Chapter Twenty-Seven: Food!

After receiving the letterhead sent by Li Yiqi, the queen did not make much statement, and after asking people to burn the letterhead, she ordered people to send snacks and pastries to the East Palace as usual, and behaved like usual.

The old eunuch set off from the harem with a food box containing small snacks in his hand, and came to the gate of the Wude Palace, wanting to step in directly, but the next moment, he was stopped by two strong men wearing iron armor and looking mighty.

"Stop, wait for me to tell the prince!"

“...... Good. ”

The old eunuch was slightly stunned.

He has come to deliver food boxes a few times, and each time he stepped directly on the door, why did he suddenly have to pass the prince first this time?

"Let's go inside. ”

Han Li glanced at the old eunuch with an indifferent expression and said lightly, inadvertently revealing a hint of pride in his words.

On weekdays, the envoys in these palaces come and go, foot to foot, and they all go straight in and out. The crown prince himself didn't care, and the two palace guards didn't have much to say. However, there are no rules, there is no circle, he and Dong Xiong have been guarding the palace for many years, and today they really feel the majesty of the residence of the prince of the country.

"Hmm, the queen mother has sent food again!"

In the Wude Palace, the crown prince Xia Qing saw the old eunuch who came from the harem, and his eyes suddenly lit up. Then a trace of doubt flashed through his eyes, and he asked with some puzzlement: "Why are there two copies?"

In the hands of the old eunuch, he held two large boxes, both of which were stacked on top of each other, and when they were separated, there were four small food boxes, of which the pastries were exactly the same, and there were two copies each, and at a glance he knew that they were given to two people.

"Haha, Your Highness, this copy is given to you by the queen mother herself......"

The old eunuch respectfully put the food box on the table, bowed and stood aside, and looked at the handsome young man in a white Confucian robe beside the prince, his expression was slightly nervous.

As the lord of the six palaces, the queen has never given food boxes to anyone other than the prince, doesn't this kind of treatment mean that this person's status in the queen's heart is comparable to that of His Royal Highness the Prince......

The old eunuch glanced at the food box on the table, and his heart was indescribably envious.

Anyone who has lived in the summer palace for most of his life is extremely sensitive to the direction of the wind in the palace, and he is no exception.

Those in the harem who know a little bit about Li Yiqi's background already know that the Li family has a prominent family background and is hereditary Marquis of Daxia Yipinwu.

The old man of the Li family is one of the pillars of the military of the dynasty, and Li Yiqi also entered the East Palace to accompany the prince, the point is - he has also won the favor and love of the queen!

With such a character, I can't find a second one in the entire Shangjing City!

"Hey, the queen mother gave it to you!"

Prince Xia Qing's slender eyelashes blinked slightly, and his eyes looked brightly at Li Yiqi, who was writing something seriously, with a very surprised expression.

"What?!

Hearing this, Li Yiqi's face changed suddenly, and he couldn't help but shake his hand, and the cyan wolf ink pen left a stain on the paper on the table.

It's really unexpected, the queen is the lord of the six palaces, how could she send him food inexplicably?

Don't......

"Uh..... This—Which of these was given to me by the queen's mother?"

Li Yiqi looked at the two pastries that looked exactly the same, looked at the old eunuch with a somewhat solemn gaze, and revealed some nervousness in his tone.

As soon as he sent a letter of 'plea' to the harem, the queen gave him a food box with his backhand, and it was hard for him not to think about it......

Hearing Li Yiqi's question, the old eunuch didn't dare to put up any shelf, and said with a respectful smile: "This, this lady didn't say it in detail, and our family doesn't know, haha......"

Li Yiqi glanced at it, and found that the old eunuch's eyes looked at him a little differently, his heart moved slightly, he breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled indifferently: "That's ...... After the troublesome father-in-law goes back, thank the queen mother for me. ”

"Don't dare, don't dare, our family will definitely bring the words. ”

The old eunuch smiled respectfully, lowered his head, but still couldn't help but raise his eyes and secretly look at the white-clothed young man with a delicate and handsome face, and secretly sighed in his heart: "This prince will have a bright future in the future!"

