After leaving the hall that day, Lu Caier rode a fast horse from Dali Temple to the palace. Since she held the token given by the emperor to smoke incense in her hand, the road was unimpeded. Whether it is a city gate guard or a palace gate guard, as soon as you see the token, you will be released directly.

There was no delay on the road, just like that, when Lu Caier entered the palace, it was still a little early.

Sikong Hua, the chief guard in the palace, is not as easy to deal with as those guards outside the palace, he recognizes the token in Lu Caier's hand, but he doesn't recognize her.

However, when he saw that Lu Cai'er hadn't interrogated her about her origin, he first asked where the token came from.

Although Lu Caier is beautiful and beautiful, Sikong Hua will not relax her vigilance just because she is beautiful. The more beautiful the woman, the more dangerous it is, in case she enters the palace with this token to assassinate the emperor, or if it is not good for the emperor, then he will not be able to save ten heads.

Although Lu Caier was born in a Qinglou, she still understands the overall situation, and has a style of pampering and not being shocked. Coming to this majestic and solemn palace, she can still maintain her true colors. It's just that she has always been in the willow alleys of Huajie and has always respected officials and other powerful people.

She is a Qinglou woman, but she has martial arts, and she has the heroism and uninhibition of the children of the rivers and lakes. For her, it was easier to stay in this palace than in the Zhongyong Palace.

When she saw Sikong Hua, she was not as childish as ordinary people, and she saluted generously. It's just that the tone is inevitably a little flattering: "The little woman's surname is Lu Mingcai'er, and she is a confidant and friend of Prince Chu Tiankuo." Today, I specially entered the palace to ask to see the emperor, because I had something important to find the emperor. I'm also bothered that adults can pass it on their behalf. ”

Sikong Hua couldn't help but feel a little unhappy when he heard Lu Caier's bull's head and not the horse's mouth, but it was not revealed on his face. He tried his best to restrain his emotions, not because the other party was a beauty, but because she said that she was the confidante of the crown prince Chu Tiankuo.

Whether it's true or not, he'd rather believe it than not. On an errand in the palace, you still have to have eyesight. The crown prince is very likely to ascend the throne as the emperor in the future, a friend of the prince, of course he can't be offended.

It's just that the public and the private are private, even if Lu Caier shows her intentions, even if she is a good friend of the prince, Sikong Hua's duty is not to take her to the emperor easily.

He had to ask: "Miss Lu, where did the token come from?" The responsibility of the general manager is to hope that Miss Lu will answer truthfully. ”

Lu Cai'er has already reacted, the rules in the palace are really cumbersome, and a token has to be carefully interrogated. She said that she was Chu Tiankuo's confidante, and the other party also suspected that her motives for entering the palace were impure. What about trust between people?

She didn't want to publicize the token, and she also knew that the things in the palace couldn't be borrowed casually. If it is known that the token was given to her by Yanxiang, I'm afraid Yanxiang will be in trouble. However, if she doesn't say it, it seems that it will not work.

In order to meet the emperor quickly and smoothly, she had to tell the truth: "This token was given to me by my friend Yanxiang." ”

At this time, Sikong Hua showed a look of sudden realization, and he was deeply impressed when it came to cigarettes. Although he had only met once, he had set his impression of cigarettes. Her performance on the execution ground is simply dominant. Everyone feared the emperor, except her.

The impression of cigarettes to him is that he is disrespectful, uneducated, and willful. He thinks there should be many people who share his opinion.

Now, Yanxiang actually gave Lu Cai'er the token given to her by the emperor at will. This is really too much to take the royal thing seriously, and the emperor knows about it, and I don't know how to be annoyed.

He could see that the emperor was extremely dissatisfied with the incense. If it weren't for the sake of the crown prince Chu Tiankuo, the emperor would not have given the token to Yanxiang at all.

Since Lu Cai'er reasonably explained the origin of the token, Sikong Hua had no reason to refuse her, so he took her to the Palace of Heart Cultivation to meet the emperor.

In the Palace of Nourishing the Heart, the emperor has just finished dealing with some matters of the ministers of the court and the central government, and is reviewing the folds. Because he had been asleep for a few days, the affairs of the DPRK and China had piled up like a cow's hair, and he was very busy from morning to night. Even when the case was tried in Dali Temple today, and the case of his emperor was tried, he did not have time to observe.

He was burying his head in a pile of compendiums, and suddenly heard Liu Xin reporting: "Your Majesty, Sikong Hua, the chief of the guards, took a girl and asked to see the emperor." ”

Hearing this, the emperor put down the fold and the imperial pen in his hand, raised his head in surprise, and said with a fluttering eyebrow: "Quickly let them in." ”

Liu Xin didn't say who the person was, and the emperor took it for granted that the person who came was smoke. Of course, it wasn't that he liked the girl Smoke, but because he gave her a token to allow her to enter and leave the palace freely at any time. And today is the day of the trial of the case in Dali Temple, and the trial should have been completed long ago.

