Chapter 173: The King of Lin Forces the Emperor
to Abdicate On March 17, the 14th year of Chongming, the emperor passed away, and the people wept.
According to the law, the crown prince will ascend the throne in a month and change the country's name the following year.
Jiang Ning returned to Wandong Road from Fuling Temple, and the courtyard was empty.
The imperial examination had been held for six days, and two examinations had been held. However, due to the death of the emperor, the two examinations had to be cancelled and had to wait for a month after the new emperor ascended the throne before they could be restarted.
Thinking that Liu Ming'an was about to go home, Jiang Ning put down her package, picked up the vegetable basket and went out to the market.
The bustling market was dead silent today. Everyone was talking in a low voice. At a glance, the pedestrians on the street were all black, white and gray. Even the conspicuous gold hairpins and earrings on the women's heads were taken off and replaced with plain hairpins.
Jiang Ning finished her shopping and walked back. Suddenly, there were chaotic footsteps coming from the houses on both sides of the street.
It was impossible for a few dozen people to make such a noise.
Jiang Ning was startled, and the next moment, she saw soldiers in armor rushing out of those houses with knives in their hands. Hundreds of people gathered together in an instant, all with serious faces and murderous intentions. The people around them all fled in panic. Forcing the emperor to
abdicate!
This word flashed through Jiang Ning's mind. The soldiers crowded the street and cast their eyes on the dark-skinned man in the front.
"Let's go to Gongyuan!"
A hoarse and dull voice came, hitting Jiang Ning's heart like a thunder.
The venue for the imperial examination is Gongyuan!
The historical records of this world that I had read before suddenly emerged in my mind: In the 29th year of Tianyu in the previous dynasty, the deposed crown prince Ruan Yongfeng forced the emperor to abdicate during the imperial examination. He first killed the emperor and four adult princes, took control of the palace, and then arrested thousands of officials' families and tribute children...
In front of the Taiji Palace, Ruan Yongfeng killed all the children of that year, a total of 532 people, and then killed more than 300 people, starting with the families of fifth-rank officials. In the end, he forced the court officials to admit that the fake imperial edict in his hand that passed the throne to him was real, and ascended the throne...
Is history going to repeat itself again?
Jiang Ning clenched her fists tightly. She would never let Liu Mingan become a victim of such a conspiracy.
No matter who it is, it's not allowed!
At this moment in the Taiji Hall, Nangong Muyan's feet were numb from kneeling, and he moved slightly. Luo Siyi beside him immediately lowered his voice and said, "Yan'er, bear with it for another half an hour, and we can go back home."
Nangong Muyan said "hmm", sighed, and looked up at the old monks chanting scriptures.
This Liang Kingdom attaches great importance to Buddhism. When the emperor dies, his body needs to be placed in a cold jade coffin. The so-called enlightened monks from Xiangye Temple will be invited to chant scriptures for three days and three nights before he can be buried in the imperial mausoleum.
During this period, the princes, concubines, and ministers of the court above the fifth rank need to kneel beside him in mourning and rest for a maximum of two hours a day. The families of the ministers kneel on the outermost side and only need to guard the spirit for half a day.
Nangong Muyan had never knelt for so long before. She could hear the sobbing of the imperial concubines, the indistinct chanting of the monks, and the continuous sound of bells in the distance. The mixture made her feel upset.
But she knew that what really upset her was that after the death of the emperor, there would be no music or marriage in the capital for a hundred days. The marriage she had agreed with the Zhou family a few days ago would have to be postponed. She had to either get married with a big belly or get married with a child in her arms.
No matter which of the two results, she was upset.
Nangong Muyan sighed again. She was bored. She looked left and right, analyzing the facial expressions of the crying concubines, princes, and ministers to see who was really crying and who was pretending.
In front of her, Nangong Ya was kneeling straight, with grief evident on his face, his eyes drooping, the corners of his mouth turned down, and the muscles on the right half of his face contracted more than the left, which was obviously fake.
Thinking that her father, this old bone, would have to kneel for two more days, Nangong Muyan felt inexplicably relieved.
In front of Nangong Ya, closer to the coffin, knelt the Crown Prince Yuwen Yan and several princes and princesses.
Yuwen Yan had his back completely to Nangong Muyan. She glanced at him and looked to the side, but when she saw one of them, she felt surprised.
The man looked to be about thirty years old, kneeling next to the Crown Prince, so he should be a prince.
Nangong Muyan went over the information about the royal family in her mind and guessed his identity.
The second prince, Prince Lin Yuwen Jin.
The other princes all hung their heads in silence, only Yuwen Jin raised his head and stared at the emperor's coffin.
What made Nangong Muyan even more curious was that there was not a trace of sadness on this man's face. Instead, there was a faint smile on his lips. His narrow and squinting eyes were full of sinisterness and hatred, and seemed to be a little pleased.
It is normal for royal fathers and sons to be at odds. Nangong Muyan looked at Yuwen Jin, who was so happy even though his father had died, and curled the corners of his lips. He didn't care much, looked away, and looked at other people's faces.
Time passed by bit by bit, and just as Nangong Nangong Muyan analyzed the faces of the people she could see, she heard an inappropriate noise outside the hall.
