Everything starts from Menghualu

Chapter 464: Changing the Era to Shenwu (Next Dungeon: Changgexing)
"Mother, I know you are very unhappy that I killed Xue Shu's son, but I don't care. This crazy woman killed my son, and I will never let her have her wish." Shen Lang said directly.
"My son, I know you are unwilling to give up, so I did not stop you, but what should we do now? The last suitable candidate for the crown prince is dead."

"There is no suitable candidate in our lineage, so you can only adopt one from the royal family. You should know what this means, right?" said the Queen Mother.
"Of course I know. I have thought about all this. The royal family members cannot be used. Once they are used, Daqian will inevitably be in chaos, and by then my tablet may not even exist!"

"This kind of thing has happened from time to time in every dynasty, and I will certainly not make the same mistake again." Shen Lang said
"But, but if you don't want the royal family, who are you going to use?" asked the Queen Mother.

"Of course I'll use the one in my sister's belly. Isn't that just right?" Shen Lang said directly
"What did you say? Use Zhiyi's child? But her child hasn't been born yet. How can we be sure that the baby is definitely a boy?" the Queen Mother asked
"Mother, I naturally have a way. I have previously summoned the imperial physician who examined Zhiyi's pulse. According to what he said and based on his past experience, Zhiyi's belly should be a boy." Shen Lang said
"But, this is just the imperial physician's guess. What if, what if?" the Queen Mother asked
"If it's not, then we can only think of a way to conjure one. Mother, the baby in Zhiyi's belly must be a boy, and it can only be a boy." Shen Lang said with a serious face.

After hearing this, the empress dowager stopped talking. She knew what her son meant. Although she was a little surprised at her son's boldness, she still acquiesced to it.

Seeing this, Shen Lang knew that his mother had agreed to this matter, so he continued, "Mother, I actually have a more important reason for doing this."

"Do you know how Cao Cheng won the battle? Let me tell you, it was because of the Prince of Pingnan. It was because of my uncle the Prince."

"It was because of his help that Cao Cheng won the battle, which led to many things that happened afterwards. He had been in contact with the traitor from the very beginning."

"What? My prince, why did you choose to use Cao Cheng?" The Queen Mother asked in surprise.
"Because of Yan Mu. Compared to Cao Cheng, Yan Mu is the one that worries me the most. The Yan family suffered a lot because of that incident."

"Mother, haven't you never forgotten all these years? If you haven't forgotten, then naturally I haven't forgotten either. I have always remembered these things. I need Cao Cheng to help me deal with the Yan family."

"That's why I hired Cao Cheng. But I didn't expect what happened later. I never expected that he would marry Zhiyi and even said it directly in court."

"This left me with no way to refuse, so I had to agree to it. And because of this, I had no choice but to side with him every time afterwards."

"Fortunately, he didn't let me down. The Yan family really fell. In fact, I wanted to get rid of him since then, but I didn't expect that the matter of my second brother would happen again."

"Unfortunately, I have not been able to get rid of him until now, so now he has grown strong and I am completely powerless to do anything."

After hearing this, the Queen Mother did not speak for a while, because she played a very important role in this, so she naturally did not dare to speak.

"Mother, the reason why I want to confirm Zhiyi's child this time is to put an end to Cao Cheng's rebellious intentions. Only when his son becomes the crown prince can he be used by me."

"Only in this way can we ensure that he will not rebel after my death and can concentrate on assisting the young master so that he can grow up safely." Shen Lang said directly
After hearing this, the Queen Mother suddenly realized that her son had actually planned this far. For the first time, she felt that she had never really understood this son.

The next day came very quickly. Having received news from her sister, Jiang Xuening went out directly and soon arrived at Dingyuan Marquis Mansion.

But this time, the place she went to was not her sister's room, but the study.

"Now that you're here, sit down. We can talk slowly about anything." Cao Cheng said directly
"My Lord, I really didn't mean to do that. It was the princess's idea. You have to believe me. It wasn't my intention." Jiang Xuening hurriedly explained after sitting down.
"Okay, okay, look how scared you are. I know everything about this matter. I don't blame you. I asked you to come here today just to tell you that I have accepted Haas's invitation."

