Chapter 24 The Prince

The King of Wei did not take these young men seriously at first. How could these children, who had not even grown up yet, be worthy of fighting him? But he did not expect that the people he least cared about would ruin his overall plan.

Even Princess Taiping didn't see through it. She always thought that the murder was aimed at her and never thought about Luling King. It was not until she was reminded that Princess Taiping realized that the so-called snake ghost talk was just an appearance, and the real target was Luling King.

Taiping had been in the palace for so many years and was no fool. She immediately sent out all her forces to arrest the murderer with great fanfare and made the matter known to the entire villa.

Prince Ding and Prince Wei acted very cleanly. There was no evidence on the murderer to prove that they were the ones who ordered the murder. As long as the murderer was killed, the matter would be left unresolved.

But in political struggles, once your intentions are seen through by your opponents and you lose the initiative, you have already failed.

Princess Taiping wrote a letter and sent it to Ziwei City using an eagle from the villa. Most of the letter was about the suffering of being trapped on the snowy mountain, and at the end, she casually mentioned the ghost legend. The queen was a smart person and quickly understood the twists and turns behind it.

It was probably this letter that alerted the Queen. She no longer treated Prince Luling coldly, but brought him to Xuanzheng Hall for an audience. If the King of Wei guessed correctly, the Queen would make the news public today.

The King of Wei sighed deeply. Political struggle is like a chess game. One wrong move could lead to a complete loss. This time, he failed to plot against the King of Luling, and was reported by Princess Taiping. He was afraid that he would not be well received by the Queen. He had to find a way to recover his disadvantage quickly.

The King of Wei was angry and resentful when he thought of this. All the fish were caught and he was only one step away from success, but they were ruined by a few half-grown children whose names he had never heard of. He remembered that the people who went to see Taiping that night seemed to be named Jiang Ling and Ming Huazhang.

Let’s not talk about the Jiang family for now. How dare the Ming family, a corrupt mansion, go against him?

The King of Wei stood in the cold wind for a while, then turned around and walked towards the main hall of the palace: "Send Master Yang Tianshi here."

·

In Xuanzheng Hall, Prince Luling cried for a long time. Seeing him crying so hard despite his age, the Queen sighed and said, "Go and put on some proper attire. It's not decent for others to see you like this."

According to the Queen, someone will be arriving soon. Prince Luling asked tentatively, "Mother, do you have anything to discuss with the gentlemen?"

The queen replied calmly, "It's not a big deal. It's rare for you to come back to Luoyang, and Di Gong has been thinking about you all these years. He's not feeling well, so let him see you and put his mind at ease."

When Prince Luling heard that it was Di Gong, he did not dare to think about what his mother's intention was, and kowtowed in fear and trepidation: "Your son obeys your command."

Shangguan Wan'er, who had left the palace, seemed to have a divine eye. She came in at the right time, helped Prince Luling up, and said softly, "Prince Luling, please follow me."

Di Gong had been bedridden for a long time. When he heard the Queen summon him, he was almost carried in. When Di Gong saw the Queen, he saluted with trembling hands and said, "Your Majesty, I am here to see you."

The Queen herself was a conspirator, but she admired selfless and righteous people. She had always admired Di Gong's integrity, so how could she bear to let him kneel down despite his illness? She hurriedly said, "Help Di Gong. There is no need to care about the etiquette between you and me."

The eunuchs hurried forward to support Di Gong, who no longer insisted on performing the formalities. He asked, "Your Majesty, you summoned me here today. What difficulties have you encountered?"

This was the habit of the Queen and Di Gong. The Queen liked games that required thinking. Whenever she thought of an interesting word puzzle, she would summon Di Gong to test her. Whenever the court encountered any difficult cases, she would also hand them over to Di Gong.

And Di Gong never disappoints the empress. No matter whether it is a mystery or a suspicious case, there is no problem that Di Gong cannot solve.

It is for this reason that Di Gong's advice to the Queen to pass the throne to her son carries so much weight.

"It's not a problem at all," said the Queen. "Di Gong, look behind the screen, who is that?"

Di Gong seemed to have a premonition of something and turned around in disbelief. At this time, Luling Wang had packed up. He walked out from behind the screen and bowed deeply to Di Gong: "Di Gong."

