Chapter 43043 Can I grant you a marriage with Anle?
Prince Zhangren died just like that, and Xu Dong was a little stunned.
Dong Xiong was also confused when he reacted. The series of events tonight really caught him off guard.
He subconsciously looked at Xie Zhan, only to see that he had a calm expression, showing no emotion at all.
"My Lord...My Lord, what should we do?" Dong Xiong looked at Xu Dong standing beside him, and had a vague guess in his mind.
Only when the soldiers captured the people who shot the arrows did they find that they had all bitten their tongues to commit suicide. When they pulled off the black veils, they found that they were faceless corpses, who were carefully trained assassins.
Now they are all dead and there is no evidence to prove anything.
Xu Dong said, "What can we do? He's just a bandit. Did the governor really believe his nonsense and think he was Prince Zhangren?"
"This, this, I dare not."
Xie Zhan dismounted and ordered, "Whether it's true or not, go and take off the mask and find out the truth."
Xu Dong clenched his fists, his heart suddenly in his throat. He rode over and watched from afar as the soldier removed his mask, the torches illuminating a terrifying face.
There was hardly a single good spot on his face, so it would be difficult for an unfamiliar person to recognize him.
Xu Dong said, "I was wondering how it could be Prince Zhangren? How could we recognize him after he's been burned like this? It would be more prudent to have him buried now."
Xie Zhan glanced at Xu Dong and said, "Commander Xu, you are mistaken. It is possible that Crown Prince Zhangren was killed in a fire and his face was burned."
"Plus, Crown Prince Zhangren is Your Majesty's nephew and the Empress Dowager's grandson. Even if there are doubts about his identity, how can we be so hasty and rash in our conclusion? In my opinion, it would be better to carry his casket back to Chang'an in an ice coffin and let Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager make the final decision. What do you think, Commander Xu?"
Xu Dong was choked back by Xie Zhan's words.
He thought that the person was already dead. Even if his identity as Prince Zhangren could be confirmed, what damage could his confidants who had just fled in panic do?
Xie Zhan should have known better. With the death of Crown Prince Zhangren, he had no choice but to be loyal to His Majesty. If he didn't surrender his military power immediately and opposed His Majesty, what good would he gain?
If the king wants his subject to die, the subject must die.
Xu Dong immediately waved his hands and said in a gruff voice, "I will follow Lord Xie's advice. If this man is truly Crown Prince Zhangren, he cannot be buried hastily."
Dong Xiong looked at the women, children and youngsters in the village with a headache, then turned to ask Xie Zhan, "Lord, what do you think...what should we do with these people in the village?"
Xie Zhan said solemnly, "Are all the people in this village present?"
Someone replied, "Just now a child said that a boy of five or six years old is missing from the village."
Xie Zhan's expression was stern. "Go and bring the person here. I will personally handle the matter."
After a while, a beautiful woman in her thirties came forward tremblingly, hugging a little boy. When she saw Xie Zhan, she knelt down and begged for mercy.
The soldier said that this was the wife of the village chief and her biological son.
Xie Zhan looked down at the mother and son from above, his gaze settling on the trembling child. "Let me ask you, just now you said there was a boy missing from the village. Who was he?"
The beautiful woman did not want to get involved in the affairs of the court. Her husband was dead, and she just wanted to live with her son.
She was afraid that her son would say something out of turn, so she immediately covered his mouth and looked at Xie Zhan: "The child is ignorant, he is talking nonsense. I hope Lord Xie will spare our lives."
"I'm asking about him." Xie Zhan said in an unhappy tone.
The son of the eldest son is naturally a bully, not to mention that he has long disliked Chen'er. It was his father who asked him to flatter him every day. Now he just hopes that the official in front of him can catch him back.
He pointed at the body of Prince Zhangren on the ground and said loudly, "It was him. He was the one who picked up the boy. Everyone in the village knows it."
"Are you sure he's only five or six years old?"
"I'm sure he doesn't look as tall as me."
Xie Zhan frowned. The son of the former Crown Prince Zhangren of the Eastern Palace had been five or six years old when he perished in the flames along with his mother. It seemed that the missing child was definitely not the grandson of the former Eastern Palace Emperor.
Today, Prince Zhangren deliberately went to die again. Xie Zhan didn't believe that he didn't have a backup plan, nor did he believe that he would take in and raise a child for no reason. Otherwise, there would be no need for him to bring him here with such fanfare to perform this drama.
Xie Zhan's eyes were gloomy, and his thin lips were stretched into a straight line.
