Reincarnation of the powerful minister

The capital, Prince Yu's Mansion.

The maids were holding wooden trays, on which were replaced incense cakes and other items. As soon as they approached the door of the study, they were startled by the loud laughter erupting inside.

The laughter was free and unrestrained, as if the river channel blocked by years of severe cold suddenly thawed after warming up overnight, and the waves broke through the ice and ran for thousands of miles.

"It's all gone! It's all gone! Hahahaha..."

The door of the study suddenly opened, and the figure of King Yu stood at the door, holding a corner of the envelope in his hand.A maid who was impatient and curious peeked at him, and saw that his complexion was unprecedentedly bright, his cheeks flushed with excitement, but his handsome and affectionate eyes were filled with tears.

With a corner of the envelope buried in his wide sleeve, King Yu strode down the steps, and Hua Ling, the new commander of the palace's guards, came up to him.

Hua Ling was also surprised by King Yu's expression at this moment, remembering that two young men who claimed to be messengers of the Su family had sent a letter from Nanjing just now. I don't know what was written in the letter, which made the prince's mood so agitated.

"Where is the prince going, do you want someone from a humble rank to escort you?" He clasped his fists and asked.

King Yu said: "No need, I want to go to the palace to deliver a letter, and I can just be on a horse."

"Entering the palace?" Hua Ling was startled, looking at the already dark sky, "But it's already three o'clock in the unitary hour, and the key is set at the gate of the palace before Xu o'clock. , It’s just a letter, Lord He Lao will go there in person.”

"So what about the palace ban. Even if it's a mountain of swords and a sea of ​​fire, if he pleads softly, I'm afraid the king will bite the bullet and go for it." King Yu smiled and patted Hua Ling's shoulder, passing by like a gust of wind.

Hua Ling looked at King Yu's back and knew that the "he" in these words was most likely the Lord Su Yansu who was the left servant of the Ministry of Rites of Nanjing at that time.

When the former guard commander Han Ben was still there, Hua Ling was the deputy commander, and he had heard a lot about the entanglement between his prince and Lord Su, and was later ordered to protect Su Yan and the young prince to go shopping in the market and watch juggling.

At that time, the street lights were shining brightly, and the light and shadow flowed over King Yu's relaxed face and the corners of his slightly raised mouth. A few steps ahead, the Shizi held up the sugar painting with one hand, and pulled Su Yan's belt with the other to hug him.He felt in a daze that the way the prince looked at the big and small ones was softer than ever before, it was no different from the way an ordinary husband looks at his wife and son.

Hua Ling had mixed feelings for a while, not knowing whether this overly devoted relationship was a good thing or a bad thing for the unruly King Yu.

However, as a bodyguard, he is not as close as Han Ben to King Yu, he feels that he has no right to speak out, he only obeys orders, and sincerely wishes his master's wishes to come true, that's all.

The King of Yu galloped his horse and rushed in just before the key was released at the palace gate. Hearing that Emperor Jinglong was still staying in the side hall next to the imperial study tonight, he went to the court to ask for an interview.

Inside the hall, Chen Shiyu was giving acupuncture to the emperor.

Lan Xi finished the report in a soft voice, and suggested: "This servant finds a reason and returns to His Royal Highness Prince Yu, please come back tomorrow?"

The emperor lay on the couch with his eyes closed, resting his head on the armrest, and let the doctor do what he did. The air was filled with the pungent smell of herbal fumigation.The table light cast long shadows of eyelashes on his face, making his brows even more serious, but his lips were a little pale.

Lan Xi thought she had obtained tacit consent, and was about to leave the hall, but the emperor said indifferently: "My fourth younger brother will go to the Three Treasure Hall for nothing. Let him wait and say that I am taking a bath."

King Yu waited for a full quarter of an hour outside the hall before his servants led him in.

In the corridor, he met Chen Shiyu who was carrying a medicine box.Chen Shiyu cupped his hands sideways: "Fourth Highness."

The King of Yu asked, "Weng Yu is here now? Brother Huang has a headache again?"

Chen Shiyu lowered his face, and said: "The emperor is just a little troubled recently, so I asked the old man to prepare some herbs to calm the nerves and help sleep, and make a medicinal bath."

