Outside the study room of King Wei's mansion, the guards and subordinates were all retreated, and only Ah Sheng was left to guard the door.

In the study, Li Tai sat behind the desk, and standing there was Du Chuke, who was the secretary of the Ministry of Industry and the governor of the Wei Palace.

After I went back, I thought about what His Highness had done in recent years, and I felt that if I didn't say it now, I would regret it to the extreme. Since His Royal Highness opened the mansion, I will accompany you, help you deal with the affairs of the government, and make a point, and the emperor will promote me to the post of Shangshu. I am not humble and say the truth, I have been acting under the Wei Wangfu for four years, and I think I am your right-hand man, but I am born to follow my heart. ”

Du Chuke's remarks, his feelings were expressed in the form, from the bottom of his heart, his voice was slightly paused, he actually took two steps back, lifted the hem of his clothes, and knelt down with the body of a minister and the position of three products. With a "poof", he finally won Li Taizheng's eyes.

"However, I never knew your Royal Highness's ambitions, and whenever it comes to the future, you always avoid it with words, and you are afraid that you will be impatient, so you will not delve into it, but now, self-denial is reckless, dare to ask, and ask Your Highness to give a clear word - do you have the heart for the throne?"

As soon as these words came out, the study was as quiet as a meditation room, and Du Chuke, who was kneeling on the ground, felt an invisible pressure from under the cover of his head most clearly, making him want to raise his head at this moment to identify Li Tai's expression, but he couldn't.

I don't know how many times have passed, kneeling on the ground, this middle-aged man who is over thirty years old, his facial features are straight, only the thin layer of sweat on his wrinkled forehead can prove that he is not having a good time at the moment, but the next moment another voice in this room is like heaven and sound with him.

"Yes."

With just one word, he was relieved of his years of hesitation and trouble, and his previous sense of xenophobia disappeared. Du Chuke, who was clear in his heart, knew that Li Tai's answer to the word was that he really regarded him as his own person, and he had always had a heart, and he regarded Li Tai as the master, how could he not like it.

"Thank you Your Highness for making it clear, your self-denial has been expressed, and you will definitely help Your Highness to achieve your ambition, this vow, if you violate this word in this life, you will be hit by five thunderstorms, and you will die in a different place, and you will have no bones to bury."

In addition to actual actions, there is nothing more than a ruthless oath to show loyalty at the moment, Li Tai looked at Du Chuke with an unchanged expression and swore to the sky, his eyes flashed, and he said in a deep voice:

"Get up, there is gold under the knees, only this once, as the king of Wei for one day, this king doesn't want to see you kneel again."

"Yes." Hearing his rare respect, Du Chuke ironed his chest, stood up, and then waved at Li Tai and said:

In this way, there are many things that should not be said and cannot be said before self-denial, and this time it is possible to speak. First of all, it is the current situation, the crown prince is disgusted by the emperor, it is an indisputable fact, when it comes to orthodoxy, only the nine princes can compare, but he is eight years old this year, regardless of it for the time being. The minister has a secret report, which is from the palace, you can consider it - the eldest grandson queen is infected with a vicious disease, which should be an incurable disease. ”

"Huh?" Li Tai's pupils shrank, and he said in a low voice, "Where did you get the news?" ”

There are the emperor's spies outside the palace, and there is naturally no shortage of eyeliner from people outside the palace in the palace, and the most common ones are some concubines and concubines, who can communicate news with their mothers.

"Rest assured, this information is reliable. I have a close friend, and I think Your Highness should have heard of it, he is the second son of the Yan family of engineering, Yan Lide, who is currently the squire of the Ministry of Works, and I am a classmate. Lide has a daughter named Wan, fourteen years old, the year before last, the year before the flower festival picking green, was seen by the queen's mother, stayed in the palace to serve, because of its wisdom and ingenuity, deeply loved and pitied, Mrs. Yan went to the palace to visit, but from the mouth of Wan'er, who served the queen closely, learned that the queen was in poor health, and asked them to pay attention to this matter, and the day before yesterday they were convinced, the queen mother, I am afraid that she will not be able to survive this catastrophe. ”

The news that a calm person like Li Tai can be moved is really amazing. The eldest grandson queen contracted an illness, and this matter was extraordinary. Officials of all sizes in the capital, but anyone who understands knows that this is the only one in the world who can influence the mind of the Son of Heaven, not Wei Tiepan, who is outspoken, not the eldest grandson Wuji, who is more affectionate than his brother, nor the favored Du Xuanfangmou, but a woman, a woman who favors the harem, but no one dares to gossip - the eldest grandson of the virtuous queen.

Once the harem is gone, this woman who is singable and respectable, and makes some people lamentable and hateful, it is conceivable that Chang'an City will set off a lot of waves.

First of all, not to mention the disputes among the harem concubines, just to say that the two royal concubines she left behind, it can be said that without the eldest grandson queen by her side, Li Chengqian's temperament is definitely not in Li Shimin's eyes, and now the prince has a sign of disgust, and the other concubine is still young.

