Fang Xiaoru said on the side: "Ruoxiao, half a year ago, when he had just ascended the throne, because of the bad behavior of Jinyiwei, he issued an edict to abolish Jinyiwei Prison, burn all torture instruments, and transfer all cases and all criminal investigation matters in the future to the Criminal Department and Dali Temple. What you say is unbelievable; In front of the Son of Heaven, half a word of lying is a felony of bullying the king, you have to know that it is powerful. ”

Shen Ruoyu was frightened and confused, looked at Fang Xiaoru blankly, and said:

"Mr. Fang, if you don't say anything, there is no half-word lie. You can ask the doctor to check it, and although my ribs are healed, there will be traces to be found. You can also send someone to Wudang Mountain to ask Wang Zhenren; A monk will not lie. There is also the Xiangyang Mansion - Jin Yiwei once imprisoned me in an abandoned cell in the wilderness by the river, saying that it is the Xiangyang Prison - I dare not say whether it is the Xiangyang Prison or not, but the cell can definitely be found. The chief judge of my Jinyi Wei in Xiangyang City, who claimed to be Huang Lizi, had been watching the Shu Wangfu in Chengdu in disguise, because I didn't believe that he was Jinyiwei, and he also showed me his silver medal. ”

He described the appearance of the yellow raccoon dog again. Zhu Yunwen said angrily:

"When did I send the brocade guard to keep an eye on the prince? What a nonsense! ”

Fang Xiaoru turned around, faced the Son of Heaven, and said, "Your Majesty, please investigate this matter thoroughly; If Jin Yiwei acts beyond his authority without authorization, hurts people, and imprisons people for no reason, it is a violation of the law, please Your Majesty must be severely punished; If it weren't for the Jinyi Guard, someone would have pretended to be Jinyi, with ill intentions, and even more so, so as not to make His Majesty lose his trust in the hearts of the subjects of the world. ”

Zhu Yunwen nodded again and again: "Of course; I must find out about it; If there is any violation of the rules and dereliction of duty, Jinyiwei will not be tolerated; If the gangsters pretend to be brocade clothes to make trouble, I will definitely investigate them to the end, and I will never indulge them to continue to harm the people. I will also send a doctor to examine your injuries, and ask Huandan Zhenren to verify and return you to a clean house. ”

Shen Ruoyu hurriedly replied: "Your Majesty is serious; If I have no choice but to ruin the letter of the King of Shu, the court will not blame me, and I am already grateful. ”

Zhu Yunwen sighed: "It's excusable for you to do this; The gangsters committed murder, and you were injured in the river. The king of Shu replied to the king of Yan, which was not a big deal, and I didn't necessarily have to read it, and it embarrassed the two uncles. Isn't it just a landscape map? I don't think it's a big deal. ”

Qi Tai said: "Your Majesty, the strangeness of this matter is not that King Yan gave the King of Shu a picture scroll, but that what he sent was obviously a painting, but he wanted to lie that it was a native product of Beiping; King Yan is ambitious, and the city is very deep, so he must be guarded against. ”

Zhu Yunwen said: "It's just a landscape map, what kind of mystery can be hidden in it?" At most, I see that Sichuan is rich in products, and the four emperor uncles want to have some rare treasures, but they are embarrassed to speak directly, so they hint at the eleventh emperor uncle through the landscape painting scroll. ”

"I don't think so," Huang Zicheng said: "King Yan is very ambitious, so he is very self-restraint and self-control, and his life is extremely frugal, which is quite the legacy of Emperor Gao." He has been a prince for so many years, and he has never even accepted another concubine, even if Sichuan is rich in treasures, how can it attract his interest. This man has great ambitions, and it is not something that can be moved by treasures. ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "Lord Huang doesn't know, in fact, King Yan's life is not frugal. ”

"How so?" Huang Zicheng looked at him with some suspicion.

