Chapter 22: Things will turn around if you take your time. The imperial city has always been magnificent.
Yunsheng followed behind Zhao Changning and reminded her, "Auntie, be careful on the steps."
"Oh." Zhao Changning came back to his senses and continued walking forward with the memorial in his arms.
After Hu Gou'er was imprisoned, she took charge of almost all the affairs surrounding the emperor, including arranging concubines to sleep with him, reading memorials, helping the emperor review memorials, and serving him personally, which exhausted her energy.
She no longer had much interest in finding out what was happening in the court.
That day, the old emperor suddenly mentioned burying people alive with the dead, which really scared her. He was old, suspicious and fickle, and she might be on the list of people to be buried alive with the dead.
This matter was like a thorn stuck in her heart, and she could never let it go.
I even dreamed at night about the list of names of people to be buried alive.
After arriving at the Qinzheng Hall, Zhao Changning noticed that the emperor was dozing off on the throne, and Yunhe was peeking outside.
When she went out to ask, she found out that it was General Song who had returned to report.
Although Zhao Changning no longer paid attention to it, he knew that many people in the court were dissatisfied with Mingxuan's behavior of concealing the death, and said that once such behavior was made public, it would surely cause chaos.
She said to Yunsheng, "Please ask Lord Song to sit in the hall for a while. I will go in and report immediately."
Just as Yunsheng was about to turn around, Yunhe bumped him away with his shoulder.
Zhao Changning grabbed Yunsheng and shook his head gently, signaling him not to move rashly.
Just then, the Fourteenth Prince also arrived. Seeing Zhao Changning, he first looked at her face before asking, "What is your father doing?"
"The Emperor must be tired from listening to memorials and is taking a short nap." Zhao Changning knelt and saluted. "Fourteenth Prince, are you here to report something?"
The Fourteenth Prince's expression was calm, but he got straight to the point. "I heard that General Song is back?"
Zhao Changning understood in his heart that this must be the news from the Eastern Palace. It seemed that they had not completely given up on Mingxuan.
After a few words of mediation, she withdrew.
Perhaps because he knew his life was coming to an end and he was afraid of death, the old emperor needed Zhao Changning more and more. He treated her much more gently and would say a few kind words to her from time to time.
Upon learning that Song Zongheng had returned, the old emperor sighed, "If this matter gets out, I'm afraid there will be chaos for a while."
The fourteenth prince came in first, talked to the emperor for a while, and then left without mentioning Mingxuan.
Zhao Changning looked at the young man's tall back, speechless. It turned out that they were both difficult to deal with.
Song Zongheng was a thin middle-aged man with a square face, a sparse beard, and an empty official uniform. When he saw Zhao Changning, he nodded slightly.
Zhao Changning bowed as a disciple and said respectfully, "Changning greets the teacher."
The old emperor was surprised, "Teacher?"
Zhao Changning smiled and said, "Your Majesty has forgotten that Master Song also serves as a teacher in the inner library."
After a few pleasantries, Song Zongheng got straight to the point.
After reading Mingxuan's confession and defense, he sighed, "What Lord Ming said is true. He really didn't know the situation of the witness in Eunuch Hu's hand. He was indeed separated from his biological mother when he was young, not to mention that his biological mother later remarried. Ignorance is not a crime, so there is no question of running to the funeral and concealing the funeral. It's just that it's difficult to repay a life's kindness. If Lord Ming really lets this matter go unmentioned, I'm afraid that in the future..."
The old emperor remained silent after hearing this.
Zhao Changning also understood the unspoken words. Not everyone is willing to delay their official career due to mourning.
There are so many things in here.
If we really just let it go, there's no guarantee that some people might harbor bad intentions. Once concealing funerals becomes a trend and there are no rules to constrain them, it will be an immeasurable disaster and the foundation of the country will be shaken.
