The emperor’s death was announced to all officials in Beijing before dusk.

Like his father, Emperor Yongxing did not die of old age. The Fengtian Hall was occupied by the retired emperor, and Emperor Yongxing’s mourning hall was set up in the Qianqing Palace.

The blazing fire pots and bright lanterns made the square outside the Qianqing Palace brighter than the Lantern Festival!
The square was filled with kneeling officials of the seventh rank and above in mourning, and there was a lot of wailing!
The Yangxin Palace, separated by a wall, was dark and empty, with only a faint light coming through the windows of the east warm room.

Under the dim light, the Supreme Emperor stretched out his skinny hands to take a thick file handed over by the new eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, slowly opened it, and read it carefully.

Li Hu sat quietly on the stool by the door, looking at the Supreme Emperor.

At this time, the eunuch holding the seal came over with a bowl of tea and said, “It’s freezing cold, Duke Lu, have a cup of tea to warm yourself up.”

Li Hu leaned forward and reached out to take it.

“Bang”, the tea bowl fell down!

Li Hu and the eunuch in charge of the seal exclaimed at the same time, and the Supreme Emperor also looked over.

Li Hu’s sleeves and chest were splashed with tea.

The eunuch in charge of the seal hurriedly took out a handkerchief and wiped Li Hu’s chest, saying, “Damn it, damn it, the light was too dim, I couldn’t see clearly. Did the Duke get burned?”

After realizing his intention, Li Hu sneered in his heart and said, “It’s okay.” Then he pushed him away, took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and started wiping it.

The Supreme Emperor spoke: “Slap your mouth.”

The eunuch in charge of the seal raised his hand and slapped himself in the face.

Li Hu knew the tricks of these two old men. He watched the eunuch in charge of the seal slap him a dozen times before pretending to react: “How can this be done! The Supreme Emperor!”

The Supreme Emperor: “Since Lu has spoken out publicly, let’s forget about it this time. If there is a next time, humph!”

“Yes.”

The eunuch in charge of the seal performed a full act and half-saluted to Li Hu, then turned around and looked at the Supreme Emperor.

The Supreme Emperor understood, realizing that Li Hu was not wearing armor, and leaned back on his chair, looking at Li Hu: “Prince Zhong died at your hands, and Prince Zhongshun was shot to death by you. I only have four sons in total, aren’t you afraid that I will leave you behind?”

Li Hu stood up and said, “I have a clear conscience.”

“Have a clear conscience?”

The Supreme Emperor looked at Li Hu for a long time before he said, “You are the minister appointed by the Emperor before his death, but when you drafted the edict, you encountered strong opposition from the cabinet. I am old and my energy is not as good as before. The affairs of the court must rely on the cabinet and their cronies. I have no choice but to compromise. I hope you can understand.”

“I dare not.” Li Hu bowed deeply and thought to himself: Everyone can act!
The Supreme Emperor: “Also, the imperial edict regarding your promotion to the title of prince was burned. But don’t worry, it’s yours and no one can take it away. When the crown prince takes power, he will definitely write another one for you in front of all the civil and military officials in the Palace of Heavenly Purity.”

This pie in the sky is drawn for more than ten years later!

Li Hu bowed again and said, “Then I would like to thank the Supreme Emperor in advance.”

Seeing that Li Hu did not kneel, the Supreme Emperor frowned and said, “Although you are not a minister entrusted with the care of the orphan, you are still the prince’s teacher. You have the responsibility and obligation to teach the prince. If you treat the prince well, he will definitely use you and promote you after he takes power.”

This pie is really good! Li Hu replied, “Yes.” The Supreme Emperor nodded and said, “Go ahead.”

Li Hu: “Yes.” He answered and turned to walk out.

Seeing that Li Hu did not bow and retreat to the door as per the rules and then turn around, the eunuch in charge of the seal said with some dissatisfaction: “No wonder the civil servants said he was ‘arrogant and domineering’.”

The Supreme Emperor smiled and said, “It is normal for a young man to be arrogant and domineering when he is successful.”

The eunuch in charge of the seal hesitated for a moment and whispered, “His subordinates are spread all over the country, and it is easy for them to become too powerful to be eliminated! Why not take advantage of the moment?” He made a gesture of wiping his neck as he spoke.

