Chapter 53: Twisting

Today's incident in the Xianghe Palace was quickly spread. Zhong Su also learned the whole story from the person sent by the virtuous concubine, and immediately crushed the teacup, his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like he was going to kill. After a while, he still couldn't suppress this bloodthirsty **, and got up and walked out.

"Where are you going?" Ran Ning also stood up, but her expression was calm, and she was worried about it, nor was she angry, and she didn't seem to take this absurd thing seriously at all.

"I'll go to the emperor and ask for troops to fight." Zhong Su said coldly. Chu Chuan dared to fight Ran Ning's idea, he absolutely couldn't bear it. And such a ridiculous request is undoubtedly a slap in his face, a slap in the face of the entire Zhenbei Hou Mansion.

Ran Ning walked to Zhong Su's side unhurriedly, held his hand, and asked calmly: "The emperor should have refused immediately about this matter, but now the emperor's attitude is ambiguous, why do you think?" ”

Ran Ning's words made Zhong Su calm down a little, and the blood in his eyes receded a little.

"Grandfather and father must have known about it, but they didn't come, why?" Ran Ning asked again.

After a while, Zhong Su, who had regained his state of thinking, spoke: "Is it a temptation? ”

"Yes." Ran Ning nodded and said, "The emperor is testing whether the Zhenbei Hou Mansion will abandon me for the emperor and Beixin." ”

"I won't!" Zhong Su replied immediately.

Ran Ning chuckled, raised her hand and touched Zhong Su's hair, and said, "Fool, I naturally know what you think. But I'm afraid that no matter which answer it is, it is not what the emperor wants. If you are reluctant, the emperor will doubt your loyalty to the entire Zhenbei Hou Mansion; But if you give up, the emperor will wonder if one day, you and the Zhenbei Hou Mansion will also abandon him because of other interests. ”

Zhong Su frowned and asked, "In this case, why does the emperor bother?" ”

"Since ancient times, emperors have been suspicious. After all, the virtuous concubine is a person with a prince, and the prince's struggle for the throne has always been the emperor's least disliked, but the most unavoidable. I don't know how many princes in the palace can compete for the crown prince's position, but the sixth prince must be the emperor's most fearful, after all, behind him is the entire Zhenbei Hou Mansion. Ran Ning analyzed. In fact, the more this time, the calmer Ran Ning became, because things were too unreasonable, but he could catch more essential reasons.

After listening to this, Zhong Su also calmed down completely. There are many princes in the palace, but there are not many who hope to ascend to the crown prince. Except for the eldest prince from Concubine Jiang, the third prince from the queen, and the six princes from the virtuous concubine, the other princes are not afraid and cannot pose much of a threat.

Ran Ning pulled Zhong Su back to sit at the table and chuckled, "Moreover, do you think Chu Chuan really wants me?" He's just trying to sow discord between you and the emperor. I don't even have a one-sided relationship with him, and he doesn't look like a reckless person, if he is really a brainless person, it is impossible for Emperor Nanyan to pay so much attention to him. He can say such things, but he is just taking advantage of the emperor's suspicion, which shows that he not only understands the emperor, but Nan Yan is also jealous of you. And the emperor may not be able to see this layer, but his suspicion and suspicion are even better. The older the emperor gets, the more suspicious he becomes, which is why my grandfather, even if he had achieved great military achievements, refused to ask for a throne, and only wanted an uncle to live in peace. ”

Ran Ning couldn't have seen this matter more thoroughly. Zhenbei Hou Mansion is different from Wan Pingbo Mansion, Wan Ping Bo Mansion does not have a daughter into the palace, so there is no need to compete for a high position to protect the status of his daughter, but Zhenbei Hou Mansion must stand in this position, not only to protect the virtuous concubine, but also to keep the six princes, so that the six princes have the strength to compete with other princes.

Zhong Su was silent for a moment, and the bloodshot in his eyes had receded, "In this way, the Zhenbei Hou Mansion is in a dilemma. ”

Ran Ning picked up the teacup, skimmed the floating tea, and said, "The bell must be tied to the bell." ”

Zhong Su immediately understood and said, "I'll go talk to Chu Chuan." ”

"Nope." Ran Ning shook her head and said, "You, grandfather, father, and virtuous concubines are not suitable. I can only go. ”

"Nope." Zhong Su immediately refused.

