Everyone suddenly fell silent. Ya Ruo looked at Wu Chengsi with wide eyes, seemingly in disbelief.
Mrs. Pei glanced at Ya Ruo and felt happy in her heart.
Wu Chengsi said calmly: "Your Highness, what do you say?"
The prince said anxiously: "Cousin, she is a Turk and does not understand the laws of our dynasty. Please look at my face and spare her this time!"
The courtiers behind the prince looked at each other with gloating in their eyes. They really hoped that Wu Chengsi would kill this Turkic concubine.
When Yaruo saw that all the ministers were silent and the prince's tone was weak, he finally felt fear in his heart, and looked at Wu Chengsi with a more pleading look.
Wu Chengsi was silent for a while and said: "Well, for the sake of the prince, I won't tell your majesty what happened this time. However, the death penalty can be avoided, but the crime of living is hard to escape. Someone comes and slaps the prince's concubine ten times.
Down!"
Yaruo immediately hugged the prince's arm and cried: "Prince, please help me quickly, don't let them hit me."
The prince said anxiously: "Cousin, please spare her this time. I will discipline her well in the future!"
Wu Chengsi said sternly: "No, if there is no punishment for violating the imperial edict, where is the majesty of the emperor! Where is the majesty of the law!"
The prince was speechless and could only watch the two eunuchs drag Yaruo aside. Yaruo was really scared this time and did not dare to fight back at all!
Bang bang bang, bang bang bang!
After ten slaps, both sides of Yaruo's cheeks turned red, her eyes filled with tears, and she looked at Wu Chengsi with even more fear.
"What are you looking at? Do you still want to slap me?" Wu Chengsi said fiercely.
Yaruo quickly looked away.
The prince knelt for so long that his feet were numb, and he weakly said: "Cousin, hurry up and declare the decree!"
Wu Chengsi said coldly: "Why are you so anxious? Let me ask you what's going on with your cousin. I saw you were fine just now, why can't you walk all of a sudden?"
Dai Zhide frowned and said: "His Royal Highness, King Zhou, His Majesty asked you to come here to announce the decree, not to interrogate the prince!"
Wu Chengsi snorted: "What I'm asking now is related to the content of the imperial edict! You talk so much nonsense, do you have any opinions on the imperial edict?"
Dai Zhide hurriedly said: "I don't dare to do this."
"Then shut up!"
The prince lowered his head and said nothing. Wu Chengsi turned his eyes to Ya Ruo and said, "What's going on? Tell me!"
Yaruo touched her swollen cheek and pouted: "His Royal Highness asked her to go back to Chengqian Palace. She is too weak, so it is none of my business!"
"Prince, is this a problem?" Wu Chengsi said sternly.
The prince lowered his head and said "Yes".
"Why are you doing this?"
The prince glanced at Ya Ruo and saw Ya Ruo staring at him, with one hand ready to grab her, so he could only say: "I... I want her to exercise."
Pei's face looked miserable, biting her lip and said: "Your Highness, how could you..."
"Shut up!" The prince glared at her.
"You should shut up!" Wu Chengsi scolded, turned to look at Pei, and said: "Cousin, tell me what the situation is, and I will make the decision for you."
The prince finally couldn't bear it anymore and said: "Wu Chengsi, after all, I am the crown prince, and you are a minister. If you want to announce an edict, do so quickly. If you don't, then go back!"
Wu Chengsi said coldly: "Your Highness, since you want to listen to the order, then just listen."
He spread out the imperial edict and said loudly: "Crown Princess Pei is dignified and elegant. I am very pleased. I will reward Pei with a purple jade phoenix crown, ten jade ornaments, ten gold, silver and jade articles, and ten tributes from the Western Regions."
Mrs. Pei was surprised and happy. She raised her hands and said, "I accept the order!"
The emperor's decree was often not just a reward, but also contained the emperor's attitude, which showed that the emperor had always taken her plight into consideration.