Shen Ruoyu said: "That time, because I offended the two princes, I was arrested by my own soldiers and put into the palace of King Yan, the palace is not as big as the average two, and it is extremely magnificent, in comparison, the mansion of His Royal Highness the King of Shu is simply too poor." ”

"It's nature; The mansion of King Yan is the palace of the former Yuan Emperor, which is naturally not comparable to the ordinary palace. In the winter and December of the eleventh year of Hongwu, when the palace city system of the kings was determined, Emperor Gao had specially repaired the book and other vassal kings for this matter, and the king of Yan occupied the palace of the capital of the former Yuan Dynasty because of the special situation in Beiping, and was more luxurious. Although the Yan Wang's Mansion is large, it does not mean that the Yan King himself lives a luxurious life. ”

Fang Xiaoru said: "That's right; If you are young, you are still inexperienced, and you have never seen the scene of real poverty and luxury, and you don't know what kind of luxury should be. After all, King Yan is a prince, and he will always talk about some pomp and circumstance in his daily life, and when you see it for the first time, you will naturally feel that you can't reach the riches. ”

"Besides, one of the purposes of Emperor Gao sending him to guard Beiping was to strictly prevent Shen Rufeng from coming back; Emperor Gao's attitude towards this matter, King Yan should know better than anyone else, but he went against Emperor Gao's wishes and reused Shen Rufeng's son, although Emperor Gao's last order was behind, he must not use this as an excuse to say that he knew nothing. Qi Tai said.

Shen Ruoyu didn't know how to answer, so he had to be silent. On the throne, Zhu Yunwen couldn't look at it, and said softly:

"It's not a big deal. Since Shen Rufeng is no longer alive, his ancestors did evil, so why bother to ask his descendants to suffer. ”

Qi Tai said: "Shen Rufeng had a bad record back then, and people and gods were angry, and the world knew it; King Yan insisted on going his own way, and he wanted to reuse his son, did he still want the misfortune of the year to happen again? I, Da Ming, have already suffered a Shen Rufeng, and I can't suffer from it anymore! ”

Fang Xiaoru said with a straight face: "Lord Qi, this is wrong; Shen Rufeng is Shen Rufeng, and Shen Ruoliao is Shen Ruoliao. Shen Rufeng is dead, I will go down tomorrow, there will be no second Shen Rufeng. Although Shen Ruoyu is his son, he is completely different from his father; I have been in contact with him, and I have seen him from all walks of life that he is a simple, upright and kind man, and he is not at all the same as his father. As the Holy One said, it is enough for us to prevent our ancestors from doing evil, so why bother to burden our descendants? ”

Huang Zicheng shook his head frequently and said: "Your Majesty, Mr. Fang, the crux of the problem is not that King Yan reuses Shen Rufeng's son, but that he has his own personal affairs, but he conceals it from the court and does not report it; Behind this concealment, there must be ill-intentioned speculation. ”

"Okay, okay," Zhu Yunwen raised his hand, stopped their argument sadly, and said, "Three Aiqing, don't fight; I turned around and repaired a letter to the Four Emperor Uncles, and Wen Zhi scolded him for not reporting to the court in advance. ”

Only then did the three Wenchen stop. Zhu Yunwen sighed and asked Shen Ruoyu:

"You are often by the side of the Fourth Emperor Uncle, have you ever heard him mention the First Emperor? Speaking of the imperial court? Have you ever heard him mention me? ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "Your Majesty, I have only seen King Yan three times, and the prince has not said a few words in front of me, and what he has said is irrelevant. It seemed to me that he couldn't have trusted me so quickly because he didn't know me yet. Therefore, anything he asks me to send is probably of little value, just to give me a question, to test my ability and loyalty. King Yan cares about family affection, and has always cherished face, so it is impossible to have different intentions; Your Majesty, you don't have to worry about this. ”

Fang Xiaoru said with a straight face: "Ruoxiao, you are young and naïve, you don't know the world, and you can't see through the hypocrisy of King Yan; The Son of Heaven has been worried about King Yan for a long time, and it is not the result of one or two secret letters, a mysterious picture, and it is beyond your comprehension. If you are rare, you raise your head and look at the Son of Heaven. ”

Shen Ruoyu was slightly stunned, raised his head blankly, and looked at Zhu Yunwen.

