Volume 1: Swan Goose Chapter 1: The Storm Is Coming
Beiyu, Shengjing, the 20th year since Emperor Yu Fengluo ascended the throne.
This autumn was destined to be an eventful autumn. The most noble woman in Beiyu, the mother of Emperor Yu, breathed her last on the hospital bed. Emperor Yu was heartbroken and personally decided on a posthumous name for his biological mother - Xiaokang.
The death of Empress Dowager Xiaokang was undoubtedly like the thunder that exploded in the sky over Beiyu. It became the trigger of a series of major events and opened the curtain of a cold winter for Beiyu.
In the late autumn night, a scream broke the silence of the dark night.
Yan Rong, the bodyguard of Prince Yi's Mansion, rushed into the house quickly. Under the snow-green curtains, Prince Yi Yu Fengjin gasped in shock. It was obviously late autumn when the chill was getting deeper, but he was already covered in sweat.
"Brother, are you having a nightmare again?" Yan Rong took out the fire folder and lit a candle nearby.
He is the only son of the late General Yan. He and Yi Wang Yu Fengjin grew up together and were as close as brothers. Outside they were masters and servants, but inside they called each other brothers.
"It's nothing, I dreamed about my mother again. It's been a habit for twenty years, so don't make a fuss about it."
Yu Fengjin opened the gauze curtain and slowly got out of bed. Yan Rong immediately put on his wind robe and held a candle to light the way forward.
"Brother, since the death of Queen Mother Xiaokang, you have obviously had more nightmares."
Yan Rong looked at him uneasily.
"Twenty years ago, the Queen Mother made a deal with the Queen Mother Xiaokang who was still the Lotus Concubine: As long as the Queen Mother Xiaokang is here, she will keep me safe for a day. Twenty years of peace and tranquility have passed by in an instant. From now on, I am afraid that
We are going to live a life of shock every step of the way again..." Yu Fengjin let out a long sigh and closed her eyes, as if to brush away the pain.
Speaking of the late empress, both Yu Fengjin and Yan Rong could not help but look solemn.
Twenty years ago, in the same late autumn, on the same night, Yu Fengjin lost her parents at the same time, and from then on she became a puppet imprisoned beside Emperor Yu.
The source of all the evil that made him suffer was simply the distinction between direct descendants and concubines.
The late Emperor Yu Chengkai had nine sons, all of whom were born to his concubines. It was not until he was in his prime that he gave birth to a legitimate son. Naturally, the late Emperor regarded him as a treasure and established him as a prince when the baby was just one year old.
.
This ordinary decision led to great disaster. However, at the moment, the late emperor was too immersed in the joy of having a son that he had no time to care about the anger of others.
King Pei Yu Fenglang is good at martial arts, and King Rui Yu Fengluo is good at planning—this is the evaluation of the emperor's eldest son Rui Wang and the emperor's fifth son King Pei by hundreds of civil and military officials. Before the birth of the emperor's tenth son Yu Fengjin, King Rui and King Pei were the most senior to the throne.
The hot contender for the throne. Officials from the civil and military factions, who had always been incompatible with each other, therefore took sides one after another, forming two incompatible and tit-for-tat forces in the court.
But with the birth of Yu Fengjin, their legitimate son, King Pei and King Rui actually joined forces and launched a coup to seize the palace on the day when the late Emperor Long Yu was visiting guests.
Yu Fengjin's biological mother, Queen Xiaoyu, used a Zen edict to make a deal with Prince Rui's biological mother, Concubine Lian, and exchanged her own life for the safety of her son Yu Fengjin.
At the last moment, Prince Rui Yu Fengluo, who was good at strategizing, rebelled and became the final winner of the battle for the throne, becoming the current emperor - Emperor Yu. Then, in just two years, he
He eradicated the influence of the Crown Prince and King Pei, and imprisoned Yu Fengjin in Shengjing City, with every move under his control.
Flowers bloom and fall, spring passes and autumn comes. Decades of years pass by with just a flick of a finger. In the empty hall, the figure of my mother hanging on the white silk ribbon always survives in the cracks of memory, which makes me sad.
Yi Wang Yu Fengjin is unforgettable.
