nucmednet Chapter 164: Women’s Love for the Country (17)
Chapter 164: Women’s Love for the Country (17)
Seeing the Queen Mother running away as if for her life, Liu Shu turned her gaze to the Duke of Zhenguo.
"Duke Zhenguo, what do you think?"
The Duke of Zhenguo glanced at Pei Xuan who had fainted on the ground, closed his eyes, and spoke weakly.
"My Lords, please make the decision for yourselves!"
He had already done his best by saving Pei Xuan's life, but Pei Xuan was unwilling to give in and insisted on seeking death. He didn't want to care about her anymore.
The Duke of Zhenguo was extremely angry. What bad luck had happened to their Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion recently, with one trouble after another?
Everyone present looked at me and I looked at you, but no one said anything.
Liu Shu glanced at the people present who were unwilling to show up, and her gaze stopped on King Heng.
"The Ninth Prince is a royal relative. This is a private matter of the royal family after all. Let's leave it to the royal family to handle it! Prince Heng, what do you think?"
Prince Heng's face froze, he stroked his beard, and nodded reluctantly.
Soon Pei Xuan and Murong Xuan were taken away.
After a whole night of tossing and turning, it was almost an hour before dawn.
Thinking that there were important matters to be announced after dawn and too lazy to run back and forth, Liu Shu simply found a cushion to sit in front of the coffin and prepared to rest for a while.
The other ministers probably thought the same thing and stayed in the Taiji Hall with no intention of leaving.
The Duke of Zhenguo couldn't help but twitch his mouth when he saw Liu Shu's actions.
He didn't know why, but he always felt that Liu Shu was strange, but he couldn't tell what was strange about her.
He always had a feeling that Liu Shu didn't seem to be that sad about Murong Cheng's death.
The doubt in his heart began to emerge again.
Thinking of this, the Duke of Zhenguo walked up to Liu Shu and spoke tentatively.
"Even after something like this happened, General Liu remained calm as always."
Liu Shu smiled and replied to the Duke of Zhenguo in a very righteous manner.
"It is said that if you have done nothing wrong, you don't have to be afraid of ghosts knocking on your door. I am loyal to His Majesty, so naturally I have nothing to be afraid of. Even if His Majesty's ghost stands in front of me, I will not be afraid. Only people with ghosts in their hearts will be afraid. What do you think, Duke Zhenguo?"
Duke of Zhenguo: ...
Forget it, he had realized that Liu Shu was not someone to be trifled with.
He won't get into trouble.
Murong Cheng's body was burned in a very strange way. Although some people speculated whether someone was deliberately playing tricks, they just thought about it in their minds and no one pointed it out.
What are you talking about? Murong Cheng is already dead, what's the point in pursuing it?
The most important thing for them now is to establish a new emperor.
So, in the end, no one touched the burnt skeleton in the coffin. They just sealed the coffin and pretended nothing had happened.
After dawn, the Tenth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince entered the palace.
The Thirteenth Prince was only twelve years old this year. His biological mother was just a minor noblewoman and was not favored in the harem. Because she had offended the Fifth Prince's biological mother, Concubine Shu, the two lived a very miserable life. I don't know if it was because he had been bullied for a long time, but the Thirteenth Prince seemed timid and avoided looking at people.
The tenth prince Murong Jin is seventeen years old this year. He is a little thin, pale and looks frail.
But... he is quite handsome. Among all the princes, Murong Jin is the most handsome. Yes, he is handsome.
Because of his long-term illness, he has an indifferent and peaceful temperament, like a green lotus standing proudly in the frost on the top of a snowy mountain.
The tenth prince's biological mother was a dancer. Because she was very beautiful, she was favored by the emperor for a period of time.
Because she was born a dancer and had shallow thoughts, she became complacent once she got to the top of the social ladder. She offended many people when she was in favor. Later, when she was pregnant, she was poisoned and died in childbirth.
Although Murong Jin was born safely, he was affected by the toxins in his mother's body and his health has been poor since birth. The imperial physician said that he would not live past the age of ten.
But Murong Jin is lucky. Although he is sick, he has managed to survive until now.
Murong Jin inherited his biological mother's appearance. He is very beautiful, but because of his illness, he looks a little cold.
Although there are rumors that Murong Jin is a sickly person and will not live to be eighteen years old, his health is actually still good and his condition is not as serious as people say.
At least if you take good care of yourself, you should have no problem living for another five or six years.
After Murong Jin came, he glanced at Liu Shu calmly.
Liu Shu nodded at him gracefully.
"Your Highness the Tenth Prince!"
"General Liu!" Murong Jin smiled faintly.
Looking at a group of ministers in the hall, Murong Jin lowered his eyes calmly. Thinking of the conversation with Liu Shu a few days ago, he clenched his fists and his heart beat faster.
Lord Pei looked at the sudden appearance of the Tenth Prince with some surprise and frowned.
Due to health reasons, the Tenth Prince Murong Jin seldom appeared in public, and the ministers never considered Murong Jin when it came to choosing a new emperor.
Today, Murong Jin suddenly appeared in the hall, and Lord Pei suddenly had a bad feeling.
He looked back and forth between Murong Jin and Liu Shu, and always felt that something was wrong.
Soon the Queen Mother arrived late. Lord Pei temporarily put aside his doubts, exchanged glances with the Queen Mother, and was the first to speak.
"I know that you are all saddened by the passing of His Majesty, but the country cannot be without a ruler for a day. It is better to select the new emperor as soon as possible. General Liu, what do you think?"
Liu Shu nodded, "Master Pei is right."
Lord Pei nodded in satisfaction and bowed to the Queen Mother. "Your Majesty passed away suddenly, leaving no children. The Thirteenth Prince is your Majesty's younger brother, who is smart and studious. I propose that the Thirteenth Prince be made the new emperor, and he will take the throne and set things right."
As soon as Lord Pei finished speaking, a group of officials behind him immediately seconded his opinion.
"I second the proposal!"
Lord Pei and the Queen Mother swore solemnly that there were not many candidates for the new emperor, and Murong Jin had no power behind him, so he was not within their consideration.
Murong Xuan was jumping up and down, and managed to win over quite a few people, but he was somewhat affected by what happened yesterday.
Now only the Thirteenth Prince is left. The Queen Mother and Lord Pei instantly become full of confidence, thinking that the throne must belong to the Thirteenth Prince.
The two of them were busy calculating.
The Thirteenth Prince is young and cannot rule the country himself. At that time, the Queen Mother will rule the country from behind the curtain, and Lord Pei will serve as the regent.
The government will be in their hands.
The Queen Mother couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth slightly, and her face turned red with excitement when she thought of that scene.
The two of them had good intentions, but in reality...
After Lord Pei finished speaking, no one in the hall spoke for a while.
The Queen Mother looked down and found that only one-third of the people knelt down with Lord Pei. This was different from what they had expected. The Queen Mother frowned and looked at Liu Shu who was standing motionless at the front.
"Well, General Liu, do you have a different opinion?"
Liu Shu took a few steps forward, walked to the side of Lord Pei, and bowed to the Queen Mother.
"Your Highness, I think Lord Pei's proposal is not appropriate. The Thirteenth Prince is young and is not a suitable candidate."
Lord Pei frowned and said dissatisfiedly.
"What's wrong with that? The Thirteenth Prince is your Majesty's brother, and we are closely related by blood. Although he is young, the ministers in the court can assist the Thirteenth Prince, and when Your Highness comes of age, he can rule the country. What's wrong with that? Besides the Thirteenth Prince, is there anyone more suitable for General Liu?"