“You may not believe it.”

Duke Cheng said, looking at the officials.

"My so-called conspiracy and escape was arranged by your majesty."

Your Majesty’s arrangement?

Here we go again.

The officials looked at Duke Cheng with some helplessness.

It's really hard to believe this, just like Ning Yunzhao who was holding the imperial edict, insisting that this was the emperor's arrangement. If you have any questions, you can ask His Majesty.

You guys are just saying whatever you want to say since the emperor can't speak or move, right?

Such a big thing, and only you and the emperor know about it? Does the emperor treat state affairs as a joke or does he not take the civil and military officials of the court seriously?

"What happened was too sudden, and your majesty suspected that there was a traitor in the court, so he kept it secret." Duke Cheng said gently.

Traitor?

These words made the expressions of the officials present change slightly.

What? Not only is he trying to clear his own sins while the emperor is silent, but he is also trying to take the opportunity to strike back and retaliate against dissidents to clear his name?

We can't let him stray off topic.

"Duke Cheng, what's too sudden?" an official asked hurriedly with a frown, interrupting the conversation.

"The war was raging at the time, but the Jin people suddenly proposed peace talks," said Duke Chengguo.

What's so sudden?

Isn't it normal for the Jin people to take the initiative to negotiate peace because the war situation is unfavorable?

If there is anything strange, it should be that His Majesty the Emperor agreed to peace talks when the war was victorious.

At that time, the court was in dispute over this matter, and Ning Yan even resigned from his post because of it.

Duke Chengguo also refused to back down from the order.

"No, the Jin people were not in a disadvantageous situation at that time." Duke Cheng said, "In addition to the previous Jin soldiers, the Jin people had gathered nearly 50,000 troops in their country. If they really had to fight, it would be hard to say who would win and who would lose."

The officials looked at the Duke with more complicated expressions.

I didn't expect that Duke Cheng would be so humble.

"In short, Your Majesty thought it was very unusual for the Jin people to negotiate peace." Duke Cheng ignored the looks of the crowd and continued to speak gently, "So you just agreed to it, just to see what the Jin people were up to."

"So what's the plan?" an official asked.

Duke Cheng looked at him and pointed at himself.

"Sowing discord, framing, getting rid of me." He said, and pointed at the imperial city, "Sneak attack on the capital."

Did His Majesty the Emperor notice this?

His Majesty the Emperor is so wise and powerful?

"Your Majesty is wise and powerful." Duke Cheng did not stop and continued, bowing to the emperor. "You immediately detected the Jin people's intention, so you used their trick to convict me. The Jin people did send troops, and I had already returned to the north to secretly mobilize troops, which was how I foiled the Jin people's evil plan in time."

When the Duke of Qinghe was besieged by the Jin army in the north, the situation was critical and all the officials present knew that it was the Duke of Cheng who suddenly appeared and led the troops to break the siege and repel the Jin army. Everyone also knows this.

Moreover, the reinforcements arrived in time and repelled the Jin soldiers who were besieging the capital.

It sounds like this was indeed arranged in advance.

but…

This seems to make sense, but if you think about it carefully, it is nonsense!

"Since we already knew that the Jin people had evil intentions, we should have defeated them in one fell swoop." An official raised his eyebrows and said, "Why did we give the Jin people a chance?"

Yes, let’s not talk about anything else, just think about the siege of the capital, which caused tremendous casualties.

This is like knowing it is a tiger, but still putting your arm into its mouth to prove that tigers will bite people?

"Because only in this way can we defeat the Jin army in one fell swoop." Duke Cheng looked at him and said, "This is a brave man cutting off his own arm."

A strong man cuts off his arm?

"I've said before that the Jin people had gathered all their forces at that time. We talked about peace talks at that time to confuse them and to weaken their momentum. If we didn't talk about peace talks and fought hard, we would have paid a greater price and might not have been able to hurt the Jin people's vitality." Duke Cheng continued, looking at everyone, "Now that the Jin people have bitten our arms, they think their evil plan has succeeded, so they will fight with all their strength. A blow to them now will be enough to kill them."

There was a murmur of discussion in the court.

"And more." said Duke Cheng.

His voice was neither high nor low, neither fast nor slow, but it immediately stopped the discussion and everyone looked over.

"The Jin army marched southward, and our people successfully raided the Jin capital." Duke Cheng said with a slight smile, "Just three days ago, the news was finally confirmed."

Confirm what?

"The Jin Dynasty Emperor Tuoba Zong died of his injuries," said Duke Cheng.

What?

The Jin emperor is dead!

There was an uproar in the court.

"No wonder the Jin army suddenly retreated." Ning Yan said.

