Linque

[This chapter can refer to Shunxing ([-])]

"Has the wooden sign been delivered to Shen Dai?"

In the palace, Jing Wang Lingyi was reclining on the couch, playing with Buddhist beads, and casually asked the person kneeling below.

"Yes." The woman nodded and replied with a smile, "This subordinate and others created a mess on the Xinghan Bridge, and delivered the wooden sign to Miss Shen without a trace. The subordinate specially reminded her to see that Miss Shen was on the spot. I was stunned, and when I left, I lost my mind, thinking about it, I was very hurt."

King Jing pulled his lips, and said in a long tone: "There is no way, this goddess is affectionate, but she didn't expect King Xiang to be unintentional, do you think this is too far off the mark? Hey, my second brother, don't say anything else. , the face is still very good. What's more, he is sitting on the honorable position now, and the harem is rare and quiet, and it is difficult to find him with a lantern. It is normal for Shen Dai to rush to him."

He sat up straight, and when he said the last sentence, the smile on his face had faded.

There was a moment of silence in the hall, Princess Jing Zhong Yiyun sitting on the side and the woman kneeling below all lowered their eyes and did not dare to respond.

When the silence passed, King Jing seemed to be a little less interested, and ordered lazily: "Arrange the beginning and the end. Mrs. Wen Xinhou and Shen Dai were stunned for a while. This mess."

"Yes." The kneeling woman raised her head slightly, and it was the "kind" girl who fell with Shen Dai when the chaos happened.She nodded, and replied to the king: "The subordinates have already made arrangements. There is only one thing, the wooden sign sent to Miss Shen was written by the princess. Did the emperor and the imperial servant really hang up? This..."

King Jing interrupted with a wave of his hand, and said casually: "It doesn't matter whether you hang up or not, as long as this relationship is real, it will be done. As for what Ling Ye has done in private, it is difficult for me to find out thoroughly." It's the same for him, Shen Yingbo."

Speaking of this, Princess Zhong Yiyun, who was sitting by the side, said softly: "The queen mother said that on the night of Qianqiu, after the court banquet, the emperor left the palace alone. I don't know where he went, but the next day, the emperor brought the imperial servant Mo went to Zhaoren Palace, and even stayed there that night. You must know that Zhaoren Palace is the place where the emperor and empress get married. It is also a coincidence. Today in Baiyun Temple, we guards outside saw with our own eyes that the emperor and the emperor Shi Mo entered the Yuelao Temple. Looking at it from my own perspective, I'm not sure, but the wooden sign hanging on the big banyan tree at the head of the Xinghan Bridge, there is really a promise between these two people."

Zhong Yiyun looked at King Jing with rolling eyes.

"The emperor's big wedding?" King Jing sneered, "I don't know what these two people think, one really dares to give, and the other really dares to take. Let's not marry a noble daughter from a good family, but go to spoil a Chu family Abandoned son, are you so confident that Lishan will change direction because of Chu Heng?"

After the Taimiao ancestor worship, King Jing sent people to investigate Chu Heng's deeds in Lishan, but judging from the current results——

He shook his head, with irony in his words: "My second brother has always been deep-minded, and I never realized that he was a kind of love in the past, because of such a mere person... If the father knows about it, I don't know if he will be angry. survived."

"However, this is just right. A family of poetry and calligraphy like the Shen family values ​​'propriety and law' the most. Ling Ye wants to revive the imperial examination, which is to shake the foundation of the family. Now that he does not marry the daughter of the Shen family, it can be said to be 'rebellious'! Didn’t you mean the emperor with a family of iron and water? This time, I will see who has the harder fist. I also hope that Chu Heng can hold it for a longer time, otherwise the scene will be too short to be good.” ①

He was in a good mood, and he waved his hand, and the kneeling woman bowed her head and bid farewell.

