Chapter 288 Return to the Court
When Zhao Chongxian entered the hall and saw that his father was dead, he paused slightly, then looked away, walked to the emperor and knelt down.
"Your Majesty, the rebels have all been killed outside the city, and no civilians have been harmed. Those among the Jinwu Guards who were bribed have been taken into custody and await your Majesty's disposal."
The emperor helped him up personally and said, "Chongxian, your father is confused, but you are a wise man. The prince has always trusted you, so I let the princess save you."
"Your Majesty, I will never forget your life-saving grace."
"Your father is dead, and I don't want him to be charged with treason. I will tell the world that he died saving me. You will inherit the throne, and the Prince Ping's Mansion will become the Prince Ping's Mansion from now on."
Zhao Chongxian clenched his fists, not knowing what to say for a moment.
His father did such a thing, and it was a great favor from Your Majesty that he did not implicate the entire family.
He originally thought about resigning from his official position and moving away with his family to live in hiding.
I never thought that His Majesty would reward him.
"This is the grace the prince asked for you before he left," said the emperor.
Zhao Chongxian choked up.
"I swear to be loyal to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince until death."
The emperor nodded in satisfaction and asked, "Where are the survivors?"
The King of Wu and his entourage walked out from behind the Panlong Pillar trembling with fear, and knelt in a row, not daring to breathe.
"What happened today?" asked the emperor.
Everyone looked at King Wu.
The King of Wu was under tremendous pressure and was glad that he had rehearsed in advance.
"Back...back to Your Majesty."
He seized the only chance in his life.
"Prince Shen refused to accept the throne being taken away, and harbored resentment. He secretly colluded with the remnants of the Song family, and with the help of Prince Lu and his men, they joined forces. Prince Lu was arrested for treason in Bingzhou. Prince Shen took advantage of the birthday banquet to conspire with the Prince of Lu to rebel, massacring the clan members. Prince Ping died protecting the emperor, and the Prince of Lu suppressed the rebellion."
"Thanks to your Majesty's protection, we were lucky enough to escape the palace coup. In the future, we will be loyal to your Majesty and be grateful for saving our lives."
The King of Wu knelt on the ground with his eyes tightly closed.
I have said everything that needs to be said, and I will leave the rest to fate.
He didn't know what was waiting for him next.
"You are right," the emperor laughed, "you said it very well."
"May I have your name?"
King Wu's heart almost jumped out of his chest. "Zhao Chongxiao of Zhangzhou."
"Get up," the emperor said, "you are still so young and will surely achieve great things in the future."
King Wu's back was soaked.
When he stood up, he glanced at Qu Ling.
Qu Ling nodded to him, and he felt completely relieved.
That was a close call.
"I'll have someone escort you out of the palace. Rest for a few days and then go home."
Qu Ling took out a booklet.
"Please state your names, everyone."
The surviving relatives lined up and reported the names of their fiefs one by one.
They are all powerless and have only the royal palace left.
There is no value in being wooed or exploited.
Qu Ling checked them one by one and found nothing was missed, which was great.
This birthday party ends here.
Someone will take them back to Fengzao Pavilion.
Qu Ling stayed in the palace to clean up the mess.
No matter whether it was the spies buried in the palace or the secret agents hidden outside, all of the Song family were eliminated.
The next morning at court, the emperor had not yet arrived, and only the eunuchs announced the decree.
"Emperor Daxi decrees that, at yesterday's birthday banquet, Prince Shen and his son colluded with former members of the Song family, along with members of the royal family of Prince Lu, Prince Huai, and Prince Ji, to launch a coup in Wanhua Palace, slaughtering seventeen members of the clan. The evidence is irrefutable and unacceptable."
"In this time of crisis, Princess Jia'an and Prince Ping were fortunate to have protected me and kept me safe. Their contributions are invaluable."
