Chapter 66: Breaking the Cocoon 9 "I want to see you."
The news that Zhu Song was going to marry the eldest daughter of the Jiang family spread like snowflakes. The Jiang family was in a festive mood, while everyone in the Zhu family was worried and sad.
In addition to the Zhu family, Gu Huaiyu and Qu Zhoubai also came. They looked even more worried than Zhu Song, the person involved, and their eyebrows were almost connected into a line.
Qu Zhoubai asked doubtfully, "Why is the marriage suddenly granted?"
Gu Huaiyu replied on Zhu Song's behalf, "Of course it's for an extra layer of insurance. Jiang Qingyan has been keeping an eye on the Zhu family's movements since she married in. If she gets pregnant and has a child, the Zhu family will be even more closely connected to the Jiang family."
Zhu Song leaned back in his chair and joked, "That's exactly what Mother wants."
Meng Xiaohe was already worried sick, and after hearing his words, she said angrily, "If I just wanted a grandson, would I have let you be so picky for so many years? I still want you to find a girl you like and marry her."
Zhu Jingchen sighed, "The imperial decree has already been issued. There's no point in talking about this anymore. Let's get ready to get married."
Meng Xiaohe nipped him in the bud. "Can't you think of a solution?"
Zhu Jingchen said: "The solution is to disobey the order."
Meng Xiaohe pinched him again, but in fact they both knew that if they made a wrong move at this moment, they would be doomed. No matter how much they didn't want this marriage to happen, it had to happen.
Meng Xiaohe lowered her head and sighed, "My poor child, why do I always encounter such things?"
Zhu Song comforted her, saying, "All the hardships have been endured this year, and every year from now on will be filled with joy."
Meng Xiaohe was in a bad mood and didn't want to put too much pressure on Zhu Song by showing it in front of him, so she said a few perfunctory words and pulled Zhu Jingchen away.
Zhu Song saw that Gu Huaiyu had something to say, so he sent Zhu Lingye and Zhu Lingwang away.
Zhu Lingye and Zhu Lingwang couldn't think of a good way to save their elder brother, so they felt ashamed to stay any longer and left obediently.
Qu Zhoubai was left watching Zhu Song and Gu Huaiyu stare at each other, and asked carefully, "Should I avoid them too?"
Zhu Song and Gu Huaiyu looked at him, and Qu Zhoubai chuckled, "Go ahead, I'm not going to get angry anyway."
Gu Huaiyu said without hesitation, "Then go wait for me at the door."
Qu Zhoubai couldn't believe it, "You really let me go."
Gu Huaiyu asked, "So are you going to leave or not?"
"Let's go, let's go. We'll be leaving soon." Qu Zhoubai nodded. "I'll hold the door for you."
Qu Zhoubai walked out, and only Zhu Song and Gu Huaiyu were left in the room. Zhu Song then sighed deeply and looked at Gu Huaiyu with a look of despair.
Gu Huaiyu said sympathetically, "Have pity."
Zhu Song knew that he had something on his mind, so he asked, "Tell me, what do you want to know?"
Gu Huaiyu asked, "What does the emperor say?"
Zhu Song shrugged. "Isn't it obvious?"
"It's quite obvious. No need to ask."
Now that the marriage has been granted, the crown prince must be deposed.
Gu Huaiyu moved closer and lowered his voice, "Su Li entered the palace. It was you who arranged it."
It wasn't a question, and Zhu Song didn't hide it from him and nodded.
"Then I feel relieved."
Zhu Song didn't say anything. Gu Huaiyu said, "Looks like I don't need to bother preparing a gift."
Zhu Song still didn't say anything, so Gu Huaiyu asked again, "Why don't you talk to the Crown Prince about this? What if he gets suspicious?"
This time Zhu Song replied, "As I said, in troubled times, it's better to avoid taking risks."
Gu Huaiyu nodded and asked, "What about the Red Plum Garden incident? Are we still investigating?"
Zhu Song replied, "Just go and fool around with a few people."
Gu Huaiyu stood up and patted his shoulder, "Let's go."
Zhu Song leaned back in his chair and murmured, "Yeah."
