The night was getting deeper, and the biting cold wind was mixed with the crisp smell of snow. The faint moonlight was as cool as water, and it seemed to be able to illuminate the dry snow scattered between the branches.

A mysterious woman wearing a black robe and a hood covering most of her face, carrying a small glass lantern, hurried into a dilapidated palace room in Yongxiang.

The crown prince Liu Yi turned out from behind a tree with a sneering sneer, and his sudden appearance startled the woman. After she saw who it was through the faint candle flame in her hand, she hurriedly stepped forward and wanted to speak.

Liu Yi couldn't help but say, raised his hand and slapped her face heavily, and said hatefully: "Slut, you are so bold, dare to betray this prince!"

The woman was caught off guard and was hit to the ground by him. The glass lantern in his hand rolled out of the snow, and the already dim candle flame was extinguished with a pop.

All of a sudden, Liu Yi faintly saw the woman on the ground raising her face in embarrassment by the faint moonlight, the hood slid off her head, and the messy hair that fell down covered most of her face.

The woman propped her hands in the cold snow, and couldn't help but whimper...... You pushed him off the rockery with your own hands!"

Liu Yi took a step forward, approached the woman on the ground, and said suspiciously: "So what? Even if you report this matter to your father, it is useless, he will not believe it." Because during the time when the Nine Emperor Brother had an accident, the prince had been with Mrs. Liu, do you say that the father believes you or Mrs. Liu?"

The woman's beautiful face was hidden behind the messy hair, but the eyes with horror and anger were as bright and dazzling as stars falling into the world.

"Prince, murdering the prince is a capital crime of the Nine Clans, you can't harm me like this!" The woman was terrified, and her voice was much more distorted and sharp than before.

"Shut up!" Liu Yi felt extremely uncomfortable listening to it, so he frowned and said extremely coldly: "Don't worry, although Liu Qi's stinky boy didn't wake up, he couldn't die." At most, the father emperor will send you into the cold palace, and it will never reach the point of punishing the nine clans. When this prince succeeds to the throne, he will definitely give you back your freedom and give you a big reward.

However, if you continue to pester, the prince will hand over the evidence of your father's involvement in the military case to his father. When you are in the cold palace, you can only watch the destruction of your whole family, but you will suffer because you have nothing to do. The hideous look in Liu Yi's eyes made the woman tremble.

The woman was stunned and muttered, "Prince, my father and brother are all loyal to you, you can't be so ruthless and leave them no way to live." ”

"Joke, this prince is the prince, the future son of heaven, who dares not to be loyal to this prince in the Manchu Dynasty?" Liu Yi laughed wildly, alarming a jackdaw that was originally hiding under the eaves to rest, flapping its wings and gradually moving away in the night.

Liu Yi didn't blink his eyelids, his gloomy eyes stared at the woman hidden in the night, but he still couldn't hide his frightened face, and murmured strangely: "Think about it! At that time, your father and brother will be beheaded, and the men in the mansion will be assigned to the frontier as long as they are twelve years old, and the female dependents will be escorted to the sect department, and all family property will be confiscated." And you...... Li Zhaorong, who was favored in the past, could only stay in the cold palace and cry day and night, but there was nothing she could do about the destruction of the family. ”

The woman seemed to be terrified, and her slender body kept trembling. Liu Yi squatted down and reached out to pinch her small chin, just about to threaten her again. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he said sharply: "You, you are not Li Zhaorong......"

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, the dilapidated and paint-stripped temple door behind him was suddenly pushed open, and a huge crowd poured out. In addition to the palace guards with swords and swords, standing in the center was actually the emperor with a blue face and eyes that almost wanted to breathe fire. And who is accompanying the emperor except Liu Hui and Hua Lianyue.

The sudden appearance of these people made the prince stunned for a moment, and then he only felt like falling into an ice cave, and his body couldn't stop trembling slightly. The emperor has already stepped in front of him, and the prince, who has always been able to speak well, only feels that his mind is blank at this moment, and he doesn't know what to do for a while!

The emperor raised his hand and slapped him in the face, this time it was so hard and heavy that Hua Lianyue felt a toothache when she heard it! The prince did not dodge at all, but he knelt on the ground, kowtowed and begged: "Father, the son is just a ghost for a while, and I ask my father to calm his ......anger."

The moment the emperor appeared, he knew that he had fallen into a carefully set trap, but those words had been spit out before, and it was impossible to take them back.

It's a pity that Liu Yi was busy kowtowing, but he didn't see the strong disappointment, coldness and deep exhaustion in the emperor's eyes flashing when he looked at him.

This is the prince he carefully cultivated, the prince of the country, and the future son of heaven. The emperor curled the corners of his lips and revealed a self-deprecating sneer. But he felt as if there was a sharp knife in his chest wringing fiercely, and the invisible blood in his heart was constantly surging, which made him feel painful.

