The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 59 The Storm is Coming, and the Great Reckoning Begins

After seven days, all funeral rites are completed, and the burial and coffining begin.

Zhao Ti served as the ceremonial envoy among the five envoys of the mausoleum, and was in charge of all road and bridge guards during the funeral process.

The Imperial Tombs of the Song Dynasty are located on the south bank of the Yiluo River at the northern foot of Mount Song, west of Tokyo, in Yong'an County, a century-old new county separated from Gong County. It was originally a town, but was upgraded to a county in the fourth year of Jingde reign of Emperor Zhenzong.

Along the way, ritual music was played mournfully, and idlers retreated away. Zhao Ti looked gloomy and said nothing.

Just as they were approaching the imperial mausoleum at the northern foot of Mount Song, the official in charge of transporting the coffin suddenly came over and said, "Prince Yan, there is something wrong with the Empress Dowager's coffin. Please go over and take a look."

Zhao Ti rode his horse closer, and the guards guarding the coffin reported: "Your Majesty, for some reason, the Empress Dowager's coffin is cold, which is inconsistent with the solar terms."

Zhao Ti ordered the funeral procession to stop, then stepped forward and tried to test the situation. He felt a chill penetrate his bones. He murmured, "It's okay. Keep going. We can't miss the time."

The funeral procession continued on its journey. Zhao Ti immediately wondered what the gestures his grandmother made before she died meant.

Although he had guessed that this grandmother had most likely practiced the Phantom Yin Finger technique, he was not sure after all. He only confirmed it when he saw the shape of her hand before she died.

However, although that finger technique was obviously the Phantom Yin Finger at first glance, upon closer inspection, it was slightly different from the finger technique he had learned.

It seems even more mysterious and exquisite, making people ponder it over and over again. The more they ponder it, the more they feel its infinite wonders.

The funeral procession arrived at the imperial mausoleum and buried the body according to ritual system. Zhao Ti guarded there for three days and returned to Tokyo after settling all matters.

At this time, the city of Tokyo seemed to be shrouded in a haze. The Empress Dowager Gao Taotao, who had been in power for nearly ten years, suddenly passed away. Many people felt a little dazed, especially the prime minister and the ministers of various departments. They didn't know what the Emperor Yuanyou would do and what kind of things he would cause.

They didn't know Zhao Xu well, and precisely because they didn't know him well, they felt like a heavy stone was weighing on their hearts. After all, when the emperor took power, he would replace his team with his own and start three big things.

But does Zhao Xu have his own team? Does he have his own trusted subordinates? Zhao Xu does not.

The more unknown something is, the more worrying it is. Officials from various dynasties ordered family members not to cause trouble, not to create trouble, and not to say anything about who my father is after getting into trouble outside.

Zhao Ti entered the palace to report, but did not see Zhao Xu. The eunuchs spread the rumor that the emperor was busy with government affairs and knew about this.

Zhao Ti stood on the road to the palace with a complicated expression. He was not allowed to see the Empress Dowager's peaceful burial. How unhappy he must be with this grandmother. He didn't care about her funeral at all, whether it was timely and appropriate, or if there were any accidents.

But this is just the beginning. In the near future, Zhao Xu will issue an edict to deprive Gao Taotao of her status as the Grand Empress Dowager, strip her of all honors, and demote her directly to a commoner. If the ministers had not tried their best to stop her at that time, I'm afraid she would have really come into being.

Zhao Ti turned around slowly. There would inevitably be a reckoning. His family was also involved in the reckoning and would definitely be the first to bear the brunt.

He had to start with the royal family and then move on to the ministers in order to be convincing. If he didn't move himself, a first-rank prince of the close clan, who else in the clan could he move?

He smiled, flicked his sleeves, and walked out of the palace.

After returning to the palace and changing into casual clothes, Zhou Tong came to report that there was a letter from the Dali Kingdom.

