"But Emperor Yuan was so stupid, why didn't he still ascend to the throne? Emperor Chu was at least diligent in government affairs, not better than Emperor Yuan?"
"But in our Dongjiang, besides Emperor Yuan, to whom else could the late emperor pass his throne to? Emperor Yuan's brothers fought for the position and were bloody and bloody. In the end, only Yuan was left.
The emperor is so complete."
Xia Jingyan thought about it and realized that, of the sixteen princes of the late emperor, twelve were dead, and only four of them were left alive. Who else could he pass on to if he didn't pass it on to Emperor Yuan? Emperor Yuan, who had never had any disputes, would just sit back and reap the benefits.
What a benefit!
"Then based on this, Emperor Chu is quite capable. I heard that there were nine princes in the Chu royal family, all of them were outstanding, and Emperor Chu was the winner. I thought that Emperor Chu was the most kind-hearted person!"
"Yan'er, as an emperor, no one will be soft-hearted. If you care about human feelings in everything, the country will be in chaos."
"Um……"
Xia Jingyan nestled in Zhou Ranzhuo's arms, feeling a little sad for no reason.
"Then it's a lie that Emperor Chu was trapped?" Xia Jingyan asked.
"That's natural. King Ling is stupid. He really thinks that he can control the emperor and the prince with just a few soldiers. Emperor Chu wants King Ling to fight Dongjiang. He wants to take Dongjiang and maintain his friendly image.
, isn’t this a good move for the ambitious King Ling?”
"So Emperor Chu is the real master of chess. He pretended to miss, making King Ling mistakenly think that he had the power and attacked Dongjiang. King Ling did not dare to directly get rid of Emperor Chu, so he sent out the army in the name of Emperor Chu.
At that time, if you randomly send a dead soldier to assassinate Emperor Chu, pretend to be a filial son and cry in the mourning hall, and blame Dong Jiang and the prince, then the throne will naturally belong to him." Xia Jingyan roughly figured it out.
"But after all, he still underestimated Emperor Chu. He had been sitting on Xijiang for thirty years. How could Emperor Chu be a good enemy? Emperor Chu wanted to wait for King Ling to capture Dongjiang and then use his troops to counterattack. By then King Ling would be defeated and Dongjiang would be gone.
Everything is in his hands. He only needs to kill King Ling in public to appease the people of Dongjiang, and then he can continue to maintain his image as a good person. Why not?" Zhou Ranzhuo explained everything clearly.
"As expected of an emperor!" Xia Jingyan sighed, "Ranzhuo, what can we do?"
"There are two generals here on the battlefield. Prince Ling doesn't have to worry about it. The one we have to worry about is Old Chu." Zhou Ranzhuo handed the sword to Xia Jingyan.
Emperor Chu never thought until his death that his sophisticated plan would be exposed by Zhou Ranzhao, let alone that he would be surrounded by undercover agents.
Zhou Ranzhuo is the best at deceiving people, and people around him often cannot see through him. Just like this time, even Xia Jingyan ignored one thing. Where could Zhou Ranzhuo have such a secret guard?
Tianzhu Pavilion did not have a sect with accurate information for three seconds, and the investigation of the Chu royal family in Xijiang was wrong. Where could Zhou Ranzhuo get such a good secret guard? Xia Jingyan did not expect this at all.
Without thinking too much, Zhou Ranzhuo handed the military talisman to Gu Yun and secretly crossed the border into Xijiang River with Xia Jingyan.
Always follow him.
Zhou Ranzhuo sent money to hire a carriage and asked the horseman to go all the way to the capital of Xijiang to find the sun. About two days later, the carriage stopped just outside the gate of the Xijiang Imperial Palace. Zhou Ranzhuo pulled Xia Jingyan out of the car.
Most of the Chu Palace was built of stone, and it looked like a large area of gray, making it even more depressing and terrifying. In front of such a huge imperial city, Zhou Ranzhuo and Xia Jingyan looked extremely small.
"Ranzhuo, what on earth are we going to do?" Xia Jingyan couldn't bear his temper any longer, so he asked. Zhou Ranzhuo had been trying to sell things off along the way.
"Assist the crown prince to ascend to the throne." Zhou Ranzhuo replied calmly.
"What!" Xia Jingyan's eyes nearly popped out.
Helping the prince to ascend to the throne? What a joke! How to help? Go to the palace and say to the prince: "We will help you get rid of your father, and you will become the emperor?" Besides, how can two people help you? This cannot be done by a city guard.
beat?
"Yan'er, Emperor Chu has been on the throne for thirty years, and he has been crowned prince for nineteen years. This prince's ambition is even greater than that of King Ling. You know better than me. He has been suppressed for nineteen years. As long as we give him some encouragement,
, the prince can do anything."
"But Emperor Chu is his father after all..."
Xia Jingyan spoke softer and quieter, but Zhou Ranzhuo glanced at her and she stopped talking.
Yes, I still hate the previous Xia king, and Zhou Ranzhuo also knows this.
