As soon as Emperor Hengde's words came out, not only Li Deren and Zhao Chou were shocked, but even Shen Ruxiu and Gu Tingge opened their eyes in surprise, they didn't expect that Emperor Hengde would really punish Prime Minister and Zhao Chou for Shen Bai.

Li Deren is a veteran of the two dynasties, Zhaoling is now heavy on agriculture and light on business, the Wei family is in the twilight, Zhaoling's commerce is stagnant, Zhaoling's treasury is basically supported by agricultural taxes, and Li Deren is in charge of agriculture, almost choking Zhaoling's throat, so Emperor Hengde has given Concubine De's greatest favor over the years, and he also acquiesced in indulging Zhao Chou's increasing arrogance.

Now the matter between Shen Bai and Zhao Chou has not been clarified, just because Zhao Chou lost his honor in front of the emperor, Emperor Hengde wanted to let Li Deren take the initiative to ask for punishment, and this attitude was clearly to start suppressing the Li family.

After being indulged for a long time, Li Deren and Zhao Chou almost forgot the feeling of being restrained, and at this moment they were suddenly struck by Emperor Hengde, and their heads were buzzing and they didn't know what to do.

Li Deren didn't think of a good wording, Emperor Hengde raised his eyes to look at Shen Ruxiu, and asked: "Shen Aiqing, after the four princes detained the important ministers privately, the emperor lost his manners and did not obey the rules, and the prime minister, as the national ruler, did not teach well, how should I deal with it according to the law?" ”

Zhao Chou was detaining his son, and he was the one who memorized the law the most, so of course Emperor Hengde wanted to ask him.

Although Shen Ruxiu was surprised, his nerves had always been tense, and after being named, he immediately knelt down and replied calmly: "Back to Your Majesty, according to Article 387 of the Law, after the four highnesses have detained the important ministers privately, when they have been grounded for ten days, plus the failure of etiquette in front of the palace, the two crimes will be punished concurrently, and when they are grounded for half a month, the abbot has not taught well, but it has not led to irreparable consequences, and the punishment can be one month." ”

The verdict given by Shen Ruxiu was very fair, and there was no mention of Shen Bai's possible humiliation by Zhao Chou in Yingze Palace.

These two charges are obvious to all, Zhao Chou can't deny it, but he is very unwilling in his heart, he is a dignified fourth prince, how can he be forced to such a point by the stinky boy of the Shen family?

Zhao Chou still felt that everything was Shen Bai's fault, but Li Deren had already sensed that the Li family might usher in a major crisis, and immediately said in a loud voice: "Mrs. Shen is fair and selfless, and the old minister is willing to be punished." ”

After Li Deren finished speaking, he fell to the ground, Zhao Chou had never seen his grandfather like this, and he faintly felt that things were a little too big, so he suppressed his anger and said, "Erchen is also willing to be punished." ”

Now that they have all accepted the punishment, things will be easy to handle.

Emperor Hengde asked the palace people to send Zhao Chou back to Yingze Palace, let the Praetorian Guards strictly guard, and no one was allowed to enter and leave Yingze Palace without permission for half a month, and drafted a holy decree for Sun Yuehai, the head of internal affairs, to send to the Prime Minister's Mansion, Li Deren accepted the punishment and retreated, and only Shen Ruxiu, Shen Bai and Chunxi were left kneeling on the ground in the imperial study.

Shen Bai is still wearing a colorful dress today, looking exaggerated and eye-catching, which is completely different from Shen Ruxiu's elegant and introverted, but the side face looks like Shen Ruxiu from a certain angle.

However, Emperor Hengde knew very well that Shen Bai was a sharp sword, and this ostentatious clothes were just a fancy scabbard, and once the sword was drawn out of the sheath, it would reveal an unstoppable blade.

Emperor Hengde looked at Shen Bai and asked, "That night in Yingze Palace, the fourth prince really humiliated you?" ”

Emperor Hengde's tone was softened, as if he was just asking casually, Gu Hengzhou immediately turned his head to look at Shen Bai, and Shen Bai calmly met Emperor Hengde's gaze and nodded.

