After inspecting the river, it was almost past lunch time, although Song Chen was a micro-service, but after all, the status of the prince was noble, Chu Jian asked for a good box in the best restaurant in the city, and invited Song Chen to eat.

In fact, Song Chen didn't care about these when he was out of the house, but he didn't have a reason to refuse when his subordinates were kind, so he took a seat. The restaurant has good dishes, the environment is also elegant, and there are no guests after lunch time, and it is very quiet, the two of them have eaten for a while, Song Chen asked casually: "I heard that you took the initiative to ask for your life this time and transferred from the important town of Qingzhou to the small land of Jeju, this king wants to know, why did you make such a choice?" ”

It is also the word of Chu Jian.

Song Chen used words to call himself, obviously more cordial, Chu Jian also relaxed and told the truth, he smiled: "As the prince said, Qingzhou is an important town of the imperial court and rich since ancient times...... Jeju is closer to the capital, and has been out of the country for many years, and rarely has the opportunity to accompany his parents. ”

"In this way, it is really difficult for your filial piety." Song Chen nodded clearly, and because Chu Xue was mentioned, he asked casually, "How long have you not seen Xue'er?" ”

Chu Jian paused, and then understood that the "Xue'er" in the mouth of this prince was referring to his sister Chu Xue.

Because of this official business, he never dared to mention Chu Xue, for fear that Song Chen would think that he was taking advantage of the relationship between his in-laws, but now that the important things have been done, and the in-law relationship between them is a fact, he no longer shy away from it, and said bluntly: "The last time I saw Xue'er was when I returned to Beijing for the New Year last year, and it has been more than a year. He glanced at Song Chen and asked thoughtfully, "I don't know if Xue'er is good for her in Yanzhou?" ”

When asked about Chu Xue, Song Chen showed a slight smile on his face, nodded and said, "She is very good, you can rest assured, this king will treat her well." ”

"The prince is serious." Chu Jian also smiled respectfully, "Xue'er is younger after all, and her mother used to spoil her at home, if you make the prince unhappy because you are ignorant, please bear with me." ”

Although he knew that it was not his own sibling, after all, he was also related by blood, and he had watched her grow up day by day, Chu Jian's feelings for Chu Xue were no less than that of his biological sister who had died.

The smile on Song Chen's face deepened a little unconsciously, "Xue'er has always been very sensible, and she doesn't have to worry about it." ”

Because of the mention of the people we love together, the meal is relaxed.

After the meal, Song Chen went directly to the government office, and now that the important business has been completed, it is time to meet the officials of Jeju, and they can't waste their waiting; Second, taking the prince's guard of honor and then going to the river to take a walk also conveyed the importance of the imperial court, in order to comfort the people who have worked hard to build the river embankment in the next few months.

So in the afternoon of the same day, the Jeju government government ushered in a group of people who came to pay homage to the big and small officials, everyone was a little surprised, in their concept, such a noble figure came, and it should be their prefect led by hundreds of people to greet each other, why did no one hear the movement, this Tianhuang nobleman landed in their prefect's government from the sky?

Everyone was puzzled.

However, some people have made up a statement, it is said that the sister of the new prefect Chu is the side concubine of this Heng Wangye, and she is very favored. Since you want to entertain well, you must not let others disturb you rashly, and the prefect must be quietly welcoming people into the city.

Thinking about the relationship between the two of them, and then thinking about the age of the new prefect, this statement can be justified.

However, Chu Jian didn't have time to pay attention to these nonsense, and when the officials finished paying their respects one by one, it was already nightfall, and now King Heng had already revealed his identity, and of course he had to make a welcoming ceremony in front of the people of a state in front of his parents and officials, not to mention anything else, a decent dinner was always inevitable.

And early in the morning of the second day, he had to personally accompany King Heng to walk around the river, no more light than yesterday, this is to put on a guard of honor for the people to welcome, he actually doesn't like these false courtesies, but the official to his position, the face of the matter is inevitable, a circle to deal with, people are actually very tired.

But he was not tired for long, and in the early morning of the third day, someone from the post house had already come to spread the word that King Heng had left Jeju and went to the next place.

Coming and going quietly, this prince is really different, but Chu Jian can feel that this is indeed a talented, courageous and pragmatic prince, if he can succeed the country, it should be a blessing in the world.

