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After the Fourth Prince, along with the Second Prince and the Prince of Jin, consulted with the court officials, the posthumous title of the late Emperor was decided. It was to be “Jingtian Changyun Jianzhong Biaozheng Kuanren Chengxin Daxiao Zhicheng Huai Emperor,” with the temple name “Shizong.”
“Huai Emperor” was a neutral posthumous title, neither praiseworthy nor derogatory, which was considered decent.
“Shizong” was a title befitting a ruler who maintained peace and order.
The court officials initially didn’t want to bestow a temple name on Emperor Kang Cheng ( Kang Cheng was his era name).
Having a temple name meant the ruler would be worshipped by future generations, but not all rulers were qualified. It depended on their lifetime achievements, and only those who made significant contributions deserving of future reverence were eligible.
Since Emperor Kang Cheng had ordered so many officials to be buried with him before his death, the officials had grievances.
Before the Great Li Dynasty, a dynasty could only have a maximum of seven rulers with temple names. Emperor Kang Cheng was the eighth emperor of the Great Li Dynasty, and the temple names had already been used up. The dissenting officials used this point to argue against it.
Lu Desheng, upon hearing this, was furious. How could this be? Rules were meant to be broken, while people were meant to live. The temple name was crucial. It had replaced the posthumous title and served as the final judgment of the late emperor. Denying Emperor Kang Cheng a temple name was tantamount to denying everything he had done.
For the sake of a temple name, Lu Desheng debated eloquently with the court officials, enumerating Emperor Kang Cheng’s achievements during his lifetime. He claimed that even if he had no merits, he had hardships. He had reigned for twenty-eight years, during which the country did not split, nor did the people rise up in rebellion…
The Fourth Prince, remembering the edict in Lu Desheng’s hands, finally made the decision to bestow the temple name “Shizong” on the late emperor.
After this decision, the Fourth Prince couldn’t help but ponder the edict in Lu Desheng’s possession. Did his late father distrust him so much that he specifically left an edict to control him?
Before leaving the palace, Lu Desheng went to the main hall to offer incense to Emperor Kang Cheng, informing him of his posthumous title and temple name. He thought to himself, “Your Majesty, I have done everything I could for you. I am afraid I can no longer serve you in the future.”
In a dilapidated courtyard in a secluded alleyway of Chang’an City.
“Boss Chen, another job?” a young man’s voice rang out.
Boss Chen lowered his voice, “This is a big one.”
“Excellent. We haven’t had any work since that spat with the Zhao family last time. The brothers and sisters downstairs are getting bored.” Then he changed the subject, “By the way, who is Master Lu targeting this time?”
Boss Chen replied, “Listen, this time we are neither attacking nor defending. You are to do this…”
The other man listened and nodded.
“Act swiftly and decisively. Do not linger afterwards. Do you understand?”
“Understood.”
Boss Chen then handed him a bag of silver.
The man noticed that besides silver, there were also gold ingots the size of a finger, and he was surprised. “Isn’t this too much silver?” Even after deducting the expenses for bribes and their own remuneration, there was still a surplus. It was almost double their usual pay.
“Take it. There won’t be any jobs for a long time. Divide this money among the people downstairs. If they can, let them get married or have children. Don’t spend it all recklessly.”
Therefore, that night, in the home of a certain official in Chang’an City, a rumor began to spread. It was said that the Fourth Prince, Song Mo, who was neither born of the imperial consort nor the eldest son and not even virtuous, was able to become the successor mentioned in the late Emperor Shizong’s edict, thanks to Xie Zhan’s efforts.
It was he who used his cunning to kill the Crown Prince, allowing the Fourth Prince to ascend the throne.
The reason why the Great Emperor took away so many people before his death was to find the mastermind behind the advice that led to the death of the Crown Prince.
This rumor was, of course, fabricated by Lu Songli, and she knew that the truth was not like that. But what does it matter? She didn’t need to care about the truth, just put the hat on him. This was happening at a critical moment of mourning for Emperor Kang Cheng, and this kind of palace intrigue was the most eye-catching. The more sensational the words, the better. Anyway, Xie Zhan was not innocent.
As the saying goes, it’s easy to spread rumors but hard to refute them. What she wanted was to silence Xie Zhan. Those who knew the truth understood the ins and outs of the situation, but they would also reevaluate Xie Zhan’s role in it.
Otherwise, it would be said that Xue Huaimin was the mastermind behind the Crown Prince’s death, and then Xie Zhan just plucked the peach, pushed Xue Huaimin out to appease Emperor Kang Cheng, explaining too much was useless. It’s mind-boggling! It’s better to keep it simple and straightforward like this.
