Chapter 985 Cold
It was still in that pergola with wind blowing in from all sides.
Sun Shaozong looked at the beggars who were receiving hot soup buns in the heavy snow in front of the city gate, and his expectations had already fallen to the bottom.
The snow outside the city is now more than half an inch deep. Although it has not yet reached Chengdu, which is cut off from traffic, it is only a matter of time if it continues to develop in this way.
The beggars were already short of food and clothing, and after searching for an hour or so in the heavy snow, they had basically reached their limit. Forcing them to continue to expand the scope of the search would be like forcing them to risk their lives.
Not to mention whether they are willing or not, even if they are willing to risk their lives, what are the possibilities of finding a hot air balloon in this heavy snow?
It seems that I lost the bet after all.
But luckily, not all is lost!
Sun Shaozong withdrew his gaze and turned to look inside the city. He didn't know how long he had been waiting before he saw a group of more than ten riders approaching from afar.
He subconsciously stood up and walked to the outside of the shed, but suddenly stopped.
Because the people who came were not what he expected, but more than twenty Dragon Guards and a carriage surrounded by them.
This is?
Under Sun Shaozong's suspicious gaze, the carriage slowly approached, and then a white-haired old eunuch got off and said in a long and sharp voice: "There is an imperial decree!"
As he spoke, he held up the imperial edict high in one hand and showed it to Sun Shaozong.
This was a signal for him to kneel and listen to the announcement, but in the current situation, how could Sun Shaozong be willing to kneel without asking clearly?
At that moment, he just stood solemnly facing the wind and said solemnly: "I don't know where this decree came from..."
The old eunuch did not take it as an offense. He held the imperial edict in both hands and bowed towards the direction of the imperial city, saying, "Your Majesty has just passed away. Naturally, only the emperor can issue an edict."
Big bank?
The emperor is dead?!
Sun Shaozong was shocked. Although he knew that Prince Zhongshun was plotting a rebellion, he never expected that Prince Zhongshun would kill the king so quickly!
Right now he was having a great time outside, shouldn't Prince Zhongshun keep the emperor as his last trump card and amulet just in case?
How can you be so cruel...
"Sun Shaoqing, don't worry too much."
The old eunuch then said, "Fortunately, the Emperor is wise and enlightened. He noticed the change in the palace in time and has arrested the traitor and imprisoned him in the West Garden."
Prince Zhongshun has been captured?!
The plot changed so quickly that even Sun Shaozong was a little dazed for a moment.
At the signal of the old eunuch, he knelt down in a daze and listened to the imperial edict. He didn't remember much of the specific content. He only knew that the emperor asked him to continue searching for the whereabouts of Concubine Xian De and Concubine Rong, and ordered the Inspection Office to send more personnel to assist.
——It turned out that the ones who escaped from the palace were Concubine Xian De and Concubine Rong.
Not until he held the imperial edict in his palm did Sun Shaozong gradually come to his senses and at the same time guessed the twists and turns behind it.
Sun Shaozong didn't believe that there was nothing fishy between the retired emperor and Prince Zhongshun.
This matter was most likely about Prince Zhongshun being plotted against. He was originally just an idle prince, and was very familiar with taking advantage of others to do things, but it was absolutely a pipe dream for him to control the inside and outside of the palace by himself.
Naturally, the only person who could help him in this matter was the retired emperor - but the retired emperor did not really want to help him ascend the throne, but only wanted him to bear the crime of regicide.
As a result, the emperor was killed in a hurry, and he was unable to designate a successor to the throne, nor could he select corresponding ministers to advise him. The emperor emeritus had too much room to maneuver!
No wonder they say 'there are no blood relatives in the royal family', the open and covert attacks between this father and son are really hard to guard against.
But the emperor is so cruel and ruthless, and he has offended the queen mother before. If...
"Sun Shaoqing."
Perhaps because he saw that Sun Shaozong looked strange, the old eunuch consoled him with a genial face, "The Emperor knows that Shaoqing has always been loyal, brave and diligent in the affairs of the king. He once told me personally that he would definitely use Shaoqing in important positions in the future!"
After saying this, he looked around to see if there was anyone around, and lowered his voice again, "The case of the Zhenguo Mansion was the fault of the Niu family themselves. Shaoqing was just enforcing the law impartially. The Emperor's orders will not be blamed for this."
It would be nice if this were true, but can the promise of the retired emperor be trusted? Don't wait until the court is stable, only to be punished instead of being reused!
But if you say you don't believe it...
Is there any way he can prevent the emperor from taking power now?
Prince Zhongshun, who committed regicide and rebellion, has been captured. Even if Jia Yuanchun and Concubine Rong are found, they still cannot influence the situation in the palace.
So even if you don’t believe it, what can you do?
While feeling depressed, Sun Shaozong suddenly remembered something and asked hurriedly: "I wonder who will succeed the throne in the future..."
"this……"
The old eunuch glanced at him and shook his head, saying, "I'm afraid this is not something we can ask about."
But then, he lowered his voice and said, "It must be the Crown Prince without a doubt. Shao Qing has always been on good terms with the Crown Prince, so he should have seen it coming, right?"
“It’s natural!”
Sun Shaozong pretended to be overjoyed and raised his hands to the air, saying, "This will comfort the prince's spirit in heaven."
After he finished speaking, he looked embarrassed again: "In fact, Sun was worried about the safety of the grandson, so he specially sent someone to take the grandson and his mother to the mansion for temporary shelter, but he didn't know..."
He originally arranged for Shen Lian to pick up the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince, intending that if Jia Yuanchun and Concubine Rong were not found, he would call on his former soldiers in the name of the Crown Prince to rise up and defend the king.
But now that the situation has changed, this trump card has become an idle chess piece, or even a bad one!
Because since the emperor wanted to rule the country from behind the scenes and regain power, he certainly didn't want anyone to get too close to the young emperor...
"This is not right!"
The old eunuch was a little anxious when he heard this, and hurriedly urged: "When I came out, the emperor had already ordered someone to invite the grandson. Since the grandson is in the Shaoqing's house, I'm afraid he should be sent to the palace as soon as possible!"
"That's right, that's right. I will go back home and send the Crown Prince to the palace!"
Sun Shaozong looked panicked. He quickly apologized and said goodbye to the old eunuch. He jumped on his horse and galloped into the heavy snow. When there was no one around, his face was as gloomy as the bottom of a pot.
The old grudges have not been resolved, and new ones have been added.
Although the rebellion has been "suppressed" in the palace at this moment, his own crisis has not retreated, but has become more and more dangerous!
If he was just a mediocre person, or even a scholar, it would be fine.
However, he was famous for his talent in both civil and military affairs, and had great prestige in the army. Not only was he respected as "Sun Shiwan", but recently he had also gained some reputation among civil officials because of his work in popularizing law in the countryside and benefiting the literati.
Now it was easy to get the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince to agree to take refuge in his home...
If Sun Shaozong were the emperor, would he be willing to let such people stay in the court, or even use them?
The answer is obviously no!
As he sped along, the chill in Sun Shaozong's heart was even stronger than the wind and snow.
