Everything was a tedious matter. How the late emperor died and whether it was really related to the guilty crown prince, these things had not been clarified, but the late emperor had to be buried.
The new emperor felt that he had gotten a bargain when he came to the throne. Not only did the ministers feel this way, but the new emperor himself felt this way. Because he came to the throne so easily, he felt uneasy, so he put extra effort into the funeral of the previous emperor.
He wished that the whole world would observe three years of mourning for the late emperor, but was scolded back by the group of old ministers, so he had no choice but to ask the royal family to do so.
Liu Wenji was always concerned about Cheng An's disappearance. Unfortunately, the imperial guards were busy trying to curry favor with the new emperor and didn't pay much attention to the disappearance of an old eunuch.
Liu Wenji had not been able to find Cheng An, and he thought that he was either dead or had really escaped. Anyway, as long as he did not get in the way again, Liu Wenji was willing to let his former master go for once.
The emperor was to be buried in the imperial mausoleum at the beginning of August.
It was a hot day, but it started to drizzle from dawn.
The royal family members and ministers braved the rain and followed the new emperor to the imperial mausoleum to pay homage to the late emperor for the last time.
The new emperor acted very filially and seemed satisfied. On the last night, he gave up his throne and let the late emperor's most beloved child, now the eldest princess, Mu Wanyao, keep watch for the last night.
The evening swaying is dispensable.
Did the late emperor love her the most?
Maybe.
Out of compensation and guilt, the late emperor treated her better than other princes and princesses in his last few years.
Now that the late emperor is gone, the former Princess Luling has been in a trance all day, worried that her hard days are coming; the former Princess Yuyang was implicated in her brother's rebellion, and her husband is no longer the Jingzhao Yin, and this time when she came out, Princess Yuyang looked a little haggard.
Looking around, the new emperor did not have many brothers and sisters for him to play a love drama with. Only his youngest sister Mu Wanyao, who held great power and whose relationship with him was not so strained because of Chunhua... The new emperor had a much higher opinion of Princess Danyang.
Mu Wanyao had thought about all these a long time ago.
She wanted to participate in the selection of the throne at first, but was later used by the late emperor and no one was chosen. Now she can continue to be her own princess, which is already very good.
—
Mu Wanyao spent the last night in front of the imperial mausoleum guarding the late emperor, and her husband Yan Shang accompanied her.
The couple stayed up all night, kneeling in front of the mourning hall, silently adding paper money to the brazier. They were dressed in white, just like the children who mourned for their fathers.
Mu Wanyao turned her head to look at Yan Shang. He had such a good temperament. Wearing plain clothes, he looked like the cool moonlight, especially elegant and beautiful. But Mu Wanyao saw that he was thin and his cheekbones were out of shape. She felt that he looked pale and haggard, and was in poor health, so she advised him to rest.
Yan Shang shook his head.
In order to prevent Mu Wanyao's attention from always being focused on him, he talked to her softly about the late emperor.
Yan Shang felt sorry for her and said, "From now on, all your relatives who are truly related to you by blood are gone. You must feel very sad, right?"
I am lost in the evening.
She stared at the paper money flying around above the brazier for a while, and said in confusion, "I don't know. I don't feel bad. Although my father, mother, and brother are all gone, I don't feel particularly painful.
"To be honest, it's probably because they loved me for too short a time, and then they were too procrastinating and perfunctory after they stopped loving me. When my second brother and mother passed away... I might have been sad. But today, my father is gone too, and I feel numb instead.
"I have been waiting for this day for a long time. When this day finally came, I breathed a sigh of relief and felt that... an era had finally come to an end.
"The past that made me love and hurt has finally been completely buried in the earth. Second brother Yan, you asked me if I felt bad? No, I didn't. I just felt... relieved."
She looked up at the void, as if she was looking at her ancestors in the imperial mausoleum. She analyzed her heart with him, without disguising anything. She peeked into her soul and found that she really had always been... and even secretly looked forward to the arrival of this day.
Seeing her like this, Yan Shang felt uncomfortable.
He has different experiences from her, and his feelings about parental love are completely different from hers. When a child's experience of parental love is procrastinating and perfunctory, whose fault is it?
Yan Shangxu put his arm around her shoulders and whispered, "Are you willing to talk to me?"
Mu Wan shook: "What are you talking about?"
Yan Shang's voice was particularly quiet and gentle in the empty mourning hall: "Whatever you want to say. For example, your mother, for example, your second brother. You...what kind of person is your second brother? Does your mother really love him so much and doesn't care about you?"
