Zhang Xun's words were sharp, and the situation was reversed in a few words, but Ji Zheng felt guilty and didn't dare to look at Zhang Xun more. He looked at Taishi secretly in a panic, but saw Taishi shaking his head slightly, signaling him not to panic.

Suddenly, Lord Taibao saluted the Son of Heaven again and said, "Your Majesty, the country cannot be without a prince for a day, please make a decision as soon as possible!" ”

Everyone seconded the motion.

The Son of Heaven was upset, his heart was extremely unhappy, his heart was to Ji Zheng, but he had to consider the attitude of the princes, in desperation, the Son of Heaven got up and prepared to leave the table, just about to dismiss everyone, but saw the Taishi come forward to salute, as if he had something important to say.

"Your Majesty! The minister had a matter, and he didn't want to say it directly, but now he has to tell it to him, otherwise, the minister will commit a big crime of misleading the country! ”

"Say!" The Son of Heaven shook his hand angrily and motioned to the master to speak directly.

Taishi glanced at Taifu and said, "The Zhongxing clan of the Jin Kingdom is a Chinese nobleman, and its ancestors were rewarded by the ancestors for their great military exploits. The first king promised that the Zhou family would sprout his descendants from generation to generation. However, the king of Jin did not think about the ancestral teachings, and allowed the Zhao family to expel the Zhongxing clan, seize its territory, kill its people, and almost wipe out the Zhongxing clan. Last month, the only remaining descendants of the Bank of China clan escaped death and finally rushed to Luoyang, thinking that they could meet His Majesty to state their grievances, but they did not want to, but they were detained by Prince Ren and Taifu and sent back to the tiger's mouth. ”

After hearing this, the Son of Heaven was furious, pointed at Ji Ren and reprimanded: "But there is such a thing! ”

Ji Ren panicked for a moment, and forced himself to calm down: "Taishi...... The Taishi has no evidence, how can he spew blood for no reason? ”

Taifu also hurriedly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty! Nothing like that! ”

Ji Ren turned his head to look at Zhao Wuxian on the side, only to see that Zhao Wuxian's face was like ashes, and he was trembling.

Seeing that Ji Ren and Taifu were unwilling to admit their guilt, the Taishi smiled contemptuously, and immediately said to everyone: "The Bank of China family is really pitiful, they heard that the prince Ren is noble and kind-hearted, and they thought that finding Wang Ziren was to find a life-saving straw. But who would have thought that not only did their grievances not be reported, but Wang Ziren also imprisoned them, and handed them over to Zhao Wuxian that night! ”

After hearing this, the Son of Heaven pointed at Zhao Wuxian and asked, "Zhao Wuxian!" Is there such a thing?! ”

Zhao Wuxian trembled and couldn't say a word.

"Your Majesty doesn't have to ask him, the truth is known. That night, the minister heard about this by chance, and immediately ordered someone to go to the rescue, after some searching, the minister's subordinates found the descendants of the Bank of China outside the western suburbs, and at that time, Zhao Wuxian's killers were committing massacres, and two of them had died tragically under the knife. Fortunately, the subordinates arrived in time to save the rest of the descendants and catch the perpetrators on the spot. Oh, pitiful, hateful, lamentable! I can't imagine that there is such a dirty deed under the feet of the Son of Heaven! ”

As soon as the words fell, Zhao Wuxian's feet softened, and he collapsed to the ground.

The Son of Heaven was furious and ordered sharply: "Someone! Escort the prince back to the mansion! Until the matter is investigated, the prince must not leave half a step! ”

"Whoa!"

So, two guards immediately stepped forward and took Wang Ziren out of the palace.

The sudden scene shocked everyone present, and the balance of power between the two princes was reversed in an instant. The officials standing on either side of Ji regretted it one after another, and one official even took advantage of the fact that people were not paying attention and quietly moved from either side of Ji to Ji Zheng's side.

At this time, the Son of Heaven waved his hand and signaled everyone to retreat, and the father-in-law hurriedly stepped forward to help the Son of Heaven leave.

Ji Zheng also followed, stroked the back of the Son of Heaven, and helped Shunqi, "Father, please calm your anger, your body is important." There may be a secret in this, the third brother has always been gentle, and he should not do such an insidious and cruel thing. ”

The Son of Heaven shook his head and said, "You, you have not been in the palace for twenty years, how do you know how sinister people's hearts are?" ”

"Child...... I really don't understand it. ”

"Well, though, that's what makes you valuable." The Son of Heaven looked at Ji Zheng and nodded with satisfaction, "Zheng'er, if you go to the Jin Kingdom in the next few days, you must investigate this matter as soon as possible, and give the Zhongxing clan justice." ”

"Whoa! The child will look into the matter thoroughly. ”

The Son of Heaven took out a green jade wrench from his hand, handed it to Ji Zheng, and said earnestly: "When you see this thing, the King of Jin will not dare to embarrass you." Zheng'er, this trip is not easy, the situation in the Jin Kingdom is more complicated, and we must pay attention to the methods and means when dealing with it. It's a test, but it's also an invaluable experience for you. ”

"Well, the child will give it his all."

"In case of trouble, you should ask the Taishi for advice, and remember, it is necessary to handle the relationship with the princes and countries well, and striving for checks and balances is the foundation of the rule."

"Got it."

Three days later, early in the morning.

Luoyang City woke up in the faint sunshine, although the sky was not yet bright, but the streets were already full of people, traffic.

