Chapter 563: Dragon Riding on the Sky
In the courtyard of the residence of Li Zhengqing, the Minister of Rites, two young men were sitting and standing, with a chessboard in front of them.
Li Mao, the son of Duke Wei, paced back and forth anxiously with his hands behind his back.
Li Zhengqing was in his thirties, wearing a green robe. He picked up a piece but did not put it down on the chessboard he had set up.
After a while, he threw the chess piece back into the chess basket, frowned and looked up, somewhat helpless:
"Why don't you stay at the Duke's Mansion and come to my house just to disturb my interest?
If you really can't calm down, come and play a round with me, your cousin."
"I don't have the leisure time like you!" Li Mao said unhappily.
He sat down and asked:
"The prince really can't tell the difference between that Dongzhu bracelet and the Dongzhu bracelet?"
Li Zhengqing smiled innocently:
"No matter how smart the prince is, he is only a ten-year-old child. Moreover, the late queen has been dead for two years. How could he remember a bracelet of memory so clearly?
Besides, I spent so much effort to find the craftsman who made the bracelet for the late queen. I can ask him to make a new one and it will be indistinguishable from the real thing. "
Li Mao thought for a while and asked again: "Can the man surnamed Ma be trusted?"
"Don't worry, we went to great lengths to arrange for him to serve the prince, otherwise he would still be just an errand boy for his master.
If we can help him up, we can naturally pull him down.
That kid is much smarter than his master, so he naturally knows who to be loyal to."
Li Mao nodded and sighed:
“Alas, after Concubine Rong was deposed, the Emperor became increasingly distant from our Li family, and even I was assigned a sinecure.
My father is the same. He fought so fiercely with the Dong family and that Zhu family in the past, but his temper has been tamed in the past two years. He always said that if you take a step back, you will have a broader horizon. I get angry just by hearing that. "
Li Zhengqing said: "Duke Weiguo is old, so he naturally seeks stability first. Therefore, the future of the Li family still depends on us young people."
Li Mao drooped his eyebrows and said:
"Cousin, although you are from the side branch of the Li family, I can see that you are capable of great things. You have worked diligently in the Ministry of Rites over the years, and several rounds of demotions and transfers have not affected you.
Well, I've figured it out anyway. The old man is unreliable, and I'm just a playboy. I don't have your brains. From now on, I will listen to you no matter what our Li family does.
Otherwise, if the old man continues to be so weak, sooner or later our Li family will be ridden on by others and shit on their necks."
After a long while, Li Zhengqing finally picked up another piece and spoke slowly:
“Back then, both the Dong and Li families suffered losses, and Concubine Qin benefited from it. Now, no one in the harem can compete with her.
But now your majesty's health is deteriorating. Although the prince has the blood of the Dong family, he is so young and if he is guided, he may become a chess piece in our hands.
By then, even the new emperor will be ours, not to mention a woman in the harem, even that Zhu Zhongcheng——"
Li Zhengqing dropped one of his pieces, making a crisp sound.
"Aren't you still being trampled under our feet?"
…
A month later, Qin Yuwei's coronation ceremony was held as scheduled.
The magnificent palace sparkles under the sunlight, and the red lanterns outside the palace walls are connected together, symbolizing the joy of Daqing.
The bells and drums rang together, the ritual music was melodious, and the sounds were pleasant to the ears, like the sound of nature.
Qin Yuwei was wearing a bright red phoenix robe and a golden phoenix crown on her head. Her already stunningly beautiful face now looked even more like a celestial being after being carefully made up.
After the ceremony, Chief Steward Zhao announced loudly: "Please invite the Queen to come on stage and accept the title!"
Qin Yuwei raised her head slightly and walked slowly towards Yan Xiuyun on the high platform. She stood beside him and slowly turned around, overlooking the civil and military officials below.
Zhu Lan and Xiao Wan, who were standing in the queue of ministers, couldn't help but have tears in their eyes.
Yu Wei has now finally ascended the throne and become the most noble woman in the world.
Some people say that she is lucky, but apart from her close friends, no one else knows how many hardships she has experienced along the way.
Chief Steward Zhao read out the imperial edict: "The Emperor, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, proclaims: Imperial Concubine Qin is gentle and virtuous, and has both virtue and behavior. She is now conferred the title of Empress. The whole country celebrates and shares peace. I decree this!"
All the officials knelt down and shouted "Long live the emperor and empress!", wishing them a long life.
The last step is that Qin Yuwei will step onto the jade chariot accompanied by Biyu and go to the Taimiao to offer sacrifices to the ancestors of heaven and earth and pray for eternal prosperity.
Yan Xiuyun and Qin Yuwei walked down the platform hand in hand.
