love palace

The time has passed, and the eight days have passed in a blink of an eye. It is time for each prince to report to his father.

Because of the heavy rain the day before yesterday and the cold weather, the eldest prince Yaozu wore a sable fur coat with azurite silk lining inside and a bright red cape on the outside. With a sword, he looked like a heavenly soldier, showing off his might.

The eldest prince led his cronies, and stood with his head held high in front of the other dozen princes, deliberately keeping a distance.

Great Yan Emperor Chunyu Wen rode on a golden dragon chariot and inspected the tents of the princes one by one.

"Your Majesty, eight heads for 520!" The deacon and eunuch shouted deliberately, causing quite a commotion among the officials.

"As expected of His Majesty, this is more than the emperor hunted back then!"

"This is called green out of blue, and better than blue!" The veterans nodded in praise.

Then came the second prince, Yaozhong, with 370 heads.He was only two years younger than the eldest prince, and his courage and strategy were much worse, but he felt very satisfied and nodded.

The third prince, Yaotai, is 25 years old, he is a father for the first time, and he is not thinking about hunting. He is barely two hundred, ranking third.

The old eunuch slowly checked the prey one by one, and those that were too mutilated could not be counted and had to be eliminated.

Therefore, the eighth prince Yaokang's tent seemed to be full, more than the first prince's prey, but in fact he picked up a lot of stumps and used them indiscriminately. At the end of the count, there were only 160 animals left.

The rest of the younger princes ranged from sixty to over seventy, basically the same number, but the tenth prince Huangyue's tent was surprising, there were only six, but he was always weak and sick, so that's all.

"This child has no competitive spirit at all." The emperor shook his head helplessly, stepped off the dragon chariot, and walked towards Huang Ye's tent.

The First Prince was even more proud now. That day, he bribed the soldiers guarding the tent to let him dig out Huang Ye's prey one by one through the gap under the tent.

Then secretly transferred to his tent, and moved for a whole night until Huang Ye's tent was completely emptied.

'Don't blame me for being ruthless, you asked for it! 'The eldest prince scolded fiercely in his heart, waiting to watch the show!

"Father, let the minister do it himself." Huang Ye strode forward at this moment, and raised the curtain of the tent high.

Under the guidance of the eunuch, the emperor walked into the tent with Zhao Guowei and other powerful officials.

However, these people were all dumbfounded, each of them opened their mouths wide enough to stuff a fist into it!

Because the tent was cleaned spotlessly, not to mention large prey, even a feather could not be seen in such a large place.

"What, what is this?!" The old eunuch raised his eyebrows and said in a panic, "His Royal Highness, are you looking for fun with this old slave?"

"Ye'er, didn't I give you two hundred prey? Where are the prey now?" Even the emperor couldn't bear it anymore, staring directly at Huang Ye and asked.

The eldest prince saw many people entering Huang Ye's tent, but no one came out carrying prey to count them, so he moved over curiously to have a look.

He was also shocked by the sight in front of him. Didn't the ninth brother give up on himself? After stealing his prey, at least there are still three days left. No matter how bad it is, he can catch seventy or eighty heads.

"Those prey, I have distributed all the prey to the soldiers to feed their hunger." Huang Ye said, "If left for a long time, it will stink, and it will be useless."

"But..." the emperor wondered, "How do you compare with other brothers?"

"Father, please wait a moment." Huang Ye cupped his hands and said, and then called the boy servant Wei Qing and asked him to lift the curtains on the tent. Because the corpses of prey are very perishable and smelly, there are six window holes in the tent. All covered with cloth.

Wei Qing ran to each window and lifted the thick oilcloth on it, while everyone stood in the tent silently, surprised and confused, their faces full of bewilderment.

Suddenly, a gust of wind swept into the tent, because the windows were open but the top was sealed, the strong wind suddenly opened the tent, and every corner bulged outward, as if it was full of things.

"Father, this account is full, please have a look." Huang Ye said to the emperor at this moment.

"This..." The emperor didn't seem to have thought that this method could be used to fill up the tent, and the expression on his face was astonishment that he had never seen before.

"What kind of thing is this?" The eldest prince rushed in and said, "Stop fooling your father!"

"Don't dare." Huang Ye said without any fear, "I did it according to the imperial decree. Father said that it is enough to fill the tent. He didn't specify what it is, so as long as I fill the tent, it is done." Task."

"It makes sense! Why didn't I think of it!" Some people echoed, even thinking that Huang Ye came up with such a wonderful idea, and he deserves to be a child prodigy today!

