Emperor Que Shaohua

In the next few days, Luo Pingyuan went to the palace to say hello, met with various people, and was very busy coming and going; but after noon, he would put down the business at hand and go back to Lancang residence.The days of living in Prince Jing's Mansion are numbered, so he can't help but cherish it.

Autumn is deep, and the leaves in the front mountain and the back garden turn golden. Only the frost-stained maple and sumac are more red than the morning glow. Whenever Luo Pingyuan walks by the lake and sees the withered lotus leaves, he will unconsciously Slow down, or linger briefly under the wisteria trellis or by the lotus pond in the back garden.Finally, Lancangju's medicinal fragrance, tranquility and warmth were enough to soothe his sorrowful emotions, and he was able to survive the catastrophe. There was still a trace of undecided fear and secret joy in his heart.I want to come to March next year, when the peonies are in full bloom, and the mansion will be in a bright spring, and I can accompany my brother to sow seeds in the back garden.

In the eyes of outsiders, His Highness Fifth Highness has returned to normal after being sullen for a few days, and continues to live a glorious life as a prince.But Prince Jing's Mansion was still so quiet and quiet. The eldest son of the emperor, Luo Yuhua, returned from recuperation in the south of the Yangtze River, still frail and sick, thanking guests behind closed doors, as if even the medicinal aura wafting from the main courtyard was the same as before.

Divorce is one aspect, and Prince Ning's Mansion has to take care of it.After dealing with the Ministry of Internal Affairs several times, Luo Pingyuan felt that he really needed a manager, and the sooner the better.However, King Jing gave quite pertinent suggestions on the promotion of Qingzhang, but he refused to say more about this matter. He only said: "Ability and experience are one aspect. The most important thing is to make you feel at ease and trust me. So Ping Yuan, Other people's opinions don't count, you need to make up your own mind."

The process of Luo Pingyuansi and Director Yang from being ordered to monitor to sincerely following, I feel that it is really difficult to replicate.He thought about it for two days, and instead of using the list recommended by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he thought of another candidate.

After the fire in Miyagi, Yuan Xusheng, the former deputy commander of the imperial guards, was held accountable and demoted to a third-class bodyguard. He was originally Li Pinglan's right-hand man, but now he doesn't know when he will be promoted.Luo Pingyuan knew that the deputy commander was reliable and skilled, so he tactfully expressed his intention to appoint him through Commander Li.Yuan Xusheng didn't expect an opportunity to fall from the sky, and the sweet pastry that everyone was staring at fell on his head. After being shocked, he agreed almost without hesitation, and he was extremely grateful.

With a prudent and capable head of the palace, Luo Pingyuan finally breathed a sigh of relief when he confessed all the internal and external affairs.In fact, he also had a faint fancy for a deputy manager, Gu Zheng, the treasured younger brother of Master Gu of Wanjian Villa.When rescuing Zhu Jin, Gu Er Shao's dexterity really impressed him. If he is willing to enter the mansion, he will complement Yuan Xusheng who is more upright.

However, compared to the most important thing, these are just side details. Luo Pingyuan is going to wait for the dust to settle before slowly asking Mu Shaozhuang's main person.

As King Yun's trip back to Beijing was getting closer, Mu Shaoqing also set off from Jinling, sailing northward. The undercurrent in Beijing was turbulent, and it was about to break through the calm on the surface and set off huge waves.The time to close the net is approaching.

The wedding date of Princess Danyang and Dragon Knight General Lin Chen is set on the tenth day of the first lunar month of the next year, so there are still more than three months left.Originally, the date didn’t have to be chosen so late, but Yuzhou’s custom is that the more noble a girl is, the less anxious the family is to marry her; Concubine Rong Gui in the palace is even more reluctant to leave her beloved daughter early. The Jianhou Mansion urged three times and asked four times, but it was delayed until the second year.

Luo Xuening made an excuse to go to the largest silk and satin shop in the capital to see the latest clothing materials, and went out of the palace to visit her elder brother in Prince Jing's Mansion.