The Zhao family narrowly escaped a disaster, and Zhao Wenkuan heard that the Qin family had been raided and exiled, with all their people currently in prison! He praised the heavens and the wisdom of the late Emperor!
It’s all true! What his daughter said was all true! Although there were some hiccups in the middle, with a few deaths in the Xie family, it didn’t matter. The Xie family would still be a prestigious family enduring through two dynasties. For a moment, Zhao Wenkuan felt a sense of relief, as if the results of a bet had finally been revealed, and he had ultimately won.
Zhao Yutan was also in a good mood. The Qin family was in prison, and they were going to be exiled! She could finally avenge her brother. Pingzhou, right? Lu Songli, you won’t make it to Pingzhou.
Thinking of the highly skilled Qin Sheng, Zhao Yutan decided to return to the Zhao family.
This time, she wanted Lu Songli to experience the taste of being kicked when she’s down in times of crisis.
Zhao Wenkuan was very tempted by his daughter’s request and wanted to take action himself.
But the incident with the accompanying ministers had scared Zhao Wenkuan. Despite the Zhao family narrowly escaping, he was not taking it lightly.
He came to a conclusion: the taller the tree, the stronger the wind; the one who sticks out first will be the first to fall. Anytime he made a bold move recently, he was taken away. He credited his recent silence for saving his life.
So he learned to think twice before acting. Can this matter be avoided? If it must be done, can it be delayed? If not, can someone else do it?
Got it! It was said that the Minister of Revenue, Wu Yuchun, who was recently in charge of raiding the Qin family, was feeling troubled because the amount of confiscated property differed significantly from the total assets of the Qin family.
Therefore, Zhao Wenkuan found an opportunity to invite Wu Chunyu to a brothel for drinks in the evening, dropping some hints along the way.
Imperial Palace
“Fourth Prince, Lu Songli, the second Miss of the Lu family, has sent a message saying she wants to talk to you.”
“What does this prince have to talk about with her?” After speaking, Song Mo suddenly felt a stir in his heart. “Send someone to ask Lu Desheng what he thinks about his daughter wanting to talk to this prince.”
Not long after, the person he sent returned and told him that Lu Desheng said it was up to him whether to talk or not.
Upon hearing this, Song Mo had a good idea. Whether to talk or not was up to him, but whether to produce the testament was in his hands.
“This prince knows about this.” It was good that Lu Desheng was willing to open up, and the Fourth Prince decided to make time to meet Lu Songli.
He had also sent people to the Lu family to search for the testament, but after sending three waves of people to search the Lu family thoroughly, especially his study and bedroom, they still couldn’t find it. Frankly speaking, some things were better known by his people than Lu Desheng himself.
The next day, Xie Zhan was informed by the Chief Justice’s Messenger that Wu Chunyu had found him and wanted to use him to interrogate the whereabouts of the Qin family’s assets in prison.
Xie Zhan pondered, the most troublesome thing for the Fourth Prince at the moment was to have the ministers holding the two testaments to produce them and confirm his position.
Currently, it’s known that one of the testaments is most likely in the hands of Lu Desheng.
As for the other testament, the Fourth Prince has dispatched people to investigate. Those ministers who had a private audience with the late Emperor Sejong before his death might be in possession of the testament. They are currently under investigation.
What Xie Zhan didn’t know was that while his people were still investigating, Lu Songli had a vague idea of who held the other testament.
Xie Zhan, on the other hand, was trying to figure out how to get Lu Desheng to produce the testament in his possession.
Coercing him was difficult. He would simply deny having the testament, and don’t forget that the Lu family also has a golden token that grants immunity from death.
Reasoning with him was also futile. He was a censor, a well-known heckler in the court, and no one could surpass him in arguing with people.
The Fourth Prince had hinted at bribes, but the other party remained unmoved.
This was a real headache. After careful consideration, Xie Zhan realized that he had to resort to coercion. Start with the Qin family, or rather, start with Lu Songli.
Now, Wu Yuchun was going to interrogate the Qin family, which was not entirely proper, but it was still a method worth trying. Give it a shot.
“Let Meng Xinliang cooperate with him.”
Xie Zhan was still calculating how to help the Fourth Prince ascend to the throne legitimately and without any dispute, but he was completely unaware that a huge crisis was approaching.
Someone had secretly stirred up a storm, waiting for the right moment to swallow him whole. It wouldn’t necessarily lead to the destruction of the Xie family, but it could wipe out all the efforts of their generations in an instant.