Chapter 96
The Qinzheng Hall is where the emperor handles government affairs and receives civil and military officials. It is meant to govern diligently, love the people and focus on the basics. Every word spoken in the Qinzheng Hall may determine the national economy and people's livelihood, and the rise and fall of Dayu.
Once upon a time, Lin Qingyu stood in the Qinzheng Hall, examining the pulse of the late emperor as an imperial physician. Today, he still stands here as the imperial physician. The people he faced were the prime minister, the eunuchs, and the emperor.
These people were wearing the official uniforms, python robes, and dragon robes that they should wear, but Lin Qingyu was only wearing a white robe and a fox fur coat. There was no trace of a powerful official on him. He seemed to be just a handsome young man from a scholarly family.
However, this powerful official who did not act like a powerful official did whatever he wanted in front of the emperor without restraint. In front of the emperor, he bluntly stated that he wanted to take the life of the person the emperor trusted most and was closest to.
Lin Qingyu gave the order again: "Capture Xi Rong."
The two guards looked at each other and saw their own embarrassment in each other's eyes. They are General Gu's men and have always been loyal to the Gu family. But he is the emperor after all. Even if he has no real power, he is still the supreme ruler. Even Imperial Physician Lin had always been courteous to the Emperor before, so why did he completely disregard the etiquette between the monarch and his subjects today? To put it in a broader sense, this is rebellion.
Before the two could make a move, Xiao Jie, who was standing in front of Xi Rong, shouted, "You dare?!"
Lin Qingyu said: "I dare."
Nan'an Hou also felt that Lin Qingyu had gone too far, and reminded him: "Doctor Lin, no one wants to see the food and grass incident. Even if the emperor miscalculated, it was an unintentional mistake. You are so disrespectful to the emperor, aren't you afraid that the emperor will punish you?"
"Yes... yes, I am the emperor! You can't talk to me like that, and you can't harm my people!" Xiao Jie was already a little hysterical, "I will punish you! Come, take Lin Qingyu down, and beat him to death with a stick!"
When Xiao Jie uttered the last two words, his voice became tearful. He didn't intend to take Lin Qingyu's life, but Lin Qingyu wanted Arong to die. Arong cannot die, so Lin Qingyu must die.
He didn't want this to happen, but he really had no choice. As long as Arong is fine, he doesn't want to care about anything else.
"Your Majesty." Li Chan knelt down decisively. "Eunuch Xi is indeed suspected of collaborating with the enemy. Imperial Doctor Lin also wanted to correct His Majesty and clear the emperor's side. He was anxious and spoke rudely..."
Cui Lian sneered, "It's not his turn as a fifth-rank imperial physician to clean up the emperor's entourage, not to mention that we don't even know who the treacherous ministers are."
Lin Qingyu looked at Xiao Jie quietly, and the last trace of pity and kindness in his eyes disappeared suddenly when he said the word "beaten to death".
A thought suddenly popped into Xi Rong's mind—Lin Qingyu wanted to kill Xiao Jie.
Xi Rong had no doubt that Lin Qingyu wanted to kill him, but before that, Lin Qingyu should not have thought of killing Xiao Jie. Only if he died and Xiao Jie lived, Lin Qingyu and the Queen Mother could completely control Xiao Jie, and then control the entire Dayu kingdom.
After Xiao Jie's death, Xiao Li was the only one left of the late emperor's bloodline. Civil and military officials, as well as soldiers on the frontiers would not want a fool to be their emperor. If they insist on supporting Xiao Li to take the throne, not only will the late emperor's brothers have ideas, but even the northern border may be ready to make moves. Therefore, in the plan of Lin Qingyu and the Queen Mother, Xiao Jie must be alive.
But at this moment, Lin Qingyu really wanted Xiao Jie to die.
This was not Lin Qingyu's normal reaction - Lin Qingyu was about to lose control.
And Lin Qingyu's loss of control was exactly what he wanted to see.
