Chapter 540: The Crown Prince’s Wedding
The Crown Prince suddenly fell ill, scaring all the servants in the East Palace out of their wits and wishing they could just fall ill and be done with it.
The recent situation in the imperial court is extremely difficult. The hearts of the servants are in turmoil, as if they are being fried in a frying pan.
For the Crown Prince's wedding, quite a few princes and royal family members came to the capital in compliance with the imperial decree. To most of them, as long as they were members of the Li family sitting on the throne, it didn't make much difference... In comparison, they were more willing to "follow the trend" and support the Crown Prince.
As for starting an uprising in their own name, it is not that they do not want to, but very few of them have the capital to do so.
After the empress ascended the throne, in order to prevent the power from falling back into the hands of the Li family, she had wantonly demoted and killed Li clan members, so there were very few Li clan members who held actual military power. This time, Fanyang King Li Fu was able to cause such a mess, in the final analysis, it was only with the help of Fanyang Army Duan Shiang.
In today's Dasheng, most local military power is in the hands of the Jiedushi.
There are now ten military governors in Dasheng, and six of them are entering the capital this time.
The remaining four people who have not arrived include the governor of Longyou Road. Longyou is responsible for fighting against the northern barbarians. For not being able to enter the capital, the governor of Longyou sent a letter to the capital to apologize. He explained in detail why he dared not leave his post. Now that the war has started again in the north, the court cannot blame him for anything for the time being.
Another point is that although the Jiedushi of Longyou had not arrived yet, the Jiedushi of Shuofang, who was adjacent to Longyou and in charge of Guannei Road, had already arrived in Beijing early. This move also alleviated some of the court's suspicions about the northern forces to a certain extent.
In addition to the Jiedushi of Longyou, others who also did not enter Beijing included the Jiedushi of Huainan Road, the Jiedushi of Shannan West Road, and the Jiedushi of Qianzhong Road.
At this time, there seemed to be a reasonable explanation for why the Huainan Circuit Jiedushi Chang Suining had not entered the capital - he was ordered to send troops to Luoyang.
However, many people in the court felt that there was something fishy about this so-called "order from the emperor". They knew nothing about this matter beforehand, but they heard that this order was a secret order from the emperor...
A few days ago, the Holy Ce Emperor had confirmed this matter through the mouth of the Crown Prince - the governor of Huainan Road, Chang Suining, had indeed gone to Luoyang to quell the rebellion in accordance with the emperor's order.
This made many officials feel conflicted. From their respective standpoints, at such a critical juncture, some of them hoped that Chang Suining could quell the rebellion of Prince Fan Yang, but they were also worried that Chang Suining would grow rapidly again as a result.
After all, that little girl's ambition for power was evident from the moment she volunteered to be the governor of Jiangdu.
But now that crises are everywhere, the most worrying thing is not Chang Suining...
Shannan West Road is only a few hundred miles away from the capital, but its governor has never entered the capital. The reason given was that "there are many civil unrests and it is impossible to leave without permission"... There is already a perfunctory tone in his words.
The reason given by the governor of Qianzhong Road did not have much sincerity. He claimed that he was seriously ill and unable to travel long distances.
What is disturbing is that Qianzhong Road is just south of Shannan West Road. The two roads are closely adjacent to each other, and they both used excuses to refuse to enter the capital. Almost no one would believe that the two military governors did not conspire or collude in private.
The Jiannan Road, located to the west of these two roads, is where the Palace of Prince Rong of Yizhou is located.
If we add Jiannan Road, these three connected roads will cover most of the territory in the southwest of Dasheng...
It is inevitable that some people in the court are suspicious. I am afraid that Qianzhong Road and Shannan West Road have already secretly surrendered to Prince Rong's Mansion.
The prince's wedding was like a fire, which spread across the prairie wherever it went, burning away all cover-ups and revealing the true face.
But what surprised the court was that the Jiedushi of Jiannan Road came to Beijing... just five days ago.
The Palace of Prince Rong of Yizhou is located in Jiannan Road. Since the situation has gradually become clear, in the eyes of most people, it has been tacitly accepted that the Jiedushi of Jiannan Road is under the command of Prince Rong.
The governor of Jiannan Road came to Beijing alone, which caused different speculations everywhere.
The reason why everyone was paying special attention to the actions of the southwestern military governors was that all their attention was ultimately focused on Prince Rong. Prince Rong, who had previously said that "Li Yin would definitely come", sent someone to the capital four days ago with a letter of apology.
The official from Prince Rong's Palace who came to report the news presented a letter of apology to the Crown Prince during the morning court session. This letter of apology was written by Li Yin himself. It said that on the way to Beijing, he passed through Shannan West Road and encountered a military riot. He was seriously injured and could not continue on his journey.
When the prince heard this, he was already feeling uneasy.
