Chapter 112: Deposed Emperor Becomes a Slave (3)
3
At the palace banquet, the Regent of Northern Zhou and the Imperial Tutor of Southern Xia sat together. Both of them were handsome and pleasing to the eye.
It's just that their power is too strong, like two living devils.
Even the protagonist Yuwen Zan is just a young man who has just started out. In front of them, he has to bow his head and lower his eyes to show respect.
There was silence in the hall, and Yuwen Zan bowed and saluted.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhu Qingchen said calmly, "Get up."
"Thank you, Grand Tutor." Yuwen Zan just stood up, and the next second, a dark shadow rushed in from the palace door, stumbled and fell at Yuwen Zan's feet.
He didn't control his strength well, and with a "thump", he almost knocked Yuwen Zan out.
Chen Xun hugged his legs, calling out "Your Highness" in a mournful voice, his voice full of tears.
Yuwen Zan, however, had no sympathy. He raised his head and looked around, and when he met Zhu Qingchen's half-smile, he just felt ashamed.
So embarrassing!
He originally thought that with his status, it would not be difficult to ask the Emperor of Southern Xia for a eunuch.
If the emperor doesn't give it, it means he is narrow-minded.
Who knows...
People did give it to him, but only because he apologized and "begged earnestly."
He still hasn't realized why Zhu Qingchen asked him to apologize and he was being led by Zhu Qingchen.
Chen Xun too, cried like this in front of so many people.
Yuwen Zan has begun to regret. Just for such a pretentious eunuch, he offended the Emperor and the Grand Tutor of Southern Xia, and made everyone laugh at him. Was it worth it?
Yuwen Zan retracted his feet, but Chen Xun clung to him tightly as if he was his last straw and refused to let go.
Yuwen Zan's expression changed and he whispered, "Let go, Chen Xun, let go!"
Chen Xun naturally refused.
This was his last chance. If he missed it, he would really be exiled to the northwest.
"Your Highness... I beg Your Highness to have mercy..."
Yuwen Zan turned his head and saw Zhu Qingchen supporting his head, still looking at him with a half-smile, and he felt angry.
Yuwen Zan gritted his teeth, his tone a little fierce: "I asked you to let go, Master Zhu has already given you to me, what does it mean to cry?"
When Chen Xun heard this, he raised his head in a daze and looked at him blankly: "Really?
? "
At this time, Eunuch Cheng smiled and said, "It seems that your Highness and Chen Xun have a close relationship. When Chen Xun saw your Highness, he couldn't even walk."
Yuwen Zan knew that he was mocking him, and raised his head suddenly, but did not dare to say anything more.
He could only vent his anger on Chen Xun. He gritted his teeth and squeezed out a sentence: "Let go immediately, thank His Majesty and the Master, and try to howl again."
Chen Xun then wiped away his tears, stood up, saluted the emperor and Zhu Qingchen, and choked up and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you, Master."
Zhu Qingchen ignored him and just waved his hand to Yuwen Zan: "Since Your Highness likes him, take him away quickly. Your crying is giving me a headache."
The meaning of disdain is obvious.
Yuwen Zan’s face turned pale, he grabbed Chen Xun’s wrist and took him away.
The envisioned "hero saves the beauty" did not happen as planned, and the "poor little thing" instantly turned into an annoying person who held the team back.
The more Yu Wenzan looked at those tears, the more annoyed he became.
He returned to his seat, waved his hand, told Chen Xun to find a quiet place by himself, picked up the wine glass, tilted his head back and drank it all.
Zhu Qingchen raised his glass to him.
No matter how reluctant he was, Yuwen Zan could only put on a smile and nod.
Chen Xun wiped away her tears, calmed down her mood, and went up to Yuwen Zan, picked up the wine jug, and poured him some wine.
He knew in his heart that he had completely offended all the people of Xia Kingdom. Fortunately, when Yuwen Zan entered the palace a while ago, he got in front in order to get a reward and got close to Yuwen Zan.
