Chapter 483 King Kang’s Plan

It was already the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, and Shengjing City was still under martial law with all the city gates closed. Even the streets near the imperial city in the inner city were blocked by the Eight Banners Soldiers of the Plain Yellow Banner, and no outsiders were allowed to approach.

In the entire royal family, except Qian Xiaosi and Princess Kang, no one else looked at Prince Kang with respect, so Prince Kang became a bystander at this time.

Prince Kang could not enter the imperial city, so naturally he could not get any information and had no idea whether Qian Xiaosi was dead or alive.

This made King Kang, who had always been confident and secure in his position, feel uneasy and had a sense of crisis that the situation was about to get out of his control.

In the study, King Kang was holding a book in his hand and seemed to be reading it, but he was actually walking back and forth. He stopped at the door and looked at the thick door curtain. His deep eyes seemed to be able to see the scene outside the house through the curtain.

After a while, King Kang sighed deeply, turned and walked towards the desk. After taking two steps, he stopped again. Then his ears moved, and he turned around and looked at the door curtain.

There was a sound of hurried footsteps, followed by a gust of cold wind blowing in through the thick door curtain, and the eunuch in charge of Prince Kang’s mansion almost stumbled in.

As soon as the eunuch in charge entered the room, he knelt down in front of Prince Kang who was standing there and said, “Your Majesty has passed away!”

King Kang: “Oh? Who did you pass the throne to?”

The eunuch in charge said: “The emperor has passed the throne to the Sixth Prince. The successor emperor summoned all the princes and ministers to the palace to read the late emperor’s will. The palace guards are waiting outside the door.”

King Kang nodded, turned and walked to the desk, put down the book in his hand, then took out the mourning belt from the box, tied it around his waist, and then took a deep breath. He could finally wear mourning openly!
King Kang said to the eunuch in charge, “Tell the princess.” Then he strode out.
The snow is falling heavily.

The sound of the Jingyang bell rang out from the imperial palace, the gates of the inner and outer cities opened, and martial law in Shengjing City was lifted.

Outside the palace, there were Manchu and Han officials in mourning kneeling, and there was wailing on the snow!
The door opened, and the Grand Councilor and officials from the six ministries and nine government departments came out in mourning.

Immediately afterwards, the twelfth prince, the fourteenth prince, and all the dukes and princes came out in mourning.

The Grand Councillors, officials from the six ministries and nine government offices, the twelfth and fourteenth princes, and various dukes and nobles lined up at the foot of the stone steps, waiting for the heir to the throne to come out.

After a while, the eunuch in mourning clothes came out and shouted, “Silence!”

The crying stopped suddenly.

The eunuch in charge walked to the stone steps and knelt down facing the open palace gate.

At the same time, Prince Kang and others also knelt down facing the palace gate.

“All officials welcome the new emperor!” the eunuch in charge shouted loudly.

There were footsteps coming from inside the palace gate, and then the Sixth Prince, dressed in mourning clothes for the heir to the throne, walked out.

“Long live! Long live! Long, long live!” Without anyone’s call, all the officials shouted almost at the same time!

King Kang curled his lips. Barbarians are barbarians. They don’t know any etiquette. They are so impatient to succeed to the throne. At least they should wait for one night!

Thinking of this, King Kang scolded Qian Xiaosi in his heart again. The other princes did not know that Hong Zhou cursed Qian Xiaosi, and they were obviously suppressed by Qian Xiaosi.

He didn’t expect Qian Xiaosi to be so patient. This completely disrupted his plans!

How else could he plan for a smooth transition of the throne?
Suddenly, he thought of the Eight Banner nobles who were forced to stay at home because of their support for Fu Kang’an. He read the will, which contained a sentence that instructed the successor emperor to “not change the existing situation of the court.” This meant that the Eight Banner nobles and their families would continue to be suppressed. Could they accept this?

Agui’s troops were crippled, and Hong Zhou was stranded in Guangning. Now is the time when Shengjing’s troops are at their weakest. If they join forces with Fu Kang’an…
Thinking of this, King Kang’s heart was filled with excitement and he immediately started to plan in his mind.