She must have come to report to him on the proceedings. She must have brought good news when she entered the palace so quickly.

It's just that when Sikong Hua led Lu Cai'er into the Heart Cultivation Palace, the emperor was stunned for a moment.

After the initial slight surprise, the emperor raised his eyes and looked at Lu Cai'er. The woman in front of her, whether in words and deeds or demeanor, is different from cigarette incense. She seems to be more well-behaved and sensible than Yanxiang, and she follows the rules. It's that he thinks wrong, he doesn't need to ask him to know, she's not a cigarette.

Since Lu Cai'er entered the Heart Cultivation Palace, she has been lowering her head slightly, not daring to raise her eyes to look directly at the emperor.

The emperor was a little curious, raised his eyebrows and asked, "Who is Your Highness?" Lift up your head and let me see! ”

"The people's daughter Lu Caier visited the emperor. Long live the emperor, long live, long live. Lu Caier knelt down in the direction of the imperial case and kowtowed.

Lu Caier, who behaved in such a regular manner, impressed the emperor, and he has always liked people who know and understand etiquette.

The Emperor reiterated again: "Flat! I grant you innocence. You can look up and let me see. ”

This time, Lu Cai'er raised her head generously, her eyes were level, and she inadvertently glanced at the emperor.

That's a big deal. She said with some excitement: "Tiankuo, why are you here?" ”

In the first year of Xingde, Hong Gaode proclaimed himself emperor, established the Great Western Kingdom, and set the capital of Fengcheng. In the early days of the establishment of the regime, the surrounding countries were eyeing the Great Western Kingdom and provoked wars for no reason. Before the expedition, Xu Guifei, the mother of Xigong, was 8 months pregnant. The emperor proposed an edict, if the prince was born, he would be named Hong Chengye, and the prince would be established, and if he was born a princess, he would be crowned Princess Changyu.

After Emperor Hong left the palace, Queen Xia made a plan to let Xu Guifei slip the fetus, who knows, the sky did not fulfill her wish, and the fetus in Xu Guifei's womb was born, and it actually survived.

"Your Majesty has already doted on Concubine Xu, and now, she has given birth to a prince again, and I see that our master and queen throne will not be able to be kept."

"Isn't it? Listening to the palace maid in the West Palace, the prince was born white and fat, very cute, his face resembled His Majesty, there was a righteousness between his eyebrows, and he must be a good emperor when he grows up. ”

This is the little palace maid in the queen's palace whispering in private.

Even if they don't talk about it, the Empress Xia knows that if she doesn't try to get rid of the prince, I'm afraid that life won't be better in the future.

She immediately summoned her elder brother Xiangye and Chu Xiang, the head of the imperial guard, to discuss countermeasures. They plotted to burn down the West Palace, which was carried out by General Chu.

At the critical moment, General Chu gave up the idea of harming the prince and exchanged his own son for the prince's exit from the palace.

Xu Guifei cried and cried, turned her heart sideways, picked up the hairpin, and used the tip of the hairpin to tattoo the word "heaven" on the prince's left shoulder. The stab is in the child's body, the pain is in the mother's heart, and after the stabbing is finished, Xu Guifei's painful liver and intestines are broken. She trembled and hung a jade pendant on the crown prince, which was given by the emperor himself, and there is only one in the world today.

Concubine Xu Guifei kowtowed to Chu Xiang, and said with tears in her eyes, "General Chu, please accept my three bows, your great kindness and great virtue, this palace will repay it in the next life." ”

"Niangniang, you can't help it, please get up ...... quickly" As he spoke, he heard footsteps outside, General Chu picked up the prince and hurriedly fled through the side door.

Xu Guifei fainted.

The person who came was the imperial doctor Feng Nanyang. Legend has it that this person was originally a man in the rivers and lakes, and his nickname was the fortune teller. He can pinch and calculate, not only has excellent medical skills, but also has extraordinary martial arts. He took away General Chu's son, performed light skills, shuttled freely in the palace, easily got rid of the pursuit of the palace guards, and left the city safely.

After Xia, he ordered people to burn down the West Palace, and Xu Guifei and a cadre were buried in the fire. During the inventory of the body, it was found that the body of a baby was missing. Plus General Chu Xiang's whereabouts are unknown. Empress Xia and Xiangye concluded that the prince was most likely taken away by Chu Xiang. So, Empress Xia secretly sent people to hunt down and kill General Chu Xiang.

In the fourth year of Xingde, the emperor returned triumphantly.

Xia Hou was shrewd and capable, and kept this matter a secret. Emperor Hong didn't believe that Xu Guifei really died in an accident. He often dreamed of the crown prince, and he has been sending people to investigate the matter secretly, but he has not been able to find out the truth, Chu Xiang disappeared, and Feng Nanyang also disappeared.