When Yuwen Zan returns to Northern Zhou, he will follow him back. It is better than being a eunuch for Xiao Cheng'an here.
Chen Xun sniffed, made up his mind, and continued to pour wine for Yuwen Zan, explaining softly: "I was so happy just now that I didn't react for a while. Your Highness, please don't be angry with me. I am grateful to Your Highness in my heart. As long as Your Highness gives me something to eat and drink, I will be satisfied."
Hearing him say this, Yuwen Zan's over-inflated self-esteem was satisfied, and his expression relaxed a little.
At the banquet, musicians and dancers re-entered the hall, and everyone started talking, but the atmosphere was no longer as lively as before.
Zhu Qingchen propped up his head sleepily, lowered his eyes, and tapped the table lightly with his fingertips.
Suddenly, a guard came up behind him, whispered in his ear, "Young Master."
Zhu Qingchen came back to his senses and responded, "Hmm?"
The guard glanced at Yu who was sitting next to him.
Wen Shu was a little hesitant.
Zhu Qingchen said: "The Regent is one of us, it doesn't matter."
The guard lowered his voice and said, "The deposed emperor is dead."
Zhu Qingchen turned his head slightly and asked again: "Dead?"
"Yes, the guards went to deliver food just now and found him dead."
"How did he die?"
Just as the guard was about to speak, Zhu Qingchen quickly picked up the last cherry on the table and ate it: "Wait a moment."
He was afraid that he couldn't eat, so he finished his meal first.
Zhu Qingchen swallowed the food, and Yuwen Shu patted his back to help him calm down.
"Now you can tell me."
The guard said, "We were originally following the young master's instructions to deliver him a meal every day to keep him alive. But he suddenly went crazy during the day. One moment he said a ghost was chasing him and wanted to kill him, and the next moment he grabbed a mouse and wanted to throw it to the ground, saying..."
"say what?"
"He said this was the young master, and he wanted to throw him to death."
Yuwen Shu beside him clenched his fists. Was the deposed emperor mentally ill? Did he want to throw Zhu Qingqing to death?
Zhu Qingchen didn't care and laughed: "That's all he is capable of. What happened next?"
"It wasn't a big deal in the first place. We didn't report it today because it was a good day. But after dark, he became even crazier. He cried and shouted that the ghosts came to find him again. He was no longer the emperor and his dragon energy was useless. He insisted that we come to find the young master and said some extremely treasonous words."
Zhu Qingchen probably understood the logic of the deposed emperor.
The deposed emperor had done too many bad things and harmed too many people. He was afraid that these people would come to seek revenge on him, so he comforted himself by saying that he was the emperor and had dragon energy to protect him, so ghosts could not do anything to him.
As a result, Xiao Cheng'an ascended the throne today, and Daxia had a new emperor. He was no longer the emperor, and he was suddenly overcome by fear.
Those outrageous words he said were probably meant to get Zhu Qingchen to help him take the position.
The guard said, "We thought of asking the imperial physician to come and see him, but when we came back after a while, we saw him lying on the ground motionless. The imperial physician came to see him and found that he was running around in the dark room and stepped on the dead mouse and fell to his death."
This is such an undignified way to die.
The guard finally asked: "Young Master, look..."
"Just burn it..." Zhu Qingchen paused, then changed his words, "I'll go ask His Majesty later."
"yes."
Xiao Cheng'an ascends the throne today, and he should no longer be the cowardly and weak King Kang of the past.
This is the first thing he encountered after ascending the throne. Let him try to handle it himself.
The banquet was dull due to the disruption by Yuwen Zan and Chen Xunyi, and it was time to end it.
Zhu Qingchen raised his glass to Xiao Cheng'an. Xiao Cheng'an understood and waved his hand to end the singing and dancing. He raised the wine cup and finally drank a glass with all the court officials.
The courtiers stood up and bowed, saying, "We will take our leave."
Xiao Cheng'an looked at Zhu Qingchen and said, "Master, please stay. I have two articles that I am not very clear about."