"Father, the Autumn Kidney Ceremony is aimed at celebrating the harvest, cultivating morality and peace of the people. To fill [-] tents, the creatures on the river valley are covered with charcoal. I think it is inappropriate, so I came up with this countermeasure. I hope that the father will understand."

"You say so, it's the fault of the father?" The eldest prince grabbed Huang Ye's words, and sharply accused, "Since it's hunting, how can you not hunt?"

"Shoot all the doe to death like Brother Huang?" Huang Ye retorted.

The ministers recalled the prey in the first prince's tent, and they could indeed be described with the four words "terrible".The potbellied doe, or the newly born porcupines and antelopes were all huddled together, and there seemed to be the fear before death in the wide-open eyes of the animals.

It's really hard to bear to look directly, let alone look at the corpse like a mountain.

"Father, the Ninth Brother is arguing! It's obvious that he doesn't have this ability, yet he thinks I shoot too much!" The eldest prince turned to the emperor and asked for justice.

Unexpectedly, the emperor just raised his eyebrows, pondered for a moment and said, "There will be an archery competition in the afternoon, you all go down and prepare."

"Father!" Seeing that the father refused to comment on Huang Ye's actions and continued to compete with the princes, the eldest prince was very unwilling.

"Of order." Huang Ye said with a bow.

The emperor glanced at the two sons, then turned and walked out of the tent, and the ministers also retreated one by one. There was no conclusion as to who would win this contest filled with tents.

The competition in the afternoon was originally a festive event where princes and ministers gathered to hold wrestling, archery, horse riding, etc., but because the results in the morning were still pending, these skill games became full of gunpowder.

But no matter what, Huang Ye's martial arts are even better, archery piercing Yang with a hundred steps, riding a golden rooster independently, superb skills, the eldest prince can't cheat blatantly, so Huang Ye got the No.1.

At night, a colorful array of dragon lanterns is set up on the river valley, and a hundred courtesans swing their pink water sleeves among the dragon lanterns, twirling quickly, and dance a wonderful flower dance.

Chunyu Wen was aloof, admiring this dazzling feast, but his mind was completely out of it.

"Your majesty, why don't you take a bite." On the side, the young and beautiful Concubine Yun stuffed a piece of fresh fruit into the emperor's mouth, "The fruit from the Western Regions is really sweet."

Concubine Yun was originally a court dancer. Because of her enchanting figure, outstanding dancing posture, and good at flattering, she won the favor of Emperor Wen.After receiving Mu Shengen one day, she became pregnant and gave birth to a princess.

Chunyu Wen then canonized her as a concubine and ordered her to be his constant companion. Besides the empress, this was also Emperor Wen's favorite woman.

"Hmm." Only Concubine Yun's coquettish smile could make Chunyu Wen stretch his brows and squeeze her hand lightly. When the two of them were chatting with each other, Zhao Guowei arrived.

"You retreat first." Chunyu Wen said seriously, and Concubine Yun resigned wisely.

"Your Majesty, what do you think?" Zhao Guowei cut to the chase and said eagerly, "Tomorrow we must announce who No. 1 is?"

"I know it in my heart, but..." Chunyu Wen replied, "I'm afraid it's a wrong choice."

"how you said that?"

Chunyu Wen pondered for a while, then spoke his heart, "Ye'er's mother, Concubine Ping, is the last princess of the Qinglu Kingdom, if she takes the opportunity to revive Qinglu, wouldn't it be the disaster of the Great Yan?"

"It sounds like this, does the emperor think that His Royal Highness, Huang Ye, should be made the crown prince?" Zhao Guowei didn't feel a headache when he heard this, but was very happy, so he couldn't help asking again.

"Exactly." Facing this confidant general, Chunyu Wen no longer concealed it, and explained the reason from beginning to end.

It turned out that when Chunyu Wen came up with the question, he kept an eye out and didn't specify that the tents of the princes must be filled with prey.

As for what to use to fill it up, Chunyu Wen didn't know it himself, but he was looking forward to the performance of the princes. Unfortunately, only Huang Ye saw it, and he responded so well, which made people feel convinced. This kind of ingenuity , has already surpassed other princes!

Chunyu Wen didn't immediately announce the appointment of him as the crown prince, because he didn't want the eldest prince to cause trouble. In fact, he kept a spy beside every prince, which was also the usual trick of Emperor Wen.

The spy hiding beside Huang Ye was the leader of the knights, Luo De. Although he was killed by the assassin sent by the First Prince, Luo De had already informed Emperor Wen of the First Prince's misconduct through secret documents.