She wants to confirm the fact that she was humiliated by Zhao Chou.

Gu Hengzhou pursed his lips, and the hand hanging by his side clenched into a fist, once this matter became a sure fact, there was no room to go back.

Emperor Hengde asked Imperial Physician Zhang the same question: "That night in Yingze Palace, the fourth prince really humiliated Shen Bai, the concubine of Taifu?" ”

Imperial Physician Zhang's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he said with a solemn face: "Back to Your Majesty, yes!" ”

With the testimony of Concubine Shu and Imperial Physician Zhang, there is no doubt about this matter.

Emperor Hengde nodded, thought for a moment and said in a deep voice: "This matter cannot be continued to investigate, the royal family is ashamed of the Shen family, and if the Taifu wants any compensation, he can bring it up to me." ”

Emperor Hengde means that if you leave this door today, the truth of this matter will be sealed in the imperial study forever and cannot be known to the world.

Shen Ruxiu arched his hand and said: "Weichen doesn't ask for anything!" ”

Emperor Hengde was not surprised at all by his answer, and looked at Shen Bai again and asked, "What about you, what compensation do you want?" ”

It seemed that this situation had been expected for a long time, and Shen Bai took out a note from his sleeve pocket that had been prepared a long time ago, which read: Shen Bai is brave and wants the position of Lingzhou Prefecture.

What I want to talk about today are all confidential matters, there is no one in the palace in the imperial study, Gu Hengzhou helped Shen Bai hand the note to Emperor Hengde, and when he saw the words written on it, obscurity flashed in his eyes.

As soon as he opened his mouth, he wanted an official position like the Lingzhou Prefecture, and this person was really not afraid of losing his head!

Lingzhou is in Huainan, is the richest place in Zhaoling, grain production, commerce, water and land transportation and storage of troops are the largest, the scale will not be smaller than Hanjing, the successive Lingzhou governors are very capable, in other places to do very beautiful political achievements are qualified to be appointed.

Shen Bai is just a small Tanhualang now, and he hasn't even reached the crown, how could Emperor Hengde give her the position of Lingzhou Prefecture so easily?

Gu Hengzhou felt that Shen Bai's request was too ridiculous, but Emperor Hengde was sitting here watching, and he couldn't alter and destroy the handwriting on the paper, Gu Hengzhou could only put the note on the table with an expressionless face.

Emperor Hengde lowered his eyes and glanced at it, his expression was calm, without the slightest hint of anger.

After a while, he asked Shen Bai, "Do you want to go to Lingzhou?" ”

Shen Bai nodded.

Emperor Hengde asked again: "What do you think is capable of convincing the public?" ”

Shen Bai motioned to Emperor Hengde to turn over the note, and Emperor Hengde opened it and saw that it was written: Your Majesty can appoint me as the capital of Lingzhou in half a year.

The meaning of this sentence is that she will prove her strength within half a year.

Shen Bai knelt straight, his eyebrows and eyes were crooked, and the corners of his lips were smiling, and he was confident.

Emperor Hengde pressed down the note and said to Shen Ruxiu: "Taifu is happy to be Lin'er, this son is close to my birthday, and it is also fate, yesterday I flipped through the ancient books, and happened to see a poem called "Daigo is ashamed of the smell, the lake makes the crystal light", I think the word Po is very good, with the meaning of transparency and purity, and named Shen Po for the second son of the Shen family, how about it?" ”

Shen Ruxiu hurriedly thanked him: "Thank you, Your Majesty for the name!" ”

Emperor Hengde already believed in the fact that Zhao Chou had humiliated Shen Bai, but it was inconvenient to publicize this matter, and naturally he could not blatantly compensate Shen Bai, so he used Shen Po's name to give Taifu Mansion a lot of awards.