The emperor closed his eyes, and his always upright body was actually a little rickety. Just as his body shook uncontrollably, a pair of large strong hands held his arms. The emperor turned his head sideways to meet Liu Shou's concerned eyes, and listened to him say in a low voice: "Father, be careful." ”

Liu Shou, the fifth prince, has always been invisible in front of him, and now even his eyes when he looked at him had a little sympathy, which made the emperor embarrassed and annoyed.

He shook off Liu Shou's support with all his strength, and commanded Mr. Li sharply: "Pass the decree, the crown prince Liu Yi is suspected of murdering the Ninth Emperor Prince Liu Qi, and temporarily imprison him in Zongren Temple. No one is allowed to visit privately until the matter has been clarified. ”

"Yes!" Mr. Li hurriedly bowed in response.

I heard the emperor grind his teeth again, and said word by word: "Remember, my will is that no one is allowed to visit, including the queen and the queen mother!"

"Yes!" The cold sweat on Mr. Li's forehead also fell, and he became more and more stiff and did not dare to raise his head.

The emperor flicked his sleeves, no one paid attention to them, and strode away angrily.

Liu Yi was prostrate on the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably, but he did not continue to kowtow and beg for mercy. It wasn't until he heard the emperor's footsteps gradually disappearing that he slowly raised his head. The original panic and timidity disappeared strangely, and the drooping eyes covered the flash of fierce light.

Manager Li said cautiously: "Prince, please!" Even though Liu Yi is currently losing power, the forces behind him are too strong, and Manager Li does not dare to show disrespect to him at all.

The prince stared at him senran, turned his head to look at the woman in black who pretended to be Li Zhaorong to lead him into fooling, and frowned, "Who are you?"

Liu Shou had already helped her up, and untied the finch gold fur on his shoulder, gently wrapping her snow-soaked body. The woman in black calmly sorted out the messy hair covering her face, and took out a piece of juanpa to wipe the camouflage off her face.

Liu Yi's pupils shrank suddenly, and he said incredulously: "It's actually you, Zhang Jiao!" He glared at Liu Hui viciously, gritted his teeth and said, "It turns out that you have been working together to fool Prince Ben!"

Liu Hui was really tired of him in his heart, so he sneered: "Can it be that you can only calculate me all the time, and I can only passively save myself and not fight back?" Liu Yi, you are so proud all these years!"

"Shut up!" Liu Yi interrupted him without thinking, and said in a contemptuous manner: "If you think that you can defeat this prince in this way, you are too naïve." Wait, you'll regret what you've done in the future!" The sentence squeezed out of his teeth with a thick sinister aura.

Liu Hui shrugged and didn't say anything. The eyes of the two of them met in the air, but they collided like sparks, and neither of them took a step back.

Liu Yi was taken away after all, and this earth-shattering news soon spread from the Houguan to various mansions in the capital. This originally lively and festive night kept countless people awake at night and anxious until dawn.

After Zhang Jiao was escorted away, she also said goodbye to Liu Hui, and Liu Shou hurriedly said: "It's late at night, why don't you let me send Miss Zhang back!"

Zhang Jiao didn't twist at all, only smiled heartily: "That's fine, then there will be the fifth prince of Lao." She bowed her knees to Liu Hui again, and said, "Lord, tonight's matter, I will explain to the patriarch in detail when I go back!"

"Well, I'm tired!" Liu Hui nodded, and Zhang Jiao turned around and left without hesitation.

The emperor, who had returned to the imperial study, had an extremely gloomy face, and he didn't even dare to come out with the palace people who were waiting around him. Manager Li shuddered, and then stepped forward and bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the queen is waiting outside the palace!"

The emperor said coldly: "Raise such a disobedient and unfilial thing, let her go!" His gloomy brows never relaxed, and Manager Li couldn't help but feel a trace of pity for Empress Xie who was standing outside the palace in the wind and snow and begging to see her, but it was also fleeting, because the most ridiculous and cheap emotion in the harem was pity.

The dim light pouring out of the hall was divided into fragments by the carvings on the wooden doors. Empress Xie's face was hidden behind the dim candlelight, which made it difficult to see. After listening to Manager Li come out to speak, she couldn't help but take a deep breath. Cai reluctantly smiled and said: "You are waiting carefully, if there is anything wrong, let someone notify the palace immediately." ”

"Yes!" Mr. Li hurriedly bowed respectfully in response.

Empress Xie thought for a while, and then said, "Manager Li, you help the palace bring a message to the emperor." Let's just say that this thing is really wrong, the emperor can punish him if he wants, just beg him not to be angry with his own body. ”

Manager Li hurriedly said: "Yes! The old slave will definitely bring all the words of the mother. ”

Liu Yi was suddenly detained, and this thunderous news pushed Queen Xie's heart into the air, but she also knew that the emperor was already angry, and this was really not a good time to intercede. Even though she was unwilling, she still maintained a proper smile on her face, turned around and left.