The warm fragrance in the flower hall was sweet and greasy, Zhong Yiyun got up and squeezed his shoulders for him, King Jing closed his eyes for a moment, and asked her: "Have you seen Jing Xueli?"

"Yes." Zhong Yiyun paused for a while, looked at his expression, and replied carefully: "I have already told her about the death of Helanduo, the son of Yujiang, and she... gave it to my concubine." A Gu plague recipe, just..."

"It's just that I still don't make a statement, and even said that Nanxi will not get involved in Dayin's internal struggle." King Jing took her words, his tone could not hear the joy or anger.

Zhong Yiyun's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't respond.

After a while, King Jing sneered, and said coldly: "Of course Jingxue only has her Nanxi in her heart, just like when we persuaded Helando to assassinate the prince with us, she helped lure the emperor's shadow guard away In fact, he didn’t do anything, and he didn’t even want to borrow it personally. With just a few words, he sold us a favor face to face, and made Yu Jiang and Dayin vengeful. It's on their Nan Xi's head."

"Soldiers use swords to kill people without bloodshed. This trick has been played by the national teacher. Look, here it is again--Nan Xi will not participate in Dayin's internal fights, yes, he will not participate, just hope that our Dayin will fight more first In [-], the Sixteen Departments of Yujiang were in chaos for a few more years because of the death of Helan Tuo. It would be best if Beidi also joined in, and the more fierce the fight, the better. In this way, Nanxi can close the door and put the Silk Road in peace. When the Tao is put together, the abacus in the heart of the national teacher is very clear."

"..."

The atmosphere in the flower hall was dull, Zhong Yiyun lowered her eyebrows, tried to divert King Jing's anger, and said cautiously: "Her prescription..."

"Don't think that this king doesn't know what she thinks," King Jing Ba interrupted in a high voice, and said coldly, "Today she gave you a prescription, and if things come to fruition in the future, this king will always think of her. If it doesn't work, she also has a way to pick up Nanxi Wu Xinghai, did she tell you that the recipe for the plague is a forbidden technique?"

Zhong Yiyun lowered her eyes and said nothing, obviously acquiescing.

King Jing sneered: "You are worthy of being Nanxi's great national teacher. Everything is done properly, and neither side should be offended." He frowned, took a silent look at Zhong Yiyun, and waved his hands impatiently, "Forget it, you can go down." .”

Zhong Yiyun's eyes darkened slightly, and she was blessed, and she left as she said.

She went out, walked slowly to the corner of the corridor, glanced back a little, and saw a maid leading a handsome woman in Chinese clothes, walking slowly into the flower hall - that was the side concubine of the mansion, who was born in Changzhou The aristocratic Dingkang Zhou family was accepted by the king when the queen mother was in power a few years ago.In the past, she was not favored, but now, because her surname is Zhou, she has come into King Jing's eyes again.

Zhong Yiyun smiled wryly, this morning in Baiyun Temple, when Jing Xueli gave her the Gu epidemic prescription, she said, give her another chance to choose.

That's not a joke, Zhong Yiyun is very clear that Jing Xueli is not a lighthearted person, no matter how many interests are entangled in it, she is willing to leave a way out for herself.

However, Zhong Yiyun touched Weilong's lower abdomen, she had no other choice.Back then when she was studying in Wu Xinghai, the Empress Dowager and King Jing were in full swing, and the Zhong family of Yanxi, as her mother clan, clung to her with all her heart. When she obeyed the clan's orders and took the wrong path and chose the enchanted path, there was no way out. For vassal.

Jing Xueli is actually very clear that this is probably the last bit of mercy from the great witch.

"Master is really cruel."

……

On the outskirts of the imperial capital, in the pillow wave garden.

Ling Ye and Chu Heng came out from Wangshiju at noon, and wandered around the outer city to digest food. In the afternoon, they stopped by the theater to listen to a play. It was near evening before returning to the Bieyuan.