Xi Rong stood behind Xiao Jie, leaned down, and whispered: "Your Majesty, are you serious about what you just said?"
Xiao Jie was in a trance and didn't dare to look into Lin Qingyu's eyes. He bit his lip, which turned red. "Lin Qingyu disrespected the Lord and committed treason. His crime is unforgivable and he should be put to death."
Xi Rong curled his lips and clapped his hands, saying, "Thank you, sir."
"I am here."
Except for Lin Qingyu, everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a solemn-looking man striding in. This man was wearing a dark corset and had a sword at his waist. He was the leader of the Tianji Camp, Xie Min.
Xie Min knelt on one knee in front of Xiao Jie and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."
Xi Rong said: "Did you hear the emperor's order clearly?"
Xie Min nodded slightly, stood up and drew his sword, holding it in his right hand. The sword light reflected the four words "Diligent Government Affairs" on the plaque hanging high in the hall, and he approached Lin Qingyu step by step.
"No!" Li Chan raised his hand and blocked Xie Min's way. "Doctor Lin has the Tianjiying token bestowed by the late emperor. He is your master!"
Xie Min had a blank expression on her face: "The Tianji Camp only serves the emperor. Sir Li, please get out of the way."
Li Chan turned his head to look at Lin Qingyu, only to see him staring at the sword, his eyes hidden under his butterfly-like long eyelashes, and no one knew what he was thinking. Li Chan thought quickly and shouted to the two guards, "Go and invite the queen!"
A greasy voice sounded: "When will it be the turn of outsiders to ask about our Xiao family's affairs?"
Xiao Jie's ninth uncle, Prince Heng, appeared at the gate of the Qinzheng Palace, followed by the elite troops he secretly transferred from his fiefdom to the capital: "From now on, unless the emperor orders, no one can step out of the Qinzheng Palace."
Xiao Jie was stunned and said, "Ninth Uncle? Why are you…"
Prince Heng glanced at Lin Qingyu, snorted coldly, and said, "I am late in escorting the emperor, and the emperor is frightened."
In desperation, Li Chan knelt down again: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please think about the Northwest soldiers and the people of Dayu. Just as Lin Taiyi said, the Ghost General was able to find Xi Rong to "negotiate peace", which shows that this man knows the situation in the capital very well. If there is another change in the palace at this time, it will be even more of a trap. With the Ghost General's political tactics of playing with people's hearts, he will definitely take advantage of the opportunity and disrupt our army's morale. The northwest is unsettled, and the capital cannot be in chaos again!"
"What are you talking about, Lord Minister?" Xi Rong said with a smile, "How can the execution of a fifth-rank imperial physician cause any changes in the capital?"
Li Chan said: "Imperial Physician Lin is the wife of General Gu. If the general knew that Imperial Physician Lin died in the palace..."
Xi Rong said "Oh" and said lightly: "Don't worry, Minister, the emperor will not let General Gu know before he recovers Yongliang."
Li Chan was sweating profusely, he was at his wits' end. Is it true that Lin Qingyu will be shed blood in the Qinzheng Palace today?
Xi Rong's pupils shrank suddenly: "Master Xie, what are you waiting for?"
Li Chan saw from the corner of his eye that Xie Min's hand tightened around the hilt of the sword, but Lin Qingyu still had no reaction. He couldn't help but yelled: "Lin Qingyu!"
As soon as the words fell, Lin Qingyu raised his eyelashes, looked at the man holding the sword in front of him, and said slowly: "Master Xie just said that you only serve the emperor?"
Xie Min said: "Not bad."
"If the emperor behind you is not the one recognized by the previous emperor and is not the one appointed by heaven, will you still obey his orders?"
Xie Min paused: "What do you mean?"
"I used to think the same as Li Chan, that only if the capital did not have any incidents and Xixia did not take advantage of any opportunity, could the soldiers in the northwest have no worries. Now, I understand." Lin Qingyu looked at the brothers Xi Rong and Xiao Jie coldly, "Only when those who are in the way completely disappear, can the capital be truly stable."
