Niao Ni

Chapter 538: Sorrowful Cry

(Brothers and sisters, I have something to announce: this month, Qing Yu Nian will not be asking for monthly votes.

The reason for this is that I will be leaving Shanghai and heading north soon. For the entire month of July, I cannot guarantee very stable updates, and I am very afraid of not being able to guarantee the quality. As in some past days, I feel apologetic, unable to elaborate, so I bow to thank everyone.

This month, please vote for those more diligent and dedicated authors. This is not affected pretense; it's simply self-reproach after sitting in front of the computer for two hours, unable to write a single word.)

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The entire city was draped in mourning, a sea of white, like a heavy snowfall in September that chilled one to the bone. Snowflakes of white cloth, white paper, white lights, white hangings, and white lanterns scattered all around the imperial city, in every street, alley, and residential home. It wasn't real snow, but white everything.

The vast expanse of white was truly pristine. The sorrow and weeping were suppressed within the chests of the clean people, afraid of disturbing the most sorrowful day in the past twenty years of the Qing Kingdom.

The news of His Majesty the Emperor's death could not be kept secret forever. Especially when the rumors grew stronger and stronger, the Empress Dowager made a decisive decision. Waiting only for the army sent to Da Dong Mountain to bring back His Majesty's remains, and not waiting for the continuation of various investigations, she issued this earth-shattering obituary.

The people of Kyoto had been mentally prepared, but once they received confirmation from the court and saw the large white lanterns hanging from the four corner towers of the imperial city, they were still greatly shocked. People are often like this: after a person dies, they think of their good qualities. Regardless of what kind of person the Emperor of the Qing Kingdom was, at least during the more than twenty years of his reign, the lives of the citizens of the Qing Kingdom were the happiest they had ever been.

Therefore, Kyoto was filled with grief overnight.

The Emperor died of illness on the peak of Da Dong Mountain. This was the truth that the dignitaries of the Qing Kingdom wanted to tell the citizens of the Qing Kingdom. As for the real truth, perhaps it would gradually be revealed a few years later, rushing into the hearts of the Qing people like a flood. Those dignitaries would once again use the heartache of the Qing people to seek their further interests.

It was not yet the day of national mourning, but Kyoto had already become a white world. However, the Minister of Rites and the Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial were supposed to have died with His Majesty on the distant peak of Da Dong Mountain. So the execution of all the rituals seemed a bit awkward, like a sobbing lament that was forced to pause several times in the middle.

It was precisely because of these awkward moments that the important figures in the court and palace, in addition to their grief, were even more caught in a certain kind of anxiety. Although His Majesty the Emperor had not taken any particularly surprising measures in recent years, appearing somewhat mediocre and quiet, the deceased was, after all, Emperor Qing, the spiritual core of the entire Qing Kingdom!

After everyone got used to the sorrow, they all began to feel the absurdity. How could His Majesty the Emperor, who was incredibly talented and possessed great ambitions to unify the world, have passed away so quietly? It was not that they could not accept the Emperor's departure, but that everyone seemed unable to accept this way of departure.

This way of leaving was quietly too strange.

The ruler has quietly passed away. What will greet Qing Kingdom...?

Will it be collapse after turmoil? Or rebirth after a smooth succession?

Seeking stability out of fear, people's hearts thought of stability. Everyone turned their attention to the dragon throne in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, eagerly hoping that a prince would quickly sit his buttocks on that chair and stabilize the Qing Kingdom's government.

The Crown Prince was naturally the first choice. Whether from the perspective of name, relationship with the Empress Dowager, or the feelings of the ministers, it was reasonable to assume that the Crown Prince should inherit the throne. However, as everyone knew, the Emperor's main purpose for going to Da Dong Mountain to worship Heaven was to depose the Crown Prince...

Some people thought of something, understood something, but dared not say anything. Those ministers who entered the palace to mourn looked from afar at the Crown Prince, who was weeping bitterly while holding the coffin, and felt immense chill and awe in their hearts. It seemed that they saw another Emperor in his youth, reborn next to the weeping and the coffin.

The truth about what happened on Da Dong Mountain was circulating among the officials, and it seemed to be related to Lord Fan. Some people believed it, some people did not. But Fan Xian had disappeared, perhaps dying on Da Dong Mountain, or perhaps fleeing in fear of punishment, leaving behind his father, wife, and unborn child, and running to a distant foreign country.

The ministers knew that if Lord Fan did not have earth-shattering abilities, then he could only bury his name in darkness in the future, and the general trend... was set.

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The Empress Dowager sat at the entrance of the Hall of Embracing Light, listening to the bursts of weeping coming from behind the hall. She frowned almost imperceptibly, and a trace of grief flashed in the old woman's eyes. However, she knew that now was not the time for her to indulge in sadness. She had to hand over the Qing Kingdom completely to the next generation before she could truly rest.

