RNP Chapter 1543 Jia Heng: It won’t be before the coffin of the King of Chu
Chapter 1543 Jia Heng: It won’t be before the coffin of the King of Chu
Chapter 1543 Jia Heng: It won’t be before the coffin of the King of Chu…
Daming Palace, Hanyuan Hall
Under the palace with vermilion beams and flying eaves, teams of tall Jinyi guards stood under the eaves, with embroidered spring swords slung on their waists and solemn expressions on their faces.
The atmosphere in the hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. At this moment, everyone seemed to be shocked by Jia Heng's scolding.
Jia Heng's face was as cold as water, and he looked around with a cold gaze. He said in a deep voice: "You all have doubted me since I was a commoner. It has continued to this day, and the voices of criticism still do not stop. However, I am loyal and as bright as the sun and the moon. Ask yourselves, all the civil and military officials in the court, have I ever done anything wrong to the country?"
It can be said that the outside world has never stopped attacking him, until today when he was named King of Wei, and people from all walks of life in the court and the country are calling for his death, wishing to get rid of him as soon as possible.
It is worth mentioning that the King of Wei was only a small vassal. As for the titles of Jin, Liang, Yan, etc., they were not used for people with different surnames.
At this moment, among the civil and military officials in the hall, some of the younger and more thin-skinned ones had a look of guilt on their faces.
However, most of the civil and military officials present had blank expressions on their faces and sneered in their hearts.
It is true that you have been loyal in the past, but who knows if you will betray me in the future?
Jia Heng said: "You have read many books of saints, but you are just speculating and making such a cruel statement to criticize me. How despicable are you?"
Not all civil servants obey the orders of the cabinet. These censors will even impeach cabinet ministers. Therefore, today's incident is not because cabinet ministers such as Li Zan and Gao Zhongping did not do a good job off-field.
In fact, it is a blessing that no one died from hitting their heads in the hall today.
Of course, it is also related to the fact that Jia Heng was only promoted to prince but not given the title of Nine Gifts.
At this moment, Xu Lu, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, stood among the civil officials, looking coldly at the young man in the python robe, observing him secretly.
After the death of Emperor Chongping, the Chief Censor of the Censorate had been ill for a while. He finally recovered some strength in the past few months, but he did not expect that the new emperor was assassinated, the political situation in the Chen Han Dynasty was turbulent, and the country was in jeopardy.
At that time, in the court meeting of the cabinet ministers, Lu Jiang's face was as cold as iron, and he looked at the young man in the python robe with gloomy eyes.
The previous emperor had just passed away, and this man was already scolding the ministers in the hall. He was arrogant and domineering, showing the signs of a traitor!
It’s hateful that the cabinet keeps giving in to it.
At this moment, Gao Zhongping also looked at the young man in the python robe. His face was firm, and there was a hint of gloom in his eyes.
I also felt inexplicably worried.
The title of prince should not be granted lightly. Now that this precedent has been set, where will it go in the future? Will they become criminals of the Han Dynasty from now on?
At this time, Zhen Qing, who was sitting on the golden throne, looked with sparkling eyes from under her slender and green eyebrows at the young man in the python robe who was in high spirits and angrily scolding the ministers. She was a little dazed for a moment.
After Jia Heng finished his scolding, he bowed to Zhen Qing behind the curtain and whispered, "Empress, I think we should choose an auspicious day to allow Emperor Xianzong to be buried first."
Zhen Qing was silent for a while, then she opened her pink lips and asked, "What does the cabinet think?"
At this time, Li Zan, the chief minister of the cabinet, came out of the court with a solemn expression and cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I think the day after tomorrow is a good day to send Emperor Xianzong to his mausoleum."
Zhen Qing nodded gently, her sparkling eyes fixed, and said, "The Emperor Xianzong's body has been lying in state for a long time, it is time to bury him in peace."
It was indeed a bit inappropriate to place the coffins of both father and son in the hall. In the eyes of outsiders, it was a sign of the Han Dynasty's doom.
This has happened before in the Ming Dynasty in a parallel universe, but there are not many precedents in this world's Ming Dynasty since it lost its national destiny during the Jiajing period.
Seeing that the atmosphere among the ministers in the palace was gradually quieting down, Zhen Qing's beautiful face was as cold as frost. She slightly opened her lips and said quietly, "Come here, read the imperial edict."
Then, after a while, the new emperor's first edict was read out again. It was still drafted by the cabinet and announced to the world. It was mainly the imperial edict of the young emperor's accession to the throne, stating that he had ascended the throne and was announced to the world so that all subjects at home and abroad would know.
