The Wenyuan Pavilion in Zuoshunmen has never been able to compare with the complicated regulations of the yamen around the Qianbu Corridor. The direct room of the dignified chief assistant is not comparable to the second hall where ministers govern affairs, and even the six departments and one doctor are incomparable.
1. However, there is a huge amount of land in the palace, and the places for ministers and ministers cannot be as good as those for the emperor's concubines. So even if they were renovated, they would just try to build a few more rooms to accommodate a few more people and store documents and documents.
It's a warehouse, nothing more. Therefore, the courtyard gate in front of the dignified Wenyuan Pavilion is ordinary and inconspicuous, forming a sharp contrast with the Wenhua Hall and other places opposite.
However, at this moment, this small door has become a clear dividing line, separating the two groups of people. The outer group is the elite of the 12th Regiment Battalion, and the inner group is those who work in the cabinet.
Clerks and so on. Even if the two sides are not at war with each other, the atmosphere is tense and stalemate. Facing this scene, the faces of the three pavilion elders standing in front of the window on the second floor of Wenyuan Pavilion were as pale as water, and in the end it was Xie Qian.
broke the silence.
"I shouldn't have complied with the emperor's wishes in the first place. This boy is hateful! He only knows how to please His Highness the Crown Prince, but he doesn't know how to take into account the overall situation!"
"It's too late to say this now. Didn't you hear the words of the sergeants outside? According to His Highness's decree, there were eunuchs in the palace who were obsessed with lard and took advantage of the chaos to take away property, so they sent troops to guard Wenyuan Pavilion, and they only watched
If the outsiders don't step outside the trap, what else can we do? Besides, Xu Xun, the man in charge of the situation, doesn't even have a face. How can we shamelessly go to those sergeants to argue with us?"
Li Dongyang had always felt that Xu Xun was sincere at a young age and was not greedy for money but at this moment, faced with such a situation, he could no longer stick to his previous opinion. After saying this, he saw Liu Jian's face
It was already as dark as the bottom of a pot, so he said: "Yuanfu, if we still keep Liu Wentai, His Highness the Crown Prince may come in person."
"What I want is for His Royal Highness to come!" Liu Jian glared angrily, grabbed the wooden frame on the window sill with one hand, and said in a deep voice, "The Emperor has just been buried, and His Highness is acting so recklessly. If the Emperor's spirit in heaven finds out, he will definitely
I will also be extremely disappointed! Even if the people from the Taiyuan Hospital want to pursue the case, they must pursue it slowly, otherwise it will cause a big fuss and rumors will spread all over the world. It is difficult to guarantee that there is something wrong! The emperor is gone. Now the most important thing is long-term peace and stability, not just for temporary anger.
It’s causing unrest both internally and externally!”
They have all been in the officialdom for decades. Although they are still sad in their hearts, and although they are very fond of the deceased emperor, as cabinet ministers, the three of them all hold a calm attitude on this issue.
Therefore, seeing Xie Qian also nodded, Liu Jian said: "We can't wait any longer. Send someone to the Supervisor of Ceremonies. If you can't get out, I will go there myself. I don't believe that anyone dares to stop me! Even if I drag you, I will have to do it."
Drag Xiao Jing to take the lead to see His Highness!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a voice came from outside: "Yuanfu, Mr. Li Ge and Mr. Xie Ge's dinner has been delivered."
Wenyuan Pavilion is located in the southeast corner of the palace. The three pavilion foreigners and several clerks each use daily firewood, rice, oil and salt from Guanglu Temple on a monthly basis, and then cook them individually in the small kitchen next to the imperial palace.
It can't be said that it is a delicacy, but it is always full of vegetables and meat, and no one cares whether it is delicious or not. But now when talking about important things, dinner suddenly came up, and Liu Jian naturally became angry: "What time is it, what are you talking about?"
Dinner! If the emperor dies, he should at least not eat at least three times!"
When it comes to funerals, people don't eat for three days in three years of mourning. They don't eat in three days of mourning in September and above. And in March and May, they don't eat one meal. I just say this. Eat a meal in peace and quiet.
Two meals is enough, but three or five meals is hard to endure. Therefore, the stove is usually not turned on during mourning, and snacks are secretly used to quench the hunger after the night. The emperor's funeral is actually equivalent to the people among the people serving and beheading their father.
As for how many meals to skip, there has never been a rule. When Liu Jian yelled at the meal, the clerk outside was silent for a moment, and then opened it again after a long while.
"Reporting to Yuan Fu, the person who delivered the food outside mentioned these three food shortages. He just said that His Highness the Crown Prince was considerate of Yuan Fu and the two elders, so he specially ordered not to skip meals. As for the others...", he paused.
After a meal, he stuttered and said, "Others will not eat for three days according to the rules. In these three days... in these three days, there will be nothing to eat."
At this moment, not to mention Liu Jian's jaw-dropping, even Li Dongyang and Xie Qian were dumbfounded. After a long time, Li Dongyang said: "I know, put the things on the table outside for now, you go!"
When they left, the three of them looked at each other, and Li Dongyang said helplessly: "If you don't eat for three days, you won't starve to death. But maybe the guy will provide meals per head. Those clerks have been hungry for three days.
The news of Liu Wentai's arrival cannot be concealed, they must hate this guy to the core... He is waiting for us to be unable to bear it any longer and send Liu Wentai out himself."
"This cunning boy, this cunning boy!"
Liu Jian cursed twice, then angrily went downstairs, and rushed out of the courtyard regardless. As soon as he went out, he saw a group of sergeants not retreating.
I, the chief minister of the cabinet, do you also want to stop me?"