King Yu also knew that the court hall was noisy these days because of the prince and the emperor's mausoleum, he was impatient to hear the civil servants talking, so he didn't even go to the court meeting.And his imperial brother, as the king of a country, no matter how impatient he is, he has to go to the court to listen to the government. Isn't he so annoyed that he can't sleep now?

He sneered softly: "Thanks for your hard work, Yuweng. I have something to talk to the emperor about, so please go slowly, Yuweng."

Chen Shiyu hesitated a little, and said again: "If it's a troublesome matter, and it's not urgent...you might as well wait until tomorrow, it's not too late to talk about it during the day."

King Yu was a little strange.It's not surprising that Chen Shiyu's words seem to disapprove, or even teach - they have forged friendships in the border battlefields, and they have said more casual things than this - but it is faintly revealed from the other party's tone, especially for the emperor. care and maintenance.

When did Yu Weng become on his brother's side?From the time before he was called to move into the palace?King Yu changed his mind, and said calmly, "I'm a little anxious, but it's not a troublesome matter. Brother Huang will definitely be in a good mood after learning about it, and maybe he doesn't even need to take a medicinal bath."

Chen Shiyu's expression relaxed slightly, and he left after cupping his hands again.

... there are oddities.King Yu thought about it, and stepped into the gate of the palace.

The earth dragon in the hall was burning warmly. The emperor didn't wear formal clothes, but just casually draped a loose skirt robe over his pajamas. He leaned on the kang table of the arhat bed and read a book.

After seeing the ceremony, King Yu purposely went up to him and sat on the other side of the couch, facing the emperor across the table, and indeed he smelled a faint smell of medicine.

This act of being equal was very disrespectful and even beyond the rules, and the palace servants standing in the corner bowed their heads in fright.The emperor did not reprimand him, but raised his eyelids and glanced at him lightly.

"What's the matter, you have to rush in before the palace ban?"

King Yu took out an envelope from his sleeve and put it on the kang table.

The emperor saw the familiar handwriting on the envelope, with the words "My Emperor's Personal Invitation", the muscles in the corners of his eyes twitched.

King Yu stared at his imperial brother, read the other's inner fluctuations from this subtle expression change, and felt a little pleasure in his heart: "Being entrusted by others is a matter of loyalty. He entrusted all his trust to me, and I Of course we can’t slack off, isn’t this sent to the emperor immediately?”

The emperor put down the booklet, roasted the sealant on the envelope to soften it on the lamp flame, opened the seal, took out a few sheets of letter paper full of words, unfolded them, and read them carefully.

King Yu casually picked up the dessert on the table and ate it, feeling very sore in his heart.

After reading it from beginning to end, the emperor frowned for a moment, then suddenly brought the letter paper close to the lamp flame and ignited it.

King Yu choked on the pastry in his throat, swallowed it hard, and reached out to snatch it: "A handwritten letter, why do you have to burn it? Even if it's a secret, can't you find a secret place to hide it?"

The emperor stopped King Yu's hand.The flames burned very quickly, and the letter paper was only left at the corner, and the emperor lit the envelope again, and said in a deep voice, "I don't want to see him say these things."

"What are you talking about?" King Yu asked unhappily.

"I ordered him to go to Nanjing to serve as the Minister of Rites. I hope that he will cultivate himself and learn more about the etiquette of serving the king, instead of letting him hang out with the prince all day long and engage in these cronies!"

The emperor's tone became serious, and the palace people knelt down on the ground one after another, not daring to breathe.

King Yu became more and more dissatisfied, and frowned: "Brother Huang, what are you talking about. Qinghe and the prince used to study and play together, and now they are in Nanjing together. It is human nature to have many contacts. Why did they get involved with 'cliques'?"

The emperor asked back: "Don't you know how the courtiers talk behind their backs? They say he is the 'princeling chief'.

King Yu snorted: "It's easy to draw lines and classify them, as if they don't form a party."

"I originally thought that the case of the imperial mausoleum was of great importance, and the crown prince should write a letter to clarify himself and explain clearly. But in the crown prince's private letter, apart from pretending to be coquettish, he was full of grievances, as if I had treated him harshly. And What about Su Yan, what does this matter have to do with him? He was in a hurry to write a letter, defending the crown prince in every possible way. This is really..." The emperor sneered slightly, "My lord is not in a hurry, the counselor is in a hurry."

