"Uncle Wang, Wen Kui has given you a salute!"

Zhu Yunxi was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously bowed to salute: "Yunxi has seen the queen mother, and I have seen His Royal Highness the Prince!" ”

"Yun Xi, no courtesy!" Queen Ma Hui smiled and raised her hand.

"Uncle is going to say hello to the imperial grandmother?"

"yes!" Zhu Yunxi subconsciously bent over, intending to stroke Zhu Wenkui's head, but suddenly came to his senses, bowed down and saluted: "Back to His Royal Highness the Prince, the minister wants to say hello to the Queen Mother!" ”

"Uncle go, grandma has already gotten up!"

"Yes, Yunxi, this palace and the crown prince have just asked the queen mother to say goodbye, you can go in!"

"Yes, Yun Xi is gone!"

Zhu Yunxi calmed down, stepped aside, and waited for Queen Ma Hui and Prince Zhu Wenkui to pass before turning around and walking towards the Queen Mother's bedroom.

Listening to the footsteps behind him and thinking about the abnormal behavior of the King of Tai, Queen Ma Hui's heart moved, beckoned, and commanded in a low voice: "Qiu Ju, send someone to keep an eye nearby, and report to the palace as soon as there is a situation!" ”

"Yes, sis!"

……

At this moment, Zhu Yunxi didn't think about the queen and the prince at all, he wanted to see the queen mother quickly, but when he saw what the queen mother said, he didn't think about it. Zhu Yunxi's temporary residence was in the west of the imperial city, not far from the yamen of the Investigation Division, so when the Investigation Division was surrounded, he immediately knew the news, but the people he sent out to inquire about the news were blocked by the guards. In the end, Zhu Yunxi did not continue to investigate, but chose to close the door of the house, go back to sleep, and wait for dawn to talk.

In the morning, Zhu Yunxi, who had been sleepless almost all night, got the news that the Investigation Division had been seized by the Guards, and now the Investigation Division was surrounded by sentry posts, only allowing them to enter but not to let them out, so no one knew the specific situation. But before Zhu Yunxi could think of a countermeasure, Zhou Xin came to the door with the holy decree......

After receiving the holy decree, Zhu Yunxi returned to the house to change his clothes, ate a little, and immediately entered the palace to see the Queen Mother.

The Empress Dowager Lu is forty-six years old this year, but she does not look old, except for a little crow's feet at the corner of her eyes, there are almost no wrinkles, and her figure is well-proportioned, and there is no sign of fortune. She was dressed in red and yellow Queen Mother clothes, holding a twig in her hand, and was teasing a green-billed parrot. With her teasing, the parrot jumped up and down, and kept shouting: "The Queen Mother is auspicious, the Queen Mother is auspicious!" It made Lu laugh.

At this time, the palace maid Lu Calyx walked in and muttered a few words in Lu's ear, and Lu Shi smiled after hearing this: "Let him come in, this child is really filial, he comes so early every day!" ”

As soon as the Lu family sat down, Zhu Yunxi rushed in and knelt on the ground with a "plop": "Queen Mother, my son's son greets you!" ”

"Hehe, Yunxi, get up, sit down and chat with your mother!"

"Empress Dowager Xie!"

After Zhu Yunxi sat down, the Queen Mother frowned and said, "Yunxi, why are your eye circles so heavy?" Didn't sleep well last night? ”

"Well, there was an accident in the Investigation Department last night, and I tossed it all night, and my son didn't fall asleep."

"Oh, what's going on with the Investigation Division?"

"I don't know the specific sons, but in the morning, I heard from the people in the palace that Cao Yushu's guards surrounded the Investigation Department and captured all the top and bottom of the Investigation Department, and the other sons didn't know."

"Investigation Division?" Lu Shi thought for a while and said, "It doesn't seem to be a trivial matter, otherwise Yun Wei would not use the Guards, would there still be people who want to rebel?" ”

"This," Zhu Yunxi pondered the words for a moment and said, "Erchen doesn't know either." ”

Lu Shi beckoned, and whispered a few words to the personal palace maid Green Calyx, who nodded and turned to leave.

