Chapter 1088, See the World Together
"Old Four!"
When people are filled with despair, their potential is stimulated, and the concubine who is usually weak and powerless can also burst out with powerful destructive power.
If Xiao Yeyang had not arrived in time and thrown the ring on his finger to hit Concubine Shu, the knife in Concubine Shu's hand would have pierced the Fourth Prince's chest directly.
"Old Four!"
The emperor supported the fallen Fourth Prince, and his hands were instantly stained red by the blood gushing from the Fourth Prince's body.
The fourth prince forced a smile at the emperor and said weakly, "I'm glad that father is okay." After saying that, he fainted.
"Imperial Physician!"
"Where is the doctor?"
The emperor shouted anxiously.
Soon, the director of the courtyard and several imperial physicians who stayed in the side hall of the Qianqing Palace rushed over.
The emperor placed the fourth prince directly on the dragon bed and anxiously ordered the director to make sure the fourth prince was cured.
When the bleeding from the Fourth Prince's chest stopped and the situation was no longer critical, the Emperor looked sullenly at Concubine Shu and the Sixth Prince who were pinned to the ground by the imperial guards.
"Come here, throw Concubine Shu and the Sixth Prince into the Sky Prison!"
The news that Concubine Shu and the Sixth Prince launched a palace coup to seize the throne swept across the capital like a tornado.
Just when all the officials were filled with fear and didn't know what to do, they heard that Concubine Shu and the Sixth Prince were taken to the Sky Prison by the imperial guards.
Knowing that the emperor had woken up from his coma, many officials began to worship Buddha at home.
"Thank God, the emperor is awake now."
Except for those officials who seek to gain favor by taking advantage of the situation, most officials do not want too much turmoil in the court.
Once turmoil breaks out, blood will flow like a river, and no one can guarantee that they can remain unscathed, so the best way is to get through it smoothly.
Xiao Yeyang did not return to the palace until the next night. When he came back, Sanxiao had already been sent back, and Xiao Morong had also returned to the Fourth Prince's Mansion.
"I heard that the Fourth Prince was injured. Is he okay?" Daohua asked with concern.
Xiao Yeyang shook his head: "There's no danger to his life, but because his lungs were injured, there might be a root cause of the disease. I'm afraid he'll need to take good care of himself in the future."
Daohua showed sympathy: "The Fourth Prince already had an ear problem, and now he has also suffered a lung injury. He is indeed in great trouble."
Xiao Yeyang smiled and said, "Misfortunes often come with blessings, and blessings often come with misfortunes. This time, the Fourth Prince's Mansion should be able to turn a disaster into a blessing."
Daohua hummed, "What do you mean?"
Xiao Yeyang explained, "Why do you think the Emperor's uncle allowed Concubine Shu and the Sixth Prince to cause so much trouble?"
"It's true that he wants to put an end to the First, Second, and Fifth Princes' ambitions to seize the throne; it's also true that he wants to take this opportunity to purge a group of officials, but these are not his primary goals."
"My uncle is sixty years old, which is considered quite old among all the emperors. It's time to think about the succession issue."
Daohua took over the conversation: "So, the Emperor's uncle wants to use this incident to test the princes' reactions and abilities?"
Xiao Yeyang nodded and said, "What a pity! The Seventh Prince and his companions neither showed any outstanding abilities nor sufficient concern for the Emperor's uncle during this incident."
Daohua sighed, "Uncle Emperor is also a human being. When people grow old, they all hope to receive care from their children. Compared with the other princes, the Fourth Prince's act of standing up to block the knife is truly precious."
Xiao Yeyang's eyes flashed: "Isn't it."
Daohua looked at Xiao Yeyang and said, "You think the emperor's uncle will make him the heir, but the fourth prince is injured." After a pause, he laughed and said, "No one has stipulated that the throne can only be passed on to sons and not grandsons."
Xiao Yeyang also laughed: "Compared to other princes and grandchildren, Mo Rong is much better in many aspects. No matter what the emperor's uncle decides in the end, the Fourth Prince's Mansion will definitely not be marginalized like before."