Xi Rong's face suddenly changed color: "Lin Qingyu is insidious and cunning, we must not give him time to deceive people - Xie Min, do it."
Lin Qingyu sneered, "Eunuch Xi, why are you in such a hurry? The late emperor at least gave me the token of the Tianji Camp. Even if it's not enough to make Lord Xie serve me, it can at least give me time to finish my words - what do you think, Lord Xie?"
Xie Min hesitated for a moment: "What exactly do you want to say?"
"Just now, Eunuch Xi clapped his hands a few times, and Lord Xie appeared in response." Lin Qingyu mocked, "I won't follow his example."
As he spoke, a rough and loud voice came from the door: "Make way, make way...what are you all doing blocking the door?"
Prince Heng was squeezed and turned around and asked angrily, "Who is it?"
The man smiled apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, Ninth Prince. You brought too many people with you and all the seats are occupied. I can only let the brothers from the Imperial Guards and the Iron Cavalry Battalion surround you."
Prince Heng was so angry that he turned cold, and his voice was no longer smooth: "Wu Zhan! You brought so many soldiers into the palace, are you going to rebel?"
Wu Zhan asked back: "Then why did the prince bring so many soldiers here?"
"Of course I am here to protect you!"
Wu Zhan laughed loudly and said, "Then this general is also here to protect the emperor. But the emperor I want to protect is not the illegitimate Chu Xi Emperor, but the late emperor."
"Nonsense! The emperor is the true dragon emperor appointed by the previous emperor, and he has the right to do so. I think you are in cahoots with Lin Qingyu and are planning a rebellion!"
Prince Heng spoke with certainty, but he did not notice the reactions of Xiao Jie and Xi Rong. Xiao Jie knew how he got the throne, and he was already panicking: "Arong..."
Xi Rong tried to remain calm: "Don't be afraid, it's okay."
Wu Zhan stopped laughing and said seriously, "Bring the person up!"
A royal guard pushed a gray-haired man into the palace. The man knelt in front of Lin Qingyu and lowered his head: "... Doctor Lin."
The voice was not as deep as that of an ordinary man, but sharp and thin. Xi Rong guessed his identity as soon as he heard it: "Could it be...?"
The man slowly raised his head. Xiao Jie saw his appearance clearly and asked in astonishment, "Eunuch Xue?"
Xue Ying was the chief eunuch during the reign of the previous emperor and served him for many years. When the late emperor was seriously ill, Xue Ying suddenly retired and returned to his hometown, and there has been no news of him since then.
Wu Zhan said to Xue Ying: "Don't be afraid, Eunuch Xue. Tell me everything you know. I will protect you."
Xue Ying glanced at Xie Min and said, "When the late emperor was seriously ill, he wrote a will and gave it to me, asking me to keep it properly and announce it to the world when the emperor passed away."
Cui Lian said, "What nonsense! I saw the late emperor's will with my own eyes, and it did appoint the emperor as the crown prince and successor to the throne. If you had any will, why didn't you take it out then, instead of waiting until today to come here and pretend?"
Xue Ying said as if he was reciting a book: "Back then, Prince Ning was the regent, with great power in the court and the country, and he forced the late emperor to write an edict to establish a crown prince. When the late emperor came to his senses, he regretted his decision, and that's why he wrote the second edict. After the late emperor passed away, Prince Ning ascended the throne. If I take out the edict now, wouldn't I be courting death?"
Li Chan's face regained color and he asked, "Where is the will now?"
"Before I escaped from the palace, I hid the edict behind the plaque in the Qinzheng Hall."
Xie Min raised his hand towards the plaque, and the plaque shook under the wind from his palm. A sealed imperial edict fell down and was caught steadily in Xie Min's hand. After Xie Min took a look, he said solemnly, "This is indeed the handwriting and seal of the late emperor."
