Chapter 28
Even though he didn't hear the word "Father", and even though the dates allocated to him were given to a eunuch.
But when Emperor Chongzhao held the date, he felt strangely as if he was scratched by something with soft thorns, a little prickly and a little stuffy.
It turned out that he didn't throw away the bamboo strips on purpose at first, but was worried about wasting the dates. He couldn't imagine what kind of life his youngest son had led in the past, why he treasured a winter date so much.
Emperor Chongzhao was distracted for a while, and soon he heard the sound of a child making noises at night coming from the bed. He walked over and said, "I'll come."
The child on the bed stopped making noise as soon as he got into his hands.
Emperor Chongzhao whispered, "If I hold you, it's my father. If I don't hold you, it's your majesty. How would you know that I stayed with you all night yesterday? You are so young, but you have a temper."
He reached out his hand and touched the child. The child's body was still very hot and must be uncomfortable. Normally, a child would cry and make a fuss, but the youngest child was just a little clingy and was considered sensible.
It is this stubborn temper that is vaguely revealed...
He waved his hand.
Eunuch Yu was very tactful and pulled Ye Xiaoyuan back to the outer room.
Ye Xiaoyuan was still worried, so he looked back. Eunuch Yu said softly, "Your Majesty knows the pros and cons. The imperial physician is waiting outside. We will go in and guard him later. You don't have to worry. His Majesty and your Highness haven't spent much time together for nearly three years. This is also an opportunity to enhance the father-son relationship."
Ye Xiaoyuan nodded.
He knew that the only person His Highness could rely on in the palace was His Majesty.
Eunuch Yu glanced at the winter jujubes he held in his hand and said meaningfully, "Just take good care of the young prince. Good days are ahead."
Stepping out of the palace gate, Ye Xiaoyuan said softly: "Your Highness is fine, so am I."
-
In the palace.
Qu Dubian continued to torment Emperor Chongzhao until midnight. When he thought it was enough, he played with the simulator for a while before going to bed.
He stopped making trouble, and Emperor Chongzhao finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The leader of the secret guards seized the opportunity and appeared in the hall. He was like a shadow, silent and motionless.
"Your Majesty, I have something to report."
Emperor Chongzhao: "Speak softly. What's the matter?"
"Yi Twelve appeared in front of people without permission. The new evaluation results show that his stealth value has exceeded the dangerous range. According to the Shadow Law, he must be sentenced to death or have his martial arts abolished and imprisoned. I am here to ask how to punish him."
In fact, he could handle it directly by himself, but Yi Twelve had no choice but to show up to save the little prince, so it is not excessive for him to ask for instructions.
Maybe we can save Yi Twelve's life.
Emperor Chongzhao was indifferent to these names. During the reigns of successive emperors, countless secret guards named Yi Twelve died in unknown places.
He frowned and said, "According to the rules, we should give him two days to choose and then deal with him. Why bother reporting this?"
The baby in my arms has just fallen asleep, it would be bad if he wakes her up.
The leader of the secret guards lowered his head and said, "Yes." Then he disappeared into the hall.
Emperor Chongzhao also went to bed. It was foreseeable that there would be a big disturbance at the early court tomorrow morning. He needed to get enough rest so that he would have the energy to deal with those troublesome ministers.
Yi Twelve? This name suddenly appeared in Qu Dubian's ears.
He was deeply impressed by this name. So far, the only people who could earn a long-term meal ticket worth one year of life by brushing up their favorability were Wen Xiaochun, Zhang Chansi, the deputy director of the Stargazing Department, and Yi Twelve, who was secretly observing him.
He attaches great importance to these three people.
Qu Dubian opened the simulator and took a look. Currently, Wen Xiaochun's favorability has risen to 45. It seems that the rate of increase is slower and slower as time goes by. It's a steady process and there's no need to rush.
That deputy director...his favorability hasn't changed.
It was 7 from the beginning and it is still 7 now.
She was from the Star Observatory. Last time, she took the initiative to find him and said something without any context, "This matter started with fire, and will end with fire." Not long after, the Star Observatory caught fire... It's hard to say that it had nothing to do with her.
He is unsure of the other party's intentions, so Qu Watanabe has no plans to contact her for the time being.
As for Yi Twelve, his favorability towards him is currently 0.