Dayong ruled the world with filial piety, and concealing the death of a deceased person was actually a very serious crime. However, in the past, there were countless cases like Mingxuan's, and in the past, officials did not report them and the people did not investigate them. Now that it has become a big deal, regulations must be established.
It seems that Mingxuan's career is not going well.
After Song Zongheng left, Zhao Changning supported the old emperor, who was still in good spirits, and went to the peach forest to enjoy the scenery.
On the way, she couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, what are you going to do with Master Ming?"
The emperor said calmly, "Dayong has its own laws. We will deal with it as needed."
Zhao Changning bravely answered, then said regretfully, "The Crown Prince admires Master Ming very much. If he really punishes him, wouldn't it be a pity..."
When they were halfway there, the emperor began to pant, and Zhao Changning quickly asked the eunuch to come forward and put a chair.
After the old emperor sat down, he slowly said, "If Mingxuan really had the talent to govern Zhejiang well and get along well with the people in the palace, this chaos would not have happened at all. It would also make the prince understand that if you overreach, you will not be able to achieve great things. You must know that slow things down and things will be better."
Zhao Changning was shocked. Was this a warning to the Crown Prince? Was he accusing him of concealing the truth like Hu Gou'er? The old emperor was actually still afraid of his own son?
She never noticed this.
Thinking of the old emperor's attitude of wanting to control everything, she didn't dare to speak again.
Two hours had passed since I had waited for the emperor to go to bed. When I left the Qinzheng Hall, the golden crow had already set in the west. On my way back to my residence, I saw the fourteenth prince waiting by the moon cave gate.
Willow branches hang down, the spring breeze blows gently, the setting sun shines through the moon-shaped door, half bright and half dark. The Fourteenth Prince is dressed in a jade-white brocade robe, a jade crown on his head, a jade pendant around his waist, and stands tall and graceful. He is extremely pleasing to the eye. Unlike the handsome young master of the Gao Mansion, the Fourteenth Prince exudes an elusive dignity and composure.
He noticed the movement, turned his head and saw Zhao Changning, then smiled slightly, as gentle as a spring breeze.
"Changning, is father okay?"
Zhao Changning bowed slightly, "The Emperor has retired and is in good spirits today."
The Fourteenth Prince said gently, "You asked me before what kind of person Lord Ming was. I told you that he was a good man. I wanted to ask on behalf of this good man, what kind of punishment would he receive?"
Zhao Changning thought of the bottle of medicine and pondered, "Master Ming, it will be difficult to escape this time."
The Fourteenth Prince nodded. "Now that Eunuch Hu is in prison, the Emperor relies solely on you and cannot do without you. Changning, if you could speak a few words for Master Ming, would you speak up?"
Zhao Changning looked directly at the Fourteenth Prince and said gently, "Master Ming is as precious as gold in your eyes. He is a future cabinet candidate and a trusted minister. But you have forgotten that the Imperial City has always been magnificent."
The Fourteenth Prince was stunned for a moment, his eyes flashing slightly.
Zhao Changning bowed again and said, "Changning's strength is weak, which disappoints the Fourteenth Prince."
The Fourteenth Prince came back to his senses, smiled and shook his head, "I forced you, Changning, thank you for what happened last time."
Zhao Changning shook his head, bowed and left in a hurry.
The spring rain was as heavy as oil, and it arrived as promised in the memorial submitted to the Imperial Astronomical Observatory, falling down in a drizzle.
The entire imperial city was plunged into the foggy early spring. The weather suddenly turned cold again, like the chill of winter, and charcoal fires began to burn in various places in the palace.
Things in the court unexpectedly went smoothly. With the common enemy imprisoned, the cabinet's meetings became much faster and no one complained about the hardships and difficulties anymore. The treasury, which was always empty, actually managed to allocate money and food. Gradually, things came into place and things in Zhejiang were gradually put in order.
Because of this, there were rumors that the eunuch party was harming the country.
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Hu Gou'er: Look, I'm dead, and you're putting all the blame on me [bursts into tears][bursts into tears][bursts into tears]
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