After all, Zhu Qiming didn't dare to be as "casual" as the emperor allowed, and he still returned to Yuefu to sleep that night.

Early the next morning, remembering the emperor's instructions, he entered the palace again, and he didn't want to act as a lobbyist, but just remembered the body of the empress dowager and prepared to visit Qingning Palace.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered the Donghua Gate, he was invited to Xianxi Palace by a grandmother beside the Queen Mother.

"Qi Ming respectfully invites the Queen Mother Sheng'an, the Queen Mother is blessed!"

The Queen Mother beckoned very naturally, and a genuine smile came over with her eyes, "Qi Ming, sit down." It's really hard for you, the mourning family has no time to be idle these days, so you have run several times in vain. ”

Zhu Qiming sat down opposite the Queen Mother, and a palace maid hurriedly approached to serve tea. "The Queen Mother, how can this be called a white run? Qi Ming should have gone to Xianxi Palace from time to time to greet him, but now the Queen Mother has exempted Qi Ming from morning and dusk, but how dare Qi Ming forget the Queen Mother's discipline? Anyway, Qi Ming is idle and idle, and he should run a few more times. ”

"Idle is idle?" The Empress Dowager smiled slightly, and looked at Zhu Qiming very seriously, "Qi Ming, can you really settle down in the north again?" ”

"Back to the Queen Mother, this time the Varat is different from the last time, after the two sides sign a contract, they can ensure the peace of the north for several years."

The Empress Dowager nodded slowly, "Well, the mourning family is a deep palace woman, it is inconvenient to ask more about the government, alas, it is not as moving to speak for you as in the past, the mourning family knows that some important ministers inside and outside the emperor are clamoring, which makes you suffer some grievances." However, don't worry, there must be a limit to everything, if the court does too much, how can the mourning family take care of any harem regulations? Don't worry, when the time comes, the mourning family will definitely stand up for you! ”

Zhu Qiming's heart moved. Whether it is out of use or from the virtue of relatives, these can be ignored, in short, the queen mother is really good to his nephew, and this kindness makes him embarrassed. On the one hand, he needs to cool off under the big tree in Xianxi Palace, and on the other hand, he always resists the situation of sheltering people, consciously or unconsciously.

If you have received a kindness, you have to weigh and struggle in the web of contradictions and contradictions that the benefactor himself has. There is no way, there is always a lot of helplessness in life!

Without waiting for Zhu Qiming to talk, the Queen Mother smiled and released the point in her mood to the fullest. "Qi Ming, the emperor is about to get married, and the biggest wish of the mourning family will follow, but the mourning family is happy! Eh, Qi Ming, you haven't been on the table yet, have you? It's not okay to go on like this, it's okay usually, every time the Emperor's Longevity Festival and the Queen's Thousand Autumn Festival, you still have to go to the table to congratulate your birthday, ha. ”

The Emperor's Halloween is the birthday of the Son of Heaven, and the Empress's Thousand Autumn Festival is the Queen's birthday. Zhu Qiming was about to ask Lu Xi about the above matters, but now that he heard the Empress Dowager take the initiative to mention this matter, he nodded.

"The title on the table is very particular, you can't be limited to those fixed formats, you have to be careful, don't follow the crowd."

Zhu Qiming hurriedly got up and bowed down, "Qi Ming is trying to ask the Pope Dowager for this matter." ”

The Queen Mother waved her hand again and again, "Sit down, how many times have I told you, don't be angry!" It's the same with the Emperor, you can't always think about what you should call the Emperor, but you have to think about what the Emperor wants to hear you call you. Didn't the emperor always call you third brother? You must not secretly reject such a title, otherwise, what will the emperor think? Are you criticizing the emperor for disobeying the rules? ”

Zhu Qiming was shocked in his heart, and then he realized that there was no trivial matter in front of the palace, and a little inadvertent could attract the attention of others! "Queen Mother, how should Qi Ming be honored as the emperor?"

"Not only respect, but also kiss, you have only one most appropriate title for the emperor when you go to the table: Your Majesty the Emperor of the eldest brother!"

Big brother His Majesty the Emperor? A good "big" word, neither "long", nor "tang", such a title is indeed both respectful and pro! But it is only appropriate for King Yu to call the emperor like this, and he ······ That's it, the queen mother said very clearly, how can she come by temperament!

"Please the Empress Dowager, how should Qi Ming address the Empress when he is on the table?"

"Your Royal Highness, Sister-in-law."

Her Royal Highness the Sister-in-law? Zhu Qiming suddenly thought of the figures of the Qian family and the Zhou family, and for some reason, he felt that he was more willing to call the Qian family "Her Royal Highness the Sister-in-law".

The Empress Dowager smiled, and a hint of deep meaning appeared in her eyes, "I heard that you have met with the Zhou family, so very good, you don't know, the mourning family and the Zhou family have talked about you." Do you remember the butterfly that the mourning family always mentioned to you? You should now understand the good intentions of the mourning family, right? People, of course, have to think more about themselves, and it is not a trivial matter to settle down! The mourning family doesn't force you, you go back and think about it yourself. ”

Go to your flower butterflies! Zhu Qiming was unhappy, but it was difficult to complain about the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother's foresight was not only in her own wish, but also wanted to help him as a prince by the way, as for whether this kindness is in line with his own wishes, whether it will build a cage that binds his hands and feet for the rest of his life, naturally it is another matter!

Zhu Qiming left his seat, "Qi Ming still has to go to Qingning Palace to say hello, so he will retire." ”

The Empress Dowager got up to see her off, "I will stay in Xianxi Palace for dinner at noon." ”

"I don't know what the Empress Dowager will do, Qi Ming thinks, it's okay."

