◇ Chapter 99 (99) Are You Using Me or Do You Love Me (Part 1)
At three o'clock in the morning, the candles in the Purple Palace were still lit.
Suddenly, there was a commotion in the side hall, followed by a loud noise, waking the drowsy new emperor. The next moment, the director of the Imperial Observatory, carrying a star map, rushed into the main hall, not even bothering to report. "This is bad, Your Majesty!"
The old eunuch knelt forward, holding up the star map and tremblingly said, "I observe the celestial phenomena. The Purple Star is dim and has a faint tendency to move north!"
"Ridiculous!" the eunuch leader shouted angrily, but the old eunuch insisted on finishing his sentence: "The imperial star faces north, the true dragon is in the north!"
Within a quarter of an hour, the words "The Emperor's Star moves north, and the real dragon is in the north" spread throughout the inner palace.
Tomorrow was the coronation ceremony, and yet the Director of the Imperial Observatory had spoken these words. The Director was now considered a veteran of four dynasties, his predictions always coming true, and his words carried immense weight.
Unlike the three previous emperors, the new emperor was decisive and immediately imprisoned all the palace servants who heard this. Once this word spread outside the palace, everything the new emperor and the Zongzheng had done would no longer be a secret.
As for the Imperial Observatory...
The new emperor looked at the old eunuch and said, "The late emperor left a will, abdicating the throne to me. Does the eunuch feel that I am not legitimate and justified?"
The old eunuch was saying awkwardly, "This old minister has absolutely no such intention, it's just that the celestial phenomena are really like this..."
Seeing the murderous intent in the new emperor's eyes, Bo Kang sighed inwardly and subconsciously took a step forward: "Your Majesty, the Supervisor is old and may be a little confused."
The new emperor turned his head and looked at him, his light-colored eyes unblinking. His appearance, mixed with some barbarian features, carried a sense of oppression.
Bai Kang knelt on one knee, motionless. The new emperor's gaze was so complex that it gave Bai Kang goose bumps. Unlike Lian Zhi, who was easy to understand at first glance, and Chen Fengke, who pretended to be gentle but was obviously a hypocrite, the new emperor's gaze was unpredictable.
These days, unless summoned by the new emperor, Bo Kang would not see him, probably because he was not familiar with him yet. He did not regret his subconscious pleading for the old eunuch, and just waited quietly.
"Everyone, get up," the new emperor said, then asked, "Who do you think this true dragon in the north is?"
"Your Majesty," the Minister of War stepped forward. A close confidant of Emperor Jianguang, he was reluctant to submit to the new emperor, but to save his life, he felt it was best to be prudent. "There are six members of the imperial clan in the north. The ones currently commanding troops are Prince Mu of Rongcheng and Prince Weiyi of Hedu."
After saying this, he secretly glanced at Bai Kang. Disappointedly, neither of their expressions changed. Bai Kang muttered the word "North" and subconsciously said, "Fancheng..."
"Master Bai, part of Fancheng is Princess Le'an's fiefdom. I don't think it has anything to do with the Supervisor's calculations."
"It won't be Fancheng."
The deputy supervisor and the new emperor spoke at the same time.
Why not Fancheng?
Something flashed through his mind, and Bai Kang instantly looked up, realizing his loss of composure. He immediately lowered his head. The flash of inspiration that had just occurred in his mind faded again. He explained, "Fancheng is close to the capital, and it's also the only way from the north to the capital. I'm simply worried that someone with ulterior motives might be hiding in Fancheng and trying to stir up trouble."
Although his words were abrupt, they lacked any contradiction. The new emperor blinked thoughtfully and said to the deputy supervisor, "If we want to change the auspicious date, when is the nearest day?"
"The sixth day of next month will do. But Your Majesty, there has never been a precedent for changing the auspicious date for the enthronement!" The Deputy Supervisor said hurriedly, "Please reconsider your majesty!"
All the ministers knelt. The new emperor pondered for a moment and agreed. "The true dragon is in the north, doesn't that mean I'm a fake dragon? If so, let's see who is the true dragon! Tomorrow I will report to the ancestral temple and see if our ancestors will recognize me!"
When the old warden walked out of the Purple Palace, his legs were still weak. Only the deputy warden was supporting him. Bo Kang couldn't bear to see this and stepped forward to help him.
"Xiao Bai, thank you so much for what you did just now." The old supervisor looked up and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was him.
"It's all right. But, Your Majesty, is the celestial phenomenon true..." Bo Kang pointed upwards; he didn't understand. The old supervisor nodded. "I've been an official for over forty years and have never made a mistake. The Emperor's star is in the north! After all, our Majesty..."
"Your Excellency, be careful with your words!" the Deputy Supervisor warned. The accompanying official sighed, "What's the difference between Your Majesty and the late Emperor? You're committing an unjust act..."