Lancang Residence was as warm as spring, Luo Yanhua took his younger sister's hand and sat down in the room, asking about the situation in the past six months.

"Mother Concubine and Concubine Lotus have been promoted to noble concubine status, and there are fewer monsters in the harem. It has become much calmer recently, and everything is fine with us." Luo Xuening said softly.

The auspicious day was set, and the preparations for the wedding went smoothly.After the martial arts competition in Luocheng, Emperor Tianyi wanted to give some compensation to Princess Danyang, and was also willing to show off the result of defeating the Liao and Jin, so he behaved both reasonable and generous, and everything was done with dignity.Luo Xuening didn't want to live in the princess mansion, so Lin Chen was given a five-entry mansion. After they got married, they could live alone in another mansion, saving them from the hardship of living in Dingjianhou's mansion to serve their in-laws.Last year, Qian Chongyi, the servant of the household department, was imprisoned for corruption in the granary, and his family's Biluoyuan was confiscated into the government, and now it has become Luo Xuening's dowry business.

"Earlier, Princess Eldest married into Qian's Mansion, and brought a Biluo Garden, which was carefully carved and maintained, which attracted the envy of the whole court. I think the mistakes made by Minister Qian are due to lack of people's hearts, but it is not the fault of the famous garden." King Jing recalled the garden. Looking at the exquisite and emerald green scenery, he sighed leisurely, "After a few years, the Biluo Garden has welcomed a new owner. I have free time in the future, so I would like to go and visit again."

"That's natural, Lin Chen and I are waiting, Brother Dahuang can't do it if he can't think about it!" Luo Xuening said.She had already sorted out her emotions before, but for some reason, she just said a few homely words in front of King Jing before her nose became sore, tears welled up in her eyes, and rolled down her cheeks, "Brother Emperor, you... you How did you lose so much weight..."

Princess Danyang has always been lively and charming, but this is the first time Luo Yanhua sees her crying, and he is caught off guard: "What's wrong with Xue Ning, am I alright?"

"It's not all right at all." Luo Xuening hugged his arm, sobbing for a while before saying, "Brother Dahuang, such a big incident happened, I was about to die in the palace, you still act as if nothing happened... "

"It's all right, didn't Ping Yuan tell you?" Luo Yanhua felt that the cloth on his shoulders was soaked quickly, so he quickly comforted him, saying that I will be fine. "

"Every time I lie to people and say it's okay, I scare people every time." Luo Xuening has been patient for a while, how can it be so easy to stop at this moment, "The last time I was in the palace, I was almost succeeded by the second emperor brother, and then Another villain arson... just a little bit, what if Brother Wuhuang can't find it? I also urged Lin Chen, but he is very stupid and always gets nothing, woo woo woo!"

There was infinite grievance in the girl's crisp voice, although the words were messed up, it was not difficult to distinguish the meaning.

Luo Yanhua was very helpless, and the matter of detoxification needed to be carefully kept secret, so currently only a few people in Beijing and the mansion knew the truth, and told Xue Ning and Lin Chen that the decision was made after careful consideration.However, with such a limited number of subordinates and relatives, it seems that every one of them can't help but cry when they face themselves alone.Needless to say, Ping Yuan, Guan Ling cried for more than half an hour, Xie Feng cried for less than half an hour, the little attendants wiped their tears from time to time, Qin Shuang and Manager Yang were a little better, they only wiped their eyes for a while, today Xue Ning cried again After crying, his head started to ache when he remembered that he was going to see Ruohan in the afternoon.It really complied with Xi Guzhu's words, when people who don't know see it, they will think that they are dying.

However, compared to before the antidote was found, the people around me either pretended to be nothing, or forced a smile on their face, the sadness and troubles now are like the first clearing after the snow, the ice edges slowly melting under the eaves, bit by bit into the heart.