He suddenly realized that this Prince Zhangren had left him with a big problem. If Emperor Yonghui did not have the imperial seal as he said, then where was the real imperial seal?
Just because of his father's death, Xie Zhan had to jump into this pit.
That night, Crown Prince Zhangren left him only one sentence: "Emperor Yonghui was ambitious and murdered his brother to seize the throne. The night he sent people to burn down the Eastern Palace, I heard Wu Wende's name from them. As for what I said tonight, whether you believe it or not is entirely up to you, Lord Xie."
Wu Wende was his father's most trusted deputy general. Xie Zhan also called him Uncle Wu. Therefore, although he suspected that his father's death was caused by a traitor in the army, he never suspected Wu Wende.
On the night of the battle, Wu Wende blocked the knife for his father and lost both legs. So he let him return home early to retire.
Xie Zhan's eyes turned cold, and when he returned to Chang'an, he sent people to the countryside to find him and ask him for the truth.
As for the child who escaped, he was indeed a nuisance. Xie Zhan sneered inwardly, thinking that Prince Zhangren was guarding against him. Everyone in the royal family was truly calculating.
Seeing Xie Zhan's terribly gloomy face, Dong Xiong lowered his voice and asked again, "My Lord, what should we do with the people in this village?"
Xie Zhan said in a stern tone, "The Governor has been an official in Qingzhou for many years. Does he need my advice on this? Men in the village, investigate everyone's life history. Anyone who has committed a crime in the government office will be dealt with according to the law. As for the women who were abducted, if they want to return home, send someone to return them. If they are homeless or unwilling to return, give them some money or find a job to make a living."
"Hey, thank you for your kindness." Dong Xiong nodded hurriedly. It was always right for him to flatter others.
Xu Dong fell into deep thought because of the escaped child.
When the women in the village heard what Xie Zhan said, they bowed their heads in gratitude. They just wanted to live a good life.
After a lot of trouble, dawn had already broken.
Xie Zhan and others returned to the governor's mansion. He just closed his eyes and put on his clothes when he heard Han Ting's urgent report.
"My Lord, something bad happened outside."
The cause was a farmer in the suburbs outside Qingzhou City. When he got up early to harvest in the fields, he found that the large meteorite that had stood in the village for a hundred years had cracked a small crack.
As he approached carefully, he saw a deer with a missing horn suddenly appearing from the crevice. The farmer immediately exclaimed that it was a punishment from heaven, meaning that the incumbent's "position and salary were incomplete."
This meteorite is well-known throughout Qingzhou. It's said to have been gifted by the gods a hundred years ago to protect Qingzhou. The meteorite's appearance now must be a sign of divine displeasure and punishment.
In a short while, children in the streets and alleys began to sing folk songs, implying that Emperor Yonghui's throne was not legitimate and his official position was incomplete.
At this point, Xie Zhan finally knew what backup plan Prince Zhangren had.
When the folk rumor reached Xu Dong's ears, he was so angry that he sent people to deal with it, but the other party would soon come back again and be unstoppable.
Before Xu Dong's carrier pigeon reached the hands of Emperor Yonghui in Chang'an, the folk songs in Chang'an were becoming more and more enthusiastic.
The news that Emperor Yonghui killed his brother to seize the throne and then killed his nephew spread like wildfire in Chang'an, and more and more civil and military officials questioned the imperial seal in his hands.
For several days, Emperor Yonghui was overwhelmed by the ministers in the court. Fortunately, he did not see the body of Prince Zhangren. He was afraid that the "rumors" would be suppressed by him with thundering means. His ears were finally quiet, but he was so anxious that he could not sleep well for several nights.
Princess Shoukang, the mother-in-law of Crown Prince Zhangren, heard about this and immediately submitted a petition to the palace. However, Emperor Yonghui dismissed her with a few words, saying coldly, "My sister, you must know that the dignity you enjoy now is all given by me."
After returning home, the prince consort also advised her, "True or false, things have come to this point, what can you do? You still have to live your life."
Princess Shoukang fell to the ground, tears streaming down her face.
Her poor daughter, even if she wanted to avenge her, she was afraid she couldn't.
The suffocating Emperor Yonghui emerged from the secluded Empress Dowager's palace, his fatigue swept away. That night, he entered the harem again after a long absence and went to the Shufei Palace.
Before going to bed, Emperor Yonghui patted Concubine Shu's hand and suddenly said, "Anle is already grown up. It's time to find a consort. I think Marquis Xie is young and promising, very good. Why not set a date for the wedding early and have them get married before next summer? What do you think, Concubine Shu?"
