Chapter 128: Please lend Mr. Bones a hand
Containing light in the hall quiet for a long time, the empress dowager’s voice once again sounded: “What do you have opinions?”
Master Qin bowed his head and respectfully reported: “The old minister does not dare, just a should be in accordance with the rules, I pray that the empress dowager phoenix heart dictatorship.”
After thinking for a while, the Empress Dowager slowly nodded her head. The so-called routine, his majesty has already bingtian, then naturally should be the crown prince to succeed the throne. The Empress Dowager thought about the several conversations she had had with the Crown Prince over the past two days, and her satisfaction with this grandson grew deeper and deeper, feeling that this child was much more lucid than his mother, on the contrary.
The empress dowager was the empress’s aunt, no matter from which angle, the crown prince’s succession to the throne would be her first choice. At this time, having also received a cryptic statement from the military heavyweights, there was no more reason to change all of this.
“Fanfu’s side?”
“Your Majesty …… should not forget the woman surnamed Ye from before.”
After another period of dead silence, the Empress Dowager spoke, “You go down first.”
“Yes.” Old General Qin made a bow and exited the Hall of Containing Light, only when he wasn’t much far away from this palace, this old man with the highest seniority in the Qing military subconsciously looked back, intuiting that he could vaguely hear that someone seemed to be crying inside the hall.
The old man’s heart suddenly convulsed, remembering the wisp of the emperor’s soul on the faraway Dadong Mountain, an unprecedented palpitation and fear surged up to his heart at once, and a cold sweat began to ooze out of his back as he accelerated his steps out of the palace.
In the previous two days and two nights, was the empress dowager’s will invited into the palace concubines returned to their respective chambers, except for Ning Cailian Yi Gui concubine Shu Guifei three people. The reason is very simple, these three concubines have a son, in such a very moment, if you want to let the crown prince safely ascended to the throne, the empress dowager must pinch these three women in the hand.
As for the eldest princess, she returned to Guangxin Palace, where she had been absent for a long time.
The Empress Dowager sat alone on the couch, and several old maids were serving at the back, not daring to make a single sound. The dark yellow light that shone on the old empress dowager’s side cheeks clearly distinguished countless wrinkles, giving this current greatest power holder of the Kingdom of Qing a hopelessly old look.
“Could one have chosen wrongly.”
That doubt in the Empress Dowager’s heart was like a poisonous snake that kept devouring her confidence. On the verge of old age, suddenly hearing the news of her son’s death was an extremely difficult blow for all old people to bear, but Empress Dowager of Qing, however, forcefully suppressed her grief and began to seek the most reliable and safe path for the future of Qing.
“If he is still alive, he will definitely blame the mourner.”
The Empress Dowager slowly closed her eyes, thinking of the Emperor who had already left this human world, her heart was filled with sorrow. On this trip to the Great Eastern Mountain to offer heavenly sacrifices, His Majesty’s goal was to abolish the Crown Prince, however, His Majesty’s initial bingtian, she, as a mother, had to re-support the Crown Prince to ascend to the throne, His Majesty’s spirit, would definitely be very angry.
However, for the sake of the Kingdom of Qing, for the sake of the Emperor’s son’s survival, the Empress Dowager seemed to have no choice.
Even the horrible suspicion that lay across her heart would not affect her choice.
The Empress Dowager snapped her eyes open, as if to find her son’s soul in this palace. She quietly looked at the Night Palace, her lips slightly opened, and with a voice that only she herself could hear, she said in a suppressed voice: ”I don’t care who harmed you, and I don’t care if it’s the one I chose that harmed you, but you’re already dead, do you understand? You’re already dead, so nothing matters!”
Yes, the Empress Dowager was not a stupid old village woman, and the so-called evidence that had come into the capital over the successive days did not fully convince her that her own grandson, who was not very dear to her outside the palace, would be behind the assassination.
She was even vaguely doubting the role of her own daughter, her own several other grandchildren, in the assassination of the emperor, because no matter from which point of view, the death of the emperor, so that these people have the best fruit.
