first minister

Chapter 317: Departure and Progress

His Majesty died?
A few hours ago, His Majesty, who was still lying in front of me talking and laughing, passed away?

Even Concubine De, who was prepared for all the absurdities in the world, was a little confused for a moment.

That was Your Majesty, the supreme king of the country, and he was not that kind of idiot emperor. He had deep palaces and comprehensive methods, and he was in the army of the British Duke. How could he die so suddenly?

But Concubine De was Concubine De after all. After being stunned for a moment, she immediately reacted.

Now is not the time to explore how this happened, but to deal with the situation after it happened.

Regardless of whether it is the British Duke's intervention or other circumstances, the current development of the situation is either the Crown Prince succeeds to the throne legitimately, or the British Duke uses his military power to force the Linjiang County Prince to ascend the throne. Both of these will have a great impact on her and Jiaodong County Prince Dongfang Bai. It's a catastrophe.

She glanced at Gao Yi and silently ran through her thoughts in her mind. She felt that it was unlikely that the eunuch who was close to His Majesty would come to bluff her with false information at this moment, so she immediately said: "Please wait a moment, father-in-law."

After a while, Concubine De, dressed in the clothes of an ordinary palace maid and covered with a black cloak, walked into the darkness with Eunuch Gao and Jin Zhong.

The rain was pouring heavily and the lights were dim. The three of them skillfully passed through the various palaces, narrowly passing by groups of patrolling soldiers. In an extremely nervous and vigilant mood, they finally arrived without any danger. Arrived outside Xihua Gate.

This is the city gate specially chosen by Gao Yi, because this gate is the one with the best relationship with them among the four gates of the imperial city.

Most of the palace servants who leave the palace to convey orders come in and out through this door, and the gatekeeper of this door has been familiar with them for a long time, and his temperament is more utilitarian, so he is the most likely to be broken through.

However, according to the regulations of the palace, there is an unobstructed open space of about three hundred steps from here to the gate. This is to prevent people with ulterior motives from deliberately approaching the city gate to cause trouble. How to walk through this section without being discovered is a question. An extremely difficult thing.

But now that the arrow is on the string, he no longer cares about so much.

Gao Yi whispered: "Empress, let's go."

Concubine De did not hesitate. She would definitely die if she stayed. If she gave it a try, she might still have a chance. She nodded immediately and trotted towards the city gate.

The figures of the three people passed through the rain curtain and were still clearly visible under the lights of the city tower.

Fortunately, for some reason, the soldiers on the city wall were staring outside the city and did not see their movement.

But just when they successfully arrived less than a hundred steps away from the city gate, the three of them stopped in unison.

A figure slowly walked out of the light and blocked the way.

Tall and majestic, Yuan Ting Yue Zhi, the Forbidden Army commander Shang Zhicheng!
Jin Zhong's heart fell to the bottom. His adoptive father could rely on his status as the eunuch close to Emperor Chongning to bluff the gatekeeper, but he could never bluff him as the commander of the Forbidden Army who personally received His Majesty's decree to seal him off. Shang Zhicheng in the sixth house.

If this happens, Concubine De is trapped in the palace, Prince Xia is no longer in the capital, and the prince of Jiaodong falls into the hands of the prince or the British prince, the situation will be completely lost.

And those who fled with Concubine De will also face disaster.

He looked at Shang Zhicheng, who was like a mountain in front of him, and couldn't help but feel despair in his heart.

However, at this moment, Gao Yi and De Fei took off the hats covering their heads, revealing their clear faces.

The rain fell wantonly on their heads and ran down their cheeks and hair, making them look a little embarrassed and desolate, but their eyes were full of determination and a trace of silent prayer.

Shang Zhicheng looked at the two of them calmly, silent, and did not open his mouth to be arrested, nor did he open his mouth to greet them.

In the pouring rain, in the long silence, when Gao Yi's heart gradually sank, and Jin Zhong became increasingly desperate, Shang Zhicheng slowly turned around and got out of the way.

Concubine De bowed deeply, and then walked towards Yemen on the side without hesitation.

Gao Yi and Jin Zhong naturally understood Shang Zhicheng's attitude and quickly followed him.

As he passed by, Shang Zhicheng said softly: "An hour and a half ago, Xuanhu escorted the prince to sneak back to the East Palace."

Concubine De stopped for a moment, feeling frightened. She turned around again and saw that Shang Zhicheng had walked away as if nothing had happened.

