In just a few words, Empress Lu told all the sufferings and plans that Zhao Zixu had endured in the past few years, shocking all the officials.
After listening to the queen's story, all the officials wept silently.
Only then did they realize that their Majesty had done so many things, not only stabilizing the court without making a fuss, but also eliminating King Qinghe in a fair and just manner.
Some ministers hated King Qinghe with a vengeance, believing that King Qinghe had murdered their wise king.
No matter how much the ministers hated Prince Qinghe, he was already a pile of dust. What they were most concerned about right now was His Majesty's will.
Who was appointed as the new king in the will?
Some people speculate that it was the King of Qi.
Some people speculate that it was King Zheng.
Some people also speculated in their hearts that it was Prince Ning.
Some people also think that it should be the King of Qin.
Empress Lu turned her head and asked Eunuch Luo, "Have the Prince of Qin, Prince of Zheng and the other princes arrived?"
Eunuch Luo replied, "Your Majesty, I have sent for the princes to enter the palace. They should be here soon."
Soon, Qin Youran, Prince Zheng, Prince Ning and several other princes arrived at the Zichen Palace.
Empress Lu's voice was as solemn and reverent as a bell. She looked at everyone present and said slowly, "Your Majesty's will. Kneel and listen."
As she finished speaking, the entire Zichen Hall fell into silence, and all the civil and military officials knelt down.
The four princes Xuan, Qin, Qi and Zheng looked at each other with serious expressions, as if they had a premonition of something, and then they knelt down.
The youngest Prince Ning's eyes revealed a hint of astonishment and confusion, but when he saw his brothers kneeling down, he soon knelt down too, lowering his head very low.
Queen Lu took a breath and slowly unfolded the imperial edict in her hand. The intricately structured silk surface was inscribed with several columns of black regular script and stamped with a vermilion seal.
"Since I ascended the throne, I have risen early and slept late, and have not attended court. However, the times are not favorable, and I shall not live long. Treasonous ministers are in power, persecuting loyal and good people, and they must be eliminated. I have now eliminated the Prince of Qinghe, and the court and the country are stable. After my death, the country cannot remain under the rule of another ruler. My younger brother, Prince of Qin Yingyi, is both civil and military, and has a virtuous and balanced character. He is suitable to be the crown prince. He may ascend the throne before the coffin. Minister of the Secretariat Lu Jin shall be promoted to Marquis of Cheng'en, and shall also serve as Prime Minister. Prefect Bao Changzhou shall be promoted to Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion... The order shall be carried out."
Empress Lu's voice was full of power, and every word of the edict echoed like thunder in the ears of civil and military officials.
The civil and military officials looked at each other in bewilderment. Except for Lu Jin, who was the Minister of the Chancellery and also the Prime Minister, no one could have expected that the new emperor designated by His Majesty would be the unknown Prince of Qin, Zhao Yingyi!
King Zheng and King Qi looked at each other, and finally, together with King Xuan and King Ning, they looked at Qin Youran, their seventh brother.
Qin Youran just stood there in a daze, receiving strange looks from her brothers and sisters.
When someone from the palace came to tell them to enter the palace, they all guessed that Queen Lu was going to announce the new emperor.
It could only be one of their brothers, but Qin Youran never expected that the person would be himself!
Empress Lu slowly walked down the red-carpeted steps, holding the imperial edict in her hand, and walked towards the princes. She stopped and said solemnly to Qin Youran, "Seventh brother, accept His Majesty's imperial edict."
Qin Youran stared at Empress Lu in a daze, his face suddenly pale. He kowtowed to the ground, terrified and saying, "Your Majesty, I dare not!"
How dare he accept His Majesty's will?
He never thought about being the Majesty?
He just wanted to be a leisurely prince.
Queen Lu looked at Qin Youran. If the new emperor chosen by His Majesty was Prince Zheng, Prince Qi or others, they would probably be happy to accept the will and would not say anything about not daring.
