◇ Chapter 111 Finale (1): The New Emperor
Arus's injury was not serious and he recovered completely in a few days. After hearing about this, the princess placed Arus under house arrest and sent someone to guard him.
I think after meeting the envoy from Mobei, they will have an old score to settle.
Five days later, the guards found the new emperor's body downstream of the river and brought it back to the capital along with some of the new emperor's former subordinates.
After not returning to Beijing for many days, Bai Kang actually felt a little sentimental. When the housekeeper and a group of servants came to greet them, he suddenly felt that everything was finally over. He and Lianzhi could finally be together. But before one problem was solved, another one arose.
The identity of the new emperor was recognized by the Zongzheng, and because this was indeed a shameful matter, after discussion by the Zongrenfu, the new emperor was directly given the title of deposed emperor.
"Why is my posthumous title so bad?" Lianzhi was still dissatisfied when she heard this. "When I was emperor, there was no chaos, no natural disasters or man-made disasters. Who is deliberately scolding me?"
Despite this, he didn't lose his temper or start a scene with the Zongzheng and the Princess. Lianzhi wasn't someone who particularly cared about his reputation after his death. Compared to the Jianguang Emperor and the Fei Emperor, they were both dead, while he was still alive, and he had avenged himself. That was enough. It was that simple.
The throne was vacant, but in just five years, Daning had already had three emperors. Although the eldest princess and Lianzhi had made a deal privately, the same thing still remained.
The eldest princess was unable to convince the public.
As long as the new emperor hadn't ascended the throne, a series of matters, such as the titles of clan members, official positions, and the fate of veteran officials, would remain undecided. With the prophecy of "the true dragon in the north," the eldest princess had paved the way for her son.
But the ministers were not convinced by her.
Among those who followed the eldest princess, except for a very small number of her own people, the rest were either former ministers who followed Emperor Ren, or people who believed in Lianzhi. Most of them were dissatisfied with a child being the emperor.
"According to me, the eighth prince of Emperor Ren, Prince Ying, has another son who is now almost reaching the age of coming of age." The Zongzheng suggested while looking at the list in the imperial book.
At this time, there were only the eldest princess, Zong Zheng and Lian Zhi in the hall. Zong Zheng had already vaguely sensed Lian Zhi's identity, and what's more, Lian Zhi had participated in the disposal of the deposed emperor, so he had to discuss with him at this time.
"No." Lianzhi frowned. "Prince Ying is a coward. He didn't participate in the fight for the throne because he knew he was stupid. And he was killed even then. It's obvious that his son won't be much smarter."
Zong Zheng didn't ask him how he knew what happened back then, and turned another page. "The late Crown Prince of Emperor Ren had a concubine's son, who is only fifteen now, but he..."
"Master Zongzheng, have you forgotten that prophecy?" The eldest princess finally interrupted him, taking a sip from her teacup. "The true dragon is in the north. You have already admitted this with your own mouth. Have you forgotten? That is destiny."
The Zongzheng showed no fear of her at all and gave her a sharp glance. "Things are different now. The late Crown Prince's son is only fifteen, but he's still older than a child. The eldest princess knows exactly where that prophecy came from, and so do I."
After saying this, Zong Zheng bowed briefly and left the hall. As he left, he ran into Bai Kang, who was waiting to be summoned at the door. Thinking of the lotus branch in the hall, he shook his head, sighed, and left, leaving Bai Kang puzzled.
Standing outside the palace, Bo Kang could faintly hear the voices of the eldest princess and Lianzhi talking inside, as well as something like, "You have to help the emperor sister!"
After a while, Lianzhi came out and said, "Go back. The emperor doesn't want to see you."
Bai Kang had anticipated this. After the two of them left the palace and boarded the carriage, Bai Kang spoke, "I've asked Lao Wu and the others, and none of them believe the princess would recommend her own son... No, she'd recommend Emperor Ren's youngest son as the successor. Your plan might be in vain."
"Then why are you laughing at me?" Lianzhi glared at him unhappily.