“Your Highness, Prince Luling!” When Judge Di saw that it was actually Prince Luling, he was so excited that he dropped his cane and trembled as he knelt down to pay his respects. “Your Highness, I pay my respects to Prince Luling!”

How could the Prince of Luling dare to accept Di Gong's gift? He hurried forward to support him. Di Gong saw the Prince of Luling crying and sighed: "It has been thirteen years. I finally see Your Highness again!"

When Prince Luling thought of the past, he could not help but feel sad. The Queen was also moved when she saw her ministers and sons crying. She said, "Prince Luling will live in Luoyang for a long time in the future. There will be many times to talk about the past. Don't cry and hurt Lord Di's health."

When Judge Dee heard the empress's words, he was filled with mixed feelings of sadness and joy, and said, "Your Majesty is right. After thirteen years, your Majesty's family is reunited. This is truly a blessing for the court and the world!"

Di Gong had finally come to the palace, and it was definitely not just to see Prince Luling. Di Gong was unwilling to leave the palace like this. After Prince Luling left, Di Gong straightened his face and said to the Queen: "Your Majesty, since you have summoned Prince Luling back to the capital, I think you have thought it through. As long as the position of the Crown Prince is uncertain, the struggle in the court will not stop. The ministers are busy taking sides. Who will have the heart to govern the country? If you hesitate to make decisions, you will suffer from chaos. Your Majesty, please think twice."

The Queen sighed, saying that Taiping and Shangguan Wan'er didn't understand many topics, only the equally old and frail Di Gong could understand. The Queen had been feeling increasingly exhausted over the past year, and she knew she had to appoint a successor. She also knew that passing the throne to the Li family was what people wanted.

But she was unwilling to accept it. Was she going to destroy the foundation she had built with so much difficulty in her lifetime? And after her death, would the new emperor abolish her title of emperor and liquidate the Wu family?

These reluctances and worries troubled the queen, and Di Gong always understood them, but he also kept persuading her. Today, it was finally time to make a choice.

There were no outsiders here. The queen regarded Di Gong as a national hero and was not reluctant to tell Di Gong her true feelings: "I know that the country will be passed back to the Li family sooner or later. Now that I have achieved what I wanted to do, it is time to complete the entrustment of Emperor Gaozong. But the palm and the back of the hand are both flesh and blood. The Prince of Luling and the Crown Prince are both legitimate, so who should be made the crown prince?"

Di Gong was silent. This question really stumped him.

Prince Luling is the elder brother. He was the crown prince appointed when Emperor Gaozong was still alive. According to etiquette and law, he should be the empress. But he made a joke of giving up the throne to his father-in-law, and was driven off the throne. This is his fatal stain. If the original crime is overturned now, then the empress will not be able to stand.

The Crown Prince is respectful and filial, without any stain. He voluntarily abdicated the throne to his mother and has stayed by the Empress' side to show filial piety over the years. He is a truly filial son, so there is no problem in passing the throne to him.

But enthroning the youngest instead of the oldest is the source of trouble for the family. In the future, people with ulterior motives, such as the King of Wei, may use it to stir up trouble. The King of Luling may not care for the time being, but what about the long term?

If the Prince of Luling and the Crown Prince turned against each other and the brothers fought against each other, the court would continue to be in chaos. Di Gong persuaded the Queen to appoint a crown prince for the stability of the country, not to brew a new round of disasters.

Di Gong thought about it and felt regretful. If the prince was a qualified person, these flaws would not be a problem. Di Gong and the queen could not make a decision. The fundamental reason was that one of the Prince of Luling and the Crown Prince was weak and incompetent, and the other was melancholy. Neither of them was fit to be emperor.

This cannot be blamed on Prince Luling and the Crown Prince. After all, one of them is the third and the other is the fourth child. They were not trained as crown princes from the beginning. Everyone expected them to be rich and idle people.

No one expected that fate would change, and history played a joke on everyone. The first son of Emperor Gaozong and the Empress, Crown Prince Li Hong, was weak and sickly, and died early; the second son, Li Xian, was named Crown Prince, and he was talented in both civil and military affairs, but he was too talented, which threatened the status of his mother, Empress Wu, and she killed him on the charge of treason.

