Corrupt official in the Red Chamber

Chapter 479 Death Knell
As the bells rang, everyone in the capital was startled.

This sound is not the ordinary bells such as Jingyang Bell, but the death knell of the emperor.

And as the palace bells rang, the major temples in the capital also began to ring their bells.

Now the matter is settled, Emperor Xiaokang has passed away.

Many important ministers in the court were actually mentally prepared for the death of Emperor Xiaokang. After all, the news that the emperor had been suffering from illness during this period and often vomited blood spread throughout the capital.

Recently, several ministers broke into the Taiyuan Hospital and announced the emperor's pulse. Some of them had already asked famous doctors in the capital.

These doctors shook their heads after reading the pulse records. They had no way to deal with this disease. They could only temporarily maintain it. If it could not be maintained, they would vomit blood and die.

After receiving Jia Rui's order, several military ministers hurriedly put on their court uniforms and wrapped them in white clothes, and then came to the palace.

At this time, Emperor Xiaokang had been placed in the main hall of Qianqing Palace.

Because Jia Rui wanted to keep the body for the ministers to pay their respects, although he had been placed in the coffin, the lid of the coffin was not closed.

As the head of the cabinet, Shen Wence first offered three sticks of incense to the emperor, and then knelt three times and kowtowed nine times.

After that, it was Jia Yucun and others.

After offering incense and saluting one by one, they went to pay homage to the emperor's remains under the leadership of Shen Wence.

After seeing the emperor's appearance, all the ministers breathed a sigh of relief, because the emperor obviously did not die of poisoning, but suffered from illness and finally fell ill suddenly.

That would be good, and the world would be less turbulent.

During this period, Jia Rui's actions in the south touched the interests of many people. If Jia Rui had not held military power, these people would have turned upside down.

Although there will be no major local turmoil, the ministers do not want any unpredictable rumors to appear.

After the cabinet ministers paid homage to the emperor's body, they came to the Yangxin Hall together.

After the eunuchs reported, they were led into the hall.

After Shen Wence came in, he peeked up and saw Jia Rui sitting at the table with tears on his face, a little distracted.

When Jia Yucun and others saw Jia Rui like this, they were a little worried and came forward to persuade him one by one.

Jia Rui wiped his tears and said with a sigh: "The Emperor is in his prime. I still thought of temporarily taking charge of the court for a while and returning the power when the Emperor repented. I didn't expect that the Emperor would leave just like that."

"My lord, this is destiny. Don't be sad. It's better to think about who will inherit the throne next." Jia Yucun didn't care about the emperor at all, but was very happy about it. .

After the emperor dies, their master Jia Rui will definitely find a child to ascend the throne. In this case, within ten years at least, those of them who follow Jia Rui will make no mistakes.

Jia Rui put away his tears and looked at Shen Wence, "The emperor has several other dragon sons. Which one do you think is suitable to be the emperor?"

Shen Wence lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said: "I believe that there are two princes who can take on this important task."

"Tell me, which two people are they?"

"Young master, one is the seventh prince born to the queen, and the other is the child in Concubine Jing's womb."

Several other ministers nodded after hearing this, thinking that what Shen Wence said made sense.

Jia Yuanchun is the queen, and her children are naturally legitimate sons and eligible to inherit the throne.

Although Concubine Jing was demoted to a concubine, she was also a queen originally, and her status was more noble than the other concubines. Her prince was also qualified to become the emperor. Wasn't the incident that made a big fuss some time ago the concubine behind it?

Maybe Concubine Jing's actions can be hidden from the lower-level officials below, but for these cabinet ministers, her tricks can't be hidden from others.

Jia Rui sighed, and then said: "I don't know whether the dragon seed in Concubine Jing's belly is a boy or a girl, but the court cannot live without a king for a day."

Jia Yucun immediately understood what Jia Rui meant, "My lord, I think the son of Queen Jia Yuanchun is better."

Jia Rui nodded, "I think so too. The queen's son is the legitimate son. Since ancient times, there has been a saying that there is a legitimate son, but there is no such thing as a legitimate son. Now that the queen's legitimate son is here, other people will retreat."

Shen Wence peeked at Jia Rui and quickly said, "The Duke is still far-sighted, and the humble ministers can't wait."

Jia Rui now has a smile on his face, not as sad as before, "In this case, you will draft a will for the emperor."

After receiving Jia Rui's order, several cabinet ministers began to consider the contents of the edict in the Yangxin Hall.

These people were all academics, and soon the posthumous edict was delivered to Jia Rui.

Jia Rui looked at it and felt that he was quite satisfied. After agreeing, he ordered the seal eunuch to take out the jade seal and cover it.

After this process was completed, Jia Rui ordered Shen Wence as an imperial envoy to go to the back hall of Yangxin Hall to declare an edict for the little prince who was raised in front of Xue Baochai.

When Shen Wence came to the back hall with the imperial edict, he saw that Xue Baochai was already wearing the costume of a duchess, and even the little prince she was holding in her arms was already wearing a bright yellow four-clawed dragon robe.

It seems that Xue Baochai has received the news from Jia Rui and is waiting for the imperial edict to come!

The process of announcing the edict was quickly over, and then the edict was left to Xue Baochai.

That night, the choice of the emperor's successor spread throughout the capital.

Everyone expected that Jia Rui arranged for Jia Yuanchun's children to inherit the throne.

Immediately after receiving the news, everyone in Rongguo Mansion had a hidden smile.

The current emperor is the child of the eldest girl in their palace. As long as this child grows up, won't they all tremble?
However, since the emperor was mourning, these people did not dare to celebrate openly. They could only say a few happy words secretly while drinking.

At this time, Jia's mother was not very happy. Instead, she handed her eldest son and second son to her Rongqing Hall, and then kicked out all the irrelevant people. Only mother and son were left in the hall.

Mother Jia looked at her two sons, who were dressed in white but had excited smiles on their faces, and sighed softly.

"Do you think this is a good thing?"

After hearing this, Jia She immediately said: "Although it may not be a good thing, it is not a bad thing either."

Jia Zheng had the same idea as him.

Jia Mu shook her head gently, and then said: "Who do you think belongs to the country in this world?"

Jia She said without thinking: "Of course it belongs to the emperor."

But Jia Zheng was stunned for a moment, and then said reluctantly: "The world belongs to Jia Rui."

Jia Mu nodded, and then said: "If that's the case, how long do you think this little emperor can last?"

(End of this chapter)