After Gu Huaiyu left, Zhu Song looked up at the rooftop in a daze. In fact, he had not told Wen Fengxuan about Jiang Qingyan at all, and he did so on purpose. If Wen Fengxuan was just an idle prince, it wouldn't be a big deal to hang out with him, but if Wen Fengxuan ascended to a high position, then the two of them would definitely not be able to be together.
As an emperor, having offspring is a matter of state, and the empress absolutely cannot be a man. He also does not want to be trapped in the harem for the rest of his life, competing for favor with others.
Using this incident to sever the past ties between the two of them without having to fall out, and also giving Wen Fengxuan a way out, was the best solution Zhu Song could think of at the moment.
Although this marriage cannot be successful, the effect should be achieved.
Zhu Song sighed heavily and said, "It should be possible."
Between unparalleled power and unspeakable feelings, everyone knows what to choose.
Time passed day by day, and in the blink of an eye it was the Little New Year.
It is customary to hold a court ceremony on the day of the Little New Year. All court officials will pay New Year's greetings to the emperor in the Taiji Hall. The emperor will bestow blessings on the officials and then hold a palace banquet to entertain the officials.
Emperor Liang's health has been getting better during this period, so this year's worship ceremony will be held as usual, except that this year's word "Fu" was written by the Crown Prince Wen Fengxuan of the Eastern Palace.
Zhu Song was in a bad mood when he heard the news. The emperor's blessing was not just a blessing. Usually, one or two words of blessing would be written in the blank space. In order to surprise the court officials, these words of blessing would basically not be repeated. Wen Fengxuan's handwriting was not good. If he only practiced one word in a short time, he could learn it. But if he practiced too many words, he could not learn it at all. Emperor Liang wanted to make Wen Fengxuan look bad in front of the court officials.
However, even though Zhu Song was worried, he had no good solution and could only pin his hopes on Wen Fengxuan himself.
In the blink of an eye, it was the day of Little New Year. All the officials in the capital braved the cold wind and gathered in front of the Taiji Hall. Emperor Liang stood in front of the hall wearing a thick cloak and accepted the blessings of the court officials.
Led by the ceremonial officer, the court officials chanted in unison, "Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor! Congratulations to the emperor on a prosperous new year! May the emperor be in good health, bring blessings to the world, and bring peace and prosperity to the country and the people, and a long and blessed life."
After the court ceremony, the emperor would bestow his blessing. However, this year Emperor Liang was unwell, so he entered the palace first after receiving the court ceremony. The virtuous king and the crown prince distributed blessing characters to Emperor Liang, so the officials were divided into two teams, with the virtuous king on one side and the crown prince on the other.
Zhu Song was standing on the side of the Crown Prince, while Jiang Shen was standing on the side of the Virtuous King. The two were standing not far from each other, so Jiang Shen whispered to Zhu Song, "Master Zhu, how about I switch places with you?"
Zhu Song smiled and replied, "What a coincidence, I had the same idea."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Huaiyu behind him pulled him back and advised him, "The positions have been decided. Even if there is a big grudge, we can't disrupt the celebration."
Zhu Song sighed and stood back with a surprised look on his face.
Jiang Shen didn't insist, "Okay then."
Only when he got closer could he see clearly that Wen Fengxuan was wearing a pale pink cloak with a soft, white rabbit fur collar. He wore a purple-gold crown on his head, and a golden ribbon draped naturally along his cheek. His face was a little pale, perhaps from the wind, but his lips were rosy. Zhu Song guessed that he had applied lip balm.
Zhu Song’s first reaction was that the lip balm didn’t taste good. He quickly lowered his head and shook it, trying to suppress the messy thoughts in his mind.
Jiang Shen saw this action and thought that he hated the prince to the extreme, so he tried to comfort him softly, "Just bear with it, it will be over."
Zhu Song responded casually, and when he looked up, he met Wen Fengxuan's eyes. Zhu Song called out calmly, "Your Highness."
Wen Fengxuan took the Chinese character for "Fu" from the tray in Xie Ningyuan's hand and handed it to Zhu Song. Zhu Song took it with both hands and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."
Wen Fengxuan nodded slightly, and Zhu Song left with the word "Fu".
