Wei Xuezhi was the first to react and stepped forward to salute, "This old minister pays homage to His Highness!"
The other court officials subconsciously followed Wei Xuezhi's steps and saluted him one after another, after all, the other party was the prime minister of the dynasty.
Gu Yu had never seen so many people bowing to him, and they were a group of people who looked about the same age as his father or elder brother. He still had not fully understood the meaning of the words "ruler" and "subject".
But the teacher said that as long as you have a clear conscience, everything is fine.
So when the court officials reacted, Gu Yu had already accepted everyone's greetings in an orderly manner.
Wait, the court officials reacted.
How could they so casually follow the Prime Minister to perform the royal etiquette for a seven or eight-year-old baby without being completely sure? Prime Minister Wei might be deliberately misleading them.
So when Wei Xuezhi stood up, he received several gazes that were filled with sorrow and accusations.
For the first time, he put aside his old pride and said, "With a face so similar to the late emperor, what else do you have to doubt?"
Wu Liao was still unwilling to accept the fact, "It's just a resemblance. The world is so vast and full of wonders. Who knows if you are deliberately looking for a child who looks like the late emperor to impersonate him?"
"Lord Xu, you've always been the most impartial and honest. This kind of trick should be easy to see through, right?" Wu Liao looked at the silent Xu Ziwei. "I remember that Lord Xu and Prime Minister Wei entered the government only a year apart. Lord Xu should also have some memory of the late emperor's childhood appearance. Isn't it too hasty to base your judgment based solely on appearance?"
For decades, Xu Ziwei and Wei Xuezhi have rarely agreed on the same opinion, and they have always been in a state of opposition. Neither the previous emperor nor the current emperor has been able to balance the relationship between the two.
Wu Liao thought that with his opposition, they could at least hold on until the emperor woke up.
Everyone's eyes shifted to Xu Ziwei, only to see him snorting coldly at Wei Xuezhi. The court officials thought, it's over, the two will definitely quarrel for half an hour before they stop.
"If you judge by appearance, of course it would be hasty." Xu Ziwei said slowly.
When Wu Liao heard this, he immediately said proudly, "Master Xu still has a broad vision."
"I haven't finished speaking yet, why are you, a low-ranking military officer, interrupting me?" Xu Ziwei glanced at Wu Liao, his eyes full of disgust.
Wu Liao, who was being criticized, wanted to say, "Master Xu——"
Xu Ziwei refused, "Shut up, do you still want me to talk?"
Wu Liao held his breath and finally said, "Master Xu, please come in."
Song Wan, who was about to attack and cover Wu Liao's mouth, put the idea aside, but he didn't expect that the old man, who looked weak and short, had great explosive power.
Xu Ziwei grunted in forced satisfaction. He first walked up to Gu Yu and looked at him carefully.
There were too many people just now, and Old Man Wei was squeezed in the front, blocking the view. The people behind him could only see his outline because they were standing relatively close to the front.
Xu Ziwei was used to being alone, and he had been standing behind everyone just now, so he couldn't see anything and could only hear sounds.
"Tell me, what's your name?" Unlike the tone he used when he yelled at Wu Liao just now, Xu Ziwei's tone was very gentle.
Wu Liao suddenly had a bad feeling.
"My name is Gu Yu." Gu Yu tilted his head and looked at Xu Ziwei, "But my second brother said that I should have the surname Li from now on."
"Gu Yu, last name Gu..." Xu Ziwei repeated it over and over again, his heart inevitably moved, "Who is your second brother?"
"He is my second brother." Gu Yu looked at Gu Yan anxiously.
Xu Ziwei followed his gaze and looked at the man with a sallow beard and a dark scar across his brow. He was not the man he remembered.
He frowned subconsciously, "Have you lived with him since childhood?"
The eldest brother said that he was taken back to the Gu family as soon as he was born, and there seemed to be little difference between living in the Gu family and living with his second brother.
So Gu Yu nodded affirmatively and said, "Yes, and A Wan——"
Song Wan coughed heavily.
Gu Yu immediately changed the topic, "There are also Brother Awan, Brother Durian, and Brother Coriander."