But it was useless to doubt, believing was only a subjective choice, and the Empress Dowager was clear that if she wanted to be able to have some peace of mind in the years before her death, she had to force herself to believe that Fan Xian was the real culprit, and that the Crown Prince would surely become a bright ruler.
“Empress Dowager, the eldest princess has arrived.” An old Sister lowered her voice and reported.
The Empress Dowager waved her hand feebly, and Li Yunrui, the Eldest Princess dressed in white palace clothes, slowly walked into the main hall of the Hall of Containing Light, and gave a timid salute to the Empress Dowager.
The empress dowager was silent for a little while, and waved her hand again, the whole palace serving sisters and palace maidens, hurriedly withdrew from the main hall, leaving this empty and cold hall to this pair of mother and daughter.
The empress dowager looked at her daughter’s corner of the eye of that trace of tears, slightly lost in thought, said after a long time, “I heard that these days you wash your face with tears, why do you want to be so self-injurious, the person has already gone, there’s no use for us to cry here again.”
The eldest princess smiled serenely and said in a gentle tone that she had never shown in front of the empress dowager in her ordinary life, “Mother’s lesson is right.”
Then she sat down next to the empress dowager, like a twelve or thirteen year old girl, gently snuggling up.
The Empress Dowager was silent for a moment and said, “That brother of yours is an unreliable fellow, since His Majesty has already gone, when you have the time, come and keep me company for a while more.”
“Yes, mother.”
The Empress Dowager looked at her daughter out of the corner of her eye, suddenly frowned, and said, “Try to convince the mourning family about Anzhi.”
The eldest princess was slightly stunned, as if she did not expect her mother to ask so directly, and after a long moment of silence, she said, “I don’t understand what mother means.”
The empress dowager’s gaze gradually chilled, swiftly but then faded, and said in a harmonious voice, “I just need something that can convince me.”
The eldest princess lowered her head and said a moment later, “Fan Xian has a reason to do this.”
“Why?”
“Because his mother is Ye Qingmei.” The eldest princess lifted her face with a faint hint of sullenness and looked at her mother, “And he never considered himself to be surnamed Li.”
The empress dowager did not move in anger and said calmly, “Continue.”
“He colluded with the Northern Qi people in Jiangnan, the specific things, to be checked later naturally clear.” Rapunzel calmly said, “In addition …… Fan Xian and Dongyi City are also somewhat indefinable, and in these recent days, the young ninth grade expert who followed him around should be the closed disciple of the Four Gu Swords.”
“You mean that Wang XIII Lang?” The Empress Dowager said.
The corners of the eldest princess’s brows frowned slightly, as if she hadn’t thought that her mother turned out to be so clear about these matters as well, and she bowed her head and responded, “Yes.”
“A few months ago, Chengqian went to Southern Zhao, and much thanks to that Wang XIII Lang for looking after him along the way.” The Empress Dowager’s eyes tranquilized, “If he is Fan Xian’s person, then I see …… Anzhi this child is good.”
The Empress Dowager continued slowly, “The Crown Prince has told the mourning family about Wang XIII Lang.” This old man sighed, “Over the past few days, the Crown Prince has been vigorously defending Fan Xian, and on this point alone, it seems that this child, Cheng Qian, is not bad.”
The eldest princess nodded, “My daughter also thinks so.”
The Empress Dowager quietly looked at her daughter, “These several sons of His Majesty each have their own benefits, and the mourning family is very pleased, so …… the mourning family does not wish to see these several late generations continue to be tossed about by you.”
“Daughter understands what you mean.” The eldest princess calmly responded, “From now on, my daughter will definitely be at peace.”
“These past few years, although His Majesty has been a bit obsessively screwed up and confused, he is after all your brother.” The empress dowager’s brows gradually frowned, her eyes filled with intense sadness and helplessness, looking at her daughter, unable to speak for a long time.
The eldest princess slightly turned sideways, revealing her beautiful cheeks, under the dim light.
The Empress Dowager raised her palm and slapped the Eldest Princess’s face with a heavy slap, making a crunching sound. The Eldest Princess stifled a grunt and was knocked to the ground, a trace of blood flowing from the corner of her lips.