He pursed his lips, a little confused: "You got along with me at first, was it because... I was a bit like your second brother?"
Mu Wanyao immediately turned her head to look at him, to see why he had such an idea.
Yan Shang's eyelashes drooped, casting a small shadow on his face, and resting on her heart like a butterfly wing. He whispered: "You always call me 'Second Brother Yan'."
Mu Wan shook her head in surprise: "What's wrong with calling you 'Second Brother Yan'? You are the second child in the family, and there are so many people who call you 'Second Brother'."
Yan Shang tilted his face and paused: "Don't you mean to use me as a substitute for your second brother?"
Mu Wan shook: "..."
She was originally full of disappointment, but because of Yan Shang's doubt, she was forced to laugh. Her tired and tense heart for several months actually relaxed at this moment.
She looked at his profile and smiled, her heart softened, thinking that her second brother was still the same and had never changed.
No matter how gentle he appears, no matter how independent he is in front of the world, in private, he always has that thing that he is troubled by and can't figure out.
Before Yan Shang said this, he didn't know how long he had been troubled by this doubt.
He is so cute.
Yan Shang turned to look at her, and saw that her pupils were dark and her eyes were curved, and her pale face was shimmering with a soft pearly glow. When she met his eyes, Mu Wan laughed out loud.
Yan Shang was frightened by her laughter and immediately reached out to cover her mouth. He was really easily nervous, and his cheeks became hot because of her little impudence. He whispered: "What are you laughing at? Stop laughing!
"Do you want people to say that Princess Danyang's husband made the princess laugh in front of the late emperor's spirit? Will I still be alive and be a human being?"
He pushed her shoulder, and Mu Wanyao simply hugged his neck. Yan Shang was stiff, and didn't want to be so intimate with her in front of the mourning hall, but he covered her mouth, and in order to prevent her from laughing even louder, he could only let her come close to hug him like this.
Mu Wan's eyelashes hooked on his neck, making him feel itchy.
She laughed enough, then pulled away his hand that was covering her mouth, held his face with her hands, and said affectionately: "You really think too much. You are not the same as my second brother. Although you are both excellent, your personalities are completely different. How can I think of you two as the same?
"Second Brother Yan, don't worry. I have only seen a man with a temperament like you. I think you are cute, but I don't think my second brother is cute. So are you relieved?"
Yan Shang blushed: "I'm relieved. I just asked casually, there's nothing else to it."
Mu Wanyao teased him with a smile: "Just tell me! If you have any questions, just tell me. How can I know that you mind if you don't tell me? Have you been struggling with this issue for a long time?"
Yan Shang said: "No."
He defended himself: "I am not that kind of person."
Mu Wan stared at his face for a long time, her eyes slightly unfocused. The topic he started made her think of more.
She said sadly: "My father and mother both love my second brother, but I always feel that they only love my second brother. Now that my second brother is gone, they have forgotten me."
Yan Shang said softly: "They always loved you."
Mu Wan shook her head: "It disappeared later, right?"
Yan Shang: "Yes, there are. It's just that your imperial family is different from ordinary families. Yaoyao, you have to believe that your father, mother, and second brother all love you."
He emphasized this point, not wanting her to completely overturn the past.
Mu Wan tilted her head to look at him, and suddenly her eyebrows raised, and a charming look appeared in her eyes. She smiled and said, "Are you worried that I will go astray and become radical? Don't worry, as long as Second Brother Yan is by my side, I am willing to be a good person."
She looked up, half jokingly, half seriously, "But if you're gone, I won't make any promises."
Yan Shang whispered: "Nonsense. I don't believe you will be a bad person."
Mu Wan shook her head and chuckled. She didn't tell whether it was true or not. Anyway, Yan Shang was her husband, someone she could reach out to every day.
As long as he is here, all the troubles in the world don't matter.
—
After the previous emperor was buried in the imperial mausoleum, the new emperor's new policies finally began.
When the Prince of Jin was a prince, he was an insignificant prince. But he was in charge of the Ministry of Works at that time and did not make any mistakes. When he first became emperor, the Prince of Jin was ambitious and thought that being an emperor was not difficult.
All you have to do is send the order and let the officials do the work.
He wanted to be a powerful emperor, to change the old relationship between the emperor and his subjects, which was full of difficulties and distrust. He wanted to be tolerant and kind, and to be an emperor that everyone could be satisfied with.
