Tokyo in the middle of winter is covered in snow. In this dreary night, the majestic imperial city was draped in a thick layer of snow. In the sky, a bright moon sprinkled a cold silver glow, and the snow on the imperial city reflected a solemn light.

Outside the room, it was cold and windy. The whistling north wind, carrying snow particles, whined on the window lattice. The snow particles rustle against the window paper, like spring silkworms nibbling mulberry leaves.

In the imperial study, the emperor sat on the dragon chair, holding a cinnabar pen in one hand, reviewing the twists and turns gathered from all over the place, while listening to the secret report of Lu Yushi in front of him.

It has been more than a month since the concubines and concubines came out of the jam. With the signing of the Covenant, the situation in the north eased slightly. The Turks retreated to the north of Yinshan, and the danger of Yanmen, which had plagued the Great Zhou for several months, also dissipated. With the easing of the situation in the north, the emperor was finally free to deal with the increasingly serious problems from within the imperial court.

For example, the most difficult issue at the moment is the crown prince.

With a serious illness of the emperor last month, the battle for the crown prince hidden in the shadows finally paid for it.

During self-proclaimed illness. The crown prince took advantage of his status as a prisoner of the state, and at the instigation of the An family, he wantonly eliminated and eradicated dissidents. And several princes who wanted to compete for the throne were uncompromising under the suppression. They rallied their forces and fought the crown prince. In just one month, there were no less than five large-scale fights in the city of Tokyo. The number of dead and wounded, hundreds and thousands.

What made the emperor really feel threatened, and it seems that Kitei, who was in charge of Tokyo's defense, was also involved. According to Nightingale's report, the tragedy of the Yushitai officials who happened in the eastern suburbs three days ago was the masterpiece of Beiying.

"Your Majesty, after Weichen's visit and investigation, all the evidence in the case of extermination now points to His Royal Highness the Prince, you see?" Lu Yushi stood respectfully in front of the dragon chair, quietly reporting the news of the past few days, and when he said about the prince, his tone obviously hesitated, but after thinking for a while, he still gritted his teeth and clenched his fists and said to the emperor.

"How sure are you?" The emperor stopped the man in his hand, raised his head and glanced at Lu Yushi, his expression was still indifferent. It's just that the hand holding the fold is trembling slightly.

"Ten percent!" Lu Yushi hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to tell the truth.

The Emperor's hand shook violently, and with a thud it slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.

"You, are you sure?" With a look of shock and distress on his face, the emperor raised his head, took a deep breath, looked at Lu Yushi and asked in a deep voice.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Lu Yushi still has that dead face, and his demeanor is still respectful. It's just that behind his back, he has been soaked in cold sweat.

Lu Yushi was extremely cautious and loyal as an official. Because of this, the emperor made him the leader of the Nightingale. So, what comes out of his mouth is basically true.

"And, after these days, the people under the ministers investigated. Many generals in Beiying have decided to serve His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Your Majesty, the minister is afraid of ......" Speaking of this, Lu Yushi raised his head, glanced at His Majesty with slightly drooping eyelids, thought about it, and decided to silence him.

As for what he was afraid of, the emperor knew very well in his heart.

Some time ago, after a series of bloody suppressions, the prince had suppressed several of his opponents to death. The reason why he didn't kill his brothers was because he was afraid of himself.

Now the prince is a family, and the family is dominant. Moreover, he also has the support of Beiying, so ......, if he suppresses the prince too fiercely, compared to the stupidity and irritability of the prince, he is very likely to take risks and launch a coup d'état!

A few days ago, the assassination that happened to Xiao Wu was a test of the emperor!

After the deathly silence, the emperor who had been sitting there quietly with a daze expression. Sighing slightly, he bent down to pick up the folds on the ground and threw them on the table casually.

"What's wrong with the little prince?" The Emperor leaned back in his chair with some weakness, closed his eyes, and asked in a low voice. There was a slight tremor in the old voice. Full of regret.

"Yesterday, the imperial doctor has already seen it, and the little prince is fine! In the past two days, the minister has arranged for the nightingales to be distributed around the palace, closely scrubbing the passers-by, etc., and the little prince is absolutely safe! Lu Yushi heard His Majesty ask about the little prince, and a smile finally appeared on the dead man's face.

Speaking of which, he also likes this smart and clever little prince, well, although the little prince often bullies himself, for example, he has pulled out his beloved beard to the point that there are not a few left. However, every time Lu Yushi saw the little prince, he was very happy.

"That's good!" When the emperor heard the news, a smile finally appeared on the old man's face.

"The assassination of the little prince was done by the prince, right?" The emperor stroked his beard, his tone was calm and terrifying, and in his deep eyes, a complex and ruthless color flashed, looking at Lu Yushi, and asked in a deep voice.

"Yes!" Lu Yushi lowered his head, hesitated for a moment, and replied very briefly.

After Lu Yushi finished answering, the emperor felt a faint pain in his heart. The expression on his face is complex and indescribable.

