Chang'an, the capital of the Silk Country.

During the long summer, the imperial city of Chang'an is also very hot. In previous years, His Majesty the Emperor would take the princes and princesses to the summer palace set up in the Jungnam Mountains to escape the summer, but this summer did not do so. The reason is very simple, Emperor Liu Yutong's physical condition no longer allows him to go to the palace.

His Majesty the Emperor's physical condition is deteriorating, and the imperial doctors can only slow down the deterioration as much as possible, and now even the most inconspicuous eunuchs and maids in the palace have understood the fact that His Majesty the Emperor has little time to live.

Due to the scorching heat, several princes and princesses still asked their father for their lives and went to the summer palace to escape the heat. Of course, these princes and princesses are all children of humble origins or not favored by the emperor, how can they stay away from the imperial city at such a critical moment? This is no different from declaring oneself insulated from the throne. Having said that, perhaps there are some wise people among them who use this to show everyone that they have no intention of competing for the throne in order to protect themselves.

Li Guifei, who stayed in the capital, drank cold sour plum soup to relieve the heat while looking at the birds frolicking in the branches outside the window. The reason why she stayed in the capital was because her son Liu Xian was a strong contender for the throne. Liu Yutong has not many sons, but only Liu Yan was born to the queen's mother, so he naturally became the prince as the emperor's concubine. Originally, this was a definite fact, and Liu Yan's qualities in all aspects were above the other brothers, and he looked like the Holy Ancestor Emperor back then, and the other brothers were powerless to compete with him at all.

But since Li Guifei gave birth to Liu Xian, the situation has begun to change little by little. Li Guifei's father was Li Chun, a talented man in the Criminal Department, Li Chun was a beautiful man who once caused a sensation in Chang'an City, and many princesses were holding back to marry this young man who had a successful and talented career. However, in the end, he still married Han Kemin's clever and beautiful little daughter, which became a sensational topic in Chang'an City.

It's a pity that the heavens don't fulfill people's wishes. Li Chun died of a violent illness shortly after giving birth to Li Guifei, and Li Guifei and her mother lived in her grandfather Han Kemin's mansion as soon as they arrived. Due to the excellent genes of the parents. Li Guifei has been a famous little beauty in Chang'an City since she was a child, and she also inherited the intelligence of her parents, and soon became a famous talented girl again. This growing fame finally reached the ears of the emperor Liu Yutong, and he was included in the harem before he was fifteen years old. In the harem, Concubine Li quickly won the favor of the emperor with her intelligence and beauty, and her status rose all the way, and she was promoted to the status of a concubine in just two years. At the age of twenty, she gave birth to the youngest son Liu Xian for the emperor, and won the status of Concubine Jing.

And this little prince Liu Xian is exactly the same as his mother, he has shown extraordinary intelligence since he was a child, and he almost knows all the words before he is six years old, and he will never forget any book. When I was eight years old, I often struggled with my teacher, and when I was eleven or twelve, no one dared to teach. In the face of such a smart and clever child, Liu Yutong was naturally very happy, not only gave Li Guifei the title of concubine today, but even revealed in his words that he loved Liu Xian more than Liu Yan. As a result, it stimulated Li Guifei's already expanding ambitions, and with the continuous rise of status, Li Guifei joined forces with her grandfather Han Kemin to successfully expand the power inside and outside the palace. And Li Guifei brought the harem under her control. Since Liu Yutong never canonized the queen after the queen's death, Concubine Li Guifei is actually the master of the harem. Gradually, even Liu Yutong noticed that the situation was a little out of control, and just when he was about to start suppressing Li Guifei's forces, he happened to get this serious illness again. Therefore, Li Guifei's current power is so great that she already has the momentum to suppress the crown prince Liu Yan above the court.

"Concubine Niangniang. Lord Han Kemin sent someone to deliver a box of special pastries made in the house. The maid replied.

Concubine Li retracted her thoughts and ordered her to present the box. Of course, there will be more than just pastries in this box, and my grandfather will deliver something at this time. There must be some information to pass on to yourself.

