Chapter 682: The Mandate of Heaven Returns to Fu Zhen as the Emperor
Emperor Mingpei spoke angrily all the way, and Yuan Shenjue listened silently, also feeling a little angry.
Although it is a good thing that the rebel leader is incompetent, it is wrong for him to harm Xinbao. It is really infuriating!
Why couldn't they work together when they were committing suicide? Emperor Mingpei carried Xinbao into the imperial study.
Xinbao was completely wrapped in the cloak, with only a tiny bit of his hair and the tiny shoes underneath the cloak showing.
The emperor was discussing matters in the study, and was a little confused when he saw this situation.
Then Yuan Xiang whispered, "What is this, young prince?"
Emperor Mingpei just waved his hand, signaling them to continue speaking.
Lin Tongda said: "I think..."
As soon as he started to speak, Emperor Mingpei glared at him angrily.
Lin Tongda was not stupid. After a pause, he lowered his voice by eight octaves and said in a whisper: "I think this matter should not be taken lightly..."
The room was full of old men whose ears weren't very good. They couldn't hear clearly so they had to huddle together. So a group of senior cabinet ministers, with their necks tilted and their ears pricked up, discussed things with difficulty using obscene movements.
Finally, even His Royal Highness the Crown Prince couldn't bear to watch it anymore and said, "Father, how about I send Xinbao back first?"
Emperor Mingpei disagreed: "He's clinging to me. He wakes up as soon as I let him go! I can't let him go, so how can you let him go?"
Yan Qingshan: "..."
Although I am the child's father, he is my father, what can I do?
So the discussion continued.
Even the emperor himself spoke in a whisper.
The ministers were still far away and could not hear it, so His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had to listen and repeat it again.
When they came out of the Imperial Study, these people all felt sore in their backs and waists. As soon as they walked out of the Qianqing Gate, they stretched their hands and feet and patted their shoulders.
Lin Tongda asked, "What happened to the young prince? Does the Prime Minister know?"
Yuan Xiang already had a guess in his mind, and said, "I don't know."
Li Tingfang said: "The emperor doesn't look worried, so it's probably not a big deal."
"That's good," others said, "It's normal for children to have temper tantrums."
Although they guessed that the little princess was not feeling well, they did not dare to say it. If the little princess was fine, wouldn't it be like cursing her? After they left, Emperor Mingpei held his granddaughter and wanted to put her on the couch, but once he put her down, she started tossing and turning, groaning...
Emperor Mingpei was heartbroken and whispered, "She has something on her mind and can't sleep well. She has to be by my side to feel at ease. This child..."
He picked up his granddaughter again and gently stroked her little head to comfort her.
Yan Qingshan said: "Father, let your son hold me."
"No need," Emperor Mingpei said, "She is warm in my arms. If I let her turn my hand over, her stomach will get cold."
Yan Qingshan: "..."
So when you put it on the couch just now, wasn't it the same as changing your hand?
Dad is becoming more and more unreasonable.
Emperor Mingpei held her in his arms for most of the day, until after lunch. He sent Yan Qingshan out to discuss matters. He then carried his granddaughter back to Chengqian Palace, took a nap, and then put her on the couch.
Then the emperor did not go in the afternoon, but stayed with his granddaughter the whole afternoon, and reviewed all the memorials in front of the bed.
In the middle, Yuan Shenjue asked him, "Your Majesty, what should we do with the books hidden in the fish belly?"
Emperor Mingpei just said, "Don't worry about it."
Until the evening.
Shen Shouyan had just returned from the camp when Cui Dunyi came to find him outside. After the two sides talked, Shen Shouyan hurriedly took his people into the palace.
Shen Shouyan was familiar with the Longxiong Guards. Although he did not have a badge that allowed him to enter the palace at any time, as soon as he said he had an urgent matter to discuss with the emperor, the Longxiong Guards would quickly inform him.
Emperor Mingpei met him in Xinbao's palace. Shen Shouyan said, "Your Majesty, this person is from the Jianghu Daotinglou. His name is Cui Dunyi. He has been to the palace before. He has learned some news and came to report it to Your Majesty."
