After exhausting myself to death

Before Shen Minghuan left with the army, Luo Xiuyuan once rarely confided his uneasiness to him at the farewell pavilion outside the city.

At that time, Shen Minghuan looked unconcerned and said: "You can still not be the prince."

Luo Xiuyuan then smiled bitterly, thinking that Shen Minghuan didn't understand the symbolic meaning behind it. He thought that he was born in a scholarly family and was the only heir. Shen Changqing loved him like a treasure, so it was normal for him not to understand.

But... what if Shen Minghuan knew?

Since ancient times, the royal family's struggle for power has been brutal and dirty, with countless plots and plots, and the law of the jungle.

Shen Minghuan is familiar with history books, and these deeds are clearly recorded in the pages. How arrogant can he be to think that Shen Minghuan doesn't understand?

"You can't give up the position of prince, do you know what it means?"

"Luo Xiuyuan! Why can't you distinguish between priorities?"

"Your Highness, if you give me a little more time, I will definitely be able to think of a solution."

"Your Highness, don't go to meet the Holy Spirit, you believe me."

"Your Highness, please..."

Luo Xiuyuan couldn't help but think of the past, Shen Minghuan's eyes were so sad.

He knew that his best friend had great ambitions and wanted to restore the glory of the Shen family, but Shen Minghuan was so proud and so fragile and helpless with his red eyes. Was it because... he was worried about him?

"Your Highness, I will never hurt you."

Luo Xiuyuan stared blankly into the void, his eyes unfocused. He seemed to have lost all perception. Only Shen Minghuan's words were recalled in his mind over and over again.

Shen Minghuan killed King Rui neatly, which showed that he was not really helping. With military power in hand and the entire Yanling under his control, he could claim the throne if he wanted to.

But he chose to retreat and become just a minister.

Luo Xiuyuan felt his heart throbbing with pain.

His father was suspicious and cruel, and Xiu Qi became more and more similar to his father. How difficult must it have been for Shen Minghuan to endure the days when he had to compromise with Luo Xiuqi because of him?

That man was a very proud young man.

The man said that he could not be the prince.

So a broad road was paved for him leading to the supreme high position.

Fortunately, the nine steps were high enough. Due to years of inertia, the courtiers did not dare to look directly at Tianyan. Not many people noticed Luo Xiuyuan's abnormal expression at this time.

The few people who have discovered it are not surprised. After all, it is normal to find it difficult to accept such a big change for a while.

Shen Minghuan continued: "Your Majesty was about to die... before he left, he ordered that the eldest prince should inherit the throne and make me the regent to assist the new emperor. The incident happened suddenly and the enthronement ceremony was postponed. However, the country cannot be without a king for a day..."

The more he spoke, the more serious his tone became: "Do you have any objections?"

The ministers looked at each other and communicated with their eyes.

Not only did the good officials have no objection to letting Luo Xiuyuan become emperor, they even wanted to buy some fireworks to celebrate.

Corrupt officials did not dare to have any objections. Fortunately, Luo Xiuyuan was kind and kind, so their life would not be too difficult.

But when Shen Minghuan became the regent, the people present had great opinions.

But before anyone could think about what to say, Qu Zhengcheng took the lead and knelt down, "My lord, I'd like to pay homage to Your Majesty and the Regent."

Qu Zhengcheng is the prime minister and now the emperor's master. He stands at the front of the ministers.

After he knelt down, the four ministers Lu, Wang, Lu, and Lin also knelt down one after another.

These few people can be called the leaders of the civil servants. When the emperor's mind is not normal, the others will follow the instructions of these few people and report to the court to keep warm.

——Literati have always looked down upon each other, and it can be regarded as the late emperor's achievement to be able to unite the civil servants who actually did practical things in Da Qi.

So even though they were reluctant, everyone except Shen Minghuan, including Zhuo Feichen, knelt down neatly and shouted: "I pay homage to Your Majesty and the Regent."

