Chang'an is good

Since arriving in Luoyang, these officials who followed the prince have rarely asked about "the saint's intentions."

But they all knew very well at this time that the situation this time was special. Should they go to Taiyuan? Or... if they were really forced to go to Taiyuan, how should they deal with Chang Suining? And there was also a very small possibility - was the statement that Chang Suining was a descendant of the Li family completely groundless... ?
These urgent issues at hand all needed to be discussed and verified. Anyway, they had never torn their faces with Ma Xiang's party. The current matter was of great importance, so they should go to the saint first.

After Emperor Shengce came to Luoyang, he has been bedridden.

The imperial court had been unable to recall the troops that were used to attack Shannan West Road, but yesterday, news came that Prince Rong had mobilized his troops, and the more than 100,000 imperial troops were also among Prince Rong's army...

The Emperor of Shengce knew very well that even though these troops were sent under the pretext of "suppressing the Bian bandits and welcoming the emperor" together with Prince Rong, since they had already been used by Prince Rong, the possibility of her getting them back was slim.

After hearing the news, the empress, who was suffering from heart disease, was unable to eat for the whole day and was drowsy all night. It was not until this morning that she managed to eat half a bowl of porridge.

Just as Li Zhi had realized before, the war and troops in Shannan West Road were supporting the empress's last breath.

Now that his breath was gone, the emperor, who had never been tired, finally fell down.

Imperial authority seemed to be the source of her power, but now that source was almost exhausted, she had also lost the source of her strength and was aging and decaying at a degree visible to the naked eye.

When Ma Xingzhou came in to pay his respects, he saw the empress wearing an outer robe, leaning against the head of the bed, with her hair tied up in a silver bun. For a moment, he even hesitated whether to tell her the news.

But this reluctance only lasted for a moment. He was very sure that His Majesty was never an emperor who was willing to be kept in the dark, and it was not up to him as a subject to make his own decision.

The weak body did not make the empress lose her awareness of the changing atmosphere. Her voice was a little hoarse, but she still spoke clearly: "Prime Minister Ma, what happened outside today?"

"Your Majesty..." Ma Xingzhou raised his hand to salute and replied, trying to be calm: "Chang Suining sent a letter back to Luoyang today, claiming to be a descendant of the royal bloodline of the Li family. He wants to return to his ancestral home in Taiyuan and announce it to the world. He also wants Your Majesty and the Crown Prince to witness the ceremony."

All the palace servants serving in the hall bowed their heads and held their breath, not daring to make the slightest sound.

In the silence, there was no response from the Emperor of the Holy Ceremonial Ceremonial for a long time. Ma Xingzhou lowered his hand again and was about to ask when the emperor's voice slowly sounded.

"Okay." The voice was low and calm, without any surprise or anger: "She wants me to go, then I will go and take a look."

Ma Xingzhou raised his head and said: "Your Majesty, if we go to Taiyuan this time, I'm afraid..."

The capital has been lost, and although Your Majesty is also under the control of others in Luoyang, the Eastern Capital Luoyang, located in the Central Plains, at least still has political roots to operate. But Taiyuan is different. Even though Taiyuan is the birthplace of the Li family, it is the birthplace of the Li family, not Your Majesty.

Moreover, Taiyuan was under the jurisdiction of Bingzhou, and Bingzhou was under the control of Cui Jing.

Once the saint goes to Taiyuan, all his political roots will slowly wither and die, and I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to come back...

How is this different from exile?
One day, the word "exile" appeared on the emperor...

He took this opportunity to "return to his roots" and openly exile the emperor, watching Li Yin go to attack Bian Chunliang but further slowing down Li Yin's ascension to the throne. This is what Chang Suining did.

Ma Xingzhou didn't know whether he was more sad and angry, or more frightened by the other party's decisive and swift actions.

"She wants me to go, so I will go no matter what." The Holy Ce Emperor looked out the slightly opened window and said, "Why not preserve this relationship?"

mutual affection?

Ma Xingzhou wanted to ask what kind of relationship was involved.

