96. Will
◎It’s enough to accommodate him◎
Chapter 96
Late at night, Ji Ci, wearing a black robe, came to a thatched house in the suburbs of Beijing under the escort of Tian Qu and others.
The room was still dim despite the candlelight. He looked up at the sky, and the other nodded in greeting. He then walked towards the small room, pushed the door open, and saw Zhou Chenghu sitting cross-legged at the desk.
After Ji Ci entered, Tian Qu and others immediately closed the door for him and stood guard at the door.
Before the death of Emperor Su of Jin, Zhou Chenghu was transferred to lead the Southern Court's imperial guards. Because the two did not appear to have a close relationship, Ji Kang did not take action against him.
Seeing Ji Ci coming, Zhou Chenghu immediately stood up and saluted him. Seeing this, he immediately stepped forward and held up the man. "General, there is no need to be so polite. It is so late today that I have embarrassed you by asking you to come to see me, a wanted criminal."
"I dare not!" Zhou Chenghu stood up. "Your Highness once saved me on the battlefield. It's a life-or-death friendship. Your Highness's words are truly humiliating to me."
He was a little nervous, turned his head and looked at the monotonous surroundings, and finally immediately reached out to the couch, "Your Highness, please sit down, let's drink and chat!"
"Okay!" After hearing this, Ji Ci waved his robe and sat down. Looking at the sake on the table, he immediately reached out and poured two cups.
"Now that the prince is imprisoned, why did you call me here tonight? Is there anything I can do to help the prince?"
In the dim light, the candlelight flickered uneasily on his face. Ji Ci didn't answer directly. He looked at Zhou Chenghu in front of him. He was dressed in plain clothes, but he carried the surging spirit of a battlefield warrior. He asked, "General Zhou, what do you think of the current emperor?"
Zhou Chenghu fell silent, a look of nervousness on his face. After a moment, he smiled again and said, "Honestly, seeing what the current emperor has done, I feel that the Great Jin is in danger! Just a few days after ascending the throne, the emperor has abandoned the new policies and reverted to the old system, intending to support the various princes and nobles. Furthermore, the emperor abuses torture, eliminating anyone who opposes him. In just a few days, many court officials who once opposed him have died in prison."
"Fortunately, Taifu Tang and his colleagues have experienced many years of ups and downs in the political arena. Their influence in the court and their popularity among the people still make him wary. In my opinion, perhaps in the near future, the four regions will see another uprising, large or small."
"In my eyes, the current emperor is not a wise ruler."
Ji Ci raised his cup and drank, then put it down and said, "As far as I know, the emperor has begun to make preparations for peace with the Kingdom of Li. Once he seeks peace with the Kingdom of Li, the people will definitely increase their taxes to meet the tribute."
His fingers trembled slightly as he continued, "General, if I ask you to mobilize the Southern Court's Imperial Guards, would you be willing to fight for the world?"
Zhou Chenghu's pupils trembled. After a long pause, he drank the clear wine in the cup in front of him, stood up and knelt beside him, saying sternly, "As a general of the Great Jin, I am honored to serve the Great Jin and the world. The prince not only recognized me, but also saved my life on the battlefield. I cannot repay such kindness. Now I am in charge of the Imperial Guard. If there is anything I can do for the prince, Chenghu will go through fire and water! I swear to follow you until death!"
Upon seeing this, Ji Ci immediately stood up and saluted him, "General, you are loyal and righteous. Now for me, Ji Ci, you are willing to become a rebel. Please accept my greeting!"
After saying that, he saluted Zhou Chenghu.
Zhou Chenghu was shocked and immediately supported him, "I can't bear it!"
"General Zhou is a man of great righteousness. I have made a request to you, and you deserve this respect!"
Zhou Chenghu laughed heartily, then bent down to add sake to two wine cups and handed one to Ji Ci. "The situation is urgent now, and the curfew is strict. Today, I will use this wine to wish His Majesty victory. After the victory, I will not leave until His Majesty is drunk!"
