Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, that little Zaiyan is already 4 years old. The 26-year-old child has to pretend to be himself all the time, no matter what he says or does, he has to pretend to be like a 4-year-old child.

"Little prince, slow down" Cui Xi walked out with the little prince and said hurriedly.

"Don't follow me, I'm going to play alone" Zai Yan stopped and looked at his nurse with a small mouth.

"I don't follow you, what should I do if you fall?"

"You go away! Go away," Zai said angrily.

"Okay, I'll go away. Be careful. Tricy had no choice but to stop.

At the entrance of the stone steps of the Zhumen of Prince Alcohol's Mansion, a luxurious Beijing horse-drawn sedan chair stopped next to the bronze lion outside the palace, Prince Gong walked out of the sedan chair, and Princess Gulun, who came with her, rode a high-headed horse, and she jumped off the horse briskly.

When the doorman saw that it was their father and daughter, he hurriedly opened the door, knelt down and shouted: "The sixth master is auspicious, the eldest princess is auspicious." ”

Prince Alcohol, dressed in a rich robe, with a slender figure and a dignified appearance, heard the next person report that Prince Gong was coming. Hurriedly walked out of the living room and said with a smile: "Sixth brother, it's a snowy day today, why are you here?" ”

"It's okay today, Gu Lun wanted to see Zaiyan, so he brought her here. Gu Lun, isn't you called Uncle Seven? ”

"Seventh Uncle, where's Zaiyan?" Princess Gulun asked busily.

"This will play with the nurse in the back garden, go find him yourself"

"Seventh uncle, Amma, I'm going" After saying that, he ran to the back garden.

Prince Gong walked into the living room and sat down on an honorable rosewood chair. After a while, the next person brought tea, Prince Alcohol hurriedly handed over the cigarette pouch, Prince Gong took out a cigar from his clothes, lit it with a match, and took a puff.

"Sixth brother likes foreign things, I can't get used to that," Prince Alcohol smiled.

Prince Gong said to a few of his subordinates, "You all go down." ”

Seeing Prince Gong's solemn face, Prince Alcohol hurriedly sat down in the seat next to him.

"Seventh, the emperor...... I'm afraid the emperor won't be able to do it."

The paper coal in Prince Alcohol's hand fell to the ground, and he bent down to pick it up, and said in surprise, "Is it? You...... You're in the palace? ”

"The emperor summoned me...... "Prince Gong wants to say that he will leave", what did the emperor say? Prince Alcohol stared at him and asked anxiously, "......What did the emperor say?"

Prince Gong stopped again, took a deep puff of his cigarette, and looked at Prince Alcohol with sharp eyes, without squeaking. After pausing for a while, he continued: "Old Seven, I'm afraid this time I'm afraid that this time it's going to be like in Rehe again, and our brothers are going to join forces." ”

At this moment, Xiao Zaiyan stood alone by the pond, holding on to the railing, looking at the colorful fish in the water. I thought in my heart: If I'm not mistaken, it should be my turn to ascend the throne and become emperor this year, why is there no movement at all. Let me be the emperor, how can I live with Cixi, the most vicious woman in Chinese history, I have to find an opportunity to get rid of her.

Cui Xi looked at the pampered little prince, and couldn't help muttering: "This kid likes to play alone and talk alone...... To whom does he speak this? ”

Princess Gulun came over, and when she saw Cui Xi muttering alone, she asked with some curiosity, "Cui Xi, what are you muttering here alone?" ”

Cui Xi turned her head and saw that it was Princess Gulun, so she hurriedly bowed her head and bent down to salute Princess Gulun and said, "It's the eldest princess who is here, I'm talking about the little prince, he always likes to play alone, don't let us get close to him"

"Is it" Princess Gulun smiled and said with a smile When Xiao Zaiyan saw the eldest princess coming, he hurriedly ran to her, and said happily to the eldest princess: "Sister, I miss you so much"

"Let my sister hug you first." Gu Lun picked up Jae-yun and kissed his cute little face hard.

In the living room, Prince Alcohol and Prince Gong were still sitting in the living room chatting, and Prince Gong said: "The emperor is afraid that his limit is approaching, he knows that the Empress Dowager West does not like Empress Arut, and once he dies, he is worried that Empress Arut will be beaten into the cold palace...... Even the child conceived by the queen can't be saved."

"He wants to entrust Queen Arut and the fetus in her womb to you, one can keep Queen Arut's status in the harem, and his blood can also inherit the unification, the emperor is really smart!" Prince Alcohol said.