Concubine Shu's body stiffened. How could she dare to say no?
She knew that Emperor Yonghui was anxious and afraid because of the recent rumors. He was so anxious and afraid that he ignored his previous considerations about the power of the foreign relatives and wanted to quickly marry his daughter off to win over Xie Zhan through an alliance. Even the wedding date was so hastily arranged.
Her happiness eventually became a sacrifice to the royal family.
Emperor Yonghui also instructed: "When Anle marries, my beloved concubine, tell her to control her temper and give birth to a child for the Xie family as soon as possible."
Concubine Shu nodded softly.
The rumors in the streets and alleys outside naturally reached Yun Sheng's ears through Ah Xi's mouth.
Ah Xi sighed and said, "Madam Yun, you said that person wouldn't really..."
"Shut up. No matter what, those things are not something you and I should discuss. Be careful of what you say." Yun Sheng interrupted Ah Xi.
Ah Xi looked around and patted his chest in fear.
Yes, even if... even if it is true, Prince Zhangren is really dead this time, who else can sit on the throne except Emperor Yonghui?
Ah Xi leaned over again and murmured to himself, "Madam Yun, if we calculate the date, the Marquis will be back soon, right?"
Yun Sheng's hands froze and she looked dazed.
Yes, Xie Zhan is about to return.
On the day Xie Zhan and his party returned to the city, the first snow of this winter quietly arrived in Chang'an. They braved the snow and carried the coffin of Prince Zhangren into the palace for an audience. Emperor Yonghui personally welcomed him in the Taiji Hall with all the officials.
As soon as he saw the coffin, he stumbled down the steps and touched it, weeping uncontrollably: "My poor nephew, if you hadn't perished in the fire, how could you have been so cruel as to delay seeing your uncle? Now that we are separated forever, I regret it, I regret it so much. Rest assured on your journey to the underworld, I will give you an explanation."
Xie Zhan watched coldly as Emperor Yonghui wept, expressing his deep affection for his uncle and nephew. He reminded him, "Your Majesty, don't be anxious. It's better to see the body first."
Emperor Yonghui wiped his tears and said, "It was my negligence."
He raised his hand, and two young eunuchs came forward to open the coffin. A strange smell of decaying corpses immediately filled the hall.
Although the weather was getting colder and the place was kept cold, the corpse had been kept there for more than half a month, so it was inevitable that there would be a smell. Everyone subconsciously covered their faces.
An old minister stepped forward fearlessly, but when he saw the burnt face in the coffin, he immediately burst into tears.
The empress dowager, who rushed over, lay beside the coffin and cried inconsolably.
She was the biological mother of the late emperor and the grandmother of Crown Prince Zhangren.
When the ministers saw her crying like this, what was there for them to not understand?
Emperor Yonghui also said in grief: "Although Crown Prince Zhangren's face was burned beyond recognition, his eyebrows and eyes are so similar to those of the late emperor that they cannot be faked. I will posthumously confer a title on him and bury him with honor."
He paused, then turned to ask about the deaths of Xie Zhan and Xu Dongzhang, the Crown Prince.
Xu Dong stepped forward first and said, "Your Majesty, I beg for your condolences. I've recently discovered that those faceless warriors bore the markings of another major stronghold in Qingzhou. This leads me to suspect that the two strongholds have a long-standing feud, and perhaps they went seeking revenge that night, leading to the death of Crown Prince Zhangren by the other's arrow."
An imperial censor stepped forward and refuted, "I think this is inappropriate. The resurrection of Crown Prince Zhangren was already full of doubts, and now he has been murdered again. How could such a murderer be raised by ordinary bandits? Therefore, I implore Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate the case of Crown Prince Zhangren."
He paused, then couldn't help but speak, "Prince Zhangren once said something. I believe Your Majesty should give you an explanation. The broken meteorite in Qingzhou City is a warning from heaven. In my opinion, Your Majesty should take out the imperial seal and let everyone see it. This will help to appease the ministers."
The old censor's words were almost a direct questioning of Emperor Yonghui's ascension to the throne, implying that his throne was not legitimate.
Emperor Yonghui's face turned pale and he was furious. "How dare you believe these rumors?"
"If your Majesty has a clear conscience, just ask someone to bring it to us for inspection. The imperial seal cannot be handled carelessly." The censor stood straight and pressed the emperor.