"Okay!" Ji Ci patted his shoulder vigorously, then took the wine cup from his hand and drank it in one gulp.
…
In the same night, Jiang Qiuye looked at the fainted Ji Kang, picked up a pair of silver chopsticks from the dining table, approached him, stood in front of him, looked at the back of his neck for a long time, wondering what he was hesitating about.
In the end, she put down the silver chopsticks and slipped out of the palace while the guards were outside the Pepper Room.
She wondered where Emperor Su of Jin might have kept his will.
Two places, Taiji Hall or Yangxin Hall.
The Yangxin Palace is the most likely location, as he remained in the palace due to a serious illness before his death and never left. A will as important as this would certainly not be given to someone else for safekeeping.
After she left the Pepper Room, she no longer avoided anyone on the palace road and went straight to the Yangxin Palace.
The palace is heavily guarded, so if you act sneakily, you will easily be caught.
Just looking at the imperial guards patrolling at the gate of the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, she frowned and finally decided to enter from the roof so as not to alert the imperial guards.
Although Ji Kang was not in the hall, hundreds of candles and lamps were lit, which made it much easier for her to find the will.
The will that even Ji Kang couldn't find must have been hidden very secretly. Jiang Qiuye guessed that there must be a secret compartment in this hall.
She turned her head to carefully discern the movements outside the hall, and immediately went to the desk, carefully examining the desk, the floor, and the walls. Time passed little by little, but she found nothing.
At this moment, the imperial guards outside suddenly heard a loud conversation: "The emperor was unconscious in the Pepper Palace. When he woke up, he found that Princess Qi had escaped. We are searching the palace and have imposed martial law everywhere. Is there any movement here?"
"We have been guarding this place and haven't heard any movement."
The imperial guard paused for a moment and then said, "We need to search inside. If there is nothing unusual, we will leave."
Jiang Qiuye suddenly became panicked. She searched everywhere for a hiding place, but she always felt that she could be easily found anywhere.
She trotted deeper into the hall, only to find a golden Buddha statue, leaving her with nowhere to hide. Her heart raced as she listened to the approaching footsteps. There sounded like over twenty people outside. She was unarmed, and she might not be able to resist alone. Exposing her identity as a spy would bring disaster to Ji Ci.
In panic, she kept backing away and unexpectedly bumped into the golden Buddha. After she turned the golden Buddha around, a dark cellar appeared on the ground beneath it.
She was overjoyed and immediately jumped in and closed the cellar door.
Although it was dark and cramped inside, she could clearly hear the sounds outside. She held her breath, groped around, found a lighter, and immediately lit a lamp beside her.
The cellar suddenly became bright, and she found that there were many gold, silver and jewelry stored in it. Thinking of how Emperor Su of Jin used various secret methods to fill his private treasury during his lifetime, she could not find the money.
Now it seems that they must all exist here.
She slowly groped around and actually found a wooden box. Her heart trembled and she immediately opened the box, only to see a golden imperial edict.
He immediately opened the edict, read it for a while, and then put it back into the box.
I was shocked by the contents of the will.
After about a cup of tea, there was finally no movement above the cellar. It must be that the imperial guards did not find anything and left directly.
She grasped the wooden box, opened the cellar, and first explored it secretly before quickly climbing out. She then reached the bed, climbed up using a pole, and quickly climbed out from the roof of the palace.
Thanks to her black clothes, she hid successfully in the night, but now she found that there were more guards everywhere, making it difficult to escape.
She took a few gentle steps forward and left the Yangxin Palace, only to see a small patrol coming from the front. Her palms sweating from holding the wooden box, she immediately found a corner to hide in.
Now that he had the will in his hand, he could no longer stay in the palace. If he was caught, Ji Kang would definitely destroy the will.
But she suddenly realized a new problem.
How should this will be revealed to the world?
It certainly couldn't be her, nor could it be Ji Ci. Otherwise, Ji Kang and his followers would have ten thousand excuses to call a horse a zebra, saying that this was a fake will.
