Chapter 45
Inside the Chongming Hall, candles lit brightly. The Empress was reviewing memorials, while Emperor Yongshou rested his eyes in repose on the dragon couch. The Emperor, frail and burdened by the heavy workload of state affairs, was grateful for the Empress's assistance.
Court officials often said, "The harem must not interfere in government affairs," alluding to the Empress's excessive power. But Emperor Yongshou had complete faith in her. Had she not shared his responsibility, he would have long since been consumed by it. They had known each other for twenty years, their bond deep and profound. He knew the Empress best, so how could he allow the instigation of outsiders to raise his suspicions?
Soon, a clear voice from a eunuch came from outside the palace: "Jinyiwei Commander Liu Ming'an requests an audience."
Commander Liu Ming'an, dressed in a cloud brocade flying fish robe, walked steadily into the hall. He stopped a few feet in front of the emperor, placed his right hand on the embroidered spring sword, knelt on one knee, and bowed his head in greeting: "Your Majesty, your Majesty, your Majesty."
The emperor slowly opened his dozing eyes, glanced at the figure bending over in the hall, and his voice was a little lazy.
"The palace gates are already locked... What brings you here, my dear Liu?"
Liu Mingan recounted what he saw and heard at Li's house today.
As the words fell, the hall fell silent. The emperor's brows gradually furrowed. The empress, standing beside him, paused, gently placing the red brush she was using to review a memorial on the pen stand. She raised her phoenix eyes slightly and exchanged a solemn look with the emperor.
"The evil spirit... didn't appear earlier or later, but appeared at this critical moment. The timing of its appearance is too coincidental."
Emperor Yongshou's eyes suddenly turned cold and he sneered.
The incident of Li Lin'an caused an uproar in the city, and at this time, an evil spirit appeared in the Li family, which was Li Lin'an's residence.
"Did the Taoist priest tell me where the evil spirit came from?"
Emperor Yongshou asked again.
Liu Ming'an pondered, "It wasn't explicitly stated, but the words seemed to hint at a connection with Li Xiuzhuan, so the person who tied the bell must be the one to untie it."
He also felt something was amiss. But the Taoist priest was so confident in his words that even when he was detained by Madam Li in her house, he remained calm and composed, clearly confident in his plans.
"This person also predicted that there would be a strange phenomenon in Qianyuan Palace tonight?"
"Indeed, Your Majesty."
Emperor Yongshou found this man incredibly arrogant. The Qianyuan Hall had only been built for half a month and hadn't even been opened yet. What kind of unusual event could this possibly be? But if there was no evidence, why was he mentioning the Qianyuan Hall? Was he truly certain this would happen?
"Immediately dispatch additional personnel to strictly guard the interior and exterior of Qianyuan Hall. In addition to guarding against assassins, any suspicious individuals must be strictly interrogated."
Emperor Yongshou gave the order in a deep voice.
He suspected that someone was using the Li Lin'an incident to stir up trouble, intending to alienate the relationship between him and Li Shufeng as the king and his subject.
But this calculation was misplaced. Li Shufeng not only catered to his interests, writing Qingci poems and assisting him in his cultivation, but even before he ascended the throne, Li Shufeng had been offering him advice and secretly supporting him. In private, he even respectfully addressed Li Shufeng as "Teacher."
Because of this, he was particularly wary of possible divisive tactics.
Liu Mingan immediately took the order and left.
Emperor Yongshou raised his eyes to the eunuch standing beside him and asked: "Where is Li Qing now?"
"Your Majesty, Lord Li is currently at Qingxu Temple, burning incense and praying for His Majesty. Would you like me to summon him?"
The emperor revered Taoism, and a Taoist temple was specially erected within the palace. Li Shufeng enjoyed the emperor's deep favor, and his power stemmed from this. To maintain the emperor's favor, he would return to the temple each day after completing official duties to pray devoutly, praying for the emperor's constant presence.