Fang Xiaoru said: "Did you see it? The Son of Heaven was unpretentious and worried. It has been half a year since he ascended the throne today, and in the past half a year, Wei Chen has never seen a relaxed smile on Banzai's face. Do you know why? Perhaps you have been imagining that the Son of Heaven is supreme and extremely rich, and there is nothing to worry about; But what you see now is exactly what it looks like today when the country is worried about the people. Let's ask: At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Gao worked hard for 31 years, the four seas were stable, the people were prosperous, and the world was thriving, so why should the Son of Heaven worry? I'll tell you the answer right now: worry about King Yan. ”

"Worried about King Yan?" Shen Ruoyu was taken aback.

"Lord Fang," Huang Zicheng interjected, "Is there something wrong with him talking to him about this?" ”

"Lord Huang rest assured; Fang had already thought it through. Fang Xiaoru said calmly: "This person is young and promising, I told him this just to let him understand, so as not to go the wrong way and delay his talents in vain." ”

"Lord Fang?" Shen Ruoyu was inexplicably surprised.

Fang Xiaoru said: "Ruo Yu, do you know that King Yan is very likely to rebel?" ”

"......" Shen Ruoyu was speechless for a while, "...... Make...... Rebel? ”

Fang Xiaoru stood up and began to pace slowly on the main hall as he said:

"King Yan has coveted the throne for a long time; He is a heavy soldier, and he has led troops out on several occasions, won great victories, has rich experience in the battlefield, and has high prestige in the army. He wanted to seize the throne and had a better chance of winning than all the other vassal kings combined. ”

Shen Ruoyu said with some trepidation: "King Yan won't rebel, right...... He and the Son of Heaven are a family, and he is different from Lan Yu......"

Fang Xiaoru said solemnly: "Don't forget, Lan Yu and the royal family are also in-laws. That's why he's even more dangerous. If morality can no longer restrain a person, for him, there is no difference between killing the monarch and rebelling and killing his siblings, and King Yan can completely rebel and usurp the throne like Lan Yu. ”

Shen Ruoyu frowned: "Lord Fang, but-the prince is a person who cares about face very much, how could he tolerate others saying that he was plotting rebellion and usurping the throne, saying that his clan committed suicide,—— he would never do this." ”

"In that case, why did he go south with thousands of elite soldiers?" Huang Zicheng asked: "He clearly knows that Emperor Gao's edict to the kings to stick to the domain and not to enter Beijing for funeral, but he insists on disobeying Emperor Gao's edict, what is the reason?" ”

Zitai said, "Yes; Even if it is a funeral, you should not lead troops; The mighty army is clearly showing off its force to the imperial court and putting pressure on the Son of Heaven. ”

Shen Ruoyu was silent for a moment, and said softly: "I just heard Mr. Fang say this; I was still outside at the time. I left Peking in May and haven't been back for more than half a year. ”

Huang Zicheng said: "Then it's no wonder you don't know." Emperor Gao died in the fifth month of the leap month, and when King Yan heard the news, he went south with thousands of elite soldiers, under the banner of mourning. The court ordered Ma Meiyin to set up heavy troops in the Jianghuai area to intercept the king of Yan, and the king of Yan saw that the court had heavy troops, so he had to dispel the idea of entering Beijing, and did not want to return in vain, so he sent his three princes into Beijing to pay for filial piety, and finally kept the banner of mourning, and then turned back to Beiping. The three princes, Zhu Gaochi, the second prince of Yan, Zhu Gaoxu, and the third prince, Zhu Gaosui, are still in Beijing. ”

"With these three sons in Beijing, presumably King Yan will not dare to act rashly." Qi Tai said.

Shen Ruoyu heard another thing that shocked him. King Yan actually left his three sons in Jingshi, isn't this obviously letting them be hostages? What exactly does King Yan mean?

