After falsely claiming to be pregnant, the whole court came to claim it

Dong Gui's limbs were chained, his hair disheveled, and he was in a state of embarrassment.

In the eyes of five-year-old Shifang, it was indeed a bit scary.

Shi Fang almost subconsciously seemed to hide back, but when he remembered Liu Linxi's words, he resisted his fear and took a few steps forward until he reached Liu Linxi's side.Liu Linxi looked down at him, Shifang reached out to hold Liu Linxi's hand, which would make him more courageous.

Ever since Shi Fang entered the door, Dong Gui's eyes have been on Shi Fang.

In his lifeless eyes, the moment he saw Shifang, he finally regained some of his spirit.

After he cruelly sent Shifang to Qingyin Temple a few months ago, he never visited him again.He knew that what he was going to do with Zhou Hui was a narrow escape, so he didn't want to involve Shi Fang.As Shifang's father, as long as he knows that Shifang is still alive, he doesn't care about anything else.

But when he saw Shifang today, he realized what a stupid decision he had made.

He thought he could really leave this child behind, but that was just deceiving himself.

"He fell seriously ill in Qingyin Temple, and he doesn't remember anything," Liu Linxi said.

Dong Gui opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't say anything.

In fact, Zhou Hui knew about Shifang's secret visit before, but Zhou Hui never told him that Shifang no longer remembered himself.Seeing his child standing in front of him, looking at him with such unfamiliar eyes, Dong Gui felt as if a sharp knife had been cut through his heart, the pain was so painful that he could hardly breathe.

"Can you come closer and let me see you?" Dong Gui asked tremblingly.

Shi Fang glanced at Liu Linxi, who nodded at him, and Shi Fang boldly took a few steps forward.

Dong Gui's eyes fell on Shi Fang, his eyes were eager and excited, but he still tried his best to restrain himself, trying not to scare Shi Fang.He couldn't help stretching out his hand that was locked by the iron chain, as if he wanted to touch Shifang, but he couldn't reach it.

Shifang noticed his movement, reached out and shook his hand lightly.

Dong Gui's restrained emotions collapsed in an instant, and he burst into tears watching Shifang.

Shi Fang looked at him a little helplessly, not knowing what to do for a while.

At this time, Su Heng walked over, picked up Shifang, and took Shifang out.

Liu Linxi stood in front of Dong Gui, waiting for him to gradually calm down, without saying a word.

Dong Gui cried for a long time before gradually regaining his composure, and his voice became hoarse than before.

"He seems to like you very much." Dong Gui said.

"The last time Zhou Hui shot me coldly, it was Shifang who saved me," Liu Linxi said.

Liu Linxi's implication was that Shi Fang had saved his life, even if it was just for this reason, he would not embarrass Shi Fang.

Dong Gui nodded and said: "I trust you, I can see that he is quite dependent on you, I think you treat him well."

"Then, is there anything you can tell me?" Liu Linxi asked.

Dong Gui took a deep breath and said, "Zhou Hui usually doesn't talk too much about Da Zhou to me. Firstly, I don't care about it. Secondly... maybe he doesn't trust me completely."

Liu Linxi was taken aback, and immediately sympathized with Dong Gui.

He himself knew that he was not that important to Zhou Hui.

"But we get along day and night, for a long time, he always slipped the tongue accidentally." Dong Gui said, "I remember he mentioned that Dazhou will unite with Ju Kingdom this time to deal with the big banquet together."

"Ju country?" Liu Linxi asked.

"Yes, the State of Ju is located in the west of the Great Zhou, and is located in the Western Regions. Because of its remoteness, its products are somewhat scarce." Dong Gui said: "If the State of Ju and the State of Zhou unite, the State of Ju will promise to feast on the cities bordering the State of Ju in the northwest. , set aside a part for the state of Ju.”

Liu Linxi was very shocked, secretly thinking that the Great Zhou was clearly allied with the Qingyi Kingdom, why did Dong Gui talk about the Ju Kingdom?

Although these two countries border on the Great Zhou, one is in the east and the other is in the west. Can Dong Gui remember this wrong?

"Why did Da Zhou unite with Ju State?" Liu Linxi said: "Ju State is small and has few people. How much support can they give Da Zhou? Why don't they go to the Qingyi Kingdom Alliance?"

Dong Guidao: "Then I don't know, but the majority of people in Qingyi Kingdom make a living by fishing. They neither herd cattle nor run horses. I'm afraid they won't be of much use in a war. In terms of bravery, Ju Kingdom definitely is the first choice."

Liu Linxi secretly thought, could it be that Dazhou used to choose the Ju State Alliance, but something happened later, so he decided to settle for the second best and choose Qingyi State?