Ran Ning smiled, patted his hands, and said, "Don't worry. I am a weak woman, even if I let the emperor know that I went to see Chu Chuan, I think I am going to beg him to raise his noble hand. And if the people from the Hou Mansion in Zhenbei go, the emperor will probably think that you have a secret conspiracy. And I'm sure Chu Chuan doesn't like me, so it's not dangerous. I'll ask him to go to the Qin Tea House, it's safe there. ”

Zhong Su was still a little worried.

Ran Ning held his hand and said, "You have never had anything to do with Nanyan, and neither has Xinbei. Now Nanyan suddenly came to make friends with Xinbei, and he was afraid of you. I guess, I'm afraid there will be chaos in Nanyan. Nanyan was afraid that Xinbei would take advantage of the situation, so he wanted to suppress Xinbei with trade terms, and then use the emperor's suspicion to suppress you. In other words, Chu Chuan's purpose this time is mainly for you, not for any trade. If you have a disagreement with the emperor, the emperor will probably spend a lot of time weakening the strength of you and the Zhenbei Hou Mansion. And in order to keep yourself and the Hou Mansion of Zhenbei, you are likely to help the six princes raise troops to usurp the throne. At that time, even if Nanyan is in chaos, Xinbei will not have the time or strength to grab this piece of fat. Chu Chuan's abacus is extremely good, I'm afraid the emperor can't count him. ”

After listening to Zhongsu, who told his own analysis, Ran Ning sighed slightly in his heart. As her grandfather said when he was alive, no matter where the royal family is, the heart is twisted and turned, and you have to have more than one heart than them to see things clearly and stand in the right position.

Is the emperor good to Zhong Su? Naturally, it's good, after all, Zhong Su is still very indulgent in some aspects. Is it good for Zhenbei Hou Mansion? That must also be good, otherwise it would not have given so much real power. What about the virtuous concubines and the six princes? Of course, it's still good, or everyone will say that the virtuous concubine is a collection of thousands of favors. But as the emperor slowly grows older and the six princes grow up, these favors and favors will be mixed with suspicion and doubt. This is the royal family, there is no real husband and wife in the royal family, there is no real father and son, only the king and the minister.

Let Bizhu serve tea again, Ran Ning said: "I will invite someone to meet over there in Chuchuan, but it is not certain whether it will work." I'm afraid the emperor won't summon you in a short time, after all, suspicion and stalemate are two different things. But the emperor should summon me, whether it's a cliché or a plauscation, I'm a woman who is better than you. ”

"I never wanted to pull you into these things, but I still didn't protect you." Zhong Su's tone was full of distress for Ran Ning. He knew that the fight for the throne was inevitable, but he didn't want to involve Ran Ning. He just wanted Ran Ning to follow him and live his life in peace and smoothness.

"I know what you want. Since the emperor agreed to give marriage, I'm afraid I'm already in a situation. Ran Ning may not have thought about it this way at first, but now, she has to think so. Although the marriage has the face of the virtuous concubine and her grandfather, is it really worth it for the emperor to marry her unfavored concubine to Zhong Su as the main room? Other Ran Ning hadn't thought that at least having such a family as Wanpingbo Mansion was also a weakening of the strength of Zhenbei Hou Mansion.

How many people will not be able to sleep well this night, Ran Ning does not know. But at least she felt like she had to sleep soundly in order to be more awake to deal with what was going on.

As Ran Ning expected, the next day, the emperor announced Ran Ning's entry into the palace. After Ran Ning changed her clothes, she entered the palace with the people who came to summon her from the palace.

"See the emperor, long live the emperor." Ran Ning knelt on the ground and saluted.

"Get up." The emperor waved away the others, leaving only Chang Gonggong.

"Your Majesty." Ran Ning stood up, and his jaw stood in the middle.

"I heard that Su'er has been unwell for the past two days?" The emperor asked.