Qu Duanbian remembered that he was the one who found him and brought him back, and by the way, he experienced the feeling of floating on water. Was it because of the reason just now that Yi Twelve hesitated for so long before appearing?
If you exceed the so-called secret value, you will die.
Qu Dubian looked at the favorability number 0. In this person's eyes, he should be no different from a stranger. Why would he choose to use his own life to save an unrelated child, just because he is a prince?
No, no, this person cannot die.
No matter from which perspective, you can't die.
-
The next day.
Court.
Many court officials smelled something unusual.
At the morning court today, Prince Ming was present. Everyone present knew the temperament of this prince. Although he was in charge of the clan members, he never paid much attention to matters in the court.
But his appearance means big things are going to happen.
The Left Vice Minister of Rites knew the inside story, after all, the Emperor had been talking to him about it for an entire afternoon yesterday, but at this moment he pretended to be clueless.
The boss pulled him aside to ask, but he shook his head and said, "Well, who knows? We can just follow the crowd when the time comes."
The Minister of Rites stroked his beard and nodded: "Indeed, as long as it has nothing to do with the etiquette system, it has nothing to do with our Ministry of Rites."
The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites: “…Yes.”
The eunuch sang the ceremony, Emperor Chongzhao appeared, and the morning court officially began.
Everything was very quiet. Just as the morning court was about to end and everyone was puzzled, Eunuch Yu read out an imperial edict in public:
"Your Madam Yun, Xu, was a woman of virtue and good fortune, and was gentle and kind. She gave birth to an heir and comforted me. Your sudden death pains me deeply. I should posthumously confer the title of Empress to show my appreciation. I have ordered the Ministry of Rites to draft a posthumous title, refer to the old precedent, and work with other ministries to discuss it."
A huge rock hit the water with a loud bang!
The Minister of Rites jumped out like a rabbit with its butt sticking out, and knelt down and shouted, "Your Majesty, you can't——!"
He knelt so hard that he even slipped a little.
"Your Majesty, please think twice!"
"Your Majesty, please think twice!"
They all knelt on the ground.
Prince Ming raised his eyebrows slightly, but he was not surprised by this scene.
After all, your majesty has many children. There are already three princes who have been established. The maternal families of the empress and concubines have complex ties with the previous dynasty and are more or less related to them. Some ministers may have already begun to place secret bets. No matter what their considerations are, they do not want any changes.
Emperor Chongzhao looked at them quietly with excitement on their faces.
Minister of Rites: "Your Majesty, the last dynasty of the previous dynasty perished in a turmoil over the throne. Emperor Yingyong posthumously conferred the title of empress on Li Wang's mother and made Li Wang his eldest son. His biological mother was posthumously conferred the title of empress, and her followers used the reason of primogeniture to suppress the reigning empress's son, Prince Fan. The two princes fought and colluded with foreign tribes, and Daliang was destroyed.
When our dynasty was founded, Taizu set a rule that if a concubine gave birth to a prince, the posthumous title she was given could not exceed that of the empress. If this rule is broken, the previous dynasty may be destroyed. I hope Your Majesty will revoke this order!"
The prince who was posthumously conferred the title of Queen's concubine was naturally half a head higher in status than other princes, so his superiority was self-evident.
There were also some officials who thought they were smart and took a step back, saying, "Empress Yun may be posthumously conferred the title of Noble Consort or Imperial Noble Consort, but she must not be posthumously conferred the title of Empress."
All officials agreed.
It's not that they disagree with the emperor posthumously conferring titles on his empress and concubines. The people are gone, so you can confer titles however you want on them and give them whatever posthumous titles you want. Concubine Yun is the daughter of the Marquis of the Sword, and they would not bother to stop it and cause the resentment of an old marquis who has made many contributions.
However, directly posthumously conferring the title from concubine to queen would not only involve ancestral system, but would also be very likely to shake the foundation of the country.
They absolutely cannot agree to this!
Emperor Chongzhao said calmly: "Today, I am only informing you, my dear ministers, not discussing it."
As soon as these words were spoken, the court, which had just calmed down, exploded even more violently.
The clan members could no longer stand and were about to go out to talk when Prince Ming coughed and reminded them with a smile, "You'd better watch out. This is my brother's family affair. If you step out today, the king will bring the girls he likes from Chunfeng Tower to visit us and ask the aunts and sisters-in-law to take a look at them."
