Chapter 244 Heartless
Feathery air rises from the palace, causing wind and clouds to accumulate.
The smoke and dust on the ground were blown up, making people walking in it very uncomfortable.
He Jun had originally insisted on riding a horse, but now he couldn't bear it anymore and got into the carriage. He frowned and said, "The wind is picking up."
Su Fengzhang looked outside, nodded, and said, "It won't rain soon."
He Jun raised an eyebrow and asked, "Master Su, you don't seem worried at all. Aren't you afraid of accidents happening in the capital?"
Su Fengzhang smiled. "It's not that I'm not worried, it's just that I trust His Royal Highness Prince Cheng."
He Jun pressed, "Do you trust him so much? If there's even a slight mistake, we might just have accomplished something great, but we might end up losing our heads. This is no joke."
Su Fengzhang said helplessly, "Don't joke around, my Lord. No one is as safe as you and me right now."
Isn't it? So what if they have a good personal relationship with Prince Cheng? They have just defeated the Xianbei, and their reputation is booming both in the army and among the people. They also have military power that can be used immediately. Who would attack them directly?
To put it bluntly, even if Prince Cheng fails and the eldest prince or the fourth prince counterattacks, they must be appeased first.
In comparison, it was Prince Cheng who rushed back that was in more danger. Although they had been prepared, who knew whether the two princes, or the emperor above them, would be behind the scenes.
"Talking to smart people is so boring." He Jun sneered.
After a while, he continued, "I've been waiting for this day for as long as I can remember. I thought I'd have to wait for many more years, but I didn't expect it to come so quickly, so quickly. It feels like a dream."
Su Fengzhang then asked, "In your mind, is this a dream or a nightmare?"
"It can barely be considered a beautiful dream." He Jun said, then regretted it, "If I had a choice, I would rather never have had this dream."
Su Fengzhang also felt that the past few years as an official in the court were like a dream. He did not have the ambition to change the world at the beginning, he just wanted to live his life slowly.
Who knew that the situation was stronger than people, and I was pushed step by step to where I am today.
Looking back now, he realized that he had walked a long way without realizing it, and it was impossible to turn back. Of course, since he had taken this step, he had never thought of turning back.
He Jun seemed to be in a talkative mood, or perhaps he had a lot to say, "Su Fengzhang, I should be happy today, but now that this has happened, I feel heavy inside."
"Just like when I was hoping that the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince would be in trouble, but even if they did fall, the He family wouldn't be any better off."
Su Fengzhang said: "What happened cannot be erased, and those who died will not come back."
"Yes, apart from me, how many people still remember the mighty General He?" He Jun sighed.
Su Fengzhang said, "That's why we have to keep moving forward. If we can't change the past, we have to change the future."
He Jun's eyes jumped, and he looked at Su Fengzhang and laughed: "Su Fengzhang, are you the worm in my stomach? Why can you always tell what's in my heart?"
"No wonder Afang likes you, you are indeed worthy of being liked." What He Jun didn't say was that liking someone was also quite scary, and such a person was difficult to control.
At this moment, a guard came to report: "Prince, we can see the city gate now. Should we enter the city immediately?"
Prince Xi opened the curtain and said calmly, "Since we are returning to the capital, we must obey the imperial edict. If there is no imperial edict, we will wait outside the city."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The army that returned to the capital settled down outside the capital city and lived in peace and stability. Apart from a few Xianbei captives who died of illness, there were no other disturbances. It was extremely quiet from top to bottom.
The capital city right before our eyes was extremely bustling. The people in the capital city had been living through a period of turmoil these past few days.
Being in the capital, the people never thought that they would have to go through so many things in just a few days. The eldest prince's forcing the emperor to abdicate was unexpected but reasonable, and killing the fourth prince was also reasonable.
It is not surprising that the emperor was seriously ill. What is strange is that he actually bypassed the fifth prince who had already appeared and passed the throne of crown prince to the ninth prince who was not even two years old.
That would have been fine, but after naming the crown prince, the emperor appointed the fifth prince as regent to assist the crown prince. This move was really confusing, even scholars who had been officials for many years could not understand it.
Since you are not confident in the Ninth Prince, why don't you pass the throne directly to the Fifth Prince?
If you trust the fifth prince, why do you need a regent?
Since there is a regent and a young prince has been appointed as the crown prince, isn't this just waiting for unrest in the Great Zhou?
Even though people have become immune to the emperor's absurd behavior over the years, this imperial edict is still shocking. It is really hard to understand what the emperor is thinking!
Several old gentlemen also frequently went in and out of the harem, arguing with the emperor in person. Either you pass the throne directly to the fifth prince, and no one will say anything, or you reduce the power of the fifth prince, otherwise there will definitely be trouble between the ninth prince and the fifth prince in the future. It is not a good thing to have a powerful minister for a young ruler.