"It's okay, the mourning family no longer orders people to send food to the other courtyard, if the empress dowager doesn't keep you, you will go back to Xianxi Palace."

Zhu Qiming walked to the door and slowly turned around, "Queen Mother, Qi Ming's old man has gone to Jiangnan again, and it is expected that new tea and famous springs will be brought by the end of March." ”

The corners of the Queen Mother's mouth moved, and there seemed to be tears in her eyes, "In the palace, you have a conscience!" ”

Zhu Qiming came out of Xianxi Palace, and he didn't feel good in his heart. thought that while bearing the kindness of the queen mother, he secretly dismantled her platform, and the entanglement caused by it made him suffer.

When she came to Qingning Palace, the Empress Dowager went out of the inner room with the support of two palace maids and sat down on the upholstered chair. Zhu Qiming saluted and stood beside the Empress Dowager.

"The imperial grandmother has held on to this day with a sigh of relief, and she just wants to see the emperor with her own eyes after the wedding, and then go to see your imperial ancestor." The Empress Dowager's eyes no longer flashed with half a fine light, her wrinkled face was lifeless, and even her tone was like a gossamer, even though she was full of dissatisfaction and disappointment at the moment, she couldn't complete a vivid expression because of this. "The imperial grandmother can't live for a few days, she can't manage so much, the children and grandchildren have their own children and grandchildren, and when the emperor's grandmother closes her eyes, she will be made by others, out of sight and out of mind!"

Zhu Qiming nodded again and again, "That is, everything in the world has a fixed number, how can you have so much heart?" It's better to stay out of the way and calm down to recuperate. ”

The Empress Dowager turned her head with difficulty, her eyes seemed to be unable to focus, and she was always unable to focus on Zhu Qiming. "Some people in the court know that your imperial grandmother will die soon, so they no longer take your imperial grandmother's words seriously, and they are all powerful people who have a long lifespan! That's it, your imperial grandmother just settled down, didn't care about everything, and waited for the king of Hades to come and urge her. ”

"That is, resting and recuperating can prolong life. You can enjoy your leisure and wait to tease your great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. ”

"Great-great-grandson?" The Empress Dowager groped for a long time, and finally grabbed the crutches on the side of the chair, and struggled to sweep the cane towards Zhu Qiming's legs. "Won't your imperial grandmother become an old witch! Okay, you heartless King Yue, now your wings are hard, aren't they? Don't pretend to be confused, the affairs of the Middle Palace are related to everyone, and you are no exception! The imperial grandmother can close her eyes and don't care about anything, but how can a large group of people inside and outside the palace deal with themselves? ”

"Imperial grandmother, you dissipate your anger, dissipate your anger, grandson, please take care of your body." Zhu Qiming persuaded diligently, but his two feet quietly moved to the side.

"Come here!"

"My grandson can't stand your crutches. If you don't hit your grandson, your grandson will dare to go over. ”

The corners of the Empress Dowager's mouth moved, and a hint of a smile was somewhat difficult to present through her facial expressions. "You come here, the imperial grandmother won't beat you."

When Zhu Qiming got close, the Empress Dowager reached out tremblingly and grabbed his sleeve, "If you really want the imperial grandmother to live a few more days, then think of a way to reverse the situation after the establishment of the Middle Palace." The imperial grandmother didn't want to involve you, but now that the matter has come to this, the imperial grandmother can't take care of it a lot, you must know that the middle palace is not right, and the palace is restless! ”

Zhu Qiming suddenly felt uncomfortable. Don't you think who will be the queen and have a relationship with yourself with half a copper plate? On the one hand, there are the ardent expectations of the Queen Mother, and on the other hand, the orders of the Emperor and the generous treatment of the Queen Mother.

It's better to go back!

"Let your grandson think about it."

Zhu Qiming responded in vain, and then bowed and retired.

······

Came to the backyard of Jiang Yi's house again, was in the forest path, and listened to Niu San blowing Haikan in the hall, Jiang Yi only occasionally echoed a few times, and the freedom was passed from afar, which made Zhu Qiming's tense nerves gradually relax.

Xu Gong was still focused, and the swaying light and shadow cast on his face, but he didn't bother for a moment. "Your Highness, here's a question, why did Xining plot against His Highness?"

Thinking that he was just a prince at the beginning, ignorant and childish, harmless to humans and animals, is it necessary for Xining to plot against himself so painstakingly? The unclear motive for the crime means that all the evidence and inferences may be a mistaken stitch based on preconceived ideas!

Wait a minute! When he was taken captive, Wang Kui seemed to have said a puzzling sentence, "The husband is not guilty, but he is guilty", and he also seemed to have said something like "You carry the future of the Ming Dynasty", what does this mean?

In contemplation, Xu Gong's voice sounded in his ears: "Your Highness, what is interesting is that on the sixteenth day of the first month of the first year of orthodoxy, that is, the day His Highness left Qingning Palace, around the time of Shen Zheng, Xining went to the Huitong Pavilion, and there were only Warat envoys in the Huitong Pavilion at that time. ”

When is Shen Zheng? An hour and a half after he left Donghua Gate, Ruowara's envoy learned the news of his departure from the palace from Xining, and then notified the five Tartar thieves who were hiding outside to take action, calculating the time, it should be too late.

What's more, this confirms the suspicion that Xining secretly colluded with the Tartar thieves, and Zhao Gang's defeat is naturally attributed to Xining's head, since this is the case, what is there to hesitate about!

So, Zhu Qiming suddenly turned around and stared at Xu Gong, "Yulin Youwei is obviously inconvenient to investigate this matter, it's time to use secret agents!" ”