"The princess is right. The prince also often talks about this matter. It's me who is useless." Xia Tong smiled self-reproachfully.
Princess Changyang's eyes changed slightly, and she stopped talking. She just took a sip of tea.
At this moment, a eunuch's shrill and piercing voice suddenly came from the front of the palace, "The Emperor has arrived! The Empress has arrived!"
Instantly, everyone knelt down and shouted, "Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor! A thousand years to the empress!"
"Everyone, please stand up."
The old man above was thin, and the loose dragon robe hanging on him gave people an inexplicable sense of depression. His old face did not look energetic, his eye sockets were very sunken, and he needed someone's support to sit down smoothly.
Seeing the old emperor looking sick, Xia Tong felt that he might not be able to survive the Lantern Festival. However, thinking of what the heroine said, the old emperor became like this mostly because of Gu Qin. Eating too much of that kind of addictive thing is bad for the body. However, the old emperor once ordered the Gu family to be raided, so it was no wonder that Gu Qin wanted to retaliate against him in this way.
Xia Tong suddenly felt that she was the luckiest one. She was able to live safely until now even though she had offended the villain. Later, she would ask Gu Qin why he didn't kill her at the beginning.
"Master, the lady is over there. Can we go over?" Qing'er suddenly said.
Xia Tong shook her head and whispered to her, "Go tell mother that after the palace banquet is over, she will come back to the palace with me, and also with father. We will have a reunion dinner together tomorrow."
Hearing this, Qing'er nodded, then turned around and passed on the message.
"It is said that auspicious snow indicates a good harvest. Coupled with the successive victories in the border wars, our dynasty will surely become more prosperous in the coming year, and the people will live and work in peace and contentment. All of this is due to the blessing of the emperor."
As one minister spoke, others followed suit and complimented the emperor above them, saying whatever was nice. People were immersed in the compliments and couldn't tell whether they were real or fake.
The old man at the top had an extremely ugly expression on his face. He pulled his eyelids and tried to cheer himself up. He just waved his hands when he heard the flattery from below. After coughing twice, he said weakly, "It is also the credit of all the ministers. I am very pleased. There is no monarch or minister tonight. All the ministers should have a good time and go home."
"My Emperor's grace."
The ministers below began to drink together harmoniously and exchange friendship among colleagues. The scene in the hall was very lively, but everyone had their own thoughts.
Xia Tong was a little hungry. She was tired of the milk cakes she brought with her, and she didn't dare to eat anything in the palace. She could only watch the dancers while she was hungry. Then she looked at Gu Qin over there. His position was very close to the prince. No one knew what the two were talking about. The two people who had always been incompatible seemed to be chatting happily.
"Your Majesty, the Rongdi barbarians have repeatedly harassed our border areas, and this time they have invaded in a large scale. They have not taken the power of our Celestial Empire seriously at all. In my opinion, we should take advantage of the situation and attack the Rongdi lair directly, and teach them a painful lesson!"
A huge and strong general suddenly walked out. He had a very loud voice and everyone in the hall could hear him. His face was red and it seemed that he was drunk.
After he finished speaking, a civil official here said coldly: "General Liu, this is wrong. The Rongdi people are brave and good at fighting on the grassland. They are used to the climate and terrain of the grassland, but our generals are different. This matter needs to be considered carefully."
"But that group of barbarians have come to our door. It is obvious that they are bullying our Celestial Empire. How can our great Celestial Empire tolerate such humiliation!" General Liu shouted again.
The other ministers also began to discuss in low voices, the dancers withdrew one after another, and the hall returned to a silent and solemn atmosphere.
"General Liu has been to the front lines before, so he should understand that war cannot be resolved overnight. This year, Shanxi is suffering from a severe drought, and the tax revenue is low. In addition, the bad weather makes it a bad time to start a war. General Liu should understand this."
Following the words of a civil official, the others started talking even more loudly, each holding their own opinions. Only the old emperor at the top was coughing violently, his entire thin body shaking violently. The eunuch at the side quickly handed him a cup of hot tea.
"Your Majesty." The Queen glanced over here with some concern.
The skinny old hand took the teacup tremblingly. The old man was still coughing violently. There was a noisy and harsh sound of quarreling below. The old man took a breath. The teacup was shaking in his hand and could tilt at any time. Suddenly, the teacup fell to the ground with a "bang" and the old man's body suddenly fell down.
"emperor!"
"Father!"
