Forbidden Autumn, Summer, Winter and Spring Rebirth

Chapter 65 62. The incident
  "Now only with you can I relax completely and sleep peacefully. Concubine Chang, you are very good, and your children are also very good."

"Your Majesty, thank you." Xia Dongchun smiled and did not express gratitude as usual, but accepted the Emperor's praise calmly.

Then he went to the side hall and took a look at Hongmin and Qiongwei, who were sleeping soundly. They were in a good mood, and then went to court in high spirits.

In summer, winter and spring, they go back to sleep in the cage.

The days went by like this, during which the emperor often came to Yingshui Lanxiang, but most of the time he only came during lunch time, played with the children, took a nap, and then went back to continue handling government affairs.

On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the emperor and empress held a banquet at the Kaiyue Pavilion in Louyun to celebrate the festival.

Xia Dongchun took Hongmin and Qiongwei to the banquet and met the eighth brother who was raised by the queen.

The Eighth Prince was born very strong, and the four-month-old little boy actually looked fatter than the eight-month-old Hongmin.

The Queen Mother was so happy when she saw the fat grandson of Eighth Prince that she had him sit next to her during the entire banquet.

Xia Dongchun, Hongmin and Qiongwei came forward to say hello, then sat quietly in their seats.

Seeing the two little people dressed exactly the same, everyone was very curious. Concubine Jing hugged Qiong Wei and refused to let go. Lord Chungui was also very busy around the two dolls, while Xia Dongchun just smiled at the side. and looked at it.

Secretly observing the empress and empress dowager present, Xia Dongchun felt somewhat clear in her heart.

Because the Queen Mother was really partial to the Eighth Prince and wanted him to sit next to her, the Emperor's eyes were a little complicated every time he saw the Queen and the Queen Mother milling around the Eighth Prince. Therefore, the Emperor did not show any affection for the Eighth Prince. How much does brother value it?

Instead, he paid attention to the children and their biological mothers sitting in the hall one by one, and rewarded them all. Even Qi's concubine, who was still confined in the Forbidden City, also received rewards.

The Mid-Autumn Festival was a family banquet, but it was particularly lively, especially after An Lingrong sang. Rui Changzai also showed off his singing voice and played the pipa himself, which greatly impressed the emperor.

The atmosphere in the hall was a bit subtle, and An Lingrong looked calm. Like everyone else, An Lingrong had always known that Rui Changzai was good at dancing, but she didn't know when her singing voice became so beautiful. So how could An Lingrong gain a foothold in the future?
  Xia Dongchun also looked at An Lingrong from a distance, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot, and happened to catch her looking at her. Xia Dongchun raised his glass and toasted in her direction, and saw An Lingrong regained his cowardice. With a graceful look, she picked up the wine glass delicately.

Concubine Hua presented a luminous pearl the size of a baby's fist to the Queen Mother. As soon as she took it out, the soft light like the bright moon illuminated half of the hall, and everyone was amazed.

The Queen Mother liked it very much and gave the imperial concubine a Bu Yao. It was a reward from the Queen Mother Xiaohui when she first became a virtuous concubine.

The first and fifteenth day of the lunar month was traditionally the day when the queen went to bed, and the night of the full moon of the Mid-Autumn Festival was also the day when the emperor and empress got together. However, after the banquet was over, the emperor followed Concubine Hua and left, leaving the empress alone in embarrassment.

At the beginning of September, the Holy Emperor returned to Luan, and everyone returned to the Forbidden City from the Old Summer Palace.

After returning to the palace, Xia Dongchun retreated from the world. On weekdays, except for greetings at Jingren Palace, he spent the rest of the day in Yanxi Palace, never leaving or taking a step forward.

On this day, when greeting guests at Jingren Palace, they saw that everyone looked frightened or worried, and the queen also looked solemn. Xia Dongchun sensed that something big had happened.

After returning to the palace, he received a letter from Xia Lingyun. There were only a few words in the letter: There have been changes in the past, so take care of yourself and don't miss your home.

After reading it, Xia Dongchun burned the letter and watched the letter turn into ashes with her own eyes. Then she ordered someone to invite Wang Shunyi. In the afternoon, she reported illness to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and closed the palace door to rest.

The emperor has not been to the harem for several days, and he has no time to care whether Xia Dongchun is sick. Mo Shuang said that Concubine Hua had begged several times outside the gate of the Yangxin Palace but never saw the emperor.