Luo Xiuyuan came back to his senses, glanced at Shen Minghuan who was sitting on the dragon chair with a complicated expression, and then said: "No courtesy."

Ming Huan is more suitable to be the emperor.

He dragged Ming Huan down and took Ming Huan's throne.

The little eunuch next to him was trembling. He had planned to pretend to be dead and not say anything, but unexpectedly, as soon as he heard the word "no courtesy", he reflexively blurted out: "If something happens——"

Little eunuch: "...play."

The little eunuch cried loudly in his heart.

Qu Zhengcheng walked to the center of the hall, bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, the Spring Festival is about to begin with the Metropolitan Examination in Kyoto. Many students have arrived at Yanling. I would like to ask Your Majesty to make a decision on matters related to the scientific examination."

"What do you mean, Prime Minister?" Xue Huai rolled his sleeves and asked coldly.

This year's imperial examination had already been handed over to Xue Huai. Everyone in the civil and military dynasties didn't know that he had already started preparations. Qu Zhengcheng's words seemed to say that he was unreliable.

Xue Huai also walked out of the queue and knelt down next to Qu Zhengcheng, "Your Majesty clearly knows that the imperial examination is related to the future of our dynasty. Since I took the order, I have not dared to relax for a moment. What the Prime Minister said is related to my reputation. I must not Don’t ask the Prime Minister for an explanation.”

"You haven't said anything about the truth, so why did Mr. Xue start to quibble?" Qu Zhengcheng said sarcastically.

The civil servants all looked at each other and were shocked.

what happened? Prime Minister Qu, who has always been taciturn, can actually mock people with a weird accent?

Qu Zhengcheng glanced at Xue Huai with a half-smile, and said to Luo Xiuyuan: "Your Majesty, the scientific examination is a major national event, and its purpose is to select Anbang talents for the imperial court, but Xue Huai openly took this opportunity to make money. As long as the results are If you raise money, you will be able to occupy a place on the list. Ranking based on the amount of money, you can make people with low talent and low-quality feel happy. Please, your majesty, dismiss them from their posts and investigate them thoroughly. "

Xue Huai shouted angrily: "That's nonsense!"

There was a guilty conscience that could not be concealed in his voice.

He admitted that this matter was done a bit blatantly, but it was difficult for him not to be bold, after all, even the late emperor acquiesced. How could we have expected that Qi Chao would suddenly change for a while?

Luo Xiuyuan temporarily suppressed his thoughts and listened carefully to Qu Zhengcheng's words. The more he listened, the angrier he became.

"Prime Minister, do you have any evidence?"

"There are all witnesses and physical evidence."

Luo Xiuyuan seemed to have suddenly completed his transformation, his gentle bookish aura was hidden, and there was a killing and decisive majesty between his brows.

"Fraud in the imperial examination is a serious crime punishable by death. Qu Xiang is my teacher, so as to avoid suspicion among the ministers, Xue Huai will be dismissed from his post first, and we will make a decision after the truth is found out."

"Your Majesty!" Xue Huai, who was kneeling, raised his head in haste, then calmed down instantly.

He dared to be so bold, of course he had something to rely on.

A flowing dynasty, an iron-clad family. Since the founding of the Xue family, it has gone through three dynasties and extended to Qi. It has long been deeply rooted and flourishing.

Since the founding of the Qi Dynasty, successive emperors have worked tirelessly to reduce the influence of the aristocratic family, and they almost succeeded.

However, when the late emperor was still a prince, he once again borrowed the power of the aristocratic family in order to seize the throne. Later, in order to stabilize his political power, he also asked the aristocratic family for help, but his success fell short.

Although there are conflicts among various large and small aristocratic families, they have always been very united when facing the outside world.

All in all, the Xue family, the head of the aristocratic family, now controls one-third of Da Qi's financial resources. The descendants of the descendants are all over the court in various official positions, and are driven by other aristocratic families.

