In the imperial palace, in the royal study.

Silent Cloud sat on a round stool and recounted the conversation between Pei Yue and King Yan in the Bamboo House, without missing a single word.

Emperor Kaiping listened quietly, looked at the ancient scroll in front of him, and after a long time said with a complex expression: "Pei Yue has good intentions."

This refers to Pei Yue's last words, which not only showed sympathy for the Holy Heart, but also implied advice to King Yan. If the person who instigated Ning Fengzhi behind the scenes was really King Yan, then Pei Yue was hinting to him that this matter At this point, don't think about making waves.

Silent Cloud said with a slight doubt: "I have something unclear. Why can Pei Yue be sure that the assassination was caused by King Yan?"

Emperor Kaiping asked back: "Do you think Pei Yue is plotting against Lao Si?"

Silent Cloud shook his head and said slowly: "Your Majesty, I just don't understand. As a close associate of His Highness, Ning Fengzhi deliberately used two assassinations to force His Highness to take the blame. There must be someone behind this. Just analyzing the current situation, His Highness the Second or even His Highness the Sixth are more likely. After all, they are the legitimate sons of the Queen."

This judgment is naturally very reasonable. Even if the eldest prince falls into the mortal world at this time, the position of crown prince will not be passed to King Yan.

Emperor Kaiping sneered and said: "I thought so at first, but after Pei Yue reminded me, I figured out the context of the whole thing."

He glanced at Silent Cloud and said in a cold voice: "My fourth son has a good plan, but I don't know how many years he has been preparing for this serial plan."

Silent Cloud thought for a moment and said slightly surprised: "Is he still unwilling to let go?"

Now that the eldest prince is carrying the blame for murdering a hero, his reputation among the government and the public has fallen to the bottom. It is obviously impossible for such a person to be qualified to become a prince. No matter how much Emperor Kaiping favors him, it is impossible to forcibly suppress the officials and Liu Xianli. As the crown prince, that would only cause chaos in the court.

Emperor Kaiping's eyes were deep and he said slowly: "He has successfully plotted against his eldest brother, so how could he give up halfway? All he needs to do is divert the trouble to the east and pin the charge of framing the eldest prince on the second son, and he has already succeeded in most of the way. .At first I thought he just wanted to target the boss, but Pei Yue told me that this conspiracy is much more than that, and there will be a wave of trouble next."

Even though he was used to seeing intrigues and intrigues, Silent Cloud couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

He said softly: "Ning Fengzhi entered Prince Lu's Mansion five years ago. Because he helped His Highness with suggestions many times, he gradually gained His Highness's trust. If what Pei Yue said is true, doesn't it mean that His Highness the Fourth Prince came to the palace five years ago? Just start—"

Emperor Kaiping said: "He was only nineteen years old that year. In fact, the plan was even earlier. After all, it takes time to train a dead soldier. Don't forget, my son started holding the Xianyun Review when he was thirteen. , it has been eleven years now.”

Silent Cloud said with a strange expression: "I remember that Pei Yue happened to be thirteen years old when he broke out of the door."

Emperor Kaiping lowered his eyes slightly and said sadly: "I originally thought that the eldest, second and sixth were all competing for the position of prince, and it was a good thing that the fourth was willing to be as free as idle clouds and wild cranes. Now it seems that he has been since he was very young. I started planning all this and never gave up step by step. I am already old and the matter of establishing a reserve has been put on the agenda. He finally waited for the opportunity, so how could he listen to Pei Yue's advice? "

Silent Yun asked curiously: "If this matter is really done by His Highness the Fourth Highness, Pei Yue is actually willing to stop his activities?"

Emperor Kaiping recalled what Pei Yue said to him in the side hall of Liangyi Palace on that drizzly night, and he couldn't help but sigh: "Even you can't understand. It shows that I didn't see the wrong person. He just wanted to confirm." The real culprit, but he doesn’t want the government to be in turmoil. After all, the boss’s reputation is already bad now. If other princes are involved, how will the world view the Tian family?”

He paused and said in a complicated tone: "He told me that if Lao Si can take the initiative to confess his sins and give up the power he has been operating for many years, he will not pursue Lao Si's evil intentions, and he also hopes that I can make Lao Si rich. lifetime."

Silent Cloud was shocked.

He didn't expect to hear such words from his ruthless Majesty. Is this the same king who even dared to kill the late emperor?

The most important thing is, what kind of ecstasy did Pei Yue give His Majesty?

Wouldn't it be more uncomfortable to make King Yan plead guilty and then give up the power he had been running for more than ten years than to kill him? For a prince, what is glory and wealth without any real power?

At this moment, Silent Cloud couldn't help but admire Pei Yue for being able to perform so perfectly in front of his strict Majesty. This was a feat that neither Pei Zhen nor Wang Pingzhang could achieve at the beginning.

It’s just that he overlooked one thing. Emperor Kaiping was in his twenties back then, when he was full of ambition and energy. Pei Zhen and Wang Pingzhang were ministers who had risen to prominence during the reign of the late emperor and even Zhongzong, so it was extremely difficult to have a heart-to-heart relationship with him. Now Kaiping The emperor was nearly middle-aged, and none of his princes were considered worthy. Among the younger generation, Pei Yue was too outstanding, and he was the loyal minister he single-handedly promoted. The subtleties are difficult to describe.

Following Emperor Kaiping's words, Silent Cloud muttered: "Your Majesty, if His Highness the Fourth Highness refuses to give up, I'm afraid someone will vindicate His grievances on His behalf."

Only by pleading guilty to Liu Xian would King Yan have the opportunity to pin the suspicion of the assassination on other brothers.

Emperor Kaiping's face gradually became cold and serious, and he said in a cold voice: "I want to see how many ministers he has won over."

Silent Cloud sighed: "I hope His Highness the Fourth Highness can understand Pei Yue's advice."

Thinking of Pei Yue's performance in this matter, Emperor Kaiping felt complicated and said slowly: "It's a pity that Pei Yue is not——"

Silent Cloud was horrified and interrupted, regardless of the superiority of the monarch and his ministers: "Your Majesty!"

If these words were spoken from Emperor Kaiping's mouth, it would put Pei Yue into a certain death situation.

Emperor Kaiping came to his senses and laughed at himself.

The emperor's majesty returned to him, he clenched the ancient book in front of him, and said forcefully: "If he doesn't understand, I will make him understand that there are some things that I won't give him, so he can't ask for it!"

…

On the first day of April, the almanac says, the rainbow began to appear.

Imperial Palace, Chengtian Hall.

At the first quarter of Mao hour, hundreds of officials entered the palace.

Today is the Shuo Dynasty, and all the civil and military officials in Beijing who are in the ninth rank and above are participating, and the important ministers of the two governments are the first to lead the court.

What made the officials a little surprised was that four adult princes also appeared at the court meeting, and even the eldest prince Liu Xian, who was demoted to the general of the country, was not absent. It should be noted that for sixteen years, the Kaiping Emperor did not allow the princes to directly intervene in the affairs of the court. , so this is the first of its kind.

The emperor's ceremonial guard arrived, and the ministers shouted long live.

After the ceremony, the eunuchs all shouted loudly: "Every official has something to report."

There was complete silence in the grand and spacious Chengtian Hall, exuding an unsettling silence.

Emperor Kaiping sat high on the dragon chair, his eyes swept from right to left, and finally stopped on a young man.
Chapter completed!