beggar prince

The Empress Dowager wiped out the rebellious party within one month, seventeen ministers in the court colluded with Zhao Shengqi, and three generals and countless soldiers were his pawns.The queen mother's other two brothers were also involved, which hit her hard, and she felt very uneasy, as if she had lost her backing.Countless people were convicted and exiled at one time.

Zhao Yuanjian was about to leave the capital and go to Xishu to take office. He wanted to go back to the southwest to reorganize his military equipment, and take advantage of the war between the Xiongnu and the Great Wei to overthrow the rule of the Queen Mother.

Qi He rushed to the north to follow Zhao Yuanlang to resist the Xiongnu army.

Xiao Hengji couldn't bear to part with Zhao Yuanjian, so he asked the court lady to prepare some silk underwear, boots, tea leaves, jade pendants, swords, etc. for Zhao Yuanjian, filling the entire imperial cart.

Zhao Yuanjian heard the first sound of a drum announcing the dawn from the drum tower in the inner city of the palace. He immediately got up and put on his official robe.

At this time, the capital was already snowing heavily, the sky was freezing, the wind was biting, and the eunuchs were clearing the snow from the corridors in the Changchun Palace.

Zhao Yuanjian didn't want to make Xiao Heng sad, so he left today without telling Xiao Heng.He put on a black fox cloak and leather boots, and quietly walked out of the Changchun Palace. After walking for a long time, he couldn't help looking back at the Changchun Palace.He was worried about Xiao Heng. He thought that if he left, the queen mother would be unfavorable to him, but he had to leave.

He quickly rushed to Shenwumen and walked out from the gate, where his team was waiting.

The subordinate took his horse and knelt down to him: "Please get on the horse, the prince."

Zhao Yuanjian rode on the handsome horse, pulled up the rein, he put down the rein again, he looked at the tower, he wanted to stay for another moment.

In the bedroom, Xiao Heng turned over and wanted to hug Zhao Yuanjian, but he was in vain.He jumped out of bed, stepped on his shoes, and rushed out of the palace gate.

The eunuchs and maids on the corridor saw the emperor rushing over, they hurriedly gave way, knelt down and lowered their heads, not daring to make a sound.

Xiao Heng was out of breath running on the corridors of the Forbidden City, exhaling white air from his mouth.Looking at the endless towering red walls and yellow tiles, he was extremely confused.

With his long hair loose, wearing only white brocade clothes, and stepping on show shoes, he braved the heavy snow alone and ran up the tower. He ran beside the tower and shouted: "The feudal lord, why don't you tell me that you are gone? You must Come back and see me!"

Xiao Heng stood on the vast city tower thousands of feet high, looking down at the ground carefully through patches of goose-feather snow. He searched for a long time before he saw a team in the west tower.

He saw Zhao Yuanjian riding a horse with his head raised, smiling at himself, and said: "Your Majesty must wait for this king to come back, and this king will never disappoint His Majesty's kindness!"

Looking at the unclear faces on the tower, Zhao Yuanjian tightened his grip on the horse rope, picked up the whip and whipped it up, turned around and drove the horse away.The horse ran fast, and soon disappeared into the corridor, and the horse's hooves left a series of marks on the snow.

Xiao Heng's hair was flying in the wind and snow, dyed with a layer of white snowflakes.The cold wind blew snow on his face and his eyes froze.Ice dripped into his eyes again and turned into water, like tears he left behind.

Xiao Heng didn't notice it, he just looked at the leaving team, feeling sore and unbearable. This separation made him feel more uncomfortable than any other time.

Eunuch Liu and several eunuchs rushed up, put a fur coat on Xiao Heng's body, and put fur boots on him.

Eunuch Liu knelt down: "Long Live Lord, let's go back."

"Go back, I want to cool off here."

Eunuch Liu asked the little eunuch to fetch the charcoal brazier and two fur quilts.Build a fire around Xiao Heng, put the quilt on Xiao Heng's body, and keep Xiao Heng warm.