Shen Ruxiu thanked them one by one, and Emperor Hengde asked people to prepare a holy decree and take them together to send Shen Ruxiu and Imperial Doctor Zhang out of the palace.

Soon only Concubine Shu, Gu Tingge and Gu Hengzhou were left in the imperial study.

Gu Tingge didn't speak from beginning to end, but in the end, he was a person who had fought on the battlefield for decades and was extremely skilled in the art of war, and he asked: "Your Majesty really believes that His Royal Highness has humiliated Young Master Shen?" ”

Fang Cai Zhao Chou's performance was indeed reckless, impulsive and impetuous, but it was a felony after humiliating the ministers, and Shen Bai was still a man, no matter how Gu Tingge thought about it, he felt that there was something in it, Emperor Hengde did not answer this question directly, but just asked faintly: "Shen Bai is still young, and his temperament is still a little stubborn, and his words are indeed not necessarily credible, but Concubine Shu has always been gentle and graceful, and I still believe her words." ”

Concubine Shu didn't expect Emperor Hengde to let her stay here, and after being named, she hooked her lips and showed a gentle smile, and said softly: "Your Majesty is very loved, and the concubines will never dare to deceive in any way." ”

Concubine Shu opened her mouth, and Gu Tingge's doubts were three points less.

Emperor Hengde said: "Zhenwu has been back for so long, I haven't had a chance to catch up with Concubine Shu." ”

After dealing with things for so long, knowing that Emperor Hengde should be tired, Concubine Shu naturally helped him pinch his shoulder, and said with a smile: "Brother Yi has to stay in Beijing for many months, and there is always a chance to talk." ”

Gu Hengzhou was unexpected, it was the first time he knew that Concubine Shu and his father were brothers and sisters when he grew up so big.

Gu Tingge was still thinking about Zhao Chou's matter just now, but he was interrupted at this time, so he could only continue Concubine Shu's words: "What Concubine Shuniang said is reasonable. ”

Concubine Shu's pinching skills are very high, Emperor Hengde stretched his brows comfortably, gently patted the back of Concubine Shu's hand to signal that she didn't have to continue, and then said: "Concubine Ai is always so indisputable." ”

Concubine Shu said softly: "Your Majesty has a lot of opportunities every day, there are so many things to be busy every day, the concubines can't help Your Majesty anything, you can only be as considerate as possible to Your Majesty." ”

Emperor Hengde smiled and asked Concubine Shu and Gu Hengzhou to go out first.

Only Gu Tingge and Emperor Hengde were left in the imperial study, and they were silent for a while, but Gu Tingge took the initiative to ask: "Your Majesty wants to take this opportunity to suppress the Li family?" ”

The fact that the Guogong Mansion caught the assassin was not publicized, and few people knew about it, and Emperor Hengde had asked Dali Temple to stop investigating this matter, but it had happened, even if it was pretended to be nothing on the surface, many things had changed.

Emperor Hengde's intentions were obvious, and he asked Gu Tingge: "What do you think of this kid of the Shen family?" ”

Gu Tingge thought for a while and said truthfully: "It seems to be simple, but in fact, it is scheming and different from others. ”

Emperor Hengde asked: "Then do you think he can achieve great things in the future?" ”

Gu Tingge frowned, although he had seen Shen Bai several times, he didn't have a comprehensive understanding of Shen Bai, but thinking of Gu Hengzhou's previous actions to defend Shen Bai, Gu Tingge still replied: "The minister is not sure whether he can achieve great things in the future, but his skills in figuring out people's hearts are indeed good." ”

Gu Hengzhou is his son, even if the father and son rarely meet, Gu Tingge believes that Gu Hengzhou has a firm heart and will never be shaken by ordinary people.

However, what Gu Tingge didn't know was that Shen Bai had spent a whole ten years figuring out that Gu Hengzhou had spent all her scheming to curry favor with Gu Hengzhou.