But Dong Gui obviously couldn't give him this answer, because Zhou Hui didn't tell him about the following things.

"You said...you are going to be a father too?" Dong Gui asked.

"Yes." Liu Linxi said.

Dong Gui said: "I hope that after you have your own child, don't treat Mo harshly... don't treat King Heqing harshly, he didn't grow up in a honey pot since he was a child, and I don't ask him to be rich, as long as he can be safe When I grow up and have no worries about food and clothing, I will be content."

"What will happen to him in the future has nothing to do with you." Liu Linxi said.

"Yes, you are right, he will have nothing to do with me in the future." Dong Gui murmured.

Liu Linxi sighed, and stepped out of the dungeon.

Su Heng waited outside holding Shifang in his arms, when he saw Liu Linxi coming out, he rushed to meet him.

"Daddy..." Shifang stretched out his hand, and Liu Linxi hugged him in his arms.

"Are you afraid just now?" Liu Linxi asked.

Shifang shook his head and said, "With you here, I'm not afraid."

"Good boy." Liu Linxi leaned forward and rubbed his forehead, feeling a little guilty.

He didn't know whether his move was good or bad for Shi Fang, but after all, it could be regarded as a meeting between Shi Fang and Dong Gui.Probably because of being pregnant and being a father, Liu Linxi couldn't help but sympathize with Dong Gui.

But Dong Gui killed so many people, to save his life is already the greatest tolerance.

After sending Shifang back, it was already dark.

Liu Linxi went to the imperial study and saw that Li Yan was still busy.

"How's it going, have you met Dong Gui?" Li Yan asked.

"See you." Liu Linxi said.

Li Yan asked: "Did you find out anything?"

"He said that Da Zhou planned to form an alliance with Ju State before." Liu Linxi said.

"Impossible." Li Yan said: "Ju Kingdom once signed a contract with Dayan. When Father was the crown prince, he even worshiped one of their lords. How could they do anything with us?"

Liu Linxi was stunned, and said, "If that's the case, it makes sense. The friendship between Ju State and Dayan happened many years ago, and Da Zhou may not know about it. Therefore, it is reasonable for them to plan to form an alliance with Ju State .It was only rejected later, so they settled for the next best thing and chose to form an alliance with the Qingyi Nation.”

"It makes sense." Li Yan said.

Liu Linxi thought for a while and asked, "Before you were born, did the prince of Ju Kingdom come to a big banquet?"

"I've also heard it from others. Both the first emperor and the empress mother rarely mentioned this matter, and I'm not interested, so I didn't ask about it. But the empress mother should remember." Li Yan said.

"I'll go to Yongshou Palace." Liu Linxi said.

"It's so late, why don't you have dinner with me?" Li Yan asked while holding his hand.

Liu Linxi shook off him, walked out and said, "I'm going to accompany the Queen Mother to eat at her old man's house, you can let Su Heng accompany you."

Li Yan sighed, looked at Liu Linxi's back and couldn't help but let out a wry smile.

When Liu Linxi arrived at Yongshou Palace, the Empress Dowager was just about to have a meal, and when she saw him coming, she hurriedly added another pair of bowls and chopsticks.

"Why didn't Yan'er accompany you?" the queen mother asked.

Liu Linxi was startled, and then remembered that the Queen Mother did not know about the war in the northwest.

Li Yan was afraid that she would be worried, so he didn't tell her.

"Your Majesty is currently approving papers, and I can't take care of eating with my ministers, so I can only come to the Queen Mother." Liu Linxi said.

"Did Yan'er offend you?" The queen mother asked: "If he dares to offend you, the Ai family will decide for you."

Liu Linxi hurriedly shook her head and said, "Actually, I came to see the Queen Mother today because I want to ask about something."

"What's the matter?" The Queen Mother asked while serving food for Liu Linxi.

Liu Linxi pondered for a moment, then said: "When I was chatting with His Majesty today, I heard him mention some things, and I was quite curious, so I couldn't help but want to ask the Queen Mother."

"You are a child at heart, so curious." The queen mother said with a smile on her face.

"Your Majesty is really curious. Your Majesty said that when the late Emperor was the crown prince, there was a prince from the Ju Kingdom who came to the capital and worshiped him with the late Emperor." Liu Linxi said, "I heard this and found it a bit inconceivable."

The Empress Dowager was startled when she heard the words, with an unnatural look on her face, she asked, "Why are you interested in this matter?"

"I heard His Majesty mentioned it, but he doesn't know enough details. I'm really curious, so I can only ask the Queen Mother." Liu Linxi said.