"The Emperor, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, proclaims: The late Emperor passed away and returned to the five elements. I, in compliance with the favor of Heaven and the blessings of the great emperors, follow the will of the late Emperor and enter the ancestral temple according to the order of seniority..." The eunuch recited loudly, his voice carrying a hint of solemnity.
He then proclaimed himself emperor and changed the reign title, giving his mother Zhen the title of Empress Dowager, and Empress Dowager Feng was his great-grandmother, the Grand Empress Dowager.
The reign title was set as Qiande. From the next year onwards, the Han Dynasty was in the first year of Qiande. However, in just two years, there were three reign titles changed: the 19th year of Chongping, the first year of Jianxing, and the first year of Qiande. This showed that the Han Dynasty was in turmoil and its political situation was full of twists and turns.
As for Queen Song, because she joined forces with the Wei and Liang clans to rebel, although her title was not stripped, she was not given the title of Grand Empress Dowager either, as if she had been left out.
In other words, for the civil and military officials of Chen Han, Queen Song herself was a rather embarrassing figure.
After the eunuch finished reading the imperial edict, Zhen Qing, with her slender dark green eyebrows and clear, narrow eyes, said in a clear voice, "Prince Wei, Lord Li, the mausoleum of Emperor Guangzong should be built as soon as possible, so as not to keep the coffin for too long and affect the integrity of the holy body."
Summer is coming soon and the weather will be hot. Although spices and ice are piled around the body to keep it from decaying, it will still rot over time.
Jia Heng, holding a flawless ivory tablet in his hand, walked quickly out of the court and bowed in response.
Li Zan also came out of the court and bowed to Zhen Qing.
At this moment, among the cabinet ministers, Lu Jiang's face was as gloomy as iron. He stared at the young man in python robe who came out to receive orders. Under his thick eyebrows, there was a hint of coldness in his eyes.
This person has the eyes of an eagle and the back of a wolf, and has already shown signs of rebellion. It is possible that he will develop ulterior motives and oppose the court in the future.
Gao Zhongping frowned, and his heart was covered with a thick layer of haze.
Although the title of prince is a small vassal, it also violates the ancestral system. Where will the Han Dynasty go in the future? If it is really usurped by the King of Wei, how can they go to the underworld and meet the emperor?
The military ministers were at court. Prince Beijing was wearing a white python robe and heavy mourning. At this moment, he looked at the young man in the python robe with a fixed gaze, and there was some inexplicable shock in his mind.
Zi Yu is now a prince, and his rank is even higher than that of a county prince.
Zhen Yingjia, Zhen Shao and others also looked at the young man in the python costume with complicated expressions.
Because Zhen Qing has now become the empress dowager, Zhen Yingjia and Zhen Shao still focus more on Zhen Qing.
Lin Ruhai, who had just returned from preparing for customs affairs, looked at the young man in the python robe with concern. His son-in-law is now a prince, so how can the ministers of the world not be suspicious?
Jia Zheng had returned to the capital to report on his work and this time he also attended the court meeting. He stared at the young man in the python robe with a somewhat complicated look in his eyes.
In other words, Jia Zheng is no longer able to understand Jia Heng's current power.
Zi Yu is now crowned a prince, and is extremely rich and glorious. It is time for him to retreat while the tide is turning. However, given the current political situation, it seems that if he does not advance, he will die.
At this moment, the other censors in the palace also had complicated and inexplicable expressions on their faces.
The previous performance of the censors did not actually shake Prince Wei in the slightest. Instead, it made him feel righteous and reprimanded everyone.
After everything was settled, Zhen Qing's eyes twinkled under her brows. She stared at the young man in the python robe and said as if to remind him, "Prince Wei, the Han Dynasty is in a precarious situation. As the saying goes, strong winds reveal strong grass, and turbulent times reveal loyal ministers. You must work hard, cultivate yourself diligently, and assist the new emperor together with the cabinet ministers, and live up to the trust of two generations of emperors."
Jia Heng straightened his face and said in a clear voice, "I will definitely live up to your teachings."
Now, his son is the emperor and his lover is the empress dowager. Perhaps he doesn't even need to usurp the throne to implement his political ideas.
But it was only about twenty years.
As his son grows up, he will most likely not recognize him as his father, because his legitimacy comes from the new emperor, who may even take power back from him.
In other words, his future fate would be like that of Lu Buwei, not recognized, not appreciated, not missed, and even his illegitimate children might be hated or even killed by Zhen Qing's son.
It is foreseeable that the future will be a drama of infighting among the various schools of thought.
