Emperor Jianping turned to look at Xia Guoyuan, and said with a calm face: "Master Xia, I also know my physical condition. To tell you the truth, I have been on the throne for 25 years, and I can be regarded as conscientious and conscientious, and I have lived up to the trust of the emperor. Even if I am the Son of Heaven, I can't compete with the Heavens, and now I only hope that the Crown Prince can inherit the ancestral inheritance. Please don't excuse Master Xia! Speaking of this, he bowed solemnly, as formal as when he apprenticed.

Xia Guoyuan, who was standing opposite, hurriedly dodged, he didn't dare to accept the etiquette of the Ninth Five. "Your Majesty has tormented the old minister! The old minister is willing to share His Majesty's worries, but he is afraid that he will delay the prince's studies because of his stupidity. ”

Emperor Jianping turned his worries into joy, smiled and waved his hand and said, "Master Xia is a scholar and a celestial, as long as he puts half of his energy on the prince." From today onwards, I have entrusted the crown prince to Master Xia, so please bother more. Speaking of which, Emperor Jianping summoned Ma Desheng and the Zhongshu Sheren who was responsible for drafting the edict, and drafted a holy decree on the spot, to the effect that "Jiaqi is loyal and diligent, enters the prince and the prince, and guides the prince with morality from the first grade, and guards the wings." ”

After Xia Guoyuan thanked the emperor, he continued to chat a few words, and then had lunch in the warm support of Emperor Jianping. The two talked about the current situation.

"Master Xia, although the court is peaceful now, there are frequent disasters in various places. At the end of autumn last year, the northern Tatars attacked many times. Although the border army resisted hard, it still caused heavy losses to the border people, and the people in Jizhou and Youzhou were looted to reach more than 100,000, and there was no money and food. On the summer solstice this year, Jinhua and other places in Zhejiang Province suffered floods, and hundreds of thousands of people were displaced and waiting to be fed. In this situation, I hate it and hurt it deeply! Why did Master Xia teach me? ”

Xia Guoyuan pondered for a moment, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the old minister has been absent from the court for a long time, his ears and eyes are closed, and the truth is not very clear, so it is really difficult to give advice to His Majesty. However, the old minister knows very well: the lord is worried about the humiliation of the minister, and the lord humiliates the minister's death. The above things, who should have been the minister's thoughts and worries, actually made His Majesty so embarrassed, which is really the fault of the minister. The old minister knows that the court is now led by Yao Nai and Ye Nanqing, and after leaving the palace, he will ask them to understand this old face. ”

Emperor Jianping said with a little emotion: "Master Xia, you are still as upright as before. If you return to the court sooner, this will certainly not be the case. The suffering people are also my people, and I can't eat or sleep during these days, and I can't wait to replace them. I hope that Master Xia will be able to participate in state discussions in the future, and that my people will suffer less. ”

Xia Guoyuan's heart moved, he seemed to have touched Emperor Jianping's thoughts, but he still said calmly on his face: "Although the old minister is an old man, he is still willing to contribute to His Majesty." ”

Emperor Jianping struck with both hands, and said in a cheerful tone: "Okay! After that, it will be hard for Master Xia. With Master Xia here, I also have a bottom in my heart when I deal with things. ”

Ma Desheng, who was standing next to him, also joked: "Master, you still have a deep relationship with Your Majesty's master and apprentice." Your Majesty has been worried about the affairs of the people affected by the disaster these days, and it has been a long time since he has smiled so heartily. ”

Emperor Jianping pretended to be annoyed and said, "You talk a lot!" Go and fetch the treasured little dragon group for me, and I will personally make a pot of good tea for Master Xia to thank Mr. for his kindness. ”

Ma Desheng walked out of the pavilion with Xiao quickly, and Xia Guoyuan also smiled and accompanied Emperor Jianping to talk about other things.