Therefore, after the new emperor ascended the throne, he would issue twelve decrees to the Secretariat every day, urging the Secretariat to do its work.
The Secretariat was very annoyed and played along with the emperor. After a month of not being able to execute his orders quickly and being constantly rejected by the Secretariat and the Ministry of Personnel, the new emperor realized that being an emperor was not that easy.
The ministers were disobedient and he could not command them. Did he want Liu Wenji to kill all of them?
No, Liu Wenzhi cannot be fully trusted either.
The new emperor found that everyone was staring at him, and his every word and action had countless interpretations. He might not mean anything with a look in the court, but his ministers would say that this was what he meant.
Even in the palace...the new emperor could not regard the palace as his home.
In the past, the Prince Jin's mansion was just a courtyard, and the Princess of Jin could easily take care of it. But now the house has become so big, and there are spies everywhere... The Prince of Jin returned to his old home that he had longed for for many years, only to find that it was different from what he had imagined.
He had never learned the ways of an emperor, so the ministers and tutors in the court took turns to teach him; what he said in the palace had to be passed through Liu Wenji to be effective; and the ministers were keen on filling his harem with women, and in order to strike a balance, the new emperor accepted it all.
The new emperor felt that he was as pathetic as the "cowherd".
He actually had to rely on sleeping with women to make the ministers of the previous dynasty obey him.
...He had never thought that his father relied on women to achieve any goals, nor had he seen the former crown prince being keen on taking concubines all day long. However, when he first became emperor, although the new emperor was ambitious, he was inexperienced and made mistakes everywhere.
The aristocratic families are the most mean and hateful.
Finding that the new emperor was easy to fool, they all just did what they wanted.
The new emperor was emperor for two months and felt helpless.
But the new emperor did not give up.
The new emperor could not command the high-ranking ministers. He was tired of not being able to speak out and having to be sent back by several ministers for readjustment. The new emperor wanted to train his own ministers.
He rummaged through the circle of ministers left by the previous emperor and discovered Yan Shang, the current Langzhong of the Ministry of Personnel.
He is also the consort of Princess Danyang.
The new emperor suddenly realized.
He found that after he ascended the throne, none of the six ministries had ever troubled him. On the contrary, the most important Ministry of Personnel among the six ministries had the least problems and had troubled him the least number of times.
Those old ministers and powerful officials did not take the new emperor seriously and were happy to laugh at him. However, Erlang never treated the emperor perfunctorily.
Every time the emperor issued a decree, the Ministry of Personnel would study and implement it honestly. After the new emperor's investigation, he found that the Minister of Personnel and the Vice Minister of Personnel were not necessarily loyal. It was only because Yan Erlang was so capable that there were no problems in the Ministry of Personnel.
Yan Erlang held several positions, but after he ascended the throne, he never made any mistakes and never caused any trouble for me. How difficult it was.
This is what a loyal subject should be like!
What's more, Yan Suchen is so famous! At such a young age, no one in the officialdom of Chang'an dares to look down on him. What a style.
The new emperor wanted to start with Yan Erlang and take control of the entire court.
—
When the evening rain fell, Yan Shang was still in the Ministry of Personnel.
The sky was gloomy, and he was hunched over his desk, coughing as he wrote.
The round collar of his bluish-white shirt was stained with moisture because he had left the Shangshu Mansion first and was almost out of the imperial city. After being reminded by his servant Yunshu, he remembered that he had not yet done what he had promised Mu Wanyao, so he turned back to the Ministry of Personnel.
He had agreed to ask for leave from Mu Wanyao.
It has been raining recently, and his knees are sore, and he can't sleep well at night, and his back hurts badly. He didn't say anything, and when Mu Wanyao found out, he had been having a low-grade fever for several days. The couple quarreled about this, and Yan Shang agreed to let her take a few days off.
As luck would have it, after a busy day, Yan Shang forgot to ask for leave.
He had no choice but to come back and write a memorial, preparing to visit the Minister of Personnel's residence that night to explain the reason for his poor health.
While Yan Shang was writing this, the new emperor came to visit the six ministries. At this time, all the ministries were empty, so the new emperor came to the Ministry of Personnel and did not allow anyone to disturb him. He stood behind the brightly lit door curtain and saw Yan Shang still working in the house, and his heart was moved.
If all the ministers were as loyal as Yan Suchen, what would be difficult in governing the country?
Yan Shang heard the emperor cough lightly. He turned his head, recognized the person, and stood up to salute.