Xiao Heng frowned. He sat on the cold and cool stone on the tower and looked at the horseshoe marks for a whole day.

The next day, the five-watch drum sounded from the Bell and Drum Tower in the palace. Xiao Heng, who had been coughing all night, heard it. He lifted the quilt, and he was going to court.

He was dizzy and coughing so violently that he barely stood up.The palace lady changed his clothes. He had just put on the dragon robe, and he fell headlong on the bed and fell on the mattress.He coughed incessantly, as if his lungs had been coughed out.

He gave up the idea of ​​going up to court, managed to eat a little porridge, and fell down again.He was helped to the dragon bed by the eunuch, and then fell into a coma.

He was hot and cold, and he was shivering, but his fever persisted.

Several imperial doctors from Tai Hospital saw Xiao Heng. They felt Xiao Heng's pulse. They said it was typhoid fever entering the body.

They prescribed a few medicines, and the maids boiled them to make a bitter and astringent Chinese medicine soup for Xiao Heng to drink.

Xiao Heng was having endless nightmares, for a while Zhao Yuanjian was beaten to the point of bleeding, for a while Zhao Yuanjian was caught and killed by Zhao Shengqi, for a while he was captured and cut alive by the queen mother, and for a while he himself He was caught in the snow mountain and never saw Zhao Yuanjian again.

The Empress Dowager thought that Xiao Heng had acted too bravely during the palace change, and made the ministers of the court and central government feel surrendered.Xiao Heng was also too enthusiastic about the disaster victims and showed enthusiasm for the government.And the queen mother noticed that some old officials wanted to support Xiao Heng.She ordered her imperial guards to send the sick Xiao Heng to Yuxiu Palace and imprison him.

The Taishi and others knew that Xiao Heng was under house arrest. After retiring from the court, several important officials knelt at the gate of Qianqing Palace and pleaded earnestly: "Queen Dowager, no matter what your Majesty's name is, he is your own flesh and blood. There is no one in the world." People are closer to you than His Majesty's blood."

Standing in front of the palace gate, the queen mother was very unhappy when she heard it, and she frowned sharply. She thought to herself: These ministers are raised for nothing, and these ministers do not want to let themselves take power because they are women with a foreign surname.

She said: "The Ai family is very disappointed in you. I think that I have worked hard for Da Wei for more than ten years and never slack off, but you are against me for the emperor. All this is because the Ai family is a woman!"

She walked into the Qianqing Palace with a pale face and trembling hands, she wanted to start a killing spree and tell these old guys from Chaoshang to shut up.

The maid served tea beside her, and accidentally spilled the tea, which burned the Queen Mother's hand, causing blisters on the Queen Mother's burned palm.

The palace maid knelt down in panic and begged for mercy: "The queen mother spares her life."

The queen mother stood up and slapped her across the face.

The Empress Dowager shouted: "Take her to the yard and stick her to death! Let those rebellious ministers take a good look!"

The grand master and the others looked at the maid who was dragged out by the imperial guards. She was crying and looked at Xue miserably.

She was placed on a long wooden bench, and several imperial guards picked up large boards and slapped her buttocks hard, causing her to let out bursts of screams.The screams startled the crows hidden in the palace, and they flew into the sky.

She died tragically in a pool of blood soon, and the ministers were shocked when they saw her.But they didn't want to give up. They knelt in the snow for a long time, their legs and feet were so cold that they lost consciousness.

The queen mother asked the eunuch to take them away, and went to the Meridian Gate to beat the boards and whips.

The queen mother pondered for a long time, and she immediately thought of a way to deal with them. She sent the eunuch to search the grand master's mansion, and the eunuch found the poetry collection of the grand master and the prime minister.

The Empress Dowager took a collection of poems and chewed the words, and found more than a dozen flaws.

When she went to court the next day, the queen mother said that the grand master and the prime minister had a heart of rebellion, and their rebellion was reflected in the collection of poems.

Regardless of the opposition of most ministers, the queen mother immediately withdrew their official posts.

