Chapter 123 Chapter 123 Fengchu First Year
The heavy and long bell sound rang out from the highest point of the imperial palace and quickly spread to every corner of Chang'an City.
In the summer of the twelfth year of Mingzhen.
In the dampness and mud of the early morning, the saint passed away in Hanyuan Hall.
His death was not disastrous; at least he maintained the dignity that an emperor should have, and passed away peacefully and quietly.
However, until the last moment of his life, this man was unwilling to leave even a single word in his will. The blank imperial edict was like his final resistance at the end of his life.
This man who has spent his entire life using ruthlessness to balance the political situation, even death seems unable to make him show any regrets.
Xie Zhiyan lowered his eyes, looking at the lifeless face. The sinister feeling that had lingered in his heart for many years gradually dissipated as the person died. All the calculations and estrangements seemed to have come to an end at this moment.
He took a step back in silence, as if bidding a final farewell to the man on the couch. He slowly turned around, looked outside the hall, and said in a low, hoarse voice, "Where is the imperial physician?"
The frightened imperial doctors who had been waiting outside the warm room rushed forward upon hearing the sound.
However, when they approached the dragon bed tremblingly and reached out to feel the emperor's breath and pulse, their palms touched only a lifeless body.
The saint's eyes that could see through people's hearts had already lost their luster at this moment, and there was no longer any ripple in their expression.
The leading imperial physician stretched out his hand tremblingly, and as if he would not give up, he once again felt the emperor's breath, but his fingertips touched only dead silence.
He hurriedly pressed the pulse on the side of his neck. After a while, he suddenly retracted his hand, his face as pale as paper, and staggered back a step.
"His Majesty."
"His Majesty has ascended to heaven on his dragon."
As if to confirm his words, outside the Hanyuan Hall, the clouds cleared and the rain stopped, casting golden light on the rain-washed hall. The glazed tiles reflected dazzling light, water vapor rose, and there was a hazy fog everywhere.
The hall suddenly fell silent, followed by shrill cries, and no one knew who was shouting.
"His Majesty."
"He's passed away!"
The court officials were thrown into chaos, with panic written all over their faces.
Without a will and without a male heir, the Xiao family would have no chance to rule the country and its people.
"A country cannot be without a ruler for a day!"
Sheng Baiya took a step forward, and his voice resounded loudly throughout Hanyuan Hall.
His hair and beard were all white, but his expression was remarkably firm. He looked around at the ministers, all with varying expressions, and said in a clear voice, "Although Your Majesty has not yet designated a crown prince, the foundation of the country is paramount, and the people and the country come first."
"Looking at the royal bloodline, there is no prince left to inherit the throne."
At this point, Sheng Baiya's voice sank, and his sharp gaze finally fixed on Xiao Heyin, who was dressed in military uniform.
His voice became increasingly high: "Princess Heyin is the legitimate daughter of the Empress of the Central Palace. She is of noble status and of pure bloodline."
"Grand Master, this cannot happen..." Some court officials subconsciously wanted to stop him.
However, Sheng Baiya didn't even look at him and continued, "The princess is a man of both military and literary talents. She fought bravely at the border to protect the mountains and rivers of Dayan. She has the talent to stabilize the country."
"In terms of emotion, reason, talent and virtue, it is my unwavering responsibility to inherit the throne. This is the trend of the times."
After Sheng Baiya finished speaking, he took a deep breath, bent down, and slowly knelt down towards Xiao Heyin.
"I, your honored servant, have the audacity to support the princess as the new ruler. Do you, my colleagues, have any objections?"
objection?
Now that things have come to this, who dares to object?
There was deathly silence in Hanyuan Hall.
Even if someone dared to curse "hens crowing at dawn" in their heart, they would not dare to show it on their face. They would bite their lips tightly and dare not even breathe.
After all, an hour ago, the Hanyuan Palace was still a river of blood.
The princess before her was not a weak woman raised in the deep palace who only knew about romance. She was a real evil spirit that emerged from the sea of blood and corpses at Yumen Pass.
