Fortunate Young Gentleman

According to Tang Ning's plan, while he went to Qiandi to pick up Su Mei, the other ladies went to Chu State to join Li Tianlan.

In this way, he would not have many worries in the capital. He only needed to come back to pick up Zhao Man, and from then on he would not be constrained by Chen State, and he could go wherever he wanted in the world.

But after he returned to the capital, he saw that they were still at home.

Zhong Yi sighed and said, "After my husband left the capital, a lot of things happened. I will explain them to you one by one."

Tang Ning shook her head and said, "I have to go to the palace now. When I come back from the palace, you can tell me slowly."

He was in the distant Qiandi these days, and he really didn't know what happened in the capital. Judging from Zhong Yi's expression, a lot of things happened in the capital in the past few months, and he might not be able to finish talking about them in a short time.

It would be better for him to report to the palace first. The news from Qiandi was confidential. Unlike the two times in Jiangnan and the grassland, Tang Ning did not send back any news, and Emperor Chen still didn't know what happened there.

If he knew that Tang Ning did not report to the palace after returning to Beijing, there would be more unnecessary trouble.

Zhong Yi looked at him and asked, "Are you going to the palace to see His Majesty?"

Tang Ning nodded and said, "I have to report to His Majesty first."

Zhong Yi shook his head slightly and said, "Even if you go to the palace, you can't see His Majesty."

Tang Ning was surprised and asked, "Why?"

Zhong Yi said, "His Majesty..."

Tang Ning's heart skipped a beat and asked, "Is he dead?"

"His Majesty has not passed away yet." Zhong Yi looked at him helplessly and said, "But in the past few months, His Majesty has been seriously ill. Two months ago, he could not get up. The morning court has not been held for a long time. All the affairs in the court are handled by the Shangshu Province..."

Tang Ning frowned slightly. The emperor Chen was ill when he left Beijing.

At that time, he thought that Emperor Chen fell ill because of the rebellion of Prince Kang, and that he would get better as long as he recuperated. However, he did not expect that during the months he was away, Emperor Chen's illness became more serious. Judging from Zhong Yi's description, it was clear that he would not be long before his death.

Tang Ning suddenly thought of something, looked at her, and asked, "Who has been in charge of the Shangshu Province in the past few months, the prime minister?"

Zhong Yi shook her head and said, "The prime minister is sick at home and has been recuperating in the mansion for several months."

Tang Ning asked again, "Is it Prince Huai?"

Zhong Yi continued to shake his head, and after a long time he said, "It's Prince Duan."

...

Tang Ning finally realized that in the short few months he was away from Beijing, the capital had been turned upside down.

Emperor Chen's illness did not get better after recuperation as he expected, but it deteriorated rapidly within a month of his absence. The morning court went from once every three days to once every five days to eleven times, and finally became indefinitely shelved.

At the beginning, after Wang Xiang fell ill, the Shangshu Province was in charge of Wang Huai, and the affairs of the court were also handled by him.

However, it didn't take long for Emperor Chen to gradually let Wang Duan get in touch with the core power. After Wang Duan entered the Shangshu Province, it took only half a month to squeeze out Wang Huai.

Without Wang Xiang, Wang Huai was the absolute master of the Shangshu Province. Tang Ning didn't believe that Wang Duan could squeeze out Wang Huai in such a short time. There was no support from Emperor Chen.

Obviously, even if Wang Duan was a waste, his status was higher than that of Wang Huai in the eyes of Emperor Chen. When he was seriously ill and needed to consider the ownership of the throne, Wang Duan still ranked before Wang Huai.

This was not what a wise and sage emperor would do, and it was not like the style of Emperor Chen. The only explanation was that there were some unknown things in the dusty history of the royal family more than 20 years ago.

The change in the situation in the capital seemed sudden, but it was reasonable after careful consideration.

If Emperor Chen was healthy and could live for another ten or twenty years, there is no doubt that Prince Run Zhao Yuan would be his best choice for succession.

However, he suddenly became seriously ill and did not have enough time to wait for Zhao Yuan to grow up. With adult princes in Beijing, it was not in accordance with etiquette and logic to make an ignorant child the emperor.

It happened that during this period, Prince Duan stayed quietly in the mansion and did nothing. This calmness was a great advantage in the eyes of Emperor Chen.

Being an emperor does not require great talent and military strategy. As long as he sits in that high position, all things will be done for him by the people below. What they are afraid of is that he has no talent and likes to make decisions. In this way, no matter how powerful the country is, it will be defeated by him sooner or later.

Tang Ning did not know how many psychological choices Emperor Chen had gone through during this period, but it was certain that no matter how the process was, the balance in his heart eventually leaned towards Prince Duan.

Tang Ning looked at Zhong Yi and asked, "You didn't leave Chen State because of Prince Duan, right?"

Zhong Yi nodded and said guiltily, "It's all my fault. If I had asked them to hurry up, we could have reached Chu State before Prince Duan sent someone to stop us..."

Tang Ning held her in his arms, patted her shoulder gently, and said, "It's okay, it's not your fault."

They left the capital this time for fun. If they just hurried on, they would attract other people's attention.

The sudden illness of Emperor Chen and the reversal of Prince Duan were indeed beyond his expectation, which disrupted his original plan.

But it didn't matter. Even if a salted fish turned over, it was still a salted fish.

The Fang family and Concubine Fang Shu would not watch Prince Duan take that position. They had never been too eager for the throne, but because Zhao Yuan was too young, he could wait until Emperor Chen took the initiative to pass the throne to him.

This was the result, and also the premise.

The premise for the Fang family and Concubine Fang Shu, as well as the forces behind them to remain dormant and forbearing was that Emperor Chen would eventually pass the throne to Zhao Yuan. If Emperor Chen himself went off topic, then they would inevitably take some unharmonious measures.

Tang Ning comforted Zhong Yi and said, "I have to go to the palace first anyway. You guys wait for me at home..."

Zhong Yi nodded and then noticed the cross-dressing girl standing behind Tang Ning. She looked at her and asked, "Who is this sister..."

A Duo hurriedly stepped forward and said, "My name is A Duo. Nice to meet you, Madam..."

Tang Ning looked at Su Mei and said, "Tell them slowly about what happened in Qiandi..."

When Tang Ning changed her clothes and left the Tang family, A Duo was already familiar with them. They called each other sisters. With her cheerful personality, she integrated faster than Tang Ning imagined.

...

The palace, somewhere in the corner.

After Tang Ning entered the palace, he asked a eunuch to report, but he had been sitting in this corner for half an hour and still had not been summoned.

Soon, a maid walked in slowly, bowed to Tang Ning, and said, "Meet the Right Prime Minister."

Tang Ning looked at her and asked, "What did your Majesty say?"

The maid said, "Your Majesty is not feeling well. He has been in a coma for a long time and has not woken up yet. I am afraid he will not wake up today. You may come back tomorrow..."

Tang Ning stood up and looked at the screen on the side of the hall. He quickly retracted his gaze and said, "Then I will come back later."

He walked out of the hall slowly, and soon, a shadow walked out from behind the screen.

Concubine Tang Hui looked outside, her face was a little gloomy, and she lowered her voice and said, "He is back..."