The prime minister and the grand master knelt on the ground holding the wat board, were dragged out by the eunuch, drove them back home, and put them under confinement.

The case of the collection of poems this time caused panic among the people in the court, and they were afraid that they would not be able to protect themselves.

Soon after, the Empress Dowager's cronies, the Minister of Industry and the Ministry of Rites, accused the grand master, the prime minister, and Zhao Shengqi of colluding with Zhao Shengqi in an attempt to rebel.

The Empress Dowager sent cruel officials from the Clan Mansion to investigate and found forged treason letters and bank notes.

Zhao Shengqi hated these courtiers to the core, he immediately admitted in the sky prison that he had colluded with the grand master and others, betrayed the court, and signed a pledge.

The queen mother issued an edict saying that the grand master and the prime minister intended to rebel and colluded with Zhao Shengqi's rebellious party.She pressed the grand master and the prime minister to the prison, tortured them to extract a confession, and prepared to be executed in spring.The Empress Dowager betrayed them again for the crime of disrespect.

More than a thousand of their family members and friends were implicated and sent to Liaodong for exile.

The queen mother immediately supported her cronies to a high position.Officials who supported Xiao Heng were hit hard.

The cruel officials of the Queen Mother looked for loopholes in the ministers everywhere.He found flaws and loopholes through the articles and poems written by the ministers, and convicted the ministers who opposed the queen mother at will.Within ten days, the cruel officials arrested many ministers and sent them to the prison for torture.

The elders of the three dynasties came forward to persuade the queen mother: the Xiongnu violated the customs and are fighting against it. The court is unstable, which may affect the morale of the army. At this time, the overall situation must be the most important.

The queen mother gave up, she wanted to deal with these disobedient courtiers after resisting the Huns.

When Xiao Heng recovered from his illness and woke up, he found himself imprisoned in Yuxiu Palace. He also knew that the grand master and others were thrown into the prison for treason, and were soon sent to Liaodong to be exiled.

He finally knew what politics was, the depth and darkness of politics, and the scheming of killing without blood.Fighting for imperial power is either you or me. Political interests are much sharper than your own sword.

Yuxiu Palace has been in disrepair for a long time, and it is an abandoned cold palace, where the deposed Gong'e and concubines once lived.The bedroom is full of old and dirty furniture and decorations, damp and cold, and gloomy.The midwinter season made Yuxiu Palace even colder and more desolate.

The brocade tent is half-hanging, and as the cold wind shakes, the sachets and tassels with concentric knots under the hook of the tent are flying in strands and strands.Xiao Heng sat in front of the vanity mirror, shivering.

The little maid behind him combed his long hair and tied it into a bun.The sunlight shone in and shone on the mirror, and the mirror shone brightly, making him feel that he was not real in the mirror.He felt that he was still that helpless little child.

The palace, court, queen mother, princess, and ministers all seemed to have a dream.

He missed Zhao Yuanjian like a hunger, he didn't want the world and the imperial power very much, he only wanted the imperial power because he could be with him.

But he knows that even if he is not keen on the power struggle, he is also involved in this political abyss, a dilemma.He has royal blood and is the biological son of his father and mother. He has no choice. If he doesn't fight for power, he will lose all his freedom and even his life.This is the fate that all descendants of the royal family have to face for thousands of years.

Because of this love affair, Zhao Yuanjian was also brought into this political contest by himself. The two of them are inseparable, one prospers and the other loses.

If he is not serious, or if Zhao Yuanjian is not serious, the two of them will be in trouble in this life, and they will not end well.He was not afraid that he would end badly, he was worried that Zhao Yuanjian would be ruined and dragged to the end of being cut alive.Xiao Heng didn't want to see this kind of ending, and would rather be stuck here for the rest of his life.

Xiao Heng saw that he had lost a lot of weight in the mirror. He was wearing a large brocade robe, his cheeks were sunken, there were faint bruises under his eyes, and his eyes lost their spirit.The knuckles on his hands became more prominent, and his waist became thinner.There is a weak smell.