A few days passed by. As time went by, the disturbance caused by the spring hunting gradually subsided, and the entire capital began to be filled with a festive atmosphere.
Not for anything else, just because His Highness the Crown Prince is leaving the cabinet!
Regardless of the political struggle at the highest level, for most people in both the government and the opposition, this is a matter of joy.
For ordinary ministers, it is certainly worthwhile to be happy that the East Palace is settled, the country has its owner, and the inheritance of the country is orderly, but more importantly, there are rewards!
When the crown prince was originally crowned, it was done in a hurry and all the rituals were incomplete. Now that the prince is out of the cabinet, he naturally needs to take care of it.
Moreover, it should be noted that although the prince had been canonized previously, he received the imperial decree from the Holy Mother and the Queen Mother, not the emperor's imperial edict.
So upon closer inspection, there is actually a problem.
In a sense, the prince's departure from the imperial court this time is actually the merger of the canonization ceremony and the exit ceremony. The Ministry of Rites has actually started to prepare for it since the emperor returned to the court.
Although the specific time for leaving the cabinet had not been determined at that time, since it had passed the court meeting, it was naturally difficult to change it.
After careful calculation, the Ministry of Etiquette has been preparing for this ceremony for more than half a year.
From the corresponding utensils and ceremonial guards to the guidance and planning of the etiquette officials, everything is very meticulous. As a court ceremony, the Ministry of Revenue is also very generous this time. Shen Shangshu usually digs and searches, but for such a big event,
Basically everything is answered.
Therefore, the Ministry of Etiquette is not polite. Just the brand-new official uniforms have been customized for every elder in the court. From court uniforms to official uniforms to sacrificial uniforms that may not be used in this ceremony, they are all prepared.
Done.
It is said that when Shangshu Shen saw the budget list, his face turned green.
This is not even counting the corresponding rewards. Of course, the rewards have nothing to do with the Ministry of Revenue. They all come from the emperor's inner treasury.
The day after tomorrow will be the day when the prince will leave the cabinet.
As the sky grew darker, Yu Qian rubbed his sore eyes and raised his head from the papers.
"What time is it?"
"Master Shangshu, there is only half an hour left, and it will be Youshi."
Most of the people in the Ministry of War have left, and only a few officials and petty officials are still busy working underneath.
According to the rules, each yamen can be dissolved when it declares its official status, but this is obviously impossible for Yu Shaobao, an overtime enthusiast.
"Youshi..."
Yu Qian took a look at the sky, and through the window, he saw thick clouds rolling outside, pressing directly against the sky. Although no raindrops fell, there was lightning looming.
"It's going to rain. That's it for today. You should go back home and rest early."
Not knowing what he thought of, Yu Qian frowned, pushed the document in his hand forward, and gave instructions to the people below.
All the officers looked at each other, all a little confused.
This is not like the character of my Lord Shangshu...
The Ministry of Household Affairs has just announced the redemption policy. In recent days, although only a few tentative large households and noble families have applied for some of their fields, it is still enough to keep the Ministry of War busy for a while.
According to usual habits, it would take at least half an hour before they could return home. What happened today?
However, no matter what, it is definitely a good thing to go to the office early.
Knowing that his minister never said polite words, all the officials did not refuse, cleaned up the remaining documents in their hands, and then left one after another.
At the same time, Yu Qian did not continue to stay at the Ministry of War, but left the yamen and got on the sedan. However, he did not return home, but gave an order.
"Go to Donghuamen."
"yes……"
Although I didn't know what my master was doing at Donghua Gate at this time, the people below didn't dare to ask, so they carried the sedan chair and headed towards Donghua Gate.
Ever since the Civil War, the Emperor ordered Donghua Gate to remain open all night, and this has been the case to this day.
This move was originally for the convenience of handling urgent official duties, but later the emperor did not order the restoration.
Originally, the imperial censor reported that this move was inappropriate, but later, the cabinet gained the power to vote, and government affairs became increasingly busy, and there were often situations where things needed to be continued after the palace keys were handed down.
Therefore, gradually no one talked about it. Since then, Donghua Gate and Wenhua Hall have not been closed all night, and the commonly known palace gate has also moved inward and became Huiji Gate.
A group of cabinet ministers also entered through Donghua Gate and exited through Xihua Gate, making it accessible to all through Donghua Gate.
However, despite this, under normal circumstances, the time for the cabinet to disperse is only half an hour later than other yamen.
The sedan stopped outside Donghua Gate. Yu Qian got off the sedan, but he didn't let anyone pass the post inside, and he had no intention of walking in. He just stood aside and looked inside Donghua Gate, as if he was waiting for something.
As expected, not long after, a tired old man in scarlet robes walked out of the door. Seeing this man, Yu Qian smiled slightly and stepped forward to greet him.
Yu Shiyue was very busy during this period, no less busy than Yu Shaobao.