As soon as he entered the door, before he sat down to have a sip of tea, Dabai Tuanzi rushed in from the outside like a cannonball, smashed straight into Ling Ye's arms, and complained dissatisfiedly: "My father went out to play but didn't take me! A Yan Angry!"

Ling Ye let out a "hiss", stabilized his figure, and looked down at the daring Tuanzi, "I won't take you? When did you sleep last night?"

"... um..." Tuanzi was stopped by the question, and his arrogance suddenly became a few cuts lower, and he loosened his hand holding his father's clothes.

Only when a child sleeps enough can he grow healthy. Qingyan was poisoned and suffered crimes when he was a baby. He was much weaker than children of the same age, and he was adjusted and raised to make him grow into the white and tender dumpling he is now.Everything in the Eastern Palace is detailed. Ling Ye had ordered that he must sleep on the couch before Haishi, and Qingyan knew it.

The Chinese New Year is loose, Ling Ye doesn't care much about him these days in Bieyuan Villa, he had a great time playing with the dumplings, he slept a little longer at noon yesterday, and at night he regained his energy and played vigorously.No matter how young Qingyan was, he was still a prince, and the aunts in charge could only coax him and dare not force him.It just so happened that Ling Ye didn't rest in the dormitory last night, and lived in the hot spring room with Chu Heng. It's not good for people to bother him about such a trivial matter.It wasn't until breakfast this morning that there was no sign of Qingyan. The female officer of the East Palace came to confess her crimes, and Ling Ye didn't know that the group had gone to be a night owl last night, and now they are still lying on the bed and sleeping soundly.

"answer."

Qing Yan let go of Ling Ye's sleeve, and whispered, "...Zi Shi."

"You also know that I didn't ask you for disobedience. How dare you come here and ask me why I didn't take you out? Where have you learned all the rituals of the court during this time?"

Chu Heng couldn't help but bend his lips when he heard it from the side. It is true that Tuanzi did sleep until the sun was up, but Ling Ye didn't plan to take him out at first. When he came back, he was thinking about whether he should let the chef make candied haws to soothe Tuanzi. Now it seems that there are other countermeasures.

Qing Yan lowered his head, hesitating and speechless, he learned the etiquette and rules of the former court, but the father is the father.

Ling Ye frightened Tuanzi with a few words, gave him a sideways glance, and went behind the screen with Chu Heng to change clothes.Qing Yan stood there for a while, but still felt that he was at a loss. He thought for a while, and when Ling Ye came out, he ran to the couch with a book in his hand, and said in a childish voice, "Father, my son has learned from Father today." .”

Ling Ye was pouring tea, when he heard the words "um", the ending sound rose, which was a question.

Qing Yan began to slowly learn to recognize characters years ago, and the officials of the East Palace are teaching him to read "Thousand Characters" recently.He flicked through a few pages, pointed to the two words above, and said with bright eyes, "Father!"

Ling Ye glanced at it, and it was the sentence "Dragon Master Fire Emperor, Bird Official and Human Emperor". Qing Yan didn't quite understand the meaning of this sentence, but only knew the word "Emperor".Hearing his tone of begging for rewards, Ling Ye knew that the group was still thinking about the things they didn't go out to play today, and they were pretending to be good and asking for compensation from him, so he couldn't help but find it funny.

He put down his teacup and said, "What do you want to eat?"

Qingyan got his wish, and opened his mouth to see a bunch of candies. Ling Ye raised his eyebrows and waited for him to finish his speech. He only chose one of them, and asked the imperial chef to make him a cup of steamed custard with sugar.

Tuanzi was a little disappointed, but he also knew that he couldn't make progress, so he obediently complied.

While waiting for dessert, Qing Yan lay on Ling Ye's lap and flicked through the books, thinking about what he had learned during this time, then looked up at his father in front of him, and asked curiously: "Father, what is the meaning of the ceremony in the front court?" Speaking of which, what the crown prince means is, um... the crown prince of the country, does that mean that Ayan will become the emperor like his father in the future?"