Zhu Qingchen bowed and said, "Yes."
*
After the banquet, Zhu Qingchen and Xiao Cheng'an held hands and walked side by side on the palace road.
Eunuch Cheng and his attendants followed at a distance behind.
The night wind was slightly chilly, blowing towards me, blowing away the smell of alcohol on my body.
Zhu Qingchen briefly explained the death of the deposed emperor and asked, "In your opinion, Your Majesty, what should we do?"
Xiao Chengan said, "Didn't the teacher agree with the Wei family a while ago to hand over the deposed emperor to them for disposal? Then give it to them."
Zhu Qingchen explained, "But he is the deposed emperor after all, and also your majesty's elder brother. They were so angry before that they only thought about revenge. Now that they have come to their senses, they are a little scared."
"General Wei has been busy preparing for His Majesty's coronation ceremony, and Wei Yuan has been busy writing articles, so they haven't come for a long time. If anyone comes, they just send someone to sound me out."
They were also worried that the emperor and his brother had a deep brotherly love, or that the emperor would doubt their family's loyalty because of this incident.
If they can torture the deposed emperor today, maybe they can also depose the new emperor tomorrow?
Xiao Chengan was not annoyed, he just said: "What are you talking about? Since we agreed to let their family deal with it, then naturally let them deal with it. How can I settle the score later? Besides, he did those things, and he is hated by both humans and gods. Death is the cheapest thing for him."
Zhu Qingchen nodded and continued, "But it's better for us to handle it here, so as to avoid the Wei family being panicked."
"Then..." Xiao Cheng'an hesitated for a while, "It's not a good idea to leave his body exposed in the wilderness. It would be even more troublesome if someone recognized him."
Zhu Qingchen frowned and looked at Xiao Chengan seriously.
This kid, would he be soft-hearted again and want to hold a funeral for the deposed emperor?
His soft-heartedness is really...
Xiao Chengan said seriously: "Teacher, just burn him."
Zhu Qingchen blinks
Blinking, he came back to his senses: "Okay."
I'm sorry, the teacher misunderstood you and you are not soft-hearted.
It would be best to burn it. Zhu Qingchen once poisoned the deposed emperor, and we don't know the extent of the poisoning. It would be bad if it was thrown around and spread everywhere.
Zhu Qingchen nodded: "Teacher asked the guards to do it."
"By the way, teacher." Xiao Cheng'an paused and then said, "Have all the bones found in the royal temple been buried?"
Zhu Qingchen sighed: "It took the coroner more than half a month to finish burying most of the bodies."
Xiao Chengan asked: "Then...did their families come to pick them up?"
"The body was so old that it was difficult for the coroner to identify the body. Interrogating the monks and eunuchs also yielded no results. I asked the government to bring out the household registration books to check if there were any people who had disappeared in the past few years. After a long search, I only found four or five households."
"Some of these four or five families have moved away, while others refused to accept reality. When the government officials came to their homes, they simply drove them away. Now their bodies are resting in my house."
Xiao Cheng'an thought about it, and finally said: "Then send them to the palace."
Zhu Qingchen was a little surprised: "Huh?"
Xiao Chengan said seriously: "I will build a Buddhist temple for them in the palace to place their remains, and then set up memorial tablets for them, so that they can have a place to rest."
Zhu Qingchen asked: "Do you mind?"
"The teachers don't mind, so I certainly don't mind leaving them at home. Besides, this is what I'm supposed to do."
"It's good that you think so, but you don't owe them anything. The deposed emperor owes them."
"I know." Xiao Cheng'an nodded. "Although I can't make up for it, I still want to try my best to give them a place to rest. I will ask someone from the Ministry of Rites to come and take a look tomorrow to see if there is a suitable place."
"Okay." Zhu Qingchen had no objection.
Not long after, the two of them returned to Changqiu Palace.
Xiao Cheng'an still had some memorials to review, so Zhu Qingchen had to cheer up and accompany him.