"Think about it, the Queen Mother of the West has been looking at the queen unpleasantly, if the emperor really dies, can I keep her? Besides, in case the emperor dies. The queen is only three months pregnant, and this throne can't be left empty forever. And what is born is not necessarily a brother! Prince Gong said worriedly.

Prince Alcohol paused, frowned and said, "Yes, don't talk about others, I heard that the fifth brother has long had the idea of putting his son Zai Lian on the throne." ”

"And what about the Queen Mother of the Two Palaces? Will they put forward their own candidates? If that's the case, then the world will be in chaos. Prince Gong said.

"This kind of thing must not be allowed to happen, think back then, when Emperor Xianfeng died, Su Shun, Duanhua and other ministers wanted to control the government, and Su Shun even wanted to be the emperor himself...... In the end, weren't they also subdued by our brothers? Prince Alcohol said.

"If it weren't for the two palace queen dowagers joining forces, we wouldn't be able to deal with them. Do you know? What I'm most worried about now is not someone else, but the Empress Dowager West. Prince Gong said worriedly.

"Isn't the emperor her own son? She shouldn't be ......," Prince Alcohol wondered.

"What kind of person is the Queen Mother West, you won't be unclear, right? Back then, we arrested Su Shun and Duanhua, and we didn't want to kill them, but the Empress Dowager Xi dragged Su Shun to the vegetable market and beheaded him, and exiled Duanhua to Xinjiang. Prince Gong looked at him.

Prince Alcohol nodded, his brows furrowed.

The splendid Forbidden City, shrouded in a hint of coolness, the yellow glazed tiles shimmer with a cold white light, the tall and magnificent palaces are like mountain peaks against the occasional glow, desolate and severe, and the cold north wind hisses between its beams and heavy eaves.

The Forbidden City stood like a huge eerie castle on a bright white horizon, and the rushing moat stopped whimpering, and everything seemed to be silent. The soldiers outside the palace stood motionless, their faces expressionless.

After seeing off Prince Gong, Prince Alcohol walked out of the living room and walked to the back garden, where the sun was setting and the golden glow was shining on the treetops. In the dusk, Xiao Zaiyan looked at the sky silently alone. Prince Alcohol hurriedly walked up to his son and said, "Zaiyan, why are you here alone?" What about Trixi? ”

Cui Xi walked over from behind the tree and hurriedly said, "Lord, I'm here, Princess Gulun has just left, and the little prince won't let me follow." ”

"Zaiyan, what are you looking at?" Prince Alcohol hugged his son lovingly.

Although he was only four years old, he kept all the memories of his previous life, and of course he knew the preferences of the first generation of Prince Alcohol. Xinkou said: "Amma, the ancestor Emperor Kangxi ascended the throne at the age of eight, leveled three times, and received Taiwan. At the age of twenty-one, Ama joined forces with Liubo to clean up Sushun. Protect me from the orthodoxy of the Qing Dynasty! When I grow up, I want to be as good as Amma. I'm four years old and grown. I would like to beg Amma to allow the child to start riding a horse and learn archery tomorrow! ”

Prince Alcohol looked at his son blankly, and his heart was full of emotion, what he was proud of all his life was to clean up the chaotic party in Sushun. Now that he has said it from his son's mouth, it is even sweeter, especially when compared to Kangxi, which directly raised his vanity to the !! looked at his four-year-old child and said: "Child, the Qing Dynasty is now an eventful season, you study hard, and in the future, you will assist the emperor to bring our Qing Dynasty into the ranks of world powers, and you don't have to be angry with those foreign devils all the time." ”

Xiao Zaiyan looked at the excited father and said with a smile: "Amma, you agreed." I want to learn horseback riding, archery, and martial arts from Master Luo, and protect Ama and Eniang in the future! ”

Looking at his dancing son, Prince Alcohol only nodded lightly, and instructed Luo Minghai, the leader of the martial arts in the house, to take people to make small bows and knives overnight, and teach the little prince martial arts tomorrow.

The setting sun shines on the golden light of Cixi's dormitory, and the lanterns have been lit up with bright eyes.

At this time, Prince Gong had been led here by Li Lianying, he walked uneasily, brushed his sleeves, and bowed to the ground: "The minister greets the Queen Mother"

"The sixth master is here, hurry up. Little plum, look at the seats. Cixi turned.

"Oh, Sixth Master, please take a seat." Li Lianying said.