The throne then fell to the third son, but he had great ambitions but was incompetent. He said some foolish words and was deposed by Empress Wu. The throne fell into the hands of the fourth son again like a game of pass the parcel. The fourth son obediently accepted the throne and finally gave it to his mother.

It can be said that if Li Hong had not died of illness, and if Li Xian had not been killed, Empress Wu would never have become emperor.

Di Gong was not without regrets. In fact, Prince Zhang Huai, also known as Li Xian, was the most suitable one to be emperor among all the sons of Emperor Gaozong.

He was in better health than his eldest brother, more talented than his third brother, more independent-minded than his fourth brother, and was both civil and military, courteous and virtuous. The officials at that time all praised Li Xian for having the style of the King of Qin.

When he was sentenced for treason, countless officials in the court wrote letters to guarantee his life. Emperor Gaozong was also reluctant to give his son a light sentence, but Empress Wu was powerful and sentenced Li Xian to death for treason.

A prince who plotted rebellion could only apologize for his crime. After Li Xian committed suicide, the court and the public cried bitterly. Emperor Gaozong gave him the posthumous title of Zhang Huai, which shows how important he was in Emperor Gaozong's heart. After so many years, there are still people in the world who use the name of Prince Zhang Huai to start a rebellion, which shows that thousands of subjects are looking forward to the fact that Prince Zhang Huai has not died.

If Prince Zhang Huai was still alive, the current chaos would not be a problem at all. Di Gong wished that Prince Zhang Huai was still alive. However, people have to face reality. Di Gong suppressed his regrets and finally said: "Your Majesty, since ancient times, there has been an order of seniority. Prince Luling is the eldest and should be made the crown prince."

The Queen summoned Di Gong to the palace to meet King Luling, and used Di Gong to make the matter public. Within half a day, the news spread throughout the city.

In the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, Ming Huashang took a bath, changed her clothes, burned incense, and slept comfortably. At night, she finally woke up and ate supper on the couch.

Zhaocai and Jinbao sat by the footstool, doing needlework and chatting: "Madam, do you know? Today, when Di Gong entered the palace, he actually met the King of Luling!"

Ming Huashang held the chestnut cake in her mouth and said slowly in her heart. It turned out that King Luling had returned. Then she probably knew why Chi Lan and the others had their eyes gouged out.

The King of Wei was very afraid of the King of Luling meeting the Queen. His nervousness took over his consciousness, so he was obsessed with gouging out his eyes.

As long as the eyes are dug out, Prince Luling will not be able to see the Queen.

The ambitious King of Wei had waited for more than ten years, but in the end the throne was passed to King Luling. He would certainly not accept it. Alas, it seems that Luoyang will be in chaos for a while. She just wants to make a living, why is it so difficult?

Zhaocai Jinbao was talking excitedly and noticed that Ming Huashang had not interrupted for a long time. They turned around and saw Ming Huashang holding a cake in his mouth and staring blankly, wondering what he was thinking about.

Zhaocai was so upset that he said, "My wife! The return of Prince Luling is such a big deal, why are you still thinking about eating!"

Ming Huashang quickly swallowed the remaining half of the cake and said incoherently, "I'm listening. The royal family will take care of the royal family's affairs. Let's think of something to eat. By the way, Jinbao, how are you doing with the question I asked you to ask?"

Jinbao did not follow her to Feihong Garden, but was visiting the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. She worked quickly with her needlework and said, "Madam, I went to ask about what you asked, but the mansion was moved from Chang'an to Luoyang. The old people were dismissed before the move. There are not many people in the mansion who know Chang'an, let alone anyone who has been to Zhongnan Villa with you."

Ming Huashang's heart tightened: "Not even one?"

Jinbao shook his head.

Ming Huashang frowned, thinking it was really strange. She just wanted to find the people who went to the villa with the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo to give birth, but she couldn't find any of them.

This line of evidence is about to be broken. It seems that if we want to find out what happened when Wang Yulan gave birth, we can only ask Nanny Su herself.

Ming Huashang remembered that the maid had said that after Nanny Su attended to her mistress's birth, she retired and returned to her hometown. Ming Huashang asked, "Where is Nanny Su's hometown?"