Chapter 252 Imperial Decree
The prince's sacrifice to heaven caused a calamity in the sky, which caused rumors to spread throughout Pingyang City. Just when the prince was in a state of panic, on the eighth day of the eighth month, Emperor Jin went to court early in the morning. More than 30 officials including the Imperial Censor Zhang Zhong, the Deputy Imperial Censor-in-Chief Sun Jian, and the Minister of Public Security Wu Yong jointly submitted a petition to impeach the prince for his misconduct, which had brought disaster upon the heaven. They strongly demanded the prince be deposed and a new crown prince be appointed, and asked the prince to commit suicide to appease the wrath of heaven.
After Zhang Yushi finished his report, the Southern Supervisor's deputy reported:
"Your Majesty, Mars represents chaos, thieves, disease, mourning, famine, and war. On July 18, I and Tang Jianzheng observed the sky together. When Mars appeared in the heart, Mars was blue-black. Blue represents floods, and black represents diseases. At that time, the heavens had predicted that there would be an epidemic , which had nothing to do with the prince's immoral offerings to the heavens. The long star that appeared on August 3 is a sign of rebellious and evil. The Book of Celestial Officials notes that this means that ministers will kill the king, sons will kill their fathers, wives will harm their husbands, the young will bully the elders, the majority will oppress the minority, the people will be uneasy, wars will arise, and the four barbarians will invade. The sudden appearance of the long star is just another sign from the heavens to the holy king, not a disaster from heaven. This is my humble opinion, and I respectfully ask for your judgment."
After the Southern Supervisor finished his second speech, Prime Minister Jia Guang came out again and said:
"Your Majesty, victory and defeat are common in the military since ancient times. The Crown Prince does not hold military power. The defeat in the north has nothing to do with the Crown Prince's misconduct. The Crown Prince is the foundation of the country. At this time when the country is facing internal and external troubles and national crisis, deposing and enthroning the Crown Prince is a taboo for the country. I respectfully ask Your Majesty not to believe in small slanders and shake the foundation of the country."
The prime minister's chapter was like a stone thrown into a lake, which immediately triggered a new round of debate. The court seemed to have been divided into two factions. Both sides quoted scriptures and expressed their opinions, arguing endlessly. At this point, the dispute between the prince and the king of Yan had reached a life-and-death point.
As the battle for the throne intensified, the court was in turmoil, with rumors spreading everywhere. For example, it was just reported today that the Prince of Yan was born when the sun rose in the east, which was a sign of great honor, and that the Prince of Yan was born to the current queen, and was the legitimate heir of the country, etc. The next day, it would be reported that the rising sun in the east was a sign of great anomaly, a sign that the brother would kill the father, and that the appearance of a long star on the third day of August predicted that the minister would kill the king and the son would kill the father, which was a sign that the Prince of Yan would rebel...
The rampant natural disasters, man-made calamities, and military rebellions in the Great Qi made the wise and decisive Emperor Jin extremely anxious. He was not confused, and he did not believe the rumors about the prince's misconduct, but under pressure, he had to act cautiously. In particular, the Imperial Observatory was divided into two factions. One faction, led by Tang Ruoshou, strongly advocated deposing the prince and offering him to heaven to appease the wrath of heaven. The other faction, led by Nan Huaizhong, advocated that Emperor Jin grant amnesty to the world, implement benevolent policies, and adopt measures such as wearing plain clothes and withdrawing music in order to win back the favor of heaven and ensure peace and prosperity for the country and the people.
The two opinions made Emperor Jin waver and indecisive. He came out of the Cining Palace, waved his hand and sent away the sedan chair, leaving only a little eunuch to follow. Emperor Jin wanted to take a walk by himself. The empress dowager's illness was getting worse and worse. Emperor Jin even wondered whether the phenomenon of Mars guarding the heart would come true on the empress dowager.
The Imperial Hospital was helpless in treating the Queen Mother's illness, and she had been sleeping more often than awake these days. What troubled Emperor Jin was that even so, the Queen Mother was fully aware of the government affairs. Taking advantage of her wakefulness today, the Queen Mother summoned him and said that the disaster in front of Da Qi was due to the immorality of the Crown Prince, which caused the dissatisfaction of the Heaven, and thus sent down a punishment from Heaven. She asked him to depose the Crown Prince and appoint a new Crown Prince for the sake of Da Qi's country, so that Heaven would take back the punishment and keep Da Qi peaceful and safe.