"But we have to postpone it until the baby is born." Cao Cheng said
"Ah, yes, yes, I get it. It's okay, it's okay." Jiang Xuening said hurriedly.

"Okay, look how scared you are. I have something else to ask you. I heard that Yan Lin sent someone to contact you yesterday. What did he say?" Cao Cheng said
"Ah? He, he didn't say anything. He just said he wanted to see me, but I haven't agreed yet." Jiang Xue Ning replied in a panic after hearing this.

"Haha, you can go see him, it's okay, but before you go, I want to tell you about the current situation. You should have heard about the current situation, so I won't say more."

"What I want to tell you is, Your Majesty's next move. Let me ask you, who do you think poses the greatest threat to Your Majesty, me or Yan Lin?" Cao Cheng asked with a smile.
When Jiang Xuening heard this, she immediately understood what Cao Cheng meant.

"Well, of course you are the biggest threat to His Majesty." Jiang Xuening said directly

"Haha, yes, you are absolutely right. I am indeed the biggest threat to Your Majesty, but there is one thing you forgot, and that is Yan Mu."

"Although I am a big threat, in the end, even if I really rebel and ascend the throne one day in the future, the throne will still belong to their Shen family."

"Yan Lin is different. He and Your Majesty have a grudge for the murder of their father. Do you think Yan Lin can forget it? Will Your Majesty forget it?"

"Under the current circumstances, adopting a royal family son is a foregone conclusion. In this situation, what do you think His Majesty will do? Will he deal with me first, or Yan Lin?" Cao Cheng asked.

"My Lord, you have told me so much, what exactly do you want me to do?" Jiang Xuening asked directly

"It's so satisfying. That's right, it should be like this. I just asked you to make a choice. Will you choose my side or Yan Lin's side?" Cao Cheng said directly.
After hearing this, Jiang Xuening didn't say anything for a while. She knew that what was coming was coming, and she had to make a decision after all.

In fact, she had thought of this day as early as when she learned that the two men had led their troops into the city, but she did not expect that this day would come so soon.

Seeing that Jiang Xuening hadn't said anything, Cao Cheng didn't urge her, but just waited quietly. After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Xuening finally asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"Smart, you made a wise choice. In fact, what I asked you to do is very simple. You just need to... everything will be fine when the time comes." Cao Cheng said directly
After hearing this, Jiang Xuening's face showed a trace of struggle. She really didn't want to do this. After all, she had already let Yan Lin down in her previous life.

At the beginning of this life, he wanted to compensate Yan Lin, but in the end, he kept failing. From Yan Mu to Zhang Zha, she had never succeeded.

Because of his actions, Farr has caused the irreversible consequences of the current situation. He is now very disappointed in himself, and also feels painful and desperate. She probably can't win.

It was precisely because of this self-destructive mentality that she finally agreed to Cao Cheng's conditions. She decided to give up struggling completely and live just for herself.

In the days after Jiang Xuening left, except for one visit to the palace, Cao Cheng stayed in the mansion with his wife and did not go anywhere.

The entire capital returned to its former tranquility, as if nothing had ever happened. The people seemed to have forgotten everything and no one mentioned it. During this period, Jiang Xue Ning contacted Yan Lin again and they became very close. Cao Cheng was not too surprised by this, but was used to it.

He just hid this news from his wife. Soon the day of Shen Zhiyi's delivery came, and Cao Cheng paced back and forth outside the room anxiously.

His face was full of worry as he wondered if there were any screams coming from inside.

Time passed slowly, from morning to sunset, and finally the sound of a baby crying was heard in the room. Cao Cheng was overjoyed when he heard this sound.

When he learned from the imperial physician that he had a son, he had an indescribable feeling in his heart, but he couldn't describe what it was.

He thought a lot before getting the news, but when he heard it, he forgot everything and only felt joy in his heart.

He rushed into the room and looked at the pale-faced lady stepping on the bed, a look of heartache appeared on his face.

"Husband, look, look at our son. How cute is our son?" Shen Zhiyi said

Looking at the wrinkled child in front of him, Cao Cheng couldn't see the word cute no matter how he looked at it, but he still smiled and agreed with his wife's words.