The prince was stunned and said: "Father, this is..."
Wu Chengsi said coldly: "Your Highness, don't you understand? His Majesty has been paying attention to your words and deeds. You don't understand the meaning of this decree, right?"
The prince stood up and said angrily: "Did you tell my father?"
Wu Chengsi snorted and said: "I won't hide it from you, I really couldn't see your attitude towards your cousin, so I mentioned it to His Majesty."
"This is our East Palace's private matter, why are you meddling in our own business?" Yaruo pouted.
"Say it again?" Wu Chengsi turned his head and looked over.
Ya Ruo stamped her feet, turned around and ran towards the backyard.
The prince looked at Wu Chengsi, gritted his teeth and said, "I'll go find my father and ask him clearly!"
After just two steps, I heard someone shouting: "Come back!"
Turning around, he saw that the person calling was Yaruo, who was standing in the corridor in the distance. When he saw Yaruo waving, the prince had no choice but to run over, and the two of them whispered to each other.
Wu Chengsi was too lazy to stay here any longer. When he was about to leave, he suddenly heard Dai Liangshao say coldly: "Your Highness, King Zhou, from now on, the entire East Palace will not welcome you. I hope you will not come again."
Wu Chengsi turned his head and said calmly: "What you said doesn't count!"
Dai Liangshao snorted: "Do you think His Highness the Crown Prince will forgive you after what happened today?"
"The prince's words don't count," Wu Chengsi said.
Dai Liangshao's face changed slightly and he said, "What do you mean by this?"
"Perhaps one day I will whisper in Your Majesty's ears that the Crown Prince is surrounded by treacherous ministers who are fawning over you. Then I may come to deliver the order again." Wu Chengsi said with a half-smile but not a smile.
Dai Liangshao was shocked and frightened. From the decree just now, it could be seen that Wu Chengsi had great influence on the emperor. Maybe he could really ask for another decree.
At this moment, a cold voice sounded: "Dai Xima, who said that everyone in the East Palace does not welcome His Royal Highness King Zhou?"
Dai Liangshao turned around to look, and hurriedly raised his hands and said: "Your Highness, your Majesty... this..."
Mrs. Pei didn't pay any attention to him anymore. She slowly came to Wu Chengsi and gave him a big salute. Then she glanced at the prince and the prince's concubine who were talking in a low voice in the distance. She shook her head and left with the support of her maid.
went.
Wu Chengsi looked at her thin back, shook his head and sighed.
Although he sympathized with Mr. Pei's plight, he was helpless. Instead of lamenting to himself, he might as well go home and be with his wife.
In the corridor, when he saw Wu Chengsi leaving, the prince immediately asked: "My beloved concubine, why don't you let me go to my father to complain?"
Yaruo clicked on his forehead and said angrily: "If you go now and he doesn't follow you, if you let him tell me about my disrespect for the imperial edict, will Your Majesty be able to spare me?"
The prince slapped his forehead and said: "Hey, it's all my fault for not thinking well and almost harming my beloved concubine, so let's just forget it like this?"
Yaruo said angrily: "Why are you so stupid? Now that he is gone, can you just go and complain to His Majesty?"
"Then if the father calls him over for a confrontation, he might still say it!" the prince said with a wink.
Yaruo was stunned and said: "That's right." After being silent for a while, he snorted coldly: "Forget it, that guy is not easy to mess with, leave him alone, this is all caused by Pei.
How are you going to punish her?"
The prince said cautiously: "Do you have any ideas, my dear concubine?"
Yaruo's eyes flashed and she said: "You should destroy her, I don't want to be called a concubine anymore!"
The prince smiled bitterly and said: "My beloved concubine, I have always been prepared to find a reason to destroy her, but my father just issued a decree to reward her, which is clearly a warning to me!"
"So!" Yaruo said coldly.
The prince hurriedly grabbed her hands and said: "Don't worry, my father's health has been getting worse and worse recently. After he dies, I will make you queen as soon as I ascend the throne, okay!"