He gently stroked Princess Danyang's silky black hair, and said softly: "Since ancient times, when a daughter's family gets married, it is called Yugui, because after the marriage, the husband's family is the destination of life. Lin Chen is a responsible person. You made the right choice, and on the day of your wedding, Brother Dahuang will come to drink your wedding wine."

The day after Luo Xuening visited Prince Jing's Mansion, Lin Chen, the son-in-law-to-be, returned to Dingjianhou's Mansion. After dinner, he proposed to talk to his father about something.

"What did you say? Say it again if you have the ability!" The atmosphere in the study was tense. Recently, it was obvious that the old Ding Jianhou had dropped a teacup. How dare you go against the sky!"

"His Royal Highness Prince Jing has returned to Beijing." Lin Chen said calmly, "Father still thinks that the crown prince can escape the liquidation? Rather than being exposed at that time, it is better to take the initiative to report, and the crime can be lighter."

He spoke bluntly, Ding Jianhou was so angry that his face turned blue and his lips turned white: "What crime! My Lin family obeys the decree and has never been disobedient. How can others be able to slander at will! It is so easy to live a stable life for a few days. , you are an unfilial son who wants to make trouble again, is it okay to kill your father?"

"No one wants to wrong father, but the mistakes that have already been committed cannot be avoided." Lin Chen looked serious, "Five years ago, the prince found a deserted island in the southeast sea and secretly trained a large number of dead soldiers; A few days ago, he recruited private soldiers in Hejian Mansion and practiced secretly in the racecourse, how dare father say that he was not involved in these two matters?"

He watched the flickering look of panic on Ding Jianhou's face, and felt very uncomfortable: "Not to mention that most of the southern Fujian garrison is the old Lin family, without the support of his father, Wei Wuze alone can't accomplish anything, even in the Hejian mansion. It is also relying on smuggling by sea to continuously transport silver taels, and you have just accumulated five thousand troops. No wonder, you dare not refuse such treasonous and immoral things assigned by the crown prince at the beginning of the year!"

"Needless to say, I'm not doing it for you, a bastard, but for the whole family!" Lin Huai'an shouted, but knew in his heart that the situation was over.The hidden dangers that he worried about day and night came out of his son's mouth, which meant that all the details had been found out by the person he feared, and it was impossible to cover up.

In fact, from that frightening night in mid-February, or even earlier, from the day Jing Wang Luo Yuhua returned to the court, he had long been deeply in fear and could not rest in fear. He was under house arrest but he was still the crown prince, and Xue Songnian was still the co-government even though he was losing power day by day. Half a year passed without incident, so it was a bit of luck.

He took a step back slowly, sat slumped on the chair, and muttered in his mouth: "Win the king and lose the bandit, win the king and lose the bandit."

Lin Chen remained silent. At this point, his father still used success to cover up right and wrong, which made him feel very uncomfortable, but he couldn't bear to argue again.

There was a moment of silence in the study before Lin Huai'an asked: "What you said just now meant His Highness Fifth?"

"His Highness King Yun will return to Luocheng in a few days, and King An will come back together." Lin Chen did not answer directly, but calmly analyzed, "His Royal Highness was cut off with his right arm and almost lost his life. Let it go, a catastrophe is inevitable. Since my father is destined to be involved in it, he cannot avoid it. When the matter is found out, there is no room for change. For the current plan, the only way out is to make amends and get a way out. Please At that time, my father will cooperate with King An to stand up and denounce the Crown Prince and Concubine Han, besides admitting his own faults, he will also reveal what my uncle did in Hanguan back then, and expose the truth in broad daylight!"

He looked at Lin Huai'an's disheveled face, and said earnestly: "Father, I will not harm you. Besides, this is because the Lin family owed Langhuan, and my uncle killed many Zhongliang's lives for the sake of his future and official position. , can you really enjoy wealth and honor without feeling guilty or afraid of retribution?"