"You should be careful with your words." Bo Kang slapped Yu Feng on his face. The official continued, "The current emperor is from a barbarian land. I'm afraid he's even worse than the previous emperor."
Bai Kang was almost amused by his words: "What do you mean by 'barbarian land'? If you say so, then Prince Yuan, who grew up in the palace, is the most suitable candidate to ascend the throne? Stop saying that in the future!"
Soon after the Queen Mother passed away, Prince Yuan was also imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison. The other party was furious. He had always disliked regicide and wondered why Bo Kang would speak up for the King of Longxi. In the end, he could only guess that Bo Kang had married a woman from a barbarian land.
If Bai Kang knew what he was thinking, I'm afraid the two of them would really fight at the palace gate. After returning, Bai Kang called Qing He and asked, "Did you get a reply from the madam today?"
Qing He shook her head in embarrassment. Bo Kang had guessed it long ago and sighed.
The next day, the coronation ceremony went on as usual.
After offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, reporting to the ancestral temple, and accepting the congratulations of all officials, the ceremony was considered complete. The new emperor held the imperial seal in his hand and sat on the dragon throne.
Nothing changed. Aside from the gloomy weather and the prospect of another light snowfall, everything was the same as before.
The Imperial Observatory was indeed talking nonsense. Emperor Jianguang had died, and someone had helped him ascend to the throne. Everything had happened naturally, exactly as he had expected. As expected, he was destined to be the emperor.
After the new emperor ascended the throne, he issued a general amnesty and suspended court for three days. The imperial edict to replace the new emperor had been sent to all parts of Daning, but a sense of unease permeated the entire Daning community.
It was simply a rumor that was growing stronger in the north and reaching the capital. That day, Qinghe went to the posthouse as usual to check for a letter from their master's wife, and unexpectedly heard a ranger who had settled there say something about the true dragon bloodline being in the north.
Qing He secretly listened for a while, then asked in a northern accent, "My fellow knights, my hometown is in the north. What you are talking about seems to be related to my hometown. Are you from the north of Qizhou?"
They looked at each other, without hiding anything, and explained everything to him. Qing He did not stay long after hearing this, and hurried back to the Shangshu Mansion to relay what they had said to Bai Kang.
"They say there's a rumor going around in the north right now that the bloodline of Emperor Ren is still circulating there?" Bo Kang choked. He had never imagined that the "True Dragon in the North" actually referred to the bloodline of Emperor Ren.
Although four dynasties had already passed, a careful calculation showed that Emperor Ren, Lianzhi's father, had passed away only six years earlier. Emperor Ren was not yet 50 years old when he passed away, so it was not impossible that he had a young child.
He felt that it was more likely that the real dragon was the lotus branch.
“The true dragon is in the north”, could it be referring to the lotus branch?
Spreading rumors and spreading public opinion is a tactic Lianzhi has always mastered. A year ago, rumors about Emperor Jianguang were also rampant...
Rumors about Emperor Jianguang have never ceased. However, they only intensified a year ago. Similarly, Lianzhi suddenly appeared in Liangzhou a year ago.
Later, with the help of rumors, King Longxi successfully entered the palace.
Something seemed to be connecting the dots. Before Bo Kang could dwell on it, the butler arrived to report that His Majesty had requested him to enter the palace immediately.
Even Qinghe could accidentally hear rumors from the north, so it was impossible for other officials not to hear anything, and the new emperor was even more so.
Rumors of a true dragon's bloodline spread across more than ten northern cities. The new emperor's gaze remained indifferent, like a dormant beast. He occasionally glanced at Bo Kang, a sight even the head of the imperial clan and the prime minister noticed. But Bo Kang, preoccupied with other matters, pretended not to notice.
Since he was the bloodline of Emperor Ren, he had no connection to the other princes. However, in the vast northern region, finding a boy who could be Emperor Ren's offspring was extremely difficult. After a long discussion, no conclusion was reached. Curfew arrived, and the ministers had to leave the palace. As they were about to leave, the new emperor suddenly asked, "Where do you think the Minister of Rites will be?"
Are you asking him?
Bo Kang was a little surprised and replied, "I think it should not be in Fancheng."
The new emperor nodded and let them out of the palace. As soon as they left the palace, Bai Kang said to the coachman and Qing He who was waiting outside, "Go buy some dry food quickly, we are going to Fancheng."
"Sir?" Qinghe was surprised, but seeing Bai Kang's unyielding look, she said nothing.
That night, Bai Kang and the Minister of War quietly left the capital with a team of about fifty people.
As they headed north, rumors of a "real dragon" indeed grew louder. The capital was close to Fancheng, and after just one night, they arrived at a small village outside Fancheng. It was near a river, with a few shops and a simple post station.
