Lord Prime Minister

Huangfu Yunhua nodded, as if he had already guessed that the second prince would come, he asked unhurriedly: "Has Mr. Ren come back?"

The boy replied, "I haven't come back yet."

He thought for a while, then turned his head to Mu Zihuai and said, "Zihuai saw this king's brother when he entered the palace in the morning?"

"I met once." Although he didn't know why the prince asked this suddenly, Mu Zihuai answered honestly.

In this way, Huangfu Yunhua turned around and grabbed his hand, leading him to the front hall. "You see my brother again with me."

Huangfu Yunhua was dragged forward by him, he didn't know what kind of tricks the prince was playing, he showed a childlike disposition out of thin air, but it was hard to break free, so he could only walk along with him.

As soon as he entered the front hall, the prince called out.

"Why didn't you let me know that the second brother is here? The younger brother just went to Qionglinxuan for a while, and didn't find any treasures. I knew that the second brother was coming, so I waited in the mansion."

The second prince had a smile on his raised eyes, and his eyes flicked past the hands they were holding. "I heard from my mother that you were back in the morning, so I wanted to come out and have a look. I just came out today when I had time, so I didn't want to notify you in advance."

Seeing the second prince looking at him, Mu Zihuai hurriedly wanted to bow his hands in salute, but the prince pulled his hand, but failed, so he had to give up and bent over instead. "See the second prince."

The second prince nodded. Seeing that the two of them were acting a little more aggressively, he remembered what the empress mother said to him this morning. It seemed that the fifth younger brother really liked this son, so he laughed and joked: "I haven't seen you for two years, but my younger brother has found a wonderful man." , you won’t let go if you pull.”

The prince seemed to realize that he was still holding Mu Zihuai, and he threw it away as if his hands were hot, and then took a few steps forward, pulling the second prince to sit down. "Second brother don't talk about this, since he is here, he wants to drink and chat with me, and he is not allowed to leave until the third watch."

"When I came out, I already told my mother that I will go back tomorrow. I have suffered you for the past two years, and I will not return today if I am not drunk with you."

"It's just right." The prince said happily, and called the butler to let him go down to prepare the banquet. After thinking about it, he asked him to move the banquet to the atrium, planning to drink to the moon.

"Mr. Mu, can you come over for a drink together?" The second prince turned to Mu Zihuai who said nothing, and asked with a smile.

Mu Zihuai glanced at the prince, seeing that he didn't speak, so he found a reason to shirk. "I haven't seen my younger brother for two years. I plan to catch up on the old days tonight. If Zihuai is present, the second prince and the prince will not be able to enjoy themselves."

The second prince no longer insisted, but turned to the prince and said: "Take me to see your yard quickly, last time you said you wanted to show me your new gadget."

The prince clasped his hands together, ignored Mu Zihuai, and dragged him to the backyard.

As soon as the two left, Mu Zihuai breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that he wasn't so tired after walking for a day.Remembering that Long Lei was still waiting for him, he went to look for him.

Walking into the dining room and seeing that he was preparing to eat, he added a pair of bowls and chopsticks to eat together.

Long Lei wolfed down two bowls of rice, and was about to slip away after putting down the bowls, so Mu Zihuai had no choice but to stop him.

"No one is chasing you, why are you running?"

Long Lei stopped in mid-air, his expression twisted, but he didn't speak.

"From now on, I won't let you endorse. If you like to practice martial arts, you can practice martial arts. If you like to go out, you can go out. As long as you don't cause trouble." Mu Zihuai put down the bowl and chopsticks, and said slowly.

This kind of thing cannot be forced, Xiaolei has not developed any interest in reading for so many years, but is crazy about practicing martial arts.He didn't want Long Xiu to go to the battlefield, so didn't he go too?Xiaolei likes to practice martial arts, and it would be good if he becomes a champion in martial arts in the future. If he also wants to join his brother as a soldier, with Long Xiu taking care of him, nothing big will happen.

As soon as Long Lei heard that Mu Zihuai had compromised, he hugged him tightly and said excitedly: "I don't make trouble, I don't make trouble, I've always been obedient."

Mu Zihuai nodded, feeling a little uncomfortable being strangled by Long Lei, and pulled his thick arms away. "Tell me first what your brother has said in the past two years, and how it is."

"Okay, I still keep the letters from my brother, but not many, only a dozen or so, and sometimes I don't write them after the war."

"Then you said this morning that he sent a letter back every month?"

Long Lei laughed dryly, and argued: "Isn't it that Brother Zihuai never writes back? I read my brother's letters every month, isn't this just one letter every month?"