Zhen Qing nodded, her clear eyes flickered under her willow-shaped eyebrows, and said: "My lords, Emperor Xianzong will be buried the day after tomorrow. You all should go back and pack up for the funeral."
Below, all the civil and military officials in the hall bowed and said goodbye.
Zhen Qing raised her delicate and beautiful eyebrows, and her bright and clear phoenix eyes flickered as if condensed dew as she looked at the young man in the python robe, and said in a clear voice: "Prince Wei, please stay. I still have something to ask you."
There was no strange expression on Jia Heng's face. He bowed to Zhen Qing and said loudly, "Yes, Madam."
This millstone is not afraid of others spreading a romantic scandal between him and himself, which will then become a big news in the whole city.
This kind of thing is not uncommon in history, just like the love story between Zhang Juzheng and Empress Dowager Li. After several retellings, the love story between the two has become vivid to outsiders.
After all the ministers in the palace had left, Zhen Qing looked at the young man in python robe with her willow-shaped brows fixed, and said softly: "Zi Yu, you are now crowned as a prince, you must assist Jie'er wholeheartedly in the future. I will look for a master to teach Jie'er the art of literature and martial arts these days, and you should also be there to give him advice."
Now that the person in front of him has been conferred the title of prince, he will no longer be biased towards the Song family.
Humph, let’s find that Song in the next couple of days and ask her to behave herself.
Jia Heng stared at the cradle Chen Jie. At this moment, the little guy smiled at Jia Heng. Chen Jie inherited the good genes from his mother and father. Although he was young, he already looked quite handsome.
While Zhen Qing was talking, she handed her son to the female official serving beside her, then looked at the young man in the python robe with an infatuated look and said, "Prince Wei, please follow me."
When Jia Heng met those beautiful eyes that were staring at him intently and charmingly, he felt a little strange.
This millstone is not going to be in front of the coffin of the King of Chu...
This is really disrespectful.
Or, would this be a punishment from heaven? Then, the King of Chu turned into a corpse, with green hair growing all over his head and body?
Zhen Qing then said nothing else and walked to the side hall where the coffin was placed. At this moment, there were still female officials and maids kneeling beside the coffin, crying to it. Just now, when the civil and military officials in the hall were discussing matters, the crying sounds could be faintly heard in the hall.
Because the new emperor had no other concubines besides Zhen Qing, he could only find some palace maids to fill the gaps.
Zhen Qing's expression was cold and she instructed the female official beside her, "It's noon now, let these people go downstairs to eat and come back in the afternoon."
The female official responded softly, then turned and left without saying anything more.
Jia Heng felt more and more strange. His eyes flickered and he looked at Zhen Qing intently and said, "What are you going to do?"
Zhen Qing's bright eyes, like condensed dew, stared at the young man in the python robe and said angrily, "What else can I do here?"
This person might be up to something bad.
However, when she was gritting her teeth in hatred towards that man and was secretly mad in her heart, she also thought about getting angry at that man in front of his spirit.
Jia Heng's face was solemn, and he said loudly: "You should have seen the performance of the civil and military officials in the court today. Today, people are talking about it and attacking it."
Zhen Qing said in a delicate voice: "There are too few people in the court who can speak up for you. Although your father-in-law is also a minister in the cabinet, if you speak rashly, you will become the target of public criticism."
Jia Heng agreed and said, "Yes, looking around, there is no one in the court who can stand up and speak for justice."
Zhen Qing's charming eyes, beneath her slender eyebrows, stared at the young man in the python robe quietly, and said softly, "This year, we will hold the special examination. You will be the chief examiner. I think we can promote the new policy and select talents, so we can discover some talents."
Jia Heng said: "This method is very good, but even among the Jinshi, each has its own school and hometown. Many may gather together for profit, but if you want to last long, you still need to convince people with reason."
Even the students of cabinet ministers can turn against their teacher. The key is to have a set of Neo-Confucian theories to win people's hearts.
That is, he wanted to construct his own Neo-Confucian doctrine and gain the right to speak in the ideological field.
Zhen Qing said, pointing to the coffin parked not far away in a remote corner, and whispered, "Follow me."
Jia Heng glanced at the location of the coffin, and a strange look appeared on his calm face.
No, Mopan, are you serious?
Jia Heng didn't say much. While talking, he followed Zhen Qing and went to the side hall.
At this moment, Zhen Qing squatted down, raised her eyes, and stared at the young man in the python costume, with a hint of infatuation in her charming and beautiful eyes.
She moved her slender hands closer and opened her lips. After a short while, her plump, soft face turned flushed, and her charming eyes were filled with joy.