Emperor Jin had long known about the Empress Dowager's intention to depose and enthrone the crown prince. This time she was just using the astronomical phenomena as an excuse. Not to mention that Prince of Yan Hongmian was not as kind-hearted as Crown Prince Honghui, Honghui was born to the former Empress Murong Qingqian, the woman he loved most in his life. Before Qingqian passed away, he promised her that unless the crown prince committed serious misconduct, he would never depose or enthrone the crown prince. Especially now with internal and external troubles, it was time to seek stability rather than change.
Thinking about her worries all the way, she unknowingly arrived at Yonghe Palace. Seeing that the emperor was frowning, Concubine Jing knew that he was worried about state affairs. She didn't know how to persuade him, but then she had an idea and remembered Master Jingyun. So she carefully said to Emperor Jin that since the opinions of the Imperial Observatory were different, why not go and see Master Jingyun? It was said that he had lived for hundreds of years and was a great monk who might really be able to understand the will of heaven.
When Emperor Jin heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up and he said:
"Okay, my beloved concubine, what you said makes sense!"
On the tenth day of the eighth month of the seventh year of Emperor Jin's reign, Emperor Jin made an exception and went to Jingyun Temple to pay homage in order to pray for peace and prosperity for the country and the people. He had a long conversation with Master Jingyun for more than two hours.
After Emperor Jin returned to the palace, he issued an edict on August 11 to inform the world, saying that the heavens had sent down strange signs one after another, and the Great Qi had suffered natural disasters, man-made disasters, and wars. This was my responsibility, and I often reflected on my own mistakes and the immoral aspects of my governance... I specially issued an edict on August 13, the seventh year of Emperor Jin, to pardon the world, and from that day on, the emperor and all the ministers would wear plain clothes for three months and stop music for three months, to show their piety to the heavens, and to ask the heavens to change their mind, withdraw the punishment from heaven, and bless the people...
The Prince of Yan took action. The rumors spreading in Pingyang City and the obvious increase in the number of Prince of Yan's secret guards at the gate of Yichun Hall made Li Du very worried, because there had been rumors for a long time that the master was ill in the south. These days, information came from the south that the Prince of Yan had sent people to select several branches in the south to interrogate the whereabouts of the God of Medicine. Fortunately, the prince's handwritten order was delivered in time, and the Prince of Yan's people restrained themselves a lot and dared not act recklessly in public.
One day, Li Du was discussing the affairs of the pharmacy with Ouyang Di when the waiter ran in and said:
"Master, there are many eunuchs outside, guarding the door. They said that the master needs to go out to receive the order."
Li Du and Ouyang Di were startled when they heard this. They didn't know what was going on, so they quickly put down what they were doing, set up the incense table, and opened the middle door. The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict was named Li. When he heard that the owner of Yichun Hall was in the south, he didn't make it difficult and asked Li Du and others to receive the imperial edict on his behalf.
Seeing Li Du and others kneeling, Eunuch Li stood facing south, unfolded the imperial edict, and read:
"The Emperor, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, proclaims..."
The gist of the imperial edict was: a plague rare in a century has broken out in southern Yangzhou, and the empress dowager has been seriously ill and bedridden for more than two months. The imperial physicians of the Imperial Medical Bureau are at a loss as to what to do, so they recommend Li Mengtan, the owner of Yichun Hall, who has the miraculous skill of bringing people back to health and is known as the God of Medicine. The emperor ordered Li Mengtan to enter the palace that day, treat the empress dowager, and then choose a day to go south with the imperial physicians to treat the plague in the south.
After Eunuch Li finished reading the imperial edict, Li Du and Ouyang Di were already sweating coldly. After they kowtowed to receive the edict, Li Du said in embarrassment:
"The master has been ill for a long time. I think you have heard that the medicine in Yichuntang has been stopped for nearly two months. The master cannot immediately obey the order to enter the palace. I will report this matter to the master as soon as possible. Please say a good word in front of the emperor."
After hearing what Li Du said, Eunuch Li asked casually:
"According to what Shopkeeper Li said, where is the Medicine God Li Mengtan now?"