Emperor Yongshou waved his hand: "No need."
He simply wanted to confirm whether Li Qing knew about the Taoist priest in the mansion. He knew that given Li Qing's character, he would definitely not keep a secret.
…
Upon learning of the impeachment, Li Shufeng immediately went to the palace to meet the crown prince. On the way back, his face was as gloomy as water, and even his close student, the Minister of Personnel Song Zheng, did not dare to speak rashly.
The prince actually asked him for money. This was so absurd that no one would believe it even if he told it to the sky.
Song Zheng was following behind and heard a question suddenly coming from the front.
"Song Zheng."
He immediately took a half step forward, bowed and replied, "The student is here."
"Do you have any good ideas for this matter?"
Song Zheng pondered, "In my opinion, Your Highness is asking for money to establish the Maritime Customs Office and reform the salt permit system. These are important matters of state, and should be discussed by Your Majesty and the ministers. If Your Highness had asked, Your Majesty would have granted it... But Your Highness is asking for money privately, which I find strange."
"There is only one possibility—Your Highness doesn't believe His Majesty is unwilling to do it, but rather knows full well that His Majesty favors you and will definitely agree. If that's the case, and you still find this difficult to accomplish, then... Your Highness is certain that the court officials will strongly oppose it."
After all, the establishment of the Maritime Customs Office and the reform of the salt permit system would ultimately affect the interests of many ministers, so it was understandable that they would voice their opposition.
"It seems that Your Highness impeached our teacher only for the sake of money, not to put our teacher to death. This matter still has room for maneuver. I have three plans, please decide."
"speak."
"First, the prince is the master and the mentor is the minister. Since the prince wants money, the mentor has no reason not to give it. But he can't give too much, lest he be used against him."
"Secondly, contact the Li Party members and submit a petition. Everything in this world is necessarily divided into good and bad. Talk more about the disadvantages of the Maritime Customs and the salt quota. I think His Majesty will have some doubts, and maybe even give up on it himself, and this matter will be left unresolved..."
"Third, the most important thing is His Majesty. Your Majesty is my mentor's foundation, and His Majesty is kind-hearted. While the situation is still unclear, I should find an opportunity to go to His Majesty and complain. I should cry my heart out. As long as His Majesty trusts me, even if the Crown Prince makes trouble, I will have time to deal with it..."
Upon hearing this, Li Shufeng's brows relaxed, and he clapped his hands and smiled, "Great idea! This really kills two birds with one stone!"
He looked at Song Zheng, his eyes full of praise, his tone filled with reminiscence and relief: "Back then, I saw that you were talented and thoughtful, so I made an exception and accepted you as my disciple. Now it seems that I was right in choosing you."
Song Zheng bowed respectfully, "My dear teacher, your teachings are as high as a mountain. I will never forget your kindness. Without your guidance, I would never be where I am today."
…
It was late at night, the emperor and empress had gone to bed, and all the palace lights in the room were extinguished.
Emperor Yongshou closed his eyes for a short rest, but opened them again after a while.
The rain outside the window continued to fall. Occasionally, lightning flashed across the night sky, accompanied by rumbling thunder, illuminating the bedroom with flickering light.
As time passed, Emperor Yongshou gradually regained his composure. It seemed nothing unusual was happening in Qianyuan Hall. Perhaps the thief had been captured by Liu Mingan before he could even make a move.
Just as he was thinking about this, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall.
Emperor Yongshou opened his eyes again.
"His Majesty……"
From the voice, it was the chief eunuch Jiang He.
Emperor Yongshou frowned slightly and stood up.
The lights in the hall were soon lit again.
The curtains were opened, and Emperor Yongshou strode out, and the eunuchs put his outer robe on him.
"What happened?"
Emperor Yongshou asked as he looked at Jiang He who was kneeling on the ground to salute.
"Your Majesty, there's a fire in Qianyuan Palace!"