He walked slowly, hoping to find a chance to say Happy New Year to Wen Fengxuan, but unfortunately, he didn't find the chance. Zhu Song quickly rolled up the Chinese character for "Fu" and put it into his sleeve. Soon, Jiang Shen and Gu Huaiyu caught up with him.
Seeing that his hands were empty, Jiang Shen asked, "Where's your calligraphy?"
Zhu Song replied, "Throw it away."
Jiang Shen gave him a thumbs-up and said approvingly, "Your handwriting is so ugly, yet you have the nerve to show it to others." As he spoke, Jiang Shen picked up the Chinese character for "Fu" and commented, "You didn't even write a single blessing. How unruly."
Zhu Song suppressed his nausea and echoed a few words, then quickly walked into the hall and sat down in his seat.
Next came the palace banquet. Although Emperor Liang was seated at the top, everyone was still talking, and the atmosphere was lively. Zhu Song was good at socializing, and in previous years, he would have gone out early to chat with others. But now, Zhu Song was worried that Wen Fengxuan would be hurt by the cold wind, so he had no mood to chat at all and just sat in his seat.
A minor official saw this and came over to ask, "Master Zhu, are you in a bad mood today?"
Jiang Shen thought Zhu Song was still angry about taking Wen Fengxuan's blessing character, so he helped answer, "Are you in a good mood after accepting the ugly calligraphy?"
Just as he finished speaking, he saw Wen Fengxuan walking in. Zhu Song took a look and his face turned purple from the cold. Zhu Song felt even worse when he saw this. The official quickly slipped away when he saw this. Although Jiang Shen was a tough guy, he didn't want to make a scene too badly at the palace banquet, so he also left.
Zhu Song and Wen Fengxuan looked at each other and separated immediately. Zhu Song sat upright in his seat, and Wen Fengxuan walked forward and sat in his seat.
Perhaps Emperor Liang felt that the matter was a foregone conclusion, so the palace banquet was calm and harmonious from beginning to end, without any problems.
Perhaps the only problem was that Gu Huaiyu pulled Zhu Song's sleeve under the table and whispered to him, "Don't look at the prince, or you'll be exposed."
Zhu Song then realized that he had been staring at Wen Fengxuan, but because his expression was extremely serious, it did not cause any misunderstanding.
In the second half of the banquet, Zhu Song pretended to have a good chat with the Jiang family. His words were full of longing for next year's wedding, which drew congratulations from the people around him.
Until the end of the banquet, Zhu Song didn't even look at Wen Fengxuan.
After the banquet, Jiang Shen wanted to invite Zhu Song to drink outside the palace, but Zhu Song declined on the grounds that he was drunk.
After returning to Zhu's residence, Zhu Song took out the "Fu" character rolled up in his sleeve. Different from others, the back of this "Fu" character was densely packed with blessings: peace, joy, smooth sailing, everything goes well, bright future... loving husband and wife, many children and grandchildren.
Zhu Song's eyes became hot and he was speechless for a long time.
Wen Fengxuan, you are such a fool. What makes you willing to take such a big risk?
Zhu Song was restless and exhausted from dealing with the virtuous prince and the Jiang family, so he lied about having a cold the next day and stayed home for the entire Lunar New Year, except for the first day when he went to burn incense at the ancestral tomb. Meng Xiaohe and Zhu Ling were the only ones who saw him visit the Jiang family.
On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, it began snowing. It continued all day and all night, with no sign of stopping. Instead, the snow grew heavier. No one wanted to move in such cold weather; everyone stayed home, warming themselves by the fire. The family sat together, but no one spoke. The atmosphere was solemn, as if they were waiting for something big to happen.
On the evening of the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Qin Shidong came in a hurry. His face was very ugly and he spoke in a hurry, "Master Zhu, His Majesty summons you to the palace."
Finally, it was here. The moment Zhu Song saw Qin Shidong, he couldn't explain the feeling in his heart, a mixture of relief and suffocation. But no matter what, he could only move forward.
Zhu Song had already prepared everything, and after Qin Shidong finished speaking, he stood up and went into the palace. After he left, Zhu Jingchen ordered the servants to act according to the plan, and the servants hurried out.
The snow was coming down heavily, and even an umbrella couldn't block it. Even though I was dressed warmly, the cold wind still penetrated into my bones, making me shiver.