Ding Jianhou was speechless for a while, thousands of thoughts turned in his mind, and he already understood King Jing's intention.With the great help of King Yun and King Ning, coupled with a hateful King An, it was enough to severely injure the prince, making it impossible for Luo Wenxiao to stand up again; what King Jing really asked himself to do was to restart the old case of Langhuan by liquidating the prince. Everyone including Emperor Tianyi could not avoid or refuse.Luo Pingyuan told Lin Chen, and then conveyed it to himself. Although the method was gentle, it was no different from an ultimatum.

For a while, the faces of the Holy Majesty and Xue Songnian floated in front of his eyes, one was gloomy and stubborn, the other was scheming, and he felt bitter in his heart, couldn't he hide aside and continue watching?But this slight hesitation quickly dissipated. Lin Huaian vaguely recalled the few times he saw the eldest son of the emperor. Emperor Tianyi, who was sitting on the throne, and Luo Yanhua, who was seriously ill, brought him a heavier sense of oppression and deeper fear.This feeling started ten years ago, and it has not completely subsided when Concubine Han's mother and son were at their most powerful.Because King Jing is not just a prince who has lost power, but also the suzerain of Langhuan.The emperor might be merciful because of the marriage or the face of the clan, but Lang Huan would not let the Lin family go easily, and would come to collect the blood debt, even though the instigator, Lin Huaitai, was dead.

He looked at Lin Chen's young and vigorous face, no matter what, with the affection of Princess Danyang and the fifth prince, the only son should be able to be preserved, and the family members would not be too involved.All these years, while living the life of a public servant who confiscated his wife and son, while concealing the truth in fear, even today, he should be content with being given the chance of a lighter punishment.

"That's all." He sighed for a long time, and felt that he was really old for the first time, "I will try my best to do what His Royal Highness King Jing wants to do."

On the same night, when Lin Chen was busy persuading Ding Jianhou, the assistant governor Xue Songnian bid farewell to the two courtiers at the door of the study, and asked the housekeeper to send them out of the mansion.A servant of the Ministry of Rites and a supervisory censor, their official positions are neither high nor low, but now he needs to rely on these civil servants in the middle to communicate and create an atmosphere, and the courtesy he gives is higher than usual.

Since the crown prince was placed under house arrest, the situation in Beijing has become more and more serious. Some of the officials from the three provinces and six ministries who had been in close contact with the East Palace were relegated, some were released, and the rest were panic-stricken.Xue Songnian suffered heavy losses. Among the six books, the original minister of punishment had a close relationship with the crown prince, and when he saw the situation was not right, he said he was ill and resigned from office. Deal with it; among the six ministries, the Ministry of Household and the Ministry of Punishment have been out of control, and the Ministry of War has never bought into the prince's account.

In the midst of worry and depression, Xue Songnian remained calm. He has experienced more than thousands of storms, and he knows the truth that good and bad depend on each other. The more dangerous the situation is, the more important it is to keep calm.In half a year, the central government launched several attacks against Qingzhang, the supervisor of King Ning. Xue Songnian fueled the flames, and his attitude was sometimes aggressive and sometimes relaxed. To him, it didn't matter whether the opposition worked or not. Gather to the side, forming a situation of fighting against the enemy, and more importantly, through repeated observations and observations, understand Emperor Tianyi's mind.

Jing Wang Luo Yuhua was a formidable opponent. Xue Songnian knew from the very beginning that unless he used the power of the emperor to eradicate Langhuan again as he did ten years ago, he would die without a place to die.What's annoying is that, before he had time to make arrangements, Beiliao jumped the wall in a hurry and used this move first, and it failed completely after causing an uproar.Now I want to repeat the old tricks, but the disgraced emperor may not be willing to go into battle shirtless, and he is under great pressure and infamy.

Of course, the matter is not completely hopeless, but if there is any room, Emperor Tianyi is obviously unwilling to let Langhuan overturn the case.Luo Wenxiao has been under house arrest so far. He has neither released nor abolished the prince. Officials attached to the East Palace have been suppressed and dismissed, but there are few heavy hands who confiscated their homes and sent them to prison. The contradictions and hesitation can be seen. Compared with the treatment of the eldest son ten years ago It is not difficult to taste a bit of subtlety from the ruthless method.