The two men sat down at the desk. Eunuch Cheng served them sobering tea, put it down quietly, and then stepped aside to grind ink.
Xiao Cheng'an spread out the memorial and picked up the pen to dip it in ink.
Zhu Qingchen propped up his head and watched boredly from the side.
Not long after, Xiao Cheng'an found the peace negotiation documents submitted by the Northern Zhou Dynasty.
As soon as he saw Bei Zhou, Xiao Cheng'an thought of what happened at the banquet again.
When he thought about what happened at the party, he became furious.
Xiao Chengan slammed the table and slammed the pen on the table: "When did Chen Xun hook up with Yuwen Zan? I originally thought he was just a petty thief, who knew he would be so bold and dare to collude with the enemy!"
"The peace talks between the two countries haven't even been concluded yet, but he dared to openly quarrel with the prince of the enemy country in the palace and revealed the palace's affairs to the prince of the enemy country. I'm so angry! I'm so angry!"
He said "I'm so mad" twice, and it seemed that he was really angry.
When the deposed emperor was in power, he was licentious and immoral, and the eunuchs were also lawless and ambitious. The palace and the court seemed peaceful on the surface, but in fact, they were like a sieve, and everyone wanted to get a piece of the pie.
Such a little girl like Chen Xun can actually be so smart.
One can imagine how powerful the other eunuchs in the palace are.
Xiao Cheng'an said to Zhu Qingchen, "Teacher, we have to send someone to keep an eye on Yuwen Zan and Chen Xun. Also, not only the palace maids around me, but all the palace maids must be screened, and the imperial guards must also be disrupted and rearranged. This kind of thing must not happen again!"
Not only was he angry, but he also thought about the interests behind it. Zhu Qingchen was very relieved: "It's good that you can think of these things. Go and make arrangements yourself first, and then find the teacher if you have any problems."
Xiao Cheng'an was still angry, and said to Eunuch Cheng: "I'll leave the palace affairs to you. Promote a few steady and honest eunuchs to be the chief stewards, and screen all the people in the palace."
Eunuch Cheng accepted the order: "Yes."
Xiao Chengan thought for a moment and said, "There's also Yuwen Zan, he doesn't look ordinary either, we have to be careful of him."
"Hmm... Hmm?" Zhu Qingchen was a little confused, his eyes wide open, "Your Majesty, don't you feel pity for him?"
This is what is written in the original book.
Xiao Cheng'an felt that Yuwen Zan was very pitiful, and often brought him food and drink, and saved him when he was in danger.
Xiao Chengan was puzzled and asked, "Why is he pitiful? He can bring people to my Great Xia, and dare to walk around in the palace of another country at will, and ask me for people all the time. How can he be pitiful when he acts like a matter of course?"
Zhu Qingchen nodded: "That's right."
Yuwen Zan has not been a hostage yet and has not been bullied, so it is normal that Xiao Chengan does not feel pity for him.
"Does the teacher think he's pitiful?" Xiao Cheng'an was a little confused and asked pitifully, "Compared to him, I'm more pitiful, right?"
Zhu Qingchen smiled and put his arm around his shoulders: "You are more pitiful. You should be more compassionate to yourself.
Only when you live well can you have the energy to care for others. "
To love others you must first love yourself. Zhu Qingchen does not advocate the situation in the original book where Xiao Chengan helps others even though he cannot take care of himself.
Xiao Chengan was happy now. He happily walked up to the teacher and took a look at the peace negotiation documents on the desk.
The conditions discussed by Zhu Qingchen and Yuwen Shu were all mutually beneficial treaties and there were basically no problems.
only--
Xiao Chengan saw the middle one and couldn't help but frowned: "Teacher, why is there another one about exchanging protons? Does the Northern Zhou want to keep Yuwen Zan as a hostage?"
Zhu Qingchen nodded: "Well, throughout history, when two countries negotiate, they will send hostages to each other to ensure that neither side breaks the agreement."
Xiao Chengan frowned, hesitating: "But on our side..."