The emperor said kindly: "It's so late, Su Chen is still working?"
Yan Shang smiled and said, "I'm asking for a few days off."
This is different from what the emperor thought.
The emperor was stunned, then displeased: "Why, are you also imitating those old ministers and wanting to embarrass me? You all think it's ridiculous to see me making a fool of myself, right?"
Yan Shang was still gentle: "Your Majesty, where did you get that from? How can a minister make things difficult for the emperor?"
The emperor and Yan Shang had very limited time together, and his impression of Yan Shang was that he was a capable minister with a bad temper. If his temper was not bad enough, would he dare to kill the Zheng clan leader, overthrow the Ministry of Revenue, anger the former crown prince, and turn against Princess Danyang?
It is easier for a capable minister to understand. If he had no ability, how could he reconcile with Princess Danyang?
Just shake that temper in the evening...
The emperor talked with Yan Shang that night and realized that he had misunderstood Yan Shang's character. Yan Erlang seemed to be very gentle and easy to talk to... The officials in Chang'an said that he was terrible, and it was probably just a rumor spread by those ministers.
The emperor then had a heart-to-heart talk with Yan Shang, telling him about his troubles as an emperor.
Yan Shang comforted him.
Yan Shang's conversation skills were so good that it was the most comfortable time for the new emperor since he became emperor. He was just complaining casually, but he couldn't resist Yan Shang's trustworthy temperament, and he talked more and more.
He talked about his ambitions, about how he was bullied by ministers, and about his ideals.
Yan Shang listened carefully, thoughtfully.
Liu Wenji rushed to the Ministry of Personnel. When he heard the eunuchs talking about how the new emperor had a heart-to-heart talk with Yan Erlang in prison, Liu Wenji's eyelids twitched and his face turned gloomy.
Liu Wenji eavesdropped on a few words outside and heard that the new emperor and Yan Erlang were talking in a much more intimate manner, which made him even more embarrassed...
Among all the civil and military officials in the court, Liu Wenzhi was probably the only one who understood the fashion of words the best.
If Yan Shang wants someone to like him, no one will hate him.
Liu Wenji was afraid that the emperor would be won over by Yan Shang… Yan Shang’s style of winning people’s hearts without making a fuss was so great that even a scheming person like the previous emperor was able to use him. Wouldn’t it be even easier for the new emperor?
Liu Wenzhi began to think of a solution.
—
Yan Shang ultimately failed to get leave.
He said that he was in poor health, but the new emperor advised him to do more work and kept saying that he would promote him and let him do more important things. The new emperor also asked him how to balance the relationship between the various forces and promised him how to be a good emperor...
At Princess Danyang's residence, Yan Shang rolled up his trouser legs to his knees and was soaking his feet. Mu Wanyao was waiting happily for the result that he had finally asked for leave, but he heard the news that Yan Shang and the new emperor had a very pleasant conversation.
Mu Wan shook his face and looked gloomy.
She taunted, "Why, just because he said a few nice words, you're going to work for him? Promotion? Promotion to what? We should have been promoted for successfully protecting the emperor! But he didn't say a word. It doesn't matter if he didn't say a word, we don't care anyway. Now that he said a few words about his ambitions, you're moved... If he says a few more words, will you abandon your family for him?"
Yan Shang was helpless: "Why is it so? It's just that His Majesty said he wanted to be a wise ruler and asked me for more help. I saw that he had such ambition, so I wanted to give it a try."
Mu Wan shook his head and said, "He said that asking you to do office work is very important, but if I asked you to go enjoy the flowers and watch the play, it is not important."
There are no words yet.
Mu Wanyao's face suddenly turned red with anger: "You really think that appreciating flowers and watching plays are not important!"
Yan Shang managed to utter, "I don't know how to appreciate flowers, and I don't understand opera. Even if you drag me there, I still can't understand."
Mu Wanyao said politely, "It is me, a person who is greedy for pleasure, who has delayed Yan Erlang's important matter."
Yan Shang's face froze for a moment, and he whispered, "That's not what I meant."
Mu Wan shook his head angrily: "So what you mean is that what I said is not important to you now? Can you just be perfunctory?"
Yan Shang was at a loss: "I... I didn't mean that at all."
Mu Wanyao: "I asked you to take leave several times, but you still haven't done it. Do you think I have delayed your future? Are you still blaming me for not understanding you?"
Yan Shang was a little anxious. He always spoke slowly, but she spoke so fast like firecrackers that he couldn't keep up.
