Seeing that Lan Shuang was determined to distance herself from him, the Fifth Prince silently withdrew his foot. After a long silence, he gave the old emperor a look that said, "I can't help you." "Father, it's not that I don't want to save you. The situation forces me to do so. I can't save myself."
The last bit of light in the old emperor's eyes went out. He froze for a moment, then collapsed on the couch with a dazed look on his face.
I thought he would have a smooth life and never know what pain and sorrow were, but I never expected that in the end he would be forced into a dead end by his own son.
The capable sons were all concerned about their own positions, and the incompetent ones could not help. No one really cared about him. When he was about to die, he looked around and found that there was no one he could trust.
How sad?
The fifth prince looked at him as he was about to die, and he couldn't describe the feeling in his heart. In the end, he chose to close his eyes and turn a blind eye.
The atmosphere in the hall was too heavy. Although the person was not dead yet, it seemed as if a wake had already begun.
Seeing this, Lan Shuang suddenly spoke up to break the deadlock, "Your Majesty, you don't have to be like this. In fact, even if it weren't for what happened today, you wouldn't live much longer."
"What do you mean?" The old emperor suddenly opened his eyes and stared at her fiercely.
Lan Shuang didn't take it seriously and glanced at the Fifth Prince beside her. "You don't know yet, but that so-called Taoist Master Shengxu was hired by the Fifth Prince. He's just a money-grubbing liar. Those elixirs you took are poisonous. They might make you feel refreshed at first, like floating in the clouds, but over time, your health will deteriorate and you'll become weaker and weaker."
She looked at the old emperor's sallow face with a smile and said, "Why do you think your poisoning hasn't healed?"
The old emperor was terrified and felt unwell.
"You are already poisoned to the bone marrow and dying, yet you're still asking the Fifth Prince for help. You're really clueless. Your sons are all unreliable. I guess the eldest prince is the lucky one. At least he didn't harm you, right?"
The old emperor: “…”
Can you compare it this way?
Jiang Mu had no expression at first, but after hearing Lan Shuang's words, he somehow wanted to laugh and couldn't help but let out a little sound. The old emperor's face suddenly turned even greener, and he was so angry that he suddenly fell on the edge of the couch and vomited a mouthful of black blood.
Jiang Mu's smile faded, and he took out a handkerchief and handed it to him, "Be decent and leave."
The old emperor looked at the snow-white handkerchief, his eyes deep in thought for a long time, and finally took it with a sigh and said to Lan Shuang, "Bring me some pen and ink."
Lan Shuang and Jiang Mu looked at each other and knew that the outcome was decided.
…
The civil and military officials at the Heavenly Altar were still unaware of the situation in the palace, but they could guess that the Second Prince was plotting a rebellion, leading his troops to force the palace under the pretext of clearing the court of corrupt officials, and then the eldest princess transformed herself into the eldest prince to rescue him...
Well, it was a dramatic development and they haven't come to their senses yet.
However, the rain was getting heavier, which helped them clear their cloudy minds.
But this did not affect their enthusiasm for gossip at all. They gathered together in the rain and chattered, their faces red and necks thick with anger.
If you don’t know, you might think this is a vegetable market.
This was the scene Xu Yunzhou saw when he arrived. He rubbed his ears irritably and said to the people around him, "Knock."
"Yes." The Jinyiwei who followed him got a gong from somewhere. At Xu Yunzhou's command, he grasped the gavel and knocked it hard.
There was a deafening clang sound, and the originally noisy altar immediately became quiet.
Everyone was startled and looked over. Xu Yunzhou then stepped forward slowly, took out the imperial edict and handed it to the eunuch beside him. He bowed to everyone and said, "I am here by the order of the new emperor to announce the decree and settle you all."
"New Emperor?"
"What new emperor?"
"And His Majesty?"
The ministers were full of questions. Xu Yunzhou gave a look to the young eunuch beside him, and the young eunuch immediately cleared his throat and stepped forward to read the old emperor's will.
The ministers had just accepted the fact that the eldest princess had become the eldest prince, and then watched him become the new emperor. Before they could come to their senses, they heard the death knell ringing from the direction of the palace.
The sound struck their hearts, heralding the death of the old emperor and the end of an era.
After a while, someone knelt down first and shouted, "Farewell to the late emperor! Long live the emperor!"
Then the other ministers also knelt down. Seeing that no one had any objection, Xu Yunzhou waited for them to stand up and then took them back to the palace.
In just a short time, white silk was hung everywhere in the palace. Jiang Mu was dressed in mourning and stood at the front, directing a group of palace servants to handle funeral matters. The young eunuch standing next to him was Sanxi.
Xu Yunzhou was stunned. Where is Lan Shuang?
However, there were too many people coming and going, so he didn't dare to ask, so he just watched secretly.
The old emperor died, the second prince rebelled, and there were too many messes to deal with. After Jiang Mu ascended the throne, he did not have time to hold a coronation ceremony and was busy dealing with these messes.
After finally sending the old emperor to the imperial mausoleum, he was able to free up his hands. According to the law, he executed all the people of the second prince's lineage. The imperial concubine died with the late emperor after drinking a cup of poisoned wine. Jiang Mu reorganized the court from top to bottom. He dismissed and demoted all the parasites who occupied the toilet but did nothing.
The malpractices that had accumulated over the years were swept away, talented people were appointed to positions of power, and many new faces appeared in the court. The ministers who had initially been prejudiced against him gradually became convinced.
However, at this moment, Jiang Mu suddenly issued a confusing imperial decree, appointing the adopted daughter of the Duke of Fuguo as the queen and choosing a date for the wedding.
The imperial edict shocked the entire court. Didn't the Duke of Fuguo only have a son? Where did the adopted daughter come from? When was she adopted? How come they didn't know?
For a moment, everyone inside and outside the court, in the streets and alleys, was extremely curious about this adopted daughter who suddenly appeared, even overshadowing everyone's curiosity about Lan Shuang.
The powerful Nine Thousand Year Old Man disappeared quietly.
When someone asks her where she's been and why no one mentions it, someone will respond, "How do you know she wasn't silenced by His Majesty?"
It made sense, so everyone accepted it, and over time, no one mentioned it again.
The original Jinyiwei was directly taken over by Xu Yunzhou and separated from the Dongchang, which was handed over to Sanxi.
…
It's another year of brilliant summer flowers, and the wind blowing through the treetops carries a faint fragrance. After the national mourning, Kyoto has returned to its former bustle. On a gentle evening, the new emperor's wedding arrives as scheduled.
The main gate of the Prince of Fuguo's Mansion was opened, the stone lions were all covered in red and decorated with colorful decorations, the servants were happily welcoming and seeing off guests, and the common people came to join in the fun out of curiosity, all wanting to catch a glimpse of the queen's beauty.
The auspicious time had arrived, and the queen came out supported by the matchmaker. Her phoenix crown was exquisite, shining brightly in the warm light of the lanterns. Her face was covered by a cassia fan, so no one knew what she looked like, but her figure was slender and graceful, and she must be a beauty.
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