Even with the new emperor, the relationship between the Minister of War and Bo Kang remained stagnant. Reluctantly stopping here, the Minister asked, "Why did you and I come here? Shouldn't His Majesty's personal guards handle this matter?"
"Your Majesty has just ascended the throne, and there are rumors. How could you bear to let the secret guards who have always protected you do such a thing?" Bai Kang was still in the mood to joke. He took out the pancake he brought with him and took a bite. "I'm afraid when we go back this time, you and I will no longer be the ministers."
"Is there still a chance of returning alive?" The Minister of War was not as open-minded as he was.
"That's not bad either. If I return alive, I can retire to my hometown. If I return dead, maybe I can even enter the Imperial Ancestral Temple," Bai Kang said cheerfully. After finishing his pancakes, he went back to sleep. At night, there seemed to be a lot of grunting outside, and there seemed to be quite a few people. He thought it was the people they brought with them who had gone out at night, but after listening carefully, that didn't seem to be the case.
It doesn't sound like the sound of weapons, but more like... the sound of moving things.
Could it be that a nearby vendor was moving goods? Bo Kang couldn't help but go out to check, only to find that the Royal Guard who was supposed to be on guard outside tonight had disappeared!
He had good hearing and could clearly hear the source of the noise, so he hurried over. Just before they landed in the courtyard on the other side of the post station, the innkeeper said a group of traveling merchants were staying there and would be leaving tomorrow. Climbing the wall, Bo Kang could clearly hear the sounds of fighting coming from inside.
There was a smell of blood in the cold air.
A dark-skinned man wearing a brown leather robe and with long braids was holding a bloody person and standing directly below him. He spoke in Mobei dialect. Bo Kang could understand part of it; it seemed to be saying, "Next door... Prince... Your Highness..."
Although he had no idea what was going on, why there were people from Mobei here, and why they were disguised as traveling merchants, Bai Kang knew they were being targeted. Whether it was murder or robbery, whether it was the new emperor or someone else's, they had to leave immediately!
Bai Kang quickly climbed down the wall, controlling his pace as he sprinted back, intent on waking the Minister of War and leaving immediately. The cold wind blew across his cheek, threatening to rip a piece of flesh off. The pain was intense. Across from him, a petite, slender figure, like a small animal, wrapped in a fox fur, rushed toward him recklessly.
It was too late to stop. Bo Kang collided head-on with the man, falling with a thud. The man rubbed his head and stood up, only to be pulled into the bushes nearby. Bo Kang raised his hand, ready to knock him unconscious, when he caught sight of his face.
It's a lotus branch.
"...Lian'er? Bo Kang suddenly lost all his strength, unable to run any further. Lianzhi's face was red from the cold, and she was wearing a thin red nightgown, obviously having run out in a hurry.
He lives here, has always been here.
"Brother Kang." Lianzhi blinked. He had lost some weight these days, and the baby fat on his face had faded. He wasn't surprised that Bai Kang was here. "Don't worry, you're safe. It's cold at night, you...you should go back to sleep."
Go back to sleep? Bai Kang was so angry that he almost laughed. Seeing Lianzhi turning around and about to leave, he dragged her back and held her tightly in his arms, "What do you mean? You left without saying goodbye for half a month and didn't reply to my letter. Now that we meet, you want to chase me away?"
"I'll go back." Lianzhi's eyelashes trembled. Of course, Bai Kang couldn't let him get away again. "It's no use saying anything. Come back with me."
"Compared to me, the bloodline of the True Dragon is more important, right?" Lianzhi turned around and looked at him, "Brother Kang, don't forget your business."
Business.
Hearing those four words, Bo Kang subconsciously asked, "Does the True Dragon Bloodline have anything to do with you?"
"Of course, my father's offspring has something to do with me. So, what are you going to do?" Lianzhi's tone was calm, even with a hint of pleading, "Brother Kang, believe me, I will be back soon. Wait for me, you must wait for me."
Bai Kang heard the last sentence as something unusual. His eyebrows jumped, and he inexplicably let go of her hand. Lianzhi pulled him, trying to go back around the back of the courtyard. Before Bai Kang could react, Lianzhi stopped.
Arus stood at the archway and said in North Sea dialect, "I noticed you weren't here, so you ran out for him."
"What do you care where I am!" Lianzhi shouted. Arus drew his sword from its sheath, and Bo Kang quickly blocked Lianzhi's way. A flash of sword light passed before him, and the scimitar cut off a strand of his hair.
"Don't let anyone here go." Arus said slowly, "Isn't that your order? What about Bo Kang? Do you want to make an exception?"
【Author’s words】
I'm finally going to write about the dumplings I made for this vinegar (referring to the real enemy in the copy)
There is only one step left. Who will be the new emperor? (No prize guessing game)
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