There was a sense of comfort between Jia Heng's cold eyebrows and his face was full of joy.
At this moment, the coffin of the King of Chu was parked not far away, with white flags erected around it.
Jia Heng was inexplicably frightened, especially when he lowered his eyes and looked at the dignified and gorgeous beauty. His cheeks were bulging and sunken, and an inexplicable feeling surged in his heart.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhen Qing coughed violently a few times, her cheeks flushed red, as bright as a peach, and she swallowed it down with a gulp. Her face flushed red as if she was drunk. When she raised her eyes, her beautiful eyes under her curved eyebrows looked at the young man in the python costume with anger and said, "You are really ridiculous."
The man seemed to choke her.
Jia Heng looked deeply at Zhen Qing, whose mouth still had white dew hanging from its corners, but a hint of surprise seemed to appear on his face.
I thought to myself, wasn't this you who brought it up? How come when it came out of your mouth, it became something ridiculous of me.
At this moment, Zhen Qing wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, and her snow-white face became even brighter and more beautiful.
At this moment, Jia Heng was tidying up his clothes. Under his sword-like brows, his eyes were deep and shining as he looked at Zhen Qing, urging her, "Hurry up, don't let anyone see us."
Zhen Qing responded softly, rolled her eyes at the young man in the python robe, and thought to herself, why didn't you move faster just now?
Jia Heng looked at Zhen Qing intently and whispered, "How is the palace these days?"
Zhen Qing said in a gentle voice: "What are you asking about? If you are asking about the relationship between me and the Song family, I haven't messed with her much in the past few days."
Jia Heng nodded and said in a gentle voice, "Not really. I'll have the palace guards rotated. You and Jie'er should be careful."
Zhen Qing frowned and rolled her beautiful eyes at the young man in the python robe, as if joking and mocking, and said, "It's rare to see you care about Jie'er so much."
Jia Heng looked a little unnatural, and said: "What you said is true. My son is also my flesh and blood. How can I not care about him?"
Well, flirting beside the coffin of the King of Chu is a bit unscrupulous. I'm afraid it will be punished by God, right?
Zhen Qing's eyebrows curved, her sparkling eyes flickered, and she said softly, "Wait a few days, let Lan'er and Xi'er come from outside and come to the palace to talk. I am all alone in this palace, and I don't even have anyone to talk to."
Of course, this also hopes that Jia Heng can come along.
Jia Heng thought for a moment, his eyes flickered, and he said softly, "I'll see if I can find another excuse to enter the palace."
Zhen Qing sighed softly and said, "It's really boring for me to be in this palace."
I originally thought that becoming the Empress Dowager would allow me to rule the country from behind the scenes, and perhaps my life would become more interesting. But when the day really came, I found that it was just like that.
Jia Heng looked at Zhen Qing, who had a look of disappointment on her face, and felt confused.
……
……
Rongguo Mansion, Rongqing Hall
Grandmother Jia was sitting on a soft couch, chatting with the second wives of King Xing and Princess Wang, with Aunt Xue and Sister Feng sitting below her.
Everyone was telling jokes, and with Sister Feng around, there was no shortage of laughter in Rongqing Hall.
Just as they were talking, Lin Zhixiao's wife suddenly entered the hall and said, "Madam, the second master is back."
When Grandmother Jia heard this, she looked surprised and whispered, "Didn't he go to the palace to attend court today?"
After a while, Jia Zheng, wearing the robes of a third-rank official, walked into Rongqing Hall with a happy look on his face.
Grandmother Jia looked surprised and asked, "Zheng'er, what happened?"
Jia Zheng said: "Mother, today, the new emperor ascended the throne and conferred the title of prince on Ziyu."
Jia Mu: "..."
There were already nail marks on the Buddhist beads in Mrs. Wang’s hand, and there was a hint of shock on her fair face.
Prince? Is this another promotion from the title of Duke?
Sister Feng smiled and said, "Prince?"
When Grandmother Jia heard this, a look of inexplicable surprise appeared on her old face, and she asked, "A prince of a different surname?"
At this moment, a bright smile involuntarily appeared on Aunt Xue's fair face.
Jia Zheng nodded, but his elegant and clear face showed some disapproval. He whispered, "However, the civil officials in the court are constantly expressing their opposition."
"When have those civil servants not objected?" A thoughtful look appeared on Jia's old face at this moment, and she said bluntly and unhappily.
Jia Zheng's face froze, and he said, "That's true, mother."
Indeed, ever since Zi Yu was conferred the title of Earl, then Marquis, and finally Duke, the opposition voices from the civil officials in the court have never stopped.