The person who was sent to take the lead in guarding Wenyuan Pavilion was none other than Qian Ning. Therefore, facing Liu Jian's angry glare, he calmly bowed and said: "Yuan Fu's words are serious. How can I dare to stop you in my humble position? Only now."
The sun has set. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has ordered that not many lights be lit in the palace tonight. The roads are dark. If Yuan Fu wants to go out, he should send someone to protect him!
"Hmph!" After all, Liu Jian didn't want to be in the same league as these little guys, so he immediately put his hands behind his hands and said calmly, "In that case, I will go to the Supervisor of Ceremonies!"
However, Qian Ning, who had just made a respectful gesture, immediately said with a face full of embarrassment: "Sir Yuan Fu really wants to go to the Supervisor of Ceremonies? I only got the news from my humble position, saying that His Highness the Crown Prince was in unbearable grief, and the Supervisor of Ceremonies held the seal of his palm.
Now all the pens have gone to Qianqing Palace."
Although Qian Ning was absolutely convinced, Liu Jian couldn't believe it, so he walked ahead without saying a word. Before he had taken a few steps, Qian Ning followed him with two or three people, but they were neither close nor far away.
The ground followed a few steps away. Liu Jianwei was so angry that he didn't pay attention at first. But when he got outside Donghua Gate, he remembered that the Chief of Ceremonies was far away in the yellow-tiled east gate near Bei'an Gate. He walked over from here.
It took more than half an hour. But when people came out, he simply walked straight to the north along the riverside, until his legs were a little sore and sticky sweat stuck to his back.
However, when he walked directly into the Supervisor of Ceremonies under the strange looks of those insiders, he went straight to the public hall on the second floor, only to find that it was empty. Annoyed, he quickly went out and called out casually.
A little fireman came over and asked sternly: "Where are all the gentlemen, the Supervisor of Ceremonies and the Master of Ceremony?"
"My father-in-law went to Qianqing Palace. He left in the afternoon and never came back." The little fireman didn't seem to know Liu Jian, but he glanced sideways at the soldiers following him, but showed a somewhat frightened expression, and hurriedly He then bowed and said, "Before Eunuch Xiao left, he said that if there were any urgent matters, those in the palace would be put aside for the time being. As for those outside, they would all go to Wenyuan Pavilion to find the three pavilion elders to decide what to do."
But what if the three cabinet elders want to find someone from the Supervisor of Ceremonies?
Liu Jian just felt a breath of depression rushing into his head, but he couldn't get angry at such a small fireman who was only 14 or 15 years old, so he just turned around and left with a groan. When he went out like this, the small fireman walked all the way. Following him out, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the person heading straight for the east gate of Huang Wa. The fear he felt just now was gone.
After sending this master away, the young master and Eunuch Xiao should feel relieved now?
Although the food was delivered, neither Li Dongyang nor Xie Qian had any appetite. When they saw the disappointed look on Liu Jian's face when he came back, they immediately lost their appetite even more. The three of them discussed for a long time, and finally Liu Jian couldn't. He reluctantly agreed to Li Dongyang's proposal.
Hand Liu Wentai over, but the three of them have to deliver him to Qianqing Palace. They must meet Prince Zhu Houzhao!
Early the next morning, Emperor Hongzhi was buried. Due to the hot weather, although the Qianqing Palace had tried its best to ventilate and all kinds of medicinal materials were used, some smells still inevitably leaked out during the burial. However, Zhu Houzhao But he didn't show any trace of dissatisfaction from beginning to end. Only after personally putting on the regular clothes for Emperor Hongzhi, he staggered out of the room, and then his legs were limp and he collapsed on the soft couch, unknowingly bursting into tears again. His face was full of tears. Even if he was like this, not to mention Empress Zhang, she barely managed to endure until the end and then fainted again. For a while, the two female officials were so frightened that they hurriedly ordered the imperial doctor to be sent.
The imperial doctor immediately woke up when he heard the news. After he saw that Queen Zhang was fine on the bamboo couch of Concubine Xiang, he immediately called Liu Jin and asked with an unnatural look on his face: "Isn't the imperial hospital closed? Everyone is here." If you are in prison, where can you find a doctor?"
"Don't worry, Your Highness, Commander Xu has thought of this." When Liu Jin told Xu Xun's arrangements yesterday, Zhu Houzhao's face lit up a little, and he immediately nodded and said, "I was confused at the time, but fortunately he was smart... By the way. , There’s still no movement over at Wenyuan Pavilion? I’ve given them a lot of face, how long are they going to wait?”
Liu Jin didn't intend to tell the difference for the elders, so he immediately spread his hands and pretended not to know anything. Although Zhu Houzhao had received Xu Xun's previous assurance, he was still upset. He stood up and walked around, and sat down for a while. He was in a daze, and finally walked out of the main hall and stood in a daze at the door. He didn't know how long it took before he received the news from Wenyuan Pavilion, saying that Liu Jian and the others were going to personally send Liu Wentai to Qianqing Palace to see him. .Although he was impatient to see these three old men, he finally agreed.
However, when he saw Liu Wentai being led through the door, he couldn't bear it any longer. He actually forgot about propriety and dignity. He stepped forward, grabbed the other person's collar and shouted sternly: "Liu Wentai, you are all here." It was you, it was you who killed my father!"
The voice was so loud that Chief Assistant Liu Jian was so shocked that his scalp went numb: "Your Highness, this matter concerns the Emperor's name, and you cannot trust your words!"
"Humph!" Zhu Houzhao let go of his hand and let Liu Wentai fall to the ground, and then said angrily, "What nonsense?"