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◎Knock◎
As early as when the little princess was nine years old, Emperor Xingwu's mausoleum was completed.
When the little princess was eleven years old, Duke Chengguo Lu Guangzu died of illness. Emperor Xingwu ordered that Lu Guangzu be buried next to his imperial mausoleum. At the same time, he marked out a large piece of land next to it for the burial of his founding heroes.
When the little princess was sixteen years old, Duke Dingguo Deng Chong died of illness. His tomb was located closer to the imperial mausoleum than that of Lu Guangzu, so close that no new tomb could be inserted between his tomb and the imperial mausoleum. It was so close that Prince Yong cried and scolded his own brother for being worse than Deng Chong. This shows how much favor Emperor Xingwu had for Deng Chong.
The area around the imperial mausoleum is far away from human habitation. In the severe winter, even the surrounding trees have lost their leaves, creating a desolate and barren scene.
The accompanying imperial guards and the imperial army kept their distance to protect the emperor. Only Fan Zhong and three others accompanied Emperor Xingwu to Deng Chong's tombstone.
After clearing the dust and dead leaves in front of the tomb, Fan Zhong moved a low table over, placed two jars of liquor and four wine bowls on it, and spread a silk cushion on the east side of the low table. He then quietly retreated and stood guard a few dozen steps away.
Emperor Xingwu, draped in a long robe, sat cross-legged on a cushion and pointed to seats to the west and south for Deng Kun and Deng Tai. He then placed a wine bowl to the north and, while pouring wine from the jar, said with a smile, "Your father loves to drink. Today, the three of us, uncle and nephew, will treat him to a feast."
Deng Kun sat directly on the ground and stared blankly at the bowl of wine that was getting fuller and fuller.
Deng Tai sat aside with his head lowered, two tears falling.
When the wine was full and overflowing, Emperor Xingwu wanted to pour wine for Deng Kun, but Deng Kun quickly grabbed the jar and poured it for the emperor first.
Emperor Xingwu looked at Deng Kun's features and sighed, "Kun'er looks more like your father, but he's not as handsome as you."
Deng Kun wanted to cry and laugh at the same time: "The emperor is partial to my father. Others say that my brother and I are more handsome than my father."
Emperor Xingwu: "That's right. Even if you look like gods, you can't compare to your father in my eyes."
All four bowls of wine were full. Emperor Xingwu picked up the bowls and drank them all with his two nephews.
After the strong liquor went down his throat, a string of flames ignited from his throat to his abdomen, making the cold wind that kept blowing over not so cold anymore.
Deng Kun wanted to pour wine for the emperor, but Emperor Xingwu directly brought the bowl on the north side and said: "Since your father can't drink it anymore, I will drink it for him."
After drinking three bowls of wine in a row, Deng Kun and Deng Tai didn't dare let the emperor drink anymore. He was already ill, and he had been tossing and turning all the way in the cold wind. What if something happened to him if he drank too much?
Unable to drink, Emperor Xingwu recalled with his two brothers the ugly things Deng Chong did when he was young, such as climbing over the wall to steal chickens, being dragged into the yard by a widow, and challenging the old man of the Deng family with a red face when drunk. Each of them was not glorious, but Emperor Xingwu couldn't stop laughing.
If someone else dared to say that about their father, the Deng Kun brothers would have hit them long ago. But they knew the emperor's bond with their father, and could see the grief hidden beneath the emperor's smile, which made Deng Kun and Deng Tai feel sour. Deng Tai just wiped his eyes. Deng Kun didn't dare to let the emperor grieve, so he tried to interrupt: "Your Majesty, don't just belittle my father. You and my father were probably the same back then, otherwise how could you two be brothers?"
Emperor Xingwu sneered, "I never do anything sneaky. It's because I disdain to be in cahoots with your father and his gang that your father brought people to beat me. In the end, I beat him down. He was so subdued after one beating that he shamelessly came to my side and wanted to be my little brother..."
Deng Kun and Deng Tai didn't believe it, but they were willing to listen to the emperor bragging.
Suddenly, a strong wind blew over, causing the three of them to tilt their heads to avoid it. When they turned around again, Emperor Xingwu glanced at the tombstone and said with a smile, "Alright, alright, your father doesn't want to hear it anymore. I'll give him some face."
Emperor Xingwu asked Deng Kun to pour the wine again.
This time, Emperor Xingwu drank slowly. As he drank, he suddenly asked, "I made Lin'er the Crown Princess. Aren't you still unhappy?"
As soon as Deng Kun and Deng Tai arrived in Beijing, they became noble sons of the Duke's Mansion. Their father was a founding hero, and the emperor treated them as his own nephews and loved them. The two brothers were used to being powerful and there was no need for them to play tricks with others, so they were not good at hiding their thoughts. At least at this moment, both of them were stunned by the emperor's question, and then they avoided his gaze, which was consistent with their guilty conscience.
Deng Tai was the younger brother and followed his elder brother in everything. Moreover, the emperor was obviously closer to his elder brother, so he waited obediently for his elder brother to speak.
Deng Kun didn't try to deceive or cover up, and said seriously: "I am unhappy, but it is not for myself, but for the emperor and the royal family."
Emperor Xingwu: "I know what you are thinking. It all comes down to the Qin and Zhang family's affairs."
Some things are so deeply ingrained that no one can change them; and some truths, no matter how reasonable they are, are not accepted by everyone.
Emperor Xingwu didn't want to waste any more time arguing with Deng Kun and the others about this. He simply asked, "I appointed the Crown Princess. You wouldn't or wouldn't dare to disobey my order. But I don't have much time left to live, and I want to know. After I'm gone and Lin'er ascends the throne, are you two fools planning to openly challenge her and rebel like Yuan Zhaoxiong?"
