Chapter 113 Xingxiangzi (IV)
It was a cold year, and Emperor Zhengyuan had caught a cold and was already sleeping uneasily at night. Suddenly, at one o'clock in the morning, a palace maid came to report that the palace south of the imperial city had its spine broken due to heavy snow accumulation for several days.
However, this was not the only ominous thing that happened. During the early morning court session at the hour of Yin, when all officials were in audience, snowstorms occurred in many places, and many people were starving and freezing . Sometimes civilians and livestock froze to death.
The government office in Fengzhou had fallen into disrepair for many years. The local officials had requested the imperial court for funds several times but received no response. This year, there was a severe snowstorm and the drum and horn tower of the government office collapsed, crushing the entire family of the drum and horn maker to death.
The snowstorm was so severe that it not only caused unrest in the area, but also caused the palace to collapse. This is really not a good sign. Disasters are punishment from heaven.
As the Emperor of the Great Qi Dynasty, Emperor Zhengyuan had to take this as a warning, provide relief to the local area, appease his subjects, and hold a ceremony to offer sacrifices to the heaven.
Emperor Zhengyuan believed in Taoism and was very sensitive to the word "divine punishment". After the court decided that the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven should be held in Tai'an Hall, the cold wind made his headache flare up just from Chaotian Hall to Qinghe Hall.
Ni Su was allowed to enter the city only at dawn. She returned to Nanhuai Street and changed her clothes before coming to the palace to get a badge, preparing to go to the southern suburbs villa.
"Where's Mr. Qin?"
Ni Su entered the main hall, but did not see Doctor Qin inside.
"The emperor has a headache. Doctor Qin and the others have gone to the Qinghe Hall." A student in the bureau answered her casually.
Just as he finished speaking, the door curtain was lifted from the outside. In such a cold day, the doctors who came in had beads of sweat on their foreheads. Ni Su looked at the old doctor Qin who was at the back, being supported by someone, and it seemed that there was something wrong with his legs and feet.
"Mr. Qin, what's wrong with you?"
Ni Su stepped forward immediately.
"He's old and useless. He slipped and fell outside." Old Doctor Qin forced a smile.
Several doctors helped old Doctor Qin to the bamboo couch behind the tasseled curtain. Ni Su put a soft pillow behind him and moved the charcoal basin closer to him.
There was tea boiling on the stove; she took a look and it wasn't hot yet.
"Why did the official's headache come back again?"
Ni Su added charcoal into the stove.
"I was already ill, and today I caught a cold after going to court," Qin, the old doctor, coughed a few times, "I heard that the accumulated snow collapsed a palace in the south. They all said it was a punishment from heaven. How could the emperor not be furious?"
Ni Su noticed that Doctor Qin looked a little strange, so she asked, "What are you thinking about?"
"Ah, nothing."
Doctor Qin shook his head.
The Imperial Medical Bureau has not yet found a better way to cure the emperor's headaches. In the past, if the emperor's headaches were severe, he would rather take elixirs than use the Imperial Medical Bureau's inadequate pain-relieving medicines.
After taking the golden elixir , the pain disappeared in half a minute.
But today, although the emperor was in so much pain, he still did not say anything about taking the golden elixir.
Ni Su poured hot tea for the old medical officer Qin and prepared some snacks before going to get the sign to the southern suburbs villa. There were carriages ready outside the palace gate, and the eunuch from the Ministry of Internal Affairs was driving the carriage.
Ni Sucai handed the medicine box to the eunuch and put it in the carriage. She stepped on the horse stool and was about to bend down and lift the curtain to enter the carriage, but she vaguely heard the cold sound of armor colliding.
The sound of orderly footsteps was getting closer and closer.
Ni Su turned sideways and raised his head, only to see the imperial guards in red clothes and golden armor running towards them in unison, quickly clearing both sides of the road and blocking carriages and pedestrians.
"What's going on?" The young eunuch frowned. His nose was red from the cold. Seeing this scene, he complained, "How can we get out of here?"
