Bastard's Counterattack [Rebirth]

King Quang Binh?

He is not good.

Rong Youtang shook his head in secret, bowed his head respectfully, and answered carefully: "Your Majesty: At the beginning of my official career, I rarely met with him because of my low official position. Afterwards, I was transferred to Xizhou for many years and stayed away from the capital for a long time. Therefore, I don't know much about you. King Guangping, I hope you will forgive me."

"Really?" Emperor Chengtian raised his eyebrows high, with a smile that was not a smile, and said majesticly: "It's just a private chat, don't be nervous. If you have something to say, I will forgive your sin first. You have been in Prince Qing's mansion since you were young, and you have frequented it every day. How come you don’t know anything about King Guangping?”

The emperor holds the power of life and death, who dares to relax and chat among the emperor and his ministers?

Rong Youtang realized that he couldn't avoid it, thought for a while, and carefully explained: "It's not impossible to know nothing, but I only met a few times. At that time, I was just a scholar, and I had no deep acquaintance with the former Second Highness. However, memory In, he is humorous and very courageous.”

"Oh?" Emperor Chengtian smiled faintly, looking up at the painted caisson unconsciously, with deep and complex eyes, and asked casually, "So, what do you think of the eldest son of the emperor?"

The eldest son of the emperor?Not so much.

Knowing a son is like a father, why do you ask me?

Rong Youtang was cautious in his words and deeds, so naturally he would not criticize the prince directly, and answered straightly: "His Royal Highness is dignified and well-mannered. He is very popular and has a good reputation."

"Have a good name?" Emperor Chengtian slightly raised his voice, his smile disappeared, he stopped looking at the caisson, and turned his head to ask: "What good name?"

"Filial piety and humility, courteous corporal, magnanimity and kindness—" Rong Youtang tried hard to recall, but he was interrupted by Emperor Chengtian as soon as he recounted the three strengths of the eldest prince:

"okay!"

"Yes."

Emperor Chengtian stopped smiling, his face stretched very long, his snow-white eyebrows trembled, and he continued to ask: "Where is King Qing? What is the reputation of King Qing outside? You report the truth, don't hide it!"

"The minister obeys the order."

Rong Youtang concentrated his attention, racked his brains, thought clearly in the blink of an eye, and told sternly: "Speaking of King Qing, his reputation can be roughly divided into two categories. One, because His Highness is good at using troops and has repeatedly defeated the northern barbarian enemy army, Therefore, he has won the respect and trust of the people on the frontier; secondly, His Highness has lived in the army for a long time, he is upright and upright, he hates evil like hatred, and he is rigorous and dignified by nature, and he is unsmiling, so it is inevitable that some people are afraid and jealous, and think that his iron fist is cruel."

"Well."

Emperor Chengtian nodded and said with relief: "You are still objective and honest, and you are not just praising or defending him."

"Your Majesty is wise and powerful, and his heart is like a mirror, and I dare not whitewash it with words." Rong Youtang said frankly.

"Hehehe~" Emperor Chengtian chuckled, looked up at the algae well again, feeling quite emotional, and sighed annoyedly: "The third child is born with a tough and stubborn temper, and he is a little less kind. I have taught you several times, but it is a pity that the results are not very good. micro."

Rong Youtang bowed his head, and the dragon chair was close in front of him, so he took advantage of the opportunity to watch the ingenious carving of the golden dragon, and wisely did not answer, allowing the emperor to mutter to himself.

"What a headache." Emperor Chengtian frowned, poked the yellow mattress with his fingers, and sighed in a low voice: "I have been in office for ten years, but I have not yet established a crown prince."

Rong Youtang's spirit was shaken, he held his breath, and listened attentively.

Emperor Chengtian's eyes were sharp, and he asked without hesitation: "Rong Qing, which prince do you think is suitable to be crowned prince?"

Rong Youtang kowtowed upright, and answered with righteous words: "This is a major matter for the country, I dare not speak falsely, and act according to your Majesty's will."

"Well."

"I know it well."

Emperor Chengtian's inexplicable anger gradually disappeared.In recent years, he has been plagued by illness, old and weak, and his suspicions are even stronger. Whenever his courtiers hinted at the candidate for the crown prince, he couldn't help but get angry and thought to himself:

I am not yet confused, who knows better about the important affairs of the family and the country, and the temperament of the princes?Are you so impatient to please the prince?

"My emperor is holy." Rong Youtang breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he had passed another level, he was vigilant the whole time, lest he accidentally offend the weak and irritable emperor.

