Darkness of Rebirth

In just a few days, the news of the prince's death spread throughout the entire Donggan Kingdom, and even the Three Kingdoms of Nanchi, Beize, and Xixuan knew about the sudden death of the Prince Donggan on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.Dongfang Lingwu was on his way back to the capital when he learned of the death of the prince's brother, upon hearing the news, he hurried back to the palace.And returning to the palace with Dongfang Lingwu, in addition to Chu Mi, also Chu Mi's master Wu Yazi.

After Xuan Qiuyu, Minister of Dali Temple, and Zhao Hezhang, minister of punishment, resigned, Emperor Qianwen never transferred to a lower-level official, and these two positions have been vacant until now.The poisoning incident was not investigated clearly, and Anfeng did not come back to report for a long time. Emperor Ganwen finally realized what was wrong, and directly sent a team of dark guards to find Anfeng's whereabouts.

On the night of the fifteenth day, the guards in the palace searched for the assassin, and happened to find Anfeng's clothes, saber and dagger. He wanted to present it to Emperor Qianwen that night, but he didn't want the crown prince to follow suit, so he had no choice but to keep those things first. up.The dark guards who were sent out to look for An Feng on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month did not find any news about An Feng because of those guards.

The prince's coffin stayed in the East Palace for five days before being sent to the imperial mausoleum.During this period, the empress who was the prince's biological mother and his grandfather, the prime minister Song Wen, were the most sad.If the crown prince can ascend the throne smoothly, the Song clan will be able to follow in its heyday, but once the crown prince dies, the position of crown prince will be vacant. Who will the new crown prince be?

The second prince Qing Dongfang Du, the third prince You Wang Dongfang Xu, and the fourth prince Dongfang Jin are all candidates for the crown prince.A country cannot be without a king for a day, and it cannot be without a prince for a day.Dongfang Xu is another son of the empress, so he naturally hopes that he can become the new crown prince.

Before the end of the first month, and before all the officials had to go to court, the discussion about establishing a reserve was put on hold.Prime Minister Song was eager to stabilize the status of the Song clan, and as soon as Dongfang Xi was buried in the imperial mausoleum, he hurriedly sent someone to send a message to the queen, asking her to blow away the wind on Emperor Wen's pillow, and make sure Dongfang Xu was the new crown prince. .

As soon as the eldest son died, she had to plan for the crown prince for the younger son. The queen felt that she was ten years old in an instant.No matter which prince becomes the new crown prince, no matter who ascends the throne and becomes the emperor, she, the empress, can become the empress dowager, but if the position of crown prince cannot be won by Dongfang Xu, their Song clan may be on the verge of decline .

What matters is not the title of the queen mother, but who is the new crown prince.

The queen found the opportunity and asked Emperor Qianwen about establishing a reserve. Emperor Qianwen knew that she was thinking about the Song family, so she wanted to establish a reserve so eagerly.If the new crown prince is not Dongfang Xu, but the other two princes, they can make a plan as soon as possible to try to abolish the new crown prince before he ascends the throne. If the new crown prince is Dongfang Xu, they must protect him and must not let him become the first prince. Two oriental seats.

Emperor Qianwen was quite helpless, but he was helpless. The matter of establishing a reserve was indeed an urgent matter.On the 22nd day of the first lunar month, he called Dongfang Du, Dongfang Xu, and Dongfang Jin to the imperial study room, and planned to choose one of them as the new crown prince.

The three knelt on the ground and saluted together. Emperor Ganwen looked at the three kneeling in the center of the hall, but he didn't say the word "flat body" for a long time.After a long time, he said: "All three emperors get up." Seeing that the three stood up, he said again: "Go and sit down, I have a lot to say to the three emperors today."

Emperor Qianwen gave the little eunuch beside him a look, and the little eunuch cleverly led the other court ladies and eunuchs out of the imperial study.

The three of them were seated in order of age, with Dongfang Du sitting first.The three of them were all sitting upright, with their hands on their thighs, their heads turned slightly to the side, looking at Emperor Qianwen. All three of them knew why their father called them to come to the imperial study, but they were all tightly closed. Lips, waiting for Emperor Qianwen to speak first.

Emperor Qianwen's eyes swept over the three of them one by one, and finally returned to Dongfang Du, frowned slightly, and asked, "Du'er, what is the rule for the establishment of the Crown Prince of the Dungan Kingdom?"

When Dongfang Xu heard it, he subconsciously squeezed his clothes tighter. The Donggan Kingdom has always established the crown prince, and it has always established the elders but not the young. This question is asked knowingly. Is it sure that Dongfangdu will be established as the crown prince?Now he is the only son of the empress, so why should Dongfang Du be the new crown prince? !What's more, Dongfangdu doesn't have the aura of the royal family at all, and the aura of the Jianghu people is vaguely present on his body.He is not reconciled to having such a half-crippled prince who has the taste of the world be made the heir apparent!

With doubts in Dongfangdu's eyes, he looked at Emperor Qianwen in puzzlement for a few seconds, and then slowly replied: "Father, I, Donggan Kingdom, have always established princes according to their seniority." For the prince?The position of prince is too easy to come by!

Emperor Qianwen nodded, "Now, Du'er is the oldest of the three emperors, the position of the crown prince..." Before finishing speaking, Dongfang Du hurriedly got up, cupped his hands in a panic and said, "Father, think twice, son!" Although the minister is the oldest among the three princes, there is also the emperor's sister on top of the children and ministers, if you want to establish the crown prince with the elders, you should also establish the emperor's sister."

