novelaction Chapter 808 After the closure
Chapter 808 After the closure
Inside the Taiji Hall, ambergris curled up from the bronze beast furnace, but it could not cover up the stagnant air in the hall.
The dragon patterns on the gilded coiled dragon pillars were breathing in clouds and mist, contrasting with the pearl curtains hanging from the eaves, reflecting fine cold light.
Li Zhi leaned against the dragon throne, the twelve patterns on his black robe rising and falling slightly with his breathing.
He raised his hand to rub his swollen temples, and suddenly felt that time flew by - in a trance, Mei Niang, who smiled at him under the red plum tree in Ganye Temple, had actually walked to a place just one step away from the phoenix throne.
"Your Majesty! Wu Meiniang was once a talented woman of the previous emperor. If she is made empress, she will be condemned by the world! I beg Your Majesty to revoke your decision!"
Liu Rengui's voice pierced the silence again.
This veteran minister, who had served three dynasties, raised his ivory tablet tremblingly, and his robe woven with silver thread rustled in the draft.
"The legacy of Qianwu still exists, and the moral principles and ethics cannot be abolished!"
Veins bulged on his wrinkled face, and his cloudy eyes were full of earnestness.
Li Zhi's eyes swept over the ministers in the hall.
Pei Yan lowered his eyes, as if he was resting, but his leisurely posture could not hide the hands clenched tightly in his sleeves.
Zhang Jianzhi clenched the tablet tightly, his knuckles turned white as frost, and blood even seeped out from between his fingers.
Li Zhi suddenly remembered the thundering rage of his father Li Shimin when he scolded Fang Xuanling in the Lingyan Pavilion, but at this moment his own anger seemed to be blocked by cotton and could not make any sound.
"Lord Liu, you are right. This is honest advice."
His voice was so hoarse that it was unfamiliar to him. He reached out to take the celadon teacup on the table, but found that the tea had already gone cold.
The rim of the cup hit the dragon-patterned inkstone, making a crisp sound.
"But my dear Liu, you know that my father and my brother both suffered from rheumatism. Now, I am also beginning to have a headache."
He suddenly started coughing violently, pressing his knuckles against the blood vessels on his forehead, and a sickly flush appeared on his pale face.
"The imperial physician said it was a case of wind evil entering the body, and it's incurable with any medicine."
As the words fell, the sound of coughing echoed in the empty hall.
The hall was dead silent, with only the sound of dripping water from the clepsydra echoing in the empty hall.
Li Zhi looked towards the Panlong caisson. The golden dragon there was baring its fangs and claws, but it could not illuminate the gloom in his eyes.
Queen Wang had no children, and he could not find a legitimate son who could inherit the throne.
"The country has no heir, so why can't I make Mei Niang the queen?"
His voice suddenly rose, shaking the "Qianwu Zhengyao" on the desk to scatter.
Half a dried crabapple leaf slipped between the pages of the book. It was the one Mei Niang had pinned on his lapel the day before.
"I have only one question for all my dear ministers here," he stood up suddenly, and his long black robe swept the memorials off the table, and the memorials fluttered to the ground like snowflakes.
"Which is more important, ethics and moral principles or the future crown prince of the Tang Dynasty?" His eyes swept across the ministers like a sharp sword, with unquestionable majesty.
Liu Rengui was about to make another appeal, but Li Zhi raised his hand to stop him: "I will listen to your advice, my dear ministers. There is no need to say anything in the court. Please write a memorial and send it to Liangyi Hall."
He walked out of the hall with heavy steps, and every step seemed to be stepping on his heart.
At the end of winter in the first year of the Xianheng reign, snow piled up on the streets of Chang'an, and Zhuque Street was crowded with people who came to see the imperial edict.
The yellow silk imperial edict rustled in the wind, and the Hanlin scholar's tiny calligraphy eloquently recounted the Wu family's merits and virtues: "The Wu family is famous for its meritorious service and noble character. In the past, they were selected into the imperial court for their talents and were highly praised by the imperial court. Their virtues were radiant to the imperial court..."
The old people were whispering to each other, discussing how the talented woman who once served at Taizong's bedside had transformed herself into the queen who ruled the country.