After a while, Yan Shang said, "I didn't say I wouldn't ask for leave... I'll ask for it tomorrow, okay?"
Mu Wanyao felt annoyed when she saw his helpless look: "Heh."
She ignored him and directed the maids to move bedding and clothes.
She turned around and saw Yan Shang staring at her, his eyes were dark and clear. She raised her eyebrows and smiled: "Yan Erlang, just work hard, I won't disturb you anymore."
Yan Shang: "Where are you going?"
Mu Wanyao said arrogantly: "My princess's mansion is so big, can't I find another room to sleep in?"
Yan Shang was startled: "You... want to sleep in a separate bed from me?"
Mu Wanyao: "I've thought about it, you can't be relied on. You can't sleep at night, and the more I see you, the angrier I get. I'm afraid that one night when I wake up and see you with your eyes open, I can't help but stab you... It's safer to separate from you.
"You go and do your official duties well and be your loyal minister. I will go and enjoy the flowers and be my vulgar princess. We have been together for so long, and we are tired of each other. It is normal for you to be tired of me. It is better to separate.
"I'll go see more of the handsome men in the world to refresh my eyes. You can also take this opportunity to find a few more women to broaden your horizons... Forget it, Yan Erlang is so busy that he definitely doesn't have time to find women. If you need anything, just find me."
She turned around and smiled at him: "As you like."
Yan Shang was stunned.
When he saw her walking out, he realized that she was not joking and she really wanted to sleep in a separate bed and room from him.
Yan Shang didn't care about the water dripping down his trouser legs, he quickly put on his coat and got up to chase her. He left the house inexplicably, asking people where the princess had gone.
The princess's mansion was too big, and Yan Shang's clothes were disheveled, so he came out a few steps slower to protect his image. He didn't find Mu Wanyao, but just as he went out, he ran into Yan Xiaozhou who came to look for him.
Yan Xiaozhou: "Second brother, I have something to tell you!"
Yan Shang looked into the dark night, lowered his head and said hastily to his sister: "Let's talk about it tomorrow..."
Yan Xiaozhou said, "But it will be too late tomorrow. Second brother, I have planned to leave Chang'an tomorrow and have found a car. If I don't tell you, you won't even know I'm gone."
Yan Shang was stunned for a moment.
He looked at her blankly: "Where are you going? Going back to Lingnan to find your father? What's wrong? I, I neglected you. Are you not comfortable living in Chang'an?"
Seeing that he was about to attribute the cause to himself, Yan Xiaozhou knew in his heart that his second brother must have begun to reflect on himself and feel uncomfortable. Yan Xiaozhou quickly interrupted: "No, no, no, I want to go to Jiannan... to find Yang Sanlang."
Yan Shang was surprised.
He calmed down and asked slowly, "Does your sister-in-law...Yaoyao know?"
Yan Xiaozhou smiled: "I told my sister-in-law about it. She listened to my idea and didn't object."
Yan Shang was stunned, realizing that Mu Wanyao did it on purpose. He had no choice but to take his sister back to her room to find out what she was thinking.
As for the princess… This was the first time after marriage that he and Mu Wanyao had such a big fight. He had no experience, so he had to take things one step at a time. He didn’t know that Mu Wanyao wasn’t teasing him when she said to look for more good-looking men.
In some ways, Mu Wanyao enjoyed it more than him.
—
As for the new emperor, he had just reached an agreement with Yan Shang and was very happy. After returning to the palace, he thought about it carefully.
Seeing that the new emperor was obsessed with Yan Erlang, Liu Wenji sneered in his heart and deliberately said something: "Your Majesty, it seems that Yan Erlang should be promoted."
The new emperor understood: "Of course. If I want him to do something, then of course..."
Liu Wenji was surprised: "It seems that the late emperor left a will, asking Yan Suchen to be the prime minister. I am not sure, the imperial edict is enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple."
The new emperor was stunned.
Then he frowned and said, "You mean, the late emperor had already made arrangements for Yan Erlang, so Yan Erlang is just pretending in front of me? He knows that he wants to be the prime minister, and he doesn't care at all when I say I will promote him.
"He is just like those old ministers, making a fool of me?"
Liu Wenji smiled and said, "I don't know. But Yan Erlang is so talented that both the late emperor and Your Majesty value him and like him very much.
"I just feel that... a person who is liked by everyone, this kind of scheming, I really envy."
The emperor seemed to be thinking about something, and his enthusiasm for Yan Erlang faded.
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