At the same time, the palace had been waiting for this news. Shen Lang had made all preparations. When he learned that it was a boy, he stood up excitedly and asked, "It's a boy? Really a boy?"

"Your Majesty, Princess Yongning gave birth to a baby boy, and both mother and child are safe," Wang Xinyi said.

"Hahaha, good, good, good, good, go quickly, go and have someone inform the Queen Mother, tell her the good news, go quickly!" Shen Lang laughed.

When Jiang Xuening learned the news, she did not feel any joy at all, but only struggled, because the birth of the child meant that she should take action.

And today and tomorrow will be the last time. After tomorrow, no one will be able to threaten Cao Cheng and the royal family.

The next morning, Jiang Xuening went to Yan Lin's residence as usual, and Yan Lin greeted her with a smile as usual.

Jiang Xuening also followed the old rules and served the food she had prepared.

But this time, Yan Lin did not eat, but smiled and said, "Ningning, Cao Cheng's son is born, so you won't come here anymore?"

Jiang Xuening was stunned at first after hearing this, and then said, "How could that be? I'm still coming."

"Really? That's good, that's good, Ningning, you know what? In fact, after my father passed away, I wanted to go and accompany him countless times."

"But because of you, I didn't go, because I couldn't bear to go, because if I went, I would never see you again, so I never went."

"But today, today I feel that it is time for me to go see my father." Yan Lin said
After hearing this, Jiang Xuening's expression became very complicated, and then she asked, "When did you know?"

"Actually, I already knew it since the second time you came over. After all, you haven't been here for a long time. How come you suddenly came to see me?"

"But I don't care, because I have no relatives in this world, so no matter what you do, I don't care, as long as you can come to see me." Yan Lin said with a smile

"Fool, idiot, you are just a fool! Is it worth it? Is it worth it?" Jiang Xue Ning said

"It's worth it, of course it's worth it. Go quickly, or I'll die and you won't be able to leave. Xue Ning, I like you, I've always liked you, let's meet in the next life." Yan Lin said with a smile

After hearing this, Jiang Xuening's face showed a trace of struggle, but in the end she hardened her heart and turned away.

When Yan Lin saw this scene, he felt a little disappointed and relieved, and then he started eating with big mouthfuls.

Yan Lin died just like that. The news of Yan Lin's death naturally caused a riot, but it was quickly put down by Cao Cheng who was well prepared.

One month after Yan Lin's death, on the day of Cao Cheng's son's full moon banquet, an imperial decree came from the palace, which was to adopt the child as the crown prince.

When the news came to everyone's ears, everyone in the court was shocked. The ministers were fine, because after all, having a crown prince was enough for them.

In addition, with Cao Cheng's power here, this might be the best way to stabilize the court, so they did not oppose it. However, the opposition from the royal family was extremely loud.

It is difficult to find the previous rules in the notes. At the very least, a descendant should be chosen from the previous emperor's other children or brothers to be adopted. How can a princess's son be chosen?
However, their opposition was of no use. In less than half a month, three palaces were confiscated and no one was left alive. The matter was thus decided.

In the 21st year of Wanzhen's reign, Emperor Wanzhen was seriously ill. Prince Pingnan rebelled, but was defeated by the great general Cao Cheng, Marquis Dingyuan, and died on the way to escape.

In the spring of the 22nd year of Wanzhen, the great general Cao Cheng was conferred the title of Duke of Zhenguo for his contribution in suppressing the rebellion.

In the autumn of the 23rd year of Emperor Wanzhen's reign, when Emperor Wanzhen was on his deathbed, he appointed Cao Cheng as his regent.

In the spring of the 24th year of Wanzhen, the crown prince succeeded to the throne in front of the mausoleum and changed the reign title to Shenwu.

In the autumn of the sixteenth year of the Shenwu reign, the Minister of State, the Grand Tutor, the Duke of Zhenguo, and the Great General of the Shenwu reign, Cao Cheng, returned power to Your Majesty and retired to his residence to live out his days in glory. (End of this volume)
(End of this chapter)