When Li Du heard this, he couldn't help but groan inwardly. A month ago, he had not expected a plague to break out in the south, so he and Ouyang had already spread the news that the God of Medicine was ill in the south. Now if he said that his master was in the south, he would have to obey the order and treat the plague. If he said that he was not in the south, he might be charged with disobeying the order and be beheaded.
He stole a glance and saw that Eunuch Li was staring at him. He didn't have time to think too much. His master must not enter the palace. With the Prince of Yan and the Queen Mother around, it would be like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth. His mind raced, and he said with a stiff upper lip:
"My Lord, my master is ill in the south. It will take at least a month for him to return to the north . Please report to the Emperor."
After listening to this, Eunuch Li said nothing more. He said goodbye and turned to leave. Li Du hurriedly saw him off to the door and secretly stuffed him with a few silver notes worth 100 taels, repeatedly asking him to say good things in front of the Emperor. Seeing Eunuch Li nodding with a smile, Li Du finally breathed a sigh of relief.
No matter how powerful Yichuntang was, it dared not deceive the emperor. After sending Eunuch Li away, Li Du and Ouyang Di hurried to the second floor. Now they could only try their best to remedy the situation. After discussing for a long time, they finally decided that, first, they would tell the master about this matter first, so that she would have to find a way to leave the house and go to the south to treat the plague. Second, they would immediately ask the prince for help. Although the prince was also caught in rumors and could not protect himself, only the prince could deal with the affairs of the court. Third, Yichuntang was also prepared. As a last resort, they would let the master fake his death in the name of the God of Medicine, close Yichuntang, and disappear.
Not to mention that Mengxi was worried when she received the letter from Li Du and was hesitant whether to confront Xiao Jun. Just the prince went into the palace overnight as soon as he received Li Du's call for help.
It was not until the hour of Xu that the prince came out of the palace. When he returned to the prince's residence, he saw Li Zan, Zhou Yin, Qian Zhong and other counselors waiting in Cuijin Garden. When they saw the prince coming back, they came forward to greet him and sat down. Zhou Yin asked:
"What do you think about the Medicine God matter, Your Majesty?"
"The emperor issued an edict to my second brother mainly because of the plague in the south. He had heard that the God of Medicine was not in Pingyang. He entered the palace to treat the Queen Mother because of the advice of the Prince of Yan and the Queen Mother. He had no choice but to issue the edict. Li Du said that the God of Medicine was not in Pingyang, which was also expected. The emperor was not angry. When I went there, the emperor was about to summon me to see him. I had a deep conversation with him and learned that this time the Prince of Yan launched an attack, and it was thanks to Master Jingyun and my second brother that I was able to avoid being questioned."
After hearing this, Qian Zhong asked in confusion:
"What do you mean, Your Highness?"
The prince took a sip of tea and said:
"My father has always been bothered by the long star that appeared after I offered sacrifices to the heavens. Under the urging of the Queen Mother, my father had originally wanted to punish me. It was Master Jingyun who resolved my father's knot and told him that the plague god in the south could cure it. He asked my father to quickly issue an order to find the god to relieve the suffering of the people. My father knew that the god was my brother, so he asked me to make amends for my crime and leave today to go to the south to work with the god to cure the plague. If the plague is cured, it's fine, but otherwise I will punish you as well."
After hearing this, Qian Zhong casually asked:
"According to what Your Highness said, the Emperor's decree of amnesty today and the call for plain clothing and the abolition of music for three months was also Master Jingyun's idea."
Seeing the prince nod in response, Li Zan breathed a sigh of relief and said:
"That's good, Your Highness. As long as His Majesty doesn't question you for the time being, we have a chance to turn the tables. As the saying goes, it's hard to predict the emperor's intentions. Seeing that natural disasters, man-made disasters, and military chaos are rampant in Da Qi, I have always been worried that His Majesty can't withstand the pressure, and believes in the prediction of Tang Jianzheng and approves the memorial of Zhang Yushi. Then all your hard work over the years will go to waste."
After hearing Li Zan's words, Zhou Yin, Qian Zhong and other counselors nodded repeatedly. The prince also nodded and was about to speak when Zhou Yin leaned forward and said:
"Your Highness, the spy I sent to the north sent back a secret report saying that the defeat on the eastern front of the Mulu River was due to someone leaking military information to the Shanrong people?"
