Chapter 465 King of Xinyang
It was only a few days' absence, but the Prince's Mansion seemed more dilapidated.
More than half of the original servants in this mansion were cleared out. Although the number of government troops replaced was no less than that, how could the elite troops mobilized from the Tiger Guards and the Dragon Guards be willing to lower themselves to do menial jobs like sweeping the floor?
So when Sun Shaozong stepped into the mansion, he saw teams of soldiers holding spears, patrolling the desolate garden.
This feeling...
It's a bit like visiting a prisoner.
"Master Qianhu!"
As soon as he arrived near the hall, two general flags of the Dragon Guards hurried forward and blocked Sun Shaozong's way. They smiled flatteringly and said, "The court has just issued an edict, and the angels are reading it inside. Please wait outside for a while to avoid colliding with the angels."
Ever since they moved into the Prince's Mansion, the eunuchs who were responsible for announcing imperial decrees would come every now and then. Sun Shaozong had long been accustomed to it and naturally did not make a fuss about it.
So he took the opportunity to call the two Dragon Guards aside and asked about the situation in the mansion in recent days and the latest developments in the "Longgen Case".
However, just as Sun Shaozong had expected, both aspects were lackluster.
The only thing worth mentioning is that the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess had another big fight. No one knows what they were fighting about, but the Crown Prince was so angry that he peed - ever since he lost that thing, the Crown Prince would lose control of his prostate when he became too emotional.
The last time the couple quarreled was because the prince wanted to banish his two concubines to the cold palace to prevent them from having close contact with any male creatures, but was sternly rejected by the crown princess.
This time, I don't know why.
However, after waiting outside the hall for about half a quarter of an hour, they saw Lord Xu and others escorting two eunuchs out of the hall. They exchanged a few simple polite words in the doorway before saying goodbye to each other.
When Xu Ge Lao and others returned, Sun Shaozong stepped forward to greet them.
Unexpectedly, Lord Xu actually turned aside to avoid his greeting, then shook his head and said, "The emperor has approved my resignation. Now I am free from my official duties and I am no longer worthy of Lord Sun's courtesy."
Sun Shaozong then realized that the imperial edict he had just received had actually dismissed Lord Xu from his post.
However, he immediately bowed again and said solemnly: "Old Xu is highly respected. Even if he is not an official in the central government in the future, he deserves the respect of a junior."
This time, Lord Xu did not avoid the situation. He just smiled faintly, presented the imperial edict in his hands with both hands, and said, "This is the edict that was just issued. Please have a look, Lord Sun."
Since Sun Shaozong was ordered to assist in the case, he naturally had to be well aware of the imperial decree for the case.
So he took it with both hands respectfully, unfolded it carefully and took a closer look, only to find that this imperial edict was more like a verdict than an order.
The first was Xu Furen, Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion and Prince's Tutor. Because he failed to supervise the prince properly, which led to chaos in the Eastern Palace and strange phenomena, he was allowed to resign and was removed from all official positions.
Next was the Right Censor-in-Chief Zhao Rongheng, who was ordered to be fined one year's salary for his poor handling of the case.
Jingzhao Yin Han Anbang was incompetent and was ordered to be dismissed immediately.
Liu Luanwei, the Chancellor of the Zhanshi Palace, neglected his duties and was ordered to be dismissed and investigated immediately.
Zhao Kun, the commander of the Prince's Palace guards, was derelict in his duty and his crime was unforgivable. He was ordered to commit suicide and all his property was confiscated.
Ge Jingzhong, the eunuch in charge of the Eastern Palace, was derelict in his duty and his crime was unforgivable, so he was ordered to be executed immediately.
Seven people who spread the rumor that the prince had been assassinated were ordered to be executed along with their entire families.
The two people who were directly involved in this case were ordered to have their three clans exterminated.
Tsk~
Originally, Han Anbang was going to be demoted and sent away, but now it seems that this is not so easy - no wonder people say that Jingzhao Yin is a high-risk job!
It was only after Sun Shaozong had read the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty that he realized that the extermination of three clans was actually more serious than the extermination of nine clans, because the so-called extermination of three clans actually meant the extermination of nine clans including "father, mother, wife", and the scope of involvement was much larger than that of the extermination of nine clans.
It would be fine if the family had only a few servants, but if the family was wealthy, hundreds of people would surely die!
This was the result of checks and balances between the retired emperor and Emperor Guangde. Otherwise, if Emperor Guangde took his anger out on several noble families, I'm afraid thousands of people would have been killed!
