69novels Chapter 455 Extra: Rebirth or Siblings
Chapter 455 Extra: Rebirth or Siblings
Being an empress is a profession, and Ling Xinian has never forgotten it.
Dongjun had not been on the throne for long, but he was very familiar with politics. Although personnel matters were much easier for him than when Li Yuanke first ascended the throne, many people were not promoted by him. As soon as his father passed away, people's hearts became unsettled.
The saying "A new emperor, a new court" perfectly captures this idea.
The proposal to hold a talent show was also an attack launched by the court officials against the Eastern Lord.
At the court meeting the following day, Dongjun proposed to enfeoff his brothers as kings. His mother and father had left him a prosperous Zhou Dynasty with a full national treasury, not to mention his private treasury, which was even more substantial than the national treasury.
This was the portion he received after his father divided the private treasury into four parts before his death.
My father said that he was the emperor, and my mother had left him a lot of things. In my father's private treasury, everything that could only be used by the emperor was left to him, and the rest was divided among my sister and two younger brothers.
Dongjun naturally had no objections.
Once you have enough money, there's no need to worry about it anymore. Besides, taking care of his older sister and younger brother is his responsibility anyway.
There were differing opinions in the court regarding the granting of titles to the late emperor's sons. Dongjun's idea was to only grant the titles of prince to the second, fifth, seventh, ninth, eleventh, and twelfth imperial brothers, and to grant the title of princess to Xihe.
However, some have argued that since they are all the late emperor's flesh and blood, the other princes should be treated equally, and no one should be favored over another, otherwise the late emperor's spirit in heaven might not find peace.
Among them, there is a stronger call to bestow the title of Prince upon the Eighth Prince.
The third son is still guarding the tomb, while the fourth son spends all his time looking for food and has become as fat as a ball.
The sixth prince became an invisible man, spending his days indulging in debauchery with his concubines in the mansion. During the three-year mourning period for Empress Chenyuan Zhao, he even caused a death. The late emperor was furious and wanted to kill him, but it was only through the intercession of Dongjun and others that he was spared and placed under house arrest.
After the late emperor passed away, Dongjun released him.
Now he has gone even further, taking countless concubines into his household. With so many people, he has become unable to make ends meet, and it is said that some concubines in the household have even starved to death.
In this way, only the eighth brother is left to cause trouble.
The person behind this talent show proposal was indeed Lao Ba.
Ling Xinian was an only child, and Ling Menghui was naturally the emperor's biggest supporter. He was the God of War of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and most of the military generals in the army had dealings with him.
As for Nie Yunshen, he is the father-in-law of the twelfth prince. He doesn't believe that the twelfth prince has no ambition for the throne. The twelfth prince was the emperor's most beloved son back then.
Before his death, the late emperor chose a young general named Wei Shuo from Tianfei Pass as the husband for Qin Zhenye's daughter. The Eighth Prince did not see through this move. After the Tenth Prince ascended the throne, he transferred Wei Shuo to the Northern Army. The father-in-law and son-in-law were together, which made the Tenth Prince look very incompetent.
The eighth prince therefore looked down on the tenth prince, thinking that the tenth prince's becoming emperor was simply a mess. So, he stirred things up behind the scenes, and sure enough, the tenth prince was helpless and obediently agreed to the selection of concubines.
The eighth prince was very pleased with himself and even went to the Empress Dowager's tomb to drink with the third prince and talk to him about the affairs of the court.
The third prince smiled. He was only thirty years old, but his temples were already gray. He said to the eighth prince, "Father and Mother are both rare sage rulers throughout history. The tenth prince was personally raised by Father and Mother since childhood, taught by them step by step. If you say he's not good enough, I really don't see it."
We're all brothers, I advise you not to be so arrogant.
The eighth brother felt that the third brother's years of guarding the tomb had worn away his spirit. "Have you ever seen a domesticated little beast eventually become a mother beast? Birds that are kept in cages for years have long lost their ability to forage for food. Once they are released, they will only have one way out: death."
He smiled, downed the wine in one gulp, and looked in the direction of Changling, saying, "When I was a child, I resented my father and only had eyes for Dongjun and the others. Now, I am very grateful to my father for not teaching me back then. Without him, I would still have grown into the person I am today."
