According to Tang Ning's plan, when he went to Qiandi to pick up Su Mei, several other ladies went to Chu State to join Li Tianlan.
In this way, he didn't have much to worry about in the capital. He only had to come back to pick up Zhao Man. From then on, he would be able to go wherever he wanted without being restrained by Chen Guo.
But when he returned to the capital, he saw that they were still at home.
Zhong Yi sighed and said: "A lot of things happened after my husband left the capital. I will explain them to you one by one."
Tangning shook her head and said, "I have to go to the palace now. When I get back from the palace, you can tell me slowly."
He was in the distant Guizhou Province these days, and he really didn't know what was happening in the capital. Judging from Zhong Yi's expression, a lot of things had happened in the capital in the past few months, and I might not be able to finish them all in a short while.
It would be better for him to return to the palace first. The news in Guizhou Province is confidential. Unlike the two times in Jiangnan and Grassland, Tang Ning did not come back with news. Emperor Chen still doesn't know what happened there.
If he knew that Tang Ning did not report to the palace after returning to Beijing, he would probably cause more unnecessary trouble.
Zhong Yi looked at him and asked: "Master, do you want to see your majesty when you enter the palace?"
Tangning nodded and said, "I want to report back to His Majesty first."
Zhong Yi shook his head slightly and said: "Even if my husband enters the palace, he will not be able to see your majesty."
Tangning asked in surprise: "Why?"
Zhong Yi said: "Your Majesty, he..."
Tangning's heart skipped a beat and she asked, "Is he dead?"
"His Majesty has not passed away yet." Zhong Yi glanced at him helplessly and said: "But in the past few months, His Majesty has been seriously ill. He was bedridden two months ago, and he has not had morning service for a long time.
, all matters in the DPRK are handled by the Shangshu Province..."
Tang Ning frowned slightly. Chen Huang was ill, which happened when he left Beijing.
At that time, he thought that Chen Huang fell ill because of King Kang's rebellion and was so angry that he would get better as long as he cultivated for a few days. However, he did not expect that in the past few months since he had been away, Chen Huang's illness had become more serious.
Judging from the descriptive description, it was clear that he was not far away from death.
Tangning suddenly thought of something, looked at her, and asked, "Who has been calling the shots in Shangshu Province in the past few months, the Prime Minister?"
Zhong Yi shook his head and said: "Wang Xiang is ill at home and has been recuperating in the mansion for several months."
Tangning asked again, "Is that King Huai?"
Zhong Yi continued to shake his head, and then said after a long time: "It's Prince Duan."
…
Tang Ning finally realized that in just a few months since he left the capital, the capital had been turned upside down.
Chen Huang's illness did not heal within a few days of cultivation as he expected. Instead, it worsened rapidly within a month of his leaving Beijing. Morning appointments increased from once every three days to once every five days to once every tenth.
Eventually it became put on hold indefinitely.
At the beginning, after Wang Xiang fell ill, King Huai was in charge of the Ministry of Secretariat, and daily court affairs were also handled by him.
However, it didn't take long for Emperor Chen to gradually let Prince Duan have access to the core power. After Prince Duan took charge of Shangshu Province, it only took half a month to squeeze Prince Huai out.
In the absence of the Prime Minister, Prince Huai was the absolute master of Shangshu Province. Tang Ning couldn't believe that Prince Duan could squeeze Prince Huai out in such a short period of time because there was no support from Emperor Chen behind him.
It is obvious that no matter how useless King Duan is, in the eyes of Emperor Chen, his status is higher than that of King Huai. When he was seriously ill and needed to consider the ownership of the throne, King Duan was still ranked before King Huai.
This is not something a wise and wise emperor would do, nor is it like Emperor Chen's behavior. The only explanation is that there are some unknown things in the dusty history of the royal family more than 20 years ago.
The change in the situation in the capital may seem sudden, but actually it makes sense when you think about it carefully.
If Emperor Chen is free from illness and disaster, and can live for another ten or twenty years, there is no doubt that King Run Zhao Yuan is the best choice for his succession.
However, he suddenly became seriously ill and did not have enough time to wait for Zhao Yuan to grow up. When an adult prince was in Beijing, it was not in line with etiquette and logic to appoint an ignorant child as emperor.
It happened that during this period of time, Prince Duan stayed quietly in the palace and did nothing. This kind of tranquility was a great advantage in Chen Huang's eyes.
Being an emperor does not require great talent or military strategy. As long as he sits in that high position, the people below him will do everything for him. What I am afraid of is that he has no talent and likes to point fingers.
, no matter how powerful a country is, it will be defeated by him sooner or later.
Tang Ning didn't know how many psychological decisions Chen Huang had gone through during this period, but what was certain was that no matter what the process was, the balance in his heart ultimately favored King Duan.
Tang Ning looked at Zhong Yi and asked, "Is it because of King Duan that you didn't leave the Chen Kingdom?"
Zhong Yi nodded and said guiltily: "It's all my fault. If I had asked them to hurry up, they could have reached Chu State before King Duan sent someone to stop us..."
Tangning hugged her, patted her shoulder gently, and said, "It's okay, it's not your fault."
Their departure from the capital this time was originally for fun. If they just hurried on, they would attract the attention of others.
Chen Huang suddenly fell seriously ill, and Duan Wang's recovery was indeed beyond his expectation, which disrupted his original plan.
But it doesn't matter. Even if the salted fish turns over, it will still be a salted fish.
The Fang family and Concubine Fang Shu will not watch Prince Duan sit in that position. They have never expressed too urgent thoughts about the throne. Just because Zhao Yuan is too young, he can still wait until Emperor Chen takes the initiative to pass the throne to him.
give him.
This is the result and also the premise.
The premise for the Fang family, Concubine Fang Shu, and the forces behind them to lie dormant and forbearance is that Emperor Chen will eventually pass the throne to Zhao Yuan. If Emperor Chen himself goes off topic, then they will inevitably adopt some unharmonious methods.
Tangning comforted Zhong Yi and said, "No matter what, I have to go to the palace first. You guys just wait for me at home..."
Zhong Yi nodded and then noticed the cross-dressing girl standing behind Tang Ning. He looked at her and asked, "Who is this sister..."
A'duo hurriedly stepped forward and said, "My name is A'duo. I have met Madam..."
Tang Ning looked at Su Mei and said, "Tell them slowly what happened in Guizhou..."
When Tang Ning changed her clothes and left the Tang family, A'duo was already familiar with them. They called each other sister and sister. Her cheerful personality made her blend in faster than Tang Ning imagined.
…
The palace, a side hall somewhere.
After Tang Ning entered the palace, he asked a certain eunuch to notify him. However, he had been sitting in the side hall for half an hour and still had not been summoned.
Not long after, a palace maid walked in slowly, saluted Tangning and said, "I have met the right prime minister."
Tangning looked at her and asked, "What did your Majesty say?"
The palace maid said: "Your Majesty is not feeling well. He has been sleeping for a long time today and has not woken up yet. I am afraid that he will not wake up today. Your right minister may wish to come back tomorrow..."
Tang Ning stood up and looked at the screen on the side of the hall. She quickly looked away and said, "Then I will come back another day."
He slowly walked out of the hall, and not long after, a figure came out from behind the screen.
Concubine Tang Hui looked out of the palace, her face slightly gloomy, and she lowered her voice and said: "He is back after all..."
