Chapter 118: Only one queen is not enough for the Lin family
September 26th.
Suitable for burial.
On the day calculated by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory, the eldest prince's coffin was carried out from the eldest prince's residence early in the morning.
Since he had no wife and no children, the palace maids had to carry the banners.
As the eldest prince, and with a reputation for virtue for many years, the eldest prince deserves to be sent off by the people.
However, the more they investigated the cases of women being tortured and killed, the more evidence emerged. Even the women who disappeared outside Shengjing City were suspected to be the eldest prince.
And there is no intention of suppression at all.
They allowed the eldest prince's original public support to quickly dissipate and deteriorate. From today onwards, if no one threw rotten vegetable leaves or rotten eggs at Ling, it would be considered that they still had some sense.
The civil and military officials were all shrewd people and could see through the inner workings better than the common people. Seeing the emperor's attitude towards the matter, no one dared to rush to send the body off. Even the original party of the eldest prince was silent like quails.
Even the Lin family didn't show up.
The eldest prince who was once so glorious and beloved by the people, now had only one good friend, Pei Yan, to see him off. He was sent out of Shengjing in a cold and lonely manner and buried in a side tomb outside the imperial mausoleum.
To outsiders, it seemed that the emperor was enraged by the eldest prince's vicious nature, and in order to appease the people's anger, he did not allow him to be buried in the imperial mausoleum, but buried him in a side mausoleum like the childless concubines.
But those who know the situation will naturally understand why the emperor did this.
Youlan quickly walked into the Queen's chambers and whispered tearfully, "Your Majesty, the Grand Prince has been buried in the side mausoleum, and the Prince's residence... has also been sealed."
Queen Lin was making tea, and her expression remained unchanged, as if she had not heard Youlan's words. She concentrated on drawing on the tea foam with a bamboo stick.
He didn't put down the bamboo stick until he had finished drawing a peony. He said calmly, "What did father say?"
"The Prime Minister said that the Emperor's prestige remains undiminished. This situation is intricate. Prince Yong has descended to the mortal realm, so he must be an insider. He has arranged for the Second Prince to return to the capital as soon as possible, and all palace affairs are handed over to the Empress."
Empress Lin took a deep breath, understanding, and stood up. "Then go see the Emperor."
Youlan made arrangements clearly and did not follow Queen Lin.
Queen Lin walked slowly from Fengqi Palace to Yangxin Palace alone. There were no palace servants along the way, as if there was no one left in this huge imperial palace.
It was not until I reached the gate of the Hall of Mental Cultivation that I saw Eunuch Fu standing outside.
Seeing Queen Lin coming, he did not stop her. Instead, he pushed open the door, stepped aside, and silently let Queen Lin in.
Knowing that this was the emperor's intention, they both understood it tacitly.
Entering the Yangxin Palace, as the palace door closed, Empress Lin lifted the heavy curtains, and the smell of medicine hidden inside gradually became stronger, and the coughing sound became clearer and more frequent.
After lifting the last curtain, nearly two months later, Queen Lin finally saw the emperor's true face again.
"Why has the emperor lost so much weight?" Queen Lin frowned and walked quickly forward, looking at the emperor's sunken cheeks and blue eyes, with heartache in her eyes.
The Emperor gave a bitter laugh and suppressed a cough, saying, "At this point, does the Empress still want to act with me?"
The distress in Empress Lin's eyes did not fade. Instead, she sat on the stool beside the bed, reached out and took the emperor's dry hand, saying, "Your Majesty, I feel sorry for you. I'm not acting."
"Really? It turns out the Queen still has me in her heart. I thought you only hated me for not dying earlier, as I had disrupted your plans with the Lin family."
"Your Majesty has long known everything. Even if it hadn't been delayed until today, the eldest brother would have died before the Majesty. I know that without that girl from the Su family, the eldest brother would not have survived."
After knowing each other for forty years, the two understand each other very well, and just a moment of enlightenment will make everything clear.
Looking at the still radiant Queen Lin, the Emperor raised his trembling hand, gently stroked her cheek and asked, "Nuannuan, have I ever let you down in any way over the years?"
Empress Lin shook her head. "Your Majesty has never wronged me in any way. On the contrary, I understand that Your Majesty has given me the best he can. Throughout the dynasties, no other empress has lived as well as I have."
"Then why do you treat me like this?" Finally, the emperor asked the question that had been hidden in his heart for more than a year.
Empress Lin reached out and touched the emperor's hand. After hesitating for a moment, she took the emperor's hand away from her cheek and said, "Because my surname is Lin, I am the daughter of the Lin family. Only one queen is not enough for the Lin family."
"Then you are really a good daughter of the Lin family." The emperor struggled to pull his hand out of Queen Lin's.
Empress Lin did not try to pull him back. She just sat up straight and said calmly, as if chatting casually, "Your Majesty is worthy of being the Emperor. He has cut off the firewood from the bottom of the pot and saved the life of the Great Zhao. However, I am afraid that Yun Ji alone cannot turn the tide. Why bother, Your Majesty?"
The Emperor smiled. "You've watched him grow up, and you know he's the most intelligent of all of Father's children. If you and the Lin family weren't afraid of him, you wouldn't be sitting here talking to me today."
Queen Lin and the Lin family were indeed afraid of Yun Ji.
He is a legitimate member of the royal family and has enjoyed great support among the people for many years of seclusion. But now the eldest prince is dead, and the second prince still has more than a year before he comes of age. If Yun Ji develops within a year, it will indeed be a difficult situation.
What’s more, the emperor is included.
Even though he is now on his last legs, he can still control the government.
Just one move now disrupts the chessboard they have laid out.
And now, the emperor cannot even die, otherwise Yun Ji will be more likely to replace him than the second prince who has not yet returned to the capital.
"What if he dies?" Queen Lin asked with a smile.
The emperor, however, showed no fear at all. He sneered and asked, "Can you kill him?"
cannot.
Yun Ji is surrounded by secret guards left by the previous emperor, each of whom is capable of defeating a thousand enemies.
Yun Ji was at the center of the storm at the moment, with everyone watching his every move. If he missed his target, it would give the emperor a chance to counterattack.
"Then I hope that your younger brother, whom the emperor has entrusted with great hope, can turn the tide for the great Zhao." Empress Lin said as she stood up and bowed to the emperor, saying, "I will take my leave. Your Majesty, rest well."
After saying this, Queen Lin once again lifted the heavy curtains and left. The Emperor vaguely heard her give the order to seal the palace.
He looked at the scratched dragon and phoenix pattern on the bed's ceiling, his complex eyes gradually filled with cold murderous intent.
…
October 5th.
The Yong'an Marquis Mansion was decorated with lights and became particularly lively.
Both inside and outside the mansion were crowded with people at this moment, because today was the day when Yun Ji proposed marriage.
Originally, Su Rui was a concubine, so there was no such thing as three books and six ceremonies. However, Yun Ji had never married, and it was his first marriage. In addition, the marriage was granted by the emperor, so the wedding ceremony for Su Rui was raised.
The previous adoption and questions have been simplified, while the next one has been retained.
The preparations were handled by the Ministry of Rites, so people from the Ministry of Rites had been waiting at the Marquis' Mansion for a long time.
Since it was a betrothal proposal, Marquis Yong'an and his wife Liang would naturally host a banquet to entertain the guests. As the eldest son, Su Ye would also have the responsibility to entertain the guests.
Especially after she was sure that Su Rui still had feelings for her like a brother, she worked extra hard today, and Zhou Yao, who was standing in the corner and peeking at her, was almost gritting her teeth.
"Here they come! The betrothal team is here!"
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