In the fifth year of Xingde, the queen gave birth to a son, and Emperor Hong named him Hong Cheng'an. The queen thought to herself, the emperor obviously did not have high hopes for this son. Empress Xia thought to herself, even if the emperor delayed issuing an edict and appointing a new crown prince, Emperor Rihong would die, and the throne would be her son's sooner or later. However, she still had some concerns, twenty-four years ago, she sent someone to hunt down and kill Chu Xiang, Chu Xiang was seriously injured and died, but the prince did not know who rescued him.

For more than 20 years, there has been no news of the prince. If the crown prince is still alive, then he will be the biggest threat to Hong Chengan's succession to the throne. Besides, once this matter is revealed, she and Xiangye will definitely be in trouble.

Emperor Hong Gaode reigned for 24 years, he worked hard, knew people well, the country was strong, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment. Emperor Hong grew old and missed his lost prince more and more, and finally fell ill.

Knowing that Emperor Hong was ill, Feng Nanyang sneaked into the palace to see the emperor.

"Bold Feng Nanyang, you are guilty, you have been hiding for more than 20 years, and I have been sending people to look for you and General Chu for more than 20 years. Do you know about Concubine Xu? Emperor Hong cried with joy when he saw him.

"Your Majesty, the minister is guilty. When the queen wanted to burn down the West Palace, the minister arrived after learning about it, and the minister came one step late, and the prince had been taken away by General Chu. In a panic, Zhongchen rescued General Chu's son and handed him over to a foreign master to raise. For the past 24 years, I have been secretly searching for the whereabouts of the prince, but I have never found it. The ministers have the great trust of the emperor. Feng Nanyang was full of guilt.

"What a queen. Over the years, I have seen her keep to herself and teach the emperor carefully, but I never thought that she would be so vicious. I'm going to send her to the cold! Emperor Hong gritted his teeth angrily and slapped the imperial case.

"Your Majesty, you can't do it. There is no evidence, if the emperor does this, it will definitely cause turmoil in the court and panic among the people. Feng Nanyang persuaded.

"I can not pursue the queen's guilt first, but the prince can't be left behind, and I must find him back." The emperor was resolute, calmed down for a while and sat on the dragon chair.

"Your Majesty, look for the prince openly, and the prince will inevitably be framed. It's better to visit secretly. Feng Nanyang suggested.

Emperor Hong painted a portrait of a twenty-four-year-old man according to his own appearance, handed it over to Feng Nanyang, appointed Feng Nanyang as the minister of the Qin Mission, and gave Shang Fang a sword.

"Emperor, where are you?" Emperor Hong sighed.

In the twenty-fifth year of Xingde, the country of the Great West was peaceful and peaceful, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment.

Wunan Mountain in the northwest of Fengcheng, the imperial capital, after the heavy rain, the sky is exceptionally clear, the sun has tilted westward, and the clear blue sky has disappeared. In the afterglow of the sunset, the mountains still maintain the freshness and coolness after the rain, just like "after the new rain in the empty mountains, the weather is late in autumn." The realm.

Wunan Mountain, a mountain full of bamboo, a boundless sea of bamboo. At the highest place on the top of the mountain, there is a secluded and elegant dwelling, all made of bamboo, divided into two layers up and down, hanging a plaque, with four big characters "Wunan Villa" written on it. There is a large yard in front of the bamboo house, and the yard is planted with exotic grasses. When the breeze blows, you can smell the aroma of flowers and plants.

"Senior brother, you have to stay a few more days when you come back this time, we haven't seen each other for two years. I heard that everyone in the rivers and lakes calls you the son of a fan. A delicate-faced girl stood in the courtyard, wearing a white dress, no fat powder, but it was fresh and refined, like a budding white lotus, only to hear the girl's voice was extremely sweet: "Your martial arts are so powerful, I have your protection, and I am no longer afraid of encountering thieves and gangsters." ”

"I don't like to listen to flattery. I usually tell you to practice martial arts diligently, but you don't practice seriously. Senior brother Chu Tiankuo gently patted the head of the cigarette with the fan in his hand, put on a straight face, and pretended to be serious: "If you meet a bad person in the future, I don't care about you." ”

"Hmph, you don't care about the little junior sister." Yan Xiang pursed his lips, glared at Chu Tiankuo, turned his face away, and pretended to be angry.

"Heh, you are my only junior sister, how could I not care about you. During the time I was away, I walked the rivers and lakes thinking about you and Master in my heart. Chu Tiankuo looked at her with a look of annoyance, and said with a smile: "I can't protect you for the rest of my life, you will always marry in the future." ”

"Senior brother, if I marry you in the future, you can protect me for the rest of my life." Yanxiang buried his head in Chu Tiankuo's arms and said coquettishly.

"Nonsense. Senior brother will help you find a wishful husband in the future. Chu Tiankuo patted her head dotingly. This little junior sister, who hasn't seen her for two years, has grown taller again. He affectionately scraped his nose and said, "Have you practiced in the past two years?" ”

"I've already practiced flying cornices and walking walls." Smoke nodded excitedly, as if very proud.