eurekapd Chapter 109 The Little Emperor with an Ill-Fated Life
Chapter 109 The Little Emperor with an Ill-Fated Life
Chu Changning's rebellion had just passed. While sipping his wine, Song Pu looked at the brand new court and the newly promoted courtiers, and felt that the court was more united than ever before, or rather, more disunited.
Chu Yuanming took the opportunity to punish the rebels and removed some senior officials from the previous emperor's reign, including Huang Chunru, the governor of Yingtian, who had retired and returned to his hometown, Liang Xin, the governor of Yueyun, and Liang Ji, the prefect of Fengtian, who had neglected their duties.
After these two local officials were brought down, Chu Yuan would cooperate with the grand plan to support his own people to take power next year. Currently, the candidates recommended by the Ministry of Personnel include Chai Ao, the Left Counselor of the Guchang Provincial Administration Commission, and Lu Jichuan, the prefect of Gufan Prefecture and the son of Lu Fan, Duke of Yiguo.
Song Pu analyzed that, judging from the current situation, whether it was the early rebellion suppression or the subsequent promotion, the Shou family had most likely placed their bets with Chu Yuanming. The candidates recommended by Chu Yuanming were mostly concentrated in Gufan Prefecture and Changqi Prefecture under the jurisdiction of Guchang Chengxuan Zhengshisi. Shou Junchou, the eldest son of the Shou family, also stationed troops on the borders of Guchang Prefecture and Guchang Prefecture. It seemed that Guchang was already Chu Yuanming's sphere of influence.
Now that Chu Changning is out, Song Pu needs people to fill the vacancies left by Chu Changning's faction, and he also needs to consolidate the situation that has already been set up. It would be best if he could also weaken Chu Yuanming's strength. For a moment, he felt that he had no one under his command and could not do it alone.
Que Yan was as steady as a mountain, and he would not place a bet in advance without foreseeing the outcome. He just didn't know whether Zhao Lingji had surrendered to Chu Yuanming. If Zhao Lingji also followed Chu Yuanming, it would be God's will! This plan was of great importance, and he could not let Chu Yuanming's faction take advantage of this opportunity to become bigger and stronger.
When he first began assisting in the administration, Song Pu was still somewhat cautious and avoided suspicion. He was more cautious in using his own children and disciples, and did not dare to arrange them to key positions without authorization, for fear of being accused of forming a clique for personal gain or of monopolizing power among his relatives.
The situation is tense now and he has to make an emergency decision. He doesn't care about avoiding suspicion and he has to get along with his students and old friends more.
Song Pu was planning with all his heart, thinking that after the New Year Palace Banquet, his first stop would be to go to Duke Weiguo Wu Zhenshan to sound out the Zhao family's attitude. The current Duke Weiguo was Zhao Lingji's cousin, and the Wu family also had royal blood, so they would not defect to Chu Yuanming so quickly.
In addition to the Wu family, those who still have military power in the court include Duke Yiguo Lu Fan, Duke Xinguo Chen Shixian, and Duke Guguo Yue Chang. The troops of these four families are not as numerous or well-trained as those of the Shou family, but they should be useful if put together.
As it stands now, the Lu family seems to have sided with Chu Yuanming, but Song Pu still wants to fight for it personally.
He was anxiously calculating the current situation and thinking carefully about which forces he could win over. Suddenly, the little emperor on the dragon throne fainted.
"Your Majesty!" "Quickly call the imperial physician!" The Hanyuan Hall was instantly thrown into chaos. The dancers and musicians who were singing and dancing stopped immediately, and Xiao Yueshan stopped moving the chopsticks that were holding the mutton.
"Oh my god! 'The Legend of Zhen Huan' never deceives me. There is always something big going on at every palace banquet. I wonder who is responsible for this murder this time." Xiao Yueshan thought to himself, supporting his neck and looking around.
Song Pu was startled and hurried forward to check on the little emperor. Chu Yuanming, Zhao Lingji, Que Yan and other regents also gathered around, while other court officials stood there respectfully and anxiously waiting.
The imperial physician arrived soon, and after a diagnosis, he said solemnly, "Your Majesty has been overworked and has not eaten well recently. Now that you have suddenly eaten nourishing food, you are too weak to absorb the nourishment and have fainted. You need to take good care of yourself."
Song Pu frowned and said, "Your Majesty is worth a fortune, how can you have a poor appetite? How did the imperial physician and eunuchs on duty serve you?"