The more King Yu listened, the more his heart trembled.

He once ridiculed in private, saying that the emperor's doting on the prince was a foolish account of a widower raising a child.

In the eyes of his father, Jiaoer Sapo is affectionate and very useful.But once a day, when the coquettishness in the eyes becomes cunning, grievances become hypocrisy, complaints become resentment, and all indulgences become intolerable, it can only explain one problem——

His royal brother no longer looks at his son with the look of a father, but the look of a man to another man who will eventually take his place, the look of a lion to another growing up to threaten his dominion. The gaze of a lion.

——It is the eyes of countless lonely emperors throughout the ages, looking at the prince who is getting more and more wings.

In Yongning Lenggong, Concubine Wei Zhao, who was still dressed up beautifully but couldn't hide her haggard look, sat under the snow-covered withered tree in the courtyard, facing the bright cold moon, and suddenly "giggled" laughter.

She is so boring.

Day after day, she ate, drank, slept, sang and danced for her own entertainment, faced the cold and high walls, and waited for the pardon of a man who would never forgive her.

This kind of boredom not only drained her mind, but also drained her maternal love for the second prince.From the heart-piercing longing at the beginning to the numbness of the pain now, only in the middle of the night when I was so manic and depressed that I was about to go crazy, I could recall my son's increasingly blurred little face.

What became clearer and clearer in my mind was the figure in white who was burning incense and playing the qin—the appearance had also been disintegrated, leaving only those impressive fragments—the long hair hanging from her shoulders, the warmth of her palms on her chest, and the radiating heat from her sleeves. The aroma, the bewitching deep voice...

And the words and sentences that touched her heart and soul:

"A qualified emperor should guard against anyone. Do you think Jin is a qualified emperor?"

"The true love of an emperor is always power. There is the most delicate father-son relationship in the world between him and the prince closest to this power."

"The word 'reserve' has a profound meaning. It is not only the future successor, but also the biggest competitor at present. Just like staying in Nanjing as the capital, the same set of court team, it seems very safe to put it there as a backup, but if one day Nanjing The small imperial court suddenly has the potential to compete for the capital, and the official imperial court in Beijing is the first to tolerate it."

"The unfavored prince is always worried about being abolished and suffers a lot; the favored prince always has to find a balance between unstoppable ambition and prudence, which is another kind of torment."

How is this kind of suffering compared to her in the cold palace?

Wei Lan laughed louder and louder, and finally burst into tears:

Jun En Yu Xing is fake.

Father's kindness and son's filial piety are also false.

She didn't meet Mr. He, who has insight into people's hearts, earlier. She woke up too late, but what about Zhu Helin?Isn't it still immersed in illusions so far!Maybe he won't really understand this until he hits his head badly, or even pays a more painful price.

Thinking of the bad luck for the person she hates, Wei Lan felt happy from the bottom of her heart as if she had encountered a good fortune.

"Zhao'er, it is right for the Queen Mother to take you away." She murmured, "Trapping here with mother is only bad for you, not good... You have to be obedient, shrewd, and grow up smoothly. Take your mother out of this cold palace with a dragon and phoenix chariot... Your grandfather risked sending news that something happened to the crown prince in Nanjing... Zhao'er, your chance has come!"

In the imperial study room, King Yu took a deep breath, suppressed the shock and dissatisfaction in his heart, and advised him: "Brother, you said it yourself, it is a private letter from a son to his father, not an official document presented to the court. I'm not surprised by this attitude. As for Qinghe, don't you know better than me what kind of person he is? It's someone he knows well, and it's a matter related to the foundation of the country, how could he not care about it?"

The emperor was unmoved, and issued an order to expel the guests: "You can retire. Also, in the future, you don't have to send things like this for the crown prince to me."

Seeing the emperor sweeping his face in front of the palace people without hesitation, King Yu also raised his voice in annoyance: "Then we have to figure out the cause and effect first?"

The emperor said: "Didn't the several memorials from Nanjing clearly explain the cause and effect? ​​In addition, I also sent personnel to Nanjing to investigate in detail. While I have to wait for the results of the investigation, I also have to deal with those officials who are keen on impeachment." Officer, it's enough trouble, as my own younger brother, you can't share your worries, or at least don't add to your troubles. Go!"

