Chapter 357 Killing Two Birds with One Stone
Emperor Jinghe was extremely filial. Every five days, he would go to Shou Kang Palace to have dinner with the Empress Dowager, and he never missed a single one in more than twenty years.
Today happens to be the fifth day of the lunar month, and Emperor Jinghe came to Shou Kang Palace as usual.
The Empress Dowager was over sixty years old, but looked younger than an ordinary old lady, although her hair was completely white.
Seeing her son's less-than-ideal condition, the Empress Dowager showed concern: "No matter how busy Your Majesty is with state affairs, you must take care of your health. All the civil and military officials in the court are here to share Your Majesty's burdens."
Emperor Jinghe was relaxed in front of his biological mother and responded to the Empress Dowager's concern with a smile: "I've been quite busy lately, but I'll take a good rest once I'm done. Mother, you don't need to worry about me."
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager did not dwell on the matter any longer and ordered the palace servants to serve the meal.
Shou Kang Palace has a small kitchen. Whenever Emperor Jinghe comes to dine, the Empress Dowager will instruct the kitchen to prepare two of his favorite dishes in advance.
Today is no exception.
The mother and son did not have the palace servants serve them food. Like an ordinary mother and son, they chatted about everyday things while enjoying their meal.
Just as he was halfway through his meal, Emperor Jinghe was suddenly struck by a sharp pain in his abdomen. His face turned pale, and with a "clatter," the chopsticks in his hand fell to the ground.
The Empress Dowager was stunned for a moment, then suddenly stood up after realizing what was happening.
When she clearly saw the blood trickling from Emperor Jinghe's lips, she swayed precariously and cried out urgently, "Imperial physician! Summon the imperial physician quickly! Quickly—"
Even though the Empress Dowager managed to suppress the news in time, the news of Emperor Jinghe's poisoning and unconsciousness still reached the ears of the officials with lightning speed.
The court and the public were shaken, and the entire capital was filled with anxiety.
Those princes who had come of age and had been secretly vying for power couldn't wait any longer and, with the support of their respective factions, each emerged to try and seize the position of crown prince.
Once Emperor Jinghe dies, they will be able to rightfully inherit the throne.
In order to achieve their wish, the princes sent visiting cards to the princess's residence, hoping to gain the support of Princess Pingyuan.
They knew very well that as long as they had the support of Princess Pingyuan, their ascension to the position of crown prince was almost a certainty.
Princess Pingyuan looked at the invitations on the table, a smug smile on her face, and said sarcastically, "I never expected that my good nephews would have such courage."
Previously, seeing that the sixth prince's mother's family was weak and easy to control, she supported the sixth prince to compete for power with his brothers. However, the sixth prince turned out to be a hopeless case and actually listened to his father's "brotherly love and respect" doctrine.
She wanted the position of crown prince but couldn't bring herself to kill her brothers. This kind of scoundrel deserved to be her scapegoat, implicated in the cheating scandal and demoted to a commoner, imprisoned in her own home.
Li Mama, who was standing to the side, was terrified. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but thinking of Princess Pingyuan's temper and what she was doing, she could only swallow her words.
Princess Pingyuan did not notice anything unusual about Granny Li. She clapped her hands and two masked guards silently appeared in the room.
She tossed several invitations over, her eyes flashing with a cold light: "Proceed according to plan, without fail."
"yes!"
Emperor Jinghe was suddenly poisoned and had no time to give any instructions, so the cabinet temporarily took over the administration of state affairs.
It was fine for a short time, but trouble was likely to arise in the long run. After some discussion, the cabinet ministers decided to select a prince with both virtue and talent to temporarily assume the position of crown prince and handle state affairs.
Although he was only a temporary heir apparent and did not have the title of crown prince, the adult princes all knew that this was a good opportunity.
After a series of open and covert struggles, the eldest prince ultimately prevailed and took over the reins of government.
However, joy turned to sorrow. During a celebration held at the residence by the eldest prince and his confidants, the prince drank too much and fell into the lotus pond. Unfortunately, his head hit a rock on the edge of the pond, and he immediately lost consciousness.