But as a magistrate, how can he manage the struggle between the princes in the palace? With a sigh, Chu Jian returned to the mansion.

~~~

East Palace.

It was almost dawn, and several Zhan Shi had not left, and they were all in the prince's study.

"The third Wei Jiqu is about to be completed, and none of you in this group knows? What did you do earlier? ”

The prince behind the bookcase grabbed a handful of documents and threw them at the people standing in the room.

Although they are all officials of the imperial court who should not be □□ like this, they have all followed the prince for many years, and they know the temper of this prince, and no one in the room dares to speak out.

The prince snorted coldly, "Look at it, when the Weiji Canal is completed and the water is opened, the people in the household department may not know how to praise the third child, and how the father will reward him at that time!" Someone else can think of such a thing as dredging the Tongji Canal, why can't you think of it, this palace has raised a group of you who eat idle food! ”

After a sharp scolding, there was silence in the room for a moment, and seeing that the prince no longer said anything, Zhan Shihu Jinxing cautiously spoke, "Your Highness, please calm your anger first, King Heng's presiding over the Tongji Canal is the emperor's private decision, and he did not ask others in advance, ministers, ministers, etc., only knew after the Ministry of Industry issued relevant decrees, besides, this is a major project related to several states and counties, and the Ministry of Household and Industry has intervened, and the emperor has personally appointed King Heng to preside, so we are really not easy to start." ”

The crown prince sighed deeply, closed his eyes and said, "Then in your opinion, when the third child comes back from Weizhou, how will his father reward him?" ”

How can people answer the question of "this ......", how can the emperor's mind be figured out by ordinary people, but if they can figure it out, their East Palace will be compared to King Heng again and again?

Hu Jinxing could only say vaguely in the spirit of comfort: "King Heng is already a vassal king, but the emperor has a reward, but the most he can reward is to give a few counties to expand the territory, and then seal his children's ......" Speaking of this, Hu Jinxing's eyes lit up, and he said: "Isn't King Heng's daughter canonized yet, if the emperor asks at that time, His Royal Highness can ask for a county lord for his little niece......"

"Nonsense!" The prince almost wanted to raise his foot and kick at the person who spoke, "How old is the third daughter, according to my court etiquette system, when he is four years old, he will not say that his father will be canonized, and he still needs me to ask for him!" ”

Left and right can't match the master's mind, Hu Jinxing simply has a horizontal heart, and does not shy away from saying bluntly, "Your Highness, please forgive the old minister, you are the prince of the grandson, you are orthodox, even if others are excellent, as long as you don't go on a business trip, the position of the East Palace will still be yours, and the emperor will never pull you down from this position and then help others up, otherwise how can you stop the public mouth inside and outside the Manchu Dynasty's civil and military courts?" ”

Although this is straightforward, it does make sense, and the prince suddenly opened up. Hu Jinxing is right, he is born to the queen, the only prince born of the queen, and he is the orthodox one, as long as he doesn't make mistakes, then the father has no reason to erase himself!

After figuring out this big truth, the prince suddenly felt very relaxed in his heart, and waved his hand to order everyone in the room to withdraw.

Several auxiliary ministers who walked out of the East Palace were relieved, since they entered the palace this afternoon, they have been scolded in the prince's study, and they haven't even eaten dinner, in the end, Jiang is still old and spicy, or Lord Hu can best control the prince's temper, and everyone has cast admiring eyes on him.

But this Lord Hu, who was under the admiration of a lot of eyes, sighed secretly, although he had been picking up good comforts just now, he also knew best in his heart that the prince, who had assisted him for nearly thirty years, had never been able to support the wall, and the difference between him and Yanzhou was really not half a star.

I hope he can fulfill his mission and send the crown prince to that dragon chair, otherwise once someone else ascends the throne one day, which of them, the auxiliary ministers of the Eastern Palace, will have good fruits to eat?

Looking up at the moonlit and starry night sky, Hu Jinxing finally couldn't help but sigh.

However, just when everyone in the East Palace thought that the wind was calm, a thin man who was nearly forty years old stepped into the study of the prince of the East Palace again in the afternoon of the second day.

This person is a young Zhan Shi of Zhan Shifu, named Xue Yuesheng.

Xue Yuesheng came here because he didn't agree with what his boss Hu Jinxing said the night before.

After listening to his intentions, the prince was stunned for a moment, then became interested and asked, "Do you think what Hu Jinxing said is wrong?" If he says something wrong, you can tell me and hear it. ”

Xue Yuesheng received the order, and immediately expressed his opinion in a deep voice, "Your Highness Mingjian, according to Weichen, things in the world are not static, although you sit firmly in the East Palace, you should also be prepared for danger in times of peace." In the past ten years, our East Palace has always been cautious, but helplessly trapped in the capital, His Royal Highness can not show your own talents, will be repeatedly robbed of the limelight by King Heng, forgive Weichen to say bluntly, if it is you who are divided out, can you not do what others do, with your talents, you can be more than 100 times stronger than other princes. ”

Xue Yuesheng paused deliberately, leaving the prince with some aftertaste.

When the prince straightened out these words, he couldn't help but secretly pat himself on the thigh in his heart, what he said was too right, the reason why the palace was repeatedly compared to the third was not because he was trapped in the capital! Where is the capital, the most important thing in the capital is power! Talent! But none of these are from this palace, they only listen to one person, that is their father, although he is the prince above ten thousand people, but there is still a father on his head, but if there is anything, the strong father is in charge, how can he have the right to speak, how can he have room to exert his strength!

But what about the rest of the brothers, once they leave the capital and go to their fiefdom, they are the earth emperors of the heaven and earth, and they don't even have a single person above their heads, of course, they can do whatever they want, of course, they have those exploits and achievements!

The father didn't give himself a chance to show at all, but he still complained about his incompetence and said something disrespectful, which was obviously too partial, and it was obviously unreasonable!

Because he agreed with Xue Yuesheng's point of view very much in his heart, the prince immediately felt that the person who came was very pleasing to the eye, and said with a pleasant face: "What you said is very reasonable, so between you, what should the palace do now?" ”

Xue Yuesheng further brainwashed the prince, "At present, the limelight of King Heng is getting stronger and stronger, and when the completion of the Wei Jiqu solves the spring drought in Weizhou, it can really be called a great contribution to the benefit of the country and the people, I believe that not only the emperor, but even the government and the opposition will look at him differently, even if as Lord Hu said, the emperor will at most give some prefectures and counties to expand his territory, but seeing that his power is getting stronger and stronger, after all, it is the biggest threat to the East Palace. ”

These words really spoke to the prince's heart, and the prince sighed, stared at his eyes, and asked, "So? ”

"So you should take advantage of the fact that he is not too strong to be able to resist, first eliminate this threat, and don't raise a tiger to cause trouble!"

Xue Yuesheng's voice suddenly became softer, but he did not avoid the prince's eyes when he spoke.

The crown prince frowned, revealing a cruel gaze, and after a while, Fang asked in a deep voice: "Then in Qing's opinion, how should this palace get rid of this tiger?" ”

The yin owl in Xue Yuesheng's eyes was fleeting, he took two steps forward, leaned over the prince's ear, and whispered a word.