I just got out of the main hall, but I met Liu Hui and Hua Lianyue head-on. Facing these two culprits who set up the crown prince, the composure on Queen Xie's face could no longer be maintained, her silver teeth were clenched, and her eyes almost erupted with fire.

"I've seen the queen mother!" Although they met on a narrow road, Liu Hui and Hua Lianyue's attitude was still neither humble nor arrogant, and there was no panic or surprise on their faces.

"Hmm!"

The queen snorted coldly from her nose, but a shallow smile that was more ugly than crying slowly overflowed from her lips, and she said, "Ah Hui, you are very good!"

Liu Hui seemed to understand the meaning of her eyes, but he did not shy away from touching her eyes. Empress Xie finally stopped paying attention to them, flicked her sleeves, sat in a warm sedan chair and left.

There is a heavy vermilion carved window lattice on the south side of the imperial study, and the emperor is half leaning on the warm couch under the window lattice, and he quickly pinched a string of tourmaline inlaid opal Buddha beads in his hand. Seeing Liu Hui and Hua Lianyue coming in, he lifted his eyelids and glanced at him coldly.

"Sit down!" The emperor was calm at the moment, and he couldn't see the extreme anger he had before.

"Thank you, father!" Liu Hui unceremoniously pulled a chair to the warm brazier, let Hua Lianyue sit, and roasted the half-wet shoes and socks on her feet by the way.

The emperor's eyes were a little gloomy and meaningful. After half a ring, seeing that they didn't mean to speak first, the emperor coughed lightly and said, "Don't you have anything to say to me?"

Liu Hui thought for a while before he said, "There is really one thing, Father, when will Yue'er's princess golden book be given?"

The emperor was stunned and almost spit out a mouthful of old blood. Such a big thing happened in the palace, even the prince was imprisoned, and what this kid was worried about was the princess's golden book.

The emperor waved his sleeves and said in a deep voice: "Such a trivial matter, I will talk about it later." I ask you, how do you know that the prince has poisoned Ji'er?"

The emperor's question is a little difficult, he can't raise his godfather, especially Liu Yi is still the prince he cultivated with his own hands, but he did the vicious thing of mutilating his younger brother with his own hands, which is like a resounding slap on his old face.

Liu Hui thought for a while and said, "I didn't know, I just guessed, that's why I designed this game, but I didn't expect him to admit it so easily." ”

The emperor was embarrassed for a while, remembering that when Liu Hui asked him to take someone to hide in the abandoned palace, waiting to catch Liu Qi's murderer, he thought that Liu Hui wanted to find someone to blame, so as to help Hua Lianyue get rid of the crime.

The emperor originally had the intention of watching coldly, but he never thought that someone would really appear quietly in the night, and this sneaky person would actually be the crown prince Liu Yi.

The emperor's mood at the moment is extremely conflicted, although he hates Liu Yi for not being angry, he also hates Liu Hui for ruthlessly piercing Liu Yi's true face in front of so many people, so that he can't make big things small.

In fact, for the emperor, the prince's ruthlessness is not necessarily a bad thing. But when he found out that Liu Yi was also ruthless to his father, he was immediately carried away by the intense shock and anger, and he made the decision to escort Liu Yi to Zongren Temple in a fit of anger!

In fact, after returning to the imperial study in a rage, the emperor regretted it a little! After all, Liu Yi is the prince of the country, and entering the Zongren Temple is equivalent to leaving a stain forever. And this stain is likely to become a weapon for political opponents to attack Liu Yi in the future.

The emperor felt a headache when he thought of this, his body seemed to be healthy, only he knew that it was not as good as day by day. As he grows older, he no longer has the time or energy to raise a qualified new crown prince.

Although Liu Hui has the ability and skills, his mother is a lowly woman in the rivers and lakes, and he is destined to have no chance with the dragon chair without a noble background. And the third prince, the fourth prince and the crown prince are the same dog, and they can't do anything except eat, drink and have fun.

The fifth prince Liu Shou was like invisible among the adult princes in the harem because of the early death of his mother. Although his mother is also a daughter of an official family, it is a pity that she is a small seven-grade sesame official, and she really can't be his help.

The rest of the princes are too young, and it will take more than ten years for them to grow into qualified princes! He is afraid that he will not have enough time.

Liu Hui saw all the contradictions in the emperor's heart at the moment, how hard he worked before, and how cold and disdainful he was now! Fortunately, when he decided to marry Hua Lianyue, he had already given up his dream of that dragon chair. It's not that he has multiple desires for power, he just wants to prove that he is not worse than others in front of this person.

But at this moment, Liu Hui felt how ridiculous his previous insistence was. It turned out to be his son, but in his heart, he had already divided his sons into three, six, nine and so on.

And no matter how hard he tries, in front of this person, he is just a tool used to contain the prince's forces. Thinking of this, Liu Hui couldn't help but purse his lips, only to feel a sadness in his heart.