"Ridiculous!" Emperor Qianwen glared at Dongfangdu, "Wu'er is a princess, how can the crown prince be given to a woman!" Others are vying for the crown prince they want, but Dongfangdu doesn't want it? !Emperor Ganwen wanted to go straight down and slap her a few times to wake her up.

"Father, isn't the emperor of Nanchi Kingdom a woman? The emperors of other countries can be women, why not our Dungan Kingdom?" Dongfang Du retorted.

When Emperor Qianwen heard this, he was speechless.The current emperor of Nanchi Kingdom, Nangong Anyi, is indeed a woman, and she was not the only heir at that time. Under her, there were several princes. The former emperor of Nanchi Kingdom passed on the throne to the The woman's Nangong Anyi's thoughts are unknown, but Nanchi Kingdom has indeed prospered and prospered in the hands of the current empress, and has not declined because she is a woman.

But Nanchi country is Nanchi country, and Dungan country is Dungan country, so they cannot be generalized.Emperor Qianwen never thought of establishing a female prince, nor did he ever think that Donggan would produce a female emperor.Since the founding of the country, the princes of the Donggan Kingdom have always been crowned princes. If he sets a precedent for establishing a woman as the emperor, I am afraid that the next Donggan Kingdom will have a second and third female emperor.

Thinking about this, Emperor Ganwen shook his head and said: "Nanchi country makes women emperors, but we are Donggan country, and we should not be confused with other countries. The descendants of our royal family of Donggan country have withered, and now there are only three of you, but we will choose from among the three of you. It is more than enough to have a new crown prince. As long as there is a prince in Dungan Kingdom, it is absolutely impossible to establish a woman as emperor!"

Dongfang Du was silent when he heard the words.It is impossible to establish a woman as the emperor, so what about her?She is a real woman!It was only because of the whim of the mother and concubine that she disguised herself as a man and became the prince. She had thought about ascending the throne, but now she just wanted to leave the palace and take Yun'er to live the life of a wild crane in the clouds.

Seeing her silence, Emperor Ganwen sighed softly, and said, "Sit back", then turned his head to look at Dongfang Xu who was sitting under Dongfang Du, and asked, "Xu'er, should the prince be a sage, or should I be a virtuous person?" Be the chief?" If the eldest son is incapable and incompetent, and is clearly a subjugated king, should he be made the crown prince?

This question is quite difficult to answer. If Dongfang Xu answers that Lixian, it means that he does not agree with the ancestral precepts handed down by the leader of the Dungan Kingdom. If he answers Lichang, it means that he agrees to Li Dongdu as the new crown prince.

In a dilemma, Dongfang Xu felt uneasy, and finally gritted his teeth and replied, "It is time to establish a virtuous person." He wanted the position of the crown prince, and it was absolutely impossible for him to agree to appoint the elder as the crown prince at this time, "Although the rule handed down by the ancestors is to establish the elder as the crown prince." However, if the eldest son is not virtuous, virtuous, talented, or wise, he is naturally not suitable to be a prince, and he should set up another one. The ancestor's precepts are important, but the century-old foundation of the Dungan Kingdom is even more important. The Qian Kingdom will last forever." Ling Ran's words were upright and well-founded, as if he was only thinking about the Dong Gan Kingdom, and never had any selfish intentions.

But having said that, among the three, whoever is the most virtuous and intelligent cannot make a judgment immediately. If all the princes have virtue and wisdom, the position of heir apparent will naturally fall on the eldest son.

Emperor Ganwen admired Dongfang Xu's words in his heart, but he just nodded without any expression on his face.This action made Dongfang Xu's hand relax a little bit, and his uneasy heart also let go.

Dongfang Jin had been quietly listening to the conversation between the two imperial brothers and his father. At this moment, Emperor Qianwen's eyes fell on him. He knew that it was his turn to answer questions.

"Jin'er, which of the three of you brothers do you think is the most suitable to be crown prince?" Such a straightforward question really caught Dongfang Jin by surprise.He thought about many possible questions in his mind, but he never thought that Emperor Qianwen would ask him so directly who should be the best.

Dongfang Du and Dongfang Xu turned their heads to look at Dongfang Jin, sweating over this question in their hearts.Is this a vote?Who does the third prince think should be established, and who will the throne fall to?Dongfangdu thought that she must not be mentioned, but he also thought that if Dongfang Xu became the new crown prince, it would be very bad, and it was really a dilemma.

Dongfang Jin hesitated for a moment, stood up and cupped his hands and said, "Father, which prince should be given the position of crown prince? I dare not speak nonsense. I must have made a decision in my heart. Whether it is the second prince who is established as the new prince , or the third brother is established as the new crown prince, the ministers will support the two brothers."

Dongfang Jin's words did not answer which one was the most suitable to be the crown prince, but he excluded himself from the candidates for the crown prince.

Emperor Qianwen waved his hand and told Dongfang Jin to sit back.

The three of them waited for Emperor Qianwen's decision, but they saw him push the paperweight, picked up the brush, and began to write on the paper.For a long time, they didn't speak.

After about a cup of tea, Emperor Ganwen put down his pen, raised his head and said: "On the third day of junior high school, your poisoning incident has not been investigated clearly. On the fifteenth day, your elder brother died suddenly again. Now , and want to establish a new crown prince, what method do you think should be used to select a new crown prince?" First mentioning what happened a while ago, and then talking about establishing a crown prince, this is obviously implying how many people, who can find out the truth of the matter, Who is the new prince.

However, to Emperor Qianwen's surprise, the three of them remained silent together, and none of them took his words.