Chapter 15: Father-Daughter Talk

Zuo Xiang walked into the study humming a little song, and when he saw his daughter's face flushed and worried, he couldn't help but want to spit out old blood. If that thief hadn't been the prince, he would have skinned him alive.

Zuo Xiang sat on the chair and said softly: "Ruoxi, can you see what happened today?" Drinking tea, I waited for a while and didn't hear an answer, I looked up at my daughter, and saw that she was still depressed, suffering from gains and losses, and the anger that I finally suppressed came out again, and the angry Zuo Xiang put down the teacup vigorously.

"Dangchang!" The sound of porcelain colliding woke up Meng Ruoxi, looked at the source of the sound, and saw her father glaring at her with a look of hatred, and saw that there would be more people in the room, and she jumped out of her dream, "Ah! Father, how long will you—how long will you come? You don't know how to call me when you come in. ”

Meng Ruoxi's words made Zuo Xiang feel a sense of powerlessness and haggardness! Zuo Xiang said weakly: "I came in a long time ago, what were you thinking just now?" So distracted. ”

"I'm thinking about that Deng..."Meng Ruoxi realized that she had said the wrong thing at this time, and immediately stopped talking. It's just that when I think of that little thief, why does my heart beat for a while?!

"Humph! Wickedness, wickedness! I really raised you so much for nothing, just because of a few words of rhetoric, you are confused?! At this time, Zuo Xiang's mood no longer knows what words to use to describe it, anyway, it is mixed.

"I, I didn't... "was provoked by his father, and his weak voice gradually became quieter.

"Forget it, let it all go according to fate, don't mention him, you tell your father about today's events, you sort it out, and then tell your father what do you think?" Zuo Xiang didn't want to discuss the topic of the man, and then asked the question he asked as soon as he came in.

When Meng Ruoxi heard this question from her father, she also gathered her mind and began to ponder while sitting upright.

"From the daughter to that thief...", he realized that he had said the wrong thing, his face flushed slightly, and he lowered his head shyly. When Zuo Xiang heard the word thief, how did he feel harsh when he heard it, but he really couldn't afford to be angry now, because he didn't dare to be angry, he was afraid of being angry again, in case he had a good one, that daughter would be bullied by that evil obstacle in the future, who would call the shots for him!

Meng Ruoxi secretly looked at her father, and seeing that his face had not changed, she continued: "Daughter, let's start combing from the main hall first, the previous thing was that my daughter just wanted to seek death, and she didn't participate in it, and she didn't know about it." As he spoke, he secretly glanced at his father again, and saw him drinking tea intently, and unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

"The daughter remembered that the third prince was the first to take the initiative to start making trouble, saying that he was going to punish the four princes, and then at this time the second prince came out to ask the emperor to give the four princes death, and quit with me, and then the four princes came out at this time to ask for marriage to him, and the daughter was going to seek death after hearing this, and was stopped by the four princes. The daughter then pleaded with the emperor that she wanted to marry the fourth prince, and the emperor saw that the eldest prince also came out to intercede, so he agreed to the matter, but not only did not promise to reward the four princes, but even directly deprived him of his inheritance. ”

"Well, then you can dissect it again." Zuo Xiang put down the teacup and asked.

"Well...... The first should be the first of the three princes to jump out and make trouble, although it was indeed right to make trouble at that time, but the emperor had already asked his father at that time, so it would be inappropriate to come out again at this time, and people would be suspected of ulterior motives.

The eldest prince and the fourth prince stood together, and the eldest prince wanted to take this opportunity to get troops and take the opportunity to weaken the power of the second prince, so that his power was not only the largest, but also the eldest prince could gain a firm foothold in the military department, and the delicate balance that was maintained now would be broken.

And the three princes' attack should be to pull out a threat, after all, there is the imperial concubine standing behind the four princes, and in recent years, the imperial concubine has also been planning for the four princes in private to develop their power, and now there are many imperial concubines in the court, although there are no important ministers, but it is also a force that cannot be underestimated.

The second prince made it difficult for the fourth prince, and it was reasonable and reasonable to retreat to the emperor. Meng Ruoxi's face was bitter, and she thought of that person's ruthlessness and his unkindness.