Because the capital was under siege and the emperor was ill, the court was in chaos. They only confirmed that the Jin soldiers in the north had retreated, but they didn't know that it was because the Jin emperor had died.

"Great." An official couldn't help but high-five, his expression excited. "The Jin Kingdom has many princes, and the princes also command their own troops. Now that the emperor is dead, it is conceivable that there will be internal turmoil."

First, the army was consumed in the north, and then the country fell into civil strife. It was inevitable that the Jin Dynasty would suffer a great loss of vitality this time.

All the court officials looked at Duke Cheng with complicated expressions, and no longer had the previous doubts.

If this was really planned from the beginning, then it really is...

"Your Majesty is wise!"

A voice rang out.

Everyone is familiar with this sound.

Ning Yunzhao had already knelt down in front of the emperor's throne in the hall.

The throne was empty, but behind the curtain there was someone sitting.

That was the Queen behind the curtains, but she was not alone. Next to the Queen was a bed, on which lay the Emperor.

Although the emperor could not speak or move, because he was still conscious, everyone finally decided to let him attend court and listen to everyone's discussions on state affairs.

It seems that in this way, the decisions we make can be justified.

"Your Majesty, you are wise." Ning Yunzhao raised his head, his expression more tragic than usual, and kowtowed heavily once again.

"Your Majesty is wise." Duke Chengguo immediately knelt down and kowtowed.

The other officials followed suit without hesitation.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

For a moment, the sound in the hall was like the ringing of huge bells.

Watching the actions of these court officials and hearing the praise, the queen couldn't help but wipe away her tears.

"Your Majesty is truly a wise and enlightened monarch," she said, choking with sobs.

But why did I get this disease?

She looked at the emperor and saw that tears were flowing even more violently from his eyes.

The emperor's tears never stopped these days.

At first everyone thought that the emperor was sad because of his illness, but as time went on, one of the imperial doctors said that he had no other way to express his feelings except crying.

Does that mean that we can shed tears when we are sad, and we can also shed tears when we are happy?

Now, under your majesty's planning, the emperor of the Jin Dynasty has died, and the Jin Dynasty has been severely damaged by chaos. Your majesty must be very happy to know this.

"Your Majesty is also very happy." The Queen reached out to wipe the Emperor's tears and said to the outside with a trembling voice, "You all, please stand up."

Many officials stood up and bowed in thanks.

But Duke Cheng just knelt there without moving.

"I heard that the court hasn't appointed a crown prince yet?" he suddenly said.

The officials present were startled.

Here it comes!

As expected, Duke Cheng would definitely intervene in the matter of the Crown Prince.

"Duke Cheng is wrong!" Ning Yunzhao's voice sounded, his expression somewhat serious, holding up the imperial edict in his hand, "Your Majesty has already appointed the Crown Prince."

"No!" The Queen's voice immediately rang out from behind the curtain, trembling and sharp, "This is not your Majesty's edict!"

Hearing this sound, the officials present all sighed.

It starts again.

There has been chaos in the court these days. The Ministry of Justice's prison is filled with eunuchs and Jinyiwei. As the interrogations and tortures continue, more and more people are arrested. The capital is in turmoil and people are in panic. But this is not the most important thing. In fact, the most important thing in the court is only one thing, which is the selection of the crown prince.

Ning Yunzhao held the imperial edict every day and was determined to make Prince Huai the crown prince. At the same time, a group of officials surrounded him. However, the queen naturally did not allow it and insisted that her eldest son should be the crown prince. She also had a group of officials around her to support her.

In addition, other princes were also operating in private, and some officials remained neutral and watched the excitement, and the situation was in chaos for a while.

Every court meeting began and ended with the competition for the crown prince.

The quarrel has been going on for a long time but has not yet produced any results.

Now Duke Cheng has also returned and started to participate.

"You, Little Lord Ning, are the only one who has seen and received His Majesty's edict." Duke Cheng looked at Ning Yunzhao, "No wonder everyone is suspicious. In this matter, we still need to convince people with reason."

The queen's eyes lit up as she sat behind the curtain.

This means that Duke Cheng also does not believe in this edict.

Ning Yunzhao looked calm.

"To me, Your Majesty is the justice of heaven," he said.

Duke Cheng smiled gently.

"You say you are right, he says he is right." He said, "If you don't distinguish right from wrong, you won't understand right from wrong."

"Duke Cheng, what do you mean?" the Queen couldn't help but ask.

Duke Cheng bowed to where the Queen was.

"I think we should not talk about the imperial edict," he said.

Very good!

The queen could hardly help herself and lifted the curtain and came out.

Duke Cheng smiled slightly.