The empress dowager’s chest rose and fell sharply for a long time before gradually calming down.
It was unclear whether Fan Xian had already made a judgment on the situation in the palace that was closest to the truth, if he was clear about this, then he would definitely not have chosen to enter the palace, state the truth about the Great Eastern Mountain to the Empress Dowager face to face, and hand over His Majesty’s handwritten letter, as well as the jade seal.
In the midst of this great event that had shocked the world, Fan Xian must admit that the choice his mother-in-law had made was a very simple, clear and effective plan. As long as His Majesty died, then both the courtiers and the Empress Dowager would make that Crown Prince, who was becoming more and more like a ruler of the country, their first choice.
From the point of view of name, from the point of view of stability, there was no better choice than the Crown Prince.
And once the crown prince ascended the throne and the dust settled, Fan Xian would have no choice but to find a way to go to Northern Qi to eat soft food. But the problem now is that Fan’s house is under the control of the palace, and his wife and concubines have all been taken to the palace, so if he wants to go to the palace to eat soft rice, he can’t possibly throw away his dry rice.
The women of the old Li family are really more vicious than one another.
Fan Xian, while repeating in his mind the three words “old bitch”, which had the meaning of historical inheritance, used the cover of darkness to climb over a high wall and gently landed in Qingqing’s garden.
This is a minister’s residence, although there are no expert guards, but there are many subordinates in the residence, and many officials come and go, from the foot of the courtyard wall all the way to the study, Fan Xian, who has not yet recovered from his serious injuries, felt a burst of heart and blood, and nearly revealed his line of work.
Outside the study quietly listen to the movement inside, Fan Xian with a dagger to pry open the window, flashed into. When he saw the snowy white arrangement, he frowned slightly, and then turned around, strangled the throat of the minister who wanted to cry out in shock, and said softly by the other’s ear, “Don’t scream, it’s me.”
When the minister he had restrained heard his voice, his body shook as if he had been struck by lightning, but gradually relaxed.
Fan Xian looked at his eyes warily, pulling his iron palms away from the other man’s throat, if the other man really called out for someone to come and catch him without regard for his life, in his current state, he was afraid that it would be really hard to escape from Kyoto alive.
This was a gamble, but Fan Xian’s life was a big gamble, and he had always been lucky enough.
That minister didn’t call for help, instead, he looked at Fan Xian’s somewhat pale face with a very strange look, seemingly somewhat surprised and somewhat unexpectedly delighted.
“Old man Shu, don’t look at me like that.” Fan Xian confirmed that his judgment was correct, retrieved his dagger, and sat down opposite Shu Wu.
Yes, at this time, he was inside Shu Fu’s study. After a few calculations, Fan Xian still decided to look for this extremely powerful university scholar first, because amongst all the civil and military personnel in the dynasty, he always felt that only this student of Zhuang Mohan was the most trustworthy in terms of character and morality.
Shu Wu looked at him with complicated eyes and suddenly spoke, “Three questions.”
“Please speak.” Fan Xian responded with a straight face.
“Is His Majesty dead?” Shu Wu’s voice trembled a little.
Fan Xian was silent for a moment, “When I left Dadong Mountain, he wasn’t dead yet, but ……” He thought of the silhouette that came in the boat, the Sigu Sword that was hidden next to him, and the Big Bald Head that was most likely to make a move, and frowned: “It should be dead.”
Shu Wu sighed and said nothing for a long time.
“Who is the mastermind?” Shu Wu looked him in the eye.
Fan Xian pointed to his nose and said, “According to the intelligence from the military and the Inspectorate, it should be me.”
“If it’s you, why did you return to Kyoto?” Shu Wu shook his head, “To be so heartless is simply not in line with the nature of a king’s heart.”
Both men fell silent. Fan Xian suddenly spoke, “Since I’ve come to find Your Excellency, I naturally have something to ask Your Excellency.”
“What is it?”
“The crown prince cannot be allowed to ascend the throne.” Fan Xian stared into his eyes and said word for word.