After some thought, she suddenly thought of Empress Dowager Zhao.
Although Zhao had long been absent from government affairs, her prestige remained high. Having established the peaceful and prosperous era of the early Jin Dynasty, both Emperor An of Jin and Emperor Su of Jin held her in high esteem. Ji Ci, on the other hand, was her most beloved grandson.
However, since Ji Kang ascended the throne, she seemed extremely disappointed and moved out of the palace directly to live in Anhe Garden, a royal garden outside the palace.
So at this moment, what she needed to do was to escape from the palace smoothly and hand over the will intactly to the Empress Dowager.
However, with the constant transfer and increase of the imperial guards, escape became increasingly difficult. She glanced in the direction of Yonghe Palace, then lowered her eyes and shook her head.
She waited until the small group of imperial guards in front of her left before she turned the corner. After several twists and turns, she suddenly saw a sedan chair parked in front of the bedroom where the concubines lived.
She was delighted and sneaked over.
…
It was already past midnight and the palace was covered in mottled shadows of trees.
Deep within the palace, a sedan chair, carried by four young eunuchs, crossed a bridge and headed towards the Vermillion Bird Gate. The guards at the gate saw the sedan chair and immediately stepped forward, sword hilt raised, to stop it. They shouted, "Who are you? The palace gates are locked."
The curtain of the sedan chair was immediately lifted, and a stern voice shouted, "What? You don't even recognize me?"
The guard was startled and immediately stepped forward to salute, "My humble opinion is that I am humble, but I pay my respects to Princess Anyang."
He glanced up, then hesitated and said, "Your Highness, it's already past midnight..."
"So what?" Anyang interrupted her expressionlessly, "Something big happened tonight, are you aware of it?"
"this......"
"Princess Qi knocked my brother unconscious tonight and fled the Pepper Palace. My brother suspected she had left the palace to seek the Grand Empress Dowager's help. However, the Grand Empress Dowager is a member of the imperial family and currently resides in Anhe Garden year-round. I happened to be in the palace to see my mother today, and my brother gave me a verbal order to leave the palace and seek the Grand Empress Dowager."
She glanced at the guards and sneered, "Princess Qi, she's the future queen. If you delay her here and cause her to have something happen outside the palace, do you think my brother will let you go?"
The guards looked at each other and swallowed their saliva. Thinking of the new emperor's current thundering methods and those cruel tortures, they couldn't help but feel afraid.
He looked back at Anyang's serious face, nodded finally, saluted respectfully again, ran away and immediately waved his hand to have the palace gate opened.
Anyang lowered the curtains of the sedan chair, and four young eunuchs immediately lifted the sedan chair and headed out of the palace. After leaving the palace, they headed straight for Anhe Garden, where the Grand Empress Dowager was staying.
Anyang could not hide her panic in the sedan chair and tightly grasped the wooden box in her hand. Thinking of the truth she learned in the concubine's bedroom, she was so shocked that she broke out in a cold sweat.
Fortunately, Anhe Palace was not too far from the Imperial Palace. After walking for half an hour, they arrived at Anhe Garden.
Zhao had already gone to bed, but the female official saw that Princess Anyang looked frightened, as if something really important was going on, so she no longer hesitated. After taking her into the garden, she immediately went into the bedroom and woke Zhao up.
When Zhao woke up, she didn't know what happened, but she didn't delay. She put on a cloak and went to the front hall.
After taking a seat, she looked at Anyang, who was standing there, twisting his hands, and asked with a spirited look, "What happened? Why are you so anxious to see me?"
Anyang didn't know how to organize his words. After looking at her, he lowered his head again.
"Don't worry, just talk to grandma slowly." Zhao was very patient and didn't rush her.
At this moment, a young eunuch following behind Anyang immediately stepped forward, knelt before Zhao, and raised the wooden box in his hand, saying, "The current emperor, Ji Kang, in order to seize the throne, colluded with the deposed Empress Dowager Huo, poisoned the emperor and forged the imperial edict. Such an unjust act should be punished!"