The empress dowager, having cried for a long time, wiped her face. She stood beside Emperor Yonghui and said sternly, "What do you mean, censor? My second grandson did not rebel in the past. It was only thanks to Your Majesty's heroic rescue that the late emperor entrusted the throne and the country to you before his death. I was by his side before he passed away, so the imperial seal cannot be fake. I am the late emperor's biological mother, how could I possibly fake it?"
As she spoke, she looked back at the coffin and burst into tears, "As for my poor grandson, he may have escaped that night, but the fire burned all night, and I'm afraid he was unconscious. Otherwise, why didn't he return to the palace to see me and Your Majesty? So how can we take Prince Zhangren's nonsense seriously? I think someone is deliberately trying to sow discord among the royal family and turn the court upside down."
The Queen Mother's words did reassure many people.
But the old censor had always had a stubborn and stubborn temper. He said bluntly, "If I don't see the imperial seal today, I will die in this palace. Even if I die admonishing you, I'm willing to do it."
Emperor Yonghui pointed at his hand and shook with anger.
Xie Zhan said coldly, "Your Majesty, since the censor is so stubborn and reckless, why not lock him up in prison and let him practice meditation for a few days?"
The censor blew his beard and glared, and cursed and scolded Xie Zhan harshly, saying that he was not worthy of being a grandson of the Xie family and was not as elegant as the old marquis.
Emperor Yonghui suddenly calmed down and said, "Come here, let's do as Marquis Xie says."
Minister Lu looked at the censor with wide eyes and shook his head unhappily.
What a foolish old man! Didn't he see that Marquis Xie was protecting him? He couldn't just let this old man crash into his head and die in vain, which would be exactly what Emperor Yonghui wanted.
Emperor Yonghui hadn't expected what Xie Zhan would say today. His eyes flickered slightly, and he patted his shoulder, smiling and saying, "Mr. Xie is a man of both civil and military talents, a true pillar of the nation. While all the officials are here today, may I grant you and Anle a marriage?"
There was an uproar in the hall.
Did Emperor Yonghui finally compromise?
Xie Zhan's expression froze. He cupped his hands and said, "Princess Anle is as precious as gold and jade, the apple of your majesty's eye, and she is in her prime. I, however, am already approaching thirty, and I am truly unworthy of the princess. I hope your majesty will revoke your decision."
Emperor Yonghui looked displeased. "Why? Xie Qing doesn't want to be my son-in-law? Or are you going to disobey my order?"
Minister Lu looked at the coldness on Xie Zhan and couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat for him.
Fortunately, after a moment, he only heard him say: "I dare not, I obey your order."
On the way out of the palace, the fierce aura around Xie Zhan became even stronger. He had a tense face and looked uneasy.
Minister Lu took in his expression and leaned over to say, "The princess's appearance isn't unparalleled, but she's also stunningly beautiful, no less so than Madam Yun. How could the Marquis be so displeased? She's just a woman. Marry her, and a woman should obey her husband. Once she marries, she's a member of the Xie family. So what's the problem with the Marquis marrying her?"
He spoke incessantly, "Your Majesty's expression just now nearly frightened me to death. Fortunately, you still had your wits about you and didn't disobey my order, thus delaying our work. You agreed to this temporary solution. Royal weddings are complex and will take at least a year or six months. Your Majesty, please bear with me for now."
Minister Lu was talking until his mouth was dry and his tongue was dry, but Xie Zhan remained silent.
An idea struck him, and he pricked up his ears and asked, "My Lord, are you afraid that Madam Yun will be jealous and upset? Are you thinking about how to comfort her later?"
Xie Zhan paused.
Would she really be jealous and act like a spoiled brat?
At this moment, Yun Sheng was following Old Lady Xie and others to welcome Xie Zhan, the head of the family, at the gate of the Duke's Mansion.
The snow was falling heavily, and by the time Xie Zhan rode back home, many snowflakes had already fallen on his shoulders.
Xie Zhan's gaze inadvertently first went to Yun Sheng. She had her hair in a bun and a white cloak draped over her plain skirt, which made her look even more gentle.
Yun Sheng's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and her clear eyes met Xie Zhan's dark eyes.
After not seeing him for over a month, she inexplicably developed a sense of strangeness.
Thinking of the imperial edict that Emperor Yonghui was about to issue, Xie Zhan pursed his lips, remained silent for a few breaths, and then withdrew his gaze from Yun Sheng.
He felt a little nervous for no reason.
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The author has something to say: Ahhhhh sorry, I'm half an hour late, I've been too busy lately, tomorrow's update will be at 6pm [burst crying][burst crying][please][please]
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