The queen mother sighed, and was slightly absent-minded for a moment, as if she had recalled a lot of past events.

Liu Linxi sat there quietly and waited, without any rush.

"At that time, the first emperor was not yet 20 years old, and he was very interested in playing. At that time, Ju State sent a mission to the capital, and one of them was their Seventh Prince. The boy was only fifteen or sixteen years old at the time, like a big child. , I like the first emperor very much. The first emperor saw his childlike nature and innocence, so he became very close to him." The queen mother said lightly.

The two said they were asking for help, but in fact they just drank a glass of wine.But the Seventh Prince cared very much about this sworn brother. He stayed in the capital for a long time, and Juguo sent people to urge him several times, but he was reluctant to leave.

"Then what is the reason for the friendship between Ju State and us?" Liu Linxi asked.

After all, the state of Ju is in the northwest, so it can be said that it is located in the Western Regions, and it is far away from the capital of the banquet.

"Our banquet has always encouraged merchants since the founding of the country. At that time, after the silk and tea from our banquet were passed by the caravan, they liked it very much and sent people to bring over a lot of things from the Western Regions." Queen Mother road.

Liu Linxi asked: "Oh, there are still things from the Western Regions in the palace?"

"Wait a minute." The queen mother said and ordered the palace servants, and after a while, a palace servant brought a wooden box over. The queen mother opened the wooden box and saw a piece of blood jade in it. The queen mother said: "This There are no blood jades in the Central Plains, and such fineness is rare in the Western Regions."

Liu Linxi took the wooden box and looked at the blood jade inside, and thought that this thing is worth a lot of money, and the people of Ju country are quite willing.

After a while, the palace man came over with another wooden box, and when he opened it, there was a short knife inlaid with gold and jade inside.

"This is a token given to the late emperor when the Seventh Prince of Ju Kingdom swore to pay homage to the late emperor," said the Queen Mother.

Liu Linxi took out the knife, looked at it, and asked, "What happened later? Did the Seventh Prince and His Majesty have anything to do with each other?"

The Empress Dowager's complexion darkened, and she said: "Later, the Seventh Prince stayed in the capital and refused to go back. After a long time, the late emperor felt something strange, and only then did he know that the Seventh Prince had never been a brother to him. "

Liu Linxi was startled, thinking of the blood jade and the dagger inlaid with gold and jade, she suddenly understood.

In many places in the Western Regions, gifting a knife is a sign of love...

"At that time, the late emperor had made a private decision with me for life, so I rejected that young man. The young man had just begun to love him, and he was full of admiration for the late emperor, and he couldn't bear the blow...so..." The queen mother sighed heavily when she heard the words, as if recalling a sad thing.

Liu Linxi regretted her recklessness today, and didn't know how to comfort her for a while.

But come to think of it, that Seventh Prince was young and had just begun to fall in love, so he had to make a fuss.

"There is a place in the Western Regions called Kuguzhuang, which is good at making poison, and the poison produced is unparalleled in the world. The people of Ju State acted recklessly, only thought that the poison was rare, and regarded it as a treasure, so they paid tribute to the poison of Kuguzhuang. At that time As the crown prince, the first emperor and his brother got a pair..." After finishing speaking, the queen mother looked at Liu Linxi.

The people of Ju State do things arbitrarily. If the rules of the Central Plains are followed, it is taboo to give poison to others.But the folk customs of the banquet are not pedantic. They know that the people of Ju state have no malicious intentions, but are poisonous gifts with the intention of giving away treasures, so they don't care about it.The emperor at that time even rewarded his two sons with two poisons, which shows that he was also a willful person.

"Withered bone village?" Liu Linxi asked.

"Yes." The Empress Dowager said: "At that time, the Ai family felt that this name was special, so I remembered it."

Liu Linxi's heart couldn't help but stagnate, and suddenly remembered something.

The poison on his body was given by the old prince, and according to what Chu Yunfeng said, it is also extremely difficult to decipher.

Could it be that he was poisoned by this Kuguzhuang?

"What happened later?" Liu Linxi asked.

"After the Seventh Prince was rejected by the late emperor, he was very depressed. He knew that the person the late emperor loved was the Ai family. In a fit of anger, he stole the poison from the late emperor, poisoned the Ai family, and destroyed the antidote with his own hands." Queen Mother said.

Liu Linxi: ...

This Seventh Prince is actually a crazy critic?