On the surface, the eldest prince is obedient and eager to learn, but in fact he is cunning, greedy, and has no compassion. He cannot be established as a prince. The day he ascends the throne is a time when people are in dire straits and the people are suffering.

But the eldest prince relied on the public opinion that "if there is no heir to establish, he must establish a long-term leader", he controlled the queen mother and all the officials, and put pressure on him together, which made Emperor Wen feel that the imperial power was threatened.

The activities of the eldest prince to seize an heir were so sinister and vicious that even Emperor Wen felt his scalp tingle, although the struggle between princes was originally a battle of soldiers and blood.He also ascended to the throne on the blood of his brothers back then, but these were his sons after all, Emperor Wen didn't want to see this kind of scene.

"Your Majesty's wisdom is not as good as foolish ministers!" After hearing the emperor's words, Zhao Guowei flattered his horse for a while, and then pretended to be authentic, "I have something to say, I don't know if I should say it or not?"

"Let's talk." Chunyu Wen nodded.

"The emperor wanted to appoint His Royal Highness the Ninth Highness as the crown prince. It is a wise choice. It is the blessing of the common people. As for Empress Ping..." Zhao Guowei stammered.

"how?"

"The old minister thinks that the emperor is very worried, so I implore His Majesty to issue a secret decree to grant the death of Concubine Ping, so as to avoid future troubles!"

"This...!" Although Chunyu Wen said that he didn't love this concubine, but he was still a one-night couple and a hundred days of kindness, and he couldn't bear it.

"This is the way to achieve both. Your Majesty, you must not miss the important affairs of the country with the benevolence of a woman!" Zhao Guowei said passionately. He wanted to protect Huang Ye's supremacy. As for the subjugated princess, death is not a pity!

"Then... that's it." As the saying goes, if you stop and stop, you will be disturbed.Chunyu Wen couldn't help clenching his fists, and became cruel, "When Ye'er is registered, I will give her a three-foot white silk..."

"No, Your Majesty, it's too late to have long dreams and let the news leak. It's better as soon as possible." Zhao Guowei was worried that the emperor would repent, and he would not make Huang Ye the crown prince, so he volunteered, "The old minister can send a special envoy tonight. Hurry up and be able to do it tomorrow." Hurry back to the imperial city and make arrangements for this matter.”

"Oh, I'll let you do it." Chunyu Wen sighed that Concubine Ping would inevitably die sooner or later.

"The old minister leads the decree!" It was not the first time Zhao Guowei had done this kind of thing. He knew how to arrange it, so that he could execute Concubine Ping without making Huang Ye suspicious.

Chunyu Wen waved his hand, and Zhao Guowei got up to bid farewell and left.

"Your Majesty, look at how well they dance." Concubine Yun entangled them again when they finished their discussion, with all kinds of tenderness, trying to resolve the emperor's worries.

"My concubine, I'm not in the mood tonight..." Chunyu Wen was still frowning, and after sitting for a long time, he got up and stopped the singing and dancing, and took Concubine Yun, drove back to the tent to rest.

※※※

On the second day, with the light of dawn and the sound of the whip, it was the time of the meeting of the officials. Although the meeting was held on the Zhuque River Valley, the officials looked solemn and wore brand-new official uniforms, and they did not dare to relax at all.

"The emperor is here!" The deacon eunuch preached loudly.

"Long live my emperor, long live, long live!" All the courtiers knelt down on the ground. Unlike in the past, the princes were not summoned today, and all stayed in their respective tents, waiting for news.

After Chunyu Wen sat down, he took a look at all the officials and said, "All the Qings are safe."

"Long live thanks!"

When all the old officials stood up, Chunyu Wen said with a serious face, "Let's declare."

The ministers were still a little puzzled, and saw the old eunuch hold up a shaft of imperial decree with both hands, unfold it slowly, cleared his throat, and read aloud: "By God's blessing, the emperor's decree said: Huang Ye, the ninth son of the emperor, is extremely talented and human His character is precious, he understands righteousness, he is deeply humbled by me, and he will surely be able to inherit the great order, so starting today, he will be appointed as the crown prince of the Great Yan Kingdom, hereby!"

In that room, only the resonant voice of the eunuch was left in the tent, and every minister's face was filled with shock and surprise!Originally thought that the emperor would discuss the matter of appointing a crown prince in the morning court today, and they had already planned in their hearts to recommend the eldest prince to the emperor.

More than half of the officials here have received bribes from the eldest prince, and they also believe that the emperor must appoint the eldest son, so they form cliques and support the eldest prince one after another, thinking that after the eldest prince becomes the crown prince, they will also enjoy long-term prosperity. , the children and grandchildren have no worries, but now it turns out that the Ninth Prince Huang Ye has become the prince, and they are all speechless, not knowing what to do!