It has been twenty years since Emperor Yu ascended the throne. Now the world is peaceful, the people are prosperous, the young emperor has white hair on his temples, and the Huangkou boy is approaching his thirties.
Yu Fengjin only received the title of Wangjue after the death of Concubine Lian - the word "Yi" was personally drawn up by Emperor Yu, which means assistant. This is a kind of warning - asking him not to have any wishful thinking and to be obedient.
Be a wealthy and wealthy person by your side.
"In that case, what are your plans, brother?" Yan Rong asked, interrupting Yu Fengjin's thoughts.
He picked up the gilt and hollow censer cover, threw a piece of spices into it, and softly uttered one word: "Wait."
"Wait?" Yan Rong was slightly startled: "Wait for what?"
Yu Fengjin turned to look at the chessboard on the table and said softly: "We have been playing this game for twenty years. We must wait until the opponent makes a mistake before we take action."
Yan Rong frowned and said: "Emperor Yu is extremely smart and cunning and suspicious by nature. In recent days, he has always been testing you overtly or covertly. Moreover, our informant in the Imperial Guard suddenly died suddenly. I always feel that it is very strange."
Be uneasy and worry that things will change if you wait too long.”
"Emperor Yu is smart but willful. Such people are often prone to make big mistakes when they are most proud. We must endure loneliness! What's more, our power in the court is currently weak. The two forces of Yushousi and Jinjiawei,
You can't use it for us yet. The timing is wrong and the strength is not enough. If you do it now, you will die." Yu Fengjin's pale face was filled with a hint of sadness.
Mentioning this matter, Yan Rong couldn't help but lower his eyes and sighed: "It's a pity to say it! We have been planning for many years and finally got Ning Yuan as an informant in the Imperial Guards Department. Unfortunately, for the case of Marquis Pingyang, he acted too hastily and was suspected and killed. Listen.
He said that he had been tortured so much that he bit off his tongue without spitting out a single word. He was really a brave man who would rather die than surrender!"
"Ning Yuan is the queen of Zhongliang. I will not let his sacrifice be in vain. I heard that he also has a son and a sister. They must be properly arranged to avoid revenge from those who are interested." Yu Fengjin said in a low voice.
There was anger in his voice.
"Brother, don't worry. I have already moved them to a safe place and helped them change their identities and start their lives again." Yan Rong secretly clenched his fists in his sleeves and said these words through gritted teeth.
"By the way, how was Ning Yuan exposed?" When she spoke again, Yu Fengjin regained her composure.
Yan Rong calmed down and said seriously: "Pingyang Hou deserves to die! In order to seize a few acres of thin farmland, he not only sent people to massacre the entire village, but also assassinated the officials who intervened in the case. As a result, the impeachment memorial of Pingyang Hou and his son was repeatedly blocked and unable to do so.
Arriving at the imperial court, Ning Yuan tried every means to deliver the memorial to Xia Yunqing, the chief minister of the cabinet. It was precisely because of this that he was targeted by Pingyang Hou's people and was brutally silenced. If Ning Yuan had not been there, Pingyang Hou would have done it.
His evil deeds will never see the light of day!"
Yu Fengjin frowned slightly and said in a deep voice: "He will not die in vain. It is safest to leave this matter to Xia Shoufu. He will definitely not let go of this matter and force the emperor to deal with Pingyang Marquis.
Father and son. Zhang Heng, the son of Marquis Pingyang, is the commander of the Jinjia Guard and holds the capital's imperial army. Once Zhang Heng is captured, the Jinjia Guard will definitely be purged, and that is our opportunity!"
"But..." Yan Rong frowned slightly and said worriedly: "After all, Marquis Pingyang is the biological brother of Empress Dowager Xiaokang, and he and the emperor are a family. Even with the upright Xia Shoufu here, will the emperor really kill his relatives out of justice?"
"I heard that there seems to be one survivor left in this case?" Yu Fengjin asked again.
"Well, brother is right!" Yan Rong nodded and said: "Ning Yuan gave me a secret report before the accident, saying that he had found the only witness in the Pingyang Hou case and hid it properly. He was trying to find a way to bring it with him.
Returning to the capital. Unfortunately, he was soon persecuted and the matter was never followed up..."
