After Luo Kun, the Vice Minister of War, also received the imperial decree and withdrew, only Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an remained in the vast imperial study.
Only then did he finally have the chance to stand up and gently stroke the golden armor that was still lying quietly in the tray, carefully examining the mottled rust on the armor surface.
Images of my younger brother, Chen Longxiang, kept flashing through my mind.
From when he was a baby still in swaddling clothes, to when he was learning to walk, and then to when he came to seek help from the late emperor after he was naughty and mischievous as a child and was about to be severely beaten.
Later, he returned to his fiefdom of Longcheng alone from Longhu Mountain, just as he encountered the day he raised an army to quell the rebellion. In the bloody battle of Longcheng that day, the fourteen-year-old Chen Longxiang used two hammers to defend the last line of defense of Longcheng.
Chen Huai'an's memories of Chen Longxiang extended all the way to the image he imagined: outside the Goguryeo capital, Chen Longxiang, who was raising his hammer and cursing the sky, was taken away by a bolt of lightning that appeared out of nowhere.
Eh—
Thinking of this, Chen Huai'an couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
Although he was a time traveler and the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty, the supreme ruler, he was also a person with flesh and blood and feelings.
A moment later, Chen Huai'an neatly arranged the golden armor on the tray, and his expression returned to calm.
The younger brother Chen Longxiang's fate was his own doing, and it can be seen as atonement for the souls who died tragically under his pair of golden hammers.
hehe!
Chen Huai'an smiled helplessly, "Old monk, old monk, I never thought your words would come true!"
The old monk he mentioned was naturally Dongfang Xiao, the black-robed old monk in Qixia Temple on Fengming Mountain outside Longcheng, the fiefdom of Prince Jin. He was also the one who, from the day Chen Longxiang was born, had warned the late Emperor Chen Polu in front of him to make his younger brother Chen Longxiang do more good deeds and commit fewer killings in his life.
Unexpectedly, this younger brother, Chen Longxiang, ultimately could not escape the arrangements of fate.
It can only be said that everything is predestined, and there is nothing we can do about it!
"Guards, prepare the carriage! Head to Cining Palace!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Soon, surrounded by a large group of Imperial Guards and palace eunuchs, Chen Huai'an boarded the emperor's 32-bearer sedan chair and headed from the Imperial Study to the Cining Palace.
He wanted to go to Empress Dowager Xu Ruoyun's palace in person to tell his mother about the death of his younger brother, Chen Longxiang.
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
Inside the Cining Palace, Empress Dowager Xu Ruoyun, dressed in a magnificent gown, was personally watering the flowers and plants in the Cining Palace Garden with a small watering can.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
Suddenly, a long and sharp announcement from outside the palace made Empress Dowager Xu Ruoyun, who was in the small garden of Cining Palace, pause in her actions.
The other palace maids and eunuchs who served the Empress Dowager knelt down and waited for the Emperor's arrival.
After a while, Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an strode into Cining Palace with firm and powerful steps, and immediately a chorus of shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" rang out.
Empress Dowager Xu Ruoyun frowned slightly as she looked at Chen Huai'an, who had come over and taken the watering can from her hand. She asked with a puzzled expression, "Eh, what wind is blowing today that has brought the busy Emperor of the Tang Dynasty to my Cining Palace?"
Chen Huai'an did not answer his mother, but instead directly ordered the palace maids, eunuchs, and servants in Cining Palace: "All of you, leave."
"No one is allowed to enter without my decree!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Soon, only Chen Huai'an and his son remained in the vast Cining Palace Garden.
Chen Huai'an did not hide anything, nor did he use any subtle methods to express himself. He went straight to the point and said to his mother, Xu Ruoyun, "Mother, the dragon and elephant are gone!"
Um?
"Son, what did you say?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Ruoyun's expression froze, clearly not understanding what was going on.
Chen Huai'an repeated once more: "Mother, the dragon and elephant are gone!"
At this moment, Xu Ruoyun finally came to her senses. She felt her vision go black and her body go limp. If Chen Huai'an hadn't caught her quickly, Xu Ruoyun would have collapsed in the small garden outside the palace.
Seeing this, Chen Huai'an calmly helped his mother to a chair in the garden.
In her mind, she recalled five years ago when the news of the late emperor's death reached the Prince of Jin's residence, and her mother's reaction was just like this now.
Within five years, she lost her husband and son in succession. Before she even turned old, she had to send off her young son. Such a blow would be difficult for any woman to accept in a short time.
Chen Huai'an quietly stayed by his mother's side, waiting for her to gradually regain her composure and spirits.
a long time.
Xu Ruoyun's deathly pale face finally regained a sliver of color. She gripped Chen Huai'an tightly in both hands, looked at her eldest son with tears in her eyes, and asked with the last glimmer of hope, "Son, you said Longxiang is gone?"
Um!
Chen Huai'an nodded and said, "Mother, Longxiang is gone!"
"Your Majesty, I have just received the news that Longxiang died outside the Goguryeo capital on the 27th day of the second month of the second year of Zhaowu!"
Buzz!
After receiving her eldest son's affirmative answer, Xu Ruoyun's mind went blank for a moment, and she fainted again.
Clearly, the news of her youngest son Chen Longxiang's death dealt her an extremely heavy blow.
Chen Huai'an remained quietly by his mother's side. Before he decided to leave the Imperial Study for Cining Palace to tell his mother about his younger brother Chen Longxiang's death, he had already foreseen all of this.
At this moment, all he could do was stay by his mother's side and give her enough time to accept and process the news of his younger brother Chen Longxiang's death.
After a while, Empress Dowager Xu Ruoyun woke up from her unconsciousness once again.
This time, her eyes were still brimming with tears, but her gaze had become much more resolute.
Xu Ruoyun asked, "My son, did Longxiang suffer when he passed away?"
Chen Huai'an shook his head and said, "Mother, the dragon and elephant passed away peacefully without suffering at all."
Um!
Xu Ruoyun nodded, then asked her second question: "Where is Longxiang's corpse?"
Chen Huai'an said, "Mother, Longxiang's body has been hidden by Duke Chen Qingzhi of Han, and he should have buried it somewhere in Goguryeo."
"However, the Duke of Han did not reveal the location of Longxiang's tomb to anyone, and was even willing to risk everything to preserve Longxiang's body."
Um!
Xu Ruoyun nodded again, muttering to herself, "It seems that the Duke of Han is still a man of honor and righteousness!"
Then, Xu Ruoyun asked her third question: "Son, what do you plan to do with the Duke of Han?"
Forehead--
Chen Huai'an hesitated for a moment, then replied, word by word, "According to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, he shall be stripped of his title and exiled to the frontier!"
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