"In recognition of the two's meritorious service in protecting the emperor, I hereby promote the Prince of Shengping's mansion to the Prince of Ping's mansion, and let the Crown Prince inherit the throne. I also confer the title of Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince on Princess Jia'an."
The courtiers were shocked.
It is common for Prince Ping's Mansion to be named a prince's mansion.
However, the title of Prince's Junior Tutor was actually bestowed on a princess who was less than 20 years old. The emperor announced to the world that no one could shake the status of Fengzao Pavilion in the court.
The conspiracy happened too suddenly, and several old ministers were confused.
We can only ask Prince Ping who was involved and the surviving relatives.
Everyone subconsciously avoided Qu Ling.
As a result, the questions asked were the same as what was said in the imperial edict.
Everyone's opinions were surprisingly consistent.
The people discussed it heatedly for several days and found out that it was all internal fighting among the royal family.
It had nothing to do with them, so he gradually forgot about it and turned his attention to Bingzhou, fearing that a war would really break out.
Half a month later, the surviving princes were about to leave Beijing.
Before leaving, the King of Wu went to the Princess's residence and said, "I met a girl who gave me some small change. She was kind-hearted and should give it to someone who truly needs help. Please return the money and thank me on my behalf."
Qu Ling smiled and said, "Okay, I will return it to her."
Then he asked, "What are your plans after returning to your fiefdom?"
"I want to go to Bingzhou." King Wu's blood boiled.
"A man's ambition is to travel far and wide. I want to join the army to serve my country, and together with the Crown Prince, I will conquer Northern Yan and complete the mission that our ancestors failed to accomplish."
The court received military news that the prince had arrived in Bingzhou with 50,000 troops from Yunnan.
Countless aspiring young men have joined the army. You Ziyin called on merchants to donate food and clothing in preparation for the coming cold winter. The Xi Dynasty is united in hoping that the prince will return victoriously.
After King Wu left, You Ziyin went to the princess's residence one day and found out that she had given alms to the prince.
"I carry small change with me every day, and when I see someone in real need, I give some away. I never thought that one day I'd give it to someone named Zhao."
She laughed out loud.
"This little bit of silver is not enough to return to me. I heard that His Majesty gave a lot of gold and silver to the relatives who left the capital. He should give me more."
After laughing, I no longer worried about it.
On New Year's Eve of that year, the war broke out in Bingzhou.
An urgent report was sent to the capital, where Qu Lingzheng and Chi Yuan were having dinner with the emperor.
She received the military report and read it directly to the emperor.
Pei Jingming, who had been missing for a long time, finally showed up.
He sent people to infiltrate Northern Yan as early as when the emperor ascended the throne.
He had gained complete knowledge of Northern Yan's military intelligence.
This time he even went to Northern Yan in person and stole the military map.
After Zhao Yuanrong returned to Bingzhou, he took the initiative to lead an army to attack Northern Yan.
Northern Yan was beaten to the point of being on its last legs by the previous emperor. Even after so many years of recuperation, it is still far from being able to return to its former state.
With Pei Jingming's help, the battle of Bingzhou was unstoppable.
After several rounds of fighting, Northern Yan opened its borders and submitted a letter of surrender.
The emperor was so delighted that he didn't know how to praise the prince in the Golden Palace.
"...You always say my Crown Prince is a girl, saying this is not good, that is not good, but look, whose son can compare to my daughter?"
The court officials remained silent, so the emperor called out their names, "Minister of the Ministry of Rites, I heard that your son broke his leg while horse racing outside the capital?"
"This horsemanship is too poor. My daughter was able to ride a horse steadily when she was three years old."
The old face of the Minister of the Ministry of Rites turned red.
"Minister Zuo of the Ministry of Works, I heard that your son secretly ran out to drink, slept on someone else's doorstep, and nearly froze to death, is that correct?"
"Yes... yes." The Left Vice Minister of Works decided to go back and beat up his useless son again.
The emperor's amiable smile suddenly vanished.