"Your Majesty is so wise, didn't you make arrangements long ago?" he continued.

Already arranged?

Everyone present looked at him in confusion.

"Have you all forgotten?" Duke Cheng also looked at everyone, "When Miss Jun proposed to His Majesty that Prince Huai be made the Crown Prince, didn't His Majesty ask everyone to discuss it?"

Everyone knew that Miss Jun had said this outside the imperial mausoleum at the time, and everyone also knew that the emperor did not give a clear answer afterwards, but asked the court officials to discuss it.

"Then, everyone should follow His Majesty's orders and discuss whether it is feasible to make Prince Huai the Crown Prince." Duke Cheng said, "Isn't this obeying the Emperor's orders?"

There was a moment of silence in the court.

Is this obeying the divine command?

"This kind of imperial decree is not known only to Lord Ning, but we all heard and saw it with our own ears." Duke Cheng continued, "Then if we can clearly discern the result, we can convince people with reason."

I think that's the reason.

That seems to be a good idea.

There was a slight commotion in the court, and low murmurings were heard.

But what would be the result of this compared to the current chaos? On the contrary, Ning Yunzhao's power would be even weaker, after all, he relied on the emperor's edict.

Duke Cheng looked at everyone and stood up straight.

"In that case, let me state my opinion first," he said.

These words brought silence to the court again, and all eyes were on him.

"I think Prince Huai is a good person," said Duke Cheng.

The queen plopped back down on the dragon bed.

Finished.

…

"Duke Cheng asked everyone to hold a meeting, saying that he wanted to convince people with reason, but..."

Chen Qi said this, and at this point he seemed to be unable to hold back his laughter and could not continue.

Miss Jun, who was covered in dust and taking off her cloak, looked at him.

"But what?" she asked.

"But Duke Cheng brought 30,000 soldiers and horses and stayed outside the capital. He refused to go to the camp outside the capital, saying that he wanted to protect the capital and the stability of the imperial city." Chen Qi smiled and winked, "He said that he would leave after the crown prince was enthroned and the government was stable, so as to prevent the gold thieves from taking the opportunity to cause trouble."

He said this and laughed.

"I think he is clearly threatening everyone not to cause trouble."

In many cases, military generals who hold military power can play a key role in ascending the throne.

Moreover, the war had just ended, and Duke Cheng was even more powerful and had expressed his support for Prince Huai. Many officials in the court had to carefully consider how to make a choice.

Miss Jun pinched her collar, slightly lost in thought.

So this matter...

"It's done!"

Someone suddenly opened the curtain and rushed in, speaking in a trembling voice.

Miss Jun turned her head and saw that it was the shopkeeper Liu.

His face was excited.

"Just now, the palace summoned Prince Huai and conferred him the title of Crown Prince." He said in a trembling voice.

…

There is also a ceremony for enthroning the Crown Prince.

The first thing to do is to make the crown prince's ceremonial attire. Originally, the emperor had no intention of making his young son the crown prince, so the palace did not prepare ceremonial attire for Prince Huai's age.

They were busy with the production and there were also many etiquettes to be taught. The Prince Huai's Mansion was no longer like before with the gates tightly closed and no one dared to approach. Instead, there was a constant flow of people coming and going.

"In addition to the Crown Prince's ceremonial robes, the Emperor's ceremonial robes have also begun to be prepared." Duke Cheng said, "After all, your Majesty is not in good health. After the Crown Prince's canonization is completed, everyone will discuss the matters of meditation so that your Majesty can rest and recuperate."

Miss Jun nodded.

"Zhu Zan didn't come back this time?" she asked.

He did not care about inner meditation, but asked Zhu Zan.

Duke Cheng smiled gently.

"We still need to be on guard in the north," he said, "and let him come back after a while."

Miss Jun nodded and looked at the busy people coming and going in Prince Huai's Mansion.

"Do you want to meet His Highness?" asked Duke Cheng.

Prince Huai is no longer the same Prince Huai as before. With Miss Jun's identity, it is not easy to meet Prince Huai at this time.

But of course this is just a rule. If you want to see him, you can just ask Duke Chengguo.

"I would like to meet the Queen Mother." Miss Jun thought for a moment and said to Duke Cheng.

…

The heavy palace door was pushed open by the eunuchs, and sunlight poured in, making the room bright.

But the door was immediately closed.

"The imperial physician said that it would be better for the empress dowager's recovery if she stayed out of the light," a eunuch said cautiously.

The woman next to him was only wearing the formal dress of a county lord. To the eunuchs who were used to seeing queens and princesses, such a person was really not pleasing to the eyes.

But facing this woman, he acted even more humble than when facing the queen or princess.