Song Wan secretly cast a look of praise over there.
The first "Awan" sounded normal, but the second "durian" and "coriander" were so strange that Xu Ziwei couldn't think of the corresponding words for a long time. "What are durian and coriander?"
"They are two very delicious foods. It's normal that you haven't heard of them, old man, as you have been in the capital for a long time." Song Wan interrupted and explained. This thing is not only not available in the capital, but also in the whole Dayue.
Gu Wu: ...
It seems that he can't get rid of the name "Durian", which always sounds weird.
Xu Ziwei realized later that the 'old man' was calling him. He looked Song Wan up and down, not very happy. "Do I look very old?"
Song Wan curled her lips, "You already call yourself 'old man', how can I not?"
"Where did this articulate young master come from?" Xu Ziwei asked with some interest, "Then who do you think looks older, me or Old Man Wei?"
Other court officials, including Wu Liao, who had high expectations for Xu Ziwei, said: "..."
Is this the time to discuss this?
Why didn't any of them follow the routine? After a few hours, their legs were stiff.
After a careful comparison, Song Wan answered his question, "He is taller than you, and you are fatter than him."
"......" Xu Ziwei's face turned sour, "At such a young age, you are not likable at all."
Song Wan was very puzzled, "What do I want you to do?"
Gu Yan was so anxious that he almost laughed out loud. He pulled Song Wan and reminded her to give Lord Xu some face.
Song Wan understood, "Respect the elderly and love the young, of course I will!"
So she thought for a moment and said, "Lord Xu, you look very blessed." Being fat doesn't look very blessed.
Xu Ziwei: “…”
How can this be called respecting the old and loving the young?
Wu Liao couldn't wait any longer and interrupted forcefully, "Master Xu, should we first arrest this rabble pretending to be the late emperor's legitimate son?"
Song Wan thought he was talking too much. "Xiangcai, give him a rope too."
Song Qi suppressed his smile, took out a hemp rope nearly as thick as his wrist from behind his waist, and slowly walked towards Wu Liao.
Wu Liao's eyes widened. He had never thought that this group of people would dare to openly kidnap him. "I am an official appointed by the imperial court! Aren't you afraid of being punished by the emperor for doing this?"
Song Wan picked her ears, annoyed by the noise, and said, "Shut his mouth too."
Song Qi received the order, "Understood!"
Wu Liao wanted to run, but found that he could not move his feet suddenly. He could only watch as the other party tied his hands and feet tightly with ropes.
Before his mouth was also gagged, Wu Liao yelled at Xu Ziwei, "Master Xu! Just based on his face, you determined that he is the son of the late emperor. Don't you think it is too absurd? Wuuwuwu!"
Song Qi mercilessly stuffed the smelly socks into Wu Liao's mouth.
When he blocked it, the world became quiet.
Wei Lin witnessed the whole process.
When he saw Song Qi take out the smelly socks, he secretly thanked God that he did not struggle too much when he was caught, otherwise he would probably have his mouth stuffed with smelly socks.
Xu Ziwei waited until his mouth was completely shut before looking over. "Master Wu is right. Therefore, I ask those who can read the late emperor's handwriting to carefully and seriously decipher the secret edict that Eunuch Fu and Prime Minister Wei have brought out."
Wu Liao couldn't speak and could only whimper to express his resistance. He whimpered at Xu Ziwei for a long time. Looking at his expression, anyone who didn't know him would think that Xu Ziwei was a heartless man who had abandoned him.
Two people who usually don't get along with each other are rarely on the same side today.
A group of ministers compared the two secret decrees and a letter written by the late emperor about the little prince's life story.
Xu Ziwei looked at the latter first. After that, he set his eyes on Gu Yanji again, "Are you a member of the Gu family?"
Gu Yanji replied in his natural voice, neither humble nor arrogant, "Junior Gu Yanji, greetings to Lord Xu."
Xu Ziwei was slightly shocked, but then he understood everything. "No wonder, no wonder! Back in the capital, the young master of the Gu family only existed in rumors and rarely appeared in public."