As the Prince's Mansion Chief, it was his original responsibility to be in charge of the political affairs of the East Palace and to assist the Prince.
The prince is about to leave the cabinet, and all kinds of affairs need to be prepared and handled, and nothing can go wrong. But now, in his Zhanshi Mansion, there are three or two big cats and kittens, and there is no one to help him. He is forced to slap him
He was an officer and was forced to become a deacon.
Although there are Xu Youzhen, a bachelor of Youchunfang University, and Xima Yuyan of the Economic Affairs Bureau, strictly speaking, these two people cannot be regarded as members of Zhan Shifu.
light.
Except for Xiao Tan, a Hanlin bachelor and Zuo Chunfang bachelor who is still very sick, it can be said that the entire East Palace is supported by the three of them.
In fact, Yu Cifu also thought about adding some manpower to the East Palace before, and the emperor even mentioned this matter.
However, Yu Cifu hesitated again and again and still did not say this.
Now is not the time. Even if you want to say it, you have to wait a little longer, at least until the prince is ready to leave the cabinet, and then look for an opportunity.
There is only one day left before the prince leaves the cabinet, and everything that needs to be prepared has basically been prepared.
However, the weather has been sunny and rainy these two days. It would be troublesome if the clouds were as thick as today on the day of leaving the cabinet.
With his thoughts in mind, Yu Cifu walked forward with his head down, and then Yu Qian's familiar voice sounded in his ears.
"I've met Yu Cifu!"
"Yu Shaobao?"
Yu Shiyue raised his head, a little surprised.
Looking around, he saw Yu Qian's sedan parked in the distance, and others in front of him, obviously waiting here specifically.
"What happened?"
Frowning, Yu Shiyue asked directly.
During the recent period, both he and Yu Qian were busy with a lot of things. Indeed, they rarely talked in depth. When they met, they only exchanged a few words.
However, the two have been friends for many years. If anything happens, if someone is sent to call him, no matter how late he comes to the Yamen, Yu Shiyue will come over to talk to him. I believe the same is true for Yu Qian.
Because of this, Yu Shiyue felt strange.
What kind of thing made Yu Qian unable to even wait to return to his hometown, so he had to wait outside Donghua Gate?
However, when this question was asked, Yu Qian fell silent.
After a moment, he asked.
"Brother Yu, have all the affairs in the East Palace gone smoothly these days?"
"It went well. The matter of leaving the cabinet is a matter of great concern to the whole court. Your Majesty personally took care of it. The Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Households, the Hanlin Academy and other departments have done their best. I am personally following up and down. Now all the ceremonial guards have been arranged.
It's almost done. I'll check it again tomorrow and it'll be fine."
Yu Shiyue hesitated for a moment, his expression became solemn, and he asked.
"Tingyi, what, did something happen to the East Palace?"
Although it is said that the ceremony for leaving the palace is presided over by the Ministry of Rites, as Zhan Shifu, one of the few subordinate officials in the Prince's Mansion, Yu Shiyue will also be held responsible if something happens to the East Palace.
As he said, there is no room for error in such a high-profile event.
Therefore, when Yu Qian asked about things in the East Palace in this tone, Yu Shiyue's nerves immediately became tense.
However, what made him speechless was that under his nervous gaze, Yu Qian hesitated for a moment and said with rare embarrassment.
"That's not true, it's just..."
As he spoke, Yu Qian frowned tightly again, looked in the direction of Miyagi, and said.
"Brother Yu, I don't want to say anything about my strange power, but these days, Yu always feels like there is a storm coming in the court."
"You mean, someone is going to interfere with the East Palace's decision to leave the cabinet?"
Although Yu Qian himself has some contradictions, Yu Shiyue knows very well that as an old friend, he never does things without aim.
Since he behaved like this, it meant that he must have noticed something.
"This period of time has been so peaceful..."
Yu Qian's eyes slightly retracted and he said.
"Brother Yu, do you still remember the conversation between you and me before spring hunting?"
"You mean Xungui's side?"
Of course Yu Shiyue remembered that before the spring hunting, the two of them had an in-depth discussion on the issue of reorganizing the military camp.
At that time, Yu Qian said that the nobles would not be willing to be cut off by the imperial court, and they would definitely find ways to make a fuss about this matter.
However, now that the spring hunting has ended, it cannot be said that there is no movement from Xungui's side. However, they have been surrounding the Chengguo Duke's mansion. As for other things, they have not mentioned anything.
But……
"Tingyi, don't forget, now the young army of the East Palace has fallen into the hands of Young Master Zhu. It can be seen that the nobles have high expectations for the East Palace. How could they possibly tamper with this matter?"
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Xungui's vitality has been severely damaged since the Civil War.
This time when the East Palace came out of the cabinet, many people were eyeing the young army guards and wanted to take the opportunity to sneak into the prince's side so as to find a way out.
