Chapter 1302 Changes in Heaven and Earth
Shen Wuzheng was surprised to hear this.
Ji Honghui's resignation surprised him, but it wasn't strange; Ji Honghui's delivery of the draft imperial edict seemed reasonable as well—this old minister had experienced more than one dynastic change, and today, he should know better than anyone what to do and where to stand at such a crucial moment.
Therefore, Shen Wuzheng's statement that the draft imperial edict only needed "additions and subtractions" proves that his thoughts are the same as his own.
But if you're already so focused on it, why add or subtract anything?
Yuwen Ye noticed something unusual in Shen Wuzheng's lowered eyes, but still silently took it and unfolded it to read it. At first, his brows were relaxed, and every word on it seemed to resonate with him. But as he read further, his expression tightened slightly.
He said, "Bring me paper and pen."
Shen Wuzheng didn't say much. He took paper and pen from the side and placed them in front of him. Yuwen Ye immediately picked up the pen, wrote a few words on the document, then picked it up and blew on the ink to dry it. He then looked up at Shen Wuzheng and said, "Such additions and subtractions should be enough, right?"
Shen Wuzheng immediately took it and looked at it.
His gaze precisely located the sentence, "The Prince of Qin, Yuwen Ye, is hereby appointed Crown Prince, granted the power to oversee the state, and to manage all affairs of state." Sure enough, he saw that Yuwen Ye had added a line of small print after this sentence—
His wife, Lady Shang, was a virtuous and capable woman, a model of motherhood, and in accordance with public opinion. She was deserving of the honorary title of Crown Princess.
Shen Wuzheng's eyes flickered slightly.
But he didn't say much, he just silently rolled up the document again, and then said, "In that case, your humble servant will immediately send this imperial edict to the Liangyi Hall, and ask Your Majesty to draw red."
He turned to leave after speaking, but just as he did, Yuwen Ye's voice rang out behind him—
"You haven't given up yet?"
"..."
Shen Wuzheng paused slightly, then turned to look at the fully armored and imposing Prince Qin. Yuwen Ye slowly stood up and said, "You still want to take her away from me?"
"..."
"It seems you've never believed me."
"..."
"Or is it that you don't believe anyone in this world—except yourself—can make her happy?"
"..."
Shen Wuzheng remained silent for a long time. At this moment, a gust of wind blew up outside, and it seemed that some footsteps and voices were approaching. He sighed softly, raised the imperial edict in his hand, and said, "From now on, it will not happen again. Your Highness can rest assured."
After saying that, he left without looking back.
Yuwen Ye watched his figure disappear outside. A moment later, Shang Ruyi led Tu She'er and the others in. She had been by Yuwen Ye's side all day, but in reality, the two of them had been waiting for news from the Liangyi Palace. It wasn't until Chu Ruoyan brought Yuan Gan into the palace that she realized the child hadn't seen her all night and was making a fuss as soon as they met. Fearing that this would disturb Yuwen Ye, she took the child and Chu Ruoyan and the others to rest in a side hall. Only then did she have a chance to come back.
Upon entering, she saw Yuwen Ye standing alone in the center of the hall and asked in surprise, "What's wrong? Why are you standing here?"
Yuwen Ye glanced at her: "It's nothing."
Shang Ruyi sensed that his aura was a bit strange, and said, "I just saw someone go out, it looked like it was you, brother."
"Um."
"He's here? What's he doing here? Has there been any news from the Liangyi Palace?"
"..."
Yuwen Ye glanced at her and smiled slightly: "Perhaps."
|
Soon, Shen Wuzheng brought the document back to the Liangyi Hall. Shen Shiyan and the others took a look and immediately found the small line of text that had been added. They then understood what was going on.
Shen Shiyan gave him a reproachful look.
Shen Wuzheng calmly replied, "Father, rest assured, I will not make things difficult for him again from now on."
Shen Shiyan shook his head helplessly.
However, at this moment, he did not have much energy to complain about his son still harassing his brother-in-law even now. In his and his wife's eyes, Yuwen Ye was deeply affectionate towards Shang Ruyi, and it was Shen Wuzheng who had been overly critical of him, almost causing some misunderstandings and trouble.
They were unwilling to delve into the deeper meaning behind it, and by this point, it was already meaningless.
The most significant meaning is still in his hands at this moment.
Shen Shiyan held the document, turned around and knelt down in front of the tightly closed doors of the Liangyi Hall.
"emperor!"
Seeing him like this, Pei Xu immediately knelt down beside him. Following closely behind, the other court officials looked at each other and knelt down behind the two of them. Before long, the area in front of the Liangyi Hall was filled with kneeling civil and military officials, all bowing down towards the hall.
Shen Shiyan held the document high with both hands and said loudly, "Your Majesty, we risk our lives to remonstrate with Your Majesty, humbly requesting that Your Majesty consider the long-term foundation of the Great Sheng Dynasty and the well-being of all the people under heaven."
"Your Majesty, please follow the will of Heaven and the hearts of the people."
"emperor……"
Everything around was as quiet as a graveyard.
Suddenly, a hoarse sound came from ahead, and the gate of the Liangyi Hall finally slowly opened.
A gust of wind suddenly rushed into the Liangyi Hall. Shen Shiyan lowered his head and only saw a bright yellow hem flutter in front of his eyes, almost blurring his vision. When he looked up again, he saw Yuwen Yuan standing quietly at the entrance of the hall, wearing a wrinkled dragon robe that looked like it had been through countless struggles and entanglements that night.
His face was ashen, his eyes were dim, and although he was still tall, he looked like a withered giant tree, exuding a heavy sense of despondency.
More importantly, his hair and beard were almost entirely white!
Upon seeing this, Shen Shiyan instinctively gasped: "Your Majesty..."
Just one night, just this one night!
The emperor's hair turned white overnight!
Seeing him like this, Shen Shiyan suddenly felt a pang of pain in his heart, and the hand holding the document began to tremble, almost unable to hold the thin piece of paper that was light and airy, but could actually determine the future of the entire country and hundreds of millions of people.
Yuwen Yuan didn't look at him, but instead took the imperial brush from Pei Xu's hand.
"His Majesty……"
Shen Shiyan let out another soft cry, his voice already choked with emotion.
Yuwen Yuan glanced at the document, its words both profound and poignant. He calmly said, "At this time, it's best to play it safe. Otherwise, how can I entrust this empire to him, to you?"
Shen Shiyan lowered his head, tears streaming down his face.
Then, he felt a rustling sound from the document in his hand. When he looked up again, he saw Yuwen Yuan flick his sleeve, casually tossing aside the imperial pen, and turning back into the deep darkness of the Liangyi Hall.
The heavens and earth changed as a result.
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