101. King

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Guanglu Temple began to organize the ceremony of enthroning Concubine Yan. Even though the Concubine Yan did not have a good reputation among the people and the stories circulating were full of romantic stories, Rong Se still insisted on holding a grand ceremony. Even the Concubines who served Emperor Yuanguang at the same time were promoted to higher positions, while Rong Xu, the previous emperor, was directly ignored. Empress Dowager Cao still does not even have a proper title to this day.

Before the canonization ceremony, Rong Jing did mention Empress Dowager Cao's title once, but Rong Se dismissed it with a sentence, "The Empress Dowager has been guarding the tomb of the late emperor without distraction and sincerely chanting Buddha's name. Giving her a luxurious title may disturb her mind and be bad."

What it means is: Want to be banned? No way!

It's just an excuse. What really matters is the attitude of the Regent. Moreover, the concubines of the previous emperor were not included in the canonization this time. Rong Jing could do nothing about it no matter how unwilling he was.

Rong Jing knew that this was Rong Se's revenge and humiliation, and he was terrified by it.

Because he found that the officials in the court were no longer as angry about the Regent Palace as they were at the beginning, and there were even rumors in the streets that the late emperor Rong Xu was a tyrant and extremely incompetent. The Jizhou injustice was instigated by him. When the country was in trouble, he condoned the massacre of the people and the plundering of their property. The once famous Concubine Yan was forced to stay in the palace by him.

It was unknown whether the rumor was true or not, but people all liked to talk about it after dinner, so it spread more and more widely, and Concubine Yan's reputation also rose unknowingly, from a charming concubine who came from a brothel and rose to a wealthy family to serve both father and son, to a noble and famous prostitute who committed suicide out of humiliation and despair. There were even literati and scholars who felt sorry for Concubine Yan's unfortunate life and wrote countless poems for her.

And these were not all instigated by Rong Se. It can only be said that the unjust case in Jizhou, coupled with the removal of corrupt officials for the benefit of the people, made the title of Regent no longer associated with treacherous officials.

Two days after the Mid-Autumn Festival, there is the enthronement ceremony. The nine temples obey the orders of the Regent King, and most of them are the Regent King's confidants who were supported to the position by him personally. Naturally, Guanglu Temple will make the event grand and beautiful, and can't wait to announce it to the world.

Concubine Yan's cenotaph was placed in the imperial mausoleum, and her spirit tablet was enshrined in the imperial temple. Rongse personally facilitated this matter, and only after the enthronement ceremony did Rongse feel relieved.

The autumn wind was always bleak, blowing the branches and leaves lightly. Rong Se had put on a jacket, a long gown with a stand-up collar, and a snow-blue coat. He rarely dressed so elegantly. He stood under the weeping willows, looking in the direction of the imperial mausoleum, and muttered to himself: "Perhaps you don't bother to sleep in an imperial mausoleum, but you are entering the mausoleum of Emperor Yuanguang, so you don't have to face Rong Xu day and night. Besides, this is the honor you should have, and it is also...his wish."

Rong Se had always known that the original owner wanted to redress his biological mother. He hated Rong Xu's family, the officials in the court, and even more so the condemnation from people all over the world, so he became cruel and brutal.

From the very beginning, Rong Se never forgot who he was, and since he occupied the body and life of the original author, it was natural for him to inherit the unfulfilled wishes.

"I achieved it for you." Rong Se stroked his chest and laughed again, "At least half of it has been achieved. Your mother's injustice has not been completely revealed to the world, but the retribution of the Rong Xu family and the Cao family, none of them can escape."

After a moment's silence, Rong Se felt a little regretful.

According to the original owner's strategy and scheming, he would definitely become a tyrant in the future. How could he end up with such a miserable fate as described in the original novel?

Before he could figure it out, his thoughts were interrupted by Liang Shenyu who had just returned home. He was still wearing a thin soft armor that revealed a red lining. His cloak was also a bright red. His hair was neatly tied up, and on his forehead was a headband with a red pattern and a gold border. It was the attire of a Jinbei cavalryman. He did not look like the unrestrained scholar he usually was, but now he looked like a capable general.

The Jinbei Cavalry is stationed at the border all year round. During this Mid-Autumn Festival, Liang Shenyu allowed them to rest for three days without training. Today, as the day had just arrived, they were taken out for some intense training.

"Is everything going well today?" Liang Shenyu walked over quickly, the sword at his waist clanking against his armor.

Rong Se knew that he was asking about the canonization ceremony, and nodded gently: "It's all good, but she didn't leave much behind during her lifetime. Only the pearl-studded jadeite gold crown she wore when she was canonized as a concubine was left. It was placed in the coffin and carried into the imperial mausoleum. It's just a token of my appreciation, so it doesn't matter."

Rong Xu coveted Yan Shuang and forced her to sleep with him in the name of love. After Yan Shuang was forced to commit suicide, he was still the emperor and lived in harmony with the Cao family. Not only did Yan Shuang die in vain, but even her belongings were burned by Empress Dowager Cao, as if to erase all traces of her existence.

"That's good." Liang Shenyu reached out and gently stroked Rong Se's hair, his fingertips touching the purple jade cloud hairpin, "The people are all talking about this matter. This time, the prince has cleared the stigma of Concubine Yan without bloodshed."

"It's not over yet." Rong Se raised his head and looked at him, and said softly: "They are all innocent. No one is dead in my place. Sooner or later, Rong Xu will be dug out of the imperial tomb. He doesn't deserve it."

There wasn't much hatred in his words when he said them, but rather a sense of indignation at seeing injustice, and genuine disgust.

But Liang Shenyu was different. A hint of coldness appeared in his eyes, and murderous thoughts surged. He gently agreed: "Yes, he doesn't deserve to lie there peacefully."