Under such circumstances, they are eager for His Highness the Crown Prince to leave the cabinet as soon as possible. How could they use any crooked ideas?
These words really stopped Yu Qian. He sighed and felt conflicted and said.
"To be honest with Brother Yu, Yu just feels uneasy in his heart, and there is no evidence. Maybe I am overly concerned..."
Before he finished speaking, a sound of footsteps suddenly came from the distance.
Yu Qian and Yu Shiyue looked at the place where the sound came from at the same time, and they suddenly discovered that these footsteps came from the imperial guards in the palace.
problem occurs!
The two of them looked at each other and saw the awe-inspiring look on each other's faces. Without saying much, they turned around and walked toward the palace gate in tacit agreement.
During the civil war, in order to deal with military affairs in a timely manner, the emperor not only ordered the Donghua Gate to remain closed all night, but also gave all the important ministers tokens to enter and exit the palace at any time.
This token was granted temporarily and should have been withdrawn after use. However, as I said before, after the Civil War, the emperor did not mention the matter again and kept the token in the hands of these important ministers.
At that time, Yu Shiyue was still the minister of Dali Temple and could not be regarded as a decision-maker, so he did not have it, but Yu Qian did!
Therefore, although there was no advance notification, Yu Qian successfully entered Donghua Gate with the token in his hand.
However, that's all. His token can only allow him to enter Donghua Gate. If it is daytime and he has the token in hand, he can continue forward.
But now it was time to issue the key, so there was no summons. Even Yu Qian holding the token could not enter the Huiji Gate.
However, it is enough to just enter Donghua Gate. The palace gate is not locked at this moment. Looking from the square outside Wenhua Hall is the square in front of Fengtian Gate.
The commotion came from that place!
The two of them were of high status, one was the Minister of the Ministry of War and the other was the Second Assistant to the Cabinet. They held the token given by the Emperor and rushed forward. Naturally, no one dared to stop them.
Finally, he was stopped by the Imperial Army in front of Huiji Gate.
At this moment, the Huiji Gate has not been closed, but there are already several times more imperial guards on duty than before.
Looking beyond the Huiji Gate, he landed on the square in front of the Fengtian Gate. There were several layers of imperial troops surrounding him. Through the shadowy team, the first thing Yu Qian saw was a man lying on the ground, wearing eunuch clothes.
The big man, that big man was holding a redwood stick as thick as an arm in his hand!
The first thing Yu Shiyue saw was the incense pavilion that he had just arranged this afternoon, specially prepared for the East Palace to leave the pavilion.
At this moment, the exquisite incense pavilion, which was half a person tall, had been thrown heavily to the ground and broken into two pieces!
Suddenly there was lightning and thunder in the sky, thick clouds rolled up, and almost instantly, huge raindrops fell down, hitting people's faces, and within a moment, it turned into a heavy rain.
Yu Shiyue was the first to react and took Yu Qian to the cabinet corridor not far away to take shelter from the rain. He dispatched the two Imperial Guards on duty and passed the news of their arrival into the palace.
The rain was pouring down, and strings of raindrops poured down along the eaves.
Yu Qian and Yu Shiyue looked at Fengtianmen Square in the distance through the rain curtain.
It was raining heavily, but the Imperial Guards in the square still maintained their original posture, letting the raindrops hit their bodies and soaked their armor and clothes.
The big man who fell to the ground did not move at all. The entire square seemed to have been cast by a spell, all suspended in the distance, like a strange painting.
I don't know how much time passed, but the heavy rain still showed no sign of letting up. The palace door, which was supposed to be locked on time at Youshi, was still not locked.
In the heavy rain, a group of people hurriedly came outside Fengtianmen, led by a man in python clothes and fast boots, followed by dozens of Dongchang fans.
The Forbidden Army made way for this man's arrival.
This person is none other than Shu Liang, the eunuch of Dongchang!
Yu Qian and the two men watched from a distance, and saw Shu Liang walking quickly to the big man, standing there and looking at him for a moment, then waved his hand and asked someone to pick up the big man who was lying on the ground and take him away in a hurry.
Although he was far away and couldn't see his expression clearly, he knew that at this moment, the face of the Dongchang admiral and eunuch might be frighteningly dark.
As Shu Liang left, the imperial army began to gradually retreat, and another team of servants came out and began to clean up the broken Xiang Pavilion.
At the same time, another group of eunuchs came out of the Huiji Gate, led by Wynn.
After leaving the Huiji Gate, Wynn looked around and soon saw Yu Qian and the two of them. So, he walked towards them non-stop and quickly came to the corridor. He didn't even have time to greet the eunuch in charge of the Qianqing Palace.
The first sentence is...
"Yu Shaobao, Lord Cifu, Your Majesty is summoning you urgently!"
This chapter has been completed!