Everyone's eyes were filled with fear and there was a panic in front of the palace. The palace servants hurriedly helped the old emperor down, followed closely by a group of "worried" princes. The ministers below also hurried to catch up.
A peaceful palace banquet suddenly turned into chaos. Xia Tong sat there helplessly. She was used to the old emperor getting into trouble every other day, but she still had to pretend.
Princess Changyang and Lin Qin also hurriedly followed to check the situation. No one else in the women's area dared to follow. But her mother came over soon.
"I'm afraid the palace banquet will end early today. Your father and the prince may have important matters to attend to. We will leave together later."
Liu seemed much calmer. After all, this was not the first time that the emperor fainted in public, and everyone had become accustomed to it. Xia Tong nodded when she heard this. At a time like this, her father and Gu Qin must need to stay in the palace.
But less than half a cup of tea had passed when an eunuch shouted, "The Emperor has passed away!" Everyone in the hall was shocked and shocked. Everyone was in an uproar and hurried to the Qianqing Palace while whispering to each other.
Xia Tong was shocked. She didn't expect that the old emperor didn't survive New Year's Eve. It looked like the palace would be in complete chaos tonight.
Supporting her mother, they followed the crowd to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, where a crowd of ministers were already kneeling, all with sad faces. Such a thing happening on such a good day was indeed beyond everyone's expectation.
As the door opened, the first person to come out was the Queen with red eyes, followed by the Prince and his entourage. Everyone had a look of grief and heavy feelings on their faces, but what attracted more attention was the imperial edict in the hands of Eunuch Li beside the Emperor.
"The emperor has been busy with state affairs day and night, so his health has always been poor. He just passed away. The imperial physician confirmed that he died of a sudden heart attack. It is really a great sorrow. Fortunately, the emperor knew that his health was not good and he left a will. Although the emperor's death is sad, the country cannot be without a king for a day. Now, please listen to my will!"
In an instant, everyone's eyes fell on the scroll of will in Eunuch Li's hand, and their hearts were at stake. Logically, the crown prince should succeed to the throne, but there was no guarantee that any accidents would occur.
"The Emperor, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, proclaims that I have been on the throne for thirty-five years. The country is peaceful, the people are content, the monarch and his subjects are in harmony, my virtue is not as great as that of Emperor Taizong, and my achievements will be passed on to future generations. Crown Prince Xiao Jing is of outstanding virtue, very much like me. I wish to pass the throne to Crown Prince Xiao Jing, the second prince to be given the title of Prince Tong and the fief of Yongzhou, the fourth prince to be given the title of Prince Jiu and the fief of Nanzhou, the fifth prince to be given the title of Prince Zhi and the fief of Shuzhou. I order Regent Prince Gu Qin to be granted Princess Changyang as his co-wife for his contributions to government affairs. All princes should work together to honor the new monarch, and important officials should assist him and support the country together. I decree this!"
The eunuch's shrill voice became the only sound in the dark night. Everyone looked at each other in confusion. It was expected and yet unexpected. They never thought that the emperor would personally demote several emperors to their fiefdoms, thus sparing the prince from having to do it himself and getting the reputation of suppressing his brothers. This could be said to have paved all the way out for the prince, but no one knew whether those princes would give up easily.
Heavy snow suddenly began to fall outside the palace. The queen wiped her tears while feeling extremely proud. This imperial edict was written by His Majesty himself. It was absolutely authentic and no one else could find any mistakes in it.
Just as everyone was feeling anxious, Xiao Ming took the lead in bowing and said respectfully, "My brother, you are a man of noble talent and virtue. You deserve to be on the throne."
For a moment, the other princes also followed suit very calmly, as if they had no dissatisfaction. However, this made people feel uneasy. Throughout history, which emperor had not experienced chaos when he ascended to the throne? The calmness at this moment made people feel even more weird.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince is extremely talented and virtuous, and he deserves the title."
The people below naturally echoed loudly, and with the sound of mournful bells coming from the palace, the atmosphere became heavy and solemn.
After receiving the imperial edict, Xiao Jing personally helped several princes up. There was only a trace of sadness on his handsome and three-dimensional features. He glanced at the people below and said in a sad voice: "Father has passed away, so the posthumous affairs are the priority. The enthronement will be discussed later."
Seeing that the new emperor was so filial to the late emperor, some ministers were quite satisfied. The prince had always been steady, benevolent and filial, and had outstanding talents. He was an outstanding existence among the princes, so it was only natural for him to ascend the throne.
