Li Jinzhi was indeed in Cining Palace, talking to the Empress Dowager Jing'an and Princess Chenyang.

The county lord of Changle is probably out of the palace again, and he is not here.

Hearing the palace people report that Mei Xue was coming, Li Jinzhi stood up with a smile.

Mei Xue no longer has to be as rigid as she was at the beginning, she still wears the simplest green clothes and green shoes, plain white hairpins, and only replaces the wooden hairpin with a white hosta without carving.

Ever since Mei Xue appeared, Li Jinzhi's eyes have been moving with her.

Princess Chenyang laughed silently, and quietly pulled the sleeve of the Empress Dowager Jing'an and motioned for her to look at Li Jinzhi.

The Empress Dowager Jing'an smiled and patted Princess Chenyang's hand, but she only felt sad in her heart.

She didn't know Li Jinzhi's wishes, but she knew better about the hearts of her eldest son and eldest grandson.

Others say that she is the most noble woman in the world, but how can she ever be free and casual once in her life?

She misses her great-grandson like that, but it's a luxury to even see her.

sat down and said a few words about Emperor Mingde's physical condition, although Mei Xue had tried her best to say the best, but she knew what she knew, no matter how much she tried to hide it, it would be futile after all.

Several people were still heavy in the end.

Princess Chenyang forced a smile and said to the Empress Dowager Jing'an:

"Queen Mother, Jinzhi has to go back to take care of the child, let Mei Xue send him out of the palace first!"

Empress Dowager Jing'an nodded, touched Li Jinzhi's arm and told him:

"Although your body is much better, it is freezing this day, so you still have to be careful when you go out."

Li Jinzhi responded, and together with Mei Xue, he saluted the Empress Dowager Jing'an and Princess Chenyang and left.

Looking at the backs of Li Jinzhi and Mei Xue walking away together, the Empress Dowager Jing'an sighed and said:

"If his mother is still alive, she will definitely like Mei Xue's child."

"No, if it weren't for Mei Xue, it's hard to say what Jinzhi would do now.

It's just that I pity the two of them, and I don't know how long I have to survive. ”

Princess Chenyang's face was full of regret, and she sighed after speaking.

There was no one else on the palace road, Li Jinzhi and Mei Xue walked side by side for a while before whispering:

"The news from Hankou to the Chu King's Mansion arrived last night, and it was determined that they would do it at the Chinese New Year's Eve palace banquet, but the specific way still could not be found."

Half a month later is the Chinese New Year's Eve Palace Banquet, on which the Zhaoyang Hall feasts the imperial family and officials of the third rank and above every year, and their families are feasted by the empress in the harem.

This year, the Empress Dowager Jing'an and the crown princess Xie Danqin must be in charge of the banquet for the female dependents.

Mei Xue nodded and said calmly:

"Just know the time, you don't have to worry about anything else.

I've thought about it over and over again, and they just have two options.

The first is to use medicine to make the prince lose control, so that he can do it to His Majesty in full view. The second is to poison His Majesty through the hands of the crown prince.

Both of these methods can make the prince speechless, but as long as it is poisoned, it is not difficult for me. ”

Mei Xue smiled slightly when she said this, turned her face to look at Li Jinzhi and said:

"After you go back, discuss carefully with Lord Shen and Mr. Song, and you only need to make sure of two things.

One is to ensure that I have the opportunity to open my mouth in the main hall to reveal the truth. Second, during the time when the prince was trapped, if anyone wanted to get rid of him in the name of "suicide in fear of sin", you must ensure his safety. ”

Li Jinzhi nodded and said with some concern:

"In order for this matter to be carried out smoothly, the imperial uncle must know the inside story in advance. Be careful not to anger him when you talk to him. ”

The matter of King Chu's father and son will definitely anger Emperor Mingde, but as an emperor, he will definitely not risk his life.

Then finding a stand-in and who to let be a stand-in becomes a top priority.

And such a suggestion, for Emperor Mingde, who was extremely suspicious, was a great adventure to mention.

Mei Xue nodded, she didn't want Li Jinzhi to worry, so she changed the topic and comforted him and said:

"After Chinese New Year's Eve, this matter will probably come to an end. When the time comes, I'll go home, and we'll take the kids and my aunt for the New Year. ”

Li Jinzhi smiled with red eyes, and quietly shook Mei Xue's hand through the cover of the wide sleeves of his robe.

When Mei Xue returned to Zhaoyang Palace, Emperor Mingde had just woken up from a nap, An Jiang was helping him sit up, Mei Xue hurriedly walked over and put a soft pillow behind him.

Mei Xue poured a cup of tea for Emperor Mingde, and watched him drink a few sips before kneeling down and reporting the matter of King Chu's father and son in detail.

