The sixth princess, Zhu Yueyao, was eighteen years old and was born from the same mother as Emperor Yan Zhu Sheng. Because of her beautiful appearance and quirky temperament since she was a child, she was favored by the late emperor and her brothers.
News just came from outside the palace that the father of my good sister Liu Yingrong, Liu Chuanfang, the chief minister of the cabinet, vomited blood and fainted when he got up early this morning. Zhu Yueyao rushed out of the palace with two personal maids to accompany and comfort her good sister.
"It is said that during the Western Zhou Dynasty, the area around Guanzhong was transformed. In addition, years of drought caused people to flee everywhere, and the country was in turmoil. The Emperor of the Western Zhou Dynasty, King Zhou You, did not want to appease the exiled people. Instead, he carried out large-scale construction and construction of palaces. At the same time, he ordered to recruit beauties from all over the world to enter the palace.
For their enjoyment…”
When passing by the garden where his eighth brother Zhu Yan and his nephew Zhu Yun were playing, they heard a man's voice coming from a cadence.
Different from the sharp and feminine eunuchs, and different from the rough and heroic guards, this voice is soft yet masculine, and it feels like a spring breeze in the ears.
The content of this voice also aroused Zhu Yueyao's interest.
"There was a minister named Bao Jue in the Zhou Dynasty who was imprisoned because of his remarks that offended King You. In order to save him, Bao Jue's tribe found a stunning woman among the people. They named her Bao Si and sent her to the palace.
In order to please King You, he took the opportunity to intercede on Baoju's behalf. King You was fascinated by Bao Si's beauty and favored her very much... blah blah blah... This time the Quanrong army really came to kill, so King You quickly ordered people to light beacons. But because of the previous
After teasing several times, the princes thought it was still a lie and did not send troops. As a result, the army of Quanrong attacked the city, King Zhou You was killed, Bao Si was kidnapped, and the Western Zhou Dynasty was destroyed."
After all, they were too far away, and the intermittent sounds were not clear enough. Zhu Yueyao was fascinated by what she heard, and unconsciously moved step by step into the courtyard and approached the pavilion.
Although the three short stories of Pinocchio, The Boy Who Cried Wolf and The Princes of Beacon Fire do not sound as exciting and exciting as the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, they are novel enough and have profound implications. They tell the world that they must be honest and trustworthy, otherwise they will inevitably suffer consequences.
Big loss.
Zhu Yan and Zhu Yun heard the last story, but they were not as excited and cheering as before. Instead, they lowered their heads slightly, their little eyes rolling around in their eye sockets. They didn't know whether they were recalling the truth in the story or secretly cursing.
King You's foolishness.
"Hey, Sixth Sister, why are you here?"
After thinking about it secretly for a while, Zhu Yan raised his head and was about to say something, but when he saw Zhu Yueyao standing outside the pavilion, he stood up and shouted.
"Hello, Aunt Six."
Zhu Yun also stood up and shouted in a milky voice.
Rong Fei was sitting with his back to Zhu Yueyao. Hearing the conversation between the two, he guessed that a princess was coming and quickly stood up and turned around to salute.
"Rong Fei has met the princess."
Rong Fei knew that there were many rules in the palace, especially as a strange man, he had to pay attention to etiquette when meeting women. As the saying goes, don’t hear what is inappropriate and see what is inappropriate, so even though he had seen the princess, he kept his head down and did not dare to do so.
Really go and see what the princess looks like.
"Rong Fei? You are neither a chamberlain nor a guard of the imperial army. Why are you in the palace?"
Zhu Yueyao walked into the pavilion and gestured to Zhu Yan and Zhu Yun to sit down. She also found a way to sit down and asked Rongfei.
Before Rong Fei could answer, the chamberlain Xiao Shunzi stood outside the pavilion and bowed and saluted.
"Slave Xiao Shunzi, please see Princess Yinguang."
"Xiao Shunzi, I remember that you are Wei Daban's follower, why are you here?"
"Back to the princess, my godfather has something important to do, so I asked my slave to accompany Rong to catch the head."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yueyao looked at Rong Fei doubtfully.