Even the eunuch who announced the imperial edict did not expect that all the ministers would lose their voices. After coughing twice, they continued to read another imperial edict.

This was for the other princes. Chunyu Wen had 31 children in total, including 14 princes and 17 princesses.

Now the elder prince, the eldest prince Yaozu, was conferred the title of king of Beijun, and Lucheng in the north was granted his fiefdom.The second prince, Yaozhong, was granted the title of King of Northern Qi, and Qicheng, which is next to Lucheng, was granted his fiefdom.

There is also the third prince, Yaotai, who was granted the title of King of Xigu, and granted the Gucheng to the west as his fiefdom.The eighth prince, Yaokang, is the king of Dongzhao, and he bestows Zhaocheng in the east as his fiefdom.

The Ninth Prince Huang Ye is the crown prince, and the Tenth Prince Huang Yue is only ten years old, so he will not be granted the title for the time being, and will make plans when he becomes an adult.

The rest of the princes all received rewards, and all the accompanying officials received gold and silver rewards according to their ranks. Prince Ke was the most beautiful one, and the rewards he received could fill ten ox carts.

The rewards were all over, and it was time for all the officials to kneel down to thank them, but there were still some people who looked at each other in blank dismay and hadn't recovered yet.

"...Long live my emperor, long live, long live!" Finally, someone took the lead in kneeling down. Now that the situation has changed, they still can't figure out the current affairs, but they are asking for trouble.

Those officials who supported the eldest prince also fell to their knees, and they didn't dare to raise their heads except shouting long live.

Thus, this struggle for heirs, which had been going on for decades, during which there were so many conspiracies and tricks, and many palace incidents, finally came to an end with Huang Ye's victory.

And this is just the beginning, more bloody storms, more love and hatred... are still far behind.

※※※

When the news reached His Highness Ninth Prince's camp, everyone was so happy that they danced and danced, and all they had to do was beat the gongs and play the music!

"Your Highness Ninth Prince, what a joy to congratulate!" Qing Yun, the new cavalry leader, knelt down and congratulated.

"Why are you still called His Highness the Ninth Prince? You should call him the Prince!" A maid corrected with a smile.

"Yes, yes! Prince Chitose, Chitose, Chitose!" Qing Yun and his brothers shouted in unison!

"Get up, the imperial decree hasn't arrived yet." Huang Ye said with a slight smile.

"The imperial decree is here!" At this moment, the old eunuch came with a team of royal guards to announce the emperor's decree.

Huang Ye knelt down to receive the decree, and the old eunuch also told him that after returning to the palace, there would be a grand inscription ceremony, the prince's move to the palace and other ceremonies.

After Huang Ye thanked him, he rewarded the father-in-law with an ingot of gold, and the father-in-law was very satisfied and went back to report to the emperor.

The old eunuch just left, and the officials arrived behind, all carrying congratulatory gifts, including gold, jade, jade, antique calligraphy and painting, fur clothes, silk and satin, and some with children, hoping to follow the prince and serve him of.

In just one day, Huang Ye received nearly fifty dignitaries.

Wei Qing wanted to remind Huang Ye to take the medicine, but because he had no chance, he could only stand aside and wait.

Until late at night, the wave after wave of guests finally subsided, Wei Qing carefully walked into the tent with the newly brewed soup, and saw Huang Ye discussing matters with Qing Yun.

"It's amazing, so many jewels, the tent was filled at once." Qingyun laughed and said, compared with the previous leader Luo De, Qingyun is much younger, he just turned twenty, but his temper is not good More edgy and outspoken.

"Hmph, it's all people's fat and people's anointing..." Huang Ye spurned, he piled up all the things presented by the officials in the tent where the prey had been stored before, without taking a second look.

"Then how should we deal with it? Send them all back, and they will lose face." Qing Yun still knew this, "It's not good for your future, Your Highness."

"Convert it into silver and help the people. It's not like there's a drought in the south, so it should be useful."

"Yes! This subordinate takes orders and must do it properly!" Qing Yun was very happy.

"Well, what kind of medicine is this?" Huang Ye suddenly raised his head and looked at Wei Qing who was standing by the door.

"Returning to Your Highness, this is made from twelve herbs such as broad tendon vine, Jiujie tea, and Shuitianqi. It can activate blood circulation, remove stasis, and relieve pain. Your injury has not healed yet, so..."

"Who wrote the prescription?" Huang Ye interrupted.

