Yongle Palace is the dormitory of the queens of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
"How is the emperor's condition? Has the imperial edict been issued?" The person who asked the question was an old woman, Queen He, He Miao's mother, and He Jin's stepmother.
"The emperor's condition is getting worse and worse. He has not woken up for two days! The imperial edict has not been finalized yet." Queen He was a little worried.
"As long as the son of that bitch is established according to the decree, everything will not be a problem. Instead, I should let my eldest brother inquire about the intentions of Yuan Wei and other senior ministers. However, the eldest son is the eldest son in the ancestral system. They should all support Bian'er."
Queen He paused and said, "Mother, eldest brother rarely visits the palace recently, so I would like to trouble you to go to the General's Mansion."
Upon hearing this, Wuyang Jun stood up without saying a word and started to leave. "Bian'er is my grandson and belongs to the same family. It's no trouble at all."
Queen He expressed her understanding. In fact, there was nothing wrong with the two brothers and sisters with He Jin. It was just that He Jin blamed his sister for being too close to Zhang Rang and other regular attendants.
And she herself felt that there was nothing wrong with Zhang Rang and others supporting her son and getting closer. In fact, she also did not want her brother to monopolize power after her son ascended the throne in the future.
No matter how close the eldest brother is, he can never kiss his biological son, let alone his half-brother.
Just as he was about to leave, a palace maid suddenly ran in hurriedly: "Mother, it's not good. The emperor has passed away!"
The news was like a huge thunder that shocked the mother and daughter.
After all, it was Queen He who woke up first and asked: "Who else knows about this besides you?"
"Go back to your Majesty, my lord, only I know this. The emperor suddenly woke up just now, and his servants were serving him inside.
The emperor said that he wanted to drink water, so the servant went to pour tea. As soon as he turned around, the emperor passed away. The empress had ordered the slave to report to the emperor first if there was any movement, so the slave came without delaying for a moment." The palace maid explained clearly and clearly.
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"What's your name?" Queen He saw that this palace maid was quite capable and would not panic when things happened, and she was careful to keep her by her side.
"Slave Xiu'er." The palace maid replied with some fear.
"From now on, you will serve the emperor's eldest son. Now, your first task is to go to the emperor's eldest son immediately and bring Bian'er to the emperor's palace." Queen He ordered.
Palace Maid Xiuer kowtowed repeatedly to thank her, and Queen He said impatiently: "Go quickly! Just say it's the Ai family's will! Remember that the emperor's affairs must be kept secret!"
"Yes! I'll go right now, slave!" Xiu'er responded, got up, and hurriedly ran out again.
"What should we do next? My daughter, do you want to go out and inform your elder brother now?" Wuyang Jun looked around and asked in a low voice.
"Seal the news and rush to His Majesty's palace!"
"Mother, hurry to the general's palace and inform your elder brother to bring all the civil and military officials into the palace as soon as possible so that Bian'er can ascend the throne!"
The mother and daughter divided their forces into two groups. When Queen He arrived outside Emperor Ling's palace, she heard a burst of crying from a distance.
It turned out that the palace maid Xiu'er was so fast that she disappeared in a flash and arrived in front of Queen He.
After all, Liu Bian was only thirteen years old. Seeing his father's death, he was in unbearable grief. He fell on Emperor Ling's body and cried uncontrollably, while Xiu'er knelt beside him and also covered her face and cried.
Without saying much, as soon as he crossed the threshold, he threw himself to the ground with a bang, "Your Majesty! Why did you just go like this and leave me alone! Your Majesty!"
Empress He Bukui was born into a commoner family. Her mourning was so shocking that even Liu Bian couldn't help but stop crying. He looked at his mother, and his cries almost spread throughout the palace.
First, the ten regular attendants in the palace heard the sound and came, then Empress Dowager Dong arrived with Liu Xie, and then He Jin led hundreds of officials into the middle palace.
All the important officials at home and abroad came. As soon as they entered the door, they saw the queen crying on the emperor, and the eldest son even cried so hard that he passed out. Feeling something bad, they all looked at Jing lying on the golden couch with his eyes closed.
, no breath...
Beside the bed, two imperial doctors from Queen He were kneeling, shaking their heads at the ministers.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, walk slowly!"
Suddenly, noisy cries echoed over the palace.
Soon a minister asked: "Did your Majesty leave any last words before he left?"
The last words and edicts are the same as asking questions to the heirs.
Empress He and her son had already had discussions before and had some arguments.
Liu Bian wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and told the whole story with difficulty: "I heard that my father was unwell, so I came to visit him early and chatted for a while.
Later, my father said he was thirsty and wanted to drink water, so I got up and went to the outhouse to get some water. When I came back, my father went there, and then I notified my mother and the imperial physician."