"You always say that men should govern the country and women should take care of their husbands and raise their children."
"I'd like to ask, are the principles of this world divided according to yin and yang?"
No one dared to respond, and there was still silence in the Golden Palace.
The emperor stood up and walked down the jade steps.
"Men can take the imperial examinations and enter officialdom, while women are confined to the inner chambers, embroidering. Men can have three wives and four concubines, while women who glance at others are considered immoral. Who created these shackles? Who profited from them?"
She walked slowly among the court officials, her eyes sweeping over several old officials with indignant expressions. "You say women are inferior to men, but before us there was Ban Zhao who continued the History of the Han Dynasty, and later there was Xie Daoyun who wrote poems about catkins. Are they just fame in vain?"
"Since I ascended the throne, have I ever lost to the deposed emperor?"
Someone wanted to speak, but just as he moved his lips, he was secretly pulled back by the official next to him.
The imperial guards were just outside the palace.
The emperor's tone grew graver. "They say things like 'stay home' and 'stay out of the back door', and 'a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent.' This blinds them and blocks their path. Over time, even the women themselves have come to believe this fallacy. And then, men despise them for their long hair and lack of knowledge. Isn't this tragic?"
"I intend to establish a girls' school and select the best teachers from around the world to teach girls the classics, history, arithmetic, and the study of physics. They will study the same books and take the same exams as boys."
The emperor looked at the changing expressions of his courtiers and changed the subject. "What I want is not for women to surpass men, but for those unappreciated talents, both men and women, to serve the court and benefit the people. If women truly have advantages over men, why should they be discarded just because she is a woman?"
She spoke with undeniable pressure, "This matter has been decided. The Ministry of Rites will take the lead and work with the Cabinet to draft the regulations. Anyone who dares to disobey will know my temper."
"Your Highness obeys your command."
Qu Lingsui knelt on the ground, unable to suppress his excitement.
She once asked the emperor, since he was determined to reform, why did he only open schools for girls?
The emperor asked her in return, "A Ling, do you think those who oppose the opening of girls' schools are all men?"
Qu Ling was stunned.
The emperor taught her, "Do you think that for thousands of years, the shackles that bound women were only forged by men? Those women who have been disciplined since childhood are also stubborn obstacles."
Qu Ling was silent.
"So there's no need to be impatient," said the emperor.
"Let them study first, learn about principles, and know that in addition to needlework, there are also classics, history, and policy essays. Let those already intelligent women use the path of women's education to enter the six ministries and even the imperial court."
"I will work hard, and Yuan Rong will also work hard. When she has a child, I will let the child continue to work hard. Even if there is a break in the generation, even if there is a male emperor in the future, the world will remember that women can also study and go out of the house."
Qu Ling nodded, "Auntie, A Ling understands."
Dripping water wears away a stone, but that takes time.
In early spring, willows sprouted and cherry blossoms bloomed. Bingzhou won a great victory and the prince returned to the court with his army.
The emperor led all civil and military officials to the city gate to welcome him.
Before Zhao Yuanrong and Pei Jingming could say anything, Zhang Jing slid down to his knees before the emperor, tears streaming down his face. "I thought I would never see Your Majesty again in this lifetime..."
"You've worked hard." The emperor helped him up.
Zhang Jing was really scared.
When he killed the three kings, he felt that his life would end in Bingzhou.
The memorial submitted to the court briefly described what had happened, but the actual situation was extremely dangerous.
It was not until the prince arrived in Bingzhou that he felt alive again.
"Everyone go back and rest. I will hold a celebration banquet in three days."
The emperor announced, "The capital will be exempt from curfew for three days. Fireworks and festivals, acrobatic troupes, please enjoy yourself."
The haze that shrouded the capital was finally dispelled amid the sound of firecrackers and laughter.
The envoys from Northern Yan also returned to the court with the army.
At the morning court session after the celebration banquet, the envoy from Northern Yan came to the palace and said something that no one expected.
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