Chapter 103 The Fall of the Kingdom I really wanted to be a good emperor…
In the Censorate prison, in the cell where Shen Hengzhen had once been imprisoned, sat the white-haired Prime Minister Shen. As the chief minister and the emperor's tutor, no one dared to mistreat him. The cell was spotless, and the desk was fully equipped with writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, and books.
Shen Hengzhen escaped from prison and, under the pretext of extinguishing a wildfire, actually gathered a rebel army of 100,000 in the southwest. Now the wildfire is extinguished, but the anger in people's hearts remains.
The four southwestern prefectures, from top to bottom, no longer obeyed the imperial court. Instead, they supported Shen Hengzhen as their governor, and all military and political affairs were subject to his orders.
The court classified Shen Hengzhen as a traitor, a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of his family. However, out of consideration for the teacher-student relationship, the emperor did not punish Prime Minister Shen. Naturally, the prison guards treated Prime Minister Shen with great courtesy.
One day, someone from the Shen residence came to visit, bringing a box of pastries from Xinxiang Pavilion, saying that Prime Minister Shen really craved them. The jailer checked them and found nothing wrong, but felt that the servant who delivered the items looked unfamiliar, so he said, "I don't think it was you who came to the Shen residence before."
The servant hurriedly put on a smile and said, "Reporting to your Excellency, the one who came earlier was ill, so I was the one who was temporarily replaced today. This is our household's identification card."
The jailer questioned him a few more times, and seeing that there was nothing wrong, he released him.
The servant entered the prison gate, knelt on the ground, kowtowed and cried, "Master! The young master is innocent! Please save him!"
Prime Minister Shen immediately recognized the young man as his son's personal servant, named Wei Ji. He had served Shen Hengzhen since childhood, was intelligent and quick-witted, and was a loyal servant. He had previously fled to the southwest with his master, and now that he had returned, it was clear that he had traveled a long distance and was in a great hurry.
However, Prime Minister Shen remained calm, opened the package of pastries he had brought, took out a small paper packet from his sleeve, sprinkled the white powder inside evenly on the pastries, and then picked up a piece, took a bite slowly, and savored it carefully.
"The pastries at Xinxiang Pavilion are all good, except they're not sweet enough. They'd be just right with some powdered sugar." Prime Minister Shen ate with relish, then glanced at Wei Ji, who was staring blankly at him, and gestured, "Continue..."
Wei Ji, regaining his composure, said with tears streaming down his face, "After escaping the capital, the young master followed the route arranged by the lord to the southwest. However, the young master was concerned about the wildfires, and upon arriving there, he immediately began disaster relief and firefighting efforts. The prefects of the four southwestern prefectures are all protégés of the prime minister, and naturally they fully cooperated with the young master in mobilizing troops and requisitioning grain to aid the people. Now the wildfires have finally been completely extinguished, but for some reason, when this news reached the capital, it became evidence of the young master's rebellion..."
Prime Minister Shen listened quietly and continued eating his snacks.
Wei Ji wiped the tears from his face with his sleeve, his expression full of indignation. "Prime Minister, you know the young master best! How could he possibly harbor thoughts of rebellion? The young master specially sent me to explain, begging the Prime Minister to find a way to mediate for him in court. The young master still hopes to clear up the misunderstanding with His Majesty, and he is willing to return to the capital alone!"
Prime Minister Shen finally finished the last piece of pastry, poured himself a cup of tea, and slowly drank it. Seeing that Wei Ji had finished speaking, he said gently, "Now that I am imprisoned, I have no chance to speak in court. Go back and tell the young master that once news of my death spreads throughout Yun Chi Kingdom, then... launch a northern expedition."
Wei Ji's body jolted, thinking he had misheard. He quickly realized what was happening, lunged forward, and snatched the small paper packet that the Prime Minister had placed on the table. There were still some remnants of the contents inside. He brought it close to his nose and his expression changed drastically.
This isn't icing, it's clearly arsenic!
"Prime Minister! What are you doing?! Why are you doing this?!" Wei Ji cried out in anguish.
