Chapter 292 When the dust settles, Chen Ning is mine
The entire Daxuan court and even the entire capital were in panic because of the sudden dethronement of the queen and the confinement of the prince. Only a few people knew about it, and everyone was secretly speculating and discussing what the prince and the queen had done.
After all, one of them is the current queen mother, and the other is the master of the Eastern Palace and the future emperor... Why would they need to do something to anger the current emperor?
What kind of crime could have caused Emperor Jiaping, who always doted on the Empress, to be so enraged...
But just when everyone was secretly wondering whether Emperor Jiaping would depose the crown prince, another shocking news came: Chen Nian, the commander of Liaodong Pass, rebelled!
Chen Nian led the Liaodong army all the way westward to the capital, under the guise of clearing the court of evildoers, and said that Your Majesty was deceived by Prince Ding into deposing the empress and intending to depose the crown prince... He wanted to clear the court of evildoers and save the country, and get rid of Prince Ding Xiao Nanchen who was plotting rebellion!
More importantly, not only did Chen Nian lead his troops back to the capital without an imperial edict, he also opened the entire Liaodong gate to the Yuan Dynasty. Just two days after the Liaodong army marched westward, the Yuan cavalry broke through the Liaodong Pass and ran rampant on the land of Liaodong, slaughtering civilians and causing rivers of blood to flow.
The court was shocked...
But this is not the end. Seeing the chaos in Liaodong and the instability of the Daxuan court, the Tatars and the Oirat heard the news and launched an attack at the same time, sending heavy troops to the border and watching the situation covetously.
First, the empress was deposed and the crown prince was confined to her house, and then a rebellion broke out in Liaodong. Internal and external troubles hit at the same time, and the court was in great chaos.
The first thing is to quell the rebellion, but the Yuan Dynasty and the Tatars and Wala also took the opportunity to invade the border. If we send troops now, we have to split them into three groups... Fortunately, Wei Guang in Pingdu City is relatively stable now, and can temporarily contain the Tatars and Wala.
The Tatars and the Oirat were like hyenas that had smelled fat meat. They wanted to take advantage of the chaos to share Daxuan's territory, but neither of them was willing to be the first to show their heads and bleed. Under the heavy confrontation of Wei Guang's troops, the situation was temporarily stabilized.
But Chen Nian led hundreds of thousands of Liaodong troops westward and had already passed Heilin City and was about to arrive at Pingdu City... If Chen Nian's rebel army and the Tatar Wala surrounded Pingdu City together, Wei Guang would definitely be unable to take care of them.
Not to mention the Yuan army following behind Chen Nian...
This was already a dire situation, but the officials in the court had another unspoken concern: the anti-Tianxin Sect.
If the Tianxin Sect were to take advantage of this critical moment to cause trouble again, I'm afraid the Daxuan Dynasty would really be in a state of panic and fall apart...
After arguing for the entire morning, no feasible plan was forthcoming. When Emperor Jiaping returned to the imperial study, his eyebrows were still twitching.
At this time, the close companion carefully reported that Prince Ding had arrived.
This son is now almost the mainstay in Emperor Jiaping's heart. He raised his hand to let Xiao Nanchen in.
Unexpectedly, the first words Xiao Nanchen said after entering were: "Kill the prince!"
The veins on Emperor Jiaping's forehead throbbed. "Do you know what you're talking about? That's your brother!"
Xiao Nanchen's expression was also grim. "Chen Nian dared to rebel because he still had hope, and wanted to support the crown prince to succeed him... Father, if you kill the crown prince, Chen Nian's rebels will fall apart in an instant. Then I, your son, will lead the army to drive out the Yuan army... and the war will be over!"
Emperor Jiaping's head was buzzing and he felt a sharp pain again.
Ever since his last serious illness, his energy has been declining day by day. Now chaos is everywhere, and so many officials in the court cannot come up with a feasible plan, and this son... wants to kill as soon as he opens his mouth!
The one to be killed is his own brother!
At this moment, Emperor Jiaping felt only sadness in his heart: Could it be that the royal family is born with cold blood, and apart from power, they cannot tolerate any true love... The love between father and son, husband and wife, siblings... are all like mirages in the mirror and water, and are vulnerable to a single blow.
Xiao Nanchen stepped forward and said, "Father, this is the only way to break the impasse. The reason those people are still obeying my mother's orders... and the orders of the deposed Queen Wei, is because she still has a Crown Prince. They have hopes and ambitions, so they will naturally do their best.
But if there's no hope, they won't have the courage to raise their own banners and become rebels. Father, you're usually indecisive, but in this situation, every day of delay will be more dangerous. The people within a thousand miles of Liaodong will have to endure another day of slaughter at the hands of the Yuan army's iron cavalry..."
"How dare you, Old Seven! You have no respect for your father and the emperor!"
Even though Emperor Jiaping knew that he was not a wise ruler, he was still furious when his own son pointed at him and said he was indecisive and was almost calling him a tyrant.
Especially since this person is his son whom he has always valued, favored and loved.
Xiao Nanchen gritted his teeth and said, "Father, please make a decision as soon as possible!"
Emperor Jiaping angrily pointed at him, wanting to curse but unable to. After a moment, Emperor Jiaping's fingers trembled, his eyes reddened: "The Crown Prince is my son just like you!"
