Emperor Yufeng looked at the gradually darkening sky, his eyes becoming more and more gloomy.
The palace lanterns were lit one by one by the palace people who were quietly passing by. When the hall became brighter, it seemed that the sky outside was getting darker.
But Emperor Yufeng was sitting in this bright palace, but he exuded a heavy air of twilight.
The world has many misunderstandings about him, not least about his acumen and wisdom in government affairs.
In fact, the throne was obtained.
Everyone felt that he had picked up a big bargain because the princess he married was the general who later made great achievements in the border area.
The late emperor was so excited that he had him be crowned king before his other brothers.
Then the queen's maternal clan was also really powerful. She had several great victories in a row, which was enough for him to rank among the outstanding brothers. In the end, he got the advantage over the snipe and the clam.
These were all seen by outsiders. In fact, only he knew how he defeated those two losers step by step.
His life has been smooth sailing, except for one thing...
He looked at his finger again, his eyes already filled with coldness.
After all these years, he still hasn't found out who was so bold as to plant this thing in his body.
He originally thought it was Empress Yuan, but it wasn't until she passed away that he realized that the woman might have been wrongly accused.
Another palace servant quietly arranged his dinner in the room next door, and then quietly left.
This is his habit. He doesn't like to have anyone around him when eating.
All the food is made of pure silver utensils and is placed on bowls and plates delicately.
But he just glanced at it twice, moved twice casually, and then got up and went directly to his room. There was a Bagua lotus platform, and he would meditate on it for half an hour every day.
The hall is obviously empty and bright, but at night it is always filled with an indescribable weird atmosphere.
The so-called concubines in the harem...
In fact, it had been many years since Emperor Yufeng had touched any woman. Even the four new entrants to the palace only came and stayed for half a night before going back and then giving them titles.
With such an emperor who behaves strangely, it is common for the ministers in the court to often be confused about what the emperor means.
This is the case for Zhang Shoufu now.
After the fall of the third prince, in fact, apart from the prince, Zhang Shoufu and the Zhao family were probably the happiest.
But it happened that at this time, the old man was sick.
It's not a serious illness, it's just a minor problem caused by getting older and experiencing some exciting things.
But the people who came to the door in the past few days seemed to have different meanings.
The eldest man of the Zhang family was sitting in front of his father's bed with a hesitant look on his face.
Zhang Shoufu said calmly while eating the soup from the bowl: "If you have anything to say, just say it."
"Father, His Highness has been unable to cheer up because of the death of his wife. Things in the court are the time when people need to worry about them. The man named Xie has been busy these days. Father, you still..."
Mr. Zhang's eyes fell on the medicine that had cooled over there.
He couldn't figure out what his father meant. At this time, he even got into a childish temper and refused to take medicine properly. The more he was at this time, the more careful he had to be.
Although Xie Maocai is not from the prince's faction, he is not from the Three Princes either. As a pure minister, wouldn't he be able to win over the prince?
What's more, they also have an adopted daughter who seems to be very favored in the East Palace recently.
Zhang Shoufu handed the bowl in his hand to the maid aside, took the handkerchief and wiped the corners of his mouth, as if he was considering how to speak.
After his son waited helplessly for a long time, he said, "What do you think of the Fang family?"
"Fang family?"
Mr. Zhang didn't react for a moment, and he didn't even understand which Fang family his father was talking about.
"Fang Congwen's Fang family."
After receiving this advice from his father, Mr. Zhang suddenly remembered, and then he sneered and said, "Have you been thinking too much lately, father?
Although Fang Wenshan is somewhat famous, it is only in the eyes of the test-takers in the world. Although the boy from the Fang family won the title of "Tanghualang", he is still squatting in the Hanlin Academy! The fourth princess is just a nominal one.
This Fang family has no climate at all, even if it is too late to catch His Highness now, it cannot be compared with our family."
Mr. Zhang thought that his opinion was very appropriate, but he did not see any sign of approval on his father's face, and his voice slowly dropped.
"Boss! I'm afraid I won't be able to bear it as a father this time."
Hearing his father's sudden words, Mr. Zhang almost lost his balance on the fruit he was holding. He quickly said: "Father, what do you mean by this? Your illness is just a minor problem.
To say you are great is just to say that to others, why do you still say such depressing words?"
Zhang Shoufu just shook his head gently, "Forget it, I'll talk to you about this later. Keep the people in the house and your brothers under restraint these days. Don't run outside if nothing happens. After all, I'm sick."
"Look, if you do anything inappropriate and ask the censor to take a copy of it, it will be hard for my father to get you."
Mr. Zhang felt that what his father said was very wrong, but he didn't know how to argue.
What's more, although it was not serious, his father was still lying on the bed. Mr. Zhang did not dare to say anything more. After waiting for a while, he retreated to discuss with his staff.
Before the discussion came to any conclusion, I heard that someone from the palace was coming. It was sent by Emperor Yufeng to visit the chief minister. After all, he is the chief minister of a country. Now that he is seriously ill in bed, the emperor naturally has to be concerned.
Mr. Zhang was relieved in his heart. He was afraid that the previous conversation between father and son was due to the old man being too thoughtful while he was ill. Now that he has been comforted by the palace, it should be much better.
Unexpectedly, the next day, Zhang Shoufu closed the door and saw no one else. He only said that he was very short of energy and asked the people in front of him to go to the government office to ask for leave.
Soon, more people came to the palace, including several imperial doctors. They were all favored by Emperor Yufeng and were concerned about the health of the old minister.
When the news reached Prince Chen's Mansion, Xie Songhua had performed acupuncture on Xiao Yu for the seventh time.
Seeing that his pulse had completely returned to stability, she felt relieved, "I finally lived up to everyone's expectations and suppressed it for the time being."
Xiao Yu was still holding a book in his hand, as if he couldn't see the silver needles growing on his body like hedgehog thorns, and his eyes just fell on the pages of the book.
"You already have some talent in this matter, and with the information Duhuo has left for you, I have never doubted your ability."
Xie Songhua raised his eyebrows, but he couldn't help but smile a little, "With your prince's trust, I can't make any mistakes."
"The news came yesterday that Zhang Shoufu is seriously ill and may no longer be able to hold the position of chief assistant."
The smile on Xie Songhua's face immediately dropped after hearing this, "Are you really going to quit?"
It's somewhat surprising, after all, now that the prince is at the peak of his power, it's the time when the Zhang family is rising.
Xiao Yu just nodded lightly, "Your Xie family should be very busy these two days."
