The general's wife is sick

In the imperial palace, Emperor Xuande had been trapped in the Shangqing Pavilion for several days. The Empress Dowager originally planned for the coastal army to invade the capital, even if she dug three feet into the ground, she would have to find the jade seal. As long as the coastal army successfully entered the capital, Emperor Xuande would be dead or alive It is no longer important.

But as time went by, seeing Cheng Rulin's army guarding the outskirts of Beijing, they couldn't enter the city and could not provide her with military assistance, so the empress dowager was extremely angry, and her temper became more and more irritable. Slapped on the back of the chair, "For so many days, the emperor has been hiding in the Shangqing Pavilion behind closed doors, and the gate of the city has been guarded by the Xiong family. What have you been doing all day in the capital? You are like that Assist Aijia, assist King Rui?!"

The people below fell to their knees with a huff, "Queen Empress calm down."

The empress dowager's phoenix eyes were gloomy, and there was a huge storm in them, and her patience was exhausted.

King Rui stepped forward and said, "Father is now disregarding the lives of the fifth and seventh sons. It seems that even if we wait longer, we will not be able to find the jade seal."

"Follow Ai's family to Shangqing Pavilion!"

The queen mother brought a group of people to the Shangqing Pavilion again. The fifth prince and the seventh prince had been kneeling on the bluestone slab for a long time. The skin, the fundus of the eyes was black and white, the face was as pale as snow, and the knees were bruised and congested due to the long-term kneeling position, and the injuries were serious. Hearing the footsteps of the crowd, the two slowly raised their heads for one look, and then fell to the ground, unconscious.

He ordered people to help the two of them down, the delicate makeup on the back of the mother concealed her ugly face, only a pair of eyes showed ruthlessness, her son-in-law left early, the throne that originally belonged to her son was occupied by Emperor Xuande for so long , and the emperor is becoming more and more disobedient, and now she is only one step away from her plan, but Emperor Xuande wants to make trouble with her.

The queen mother was filled with a terrifying atmosphere, and even the mother Jin who usually served beside the queen mother did not dare to speak at this moment.

After a while, looking at this huge palace, the queen mother ordered, "Prepare the fire oil!"

Everyone was shocked. Once kerosene is ignited, it is difficult to extinguish. At that time, not an inch of the Shangqing Pavilion will be burned, let alone Emperor Xuande who is hiding in the Shangqing Pavilion.

Inside the hall, Shen Lin heard the chaotic footsteps coming and going outside. He tiptoed close to the window and looked out through the gap in the window. He saw many palace people carrying oil barrels, and his nose was filled with a faint smell of oil.

In an instant, Shen Lin turned around abruptly. His feet, who had always been prudent, slipped. After steadying his body, he panicked and said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager ordered someone to bring the kerosene!"

Emperor Xuande stood up suddenly, the conflict between him and the queen mother became more and more serious, and finally reached this point.

At this moment, his tone was calm, and he ordered in a calm and unhurried manner, "Shen Lin, take people to the back to move out all the gunpowder and ammunition. The guards are on alert. Move the table and prepare to open the hall door!"

The busy palace people outside the palace were carrying oil drums, and the door of the palace was suddenly opened. The palace people who were carrying the oil drums were frightened, and sprinkled several barrels of oil on the spot, and the plug used to block the oily nose of the fire oil drum fell off , Fire oil scattered on the bluestone slabs around Shangqing Pavilion.

The queen mother smiled coldly, "The emperor is finally willing to come out."

Emperor Xuande appeared at the gate of the hall surrounded by his guards, and the two sides faced each other.

Looking at the kerosene all over the floor, and the disgusting smell of kerosene in his nostrils, Emperor Xuande said, "My queen misses me so much, and if I try to avoid it, I will not let my mother's kind heart down."

"Even now, the emperor seldom fights with Ai's family. Where is Yuxi?"

Emperor Xuande was calm and composed, "If I don't pass on the throne, King Rui's name will be dishonest. The traitors want to usurp the throne, and they want the jade seal. It's just wishful thinking!"

Behind the empress dowager, someone from the palace lit a torch, and the flames blazed up. The empress dowager said, "The Ai family has cared about the love between you and my mother and child for so many years, and I will give the emperor one last chance to think carefully before returning to the Ai family."

"Thank you, Queen Mother, for your compassion, but I really don't know where the jade seal is."

The Empress Dowager thought that she had done the utmost of benevolence and righteousness to Emperor Xuande, but Emperor Xuande was ungrateful.

That being the case, the empress dowager, who was even more annoyed by Emperor Xuande's attitude of not taking oil and salt, directly ordered people to dump the oil barrels, and the kerosene completely soaked the bluestone bricks on the floor of the Shangqing Pavilion.

Fire oil was flowing on the bluestone bricks. Emperor Xuande looked at King Rui in the crowd. King Rui was standing beside the Queen Mother in black at the moment.

This child is the legitimate son of him and the empress, he is not considered talented, but he is not a person with mediocre aptitude. If King Rui is not the son of the empress, this child is worthy of great responsibility. The only thing to blame is that King Rui and the empress have one heart, but the empress has a vicious heart. , and he seems to be at odds with each other.

"Prince, you are the only prince in the entire dynasty, and you are only one step away from the position of crown prince. Why do you want to take the road of no return, treason and usurpation?"

King Rui took a step forward, "Father, you are now in your prime, and there will be princes who will come of age one after another in the future, and I don't want to wait too long."