Cui Lian turned to Xi Rong abruptly: "How is this possible!"
"Heh..." Xi Rong laughed grimly, "Did Imperial Doctor Lin foresee this day coming, so he forged a will from the late emperor in advance?"
"Bullshit!" Wu Zhan cursed, "Even Lord Xie said that this will was written by the late emperor himself, what else do you have to say!"
Xiao Jie's legs went weak and he almost fell down. Xi Rong reached out and supported him. "Could it be that the late emperor's will you mentioned is to appoint the Sixth Prince as the crown prince?" Xi Rong seemed to have heard a huge joke. "The late emperor was so wise and powerful, how could he hand over the kingdom of Dayu to a mentally handicapped prince?"
Xie Min shook her head: "The imperial edict said that the former crown prince Xiao Cheng is the only candidate to inherit the throne and he must not be deposed."
Li Chan immediately said, "The late crown prince's mother, Consort Chen, had committed the great crime of causing chaos in the palace and deceiving the emperor, but the late emperor only banished her to the cold palace and did not implicate the late crown prince. This shows that the late emperor had high hopes for the late crown prince. The late emperor never showed his intention to depose the crown prince in front of anyone, so how could he suddenly do so? There must be something hidden behind this."
A chill crept up on Xi Rong's heart. He took a few steps back and whispered, "It's not over yet."
Xiao Jie cried and held him back: "Arong..."
Xi Rong suddenly shook off Xiao Jie's hand, pointed at Lin Qingyu and said, "Prince Heng, Xie Min, why are you still standing there? Did you believe what he said? When the late emperor was seriously ill, the empress dowager and Lin Qingyu spent many times more time with him than the emperor. They were the ones who forced the late emperor to write a will!"
"Want to fight? Then hurry up and stop talking nonsense." Wu Zhan rubbed his hands and said, "If you don't let me go to the northwest to fight the Xixia barbarians, I will be suffocated to death. Ninth Prince, where did your soldiers come from? Can they withstand a fight?"
Prince Heng looked back. The massive Iron Cavalry Battalion and the Imperial Guards had already surrounded them. Their numbers were at least three times theirs, and they were well-rested, so they had no chance of winning.
At this point, the truth of the matter is no longer important, saving your life is the most important thing.
Prince Heng cleared his throat and said, "I am the late emperor's brother, so of course I must put the late emperor's wishes first. Xi Rong, Xiao Jie, you two persecuted the crown prince first, and then rebelled and usurped the throne. Your crimes are simply unforgivable!"
Xi Rong's hands slowly dropped, his eyes were empty, and his face was deathly silent.
Wu Zhan clicked his tongue and shook his head: "This face changes faster than the sky."
Xiao Jie grabbed Xi Rong's arm and choked up, "Arong, Arong, say something..."
"What else is there to say?" Xi Rong said numbly, "The winner is the king, the loser is the bandit - Ajie, we lost."
"Ah? Aren't we going to fight now?" Wu Zhan said with regret, "I was so excited for nothing."
Xiao Jie said blankly: "Lost? What will happen if I lose... Will I die? I don't want to..." He rushed to Lin Qingyu and wanted to grab Lin Qingyu's clothes, but when he met Lin Qingyu's eyes, he didn't dare to stretch out his hand: "Doctor Lin, don't kill Arong, please... don't..."
Lin Qingyu slowly opened his lips: "You beg me?"
Xiao Jie nodded his head and said, "I beg you! I beg you..."
"If this batch of food and grass cannot be delivered, and the military opportunity is missed, causing our army to be defeated by Xixia." Lin Qingyu's voice trembled slightly, "Do you think Xixia will spare the lives of those defeated soldiers?"
Xiao Jie suddenly froze. Wu Zhan sighed, "Food and grass! No matter how powerful a general is, he can't fight without food and grass."
