Chapter 357
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We are all living our lives with great effort.
No one can predict what kind of life we will live.
The first day of the first month.
The Seventh Prince initiated a palace coup.
At the same time, a great disaster struck, and there was an earthquake.
The ministers wanted the Emperor to issue a self-condemnation edict, as natural disasters had become too frequent.
But now the Emperor had passed away.
The main culprit, the Seventh Prince, was captured on the spot.
The Seventh Prince's eldest son, Chu Xi, also died accidentally during the fighting.
Many people died that day.
The sickly Tenth Prince almost died of fright, barely breathing, likely not long for this world.
The ministers thought of the Crown Prince, who had been confined, and felt he had good fortune. After being confined, he might be released and unexpectedly inherit the throne, becoming a winner in life.
When the ministers went to fetch the Crown Prince, they found that the Crown Prince's entire family had been executed.
The Seventh Prince had acted first, falsely issuing an imperial decree to poison the Crown Prince.
People couldn't understand why the Seventh Prince was so resolute.
Didn't the news of a great victory at the border arrive?
It turned out that the Seventh Prince had intercepted the victory reports. The letters sent by Old General Meng from the border were not victory reports but pleas for help, which he replaced with letters of triumph.
The ministers were in a frenzy.
No, you guys in the royal family can fight for power, but don't joke about such matters. This is a matter of life and death.
Isn't it common for the enemy to breach the city and massacre all men taller than a wheel, keeping women and children as slaves?
The Seventh Prince was truly extraordinary.
People had not paid much attention to the Seventh Prince before.
Those who had connections with the Seventh Prince privately were drenched in cold sweat.
Now they were the ones most eager for the Seventh Prince's death.
For a time, the court lacked a strong leader like Minister Lu, and the civil officials were divided.
The main force of the military officials was fighting at the border.
Inspector He, Meng Qingshe, and Minister Dong were all clearly on the side of the Second son of Jiang family.
There was also Eunuch Yan in the palace.
The officials discussed and debated, eventually deciding to temporarily let the Eldest Princess oversee the state affairs until the Emperor's funeral was over, and then discuss further.
The Eldest Princess was a bit bewildered.
She knew how to swim, raise fish, and climb mountains, but she really didn't understand what overseeing the state entailed.
Jiang Changtian quietly looked at Princess Huiyun and said, "You can do nothing."
......
The Emperor's funeral was grand.
After all, the Ministry of Rites officials had been handling funerals for years and were quite proficient.
It was just a matter of adjusting the scale.
Mianmian didn't expect the palace coup to end.
It seemed her status had risen again.
Even at the funeral, people gave her ingratiating smiles.
Hmm, smiling at this occasion might not be appropriate.
To smile and show appropriate sadness, this balance, even civil servants from Shandong might find it challenging.
Mianmian felt a bit flustered.
She didn't have a deep impression of this imperial uncle, and now they were holding his funeral.
She remembered him as very imposing in his dragon robe and very thin out of it.
At the palace banquet that day, she was blocked by her sister-in-law Dong E and Princess Grandma, although she couldn't see much, she heard a lot.
There were many shouts.
The process was neither fast nor slow.
Quietly looking, it started with the Seventh Prince's men, and later, when everyone was almost unconscious, many of the godfathers' men appeared, looking arrogant and wild, just like the villains in TV dramas.
They were very serious about killing, collecting bodies, everything in order.
The funeral was also orderly, with orderly crying and respectful kneeling.
The Emperor's funeral ended.
The Seventh Prince was sentenced to death, and so was the Seventh Princess.
Before they could act, the Seventh Prince died.
Condemned by thousands, he died without a cause.
Chinese moral sense is to point out, discriminate against, insult, and make him die when seeing something immoral.
The Seventh Prince died like this.
There was only one little prince left in the palace, who had been sickly since childhood and was still like a three-year-old child.
The ministers started arguing again.
Either choose a royal grandson to inherit the throne.