"Emperor Chu is gentle to all the people in the world, but he treats the prince harshly. The prince can no longer hold on any longer." Zhou Ranzhuo said, looking up at the sky, it was almost time to make an appointment with the prince.
"Then how do we get into the palace? Both Emperor Chu and Prince Ling know me."
"Yan'er, don't be anxious." Zhou Ranzhuo and Xia Jingyan sat on the small stone bench in front of the palace gate. From a distance, they looked like they were touching porcelain. "We can just sit back and wait."
But unlike what he imagined, the prince came to greet him respectfully and on time. Zhou Ranzhuo was stunned by the harsh sun, and no one came out of the palace.
Xia Jingyan was also a little suspicious, but he just poured tea for Zhou Ranzhao to drink and didn't ask anything to save Zhou Ranzhao from embarrassment.
It was not until three quarters past noon that a man, who was wearing night clothes in broad daylight and still felt that he was quite hidden, hung a rope from the palace wall. As a result, he was immediately caught by a large group of guards.
"Hey, hey, brothers, we have something to discuss!"
"What's so negotiable! Which palace are you a eunuch in? How dare you run away!"
"Who do you think is the eunuch? You are the eunuch!"
The guards started arguing with the man. Xia Jingyan sat there without moving. Just looking at the excitement, he felt that the man's stupidity looked like Gu Yun, until Zhou Ranzhuo couldn't help but said:
"The prince is out."
"This man is the prince?!" Xia Jingyan exclaimed.
Zhou Ranzhuo didn't say anything, just held Xia Jingyan's hand and walked in, waiting for the excitement to end.
"You guys are so indifferent! Do you know who I am? Can you afford to offend me?" the replica Gu Yun shouted.
"Who are you? Take off your mask! Let me show you who you are!" the guards pointed at the man and shouted.
Of course, they won't be able to shout out the next second.
The man took off his mask, and he looked squirming. He was a pretty boy, and he looked delicate and thin, as if he could be blown away by a gust of wind. Such a person was actually the Crown Prince Chu?!
"I will pay my respects to His Highness the Crown Prince." The guards were about to burst into tears and quickly admitted their mistake.
"Now you know you can't afford to offend me! Are you still crazy? You still arrest me..." The prince frowned, but he felt like he wanted to beat him.
Crown Prince Chu shook his legs and "teached" several guards until he turned around and saw Zhou Ranzhuo.
"Hey! Master Zhou!" The prince's eyes almost gleamed. He noticed the guards' doubts and hurriedly drove them away, "Go down, go down! What are you looking at!"
"His Royal Highness Prince Chu, you are really early." Zhou Ranzhuo yawned.
"Oh Lord Zhou, I was delayed because of something. I will come to see you as soon as I finish my work, won't I?" The prince cupped his hands and when he saw Xia Jingyan, he quickly smiled and saluted, "This must be Madam.
Well, Chu is lucky enough to see Mrs. Zhou’s true face for the third time in his life!”
Xia Jingyan was stunned for a moment, then quickly returned the greeting, "Jing Yan is the one who has the honor to meet His Highness the Crown Prince..."
"Not much to say! Mr. Zhou and his wife quickly follow Gu into the palace. Let's go in and talk!"
The prince was jumping up and down happily like a monkey. Zhou Ranzhuo was surprised by such a person, but he didn't find it strange at all. He just followed the prince quietly into the East Palace. Xia Jingyan stole countless glances at Zhou Ranzhuo along the way.
Eyes, he always had that bland expression.
"Is it possible that Ranzhuo and the prince are old acquaintances? Is this commonplace?" Xia Jingyan thought to himself. "But Ranzhuo is from Nanjiang, how can he meet the prince of Xijiang?"
After entering the East Palace, the prince immediately watched tea and invited Zhou Ranzhuo and Xia Jingyan to sit down. Just as Zhou Ranzhuo was about to talk to him, another guard came in and whispered a few words to the prince, and the prince went out again.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Xia Jingyan asked the doubts in his heart.
"Ranzhuo, do you know this prince?" Xia Jingyan asked.
Zhou Ranzhuo was stunned for a moment.
"Oh... we met in the early years. During the melee between the Four Rivers, Xijiang and Nanjiang formed an alliance. This prince lived in the village for a while, and I got to know him. Alas! He was the one when I entered the palace.
I even wrote a letter!”
"Oh." Xia Jingyan didn't pay much attention.
Zhou Ranzhuo breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately became nervous again.
"It's just that why does this prince look like this? I heard people say that Prince Chu is very calm and behaves appropriately. After he was granted the title of prince when he was two years old, he has been taught strictly by Emperor Chu and never allowed him to act recklessly. But today I saw him
... Ranzhuo, if I hadn’t known that Mr. Gu was in the military camp at this moment, I would have thought that he was Mr. Gu pretending to be."
When Xia Jingyan said these words, Zhou Ranzhuo sighed and covered his face with his hands, as if he was too embarrassed to see anyone. The same was true for the newly returned prince who was hiding outside the door.