Chapter 569 Celestial Phenomenon
August 15th, Mid-Autumn Festival.
Zhu Lan was stopped outside the harem.
The new commander of the Imperial Guards, Yan Zheng, stood in front of Zhu Lan with a serious expression and said in a businesslike tone:
"Mr. Zhongzhongzhong, Mr. Zhongcheng, you are an external official. Unless there is something special, according to the rules, you are not allowed to enter or leave the harem."
Yan Zheng is a famous stutterer.
Zhu Lan felt a little strange, but said in a gentle tone:
"Commander Yan, what happened today?"
Yan Zheng repeated what he had just said indifferently.
Zhu Lan couldn't help but frown and looked at Yan Zheng again, somewhat surprised.
He was specially allowed by the late Emperor Yan Xiuyun to enter and leave the harem. After Yan Zheng succeeded Xiao Yuan as the commander of the imperial guards, he had entered the harem in front of him many times.
Why are you suddenly not allowed to enter today?
"The late emperor's words are true, but I will be loyal to the present Majesty..." Yan Zheng's words sounded very laborious.
Zhu Lan asked: "Is this what your majesty meant?"
Yan Zheng thought for a while, didn't say anything, and nodded.
In fact, Yan Ning did not deliberately mention this matter.
It was because he met the Minister of Rites, Mr. Li Zhengqing, when he was off duty yesterday. They happened to walk together for a while and chatted about some topics.
Speaking of the fact that Zhu Lan was allowed to enter and leave the harem, Lord Li thought it was very inappropriate.
When the late emperor was alive, he held great power and the concubines would not interfere in politics, so it was no problem for Zhu Zhongcheng to enter and leave the harem under the late emperor's eyes.
But now the new emperor is young and the empress dowager is ruling the country from behind the curtain. If he continues to have close contacts with loyal ministers like Zhu Lan, the mere thought of it will make one's back cold.
My Yan family has been loyal for generations, and loyalty is engraved in their bones. Moreover, before the death of the late emperor, he specially promoted me to the commander of the imperial guards, which shows the trust he put in me.
Therefore, as long as I am in charge of the Imperial Guards, I cannot allow anything that threatens His Majesty to happen.
However, having said that, Zhu Zhongcheng's entry and exit of the harem was permitted by the late emperor. If he wants to make changes, he must get the new emperor's nod in any case.
I told Lord Li about my idea, and he said that was natural, and also quietly revealed a bigger secret -
The current emperor may not trust the queen mother.
Yan Zheng was very surprised by the news, but Li Zhengqing said that if he didn't believe it, he only needed to ask His Majesty whether to revoke Zhu Lan's right to enter and leave the harem.
Just by looking at Yan Ning's attitude, you can tell whether this is true or not.
So Yan Zheng went to meet Yan Ning the next day. Yan Ning thought about his words and agreed without much hesitation.
It seems that what Lord Li said is indeed correct, Yan Zheng thought.
Zhu Lan looked at Yan Zheng for a moment. She knew that the new commander of the imperial guards was a bit stupid and stubborn, but still quite upright.
He said this, and it seemed that Yan Ning really didn't want him to have any contact with Yu Wei anymore.
Zhu Lan could understand that the emperor was wary of important officials of the previous dynasty, but she still felt that this matter was a bit strange.
Moreover, once Yuwei loses contact with the outside world in the harem, if anything happens, she will be isolated and helpless.
Unable to confront the imperial guards at the moment, Zhu Lan decided to take a step back and already had a plan in mind.
She left the palace and walked towards the Imperial Observatory.
…
In the upper study, Ma Yan was reading the memorials and bills sent by the cabinet for Yan Ning.
He picked up a memorial and glanced at its contents first. His expression was slightly relaxed and he glanced at Yan Ning.
Seeing Yan Ning frowning, he seemed to be thinking about something else and didn't notice his actions.
So Ma Yan calmly put the memorial aside, picked up the next one and began to read it.
The content of the memorial was that Zhao Fangfei from the Imperial Censorate impeached Li Mao, the son of the Duke of Weiguo, for allowing his subordinates to bully the market and disrupt the public order in the capital.
The cabinet’s suggestion was to transfer all the relevant persons to the Dali Temple for punishment according to the law.
Yan Ning opened his eyes and asked Ma Yan how many memorials were left.
Ma Yan had a humble smile on his fair young face and said that there were still seven or eight more, none of which were important and they might as well be left for tomorrow.
Yan Ning nodded with a bit of sleepiness.
Ma Yan sorted out the memorials and put them away, and deliberately placed the one impeaching Li Mao at the bottom.
This way he would have time to inform the Li family and let them make preparations in advance to avoid being caught off guard by the Censorate.
At this time, someone came in to report that the director of the Imperial Observatory, Lord Xu, wanted to see him.
Xu Shiming did not go to the palace very often, and Ma Yan rarely saw him.
At this time, he was wearing a red official uniform, but Ma Yan didn't know if it was a psychological effect, but he always felt that this supervisor had a bit of immortal air even in his official uniform.
Xu Shiming bowed and said:
“Your Majesty, I observed the sky last night and found that the Big Dipper and the Purple Star were misaligned, which is an ominous sign and may hinder the continuation of the dragon energy.
According to the Imperial Astronomical Observatory, this disaster can only be averted if Your Majesty leads the royal family to offer sacrifices at the Imperial Ancestral Temple on the first day of September."
Yan Ning nodded. Although he was young, he knew that celestial phenomena were related to the country's destiny.
If a sacrifice can resolve the disaster, then there is nothing to say and the Queen Mother will definitely agree.
Xu Shiming added:
“Your Majesty, when I entered the palace just now, I saw a faint sign of foul air in the northwest direction of the palace, which lingered for a long time.
I am worried that if the matter is delayed for too long, it will affect your majesty's health. I wonder if you would allow me to go and check it out?"
Ma Yan's mind was racing.
Xu Shiming was talking about the harem, what does he want to do?
However, the Imperial Observatory has always maintained a neutral attitude in the court and is very mysterious to outsiders. It is possible that there is something unclean in this palace.
Yan Ning didn't think too much, he was already a little sleepy, so he quickly agreed to Xu Shiming's request and sent people to help him.
Ma Yan volunteered, saying that he was worried that Lord Xu might get lost in the palace, so he went to accompany him.
Yan Ning didn't say anything and asked them to leave.
…
Xu Shiming did not go directly to Qin Yuwei's Changyu Palace, but solemnly mentioned a few locations and asked Ma Yan to take him there.
When the palace servants heard that the famous Lord Xu from the Imperial Observatory had arrived, they suspected that there was something dirty in the palace, and they all became uneasy and made many speculations.
According to rumors, this Lord Supervisor could not only predict celestial phenomena, but was also proficient in Qimen Dunjia, Fengshui and Bagua. He had already reached the level of "semi-immortal" before entering the officialdom.
Looking at the person again, he walked with his eyes half open and half closed, his gaze was empty, and he looked like a master.
The credibility of the gossip instantly increased several levels.
Not long after, the news naturally spread to Changyu Palace.
Biyu, the head maid of Changyu Palace, came to tell her that Princess Zhaoyang had been sleeping restlessly at night and having nightmares ever since she had contracted rubella a few days ago.
The Queen Mother suspected that he had been contaminated by something and asked Lord Xu to go and take a look.
Ma Yan suddenly felt a little alert.
It is said that the little princess's rubella has been cured, but whether she suffers from insomnia or nightmares at night is only known by the Queen Mother and Biyu. There is no way to verify it, and it cannot be guaranteed to be true.
Let’s go and see for ourselves.
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