Emperor Hengde nodded, agreeing with Gu Tingge's statement, I don't know what to think, with a smile on his face, he said softly: "I also think that this kid of the Shen family is very interesting, he wants to muddy the water of Hanjing, I want to see what kind of fish he can touch." ”

Gu Tingge immediately understood what Emperor Hengde meant, and asked, "Your Majesty wants to be Shen Bai's backer and borrow his hand to pave a way for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?" ”

Emperor Hengde shook his head and said meaningfully: "It's not that I want to be his backer, it's Rui Xuan and Xingyuan who sent him to me." ”

After returning from Donghengguo, Zhao Che and Gu Hengzhou both told Emperor Hengde that Shen Bai was very talented and could be reused in the future, and such a high evaluation made Emperor Hengde have to look at Shen Bai differently.

Gu Tingge pursed his lips, Gu Hengzhou protected Shen Bai, even if Zhao Che protected him as the prince of a country, he couldn't help but be a little worried, if Shen Bai had any problems, wouldn't it have a great impact on the future of Zhaoling?

Seeing Gu Tingge's thoughts, Emperor Hengde couldn't help but remind: "It's hard to tell whether the matter between this kid of the Shen family and the fourth child is true or false, but the things he likes to travel far are well known, and Zhenwu is really not worried at all?" ”

Gu Tingge shook his head: "Xingyuan has always acted in a measured manner, and the minister believes that he will not do anything deviant." ”

Of course, Emperor Hengde also believed in Gu Hengzhou, but he still said: "It's the Winter Gui Festival soon, and the daughters of all the big families will also participate in this year, even if they are far away, Zhenwu should also take a look at him for him." ”

Emperor Hengde was half reminding and half kind, Gu Tingge said calmly: "The minister also has this intention, but the minister is already sorry for his mother, and he doesn't want him to follow in the footsteps of the minister, it still depends on his liking." ”

The Duchess of the State died in childbirth when she gave birth to Gu Hengzhou, at that time Gu Tingge was far away at the border pass, and happened to encounter a small group of enemy troops in Yuexi to invade, and fought a small battle for half a month, and a person rushed back day and night, the Duchess of Guo had been buried, and even the first seven had passed, Gu Tingge didn't see her for the last time, only gave her a stick of incense, glanced at Gu Hengzhou, and then hurried back to the border pass, and when he came back, Gu Hengzhou was already able to run on the ground.

Gu Tingge was ashamed of his wife, his wife was a very gentle person, but too weak, he was too young when he got married, he didn't know how to pity, and he hurt her, and then she was always afraid of him, he tried to be pleasant, but failed, and then he lost his patience, and then he lost his patience for more than ten years after his wife's death, he always dreamed of a pair of watery shy and timid eyes, and finally felt regretful.

He has never tasted too vigorous love, and hopes that Gu Hengzhou will not be like him, except for leading troops to fight in his life, he has not even known cold and hot.

Emperor Hengde knew that Gu Tingge had a knot, so he sighed lightly and said, "I don't want Rui Xuan to choose a favorite woman to be the crown princess, but he has always remembered Shuxian's death and refuses to make a crown princess. ”

Gu Tingge was one of the few people who knew that there was a problem with the death of the first queen, he respected the first queen, and he didn't want to see a century-old family like the Wei family wither, so he said with relief: "It's normal for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to not figure it out, but if Your Majesty has a young lady from a family with good conduct, you can let people pay attention to it, and find more opportunities to summon people into the palace to see, if you can have more contact with His Royal Highness the Prince, maybe His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will figure it out." ”

Emperor Hengde nodded, he really wanted to see this Winter Laurel Festival.

The two old fathers were worried about their son's marriage in the imperial study, but the parties didn't know about it at all.

In a blink of an eye, on the day of the Winter Laurel Festival, Shen Bai got up early in the morning, the tea white was not there, and the green tip helped her pick out a grass green equestrian dress embroidered with red peonies, and the large green was full of delicate peony flowers, and the color contrast was quite strong, no matter where she stood she could catch everyone's attention for the first time.