Yaruo snorted and said, "Okay, but I won't allow you to say a word to her again in the future!"
The prince scratched his head and wondered: "How can this be done? If you don't speak on some occasions, others will find out. It would be bad if they told their father, queen, mother, and cousin."
"Then you are not allowed to talk to her in private."
"...I just listen to you."
"You seem to have a problem?"
"No, no, how dare I have any objection to you."
"Humph, I'm sorry you don't dare!"
…
When Wu Chengsi returned to the small hall, it was more than half past Unity Hour and the sky was already dark.
Just as he entered the door, a guard suddenly came quickly and said with cupped hands: "Your Highness, there are guests visiting. Her Royal Highness the Princess and Miss Xue's family are receiving the guests in the lobby."
Wu Chengsi felt slightly strange. Li Zhiying rarely saw outsiders when he was away. Who could make her break this habit?
When they came to the lobby, they saw Li Zhiying sitting alone at the main seat. Xue Yujin, Chen Ziang and a strange man were sitting in the guest seats. After seeing Wu Chengsi, the four of them stood up.
"Husband, you are back. Two guests came to see you and said they had important matters to discuss with you." Li Zhiying winked at Wu Chengsi.
Wu Chengsi glanced at Chen Ziang and smiled: "I recognize Chen Changshi, but I don't know who the other friend is?" He looked at the strange man.
Xue Yujin rushed to say: "He is Yang Wulian's son, Yang Tai."
Yang Tai cupped his hands and said: "Yang Tai, a common man, pays homage to His Highness the King of Zhou."
Wu Chengsi frowned secretly, Yang Tai came to him, most likely to plead for his father, his wife should be able to think of it, why let him in?
Wu Chengsi came to another seat and sat down, waved his hand and said: "No need to be polite, please sit down."
Xue Yujin seemed to be more anxious than Li Zhiying, and hurriedly explained: "Brother Wu, originally we didn't want to bring them here, but Yang Tai said that we wanted to offer you something, so we took them back home."
"What?" Wu Chengsi asked curiously.
Xue Yujin looked at Yang Tai and said, "Brother Wu is back, please tell me quickly."
Yang Tai suddenly knelt down on one knee, cupped his hands and said, "I hope your highness can save my father's life."
Xue Yujin immediately became furious and said: "Hey, you bastard, didn't you lie to me and Zhiying to bring you into the house before saying that you wanted to donate something?"
Yang Tai said calmly: "I do want to offer something to His Highness King Zhou, but the condition is that I hope His Highness can save my father's life!"
"You still dare to raise conditions?" Xue Yujin became even more angry.
Chen Ziang tried to smooth things over and said, "Miss Yujin, don't be so angry. Why don't you let Brother Yang finish what he said and then leave it to the prince to make a decision?"
Xue Yujin glared at him, snorted, and closed his mouth.
Wu Chengsi sat quietly, looking at Yang Tai without saying a word.
Li Zhiying said softly: "Yang Tai, if your father commits a serious crime, he should be punished by the law. You should understand this."
Yang Tai gritted his teeth and said: "My father is indeed guilty, but I would like to ask Your Highness the Prince and Princess to give my father a chance to redeem himself and make meritorious service!"
Li Zhiying glanced at Wu Chengsi, but when he saw that he still didn't speak, she had to ask: "How can you be guilty and meritorious?"
Yang Tai said: "As long as the prince can save my father, my father and I are willing to offer the method of making iron pipes, and we are also willing to help the prince make more iron pipes!"
Wu Chengsi was startled and lost his voice: "What is the iron pipe you are talking about?"
"It's the iron pipe you asked Shenhuo Workshop to make. Although your Shenhuo Workshop has not made the iron pipe yet, my father and I have already made it." Seeing that Wu Chengsi really cared about the iron pipe, Yang Tai clenched his hands secretly.
fist.
