When the emperor heard this, he did not let him go at all, and took the lantern from the hand of his entourage and shone it on the prince's face: "Then what is the matter with the blood on your head?" ”

The prince was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly wiped his forehead with his hand, and a little bright red appeared on his fingers. He was so shocked that he didn't dare to look up, knowing that it was just kowtowed.

"Son, son...... I really don't know," the prince couldn't help but stammer, "or because he had just fallen asleep while reading the papers, he fell headlong on the table." ”

"I am very pleased that you have not been out these days, but that you are working for the affairs of the state," said the Emperor, motioning to his entourage to collect their umbrellas, "In that case, I have come to discuss a matter with you, the crown prince." Let's go inside and talk about it. ”

Seeing that the emperor was not angry, the prince immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly invited him into the palace, personally moved the chair, served tea, and stood beside him.

"Yesterday, King Yi came to see me."

When the prince heard this, his heart tightened, and he smiled reluctantly: "King Yi is really a benevolent and filial person, and I am ashamed to be a brother." ”

The emperor also smiled and said, "Although your brother is not the same mother, he is so dear and does not fight, and I have your two sons, and this life can be described as happy." I was moved in my heart, and I plan to build a mansion in Xiyuan, so that King Yi can live in the palace, so as to reunite from time to time, I don't know what you think? ”

The prince's smile froze, and he slowly leaned down: "How dare the sons and daughters be arbitrary, everything is subject to the judgment of the father." ”

The emperor dusted off his sleeves and leaned back: "But you have been in charge of the country for so long, and the major affairs have long been handed over to you." I don't intervene, you say. ”

The crown prince didn't dare to look at his eyes, and stood there like a sculpture, waiting for the words to fall, and then hurriedly spoke: "As a member of the clan, King Yi should be separated from outsiders, and entering the palace to live is a move to respect the royal family. Erchen then ordered the Ministry of Labor to procure wood, draw drawings and build, and prepare things first. But now that the traitor case has occurred, and the people's hearts are raging, I am afraid that there are still Lan Yuan and Cunzhao's eyes and ears in the DPRK and China, who will take the opportunity to sow discord and deliberately sabotage to exonerate them. It is better to wait until the day when the traitorous party is eliminated and then start work. ”

"How can two traitors shake my decision?" The emperor knocked on the arm of his chair and felt dissatisfied, "If you are so frightened and cowering, and constrained by criminals everywhere, will the government of the country not be corrupted!" ”

He immediately stood up and said, "Prince, I still need to personally try the case in the past two days, and this matter will be left to you to prepare, so don't delay." ”

"Erchen...... Listen to the order! The prince had to bow three times and bow nine times, and watched his father's figure out of the hall.

After the emperor returned to the palace, he asked Shen Jing to send down a holy decree and ordered the Ministry of Works to 'submit all documents to the East Palace, and ask for instructions in person if there is any unresolved discussion', forcing the prince to approve documents and meet with officials all day long, and there was no time to go out, completely eliminating the possibility of him planning and plotting.

The crown prince naturally understood his father's intentions, and he thought that once King Yi entered the palace, it would not only be easier to collude with the Ye Party, but also take the opportunity to win over the ministers, so that his name of 'supervising the country' would gradually become nominal, thus shaking the throne.

Faced with a choice that was almost equivalent to life and death, he could no longer cowardly obey the emperor's orders, and he had to do something, even if he risked his life.

Fortunately, there was no official business disturbance during this time of the night, which could be used by him, so the prince put aside the wine and summoned one or two henchmen and soldiers to discuss with him.

The soldiers listened to his worries and persuaded one after another: "Lord Chen of the Ministry of Officials has always been wise, he will definitely help him, His Highness should not be too worried." ”

The prince sat on the chair, shook his head and sighed: "Since the case of Lan Shiyu, Comrade Chen has been silent, and even the Dali Temple under his control has not helped a little, obviously because he is afraid and unwilling to do his best. Alas, I don't count on him anymore. ”

"Your Highness, you can't think like that," a sergeant advised, "Lord Chen is an outsider, and he doesn't know the ins and outs, how can he help?" Even if it helps, it's just that the more it helps, the more chaotic it becomes. If the prince can explain the reason to him and ask him to enter the fight, it is expected that Chen Gong will not give you face. ”

When the prince heard this, his eyebrows loosened a little, and he lit a candle: "Then what can you do to negotiate with Chen Gongxuan?" ”

The sergeant hesitated for a moment, swallowed his saliva, laughed awkwardly and said, "We people are stupid, far less clever than Lan Shiyu, how can we have any strategy......

The crown prince sighed sullenly, and his speech was choked: "Could it be that without Lan Shiyu, there will be no one in this huge East Palace to share the worries of this king?" After that, I heard the sound of rain outside the door, and I was swept up by the howling wind, and the paper window clicked.

Another sergeant looked up and saw the rain marks on the window, suddenly thought about it, and clenched his fists and said: "It's right down, but it can only be done if His Highness himself takes a great risk himself." ”

The prince wiped the tears from his eyes, waved his hand and said, "If you want to keep my position, you have to risk your life...... But it doesn't hurt for you to talk. ”

The sergeant said, "It's dark now, and it's pouring rain, and I can't tell anyone from close. The prince can change into our military uniforms, sneak out of the palace secretly, and go to the ministry to see Chen Tongpao. If you can't find it, go to Dali Temple, the temple Qing has a heavy responsibility for the Hunan people, and must be on duty there for the night. ”

"Okay," the prince agreed without thinking, and immediately blew out the candle that had just been burned, "you go and get your military uniforms, prepare rain gear, and I'll go together!" ”

"What if someone comes to pay attention during this time?" Someone asked.

"Don't be afraid, you wait and retreat one after another, and I will go out and command."

The prince straightened his clothes, slightly gloomy, strode out of the door, summoned the guards guarding the door, and said: "This king is tired from reading the documents today, and he is about to sleep." You can leave quickly, and you will talk about it tomorrow. ”

The guards looked at each other and hurriedly said: "Recently, the court has been changing, and we have to wait carefully, how can we leave the palace lightly?" ”

The prince pointed to the henchmen behind him: "You are working too hard, those people are in good spirits, just keep watch for you all night." Then he gave them five denarii each, and the soldiers rejoiced, and dispersed.

When the prince saw that his plan had succeeded, he ordered his henchmen to take off their armor and make him say that he had 'lost his armor', and under this pretext, he went to the armory and brought another pair to the prince to put on. It's a pity that no rain gear was found, so several people had to brave the wind and rain and go out of the palace gate.

The prince followed them until he reached the gate, and was shocked to see that the gate was closed so tightly that not a crack was exposed.

"It seems that we can only ask the defenders of the city for the key...... "One of the soldiers panted and looked at the prince with glazed eyes.