During the autumn tax season, officials from all over the country report on their work, reorganize the troops in Western Xinjiang, and promulgate new laws and regulations to appease the people everywhere.
Xi Feng, the legitimate son of the Xi family, and Xinke Zhuangyuan were trained and assisted in the Imperial Study Room, which could relieve His Majesty of the Emperor of some trivial matters, and at the same time, it could also exercise their insights and ability to deal with government affairs.
At the end of August, the news that Yun Chen and his envoys had returned to Dayong reached the imperial city. When Emperor Zhaoming heard the spies' report, his heart finally dropped: "Emperor Dongyou and Queen are here too?"
The spy respectfully reported back: "I didn't see the imperial guard of honor."
Emperor Zhaoming frowned and turned to look at the ministers in the palace.
"Could it be that Emperor Dongyou keeps a low profile and doesn't want to attract too much attention?" Prime Minister Wei guessed, "After all, the emperor's status is precious. If he is ambushed, the consequences will be disastrous."
Other ministers thought it made sense and agreed: "Yes, Western Xinjiang has just been destroyed, and there may be remnants of soldiers and horses lying in wait on the road to give Emperor Dongyou a fatal blow."
"In addition to Western Xinjiang, other countries are also very afraid of Dongyou. If the emperor travels eastward at this time, there will inevitably be some dangers. If he is assassinated at the chaotic border between the two countries, it is not even clear who the murderer is.
So sure.”
Emperor Zhaoming's expression moved slightly, and he couldn't help but think, what would be the consequences if Emperor Dongyou was really assassinated at the chaotic border between the two countries?
Although there is already a prince, a newborn child is still in its infancy, ignorant and unable to even speak a word. Even if he succeeds to the throne and is assisted by the auxiliary ministers, Dongyou will most likely fall into civil strife.
Maybe civil war will break out soon, and all the generals in charge of the military will want to take the opportunity to replace them, and Western Xinjiang will also revive.
Of course, the premise of all this is that the assassination can be successful.
If it fails, it is very likely to stimulate Emperor Dongyou and make him angry and raise troops to conquer other countries again.
"Emperor Dongyou is on a mission to another country, and there must be countless masters around him. How easy is it to assassinate him?" Gu Qiubai, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, shook his head slowly, "Whoever dares to take action may be seeking death."
Emperor Zhaoming came back to his senses, suppressed his thoughts, and said calmly: "What you all said is reasonable, but the prince can come back with Emperor Dongyou, protected by Feng Ci and Dayong, and protected by Dongyou masters along the way.
You will be able to return to the imperial city safely soon."
"The Emperor's Holy Ming!"
Emperor Zhaoming looked at the spies kneeling in the hall: "Apart from the Crown Prince, is Prince Jing here?"
The spy replied: "My subordinates didn't notice it."
The ministers were surprised: "The war in Western Xinjiang has ended. Logically speaking, King Jing should come back with us."
"Is it true that King Jing stayed in Western Xinjiang to marry their most beautiful princess?"
"Not finding it does not mean that he is not here. If you want to know if King Jing is back, you can ask him directly." A minister suggested, "The person who escorted the prince back is the direct grandson of the Feng family and one of our own. As long as you ask him, he will tell you the truth."
.”
Emperor Zhaoming didn't say anything. He felt uncomfortable hearing the words "the most beautiful princess" now.
Concubine De said that there is no so-called most beautiful princess in Dongyou, and several princesses in the royal family are not taken seriously, and King Jing is not a person who ignores the overall situation for the sake of beauty.
Emperor Zhaoming relied on his own intuition and felt that it was impossible for King Jing to go to the battlefield in person for a princess and put himself in danger to perform meritorious service for Dongyou.
So we still have to wait until Yun Chen comes back to know what the truth is.
After waving his hand and signaling the spies to step back, Emperor Zhaoming glanced across the court's civil and military faces: "Dear ladies, do you have anything else to say?"
"I wonder how many soldiers and horses are escorting the prince back this time, and whether there will be any accidents on the way." Prime Minister Wei was worried, "Emperor Dongyou has just destroyed Western Xinjiang, and some soldiers and horses from the Western Xinjiang royal family must have escaped. I am worried.
If an assassin assassinates Emperor Dongyou, His Highness the Crown Prince will be implicated."
When King Qi, who was standing in the queue, heard this, his heart moved.
Yes, Western Xinjiang has just been destroyed, and there will definitely be people who hate Emperor Dongyou who destroyed their country. When assassins assassinate him, it is inevitable that Yun Chen will be affected.
In this way, even if he dies, there is no way to prove who did it. Just point the finger at Xijiang. Anyway, it is on the way back. As long as no evidence is left behind, who can determine who the assassin is?
Such an idea passed through his mind. The more King Qi thought about it, the more feasible it became. When he returned to the palace after going to court, he immediately summoned the dead men in the palace, "Yun Chen has already set off to return to the capital. You go now and make sure he dies quietly."
No sound, no clues allowed."
The dead soldiers are like the Night Demon. If they go on a mission, they will die. If they fail to complete the mission, they will die. If they complete the mission, they may die... It depends on whether they can escape unscathed. If they can complete the mission without leaving any clues, maybe they will die.
You can still survive until the next mission.
However, this mission is obviously difficult. There are many experts in Dongyou, and Feng Ci has thousands of soldiers under his command. The chance of success is not high - fortunately, their target is Yun Chen, who is the best to deal with among the group, instead of
Emperor Dongyou.
As long as you look for an opportunity for him to be alone, it shouldn't be difficult to succeed. The difficult thing is how to escape after you succeed.
That night, Prime Minister Wei, dressed in a black cloak, entered Prince Qi's Mansion through the back door. His servants quietly led him into the study, where Prime Minister Wei and Prince Qi met.
"The dead soldiers have been sent out. Thank you uncle for reminding me in court. This time is simply a God-given opportunity. Yun Chen must die if he dies, or if he doesn't die, he must die." King Qi poured a cup of tea for Wei Chengxiang, "I just don't know.
Why has there been no news from King Jing?"
Prime Minister Wei didn't look relaxed: "Yun Chen is easy to deal with, but King Jing is difficult to deal with. There has been no news, which may not be good news for us."
King Qi's expression changed: "What uncle means is..."
"I have always suspected that the emperor's favorite person is not the prince at all." Prime Minister Wei thought thoughtfully, "I originally thought that the emperor did have a preference for the prince and favored the Wu family, but now I don't think so."
King Qi hurriedly said: "I would like to ask my uncle for some advice."
"In any case, it would be a good thing if King Jing never comes back. As long as we get rid of Yun Chen this time, we will temporarily get rid of a major worry." Prime Minister Wei frowned, "The next thing His Highness needs to do is to win over the household department.
With the two ministers of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, as long as Yun Chen dies, it will be easy for His Highness to be behind the scenes."
King Qi looked solemn: "Uncle, don't forget, Su Zhaoyi is Su Muchen's aunt, and there is Yunchi in the palace who is a cousin to Su behind the scenes. Will Yunchi have any ideas about this?"
"His mother is only Zhaoyi and not of sufficient importance. Your Highness, please rest assured." Prime Minister Wei shook his head, "Su Muchen will not be so stupid as to do something that he knows is impossible."