Standing on the carriage, Ni Su could naturally look beyond the wall of people and see farther.
The cold wind howled and the snow fell.
The imperial guards and imperial guards in armor and carrying swords surrounded a man. The man was wearing thin robes. Every three steps, he knelt and kowtowed, shouting: "Your Majesty is benevolent, and the ghosts and gods admire you. The sins of all the people are mine. I beg God to transfer the disaster to me!"
The mud soaked his robe, the snow water soaked his hair, his face was pale, his lips were frozen purple, and he was not wearing shoes or socks. He stood up, took three steps forward, then knelt down and shouted.
Last night by the Reed River,
Ni Su had seen his face.
She instinctively lowered her eyes, and the mist around her sleeves disappeared. She looked around and saw the faint white figure silently crossing the wall of imperial guards.
The day is bright and the cold fog is everywhere.
Xu Hexue almost froze in the middle of the road. He looked at the man's face and his feet seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.
“Your Highness…”
When Yuan's personal guard saw that Prince Jia was having difficulty getting up, he tried to help him, but he was waved away.
Prince Jia gritted his teeth, supported himself on the wet ground with his hands, stood up, took one step forward, two steps, three steps, then knelt down again and repeated what he had just said.
He gradually came closer.
"His Majesty……"
Prince Jia stumbled forward, but fell after taking only two steps. Xu Hexue took two steps forward to help him, but his half-transparent hand passed through Prince Jia's sleeve and arm.
Prince Jia fell to the ground, and felt the wind blowing in his face become even colder.
Xu Hexue watched him struggle to get up and take another step forward.
This was close enough for Xu Hexue to see his current appearance clearly. His facial features had lost the childishness of his youth and had shown some traces of time.
He is taller now, but still as thin as when he was young.
"Yonggeng..."
His Adam's apple moved slightly.
Why come back?
But the man in front of him could not give him an answer. Xu Hexue watched him kneel down in front of him and kowtow, "Your Majesty is benevolent and virtuous, and the ghosts and gods admire you. All the people are guilty, and I am the only one who has committed the crime. I beg God to transfer the disaster to me!"
how so?
Xu Hexue clenched his knuckles.
Prince Jia stood up and walked forward unconsciously, causing his remaining soul to dissipate into mist. He suddenly stopped and turned back. There were wisps of cold smoke and biting north wind.
"Your Highness?" Yuan's personal guard didn't know what he was looking at.
Prince Jia didn't know what he was looking at. He turned around and walked forward with difficulty, bowing three times and kowtowed nine times towards the palace gate and the imperial city.
The palace had heard the news since Prince Jia entered the city. Emperor Zhengyuan was in the Qinghe Hall, the pain from his headache still not gone. Liang Shenfu, who was standing to one side, said cautiously, "I heard that he came all the way from the Imperial Street. Prince Jia bowed three times and kowtowed nine times."
Emperor Zhengyuan lay on the dragon couch, silent for a long time.
No one could have expected that Prince Jia would dare to disobey the order and return to Yunjing. Pan Youfang and others who were about to leave the palace also gathered at Yongding Gate. They watched Prince Jia take three steps and kowtow three times, his bare feet covered in blood and his robes stained with dirty blood.
"The official said he wanted to see you?"
Pan Youfang asked Ding Jin, the Imperial Censor beside him.
"yes."
Ding Jin stared at the figure of Prince Jia not far away, his face looking a little gloomy.
Prince Jia returned to the capital against the imperial order, but the emperor wanted to see him now. This was already very bad.
Meng Yunxian sat in the back hall of the Government Affairs Hall with his eyes closed, resting.
"Mr. Meng, you just used your subordinates to criticize Mr. Huang yesterday. Mr. Huang persuaded the emperor to change his mind last night and sent more imperial guards to protect Prince Jia back to Tongzhou. But today... Prince Jia came back on his own."