……

"Empress Dowager, what the slave maid heard is like this, because the investigation department is ineffective, and even suspected of rebellion, the emperor was furious, and sent Zhou Xin, the inspector of the imperial history, to return to Beijing, and the Cao Yushu Department of the Guards was ordered to assist Zhou Xin in seizing the investigation department, at the same time, at the same time," Lu Calyx hesitated for a moment, swept Zhu Yunxi next to him from the corner of his eyes, and then said: "Zhou Xin also brought the emperor's will, so that the king of Taiwan and the king of Ji rushed to open the cover saint!" ”

"What?" Lu Shi was stunned for a moment, and looked back at Zhu Yunxi: "Yunwen asked you to go to Kaifeng?" ”

"Yes, the son of the minister also came today to bid farewell to his mother, and the emperor's order cannot be violated!"

"This," Lu Shi stroked his forehead and frowned, "Green Calyx, has the emperor sent a letter recently?" ”

"Queen Mother, the emperor sent a letter the day before yesterday, but the Queen Mother has already seen it!"

"Oh, yes, the mourning family remembers, alas, people are old, and their memory is not as good as before!"

"The Queen Mother laughed, the Queen Mother is not old at all!"

"Yes, the Queen Mother is not old at all."

Looking at Zhu Yunxi's forced smile, Lu Shi was a little surprised and asked, "Yunxi, what's wrong with you?" Is something wrong? ”

"Queen Mother, the emperor is suspicious of his sons, please ask the Queen Mother to save her life!" While speaking, Zhu Yunxi fell to his knees with a plop, kowtowing like pounding garlic.

"Yunxi, don't be like this, hurry up, everything is for your mother to make decisions for you!" Lu Shi hurriedly got up and supported Zhu Yunxi.

Zhu Yunxi refused to get up, and sobbed: "Queen Mother, there are traitors in the court, and they want to harm their children." ”

"Huh?" Hearing this, Lu Shi was stunned, she hesitated for a moment, and said, "Who are you talking about traitor?" ”

"Back to the Empress Dowager, although Yan Shun has been ambushed, there are still many ministers in the court who are still eyeing the king of my Zhu family, and they are trying their best to instigate the emperor, intending to get rid of us as soon as possible. Under their influence, the emperor changed Taizu's national policy and divided the vassal kings to the borderlands, so that there was no flesh and blood clan to guard the plastered land in the country. And they did not give up, and tried their best to instigate the emperor to move the clan to a bitter cold and hot place, as evidenced by the sons and fourth brothers. The acting king moved to Taiwan because he was at fault, so why was his son wrong? Actually sealed with the acting king? The fourth brother lives in a wild and bitter cold place, and if this goes on for a long time, the royal family will lose the wings of the clan, once there is a change, the world of my Zhu family, the great tomorrow created by Emperor Taizu may be destroyed in one fell swoop. ”

"Although the sons have the heart to protect the emperor, but the emperor is too vigilant, and the sons are powerless, go to Kaifeng, and the sons have the fear of not returning, so today I came to ask the queen mother to resign, and I hope the queen mother will take care."

Lu Shi sighed, did not continue to support, but got up and sat on the chair, waved his hand, "Green calyx, help the king of Tai up." ”

"Yes!"

"Go down, the mourning family wants to say a few words to the king of Taiwan."

"Yes!"

When the green calyx retreated, only the Empress Dowager Lu and the King of Taiwan Zhu Yunxi were left in Cining Palace, Lu looked at Zhu Yunxi's red and swollen eyes, sighed again, and said: "Yunxi, for the mother is a woman's family, and I don't know much." But my mother can be sure that your imperial brother does not mean to treat the clan lightly, he just feels that the Ming Dynasty has limited national strength and cannot support so many clan vassal kings. In fact, when you and Yun Xi were divided, Wei Niang asked the emperor, he summoned the officials of the household department to calculate an account for Wei Niang, Wei Niang felt that it was very reasonable, a hundred years later, the vassal king's Yulu will reach more than 10 million stones, accounting for more than half of the Ming Dynasty's income. In this way, once there is a flood and drought disaster, how will Daming deal with it? ”

"Queen Mother, you have been deceived. Emperor Taizu drove out reinforcements and saved the people of China, shouldn't these people provide for the blood of Emperor Taizu? Moreover, the prince's annual grain is 10,000 stones, which is equivalent to only 10,000 taels of silver, and now the merchants in the capital, such as the Bai family, the Liu family, the Tan family, the Jia family, etc., which one does not earn hundreds of thousands of taels a year? If you raid the homes of these merchants, how many vassal kings can you support? Merchants are humble people, but they live a life of paper and gold drunkenness, and we, the descendants of Emperor Taizu, have a salary of 10,000 taels a year, and they live a very hard life, but they are said to be a great disaster for the country. Queen Mother, do you think there is such a truth in the world? ”

"This?" Lu Shi was stunned for a moment: "These businessmen are so rich? That Bai family, but Concubine Shu's family? ”

"Yes, Queen Mother Shengming!"