Outside the door, according to the old customs of the Li clan's place of origin, there was a bronze basin, and some paper money used by ordinary people was burning in the basin. The yellow paper money gradually burned into a pile of ashes, as if foreshadowing the impermanence of life. No matter how glorious a life was, it would eventually turn into a puff of smoke and a pile of ashes.

The entire palace was busy, busy in suppressed tension. The inner palace walls were not high, and the top of the white banners purchased by the inner court could be faintly seen, rushing on the walls towards the direction of the front palace. In the Hall of Supreme Harmony, something that would determine the future direction of the Qing Kingdom would happen today, and everyone's eyes were focused there.

In comparison, the Hall of Embracing Light was a bit deserted. The Empress Dowager retracted her turbid gaze from the tops of those white banners and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "The court cannot be in chaos, so it doesn't matter if the palace is a little chaotic today."

Then she turned her head and looked at the old minister beside her, trying to say in a gentle tone, "You are a veteran minister, deeply trusted by His Majesty. At this juncture, you should consider the court."

Shu Wu was half-crooked, his old and peaceful eyes looked at the gradually extinguishing flames in the yellow basin, and he suppressed his voice and said, "This old minister understands. However, His Majesty's edict is here, and this minister dares not disobey it."

A trace of leaping flame flashed in the Empress Dowager's eyes, which quickly extinguished after a moment. She gently reached out and threw the unopened letter in her hand into the bronze basin. The paper money that was about to go out in the bronze basin suddenly burned even more fiercely.

The edict personally written by the Qing Emperor on the night before his assassination, designating the heir to the Qing Kingdom's throne, gradually turned into useless paper money to commemorate himself.

Shu Wu stared at the letter in the bronze basin for a long time without saying a word.

"Since the person is already gone, then what he once said is no longer important." The Empress Dowager suddenly coughed, coughing very hard. It took a long time for her to calm down her rapid breathing, and she looked at Shu Wu with a very sincere gaze, with a hint of gentleness that should never have been there: "For the future of the Qing Kingdom, the truth is never important, is it?"

Shu Wu was silent for a long time before shaking his head: "Empress Dowager, I am just a scholar. I only know that the truth is the truth, and the holy will is the holy will. I am His Majesty's subject."

"You have done your best." The Empress Dowager looked at him calmly, "You have done your duty as a subject. If you have another chance to see Fan Xian, remember to tell him that I will give him a chance to clear his name, as long as he stands up."

A chill rose in Shu Wu's heart. He knew that if Lord Fan had really entered the palace to meet the Empress Dowager last night, he would probably be a prisoner now, officially becoming the real culprit in His Majesty's assassination, becoming the celebratory salute before the Crown Prince ascended the throne.

He bowed to the ground and said respectfully, "This minister is going to the Hall of Supreme Harmony."

The Empress Dowager shook her head with a smile: "Go, you must know that everything is destined. Since it cannot be changed, any attempt to change it will only make things worse, so why change it?"

Shu Wu was a veteran minister of the Qing Kingdom, highly respected in the hearts of the people, and his students and former colleagues were all over the court. However, this person was born with a stubborn character. Today, on the occasion of the Crown Prince's enthronement ceremony, he disregarded his own life and death and insisted on seeing the Empress Dowager, intending to change this matter.

Only this old minister was qualified to do this. If it were replaced by other officials, I am afraid that they would have already turned into a wisp of wronged soul under the palace walls. With the recent death of Emperor Qing and the Crown Prince's enthronement, the Empress Dowager was focusing on stability, and would not force this old minister too much.

However, Shu Wu could not change anything. If he was smart, he would quietly wait for the Crown Prince to ascend the throne, and then immediately beg to retire and return to his hometown.

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Shu Wu walked alone to the gate of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, not hearing the greetings from the officials in plain clothes beside him, nor did he hear Eunuch Hou convey the Crown Prince's decree, inviting the Grand Scholar into the hall. He just stood blankly at the gate of the hall, looking at the somewhat chaotic sacrificial procession in the square in front of the hall, looking at the white banners that stood straight, looking at the imperial guards guarding the surroundings vigilantly on the imperial city, listening to the bursts of firecrackers from the distant workshops, and the mournful whips outside the palace gate. He suddenly felt a rush of hot blood into his head, making his head dizzy.

From this moment on, Grand Scholar Shu's head was always dizzy, so that he walked into the empty Hall of Supreme Harmony like a wooden man, standing in the second position in the civil officials' queue, and his whole person was a little confused.

He did not hear what the Empress Dowager behind the pearl curtain beside the dragon throne said with a slightly sad voice, nor did he hear the sincere weeping of the Crown Prince, the First Prince, the Second Prince, and the Third Prince, these dragon sons and grandsons, nor did he hear the cries of the Qing Kingdom's ministers echoing in the palace.

Only a few words occasionally drilled into his ears, such as Fan Xian, such as treason, such as wanted, such as confiscation of property...

Grand Scholar Shu knelt down with the ministers in a daze, and then stood up again in a daze, standing quietly aside. Grand Scholar Hu in front of him looked at him with concern, conveying reminders and vigilance with his eyes, but concealing the chill in his heart very well.

