Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 36: Deserted by Everyone, a New World

It is said that there will be no filial son by the bedside of a patient who has been ill for a long time. Zhu Yijun fell ill today... no, he just fell ill yesterday. But when he saw Zhu Changluo coming over, the only eye that was still able to move showed even greater fear.

"My son, can you hear what your mother is saying? My poor son..."

Seeing her son wake up again, this time only his eyes could move and his mouth could not open at all, Empress Dowager Li still cried bitterly.

Zhu Changluo also knelt down and cried out in sorrow: "Father..."

To cry.

Natural disasters occurred frequently, rebellions arose everywhere, party struggles were endless, power and wealth were more important than anything else, and the Ming Dynasty began to fall during the Wanli period.

To cry.

When the Jurchens took control, we closed our country to the outside world. Foreign powers came knocking, took away our land and plundered our wealth, and the world fell into depravity and humiliation for a hundred years.

To cry.

Searching and searching, searching with difficulty, the Japanese invasion, the heroes sacrificed their lives for the country, how many hardships did they endure to establish a new country?

Zhu Changluo didn't cry for him, as he no longer needed to think about his biological father in another world.

This occasion required him to cry, and he could not show no grief in front of Empress Dowager Li, but Zhu Changluo had his own endless hatred and sorrow.

The Ming Dynasty has become like this, and all the ministers outside are trying to protect themselves and secretly seek power.

The Ming Dynasty actually didn't have to be like this.

The Ming Dynasty should still be saved!

But Zhu Yijun was too fragile to face the dire situation he had created, and too suspicious to care about the dire consequences in the future.

Two awakenings, two fears, both for his life and power!
He is not even as good as the elderly Empress Dowager Li!
"My son, do you have anything to say?" Empress Dowager Li stroked his face while trembling. "All the ministers are waiting outside. They are all worried about my son, and even more worried about state affairs."

There was a glimmer of hope in Zhu Yijun's eyes, and his pupils turned.

"In this situation, you can't speak..."

Empress Dowager Li's tears dripped onto his face, and Zhu Yijun's pupils shrank slightly.

Because Empress Dowager Li cried so loudly, people outside could definitely hear it.

Outside the hall, there was silence.

Shen Yiquan looked inside with a somewhat deep gaze.

Never mind, this is a family affair after all.

Perhaps it would be easier for the eldest prince to sort out state affairs if he ascended the throne directly.

As long as the abdication is approved by the emperor, the ministers do not need to bear any responsibility.

Once Empress Dowager Li felt that the imperial power was threatened, she began to use relatives and eunuchs... The lessons of history are still vivid in our minds.

Even with the ancestral precepts, the civil officials are already powerful, but they still can't do anything to the current mining supervisor and tax collector, right?

"Can you move your hands a little?"

Another voice was heard, but no one in the hall spoke.

It sounds like things are getting better, but everyone feels heavy-hearted.

An emperor this sick will be more difficult to deal with than before.

Even harder to see.

They are even less capable of governing.

More likely to have a bad temper!

On the dragon bed, there were only Empress Dowager Li, Zhu Changluo, Queen Wang, and Tian Yi.

The other servants and imperial doctors all went outside, and Chen Ju and others did not come in.

Zhu Yijun's eyes were filled with fear. Empress Dowager Li's tears fell. She held his face lovingly and said, "My son, gesture slowly, gesture slowly..."

Zhu Yijun's hands were completely unable to move, only his eyes moved restlessly.

After crying for a few times and waiting for a while, Empress Dowager Li nodded, choking with sobs, and still speaking loudly: "It's good to abdicate, it's good to abdicate, my son, rest assured and recuperate, you will surely recover one day... It's good to abdicate..."

Queen Wang covered her mouth tightly and dared not make a sound.

Her eyes were filled with fear and her tears kept flowing.

Tian Yi took a deep breath and looked at Zhu Changluo.

The eldest prince knelt down and took two steps back, tears in his eyes, and kowtowed three times and nine times.

I don't know whether he was worshipping the emperor or the empress dowager.

Is this an imperial decree?
Tian Yi also knelt down and kowtowed, then stood up and turned around.

He felt his steps were extremely heavy, but he still walked towards the warm room and got pen, ink and paper.

The eldest prince, however, dipped his fingertips into the ink and wrote on it with trembling hands.

His trembling fingers seemed to show grief, but his brushwork vaguely had the emperor's charm, and he was meticulous.

All this happened right in front of Zhu Yijun.

Tears welled up in his eyes and he looked at his mother pleadingly, extremely earnestly and humbly.

"Don't be anxious, my son... write slowly..."

Empress Dowager Li's body seemed to be crushed, and she fell on Zhu Yijun and cried bitterly.

There was no despair in Zhu Yijun's eyes yet. Later, he heard the sound of water, the sound of wiping, and the sound of footsteps.

Finally, Tian Yi's voice came from afar: "Your Majesty's order..."

I didn't write that, no!
He remembered the rebellious son copying his calligraphy style...

What Lord of Heaven's Destiny... He is a demon!
Where is my beloved concubine? My beloved concubine, please save me...

Outside the palace, almost without hesitation, a chorus of voices rang out: "Your Majesty, your subjects will obey your Majesty's orders! Your Majesty, please take care of yourself. Long live your Majesty! Long live your Majesty! Long, long live your Majesty!"