These days, Bai Kang has also been busy traveling. The Deposed Emperor's reign was too short, and many of his policies were not implemented. Meanwhile, some of the policies implemented by the Jianguang Emperor have caused dissatisfaction among the people. The Princess wants to win over the people as quickly as possible, so she must revise the previous policies herself.
At the Ministry of Rites, Bai Kang had recently been communicating with Da Xi Mi, Chun Yu Ying, and several other envoys from the North Sea Territory. The Princess was interested in opening up several more trade routes and had sent Bai Kang to discuss this with the envoys.
It's a bit busy, but after finishing all this, he can take leave and resign.
Last winter, upon learning of Lianzhi's current status, Bai Kang had considered resigning. He didn't desire wealth and status, and he had been a military scholar. Although he hadn't made any mistakes in his years at the Ministry of Rites, Bai Kang felt he couldn't fulfill his role as a minister. Rather than risking further suspicion, he decided to take Lianzhi on a scenic journey.
However, neither the Princess nor her husband were adept at political maneuvers, and clashing with the Zongzheng would bring them no good. One day, Lianzhi returned home from leaving the palace. As soon as she entered the study, she collapsed on the couch and began to sigh.
"What's wrong, baby?" Bo Kang immediately threw down his pen and ran over distressedly: "Whoever made you angry, your husband should go and beat him up."
"Don't mention that!" Lianzhi pouted. "Just now at the palace gate, the Prince Consort and the General of the Cavalry got into a huge fight, and we couldn't stop them."
It turned out that the Prince Consort's faction and the General of the Cavalry had a disagreement over how to reward the soldiers in the expedition against the deposed emperor. Both sides were rough and tumble, and the Prince Consort's brains were not as bright as the Princess. After leaving the palace, he actually beat up the General of the Cavalry. The General of the Cavalry was a first-rank general with more than 30 years of experience in the battlefield. He was not afraid of the Prince Consort's status and beat him up anyway.
Not only is he not smart, he is also impatient.
"It's not just the General of the Cavalry. I've heard quite a lot of dissatisfaction with the Prince Consort these days." Bo Kang sighed and joked, "If she wants to ascend the throne, she might have to divorce the Prince Consort."
But from these few incidents, it can be seen that the eldest princess is really not good at governing her subordinates. If she only managed her own fiefdom in an orderly manner and the people were happy, now the eldest princess has to face the entire Daning Kingdom.
The people below her did not trust her, from small things like her inability to control the princes and ministers to big things like her inability to implement future policies. She was afraid that the young emperor would not be able to sit firmly on the throne, and that chaos would break out in Daning State.
"Baby, you're so kind to the princess." Bo Kang was secretly jealous. Judging from Lianzhi's attitude, she was definitely going to support the princess. Wouldn't that mean she would have to stay in the capital to assist her? The princess lacked ability, but was ambitious and suspicious by nature. She only trusted Lianzhi now, so she was bound to become suspicious of him in the future.
"She is my royal sister." Lianzhi pulled the gold chain on Bai Kang's lapel.
"You have the support of the North Sea Territory, so why not seek cooperation from other clan members? If you want to repay the eldest princess, just give her a few more fiefs. After all, she's a princess, and the new emperor won't be afraid of her." Bo Kang said. He knew Lianzhi was grateful for her gratitude, but he knew he couldn't offer the kingdom as a gift.
"What's wrong with a princess? A princess can also want to be the emperor." Lianzhi said nonchalantly, "She is already a princess and can manage her fiefdom well. In a few years, she will definitely be able to manage Daning well."
This isn't a matter of waiting. The eldest princess can get it, but those restless relatives and ministers can't. After Bo Kang finished speaking, he carefully studied Lianzhi's expression and said, "Baby, you did it on purpose."
Lianzhi said nothing, lowered her head, and continued to play with the gold chain.
Lianzhi was a prince, how could he not have thought of this? He and the eldest princess were siblings, so he must have long understood that the eldest princess and her husband were incapable. Even so, was he still going to support the eldest princess?
