Chapter 260 Taking Office as the Minister of Honglu Temple
Because someone was killed, the conflict between the Li family and the Han Palace had spread widely in Chang'an City.
The atmosphere in the Prince of Han's mansion was depressing.
Wang Heng's body had been sewn up and was ready to be sent to Jinyang.
These children from aristocratic families are very particular about returning to their roots.
The King of Han looked at Wang Heng's coffin in silence.
I was fine when I came.
When he returned, he could only be put in a coffin.
The King of Han had no idea how to explain this to the Wang family.
Li Gan walked in from outside, and the King of Han asked, "What did the Crown Princess say?"
Li Gan said: "She must go back to the Wang family, no matter what I say, she won't let me."
King Han sighed. Although she had stayed in the palace for several years, her heart was still with the Wang family.
After Wang Heng's death, it would probably be impossible for the Han Palace and the Wang family to return to the past when there were no grudges between them.
This is really heartbreaking.
He looked at Li Gan and said in a deep voice: "Do you know now why I didn't let you mess with Li Xuanjing?"
Li Gan gritted his teeth and said, "He is just a mad dog!"
The King of Han breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Even if he is a mad dog, he is your grandfather's mad dog. No matter which prince takes the throne, he will not have a good ending. But before that, it is better to avoid him..."
Li Gan took a deep breath, his face showing indignation, and asked: "Why hasn't Grandfather abdicated yet? He is already over 60 years old. All the previous emperors passed the throne before the age of 60. He doesn't pass the throne, nor does he appoint a crown prince. He is still pursuing the illusory way of immortality. Could it be that he wants to be the emperor for all eternity?"
The King of Han's face darkened, and he looked around suddenly. Seeing that there was no one around, he said, "Asshole, how dare you say that!"
Although the King of Han himself thought so in his heart, he could only think about such treasonous words in his heart.
There was a light cough from outside the door.
The King of Han's expression changed, but when he saw the person coming in, his expression eased and he said, "You go down, Lord Lin and I have something to discuss."
Li Gan nodded slightly to Jingzhao Yin, then turned and left.
After Li Gan left, the King of Han sat on the chair, sighed deeply, and asked: "Fuzhi, do you think that father really wants to be the emperor forever?"
Jing Zhao Yin said: "Your Highness, please be careful with your words."
The King of Han waved his hand and said, "Let's not talk about this matter anymore. Are you here for Wang Heng's matter?"
Jingzhao Yin shook his head and said, "Wang Heng is dead. Everyone's attention is attracted by this matter. This is a good opportunity. We might as well make the situation more chaotic so that we can fish in troubled waters..."
The King of Han asked, "What do you mean?"
Jingzhao Yin said: "It has been a long time since we last met, it is almost time to start..."
…
Prince Rui's Palace.
After listening to his subordinates' report, King Rui was stunned for a long time, then suddenly stood up and said, "No, he is sick, did I provoke him?"
Some of his officials in the capital area were investigated by Jingzhao Prefecture.
This is the third official under his command to be investigated within two days.
Everyone knows that Jingzhao Yin is the King of Han's man, and there must be the King of Han's instructions behind this matter.
But he didn't provoke him or offend him. Wang Heng was killed by Li Xuanjing. If he wanted to cause trouble, he should go find trouble with Li Xuanjing. Why would he investigate his people?
Thinking back to what the King of Han said at the gate of Hibiscus Garden that day, he always felt that something was wrong.
He said with a gloomy face: "Check what happened!"
Half a day later.
King Rui listened to his subordinates' report, his eyes widened, and asked, "What?"
One of them lowered his head and said, "Your Highness, there are some rumors outside that the conflict between Li Xuanjing and the King of Han was secretly instigated by you. This move of yours not only broke the Legalist heart of Li Xuanjing's son, but also deepened the contradiction between the King of Han and Li Xuanjing. What's more, once Wang Heng dies, the Wang family will inevitably be dissatisfied with the King of Han, which is a major blow to the Han King's line..."
He looked at King Rui with some admiration and said, "Kill three birds with one stone. Your Highness is so wise. I admire you!"
Originally, he thought that Prince Rui was a fool who didn't know how to use tricks and was only good at assassinations. But this time, he had to admit that Prince Rui did a great job.
Prince Rui looked confused and shocked, and angrily said, "Bullshit, killing three birds with one stone! Who the hell spread this rumor?"
The man was slightly stunned and looked at King Rui with admiration again.
If it wasn't done by King Rui, why would King Han launch such a fierce revenge?
It seems that His Highness has really grown up. Not only does he know how to use strategies, but his acting skills have also improved a lot.
Even as a confidant, he showed no trace of disguise.
He said sternly: "Yes, no matter who asks, Your Highness must behave like this..."
Prince Rui stood there in a daze for a long time. Only now did he understand what Prince Han meant by what he said at the gate of Furong Garden that day.
Did he think that he was behind this matter?
If he really did it, he would admit it even if the King of Han found out.
But it wasn't him who did it!
He now understood what had happened.
Someone secretly plotted against the King of Han and Li Xuanjing, causing them to fight each other, and then deliberately leaked the news, saying that he was behind it and put the blame on himself.
He had lived for more than twenty years, but this was the first time he felt that human hearts could be so dirty.
This is killing three birds with one stone.
No, this is already killing four birds with one stone. The last bird is King Rui himself!