When they arrived at the Yangxin Palace, Su Li and Xu Lizhu were waiting at the door. Seeing Zhu Song nod, Zhu Song glanced at Su Li and hurried into the palace.
As soon as I entered the door, I smelled a strong and indissoluble smell of medicine, and the air became bitter.
Zhu Song walked to the dragon bed. Emperor Liang was lying on the bed, barely breathing. His face was gray and he was breathing in more than out. However, when he saw Zhu Song, he felt much better and even sat up. "Here I am."
Zhu Song replied, "I am here."
"Sit closer."
Zhu Song followed his instructions and sat down beside the bed. Emperor Liang took his hand and said, "Although being an emperor puts you above everyone else, every step has to be weighed against the pros and cons. The virtuous king is too kind, and you must assist him."
Zhu Song promised, "Your Majesty, rest assured. I will do my best to assist you."
Emperor Liang nodded, "I knew I hadn't made a mistake. I've worked diligently all my life, never slacking off for a single day. My health has deteriorated early. You must take care of the virtuous prince and prevent him from following my path."
Zhu Song replied, "Your Majesty's deep love for your son deeply touches me. I will definitely bear in mind your Majesty's instructions."
Emperor Liang said, "Tonight I will depose the Crown Prince. Are you ready?"
Zhu Song's heart sank, but he still replied, "It's already been prepared. The person is waiting outside. The testimony is already written. Please review it, Your Majesty."
Zhu Song took out the prepared testimony as he spoke. After reading it, Emperor Liang nodded repeatedly, "Okay, okay, with this testimony, deposing the Crown Prince is a natural process."
Emperor Liang took out an imperial edict from the bedside and said, "This is the imperial edict to depose the crown prince. Tomorrow morning you will go to the East Palace to announce it."
Zhu Song replied, "Yes."
Emperor Liang took out another imperial edict and said, "This is the decree of succession."
Zhu Song took the imperial edict, opened it, and quickly glanced at it. Even though he had guessed it, he still couldn't help but feel distressed. He casually said, "Your Majesty will definitely get better."
Emperor Liang said, "I know my health condition, but it's a pity that I won't be able to see your wedding."
Zhu Song replied, "Your Majesty, don't be sad. This wedding will be cancelled."
Emperor Liang sighed, "Yes, you can't get married during a national mourning period. If I had known earlier, I should have let you get married before the New Year."
Zhu Song shook his head and said, "It has nothing to do with the national mourning. It's just that I already have someone I love and cannot marry Miss Jiang."
Only then did Emperor Liang realize something was wrong. He frowned and stared at Zhu Song, "Who are you attracted to?"
Zhu Song said softly, word by word: "The Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, Wen Fengxuan."
Emperor Liang's eyes widened, he pointed at Zhu Song and said in disbelief, "You lied to me, you are so bold, how dare you lie to me."
Zhu Song stood up and looked down at Emperor Liang, finally asking the question that had been bothering him for a long time, "Do you really treat Wen Fengxuan as your own child?"
"He's just like his mother. He's never loved me and both want to escape. But his mother couldn't escape from my grasp, so he shouldn't either. I want him to be buried with me."
As Emperor Liang spoke, his face turned crazy. He suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and fell down. If Zhu Song had felt a little guilty before, now he was only relieved.
He looked at Emperor Liang and said coldly, "No, he will sit on the dragon throne and live a long life."
"You... dare." Emperor Liang was so angry that he pointed at Zhu Song and shouted, but he was ultimately just a spent force. He died after saying this, with his eyes wide open, unable to close.
Zhu Song called out, "Su Li."
As soon as he finished speaking, Su Li walked in. Zhu Song walked over and placed the imperial edict of succession on the table.
The imperial edict contained a lot of content. Zhusong took a careful look at it and found that not much needed to be changed. He only needed to change the sentence "pass the throne to the eldest prince Wen Zhan" to "pass the throne to the crown prince Wen Fengxuan".
The five words were too different to be changed directly, so they could only be rewritten and pasted on the original imperial edict.