However, the emperor's face was silent in his sight, and the feeling of "secret companionship" that had appeared in Ma Xingzhou's heart in the past reappeared at this moment.

Ma Xingzhou suddenly couldn't help but wonder, is it possible that the identity of Li that Chang Suining claimed to be actually exists... and is his true identity related to His Majesty?
The guess was too bold, so Ma Xingzhou did not dare to ask rashly. Perhaps everything would be clear once he arrived in Taiyuan.

"Prime Minister Ma, please have someone arrange for the departure to Taiyuan."

This instruction brought Ma Xingzhou back to his senses. He raised his hand to salute and responded, "Your Majesty, I will obey your command."

To this day, he still meticulously preserves the dignity and majesty of the emperor. He is a subject of His Majesty, and this is his duty.

After Ma Xingzhou left, the Emperor of Holy Ce continued to sit quietly looking out the window.

It is already spring, and although the capital has been breached, the rain that fell when the city was broken still makes everything flourish, just like the rich spring scenery outside the window at this moment.

She is about to meet Ah Shang.

She had always wanted to meet Ah Shang and sit down and talk with him. She had tried to test Ah Shang, tried to keep him, and even tried to summon him back to Beijing, but she never succeeded.

Now she was finally going to fulfill her wish, but it was not that Ah Shang accepted her wish, but that Ah Shang ordered her to move to Taiyuan...

Ah Shang needed to see her, and she was finally able to see Ah Shang.

And this so-called need is Ashan’s political need.

But in any case, she will be able to see her daughter soon.

Even today, she still has some things she wants to say and ask.

The empress gazed out the window and saw a crabapple tree with pink and white flowers blooming, swaying slowly in the wind.

The breeze carries the fragrance of spring flowers and also spreads the bustling sounds of Luoyang city to all directions.

The news that Chang Suining claimed to be of royal descent and would hold a ceremony to return to the royal family in Taiyuan caused a sensation everywhere, second only to the news that Bian Chunliang broke through the capital and was about to ascend the throne to become emperor.

Even in the eyes of some people who had already foreseen the fate of the court, the former was more shocking and unexpected - Chang Suining's ambition had long been no secret, but no one expected that she would "return to the Li family."

This move was beyond everyone's expectations, including Prince Rong Li Yin.

Just as Luo Guanlin said, this move would bring an unexpected blow to Prince Rong, who had already decided on the direction of his grand plan - Li Yin indeed felt this sense of being caught off guard.

During the march, it was already midnight. Li Yin stood outside the tent, staring at the sparse stars in the night sky. After a long while, he chuckled, which seemed extremely absurd.

He had someone investigate, and it turned out that Chang Suining was going to claim that she was the daughter of the late emperor...

So, he killed a niece, and then more than ten years later, another "niece" appeared out of nowhere to act as a rival - this is really ridiculous, isn't it?
What's even more ridiculous is that as he stood under the vast night sky, the strange feeling of destiny became even clearer and clearer... Could it be that there really were souls wandering in this world?

Li Yin had no sword in his hand at the moment, but there seemed to be a hidden sword light in his eyes, and he wanted to use this sword light to cut off things that should not exist in the world.

But in just a moment, his eyes returned to their calm and peaceful state - he did not believe that ghosts and gods existed in this world. The so-called ghosts and gods were nothing but obstacles in people's minds.

A dead person is completely dead, and he will never be trapped by inner demons.

Li Yin shifted his gaze towards the capital.

What he was doing at this time was being noticed by the whole world, so he had no choice but to move forward.

Although the situation was not going as smoothly as planned, there was no reason for him to turn back. The legitimate reason for him to mobilize troops to the capital was the result of his step-by-step planning. No matter what, he had to take the capital first.

Just as within the capital, the story about Chang Suining's life experience had spread, which made Bian Chunliang feel more threatened, but this did not stop him from preparing for the coronation ceremony.

This incident not only caused a lot of speculation among people "outside", but also caused an uproar in Huainan Province.

