Traveling through Tianlong: Starting from the Zhenlong chess game

Chapter 598: Zhezong's Restoration
Concubine Chai threw her sister-in-law Qian Yuzhen to Zhao Mu, intending to avoid disaster.

But more importantly, it was because Zhao Mu's second brother, Zhao Hui, the Duke of Xixiang, who had been away from the capital for a long time, got a big bargain.

After the old King of Dongping died, the three Zhao Mu brothers separated the family property.

As the eldest son, Zhao Yong became the crown prince and inherited the title of Prince of Dongping. The second son, Zhao Hui, was demoted from a prince to a duke, and was given the title of "Duke of Xixiang". Zhao Mu was demoted to Daihou.

Now that Zhao Yong is dead and has no children, if there is no one to inherit the title of Prince of Dongping, it will be revoked by the court.

But Zhao Mu himself was already a top-ranking vassal king among kings, so it was naturally impossible for him to come back and inherit the throne of King of Dongping County.

In order to prevent his father's title from being revoked, Zhao Mu could only give it to his second brother. So, as the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, he issued an order to summon his second brother Zhao Hui back to the capital to inherit the title of Prince of Dongping.

If Zhao Hui comes back, then former Princess Qian Yuzhen will seem a bit redundant.

Besides, Zhao Mu’s second sister-in-law has always had a bad relationship with his eldest sister-in-law.

Qian Yuzhen is now alone in the mansion. Even if she is not reported by Zhao Yong’s enemies in the future, she will inevitably suffer from the anger of her sisters-in-law.

Therefore, the best solution to this problem is to let Qian Yuzhen move out of the Prince of Dongping's Mansion.

And where to move to was another problem. If she went back to her parents' home, it would be like the Prince of Dongping's mansion sending her back. So after thinking about it, following Zhao Mu back to Qi was the best choice.

However, family discord is a family disgrace, so Concubine Chai naturally cannot speak out about it.

But Zhao Mu was also a smart man. After listening to her words, he understood everything.

Zhao Mu had long coveted Princess Qian, so he took advantage of the situation and said, "Well, for the safety of my sister-in-law and the Deng Palace, let her go to Qi. Besides, Yuhuan and Wenxiu are lonely in the palace, so it would be good for my sister-in-law to accompany them. Why not use the excuse that my sister-in-law is going to Qi to visit her sister, and then come back with me."

Hearing that Zhao Mu agreed, Concubine Chai nodded and said, "Okay! As long as my son agrees, it's good. I wonder when my son will go back?"

Zhao Mu said, "About half a month. Tomorrow there will be a grand court meeting, and I will return the government to Your Majesty. After the soldiers return to the capital to receive their rewards, I will lead the troops and generals of Qi back to Qi. Let my sister-in-law make preparations early."

After Concubine Chai received Zhao Mu's reply, she returned home to tell Princess Qian the good news.

Zhao Mu also went to bed early, after all, he had to get up early for the big court meeting tomorrow. There were also important things to announce, so he had to get enough rest.

At the morning court on the second day, Zhao Mu was still sitting on the dragon throne in the Golden Palace. Looking at the officials in the palace, Zhao Mu said, "My Lords! Today I have an important announcement to make. Now that the false emperor has been cleared and the emperor has recovered, I have decided to welcome the emperor back to the throne!"

Hearing Zhao Mu's words, all the officials in the hall were in an uproar.

Even Sima Guang, Cai Que, Su Zhe, Su Shi and others were all surprised.

Although the practice of giving up the throne had been around since the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, there were countless cases of brothers turning against each other and fathers and sons killing each other for the throne after the establishment of the dynasty. However, the practice of returning power to the emperor was unheard of.

Zhao Mu's army entered the city and took control of the capital.

