Chapter 438: Ascension to the throne
Pretending that Emperor Yucheng was seriously ill and placing him under house arrest would be fine for a few days, but if it lasted for too long, some people would naturally become suspicious and use this as an excuse to attack the crown prince. This was not a long-term solution.
Xiao Yunshuo originally wanted to force Emperor Yucheng to personally write an abdication edict and give up the throne voluntarily.
However, Emperor Yucheng never gave up and refused to write an edict.
Qin Mengyue learned that Emperor Yucheng used her name and the people in her palace to send poisoned dishes to Xiao Yunshuo, and coupled with the death of her father and brother in the past, this is why she had such an idea.
She had taken the antidote beforehand, so even though she ate poisonous food like Emperor Yucheng, her life was not in danger.
However, because he was poisoned, he didn't feel well.
It was Chen Fenghe who went to the Queen's bedroom and personally prescribed medicine and took care of her.
Xiao Yunshuo dismissed his attendants, leaving only Qin Mengyue and Shen Fenghe in the palace. He then knelt down and whispered, "Mother, I am an unfilial son."
He should have personally committed the crime of 'patricide and regicide', but he was indecisive and tried to force his father to compromise and abdicate.
If not for this, the Queen Mother would not have done it herself.
Qin Mengyue lay frail in bed. Upon hearing this, her tone was calm, yet revealed the majesty of a queen. She spoke, "Prince, your father suddenly fell seriously ill. He passed away before even the imperial physician could summon him. This was God's will. The country cannot be without a ruler for a single day. Your Highness should not grieve excessively. Instead, you should cheer yourself up and ascend the throne to revive the government."
After hearing what Qin Mengyue said, Shen Fenghe couldn't help but admire her secretly in her heart.
At the beginning of her exile, although Qin Mengyue was weak and easy to bully, she was able to make such a decisive decision after seeing the true face of Emperor Yu Cheng and the current situation. Even though there was no outsider in the room at this time, she still kept the fact that she had poisoned Emperor Yu Cheng a secret and never revealed any flaws in her words. She was worthy of being the daughter of a general.
Xiao Yunshuo naturally understood Qin Mengyue's good intentions. After bowing his head, he said in a deep and firm voice: "Thank you for your teachings, mother. I understand!"
After dawn on the night of Emperor Yucheng's death, the crown prince ascended the throne with the support of court ministers such as Xie Gao, and named the reign Tiansheng, with the following year being the first year of Tiansheng.
What followed was the funeral of Emperor Yucheng.
After the great funeral, some ministers immediately brought up the matter of establishing a queen and selecting concubines.
"Your Majesty is ascending the throne for the first time. For the sake of our great Yu's eternal prosperity, even though it is still a period of national mourning for the late emperor, Your Majesty should issue an imperial decree to select concubines as soon as possible to fill the harem and give birth to a prince as soon as possible!"
"Your Majesty, Lord Li's request is absolutely correct. And the choice of Empress should be decided soon..."
When Xiao Yunshuo heard the minister say this, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and looked over, only to see that the person who spoke was the right prime minister who had been promoted by Emperor Yucheng just a few months ago, whose surname was Wu.
Prime Minister Wu was originally from the Sixth Prince's party and was promoted by Emperor Yucheng in order to divide the power of Prime Minister Zhao from the Second Prince's party in order to achieve the purpose of checks and balances.
Xiao Yunshuo had just ascended the throne. Apart from reinstating Xie Gao and re-employing a group of officials who had been marginalized and dismissed during the conflict between the second prince and the sixth prince, he had not yet had time to touch other officials.
There are three daughters of marriageable age in Prime Minister Wu's mansion. In the past, his wife was very happy to go to the palace to please the Sixth Prince's biological mother and other concubines. After the Queen returned to the palace, Mrs. Wu was naturally even more diligent. She spent some money every day to bribe the eunuchs and maids in the palace to let Qin Mengyue know that she had brought her daughters to pay her respects to the Queen.
Naturally, his only thought was to send his daughters to the palace to be concubines in order to consolidate his family's power and status.
Xiao Yunshuo's eyes were somewhat cold, but his tone was still as calm as usual. He said, "What Prime Minister Wu said is strange. I have already married, so the matter of being crowned empress is naturally the responsibility of the Crown Princess. Prime Minister Wu's so-called decision on the selection of empress is probably just drunken nonsense!"
Prime Minister Wu was also a straightforward man. He didn't hear the coldness in Xiao Yunshuo's tone at all. He said loudly, "Your Majesty, although the former Crown Princess was your first wife, her father colluded with Xiao Yunqi to frame you. He is a traitor! The daughter of a criminal is not fit to be crowned Empress! In addition, the former Crown Princess was married twice and was abducted by the Northern Rong..."
"Enough!" Xiao Yunshuo's tone was filled with anger. "I have already clarified these nonsense! The Crown Princess remarried me, not anyone else. As for the rumors about her being abducted by the Northern Rong, they are absolutely ridiculous! Those who spread such rumors are despicable! Wu Lianlian can't even distinguish between hearsay and rumors, and even spread them in the court. This is simply a blatant discredit to the Queen. I think that Prime Minister Wu, the Right Prime Minister, should step down from this position from today!"
When Wu Xiang heard this, he fell to his knees with a plop.
He didn't understand. He was doing this for Dayu and the emperor's sake. How could he lose his position as prime minister just because he said a few words?
Without waiting for him to beg for mercy, Xiao Yunshuo had already issued an edict to demote Wu Xiang to the position of Vice Prime Minister, and also issued another edict to announce to the world, clarifying the truth about the Crown Princess's second marriage.
At this time, in the harem.
Wu Xiang's wife was bringing her two legitimate daughters to pay her respects to Qin Mengyue, who was now crowned as the Queen Mother.
Although Qin Mengyue was impatient, dealing with the wives of princes and ministers was more or less the job of the empress dowager, empress and concubines, so she had to put her mind at ease and deal with it a little.
After talking for a while, Qin Mengyue was about to say that she was tired and wanted to send the person away when Chen Fenghe came over.
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