EBE Chapter 226 Ascension to the Throne
Chapter 226 Ascension to the Throne
The young general laughed wildly and stood tall and elegant at the door of the imperial study. His originally unhurried pace quickened the moment he stepped inside, and he held the person who was engrossed in reading the memorials firmly in his arms.
"Meng Fuqing, the Yang family, the Emperor, you've revealed the truth about my parents' deaths to the world... You've done everything I wanted to do for me, how do you want me to repay you? How about you repay me with your body?"
Upon seeing this person, Meng Fuqing felt as if his eyes, which had been filled with documents all day, had been cleansed.
She held up a finger and pushed the person away a little. "You should be careful and keep your composure. If the affair between the Regent and the General is discovered, it will become the talk of the town. There were even people who impeached the two of us for being too close."
Xie Jin's smile suddenly turned playful. "I thought they couldn't tell, so they came here to complain to you."
"What did you do?" Meng Fuqing looked at his face, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"It's nothing." Xie Jin raised his hand to cover the eyes of the person in front of him. "It's just that there are some rumors circulating among the people. There's no need to pay attention to them."
He lowered his hand, his smile vanished, and his expression suddenly became serious: "Qingqing, why are you so bothered by others impeaching us for being too close? Can I impeach the Regent for starting a relationship and then abandoning me?"
Meng Fuqing: "..."
For a moment, Meng Fuqing thought she had misheard. Recalling what Xie Jin had said when he came in, she tentatively asked, "Do you really want to repay me with your body?"
"Really." Xie Jin asked seriously, "So that those old scoundrels won't gossip in front of you, when will Qingqing give me a formal title?"
Meng Fuqing cannot grant him a formal title for the time being. The late emperor has passed the 31-day mourning period since his sudden death, and the auspicious day for the enthronement ceremony chosen by the Imperial Observatory is fast approaching.
She wanted to use this opportunity to find fault with some people, such as the Wen family who were unwilling to accept their fate.
On the eve of the coronation ceremony, a group of highly skilled men in black broke into the palace in the middle of the night to assassinate the emperor.
Having made preparations in advance, Xie Jin, along with Mu Feng and the others, captured the person in just the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn.
The first thing they did after capturing these people was to dislocate their jaws, and they eventually learned from them who the mastermind was—Princess Duanning.
Meng Fuqing did not react immediately, and the enthronement ceremony was held as scheduled the next day.
In front of Taiji Palace.
As dawn breaks, the rosy clouds are like blood, and purple clouds drift from the east.
The imperial city was bathed in golden light, the palace walls looked as if they were stained with blood, and the glazed tiles on the walls were dotted with gold dust. The imperial road was covered with a red carpet woven with gold, and on both sides stood the imperial guards, who were heavily armored and had solemn faces like iron, holding long halberds that reflected a cold light.
The area in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony was already filled with kneeling civil and military officials.
"The auspicious time has arrived—"
As the official in charge of ceremonies rang out, bells and drums resounded.
Accompanied by clear and solemn music, a golden chariot slowly descended from the high steps, and three thousand imperial guards simultaneously knelt on one knee, their iron armor striking the ground with a thunderous sound.
As the golden palanquin landed, Meng Fuqing lifted the beaded curtain, placed a hand on Dou Xier's arm, and stepped down from the palanquin. She was dressed in a black imperial robe, with twelve symbols of the sun, moon, mountains and rivers shining brightly, making her aura completely undisguised.
"kneel--"
The assembled officials bowed their heads and knelt on the ground, shouting in unison, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Meng Fuqing walked step by step up to the altar and took the Dragon Seal and Phoenix Sword from the ailing Empress.
Just then, a black bird suddenly flew in from the horizon, carrying a red feather in its beak. It flew over Meng Fuqing's head and landed squarely in her palm.
The Imperial Advisor led the entire Astronomical Bureau in prostrating themselves and shouting, "The Empress is ordained by Heaven! This is an auspicious omen!"