After waiting for Shen Bai to put on his clothes, Green Tip couldn't help muttering: "Young master, will this dress be too fancy, although the young master is good-looking, but the clothes are too ugly, there is a saying in Muzhou called red with green, race bullshit." ”

Green Tip has a simple idea, just say whatever you want, Shen Bai poked at her eyebrows.

The master is naturally beautiful, not to mention red and green, even a rag draped over his body is also good-looking.

Shen Bai was very confident, and Green Jian couldn't help laughing, and quipped: "I heard that the young ladies of the whole Hanjing family will also participate today, and the young master is not afraid of being compared to those delicate ladies when he dresses like this, and he will lose his uncle's eyes?" ”

Since Shen Bai said that he liked Gu Hengzhou, Lu Jian's private title to Gu Hengzhou became uncle.

Shen Bai liked this title very much, and raised his eyebrows proudly.

My uncle is an ascetic who is not close to women, not to mention Hanjing, even if the women of the whole Zhaoling Tomb are dressed up to flatter him, he can also be indifferent and sit still.

Shen Bai was quite confident, and Green Tip didn't say anything more, helping her tie up her hair and put on a crown.

It snowed yesterday, the weather was very cold, and Lu Jian tied a thick wolf skin cloak to Shen Bai, the cloak was a low-key normal gray, after covering the red and green clothes, Shen Bai's petite figure and white and tender little face were highlighted, especially the white and delicate neck exposed outside, which was very eye-catching.

Green Jian hurriedly took the scarf and put it on for her, and said uneasily: "The road is slippery in the snow, the young master walks carefully, I heard that there is a competition today, the young master is talented, and he can crush those people with his brain, so don't compete in force." ”

As if she was afraid that she would suffer a loss, Shen Bai rolled her eyes lazily, raised her hand to block Lujian's mouth, and signaled her not to worry blindly, Shen Xiaoye is going to be outstanding today, and no one wants to block her from the limelight.

After breakfast, Shen Bai and Li Shan went out together, her tongue was still injured now, and she couldn't eat snacks, so Lujian prepared a small stove for her to hold.

Seeing the two of them go out of the courtyard and bypass the corner, Lu Jian went back to guard Shen Po, Shen Ruxiu reprimanded Sun, and Sun didn't send anyone to ask for a child in the past two days.

Shen Bai and Li Shan went out together, as usual, Li Shan drove, Shen Bai got into the carriage and saw two daggers in the car, the daggers were small and exquisite, and the blade was cold and sharp, and it was a good thing at first glance, it should have been put in the carriage by Li Shan in advance.

The master behind him asked him to send it?

Shen Bai's eyebrows raised slightly, and seeing that the dagger size was very appropriate, he inserted one in each boot.

The location of the Winter Laurel Festival is in the Mingzhao Mountain behind the Imperial Palace, and everyone must enter the Imperial Palace, pass through the palace gate and go up to Mingzhao Mountain from the Zhaoyi Gate.

The carriage stopped at the gate of the palace, and Shen Bai flashed his waist card and entered the palace with Li Shan.

It snowed all day yesterday, and the snow in various parts of the palace has not been cleared today, and there are dense footprints on the ground, and many people have already entered the palace.

Shen Bai was not in a hurry, she walked slowly, and when she was about to reach Zhaoyi Gate, she saw Gu Hengzhou and Gu Hengxiu who had entered the palace one step ahead of her.

Shen Bai only had Gu Hengzhou in his eyes, and he couldn't open his mouth to call someone, so he directly trotted over.

The snow engulfed the footsteps, Shen Bai wanted to scare Gu Hengzhou, but he didn't expect to be noticed by Gu Hengzhou, turned his head to look, Shen Bai's hand was already raised high, and his face was also a prank smile, but he didn't expect that his feet suddenly slipped, and the whole person crashed into Gu Hengzhou's arms.

Gu Hengzhou instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist, and was knocked back several steps before he could stabilize it, and scolded in a deep voice: "What are you running?" ”