However, when she was only halfway down the stairs, Qin Yuwei felt Yan Xiuyun's grip on her hand suddenly tighten, and then Yan Xiuyun's body began to tremble, and his entire weight almost fell on her.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!!!"
"Call the imperial physician quickly!!!"
Countless panicked shouts gradually became blurred and distant in Yan Xiuyun's ears, until they fell into silence.
…
Purple Cloud Palace.
"How is your majesty?"
Qin Yuwei, who was waiting outside the tent, had not even had time to change out of her phoenix robe, and hurriedly asked the imperial physician.
The imperial physician sighed heavily and shook his head.
Qin Yuwei was stunned for a moment.
At this time, the gauze curtain was slowly lifted up a little from the inside by a hand wearing a ring. It was Yan Xiuyun who woke up.
His face was pale and his lips moved.
Qin Yuwei hurried closer and only then could she hear Yan Xiuyun's words clearly.
He wants to see the prince.
Yan Ning had been waiting outside the door for a long time. She walked in quickly and fell on the bedside of Yan Xiuyun with tears in her eyes.
Yan Xiuyun mustered up his last bit of energy and issued the last three decrees in front of the Crown Prince, the Queen, and the personal eunuch.
First, he ordered Yan Ning to succeed to the throne as the crown prince, and respected Qin Yuwei as the empress dowager, who could rule the country from behind the scenes before the new emperor was crowned.
Second, after the new emperor ascends the throne, he must continue to implement the cabinet system according to the candidates he has already chosen, and must not abandon it halfway.
As for the third one, it is a secret decree that outsiders are not aware of.
…
Seven days later, in the Golden Palace.
Since the cabinet system had been initially established and could assist the emperor in handling government affairs, the Daliang monarch's original three-day court session was changed to a seven-day interval.
"Your Majesty has arrived—"
As Butler Zhao's voice sounded, Yan Ning, wearing mourning clothes, slowly walked into the hall.
As he was not tall enough, he had to stand on a low stool to sit on the dragon throne.
Behind the dragon throne, a curtain was set up.
Qin Yuwei had a solemn expression on her face as she sat in the tent, able to hear the voices of the civil and military officials of the previous dynasty clearly.
"Your Majesty." Minister of Rites Zhou Xianqing stood up.
“Now our dynasty has abolished the prime minister and established a cabinet, which is indeed a great feat of the late emperor.
However, there are now six cabinet ministers, and their official positions are equal. If there are disagreements, it will be difficult to make a decision.
I also ask Your Majesty to issue an order as soon as possible to select a capable official as the Prime Minister, so that the cabinet can operate smoothly. "
As soon as he finished speaking, several other ministers stood up to second the motion.
Zhu Lan stood at the head of all officials, and many eyes were focused on her.
Eunuch Zhao looked at Yan Ning to seek his opinion. As long as Yan Ning nodded, he would ask the Empress Dowager for her opinion before making a decision.
Unexpectedly, Yan Ning didn't even look at him, and directly said to Zhou Xianqing in a childish voice:
"Could it be that a cabinet minister cannot do anything without the Prime Minister?
If they are so incompetent, it would be better to replace them all and invite more capable people to take over."
Zhou Xianqing was stunned. He didn't expect Yan Ning to say that, so he had to shut his mouth in embarrassment.
The ministers could not guess what Yan Ning meant, so they had to put the matter aside for the time being.
After the court session, Manager Zhao followed Yan Ning.
Manager Zhao was originally Yan Xiuyun's servant, and Yan Ning was a child he had watched grow up, so naturally he worried about him more than others.
"Your Majesty, I feel that since the late emperor left the order for the empress dowager to govern the country, did you ask the minister Zhou before you said that?"
Before Manager Zhao finished speaking, Yan Ning suddenly stopped, tilted his head slightly, and said with a smile:
"Are you teaching me how to be an emperor?"
That tone was totally unlike that of a ten-year-old child.
Manager Zhao was startled and realized that his words were presumptuous, so he knelt down and apologized.
Yan Ning lowered his eyes and looked at him for a while, then smiled at Manager Zhao and said:
"You are old and your mind is muddled, so you should return to your hometown to retire.
Oh, I forgot, you are my father's retainer.
Then go and stand guard for the late emperor."
Manager Zhao stood there in a daze, his mouth open, but unable to utter a word.
Yan Ning hooked his finger and asked the eunuch Ma behind Manager Zhao to come forward and said in front of Manager Zhao:
“Your master is old, from now on, all his affairs will be handed over to you.
From now on, you will be the new chief eunuch, do you understand?"
Ma Yan was overjoyed and kowtowed immediately to express his gratitude. He didn't even care about the ugly expression on Manager Zhao's face.
At this time, Qin Yuwei's personal maid Biyu walked up from a distance. Her eyes quickly swept over the two kneeling people, but she remained calm.
Jade said softly:
"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother has sent for you."
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