"Preach the message!" The doubts in his heart were confirmed, and the last trace of tolerance for the crown prince in the emperor's heart disappeared. His expression, as if at this moment, was much older. Leaning weakly on the chair, a solemn look flashed on his wrinkled face. Said lightly.

In front of the table, after Lu Yushi heard His Majesty's words, his heart suddenly sank.

"Xuanhuai Nanwang Taiyuan Jiedu envoy Wu Ningyuan, after receiving the holy decree, immediately lead the army into Beijing without delay!" The emperor sat on the chair, his eyes narrowed slightly, and read word by word, and in his words, a cold murderous aura permeated the air.

"Zhang Wenshan, the prefect of Xuanyizhou, solve the matter of Yizhou as soon as possible, and be sure to arrive in Beijing before the end of December! Yin Hongquan of Xuanjiang Ningfu immediately went to Beijing and served as the squire of the Ministry of War! Declare......! As one order after another was given, the emperor's tone became more and more cold.

In front of the desk, Lu Yushi knelt respectfully on the ground, writing the order conveyed by His Majesty, while secretly raising his hand and wiping the cold sweat on his forehead.

Looking at the orders on the jade plate, Lu Yushi was terrified.

These people are all people from the line of Wu Ningyuan, the king of Huainan. And the king of Huainan is the most powerful supporter behind the little prince.

It seems that the rumors in Tokyo some time ago that His Majesty wants to set up a little prince are probably true!

After Lu Yushi trembled and obeyed the order, the emperor, who had been sitting there like a stone statue without any expression, finally opened his eyes, and his eyes without any emotion were full of frost and coldness.

"You forced me to do it!" The emperor picked up the already cold tea on the desk, opened his lips tremblingly, and took a sip. Leaning back in his chair weakly, he muttered in a low voice.

In the imperial study, there was silence.

The emperor sat there like a statue, motionless.

Suddenly, a cold wind blew and blew the door open. The bitter cold wind, with cold snow particles, blew straight in. The emperor, who was sitting on the dragon chair, was blown by the cold wind and suddenly came back to his senses.

After shivering, his eyes that were like cold ice regained a trace of brilliance.

I lowered my head and looked at the desk, which was blown messy. There was a feeling of emptiness and bitterness in my heart.

It's so empty! The emperor opened his eyes, glanced at the empty study, and muttered to himself with a somewhat desolate expression.

"Someone!" The emperor held on to the armrest of the chair, and after slowly standing up, he took the dragon robe on the side, draped it on his body, and said to the eunuch who was estimated to have fallen asleep outside the hall.

Outside the hall, sitting on the cold ground, the father-in-law, who had fallen asleep, suddenly woke up after hearing the emperor's voice in the study. He hurriedly stood up, glanced at the wide open door, and suddenly panicked.

lifted the front swing, rushed into the study, knelt on the ground, kowtowed and begged for mercy: "Your Majesty, slave maid, slave maid damn it!" ”

"Alright, get up!" The Emperor waved his hand, signaling that he would not blame him.

"Slave, thank Your Majesty for not killing!" The father-in-law hurriedly kowtowed, and then stood up with palpitations.

"Your Majesty, you haven't eaten yet! Do you want to summon the imperial study...... "No need, pass the decree, set up King Zheng's mansion!" I'm going to King Zheng's Mansion for dinner! The emperor waved his hand, lowered his eyebrows and thought for a while, and then said to his father-in-law.

"Yes!"

…… Zheng Wangfu, Xiao Wu, who has not been seen for a long time, has grown up a lot. Although there is still a trace of childishness on his face, his behavior is like that of a little adult.

At this time, he was wearing a coat on his body, sitting at his desk, quietly thinking about something by the faint light of the candle. It's just that the brush has been held in my hand for a long time, but it has not fallen off the end of the pen.

On the top of the rice paper, there are a few words: the theory of centralization and decentralization, these words are the last of the many exam questions that Lu Heng assigned for him when he left Jiangning.

Xiao Wu has already answered a lot of exam questions like this. However, what made him frustrated was that every time he sent what he wrote to Jiangning, the answer he got was always a painless reading. Moreover, on this reading, there is also a circle.

Now, Xiao Wu has been thinking about this exam question for a long time, but he still can't figure it out, let alone write it.

He didn't know what kind of answer Lu Heng wanted him to write.

The night was silent, and the cold wind howled outside the window.

The cold wind whined the window lattice. The cold wind blowing in slightly blew the dim candle flame on the table to sway for a while.

Xiao Wu, as if he hadn't noticed anything unusual, just sat there quietly, contemplating his brows.

I've got to get an excellent!

After thinking of the method that Lu Heng had told him about the difference between good and bad grades, Xiao Wu snorted angrily, took a deep breath, pinched the brush, dipped the tip of the pen in the ink, and after thinking for a while, he finally dropped the brush.

……

(To be continued)