Linzhi

Since he ascended the throne, Emperor Jiayou has held court meetings less and less often. He doesn't like to listen to reports from a bunch of people one by one. He prefers to call a few courtiers together when he has something to do, and he can be dismissed after the matter is finished. , not lengthy and cumbersome, but also save energy.

But today is an exception.

It was not because King An returned to the court, but because of the person who returned with him, Princess Zhending.

The life of this woman can be called a legend. She was born in Tianjia in her early years, and she was a veritable golden branch and jade leaf. Later, she became the only Turkic queen by virtue of her status and ability. The Turks gained a foothold, and even supported a puppet Khan, becoming a veritable regent of the Western Turks.

It's a pity that I don't know whether her fate is too hard or her luck is too bad. Now that even the Western Turks have been wiped out, she had to be displaced again and fled back to the Central Plains.

If she didn't escape, Emperor Jiayou pretended to be deaf and dumb, and mourned a few words afterwards, and the incident would have been revealed. Who would have thought that King An would have rescued Princess Zhending back? Emperor Jiayou had to receive her canonization formally to show grandeur.

Regardless of whether he scolded He Rong a thousand or eight hundred times in his heart, Emperor Jiayou, who was sitting on the throne, had a solemn face, watching Princess Zhending and He Rong walk into the Zichen Palace side by side, at least the servants couldn't get over the embarrassment of the emperor. What clues can be seen on the Internet.

"Criminal Minister Linghu Wenxian, I greet His Majesty the Emperor, long live, long live, long live."

Emperor Jiayou raised his hand falsely.

"Retire without courtesy."

Emperor Jiayou looked at Princess Zhending at the bottom of the steps from a distance, and seemed a little surprised that she was about the same age as him, but looked much younger. On the other hand, since he ascended the throne, he was getting older day after day.

Thinking of this, Emperor Jiayou couldn't help feeling a little sad.

"Princess is back, I am very happy. When the late emperor was here, he often mentioned the princess and praised you for your dedication to the country. The merits are in the community. Now the leaves have returned to the roots. Unfortunately, the late emperor is no longer here. I think the old man is also gratified by the spirit of heaven. What is the princess guilty of?" Is there?"

Princess Zhending was neither arrogant nor humble, she bowed her body and said: "One day when I was in West Turkic, Western Turkic and the Celestial Dynasty will form an alliance forever. I beg your majesty to punish me for my crime."

Don't think that Princess Zhending won't please people. When she said these words, she undoubtedly downplayed her status as the princess of the previous court. She admitted that she was a courtier of this court. A rational word.

Sure enough, Emperor Jiayou not only did not blame, but comforted him with a pleasant face: "The princess has been guarding the Western Turks for so many years. She has made contributions and worked hard. The Eastern Turks are too powerful. There is nothing I can do about it. The Princess can I am very relieved to have returned safely, and I invite the princess to go to the princess mansion to rest, and then enter the palace to talk to the queen in a few days."

Princess Zhending took a look at He Rong, with a calm expression, and took her leave first.

She believed that He Rong's ability should be enough to deal with the next situation.

Seeing the figure of Princess Zhending disappearing at the door, Emperor Jiayou's face darkened, and he shouted: "Nizi, don't kneel down yet!"

He Rong didn't move and didn't kneel.

The prince also changed his face slightly. "King An! Didn't you hear His Majesty's words?"

"My lord, I don't know what crime I have committed, so please tell your Majesty clearly." He Rong cupped his hands.

Emperor Jiayou's original three-point anger was stimulated by his attitude to seven-point.

"You brought Princess Zhending back without permission, isn't that a crime?!"

He Rong pursed his lips: "Princess Zhending is not only the princess of the previous court, but also a courtier of my court. If she sees death and does not save her, it will inevitably make the people of the world chill. Princess Zhending has always had prestige in Western Turkic. In times of war, Princess Zhending can also play an important role in it."

Emperor Jiayou was furious: "Whether I should save her or not is up to me, but if you make decisions without authorization, you are already deceiving the emperor!"

This sentence is very heavy, but He Rong still has no intention of kneeling down and begging for mercy.

It's not that he doesn't know what to do to appease the emperor, but today, he doesn't want to do it.

Those who can stand here are undoubtedly the first-class smart people in the empire, and there are many farsighted people among them. Their interests and selfishness were restrained by each other, stumbling and stumbling, and they let themselves go, turning a blind eye. How is this different from the signs of chaos in the dynasty in the history books?

Throughout the ages, the rise and fall of dynasties is not because there are no smart people, nor does it necessarily mean that there must be a tyrant or a fool. In many cases, it is simply because those who stand at the top of the empire spend their energy on internal struggles, but ignore external changes.

Standing here today, this feeling in He Rong's heart became more and more vivid.

The prince frowned slightly at his attitude of rather bending than bending.

Although He Rong was also stubborn in the past, he was not so stubborn. Why did he become like this after staying in Lingzhou for a year or so?

Qilang Hexi quietly raised his head and looked around.