Zhu Song took out the Qinghe paper he had prepared long ago. This kind of paper was as thin as a cicada's wing and was perfect for forging. Zhu Song had been practicing Emperor Liang's handwriting for a while. He hadn't mastered much of it, but the five characters "Prince Wen Fengxuan" were already difficult to distinguish between real and fake.
After Zhu Song finished writing the words, Su Li cut them off the paper and pasted the best peach blossom glue on the original words. They fit very well and could not be seen at all if you didn't look carefully.
After doing all this, Zhu Song took the imperial edict and went out. Outside the hall, Zhu Jingchen, Zhu Jingshen, Zhu Lingye, Zhu Lingwang, Gu Huaiyu, Qu Zhoubai, □□xing, and Mu Liuguang were all waiting outside.
Zhu Song said mournfully, "The Emperor has passed away."
Everyone gathered around him, and Zhu Song continued, "Before the Emperor passed away, he passed the throne to me and the Crown Prince."
Zhu Song handed the imperial edict to Zhu Jingshen, who opened it. Everyone gathered around to read it. "Pass the throne to Crown Prince Wen Fengxuan."
Their voices were so loud that the news spread quickly.
The ministers of the palace rushed over one after another, and Wen Fengxuan also rushed over in a hurry, his eyes red and his voice choked. He staggered into the Yangxin Palace, and soon heard deep crying coming from the palace.
The virtuous prince and the Jiang family were drinking together tonight. They were drunk and arrived the latest.
As soon as they arrived, Jiang Shen angrily said to Zhu Song, "Impossible! The imperial edict you have is fake."
Zhu Song also pretended to be angry at this time, and replied in a cold voice: "Master Jiang, Eunuch Qin came to the Zhu Mansion tonight to deliver the order. The emperor personally handed the imperial edict to me before his death. Now you say that my imperial edict is fake, do you have any evidence?"
Jiang Shen insisted, "The Emperor will absolutely not pass the throne to the Crown Prince."
Zhu Song's voice was clear and loud. "The Crown Prince is the heir apparent. If the throne is not passed to him, then according to Lord Jiang's suggestion, to whom should it be passed?"
Gu Huaiyu also said: "Master Jiang, His Majesty has just left. Do you want His Majesty to leave in turmoil?"
Qu Zhoubai also said, "Lord Jiang's words are so convincing. Is he accusing Your Majesty?"
□□ Xing said: "We have all seen the imperial edict. It is stamped with the imperial seal, so it is authentic."
Mu Liuguang asked, "Master Jiang's current attitude, could it be that he is imitating the Sin King?"
The result was out, and the situation was hopeless for the virtuous king. None of the officials present dared to speak up for the virtuous king. Even if the virtuous king had thousands of grievances, he couldn't say them at this moment.
Only the Jiang family was still arguing, but no one paid any attention to them. They were pushed aside and their voices were drowned out by the mournful cries.
After a while, Wen Fengxuan was supported by Xie Ningyuan and came out. Zhu Song went to meet him and presented the imperial edict to Wen Fengxuan, "Your Highness, I offer my condolences."
At this moment, Jiang Shen still had no idea what was going on. He rushed forward and said, "Zhu Song, you lied to me, you will die a miserable death."
Wen Fengxuan frowned and ordered in a cold voice, "Those who are disrespectful will be dragged away."
Jiang Shen pointed at Wen Fengxuan, "You are in the same group, you..."
Zhu Lingye personally stepped forward and dragged Jiang Shen away, covering his mouth.
Since then, no one dared to speak nonsense.
Next came the national mourning, which was handled by the Ministry of Rites, so Zhu Song and others went back first.
Wen Fengxuan stayed in the Yangxin Palace until the second half of the night, and only returned to the Eastern Palace after Emperor Liang was put into the coffin.
Although there was a floor heating in the house, the quilt was still cold. Wen Fengxuan tossed and turned for a long time before he fell into a drowsy sleep. He had a dream.
In the dream, he was still as a child. Emperor Liang took a plate of red bean cakes and said to him with a smile: "Fuyue, the imperial kitchen has just made some red bean cakes today. Come and try them and see if they are delicious."
"Thank you, father." He responded sweetly and picked up a piece of red bean cake and put it in his mouth.
The freshly baked red bean cakes are sweet and fragrant, and even better than I imagined.