But there were still many royal grandsons, how to choose, and why choose a royal grandson when there were still people from the previous generation.
There was also a proposal for Jiang Changtian, the son of a princess, to inherit the throne.
This proposal was immediately criticized by many.
In short, the court was not peaceful recently, with various words and desires emerging.
Mianmian felt fine at home, quite normal.
One day, the family had dinner as usual. Although very busy, Father would still come home on time for dinner.
After dinner, they drank tea and chatted.
Jiang Changtian asked Zi Congheng, who was seriously brewing tea, "You are the son of the Crown Prince, do you want to inherit the throne? If you want, it is most rightful, and I will support you."
Congheng was stunned for a moment and said, "It's fine like this, eating well, drinking well, sleeping well. You know, Uncle, I'm afraid of the dark, don't like chaotic places, don't like crowds. I'm afraid of dazzling lights and sharp things. If you put me alone in a huge palace room now, I might die of illness within half a year."
He brewed the tea, picked out the dried red dates on top for Mianmian, which were the sweetest at this time.
Although there are new tea brewing methods now, they still like the old way, adding some peppercorns, which can also prevent colds in winter. Although sometimes too many ingredients are added, the taste is hard to describe, rich in bitterness, but after growing up and leaving home, one always misses this peculiar taste.
"Uncle, go to the palace. You have enough power, and we can be domineering, no one will bully us, which is also good. Although I can't do it, you can, and Auntie will help you. I still quite like the feeling of being a prince or grandson, having power and money, not having to work."
Mianmian was eating red dates when she heard this and almost swallowed the pit.
Her mother patted her, almost sending her away, and the pit came out.
Her face turned red.
Congheng quickly handed her a glass of water.
Jiang Changtian also gently stroked Mianmian's back.
The topic ended like this.
While the court was in chaos, the news of a great victory by the border army arrived. This time it was true. Old General Meng was still alive, and General Meng's son, Jiang Feng, would soon return to the capital.
The ministers collectively changed their tune.
They strongly recommended Jiang Changtian as the Emperor.
Various excuses and momentum were created.
Some even said that the late Emperor had appeared in a dream, saying that the successor's name must contain the character "tian" (sky).
The name Changtian is well chosen.
Growing in the world.
......
At the border.
After the fierce battle.
Many people died, and the enemy died even more.
But they finally won.
The border was cold.
The best day after winning was just gathering around a fire.
Eating meat in large mouthfuls.
The dead comrades made people sad, and the living were even more grateful for life.
A little soldier cried while eating meat.
"Lai Sheng said he liked eating meat with bones the most, and now he can never eat it again."
"War is like this. We won, and Lai Sheng has a pension. Jiang Feng has recorded it, and the money will be given to Lai Sheng's parents. Lai Sheng's family can still go to the yamen to sign up for work."
"I know, sometimes I think of such good conditions and feel that I might as well die, but I still miss Lai Sheng."
Jiang Feng and Meng Shaoxia patrolled the camp together and heard this, stopping their steps.
But they didn't go in.
Outside the camp, the wind was strong, and it was cold.
Jiang Feng said, "I didn't know why we were fighting before. I always felt that those conscripted soldiers were pitiful and would die."
Aliali: 674b8cafc4f3f33ac4a3ef54Meng Shaoxia said, "The Meng family has been in the military for generations. Maybe this country has darkness and shortcomings, but we will always move forward bravely because we have family and people behind us. The court's power struggles are chaotic, but that has nothing to do with us. As long as needed, our Meng family will still go to war."
Jiang Feng was simple-minded, and Meng Shaoxia was truly simple-minded.
They continued walking together.
After one more day of patrolling, they would return.
After the baptism of war, Jiang Feng had matured more.
He thought of the past buried in the ground, filled with endless hatred. Fortunately, he was still alive, able to walk out of Kan'er Village, see the world, and live well.
He cherished life more, thinking of his parents and sisters, and also of Miss Dong.
When he returned, he must strive to progress.
Work hard!
......