Xiao Nanchen said quietly, "Hundreds of thousands of people in Liaodong also have sons..."
"Shut up! You shut up!"
Emperor Jiaping's eyes were red: "I will never kill the Crown Prince! Never..."
In one sentence, all future plans of Xiao Nanchen were completely blocked.
"Get out, get out, I need to think about it carefully, I need to think about it carefully!"
Emperor Jiaping stood up and was about to leave, but he staggered as soon as he stood up and almost fell. Wei Daban beside him hurriedly supported the emperor and kept winking at Xiao Nanchen, urging him to stop talking.
Emperor Jiaping simply couldn't listen at this moment. If he continued talking, he was afraid that things would get awkward...
Xiao Nanchen took a few deep breaths and had to turn around and walk out of the imperial study, but even if he forced himself to hold it back, he couldn't suppress the foul air in his chest at all.
A soft-hearted person may indeed be considered a good person, he may indeed be a good husband and a good father... but he is not a good emperor.
he……
The coldness in Xiao Nanchen's eyes almost condensed into frost and snow.
If there was no other choice, no one would be willing to be a traitor without a king or a father, but...
The hands hanging by his side tightened more and more, and the biting chill in his heart almost surged into an overwhelming tsunami, tearing apart all the messy things and people and restoring the country.
But by then, what would he become? How different would he be from these people...
"Anan!"
A voice instantly awakened Xiao Nanchen's sanity.
He suddenly looked up and saw Shen Ning standing at the fence in front, looking at him with worry in her eyes.
Shen Ning knew what Xiao Nanchen was going to do and could probably guess the result.
Thinking of the frustration, helplessness, and the rage that was surging underneath his helplessness when he came out of the imperial study a moment ago, Shen Ning stepped forward and took his hand: "Let's go, and talk while we walk."
Xiao Nanchen immediately held her hand, and felt that all the rage and anger in his heart was soothed in an instant.
The two of them walked slowly forward, and no one spoke for a long time... When they reached the Imperial Garden, Xiao Nanchen finally spoke: "Ningning, do you think I'm cold-blooded and cruel, that I actually wanted to kill my own brother?"
Shen Ning was silent for a while, then whispered, "I don't understand these major events of the country, nor do I understand the power struggles and swordplay in the court... But I know that no matter what decision you make, I will stand by you."
Now she finally knew how Emperor Jingyong came about in the original novel.
As an ordinary office worker who had only read a few more books and had the good fortune to witness the civilization of the 21st century, how could she dare to easily evaluate a king who was able to turn the tide and pacify the world... Even though this seemed to be just a book, after actually existing in this world, she truly realized that all of this was true.
It's not about the love, hate, and vengeance sketched out in a few words... but about real people, each with their own joys, sorrows, anger, and happiness, ideals, ambitions, responsibilities, pursuits, and beliefs...
She didn't dare and didn't want to make a decision easily, but she knew her own heart very well.
She believed in Xiao Nanchen and was willing to stand by his side...
"Whatever you decide, I will stand by you..."
Just one sentence easily soothed all the anxiety, confusion and disorder that Xiao Nanchen had felt a moment ago. He reached out and hugged Shen Ning tightly in his arms, closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Ningning, my Ningning..."
"Ningning..."
In the palace, Mu Yao raised the corners of his lips and said to the Second Prince Xiao Nanyong who was sitting in front of him, "Prince Ding is really lucky to have won Ning Ning's favor...isn't he?"
The previous words between Shen Ning and Xiao Nanchen were clearly spoken in the Imperial Garden, but they were strangely transmitted into this dark room.
No one knew that this secret room was located at the innermost part of the Second Prince's palace, and the passage behind it... happened to connect to the rockery in the Imperial Garden, which was just across the wall...
Shen Ning and Xiao Nanchen did not say much in the Imperial Garden, but in front of the rockery, her voice of comforting Xiao Nanchen came from the secret passage in the rockery behind her into the dark room behind the rockery.
Mu Yao smiled at Xiao Nanrong and said, "Actually, the Second Prince met Ningning not much later than Prince Ding. He had already seen Ningning in the refugee village outside of Pingning County."
Mu Yao tutted his words, "At that time, His Highness didn't let me get close to Ningning. Luckily I didn't listen, otherwise how would I have gotten to know Ningning?"
Xiao Nanyong lowered his eyes and did not react.
At that time, Chen Ning was still an inconspicuous widow in Pingning County...
At that time, she chased the man who stole peach peels from her canning shop to the refugee village, but instead of catching the thief, she gave a lot of things to the refugees.
Mu Yao was in a playful mood and wanted to go out and tease her, but Xiao Nanrong was concentrating on planning the Xinzhou Rebellion at that time and did not even look at her.
She's just a country woman with a more outstanding appearance.
But who could have imagined that after so long, they would actually have so many intersections...
Xiao Nanrong remained silent. A strange color flashed in Mu Yao's eyes, and then he curled his lips: "The Second Prince once promised that when the dust settled, Chen Ning would be mine. You shouldn't have forgotten it, right?"
Xiao Nanyong's drooping eyelashes trembled and his pupils constricted for a moment, but when he raised his head, his expression had returned to its gentle state.
He said, "Of course..."
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