Meng Fuqing faced the crowd, his voice as cold as jade, "I, by the mandate of Heaven, now rule the world. From this day forward, the nation's name shall be changed to Zhaoming, and a general amnesty shall be granted!"
……
The day-long coronation ceremony was exhausting, but Meng Fuqing did not rest. She dealt with the remnants of the Wen clan overnight.
Xie Jin led his men to surround Princess Duanning's residence, where they found many letters between Duanning and court officials. After obtaining the evidence, Princess Duanning was placed under house arrest in her residence.
With the evidence, everything became much easier. The evidence was conclusive: they formed cliques, plotted to assassinate the newly enthroned empress, and intended to rebel.
Originally, the crime of treason should have resulted in the execution of nine generations of relatives, but Meng Fuqing had just granted a general amnesty, so he had no choice but to demote the Wen family members, who were imperial relatives, to commoners.
In this way, those who wanted to say that Meng Fuqing had premeditated the plan lost their grounds.
After all, the assassination was real, and the amnesty originally did not include treason. However, the new emperor only demoted the person to a commoner and did not exterminate them, which was already more than enough.
The first priority for the newly enthroned Empress Meng Fuqing was to deal with her former staff. Just as she was settling old scores and making appointments and dismissals of officials, the Empress, who had been bedridden for a long time, passed away.
Cui Jichu's death did not cause much of a stir. When the news reached the common people, they simply shook their heads and said, "What a pity."
"Meng Fuqing!"
Enraged, Xiao Linyuan stormed up to Meng Fuqing, demanding, "Didn't you promise me? Why is the Empress dead?"
Xie Jin blocked Meng Fuqing's path and said coldly, "Life and death are preordained. Are you doubting His Majesty?"
Meng Fuqing raised his hand and patted Xie Jin on the shoulder.
Xie Jin only stepped aside after confirming that Xiao Linyuan had calmed down a bit.
"I have done what I promised you. Commander Xiao, instead of questioning me here, you should think about why you are so concerned for the Empress, yet she did not tell you about this matter. Whether the two of you can meet again is none of my business."
Xiao Linyuan left, dejected and heartbroken.
Xie Jin looked at his retreating figure and sneered, "He has a mouth but acts like a mute."
Meng Fuqing placed a stack of memorials in front of Xie Jin and nodded perfunctorily, "General Xie is right."
Xie Jin: ...
After the Empress's death, Meng Fuqing ordered a cleanup of the entire harem, sending all the concubines out of the palace and dismissing many palace maids and eunuchs.
There was no way around it; you don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're in charge of the household. Meng Fuqing only realized how much money she needed after she ascended the throne. Not only did she have to return the things she had stolen from the national treasury intact, but she also had to pay out a lot of money herself.
There was another matter that concerned Meng Fuqing.
Since she ascended the throne, she discovered that the large rock in the space where she had found the remnant consciousness was flashing a red countdown. There were a total of half a month left, and now there were only three days left.
At the same time, a map of the capital city inexplicably appeared on the stone, and a red dot was flashing continuously in the upper right corner of the map, not far from the palace.
Meng Fuqing had already realized that the location indicated by the red dot was the place where the Falling Star Realm could be reset.
The reason she delayed bringing Falling Star Realm to the public's attention was not because she was too busy, but because she had a feeling that she was uncomfortable.
From the very beginning, she felt that the remaining consciousness was holding back from her, which is why she has hesitated until now.
Tomorrow, Niu Er will arrive in the capital with her mother, younger brother and sister-in-law, and Meng Linlang. She plans to try again after Meng Linlang arrives.
What Meng Fuqing didn't know was that after everything settled down, Meng Linlang stopped dreaming. However, on the night before Meng Fuqing ascended the throne, she had a dream about Meng Fuqing.
In her dream, Meng Fuqing sat by the river, like a female ghost crawling out of the water, manipulating her long hair to scoop something out of the river.
The people by the river had been searching for a long time, and Meng Fuqing in her dream was getting impatient. Finally, a dark red light under the moonlight pierced her eyes, making them hurt.