But the emperor insisted on doing so and even got angry with several officials for it.
At this moment, Grand Tutor Zhang died!
Before the emperor had time to deal with the eldest prince's men, Grand Tutor Zhang, upon hearing the news, climbed up from his sickbed and hanged himself.
You should know that this old master had suffered a stroke a long time ago, and he was still unable to get out of bed after recuperation, but now he has hanged himself!
Whether it was a real hanging or a fake one, no one cares about it anymore.
When the news reached the emperor, he just sighed and did not implicate the entire Zhang family.
The death of Grand Tutor Zhang seemed to be the beginning of a trend. Old and frail men in the capital passed away one after another. For a while, the coffin shop became the busiest place, especially for those from the eldest prince's lineage.
In this situation, it is naturally not appropriate to hold a celebration banquet.
The emperor was still bedridden, and government affairs were handled by several adults and Prince Cheng. These adults were a little nervous at first, after all, it was rumored that Prince Cheng had a bad temper.
Although he has changed a lot in the past year, he has always been unreasonable. Who knows if he will have a bad temper again.
What surprised them was that Prince Cheng handled government affairs very properly and was even more competent than the emperor. This made these people feel relieved. After all, if they wanted to go against this person now, they really didn't have the confidence.
There were a few old gentlemen who were dissatisfied with the emperor's inexplicable decision. They knelt in front of the hall for a long time and asked the emperor to change the imperial decree.
When Prince Cheng entered the palace, he saw a white-haired old man kneeling in front of the hall, shouting that Prince Cheng was neither the legitimate son nor the eldest son, and that since the ninth prince was already registered under the name of the queen, Prince Cheng should hand over his military power and abdicate.
When Prince Cheng passed by this old man, he shuddered and shouted even louder, as if Prince Cheng was going to draw his sword and chop off his head at the next moment.
If it were in the past, Prince Cheng might have really done that. He was the kind of person who would make everyone unhappy if they made him unhappy.
But now, Prince Cheng said in a gentle voice: "Bring a cup of tea to Lord Bai. Don't let the old man get tired and thirsty. Lord Bai, you can take a break and continue scolding. It will be a good thing if you can make the emperor change his mind."
"You--" Lord Bai didn't know whether the prince was sincere or not, but he couldn't say a bad word.
Prince Cheng smiled and turned to walk into the hall.
The emperor has been drowsy these days, waking up less often and sleeping more often.
Prince Cheng waited patiently for a while until the emperor woke up. After seeing clearly that it was him, the emperor closed his eyes and stopped looking at him.
Prince Cheng didn't care. He mentioned a few important matters and said, "Father, it's not a good idea to let the returning army wait outside the city. Why not hold the celebration banquet three days later?"
The emperor said coldly, "Your two brothers' bodies are still warm, so you cannot hold a banquet in the palace."
Prince Cheng nodded and said, "If that's the case, then let's put it outside the palace. This way, we can have fun with the people and let this matter pass as soon as possible."
The veins on the emperor's neck bulged, but in the end he still didn't say a word of objection.
"You are grown up now, and your father can no longer control you."
The emperor paused, then added, "Fang'er, aren't you afraid? The Queen knows your identity. When the Ninth Prince grows up, she might even abandon him."
Prince Cheng simply said, "I am also afraid, terrified to death. So, father, don't worry. I will protect myself well. After all, I have no one to protect me in my life."
The emperor was silent for a long time before he said, "What are you and Su Fengzhang..."
When Prince Cheng heard Su Fengzhang's name, he couldn't help but squint his eyes.
The emperor held back his words and said, "Forget it. I can't care less."
Then he said, "Have you visited Concubine De?"
Prince Cheng said, "Not yet."
"Why don't you go and see her? No one will stop you now." The emperor opened his eyes and looked at him.
Prince Cheng said, "I haven't thought of what to say yet."
The emperor paused, sighed, and said, "Don't blame her. She had no choice back then."
Prince Cheng simply said, "I understand."
The emperor hesitated for a moment, then finally asked, "Fang'er, do you think Concubine De would be willing to see me?"
Prince Cheng looked at the emperor and really didn't understand why the emperor suddenly wanted to see her after twenty years. Could it be that he thought Concubine De would come over and reminisce about the good and bad times with him?
The emperor saw his expression and said, "Why don't you ask her for me and get her out of the cold palace? If she wants to stay in the palace, she can go back to Fangfei Pavilion. If she wants to leave the palace, she can go to the palace with you."
Prince Cheng sneered, but didn't say anything sarcastic. He just said, "Okay, I will go to the cold palace to see her and ask her. If she is willing, I will bring her to see you."
The emperor sighed and said, "You still blame her in your heart."
"Your Majesty, I will take my leave first." Prince Cheng did not answer him, but stood up and left.
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