One day, I will go and tell my father, "Look, the crown prince and emperor you carefully nurtured has been trampled under my feet and become my prisoner."
Seeing his crazed state, the third brother shook his head, picked up the wine bottle, and went back.
He hadn't lived enough and didn't want to be dragged down to be buried with someone for no reason.
A year before Empress Chen Yuanzhao passed away, the palace held a selection of concubines, and he was also betrothed to one of them. His wife's family was not prominent; her father was only a minor official of the seventh rank. However, she was gentle and virtuous. He now has a daughter. In middle age, he realized how presumptuous he had been.
Fortunately, his second brother scolded him awake that year.
Years later, he gradually came to understand what kind of person his mother was; it was no exaggeration to say that she was "a woman of extraordinary talent and wisdom."
Although the Empress Dowager has passed away and the Emperor is no longer alive, is the new Emperor really a coward and incompetent fool?
How could someone raised and educated in such a way be incompetent?
The third son found it amusing. Just by looking at how the new emperor did not confront the court officials this time and agreed to select a concubine, he felt that the new emperor was extraordinary. How terrifying it was that a child who had been pampered all his life knew how to be patient!
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, a banquet was held in the palace, and all the brothers were invited to gather together. The Empress was five months pregnant and her belly was very big, but there were no concubines in the palace, so she had to manage everything by herself, which was very hard work.
Fortunately, over the years, the atmosphere in the harem has been very good, and the Imperial Household Department is staffed entirely by their own people, with everyone being capable, so the Empress is not overworked.
The imperial concubines are no longer in the palace; they have long been moved to a temporary palace.
Speaking of this, we have to thank an unknown palace maid. After Empress Chen Yuanzhao passed away, she became obsessed and tried to seduce the late emperor. As a result, she not only lost her own life, but also almost killed a group of concubines in the harem.
Emperor Yongxi even thought that Empress Chenyuan Zhao would be very lonely underground, and wanted the concubines in the harem to go down and keep her company.
Dongjun and the others were terrified. It was Wangshu who said, "Father, don't let Mother misunderstand. Mother only said she was waiting for you, not for anyone else. Do you intend to take so many concubines in your next life?"
Emperor Yongxi closed his eyes, and after a long while, said, "It is your father who is confused!"
When she opened her eyes again, tears welled up in them.
A few days later, he ordered the Imperial Household Department to move all the concubines to the temporary palace and issued an edict that for one week, no imperial titles or honors could use the three characters "Chen Yuan Zhao".
Even if the Emperor hadn't issued an edict, Dongjun wouldn't have used those three words to bestow titles upon the harem. However, once the Emperor had issued the edict, future emperors certainly wouldn't have used it either.
After the clansmen had all gathered together, Dongjun kept a few brothers at Qianyuan Palace to drink together, including the second, seventh, ninth, eleventh, and twelfth brothers, as well as his sister and Cen Fang.
Cen Fang was not only Dong Jun's brother-in-law, but also his childhood friend. Later, the two went to the border together and became comrades-in-arms.
Before the Yongxi Encyclopedia was even finished, the seventh prince's health was already very poor. Even though both the Imperial Household Department and the Imperial Hospital provided him with the highest level of care and support, he was born with a deficiency, and no matter what he did later, there was nothing that could be done to reverse it.
But for Lao Qi, it's already quite good. It was said that he would only live to be twenty, but now he's almost thirty. He coughed twice, and while his brothers raised their wine glasses, he raised his teacup.
Xihe was extremely worried. She patted his back and said, "Seventh Brother, are you alright? It's late. Let them drink. I'll take you home."
The seventh brother covered his mouth with a handkerchief and wiped it dry, not daring to unfold the handkerchief. "It's okay, I can still manage."
Dongjun knew that his sister and Seventh Brother had a good relationship, and he also liked Seventh Brother very much. "Seventh Brother, how about we get together another day? Let's skip today."
The seventh brother shook his head and laughed, "When will it be another day? We've all finally gotten together today, don't let me spoil the fun."
He waved his hand, "I also want to say that someone else is causing trouble and wants to speak to the Emperor. There is no need to show mercy to such people. Father and Mother may not be unaware of this. The reason they are keeping them is not necessarily out of consideration for any relationship, but rather to make an example of this person for the Emperor. The Emperor need not have any reservations."