Thinking of something, Xiao Jing suddenly looked at Gu Qin who was standing aside without making any expression. "The Prince Regent has been working hard for the government day and night. Father has always been very considerate of him. He specially gave Changyang to the Prince Regent as his concubine. I hope Your Highness will not let Father down."
At this point, everyone remembered the matter in the will. Earlier, the emperor had wanted to give Princess Changyang to the regent, but Concubine Liu died suddenly of a serious illness, and Princess Changyang went to the imperial mausoleum to observe mourning for a year. But now the regent has married Xia Zhongshu's legitimate daughter as his princess, and she is quite favored. However, since it is the late emperor's will, the regent should not disobey the order in public.
Xia Tong below was so angry that she wanted to drag the old emperor out and whip his corpse. How had she offended him that he had to make things difficult for her?
Their eyes met. Looking at the crown prince holding the will, Gu Qin's expression remained unchanged. Suddenly, he smiled faintly, "Thank you very much for the grace of the late emperor."
Seeing that he agreed, Xia Tong below still tried not to get angry. She should trust Gu Qin, he must have his own plans. Liu on the side also patted her hands and signaled her to be more open-minded. Which man doesn't have three wives and four concubines, and he is the regent. It's just that the other party is a princess, it might be difficult to deal with her when she enters the palace in the future.
Xiao Jing looked at Gu Qin steadily, said nothing more, and went back into the hall. The queen followed closely behind him. Gu Qin glanced in a certain direction below, whispered a few words to Xifeng beside him, and then went back into the hall.
Soon, a eunuch came out and asked everyone to return home first, and tomorrow ministers and wives of officials above the third rank would come to keep vigil over the body.
Xia Tong was sent back to the palace by Xifeng, as if he was afraid that something might happen to her. Her mother also went with her. Her father and Gu Qin must still be in the palace. With something like this happening, her father must have a lot of trivial matters to deal with given his position. It's unknown whether they can have the reunion dinner together tomorrow.
Along the way, her mother and Qing'er were brainwashing her, saying that as long as she could gain the favor of the prince, she would not have to be afraid even if she was a princess, and that she must hold on to the power of the housekeeper and must not let anyone take advantage of her.
Xia Tong's face turned even more gloomy when she heard this. This man hasn't even entered the palace yet. If that day really comes, she won't care whether she is a princess or not. She will trample her to death if she gets the chance. No one can touch her man!
"Okay, mother, you should go and have a rest first. Qing'er, take mother to the east wing quickly and buy anything if it's missing. Don't catch a cold."
Xia Tong kept pushing people out. Seeing this, Liu tapped her forehead, shook her head, and left with a helpless look on her face.
I breathed a sigh of relief. At this time, Fang Yu also brought in some food and said with a smile, "Madam, you also have good intentions. This matter really needs to be prevented."
Xia Tong hadn't eaten anything at the palace banquet and was already hungry. She quickly sat down and took the bowl of beef porridge. However, she felt a little uncomfortable when she smelled the faint fishy smell, but she still drank it.
"Your appetite has been getting smaller and smaller recently. What's wrong with you?" Fang Yu said with a frown.
After drinking two sips, Xia Tong lost her appetite. She shook her head with a trace of fatigue on her face. "Maybe I caught a cold. I'll be fine in a few days."
She wanted to eat hotpot, but Gu Qin couldn't eat spicy food, which was a pity, otherwise it would have been so comfortable to eat mutton hotpot on New Year's Eve.
"Let me show you." Fang Yu said seriously.
Feeling that she was fine, Xia Tong took a bite of the red bean cake while still stretching out her wrist, allowing the other party to press three fingers on it.
"Remember to check if there are enough quilts in mother's room later. It's cold, don't catch a cold." She warned seriously, propping up her head and staring blankly at the night outside the window. She didn't expect Gu Qin to come back today to warm her bed. She finally understood the other party's advantages.
But Fangyu's expression was extremely solemn. It took her a long time to loosen her three fingers, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated. Xia Tong also looked uneasy. She didn't eat anything from the palace today. Could she be poisoned?
After a long silence, Fang Yu suddenly smiled, her eyes full of relief, "I am not good at gynecology, but if I am not mistaken, the master should be half a month pregnant."
The author has something to say: Baby is coming xueke
The male protagonist will not marry, and there will definitely be no abuse⊙ω⊙
Note: The imperial edict quotes the Baidu template.
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