"Hey! You! I only see one, but I don't see the other. Didn't you see the tricks of the people behind the scenes?! Don't you see the main purpose?! Zuo Xiang was a little unhappy to see his daughter so stupid, although he saw a large part of it, but he was still very unhappy, why was his daughter so shrewd before, but now so dull? Could it be the sequelae of self-hanging?

Meng Ruoxi bit her lower lip lightly and said aggrievedly: "Please ask my father for advice." ”

"I'm afraid today's incident was planned by the three princes, or it may be planned by the strategists behind the three princes! No matter who it is, the ultimate goal is to want the lives of you and the four princes! Zuo Xiang's words were like a depth charge, Meng Ruoxi's mind was shocked, she really didn't see that the purpose of the conspiracy behind it was to kill herself.

"The third prince should have been planning this matter for a long time, it is estimated that the fourth prince ran to your room last night was also done by the third prince, the fourth prince was caught and raped in bed, not only will you be innocent and humiliated, but also make me angry and lose my mind, lose my judgment of the whole thing, and then conclude that I will go to the emperor to ask for an explanation.

When the emperor learned of this, he must have tried to calm my anger and cure the sins of the four princes, and when the second prince found out, he must have been angry and unwilling, and put pressure on the emperor to force the emperor to execute the four princes and then withdraw from the marriage. You are a woman with a chaste personality, and you will definitely seek death and take the opportunity to destroy the alliance between me and the second prince, although I have never expressed my intention to stand with the second prince.

If the emperor can't bear to execute the four princes, it will also calm my anger and cure the sins of the four princes, but it will also make me unwilling, and the loss of my beloved daughter will cause a rift between me and the emperor, and then take the opportunity to eat away at my power, so that the three princes can increase their bargaining chips for the throne in the future. When the four princes come out afterwards, if they want to develop their own power, it will be difficult to become a big tool, and it will even lead to killing.

Regardless of whether the four princes die or not, as long as the four princes are caught and raped in bed, the second prince will quit you for the sake of his own face, so that the second prince will completely fail his wishful thinking. And if you die, although the second prince can't get the support of his father, he can also eat away at his father's power with the third prince.

This is the conspiracy behind it, although the plan is clumsy, but it is not a poisonous plan, it can not only get rid of a competitor, but also make the wishful thinking of the second prince fail, and increase the bargaining chips for himself to ascend to the throne in the future.

In fact, it did develop according to the strategy of the three princes. It's just that I didn't expect that someone would calculate it. Guess who, that person is? ”

"Really?" Meng Ruoxi pondered for a moment, and thought of a possibility, "It can't be... The four princes, from the point of view of interests.

The eldest prince basically didn't get anything, and originally thought that the emperor could promise one of the proposed conditions, but who would have thought that the emperor directly penetrated the intention of the eldest prince and directly deprived the four princes of their inheritance. Let the eldest prince's abacus fail.

The Three Princes' strategy was not entirely successful, but one competitor could be eliminated. It can also be said to be rewarding.

The second prince lost me on the face and didn't get the opportunity to encroach on the power above the court, but it was acceptable to eliminate a competitor.

Although the fourth prince just got me and presented a favor to your father, from the point of view of the punishment, it seems to be blamed, but in fact, it is the emperor's disguised protection, which can allow him to get out of the rush. In the future, no matter who is in power, he can hold his name, and then the person in power will inevitably reward him with a fief in order to keep him away from the imperial power, and let him go to the fief to retire. Therefore, it must also be the greatest beneficiary. Meng Ruoxi pursed her lips and said slowly after careful analysis. At this time, Meng Ruoxi felt a little cold in her back, but she didn't expect that the disciple who likes beauties would have such a calculation.

"Well, it's still good, indeed, the emperor's punishment today is obviously intended to protect the four princes, it seems that the rumors are true, the emperor loves this little son the most. It's good that you're not too stupid, can you see the confrontation between the people behind you? Meng Ruoxi opened her mouth and said, "Please ask my father for advice." ”

"The person who will plan is indeed the fourth prince, to be precise, he is the person behind the scenes, but in recent years, the four princes have never taken the initiative to recruit strategists, only the imperial concubine is secretly cultivating power, you also know that the imperial concubine was married because of the marriage of Dali, and the scheming must be very deep, the imperial concubine grew up with the princes and princesses of Dali since she was a child, and she was handed over by a teacher, and she will inevitably have some imperial power skills."