Without this queen mother, even if the eldest grandson family who remains neutral will help, they can no longer let the Son of Heaven have such emotional bonds, it can be said that when the eldest grandson queen is still there, there are only one or two who suspect that Li Shimin will abolish the crown prince, if the eldest grandson queen dies, then it is eight or nine times out of ten who think that Li Chengqian will be abolished

"I think that there are two sides to this matter, on the one hand, Concubine Yang is favored, if the queen dies, maybe this woman will take the opportunity to ascend to the throne, then the identity of King Wu will be different. Your Highness, although you have been favored by the Holy Grace, and you are superior to several princes in civil and military affairs, the scholars of the Literature Museum can be of great use, but there are also many shortcomings. One is that you are born, if you are in the people, you are a concubine, and you have no chance to succeed. The second is personal connections. The third is the will of the people. ”

Du Chuke just surrendered, and seemed to be eager to say the words that had been held in his heart for a few years, and when he saw that Li Tai did not show impatience, he began to talk more and more eloquently:

"It is difficult to change the background, and it is not easy to find the people's hearts, but it is easy to accumulate contacts and favors now. The fastest and most effective way is to marry. It is to order the only granddaughter of the Oriental sacrificial wine Oriental Pearl as a side concubine, this is a simple and effective method, I said before, Dongfang You as the son of the country to supervise the sacrificial wine, the accumulation of favors is not a day or two, although his official is not high, but the world's big and small officials, no, this Chang'an City officials, according to the seniority, enough to pay him a sir. ”

"His Royal Highness is quick-witted, capable of writing and martial arts, young and courageous, and born with good looks, self-denial should not be said, most of the ladies of the scholar clan in Chang'an City are willing to cling. As a prince, not to mention the position of the main family, you can still marry two concubines and four concubines. This candidate must be decided twice, not child's play. ”

Speaking of this, he coughed lightly, squeezed out a smile, and persuaded Li Tai:

"What you mentioned in the morning, you have to go to the emperor to ask for the edict on your behalf. I thought there was still some discussion. I won't tell you the truth, I know that we have a guest in the Wei Wangfu for a while, I didn't know before, but now that I think about it, it should be this Miss Lu, and I know her situation. It's the first time I've seen you take a fancy to which lady, like this, since you like it, then it's also okay to be included, but the position of this side concubine is inevitably disparity, and I am afraid of being criticized. It's better to skip the section of asking for marriage, go directly to the matchmaker, and accept you as a concubine. ”

Outside the royal family, there are three wives and four concubines, as a prince, there are naturally three concubines and four concubines.

"Click", Du Chuke was careful, thinking that there was some persuasion to explain Li Tai, but when he heard this sudden sound, his eyes moved, and he was stunned. At the end of the desk, there is a palm on the armrest of the mahogany beam chair with a corner missing.

"Just do your duty, what should be said and not said, and if you want this king to teach you not to succeed, go out."

Today, Li Tai can get a clear word, which is already better than others, although Du Chuke has more words in his heart, but when he saw that he closed his eyes, he knew that it was useless to say more, shook his head secretly, bowed and retreated.

After he left, Li Tai's lightly closed eyes opened again, and the shining blue eyes were actually full of fierce color, which couldn't help but make people wonder what would happen if Du Chuke was one step late.

Ah Sheng walked in lightly, listened to him in detail outside the door, pondered for a moment, and said:

"Your Royal Highness, although Lord Du speaks more bluntly, he doesn't know your temperament better than Master Su and Master Xie, but he is still doing things well, during our departure from Beijing, we need such a person to be outside, not to mention, he followed Wang Shichong back then, if it weren't for your attention, how could he be re-mentioned by the emperor, and his ambition would not be silent without you, he was loyal and not afraid of dissent. In the past three years, you have secretly helped him accumulate momentum and seek the position of Shangshu, isn't it just to keep it for great use one day. ”

He said this again, he was interceding for Du Chuke, for fear that Master Du would not know how to advance or retreat, and if he stepped on Li Tai's bottom line, a good move would be abolished.

Li Tai restrained his expression and said unashamedly: "That's exactly why this king will allow him to talk nonsense," he raised his hand and pointed to the blue-headed Wenzhi on the table, "It's just this time, but it's an expedient measure." Take the fold to Wei Ting and ask him to present it tomorrow. ”

"Yes," Hearing this, Ah Sheng sighed secretly, knowing that Du Chuke had missed a word, so he had no chance to fight, and felt a little sorry, but he didn't mention him anymore, and went out with the box, planning to go to Wei Mansion to find Wei Wangfu to do Wei Ting.

The room was quiet again, Li Tai leaned back in his chair, clasped his hands on his abdomen, closed his eyes, and whispered to himself:

"But a bunch of short-sighted people, and what do you know, women? Origin, connections, favors, people's hearts, nepotism, this is the most important thing, ignorance, stupidity. There is a kind of woman in this world, as long as she is given time, she is attached to her, she is trusted, and she will grow up quickly, tenacious enough to stand by the side of any strong man, without relying on anyone but me. ”

"Mother, your sorrow is that the man already has such a woman by his side, but he is greedy for a second one, and I really want to see what it will be like when he can't even keep the rest of it. Don't worry, I will definitely do what I promised you, and in the four years in Hongzhuang, I will add my eyes and pay off my father's debt, and only your grace will be left. Pay it all off, what else can stop me. ”()