The official of Prince Rong's mansion then passed on the message that Prince Rong felt deeply guilty about this and that when his injuries healed a little, he would personally go to the capital to apologize to the emperor and the crown prince.
The prince was sweating profusely, his lips were trembling, and he almost blurted out "How dare I?"
Regardless of whether Prince Rong was injured or not, how could he dare to ask Prince Rong to personally apologize to him! The prince, who was not sensitive to political struggles but very sensitive to danger, was so frightened that he dared not speak.
It was Ma Xingzhou and Wei Shuyi who took over the words of the official from Prince Rong's Palace and maintained the situation and dignity for the prince.
Then, the prince heard that after King Fanyang occupied Luoyang, he sent proclamations to all parties, and there were even signs that he was going to send troops to Henan Province...
The prince's eyes went dark and his head was buzzing.
Shannan West Road, Qianzhong Road, Rongwang Mansion...
King of Fanyang, Luoyang, Henan Province...
The former is in the southwest of the capital, and the latter is in the northeast of the capital... If either of them attacks, the capital will probably be finished! The prince felt infinite fear in his heart, but he had to face the ministers' discussions every day, and he had to follow the instructions of the Holy Ce Emperor to win over the Jiedushi and the royal family who came to the capital...
This tense and busy situation continued until the day before the wedding, when the ministers were willing to let the prince prepare for the wedding.
After being released, the prince finally got briefly relieved from the tension, but his body and mind suddenly collapsed together.
He had a high fever since the afternoon, and when he was dazed by the fever, he would suddenly scream, "Don't kill me!"
The palace servants were silent as a mouse, trembling with fear, not daring to answer, let alone hide anything, and quickly reported the matter to Ganlu Palace.
Recently, the Holy Ceremonial Emperor has also been ill.
Unlike the previous news that the emperor was seriously ill, this time the emperor was really sick.
Not many people knew the inside story, but Wei Shuyi was one of them. He knew very well why the emperor fell ill - the secret decree sent to Jiangdu had been tampered with, and the eunuch who delivered the decree was killed by Chang Suining with a sword.
After the news reached the capital, the emperor fell ill.
The imperial physician diagnosed that it was caused by heart disease and depression.
Wei Shuyi could only offer one consolation: "... Envoy Chang Jie still only claimed to be following the emperor's orders to quell the rebellion, which shows that he still has the overall situation in mind."
The Holy Cemeter Emperor sighed barely perceptibly, his voice was unusually weak: "The overall situation in her mind is not my overall situation. The room she left was not left for me."
Ashang knew clearly that this was the time when she needed him to stand by her side the most.
She set up a plan with the prince's wedding, hoping to gather power from all sides and test their hearts, but Ah Shang simply drew his sword to refuse, and went straight to Henan Road, with a determination that he didn't even want to look back at his mother.
Does Ashang really hate her so much?
The moment this thought came to his mind, the Holy Cemeter Emperor closed his eyes and did not let himself be too immersed in it.
"Well, let her go." The empress finally said: "Now at least Henan Road and Luoyang have Ashang's protection, I can concentrate on dealing with Prince Rong's party..."
At this point, the situation is very clear.
"Even if the governor of Jiannan Road came to Beijing as a trick of Li Yin, I still have five governors available." The emperor's voice regained its former majesty and fearlessness: "Wait for me to eliminate these people with disloyal intentions one by one..."
More than ten years ago, she was able to eliminate all those who coveted the throne, and she can do it now as well!
By then, even if A Shang still didn't want to stand with her, it would be a matter between them as mother and daughter... inside and outside are always different.
Wei Shuyi stood there with his eyes lowered, but his mood was unusually heavy.
The Empress is decisive and has always been courageous, but the current situation...
Wei Shuyi privately believed that, today, what could determine the direction of the overall situation was perhaps not the struggle for power, but the will of the people of the world...which was precisely what emperors had never valued the most.
Wei Shuyi once tried to discuss this issue with Ma Xingzhou, attempting to get the prime minister Ma, who was most trusted by the emperor, to give some advice, but Prime Minister Ma just sighed deeply.
It’s not that Ma Xingzhou hasn’t tried to persuade him.
Now that things have come to this, there is no room for so-called "sudden awakening"... The empress has no way out, and as the emperor's confidants, they have no choice.
At this time, regardless of the chances of winning the overall situation, there was another question that weighed heavily on Wei Shuyi's mind -
The emperor's words just now meant that he should just follow Chang Suining and she needed to stabilize the situation first...
If there really comes a day when only mother and daughter are left confronting each other, and if Chang Suining still refuses to be obedient, what will the emperor do?
This was not something Wei Shuyi could ask rashly, but when he just thought about it in his mind, he felt an endless chill.
Perhaps, in the eyes of the emperor, this is also a duty of being an emperor?
