Concubine Zheng voluntarily went out of the city to surrender, no matter whether she succeeded or not, she could always add some blockage to King Ruyang.

After the first round of confrontation between the two, King Ruyang did not take any advantage. But the corners of his mouth hooked an imperceptible smile.

The crown prince descended the city wall, and his heart was not as calm as he appeared to be.

The death of his father is a top secret in the palace. How did the king of Ruyang know about the city? In the palace and the capital, there must be people who secretly communicate with him.

Thinking about it like this, the prince suddenly felt creepy, and everyone seemed to have different intentions.

Could it be Wu Zhengxiang?

He not only knew the secret of Emperor Qinglong's death, but also definitely had the ability to pass on the matter.

As soon as this thought arose, it was extinguished by the prince.

He admitted that he was jealous of Wu Zhengxiang's ability and jealous that he was more favored by his father than himself. However, his loyalty to Emperor Qinglong is indeed unquestionable.

If he can't be trusted, then there are few credible people in the world.

After thinking about it, the only person left in his heart to discuss was Empress Cao.

"I'll go back to the palace, and you'll be in charge of the rest." The prince explained Fang Xiaoyu, and then rode his horse to the palace.

Fang Yuyu gave up.

At this juncture, King Ruyang released the words that Emperor Qinglong had died, and although the prince suppressed it on the spot, the doubts in everyone's hearts were still there. How to eliminate the impact of these words, there are still many things waiting for him to fill in the end.

In the Changle Palace, the prince hurried to the palace and threw all the palace people away.

"The Queen Mother."

Seeing his solemn expression, Empress Cao asked, "What's the matter, but what happened?" Pointing to the chair, he said, "Sit down and speak slowly." ”

The crown prince shook his head, took a step forward and leaned into her ear, and said softly: "The news of my father's death has been spread. The king of Ruyang said it when he shouted at the head of the city. ”

Empress Cao's body was shocked, and she pondered for a moment and said, "Don't panic, let me think about this matter." ”

Seeing his mother so calm, the prince's heart also quieted down.

After a while, Empress Cao said: "There are two possibilities. First, the king of Ruyang is deceiving you with words. "Emperor Qinglong is seriously ill, and everyone in the government and the opposition knows it, so it's not that there is no such possibility.

"Second, there is the eyeliner of King Ruyang in the palace, and I learned the news and told King Ruyang."

After that, Empress Cao looked at the crown prince and asked, "Which one do you think is more likely?" ”

The prince was stunned, he never thought that King Ruyang was cheating him. When you think about it, it's definitely quite possible.

Just when Emperor Qinglong was seriously ill, King Ruyang escaped from Tailing to rebel. If the father is alive, hearing this news, the chance of being angry to death is extremely great.

And even if there is King Ruyang's eyeliner in the palace, he can't touch such a top-secret thing. I want to take the news out of the palace and send it out of the city. The difficulty of this is much higher than that of the king of Ruyang.

Couldn't help it, the prince chose to believe the first one.

"Perhaps, he's cheating?" The prince asked uncertainly.

Empress Cao said in a deep voice: "Both are possible. But what is certain is that the biggest effect of his words is to disturb your mind. ”

She looked at the prince with dark eyes and said, "Sheng'er, do you think there is a big mystery in your heart now?" If you don't solve this problem, you will have trouble sleeping? ”

She understands her son's suspicions.

The prince nodded bitterly and said, "Mother, it's the son-in-law who thinks too much and almost falls into the scheme." ”

The most important thing he should do now is not to get to the bottom of this matter, but to wait patiently for nothing to go wrong. The defense of the capital was arranged on the first day, and his own veteran Dingguo Gong was in charge, so he didn't have to worry about it.

Count the days, and the first people to ask for help should have arrived at their destination. Whether the capital can survive this catastrophe depends on how the reinforcements respond.

He didn't believe that the Gaomang Dynasty had been peaceful and prosperous for decades, and in the hands of Emperor Qinglong, it had developed to a peak of cultural and martial arts. Will the generals of the world really stand by and watch?

King Ruyang and Wei Ming besieged but did not attack, but they were afraid that they were also waiting for the world's statement.

Although they had an army of 50,000 in their hands, the capital was well guarded, and they could not attack it in ten days and a half months. Although the siege of the capital occupies a favorable location, it is located in the heart of Gaomang, and if it is surrounded by reinforcements, no matter how many troops there are, it will not help.

The prince couldn't guess King Ruyang's plans, and King Ruyang was also calculating him.

"The queen mother, the concubine mother sent someone." Shanmei was outside.

At this time, the only one who can get the reward is Concubine Zheng. "What?" Empress Cao asked.

"The concubine has set up a farewell banquet, please go to the banquet with the prince and the princess."

Empress Cao and the crown prince glanced at each other, since Concubine Zheng made it clear that it was a farewell banquet, how could they not give this face? She went out of the city, no matter what the outcome was, but her goal was to persuade the king of Ruyang to surrender.

"Okay, we'll go."

The sky outside the window gradually darkened, and the lights in the palace were lit for the first time.

Concubine Zheng lived in a deserted side hall in the harem. lived together, and there were several old concubines who had conceived children but were unwilling.

As soon as Empress Cao and the crown prince arrived, the palace people guarding the door welcomed the two in.

The palace room is remote, and the furnishings inside are shabby, and it is rare for Concubine Zheng to put out a table of good wine and good food.

"Queen Mother, Your Highness, please take a seat."

Seeing that the two of them were busy getting up to greet each other, Concubine Zheng glanced behind them and said with a smile: "Why didn't the crown princess come?" ”

Empress Cao smiled: "It just so happened that the prince was in the palace, so he came together." The crown princess has some family affairs to deal with today, and the palace thinks that there is no need to invite her to come. ”

What kind of family matter, it's just a pretext.

Concubine Zheng's farewell banquet, they can come to give her face. No matter what she said, a woman who had been defiled by the King of Ruyang, Queen Cao looked down on her heart.

Hearing the perfunctory meaning in her words, Concubine Zheng laughed a few times dryly and said, "Niangniang, come and sit." ”

Beside her was Wei Siya, whom the prince had just met not long ago.

Several people sat down in dignity, and Concubine Zheng smiled and said, "Please come here with the queen and Her Royal Highness, I don't mean anything else." Only this daughter is still relieved, and I want to entrust the two of them to take care of one or two. ”

"It's me who is incompetent, she hasn't had a good life since she was a child. Now that I'm gone, I'm afraid that my in-laws will bully her. ”

Concubine Zheng caressed Wei Siya's side face lovingly, looked at her and said, "Ya'er, it's me who can't stand you." ”

After getting along with her for a long time, after all, there is blood and kinship, and Wei Siya's attitude towards Concubine Zheng is also much closer.

"Mother, don't say that." Compared with Concubine Zheng's calmness, Wei Siya obviously cried, and her eyes were slightly red and swollen. I don't know if Concubine Zheng told her about it.

Empress Cao said with a smile: "Concubine Niangniang, Princess Siya is the bloodline of the first emperor. With this palace in one day, there is this responsibility to take care of. It was a matter of course to say that it would not be taken care of. ”