Mu Zihuai was too lazy to argue with him, waiting for him to talk about how Long Xiu has been in the past two years.

Seeing that the two of them had finished eating, Qingyi cleared the desks and went to boil water.Long Lei dragged Mu Zihuai into his room, and took out a stack of letter paper from under the mattress.

Mu Zihuai glanced at it. There were many seals on the envelope, and the military defense at the border was very strict. In order to prevent the military plane from leaking out, every letter that came out was strictly checked.

"Brother Zihuai, you can see for yourself."

Mu Zihuai had no choice but to take it and take it apart, lighten the wick, and look at it by the light.

More than a dozen letters, mostly asking about Long Lei's martial arts, talking about life at the border, and occasionally asking about Mu Zihuai's return date.The time of sending them is uncertain. In the beginning, there was basically one letter every month or so, and later it was written every few months. The most recent letter was also half a year ago. It mentioned in the letter that there might be no time to write letters in the future. It is probably due to war Urgent.

After reading it and collecting it, he handed it to Long Lei, feeling relieved. "Your brother was promoted by the princess and became a hundred householder. It can be regarded as a way out for XX."

Long Lei nodded, and stuffed the letter back under the mattress. "In the future, I will definitely be better than my brother."

"I know what to say."

It was still dark the next morning, so the second prince returned to the palace early.

At this time, there were still three quarters of an hour before the fifth watch, Huangfu Yunhua changed into court clothes, got on a sedan chair and left for the palace.When you come back from disaster relief, you should report to the court.

The sedan chair rolled to the Meridian Gate, and the drum on the Meridian Gate tower just rang. The prince and the ministers greeted each other and lined up.After a while, the bell rang and the gate of the palace opened.Hundreds of officials entered in turn, formed a team in the square across the Jinshui Bridge, and entered the hall in turn.

Civil and military officials lined up from the hall to the square. Huangfu Yunhua could stand in the hall as a prince, but he only had a corner position.

In the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Emperor Guangcheng sits on a dragon chair, wearing a bright yellow golden dragon robe with five claws, decorated with multicolored clouds, and wearing a crown of two dragons playing with pearls and golden silk wings on his head.

First, several ministers played the recent civil affairs, and the emperor resolved them one by one, and no one made any further announcements.At this moment, Prince Minqing stood up, moved sideways to the hall, and bowed to salute.

Emperor Guangcheng seemed to see him only now, with a happy expression on his face. "Minqing is back, so the Ninghe drought has improved?"

The prince stood up straight, and replied seriously: "The Ning River has been flooded with water a month ago, and now we have started planting crops."

"That's right." Emperor Guangcheng nodded, seeing that Prince Minqing stopped talking, he was a little dissatisfied in his heart, but he didn't show it on the surface, he still gave the imperial sister a thousand taels of silver, countless treasures, and a thousand pieces of cloth, so let it go.

After two years of hard work, it ended up like this in the end, the prince did not complain, and thanked the Lord Long En with his usual expression.

Many people in the palace felt sorry for it, even if an ordinary official had made such great achievements, he would still be promoted to a noble, with countless rewards.But that person is the prince, the prince. The current emperor cherishes the throne, and he has not established a prince yet.As soon as someone in the court mentioned the matter of establishing a crown prince, the emperor would be displeased, some would be shunned by the emperor, and some would be demoted and punished. As time passed, no one dared to mention this matter.Now the eldest prince and the second prince are almost here to stand, but the position of the East Palace has been vacant.

And some people saw the way, only Prince Dao Minqing took advantage, even the emperor suffered a lot.

In this way, Prince Minqing saluted again before he went back, his expression became sharp in an instant.

"I was ordered to bring five officials to Ninghe for disaster relief. Unexpectedly, the five people did not care about the people and their ambitions were not in disaster relief. Instead, they exploited the people wantonly. They ordered that no one in the jurisdiction should pay ten taels of silver to live. If not, they would be kicked out of the house. Living outside, the people were displaced, and countless people died tragically. I have the courage to ask the emperor to investigate and punish severely!"

As soon as this remark came out, there were whispers in the court hall.If it is said that what the current emperor hates the most is corrupt ministers and treason. The former includes the Zhenbei General who died as a husband and wife, and his sons are also missing.And the son-in-law who was implicated two years ago is still outside the customs in the name of guarding the frontier. In fact, he is investigating the truth and clearing up his father's grievances.The latter caught one and executed the other, with no mercy.

What's more, now that the drought is severe, the people are struggling to survive, and officials don't do anything, there is no reason to take advantage of the chaos to collect money.