He was too lazy to think about why the Fourth Prince didn't avoid the knife, but the relationship between his family and the Fourth Prince's Mansion was pretty good. If the Fourth Prince's Mansion benefited in the end, he would be happy to see it happen.
On the third day after the coup, the emperor appeared at the morning court.
At the same time, Concubine Shu and the Sixth Prince, dressed in prison uniforms, were also escorted to the main hall by the imperial guards.
Seeing the embarrassed appearance of Concubine Shu and the Sixth Prince, all the officials looked a little shaken.
A few days ago, both of them were still high and mighty and held great power. Many officials thought that the Sixth Prince would really be the next emperor. They never expected that he would become a prisoner today.
This result is not surprising.
At the emperor's instruction, Xiao Yeyang announced the actions of Concubine Shu and the Sixth Prince to the public.
"In order to frame the Second Prince, hundreds of villagers were massacred."
"In order to frame the Fifth Prince, he secretly made the dragon robe."
"In order to seize the throne, he poisoned the emperor and joined forces with the Chang family to launch a mutiny, causing a river of blood in the palace."
As one thing after another was made public, all the officials changed their expressions.
Finally, Xiao Yeyang announced the emperor's decision: demote Concubine Shu and the Sixth Prince to commoners, give them a cup of poisoned wine, execute the entire Chang family, and imprison all officials involved in treason and palace coup, and then deal with them according to the circumstances.
The officials arrested here were not only from the Sixth Prince's party, but also from the First Prince, Second Prince, and Fifth Prince's party.
Although the second prince and the fifth prince were framed by Concubine Shu, this does not mean that they did not commit evil deeds. The eldest prince's debauchery in the harem is even more unforgivable.
The emperor simply dealt with all the officials who were jumping around violently at once.
The eldest prince, the second prince, and the fifth prince were still imprisoned, but their sons were free and could move around outside the palace.
As a result, at least one-third of the official positions in the court were vacant.
How to fill the vacancy had nothing to do with Xiao Yeyang. After the court session, he went straight back to Prince Ping's Mansion.
"The Fourth Prince was left in the palace by the Imperial Uncle to recuperate, and Mo Rong was also called to the Palace of Heavenly Purity by the Imperial Uncle. It seemed that he was going to take care of the Fourth Prince, but anyone with a discerning eye could see that the Imperial Uncle was going to teach Mo Rong himself."
Hearing Xiao Yeyang say this, Daohua couldn't help but ask, "Is that the decision, Uncle Emperor? No more selections? The Seventh Prince and his brothers aren't that great, but there are still a few younger princes."
Xiao Yeyang shook his head. "Uncle Emperor is sixty years old. Even though he's in good health, he's still a little tired of dealing with the complicated affairs of state. Mo Rong is fifteen years old and already knows everything he needs to know. Teaching him will be much easier than teaching the little princes."
"Of course, Uncle Emperor hasn't issued a clear decree yet, so everything is subject to change. What will happen next depends on whether Mo Rong can seize the opportunity that the Fourth Prince fought so hard to earn for him."
As he spoke, he looked at the rice flowers with a smile.
"It's time to pack up. It's already July, and we should go back to Xiliang. Don't even think about staying in Xiliang for too long. Even if the capital is prosperous, I still miss going back."
Daohua smiled and said, "Today's Xiliang was built bit by bit by you. It's infused with your hard work. Naturally, you will miss it."
Xiao Yeyang asked with a smile: "Why, you don't want to go back?"
Daohua: "Of course I do. Look how much has happened in the past few months since I returned to Beijing. I still prefer the spacious and free Xiliang."
The Fourth Prince stayed in the palace to recuperate, and Xiao Morong was taken by the Emperor to be taught. The palace coup initiated by Concubine Shu and the Sixth Prince ended with a result that was beyond everyone's expectations.
When the eldest prince, the second prince, and the fifth prince, who were imprisoned in the palace, learned about this, they felt indescribably complicated.
They had been fighting for so many years, but unexpectedly they would lose in the end to the Fourth Prince, the person they had looked down upon the most and thought had the least chance of winning the throne!