Emperor Xuande didn't know what kind of expression he should show, did he already know it well, or was he unexpectedly surprised?

"not to mention……"

Nie Xudong looked at Emperor Xuande who was surrounded by kerosene. Up to now, this was probably the last time the father and son had a conversation, so Nie Xudong poured out the factors that had been buried in his heart for many years, "Father Emperor's favor to Xiong Jinghai It really worries my son, if one day the father restores his status, wouldn't he be ranked ahead of my son?"

Emperor Xuande's eyes suddenly turned sharp, "You were the one who made trouble for Jinghai before?"

"Why, father's heart hurts?" Nie Xudong let out a long breath, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, his tone was extremely frivolous, his eyes were full of revenge-like pleasure, as if he was very proud of exposing Emperor Xuande's old background in front of everyone, and he was extremely complacent, "Just Because he is the son secretly raised by the emperor in the General's Mansion, and the prince of the Chang'an Dynasty, you ignore the opposition of the officials and favor the General's Mansion so much, how can you let the ministers not be afraid?"

King Rui's words shocked everyone present, even the queen mother showed a dumbfounded and shocked expression.

"Father, why didn't you speak?"

Emperor Xuande laughed suddenly, "It is true that I favor the General's Mansion because I raised my and Chu Ji's child in the General's Mansion in the early years, and it is also because of that child that I favored the General's Mansion, but you are wrong about one thing. "

"I don't know where Erchen said something wrong."

"That child is not Jinghai, but Zhengli."

A shocking secret was revealed in such a critical situation, King Rui was stunned, and the Queen Mother was even more tongue-tied.

Emperor Xuande laughed again, "My lord, you have been with your mother for so many years, didn't she tell you? Back then she was jealous of Chu Ji being favored by me, and secretly poisoned her, causing her to die of dystocia when she was pregnant with righteousness. Zhengli's body is weak because he was poisoned in his mother's womb."

Emperor Xuande looked up at the sky, and there was a blue sky and white clouds above the Shangqing Pavilion, "I originally thought that this secret would be buried in the imperial tomb with me a hundred years later.

"Emperor, the child of Chu Ji's dystocia didn't die?" The queen mother was very shocked. For so many years, she always thought that the child went with Chu Ji, but she didn't expect that he was still alive.

"Not only is he alive, but you also gave him a marriage, Queen Mother. He is living very well now. It was right for me to send him out of the palace. Otherwise, he would have died young like my other children. I don't know that the palace is so vast. There are so many people in the palace, are there any people who are haunted by nightmares when they dream back in the middle of the night, and they hear these dead children crying beside their pillows." When Emperor Xuande said these words, he fixed his eyes on the Queen Mother, and looked The empress dowager's heart beat with horror.

"Emperor, it's not the Ai family who is in charge of your harem." The Empress Dowager avoided looking at Emperor Xuande.

"Yes, you are indeed watching the fire from the other side, but the empress is so bold as to murder my heir, all of which you acquiesced to." Now that King Rui took the lead and righteousness was also involved, Emperor Xuande also wanted to take this opportunity to speak clearly. Under the magnificence of the imperial palace, what is covered up is the stench and the crime of destroying humanity.

At this time, everyone suddenly remembered that if Xiong Zhengli was born like Princess Guangyang, it would be better to say that he was born like Emperor Xuande. Such a comparison reveals the relationship between father and son.

This also happens to explain why Xiong Zhengli and Xiong Jinghai are twins, but they don't look alike at all.

King Rui was the most surprised when he learned the truth. He never thought that the person he had been holding grudges with was wrong. You're so ruthless!"

Speaking of the secret hidden in his heart for many years, Emperor Xuande looked relaxed, "You are my child. When you were a child, I helped you walk, held you in my arms, and taught you to write..."

Emperor Xuande no longer used the word "zhen" to call himself, but instead used the word "I". At this time, he was like a kind father.

But today, the father-son relationship between him and King Rui, and the mother-child relationship with the Queen Mother are coming to an end.

Snatching the fire pocket from the person behind him, Nie Xudong personally blew it on fire, and the fire pocket was burning with flames. The inconspicuous light of the fire in the daytime seemed to be the love between him and Emperor Xuande, "Father, now my son I can only blame you for being too eccentric at this point, if you go to the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss, don't bear any grudges against my son."

The Queen Mother looked at Nie Xudong's actions and did not stop her, "Emperor, don't be reborn in the Emperor's family in your next life."

After speaking, King Rui threw the fire folder in his hand on the ground, and the flames instantly surrounded the Shangqing Pavilion along the direction of the fire oil. In the sky filled with flames, the last trace of goodwill towards the Queen Mother and King Rui was completely extinguished in Emperor Xuande's heart.

"Shen Lin!"

Emperor Xuande retreated, and the freshly-gassed fire spewed high flames towards the door of the palace. Shen Lin waved his hand, and the crossbowmen retreated. The fuse long in the palm of an adult male burst into sparks.

"Throw!"

With Shen Lin's order, five gunpowder bombs were thrown from the guard's hands in an instant, and five small black balls with sparks jumped over the raging fire and exploded when they landed.

It was the first time that the Queen Mother, Nie Xudong and others saw gunpowder bombs, and it was also the last time they saw each other.

"Boom! Boom!" Several loud explosions rang out.

The water tank in the empress dowager's palace was affected by the explosion, and the fat koi in the water tank swung its tail and sank to the bottom of the water.