"The witness of this person is very important. People from Marquis Pingyang must be looking for it too. We must bring him into the capital before they find him and deliver him to the emperor at the right time. Next, we will see how Xia Shoufu will do.
Take action, as long as we help each other secretly, Pingyang Marquis and Zhang Heng will never be able to turn around." Yu Fengjin sat down cross-legged, stared at a few wisps of faint green smoke in the incense burner, and said slowly.
"Hey!" Yan Rong lightly hit his head with the palm of his hand and sighed: "Our actions are restricted to the suburbs of Beijing. The people from the Royal Guards are monitoring the palace all day long, and all the people who can be used in the palace are under the control of the emperor.
Among them, this matter is really difficult.”
He was right. The Imperial Guards Department was a secret service department established after Emperor Yu ascended the throne. To put it bluntly, it was the emperor's spy. It was not under the jurisdiction of the six ministries, but was directly assigned to the emperor.
The main accusation of the Yushousi is to spy on courtiers and collect intelligence for the emperor. They can arrest anyone, including relatives of the emperor! And in the cases they interrogate, not even the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple have the right to intervene.
After the prisoner was arrested, he was thrown directly into the imperial prison. The Imperial Guard could use any means to extract a confession during the interrogation process, as long as the prisoner finally revealed everything! Of course, this was all given by the emperor's nod.
However, those were all mere words. It is unknown how many people Yu Shousi assassinated behind the Emperor's back!
There are rumors that the spies of the Imperial Guards disguise themselves as common people from all walks of life and lurk throughout the capital, constantly monitoring the words and deeds of every minister in the court.
The emperor knew exactly how many times a certain minister took a bath or visited a brothel in a month. It was said that a minister had a gloomy look on his face after returning home from court, and he was called into the palace the next day.
Listen to the training!
"I think this matter is not difficult." Yu Fengjin threw a handful of firewood into the small stove, placed a tin pot filled with water on it, and continued: "That mad dog Zhang Heng will definitely take care of this matter.
Fang, we can’t use our own people, let’s leave this matter to Fang Yi.”
"Fang Yi?" Yan Rong opened his eyes, and was even more confused: "She is the proprietress of a tavern, a weak woman with no power to restrain a chicken. It's okay for her to deal with lustful people, but what can she do to help with this matter?
?”
Yu Fengjin finally had a faint smile on his face: "It seems that you have underestimated the power of the tavern and women. I remember that opposite the Xiaoxiang Villa opened by Fangyi, there is a place called Zhuanglou."
"That's right, that's the branch of the caravan in the capital." Yan Rong paused and asked, "Could it be that my brother wants to borrow their power? But the caravan is a Jianghu people, and they don't want to be involved in the disputes in the court. What should we do?
Let them work for us?"
The water was boiling, and the tin pot was steaming. Yu Fengjin held up the tin pot with a piece of white cloth, brewed two cups of tea, and said, "People in Jianghu value honor and loyalty the most. I heard Fang Yi say, the caravan
People occasionally visit Xiaoxiang Villa. She must have a way to capture the caravan."
While the two were talking, the rising sun had shined through the window paper, illuminating the black and white chessboard, like a battlefield between two armies, and a war was about to break out.
The two sat across from each other around the square table, holding hot tea and sipping. The atmosphere suddenly became quiet, so quiet that you could hear the sound of fallen leaves falling from the branches and falling to the ground.
"That's right." Putting down the tea cup, Yu Fengjin's face was calm again: "Today's morning meeting helped me to apply for leave to the emperor, saying that I missed the Queen Mother Xiaokang so much that the wind evil attacked my body and I was bedridden.
.”
Yan Rong touched his nose and said with a smile: "That's right. I think Xia Shoufang will definitely impeach Pingyang Hou today. Pingyang Hou is the biological brother of Queen Mother Xiaokang, and his brother was raised by the Queen Mother. The emperor will definitely take the opportunity to ask for your opinion.
, you’d better avoid the limelight.”
Yu Fengjin looked at the meager sunlight outside the window and raised the corners of her lips slightly: "I think everyone must have gathered outside Ziwei City at this time. There was another bloody storm this morning. It's a pity that I couldn't witness it with my own eyes...