Shu Wu’s brows furrowed and then loosened again as he lowered his voice and said, “Why?”
The corner of Fan Xian’s lips floated up with a faint self-deprecation, “Because …… I believe that Shu Daoshi is not willing to watch a scum who kills his father and his king sit on the dragon chair of Qing.”
The room was quiet, Fan Xian stood up, took out the letter that was hidden close to his bosom, and said softly, “Shu Wu receive the decree.”
Shu Wu was shocked, kneeling on the ground, hands trembling to receive the letter, his heart welled up big doubts, thinking that if his majesty had already returned to heaven, who had drafted this decree? But he had been in the imperial court for many years, and had been in charge of the cabinet for a long time, so he was very familiar with the tone of His Majesty’s handwriting, and with only one glance at the flap and the delivery on the back of the envelope, he knew that it was His Majesty’s own handwriting, and he couldn’t help but be agitated, and his eyes began to flood with wetness.
Fan Xian opened the envelope and handed the letter paper to Shu Wu.
The more Shu Wu looked, the more shocked he became, the more angry he became, and in the end, he couldn’t help but slap the desk beside him, cursing, “The son of a wolf! The son of a wolf!”
Fan Xian gently and softly held his hand, not letting Shu Wu’s slap hit the desk, and slowly said, “This is what His Majesty wrote in his own handwriting the night before he asked me to return to Kyoto.”
“I will enter the palace immediately.” Shu Wu stood up, a look of anger unable to be concealed, “I want to meet with the Empress Dowager.”
Fan Xian shook his head.
Shu Wu frowned, “Although there is no mourning, the palace has already begun to prepare for the crown prince’s ascension to the throne. It’s not too late, if it’s too late, I’m afraid it’ll be too late for anything.”
Fan Xian bowed his head in silence for a moment before saying, “This imperial letter was originally …… written for the empress dowager to see.”
Shu Wu was startled, thinking that yes, with Fan Xian’s hidden power in Kyoto and his own super strength, even if the palace city was blocked extremely tightly at this time, but he must have a way to enter the palace and meet the Empress Dowager. With this letter and the traveling seal he had seen earlier in his possession, the Empress Dowager would definitely believe Fan Xian’s words.
“Ah ……” Shu Wu’s face changed at once, staring at Fan Xian in a daze, “Impossible!”
“There is never anything impossible in the world.” Fan Xian’s eyes looked like ghostly flames were dancing in them, “You are a civil minister, while I am falsely a part of the royal family, I have to see a bit more clearly about the minds of those nobles in the palace. If I wasn’t afraid of the Empress Dowager, why would I risk coming here tonight?”
He said after a moment of silence, “Li’s imperial dynasty, itself is a living thing, it will naturally correct the deformation of the body, thus ensuring that the entire royal family, occupying the control of the world, to ensure their own survival …… Under this premise, nothing is important. ”
Fan Xian looked at Grand Maester Shu and said calmly, “The matter has been made clear, Grand Maester you are justified no matter what you choose. You can pretend that I have not been here today.”
Shu Wu also fell into a long silence, and this Minister of Qing became old all over in a flash. After a long time, he hissed, “Since young Lord Fan has come, and since I know about it, I naturally cannot pretend that you have not come.”
Fan Xian moved slightly.
“I’m just curious, although Minister Fan is under house arrest in the residence at this time, you still have quite a few friends and friends in the imperial court, so why did you choose Old Husband instead of going to see someone else, such as Dean Chen, such as the Grand Prince?” The pupils of Shu Wu’s eyes radiated a very comforting glow as he asked with a smile.
Fan Xian also smiled and said, “Force is always only the last method of resolving things, and in the end, this matter will simply still have to be put into force, but before doing so, Qing Guo, needs to be reasoned with.”
He calmly said, “The reason why you were chosen to reason for His Majesty is simple, because you are a scholar.”
Fan Xian concluded, “I am not a mere scholar, but I know what a true scholar should look like, such as your teacher, Mr. Zhuang Mo Han – a scholar has bones, and it is you, sir, whose bones I want to borrow.”