Chapter 126 Three Wills
At this time, the atmosphere in the side hall of Yugan Palace was not good.
The Queen Mother, the fourth prince Song Mo, the second and third princes, the royal family, and important civil and military officials were all there.
"This prince is very suspicious, Prince Gong, you said that the emperor made the fourth prince Song Mo the new emperor. But Song Mo is only fourteen this year, right? He is not the eldest son, and he has not yet reached the age of adulthood. What virtue and ability does he have? If the emperor wants to make a young one, why not make the prince's son Song An? They are both equally young, but wouldn't it be more legitimate to make Song An?"
Faced with the doubts of Prince Cheng, the second prince, Song Mo had a blank expression. His father was really good, leaving such a pit for him!
Prince Cheng's doubts were reasonable.
"Where is Wei Zili? Let him come out. The late emperor should have left other words. Ask him!" A minister suggested.
Wei Zili and Lu Desheng were burning paper for the late emperor in the main hall, and the concubines were also crying. The two did not speak, and ignored the noisy things in the side hall.
Until Wei Zili was invited over.
"Wei Zili, did the emperor leave any evidence for my fourth brother to ascend the throne?" Prince Cheng asked actively.
Wei Zili lowered his head and replied, "The emperor left three secret edicts. Once these three secret edicts are issued, they can be legitimate." It was a secret edict before, but now it has become a will.
As soon as this was said, everyone realized that the will in Prince Gong's hand was one of them? So who has the other two?
"Who has the other two secret edicts?" Song Mo asked Wei Zili directly.
Wei Zili shook his head, "I don't know."
In other words, there are two more wills in the hands of the ministers.
The three princes at the top looked at the ministers below calmly, and the ministers were also looking at each other.
Song Mo said loudly, "Ministers, I don't know who has the will? Please show it."
No one moved.
"The country cannot be without a monarch for a day. Ministers holding the will should not delay such a major national event." Prince Gong also followed suit.
The fourth prince's heart moved, and he looked at the palace servant beside him, "Go to the main hall and invite Lv Desheng."
Everyone thought of Lv Desheng at the same time. Would one of the edicts be in his hands?
In fact, they admired Lv Desheng very much. How many ministers did the late emperor take away this time? Everyone thought that he would be taken away too. After all, the late emperor liked him so much, but he was the one who slipped through the net and survived.
Thinking of the edict that he was most likely holding in his hand, everyone felt sour in their hearts. The late emperor, how much doted on Lv Desheng, gave him one guarantee after another, and it was not enough to give him a gold medal of immunity from death, and gave him another edict...Is it because you are afraid that he will accidentally kill himself, or because you are afraid that he will not live long enough.
Not long after, Lv Desheng was invited to the side hall.
He walked in swayingly, his eyes were red, his eyelids were swollen, and his voice was nasal.
Lv Desheng opened his eyes red as rabbits and said, "Last Will? What last will? I don't know." He had been kneeling to burn paper for Emperor Kang Cheng just now, and now he was staggering when he walked.
Seeing him like this, the ministers felt awkward. You are the only minister who is pure and kind, and they are all ruthless?
Several princes were also uncomfortable. Lv Desheng's behavior made them look very unfilial.
The Queen Mother said unhappily, "Lv Desheng, if the last will is in your hands, take it out, don't hide it, and delay the important matter of the inheritance of the country. Can you bear it?"
The Queen Mother was in a very bad mood. The late emperor died without leaving her a will to increase her grace and title! She is his biological mother, but he treated her like this! Unfilial son! In addition, he took his uncle away and left Lv Desheng, who is annoying, to be an eyesore to her!
Lv Desheng cried out for injustice, "Queen Mother, I really don't remember this happening." Humph, I won't take it, so what?
"Why don't you ask the Empress Dowager and the three princes to ask other ministers? If there is nothing else, I want to go back to the main hall to continue mourning for the emperor." In fact, he should call the late emperor, but he called the emperor affectionately, as if the emperor was still alive.
The Empress Dowager couldn't bear to see him like this, and immediately said coldly, "You are so reluctant to leave the emperor, and the emperor loved you the most when he was alive. Why don't you go down and be buried with the emperor?"
Wei Zili, who had been silent all the time, suddenly said, "Empress Dowager, the late emperor left an edict. After his death, no one is allowed to execute ministers in the name of burying him!"
Ministers:...
The Empress Dowager was even more choked.
The Empress Dowager was slapped in the face, and the ministers hurriedly lowered their heads: The general meaning of this will is that the people I want to take away have been taken away personally. After my death, you can kill anyone you want, but you can't kill them in the name of burying me. I won't take this blame!
The late emperor really went well prepared.
The Queen Mother said angrily, "Get out, go and mourn for the Emperor!"
Lv Desheng rolled away quickly and returned to the main hall. He immediately took three sticks of incense and burned them for Emperor Kangcheng, silently chanting "May the Emperor bless you, may the Emperor bless you."
Several princes and ministers allowed Lv Desheng to leave the side hall, because he said directly that there was no will, which clearly showed that he would not cooperate. They couldn't force him by torture, right?
Since it was known that one of the wills was in his hands, it was important to find another one first.
Song Mo lowered his eyes and could only ask him privately what he wanted.
The second and third princes looked at each other, with unclear meanings in their eyes.
Unfortunately, no matter how much they asked, the other will did not appear. In this way, things entered a delicate stage.
However, although the legitimacy of the fourth prince's succession was not confirmed because the two edicts did not appear, the funeral of the late emperor could be held with the endorsement of Prince Gong and the Queen Mother. The funeral was presided over by the fourth prince, assisted by the second and third princes.
Chang'an Prison
Lin Ran and others sent the Qin family to Da'an Prison and left. Sheng Huaixing left later. He said hello to the Lord Yuan Wang, the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple.
Later, the Qin family was divided into two groups of men and women and imprisoned in two adjacent cells at the edge, which were relatively quiet and clean. The jailer also brought them two bundles of straw.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Lu Songli knew that they were being taken care of.
"Let's try to clean up here." Lu Songli suggested.
She knew the importance of hygiene. People are most likely to get sick in a dirty and messy environment. Not to mention their female relatives, old and young, and a woman who had just given birth.
When the jailer heard her say she was going to clean up, he brought a broom.
Lu Songli didn't let them do it. As for the female family, Madam Qin was in poor health. She was probably frightened today. Her face was very pale. She was holding her newborn granddaughter with all her strength. She would not let Nie Yunniang, a pregnant woman, work hard. Qin Jia was very sensible and pulled her sister Qin Zhen.
Lu Songli first cleaned up a relatively dry place, spread half of the straw on it, and let Nie Yunniang and Madam Qin sit down and rest.