Anyone who dares to say "no" loudly will probably have his head blown off in the blink of an eye.
"Your servants, we dare not raise any objection."
Xiao Heyin accepted the kneeling of the crowd with an expressionless face. She did not think that she was the winner, but just because of the right time, place and people, she happened to receive the fruits of victory.
*
The saint's funeral was held with great honor and the whole country was in mourning.
By the time the long mourning period was over, Chang'an City had already entered autumn with yellow leaves flying everywhere.
On the day Xiao Heyin ascended the throne, the sky was high and the clouds were vast.
The twelfth year of Mingzhen has become the past, and the first year of Fengchu belongs to a new era.
Her birth was not favored at that time, but no one could have imagined that one day, she, the princess who had been exiled to her fiefdom for more than ten years, would become the new master of Dayan.
"He Yin."
"Are you happy?"
Xiao Heyin stood at the highest point in the world, her lips moved and she laughed softly. She asked herself and answered, "I'm very happy."
On the night when the empress ascended the throne, Prince An hanged himself in Tianlong, just like Prince Ning who was forced to death by him.
Princess An should have been executed for the same crime, but the empress did not seem to want to kill her. She gave Princess An another option: "Shave your head and become a nun, worship the Buddha by the green lamp, and end the rest of your life."
But this is not a woman's kindness, perhaps it is just an indifference to past grudges. Sometimes, living is often a thousand times more painful than dying.
Many officials participated in the rebellion, especially the eldest branch of the Xie family.
This princess, who ascended the throne with an iron fist, seemed cold-blooded, but she handled things in a methodical manner.
The main culprit, Xie Juyuan, was sentenced to death by beheading, and his family members were dismissed from their posts and exiled. They would never be pardoned and would never be allowed to return to Chang'an.
The day before the rebellion, Qin finally did something sensible. She forced her eldest daughter-in-law Xue Qinghui to divorce her eldest son Xie Mingzong. Regardless of Xue Qinghui's wishes, she directly ordered the maid to keep a close eye on her and took her back to Xue Qinghui's parents' home.
It is not known whether she had anticipated this or the death of her eldest daughter made her repent, but she ultimately saved Xue Qinghui and her eldest granddaughter from the suffering of exile.
Xie Jiyan had been carefully treated by Chen Ce for a period of time due to his leg injury. Although he was not fully recovered, he was able to walk with the help of a cane. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise.
On the day when the eldest branch of the Xie family left Chang'an, Sheng Puju stood on a high city wall. The wind raised dust. The once gorgeous lady of Chang'an was now in tattered clothes and staggering.
She sighed in her heart, and finally ordered her confidant to catch up secretly and give him some warm clothes and money.
All the love and hate has finally come to an end.
In late autumn, the morning light was dim and white frost formed on the bamboo strips of the rolling curtains.
Sheng Puzhu woke up slowly, with a lingering tiredness between his brows.
Just as she was about to move her body, she realized that her soft waist was being firmly held in the arms of a strong and powerful arm.
"When did you come back?" Sheng Puzhu blinked, and what came into her sight was Xie Zhiyan's handsome and flawless sleeping face.
He should be awake, but he just didn't want to move. There was a noticeable dark spot under his eyes and some stubble on his chin. He was obviously very tired. He returned home at night, washed up quickly, and then fell asleep in her arms.
Xie Zhiyan didn't respond, still keeping his eyes closed, but he used more force with his arms, even pressing down tentatively.
"Woo..." They hadn't done this for a long time, and Sheng Puju couldn't bear it. She couldn't help but hum softly, her voice still hoarse from just waking up.
He quickly reached out and grabbed the man's restless wrist.
Xie Zhiyan didn't even lift his eyelids, his nose unconsciously rubbing against her neck, sniffing the reassuring fragrance, and mumbled, "I came back about an hour ago. I missed you."
What you think is self-evident.