Heavy snow fell in the capital city.

The Hall of Mental Cultivation was the emperor’s bedroom, and was located in the inner court harem. It was not suitable for the Supreme Emperor to live there for a long time, so at the suggestion of the Prime Minister, he moved to the Hall of Preserving Harmony in the outer court, leaving the Hall of Mental Cultivation for the young emperor to live in.

Baohe Hall became the place where the Supreme Emperor lived and handled daily government affairs, and also became the political power center of the Forbidden City. Jia Jing walked out of Baohe Hall and walked towards the cabinet.

As he was walking, Jia Jing stopped and saw a sneaky figure through the snow.

It’s closer, it’s Ci Fu’s grandson.

The Supreme Emperor selected four study companions for the young emperor, including the grandsons of the chief minister, the second chief minister and two other grand secretaries.

The grandson of the second assistant also apparently saw Jia Jing. He stopped and hesitated for a moment before walking towards Jia Jing carrying his bag.

Walking up to him, the grandson of the second assistant bowed to Jia Jing and said, “Hello, Lord Jia.”

Jia Jing smiled and nodded: “Are you accompanying the emperor to study today?” As he said this, he looked at the bundle in his hand.

“Yes.”

Seeing Jia Jing staring at the bundle in his hand, the grandson of the second assistant hurriedly hid the bundle behind him, saying, “This is the emperor’s stuff.”

Jia Jing was very kind and said, “The palace rules are very strict. Anything outside the palace must be handed over to the Imperial Household Department for inspection. Only after it is confirmed to be in good condition can it be brought into the palace. Did you hide this bag in your grandfather’s warm sedan chair and bring it in?”

The second assistant’s grandson’s face changed immediately.

Jia Jing: “Is this really the emperor’s thing?”

The second assistant’s grandson nodded hurriedly.

Jia Jing: “The Forbidden City is a place full of rules. There are strict regulations on who walks on which roads and who stands in which positions. Those who violate the rules will be beheaded. This is not only to highlight the imperial power, but also to ensure the safety of the emperor. Do you know that once the Supreme Emperor and the court officials know about it, not only your grandfather, but also the emperor will be implicated!”

The second assistant’s grandson showed a look of panic!
Jia Jing looked at the bundle and asked, “What’s that?”

The grandson of the second assistant: “Book, military book.”

Jia Jing’s eyes flashed: “Book?”

The grandson of the Second Assistant Minister said: “Several teachers in the Zhanshi Mansion do not allow the emperor to read military books. The emperor asked me to buy some military books from the bookstore and bring them in to read at night.” As he said this, he untied the bundle and handed it to Jia Jing to have a look.

Jia Jing flipped through the book casually, and a hint of unknown light flashed in his eyes. He then picked out a book from the bundle and handed it to the grandson of the second assistant. Then he tied up the bundle and said, “After you finish reading this one, go to the bookstore to buy other books for the emperor. Buying too many books one by one will make you unable to digest them all, and it will be easy to be discovered.”

The grandson of the second assistant asked cautiously, “You won’t tell my grandfather, will you?”

Jia Jing smiled: “Do I look like someone who would tell on someone behind their back?”

The second assistant’s grandson immediately shook his head.

Jia Jing: “Go quickly, don’t keep the emperor waiting anxiously.” As he said that, he picked up his bag and walked towards the cabinet.

“Lord Jia.” The grandson of the second assistant called him.

Jia Jing stopped and looked at him: “Anything else?”

The grandson of the second assistant hesitated for a moment and said, “Those books…”

Jia Jing smiled and said, “These books have been confiscated.” After that, he walked straight to the cabinet.

The grandson of the second assistant curled his lips and muttered in a low voice: “You are the prime minister, and you are taking advantage of such a small thing!” As he said that, he hid the book in his arms and walked towards the Palace of Tranquil Longevity.

(End of this chapter)