Emperor Mingde was really furious, smashed the teacup in his hand on the ground and said angrily:

"Rebel thief, rebel thief...... I ..... so many of my brothers, including...... Including the third brother, I was the best for him, giving him the largest and richest fief, and he ....... him...... Damn it! ”

A mouthful of blood spurted out of Emperor Mingde's mouth, and Mei Xue hurriedly got up and went to help him with An Jiang.

After cleaning up and half-lying on the bed again, Emperor Mingde asked Mei Xue to go out and call He Zheng, the leader of the inner guards, in.

In the presence of Mei Xue and An Jiang, Emperor Mingde asked He Zheng to send the military charms and secret decrees to Chengdu urgently for 800 li, and ordered the king of Shu to lead the soldiers and horses of Sichuan and Shaanxi, and to send troops to fight against the king of Chu on the night of Chinese New Year's Eve.

In the name of the rebellion of the father and son of the king of Chu.

After He Zheng left, Emperor Mingde was so tired that he gasped for a while before he said to Mei Xue and An Jiang:

"The matter of the palace banquet, you two have arranged it. There is no need to tell the prince about this in advance, lest he show his feet in a panic. ”

An Jiang was so frightened that he hurriedly knelt down and persuaded Emperor Mingde:

"Your Majesty, you are a man of all gold, and you must not take any chances. As for the prince of Chu, wouldn't it be okay to directly order someone to take him down? ”

Emperor Mingde sneered, gritted his teeth and said with red eyes:

"I don't want their lives to be, I want them to be rebellious ministers and thieves for 10,000 years."

As he spoke, he gasped and looked at Mei Xue again and asked:

"What do you think?"

Mei Xue knelt down, lowered her eyes and whispered:

"Weichen needs a person who is similar in height and weight to His Majesty, and Weichen will use the disguise technique to disguise him as His Majesty, and when the prince of Chu thinks he has made a plan, His Majesty will come forward to take him down."

Emperor Mingde's eyes slowly turned cold, and An Jiang's face gradually turned white.

This is a great sin of disrespect at worst, and it is a sin at worst......

Emperor Mingde stared at Mei Xue for almost a quarter of an hour, and saw that she always looked indifferent, and didn't even have the intention of panicking and wanting to justify, so he finally breathed a sigh of relief and said to An Jiang:

"You pick the candidate, you are the person who is most familiar with me, and help Mei Xue handle this matter well."

An Jiang hurriedly responded and went out to get busy, Mei Xue sat down on the brocade stool next to the bed, picked up the "Diamond Sutra" on the table and continued to read it to Emperor Mingde.

During this time, she had read more than a dozen scriptures to Emperor Mingde.

Many times, Emperor Mingde gradually fell asleep to the sound of her reading scriptures.

It's the same today, Mei Xue read for a while, and saw that Emperor Mingde didn't react after closing his eyes for a long time, thinking that he was asleep, so he stood up gently and prepared to leave.

But Mei Xue had just turned around, but the voice of Emperor Mingde suddenly came from behind her:

"Why are you and Jinzhi doing this for me and the prince? Don't you hate me? ”

Mei Xue stopped and turned around, but did not kneel, but just gave a faint salute and said:

"Your Majesty is the king, and it is the principle of heaven that Weichen and the prince are loyal to Your Majesty."

Very perfunctory but unmistakable answers.

Emperor Mingde opened his eyes and looked at Mei Xue, and said for a long time:

"I know you have a complaint in your heart, but I still can't let you marry Jinzhi, you are a smart person, you should know why.

There are not many easy people in this world, including me. ”

Mei Xue nodded, the expression on her face was still calm and indifferent:

"Life is such a short few decades, whether a woman's life is worth it should not be judged by how powerful she is married, nor by how good children she has raised.

It shouldn't be seen what kind of good reputation she has earned for her mother's family and her husband's family, such as the ugly archway of chastity.

Wechen has always just wanted to live well on his own and live the life he wants.

Wechen doesn't want and won't pin the rest of his life on a certain person, including Shizi.

Therefore, marriage is really not a big deal for Weichen.

Having and happening to be the person you like is naturally the icing on the cake, no, but as long as you can communicate with the person you like, Wechen is also willing.

Don't Your Majesty think that in this world, too many beautiful feelings in youth are finally ruined in marriage? ”

Speaking of this, Mei Xue slowly knelt down, calmly kowtowed to Emperor Mingde, and said:

"Therefore, Weichen has never resented His Majesty because of this matter, and never will in the future."

There was a long silence in the dormitory, and it was not until An Jiang returned that Emperor Mingde waved his hand and motioned for Mei Xue to leave.

As his life came to an end, he realized that he still hadn't lived to understand.

Didn't he and Queen Shen ruin each other in their marriage?