The young eunuch's voice was clear and calm. Zhao was stunned. After careful listening, she found that it was actually Princess Qi in disguise.
She only knew that the new emperor had brought Concubine Qi into the Pepper Palace, a sign that she was about to become the empress. When she heard about this, she was furious, but she could do nothing about it.
After hearing this, the female official was stunned and shocked. Such an important matter that involved life and death was actually brought out by Princess Qi and Princess Anyang together.
She glanced at Zhao's expression, immediately stepped forward, took the wooden box, and handed it to Zhao.
When the wooden box was opened and the will was taken out, even Zhao's heart was trembling, but she remained calm.
She looked at Princess Qi who was still kneeling below, gave the female official a look, and asked someone to take Anyang away.
When only two people were left in the hall, Zhao spoke calmly, "Now that Ji Kang has ascended the throne, I have already abdicated power and left the government for decades. While this may have been the late emperor's dying wish, producing the will would cause unrest throughout the land. Success would be great, but failure would only make the emperor resent me. I've gambled so many years of reputation, and even my life. The risk is so great, why would I do such a thing?"
Jiang Qiuye suddenly realized that in the past, Zhao always referred to herself as "I" in front of her, but tonight, she used the word "Ai Jia".
She took a deep breath. In the past, she was most afraid of Zhao Shi. It was because Zhao Shi was too smart and perceptive, and could easily see through all the tricks in her eyes.
At this moment, she forced herself to look up, staring directly at Zhao, and said forcefully, word by word, "The current emperor is immoral, imposing heavy punishments, and humbly seeking peace with the Li Kingdom. I will not say any more about this. I believe the Empress Dowager sees it clearly."
"Tonight, I want to talk about Ji Ci, my husband!"
Zhao's expression wavered slightly, and she clenched the imperial edict in her hand.
"Grand Empress Dowager, no, Grandmother. My husband, a child of destiny, had a smooth life since childhood, until the year Ganyang was conquered by Yan Xing. He was abandoned by his father and wandered for years. During this time, he experienced famine, war, and...his own mother, the Queen Mother, passed away before him. He was only a teenager then."
Jiang Qiuye spoke, tears welling in her eyes. "Those years of exile, besides the physical pain, were even more psychological. My husband's anorexia started in his heart and spread to his body. He once swore a solemn oath before the remains of Empress Qiyuan that he would never covet the throne in his lifetime."
"After arriving in Shengjing, he has always been conscientious in fulfilling his duties and adhering to his oath. Despite his ailing body, he has devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Great Jin and his brother, devoting himself to the cause until his death!"
"Ever since he was abandoned by his father, the Emperor, he has never been treated fairly or as he deserves. He has given so much, but neither his father, his mother, his brother, his nephew, nor even his wife has ever given him the rewards he deserves."
"He's just been enjoying his kindness and favors like a blood-sucking worm. Now, he's even been sentenced to death for treason!"
"I'm deeply ashamed of this! I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy of his kindness, and I'm not worthy of the position of Princess Qi!"
"But now, I want to save him! I don't know where my feelings for him come from, but they are so deep. I admit that I am a selfish little woman, a frog in a well, unable to care about the justice of my country. But what I did today is only because I love him, only to give him the reward he deserves!"
"Since I can't hold Dayi, then holding him alone is enough."
"So, Grandma! Isn't he your favorite grandson? I beg you, save him! Save Brother Jian Xi!"
After saying this, she kowtowed heavily to the ground. The sound was so loud that it echoed in Zhao's ears for a long time.
She was completely prostrated on the ground and could not see Zhao's expression. She only knew that she had already burst into tears. After she finally finished speaking, she was choked with sobs and could hardly speak again.
After a long silence, Zhao's faint voice reached her ears, "I understand."
The author has something to say:
"Since I can't hold Dayi, then holding him alone is enough."
God, when I first thought of this sentence, my little Ye Zi was so moved that she cried!
Next two updates a day, still very fat~
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