When she came to Zuoye's door and looked at the door bolt that had been removed in advance, Concubine De suddenly turned her head, and Shang Zhicheng also hugged her fists.

It's called letting go, but it's actually sending each other off.

Concubine De's nose felt sour, "Let's go!"

Gao Yi smiled bitterly and said, "Madam, Jin Zhong will serve you and leave. I won't follow you anymore."

Concubine De said quickly: "Eunuch Gao, if you stay, wouldn't it?"

Gao Yi's smile was a bit bleak, "It is precisely because of the old slave's identity that once the old slave leaves, all the disciples and grandchildren of the old slave will probably die. Without further ado, please leave as soon as possible."

Concubine De is not an indecisive person. Gao Yi has been able to serve Emperor Chongning for decades, and his mind has long been extremely clear. Such a person has made a choice, and it is useless to talk about it, so she bowed to Gao Yi, turned around and rushed out. The palace gate.

Jin Zhong glanced at his adoptive father, Gao Yi stretched out his foot and kicked him on the butt, and scolded him with a smile: "If anything happens to me, please watch your skin carefully!"

Jin Zhong wiped his face, not knowing whether it was water or tears, and quickly followed him.

Gao Yi slowly closed the door, turned around and walked in.

Gao Yi, who had already made Shang Zhicheng's attitude clear, and because the mystery had been solved by his words just now, walked to Shang Zhicheng's side and said, "Protect yourself, and then worry about funeral arrangements."

Shang Zhicheng, who had obviously also received the bad news from His Majesty, smiled miserably, "Is there any funeral arrangements?"

Gao Yi said firmly: "Don't forget, there are still bamboo forests, border troops, and Mr. Xia who has repeatedly performed miracles."

Shang Zhicheng pursed his lips and said noncommittally, "Take care of yourself."

After saying that, he strode away and headed to the main entrance to face the most difficult problem tonight.

Gao Yi also sighed and walked quickly into the darkness of the palace.

A sudden rainstorm completely drenched the two people most trusted by Emperor Chongning.

Outside the palace walls, there was complete darkness.Concubine De followed the direction she remembered and walked quickly towards the Marquis Jiang'an Mansion.

Just after taking a few steps, I heard a low voice coming from my ear, "Your Majesty?"

Hearing this familiar voice, Concubine De whispered: "Xiuyun?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a figure walked out quickly and held her hand, "Mother, it's me, come here quickly."

When holding Feng Xiuyun's hand, Concubine De couldn't help but sway slightly. It was the complete exhaustion after a slight relaxation after being extremely tense.

Feng Xiuyun quickly supported her and said, "Madam, it's not suitable to stay here for a long time. Please come with me as soon as possible. Mr. Su in the Marquis Mansion has also made arrangements. Just don't worry."

After saying that, he helped Concubine De into a house, and then, together with several other guards who had been waiting here, went out from the back door and led them through the streets and alleys.

"My dear, please bear with me. The whole city is under martial law tonight. If we hadn't prepared in advance, it would be difficult to even go out, and neither the carriage nor the sedan chair would be available."

Concubine De forced herself to keep up with everyone, but she couldn't help but wonder: "How did you know that I am coming out tonight?"

Feng Xiuyun whispered: "It's all Gao Yang said. In the afternoon, a guard accompanying him suddenly came to the Hou Mansion and sent an urgent letter. The letter told Mr. Su that he had escaped from trouble in Longshou Prefecture and was heading towards He arrived with the capital, and then analyzed several possibilities for the British Duke to send troops this time, so that we could deal with it in advance, and then mentioned the worst possibility, that is, the British Duke and Xiao Fengshan might collude. If so, the capital may be destroyed. , he asked us to notify you immediately and try to find a way to remind His Majesty to take precautions. But when we got the letter, His Majesty had already left the palace, the palace was under martial law, and we could not enter. We could only arrange it on the outside, hoping that if it happened, If the worst happens, I will be able to help you leave the palace."

She leaned into Concubine De's ear and said: "Mr. Gongsun has personally gone to pick up the King of Jiaodong County. According to Gao Yang's instructions, he will be sent directly to the bamboo forest. Your Majesty, there is no need to worry. We will try to send you out of the city as soon as possible to meet him."

Upon hearing this arrangement, Concubine De's anxious heart relaxed completely.

A thought came to my mind again: Fortunately, I have him, fortunately I have him.
-
"Gentlemen, do you still have any doubts?"