Jiang He knew the seriousness of the matter very well, so he gave the emperor, who had just woken up, some time to rest.
Emperor Yongshou frowned and asked, "Have you found out who set the fire?"
"Your Majesty... This is a natural disaster, not a man-made one..."
"What did you say?"
Emperor Yongshou's expression froze, and he even thought he had misheard.
Jiang He had no choice but to be more blunt: "Your Majesty, Qianyuan Palace... was struck by lightning!"
Emperor Yongshou's pupils shrank.
Thunder from the sky?!
His face was filled with disbelief.
Jiang He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, "...It's absolutely true."
Yong Shu's expression grew increasingly gloomy. How could a perfectly good Qianyuan Palace be struck by lightning for no apparent reason?
The Queen inside the tent was also awakened. She took the outer garment handed to her by the nurse and put it on, casually gathering her loose hair. The nurse opened the curtains, and the Queen slowly stepped out. With a serious expression, she asked, "Are any palace maids injured?"
"Your Majesty, only one young eunuch suffered some burns, the rest are fine."
Only then did the queen feel relieved.
Emperor Yongshou sensed something was amiss: "Didn't I order Liu Ming'an to lead his men to guard Qianyuan Hall tonight? Why is there no one injured in the hall?"
"I have already asked Lord Liu. Just before the incident, a guard reported seeing unusual movements in the back garden. Lord Liu was worried that an assassin had infiltrated, so he immediately led a search. The rest of the palace guards also withdrew from the palace to guard against assassins..."
"Have you caught the assassin?"
Emperor Yongshou asked urgently.
Although no matter how powerful the assassin is, he cannot attract thunder from the sky, but any abnormality tonight cannot be ignored!
Jiang He replied, "The commander said they found no trace of the assassin, only a wild cat... I think the noise the guard heard was the movement of this beast."
Yongquan's face darkened.
It turns out that there is no assassin at all...
"I want to go to Qianyuan Palace to take a look."
Emperor Yongshou had a gloomy expression on his face and was about to walk out.
"Your Majesty, absolutely not!" Jiang He hurriedly dissuaded him, "The thunderstorm has not yet subsided, and the power of heaven is unpredictable... Your Majesty is worth a million gold, how can you take such a risk?"
To put it bluntly, Your Majesty is not the only one needed to put out the fire.
The queen also tried to persuade her gently.
Emperor Yongshou finally calmed down and decided not to go. He sat back on the couch with a solemn expression, looking out the window at the sky that was flickering.
Even though he had thought about everything, he had never expected that Qianyuan Hall would suffer such a change.
If it were any other incident, even if there was no evidence, he would be able to conclude that someone had done it intentionally.
Only this heavenly thunder...he could not blame it on human beings.
Thinking of Liu Ming'an's report in Chongming Palace today, Emperor Yongshou's eyes changed several times.
Some things in this world can be believed, while others can be not.
But when the facts are laid out before our eyes, we cannot help but believe them.
What's more, the Qianyuan Hall, which had just been built with great fanfare, was struck by lightning... It's easy to imagine what people would say.
He would never tolerate anyone using the theory of "divine punishment" to question his actions.
He also did not want people with ulterior motives to use this to judge whether his actions were in line with God's will.
…
In Chongwen Pavilion, Li Shufeng and Song Zheng had not yet left the palace.
Recently, the emperor's dissatisfaction with him has become increasingly obvious. In addition to resolving the issue of his rebellious son at home and praying for His Majesty at the Taoist temple, he dare not slack off in the affairs of the court.
Now there are several difficult official tasks on hand, so he had to leave Song Zheng behind to discuss countermeasures.
It was already late at night, and they had to get up early to attend court the next day, so the two of them decided to rest in the pavilion. This kind of situation was not unprecedented during the busy period of government affairs.
After finishing his official business, Li Shufeng stood up from behind his desk. Song Zheng said, "It's getting late. Go and have some rest."