Having not slept enough for an hour, Sheng Puzhu was worried about his physical condition. He looked out the window at the still slightly bright sky and realized that it was indeed still early.
"Then you should go to sleep first, my dear."
Xie Zhiyan was obviously unwilling, and his hand still did not loosen, and he was trying more and more excessively.
Sheng Puzhu had no choice but to lower her voice and coax him: "Night...let's talk about it at night."
Thinking about the various trivial matters in the palace recently, she couldn't help but worry, and whispered softly: "Are you still going to the palace today?"
"If you want to get up early, I'll call you later."
"No." Xie Zhiyan closed his eyes and shook his head, his voice tired, "Let Chen Ce take over for me."
"Brother?" Sheng Puzhu was surprised. When did Shen Ce return to Chang'an?
Xie Zhiyan finally slowly opened his eyes. He sighed in a low voice with a hint of nonchalance.
"There are too many things piling up in the palace. It's impossible to handle them all in a short time. Besides, Xiao Heyin is impatient by nature. Now that he has encountered those slow-paced ministers, he is eager to take action if he is not satisfied."
At this point, Xie Zhiyan's tone was filled with some rare complaints: "She can't beat me, but some of the old ministers in the court are so old that they are almost boneless. I'm afraid that Xiao Heyin will punch them and send them away directly."
“I really didn’t have the patience to deal with it anymore, so I brought Shen Ce into the palace.”
Sheng Puzhu was still surprised: "Brother, what are you doing in the palace?"
Xie Zhiyan suppressed his laughter: "What else can he do? He is the imperial physician."
"It just so happened that Xiao Heyin beat someone up, and he was able to heal him right after."
"Many people think that his medical skills are amazing, and that he was able to persuade the Empress, and they are simply grateful to him."
Xie Zhiyan closed his eyes, his voice became lower and lower, and his breathing became lighter.
Ever since Prince An started his rebellion, he has been on the move day after day, with no time to rest at all.
First, he had to take care of the funeral ceremonies for the late emperor, and then he had to deal with a series of complicated affairs such as the empress's enthronement. He probably slept less than two hours a day, and he hadn't had a good rest for several months.
In fact, there are some things that he doesn't need to worry about, but Sheng Puzhu had lost a lot of weight because of the prince's funeral, and this time the funeral ceremony of the late emperor was even more complicated.
He was reluctant to let his wife suffer, but not showing up during the funeral would inevitably lead to criticism, so Xie Zhiyan simply found an excuse to arrange matters himself and put all the burdens on his shoulders.
Brother went to the palace?
Sheng Puzhu was still in a daze. She knew that her brother was like an eagle soaring in the sky and freedom was his lifelong pursuit, but she did not expect that he would take on the position of imperial physician.
But wouldn’t it be a bad idea? Living with the emperor is like living with a tiger. Even if Xiao Heyin has a good temper, with his brother’s temper, can he really stand the boring life in the palace?
Xie Zhiyan should have fallen asleep, but somehow he woke up again. He tilted his head back and kissed Sheng Puzhu's soft lips: "What are you thinking about?"
"Was my brother forced?" This was the only reason Sheng Puzhu could think of.
Xie Zhiyan kissed her hard, his breath fell on her snow-white neck, her skin was burning, and her body was trembling slightly.
"What are you forcing?"
"Our Imperial Physician Shen is very skilled."
"Yeah, and I'll serve you personally."
Sheng Puzhu was stunned for a moment, then reacted and his eyes suddenly widened.
"Is he crazy?"
"Xiao Heyin is the empress. Even if he takes a concubine, he can't become the male queen!"
Xie Zhiyan uttered a vague "hmm" through his nose, and after a long silence, he suddenly asked, "Madam, are you very envious of He Yin?"
Sheng Puzhu was confused: "What are you envious of?"
Xie Zhiyan took it for granted: "I envy you for having three thousand handsome men in your harem."
Sheng Puzhu: “…” We were clearly talking nicely, but why was he inexplicably jealous?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