Rong Se was very sensitive to emotions. It was not the first time that he felt Liang Shenyu's hatred and murderous intent towards Rong Xu and Rong Jing, the father and son. He hesitated for a moment and did not ask.

However, Liang Shenyu seemed to see what he was hesitating about, and quickly put away the anger in his expression, and smiled softly: "When the cunning rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked. Ever since the Xiongnu retreated, the late emperor and the current emperor have tried every means to strip Dingbei Marquis of his military power, even... when we were defeated in the battle of Guzhuling."

When talking about the past, Liang Shenyu's smile completely faded, and there seemed to be an unresolvable depression in his dark eyes.

"Even if their swords were not sharp enough, the Jinbei cavalry would not have been defeated so quickly and completely, leaving the Xiongnu no chance to fight back. They were a pack of wolves, and their sharp teeth and claws were not just weapons in their hands. Even with their bare hands, they would never be suppressed and beaten."

Liang Shenyu spoke slowly, as if he was recalling the past.

It was clearly just a calm narrative tone, but Rong Se's heart skipped a beat.

He had always thought that Qiu Sinan was the root cause of the defeat. Later, based on Liang Shenyu's reaction, he guessed that there was something else going on. But it was not until Liang Shenyu admitted it himself that Rong Se realized that things were far more complicated than what was described in the original book.

"So." Rong Se considered his words carefully and asked, "Is this matter... related to Rong Jing? No, how old was he that year? So it was Rong Xu?"

Liang Shenyu did not deny it. After a moment of silence, he continued, "When I rushed to Qiangzhou to collect the corpses for my father and brother, the weapons in the hands of the Jinbei Cavalry were almost all obtained from the Xiongnu. Before the battle of Guzhuling, my eldest brother ordered my second brother to take a detour deep into the hinterland and attack the Mobei Royal City. He led his troops to attack the North Camp, where the Xiongnu stored food and weapons, so that the Xiongnu would think that he was the main force of the attack, and the Royal City was a dummy move to lure them to retreat. But the Xiongnu knew it beforehand and ambushed my eldest brother in the North Camp. They also used my eldest brother's corpse as a bait to lure my second brother back and then ambush him."

As a result, the Crown Prince and the Second Prince both died in that battle. The Huns marched southwards and used the same old trick again, using the deaths of the two princes to make the old marquis extremely sad. What followed was the extremely brutal battle of Guzhuling.

At this point, Sanlang was the only son left in the Liang family.

Rong Se held Liang Shenyu's hand, but didn't know what to say.

He quickly understood what Liang Shenyu meant. It was as if the Huns knew the battle plan of the Jin Northern Cavalry in advance. If the Huns were not really so smart, then there must have been some trickery involved. After all, it was not a coincidence that they guessed it accurately and made precise arrangements.

But Rongse quickly remembered that Liang Shenyu had said that there was a traitor among the Jinbei Cavalry who leaked military secrets and was later executed by Liang Shenyu.

The thirteen-year-old boy rushed to the battlefield, collected the bodies of his father and brother, and decisively ordered the execution of the traitor on the spot.

This was the first time that Liang Shenyu showed his prowess in front of the Jinbei cavalry.

Rong Se squeezed Liang Shenyu's palm and asked, "Isn't the rebel who leaked the military secrets already dead?"

After saying that, he reacted again. Last time Liang Shenyu only said that there was such a rebel, but he did not mention why this rebel betrayed the Jinbei Cavalry. He only vaguely said that it might be related to the Cao family.

Rong Se suddenly had some guesses in his mind.

"It's not entirely true to say they are rebels." Liang Shenyu didn't answer. His expression also eased a lot, and the gloom dissipated a little. He showed Rong Se a slightly sarcastic smile, "My father's deputy general is the spy planted by the Cao family in the Jinbei Cavalry. Or in other words... he is the emperor's eyes."

Rong Se took a deep breath and said, "So... you said before that the defeat of Jinbei Cavalry was related to the Cao family?"

Liang Shenyu was silent for a moment, then nodded, "He said that the leak of military secrets was the instruction of the Cao family. Without weapons and insufficient food, my two brothers originally planned to give it a try, but they didn't expect..."

At the end of the words, only a soft sneer remained.

He didn't say anything else, but Rong Se understood.

With Qiu Sinan selling weapons, the situation of the Jinbei Cavalry was already very difficult. The two sons of the Liang family wanted to fight to the death, but even the battle plan had not been revealed to the Huns, and they fell into their trap instead.

Then tragedy happened.

Rong Se held Liang Shenyu's hand with a little force, as if he wanted to hold on to the boy from fourteen years ago, and also wanted to support Liang Shenyu. The past was destined to be painful, and he wanted to help share it.

"But why did the Cao family do that?" Rong Se couldn't help asking, "Did they collude with the Xiongnu? Cao Lun was a high-ranking official and a royal relative, why would he dig his own grave?"

"It's not just the Cao family."

Liang Shenyu repeated in a firm tone, with a hint of meaning: "It's not just the Cao family. I've said before that they are the emperor's spies planted among the Jinbei cavalry."

Rongse was confused at first, but after tasting it, his eyes suddenly widened.

"Rong Xu?"

He was shocked at first, and then he couldn't understand, "Why did he do this?"

"Just like he condoned what Zhang Haicheng and Zhu Lanshan did in Jizhou." Liang Shenyu touched Rong Se's temples with his other hand, "He is not worthy of being the emperor. But if you want to shake it, you still need the right time. This big tree has luxuriant branches and leaves, and you must cut off the branches and leaves before you can stand invincible."

"The Xi family is the branches and leaves."

Rongse understood, and looked at him calmly with a faint smile.

"It's time."