The Supreme Emperor shook his head slightly. “Li Hu has made great contributions to the Dashun. He conquered almost all the land outside the Great Wall. He also suppressed the White Lotus Rebellion in the Central Plains. To put it bluntly, he has done a favor to the royal family. If we kill him, who will dare to fight for the royal family in the future? Who will fight the war? Can we rely on those civil servants?!”

At this point, he sighed, “It’s easy to get a hundred generals, but it’s hard to get a general! I won’t touch Li Hu unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

The eunuch in charge of the seal said: “Don’t you dislike him?”

The Supreme Emperor: “I don’t like him, but that’s because he is the confidant of that rebellious son. But for the sake of our ancestors’ country, I must keep him. He will be of great use in the future. I must not destroy the arm of the royal family because of personal grudges!”

After a pause, he said, “As for the ‘tail that is too big to be removed’ you mentioned? Ha, from what I have observed coldly over the years, this kid is a romantic man. If he has children in the future, he will also transfer Lin Ruhai to Beijing. This will be his weakness.”

The eunuch in charge of the seal nodded.

The Supreme Emperor suddenly remembered: “How is the Cining Palace?”

The eunuch in charge of the seal said: “I was just about to report to the Supreme Emperor that all the Queen Mother’s people have been dealt with. This old servant personally selected twenty eunuchs and palace maids and asked them to keep a close watch on the Queen Mother!”

“Now that spring has arrived and flowers are blooming, let her die of illness.” A cold light flashed in the Supreme Emperor’s eyes.

“Yes.” The eunuch in charge of the seal understood that the Supreme Emperor was seeking revenge on the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother was the one who planned the coup. At the same time, he sighed in his heart. The Queen Mother was also a pitiful person. First her husband died, then her son died, and she herself would not live long.
After walking out of the Yangxin Gate, Li Hu finally breathed a sigh of relief, and then touched the silk soft armor inside his cotton-padded jacket. He had prepared it for so many years, and it finally came in handy today.

The texture of silk itself is tight and solid. Layer upon layer of silk can not only resist bullets and arrows, but also reduce the damage caused by swords. It can be regarded as “soft armor”. The earliest bulletproof vests in the past were composed of four layers of silk fibers, which could resist most low-speed bullets.

As long as he found signs of the Supreme Emperor taking action, Li Hu had absolute confidence that he would kill him first, then rush directly to the Qianqing Palace next door, kidnap the prince, and rush out of the imperial city. As for what would happen next, he hadn’t thought it through.

Li Hu walked towards Zunyi Gate, thinking about Jia Lian’s words. He was now sure that Jia Jing had the idea of ​​competing for the chair in Fengtian Hall. This old man was scheming. And Jia She, this old drunkard had always wanted to find the Supreme Emperor to avenge his father’s death. The Supreme Emperor was not a good guy either. He painted a pie in the sky for himself, but it was a pie in the sky that he could not see. Draw your grandmother’s legs!
As soon as he walked out of the Zunyi Gate, a dark shadow jumped out and blocked Li Hu.

Li Hu was alert and asked in a low voice: “Who?”

“Duke, please don’t make a sound.” The man walked over.

Li Hu’s eyes flashed. It was a young eunuch, and he looked somewhat familiar.

Walking up to him, the young eunuch whispered, “Eunuch Zhao is dead, and all the people in the Imperial Household Department have defected to the Supreme Emperor. The Cining Palace has also been replaced by the Supreme Emperor’s people.” After saying that, he walked straight towards the Qianqing Palace.

Looking at the back of the eunuch, Li Hu suddenly remembered that this was the eunuch who dared to greet him! Why did he tip him off? At the same time, he was shocked. Zhao Tong was dead! Murder to silence him? And the Queen Mother seemed to be in danger. Should he help her?

Li Hu thought about it and decided to write a letter to Dai Quan. There was nothing he could do to help the Queen Mother in the deep palace.

Thinking of this, he strode towards the Palace of Heavenly Purity. It is better to be the emperor. Even if he dies, you have to go to keep vigil for him! (End of this chapter)