He said: "In this way, King Yan must have no intention of usurping. There are only these three princes in the Yan King, and now that they are all in the capital, how can he still raise troops? ”

Zhu Yunwen didn't say anything, but at this moment he finally opened his mouth and said worriedly: "However, Uncle Fourth Emperor has been asking me for his third son. ”

He picked up the letter on the imperial case in front of him and said, "Mr. Fang, before you come, I was about to talk to the two Aiqing about this matter. The Fourth Emperor Uncle had just sent someone to hand over the recital, asking the court to let his son go back. He said in the recital that he was originally mourning filial piety for the first emperor, and now half a year has passed, and the mourning period has already expired. ”

Fang Xiaoru said: "Didn't Your Majesty already write back to him and tell him that the imperial court had arranged Weichen as a teacher for the three princes to teach them to read?" Wechen is indeed teaching them to read and write. ”

Zhu Yunwen said worriedly: "I have already replied to him like this. But he said that he only had such three sons, and after being separated for a long time, he would inevitably miss them. He also said that he would like to thank Mr. Fang for teaching his three sons to read, and invite Mr. Fang and the three princes to return to Beiping together, and he will open a study room for Mr. Fang in the palace, and ask Mr. to teach the three princes in Beiping, so that the three princes also have a famous teacher to teach, and he and the princess can also avoid the pain of worrying. ”

Fang Xiaoru said: "This is King Yan's trick, Your Majesty must not promise him, once the three princes are released, then King Yan has nothing to fear." ”

Zhu Yunwen sighed and said softly: "I don't know; However, what Uncle Four Emperors is asking for is reasonable, what reason do you ask me to refuse him? ”

Fang Xiaoru said: "This is not difficult; His Majesty can reply to him with another letter, saying that His Majesty also needs Weichen to be by his side at any time, so Weichen can't leave Yingtian to go to Beiping. Weichen can also write a letter to His Royal Highness King Yan, informing him of the progress of the three princes' learning, and praising them for being smart and studious, if they can persevere, they will become great in the future. In this way, the three princes can continue to stay in Jingshi. ”

"That's a good idea," Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai both nodded repeatedly.

Zhu Yunwen thought for a while and asked, "But, who will send these two letters?" Although the letter from the Four Emperors was politely written, the first messenger came back to report that King Yan was very angry when he saw him, and scolded him for falsely spreading the holy will and dividing the clan relationship; The second time, the Fourth Emperor Uncle actually detained the messenger; Especially last time, for the sake of the deposed king of Zhou, the uncle of the Five Emperors, I specially revised a book to explain to the four emperors and sent an envoy to Beiping, but the four emperors refused to let the messenger enter the palace, and drove the envoy out of Beiping at that time. If this continues, I and the Fourth Emperor Uncle will no longer be able to communicate. ”

"I'll send it," Shen Ruoyu said.

All four were taken aback. "What?" Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng asked in unison.

Shen Ruoyu said: "I'll send it; Anyway, I'm just going back to Beiping. I've been out for more than half a year, and the prince has been waiting for me to go back to my life. I will definitely see him, and I am not afraid that he will drive me out. I can bring the letters from Your Majesty and Lord Fang, and when I see the prince, I will pass them on to him. ”

Fang Xiaoru smiled and said, "Actually, this is exactly what Weichen meant. Let Shen Ruoliao be the messenger this time. ”

Huang Zicheng looked at him with some suspicion: "Is he okay?" ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "Just send two letters." ”

Huang Zicheng said: "It's not simply sending two letters; You must know that you are sending a letter from the Son of Heaven, and the responsibility is heavy, and you must not lose it or hide it privately. ”

Shen Ruoxiao smiled lightly and said, "Lord Huang can rest assured, Your Majesty can also rest assured; If you are not trusted by others, you would rather die than lose your trust. When I met King Yan, it was also when the letter was delivered to King Yan. ”

Fang Xiaoru said: "Your Majesty can rest assured; He can commit suicide by throwing himself into the river in order to protect the letter of the King of Shu, and he will be able to do it at this time. ”

Qi Tai objected: "Your Majesty, this must not be. The first emperor has a will, and he cannot reuse Shen Rufeng. King Yan has privately disobeyed the orders of the emperor and deceived the court; Does Your Majesty want to learn from King Yan? ”

Zhu Yunwen was very embarrassed and looked at Fang Xiaoru for help.