"Where are you from? What are you doing in the palace?"
"Sixth Aunt, he is the head catcher of the Ji Xian Division. He was brought in by Chief Yu to solve the case. Please don't drive him away, okay? The stories he tells are so nice."
Zhu Yun shook Zhu Yueyao's arm and begged.
"Hehehe, little devil, I haven't spoken yet, how do you know that I want to drive him away?"
Zhu Yueyao fondly scratched Zhu Yun's little nose and asked with a smile.
"It's okay if you don't chase Rong Fei away. The stories he told are very nice. If you don't believe it, Aunt Six, let Rong Fei tell one now. I guarantee you like it. Rong Fei will tell Aunt Six more quickly.
listen."
Little baby Zhu Yun's eyes flashed with cunning, and she waved to Rong Fei and shouted.
"Well... let's tell another story about Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai."
Of course, Rong Fei didn't want to leave, so he took the ladder Zhu Yun had put up without ceremony and climbed up.
"It is said that during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, in Zhujiazhuang, Shangyu County, Zhejiang, by the Yushui River, there was a daughter named Yingtai who was not a member of the Zhu family. She was beautiful and intelligent...Bara Bala..."
…
Snap!
In the side hall of Yongqian Palace, Emperor Yan Zhu Sheng folded the memorial and raised his hand to throw it out. However, he held his hand in the air for a long time and finally placed the memorial gently on the table.
At this time, Zhu Sheng's face no longer had the calmness of yesterday. In his eyes were panic, anger, confusion, viciousness, determination and other emotions mixed together. His whole person was like a volcano that could erupt at any time.
Footsteps sounded outside the door. Judging from the weight and rhythm of the sound, Zhu Sheng already knew who was coming. The expression on his face instantly returned to his usual calm look. He picked up the memorial he had just put down and started reading.
"Your Majesty, the old slave is back."
Wei Lin entered the room and closed the door tightly first, then walked to Zhu Sheng's side, bowed and lowered her hands.
"How is the old chief assistant's condition?"
Zhu Sheng asked calmly.
"Mr. Guan has already looked at it and said that it was not accurate. Perhaps the weather has turned cold recently and the old man's problem has occurred, so he prescribed some warming and nourishing medicine to strengthen the body and strengthen the body. When the old slave left, Liu Shoufu had not yet given it.
Signs of awakening.”
"Hmph, the chief assistant's old habit of making mistakes sooner rather than later, happened on the day before the ceremony to worship the heaven. What a coincidence!"
Zhu Sheng's tone was calm, but Wei Lin, who had been with him for many years, knew that this calmness was actually a precursor to rage.
It's really the wrong time for Liu Shoufu to make this old mistake.
Half a year ago, most of the officials in the court secretly believed that King Yong Zhu Cheng would definitely inherit the throne, so they secretly swore allegiance to him.
The final result was beyond everyone's expectations, and the sixth prince Zhu Sheng, who had always been secretive, became the one who had the last laugh.
Those ministers who had chosen sides in advance knew that after Zhu Sheng took control of the government, he would have to settle accounts later. In order to protect themselves, they could only continue to surround King Yong and form the most powerful group of gangsters in the court - Yong.
party.
Among the Yong party, there were one cabinet minister, three ministers, four ministers, and countless other officials of fourth rank or above who held real power. It is not an exaggeration to say that they occupied half of the court.
If it had not been for the strong support of his old chief minister Liu Chuanfang, who allowed Zhu Sheng to control the imperial army guarding Kyoto in the shortest possible time and use military power to counterbalance it, it is hard to say whether the emperor's throne would have been able to sit securely to this day.
But now the giant pillar of the old chief minister has collapsed. How can Zhu Sheng not be anxious? How can he not be angry? How can he not be afraid?
The master and servant in the room did not speak for a long time, each thinking about their own thoughts and countermeasures.
"The one Mr. Yu brought here is called... something wrong..."
Zhu Sheng was like a drowning man at this moment. Regardless of whether he saw a thick branch or tender grass, he would grab it first, but he couldn't remember the name of the little catcher at the moment.
Coming.
"Rong Fei."