Huang Zongyu was ordered to promote the new policy together with Meng Yunxian. Although he was a conservative who did not advocate war, he could not be considered a member of the old party. For the sake of the country, he naturally had his own considerations.
The gender of the baby in the imperial concubine's belly is still unknown, so Huang Zongyu has to protect Prince Jia temporarily.
But not long after the additional imperial guards left the city, Prince Jia turned back.
This was really beyond Pei Zhiyuan's expectations.
"Why don't you look surprised at all?" Pei Zhiyuan noticed Meng Yunxian's expression.
"He doesn't want to leave. Isn't that a good thing for us?"
Meng Yunxian didn't open his eyes.
"But this is disobeying the emperor's order, Lord Meng."
Pei Zhiyuan sighed.
"Didn't the emperor want to see him?" Meng Yunxian leaned back in his chair. "The snowstorm has caused panic among the people. It has been said in ancient times that the emperor will be punished by heaven if he is not wise. Now is the time when the emperor is in a headache. The court officials are all hoping that the emperor will confess his sins and report to heaven, but Prince Jia shouted, 'Your Majesty is benevolent and virtuous, and the ghosts are subdued and the gods admire him', and kowtowed nine times in three steps."
This is loyalty and filial piety, and there is nothing wrong with it.
Meng Yunxian never opened his eyes from beginning to end.
Prince Jia knelt all the way to the Qinghe Hall. Liang Shenfu was shocked to see that the hem of his clothes was torn and covered in blood. He immediately called a few palace servants to help him into the hall.
There was a floor heating in the Qinghe Hall, and Prince Jia's flesh and bones felt like they were frozen. When he entered the warm hall, he shivered almost immediately.
The bitter taste of the medicine in the inner hall had not yet dissipated, and the snow particles on Prince Jia's body began to melt. He broke free from the palace servant's hand, knelt on the ground, and looked behind the curtain, "Daddy."
His voice was hoarse.
There was no movement behind the curtain for a moment. Prince Jia supported himself on the ground with his hands and knelt quietly.
"Yong Geng, now you dare to disobey the emperor's order? Do you know what crime it is to disobey the emperor's order?"
The voice was neither light nor heavy.
"Know,"
Prince Jia looked at his own shadow reflected on the ground and said, "But Yonggeng, you have to come back."
"Tell me why."
"Yong Geng dreamed of Uncle Wang."
He said, "My uncle scolded me in my dream, saying that since I am the son of the emperor and father, I should not disobey you. I should be by your side and fulfill my filial duty as a son... Since he passed away, I have not dreamed of him once. Last night, I had a dream that made me feel heartbroken. As a son, I have failed my uncle and my father..."
He raised his head, his eyelids moist, "Uncle Wang woke me up, I thought, even if I die, I should come back to see my father."
The "Uncle Wang" he mentioned was actually his biological father, Prince Gong.
“I haven’t dreamed of him either.”
His younger brother had passed away for many years, and Emperor Zhengyuan found that he could hardly remember his face.
Emperor Zhengyuan suddenly coughed violently.
Liang Shenfu immediately went in and brought a bowl of hot tea. After Emperor Zhengyuan took a sip, he coughed even more violently. He waved Liang Shenfu's hand away, and the cup suddenly fell to the ground.
“Daddy…”
Prince Jia called out.
Emperor Zhengyuan took a long time to calm down before panting, "You are my adopted son after all, and now you have kowtowed three times and nine times to me as a sacrifice to God, but if I pity your filial piety, then Yonggeng, what should you do?"
Although the voice was empty, it did not reduce the emperor's pressure.
Prince Jia immediately lowered his body, his elbows hurting from hitting the ground, his knees almost hurting so much that he trembled all over, and the snow-water flowed down his hair.
He clenched his jaw and clenched his teeth.
The lips and teeth are soaked in the smell of blood.
Finally, he closed his eyes and trembled in his voice:
"Yong Geng, I am willing to obey my father's order and break off relations with Li Shu Ren."
"After the spring, I will marry the daughter of the Wu family."