Xue Songnian sniffed out a glimmer of opportunity based on his intuition cultivated through years of ups and downs in the officialdom. The situation was not at its worst yet, so he had to give it his all.Emperor Tianyi was disappointed with Luo Wenxiao, but he didn't make up his mind to give up completely, because the crown prince was the mortal enemy of King Jing, and keeping it could serve as a restraint.What I have to do is to make good use of the prince's card, and strive for room to maneuver. As long as I grasp the measure, I can even push the emperor to the front of the stage to conflict with King Jing again. If I take a step back, Luo Wenxiao can also support it for a while. The shield bears the most violent attack from Langhuan.Luo Yanhua didn't have a long life, maybe he would end up exhausted and dead after going back and forth.

At night, the lights in Xue’s mansion were brightly lit, and the servants walked back and forth from time to time. Green woolen official sedan chairs were parked outside the door, and there were two concubines’ rooms in the back house. An indescribable loneliness.During his busy schedule, Xue Fuzheng would occasionally feel the irrefillable emptiness in his heart, thinking of his wife who passed away early and his daughter who left home.Yingchuan has been in a stalemate with him for ten years, so it is unreasonable to say that it is a virtue for a woman to not stay in college, and for a woman to be incompetent, and for a smart woman to recognize death.

He tried his best to suppress these disturbing feelings and concentrate on the current plan.The civil servants are progressing smoothly, but what is worrying is the crown prince who is the key figure.According to the informant, Luo Wenxiao seems to be in a bad state recently, he often gets drunk in the mansion, his words and deeds are not very good, and some unfavorable rumors have leaked out of the East Palace.

Xue Songnian thought for a while, then took a pen and wrote a short note, admonishing the prince to restrain himself, sincerely repent, so as not to give others a blame, and hinting that there will be a turning point in the near future.He has been very careful to minimize the number of times he sends letters to Luo Wenxiao, but judging from the current situation, if he doesn't send a reassurance, there is no guarantee that things won't happen to the prince who is getting out of control.

When the ink was dry, he carefully folded the note, sealed it in a wax pill, and called the attendant outside the study to come in.This person is a confidant cultivated for many years, he immediately understood the intention of the Patriarch, took the wax pill and put it in his arms, bowed and withdrew.

There has been a secret communication channel between the East Palace and the Xue Mansion for a long time, the attendant left the mansion through the back door, took advantage of the night to turn around two alleys, and stopped when he came to a section of green brick wall, as if accidentally dropped When something fell, he squatted down and groped at the base of the wall.The alleyway at night was dark, and it didn't take long before he stopped searching, straightened up and continued walking, and finally went around to the corner pharmacy to buy two taels of licorice and a tael of lotus heart, and returned the same way with the medicine pack.

Not long after he left, the clerk of the pharmacy picked up the bamboo pole, picked up the pumpkin lantern hanging on the eaves of the door, and replaced it with a half-worn revolving lantern.

Every link is very ordinary, pumpkin lanterns and revolving lanterns are common, you can buy them in shops on the street, and the expressions and behaviors of the attendants and shopkeepers are also the same, but after a while, someone will come to the base of the wall, from Take the wax pill from the brick hole, and before noon tomorrow, it will be sent to the East Palace and handed over to the suffering and waiting prince.

Youming's ability to hide his whereabouts is no less than Xuanshuang's. The man responsible for secretly sending messages was trained by Wei Wuze himself for the second prince earlier. Although the situation changes from time to time, there has never been a mistake in this aspect, so Xue Songnian will take the risk to use it.

What he didn't know was that at the corner of the street not far from the pharmacy, in the shadows where the light of the lantern couldn't reach, a pair of indifferent and Ruili eyes were staring closely, taking in all the situation before and after.