Chapter 80 Orphans
(Thanks to the readers for "Trouble Is Not Dead", "Wheatgrass in YY", "Sea Blue Pearl", "Muzi Jen", and "Fairy Monkey" for their red tips.)
It was a cold winter night. Snowflakes fell silently on the hard ground. Han Ruzi was tightly wrapped in a thick velvet cloak.
Around midnight, he came to the Taimiao again. He had been in the main hall a few times before, but this time he was standing outside. The only acquaintances around him were Yang Feng, but there were quite a few strangers, all of whom were titled clan children, almost two of them. Three hundred people, plus the personal security guard, doubled the number of people. The Taimiao had no room to accommodate so many people, so they had to wait in the open air temporarily.
I have pity on these natural nobles, who have suffered such hardships since they were young. Their faces are blue and white, their limbs are numb, and they have the heart to rebel. They just don't dare to say it. When bored, take a peek at the Emperor.
Han Ruzi didn't know any of these people, but they all knew him. Yang Feng blocked most of his curious eyes for him, but the surrounding murmurs still surrounded him with Xuehua.
The descendants of the clan in front of the Taimiao did not stand randomly, but were sorted by title, relative distance, seniority, age, etc. Dozens of ceremonial officials maintained order, and a little further away were hundreds of guards with halberds, who wore iron armor. It was colder, but they all stood up straight and did not tremble at all.
Although Han Ruzi was only a tired prince, but the princes and princes who were more senior than the princes were not in the capital, so he was the only one standing in the first row, shivering with cold, like a hapless bastard who was pushed out to take responsibility for the crime. .
There was a commotion behind him, Han Ruzi was not even interested in looking back, he just wanted to go home now.
It turned out that there was another newcomer, who was of a high status, and was brought to the side of Marquis Juan by the official of ceremonies.
"Taizu's military and horses have suffered so much in his life, but his descendants are so unworthy, they can't even bear the cold. If there is a big event in the world, Han's descendants will all be lambs to be slaughtered." The newcomer complained.
Han Ruzi didn't need to look to know who it was.
After a while, the King of the East Sea spoke again, this time in a less calm voice, "Today...it's too cold, are you trying to...kill? Hey, how long have you been here?"
Han Ruzi twisted his stiff neck, glanced at Donghai Wang who was also wrapped in a cloak, coughed twice, and said, "It's almost an hour, I don't know."
King Donghai leaned over, but the eunuch he brought wanted to stop but couldn't. King Donghai said in a low voice, "Have you heard?"
Han Ruzi shook his head.
"It's the descendant of Prince Ju and Prince Yong, the same generation as us, I don't know... where did she get it." In the Taimiao, the King of Donghai did not dare to mention the word "Queen Mother".
Han Ruzi didn't say anything. One was that it was too cold, and the other was that it was meaningless.
The King of the East Sea refused to shut up, and only chatted with Hou Juan, "This move is really insidious, for you to abdicate, leave me in the palace, and send Jing Yao to negotiate, which has confused the Cui family for five months! My uncle... sigh, he is fine in everything, but he is too cautious. If he had sent troops... sigh, sigh, my life is really hard..."
The King of the East Sea sighed, and Han Ruzi really wanted to loudly warn him to shut up.
Finally, things progressed, and the King of the East Sea also closed his mouth and returned to his position.
Entering a team of guards from the side doors on both sides, then the ministers, there must be at least 200 people, and the first are the prime minister Yin Wuxian and the military governor Han Xing.
The ministers clearly came out of the warm room just now, with some residual heat remaining in their bodies, walking steadily and solemnly, and not shivering from the cold.
Under the instructions of the Ritual Officer, all the children of the clan moved forward and stood under the Dan Chi in the Taimiao Temple. The civil and military officials were separated from left to right.
By the light of the lantern, Han Ruzi saw that the prime minister Yin Wuxian's face was a little red, not because of the cold, but more like out of excitement, as if he had just cried.
Han Ruzi had seen an old woman cry tonight, and she was glad that she didn't have to watch another old man cry.
An emcee of ceremonies stood sideways on the steps, his loud voice seemed unreal in the winter night, "The Queen Mother is here!"
Escorted by a team of eunuchs and female officials, the queen mother walked slowly in court clothes.
Han Ruzi watched carefully regardless of etiquette. Unfortunately, Wang Meiren was not among them. Yang Feng gently tugged on Marquis Juan's cloak, Han Ruzi lowered his eyes, but still saw two people following the Queen Mother, one was sixteen or seventeen years old, taller than the Queen Mother, with a very respectful demeanor, and the clothes on his body showed that he was absolutely Not the eunuch in the palace, the other one is relatively young, only six or seven years old, chubby, with a blank face, always looking back, probably looking for someone to know.
The Queen Mother and these two stood in front of Han Ruzi and Donghai King.
Han Xing, the military commander of the imperial family, stepped forward, also standing sideways on the steps, opposite the shouting master of ceremonies.
"The ancestors have spirits, and the descendants kneel down and worship!" the master of ceremonies shouted, and the voice came from a distance.
The Queen Mother led all the descendants of the Han family to kneel on the icy bluestone ground, with nothing under their knees.
"One kowtow!" The master of ceremonies didn't care about this. At this moment, he was the spokesperson of the emperors of the Han family. His voice was neither in a hurry nor slow, and he directed hundreds of descendants to kowtow.
After kneeling three times, everyone stood up, and then the civil and military officials also knelt down three times. This was an unexpected worship, and the etiquette had been simplified a lot.
Han Xing, the commander-in-chief of soldiers and horses, knelt down again to the Taimiao Temple on the steps. This time, there was no need for the emcee to shout.