As soon as his immature childish voice fell, the room fell silent.The next moment, all the maids standing around knelt down in unison with a plop, kowtowed to the ground, and remained silent like cicadas.

Qingyan was the only heir of the emperor, and he was established as the crown prince early on. The emperor always treated him with great kindness, so the officials in the Eastern Palace did not specifically teach him some things that princes of all dynasties and generations should know since they were young. way".

But no one thought that the prince's understanding is so high, after learning the etiquette of the former court, and knowing the word "emperor", he would ask such a sentence.

The prince is young and ignorant, doesn't understand, he can't ask this question, no matter how favored he is, he is touching the emperor's scales.Everything he had was given by his father, and all he relied on was his father's favor. Once he lost it, he would be lost forever.

The hearts of the officials in the East Palace jumped to their throats, and cold sweat dripped down.

Chu Heng paused slightly with the hand holding the cup, turned his head to glance at Ling Ye, then turned his gaze on Qing Yan, suddenly smiled imperceptibly, and continued to drink tea as usual.

Everyone around knelt down, Qingyan looked left and right, and belatedly realized that he seemed to have said something wrong, he subconsciously took a step forward, getting closer to Ling Ye, hugging him arms, raised his head and called in a bewildered voice: "Father..."

Ling Ye's expression was difficult to distinguish, looking down at Qingyan in front of him, he suddenly remembered that when he was about the same age as him, because he was the eldest son of the Empress Yuan, he was also made the crown prince, but Qingyan's problem was that he Just understand - no.

Not only not, the prince is also the target of all the contending princes. It seems that it should be the innate instinct of the Tian family to fight and fight to the death.His status only gave him the qualification to compete. Whether he can sit in that position and whether he can sit firmly depends on himself in the end.

As the prince is, so is the emperor.

Ling Ye thought for a while, touched Yan's head, and replied seriously: "My father can't give you the answer to this question, you have to ask yourself."

Qing Yan didn't know why.

Ling Ye waved his hand and ordered the whole room to stand up, his eyes turned to the "Thousand Characters" in Qingyan's hand, he pointed to the word "human" in that sentence, and said: "You know the 'Emperor', but It is even more important to remember it. The person who is the emperor and the emperor bears the burden of tens of thousands of people', you have to ask yourself if you have such ability, and when you can answer calmly and fearlessly, you will be fine. "

Qing Yan seemed to understand but half understood, tilted his head and thought for a while, and said: "Then Ayan will study hard."

Before the words were finished, the waiter in the dining room came in with crispy cheese. Qingyan saw it at a glance, immediately threw the "Thousand Characters" in his hand, and ran over happily.

Ling Ye shook his head and laughed.

The prince still didn't realize his arrogance just now, and went to eat candy when he asked the answer, but the officials in the Eastern Palace who had been serving him were different. Uneasy, he stepped forward and knelt down in front of the emperor, begging for him.

Ling Ye only said: "Teach him not to avoid it."

"But he really had the guts to ask."

Chu Heng smiled but said nothing.

In the distance, Qingyan was standing by the table, not listening to anything going on in the palace, and only focused on eating crispy cheese with a spoon.

Ling Ye couldn't help but shook his head, "He has such insight, he can be called the Crown Prince."

Chu Heng put down the teacup, and continued, "It's just a bit greedy."

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This chapter has been reworked.

① For King Jing’s views on Chu Heng, see "Chapter 117 New Year's Day".

②Concubine Jing will not write anymore, because it was mentioned in Shunxing ([-]), and here is to echo it.Xu Hui will mention it again in Jingxueli.

③ Some ancient books in the article, such as "Thousand Characters" or some poems that appear, come from various dynasties. Because the background is completely empty and does not imitate any dynasty, when citing the poetry and book system, it does not distinguish between dynasties.