"This was the original plan of the late emperor and my father. Only in this way can A Yu grow up safely." Gu Yan said anxiously.
"Yes, if she had been kept in the palace, she would have been poisoned to death by Li Shi and Li Che long ago," Song Wan continued.
"Ahem, it's the Emperor and Prince Yu." Xu Ziwei reminded, "Young Master, please be careful with your address."
Song Wan didn't like the set of rules here. Even though she had been here for so long, she was not one to compromise. She raised her chin and said, "He will no longer be the emperor soon."
Xu Ziwei disagreed, "He hasn't abdicated yet, he still is."
Although it is in name only, the etiquette cannot be abolished.
Song Wan groaned. This fat old man wasn't cute at all. No wonder he couldn't get to such a high position as the Prime Minister. He was stubborn and unlikable. She put her hands behind her back and said, "Then you call your emperor, and I'll call mine!"
"Okay, since all my colleagues agree, I think we should prepare for the emperor's abdication ceremony and the coronation ceremony of the new emperor." Wei Xuezhi stopped Xu Ziwei from arguing. This stubborn old man was even more difficult to deal with than him. If the little girl were to confront him, she would probably be scolded all day long.
Having been silenced, Xu Ziwei didn't look happy with Wei Xuezhi, but he still followed his lead and said, "Minister Liu, the ceremony for the new emperor's enthronement must be rigorous and not perfunctory."
Lord Liu, the Minister of Rites, hurriedly bowed and said, "I understand."
How could others dare to object? The entire palace was in the hands of the other party. Even Wei Lin, who was guarding the safety of the palace, was tied up and couldn't even utter a word. Almost all of them were civil officials. Among the military officers, except Wu Liao, who was clearly the emperor's man, the other generals were more or less inclined to the late emperor who had truly led them to conquer the world.
What's more, these two secret decrees and handwritten letters are so realistic that they are very likely to be authentic. Compared with the first two, the Emperor and King Yu, who have been completely distorted and do not have a trace of the majestic spirit of the previous emperor, these generals are of course more willing to look forward to the little prince who has not grown up yet and for whom everything is possible.
Wu Liao was still whimpering, his heart struggling with anger. How could they be so rampant? They took advantage of the emperor's coma and forced him to abdicate and steal the throne.
However, Lord Liu still had another question in mind. He asked anxiously, "What if the Emperor remains unconscious? How will the abdication ceremony proceed?"
"Don't worry. Just arrange a date for your abdication. God will make him wake up on that day." Song Wan said seriously, "I'm telling you, Li Shi has done too many bad things and is being punished by heaven. He must atone for his sins before God will let him go."
Her words reminded everyone present of the strange sight a few days ago when the emperor led five thousand imperial guards out of the palace, reportedly to encircle the Wei Mansion, but was defeated by "God" in front of the Wei Mansion gate.
Among the crowd, there were a few minor officials who were not usually sincere and honest and they couldn't help but feel guilty.
"Oh? Young master, what other ways do you think God will punish you?" Wei Xuezhi already knew in advance that the bizarre scene that day was caused by Song Wan. He was curious about what kind of magical power could make a person stay suspended in mid-air and unable to be pulled down.
"There are so many tricks." Song Wan thought about what she could do, and then combined it with the mistakes they might make, and listed them one by one. "For example, those who visit brothels, rape women, and favor concubines over their wives, and if they refuse to change after being caught, God will make them unable to get an erection again. Those who sell their children, daughters, and wives for gambling, God will usually punish them with starvation and hard labor. As for other corrupt officials and wealthy businessmen who bully the weak, abuse their power, and covet the people's money, all of them will have messengers sent by God to confiscate their wealth!"
Wei Xuezhi's brows twitched, and he had a bad feeling. "Who is the messenger sent by God himself? And where is he?"
Song Wan patted herself, "Me!"
She was impersonating God, so of course she had to be the messenger.
Gu Yan smiled anxiously.
Song Qi and Gu Wu suppressed their laughter.
Wei Xuezhi and several officials who almost believed it: "..."
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