Clan members: "..."
It was obvious that Prince Ming came to help the emperor maintain order, but he happened to have leverage over many of his relatives.
There was a sudden silence here.
The Minister of Rites was so excited that he almost fell down.
Zuo Shilang quickly helped him up and said, "My lord, be careful."
Minister of Rites: "Thank you very much."
The left assistant minister said in a sonorous tone: "Please take a break, I will come!"
The Minister of Rites' eyes filled with tears: "Well, you are worthy of being a member of the Ministry of Rites."
The left assistant minister moved his boss aside, then lifted his official uniform and spoke righteously: "I support your majesty's posthumous title of Concubine Yun!"
Minister of Rites: “…”
He looked at his subordinate in disbelief, and then suddenly realized that this bastard with thick eyebrows and big eyes was actually his Majesty's man? !
The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites was called to the palace yesterday and discussed things for an entire afternoon. Of course, he knew when he should make his debut.
He passed on a message to Emperor Chongzhao: "Your Majesty is wise and virtuous, and will definitely not let the tragedy of the previous dynasty happen again. I believe that Your Majesty has come up with a perfect plan to posthumously confer the title of Empress Yun on Concubine Yun."
Emperor Chongzhao said with relief: "Yes, my dear minister, you understand me."
The Minister of Rites couldn't help but swear in his heart.
Could you please act more fake?
Emperor Chongzhao: "I have decided to abolish the ancestral rule that concubines with princes cannot be posthumously named empresses. At the same time, I have also decided to abolish the precedence of the sons of posthumously named empresses from the previous dynasty."
Abolish the ancestral system and the system inherited from the previous dynasty.
Eliminate the chaos caused by the last two kings of the previous dynasty at its root.
Some officials still hesitated: "But, after all, it is the ancestral rule..."
Emperor Chongzhao: "Taizu established this rule, rather than completely abolishing the system of the previous dynasty, in order to appease and win over the hearts of the courtiers of the previous dynasty, stabilize the court as soon as possible, and pacify the four directions. Now that the Great Zhou is stable and the subjects are loyal, why can't I abolish this ancestral system?"
All the officials began to deliberate and discuss the matter.
The emperor's voice on the dragon throne suddenly became low.
"Or do you think that you all have your heart set on the previous dynasty and think that even an old rule from the previous dynasty cannot be abolished?"
This hat is really too big.
The ministers were shocked and bowed their heads, saying, "We dare not!"
Emperor Chongzhao stood up, flicked his sleeves, and looked down at the ministers below. "Since it does not harm the foundation of the country and is even beneficial, why can't the old system and old rules be changed? Can't they be abolished? Who are you loyal to, the tablets of your ancestors, the Great Zhou, or me?"
"What is the ancestral system? I change it and abolish it today. A hundred years later, it will still be the ancestral system!"
The Minister of Rites saw through this drama, felt sorry for himself for sliding out on his knees, and was the first to bow, "Your Majesty is wise."
Emperor Chongzhao smiled slightly and began to give in. "The Seventh Prince is still young after all. I will choose a new concubine to raise him. He will not be raised by the Queen. All the princes will be treated equally. My dear ministers, do you have any objections?"
He did not tell anyone what the Astronomical Bureau had said about his youngest son. Although it would be troublesome to argue with the court officials, it was much better than spreading the news that "Your Majesty abolished the ancestral system and posthumously conferred the title of empress on Concubine Yun in order to suppress the evil power of the Seventh Prince" and pushing his youngest son to the forefront.
After a tough battle, the emperor gave in and took a step back to save his face. There was no point in them insisting any further.
Since it does not harm the country's foundation, these old guys are unwilling to argue with the emperor about this.
The Minister of Rites received the order, and the matter of Concubine Yun being posthumously conferred the title of Queen was finalized. All that remained was to choose an auspicious day, burn incense, carve the posthumous title, and register it with the Ministry of Rites.
When the court was dismissed, King Ming nodded to the clan members who were forcibly dragged here, "Thank you for your hard work!"
Although clan members are basically just a decoration, they must be present when the ancestral system is changed, otherwise the emperor will have to call them together for a small meeting later, wasting time.
"In the future, if something like this happens, just let me know. We won't be mascots anymore."
Another morning court session in which the emperor and his ministers enjoyed good relations came to an end.
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