Zhu Qingchen encouraged him: "It's okay, this point can be discussed again, Your Majesty can say whatever you want to say."
Xiao Chengan thought for a moment and said, "I don't have any brothers or sisters alive anymore. If I just pick someone and send him as a hostage, leaving his homeland... I can't bear to send anyone."
"Well, what else?"
"Also, I think Yuwen Zan is not a suitable candidate for a hostage. He is arrogant and he dared to threaten me for a eunuch at the palace banquet. If I let him stay, I am afraid that many problems will arise again."
"But since I already know that he has bad intentions, if I let him go, wouldn't that be like letting a tiger go back to the mountain? It's better to keep a close eye on him so that we can be on guard."
“It’s a bit hard to choose.”
"Oh, right, teacher." Xiao Cheng'an suddenly remembered something, "Is the regent afraid of Yuwen Zan, so he deliberately gave him to us? Then we can't accept this hot potato."
"Ah?" Zhu Qingchen was stunned.
Not really.
But as the main villain, the Regent must raise this matter and go through the process.
This matter is a bit complicated, and Xiao Chengan couldn't make up his mind for a moment.
"What did the teacher say?"
"Your Majesty has considered it very comprehensively. I think so too. Why don't you go to court tomorrow and let other court officials speak out? Your Majesty can listen to other people's opinions."
Zhu Qingchen didn't care about the proton issue.
Whether he stays or not, he is sure that he can control Yuwen Zan. Now he just wants to train Xiao Chengan's abilities.
As an emperor, sooner or later you have to learn to listen to the opinions of different ministers.
Xiao Chengan nodded: "That's fine."
"Okay, then this matter is settled." Zhu Qingchen stretched lazily, "Your Majesty has been tired all day, go to bed early."
Xiao Chengan looked down at his clothes and said, "I'll read for a while and then go to sleep."
He ascended the throne and wore the emperor's clothes, and the feeling was completely different.
What was lacking in the past decade or so must be made up as soon as possible.
Zhu Qingchen was very pleased to see that he was eager to learn: "It's okay, you will go to court tomorrow and the teacher will accompany you. Go to bed early and get enough rest. The most important thing is to stay alert."
"Yeah." Xiao Cheng'an nodded obediently.
*
The next morning, it was just dawn.
Xiao Cheng'an got up early, washed up simply, changed into court clothes, and put on the crown.
Just at this time, Zhu Qingchen, also wearing official uniform, came out from the side hall.
Xiao Cheng'an was still a child of fifteen years old, with a small stature, and wearing heavy and complicated court robes, as if he was stealing adults' clothes.
His face, hidden by the crown tassels, was slightly stern. When he saw Zhu Qingchen, he quickly opened the tassels and greeted him, "Teacher."
Zhu Qingchen nodded slightly: "Well, let's go."
This time, Zhu Qingchen deliberately stood still and waited for Xiao Chengan to walk in front before following him.
This was Xiao Cheng'an's first time attending court.
The eight doors of the hall were all opened wide, and the open space from the hall to the outside was filled with court officials.
As Eunuch Cheng drew out the words "Your Majesty has arrived", all the court officials bowed and saluted, shouting in unison: "Long live His Majesty!"
Zhu Qingchen followed Xiao Cheng'an and walked through the court officials.
Xiao Cheng'an ascended to a high position, and the other three ministers of state—
The Duke of Zhenguo, the Duke of Weiguo and the Duke of Fuguo all stood in the front.
Zhu Qingchen turned his head, smiled at them quietly, and then prepared to stand with them.
But as soon as Xiao Cheng'an ascended the throne, he turned around and looked at Zhu Qingchen with a puzzled look.
Why doesn’t the teacher come up with me?
Zhu Qingchen also looked confused. What was he doing?
Xiao Cheng'an did not sit down on the dragon throne, but pointed to the comfortable seat next to the dragon throne.
This is the seat I specially prepared for the teacher. Why doesn’t the teacher come up and sit with me?