Moreover, he also had the edict of Zhezong's succession, the emperor's official seal, the imperial seal, and even the golden box of the Song Dynasty. These things were personally verified by Sima Guang and others, and there was no possibility of forgery. No matter which legal system was in place, his right to inherit the throne was indisputable. Therefore, Zhao Mu was now the true emperor of the Song Dynasty.

However, the action of actively returning power to the retired emperor and asking him to restore the throne was unprecedented for all officials.

The officials even felt that Zhao Mu was either still asleep and talking in his sleep or he was crazy. Or the officials were still asleep and they were crazy. Because everyone couldn't believe their ears. The highly respected Sima Guang was the first to stand up and ask, "May I ask your Majesty, what you just said, will the government be returned to the emperor?"

Zhao Mu chuckled and replied, "If your hearing is not good enough, Prime Minister, I will allow you to retire and return home."

Hearing Zhao Mu's words, Sima Guang was choked back. Sima Guang coughed awkwardly and then returned to the queue.

At this time, King Shang stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, I think this matter is of great importance. It would not be too late to discuss it after King Zhongxiao and others return."

Then several ministers walked out of the queue, all saying "I second the motion".

Zhao Mu looked at these people, he knew that they were doing this for his own good. But Zhao Mu still planned to put down this burden.

Zhao Mu said: "I have made up my mind, and the officials do not need to remonstrate with me anymore!" At this time, Zhao Mu winked at the eunuch beside him.

The eunuch hurriedly shouted, "Please respectfully restore the emperor to his position!" As waves of voices came one after another, Zhezong, who had been prepared, also brought the palace servants, holding up a canopy and slowly walked towards the long-lost Golden Palace.

When Zhezong came to the side of the hall, Zhao Mu stood up. Although he was also wearing the emperor's court robes, he bowed three times to Zhezong who was standing beside the hall.

After Zhao Mu bowed, he stepped down from the throne, and Zhezong slowly walked up the jade steps and returned to his long-missed golden dragon throne.

After Zhao Mu arrived at the palace, he stood in the middle of the hall. He shouted, "Qi Wang Zhao Mu has been the regent for a long time. Today, God blesses you and your majesty. Qi Wang Zhao Mu follows the will of God and the will of the people. I will abdicate the throne and welcome the emperor to return to the throne! All officials and ministers respectfully invite the emperor to return to the throne! Kneel!"

After Zhao Mu finished speaking, he took the lead in bowing and expressing his attitude.

Although some civil and military officials still had objections, their emperor had already bowed down to them, so what else could they do?
Afterwards, all the civil and military officials knelt down one after another, following Zhao Mu and performing the ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows to Zhezong.

When everyone finished paying respect to Cheoljong, he shouted, "No need to bow, everyone!"

After hearing what Zhezong said, Zhao Mu stood up straight, and all the civil and military officials stood up.

Although Cheoljong was successfully restored to the throne, the current situation was a bit awkward.

Firstly, Zhao Mu had no place to stand. Wearing the emperor's robe, he could not stand in the queue of officials, so he could only stand in the middle of the hall.

Secondly, everyone always felt a little awkward looking at the two emperors.

Moreover, Zhezong, who had not attended court for a long time, felt a little awkward to ascend the throne again.

So much so that everyone stared at each other for a long time.

Finally, it was Sima Guang who broke the silence in the hall. He stepped out and asked, "Your Majesty, the Prince of Qi is the legitimate emperor of the Song Dynasty appointed by your Majesty. Now that your Majesty has been restored to the throne, how should you place the Prince of Qi?"

This is also the issue that everyone is most concerned about at the moment. Everyone thinks that Zhezong intends to appoint Zhao Mu as the Crown Uncle and then make him the heir.

But Zhezong said: "My uncle Zhao Mu suppressed the rebellion and returned power to me. His loyalty is known to the sun and the moon."

After hearing these words, all the civil and military officials had no objections. After all, only Zhao Mu could be the legitimate emperor and return power to the emperor emeritus. This was indeed a loyalty that could be seen by the sun and the moon.

(End of this chapter)