"King Qin, the late emperor carefully considered you before choosing you as the crown prince. Accept the order and do not let the late emperor down."
Queen Lu's words made Qin Youran suddenly understand. It turned out that his junior sister sent him a message asking him to be prepared, not to ask him to help Prince Qinghe to abdicate, but because his junior sister had already known the content of the emperor's will and reminded him to make preparations early.
Ye Zelin is a close minister of the emperor, so it is not surprising that his junior sister knew the contents of the will first.
It turned out that he had misunderstood.
Seeing Qin Youran's bewildered look and his reluctance to accept the late emperor's will, Shangshu Ling Lu Jin shouted, "Your Highness, please obey the will of heaven and accept the late emperor's will."
"Your Highness, Prince Qin, please accept the imperial edict!"
"Your Highness, Prince Qin, please accept the imperial edict!"
As soon as the Minister of the Chancellery opened his mouth, all the civil and military officials came together to ask Qin Youran to accept the imperial edict.
"Seventh brother, His Majesty's will must be accepted."
"Seventh brother..."
"Seventh Brother..."
Kings Zheng, Qi, Xuan, and Ning Qi all urged Qin Youran.
Qin Youran looked at Empress Lu, the emperor's sister-in-law, and listened to the loud calls of civil and military officials asking him to accept the imperial edict. He felt even more at a loss for a moment.
Then, he became the new emperor of the Song Dynasty.
If we don’t accept it, there will be chaos in the government and the country.
The requests from the ministers and officials continued, and Qin Youran became more and more nervous and helpless.
After a long time, Qin Youran slowly took the will from Queen Lu's hand. The will seemed to weigh a thousand pounds in his hand, almost breaking his hand.
The ministers bowed and shouted: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you and wish you the best of health."
…
Ye Zelin came back from the palace feeling deflated and developed a high fever that night.
The body was burning hot, like a furnace, in a state of half-consciousness and half-fainting.
Hua Fushu gave him antipyretic medicine and applied a warm handkerchief to his skin, but the fever did not subside until dawn.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."
"Crown Prince, Crown Prince..."
Ye Zelin called out to the late Emperor Zhao Zixu, and opened his eyes slightly. He wanted to see clearly whether the Crown Prince was there, but it seemed as if something was pressing on his eyelids and he couldn't open them.
Hua Fushu felt distressed as she looked at the unconscious man lying on the couch with cold sweat on his forehead.
She knew the position Zhao Zixu held in Ye Zelin's heart, and that His Majesty treated him like a brother and close friend.
"Madam, the medicine is ready." Sanqiao walked into the house carrying a bowl of medicine and saw the dark circles under her daughter's eyes. The girl had not slept all night to treat and take care of her son-in-law.
Hua Fushu picked up the bowl of soup, sat beside the couch, and fed Ye Zelin the medicine.
"Zelin, drink the medicine first."
Hua Fushu called Ye Zelin's name several times, but Ye Zelin seemed not to hear her and did not respond at all.
The medicine was fed into Ye Zelin's mouth, and Ye Zelin spit it out directly.
Sanqiao saw this and said, "Miss, what should we do if our uncle can't take the medicine?"
Hua Fushu called Si De over.
Side helped Ye Zelin up, and Hua Fushu supported Ye Zelin's jaw with his tiger's mouth, prying his mouth open before feeding him the medicine.
Ye Zelin was ill and it took him three nights and two days to finally wake up.
Seeing that Ye Zelin's high fever had subsided and only a low fever remained, Hua Fushu's heart, which had been tense for several days, finally relaxed.
"I'm afraid you'll follow me." Hua Fushu sighed and buried himself in Ye Zelin.
Ye Zelin looked at Hua Fushu's dark eyes, and felt a little pity in his heart, "I'm fine, you go to sleep."
She hadn't had much rest for several days, and Ye Zelin felt sad when he saw it.
Hua Fushu put her arms around Ye Zelin's waist and nestled beside him. She fell asleep in a short while and woke up more than two hours later.
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