Wu Chengsi was even more surprised and asked: "How do you know that I asked Shenhuofang to make iron pipes?"
"Have you forgotten that when you first established the Shenhuo Fang, you asked your father for some craftsmen, and those craftsmen often spread the news about the Shenhuo Fang."
Wu Chengsi was stunned for a long time, and finally remembered that when he first established the Shenhuofang, he did ask the general supervisor for a group of craftsmen, but he did not expect that these people would become other people's eyes and ears.
But he really didn't expect that Yang Wulian would be King Pei's man.
Yang Tai added: "After His Royal Highness King Pei learned that you wanted to make this kind of iron pipe, he felt that this thing was probably a gunpowder weapon, so he asked his father to cast it."
"So the Shenhuo Fang hasn't been built yet, but you built it first?" Wu Chengsi glared.
Yang Tai stood up straight, raised his head and said: "Your Highness, the common people know that Uncle Zhang and Uncle Xu have joined your service, but when it comes to smelting technology, both of them are far behind my father, let alone the craftsmen of your Shenhuo Workshop."
Li Zhiying said: "Mr. Yang, you can't win people's trust just by relying on your own words."
Yang Tai immediately said: "Your Highness, Your Majesty, if you don't believe me, you can call Uncle Xu and Uncle Zhang over and ask them face to face."
In the quiet courtyard, Chen Ziang raised his head and looked at the bright moon with his hands behind his hands.
After a long while, he withdrew his gaze and looked at Yang Tai beside him. Yang Tai stood upright in the middle of the courtyard, staring at the study in front.
Yang Wulian is in the study.
After Wu Chengsi heard what Yang Tai said, he not only sent people to invite Zhang Qiming and Xu Yuanju, but also asked people to bring Yang Wulian over with his token.
Yang Wulian arrived first, and as soon as he arrived, he was invited into the study alone by Wu Chengsi.
This dialogue will be Yang Wulian's last chance, and Yang Tai is naturally very nervous.
Although Chen Zi'ang is called Luoyang's crazy student, it refers to the side of him when he debates knowledge with others. When he gets along with others on weekdays, he is not only not crazy, but also very considerate.
He understood very well that Yang Tai didn't want to talk now, so he stayed with him quietly without saying a word.
Unexpectedly, Yang Tai suddenly spoke to him.
"Brother Chen, regardless of whether my father can be rescued today, I am very grateful to you."
"Brother Yang, you're welcome."
"Although I am very grateful to you, there is something I have to ask Brother Chen."
"Brother Yang, if you have anything to say, just ask."
Yang Tai turned his head, looked at Chen Ziang with sharp eyes, and said: "Although you and I have worked for His Highness King Pei before, we have no personal relationship. Why do you help me like this?"
Chen Ziang touched his nose and smiled: "Brother Yang, don't be suspicious. In fact, I have always admired Brother Yang. I would like to take this opportunity to make friends with you."
Yang Tai stared at Chen Ziang quietly for a while and said coldly: "Brother Chen, it's best not to treat others as idiots. Although I don't have much contact with you, I have always been paying attention to you."
"Oh? Why are you paying attention to me?" Chen Ziang still smiled.
Yang Tai said coldly: "Because when I was in Luoyang, I heard a debate between you and others."
"Which one."
"The debate between you and Yan Yaosheng at the Seven Star Tower."
Chen Ziang smiled and said, "I remember that debate."
"Of course you remember, it was that debate that made both of you famous, and that debate was also the only debate you didn't win."
Chen Ziang frowned. Yang Tai's words became colder and colder, and he seemed to be quite hostile to him, which made him confused.
Yang Tai continued: "It was precisely because of Yan Yaosheng, a powerful opponent, that you had to go all out in that debate, but I discovered something unexpectedly."
The smile on Chen Ziang's face disappeared and he said numbly: "What's the matter?"
Yang Tai said: "You are a supporter of the imperial examination policy, and you hate the phenomenon of being able to become an official just by virtue of your family background!"