Despite the speculation that the eldest prince had been framed, apart from the prince's confidants clamoring for a thorough investigation, the other ministers chose to remain on the sidelines and continue to nominate the next prince to temporarily manage state affairs.
All this commotion had little impact on Xu Jinnian, a compiler at the Hanlin Academy. He went to the Hanlin Academy every day as usual, and even when Emperor Jinghe was unconscious, he did not have to go to the palace to be on duty.
That day, he went hiking in the suburbs at Ning Sihan's invitation.
The mountaintop was deserted. The two men sat facing each other, their eyes fixed intently on the chessboard.
The entourage was scattered around, wary of anyone getting close enough to overhear their conversation.
Soon, Ning Sihan placed her black piece, making a soft sound: "It's been so lively lately, with everyone showing off their skills."
Xu Jinnian was not to be outdone, and placed a white piece to relentlessly pursue them: "Let them make a fuss for a few days, and we'll deal with them all at once when they're tired of it."
Ning Sihan raised an eyebrow slightly and let out a cryptic laugh: "You're quite composed."
Xu Jinnian looked up at him: "Brother Ning, do you have a better idea?"
Ning Sihan shook her head: "This is a scheme set up by His Majesty himself. I have no right to interfere. I will just do my job and leave the rest to His Majesty."
Xu Jin smiled and lowered his eyes to place another piece: "His Majesty is wise and powerful, far-sighted, and regards Brother Ning as his right-hand man. When rewards are given in the future, Brother Ning will surely be promoted even further."
His Majesty's coma due to poisoning at Shou Kang Palace is merely a result of some ill-intentioned individuals taking advantage of a scheme.
He was not His Majesty's pawn and was unaware of His Majesty's plan beforehand, but after observing the situation over this period, he could see that His Majesty intended to kill two birds with one stone.
Ning Sihan smiled, then changed the subject and sighed, "Your Majesty is a benevolent ruler. His nearly thirty years on the throne are a blessing to the people. It is a pity that Your Majesty is getting old and works hard every day, but there are times when you are unable to do what you need to do."
Xu Jinnian had a sudden thought, and said casually, "Brother Ning, you are overthinking it. The princes who have come of age are all outstanding individuals, and the Great Wei dynasty has worthy successors."
Ning Sihan stared at him intently for a moment: "It seems that Brother Xu already has someone he has his eye on."
Xu Jinnian smiled but said nothing. Under his gaze, he placed a piece, and the tense game of chess changed instantly, and the outcome became clear.
Ning Sihan glanced at it, slowly put down the black piece in her hand, but her eyes were smiling.
Emperor Jinghe never regained consciousness, and the court grew increasingly chaotic with age, sparking several rounds of verbal battles.
After another round of open and covert struggles, the third prince was finally put in charge of the government temporarily.
This time, the Third Prince learned from the First Prince's mistake and did not get carried away by hosting a grand banquet for guests at his residence. He even wished he could summon a hundred or eighty guards to accompany him when he went out.
His overly cautious demeanor disappointed some ministers who had initially been optimistic about him, making them doubt whether he could maintain his position during this turbulent time.
These ministers' concerns were not unfounded. The third prince was simply incapable of handling state affairs, and his stubborn nature prevented him from listening to the ministers' advice. They felt that the ministers harbored ill intentions and wanted to take advantage of the situation to usurp the imperial power.
The minister who was questioned felt exhausted and deeply regretted supporting such an incompetent person to the throne.
After some private discussion, they decisively pushed the Fifth Prince up to replace the Third Prince.
This made the Third Prince increasingly believe that these ministers had ulterior motives and intended to usurp the throne of the Great Wei. Every day, under the guise of visiting Emperor Jinghe, he would go to his sickbed to cry and plead, hoping that his wise and mighty father would wake up soon.
If he doesn't wake up soon to check those audacious scoundrels, their kingdom will be gone, and he, as a prince, won't even have the right to be a parasite.
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