Not only this time, but also the last time when Li Xuanjing was assassinated, he was inexplicably taken the blame for someone else.
This world is too dark. After being manipulated time and again and taking the blame for others, King Rui suddenly felt very insecure. He dismissed several dancers and musicians and said in a deep voice, "Come here."
A figure walked in from outside and said, "Your Highness, what can I do for you?"
King Rui said with a gloomy face, "Go find me some military books and books on strategy. The more the better..."
…
Li Mansion.
Li Nuo also learned about the rumors outside from Butler Wu.
There are rumors that the conflict between the King of Han and the Li family was manipulated by the King of Rui behind the scenes.
Although the news sounded incredible, if Prince Rui really had this ability, this matter should not have been exposed.
Li Nuo knew very well how outrageous the rumors in Chang'an were.
At the beginning, they also spread the rumor that he and An Ning had some improper relationship... Let's not talk about that for now.
Until now, they still believed that Fenghuang was his woman, and the two sisters of the Song family were both taken into his room.
Li Nuo glanced at Yiren who was practicing sword, and Fenghuang who was teaching her needlework.
Chang'an is a place of gossip and rumors. You need to learn to distinguish the truth from the false, otherwise you will fall into other people's trap.
After breakfast, Li Nuo and An Ning went out together.
The two separated at the entrance of the Ministry of Justice, An Ning went to the Ministry of Justice, and Li Nuo continued to go to the Honglu Temple.
She has her own practice. After Li Nuo broke through to the third level, An Ning finally felt a sense of urgency.
Before reaching the fourth realm, Fa Jia's cultivation can advance by leaps and bounds. If she doesn't work harder, she may be surpassed by Li Nuo soon.
A quarter of an hour later, the carriage stopped in front of the Honglu Temple.
Li Nuo was greeted by another Honglu Temple Secretary.
The Honglu Temple has one Temple Minister, who is of the third rank, two Vice Ministers, who are of the fourth rank, and two Temple Secretaries, who are of the fifth rank. Under them are also subordinate officials such as the Chief Clerk, the Recorder, and the Guardian.
The other Honglu Temple Secretary was an old man with a long beard.
He walked unsteadily, and Li Nuo was worried that he might fall down at any time.
Li Nuo walked into the Honglu Temple and found it extremely quiet. Even the official at the gate looked old.
The Honglu Temple is worthy of being called the imperial court’s retirement home, the least visible of the nine temples.
From Zhao Sicheng, we learned that the Lord Temple Minister was in poor health and did not come to the Honglu Temple all year round. The two Junior Ministers would only come a few times a month.
On weekdays, the affairs of the Honglu Temple are handled by two temple secretaries.
Zhao Sicheng brought Li Nuo to his yamen and first told him some of his main tasks as Sicheng.
Like the Ministry of Rites, one of the duties of the Honglu Temple is to maintain etiquette.
For all major national ceremonies, suburban temples, sacrifices, court meetings, banquets, lectures on imperial court, and enthronement ceremonies, the Honglu Temple needs to work together with the Ministry of Rites, the Taichang Temple, and the Guanglu Temple to plan and organize them.
But among these matters, each department has its own focus, and court ceremonies are the main responsibility of the Honglu Temple.
Specifically, it was to count the number of officials attending the court, including checking whether they were late or left early, whether their court clothes were neat and tidy, whether they stood in the right position, whether there were any dozing off or whispering in the court...
These are actually the etiquette.
The second responsibility of the Honglu Temple is to receive foreign guests, which is also the unique task of the Honglu Temple.
Whenever envoys from other countries came to Chang'an to pay homage to the emperor, the Honglu Temple was responsible for welcoming and receiving them, distinguishing their ranks, determining the number of banquets they would enjoy, arranging their accommodation and transportation, and solving all problems encountered by the envoys in Chang'an.
In addition, the Honglu Temple had one last responsibility, which was to be responsible for the funeral ceremonies among the five ceremonies.
Whenever a high-ranking official died in Chang'an, the court would send a minister, a junior minister, or a chancellor to pay tribute on behalf of the court, provide funeral supplies, and hold a funeral in accordance with the ritual system.
After saying this to Li Nuo, Zhao Sicheng asked Li Nuo for three days off.
The Minister of Temple and the Vice Minister were away, and the other Minister of Temple had asked for leave. During these three days, all matters of the Honglu Temple were in charge of Li Nuo.
Li Nuo could see that he had been waiting for him for a long time.
After seeing off Zhao Sicheng, Li Nuo sat in the yamen and felt a little bored.
I have to say that the Honglu Temple is much less busy than the Ministry of Rites.
There were only three court meetings a month, and he had something to do only at the beginning, middle and end of the month.
The envoys usually don't have anything to do. These envoys from other countries might be doing espionage activities in secret, and they are usually not willing to deal with Daxia officials.
As for funeral rites, the imperial court stipulated that officials who were qualified to have the Honglu Temple handle funeral ceremonies must be of the sixth rank or above, and at least the fifth rank. In other words, he would only have something to do when an official of the fifth rank or above died.
Li Nuo was so bored that he took out paper and pen and drew a picture for her.
Because of Wang Heng's matter, she hadn't started the paintings she had promised to give her yet. In addition to painting, she also requested that each painting be inscribed with a poem...
(End of this chapter)
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