Sure enough, there was a secret letter hidden in the secret compartment of the box. In his heart, he explained that Liu Yan had been trying to contact the late right servant Li Zaixing's henchmen to fight against his grandfather, and the power of the new right servant Yan Ming had recently expanded. And he has officially invested in the prince's door. In addition, Liu Yan is still actively seeking the support of the neutral faction, and since the crown princess is the daughter of the neutral figure Ping Guogong, it is important to be more careful.

Concubine Li Guifei smiled slightly after reading the letter: Grandpa is really a person who is too careful. Although Li Zaixing's henchmen took refuge in the prince, it was originally expected, without Li Zaixing, they wanted to fight against their grandfather on the basis of Yan Ming, and they had no other choice but to be attached to the prince. As for the power of the neutral faction, it is indeed not to be underestimated, but according to her own eyeliner, the relationship between Liu Yan and the crown princess has always been very bad, Liu Yan did go to the crown princess before, and it is estimated that he wanted to publicize the neutrality of Pingguo, but he was driven out on the same day, and Liu Yan never went to the princess's Yichun Palace again. Moreover, there has been no change in Pingguo Gonghua Tianyu recently, so Li Guifei judged that Liu Yan's attempt to win over the neutrals was not going well, at least not at present.

Besides, the power of the neutral faction is huge and stubborn, even if she and her grandfather have joined forces for many years, they have never been moved, how can Liu Yan be easily moved?

Compared with these, in fact, Li Guifei pays more attention to the movements of the emperor. In fact, the emperor is seriously ill and suffers the most, although Liu Yutong has been aware of Li Guifei's seizure of power and began to curb it secretly, but first, Li Guifei has always acted cautiously and left no handles, secondly, there is Han Kemin's support outside, and thirdly, even if she can suppress her power, it will take a long time. But now Liu Yutong is getting sicker, and Liu Xian is only a thirteen-year-old child, and Liu Yan has not fallen out of favor or been deposed, all this is really the worst time for Li Guifei. Originally, according to the plan, she planned to use a few years to consolidate her power, cultivate a group of ministers who supported Liu Xian, and then find an opportunity to find Liu Yan's fault and strive to abolish him and set up another prince. Even if he doesn't succeed, Liu Xian is already an adult, and he can compete with Liu Yan with his own talent and prestige.

For this reason, Li Guifei racked her brains and did not come up with a way to deal with it. The inevitable death of the emperor, Liu Yan's succession to the throne is inevitable, and if he wants to put his son on the throne in the future, he must grasp the absolute power to force Liu Yan to abdicate, and the difficulty of this plan is many times greater than the original plan.

"Mother, you've been worrying too much lately, and it's hurting your body." The little prince Liu Xian came over to greet the queen mother, and as soon as he stepped into the door, he saw Li Guifei with a sad face, so he opened his mouth to comfort him.

"Xian'er don't worry, I'll pay attention to it myself." Li Guifei smiled lightly.

Liu Xian saw that there was no one around, so he knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "The sons and daughters have no intention of competing for the throne, why should the queen mother be so forceful?" If it hurts the queen mother, isn't it the fault of the son? ”

Concubine Li Guifei stepped forward to help her son and said, "Xian'er is very sensible, with your intelligence, you are far above the prince, how can you be a mother?" ”

"Mother, there are some things that are not profitable. Even if the ministers agreed, the clan would not agree. ”

"Clan?" Concubine Li was shocked. Her son's words hit her heart, and the power of the clan was what she was most worried about! After Liu Yutong ascended the throne, almost all his brothers were eliminated by him, but there was also a younger brother of a compatriot, Liu Qian! And Liu Yutong trusted this younger brother, and crowned him the king of Jin and the post of Taiyuan stay, and mastered the 150,000 army in his hands to guard the front line from Shuozhou to Yanzhou to prevent the Tuqi people. There is no one in the clan who has a heavy army like him, so this person's back can completely influence the intention of the clan! But this person's position has never been clear, will he really be co-opted? The key is not whether he will stand on his side, as long as he does not stand on Liu Yan's side, it is enough.

A plan slowly appeared in Li Guifei's mind, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but smile. Liu Xian looked at his mother's smile and blinked his eyes a little puzzled, this belongs to the mind of an adult, and the little Liu Xian still can't understand it. (To be continued......)