At this time, Zhu Qingchen also understood.
He even thoughtfully prepared a seat for the teacher.
Bias
At this time, the system was still fanning the flames in his ear: "Minister, you have gone from being a powerful minister to a queen mother minister who rules the country from behind the curtain."
"Shut up." Zhu Qingchen frowned slightly and waved his hand at Xiao Chengan.
Just sit down and stop messing around.
Well, Xiao Chengan had no choice but to purse his lips and sit down.
After they sat down, he said, "No need to be polite, everyone."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." All the court officials stood up.
Xiao Chengan paused and said, "The former emperor was licentious and immoral. When I first ascended the throne, I felt deeply that people's livelihood was difficult. I discussed with several important ministers a few days ago. Within three years, farmers' taxes will be exempted and merchants' taxes will be reduced by 30% so that the people can rest and recuperate."
The ministers bowed and saluted: "Your Majesty is kind and benevolent, and it is a blessing to the people."
"This matter must be announced to the government and the public. No one may violate the rules and increase taxes. In addition, the government must encourage the people to cultivate and reclaim wasteland. Once the people reclaim wasteland and the government approves it, the land will belong to the people. This law will be implemented for three years to see the effect."
"yes."
Xiao Cheng'an also announced several new policies for recuperation and restoration, all of which had been discussed previously with several important ministers.
Seeing that he was really determined, the court officials also became enthusiastic and presented memorials to the emperor one after another.
"I have three new policies."
"I also have five new policies."
Eunuch Cheng walked among the court officials, collected the memorials, and placed them respectfully in front of Xiao Cheng'an.
Xiao Chengan simply glanced at it and said, "Thank you for your hard work, my dear ministers. I will check it carefully when I get back."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Xiao Cheng'an cleared his throat and said solemnly, "The Northern Zhou delegation came to Daxia to seek peace and not to start a war for ten years. I have read the peace documents they handed over. There is only one point that I am unsure about, so I would like to ask you, my dear ministers."
The ministers hurriedly saluted: "We dare not."
Xiao Cheng'an looked at them seriously and said, "Northern Zhou is willing to use the fifth prince Yuwen Zan as a hostage. What do you think?"
The faces of the ministers changed and they began to talk about it.
"this……"
"Is there a trick? Could it be..."
"This Yuwen Zan is not a good person. He was so rude at the palace banquet last night."
The Duke of Zhenguo was the first to object, saying loudly: "Your Majesty, I once had a brief fight with this Fifth Prince on the battlefield. He is a sinister and cunning man and cannot be trusted!"
Old Censor Chen also said, "Your Majesty, the Northern Zhou emperor passed away not long ago, and several princes have been fighting each other. It is all up to the regent to stabilize the situation. Now the regent has proposed to use Yuwen Zan as a hostage. Maybe he wants me to let Daxia contain Yuwen Zan."
"In ancient times, when sending hostages, the emperor's beloved sons were always sent, so that they could play a restraining role. This Yuwen Zan is insignificant, and the regent of the Northern Zhou Dynasty does not value him. There is no point in sending him as a hostage."
"In addition, if we leave Yuwen Zan as a hostage, I'm afraid Yuwen Zan will bear a grudge against Daxia and bite back in the future, which will be disadvantageous to Daxia. At this time, we can just sit back and watch the fight between the tigers. There is really no need to get involved."
That makes sense.
The court officials all stepped forward one after another: "I second the motion! I second the motion!"
Xiao Chengan nodded: "I understand what you all think. In this case, Master..."
Zhu Qingchen stepped out and said, "I am here."
"After the court is dismissed, please go to the post house and discuss the issue of hostages with the regent again. Both countries will not send hostages."
"Yes." Zhu Qingchen bowed, "I obey your command."
It’s better not to send a hostage, otherwise it would be annoying to see Yuwen Zan living in the palace.
Directly cut off his chance of contact with Xiao Chengan and eliminate future troubles.
Let's leave Yuwen Zan to the villain. !
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