Wei Lin said quickly.
"Yes, his name is Rong Fei. How is the progress with him? Have you found anything?"
"This...I'll ask this old slave now."
Wei Lin turned around to leave but was called back by Zhu Sheng.
"The old chief assistant's side is more important. I don't worry about others, so I still have to keep an eye on it. No matter when the old chief assistant wakes up, he must report it immediately."
With that said, Zhu Sheng wrote a note with a few strokes and handed it to Wei Lin.
"Show the note to Fan Liren. I am authorized to accompany you in and out of the palace at any time, and the Feiyu Guards cannot stop you."
"Old slave, I obey."
Wei Lin took the note with both hands and bowed to accept the order. After walking out of the room, she took the time to raise her sleeves to wipe the sweat on her forehead, but she felt a slight chill.
The wind has risen.
Wei Lin looked at the sky filled with dark clouds and gloomy rain, and sighed secretly in her heart.
The autumn wind and autumn rain are so sad!
Knock…knock…knock…
Zhu Sheng put his hand on the case and tapped the surface with his middle finger, the expression on his face changing from worry to anger.
When the late emperor died, he did not issue an edict or explicitly ask Zhu Cheng to leave Kyoto to take up his post in the fiefdom. In addition, the current Queen Mother was Zhu Cheng's biological mother, and she had always expressed her hope that Zhu Cheng could spend more time with her in Kyoto.
Zhu Sheng's foundation was not yet solid, so it was difficult to force him to do so, but secretly he was always on guard.
The court gave absolute trust to Liu Chuanfang and delegated absolute power to suppress the Yong Party and stabilize the government. On the other hand, the four yamen of the Forbidden Army that guarded Kyoto and the officers of the Feiyu Guard who guarded the palace were replaced by those with absolute trust.
confidant.
According to Zhu Sheng's original plan, the Yong Party will definitely launch an attack on the grounds of testing the authenticity of the jade seal during the ceremony tomorrow. Liu Chuanfang will step in to suppress and intimidate the Yong Party. If the Yong Party still refuses to give up, there will be people arranged by Zhu Sheng in advance.
Creating a commotion among the officials, Feiyuwei forcibly terminated the Heaven Sacrifice Ceremony in the name of escort, and took the opportunity to arrest several key Yong Party members to kill chickens and monkeys.
As long as the authenticity of the jade seal is not confirmed on the spot, Zhu Sheng will be in an invincible position.
The Heaven Sacrifice Ceremony held every four years is a major event for the country, and it has not been terminated halfway since the founding of Dayan. And after tomorrow, this matter will become a stain that cannot be erased in Zhu Sheng's life, and will be
It is recorded in history books and ridiculed by future generations.
But compared to this, Zhu Sheng is more concerned about whether the person sitting on that throne will still be himself after tomorrow!
As for the small stains... I'll leave it to posterity to comment.
But despite all calculations, they never expected that they would dare to attack the current cabinet minister. If Liu Chuanfang did not come forward to frighten the Yong Party tomorrow, other officials who were not affiliated with the Yong Party would lose their leaders, and no one would dare to come forward to fight against them.
contend.
At this time, Zhu Sheng would be politically isolated and helpless, and the only people he could rely on were the Feiyu Guards and the Forbidden Army's Four Yamen.
Could it be that... I can only take the riskiest move?
Zhu Sheng couldn't help but shudder when he thought of the scene of blood-filled altar and rolling heads in his mind.
You can't do this dangerous move unless you have to!
Let's see if the guy brought back by Yu Qingzhi can find evidence that Zhu Cheng ordered someone to steal the jade seal.
The sound of fingers tapping on the table suddenly stopped, and Zhu Sheng called out in a low voice.
"Jiashen."
"My slave is here."
A black shadow slipped in through the crack of the closed door, kneeling respectfully in front of the imperial desk.
"Go and see what the man named Rong is doing?"
The black figure called Jiashen agreed and slipped out of the crack in the door.
Half an hour later, Jiashen returned to the side hall, knelt in front of the imperial case and replied.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Rong Fei is telling a story to the Crown Prince, Prince Qi and Princess Yinguang."