"Yes. Occasionally, he felt a cold, and the doctor said that he would stay in bed for a few days. In addition, the internal force has been unstable recently, so I have to pay attention to it. Master Zunchen has already moved into the mansion to live, and with him, the husband should be fine. Ran Ning replied.

Zhong Su was not actually sick, he was just pretending to be sick, and it was also to avoid a head-on conflict with the emperor. And Ran Ning mentioned the matter of internal strength, and he also deliberately said it to the emperor, after all, Zhong Su was to save the emperor, if the emperor has a heart, he must always take care of the past.

"Su'er rarely gets sick." The emperor said.

"Yes. If you don't get sick, this illness is a little serious, as if you want to get sick with all the past, Ran Ning is also very worried. Whether the emperor believed it or not, Ran Ning still showed a worried look.

"Yes. I have a good mountain ginseng here, you can take it back and make up for the Su'er stew. The emperor said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Ran Ning saluted and thanked him, and then asked: "I don't know what the emperor is saying about Ran Ning's coming?" ”

"It's the matter of the second prince Chu Chuan. What do you think? "The emperor seems to be pushing the problem to Ran Ning to decide.

Ran Ning was silent for a while, she knew that the emperor must have announced that she must be for this, "Ran Ning is a woman, she has no merit for the society, and it is not a pity to die." This matter is all up to the emperor. Ran Ning threw the question back to the emperor. She had never been allowed to reveal what she had learned from her grandfather in the first place, and she still did, and it was not worth it to cause trouble later in the future.

"Do you really think so?" The emperor looked at Ran Ning, as if he wanted to see through what was in Ran Ning's heart.

"Your Majesty, there is no need for Ran Ning to say much about how ridiculous this matter is, and Ran Ning is a woman, and she really doesn't dare to ask about political affairs." That is, it is known to be absurd, and the emperor should know how to weigh it.

The emperor sighed slightly, and said with some sighs: "If the old Wan Pingbo is here, I'm afraid it will be strange." ”

"Grandfather is deceased, you won't be blamed." Ran Ning looked up at the emperor, and said bluntly with the posture of an ignorant woman: "But Ran Ning is alive, Ran Ning will blame you." ”

"Bold!" Father-in-law Chang shouted on the side, but the anxiety in his tone was greater than his dissatisfaction.

"It doesn't matter." The emperor waved his hand and said to Ran Ning: "If you have anything you want to say, just continue." ”

"Ran Ning didn't understand the affairs of the court, and she didn't dare to ask more. But the emperor is wise, and he is like a mirror in his heart in everything, and the emperor has his own ideas about how to choose. But Ran Ning, as a woman, must not serve the second husband, no matter what the rules of Nanyan are, Ran Ning is a citizen of Beixin, and only abides by the rules of Beixin. If Ran Ning dies, it will be worth it to be able to change her husband and be safe. Ran Ning said with a stern face.

"You're affectionate." The emperor shook his head.

Ran Ning has been with her grandfather for many years, although she has not learned the essence, she also remembers what her grandfather often said. My grandfather said, "Loyalty is the foundation of a man." Ran Ning understands this truth, and her husband also understands it. The husband's loyalty to the emperor can be seen by the sun and the moon, and Ran Ning must fulfill it so that his grandfather's teachings will be in vain. Ran Ning exhaled lightly and said, "It's just that whether this matter is really worth coming to this point has to be decided by the emperor." ”

The emperor's eyes narrowed slightly, and he looked at Ran Ning without blinking. Ran Ning's words were full of complaints and dissatisfaction, sounding scheming, but when you think about it, they are full of scheming. He really didn't know if Ran Ning was really ignorant or if he was hiding it too well.

After a long time, the emperor said: "If you are a man, you will definitely have something." ”

"Ran Ning is a woman, and she just wants to live this life in peace." Ran Ning said.

"Alright, you can go down." The emperor didn't say anything more, and waved her back down.

Ran Ning bowed and retired, and did not say anything more.

Knowing or not knowing, temptation or straightforwardness, all became blurred after this summons. Ran Ning didn't expect the emperor, she still had to see Chu Chuan in order to completely solve this matter, and maybe she could negotiate some conditions that were beneficial to Zhong Su.