"She'll find a way." Lianzhi took a deep breath. Bai Kang sensed something was wrong and quickly asked Lianzhi to turn around and face him. Lianzhi's eyes and nose were red as she spoke in a tearful voice, "She has no way. There are still so many of her subjects. If she can manage them, she will. If she can't, at most there will be some chaos, which has nothing to do with me. My father is not good to me, and this Daning is not good either. Let there be chaos, I wish they were all gone."
Bai Kang didn't expect him to think this way and was speechless for a moment.
"My sister wanted to be the emperor, so I helped her realize her dream. Anyway, she did it." Lianzhi muttered, her voice getting smaller and smaller. "Brother, do you think I'm mean? I'm very narrow-minded and I hold grudges."
Bai Kang shook his head and gently kissed Lianzhi's face: "You are right, Lian'er, don't worry about their affairs. They treat you badly, but my family and I will treat you well. My mother will like you very much, and Xi'er and the others will also like you very much. Come back with me."
This time, Lianzhi didn't argue. He wiped his face with Bo Kang's sleeve. "I've always hoped that Daning would just be finished like this. As long as they're all dead, I can die again. I'm not afraid of anything anymore."
Bai Kang listened quietly. Lian Zhi held up a finger and said, "But if you were here, I still hope that Daning would get better, so that brother could stay with me longer."
"I will." Bai Kang hugged him tightly.
Three days later, the Director of the Imperial Observatory suddenly claimed to have been visited by Emperor Ren in a dream. In the dream, Emperor Ren stated that he had long intended to pass the throne to his youngest son, confirming the prophecy of "the true dragon in the north." The Chief of the Imperial Clan strongly supported the Director's claims and urged the new emperor to ascend the throne as soon as possible.
Emperor Ren appeared in their dreams, and the other clan members were unable to refute it.
Actually, it was because the princess had soldiers. Bai Kang remembered that during the morning court session, the princess mentioned that the Helan tribe was willing to lend soldiers, and the faces of those clan members were all colorful.
To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, the coronation ceremony was hastily scheduled for seven days later. The eldest princess appointed the regent to rule the country from behind the scenes. As for the young emperor, he was still young and needed the guidance of the imperial tutor.
"Bo Kang, are you going to resign?"
The princess was puzzled when she saw Bai Kang's resignation letter. Bai Kang was still young, why would he resign for no reason?
"Your Highness, I have actually wanted to resign for a long time," Bai Kang replied. "This is also Lian'er's wish. We want to leave the capital and travel around Daning."
"What! He's leaving too?" The eldest princess was even more restless. She still relied heavily on Lianzhi. Although she had trusted personnel, Lianzhi was more experienced and a blood relative, so she was reluctant to see her leave. Bai Kang carefully observed her expression and was relieved to find that she still trusted Lianzhi. Lianzhi hadn't made a mistake.
"It's a good thing you want to go out and have some fun, but Lord Bai is a pillar of Daning, and the court still needs you." The princess smiled and said, "I can give you the position of Minister of the Ministry of Rites, so that you can continue to be in charge of diplomatic affairs. With him here, this position belongs to you."
Bai Kang also knew that the princess would not immediately agree to his resignation. Rumors would spread that he was being abandoned and treated harshly. He was satisfied with this result. After Bai Kang received the decree, the princess smiled and helped him up. "Master Bai, you can take marriage leave, but you have to wait until the new emperor ascends the throne."
Bai Kang nodded in agreement. As he was leaving, he looked up and glanced at the eldest princess.
This is a woman who is very ambitious and dares to think and act.
Maybe she can really hold on to that position.
Seven days later, the new emperor ascended the throne, changing his name to Yongning. The young emperor was completely bewildered throughout, while the regent stood at his side, beaming with pride.
But all this has nothing to do with Bai Kang and Lian Zhi.
The next day, Lianzhi finally slept until he woke naturally. He hadn't had a good night's sleep in the past two months. He felt a slight sway beneath him, and suddenly, a loud noise came from his ears. He angrily threw back the covers, a little dazed.
Where is this?
He seems to be...
"Baby." Bai Kang sat beside him with a smile on his face.
Lianzhi looked at him blankly: "What are you doing?"
"I'll take you back to Rongcheng." Bo Kang's smile widened. "Let's go back and get married."
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