"That's right," Queen Mother Lu Shi looked up at the window, thought for a while, and turned back and said, "Let's not talk about this matter first, think about it for my mother." ”

"But, child, you don't have to worry, Yun Wei's mother will say it, although you are not born for your mother, but your mother has always treated you as if you were your own child, and you will never be wronged!"

"Well," Zhu Yunxi knelt on the ground and sobbed: "In Yunxi's heart, he has always regarded himself as the biological son of the Queen Mother." ”

"Alas, child, get up." The Lu family touched the top of Zhu Yunxi's head lovingly, thought for a while, and said, "My mother will inform the military department and ask Lu Ben to send troops to escort you and Yunxi to Kaifeng together, and you should also bring your 1,000 guards, there should be no problems." ”

"Well, that's great, thank you!"

……

"By the way, Green Calyx, why hasn't Yun Xi come over to say goodbye?"

"Back to the Queen Mother, His Royal Highness King Ji came just now, but the Queen Mother and King Tai were talking at that time, and the slave didn't let him in. His Royal Highness King Ji waited for a while, maybe he couldn't wait, so he went out, and he should go to the queen's side to see the direction. ”

"Hehe," Lu Shi shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Compared to Yun Xi, Yun Xi seems to never grow up!" ”

……

In order to protect the safety of the two princes, the Lu family sent people to meet Yu Xin, Xu Kai and others, and asked to send their distant nephew, Jin Wuwei's servant Lu Ben, to lead the army to serve as a guard, Yu Xin and Xu Kai discussed it and agreed, anyway, the prince will definitely send troops to protect him when he goes north, and it doesn't matter who he goes, there is no need to upset the queen mother.

The next morning, Zhu Yunxi, the king of Taiwan, and Zhu Yunxi, the king of Ji, under the escort of 5,000 elite soldiers, set out from Jinchuan Gate and went north to open the cover of the saint.

"Alas!"

"What's wrong? Lord Zhou? What are you sighing for? ”

"Lord Liu," Zhou Xin smiled bitterly: "The lower officials are thinking, the king of Taiwan has become a prince, why is he still not satisfied?" ”

"Oh?" Liu Tie suddenly became interested: "Could it be that Lord Zhou has found evidence?" Is it Feng Xingjian or Qiao Hong? ”

"This can't be determined yet, because Qiao Hong and others put the blame on Feng Xingjian's order; Feng Xingjian didn't admit this, saying that he was deceived by Qiao Hong, and it was all Qiao Hong's ghost. ”

"Under the so-called great punishment, there must be a truth! Didn't Lord Zhou use torture? ”

"I did, but it didn't work!"

"Oh, what did you mean by that?"

"Hehe, let Lord Liu see it." Zhou Xin pushed the brim of his hat with his hand, looked at the back of the army in the distance, and said indifferently: "It's just a little experience in trying the case." After yesterday's announcement, Xia Guan could feel that the king of Taiwan was very nervous, even afraid; When he came out again when he returned home, he was much better; When I saw the Queen Mother and came out of the palace, I became full of confidence and radiant! So according to the speculation of the lower officials, there is a master behind the king of Tai! ”

"How do you know?"

"After the king of Taiwan received the decree, he returned to the house, and when he came out again, he had already judged the two of them, and then he went to Cining Palace, and the queen mother sent a note to Lord Xu in the afternoon, asking to appoint Lu Ben to escort the king of Taiwan and the king of Ji, this trick is very clever, because this represents the attitude of the queen mother, and no one dares to do anything."

But this also exposes the fear in the heart of the king of Taiwan, when the prince travels, the court will send heavy troops to protect him, why bother? What is he afraid of? ”

"Hehe, Lord Zhou is really decisive, no wonder the emperor sent the lord to serve as the Qin mission, he is really discerning!"

"The talents of the lower officials are all valued by the emperor Longen, how dare you not do your best?"

"Hehe, Lord Zhou is too modest!"

……

The sun rises from the east, shining on the majestic city wall of Jingshi, and is warm on the body. And Zhou Xin and Liu Tie also stopped talking, silently staring at the army that was getting farther and farther away, thinking about it......