"The doctor prescribed it..." Wei Qing lowered his head and whispered.

"I heard that you have been pestering the imperial physician, asking him to teach you how to take medicine?" Huang Ye said to break the mystery.

"Please forgive me, Your Highness!" Wei Qing knelt down and explained, "Because Your Highness said that outsiders should not know that you were injured, so I dare not tell the imperial physician, but Your Highness, your wound has not healed. I was really worried about you, so I went to bother the imperial physician, and begged him to teach me a thing or two..."

"You slave is too daring! How dare you try your Highness on something you just learned?" Qing Yun scolded sharply.

"I drank it myself, and treated injured horses."

"It's even more rebellious. You say the prince is a horse?" Qing Yun was angry.

"No! I didn't mean that!" Wei Qing said anxiously, sweating on his forehead.

"Forget it, although he is reckless, he can recite the name of the medicine quite smoothly." Huang Ye spared Wei Qing, let him get up, and presented the medicine bowl.

"Do you want a drink?" Wei Qing asked in surprise.

"Well. Didn't you say that my injury is still not healed? I can recover sooner after drinking the medicine."

"Yes!" Wei Qing smiled, "I'll get you some candied fruit, this medicine is very bitter."

Before Huang Ye could speak, Wei Qing ran away.

"Your Highness, you have indulged this little servant too much. He has no rules at all." Qing Yun couldn't stand it, and shook his head.

Huang Ye didn't say anything, just drank the medicine completely.

When Wei Qing went in again, Qing Yun had already left, Huang Ye was playing chess by candlelight, Wei Qing didn't want to disturb, so he put the candied fruit plate on the desk.

"Whatever you want to ask, just ask." Huang Ye raised his head and stared at Wei Qing.All day long he hesitated and hesitated to speak.

"I, I want to know... how did you come up with the idea of ​​filling the tent with wind?" Wei Qing was really curious, he didn't understand how Huang Ye would associate prey with wind?

"Because of you."

"Me?" Wei Qing was even more confused.

"Just the night before, you knelt in front of the bed and told me that it would be great if so many animals didn't have to be slaughtered." Huang Ye said.

"Ah! At that time... I just felt that the animals died too much, it was so pitiful." Wei Qing thought of it, because every prince was scrambling to kill the prey, causing blood to flow like a river, which was really horrible.

"It was your words that woke me up." Huang Ye said thoughtfully, "I originally doubted Father's intentions, but I couldn't see through it. After hearing you say that, I suddenly realized that I can use other things Fill the tent."

"That's right." Wei Qing finally understood why Huang Ye, who had already fallen asleep, would suddenly get up that night and ask him to invite the emperor's imperial decree.

It turned out that he wanted to review the contents of the imperial decree. Wei Qing was illiterate, but when Huang Ye read it softly, it only said that the tents of the princes needed to be filled, and did not mention the word prey.

If you are not careful, you will not find the mystery inside.

"Your Highness, you are so smart!" Wei Qing said with admiration, and he was calm in the face of danger. As long as he followed Huang Ye, Wei Qing felt that he was also full of courage, and he didn't have to be afraid of anything.

"I'm telling you now, and you have to answer a question for me." Huang Ye said suddenly.

"What is it?"

"If it were you, what would you use to fill the tent?" Huang Ye tilted his head slightly, staring at Wei Qing.

"...Well." Wei Qing thought seriously, and then said, "Is it okay to use a torch?"

"Torch?"

"Bring a lighted torch into the tent, the fire can illuminate every corner, but... this idea is only effective at night, unlike your Highness, no matter day or night, there is wind on the mountain..." Wei Qing said Excited, he suddenly realized that Huang Ye was looking at him intently, his face flushed red.

"It's a reward for you." Huang Ye put a white cloud that he was playing with in Wei Qing's palm.

"Huh?" Wei Qing was overwhelmed by the flattery, everyone knew that Huang Ye loved to play Go, and cherished the chess tools.

"I will teach you how to play chess and how to read in the future. You have to study hard."

"Your Highness, how can I...?!" He is a pariah.

"Wisdom does not distinguish between high and low, so does learning." Huang Ye said naturally, Wei Qing held the chess piece tightly, and the prince's hand was still warm on it.

"Wait for me to rest."

"Yes!" Wei Qing nodded, his big eyes were filled with tears, it turns out that being needed by His Royal Highness is such a happy thing.

Wei Qing felt that he was going to be too excited to sleep tonight.

But Wei Qing didn't expect that he was not the only one who couldn't sleep tonight, and the eldest prince who had just been named King of Beijun was furious in the camp right now!