Half an hour later, when Wei Shuyi was about to leave, a palace maid from the East Palace came over. The maid knelt down tremblingly and explained that the prince had suddenly fallen ill.
The prince had a high fever and was even delirious...
Wei Shuyi's mind froze for a moment, and an idea immediately flashed through his mind - perhaps, there is a possibility that the wedding will be postponed tomorrow? But in just a moment, he realized that this idea was unrealistic, at least it was definitely not within the emperor's consideration.
In the eyes of the Emperor of the Holy Ce, the prince's wedding date is no joke. If news of the prince's illness suddenly spreads at this time, it will only exacerbate the unrest among the people, and the forces gathered in the name of the prince will probably be shaken again.
What does it matter if he falls ill? Compared with the overall situation, what does a mere Li Zhi matter? Li Zhi represents only an identity, and she needs Li Zhi to use this identity to fulfill the role that the prince should perform.
The Emperor of Shengce immediately ordered all the doctors of the Imperial Hospital to go to the Eastern Palace and told them to use whatever means necessary to ensure that the Crown Prince successfully completes the wedding procedures tomorrow.
Wei Shuyi bowed silently and slowly left the Ganlu Hall.
That night, no one in the East Palace dared to relax for a moment.
The doctors tried almost all methods of reducing fever on the prince. Finally, they used acupuncture and injected strong medicine until after midnight, and finally they managed to make the prince wake up temporarily.
The moment the Crown Prince regained consciousness, a palace servant relayed the Holy Spirit's message to him: "Your Highness, please be careful tomorrow and do not lose your dignity as the Crown Prince in front of all the officials..."
After his fever subsided, the prince, whose inner clothes were soaked with cold sweat, nodded tremblingly: "Please report to the saint, I will be vigilant and cautious..."
The process of the prince's wedding is extremely complicated, especially the countless rituals of kowtow to the heavens, the earth and the ancestors.
Wei Miaoqing was wearing the heavy wedding dress of the Crown Princess and did not dare to breathe the entire time, for fear that she would make a wrong step.
However, she secretly glanced at the prince beside her and found that his forehead was covered with cold sweat. Although he was trying to remain calm, it was not difficult to see that he was more nervous and uneasy than her.
In such a comparison, Wei Miaoqing felt that she seemed quite outstanding. In such a grand occasion, she was even more calm and composed than Li Zhi, who had been the crown prince for many years.
Thinking of this, Wei Miaoqing felt much more calm.
Moreover, she had been forced to rehearse the wedding process these days, which really built up her physical strength. After most of the day, although she was so hungry that she could eat a pig and a cow, she was not so tired that her body was about to fall apart.
After all the procedures were finally completed, Wei Miaoqing sat on the sedan chair and was carried to the East Palace.
The Holy Ce Emperor, who had not appeared in public for a long time, hosted a banquet in the Hanyuan Hall for all officials, princes, and governors of various regions. The sickly look on the emperor's face was seen by everyone, which confirmed his previous claim of illness.
At the banquet, the Emperor of Holy Ce had many words of deep concern to the Crown Prince, and asked the Crown Prince to show respect to all the officials.
Although there was no explicit statement, every move revealed the signs of giving up the throne to the crown prince.
Everyone saw it and had their own thoughts.
Princess Xuan'an's gaze fell on the prince who was toasting, but she only sighed in her heart that this child who was pushed to the top of the whirlpool was just a poor creature.
Only after the banquet was over did the prince return to the East Palace accompanied by a group of eunuchs.
When Wei Miaoqing heard the noise outside, she quickly withdrew her hands that were rubbing her belly, which was so hungry that it couldn't be flatter, and folded them gracefully on her knees.
After the prince came in, under the guidance of a female historian, he drank the wedding wine with Wei Miaoqing.
The whole process was finally over here. After paying their respects, the palace maids and eunuchs retreated outside to stand guard.
The room suddenly became uncomfortable with its silence. Wei Miaoqing, who was sitting beside the bed, turned to look at Li Zhi, only to see him sitting there with his jaw clenched, not moving at all.
Wei Miaoqing looked away in confusion, and after enduring for a while, he finally turned around and asked, "Your Highness the Crown Prince..."
However, before she could finish her question, she saw Li Zhi's figure suddenly sway, and he fell down with a "thump".
Wei Miaoqing screamed and stood up suddenly, bewilderedly saying: "Your Highness...what happened!"
She quickly bent over to help Li Zhi up, and said incoherently: "If this gets out, the censors will probably impeach me for being a husband-killer... This is my first day in the palace, please don't harm me!"
She hadn't even had time to step into the palace fighting gate, and the big cake she promised to her friends was just about to be put into the furnace. She couldn't just fall like this! "Hey!" Wei Miaoqing tried to shake him, but saw that Li Zhi's eyes were closed, and he was obviously unconscious.
The palace servants outside heard the noise and quickly rushed in.
Good night~
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