Prime Minister Shen did not look at Wei Ji; his gaze was unfocused, and his aged eyes, like candles about to burn out, were cloudy and dim, no longer sharp and capable as before.
He said, “I know your son. Although he is stubborn, he is naturally upright and not cut out to be a traitor. But His Majesty is now deeply astray and beyond redemption. I cannot watch the people of Yunchi Kingdom follow such a monarch to their doom, so I have no choice but to push him.”
Prime Minister Shen suddenly coughed violently and vomited a mouthful of black blood. Wei Ji wanted to call for help, but the prime minister grabbed his collar with his withered hand.
His strength was terrifying, and his eyes, which were already showing signs of old age, now gleamed with a frightening light: "Go! Once they find out I'm in trouble, you won't be able to leave. Tell your young master what I said! Tell him that he hates the worship of gods, doesn't he? Doesn't he want to reform the social atmosphere of Yun Chi Kingdom? Let me see if he can actually do it!"
Wei Ji's face was already covered in tears. He wanted to say something, but Prime Minister Shen had already collapsed to the side, like a dying man who had just passed his last moment of lucidity. He weakly uttered his last word: "Go!"
"Prime Minister!" Wei Ji cried and kowtowed several times to Prime Minister Shen, then gritted his teeth and left.
Prime Minister Shen turned over, leaned against the table, and lay down on his back. He had made a point of combing his hair neatly and tidying his clothes today, hoping to leave with dignity. Unfortunately, the black blood he vomited still stained the front of his robe, which was a breach of etiquette.
The late Emperor, the late Empress... This old minister has failed you both, for I have not been able to properly educate Your Majesty...
However, having already failed the Emperor's grace, this old minister cannot... also fail the people...
Prime Minister Shen stared at the dark, dilapidated prison ceiling covered with cobwebs, tears streaming down his face. His pupils dilated, and he gradually lost his spirit.
A renowned prime minister, a pillar of three dynasties, yet he died with his eyes wide open in disgrace.
...
"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Shen... he's dead!"
When Yun Tianqi learned of this news, he was kneeling in front of the incense altar, burning incense and kowtowing. The Heavenly Venerable Temple had been destroyed by Mu Ge and had not been repaired since, so he could only come here.
Dark clouds lingered over the capital all day, yet no rain fell. Coincidentally, as soon as the guard finished speaking, a sudden clap of thunder rang out, and a torrential downpour poured down. Those around him hurriedly tried to hold up umbrellas for Yun Tianqi, but they were too late, and he was soaked to the bone.
"What did you say? Who? Who died?"
Yun Tianjiao's death dealt a heavy blow to Yun Tianqi. He became so thin that he was almost unrecognizable. The dark circles under his eyes made his eyes look sunken. He was rambling on and on and seemed somewhat neurotic.
The attendant repeated, "Your Majesty, it was Prime Minister Shen who died in prison last night."
Yun Tianqi paused for a moment, then softly said "Oh," and continued to hold the three sticks of incense in his hand, bowing three times before respectfully placing them into the incense burner. He muttered to himself, "My teacher has also left, departed from me."
He lost his balance as he stood up and stumbled to the side, but was caught in time by the eunuch beside him.
"Your Majesty, please take care of your health." The old eunuch, who had watched Yun Tianqi grow up like an elder, couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him. "If Her Highness the Princess were still here, she would be worried to see you like this."
"Eldest sister... but eldest sister is gone."
Yun Tianqi looked towards the palace through the heavy rain curtain. He thought back to a year ago when he was playing in the street with his elder sister and Aheng, eating at street stalls and watching plays in theaters. He didn't know how he had suddenly ended up in this situation.
“But… my elder sister is gone…” Yun Tianqi murmured. The cold raindrops blew on his face, stirring up his heartache. He suddenly burst into tears, crying more and more sadly and desperately.
"Elder sister...you're gone, what am I going to do? I really wanted to be a good emperor...I really wanted to be a good emperor..."