The imperial physician immediately knelt on the ground and begged for punishment, "Please calm down, sir. Your Majesty is young, but you work day and night. I am ashamed." The eunuchs also knelt on the ground and accepted the punishment.
Song Pu sighed helplessly, turned to the ministers and said: "My Lords, your Majesty is ill, and the country cannot be without a ruler for a day. During this period, I hope you will work together to overcome the difficulties."
Everyone responded and said they would do their best. The emperor fell ill, and the palace banquet could not continue. Everyone bowed, prayed for the emperor's health, and then left quietly.
The imperial physician used acupuncture to help the little emperor calm down. Lu Dehou told the eunuchs to carefully carry the emperor back to the Purple Palace for further treatment by the imperial physician.
Song Pu and others also followed him to the inner hall. Seeing the doctors frantically treating the patient, he thought to himself that the little emperor's sudden fainting must be suspicious. He had to investigate thoroughly on the surface, and he couldn't let it go in secret. He was still suspicious of Chu Yuanming, fearing that he was instructing someone to do something behind the scenes.
Oh, God! The late emperor! He was still thinking about freeing up his hands to deal with Chu Yuanming. Now the emperor is sick again. Even if he has three heads and six arms, he can't handle so many situations! He was grateful to the late emperor in his heart. He was afraid that his good uncle would fail to live up to his trust.
Song Pu was a battle-hardened politician. Even though he was helpless, he remained calm and decided to start by investigating the emperor's daily diet.
He, together with several regent ministers and Lu Dehou, went to the outer room of the bedroom, summoned the imperial physician and eunuchs who served the emperor, and carefully inquired about the emperor's recent diet.
The director of the Imperial Hospital, Ge Li, reported to everyone with a serious face: "Your Majesty has indeed lost his appetite recently, but all the ingredients and medicinal foods are carefully prepared according to the secret recipe, so there should be no problem. As for the exact cause of this situation, it has not yet been found out."
Ge Li frowned and said thoughtfully. He knew that the emperor was ill, and the Imperial Hospital's reply was unconvincing, but there was indeed no abnormality found at present.
"I need to inspect all the food, clothing, and even the incense and flowers that your majesty has touched." He added, and Lu Dehou waved to the eunuchs to present the emperor's imperial items according to Ge Li's request. The imperial doctors were divided into two groups, one for diagnosis and the other for poison testing.
Watching the imperial doctors getting busy, Song Pu turned his attention to the eunuchs, "You daring servants! How can you serve me!"
The eunuchs' bodies were shaking slightly, with panic expressions on their faces and their voices trembling a little: "We servants have always been doing things according to the rules! We would never dare to neglect Your Majesty!" They lowered their heads, not daring to look at Song Pu and others, for fear that they would say something wrong or do something wrong and bring disaster upon themselves.
Song Pu glanced at them sharply, "Humph, rules? I think you are just a bunch of useless trash! You can't even take care of His Majesty's daily life, what use are you?"
The chief steward of the Purple Palace knelt on the ground with a plop and kowtowed repeatedly, "Sir, please spare my life! We have really tried our best, please have mercy on us!"
Song Pu snorted coldly, "Try your best? I think you don't care about His Majesty's health at all! From today on, you all have to be very alert. If there are any mistakes again, don't blame me for being rude!"
The palace maids in the Purple Palace were all old friends of Queen Song. Song Pu had only scolded them superficially, but he certainly couldn't replace them with his own confidants at the moment.
After saying that, Song Pu turned to the other ministers and said, "Everyone, the most urgent task right now is to ensure the safety of His Majesty. I suggest that we send more people to strictly guard all parts of the palace, and at the same time conduct a comprehensive inspection of His Majesty's diet and daily life. In addition, this matter must be thoroughly investigated to see if anyone deliberately murdered His Majesty."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Song Pu looked at Chu Yuanming for a few times and saw that his expression was normal. Song Pu thought to himself that he must find the mastermind as soon as possible. The young age of the emperor made people change their minds. If he was still weak, he would be even more coveted. Over time, the court would fall into chaos.
Lu Dehou, who had been silent the whole time, spoke up at this moment, "It is reasonable for the Prime Minister to blame us eunuchs, but there are more than just eunuchs serving Your Majesty in this palace. Madam Huguo Fuyun accompanies and takes care of Your Majesty every day, so she should also be checked on as a routine."
This is true. In the chaos just now, Song Pu ignored the quiet woman next to him.