Emperor Chengtian closed his eyes and meditated for a moment, hesitated to speak, and finally waved his hands: "Forget it, you go down."

"Your Majesty must be tight-lipped, please take care of the dragon's body." Rong Youtang kowtowed to leave, with the light of noon on his head, and left hungry, thinking over and over about the emperor's condition and thoughts.

at night

New Year's Eve is just around the corner, the streets and alleys are very lively, and the smell of firecrackers wafts in the wind from time to time.

The red lanterns of the Rong Mansion were hung high. For the sake of safety, Rong Youtang now travels in a carriage. He opened the cotton curtain, jumped down swiftly, strode into the gate and the second gate with his head held high, and walked like the wind.

"Master is back!"

"See my lord, you are back, carefully step on the threshold."

"Slave and maid give your respects to your lord."

……

Along the way, servants and servants saluted and greeted each other, Rong Youtang nodded from time to time, and asked as he walked, "Dongzi, has the master eaten dinner yet?"

"Return to your lord: Doctor Song prescribed the prescription for the master, butler Li decocted the medicine with his own hands. After the master took the medicine, he rested early and asked the little one to take care of you for meals." Zhang Dong approached specially and replied in a low voice.He was the second butler who followed Xizhou, he was quick-witted, learned some inside information quietly, and paid close attention to Song Shen.

Rong Youtang paused, frowned and asked worriedly: "Could it be that the master's cough has worsened?"

"No!" Zhang Dong hurriedly shook his head and explained, "Doctor Song is highly skilled in medicine. He has already cured Master's cough, but he just prescribed a prescription for strengthening his health."

"So that's how it is." Rong Youtang felt relieved, and asked instead: "Where's Dr. Song? Has he had dinner yet?"

Zhang Dong shook his head again: "He hasn't come out since he went back to the house after lunch. Both you and the master ordered to treat him as a distinguished guest, so the younger ones don't dare to disturb him again."

"I'll go and see, you can bring the dinner to the guest room directly." Rong Youtang ordered bluntly, and hurried to find Song Shen.

"Yes!" Zhang Dong quickly turned around and arranged meals.

after a while

Rong Youtang stood in front of the guest room, patted the snow on his body with his right hand, and knocked on the door with his left hand:

"Knock Knock~"

"Master Song?"

There was a steady sound of pounding medicine in the room, and the strong fragrance of medicine, Song Shen responded slowly: "Come in."

With a "creak", Rong Youtang pushed the door open and entered, first took off his cloak, threw it on the back of the chair, and asked casually, "Why don't you eat dinner?"

"Who said not to take it? I will take it after I prepare the medicine on hand. Hey, it's New Year's Eve, why don't you rest?"

Rong Youtang explained: "There is a sudden war in the northwest, and the imperial court is busy discussing countermeasures and has no time to take care of the New Year's Eve."

"It's tiring to see you being an official."

"360 lines, each has its own difficulties." Rong Youtang got tired and lazy, walked to the washstand to wash his hands, turned his head and glanced, and asked jokingly:

"What kind of medicine should I take? Give me a dose? I've had a lot of headaches recently."

"You can't take medicine indiscriminately." Song Heng was busy preparing the medicine, and said without raising his head: "If you are poisoned to death, I will definitely be chopped into pieces, oh no! It should be cut into pieces."

"Then I don't want to eat it." Rong Youtang changed his words seriously, poured tea by himself, held the teacup close to him, watched curiously, and asked speculatively, "Is it medicine balls?"

"Ah."

"For His Royal Highness King Rui?"

Song Shen paused while pounding the medicine, avoided answering, and asked instead: "He has been living in the palace, is he sick?"

"I don't know the details, but His Royal Highness King Qing didn't mention anything, he should be safe." Rong Youtang told the truth, he thought about it, and revealed with lingering fear: "Oh, I'm really having a hard time in the palace today."

"Who made things difficult for you?" Song Shen's soul had already flown into the palace, and he asked absent-mindedly, "Are you all right?"

Rong Youtang implicitly raised his finger to the sky.

"Oh~" Song Shenxin understood, pondered for a moment, and comforted him softly: "He is struggling with his illness, and his head is burnt out. He must have a bad temper. As a subject, you can only bear it."

Rong Youtang moved the chair closer, and told the situation: "I have already reported your news, Your Majesty has no anger, and told you to keep quiet and wait for summons at any time."

"Okay!" Song Shenteng made a move, patted his friend on the shoulder vigorously, and said with a smile, "Thank you."