Fang Xiaoru said: "Your Majesty, with the intention of the minister, let him send it." He previously privately destroyed the secret letter of the King of Shu, although he avoided the letter from being obtained by the gangsters, but he also destroyed the evidence, which made the court helpless at the moment, and it cannot but be said that it was a fault. It was up to him to deliver the letter and send it to King Yan, because His Majesty gave him the opportunity to make up for his mistakes, not to mention reuse. If Your Majesty agrees with Wei Chen, please immediately revise the book with His Royal Highness King Yan. ”

Zhu Yunwen nodded, then picked up the pen and wrote a letter. At the request of the emperor, Fang Xiaoru also wrote his letter to King Yan with a royal pen, which Qi and Huang read and handed over to Zhu Yunwen Yulan.

After Zhu Yunwen read it, he sealed the two letters separately, looked at Shen Ruoliao, and said worriedly:

"It's all up to you."

Shen Ruoyu took the letter, carefully stuffed it into his arms, and said, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty." I'll find a way to get the prince to write back to you. ”

Zhu Yunwen leaned on the throne, sighed, and said:

"The Fourth Emperor Uncle is my own uncle, but I never know what he thinks. I can't fathom him. ”

His face was pale, and his eyes flickered, showing extreme uneasiness in his heart. Shen Ruoyu looked at this son of heaven and couldn't help but feel a trace of sympathy. He said:

"Your Majesty, you are thinking too much; The prince may not have thought about anything. Besides, there are not many people under the prince's command, and even if he really wants to, he can't compete with the hundreds of thousands of troops in the imperial court. What do you have to worry about here? ”

It was the first time Zhu Yunwen had heard someone talk to him like this, as if he was not the Son of Heaven, but was just regarded by Shen Ruoliao as an ordinary friend. He couldn't help but be slightly stunned, and asked softly:

"How old are you?"

Shen Ruoyu replied: "I am more than nineteen years old, born in March." ”

Zhu Yunwen asked again: "What kind of livelihood do you do in Beiping on weekdays?" ”

Shen Ruoyu hesitated for a moment and said, "Lord Fang should have already told you, right?" I'm just a small shop in a hotel in Beiping. Other than that, nothing. ”

Zhu Yunwen was silent for a moment, looking at him carefully, but he didn't seem to be too embarrassed, he didn't have the frame of the Son of Heaven at all. His gaze cautiously wandered over Shen Ruoyu's face for a while, and finally spoke:

"When you see Uncle Sihuang, don't forget to greet him on behalf of me. You tell him again that now that the mourning period of the Emperor Zukao has passed, he can already enter Beijing to pay homage to the filial piety mausoleum. I'm here, and I welcome him back. The three younger brothers live in the palace, and I ask someone to take care of their daily life every day, and Mr. Fang tutors them in their studies, so the four emperor uncles and four emperor aunts can rest assured. ”

Shen Ruoyu agreed.

Zhu Yunwen nodded and said, "I want to discuss some political affairs with a few adults, so I won't delay your time." However, before you leave, you have to go to the Tai Hospital. Mr. Fang, please send Shen Ruoliao to the Tai Hospital for a rib examination, just say that it is my will, and ask them to submit the results of the examination to the Wuying Palace. After the examination, he asked the husband to send him out of the palace. ”

Fang Xiaoru accepted the order, and took Shen Ruoliao out of the Wuying Palace, walked all the way out of Chengtianmen, out of the left gate of Chang'an, walked to the Tai Hospital, checked Shen Ruoliao's ribs according to the order, and then sent him to Chang'an Street.