On the throne of the golden dragon, Emperor Guangcheng was furious. He had only thoroughly investigated the case less than two years ago, and yet someone was so bold. Could it be that the mountain was so high that the emperor was far away, beyond reach?

"Exploiting the common people, ten taels per person." Gritting his teeth, he said it again, and slapped his palm on the armrest vigorously. No one in the Golden Luan Hall dared to make a sound, and asked again: "Who are they? Just tell me!"

Prince Minqing nodded yes, and secretly raised his eyes to look at Cai Chong, the right minister at the front, and saw that his face was blue and his eyes were vacillating, as if panicked.

"Among the five officials who went with the minister, Mr. Li Jili from Dong County received seven taels of silver, and Mr. He Yihe from Wu County received ten taels of silver. Most of the displaced people came from these two counties. .The remaining three people are better, and they have never been forced to collect tax money."

As soon as the words fell, the emperor was trembling with anger, and before he could speak, Sun Xiuwen, the prime minister of the left, stepped forward to speak.

"Your Majesty, if these two people are really such greedy people, they are really court moths and should be severely punished!"

Emperor Guangcheng took a few deep breaths, and after his emotions calmed down, he asked again: "Do you have evidence for what you say?"

"I brought a man from Ji County. This man came from Wu County and lived in Ji County. It's really pitiful that his husband died and was eaten by human beings. The emperor can call him into Dali Temple and ask. There are also many people in Ji County from other counties. The people who were driven out are known to all."

"That's true." Emperor Guangcheng was very angry, and suddenly asked the right minister: "Your minister, what do you think?"

Cai Chong's complexion was as pale as paper, with a faint blue color, and he was actually covered in cold sweat.At the beginning, he recommended those few people just to expand his power, how could he think that such a big disaster would be caused.At this time, the emperor threw the question to himself, could it be that he was dissatisfied with himself.

"I believe that the crime of corruption is unforgivable, especially the two people who are merciless to the victims of the disaster. It is a crime among the crimes. They should be thoroughly investigated and punished severely!"

The emperor nodded and said straightly: "Then this matter will be handed over to the right minister, and he must be severely punished."

Cai Chong's heart beat violently, he gritted his teeth and said, "Your servant, take orders."

The matter was ordered, but the emperor still had anger in his heart, and then several people reported the matter and did not deal with it angrily, and they withdrew early.

Out of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Wang Ye was held back by Cai Chong just a few steps away, his face seemed to still have the shock he received just now, his face was a little pale, and he forced a smile.

"Prince Minqing has worked hard on this trip. I haven't seen you for two years, but I've got a lot of tan."

Prince Minqing smiled, and there was a playful look on his face again. "The emperor has orders, how dare I refuse to obey, at least I got some rewards, so I didn't make this trip in vain."

Cai Chong's face was a little uneasy, he just felt that the fifth prince was a little unpredictable, and his speech at this time was not half like that of the accuser in the court.

"Where is the word, the prince's trip helped the court catch corrupt officials, which is a great contribution."

"Oh, that." Prince Minqing scratched his head rather honestly, leaned closer to Cai Chong, as if he was worried about being heard by others, and whispered: "This is what my family Zihuai taught me, saying that if the emperor rewards you less So, let’s tell this matter, and I will be rewarded for writing afterward.”

Cai Chongyuan raised his eyebrows with curiosity on his face. "Zihuai?"

"Zihuai is Zihuai, the right minister has inquired so much, is he trying to rob someone from me?" Prince Minqing took a step back, frowning, somewhat dissatisfied.

Cai Chong was speechless, he had already guessed that the Zihuai he was talking about was probably a male favourite, he couldn't help but look down on the prince, he was almost sixty, how could he compete with him for a male favourite?It's ridiculous.

But Prince Minqing seemed to have made up his mind, he looked at Cai Chong with more and more suspicious eyes, and hurriedly said: "Your Excellency, I'd better go back home first." After saying that, he left in a hurry.

At noon, the prince came back from the palace, changed his court clothes and walked towards the dining room.

Ren Danfeng didn't come back until noon, brought Su Ye in through the back door, and placed her in the mansion according to the prince's previous instructions.After the prince finished his meal, he called someone to call Su Ye over, ordered her a few times and let her go down again.It's just that Su Ye's words before leaving made him a little concerned, and after thinking about it, he walked towards Yixiangyuan.

Huangfu Yunhua walked and thought, but stopped in front of the courtyard gate.

In Yixiang Courtyard, Mu Zihuai was sitting under a tree taking a rest, looking relaxed, as if all food could not bother him, but he couldn't get close to him.

Su Ye just said that she had a way to cure Mu Zihuai's eye disease.