King Yu was still not reconciled: "Even if the prince is wrong, Qinghe cannot be implicated, he—"

"—He is my subject! Not the prince's, nor your Zhu Xujing's!" The emperor shouted suddenly.

King Yu jumped up against the case and left angrily.

"Oh my lord, if you have something to say, don't get angry at the lord..." Lan Xi almost bumped into King Yu at the gate of the palace, and hurriedly dodged, "Your lord, please go slowly!"

After entering the hall, seeing the palace servants kneeling on the ground, Lan Xi scolded again: "A group of blind people are still standing here, making things difficult for the emperor to watch, hurry up and get out!"

The palace people feel wronged: if the emperor doesn't issue an order, who would dare to leave without authorization?But no one dared to say anything in front of this "inner official No. 1", and hurriedly leaned back and walked out of the hall.

Lan Xi closed the door of the palace and went forward to clean up the ashes on the table.

The emperor raised his hand to stop him, held his breath, and personally gathered the ashes of the letter paper into his palm, and ordered him to fetch an empty box.

Put the ashes in the box, only a small pinch.The emperor closed the lid of the box and handed it to Lan Xi: "Put it in the drawer."

"The drawer where 'that notebook' is placed?" Lan Xi asked cautiously.

The emperor nodded wearily.

Lan Xi took the small box and walked to the imperial case, opened a drawer, put the box next to the memorial book that Su Yan sent from Shaanxi last year, and locked it again.

"My lord..." Lan Xi who returned to the couch didn't know what to say, she could only sigh, "It's getting late, it's time to go to bed."

The emperor turned his head and looked out of the dark night window: "Time is running out. I heard from you, how many people will be involved in the matter tomorrow, and you want to join the team of impeachment?"

Lan Xi replied: "It was Cui Shenju from the General Administration Department who revealed the wind to the slaves. Cui Jinping, the emperor, remember, the number one scholar in the same class as Su Shilang."

The emperor nodded: "I remember, at the Enrong Banquet, the one who said 'the dragon leaps over the golden scales'. How could a young man who relied on his talent and showed his sharpness be indifferent to the turmoil in the court? opportunity for advancement."

Lan Xi asked: "Then is the emperor going to give him this chance?"

"That depends on his good fortune." The emperor said, "There are many aggressive eyes in the court, only to see that Su Yan was not weak in the year, and in two years he went from the fifth rank to the minister of the Ministry of Rites of the third rank, even if he was demoted. When they went to Nanjing, they were all jealous, deliberately ignoring his merits, and only talking about his age, saying that he was young and fortunate. But how many people can recognize that there is only such a Su Qinghe in the world! "

A wind that came from nowhere quietly blew out from the palace and penetrated into the civil and military circles of the Manchu Dynasty, saying that the emperor lost his temper with King Yu who came to intercede with the crown prince, and also expressed his dissatisfaction with the crown prince's cronies Bi Zhou .

The courtiers pondered the reliability and gold content of the news, each with their own considerations, some continued to wait and see, some vacillated, and some even ate the weight of the bastard—determined.

And after the day of the rumored intercession, the impeachment transcript submitted was no longer kept in the middle, but was changed to a two-word reply: "Reconsider".

The changes are intriguing.

"You can't stand the pressure anymore!" Ge Lao Wang Qianhe, who was promoted to be the teacher of the second prince, stroked his palm because of the Queen Mother's order.

Another elder, Jiao Yang, who is also the prince's tutor, shook his head: "What kind of heart is the emperor, you haven't seen it through for 15 years? It is impossible for him to be subdued by the pressure from the outside, but a disease that is born from within. The reason for the change in attitude."

"What disease?" Wang Qianhe asked, "The headache that has troubled you for many years?"

Jiao Yang smiled and said: "No, it's a common problem of emperors."

Wang Qianhe nodded and said: "Thanks to Jiao Ge's old reminder, I have also come back to it. The situation seems to be slowly turning to our side. We might as well add more firewood and fuel to make this fire burn even more vigorously."

Jiao Yang agreed: "One more thing, the prince cannot be allowed to return to Beijing!

"As long as the person is not around, the relationship will naturally fade. Many cases of falling out of favor in ancient and modern times have proved this. Let him and Su Twelve stay in Nanjing until the East Palace changes hands—what is the truth about the White Deer case? And who cares?"