His voice was not that loud, but it was clear, his words were quaint, and he quoted a lot of allusions. The ministers were very excited when they heard it. It was only after the meeting that I gradually realized that this was a plea for apologizing.
As is customary, Han Xing first praised the achievements of the ancestors and sects, especially praised Emperor Wu, and then turned his head and accused the villains who lured Emperor Wu to do bad things, and listed some names, Han Ruzi was surprised to hear the middle The name of the supervisor Jing Yao.
Next, please order Wen to start recalling the grievances of the first two princes of Emperor Wu, with a strong voice, and soon there was crying in front of the Taimiao.
Han Ruzi has already seen the "world", and he is still surprised at this moment. The teenagers and children standing in front of him are orphans of the prince. It is understandable to cry bitterly. What are the others crying? Even Donghai King's shoulders shrugged, as if he was crying, and a little bit like he was snickering.
Han Ruzi couldn't cry, and he couldn't pretend, so he could only lower his head and try not to attract attention, but the cries around him were too contagious, and Han Ruzi couldn't help but feel guilty and felt that he was too ruthless. .
The long request for life is finally about to finish. The names of the East Sea King Han Shu and the abolished emperor Han Lu are mentioned. They are two unworthy descendants. They are poor in virtue and cannot inherit the Han family. Therefore, they have to choose from the descendants of the former prince. Stand one.
A few steps away, Han Ruzi could also hear the rattling of Donghai King's teeth, but he didn't care. When he heard the words "unworthy of Sun Bing", he didn't even immediately think that this was him.
The most critical moment finally arrived. The two princes each left a descendant. Prince Ju’s son was named Han Shi, who was seventeen this year. Prince Yong’s son was named Han She, who was just six years old. He was still there when his father died. They were not born in their mother's womb. Although the two were also included in the royal family, they have been left out in the cold, and they even picked their names casually.
Han Ruzi had experience and knew that the one who finally became emperor would change his name.
The ministers cried even louder, and Han Ruzi felt that some of them were sincere.
Yang Feng gathered in his ear and whispered: "Prince Ju has been in power for more than ten years, and Prince Yong has also been in power for six or seven years. They have a deep foundation among ministers. Generally speaking, civil officials like Prince Ju, and military officials tend to prefer Prince Yong."
Han Ruzi suddenly realized that it was no wonder that his father, Emperor Huan, once wanted to unite with his foreign relatives to deal with the minister. Emperor Huan had been a prince for too short time and did not form a close relationship with the minister. Han Ruzi did not even go through the stage of the prince and had no contact with the minister, so he The abdication was uneventful.
Han Ruzi no longer felt sorry, and at the same time understood that if he could really return to the supreme position one day, he would have to build a foundation from the bottom up. He turned his head and glanced at Yang Feng, wondering how much this eunuch could help him.
After reading the text, Han Xing spoke out of the script, indicating that the two princes were equal to each other, and the orphans were all eligible to succeed the throne.
This is the plan that the Queen Mother and the ministers came up with after discussing for a long time. The clan disciples who had been thrown outside to freeze were taken aback, but no one dared to object at this time, the buzz quickly disappeared, and even the King of the East Sea stopped gnashing his teeth. .
The Empress Dowager took Han Shi and Han She up the stairs and entered the Taimiao. Among the ministers, only Yin Wuxian and Han Xing, representing civil and military officials, accompanied them in, and the others were waiting outside.
As soon as the Queen Mother disappeared, the East Sea King turned his head to look at Han Ruzi with real tears in his eyes, suppressed his voice and said, "Can you believe it? Can you believe it?"
Han Ruzi had nothing to believe, so he showed an indifferent expression.
The expression on Donghai King's face changed from sadness to surprise. Until then, he seemed to really believe that Han Ruzi was not interested in the throne.
Han Ruzi's goals are too lofty, and at this moment he really shows no interest.
The lottery took place quickly, and the people outside were so excited that they could hardly feel the cold.
Yin Wuhao and Han Xing walked out of the Taimiao first, and brought Han Shi, the orphan of the great prince. Yin Wuhao announced in an old voice that Han Shi was named Champion Marquis and Grand Sima of the Northern Army.
The result has been decided, Yin Wuhao looks a little disappointed, and most of the civil servants sigh, but there is nothing they can do, they have won, and they can only admit defeat.
The three retreated to one side, and the queen mother walked out with Han She's hand, stood on top of Dan Chi, and said loudly: "The ancestors sheltered, and Han She, the grandson of Emperor Wu, became the crown prince."
Long live the mountains, all the ministers, including Han Shi, knelt down one after another. He had a chance to become emperor just a moment ago, but he was already a minister at this moment.
The chubby child was still looking around, not knowing who he was looking for.
Yang Feng supported Han Ruzi before kneeling, and said softly: "Marquis Tien is allowed to enter the palace without worshiping, except to face the ancestors, you don't need to kneel."
He was not the only one who had the privilege, but also Han Xing and other seven or eight others. The ritual officials in the distance checked them one by one to make sure they were correct.
Han Ruzi lowered his head, but there was a fire in his heart, neither anger nor jealousy, but an inexplicable passion: now he clearly felt the difference between standing on top and standing below, He knew which one he liked better.
The ceremony was over, and the frozen children of the clan left one after another. The ministers continued to discuss the new emperor's ascension to the throne and how to deal with the southern army outside the city.
On the way back to the house, the fire in Han Ruzi's heart gradually went out. He had to face the reality that in this cold winter, no flames could ignite.
It was already a little light when entering the Mansion of Marquis, Han Ruzi just pushed open the door of the bedroom, and Cui Xiaojun, who was already in a hurry, rushed over, and the two hugged tightly.
In the cold winter, there is only a little warmth left here.
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