Although he felt that most of them were innocent, Sun Shaozong was not stupid enough to jump out and plead for them - they could only blame themselves for their bad luck, as they had to have a relative who dared to rebel.
After reading this bloody verdict, Sun Shaozong was sighing when he suddenly discovered a strange message:
The Crown Prince of Yishun has always had a good character, so he was specially appointed as the King of Xinyang and concurrently the Prince's Grand Tutor. From now on, he will guard the Eastern Palace.
this……
He is the Prince of Xinyang, the Prince's Guardian, and the Guardian of the Eastern Palace . It seems as if he is training the Prince of Yishun as the invisible crown prince!
But let's not talk about the 'imperial grandson' in the Li's mansion. Jia Baoyu just revealed yesterday that the palace has already selected several concubines who are easy to bear and are about to start a crazy seeding mode - what's the point in creating an invisible crown prince at this time?
Sun Shaozong frowned and pondered for a long time, but he still couldn't figure out what Emperor Guangde was up to.
At this moment, several eunuchs hurried over, originally wanting to talk to Lord Xu. When they saw Sun Shaozong in the hall, they immediately rushed forward and pulled him, as if they had seen a savior, saying, "Lord Sun, hurry up! His Highness suddenly got angry, and no one can persuade him. I see that the bedding has been changed twice. What will happen if it continues like this?!"
"The Crown Prince has always been on good terms with you, so please go over and try to persuade him. Don't let His Highness get hurt again!"
The prince's sudden anger might be related to the newly promoted Prince of Xinyang - but he still couldn't figure out what Emperor Guangde's intention was, and how to persuade the prince when he met him?
If I had known this, I would have come back tomorrow to report for leave!
Sun Shaozong was still hesitating, but Right Censor Zhao Rongheng spoke up, "Sir Sun, since this concerns the safety of the Crown Prince, don't refuse anymore and go with them."
This old thing!
Although the imperial edict did not indicate that Zhao Rongheng should replace Lord Xu to take charge of the case, Lord Xu had already resigned and there was no new boss to take over, so Zhao Rongheng would naturally be the one in charge.
Therefore, Sun Shaozong cursed in his heart, but he had to bite the bullet and follow the eunuchs to the backyard.
However, when he arrived at the courtyard where the prince was, Sun Shaozong was delighted again, because there were several palace maids waiting outside the door, who were obviously the maids of the prince's wife.
Since the Crown Princess has already arrived, there is naturally no need for an outsider like Sun Shaozong to go in.
"Get out! Get out now!"
Unexpectedly, not long after, there was a loud banging in the room. Not long after, the door curtain was lifted and the Crown Princess walked out of the room with a bright and charming oval face.
No way, he was kicked out already?
Sun Shaozong was speechless and was about to step aside to avoid offending the Crown Princess.
"Lord Sun!"
Unexpectedly, the Crown Princess saw Sun Shaozong at a glance, and without paying any attention to the difference between inside and outside, she raised her voice to greet him, then put her right hand across her waist, walked in front of Sun Shaozong with great grace, and asked softly: "When did you come back, Master Sun? Is everything okay at home? I heard that you have a concubine who is about to give birth, and originally asked someone to prepare some things for the child, but Master left in a hurry that day, and I didn't have time to send it to you."
By the way, every time he saw the Crown Princess, Sun Shaozong felt that the Crown Prince must be a sadist, otherwise why would he ignore such a graceful and dignified wife and instead focus on Li, who was "in disrepair and neglected".
Thinking this in his heart, Sun Shaozong lowered his head and said, "I am really overwhelmed that your Majesty has taken care of these trivial matters at home. I am not ashamed to accept your kindness."
"Your Highness often says that Lord Sun is loyal and talented, and will surely be a pillar of the country in the future. I am just following Your Highness's wishes and expressing my gratitude."
As the Crown Princess spoke, she suddenly bowed to Sun Shaozong and said, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince is in a state of distress that I, a woman, cannot resolve. I'm afraid that I can only trouble Lord Sun to step in."
How could Sun Shaozong dare to accept her courtesy?
He quickly stepped aside, saying "I can't do that", and promised to do his best to persuade the prince.
The Crown Princess then stood up and said apologetically, "Your Highness is angry now. If my words are inconsiderate, I hope Lord Sun will not take offense."
This Crown Princess is indeed a virtuous wife, and her appearance and figure are both top-notch, which is really rare - it is estimated that Emperor Guangde and his wife must have carefully selected to find such a one.
It's a pity that she has to deal with such a quirky prince, and now she is a widow...
Uh~
It seems that I have a big trouble to deal with right now, and I don’t have the time to sympathize with others.