If they really stumble, even if the state machinery will not collapse, it will at least stop functioning for a period of time.

Xue Huai was confident, "Your Majesty, are you sure you want to listen to the villain's slander and remove me from my official position?"

"Bold! Xue Huai, what's your attitude? If you commit the crime, you will be punished with an extra penalty!" Wang Jin stood behind Qu Zhengcheng, pointing his finger at Xue Huai's nose and scolding him.

Xue Huai snorted disdainfully, and turned his kneeling body slightly: "Your Majesty, please comment and say rudely, my Xue family is as rich as the country, how can I use this method to make money? I must sit upright and sit straight. "Everyone in the Xue family can die for Da Qi. If the prince doesn't believe it, I am willing to prove it to the prince."

Every sentence is inseparable from the words "Prince", "wealth can rival the country", and "serve to death". Everyone present is not stupid, and they can hear the implication of Xue Huai's words.

Xue Huai is not stupid. He has never heard of the supremacy of imperial power in the feudal dynasty, but he also knows that the emperor is ordered by heaven.

If he had a choice, he would not want to go against those in power.

Luo Xiuyuan was different from Luo Dan. This new emperor seemed determined to go against their Xue family. Fortunately, the person in power now was not the emperor.

Shen Minghuan sat on the chair leisurely, smiling half-heartedly.

Luo Xiuyuan was a little hesitant. He knew that the Xue family was a cancer that had to be eradicated. If they were handled lightly this time, they would surely make further progress.

But now that the family is becoming more powerful, if they act rashly, it will only be the people who suffer.

Before he could come up with an idea, he saw Xue Huai's movements and turned to look at Shen Minghuan. There was no grudge in her eyes, she just simply wanted to know what Shen Minghuan would do.

The ministers lowered their heads, but secretly glanced at Shen Minghuan from the corner of their eyes. For a moment, Shen Minghuan suddenly became the center of attention.

Shen Minghuan seemed to be very used to being followed by everyone's eyes. Not only was he not uncomfortable, he even felt a bit bored.

"Well, prove it." Shen Minghuan said lazily: "Then you use your life to prove it to me."

Before Xue Huai could realize the meaning of his words, Shen Minghuan raised his voice slightly and called out to the hall: "Chen Xiaoyu."

Chen Xiaoyu, who was guarding the door, twitched his mouth and sighed helplessly, thinking that he had a nickname.

He entered the palace expressionlessly, treating the new emperor as if he were nothing, and walked straight to Shen Minghuan. Since he was wearing armor, he performed a military salute in an extremely standard manner.

"Chen Xiaoyu, drag him out and chop him down." Shen Minghuan said lightly.

Qu Zhengcheng felt sincerely frightened. He didn't know whether it was because of this man's indifference to life and death, or because of his courage to wield a sword against the noble family.

Chen Xiaoyu nodded in agreement and directly pressed Xue Huai's shoulders, trying to drag him out.

Xue Huai was caught off guard and was pressed hard, feeling that his bones were about to break.

"Stop, what are you going to do? Shen Minghuan, please tell him to stop and let me go." Xue Huai, who was confident just now, was unexpectedly shrouded in the shadow of death. He looked at Chen Xiaoyu's "ferocious" expression and shouted in defeat. Get up, "Help, Your Majesty, please save me, Shen Minghuan, no, Your Majesty, I was wrong, I dare not..."

Luo Xiuyuan's expression seemed to show disapproval, and he shook his head, "Ming Huan, even if Xue Huai really committed a heinous crime, he cannot be lynched before going through three trials."

Shen Minghuan raised his eyes politely, indicating that he heard it but did not intend to change it.

Chen Xiaoyu didn't care what the new emperor said. Seeing that Shen Minghuan had no other instructions, he simply reached out and covered Xue Huai's mouth and forced him out.