After hearing this, Guangzhou Governor Shao Shantong was extremely excited. His envoy had transferred another 100,000 troops from Huainan Road in the first month of the year in order to support the northern border... He was not saying that the northern border should not be supported, but what could he say about the envoy's move? In short... it gave him the feeling that the rebellion was not focused enough!
Until he heard that the envoy suddenly changed his surname to Li...his heart, which had been hanging in the air, began to beat again!

At this point, what else does he have to worry about?

The envoy not only needs to declare her identity, but also needs to announce her ambition to the world! Since she is surnamed Li, it would be easy for her to seize the throne, right?
As for whether it was true or not, Shao Shantong didn't care that much - if it was true, it would mean that he, Shao Shantong, had good vision! If it was false, it would mean that his envoy was capable!

Shao Shantong was delighted and quickly wrote a letter to Jiangdu, asking if he could help in any way.

Letters from various states flew into Jiangdu City like snowflakes, and Wang Yue's eyes were almost blinded by the busyness.

Hezhou didn't write the letter.

Hezhou is adjacent to Xuanzhou in the western part of Jiangnan. Yunhui has recently been busy working with Li Tong's people in Xuanzhou to resettle the people who were displaced by the rebellion of Bian's army, and thus learned the news later than other places.

The person who came to announce this was a scholar from the Hezhou governor's mansion. When Yun Hui heard the news, he was accompanied by many people, including officials from Hezhou and Xuanzhou, as well as some wealthy merchants and dignitaries in Xuanzhou who donated money and goods.

After the scholar who delivered the message explained the matter, he complained to his own governor in public: "…Such an important matter, and the governor didn't even mention a word before!"

Yun Hui, who was still in a daze, was silent for a moment and said, "Although this matter is absolutely true, it has not been approved by the envoy before, so it is naturally inconvenient to publicize it without permission."

The scholar sighed and said with emotion: "No wonder the governor has been so determined to follow the envoy from the beginning!"

Finally, he heaved a long sigh of relief and said, "Before, outsiders only thought that the envoy had evil ambitions and was plotting a rebellion... but they didn't know that what the envoy did was nothing more than to restore the Li family's rule!"

The people around came to their senses and quickly echoed: "Yes, this is truly a natural progression..."

The people from Jiangnan West Road just listened, not daring to agree in a hurry, and could only exchange glances secretly - the matter was of great importance and it happened suddenly, so whether they from Jiangnan West Road would recognize it or not depended on the opinion of the Grand Princess's Mansion.

When Yao Jin hurried back to the Grand Princess's residence and told Li Tong about this, Li Tong's first reaction was to say blankly, "...Isn't this the good thing that mother has been looking forward to?"

"?" Yaojin didn't follow this line of thought.

Li Tong was gradually beaming with joy: "Mother has always hoped to become a real family with Sister Chang. Now, after all the twists and turns, Sister also has the last name Li! Isn't this a dream come true? Mother is really amazing!"

Yaojin: ...This girl’s idea is amazing.

"I was originally worried. After all, mother is a princess of the Li family. If sister Chang really wants to rebel, how will mother deal with it?" Li Tong was so happy that she almost cried: "Now mother doesn't have to be in a dilemma, and the Marquis and Sui'an can be happy too. It really can't be more perfect!"

"..." Yao Jin was actually a little overjoyed by Li Tong's overly plain but somewhat tricky idea, but he still asked: "Girl, have you ever thought that Madam Chang's surname Li is fake?"

"This is something that the crown prince and the ministers should worry about!" Li Tong said, "It can't be fake! And if it is fake, but it can stop the world from talking nonsense, then if everyone in the world admits it, why can't we admit it?"

Yao Jin sighed: "But if it's fake, His Highness may not agree..."

"I don't think so." Li Tong smiled and said, "Isn't my last name Li also fake?"

"Mother can hand over the Grand Princess's Mansion to a fake Li like me, which shows that mother is not someone who sticks to these old rules—" Li Tong blinked and said, "Besides, if sister Chang really has the ability to deceive the world, isn't it normal for mother to be deceived?"