You don't have to go out for summer, winter and spring to realize that at this moment, the palace is full of chaos and everyone is in danger. However, Xia Dongchun had no way of knowing the situation in the previous dynasty, so he had to suppress his inner panic and wait patiently.

Finally, when Xia Lingyun returned to the palace, the aunt and nephew immediately found an opportunity to meet. It turns out that the official business trip mentioned a few days ago was to follow Prince Guo, who was nominally guarding the imperial mausoleum, to investigate Prince Dun's criminal evidence.

It has now been verified that Prince Dun had the intention of treason and sent a message to Nian Gengyao, asking him to help him seize the throne and welcome Yunsu as the emperor, and Yunsu's mother Yi Taifei as the queen mother.

The emperor was furious: If he could succeed, wouldn't it mean that the Qing Dynasty would be destroyed by heaven?
  In the afternoon of that day, a decree was passed down from Shoukang Palace: the Queen Mother was feeling unwell, and Prince Tun Fujin and Beizi were invited to enter the palace and accompany Princess Gongding to attend to the Queen Mother's illness.

At the end of September, Prince Tun's rebellion was exposed, and hundreds of evidence of rebellion, corruption and other crimes were found, which shocked the whole court.

On this day, the imperial edict was passed down from the previous dynasty.

"Prince Nyen Tun has great military exploits and has served for many years. He is a brother and sister. He cannot bear to kill him, which will chill the soul of the late emperor. Therefore, I cannot bear to punish him. I will grant him a pardon from the death penalty. He will be stripped of his royal title and honor, demoted to a commoner, and imprisoned for life." The clan's residence is not allowed to be visited without an imperial edict, and Fujin and his children are demoted to common people and the residence is imprisoned."

Under the imperial edict, the overall situation has been decided.

The emperor personally welcomed back Wan Concubine and Sixth Brother, and everyone knew that Concubine Wan's true intention was to confine Penglai Island this time.

Another imperial edict rectified Prince Guo's name and commended him for his efforts in proving Prince Dun.

Soon after, it was reported that Prince Dun had asked Nian Gengyao for help and asked him to send troops to help. There were rumors in the former harem that Nian Gengyao had colluded with Prince Dun, and also intended to rebel and establish a new king.

Concubine Hua urgently asked to see the emperor and wanted to defend her brother, but she was not allowed to see him no matter what, so she had to kneel down outside the gate of Yangxin Hall.

Unexpectedly, the emperor told Concubine Wan to serve the Holy Master in the Yangxin Hall, but without summoning the concubine, Wan Concubine walked into the Yangxin Hall in a dignified manner in front of the embarrassed concubine.

Su Peisheng conveyed that the emperor was busy with important matters and asked the imperial concubine to return to the palace as soon as possible.

The imperial concubine returned to Yikun Palace disheartened. She was always in fear in the palace, waiting for the emperor's judgment on the Nian family.

Unexpectedly, on this day, Gengyao wrote a poem to show his loyalty, but instead of "working in the morning and being alert in the evening", he mistakenly wrote "the sun sets and lurks in the morning".

The emperor was furious and took advantage of this opportunity to demote Nian Gengyao and punish him to guard the city gate. Nian Gengyao had no idea that his sacred heart had been lost, so he swaggered through the market wearing a yellow mantle given by the emperor, causing frequent riots in the market and heated discussions among the people.

The courtiers played Nian Gengyao unrepentantly and despised the emperor's favor. The emperor was furious and ordered Nian Gengyao to be captured and imprisoned in the capital.

Within a month, it was discovered that Nian Gengyao was corrupt, perverting the law, disregarding human lives, enjoying great achievements, delaying war flights, etc. The emperor ordered that Nian's house be confiscated.

The situation changed, and within a few days, Nian Gengyao's imperial edict to choose a day to be executed was drawn up.

Not long after, the emperor issued an order. The queen had been recuperating for a long time, and the power of the harem had fallen by the wayside. She was ordered to take over the palace power again immediately, and the concubine Jing and Hui concubines assisted in the palace affairs.

The imperial concubine no longer has time to care about palace power, she just wants to do her best to save her brother and family's lives. At this time, the imperial concubine was already suffering from liver and gallbladder disintegration, but the emperor still refused to see her. The imperial concubine broke her forehead in front of the Yangxin Hall, but could not stop the emperor's decree of death.

(End of this chapter)