"Each pair of Kuguzhuang's poison has a special antidote, and they are different. After taking the poison, the antidote can only be detoxified by taking the antidote within a few hours. Once the antidote is destroyed, the poisoned person will only have a few hours to live. When the first emperor learned that Ai's family was poisoned, and that the antidote had been destroyed by the Seventh Prince, he was filled with grief and indignation, and was about to die for love immediately." The Empress Dowager said: "The Seventh Prince was reluctant to die, so he told the late Emperor that in addition to the antidote, In fact, there is another way to detoxify."

Liu Linxi had already guessed the detoxification method.

He also vaguely remembered that the queen mother said that there was a child before Li Yan...

Come to think of it, that child couldn't be kept in the end.

Liu Linxi never imagined that this matter could involve herself.This is probably a destiny in the dark, if the Queen Mother hadn't been poisoned by the Seventh Prince, and if the late Emperor hadn't wanted to die for love, the Seventh Prince would not have told the late Emperor how to detoxify.

Then when Liu Linxi was poisoned that day, there was probably only a dead end.

Speaking of which, the child that the queen mother lost had saved Liu Linxi's life.

"The imperial doctor who detoxified the queen mother at that time was surnamed Chu?" Liu Linxi asked.

"How do you know?" asked the Queen Mother.

Liu Linxi smiled wryly and said, "Your Majesty took Chu Yunfeng into the palace next year, didn't you get advice from the Empress Dowager?"

The empress dowager's eyes turned red when she heard the words, she knew that Liu Linxi had already known about the poisoning.

"The Ai family really didn't expect that after 20 years, another poison was used by the prince on your body." The queen mother shed tears as she spoke, and said with a sob: "Xi'er, don't blame Yan'er, he is the queen mother." I love you so much..."

Liu Linxi said: "Don't be sad, Queen Mother, I don't blame Your Majesty."

The Empress Dowager covered her face and sobbed for a moment, thinking of her resentment towards the late Emperor, her intuition felt like a knife was piercing her heart.

"You really don't blame him?" the Queen Mother asked.

"I only feel sorry for Your Majesty." Liu Linxi said: "This is also his child... If I change my minister, I will definitely be reluctant to let him die. How can a child who has never met be as good as the person in front of me... Although I love you The child in my stomach will definitely not blame His Majesty."

Liu Linxi stretched out his hand to touch his lower abdomen, and the circles of his eyes were also a little red.

The Empress Dowager put her hand on Liu Linxi's arm and said, "You came to ask me about this today, do you have something to hide from me?"

Liu Linxi nodded and said: "Queen Dowager, this matter is related to the safety of the banquet. I don't want to hide it, but you should know your Majesty's painstaking efforts." The Queen Mother nodded, but couldn't help but shed tears.

"I think I have never asked about today's matter, so please don't mention it in front of Your Majesty the Queen Mother." Liu Linxi said.

"Why?" The Queen Mother asked, "What do you want to do?"

Liu Linxi glanced at the golden knife in the box, and said with a bit of determination in his eyes: "Please lend this golden knife to the queen mother."

"Xi'er." The queen mother grabbed his arm and asked, "What exactly do you want?"

The Queen Mother looked at Liu Linxi, and saw that he looked determined, as if he had made up his mind.

Liu Linxi took a deep breath and said, "If my guess is correct, since then Ju Kingdom and Dayan haven't had any contact, is it because of this?"

"Yes." The Empress Dowager said: "The monarch of Ju State was very guilty when he learned about this matter. He sent envoys several times. When the late emperor ascended the throne, they also sent rich gifts, but they were all returned by the late emperor."

"They feel guilty, but they have always kept their promises and never made an enemy of the banquet." Liu Linxi said.

"You tell the queen mother, what are you going to do?" the queen mother asked.

Liu Linxi took the golden knife, stood up and bowed to the queen mother, and said: "I borrow this golden knife first... If you don't come back, please tell your majesty the queen mother, but don't follow the example of the late emperor to die for love." , if that's the case, I will never see him again if I become a ghost."

"Xi'er..." The Empress Dowager pulled Liu Linxi, tears streaming down her eyes, her eyes were full of regret: "No, if you do something good or bad, Your Majesty will die too."

"I don't want to die, I want to live." Liu Linxi said: "I want to live, I want the child in my womb to live, I hope your Majesty and the people of the banquet can live."

"But you shouldn't take risks by yourself." The queen mother said.

"No one else can do this, only the minister can." Liu Linxi said: "Please forgive me for being abrupt today, the queen mother takes care."

After finishing speaking, Liu Linxi bowed solemnly to the Queen Mother, then turned and left Yongshou Palace with the golden knife in hand.

The Empress Dowager looked at his back, and finally couldn't restrain herself, and cried bitterly while leaning on the edge of the table.