If others can be deceived, why can't she and her mother be deceived? Why can't they be deceived?
For the first time in his life, Li Tong defended his rights that had been deceived so resolutely.

It's a lie, Sister Chang has taken so much trouble, and since everyone is happy, why should they be unhappy?
Yaojin sighed uncertainly. If that’s the case, then let’s wish Madam Chang success...right?

At the same time, Chang Kuo was reading the letter from Princess Xuan'an.

After reading the letter, Chang Kuo was filled with anger.

This woman had written to him not long ago to report that she was safe, and in the middle of the letter she suddenly threatened him to bring his son back from the northern border, and she got furious... This time she wrote to him, questioning whether Sui Ning's life story was true or not, and she got furious again!
When Chang Kuo threw the letter down, he only heard the servant saying that someone else came to ask to see him.

Recently, someone visits Chang Kuo every day, all of them trying to find out the truth about Chang Suining's life experience.

Chang Kuo's answer was quite artistic. He paused for a moment and said, "It's a long story..."

After a proper pause, he sighed and said, "This child had a hard life back then..."

At this point, he mixed in some of the difficulties the children experienced growing up, and then talked about some of the well-known dangerous experiences on the battlefield. Finally, he appropriately revealed an expression of sunshine after rain and sweetness after suffering, and sighed: "Fortunately, the ancestors of the Li family bless us..."

This concludes all the explanations.

While giving affirmation to his background, he didn't say a single useful word.

It's not that he's too eager to elaborate, but he hasn't got the entire script yet. It would be bad if he told His Highness about the splits.

The same artistic statement is more vividly reflected in Granny Jin:

This matter was also hotly discussed in major workshops in Jiangdu, including the silk weaving workshop run by Grandma Jin.

Faced with the female workers' private discussions, Granny Jin did not stop them but chose to join in.

"When the envoy was young, he lived among the common people. His life was so miserable..."

"Fortunately, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince picked her up and took care of her..."

"Or maybe he is the son of a dragon or the grandson of a phoenix. What can an envoy do that an ordinary person can do?"

"Let's not talk about the victories our envoys have won...you have all heard about the Xingyang sacrifice to heaven and pray for blessings, right?" Granny Jin said this and looked up.

The female workers all looked up.

Granny Jin lowered her voice even more: "That's the Li family's ancestors blessing us from above!"

Exclamations of sudden realization rang out one after another, and the female workers all showed expressions of solemn awe.

The women workers in the government-run workshops were also well-known figures in the surrounding villages. Many people thought that those who worked in the workshops were equivalent to the people of the government envoys, so they would naturally ask the people of the government envoys about their affairs.

Therefore, through the mouths of these female workers, the story of Chang Suining's life story became more and more true among the people, and it was added with many mysterious colors that the people loved the most.

Shen Sanmao was not idle either. In addition to the work in the workshop, he was also secretly tinkering with another thing.

Meng Lie, who has basically handed over all the affairs of the workshop to Shen Sanmao, has been very busy recently. He wrote letter after letter and sent it out through A Che, who then had someone deliver it to the secret operations in various places.

At dusk that day, Meng Lie lit the lamp and was checking the letters sent by secret agents from various places in the study when a secret guard came to him.

Meng Lie raised his eyes from behind the desk and looked at the secret guard who was in charge of guarding the matter: "What's wrong with him?"

"He sent a message to you, saying that he wanted some food and jars and other things. I came to ask for your permission."

Meng Lie: "What's the point of coming here?"

"It's called... brewing wine."

Meng Lie was silent for a moment, then said, "Give it to him and keep an eye on him."

The secret guard took the order and left. Meng Lie regained his concentration and continued reading the letter.

At the end of March, Bian Chunliang ascended the throne in the capital and proclaimed himself emperor.

From then on, the world briefly entered a period of division with two dynasties coexisting.

On the day of the enthronement ceremony in the capital, the empress and the crown prince had already left Luoyang and headed for Taiyuan. (End of this chapter)