Emperor Mingpei nodded and motioned for him to speak.
Cui Dunyi had now passed the military examination and reported respectfully, "Your Majesty, this morning, a fisherman from Fengyang Prefecture got up early to catch fish and found a piece of cloth in the belly of a fish. On it were written eight characters in ancient seal script: 'Heaven's Mandate Returns, Blessings Reach the Emperor'."
Yan Qingshan and others nearby were slightly surprised, but Emperor Mingpei remained calm.
Cui Dunyi continued, "My subordinates believed that someone was deliberately framing the young prince, so they went to take a look. Because the silk handkerchief had traces of being bitten by fish teeth, it happened to be on the word 'Fu'. My subordinates are not very literate and have little knowledge. In addition, time is tight and there is no better idea, so they can only secretly change it to Yinlin Weihuang."
Emperor Mingpei raised his eyebrows.
There is no wrong version in the 1619 book forum!
Cui Dunyi performed a great ceremony and said: "We, the ministers, acted on our own initiative and deserve death."
He bowed to Yan Shirong again and said, "I have no intention of harming the Second Prince. It's just that the handkerchief has been seen by several people and cannot be altered. It is also inappropriate to steal it. The seal characters of the word "Zhen" and "Lin" are slightly similar, and the damaged one happens to be at the position of the word "Fu"..."
Yan Shirong hesitated for a moment and said, "Nothing, it's a good thing to change it."
Emperor Mingpei hadn't spoken yet, so he couldn't say much, but for them, no matter who was changed, it would be better than Xinbao.
Although the times are not chaotic now and the appearance of such a hidden book in a fish belly will not cause much waves, they still do not want their younger sister to be in the center of the storm and be speculated by everyone with different intentions.
As for this change, it is inevitable that some people will think that he is coveting the throne and is impatient, but that is a small matter.
Emperor Mingpei remained calm and asked, "Does your subordinate know Fu Zhen?"
Cui Dunyi hesitated for a moment, but decided not to hide it, and said, "Your Majesty, because the young prince gave me several elixirs in the past, and we heard that the young prince saved my nephew, so we all want to be close to the young prince. We are not well-informed and can't think of a better idea at the moment, so... let's just..." Let's pass on the blame first.
Emperor Mingpei couldn't help but laugh.
Then he smiled and said, "After you changed your ways, did you help spread the word?"
Although Cui Dunyi saw the emperor smile, he still didn't dare to be presumptuous. He just said, "I did push it secretly, hoping to cover up the previous rumors."
Emperor Mingpei smiled and said, "Yes, yes, that's very good. You have done a great job."
Cui Dunyi felt relieved and said he didn't dare.
Emperor Mingpei smiled and ordered his men to reward them, then let them go.
Yan Shirong escorted them out and asked again, "In the end, was the silk handed over to the government?"
Cui Dunyi said: "Yes."
Yan Shirong nodded and asked, "Has the original silk been processed? How many people have seen it?"
"The silk was burned." Cui Dunyi said, "Not many people have seen it. There were two people in the middle who were obviously arranged by the person who set up the trap. We have secretly captured them, which is equivalent to not having them. Although it was passed on to several people, those fishermen were illiterate. After that, less than five people who could read had seen it."
"Very good, thanks to your quick reaction," Yan Shirong said with a smile, "Then I'll trouble you to take the Longxiong Guards to escort those two people to the capital, and please deal with the five people on my behalf. Thank you, Master Cui, for protecting my younger sister. Yinlin is grateful."
"I dare not," Cui Dunyi said, "I hope Your Highness does not blame me."
"No," Yan Shirong said with a smile, "My sister has been spared a lot of trouble. I can't thank you enough."
He ordered the people around him to take Cui Dunyi to find Xiang Xiaodong or Wei Fengting, borrow a team of Longxiong Guards, follow Cui Dunyi's men, take over the two people, and then come back to complete the dispatch order.
(End of this chapter)