Suppressing his sympathy, Sun Shaozong lifted the curtain and entered the main hall and living room, only to find it empty. Even the resident imperial physician was nowhere to be seen - he presumably had been asked to leave by the Crown Princess just now.
I pushed open the door to the inner room, and before I could even walk in, I heard the prince yelling, "Get lost! Didn't I tell you to get out of here? Stop saying those sarcastic things in front of me!"
Sarcasm?
Judging from the couple's personalities, it was probably because "good medicine tastes bitter" that angered him.
"Your Highness, this is your humble servant Sun Shaozong."
While introducing himself, he walked in. The first thing he smelled was a strong smell of urine. It seemed that after the Crown Princess left, he got so excited that he wet the bed again.
What bad luck!
Sun Shaozong cursed inwardly, but remained calm on the surface. He stepped on the broken porcelain on the ground, stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant greets His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
"It's you?!"
The prince looked up and said angrily, "You came just in time! You should have read the imperial edict, tell me, what exactly does father mean?! Could it be... could it be that he really wants to make Wu Chengxun his heir?!"
Wu Chengxun is the eldest son of King Yishun, the newly promoted King of Xinyang and Prince Taibao.
Although Sun Shaozong had not figured out the key points yet, he knew that he could not hesitate at this moment, so he immediately said firmly: "Your Highness, please be careful with your words! His Majesty must have other intentions in this move, and he would never..."
"Your Highness!"
Just when Sun Shaozong was about to make up some nonsense to fool the crowd temporarily, he suddenly heard someone outside loudly report: "Prince Xinyang has come here by imperial decree and is now waiting to see you outside the door."
King Xinyang has arrived?
This is really impatient!
However, his presence gave Sun Shaozong a good opportunity to escape.
So he bowed and said, "Your Highness, since the Prince of Xinyang has come here by imperial decree, I'm afraid it would be inappropriate to let him wait. It would be better for me to take my leave first and wait..."
"No, no!"
Unexpectedly, before Sun Shaozong could finish, the prince denied it and said, "That Wu Chengxun and the Niu family are birds of a feather. What if he takes the opportunity to harm me? My dear, you should stay by my side and protect my safety!"
There is a possibility that Prince Xinyang will be appointed as the crown prince now. He is not mentally retarded, so how could he possibly assassinate the crown prince at this time?
However, seeing the prince's "once bitten by a snake, he is afraid of ropes for ten years" look, Sun Shaozong knew that it was useless for him to say anything, so he could only choose an inconspicuous corner and prepare to stay in the room and watch.
“That’s right!”
Who would have thought that the prince would have another crazy idea. He pointed at the cabinet at the west wall and said, "Why don't you just hide in there first? When Wu Chengxun sees me alone and has evil intentions, you can come out and take him down in one fell swoop!"
Fortunately, the prince did not order Wu Chengxun to confess under torture, otherwise Sun Shaozong would have had no choice but to bite the bullet and part ways with the prince.
Under the prince's expectant gaze, Sun Shaozong walked silently to the cupboard, stretched out his hand to open it, and was about to hide inside, but his eyes glanced inside inadvertently, and he was suddenly stunned on the spot.
Because there were so many colorful bellybands hanging in the closet!
Since this is the master bedroom in the Prince's Mansion, the person who lives here is naturally the Crown Princess. Recently, because the Prince needs the care of the imperial physician day and night, the Crown Princess has temporarily moved to a nearby courtyard.
In this case, aren’t these bellybands all…
Seeing that the clothes inside were all the Crown Princess's underwear, how could Sun Shaozong dare to go in rashly?
Just as he was about to find another place to hide, he heard the prince shouting, "Call Wu Chengxun in!"
As he spoke, he urged in a low voice: "Why are you still standing there? Go inside and hide!"
"this……"
Sun Shaozong turned back awkwardly and was about to explain something, but he heard footsteps outside. The Prince of Xinyang had actually arrived in the living room!
Seeing that the prince was urging him with winks and eyes, it was too late to find another place. Sun Shaozong finally made up his mind and got into the closet.
Once you enter, it becomes even more embarrassing.
This was because the closet was only about 1.6 meters high and extremely limited in width. How could Sun Shaozong, with his 1.93-meter-tall body, stand straight?
He would have to hunch his back and stuff his eyes, ears, mouth and nose into his many bellybands - if the Crown Princess saw him like this, his image as a 'pillar of the country' would probably collapse.
but……
Is the orchid and musk-like fragrance on this bellyband the result of incense or the natural scent of the Crown Princess?