All the ministers concealed it very well, only with sorrow, but without moving.

Shu Wu frowned, unable to hear any sound in his ears. Looking at the colleagues in the queue who were usually very familiar, he now felt so strange, especially Grand Scholar Hu standing in front of him. The two had a close relationship, although there had been no time to say anything from last night to today, but today outside the palace, he had hinted to Grand Scholar Hu.

Why was Grand Scholar Hu so calm?

Shu Wu's brows furrowed deeper and deeper. Suddenly, his body trembled, and his ears, which had been deaf for a long time, suddenly recovered their hearing at this moment, hearing the sounds of gongs, drums, silk, and bamboo outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

He opened his mouth, only to realize that the things that should be said had already been said, and the Crown Prince... was about to ascend the throne!

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Shu Wu's abnormality today fell into the eyes of many people. But the ministers in the court were clear that the late Emperor and Shu Wu had always been in harmony as monarch and subject. Suddenly hearing the news of His Majesty's death, it was natural for the old scholar to be overwhelmed by emotions and be a little absent-minded, so not many people suspected anything.

However, the Empress Dowager, sitting behind the pearl curtain beside the dragon throne, had been staring coldly at Shu Wu's every move. Her eyes turned, and a eunuch walked behind Shu Wu, preparing to help the old scholar to rest first.

The Crown Prince's eyes fell on Shu Wu, and he said, forcefully concealing his sorrow, "Let the old scholar rest in the side hall for a moment." Then he stopped looking at everyone, nor did he look at the brothers below the steps. He calmed his mood and walked towards the dragon throne.

Standing in front of the dragon throne, the Crown Prince looked down at the brothers and subjects kneeling on the ground, knowing that after he sat down, he would become the fifth monarch since the founding of the Qing Kingdom, the ruler who controlled the lives and deaths of hundreds of millions of people.

This was the goal he had been striving for for a long time. For this goal, he had been fearful, jealous, and dissolute, but in the end, he had learned his father's forbearance, calmness, waiting... and ruthlessness.

When such a goal was suddenly so close at hand, Crown Prince Li Chengqian's mood was so calm that he himself felt a trace of strangeness.

The Crown Prince lowered his eyes slightly, looking at his second brother below, looking at the calm and gentle expression on his second brother's face. For some reason, he thought of Fan Xian, who had secretly sneaked into Kyoto.

The news of Fan Xian's survival came back from the direction of Dongshan Road last night. The Crown Prince's heart felt like a sugar thorn, sweet and painful. For some reason, knowing the news of Fan Xian's survival, he breathed a sigh of relief instead, and for the... second brother below? A sneer flashed in the Crown Prince's heart. The Ye family's army was not far from Kyoto, and the second brother's heart was still so uneasy.

"Please let His Majesty ascend the throne."

"Please let His Majesty ascend the throne."

Three times like this, Crown Prince Li Chengqian bowed three times to show his awe for Heaven, Earth, and Man. Then he straightened his body, looking at the kneeling ministers in the hall, seeming to see hundreds of millions of subjects all over the world kneeling to him. A sense of satisfaction in controlling the world arose spontaneously, but disappeared without a trace after a moment. He only felt that this matter was very boring, so boring that it was a little annoying.

"Perhaps I am the only emperor who sat on the dragon throne with a frown."

Li Chengqian thought like this, sighing in a corner of his heart. He turned around and respectfully saluted the Empress Dowager, and was about to sit on the dragon throne.

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Shu Wu felt that he was really dizzy. At such a solemn and mournful moment, with the entire court silent and all the ministers kneeling, he actually knelt on his knees, took two steps outwards, came under the dragon throne, kowtowed to the ground, and shouted loudly, "Inadmissible!"

As soon as the word "Inadmissible" came out, everyone in the court was shocked. The Empress Dowager's face behind the pearl curtain sank, and several eunuchs began to walk towards Grand Scholar Shu's direction. On the contrary, the Crown Prince, who was preparing to sit on the dragon throne, breathed a sigh of relief, because he finally understood what his previous doubts were.

Yes, the enthronement could not be so smooth, there would always be some twists and turns.

And after Shu Wu shouted these two words, he broke free from those dizzy states. The old scholar took a deep breath, feeling unprecedented clarity. He knew what he should do.

Lord Fan wanted to borrow his bones, so he threw this old bone out, which could be regarded as repaying His Majesty's years of patronage and the Qing people's entrustment to the officials.

Shu Wu didn't even look at the eunuchs who were helping him. He straightened his body, looking at the Empress Dowager behind the pearl curtain and the Crown Prince in front of the dragon throne. He exhausted all his strength, staked his life's honor and disgrace, and risked the life and death of his entire family, and shouted sadly.

"When His Majesty passed away, he left an edict stating that the Crown Prince... must not inherit the throne!"

The entire palace was silent, and no one spoke.