The storyteller on the street knocked the wake-up stick and told the legendary story of Wu Meiniang with saliva flying, attracting many people to stop and listen.
At the same time, in the Xijing government office, Di Renjie's fingertips stroked the cinnabar seal on the imperial edict. The gilded official seal glowed with an eerie red light under the candlelight.
It only took overnight for him to go from being a deputy envoy to the capital to being the chief envoy with absolute power.
What shocked him even more was that along with the imperial edict came the decree promoting Li Yuanfang to the rank of General of Xijing.
The red candle on the desk crackled and burst into a flower, casting the shadows of the two people on the wall, which looked particularly strange.
"Di Gong, this..." Li Yuanfang's hand holding the tiger talisman trembled slightly, and the sound of armor colliding was particularly harsh in the quiet study.
He looked at Di Renjie, his eyes full of confusion and anxiety.
Di Renjie stood up and opened the window. A cold wind blew in, carrying fine snow, and scattered the ink on the desk. "If one person achieves enlightenment, all his family members will prosper."
"You will control the military, and I will manage the civil affairs. If you show any rebellion, Xijing will be able to establish itself immediately."
He suddenly turned around, his eyes piercing: "Yuan Fang, you and I have known each other since childhood. Do you know that this is a double-edged sword?"
Outside the window, the north wind was howling, making the branches rustle, as if wailing for the coming storm.
Li Yuanfang clasped his fists and saluted: "I only obey Di Gong!"
"Stupid!" Di Renjie pulled him back, "This isn't for me! His Majesty is already suspicious of the Four Capitals. Now, with this arrangement, he's clearly putting us on the spot!"
He paced back and forth, his official boots crushing the moonlight on the ground. "Hurry up and write a letter to the Marshal, saying..."
Before he could finish his words, the shrill cry of a night owl suddenly came from outside the window, startling both of them into silence.
In the darkness of the night, the cries continued one after another.
Late at night, Di Renjie sat alone in his study.
On the desk was the Shu brocade sachet that Mei Niang had given him. It was embroidered by her own hands when she was in Ganye Temple many years ago.
At that time, she always said: "Huaiying will become a great man in the future."
Now, what he said has come true, but behind this future, there seems to be a deeper chess game hidden.
He thought of Yuan Tiangang's Tuibei Tu.
The three cinnabar characters "女主昌" looked as red as blood under the candlelight.
That year on the streets of Luoyang, Yuan Tiangang read the fortune of the infant Wu Meiniang and asserted that "if she is a girl, she will definitely become the ruler of the world."
I just thought of it as a joke at the time, but now when I think about it, cold sweat soaks my official uniform.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps were heard outside the window. The guards looked panicked: "Sir, a secret letter from Nanjing!"
Di Renjie unfolded the letter with trembling hands. Zhang Xuanwei's handwriting was so powerful that it could be seen through the back of the paper: "The fate has been determined by heaven, and it cannot be changed by human power."
"Even if the black bird arrives, it still needs a wise master."
"I hope you will remember the word 'loyalty' and think of the people..."
The ink spreads out at the end, like traces of tears.
He read every word in the letter over and over again, feeling mixed emotions, not knowing whether to be happy or sad.
At the same time, in the Chang'an Palace, Wu Meiniang gently stroked her slightly bulging belly, and the bronze mirror reflected the cinnabar mole between her eyebrows.
The palace maids presented congratulatory messages from various places. She flipped through them casually and suddenly stopped at the Xijing Report Office.
When her fingertips passed over Di Renjie's name, a meaningful smile appeared on the corner of her mouth: "Huaiying, Huaiying, you are still too cautious after all."
There was a glint of cunning in her eyes, as if she had seen through everything.
Outside the window, thousands of palace lanterns gradually lit up, illuminating the Weiyang Palace as bright as day.
The sound of the night watchman's beating came from afar, it was already three o'clock in the morning.
At this moment, Di Renjie was looking at the rising sun outside the window and writing a reply to Zhang Xuanwei.
The tip of the pen hung above the rice paper for a long time without falling.
I have already been trapped in the game and there is no way out.