He was playful, willful, lazy, timid, not smart, and lacked shrewdness. These shortcomings would at most earn him a scolding from his elders as "good-for-nothing" if he were any other boy. But he was an emperor.
He was the emperor; if he made a single wrong move, he would face utter ruin, harm to the people, and eternal infamy.
Who wants to be the emperor?
In the pouring rain, Yun Tianqi sat on the ground and cried his heart out until he was exhausted and could cry no more. Then he stood up and said weakly, "Go to the Censorate prison. I want to see my teacher one last time."
When Prime Minister Shen died, the whole country mourned. Yun Tianqi announced to the public that Prime Minister Shen had passed away from illness and personally escorted the coffin to hold his funeral.
Despite this, rumors quickly spread that Prime Minister Shen had actually been secretly poisoned to death by the emperor. Prime Minister Shen had devoted his life to serving the country and its people, and his students and former officials were all over the country. At first, these rumors were not a big deal, but gradually, as people recovered from the grief of Prime Minister Shen's death, feelings of injustice and anger began to arise in their hearts.
In particular, the four southwestern prefectures not only falsely accused Lord Shen of treason, but also caused the death of Prime Minister Shen. The long-standing dissatisfaction with Emperor Yun Tianqi finally found an opportunity to erupt. Shen Hengzhen was filled with grief and anger, and responded to the recommendation of a group of civil and military officials to launch a northern expedition.
The officials in the court used to impeach Shen Hengzhen for treason, but now that he has actually rebelled, they have all become like clams, unable to utter a single word.
The Grand Commandant, the head of the military, even suggested that the Imperial Astronomical Bureau cast a divination to predict the outcome of Shen Hengzhen's uprising and whether it would threaten the capital region.
"Your Majesty, the most urgent task is to quell the rumors. We must know that public opinion can be a powerful force. This war is all due to the rumors of Prime Minister Shen's murder. If the rumors are cleared up, the rebels will become an army without a legitimate name. At that time, their words will be ineffective without a legitimate name, and they can be defeated without a fight."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Rumors can spread like wildfire. They are very detrimental to Your Majesty. In my opinion, we must severely punish those who spread rumors and restore the truth to the world."
Yun Tianqi looked listless. Seeing that many court officials were saying the same thing, he didn't bother to think about it and waved his hand, saying, "Let's do it your way."
Little did he know that because of his words, officials and soldiers from all over the country were arresting so-called rumor-mongers, creating countless wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice. The case of the truth behind Prime Minister Shen's death was also reopened and thoroughly investigated. Some officials took the opportunity to settle personal scores, causing countless innocent families to be ruined and destroyed.
The controversy surrounding the "Shen Xiang case" not only failed to subside, but instead escalated, developing into the biggest miscarriage of justice in the history of Yunchi Kingdom.
Outside, public resentment was boiling and officials were dissatisfied, but Yun Tianqi, inside the palace, was completely unaware of it.
On the day Shen Hengzhen led his troops into the palace, most of the influential officials in the court had already surrendered to him, and the imperial guards responsible for protecting the city only put on a show of resistance.
But Yun Tianqi never appeared.
When Shen Hengzhen, covered in blood and carrying a knife, arrived at the emperor's palace, he found Yun Tianqi with a knife stuck in his chest. He wondered which palace servant had taken advantage of the chaos to assassinate him.
Since learning of his father's death, Shen Hengzhen was filled with grief and indignation. He wanted to confront his childhood friend face to face, but he never expected that when he saw him again, they would be separated by death.
Shen Hengzhen walked up to Yun Tianqi.
The young emperor's expression was one of astonishment and confusion, as if he had never expected that his close attendants would suddenly turn against him.
Shen Hengzhen suddenly felt a terrible emptiness in his chest, as if a piece of it had been ripped out, along with all his anger, resentment, hatred and other emotions.
He raised his hand, which was not holding the knife, and gently closed Yun Tianqi's eyes. He saw a row of ancestral tablets behind Yun Tianqi, his expression sinister. Suddenly, he swung his knife and cleaved them all into pieces.
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