"I won't kill him now." Lin Qingyu said, "I want to spare his life. When the Northwest Army returns victorious, I will behead him and offer him to the gods."
Xiao Jie widened his eyes and kept shaking his head: "No, no..."
Lin Qingyu walked to Xi Rong's side and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "I gave you a choice. I also said that if you don't obey, I will let someone else take your place. I'm not kidding."
Xi Rong looked straight ahead: "If I didn't take action, I would still lose my life when Gu Fuzhou came back. I don't regret it."
Lin Qingyu said calmly: "Not necessarily."
Xi Rong sneered, obviously not believing what Lin Qingyu said. He finally looked at Xiao Jie, whose face was covered with tears, and said softly, "Leave him alive. He doesn't understand anything."
Lin Qingyu did not comment. He raised his hand and two imperial guards stepped forward and took Xi Rong away.
Xiao Jie was deeply saddened and chased after him regardless of everything: "Arong!"
Wu Zhan blocked his way and asked Lin Qingyu: "Doctor Lin, what should we do with the emperor?"
Lin Qingyu said: "The emperor is tired, help him back to the palace to rest."
Xie Min frowned: "Although the late emperor's will was to protect the late crown prince's throne, the late crown prince had already passed away due to illness."
"Thank you, sir." Prince Heng said in a fair and just tone, "There is no one left in the lineage of the previous emperor who can inherit the throne. We cannot allow Xiao Jie, who rebelled and usurped the throne, to continue to sit on the throne. According to the rules of Dayu's ancestors, he can only be adopted from the royal family."
Lin Qingyu said: "Did the Ninth Prince forget about Prince Huai?"
"What a joke! Prince Huai is mentally handicapped, like a three-year-old child. How can he be the ruler of a country?"
"At least, Prince Huai won't be so smart. Besides, he may be cured." Lin Qingyu changed the subject and said, "The Northwest is at a critical juncture. Today's events cannot be publicized. You are all pillars of the court. You should know the pros and cons better than me."
After this day, Emperor Chu Xi claimed illness and did not attend court. He changed the emperor's red comments to the cabinet's blue comments, and the cabinet was responsible for managing state affairs. In addition, Prime Minister Cui Lian expressed his intention to retire. After the emperor approved his request, he took his family and left the capital far away. Prince Heng was also sent back to his fiefdom and was not allowed to enter the capital without an imperial decree.
The batch of food and fodder in Jiangnan was raised by Lin Qingyu and Li Chan with great effort. It could have supported the Northwestern Army for a long time, but now only 20% is left. Li Chan had been desperately trying to transfer grain from the north, but encountered heavy snow and the roads were blocked. The journey that was originally supposed to take seven or eight days was delayed to half a month, and it was unknown whether he could make it in time.
After eliminating dissidents, Lin Qingyu should have been able to relax a little, but he was always lingering with an indescribable fear in his heart, and he had nightmares for several days in a row.
In his dream, he returned to the Nan'an Marquis Mansion and stood in the courtyard of Lanfeng Pavilion, holding a crimson umbrella, with a vast expanse of snow under his feet. He saw the familiar wheelchair. In the wheelchair, Lu Wancheng, dressed in red, was sleeping peacefully with his head down.
He walked barefoot on the snow, dragging the hem of his wedding dress, and walked towards Lu Wancheng step by step, using an umbrella to block the falling snowflakes.
At this moment, Lu Wancheng's face suddenly turned into Gu Fuzhou's. He stretched out his hand desperately, and the umbrella fell into the snow, but he could not reach the person in front of him.
Lin Qingyu sat up in shock. Huan Tong, who was on night watch, heard the noise and hurried over with a light: "Young Master?"
Lin Qingyu was in a trance for a moment. He raised his hand and touched the corner of his eyes, and felt a little moisture. "It's... snowing outside?"
"Yeah, it's been raining all night." Huan Tong said worriedly, "Master, are you okay?"
