Chapter 126 Three Wills
At this time, the atmosphere in the side hall of Yugan Palace was not good.
The Empress Dowager, the Fourth Prince Song Mo, the Second and Third Princes, as well as members of the royal family and important civil and military officials were all present.
"I'm very skeptical, Prince Gong. You said the Emperor appointed the fourth brother, Song Mo, as the new emperor. But Song Mo is only fourteen this year, isn't he? He's neither the eldest son nor the legitimate heir, and he hasn't even reached adulthood yet. What qualifications does he have? If the Emperor wanted to appoint someone younger, why not the Crown Prince's son, Song An? They're both equally young, but wouldn't it be more legitimate to appoint Song An?"
Facing the questioning from Prince Cheng, the second prince, Song Mo had a blank expression on his face. His father was so kind to leave him such a pit!
Prince Cheng's doubts are reasonable.
"Where is Wei Zili? Let him come out. The late emperor should have left other words. Ask him!" A minister suggested.
Wei Zili and Lu Desheng were burning paper for the late emperor in the main hall, and the concubines were also mourning. The two of them did not speak and ignored the noisy situation in the side hall.
Until Wei Zili was invited over.
"Wei Zili, did our father leave any evidence to allow our fourth brother to ascend the throne?" Prince Cheng asked actively.
Wei Zili lowered his head and replied submissively, "The emperor once left behind three secret decrees. Once these three secret decrees are issued, the orthodoxy will be established." It was a secret decree before, but now it has become a will.
As soon as this was said, everyone realized that the will in Prince Gong's hand was one of them? Then who had the other two?
"Who has the other two secret orders?" Song Mo asked Wei Zili directly.
Wei Zili shook his head, "I don't know."
In other words, there are still two copies of the will in the hands of all the ministers.
The three princes at the top looked at the ministers below calmly, and the ministers were also looking at and evaluating each other.
Song Mo said loudly, "My dear ministers, who has the will? Please show it to me."
No one moved.
"The country cannot be without a king for a day. Ministers who hold the imperial edict must not delay such an important national event." Prince Gong also followed suit.
The Fourth Prince's heart moved. He looked at the palace attendant beside him and said, "Go to the main hall and invite Lu Desheng."
Everyone thought of Lu Desheng at the same time. Could one of the edicts be in his hands?
In fact, they admired Lu Desheng very much. The late emperor took away so many ministers this time. Everyone thought that he would be taken away too. After all, the late emperor liked him so much, but he managed to escape and survived.
Thinking of the imperial edict that he was most likely holding in his hand, everyone felt sad. Great Emperor, how much doted on Lu Desheng you were, giving him one protection after another, and a golden medal of immunity from death was not enough, so you also gave him an imperial edict... Were you afraid that he would accidentally kill himself, or were you afraid that he would not live long enough?
Not long after, Lu Desheng was invited to the side hall.
He walked in unsteadily, his eyes were red, his eyelids were swollen, and his voice was nasal.
Lu Desheng opened his eyes red as a rabbit and said, "Last will? What last will? I don't know." He had been kneeling to burn paper for Emperor Kang Cheng just now, and now he was shaking when walking.
Seeing him like this, the ministers felt uncomfortable. Didn't they think that you were the only pure and kind minister, and they were all heartless and ruthless?
Several princes were also uncomfortable. Lu Desheng's behavior made them seem very unfilial.
The Empress Dowager said angrily, "Lü Desheng, if the will is in your hands, please take it out. Don't hide it. You're delaying the important task of inheriting the dynasty. Can you bear the consequences?"
The Empress Dowager was in a terrible mood. The late Emperor had passed away without leaving her a decree granting her a higher title! She was his biological mother, yet he treated her like this! What an unfilial son! Moreover, he had taken his uncle away, leaving behind the annoying Lu Desheng to be an eyesore!
Lu Desheng cried out for injustice, "Empress Dowager, I really don't remember such a thing." Humph, I just didn't take it, so what?
"Why don't the Empress Dowager and the three princes ask other ministers? If there is nothing else, I would like to return to the main hall to continue mourning for the emperor." In fact, he should call him the late emperor, but he just calls him the emperor affectionately, as if the emperor was still alive.
The Queen Mother couldn't bear to see him like this, and immediately said coldly, "You are so reluctant to leave the Emperor. The Emperor loved you the most when he was alive. Why don't you go down and be buried with the Emperor?"
Wei Zili, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke up, "Empress Dowager, the late emperor left behind an edict. After his death, no one is allowed to execute ministers in the name of burying them with him!"
Ministers: ...
The Empress Dowager choked even more.
The Empress Dowager was slapped in the face, and all the ministers lowered their heads hurriedly: The general meaning of this will is that I have personally taken away the people I wanted to take away. After I die, you can kill anyone you want, but you cannot kill them in the name of burying them with me. I will not take the blame for this!
The late emperor really went there well prepared.
The Empress Dowager was furious and said, "Go away, go and mourn for the Emperor!"
Lu Desheng rolled away swiftly and returned to the main hall. He immediately took three sticks of incense and burned them for Emperor Kang Cheng, silently chanting in his heart, "May the emperor bless you, may the emperor bless you."
Several princes and ministers allowed Lu Desheng to leave the side hall because he said directly that there was no will and clearly refused to cooperate. They couldn't force him by torture, right?
Since we know that one of the wills is in his hands, it is important to find the other one first.
Song Mo lowered his eyes and could only ask him privately what his request was.
The second prince and the third prince looked at each other with ambiguous expressions in their eyes.
Unfortunately, no matter how much they inquired, the other will did not appear. Thus, the matter entered a delicate stage.
However, although the legitimacy of the Fourth Prince's succession to the throne was not confirmed because the two edicts did not appear, with the endorsement of Prince Gong and the Empress Dowager, the funeral of the late emperor could be held. The funeral was presided over by the Fourth Prince, assisted by the Second and Third Princes.
Chang'an Prison
Lin Ran and others sent the Qin family to Da'an Prison and left. Sheng Huaixing left later. He said hello to Lord Wang Yuan, the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple.
Later, the Qin family was divided into two groups, men and women, and imprisoned in two adjacent cells at the very edge, which were relatively quiet and clean. The jailer also brought them two bundles of straw.
"Thank you very much."
"polite."
Lu Songli knew that they were being taken care of by someone.
"Let's try to clean up this place." Lu Songli suggested.
She knew the importance of hygiene, as people were most likely to get sick in a dirty and messy environment. Not to mention the women in her family, who were old and young, and a woman who had just given birth.
When the jailer heard her say she wanted to clean up, he brought her a broom.
Lu Songli didn't let them do anything. As for the women, Madam Qin wasn't feeling well, likely having been frightened today. Her face was pale, and she was holding her newborn granddaughter with all her strength. She certainly wouldn't let Nie Yunniang labor alone. Qin Jia sensibly pulled her sister, Qin Zhen, along.
Lu Songli first cleared out a relatively dry place, spread half of the straw on it for Nie Yunniang and Madam Qin to sit down and rest.
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