Resentment, frustration, and regret filled the hearts of the three people.
"If I had to choose again, I should learn from the fourth brother. If I don't fight, I will fight!"
After the affairs in the palace were settled, the emperor knew that Xiao Yeyang and his family were going back to Xiliang, so he brought the third child into the palace.
This made Prince Ping dissatisfied, and he had to go to the palace every day.
As for Daohua, she went to Yan's house more often. This time she returned to Xiliang, and she didn't know how long it would take for her to see her family again.
Xiao Yeyang, who had the most free time, set up his drawing board and painted two family portraits, one for Prince Ping and the other for the Yan family.
Afterwards, he drew several portraits of Sanxiao's daily life. Except for one that Prince Ping grabbed, the others were all taken away by the emperor.
On July 16, after bidding farewell to relatives and friends, Xiao Yeyang set out on the journey back to Xiliang with his wife and children.
Looking at the city gate getting smaller and smaller, Sanxiao lay by the car window for a long time and was reluctant to get back into the car.
"Grandma was crying just now. She must be reluctant to leave us."
"We don't want to leave her, but we've been away for so long, it's time to go home."
"My cousin and the others gave us a lot of things, but we didn't have time to return the favor. So, we can only give them gifts next time we come back."
Sanxiao sighed for a while, and when he could no longer see the city gate, he obediently got back into the car.
Looking at the gift box in the cart, Sanxiao, who was a little depressed at first, suddenly became happy.
"Dad, Mom, we've made a fortune this time back in the capital. When we said goodbye to Grandpa Huang, he gave us a lot of gifts. When we said goodbye to Grandma, Grandpa Chu, and my little uncle, we also received a lot of gifts. I think we can come back a few more times."
Daozi opened the gift box with the twins with a smile.
Daohua looked at the happy faces of the children, and the sadness of parting in her heart was diluted a little. She looked at Xiao Yeyang beside her and said, "Now I know why you insisted on putting these gift boxes in the car."
Xiao Yeyang knew that Daohua was reluctant to leave her family, so he put his arm around her shoulders and said, "Find something for them to do, so they won't make a fuss. I'm still good at taking care of children, right?"
Daohua glanced at him, then leaned silently on his shoulder: "I heard from mother that grandma cried secretly for a long time last night."
Xiao Yeyang held Daohua's hand and said, "Once Xiliang is back on track, I'll have more time. Then, we can come back more often."
Daohua nodded, took Xiao Yeyang's arm, looked at the scenery outside the car, listened to the children's laughter, and her mood gradually calmed down.
After a month's journey, in mid-August, Xiao Yeyang and his convoy entered the territory of Xiliang.
Looking at the golden crops on both sides of the official road, Daohua smiled brightly: "When we first came to Xiliang, it was desolate. Now it's better. There are crops everywhere."
There was also a smile from the heart in Xiao Yeyang's eyes. Today's Xiliang was built by him and Yi Yi together, and it witnessed their joint efforts.
Without the high-yield grain seeds provided by Yi Yi, even if he was a better commander of the army, Western Liao could not have been defeated so easily; even if he and his officials were better at governing, it would have been impossible to stop the people of Western Liang from starving so quickly.
"Would you like to ride a horse?"
Daohua nodded hurriedly: "I think. When I was in the capital, I had to carry it every day. It was so suffocating. Now I want to run freely."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yeyang immediately pulled Daohua off the carriage.
Daozi and the twins couldn't help but curl their lips when they saw their parents just abandon them to go riding horses.
"As expected, Daddy loves Mom the most. We are just pitiful little ones!"
Dao Mang played with the music box given to her by the emperor and pouted and complained.
Without even looking up, Dao Miao fiddled with the Rubik's Cube in his hand and nodded in agreement: "That's right."
Daozi sighed with the tone of someone who has experienced it: "You two should get used to it as soon as possible, otherwise you will be sad."
"Hurry~"
"Hurry~"
On the golden earth, two horses were galloping wildly, chasing each other, and their laughter kept echoing in the air, spreading far and wide.