Song Zheng bowed and was about to leave when he suddenly heard the hurried shouts of the palace maids coming from outside.
"Look, there seems to be a fire over there!"
"How could there be a fire in such a rainy day?"
Li Shufeng frowned and walked out of the door quickly.
All I saw was a red light rising into the sky.
"It looks like the direction of Qianyuan Palace." Song Zheng exclaimed.
Li Shufeng's expression suddenly changed, and he rushed down the stairs in two steps, with Song Zheng following closely behind him.
On the way to Qianyuan Hall, the two had already heard the cause of the fire.
When we arrived in front of the hall, we saw blazing flames. The main hall was engulfed in flames, with beams and pillars collapsed.
What’s even worse is that the heavy rain that lasted for a whole day and night suddenly stopped.
The palace servants who were fighting the fire were in tears - it was already difficult to put out the fire in the rain, and now that the rain had stopped, the fire was even more difficult to contain.
If this is not considered a punishment from heaven, then what are the punishments from heaven recorded in history books?
The palace servants tried their best to put out the fire. Li Shufeng suppressed his inner anxiety and directed the firefighting.
"His Majesty has arrived—His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived—"
The eunuch's shrill voice of "hello" was heard.
The originally noisy scene suddenly became quiet.
Emperor Yongshou looked at his most capable and favored minister with mixed feelings.
Hearing that Li Shufeng had been handling government affairs in Chongwen Pavilion all night and had personally rushed to direct the firefighting, he could not help but say, "Lord Li, you have worked hard."
He looked at Li Shufeng deeply, then turned his gaze to the Qianyuan Hall where flames were shooting into the sky.
Even standing far away, the scorching heat wave still hits you in the face, the air is filled with the smell of burning, and ashes are flying all over the sky, making people feel depressed.
"Your Majesty, there's no need to worry. Natural disasters have existed since ancient times; this one simply happened to happen at the right time." Li Shufeng said with forced composure, "While this matter is somewhat troublesome, it's not an insurmountable problem."
"Li Qing, you are wrong." Xuan Shu's voice was gentle, but like an icy blade unsheathed, "A lightning strike on a palace is not an ordinary disaster. I think it was just bad luck for Li Qing that caused this thunderbolt to find him."
As soon as these words came out, Li Shufeng's body swayed slightly, and the blood color on his face suddenly disappeared.
If it were someone else, "bad luck" would be an excuse.
But for him, these four words were obviously fatal.
He has always gained the trust of the emperor with his "miracle prescriptions and secret techniques", and what he is concerned about is something extremely mysterious.
In short, he was the one who was supposed to bring good fortune when the emperor's fortunes were low.
Now that bad luck has come upon me, what can I do?
He was about to argue when he heard the emperor say in a deep voice, "Natural disasters do happen from time to time, but the severity of the disaster also depends on the severity. In your opinion, is this natural disaster a punishment from heaven for my unvirtuous reign?"
His tone was not harsh, but asking such a direct question still made Li Shufeng's expression change slightly.
"Your Majesty, you are too kind. Your Majesty is wise and benevolent. How could Heaven punish you?"
Li Shufeng said solemnly.
Emperor Yongshou nodded slightly, looked at the palace in the sea of fire, and spoke vaguely.
"I think so too. There must be some evil behind this celestial warning."
Li Shufeng's eyes changed, and he immediately agreed: "That should be the case."
His heart trembled - what exactly did His Majesty mean by this?
There was an undercurrent in his eyes, and none of the words he had prepared to cry out were of any use at this moment.
In the end, he could only hunch his back and slowly leave the hall.
The palaces outside the hall are majestic and have endless eaves. They look grand and magnificent, but people inside them feel like they are walking on thin ice.
The cold wind and rain blew in Li Shufeng's face. He looked up at the sky, feeling a chill in his heart.
I'm afraid that the thunder today will end his life!
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