Forbidden City, Kunning Palace.

Queen Mother Sun's personal maid Wan Zhen'er was holding a bowl of rice porridge and several plates of side dishes, and said in an almost pleading tone: "Empress Dowager, please just take a bite!"

Ever since she learned that the emperor's lone army had gone deep into the grassland, Empress Dowager Sun did not think about tea or food every day. She just sat there blankly and sighed.

In just a few days, I have lost a lot of weight. If I continue like this, I am afraid I will fall ill.

"Put it down first!" Queen Mother Sun waved her hand and suddenly asked, "Zhen'er, how long have you been in the palace?"

Wan Zhen'er didn't know why, so she answered truthfully: "Back to the Queen Mother, it has been fifteen years since I entered the palace at the age of four!"

"Fifteen years have not been short, and you are most familiar with the situation in the palace. Now that the emperor has not returned from the Northern Expedition, there have been many voices in the court. What do you think of this?"

Wan Zhen'er knelt down and said cautiously: "I dare not speak nonsense!"

Empress Dowager Sun forced a smile out of her gloomy face and said, "There are no outsiders here. If you have any ideas, just tell me. The Ai family will not blame you."

"Slave, slave..."

"The Ai family needs someone to talk to. If you have any ideas, it doesn't matter!"

Wan Zhen'er knows that the current situation of the Queen Mother Sun is not optimistic. Over the years, she has observed the words and deeds in the harem, and she knows the Queen Mother Sun's thoughts best.

Sometimes, there are some things that it is not convenient for the master to say, so it is necessary to rely on other people's words.

"I think that if you want to stabilize the situation, you must make a decisive decision and issue an edict to establish the current prince as the crown prince and the crown prince!"

Hearing this, Empress Dowager Sun's eyes flashed with light, and then immediately turned dim again.

"However, the edict sent back by the emperor clearly states that King Tan will succeed to the throne."

"The emperor only said that King Xi would succeed to the throne, but he did not say who he would appoint as the crown prince!" Wan Zhen'er calmed down and continued, "What's more, the emperor's edict said if...if..."

The second half of the sentence, even though she had a close relationship with the Queen Mother Sun, she did not dare to say it out loud.

Empress Dowager Sun was silent for a long time, and finally said: "Yu Qian, the left minister of the Xuanbing Department, has entered the palace!"

The six government offices are located on both sides of the Qianbu Corridor outside the Daming Gate. Outside the east wall are the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Husbandry, the Ministry of Works, the Zongren Mansion, and the Qintian Supervisor. Outside the west wall are the Governor's Office of the Five Armies and the Ministry of War.

, Ministry of Justice, Metropolitan Procuratorate, Dali Temple and other military yamen.

Yu Qian was on duty at the Yamen of the Ministry of War at this time. Upon receiving the summons, he immediately hurried into the palace.

"I, Yu Qian, pay homage to the Queen Mother and wish her a long life without borders!"

"Longevity without borders?" Empress Dowager Sun smiled bitterly and said, "Yu Qian, when did you learn to say these flattery words?"

Yu Qian raised his head and took a look. Although Queen Mother Sun looked calm, she could not hide the haggard look on her face.

Since the orthodox emperor's personal expedition, the Empress Dowager Sun was frightened and frightened in the harem every day.

When he learned that the emperor was trapped in the earthen fort, he shed tears every day and even secretly packed all the gold and silver in the harem in order to prepare for emergencies.

Finally, good news came from the front line. The emperor personally led the army to break through the siege and fight all the way back to Badaling.

Just when everyone was rejoicing, news came from the front line again. The emperor led three thousand cavalry into the desert. So far, there has been no news.

It's hard to imagine what Queen Mother Sun is living these days. She is a Queen Mother and a mother. The life or death of her son is uncertain, and someone has begun to covet the empty throne.

If something unexpected happens to the emperor, and King Yin succeeds to the throne according to the edict sent back from the front, then everything about the orthodox emperor will be erased and then submerged in the long river of history.

The mother of King Zhu Qiyu was Concubine Wu Xian. When she entered the harem, the Queen Mother would exist in name only.

Thinking of this, Yu Qian secretly sighed in his heart and said: "I am not deliberately flattering you, but the current situation... I hope the Queen Mother will take care of her body!"

Empress Dowager Sun said seriously: "Yu Qian, the late emperor treated you well, but now the emperor is alone in the desert, and his life or death is uncertain. You are in charge of the military department, why don't you send troops to support him?"

"I am scared!" Yu Qian said truthfully, "The emperor personally conquered Oara and took away all the main forces of the Beijing camp. If more troops are sent, we can only mobilize troops from Shandong, Nanjing and other places to mobilize the army and mobilize the masses. It cannot be achieved overnight. Moreover,

Such a large-scale deployment of troops requires joint discussion between the cabinet and the ministers in the DPRK and the DPRK before making a decision. I dare not make a rash decision!"

"You don't dare?" Empress Dowager Sun sneered, "When the emperor decided to go on a personal expedition, how could you dare to accuse the emperor in front of the civil and military officials of the court? Is there anything in the world that you, Yu Qian, dare not do?

"

Yu Qian immediately knelt down and said: "I am the country and the country, and I will die after my death!"

"Get up!" Queen Mother Sun waved her hand and said, "The Ai family has called you here not to let you die. Now the emperor is alone in the desert, and his life or death is unknown. What are your plans?"

Yu Qian stood up and said, "I have no plan!"

"Then the Ai family ask another question!" Empress Dowager Sun looked at him and said coldly: "Someone in the court proposed a new king, is it you?"

Plop!

Yu Qian knelt down again, bowed his head and said: "Please be clear to the Queen Mother, I will never have second thoughts towards the Emperor!"

"Really not?"

"Absolutely not!"

"The emperor's imperial edict is clear. If you die in battle and order King Yin to succeed you, don't you plan to make some preparations in advance? This is the merit of Conglong!"

"If the Queen Mother does not trust me, I am willing to die to prove my innocence!"

Queen Mother Sun's tone softened a little, and she said: "The Ai family said that the reason for calling you here this time is not to let you die. Don't you want to prove your innocence? Well, now that the reserve is empty, the Ai family

What do you think about the idea of ​​establishing the prince as crown prince and as the crown prince?"

"My lord, my lord..."

Yu Qian suddenly realized that he had been doing it for a long time just because of this?

If you want to establish a crown prince, you should have told me earlier, but will this happen?

"I believe that establishing a prince at this time will help stabilize the morale of the army. It is indeed a wise move!"

"oh?"

The Empress Dowager Sun was a little surprised. When the orthodox emperor personally led the expedition, Yu Qian had the loudest objection. Now that the emperor has not returned, rumors are circulating in the court. She thought this guy was secretly causing trouble, but she did not expect that he agreed so simply.

Then I thought again, are you fooling yourself?

On the surface, he agreed to establish the crown prince, but secretly supported the establishment of the king. When the new king ascends the throne one day, the title of the crown prince will be abolished!

"You don't object?"

Unexpectedly, this sentence stunned Yu Qianwen.

"My lord...why do you object?"

Empress Dowager Sun added: "The Ai family is asking you, who are the people in the court who are spreading rumors? Do you know?"

"What the Queen Mother said is..." Yu Qian thought for a while and said, "About His Royal Highness King Xi?"

Queen Mother Sun nodded with a straight face and said nothing.
Chapter completed!