Nangong Muyan listened sideways, it was so noisy, there were so many people, there were shouts and calls, and there seemed to be the sound of iron colliding. Others
in the hall didn't hear it for the time being, until those sounds got closer and closer, covering the chanting and the bells, and clearly reaching everyone's ears, and the tranquility on this side was broken.
The hundreds of people in the hall didn't even have time to think about the cause of the commotion. A blood-stained guard stumbled in with a knife in his hand, shouting at the top of his lungs: "Your Highness! Chang Jianzhu is rebelling!"
"Ah? Chang Jianzhu is rebelling!"
"Isn't Admiral Chang the father of Princess Lin?" "
Could it be Prince Lin..."
Hearing this, the people stood up with Yuwen Yan in panic, and cast their eyes on Yuwen Jin in front of the coffin, only to see him looking up at the sky and laughing non-stop.
"Hahaha... Everyone, today I will follow the example of the sage and be Ruan Yongfeng for once!"
Everyone knew what the three words Ruan Yongfeng meant.
Yuwen Jin looked at the people who dared to be angry but dared not speak out against him with mockery, and he became more and more proud in his heart, and his smile became more and more arrogant, almost bending over with laughter, holding the emperor's coffin, and patting the cold jade coffin with a "bang bang" sound while laughing.
Everyone was silent, some were frightened or afraid, the sound of bells and chanting stopped, and only Yuwen Jin's crazy laughter echoed in their ears.
"Second brother, why is it like this?" Yuwen Yan looked at Yuwen Jin with a complicated expression and asked, and as soon as he finished speaking, a knife was put on his neck.
"Why must it come to this? Your Highness the Crown Prince asks me why I must come to this? Hahaha..."
Yuwen Jin laughed until tears came out of his eyes: "Need I ask? Because I also want to sit on the dragon throne. I don't want to run away to my fiefdom in disgrace after you ascend the throne, write memorials to you to pay my respects during festivals, and live my whole life with my tail between my legs..."
"So you are willing to bear the eternal curse and be a traitor and a thief?"
"Hahaha... Only pedantic and stupid things like you regard the curses of others as a scourge, I don't care at all. Besides, history books are written by winners. As long as I sit firmly on the throne, who dares to curse me?"
There was no point in saying more, Yuwen Yan fell silent.
Nangong Muyan looked at Luo Siyi who was shaking like a sieve. Her arm was so painful from being grabbed by her, so she reached out and patted her shoulder, whispering to comfort her: "Mom, don't be afraid, this is all men's business, let's stand further away, it's okay."
"Yan'er, have you forgotten?" Luo Siyi's face turned pale and her voice trembled: "That Ruan Yongfeng killed the son first, and then killed the minister's family..."
"Killed the son?"
Nangong Muyan's eyes froze. If she remembered correctly, that Liu Ming'an was the son of this term!
At this moment, a group of soldiers with knives walked in ferociously, and drove the men and women to one place. The timid women and children were already screaming in fear.
Nangong Muyan held Luo Siyi, who was about to faint, in one hand, and held a silver hairpin tightly in the other hand, looking at Yuwen Jin, who was smiling and showing off his power in the hall, with a cold look that made people shudder.
"Father-in-law! Hahaha..."
Yuwen Jin walked towards the middle-aged man who was leading the way, and laughed happily: "It is a great honor for me to have my father-in-law to help me with great things!"
Chang Jian also laughed "haha", and both the father-in-law and the son-in-law seemed to see the endless glory and wealth and overwhelming power waving to them.
Chang Jian laughed for a while before saying: "Lin Wei has brought the 513 people here, just outside the hall."
The ministers were shocked. Yuwen Jin said that he would imitate Ruan Yongfeng, and he really wanted to imitate him completely.
Nangong Ya and the three fathers and sons of the Lou family thought of Liu Ming'an among the heirs at the same time.
Lou Baili, holding the blade across his neck, tried to persuade him: "Your Highness, please think twice! Since ancient times, few emperors who were not justified and unjust had a good end..."
Nangong Ya followed up: "Heirs are related to the foundation of the country. If Your Highness kills them all, I am afraid that everyone in the world will know your reputation for cruelty. Even if you ascend the throne, you will lose the support of the people."
Yuwen Jin turned his head to look at the two people who were talking, and smiled meaningfully: "The Prime Minister and the Grand Tutor are worthy of being role models for all officials. They are really loyal!"
"The Lou family is only loyal to wise monarchs!" Lou Baili replied with a gloomy face.
"Haha...you are so loyal to the wise monarch!" Yuwen Jin sneered and looked at Nangong Ya: "Prime Minister Nangong, what about you?"
"I am loyal to all the people in the world!" Nangong Ya looked directly at Yuwen Jin and answered.
"Okay, okay!" Yuwen Jin clapped his hands and laughed: "The ancestors of the Yuwen family set the rules that the prime minister and the grand tutor must announce the new emperor's accession to the throne. Then, please tell the people of the world that before my father died, he said that he would depose the crown prince and make me the crown prince. What do you think?"
Nangong Ya and Lou Baili naturally would not agree: "The country of Daliang cannot be handed over to a traitor."
Yuwen Jin was not surprised by this. He nodded and said seriously: "You two are kind-hearted. I believe you will change your minds when the blood outside the Taiji Palace flows like a river and the corpses pile up like a mountain."
Hearing Yuwen Jin say this so lightly, everyone's heart sank.