In the central court, the central ministers and top dignitaries gathered together, and the British Duke asked in a deep voice.

So many doubts!

Didn't Qin Sichao die long ago?How could he come back to life again?
Do your [-] troops have enough to eat?Even with [-] pigs, it would be difficult for them to sneak in quietly!

His Majesty is protected by elite black cavalry. How could these two people succeed?

Everyone looked at the three corpses lying in front of them and couldn't help but think like this, but when the words came to their lips, no one would say them out.

There were indeed many loyal ministers of Emperor Chongning among them, but that was when Emperor Chongning was alive, and no one would be loyal to the dead.

Emperor Chongning's death is full of mystery, but no matter what the outcome of this mystery is, Emperor Chongning will never live again.

After a moment of hesitation, all they thought about was their future interests.

What's more, the hundreds of soldiers in the yard are not just for food. Who knows that the British Guild will not be crazy and kill any dissenters directly.

The Deputy Prime Minister of the DPRK said: "Mr. British, what are your suggestions? I hope you can make it clear."

The British Duke said solemnly: "I believe that the current political situation is inherently unstable, with frequent rebellions from all directions. The top priority is to support the new king, stabilize the government, and then thoroughly investigate the case and eliminate the remaining parties to soothe His Majesty's spirit. I We have ordered the entire patrol camp to be under martial law, and we will never let a murderer go."

The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel did not back down at this time. If he did not express his position at the critical moment, he would not be able to take the key position. So he opened his mouth and said: "In the opinion of the British public, who should be the new king?"

The British Duke spread his hands and said, "If possible, I would certainly like to let my grandson ascend the throne, but since he is neither his direct descendant nor his eldest son, and His Majesty happened to die in my army, I will definitely not be able to do such a scandalous thing."

At this time, a close aide of the prince who was deliberately summoned said in a deep voice: "The official position in the East Palace is still there. What doubts do you have, sir? It is a just and logical move. Could it be that the princes want to do something else? He can't think of it?"

So, once the decision was made, everyone walked out together, preparing to go to the East Palace to support the new king.

He walked in such a hurry that he almost forgot the body of Emperor Chongning.

It was only after the British duke shouted that a few soldiers found a coffin, put the body into the coffin, and hurriedly carried it to the East Palace.

In the East Palace, the prince was awakened by the movement outside.

The Crown Princess stood up in panic, "Your Highness, is Father going to kill us?"

The prince stood up with a generous look on his face, "If you want me to die, I have to die. Since my father wants my life, I can just take it. Why should I be afraid!"

After saying that, he put on his robe and rushed out. The eunuchs waiting outside looked at him with admiration. He didn't expect that His Highness the Crown Prince could have such courage.

When the ministers announced their intention to come, the prince took advantage of the situation and started crying bitterly that had been brewing for half a night. He lay on the coffin and was reluctant to get up.

If you don't get up, aren't we here in vain?
Everyone was old-timers, so they had no choice but to follow the acting, and after persuading and persuading, the prince finally reluctantly agreed to Lingqian's succession, and they walked towards the palace together.

Under the palace walls, without the British Duke having to show up, some important ministers or dignitaries who were eager to show off in front of the new monarch shouted, "Shang Zhicheng! His Majesty was assassinated and died. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has succeeded to the throne in front of his soul. Please open the palace as soon as possible." Open the door and welcome the new king!"

On the palace wall, Shang Zhicheng said in a deep voice: "Nonsense, His Majesty was so good, how could he die!"

The British Duke stepped forward and shouted coldly: "Shang Zhicheng, all the central officials are here, the new king is also here, and the late emperor's coffin is also here. Do you want to fight against the entire court by yourself?"

After a while, the palace door finally slowly opened, and everyone looked excited, surrounding the new monarch and walking into the palace.

Behind the palace gate is the hanging dragon chair and the empty court hall, which is also the starting point of a new era of glory and wealth.

Shang Zhicheng went against the flow of people and came to the coffin of Emperor Chongning, who had been forgotten by everyone. He gently stroked the coffin and remained silent.

Sadness and joy, at this moment, are not the same.

In other words, they never connected.

　I went to the hospital for a physical check-up in the morning.I didn’t come back until noon. Let’s start with one chapter and then another.

　　Let them be proud for a while, and the protagonist will come on stage.

　　or2
　　
　
(End of this chapter)