Chen Ziang's face changed drastically and cast a shadow.
Yang Tai continued: "His Royal Highness King Pei has been trying to win over aristocratic families. His princess even chose a daughter of the Zheng family. Logically speaking, it is impossible for you to be recruited by King Pei."
Chen Ziang said coldly: "What exactly do you want to say?"
"At first I didn't understand why you stayed with King Pei. It wasn't until you openly betrayed me a few days ago that I finally realized it."
Chen Ziang took a deep breath and said nothing.
Yang Tai said: "I originally thought you were from Her Royal Highness the Queen and His Royal Highness King Zhou, but when I found out that you wanted to use me to get close to Queen Zhou, I changed my mind."
The smile returned to Chen Ziang's face again and he said: "This is all just your conjecture."
Yang Tai said coldly: "That's right, so I won't report you."
"Thank you."
"You don't have to thank me. No matter what, you finally helped me and we are even."
Chen Ziang smiled and said: "This is the best."
Yang Tai said: "So you can leave now."
The smile on Chen Ziang's face froze.
"Although I won't report you, I don't like being used like a fool by others, so you'd better leave here immediately."
Chen Ziang took a deep look at Yang Tai, turned around and left.
Yang Tai looked at the study again as if nothing had happened.
Another quarter of an hour later, Yang Tai suddenly heard the sound of a wooden wheel rolling behind him.
Turning around, he saw Xu Yuanju and Zhang Qiming, their father and son, slowly walking over under the leadership of several guards.
Xu Yuanju was sitting in a wheelchair, being pushed by Zhang Qiming.
Zhang Qiming looks very similar to his son, and has a similar figure, but he has more wrinkles on his face and his eyes are cloudier.
After seeing Yang Tai, Zhang Qiming's cloudy eyes widened and he said angrily: "Why are you here?"
Yang Tai cupped his hands and said, "My nephew has met two martial uncles."
"Who is your uncle? Get out of here right now, or don't blame me for spreading your story." Zhang Qiming threatened.
Yang Tai said: "My nephew was about to thank Uncle Zhang for concealing my relationship with this incident."
Zhang Qiming was shocked. The reason why he did not report Yang Tai was because he felt like a family member and did not want the Yang family to be extinct.
But Yang Tai actually told this matter in front of the guards of Prince Zhou's Mansion, wasn't he afraid that others would know about it?
At this moment, Xu Yuanju said coldly: "Yang Tai, His Highness the King of Zhou asked us to come over. It must have something to do with you, right?"
Yang Tai pointed to the study and said: "His Royal Highness King Zhou is talking to my father inside. His Highness has told you that if you two come over, please wait outside for a while."
"What? Yang Wulian is in there too?" Zhang Qiming was shocked and angry.
Xu Yuanju said in a deep voice: "Yang Tai, what exactly did you say to His Highness?"
Yang Tai turned around and faced the direction of the study, as if he didn't intend to speak anymore.
Zhang Gou was so angry that he quickly came to Yang Tai, grabbed him by the collar, and said angrily:
"You bastard, it's because you and your father were so greedy for money that Master Xu's legs were broken and Junior Sister Xu's eyes were blinded. You don't even have any regrets at all?"
Yang Tai said coldly: "Repentance can only be said with your mouth. If you want to hear it, I can talk to you all day."
Bang!
Zhang Gou punched Yang Tai directly. Yang Tai stood up, straightened his clothes, and continued to face the study, as if he was not the one who was hit.
Zhang Gou was furious and was about to hit him again when Xu Yuanju raised his voice and said, "Gou'er, stop it quickly."
"Master Xu, this bastard has no regrets at all!" Zhang Gou said angrily.
Xu Yuanju said slowly: "This is the place for His Royal Highness the King of Zhou. Don't mess around."
Zhang Gou turned to look at the guards not far away and found that they were staring at him. He snorted and returned to Zhang Qiming.