In the palace.

In the imperial study, the emperor with an annoyed face sat in front of the dragon case, looking at the pile of folds in front of him, his expression was very annoyed. The eunuch Li Gonggong next to him was also very cautious at this time, because he had served the emperor for more than ten years, he naturally felt that at this time, the emperor was angry, so he would naturally be cautious.

After the emperor looked at the folds for a while, he pushed down the folds on the table in annoyance.

Then he got up from the dragon chair and paced back and forth on the ground.

Seeing such an emperor, Gonggong Li naturally didn't dare to speak, but quickly greeted the palace maids and eunuchs around him, picked up all the folds on the ground, and then asked the person who specially poured water to change a bowl of tea for the emperor, and then carefully retreated.

Gonggong Li stood there with low eyebrows, carefully observing the emperor's expression, but he didn't dare to say anything casually.

Because he knew that the emperor generally did not have the habit of consulting with them.

Therefore, I can only stand quietly and pay attention to what the emperor has and what arrangements he has, so that they can do it. After a while, the emperor looked at Gonggong Li and said, "Go and come to Zhenguo Gongxuan." ”

Zhen Guogong has been idle at home for a period of time, firstly, he resigned his military power in order to avoid suspicion, and secondly, he now has a newborn son, and he is experiencing the long-lost family warmth.

This period and Aunt Liu got along quite harmoniously, because his two daughters had already married, and his son had also gone to the frontier with King Yi, so he and Aunt Liu were the only ones left in the mansion to rely on each other.

Fortunately, there is one more child now, which adds a lot of laughter to this deserted house.

At this time, it was already night, but he suddenly received the holy decree from the palace and asked him to go to the palace.

Therefore, the Duke of Zhenguo was very surprised, and looked at the father-in-law who came to announce the decree with some incredulity, because the emperor had not looked for him for a long time.

Zhenguo Gong didn't know if the emperor was looking for him, because there was a problem with the frontier, or something else.

So I hurriedly thought about it while changing into court clothes and preparing to go to the palace.

Aunt Liu heard about the summons to let Zhenguo Gong enter the palace, and she also ran over nervously.

looked at his husband with a nervous face and asked, "The emperor is looking for you so late, but there is something urgent." Zhen Guocheng was changing his court clothes, frowned and said: "I don't know what is going on, just now my father-in-law only said that there was an urgent matter, but he didn't say anything specific." I tried to ask him just now, but my father-in-law just said that the emperor was very angry at this time, but everyone didn't know why he was angry. I only said that I dropped all the folds after I got angry, and then I thought about it for a while before looking for me, so I could only go into the palace to have a look. ”

When Aunt Liu heard Zhen Guogong's words, her face showed worry.

While helping him sort out his clothes, he said: "Then you must be careful when you go in, the emperor hasn't looked for you for a long time." Suddenly looking for you, and still in anger, you must be careful and careful. ”

Because none of them know the truth that a companion is like a tiger.

Zhen Guogong nodded. said to Aunt Liu: "I haven't handled official business for a long time, and I haven't formed a party with anyone, so there should be nothing wrong." Could it be that there are three children, and something happened to them? ”

Zhen Guogong said and thought hard, who of the three children might have problems?

But I didn't think it was possible, so I shook my head and said, "Forget it, I don't want to." It's useless to think about it, let's go to the palace and talk about it. Don't worry about me, take care of Xuan'er and rest early. ”

With mixed feelings, after arriving at the palace, Zhen Guogong saw the emperor.

At this time, the emperor's mood seemed to have stabilized a little, and there was no expression on his face.

But he still cautiously greeted the emperor and asked, "I don't know what happened when the emperor summoned Weichen over at this time?" ”

The emperor asked him to make tea and sit next to him, and then pointed to a pile of folds around him and said, "You take a look at these first, and we'll talk about it."

Zhen Guogong looked at the fold, and was so frightened that he quickly lowered his head and said, "The minister doesn't dare." ”

In fact, anyone can watch this recital.

The emperor said: "I let you see it, you can see it." ”

The Duke of Zhenguo took the decree and looked at the books on it, and found that they were all from the prince.

What a personal relationship with a henchman or greed for money.

After Zhen Guogong saw it, he didn't speak, just quietly put down the fold and waited for the emperor to speak.

The emperor asked, "How do you feel when you see these twists and turns?" Or opinions. ”

Zhenguo Gong carefully considered it, because he didn't know what the emperor's attitude was towards the crown prince.

So he said: "After reading these twists and turns, I wonder if what is said above is true? As stated above. There are still some people who are framing the prince and want to sow discord between the prince and the emperor. It's impossible to discern just by looking at something. ”

The emperor smiled and said to him: "I didn't expect that a military general of Zhenguo Gong would speak so carefully, are you afraid of offending the prince?" ”

Zhenguo Gong hurriedly knelt down, clasped his fists and said to the emperor: "The minister has no such intention, it's just." As the minister said, it is impossible to distinguish clearly just by looking at the innocence of the folds.