After the old eunuch left, Li Yiqi looked at the two food boxes, smiled slightly, and pushed them all to the prince's side.

"Why, don't you eat it, the pastries made by the queen mother taste good. Prince Xia Qing looked at Li Yiqi with some puzzlement.

"Your Highness, are you sure this was done by the queen herself?" Li Yiqi glanced at the prince with a smile, he didn't believe from the bottom of his heart that the queen was the kind of woman who would cook herself......

With that, Li Yiqi lowered his head and re-copied the stained part.

Li Yiqi and Prince Xia Qing, one of them ate happily and the other wrote seriously, and the hall was quite quiet.

After half a ring, Li Yiqi dropped the last word, finally sighed leisurely, put down the wolf hair in his hand, and handed the paper full of names to the prince.

"Your Highness, please take a look, this is the list drawn up by Wei Chen. ”

"What is this?"

Prince Xia Qing's gaze fell on this list, and his face changed slightly.

In this list written by Li Yiqi, many of them are close ministers of the East Palace, with official positions ranging from compradors Zhang Song and Zhan Shihou Jian, to the housekeepers and horse washers in the East Palace...... In the list, almost half of the officials up and down the prince's mansion are on it.

"If there are no other problems, these people will be handed over to Weichen to deal with. Li Yiqi smiled slightly, his expression was calm and calm, without the slightest change.

"There are so many people?" Prince Xia Qing's face was slightly solemn.

A few days ago, Li Yiqi told him that he wanted to 'clean up' the East Palace, and he naturally knew what Li Yiqi meant, but he didn't expect it......

"Your Highness, this is also for your own good, don't forget the three chapters of the covenant between you and Weichen. Li Yiqi said calmly.

Prince Xia Qing's eyes flickered and asked, "Are you going to ...... these people How to deal with it?"

"Your Highness doesn't need to ask about this......"

The corners of Li Yiqi's mouth hooked up a strange smile, and he glanced at the prince, the meaning of which was overflowing.

"No way!"

Prince Xia Qing suddenly shook his head violently, and with just one sentence, Li Yiqi's face sank, and his eyes were full of incredulity.

"Your Highness, don't forget the agreement between you and Weichen. ”

"If this palace says no, it won't work!"

The two glared at each other, Prince Xia Qing frowned slightly, his cheeks were slightly red, and his eyes were very clear and clear. Li Yiqi's face was a little gloomy, and his dark eyes flashed with a dark light.

"Ahh

After a long time, a sigh came from the hall, and then a bitter voice sounded: "Your Highness's meaning Weichen understands, Weichen...... In accordance with the wishes of His Highness. ”

"However, how to deal with these people is still up to Wei Chen to decide, and I ask His Royal Highness to agree!" Li Yiqi said to the crown prince Xia Qing with a solemn expression.

Prince Xia Qing's brows furrowed slightly, his lips opened, as if he wanted to say something, but after meeting Li Yiqi's gaze staring at him, he still nodded: "This palace promises you." ”

"Thank you, Your Highness. Li Yiqi gave a generous salute.

......

A letter of 'pleading' was sent to the harem, which did not attract the queen's reprimand or dissatisfaction, and the prince also acquiesced to his actions.

The East Palace is a small imperial court, with a large number of officials in it, and the background is extremely complicated, although most of them are some false positions, but it is really a little troublesome to deal with.

"It would be nice if there were fewer people......" Li Yiqi couldn't help but say secretly in his heart.

Although he was slanderous in his heart, on the other hand, he also agreed that the setting of the East Palace, which imitated the three princes and nine secretaries of the imperial court, was indeed conducive to the prince's better adaptation to the operation of the imperial court bureaucracy.

In the next few days, Li Yiqi privately made the prince's mansion in the East Palace a number of courtiers, servants, and maidservants...... I checked them all.