Lin Qingyu slowly lowered his eyes: "It's okay."
He hadn't received a letter from Gu Fuzhou for half a month.
After a year of separation, all the deep love is left with only a lonely shadow wandering around, and we can only meet in dreams.
But now, he didn't even dare to dream.
After the twelfth lunar month, the northwest snowstorm became even worse in the capital, and the consumption of food and grass increased day by day. The 20% of food and grass that Shen Huaishi risked his life to protect was just a drop in the bucket.
In order to stabilize the morale of the army, Gu Fuzhou concealed the fact that the food and grass had been robbed. Apart from him and Shen Huaishi, only Wu Youyuan and Shi Pei knew about the current situation of food and fodder shortage in the army. That day, Shen Huaishi fought one against a hundred people and escaped with 20% of the food and grass. When he returned to the army, he was seriously injured. Fortunately, Hu Ji's miraculous healing hand saved his life. Gu Fuzhou wanted to send Shen Huaishi to a safe place to recuperate, but was ruthlessly rejected by Shen Huaishi.
"Imperial Doctor Lin asked me to follow the general and protect him."
Gu Fuzhou smiled and said, "Why do you listen to my wife so much? Do you like him?"
Shen Huaishi hurriedly said: "I'm not, I didn't! The general is a pillar of the country, and I have admired him for a long time. Even without Doctor Lin's advice, I am willing to serve the general."
Seeing that Shen Huaishi was so flustered that he wanted to jump up to prove his innocence, Gu Fuzhou pushed him back to the bed: "It's just a joke, relax. But I don't mind even if you like him. There are so many people who like him, but he..."
Only like me.
Gu Fuzhou chuckled and said, "I appreciate your kindness. Why don't you go to a safe place to recuperate first, and then come back."
Shen Huaishi shook his head: “I want to stay in the northwest to recuperate.”
"What's so good about the northwest? The wind blows like a knife, and it can age you ten years in your face in one day."
Shen Huaishi was silent for a long time, and said: "I have been to many places, my body is like duckweed, my life is like grass. Only in the northwest do I feel that I am truly alive. Seeing my brothers who died in battle and the innocent people who died, I realized that everything in the past - whether it was Jingchun or Xiao Cheng, was just a passing cloud and a fleeting dream."
The sudden moment of truth made Gu Fuzhou raise his eyebrows. Shen Huaishi had been in the northwest for a year and had never mentioned the past, and he had never asked about it. What surprised him most was that Shen Huaishi could mention Xiao Cheng's name so calmly. Even if his beautiful wife was present, she would probably be surprised.
"Since you mentioned Xiao Cheng, I have a question that I really want to ask you."
Shen Huaishi said, "General, please ask."
Gu Fuzhou asked, "Did you use the fake death drug my wife gave you that day?"
Shen Huaishi smiled slightly, but said nothing.
Gu Fuzhou did not ask any further questions, but just sighed: "The past cannot be changed, but the future can still be pursued. If you want to stay, then stay. I will call Youyuan and Shi Pei, and we will think about what to do next." As he said that, he patted Shen Huaishi's shoulder, opened the tent, and walked into the wind and snow.
Shen Huaishi looked down at his shoulder where Gu Fuzhou had patted him.
Talking to Gu Fuzhou is an extremely comfortable thing. He seems to have a magical ability to pull people who are stuck in the mud back to the world with a smile. Just like that day, he came back seriously injured. When Wu Youyuan and Shi Pei learned that the food and grass had been robbed, one was furious and threatened to break into the enemy camp alone to take it back, while the other was discouraged and depressed. Only Gu Fuzhou said in his usual lazy tone after a long silence: "That's enough. It's already happened. What's the point of getting angry? Anger will only make us lose our minds. Don't be so sullen. Let me play the harp for you. When you calm down, we can talk about business."
In this world, only someone like Gu Fuzhou can know and love Imperial Doctor Lin and spend their lives together.
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