Zuo Xiang's words made Meng Ruoxi a little stunned, and said in disbelief: "No wonder the four princes are so nonsense, and even staged a ridiculous thing like an attempt to rob people's daughters, which has also been turned over lightly." It turned out that the emperor needed the imperial concubine to balance others. Meng Ruoxi had only one thought in her heart, and she really couldn't despise anyone.

"That's right, the emperor's plan is very big, let's talk about this later, deal with the matter in front of you first. Let's go on, the four princes...... It should be the imperial concubine, not only using the plan, but also using the bitter meat plan, and the combination of the two strategies can solve the matter intact.

After the four princes returned to the mansion, they should have told the imperial concubine the whole thing, and they noticed that there was someone behind the whole thing, and the imperial concubine asked the four princes to go to see the emperor immediately, but they knew that the emperor was angry and would not see the four princes, so they asked the four princes to take the initiative to come over and ask for the guilt, so that even if the emperor was ruthless, the queen on the side would give the emperor a step in order to take care of the royal face.

When the four princes see the emperor and know that the second prince will withdraw from the marriage for the sake of face, as long as the second prince says about the divorce, let the four princes take the initiative to take responsibility to the emperor, and then propose to marry a wife, in this way, not only can solve the situation of the four princes, but also shatter the wishful thinking of those people.

But what I didn't expect was that the imperial concubine's side had just started her own counterattack, and your side hanged yourself to death, which put the imperial concubine in the disadvantage, and the sudden change also made the imperial concubine a little helpless. But I didn't expect the four princes to save you, so that the imperial concubine strengthened her original plan.

The four princes who were waiting finally saw the emperor, but they didn't expect the three princes to be too immature and couldn't hold their breath, so they jumped out in advance, making everyone present suspicious of the three princes. Then the second prince followed closely behind him to withdraw from the marriage and give death, the timing of the appearance of the previous one after the other was too abrupt, so that everyone determined what they thought in their hearts, and the whole thing was that the third prince and the second prince were making trouble behind their backs.

And the second prince asked the emperor to give his younger brother to death, and proposed to the emperor to withdraw from your marriage and let everyone see his unkindness, which is why the father has not agreed to the marriage between the two of you, if you marry to collect evidence and get caught, you will be killed. ”

Meng Ruoxi now finally knows why her father has been refusing to get married, and her eyes can't help but darken, it turns out that her father has long known his unkindness, although she only contacted him for her own purposes, but she can't deny it, but she really moved her heart to him, and now she sees his sincerity, she is still a little sad.

Zuo Xiang took a sip of tea, raised his eyes and saw his daughter's eyes, and was very relieved in his heart, it was very good to be able to use this incident to let his daughter see the second prince's ruthlessness, although the overall twists and turns were too twists and turns, but the result was acceptable. took another sip of tea, moistened his dry throat, and continued.

"Although the third prince jumped out in advance, it does not affect the overall situation, and with the promotion of the second prince, it can speed up the process of the entire plan.

So far, the confrontation between the two people behind the scenes can only be a draw.

But I didn't expect that at this time, the imperial concubine made a trick to make a plan, since the raw rice has been cooked and cooked, then marry you directly into the door, and let the four princes end up with a good name, so that outsiders know that although the four princes are debauched, they are affectionate and righteous, can change their mistakes, and dare to take responsibility. At this time, basically, as long as the emperor agrees, he can completely destroy the core point of the entire poison plan. Let the passive become active, so that the strategists of the three princes will no longer have a chance.

The imperial concubine told the fourth prince that he proposed to marry you as his wife, which made the three princes' advisers feel a little bad, but seeing your refusal and initiative to seek death, the three princes' advisers breathed a sigh of relief and continued to observe the development of the situation. This also made the imperial concubine fall into passivity again, but fortunately, the four princes did not disappoint the imperial concubine, and once again saved you, and at the same time made the imperial concubine worried, the imperial concubine was not present at the time, and could not tell the four princes what to do later, so they had to let things develop.

Your performance convinced everyone of your rejection. But what everyone didn't expect was that after the four princes saved you, you would change your mind and directly agree to the proposal of the four princes.