The suspicious people were all cleaned up by him, some were sent directly to the Zongren Mansion, and some were silently driven out of the East Palace.

Such a big move naturally caused panic among the people in the East Palace.

However, in the past few days, everyone in the East Palace found that the new prince's companion seemed to be so quiet suddenly, and every day he quietly accompanied the prince to stay in the Wude Hall all day, living in a simple place, and no longer asked about anything.

This is like the tranquility before the storm, but it makes many people in the East Palace even more uneasy in their hearts, for fear that this prince's companion is secretly planning something......

As those people in the East Palace guessed, Li Yiqi was indeed thinking about one thing in his heart at this time, but it was far from what everyone was thinking about.

......

"There are three days left, and that faint ...... On Emperor Xia's birthday, I don't know what will happen on that day, and the queen has not sent any news so far. ”

"Is it my delusion, it seems to be unusually cold this year......"

Outside the Wude Palace, on the high platform, Li Yiqi was dressed in a thin white Confucian robe, standing outside the fence made of jade with his hands behind his back, staring at the sky in the distance, and his thoughts floated in his heart.

For some reason, he always felt that this year's weather was unusually abnormal.

Shangjing City is located in the northwest of the center of Great Xia, the climate is mild and moist, and the four seasons are like spring all year round. But now it is only late autumn and early winter, and the cold weather is enough to be comparable to the cold winter and wax moon phase of previous years. The desolate breath of heaven and earth is filled with a chill, which makes people feel faintly jealous, as if something big is about to happen......

"This piece of Xuanyang jade, I want to find an opportunity to send it back to the Li family. ”

Li Yiqi touched the piece of Xuanyang jade on his waist that was placed in the sachet and exuded a burst of warmth, and said secretly in his heart.

"What are you looking at?"

At this time, the voice of Prince Xia Qing came from the oblique insertion.

Li Yiqi turned his head to look, only to see the prince's ruddy little mouth spitting white gas, walking out of the Wude Palace.

As soon as he went out, the two little maidservants who were guarding the door put a thick white fox fur coat on him.

"Your Highness. ”

Li Yiqi nodded at the prince and said casually: "Weichen is looking at the sky, somehow, I always feel that there should be a heavy snowfall this year." ”

"Heavy snow!"

The prince's eyes lit up, and a look of joy appeared on his little face, and he sighed: "It hasn't snowed in the capital for many years!"

"Hongu remembers the last time it snowed in ......"

"Six years ago. Li Yiqi took the words and responded lightly.

"Yes, six years ago, I remember that I met a ...... in this palace six years ago" The prince's eyes flashed brightly, but then it dimmed again, and his expression was a little unnatural.

"Your Highness?" Li Yiqi glanced at the other party, and a hint of strange color flashed in his eyes.

He didn't quite understand why Prince Xia Qing had such an expression on his face - a trace of shyness, a trace of loss, and a trace of sadness...... In short, it is extremely complex.

"Nothing. ”

The crown prince Xia Qing shook his head with a smile and said, "By the way, the Ministry of Rites handed a fold to the palace, a few days later, the birthday of the father, the list of the entourage of the East Palace will be replied today, how do you plan to arrange it?"

Hearing this, Li Yiqi's eyes narrowed slightly, and a thoughtful light flashed from his eyes.

"In previous years, the Ministry of Rites had strict regulations for the birthday of the summer emperor, the birthday of the queen and the state banquets to be held for some major events. It stands to reason that officials below the fourth rank of the East Palace are not eligible to enter. Although I have been named by the queen to accompany the prince, but now that the third division of the prince is gone, except for me, who can accompany the prince to the table......"

Li Yiqi was in trouble in his heart, and after pondering for a long time, he frowned and asked, "Your Highness entered the palace yesterday, did you ask the queen mother." ”

"The queen mother asked this palace to ask you. ”

Li Yiqi sighed in his heart, and suddenly, a sharp light flashed from his eyes, and said in a deep voice: "Since this is the case, there is no need for others, just let Weichen accompany His Highness alone." ”