"You don't need to thank you. In fact, His Majesty values ​​your medical skills, otherwise it would be useless for me to grind my mouth." Rong Youtang punched back heartily and paused. He was really uncertain and uneasy, so he whispered:

"Ahem, let me ask you something—"

Song Shen was intelligent by nature, so he immediately raised his eyes, and interrupted sharply: "Life is fixed, and ordinary people can't say for sure, but birth, old age, sickness and death, everyone can't escape. With his illness, if he can survive until the beginning of spring, there may be a year left." It's half a year, if you can't make it through, you will go."

gone... died...

Rong Youtang nodded heavily and did not say a word for a long time.

"Are you scared?" Song Shen asked with concern.

Rong Youtang returned to his senses, and answered seriously: "It's not fear, but worry. The court is unstable, how is the world safe?"

"Don't panic, the sky is falling because someone is holding it back. It's going to be a mess for a while, and it will eventually return to stability." Song Shen was calm, but he said in his heart: No matter who inherits the throne, as long as he doesn't touch him, I will ignore him.

Rong Youtang laughed and shook his head, and sighed: "You are open-minded. But once there is chaos, no one will live a peaceful life. I always hope that there will be stability."

"You each show your skills according to your abilities, and don't touch anyone!" Song Shen raised his eyes and emphasized solemnly.

"Of course we won't." Rong Youtang said frankly, took the pestle and pounded it a few times, then lowered his head to fiddle with the crushed herbs.

Song Shen crossed his arms, turned his head and looked out the window in thought, with a side face with a high nose, handsome and heroic features, no longer laughing and playing in the world.

The room was quiet, and both sides had their own concerns.

"Knock Knock~"

The door of the room was knocked suddenly, and Zhang Dong reported through the door: "My lord, dinner is ready."

"Bring it in." Rong Youtang lifted his spirits and greeted loudly: "Master Song, let's put all the big things aside, let's eat first!"

Song Shen smiled and nodded.

A few days later, it will be New Year's Eve, and lanterns and festoons will be decorated everywhere in Kyoto to welcome the new year.

At the end of Maoshi, the sky was still dark, and the cold wind was like a knife, wrapped in snowflakes, hitting the face, it was extremely cold.

"God!"

"I'm expecting you to come!"

The anxious Li Deying was panting, tried her best to trot down the steps, grabbed Song Shen who was pretending to be a eunuch, her lips turned white, and said tremblingly to King Qing: "Your Highness, hurry up!"

"Let's go." Zhao Zeyong looked around vigilantly, and gently pushed Rong Youtang's shoulder.

A group of people walked in a hurry. As soon as they stepped into the threshold, Li Deying quickly urged the door to be closed and locked, and nervously urged: "Everyone cheer up, not even a single mosquito is allowed to come in!"

"Yes!" The guards stood ready as if facing an enemy.

"Eunuch Li, what's the matter?" Zhao Zeyong asked in a low voice.

Li Deying staggered, put Song Shen's arm, and whispered in a choked voice: "Today's New Year's Eve, Your Majesty will be busy with offering sacrifices, praying, receiving congratulations, etc. as usual. The old slave Yin went to serve at the end of the day, and found that His Majesty was awake and opened his eyes, but, But he couldn't speak... The old servant didn't dare to speak up, so he quietly asked the Royal Physician Wang for diagnosis and treatment, but he couldn't do anything! There is really no other way, so I can only invite you into the palace."

Your Majesty is sick and speechless?Rong Youtang's heart sank suddenly.

"Never say anything! Anyone who dares to leak information will be killed without mercy." Zhao Zeyong looked stern.

"Old slave understands." Li Deying asked eagerly: "It will be dawn soon, and later civil and military officials and relatives of the emperor will enter the palace to pay homage to His Majesty. Tell me, what should I do?"

Zhao Zeyong stopped, thought quickly for a while, and taught carefully: "Because the war in the Northwest has not stopped, His Majesty loves the people like a son, and is worried about the safety of the people. He fasted for several days, prayed to the gods of heaven and earth and his ancestors, and prayed for Dacheng. Do not disturb."

"Ah?" Li Deying was stunned.

Zhao Zeyong tried his best to calm down, and ordered in a deep voice: "Your Majesty's dragon body is not healthy, and it is not suitable to work too hard in the near future. Eunuch Li, you should consider it carefully, disclose the news according to the king's wishes, be flexible, stabilize the situation first, and take all responsibilities from me. The king bears it!"