The third prince can't jump out and take the initiative to stir up trouble at this time, otherwise he will put himself on the bright side, and he will completely lose what he can get hidden in the dark. And at this time, he can only count on his ally Second Prince.

But he didn't expect that until the end, the second prince never spoke up, until the eldest prince's plea was difficult, and the emperor saw the pros and cons clearly, and directly agreed to the marriage, but in order to protect the fourth prince, he was specially punished so that he had a chance to save his life.

Although you and the fourth prince did not die in the end, it was not a big problem, because this was a strategy to test the waters, used to explore the way, and even if the third prince was already suspected, after all, it was hidden behind the scenes, and there would not be much loss. Meng Ruoxi was already shocked by the conspiracy behind this, and her back was already soaked, at this time, the autumn wind swept by, her body trembled slightly, and her body was cold, but her heart was even colder.

"To put it bluntly, I am a chess piece, whether it is the strategist of the third prince or the mother concubine of the fourth prince, they are all using me to play. The only difference is that one wants me to die and the other wants me to live. "Meng Ruoxi is a little gloomy at this time, the most ruthless emperor's family, but that's the case.

Zuo Xiang took a deep look at Meng Ruoxi, the loneliness and arrogance of her daughter earlier were gone at this time, and her daughter was a little discouraged now, she noticed the change in Meng Ruoxi's mood, and was afraid that she would be slumped from now on, so she thought about it for a while, and wanted to say something to cheer up her baby daughter and regain her previous self-confidence.

Meng Ruoxi seemed to see her father's worry, smiled at her father, and said, "Father, I'm fine, this time being used as a chess piece made me see that there are people outside the world." It's just that the plan to marry the second prince and take the opportunity to collect evidence was ruined by the fourth prince, but he was a little unhappy. ”

Zuo Xiang saw that Meng Ruoxi had regained his previous self-confidence, and said with great satisfaction; "It's okay, try to leave the future to the father, since the plan has failed, then feel at ease to be the wife of the fourth prince first, since he has no right to inherit the throne, this is okay, you can avoid accidentally exposing it, although your previous plan is feasible, but the father really doesn't like you to risk yourself. You acted too recklessly this time, and you didn't think that if you died, who would avenge you? Do you want to repay you for the Father?! Looking at the blame on Zuo Xiang's face, Meng Ruoxi knew that she was too reckless this time, so she got up and bowed and apologized.

Zuo Xiang said again: "I hope the four princes can help you in the future, otherwise, you will have to ......"

"What? You're not really going to take a fancy to that disciple, are you?! Zuo Xiang saw his daughter biting her lower lip, frowned, looked a little unbearable, and asked a little unhappily.

"No, this is the one who saved me twice today, how can I say that he is also my savior, if he does that, will it be too vicious?"

When Zuo Xiang heard Meng Ruoxi's words, he smiled with relief and said, "Yes, you must not do anything stained with blood, in that case, what is the difference between you and him?" And what are you thinking about? For the father, I want to say it, so I have to find another way for the father. ”

"Thank you, father." Meng Ruoxi exhaled with relief.

"When is Father ready to take sides?" Meng Ruoxi asked the question she had been asking all along.

"This incident also made my father see these princes clearly, the second prince needless to say, he is unkind, embarrassed, and can only be a general, not a handsome, and his grandfather is far from the old general.

The third prince is too impatient, but calm, even if he can go far in the future, it will not be too far.

And the fourth prince thinks that he doesn't need to say much, he can be excluded at present, but his feelings for you don't look like fake feelings, they should be true feelings, and the emperor's meaning seems to be intentionally protecting the four princes.

The eldest prince has been valued by the emperor since he was a child, and he is the most optimistic about the emperor, and the people who support the court are the most.

Today's incident, for my father to see the strategy and vision of the eldest prince, although in the end the eldest prince was not satisfied, but what he showed today also made everyone realize that the eldest prince and the four princes are standing together, and the emperor intends to protect the four princes. ”

"Ruoxi understands." Ruoxi muttered and agreed.

Just when the two were talking about today's events, the imperial concubine looked worriedly at Bi Yuntao, whose mouth was slightly open, his eyes were dull, and his face was loveless, anxiously waiting for the imperial doctor, and suddenly, his nose was itchy, it was a sneeze, and then he couldn't stop, one after another, he didn't give any time to breathe at all, and he almost lost his breath.