Zhang Xun stood outside the post house, quietly looking at this bustling city. The subordinates packed up and stepped forward to report, Zhang Xun nodded, and then stepped on the horse and led the men and horses to leave Luoyang.

At noon, Ji Zheng came to the Taishi's Mansion, and after a salute, the two sat opposite each other.

Taishi ordered someone to make a cup of hot tea for Ji Zheng and asked, "When will Your Highness leave?" ”

"I'll leave in a while, and I'll say goodbye to the master before leaving."

"Well, this trip is not easy, and Your Highness must be cautious when acting. In fact, it was a good idea to move out of the Bank of China tragedy that day. It was easy to offend the Jin State, but the Wu State failed to support His Highness, resulting in a huge disparity in the power of the princes, so I also had to choose the lesser of two evils. ”

"Blame me for not being able to capture the prince."

"Forget it, there's no need to worry about it now. The Jin Kingdom has always been arrogant and arrogant, and this time His Royal Highness is holding him accountable, and it is inevitable that he will resist. If you are neglected, I hope that Your Highness will refrain from it, and remember, if you can't bear it, you will make a big plan. ”

"I understand." Ji Zheng frowned slightly, took a sip from the cup, and sighed: "Hey, now the Zhou Chamber's control over the princes and countries is not as good as before. Although this trip is ostensibly accountable, I am afraid that in the end, I can only be perfunctory, and I can't treat the Zhao family as well. ”

"It is enough for Your Highness to think clearly about this, the Bank of China clan has been wiped out, and the conspiracy and calculation behind this, right and wrong, and the truth are not relevant at all. As for giving the Bank of China an explanation, it is just a high-sounding statement. In essence, the real purpose of the Son of Heaven in arranging this trip was to let His Royal Highness appear in the name of acting for state affairs, so as to convey to the Jin State and even the princes of the world the intention of the Son of Heaven to appoint His Royal Highness as the crown prince in advance. ”

"Hmm......" Ji Zhengchang breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I will appease King Jin and the Zhao family and deal with this matter properly." I believe that when I return, the Jin Kingdom will fully support me. ”

"Haha! Good! Your Highness is really smart! Taishi looked at Ji Zheng with relief, and said with a smile: "However, Your Highness doesn't have to be too jealous, after all, Zhao Wuxian is still in Luoyang, hehe." ”

"Thank you, Master. It's not too early, it's time to go. With that, Ji Zheng stood up and saluted.

The prince also stood up to send him off, and saluted: "I hope that His Highness will return as soon as possible, and the ministers are waiting for His Highness to ascend to the position of prince!" ”

"Farewell."

Ji Zheng returned the salute and said goodbye, revealing a trace of imperceptible but incomparably real joy between his eyes.

At this time, Prince Ji Ren was imprisoned in the palace, and he knew that his future was bleak, and his heart was depressed and uneasy.

Suddenly, the guards came to report, saying that Zhao Wuxian asked to see him. Ji Ren had long since lost his anger, so he just sighed and asked the guards to bring Zhao Wuxian in.

Zhao Wuxian came to Ji Ren, and when he saw Ji Ren's haggard face and untidy clothes, he couldn't help but feel sad and cried bitterly: "Your Highness! It's our Zhao family who hurt you! ”

Ji Ren waved his hand in relief, and said with a wry smile: "I don't blame your Zhao family, there is no matter of the Zhongxing clan, there will be other things." Hehe, now that the defeat is decided, I don't need to complain about anything. ”

"Your Highness...... I have already sent the book to my father, and he will implore King Jin to help His Highness! ”

"Forget it, I had no intention of fighting for the throne in the first place. A few years ago, my father thought that my second brother was no longer alive, and my eldest brother was about to end his life, so my father may have regarded me as his heir out of helplessness, right? ”

"No, Your Highness can't say that, in fact, the King has always recognized His Highness. It's just that when Huangchi met the alliance, Ji Zheng suddenly appeared to save the Son of Heaven, and then a series of events frequently slandered His Highness, which caused His Highness to lose power. ”

"Hehe, yes, all this was planned by the eldest brother. The eldest brother sacrificed his life to help the second brother, hmph, then do I have any chance of winning? ”

"Your Highness! Don't give up easily! There are still half of the magnates in the country who are willing to support His Highness, and all the princes are on His Highness's side, no matter what, His Highness still has a chance! ”

Ji Ren shook his head, "There is no chance, it won't be long before they all support the second brother in turn." These magnates and princes, they only care about their own interests, and whoever can protect their interests and bring them greater benefits, they will support whomever they want. After this incident, to stand on my side is tantamount to giving up their own interests, who would do that? Hehe, only interests are eternal in this world. Hey, I've failed, the tree is falling apart, and I'll be alone soon. Hey, that's it, I will ask my father for his life to return to the people, maybe in this way, the second brother can still save my life in the face of brotherhood. ”

"Nope! Our Jin Kingdom will definitely stand firmly on His Highness's side! ”

Ji Ren smiled helplessly and was silent.

At this moment, the voice of the father-in-law suddenly came from outside: "The Son of Heaven has arrived!" ”

Ji Ren and Zhao Wuxian hurriedly stepped forward to greet them and saluted deeply.

"The child greets his father!"

"Your Majesty!"

"Get up." The Son of Heaven motioned for the two of them to get up, and when he saw Ji Ren's haggard face, the Son of Heaven suddenly felt pity and sighed: "Go and clean up, you two will inspect the autumn harvest with me and leave the city immediately." ”

Ji Ren was puzzled, although he was a little frightened, he immediately responded: "Huh." ”