The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 447 His face was not looking good

Yuqing Palace

The light in the hall has dimmed.

Zhao Tong lit the tinder and lit the candlestick on the desk.

The prince had just finished approving a memorial. He raised his head and subconsciously looked at the golden seal box on the desk. His eyes were brightly illuminated by the golden light!

He slowly stretched out his hands, and tightly grasped the golden seal box with his ten fingers. He slowly opened the seal box, revealing the seal inside.

Zhao Tong stared at the seal without blinking.

The prince gently stroked the seal with his hand, and the light in his eyes became brighter and brighter.

At this moment, the voice of the eunuch on duty was heard outside the palace: "My Lord, the people who went to the imperial mausoleum are back."

The prince came back to his senses, hurriedly closed the golden seal box, calmed his thoughts, and then said, "Come in."

Just as he finished speaking, a dusty eunuch in red from the Imperial Household Department hurried in.

The red-robed eunuch knelt down and said, "My Lord, we are too late. Prince Kang has escaped."

The prince was startled: "What? What did you say?"

The red-robed eunuch said, "King Kang killed the eunuch who was guarding him and escaped!"

The prince asked anxiously: "Has the news from Xishan leaked out?" When he said this, he was stunned at first, then he realized that he had spoken out of turn.

The red-robed eunuch did not understand what the prince meant, but still replied: "According to the eunuch in charge of the imperial mausoleum, several eunuchs holding the token of the Imperial Household Department arrived at the imperial mausoleum less than half an hour earlier."

The prince's face darkened. It was not that the news leaked from Xishan, but that something went wrong in the palace.

Before he could think about it, the eunuch in charge of Kunning Palace rushed in like a gust of wind, panting: "The emperor, the emperor has returned to the capital."

The prince stood up suddenly and asked, "Why are they back now? Didn't we tell them to return to the capital in two days?"

The eunuch in charge took a breath and said, "I don't know. The Queen asked the Crown Prince to immediately summon the officials who stayed in the capital to meet the Queen outside the Zhengyang Gate!"

The prince nodded and strode out.

The sun went down.

Time was in a hurry and there was no time to "sprinkle clean water on the streets and pave the roads with yellow earth".

On both sides of the imperial procession, the Crown Prince led the civil and military officials to kneel in welcome.

What was different from the past was that this time the imperial carriage did not have any ceremonial guards, and the guards who escorted the chariot were not imperial guards.

An official from the Ministry of War saw it at a glance: "It's the Hetao Cavalry!"

Some sharp-eyed officials exclaimed: "The ones driving the carriage are Duke Lu and Marquis Zhongjing!"

The crowd immediately became commotion.

The cabinet chief looked at the prince and said loudly: "Silence!"

The crowd soon quieted down.

The chariot stopped in front of the prince.

The Crown Prince: "Your Highness, I respectfully welcome you back to the capital. May your father live long!"

Everyone knelt down to greet the officials and shouted: "Long live! Long live! Long live!"

The door of the tall chariot opened.

Dai Quan's figure appeared in front of the carriage door, then he got off the carriage and approached the prince.

Dai Quan: "My Lord, the Emperor wants you to come over."

The prince was slightly stunned: "Father called me?"

Dai Quan nodded: "Let me help you over there."

The prince was stunned, but the emperor woke up? The seal wasn't even warm yet!
Dai Quan helped the prince walk towards the dragon chariot, then put him on the chariot and closed the door.

The Crown Prince's voice came from the chariot: "Go!"

Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding gently tapped the horse's buttocks with the whip, and the sedan chair slowly drove towards the central gate of Zhengyang Gate.

Except for a few cabinet members, all the officials looked at each other in confusion.

The lights inside and outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation were brightly lit.

Outside the West Warm Pavilion, the Crown Prince, Li Hu, Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding, the Cabinet's Chief Minister, the Second Chief Minister, Jia Jing, and two other Grand Secretaries were standing there.

Finally, footsteps were heard from inside. Then, Dai Quan walked out.

Everyone gathered around him:
"How about it?"

"Is there any way?"

Dai Quan shook his head sadly.

The nervousness on the prince's face gradually dissipated.

There was an eerie silence outside the warm room, and the air seemed to have frozen.

After a long while, several ministers in the cabinet looked at each other. Then the chief minister spoke: "Your Highness, now is not the time to be sad. This matter cannot be concealed for too long. We must discuss a rule. In addition, so many important officials of the court died at once, and we must find a way to make up for it. I mean, discuss a rule overnight."

The prince nodded.

Dai Quan looked at Li Hu.

Shi Ding also gently touched Li Hu with his arm.

Li Hu pretended that he knew nothing and he was not going to get involved in this mess.

Shi Ding had no choice but to cough and said, "Should we ask the Queen and the Crown Prince to come over?"

The cabinet members looked at each other, seemed to have thought of something, and nodded in unison.

A hint of displeasure flashed across the prince's face.

Li Hu saw this and sighed in his heart, thinking that the emperor was right, he hadn't even sat on the chair yet!
Side Hall of Yuqing Palace

It was a sleepless night, and the candles were almost burning out.

It was already bright outside, and the dawn light was shining through the window.

The prince now looked tired and his face was gloomy.

The five grand secretaries in the cabinet all had bloodshot eyes and looked tired.

Li Hu and Shi Ding also felt a little tired.

Jia Jing put down his pen, yawned without caring about his image, and then said: "Since the emperor has returned to the capital, the city gate cannot be closed."

"That's true." The second assistant looked at the first assistant.

The Prime Minister also yawned and said, "The imperial decree ordering martial law for all troops in the country was issued yesterday afternoon, with an express delivery of 800 miles. Not considering provinces such as southern Xinjiang, it will take five days to announce the fact that His Majesty has been poisoned and is in a coma. During this period, the news must not leak out from the palace and Xishan." As he said this, he looked at Li Hu.

Li Hu: "Don't worry, I have issued a military order before you come here. No one is allowed to approach the West Mountain without the personal order of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

The Prime Minister nodded and turned his gaze to Shi Ding.

Shi Ding was silent for a moment, then said, "There are traitors in the Imperial Guards."

There was silence.

At this time, the Queen's slightly tired voice came from behind the screen: "Duke Lu."

Li Hu stood up and said, "I am here."

Queen: "Please take a moment to have the Hetao Cavalry put on the armor of the Imperial Guards and temporarily take charge of the guarding, access control and patrol outside the four gates of the Imperial City."

Li Hu was slightly surprised: "This is against the rules."

Queen: "It's urgent. I can't care about so many things. I will take care of everything."

What else could Li Hu say but to answer, "Yes."

The Queen continued, "Everyone, please pay more attention and deal with the current troubles. I, the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince know your hard work and will commend you when the time comes."

After a pause, he said, "I will never forget this kindness."

When these words were spoken, everyone was shocked!
The Queen said: "I have asked the Imperial Kitchen to prepare breakfast. Please enjoy your breakfast before you get busy."

The cabinet chief immediately stood up and answered, "Yes."

Li Hu and others followed suit and answered, "Yes."

The Queen's voice came from behind the screen again: "Grandson, your father is not feeling well. Please escort the others out of the palace on his behalf."

Everyone quickly exchanged knowing glances, realizing that the Queen was paving the way for the Crown Prince in advance.

Li Hu glanced at the prince again, and sure enough, his expression looked a little unhappy. Well, his expression didn’t look good to begin with.

(End of this chapter)