!"

After the morning court session ended, Ling had just returned to the East Palace when he received a message from Gao Lishi - Emperor Xuanzong of Tang did not sleep all night last night, and when he woke up this morning, he suddenly felt dizzy. The imperial physician said it was due to "excessive worry and blood attacking the heart", and he has been bedridden.

Ling put down the news and said to Lin Jiaojiao, "It seems that we don't need to mention the matter of abdication. He knows that he can't hold on any longer."

Lin Jiaojiao's heart tightened: "His Majesty... Is he... okay?"

"Don't worry, he won't die." Ling's tone was calm. "The imperial physician will take care of him. I've already told Gao Lishi not to let anyone near the bedroom, lest anyone take the opportunity to sow discord. When he recovers, he'll naturally understand that abdication is his only option."