When he left Dali, he left Duan Zhengming and Duan Yu his address in Tokyo so that they could contact him by letter at any time, but to prevent any trouble, he collected the money in the name of Zhou Tong.

Zhao Ti unfolded the letter, and it was actually written by Duan Yu. It contained about one or two thousand words. It began by saying that when Zhao Ti was in Dali, his family was under strict surveillance, and there was an important matter that he hadn't told him, and he was very sad about it. So he attached it to the letter, saying that his father actually had a lover outside, and he suddenly had two younger sisters.

Then he said that his uncle and father forced him to learn martial arts, the most powerful martial arts of his Duan family. Even if he didn't want to learn martial arts, he couldn't avoid it this time, because what happened in Tianlong Temple was too thrilling, and as a prince, he had to practice. Finally, he said that after he had mastered martial arts, he must come to the Song Dynasty to play, and he hoped to meet Zhao Ti and travel together.

Zhao Ti burned the letter after reading it. The letter must not be seen by anyone. Although Dali was not an enemy country, for a member of the royal family, it was a crime to make friends with court officials, not to mention secretly communicating with a foreign crown prince.

Then he pondered for a while, asked Zheng Fu to prepare the folding book, and began to write the memorial.

The memorial took a long time to write, from the time it was still light in the sky until the lights came on. He carefully considered every word of the hundreds of characters. When he finished writing and dried them, he called Tong Guan and ordered, "Prepare the carriage to go to the palace."

At this moment, the night sky outside was gloomy. After leaving the mansion, but before entering the carriage, a flash of lightning flashed across the sky, followed by muffled thunder, and heavy rain began to fall.

Zhao Ti closed his eyes slightly in the car, his face showing no sadness or joy. Outside, the rain was beating down on Tokyo, as if washing away the past. Yesterday should not be retained...

Imperial City, Wende Hall.

There was only Zhao Xu in the empty hall, sitting behind the dragon desk and writing an edict himself.

His expression was focused, revealing a rare deep affection. After writing an edict, he gently put down the pen and said to himself, "Since we are so close, then you can guard the mausoleum for the rest of your life. I... have been very lenient."

At this moment, an eunuch came in from outside and walked cautiously to the front: "Your Majesty, the King of Yan is here."

Zhao Xu's eyes penetrated the palace door. Outside, it was pouring rain, with lightning and thunder. He asked in a quiet voice, "What's the matter?"

The eunuch took out a memorial from his bosom and said, "Your Majesty, the Prince of Yan submitted a memorial. I know it is against the rules, but the Prince of Yan said that he would not go through the Ministry of Personnel and the Secretariat, and would not pass through the hands of the Prime Minister."

"Oh?" Zhao Xu's eyes fell on the memorial and he was silent for a moment: "Present it."

The eunuch stepped forward cautiously, holding the memorial in both hands and handed it over. Zhao Xu picked it up gently and then opened it.

When he saw the first sentence on the memorial, his expression changed slightly, and his fist, which seemed as white as jade, was clenched tightly.

"Your Majesty, I, Zhao Ti, beg you to abolish the old laws and reinstate the new ones!"

"Crack" a loud thunder sounded, as if it struck the roof of the hall, and the lights and candles in the hall began to shake.

Zhao Xu read the memorial of several hundred words word by word. He read it three times and then sat on the dragon throne in silence.

Time passed little by little, and after more than a quarter of an hour, he slowly spoke: "Send the King of Yan to see you."

A moment later, Zhao Ti walked into the Wende Hall, with rain dripping from his body, but he stood straight, his expression was calm, and his steps were firm.

He looked at Zhao Xu behind the dragon throne, with eyes full of ambition, affectionate concentration, a temperament that kept people at a distance, and a lonely figure.

He saluted and said, "Official."

Zhao Xu looked at him and asked, "What does the King of Yan mean by this?"

Zhao Ti narrowed his narrow eyes slightly: "Your Majesty, I beg you to abolish the old law and implement the new law!"

(End of this chapter)