Zhu Yijun's eyes became completely desperate and dim.

No one helps me...

Mother won’t help… She only loves my fourth brother…

Dog slaves...

Rebellious son...

The only person who cares about me...does she really want to harm me?

Empress Dowager Li sat up with difficulty and looked at him pleadingly: "Please meet the foreign minister... meet him..." Then she supported herself on the bed and stood up with the help of Zhu Changluo, muttering to herself softly: "Mother will not harm you... never... never..."

But she and Queen Wang avoided it and hid in the compartment.

"All the ministers come to see me one by one!"

Zhu Changluo was kneeling in front of the couch, and Tian Yi could not see his gaze. Empress Dowager Li and Queen Wang were in the compartment next to them.

Zhu Yijun felt a sinking feeling in his heart as he watched his son look at him calmly.

He could no longer move or speak.

Wouldn't the Queen Mother harm herself? Would he harm himself?
Then Xu Wenbi came in. Zhu Changluo looked at Zhu Yijun deeply and bent down.

When the emperor and his minister looked at each other, Zhu Yijun had already begun trying hard to control his eyes.

There can't be anything different, no!

Zhu Dingchen, Zhang Weixian...

Then Zhao Zhigao was carried in first, followed by Shen Yikuan, Yu Jideng...

It was like a farewell ceremony.

Zhu Yijun warned himself not to be unusual.

And he gradually realized... no one had checked to see if he could really move his hands.

no one.

It seemed that as long as he was alive, no one would dare to disobey his orders.

Except for Zhao Zhigao, everyone just looked at him and saw that he was still alive. Then they knelt down three times and kowtowed nine times, crying and begging him to take care of his health and to live up to their trust and assist the rebellious son.

Then he left wiping his tears.

But Zhu Yijun still didn't dare to show any anger.

He kindly and tried his best to keep a glimmer of hope.

The Queen Mother said absolutely not.

When Tian Yi's voice came from outside: "Your Majesty is tired, it's time to rest, everyone should go back to the palace first."

Zhu Yijun finally relaxed and looked at Zhu Changluo in fear.

"Father, please take care of your health. I will definitely live up to your trust."

His hand was held by him. He had never been so intimate with his son before, except for when he wiped his saliva for himself...

Two footsteps, then three footsteps came.

More footsteps came.

The Queen Mother's tired voice sounded: "Imperial Physician, is it time for His Majesty to come now?"

"…In reply to the Empress Dowager, lay out some soft blankets and be careful. It shouldn't be a big deal…"

"...Then please bear with me for a while... Go to the Cining Palace." Empress Dowager Li looked at Zhu Yijun tiredly and desolately, "Don't worry, my son. Your mother prays for you day and night. The Bodhisattva will surely protect your health."

"Queen, you should also come to the Cining Palace to serve..."

"Prince..."

"My grandson is here." Zhu Changluo knelt in front of her.

Empress Dowager Li stroked the top of his head and then the silk sac behind his head.

"I'll leave it to you..."

"I, your son, thank you for your kindness! Your Majesty, I will not hesitate to die for the sake of our country!"

It was almost dawn, and the sky was beginning to turn bright.

Lift the bed and reuse it.

Zhu Changluo knelt for a long time at the foot of the Danchi in the Qianqing Palace, unable to get up, watching Empress Dowager Li staggering away.

Yesterday, it should have been a situation where the father and son were working together to turn the tide in the face of a disaster.

After one night, everything had changed and the Ming Dynasty had changed.

Is she ready to go to the eighteenth level of hell?
But this is heaven.

The royal family made concessions in everything for the sake of the stability of the country and the preservation of imperial power.

Zhu Changluo thought about rebelling against him, and in the end he actually rebelled against him.

His mother and son conspired together tacitly, and his wife and slaves were accomplices.

After a long time, Zhu Changluo kowtowed nine times to the west before slowly standing up.

"Your Highness..."

Tian Yi had a complicated expression on his face, and there was inevitably some anxiety in his eyes.

He was thinking about his own life, and it was indeed for the Ming Dynasty.

Over the years, the emperor's actions have made loyal servants like Tian Yi feel uneasy.

They have already stood at the top of the inner court, and they have also studied. Since they don't like to make money, they have other ambitions.

Zhu Changluo was grateful to Empress Dowager Li and also grateful to Tian Yi for his loyalty and bravery in going to Kunning Palace with the new evidence.

He nodded to Tian Yi: "No one is unfaithful, no one is unkind, no one is unfilial... This sentence is absolutely true. Weichuan, it's dawn. What do you think of Daming? Can we make her better?"

Tian Yi was shocked as he listened to his own words and the words that followed.

"If Your Highness is willing, I will believe it!"

"Take your time... take a break first..."

Zhu Changluo walked east.

Tian Yi also wants to go east.

The Ciqing Palace and the Silijian Direct Office were in the same direction, so they were going the same way.

The sun will rise in the east.

In the gradually brightening Forbidden City, one group was heading west. They were the Emperor and Empress Dowager of the Ming Dynasty, also known as the Retired Emperor and the Grand Empress Dowager. Another group was heading east. They were the eldest son of the Ming Dynasty, also known as the Crown Prince and the new Emperor.

One is plagued by sins, the other is born to suffer calamity.

How will this page of history be passed down to future generations?

(The first volume of the national dispute ends.)
(End of this chapter)