When the emperor heard Zhen Guogong say this, he couldn't help but pick up a few books around him and handed them to Zhen Guogong and said, "Then you can take a look at these books again, and then talk about it." ”

Zhen Guogong carefully took the fold and found that it was actually mentioned that the prince sent someone to assassinate King Yi. Then his eyes widened and he looked surprised.

And these expressions naturally fell into the eyes of the emperor who had been paying attention to his expression.

The emperor asked, "What do you think now?" If it were someone else, I wouldn't ask. But. You are the father-in-law of my two sons. So I think for both of them, you should be able to have a bowl of water. ”

When Zhenguo Gong heard the emperor's words, he hurriedly said: "Naturally, the minister will not favor any one person. I think the same is true for the emperor. Since both are your sons, you don't want to see them fighting. ”

The emperor said: "That is, naturally. No father likes to see his son fighting, even though it has been a thing since time immemorial. ”

"That's what the emperor said."

"But besides, King Yi has clearly withdrawn from the battle for the throne. But now there are signs that the crown prince is still assassinating King Yi. That's why I ask you what you think about this? Because I was afraid that as a father, I would lose my fair judgment. If you ask other ministers, they may have factional disputes. I know that Zhen Guogong didn't want others or me to worry that your strength was too strong, so he took the initiative to resign and stay at home. I think you were very prescient. ”

When Zhenguo Gong heard the emperor say this, he hurriedly said: "The minister is only old, and some things are beyond his strength. is not as smart as the emperor said. Although the minister hopes that he can still do something for the country. However, after all, the minister is old, his thinking is a little slow, and his physical strength is not good. So, there are some things that can't really be judged clearly. The minister is also the emperor, and he dislikes it, so he resigned in advance. ”

When the emperor heard Zhen Guogong's words, he smiled and said: "You really make excuses for yourself, but you are just an old ghost, do you think I don't know your mind yet?" ”

Zhenguo Gong hurriedly bowed his head and said: "No matter what the emperor thinks of the minister, however, the minister is loyal to the emperor. It is also fair to the two good sons-in-law. Therefore, if there is any problem between these two people, the minister can only guarantee that he is definitely in the middle and will not favor either one. Or, the minister will look at the emperor and which one he prefers, and the minister will follow. ”

When the emperor heard Zhen Guogong's words, he nodded and said, "I naturally trust you, so I called you." I just want to ask you, do you think that King Yi has the heart to fight for the throne? Otherwise, why would the prince worry about him? ”

Hearing what the emperor said, Zhenguo Gong hurriedly said: "The minister is unconscious. Because the minister rarely interacts with King Yi or the crown prince, just because they marry the daughter of the minister, the minister can be regarded as having a relationship with them. The daughters of the courtiers came back to visit me occasionally, but I did not talk to them about their house or the affairs of the court. The minister is just enjoying the warmth of his family now, and now he rarely goes out. So I really don't understand whether there is a dispute between them? Seeing the wrinkles just now, the minister was also very surprised. ”

The emperor sighed and said, "King Yi has been weak since he was a child, and he has cold poison, and his mother has long since left. That's why I've always been protected. However, I did not find out that he had the heart to compete for the position of crown prince. ”

"The minister thinks so."

"It's just that after your daughter married him recently, she behaved very clearly. She gave Yi Wang Zheng some word of mouth. I don't know if it was because of this incident that the prince felt that there was a crisis, so he had actions that he shouldn't have. ”

When Zhenguo Gong heard the emperor say this, he hurriedly said: "If this is the case, it is the minister's fault, he did not teach his daughter well, and let his daughter cause some things to King Yi." ”

The emperor shook his head and said, "I don't blame you for this, I don't blame Princess Yi, and I don't think Princess Yi did anything wrong. ”

"However, as the emperor said just now, King Yi is very low-key and is unwilling to have more contact with the people in the court. However, there have been a lot of rumors about his and his minister's daughter recently, so there is indeed a problem with the minister's daughter. ”

"I think it's right for your daughter to help King Yi, it's just that she performed too well and made others have a sense of crisis. Because Yiwang has always been in poor health, it doesn't mean that his brain is not good. My son, I am clear. King Yi's brain is far above the prince. It's just that King Yi doesn't want to fight for the throne, so I have no choice but to let him be an idle person. If he really wants to, I am willing to let him replace the crown prince. ”

When Zhenguo Gong heard the emperor say this, he was so frightened that he quickly lowered his head and didn't dare to say anything.

Because he didn't know if the emperor was testing him at this time, or telling him a big secret.

And he is the father-in-law of the two parties, and it is related to the fate of the two daughters.

Therefore, his face was very solemn.

The emperor looked at the appearance of Zhen Guogong, smiled bitterly and said, "You don't have to worry, because your worry is also my worry." You're worried about your two daughters, and I'm worried about your two sons. How to balance them? I'm in a lot of trouble, and I think you're in trouble. ”

Zhen Guogong bowed his head and said: "Thank you for the emperor's size, the minister is indeed worried about his two daughters, and he doesn't want anything to happen to King Yi and the crown prince." I only hope that the two brothers can help each other, work together for the court, and share worries for the emperor together. The minister only hopes that the world is peaceful. ”