Seeing that it was getting late, Xia Guoyuan noticed that Emperor Jianping was already a little tired and got up to say goodbye. Emperor Jianping couldn't keep it, so he could only reluctantly send eunuchs to send him out of the palace.

Out of the east side gate of the palace noon gate, Xia Guoyuan walked alone on the wide road, followed by more than a dozen elite guards and a carriage that looked a little heavy. As he walked, he pondered the Emperor's purpose in summoning him. Seeing it today, the emperor's physical condition is indeed not optimistic, his face is gray, his breath is short, and he coughs incessantly, which is really not a longevity. But with decades of experience as an official, he vaguely felt that there was something wrong with the situation summoned today, and he couldn't say where it was. Because the physical condition is the emperor's biggest secret, even to the ministers who are close to him, he should not confide in him at will, but the emperor just said it directly today, without the slightest intention to hide it. This means that he either has no scruples or has a deeper meaning, and it is likely to be the latter. "But what is the emperor for?" Thinking of this, he still had no clue, so he decided to take the time to meet his proud protégé, Ye Nanqing, the right minister, after all, he had been away from the court for too long.

Emperor Jianping, who returned to the Xiyuan Palace, waved Ma Desheng to step back, and sat alone at the desk and pondered, not knowing what he was thinking. After a while, he seemed to be taking care of himself and said, "What has King Jing been doing lately?" What's changing? ”

A dry voice came out abruptly from behind the vermilion pillar not far away, "Back to Your Majesty, King Jing has not moved recently, except for entering the palace more frequently than before to make sure that the Queen Mother is calm at dawn and dusk, he has been locking himself at home and has not contacted anyone else. ”

Emperor Jianping said a little coldly: "Oh? Is this royal brother of mine really modified? Don't tell me that he really came to pray for the queen mother. ”

The owner of the dumb voice was dressed in black, thin and short, and stood in the shadow formed by the pillar as if he were one. He heard that the emperor was a little dissatisfied, knelt on the ground and said, "The slave should die!" It's just that King Jing has recently reined in his actions, and it is difficult for the minions to obtain accurate information. ”

Emperor Jianping waved his hand and said, "Get up." Xia Guoyuan was assassinated in Yangzhou, but King Jing did it? ”

"Back to Your Majesty, the servants monitored King Jing's every move, two days before Xia Guoyuan was assassinated, two people did visit King Jing's outer mansion at night. One is Li Yushi, who openly impeached the right minister Ye Nanqing in the court, and the other is very clever, and the person arranged by the slave did not dare to approach for fear of being detected, and then he lost it. Two days later, Xia Guoyuan was stabbed in Yangzhou. ”

"It seems that Xia Guoyuan's matter is inseparable from this imperial brother of mine!" Emperor Jianping rubbed his eyebrows, which had been bulging and a little swollen, and after feeling a little more comfortable, he asked: "Earlier, the Criminal Department reported that an old catcher had discovered an organization called the 'Blood Hand Alliance', what did you find?" ”

The black shadow lay on the ground and replied: "Your Majesty, the minions sent people to search in many ways, and found that there is indeed an assassin organization of the Blood Hand Alliance, which specializes in accepting money and killing people to eliminate disasters, and it is quite powerful. However, when it was time to investigate further, all the spies sent by the minions disappeared, and they should have been killed. A few days ago, the minions had already sent capable men to prepare to break into the Blood Hand Alliance, and after the investigation was clear, they could be wiped out in one fell swoop. ”

"Well, that's good. Tell me anything at any time, and I will allow you to act cheaply. Step aside. ”

"Yes, the minions are retired." Without making a sound, the man suddenly disappeared from the palace, as if it had never appeared.

After another moment, Emperor Jianping suddenly whispered, "The progress can be accelerated." ”

A hoarse old voice came from behind another vermilion pillar, "Yes." Then, there was silence in the palace, and Emperor Jianping was still sitting on the dragon chair and pondering.