He has also reached the age of going to court to discuss government affairs. Although Emperor Jiayou did not give him a real job, he also let him participate in the audit. However, He Xi was introverted, and he never spoke when no one asked him.

At this moment, there are as many as sixteen or seven people in the main hall, among them there are princes such as the crown prince and King Ji, as well as the left and right ministers and six ministers and nine ministers.

But with so many people, there is not even one who speaks for Wang An.

He Xi knew that it was because the third brother basically offended everyone.

The third elder brother killed Zhou Shu and rectified the merchants in Lingzhou. Regardless of the family's favor, he refused to be punished lightly, thus offending Zhou Shu and the family behind them.

The second elder brother He Xiu wrote to the third elder brother to intercede. He heard that the third elder brother didn't even look at it, so he also offended the second elder brother.

As for the crown prince, He Xi didn't know that the crown prince secretly sent Li Yun to Lingzhou to negotiate terms, but he also knew that it was unlikely that the crown prince would offend the aristocratic family by speaking for the lonely third brother at this time.

He Xi took a deep breath, mustered up courage in his heart over and over again, and finally said weakly before Emperor Jiayou scolded him again: "Your Majesty calm down, the third brother didn't mean to contradict, he was also thinking of the court and society, out of With a public heart, there are excusable circumstances.”

"There is no third brother above the court!" Emperor Jiayou's anger immediately shifted.

He Xi shrank his neck, not daring to contradict him anymore.

Li Kuan finally said: "Your Majesty, please calm down. Although His Royal Highness King An's behavior was a bit reckless, the imperial court did have an alliance with the Western Turks before. The late emperor also promised to take care of the princess. King An went to the Western Regions to form an alliance with Princess Zhending." An indissoluble bond, it is reasonable to save people this time."

The implication is that if you don't save him, wouldn't it appear that Wang An is ruthless and cold-hearted, you want such a son?

He Rong raised his eyebrows slightly, as if he didn't expect Li Kuan to speak for him.

Li Kuan opened his mouth, and King Ji also said: "Your Majesty, it is indeed inappropriate for San Lang to kill her first, but since Princess Zhending has returned, the court should arrange it properly. Even if Fu Nian uses this as an excuse to demand someone in the future, she cannot easily Hand him over, otherwise he will think that there is no one in my Central Plains!"

Emperor Jiayou rubbed the center of his brows, trying to suppress his anger, he turned his head away, not wanting to see He Rong's face, so he waved his hand in frustration.

"Let's retreat."

Watching the emperor leave, all the ministers exited Zichen Hall one by one.

The prince originally wanted to call He Rong to stop, but in full view, he gave up his idea.

Now he and this younger brother don't have to tear each other apart like he did with Ji Wang, but they are getting farther and farther away, becoming more and more estranged, to the point where they have nothing to say.

Even though He Xiu was restless and coveted the position of the crown prince, the crown prince never thought of killing him, but only wanted to banish him far away until he could no longer threaten his position in the East Palace. The crown prince didn't think there was anything wrong with his doing so, On the side of the couch, how can you allow others to sleep soundly?He just did something that all the princes of the Eastern Palace would do.

The younger brothers are getting older, their wings are getting harder and harder, even He Rong...

The prince was startled, and thought, could it be that He Rong is also interested in the position of the East Palace?

But he immediately shook his head secretly for his own idea. If so, it is impossible for He Rong to offend so many people.

Thinking of this, the prince turned his head and looked, the others had gone further and further away, and He Rong had opened a large distance from the others alone.

It seems that there is a lonely shadow between the sky and the earth.

He Rong, who was scolded bloody, returned to the palace, rode his horse and saw Wen Jianghou outside from a distance, looking forward to it.

The mood that was originally covered with a little haze became clearer.

Wen Jiang ran forward in small steps, ecstatic: "Your Highness, you are back!"

He Rong: "Is everything okay in the mansion?"

With tears in his eyes, Wen Jiang said, "It's all good, I'm looking forward to your return!"

He Rong said in a warm voice, "Thank you for your hard work while I'm not around."

Wen Jiang chuckled: "It's not the slaves who are working hard, but the cooks and handymen in the kitchen."

Seeing that He Rong didn't understand, she didn't directly explain the answer.

"You'll know when you go and have a look."

From the outside, white smoke bursts from the stove in Prince An's Mansion, those who didn't know it thought it was flooded.

Before He Rong got close, he heard someone inside yelling: "That's not how it is done, the fire is low, quickly increase it! Add some water!"

This voice is really familiar, I have heard it since I was a child, and I can't forget it even if I want to.

He Rong stood at the door, taking a moment to say: "Where is the unexpected guest who wants to burn my kitchen?"

The other party turned around suddenly, surprised and delighted: "Third brother?!"

Before He Rong could answer, he walked over a few steps at a time, wrapped his arms around He Rong's waist, and spun around in circles.

This was completely a subconscious action of excessive surprise, but then he was slapped on the back of the head.

"so rude!"