fake prince

Chapter 636 Tossing and Turning
Qi Wangfu

King Qi spat out the green salt water in his mouth. He had been drinking with his guests all day yesterday. When he came back, he was already drunk. He didn't wake up until it was almost dawn.

Concubine Qi was in a hurry to let King Qi wash up. After breakfast, King Qi barely ate some, but asked: "Today's congratulatory gift, can it be done?"

Princess Qi smiled: "Li, I finished the preparations the day before yesterday. Although filial piety is not a matter of these empty etiquettes, we must not be careless."

"That's right." King Qi nodded.

Today is the New Year's celebration, but the New Year's celebration may not necessarily be the 27th of the twelfth lunar month. It is during these few days that the Ministry of Rites and Qin Tianjian counted the days together and notified the officials and dignitaries.

Anyone above the fourth rank, even princes who don't usually have to go to court, have to participate.

This is a rule that existed in the former Wei Dynasty, and there were also palace banquets. Because the Great Wei had a state of 484 years, the rules gradually changed from simple to cumbersome in the middle and late stages.

At the end of the Wei Dynasty, there were several annual banquets in the Guanghuang Palace, and after the year, there were several large banquets and small banquets every day.

Dazheng Jian, Taizu simplified the complexity, restored Wei Shizu's simplicity, and made some changes.

At the beginning, it was to get together with the heroes who conquered the country together to share the joy of the New Year. Now that the country is stable, it has become an occasion for officials to receive rewards and Lords to pay tribute to the emperor to express their loyalty.

It is very important to celebrate the New Year's Eve, once a year.

For King Qi, it is necessary to take out a gift that he had prepared long ago and present it today, as a popular candidate to seize the throne, if he is compared with the two brothers, it will be a big embarrassment. The preparation of this gift did cost a lot Big thought.

At this moment, Sun Bolan came in a hurry, along with a few staff members, King Qi laughed and scolded: "Why, you have such a face today, who is it for?"

"My lord, something is wrong."

Princess Qi smiled: "Not only for the emperor's New Year's greetings, I also have to press for the empress's birthday gift. A picture of Yingzhou not getting old is enough. Let's see if there are any mistakes in silver silk and silk."

With that said, he got up and went.

"What, this slave Chen Zhong was captured by the Imperial City Secretary?" After hearing the report, King Qi suddenly felt uneasy, with a sullen face, flicked his sleeves, and strode out.

It snowed again last night, and the courtyard was cleaned only yesterday. At this time, under the twilight morning light, there was also a sense of coldness and solemnity. King Qi went down the steps, and the snow under his feet was creaking under his feet. There was a noise, and his face became gloomy: "This is what happened yesterday, why didn't you report it to the king yesterday?"

Because you didn't return last night, and you were drinking with the Duke, who would dare to disturb you on such an occasion?

These aides knew King Qi's temper, if he got angry at the time and felt ashamed afterwards, would the person who reported it get better?
Will be angered!
It was just dawn at the moment, and he came in a hurry when he learned that the prince was awake.

"Come in!" Not wanting to discuss this matter with you here, King Qi asked them to go to the study directly.

After entering the study room, all of them are our own people, and there are staff members who carefully reported another thing: "My lord, I heard that they were taken away together yesterday, as well as Duan Qin, the housekeeper of the Duan mansion..."

"What?" As soon as these words came out, King Qi, who had just sat down, immediately stood up.

A steward in his mansion was taken away by the Secretary of the Imperial City. Even if this matter made him feel wrong, it would not cause him to panic, but once he got involved with Duan Yanxing, the nature of this matter would change.

Sun Bolan saw the ugly face of King Qi, turned his eyes, and stepped forward to persuade: "I think that even if Chen Guanshi is taken away by the people of the Imperial City Department, it will not be a big deal."

"Think about it, the two of them have only met a few times in the teahouse. Even if one is the steward of Duan's mansion and the other is the steward of Prince Qi's mansion, but they are servants after all, and it's not that you are in contact with Lord Duan. Is it a big deal?"

"Besides, they are just talking to each other. Lord Duan has not promised anything, and you have never given him a word, nor have you exchanged letters or other contacts. Even if you go to the emperor, you can't do anything to the prince. .”

Seeing that Sun Bolan who came with him only knew how to say good things, the several staff members held their breath, but the prince's mood obviously improved after hearing Sun Bolan's words, and Sun Bolan's words did indeed make sense. The several staff members looked at each other and finally sighed. Shut up and say no more.

Duanfu
Unlike King Qi, Duan Yanxing knew that something happened to Duan Qin last night. Because it was the Secretary of the Imperial City who captured Duan Qin, Duan Yanxing tossed and turned. The emperor felt that he was about to face disaster.

Compared with King Qi who can comfort himself, Duan Yanxing, who has come to this point only by relying on the emperor's trust, is even more frightened.

When I woke up early in the morning, I realized that I looked haggard after not sleeping all night. This is not possible. Today is the day of the New Year's Eve, and all the officials and dignitaries will be present. The emperor will receive the New Year's congratulations from all the officials and the dignitaries. At this time, I seem not energetic. Wouldn't it make the emperor even more dissatisfied?

So, after splashing cold water on his face, he woke up and changed his official uniform before riding a horse to the imperial city for inspection.

Inside the imperial city, the roofs are almost covered with white snow, but the middle of the road has been cleaned.

Duan Yanxing, who got off his horse early in front of the palace gate, walked all the way, led the guards around the imperial city, and found that everything in the imperial city was as usual, and the imperial army and guards greeted him as usual.

Even when he met a few eunuchs serving in front of the emperor, he greeted them normally, so he felt relieved, went to the gate of the main hall to maintain order, and greeted all the officials who came one after another.

"Hey, good morning, Mr. Duan!"

"Good morning, Master Li!"

"Master Duan, I haven't seen you for a long time, how many cups do you have a chance to drink?"

"I invite you to drink when you have time!"

When the officials saw Duan Yanxing standing here in official uniform, they all responded one by one. This man is the emperor's general. Although he is different in civil and military, he cannot be easily offended.

At this time, the light of the sun has become transparent, and the Tianjie has been swept clean.

The front of the hall was solemn and solemn. The eunuch held a charcoal box and carefully added charcoal to the copper tripod, making a crisp sound. Hundreds of guards were dressed in bright colors and stood motionless on both sides like nails, giving people a kind of empty and slightly chilling atmosphere.

Duan Yanxing finally heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the officials were gradually gathering, but what he was worried about did not happen.

"The emperor really believes that I have collusion with King Qi, and he will not rest assured that I will continue to lead the troops to patrol the imperial city. It seems that Duan Qin is not stupid after all, and he did not make false confessions!"

If you don't fall, you can still live, but if you fall, you will surely die.

"But even so, we have to find a way to silence it."

"That's Daihou?" Just thinking about it, because of something on his mind, Duan Yanxing greeted a group of first- and second-rank officials. Duan Yanxing's attitude towards a few fourth-rank Beijing officials was much more perfunctory. He was startled by a person coming from a distance.

(End of this chapter)