Because this woman's status is not just a miracle doctor, a hero who saved the people of the capital, but also because of the ceremony of enthroning the crown prince that was being held in the previous dynasty at that time.

Although the crown prince was decided by the court, no one would forget that she was the first one to propose that Prince Huai be the crown prince.

The crown prince is not just the crown prince. It won't be long before he will rule the world and become the new emperor, the master of this palace.

And she is the greatest benefactor of the owner of this palace.

This woman not only cured the new emperor of his illness and smallpox, but also saved his life. He was transformed from a prince who had lived a reclusive life and died in silence into an emperor respected by everyone.

Although, his original destiny was to be the emperor.

Miss Jun stopped.

Two eunuchs hurriedly pulled up the curtain, revealing the empress dowager lying on the bed.

The Empress Dowager has been in a coma ever since. The imperial doctors are helpless. They say that she has been mentally traumatized by the shock. It is uncertain when she will wake up, so they can only keep her with medicine.

When Miss Jun walked over, the eunuchs lowered the curtain to hide her figure.

The eunuch who led the way waved his hand and led everyone out, leaving Miss Jun alone in the Queen Mother's bedroom.

If it were in the past, no eunuch would dare to let Miss Jun face the Queen Mother alone.

But now, it's not like before.

Miss Jun sat down and looked at the empress dowager who seemed to be sleeping. She looked at her seriously for a long time, then reached out and touched the empress dowager's head. She stroked it slowly for a moment, then raised her hand and found a thin silver needle in her hand.

With the appearance of the silver needle, the Queen Mother took a deep breath as if awakened from a nightmare and suddenly opened her eyes.

Her eyes were confused for a moment, then focused as she looked at Miss Jun in front of her, whose face turned purple and she struggled to her feet.

"You, you dare to wake me up now!" she shouted hoarsely, "Aren't you afraid that I will tell the truth?"

She said this with a fierce look in her eyes.

"Unless you kill me, I will tell the truth."

Miss Jun smiled.

“No one cares about your truth now,” she said. “And even more people won’t let you tell the truth.”

Because the overall situation has been decided.

Just like when the King of Qi became the Crown Prince.

There is no need to uncover those dirty truths; all people want to see is the bright and beautiful side.

The Queen Mother glared at her fiercely.

"Are you here to show off?" she said hoarsely.

Miss Jun shook her head.

"I just want to ask you a question," she said.

The Queen Mother looked at her.

Miss Jun also looked at her.

"After raising him for so long, is it true that you have no feelings at all?" she said.

This statement is incoherent and confusing.

The Queen Mother's eyes were also confused. She looked at Miss Jun and suddenly thought of something. She was stunned and then shocked, and she moved back suddenly.

"You, you." She trembled and shouted, pointing at Miss Jun with a terrified look, "Are you a human or a ghost?"

Miss Jun watched her stand up.

"I used to think I was half-human, half-ghost, but now I think you are the half-human," she said, then turned and walked out.

The Queen Mother curled up on the bed and looked at the woman's back with a horrified expression. She seemed to see the woman turn her head, but she did not look like Miss Jun, but a girl of seven or eight years old.

"Grandmother, Grandmother." She called out with a smile, holding a bamboo pole and net in her hand and throwing it towards her, "Look at the butterfly I caught. I'll make a decal for you."

The Queen Mother could not help but scream and reached out to push him hard.

"Go away," she shouted.

The girl broke into pieces in her hands and disappeared.

The woman who had walked to the door stopped, turned around and looked at her.

"No!" The Queen Mother suddenly screamed, her face became fierce, as if this could dispel all fear, "No! Not at all!"

Miss Jun said "oh", retracted her gaze, turned around and continued walking. The curtain rose and fell, blocking the empress dowager's view.

"No! No!" She kept talking, slowly curling up and hugging her knees, trembling, "No, no, not at all."

The palace gates were closed, and the eunuchs bowed and saw Miss Jun off, watching her leave.

I don't know how far they walked before Miss Jun loosened the hands that were clasped in front of her and sighed softly. In front of them was the front hall, where the crown prince's enthronement ceremony was being held. However, due to the emperor's illness, the ceremony was simplified and there was no drums or music.

Do you want to go and have a look?

Although she was not qualified to go, she knew where to peek, after all, she had done this a lot when she was a child.

A smile appeared on Miss Jun's lips, but the next moment her smile froze on her lips because there was a person standing on the palace road ahead.

He was tall and wearing a bright red robe, but the bright sunlight retreated from him. Although he was standing in the sunlight, he seemed to be shrouded in shadow.

Lu Yunqi?

How did he get here?

Why did he come out again?

Miss Jun's face changed drastically.