"After the diagnosis, it was said that my father passed away." At this point, Liu Bian looked sad and his voice choked up.
When Empress Dowager Dong heard what Liu Bian and his son said, she was in disbelief. She looked at her nephew Dong Chong, the nominal hussar general.
Seeing him shaking his head, expressing disbelief, he secretly covered it with his sleeves and pointed at Liu Xie, who was comforting his royal brother. After his father died, Liu Bian cried so hard that he wanted his younger brother, who was four years younger, to comfort him.
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Dong Zhong meant that Emperor Ling had privately mentioned to the two of them a few days ago that he was planning to make Liu Xie the crown prince. Why did he die so suddenly? I wonder if there was a conspiracy.
After a long while, Situ Yuan Kui wiped away his fake tears and asked: "Has Your Majesty ever said in his last words which of your brothers will be the one to pass on to the throne?"
"This..." Liu Bian looked miserable. He was not good at lying, but he was also afraid of where his mother would look.
Seeing his son's sudden stage fright over the issue of the throne, He raised his head and glared at his son. Seeing his frightened look, he was his son after all.
"My son is at a loss for words, so I have to change the subject." He glanced at Ling Emperor Liu Hong who had gone away, fell over, and began to cry miserably.
"Your Majesty, why did you abandon me and go on the road alone? What should you do if you leave me orphaned and widowed? Why don't you go and accompany you now?"
He Hou suddenly stood up and was about to pounce on the pillars of the room, but He Jin quickly stopped him with quick eyesight and hands.
"Empress, don't be too sad! State affairs are important."
In fact, I had just seen the eye contact between my nephew Liu Bian and his sister, and I already knew a little bit. There was no edict, and what I just said was a lie. My nephew is timid and cowardly, otherwise if he had the courage just now, he would have acted well.
The throne may be decided.
"The emperor will go first. Before the spirit comes, he will be questioned endlessly about the throne. It is better to postpone it for a few days."
The ministers cried for a while and then slowly dispersed.
Duan Gui sneaked closer to Zhang Rang, and Zhao Zhong whispered: "Did the emperor have any posthumous edict? Leave it with you. Your Majesty has always wanted to help the prince succeed to the throne, so he will definitely not leave nothing behind."
"Hmph, this bitch actually has a secret behind His Majesty's side. In the palace, when Your Majesty goes down, we, Cao's people, are not the first to get the news. Otherwise, we can forge a copy of the will, and no matter which prince we are supporting,
, both have the ability to follow the dragon." The two of them had sinister expressions on their faces and secretly stared at He Hou in the inner room, who was pretending to be a couple.
"Look, will Qian Shuo have His Majesty's edict in his hand?" Zhao Zhong said suddenly.
Among the ten permanent servants, Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong have the highest position and the most power, but all ten of them know that Qian Shuo is the closest to Ling Emperor.
Two years ago, Emperor Ling established the Xiyuan Forbidden Army and set up eight additional captains, namely: Jian Shuo, the commander of the upper military academy, Cao Cao, the commander of the dian military academy, Yuan Shao, the academy captain of the middle military academy, Bao Hong, the academy captain of the lower military academy, Zhao Rong, the academy captain of the left army, and Zhao Rong, the academy captain of the right army.
Colonel Feng Fang, Colonel Xia Mou on the left, and Chunyu Qiong on the right. Among them, the Colonel on the Army has the power to control the entire army.
Although both Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong were granted the title of marquis, they did not have a serious army in their hands, only eunuch warriors composed of eunuchs in the palace.
To outsiders, it may seem that Shi Chang serves like an iron bucket, but in fact Qian Shuo is only loyal to Emperor Ling and has no selfish motives at all.
Before nightfall, the death of the emperor was officially announced to the world. Taichang Qing and other ceremonial officials began to arrange a mourning hall for the emperor, help carry him, and arrange his appearance and clothes.
But she said that when Empress Dowager Dong saw the young prince Liu Xie crying for his father, she was tired of crying, so she took him back to Jiade Palace first.
Before leaving, Qian Shuo came back among the crowd and secretly watched the two people leaving, with a slightly thoughtful look in his eyes.
Looking around, he saw that no one noticed him.
He said to a young eunuch nearby: "Oh, we have to go to our house for convenience. Let me know if anything happens."
The eunuch has a disability in his lower body and cannot hold back his convenience. Naturally, the young eunuch knew this and quickly flattered him: "Eunuch Qian, go and get it quickly. The young eunuch who knows how to keep an eye on me will call you out of the court room in your courtyard if there is anything."
"Oh, I'm in such a hurry," he said softly and left quietly. He took a detour through the palaces and sneaked to the Jiade Hall.