Cixi looked at him calmly and said, "Sixth Master, I invited you here today to discuss something with you. ”

"Queen Mother, please speak." Prince Gong sat down, "The emperor has not been in good shape these days, and he has become more and more bad these days. Cixi stared at him, tentatively.

Prince Gong was silent.

Cixi saw that he was silent, and said with something in her words: "I heard that the sixth master has seen the emperor today?" ”

Prince Gong's heart was shocked, and then he frowned and said, "Yes, the minister has seen the emperor today." ”

"What did the emperor say?" Cixi hurriedly asked.

"The emperor is a little worried about Jiangshan Sheji." Prince Gong hesitated for a moment, then stopped.

"Sixth master, we are not outsiders, you talk about it, in case the emperor ...... Who do you think is the most suitable successor? Cixi said directly.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense, and Prince Gong sat there calmly, not looking flustered. After a while, he said calmly: "The minister doesn't dare to speculate. ”

Cixi knew that he didn't want to hide it, so she smiled and said, "Sixth Master, you don't have anything to hide from me." ”

"The minister doesn't dare"

"I also heard that the emperor plans to pass on the sixth master," Cixi pressed step by step.

"Queen Mother" Prince Gong looked at her in surprise, "The sixth master is now in a high position, isn't the sixth master not interested in the emperor's dragon chair at all?" Cixi walked back and forth on the carpet and said in a strange manner.

"The Queen Mother is clear, the ministers really have no disobedience! The Queen Mother should know that if the minister wants to usurp the throne and seek power, the minister can do so as early as when the first emperor Rehe died. Prince Gong replied without humbling himself.

"Yes, when the emperor died, you held the power of the whole government in Beijing, and Prince Lao Qi was the commander of the infantry army in the capital, guarding the safety of the capital and the palace. Cixi stared at his face.

Prince Gong was silent, not knowing what to say for a while.

Cixi stared at his expression, and after a moment, her face softened. She turned around and sat down, looked at him and said, "Sixth Master, I'm joking with you, little plum, serve tea to Sixth Master." Brew the Longjing that Li Hongzhang gave me and let the sixth master taste it. ”

At night, Cixi came to Ci'an's dormitory. Ci'an's dormitory is also richly decorated. Ci'an is kind and upright, and Tongzhi is very close to her. Ci'an has no children of his own, and the only prince of the land is very loving, taking care of him, and treating him as his own. As time went by, Tongzhi felt that Ci'an was his own mother. The two wanted to sit together, Cixi said the same treatment, and the two of them looked sad. Ci'an sat on the carved chair of rosewood jade and sighed: "I didn't expect that the emperor would be infected with this incurable disease at a young age. ”

"Sister, it's too late to be sad now, we now want to think about the person who will succeed the unification, in case the emperor ...... We're so prepared. Cixi said urgently.

"Is the emperor's illness really so serious?" Ci'an asked suspiciously.

"I went to the palace just now, and the emperor may not survive tonight." Cixi said.

Ci'an was so sad that she sobbed.

"Sister, don't cry, do you know how many people are staring at the throne? If you don't make a good scene, the world will be in chaos, and your head will fall to the ground! We have to choose the heir emperor now, otherwise it will be too late! ”

Ci'an raised his head to look at this Cixi and asked, "Does my sister have an idea in mind?" ”

After a while, Cixi finally said what she had thought about: "I think Prince Alcohol's eldest son, the four-year-old successor to Zaiyan, is very appropriate. ”

In the evening, in the deserted Dongnuan Pavilion of the Heart Cultivation Palace, a huge red candle flickered in the wind and swayed lonely, as if it would be extinguished at any time.

Tongzhi turned over and exclaimed with all his strength: "Someone! I'm very uncomfortable......"

There was silence all around, and everything seemed to be dead.

"Mother, you are too vicious...... Am I not your own son? Tiger poison doesn't eat children...... You cut off my diet and don't let the imperial doctor treat me...... You ......"

A tear of despair rolled from the corner of Tongzhi's eyes, his voice gradually weakened, and one hand was raised in the air indiscriminately, as if trying to grasp something. After a while, his eyes rolled upward, his hands fell physically, and his whole body froze. Emperor Tongzhi, who had been dying for several days, finally exhausted the last trace of vitality of his life.

At this time, the candle flame burned out the last drop of candle tears and extinguished with a pop. In an instant, the whole palace was plunged into darkness. Li Lianying's excited ugly face gradually emerged from the darkness, looking particularly hideous.

A little eunuch rushed out of the closed palace gate, he ran down the steps, and shouted wildly on the stone road of the palace: "The emperor is dead!" The emperor is dead!