Deng Kun and Deng Tai's faces changed drastically. They quickly knelt side by side, kowtowed and swore that they would not dare.
Emperor Xingwu gathered his cloak and said calmly, "Look up, everyone, look at your father's tombstone and see what's written on it."
The two brothers obediently raised their heads and their eyes fell on the tombstone opposite.
The tombstone is engraved with their father's life achievements. He followed Emperor Xingwu in his campaigns to establish the Great Qi Dynasty, and also conquered the Western Hu in the north and the Pyu Kingdom in the south, and was named the greatest general in the world.
They looked at the tombstone, and Emperor Xingwu looked at them and said, "I treat your father as my own brother, and today I am sharing my heart with you."
Seeing the two brothers looking over, Emperor Xingwu pointed to his head and said, "Do you know why my hair is turning white so quickly?"
The two brothers couldn't explain it, and there was no need to explain it.
Emperor Xingwu: "This is partly to choose the most suitable crown prince for Da Qi, and partly for you reckless people. Whether you obey or not, Lin'er is my Crown Princess, and the next wise ruler of Da Qi. I believe in Lin'er, so after establishing the Crown Princess, I don't have to worry about her anymore. It's you who make me worry!"
"I know you're not loyal to Lin'er, so I've always worried that you two will do something stupid after he ascends the throne. But I'm not afraid of you two pulling Lin'er off the throne. What I'm afraid of is that once you take action, you'll become treacherous ministers and villains of the Great Qi. Even if you succeed in usurping the throne, you brothers will be denounced by the people of the world as disloyal to me and the Qin family. Your reputation as thieves will be engraved in history books, and my younger brother will be ruined and humiliated forever because of these two rebellious sons!"
Deng Kun was trembling all over. Almost as soon as Emperor Xingwu finished speaking, he suddenly pointed to the sky and shouted angrily, "If your brother has the intention to usurp the throne, I will make him be struck by lightning and die a miserable death. He will also go to the eighteen levels of hell and never be reborn!"
Deng Tai's face flushed with anger: "Your Majesty may dislike us for being reckless, but there are absolutely no rebellious beasts in our Deng family!"
Emperor Xingwu: "Killing the emperor and proclaiming yourself emperor is called rebellion. Killing the emperor and supporting someone else to become emperor is also called rebellion. I believe you have no ambition to betray the Qin family, but can you guarantee that you will not support someone else to replace Lin'er? Don't even say you dare. I have three sons, and I can't guarantee that any of them are planning to find an opportunity to replace Lin'er."
After hearing the first half, Deng Kun's face turned pale as the images of Prince Yong and his son just popped up in his mind. Then his eyes widened again because of the second half of the emperor's speech.
Your Majesty, Your Majesty actually suspects that his three sons might rebel?
Prince An Qin Hong resigned as the Crown Prince himself, so he definitely wouldn't rebel. Prince Xian Qin Ren is the Crown Princess's biological brother and a loser, so he's even less likely to rebel. Prince Jing Qin Bing...
Not to mention, Qin Bing's reckless look does arouse suspicion!
So, if Qin Bing really wants to rebel, will he agree when someone tries to win him over?
As soon as Deng Kun had this thought, he met the sharp eyes of Emperor Xingwu, who saw everything, and also met the sneer on the corner of Emperor Xingwu's mouth.
Deng Kun shuddered and hurriedly pledged his loyalty to the Emperor: "My brother and I have no intention of replacing the Crown Princess, nor will we support others in a rebellion or usurpation of the throne. I beg Your Majesty to understand this!"
Emperor Xingwu said: "Don't tell me, tell your father. Anyway, if you usurp the throne and rebel, it will ruin your father's reputation as a loyal and meritorious founding minister of the Great Qi Dynasty, and it will also sever the roots of your Deng family."
He never worried that his daughter would be pulled down by these ruffians, but he was worried that these ruffians would give their heads to his daughter to chop off!
.
After sending Emperor Xingwu back to the palace, Deng Kun and Deng Tai rode directly back home.
Neither of the brothers liked reading, and the study was almost just a decoration, but now they were sitting face to face in the study.
Deng Tai was apprehensive: "What does the Emperor mean? Is he afraid we'll rebel? Will he attack us first?"
Deng Kun lowered his eyes, his face tense. After a long pause, he said, "No, we are not planning a rebellion. Why would the emperor punish us without any evidence? Unless he wants to be branded as the son of a meritorious official, then he's probably just trying to scare us."
Deng Tai touched his nose and lowered his voice, "After Father left, Qin Liang kept hinting at us to be wary of the Emperor seizing our military power. And after he appointed the Crown Princess, he warned us to keep our intentions hidden so as not to give the Emperor and the Crown Princess any leverage. He's saying this not just because we're cousins, right?"
The emperor was still warning them, because it was obvious that Qin Liang was more likely to usurp the throne than them. After all, their surname was Deng, so it would be unjustifiable for them to rebel. Qin Liang, after all, had the surname Qin and was a member of the Qin family.
Deng Kun understood Qin Liang's thoughts better than his brother and said, "Don't think too much, just wait and see."
As long as the emperor is alive, there will be no chaos in the palace and the capital. When the emperor is gone, can those civil and military officials who accepted the crown princess because they were afraid of the emperor's majesty really accept a woman sitting on the dragon throne and ordering them around?
Deng Kun did not obey the Crown Princess, but he was not stupid enough to jump out and become a traitor.
【Author’s words】
100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow night!
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