On horseback, Xiao Yeyang looked at Daohua, whose smile was still as bright as it was in his childhood, his eyes filled with tenderness.
It is this touch of warmth that makes him not afraid of wind and rain.
Looking at his wife riding a horse in front of him, and then looking at his three children in the carriage behind, Xiao Yeyang felt that he had no regrets in his life.
In the carriage, Sanxiao got tired of playing with his toys and lay down by the window out of boredom, watching his parents riding horses outside.
Seeing Dad wrap the whip around Mom's waist and then pull her onto his horse's back, the three little ones covered their mouths and laughed unkindly.
"Shame on you, Mom and Dad are showing off their love again!"
"I will also show off my love every day in the future!" Dao Mang clenched her fist to cheer herself up. It was not enough for her to do this alone, she also wanted the rice and rice seedlings to follow suit.
"Brother, let's give our parents dog food from now on, okay?"
"Why aren't you talking? Be more confident. You all have inherited the mansion. I believe you can do it. Come on!"
As the sun sets, the shadows of the convoy are stretched out long, moving slowly towards the distance, giving the impression of a peaceful and tranquil life.
After Xiao Yeyang returned to Xiliang, he worked together with other officials to successfully build Xiliang into a major grain-producing province. Xiliang's drought-resistant and high-yield grain varieties were directly sold all over the country.
Three years later, Xiliang established a second market in Ganzhou, further promoting cultural, economic and trade exchanges between Daxia and the countries in the Western Regions.
Five years later, the emperor issued an edict to appoint the fourth prince as the crown prince and Xiao Moleng as the crown prince's grandson. As the crown prince was in poor health and unable to handle state affairs, the emperor directly ordered the crown prince to take over.
The Crown Prince was taught by the Emperor himself, and before he even reached adulthood, he had already demonstrated outstanding governance skills, earning praise from all officials.
Time flies, and it is the annual harvest season again. In the golden sea of rice, the rice flowers in green dresses are opening their arms, enjoying the rolling rice fragrance comfortably.
"Rice Flower~"
In a trance, Daohua heard someone calling her. She opened her eyes and saw Xiao Yeyang walking towards her with the light behind him. He was as handsome as she remembered when he was young.
"Why are you here?"
"Why, you still don't want to see me?"
"I mean, shouldn't you be busy at this time?" Every autumn harvest, Xiao Yeyang is always very busy because he has to collect military rations.
Xiao Yeyang smiled and took Daohua's hand: "The Xiliang Provincial Administration Commission, the Criminal Investigation Commission, and the Military Command Commission are all on the right track now. I can relax and don't have to keep an eye on everything."
Daohua tilted her head and looked at him with a smile: "So?"
Xiao Yeyang smiled and said, "So, now I have to fulfill my promise."
Daohua's eyes lit up: "Hmm?"
Xiao Yeyang laughed, his eyes filled with doting: "I said I would accompany you to see the world, and now I can finally put it into practice."
Hearing this, Daohua's eyes curved with laughter: "It's a good thing you still remember."
Xiao Yeyang walked with Daohua in the sea of rice: "What have I forgotten about the promise I made to you?"
The breeze was blowing, the rice waves were rolling, and the figures of the two people appeared and disappeared in the sea of rice. From a distance, they seemed to have become one.
In recent years, because Xiliang has developed so rapidly and so well, many officials feel that Prince Weiyuan has made too many contributions. Since Xiliang is located on the border, they are worried that he might have some ideas, so they have submitted memorials to the emperor asking him to recall him to Beijing.
Unexpectedly, before the emperor made a decision, Prince Weiyuan simply gave up the task and left Xiliang with Princess Weiyuan, with the reason being that he wanted to accompany Princess Weiyuan to travel around.
Many years later, an official asked King Weiyuan why he gave up his power so easily.
King Weiyuan: Is power more important than having a wife?
I am speechless, but why do I feel inexplicably envious?
——End of text
The main text ends here. What follows is a special chapter about the three little ones and some supporting characters. You can read it as a short story.
(End of this chapter)
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