Cool tears ran down his cheeks. Wen Fengxuan opened his eyes, threw off the quilt and stood up without even having time to put on his shoes. He ran to the desk, took out the decree of succession and read it carefully.
Although he arrived late, he still got to eat red bean cake.
Wen Fengxuan's tears fell drop by drop onto the imperial edict, blurring the words and revealing the green rice paper.
Wen Fengxuan stopped crying and reached out to pick up the piece of paper. The secret that he had tried so hard to cover up was exposed in front of Wen Fengxuan. He widened his eyes, unable to believe what he saw.
His hand trembled, and the imperial edict fell onto the table. The sound brought Wen Fengxuan back, and he called out, "Qiutong."
Li Qiutong walked in. Wen Fengxuan wiped the tears from his face and handed him the imperial edict, "I want to go to the Zhu Mansion."
"Now?" Li Qiutong wanted to persuade him, but looking at Wen Fengxuan's condition, she knew she couldn't persuade him. "Okay."
Wen Fengxuan couldn't wait to put on his clothes, so he put on a cloak and went out impatiently.
At this time, Zhu Song was lying in bed, unable to sleep. The bright moonlight came in through the window, bringing with it a cool breeze. Zhu Song stared at the moonlight, as if he was thinking a lot and yet as if he was thinking of nothing.
A sound came from the courtyard, "Hey... Your Highness."
Your Highness?
Zhu Song stood up suddenly and got up quickly. When he opened the door, he saw Wen Fengxuan standing at the door. His eyes were red and tears fell the moment he saw Zhu Song. His legs bent and he was about to fall. Zhu Song quickly hugged him and carried him into the house.
"What's wrong?"
Wen Fengxuan hugged Zhu Song's neck tightly, "Zhu Song, Zhu Song."
He just called him but didn't say anything. Zhu Song was anxious when he heard it. "What happened?"
Zhu Song put Wen Fengxuan on the bed and pulled the quilt over to wrap him tightly. Wen Fengxuan's emotions had stabilized now. Wrapped in the thick quilt, his eyes and nose were red, which made him particularly cute.
Zhu Song stretched out his legs, hooked a bench in front of him, and sat down, trying to guess what he was thinking. "Are you sad that His Majesty is gone?"
Wen Fengxuan shook his head, and Zhu Song asked, "Then what happened?"
Wen Fengxuan didn't say anything, but just said, "I want to see you."
Zhu Song frowned slightly, a little unconvinced, "That's it?"
Wen Fengxuan nodded, "That's it. Zhu Song, is it okay for me to stay here tonight?"
Zhu Song reached out and touched his forehead; it wasn't hot. "No, there are already rumors circulating outside, and I have to go to the wake for His Majesty tomorrow. If people knew you were at the Zhu Mansion, the rumors would be even more unstoppable."
Wen Fengxuan said: "I'm not afraid."
"I'm afraid," Zhu Song said. "I wanted to tell you later, but since Your Highness is here, I'll tell you now. After the national mourning is over, I want to resign."
Zhu Song thought it over. Given his past with Wen Fengxuan, it wasn't appropriate for him to stay in the capital. Resigning might open up a new path for the Zhu family.
Wen Fengxuan's tears, which had just stopped, began to fall again. Zhu Song felt distressed, but he forced himself not to move. He believed that a short pain was better than a long one, and they had to take this step anyway.
After a long while, Wen Fengxuan said, "I don't agree."
Zhu Song said: "I have made up my mind, I hope Your Highness will grant my wish."
"Why?" Wen Fengxuan's voice was muffled and nasal, as if it was forced out from his chest.
Facing Wen Fengxuan's hurt gaze, Zhu Song finally didn't lie to him, "Your Highness wants to have three harems and six courtyards, and a house full of children and grandchildren. It's not appropriate for me to stay in the capital."
The moment he finished speaking, Wen Fengxuan pulled off the quilt and ran away without hesitation.
Zhu Song fell on the bed, the warmth of Wen Fengxuan still lingering on the quilt, warm and fragrant, making him feel distracted. He sighed heavily. If he had known earlier, he would have kissed her first. Otherwise, he would never have such a good fortune in his life.
What a pity!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