Fang Xiaoru asked, "Do you recognize the way home?" Do you need me to send you again? ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "No need, I know the way." Go back to Wuying Palace, the emperor is still waiting for you. ”

"Ruoxiao, what do you think of Banzai?" Fang Xiaoru asked abruptly.

Shen Ruoyu was slightly stunned; Immediately, he realized that Fang Xiaoru's question was actually not abrupt.

He replied, "The emperor and Lord Yan are completely different. ”

"Huh?" Fang Xiaoru looked at him quietly. "How is it different?"

Shen Ruoyu said: "It's hard to say; Not only are they different, but they are far apart, and it is hard to imagine that they are uncles and nephews. However, it may also be due to age, the emperor is still too young and has never fought, so naturally he doesn't look as tough as King Yan——"

"Tough; Well, tough ......" Fang Xiaoru smiled. "If it's just one side, you don't know it yet; Today's heart is extremely generous and loving, and he is a rare benevolent king. If it weren't for the fact that Banzai was benevolent, it would not be King Zhou who would be deposed now, but King Yan. Whenever I think about it, I will repeatedly say, 'I cannibalize each other, I can't bear it'. For the sake of King Zhou, long live is still sad every day. ”

Now that you can do it, what do you have to talk about whether you are sad or not; If you don't cut King Yan and cut King Zhou, what kind of benevolence can't bear - in fact, what is the difference between cutting King Zhou's domain and cutting King Yan's domain, in the final analysis, the essence is not benevolence, but cowardice, fear of King Yan's strength. Shen Ruoyu felt that Fang Xiaoru's reasoning seemed to be a little twisted, but in front of Mr. Fang, whom he respected, of course he couldn't refute it.

He lowered his head and asked softly, "Mr. Fang, I—my father's matter, and Emperor Gao's will—why didn't you tell me before?" ”

Fang Xiaoru hesitated, sighed slightly, and said kindly:

"When I was in the Shu Palace, I didn't know that your father was Shen Rufeng. The King of Shu may know, but he has not mentioned half a word to anyone. Even when I went to Beijing and served the Son of Heaven, I still didn't know; It wasn't until yesterday that I mentioned you to the two adults, Sheng Shang and Qi Huang, and I heard their doubts, and then I knew your background. I was also very surprised, and when I got home, I wanted to ask you, but I couldn't speak; At the same time, I also want to wait to see how you react to the inquiries of the Son of Heaven and the two adults after you enter the palace, so as to observe your own opinion on this matter. Ruo Xiao, I have always believed in the judgment I made to you when I was in the Shu Palace; Knowing your background did not shake my judgment; And after the Q&A in the Fang Cai Palace, my previous judgment was only reinforced. You are not only a simple, upright and benevolent person, but also reasonable, strong-willed, brave and not admitting defeat. ”

Shen Ruoyao's face was flushed: "Mr. Fang, you blew me into the sky." In fact, in Wudang Mountain before, I had been depressed for three months because of my father's affairs; I'm just a dead pig who isn't afraid of boiling water, and my skin is too thick.

Fang Xiaoru smiled and said, "Ruo Xiao, do you still want to come to the palace again?" It seems that you are very interested in the Fengtian Palace, and you want to stand on the main hall and take a look, right? ”

Shen Ruoyu was taken aback, looked around, and said in a low voice, "Mr. Fang, this joke is too big. This is at the feet of the Son of Heaven. ”

Fang Xiaoru said: "Don't get in the way; If you really think that way, that's a good thing. When you arrive in Beiping, don't throw this idea away, come back when you have the chance, maybe when, your dream will come true. ”

Shen Ruoyu looked at Fang Xiaoru a little blankly, not understanding what the special meaning of his words was—or, not daring to believe his guesses and intuition. After all, Emperor Gao's legacy is still fresh; Even if King Yan was willing to use him, it was only King Yan who was thousands of miles away, on the edge of Beiping.

He said goodbye to Fang Xiaoru. Then, Mr. Fang turned around and walked back to the imperial city, and soon disappeared into the Xi'an Gate.