Chapter 387 So, we also...
Wang Decai stood by with his head bowed, not daring to breathe. The whole room was filled with a depressing atmosphere.
Zhang Chengyan's expression was a little less concerned than in the past few days. "Continue to keep a close eye on her and make sure to take good care of Concubine Zhao at all times. She must not make any mistakes. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir." Wang Decai took the order and left.
Not long after, an old man in a Taoist robe and with a long flowing beard slowly stepped forward and bowed respectfully, "Your Majesty."
Zhang Chengyan nodded slightly, "Master, in your opinion, how long do I need to pretend to be dead?"
The Taoist priest looked solemn, and counted with his fingers, "Your Majesty, there are still fourteen days. Fourteen days later, it will be the auspicious day for Your Majesty to be reborn into Nirvana. This is a sign of death and then standing up again. It will not only increase Your Majesty's luck, but also eliminate the treacherous villains around you one by one. In this way, Your Majesty's dragon body will become healthier, and Darong Country will become more prosperous."
Zhang Chengyan nodded with satisfaction. He had personally experienced the Taoist priest's extraordinary abilities, so he made up his mind to adopt this seemingly unlucky strategy.
Although all aspects of Darong Country are developing in a good direction, there are still many difficult and troublesome issues in secret.
The Taoist priest once said that there is an emperor in this world but no empress, and the yin and yang are out of balance. If this continues, it will definitely lead to disasters.
Therefore, the matter of selecting a queen is imminent!
Thinking back to the couple he had met on the road before, Zhang Chengyan felt more and more that this was God's will due to all the coincidences.
By adopting this strategy, we can not only break the old and establish the new and accumulate fortune for the Darong Kingdom, but also take this opportunity to identify the one who can truly be the mother of the country from the many concubines. Why not do it?
There are strict rules and procedures for when to pretend to die and when to reappear.
Therefore, Zhang Chengyan must carefully complete this special test within this limited time!
Next, let’s see how these concubines react to this incident and see who loses their temper first!
Two days later, the concubines, who had been relatively well-behaved, became anxious and restless.
Now that the palace gates are closed and news cannot get out, they are trapped within these four palace walls. Every day, there is nothing else to do except to have wild thoughts and worry about their future fate.
As time goes by, the anxiety becomes more intense and their emotions become more irritable.
Soon, several concubines could not hold back and came to Bai Wutong's residence together.
Bai Wutong had already acted out a scene with Jin Weige before, and really didn't want to waste any more energy on these people, so he directly ordered Chan'er to send them away one by one, and let them return to their own palaces and stay there honestly.
The current situation in the palace is chaotic and the emperor's sudden death has caused many affairs to be deadlocked with no one to deal with them.
For now, everyone can only obey Wang Decai's arrangements. After all, he was the closest person to the emperor during his lifetime, and he has always been loyal and would never betray him.
Speak of Cao Cao and he will appear.
Chan Er hurried in and reported, "Your Majesty, Eunuch Wang is here to see you."
"Let him in."
Wang Decai bowed his body and walked into the room respectfully, "Empress Zhao, have you been well lately? Are you resting well?"
Bai Wutong nodded slightly, and said calmly, "Not bad, what brings you here, Eunuch Wang?"
"It is like this. Now that the Emperor has passed away, it is inevitable that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will take the throne. However, many matters need to be dealt with urgently, so I have to trouble Your Majesty to move to the Yangxin Palace and take charge of the overall situation."
"I won't go." Bai Wutong refused without even thinking.
Zhang Chengyan wasn't really dead yet. If she went there now, others would inevitably misunderstand her and think that she had ulterior motives to covet power.
Besides, it’s not even the end of the year yet, Zhang Chengyan just passed away a few days ago, and the seventh day hasn’t even arrived yet.
Every arrangement he makes now may have a deeper meaning.
Bai Wutong would definitely not be fooled!
"If you really need someone to take charge of the affairs, you may ask the Queen Mother. I plan to wait for the Emperor to come to me in my dreams. I firmly believe that the Emperor will guide me in my dreams on what to do."
Wang Decai laughed secretly, a dream? The emperor was not dead at all, so how could he send her a dream?
But he did not dare to express this thought, and could only say respectfully, "Since Your Majesty has made up her mind, then this old servant will not say any more. I just hope Your Majesty can continue to recuperate with peace of mind. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince still needs your care."
…
Once upon a time, the concubines in the palace were competing for favor, and because of their different personalities, they had many conflicts and disliked each other.
But now, they are gathered together for the first time.
Especially those of lower status, such as beauties, imperial concubines and the like, were all gathered together at this moment.
Ding Zhaoyi was the first to break the silence and said, "When the late emperor passed away, he set a rule that all concubines without children must be buried alive with him. Those with children, except for the current empress dowager, were sent to guard the imperial mausoleum."
In fact, the situation that the late emperor faced at that time was not entirely the will of the late emperor alone.
The late emperor's original intention was only to have a few concubines buried with him so that he wouldn't be lonely in the underground.
The one who really took things to the extreme was Zhang Chengyan.
He ordered that only the empress dowager be left alive, and all the other concubines be dealt with, on the grounds that these people had misled the late emperor, causing him to neglect state affairs and indulge in debauchery, so the palace must not support these useless people in vain!
When the concubines heard this, their faces turned pale as paper in an instant, "So, we also..."
Another Zhaoyi spoke tremblingly, "Did the late emperor have a large number of concubines buried alive with him? But if we trace back to the past, when two other emperors died, only a few concubines were buried alive with them. Ultimately, it all depends on whether the emperor is merciful."
"The emperor's death was too sudden, and he had been unconscious before, so he didn't leave a single word. In this case, who will be buried with him will probably depend on what Concubine Zhao wants."
"If Concubine Zhao really makes the decision, we don't have to worry too much."
"What do you mean?"
"We each have our own family to back us up. Concubine Zhao's child is still young. If she wants her child to ascend the throne securely, she must rely on the support and assistance of the ministers in the court. If she rashly executes us all, do you think that the families behind us will let it go?"
When everyone heard this, they immediately showed joy on their faces, "Yes, why didn't I think of this! According to this, can't we all escape the disaster?"
"Don't think too simply. Our Darong country has always had a custom of burying concubines with the emperors after their death, so there will definitely be a few concubines who will be chosen to be buried with the emperor this time."
As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of those concubines with poor family backgrounds instantly turned extremely ugly.
Some of them entered the palace with great ambitions, while others shouldered the expectations of their families and wanted to carve out a name for themselves in the world.
But now, not only has he accomplished nothing, but he may even be buried with his father.
"Even if we are lucky enough not to be buried with the emperor, our future life may not be easy. Once Concubine Zhao takes power, the treatment of people like us will plummet. When the emperor was alive, we could at least follow the regulations and enjoy corresponding treatment. But now that the emperor is gone, we concubines are like rootless duckweed in the palace. We can neither leave the palace to remarry nor get promoted in the palace. From now on, we can only live by Concubine Zhao's mood."
"In my opinion, Concubine Zhao has always upheld the principle of not offending others unless they offend me. As long as we behave ourselves, we may be able to live in peace."
"You're dreaming!" Ding Zhaoyi interrupted coldly, "Don't forget that for some people, our staying in this palace is a thorn in their eyes and a thorn in their flesh! Have you forgotten that the palace had secretly poisoned many people to death because they didn't want to support too many idle people? Maybe Concubine Zhao is worried now and dare not act rashly against us. But when her son sits firmly on the throne and the situation in the court stabilizes, it's hard to say."
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