Ji Ge's son, the eldest one, is named Li Cong, and he was named King Qing. Because when he was young, he was scratched on the face by some kind of "monkey" while hunting, and his appearance was broken, so he withdrew from the battle for the crown prince early.

Probably because of a blessing in disguise, Li Cong has survived until now. Although everyone knew that he would not succeed to the throne, he saved his life.

Other adult princes who are still alive include: the sixth son, Rongwang Li Wan; the twelfth son, Li Sui, the king of Yi; the thirteenth son, King Ying, Li Jian (formerly known as Li Yuan); the sixteenth son, Yongwang Li Xuan, the eighteenth son, that is, the current crown prince Li Xuan (former Shouwang); the twentieth son, King Yan, Li Jue; the twenty-first son, King Sheng, Li Qi; The twenty-second son, King Ji, Li Huan, the twenty-third son, King Xin, and so on.

are all over twenty years old, and even Li Cong is in his forties.

In addition to Li Xuan, there are at least seven or eight princes who can theoretically be emperors. If you count the teenage children who are still alive, there are definitely more than ten people, and the competition is still quite fierce.

Don't say anything impossible, in the matter of succession to the throne, it can only be said that everything is possible!

Just after noon that day, in the stables outside the Huaqing Palace, one after another high-headed horses were pulled into it. The eunuchs stationed in the Huaqing Palace served these horses like their fathers, and they didn't dare to slack off in the slightest.

And the retinue of the kings all waited by the small river at the foot of the mountain, and were not allowed to go up the mountain and enter the interior of the Huaqing Palace. At the foot of the hill a long row of houses was built for the retinue to live in. They had no problem staying for a year!

There are also thousands of Shence soldiers, who are divided into ten battalions, which are stationed in various places inside and outside the huge Huaqing Palace, and are well defended.

The Son of Heaven strictly ordered that only the prince himself was allowed to enter the Huaqing Palace, and none of the courtiers were invited.

Outside the palace gate at the foot of the mountain, Li Xuan, the king of Yong, who was full of worries, happened to see Li Xuan, the king of Ying, who arrived at Huaqing Palace at almost the same time as him. The two met by chance and looked at each other speechlessly.

Among Brother Ji's many sons, Li Ling is a little afraid of Li Xuan, because this is a very insidious little coin!

When Brother Ji killed three sons in one day, Li Jian "reported" to Brother Ji and provided a very key piece of evidence.

That was Li Ying, the crown prince at the time, who borrowed 2,000 pairs of armor from him, but Li Jian didn't borrow it, and then reported Li Ying backhandedly.

By the way, at that time, King Ying was still called Li Yuan.

This incident is full of doubts in retrospect. Because even the crown prince doesn't control many armor soldiers, how can Li Yuan, a prince, conjure up two thousand armor?

When Shouwang Li Xuan broke out, he gave a very logical answer: it was Brother Ji who asked Li Yun to do this, and promised to make him the crown prince afterwards.

But then Brother Ji probably forgot the promise he made back then, and then ...... There is no then.

Li Jian suffered a dumb loss, and he didn't know who to tell if he was wronged.

I don't know if Li Jian still thinks that this position of prince should be his own?

Li Xuan thought about things in his heart, so he stepped forward to say hello to Li Xuan and exchanged a few words casually.

After the unnutritious politeness, taking advantage of the fact that the entourage was far away, Li Lan asked in a low voice: "Brother Huang, have you heard anything strange recently, such as the saint being sick?" Shall we ask and do our filial piety later? ”

Li Li pretended to be a fool and asked so bluntly.

"Recently I did hear some rumors about the saint getting sick, and I believe these are nonsense. When you meet the saint, you will know it at a glance. ”

Li Xuan remained silent and pushed back Li Xuan's words.

He seemed to say it, but he didn't seem to say anything. Even if it is heard by outsiders, it can't say why.

Riding a horse, sure enough, it doesn't leak!

Li Lan scolded Li Jian in his heart, but he also knew that this person must already know something. And he didn't shy away from telling himself, who is also a prince.

Li Lan secretly screamed that it was not good, and hurriedly gathered his mind.

Li Xuan, this bitch, is indeed every prince who went to mourn the crown princess, and he gave a note, for fear that others would not know.

"By the way, Brother Huang, I was at the door just now, why didn't I see the prince's car? It's not too early for us to come, and the prince hasn't come yet, isn't it a bit rude? ”

was already about to walk to the front hall of Huaqing Palace, Li Lan suddenly asked loudly, so that the servants around him heard it.

Before Li Jian could answer, Yu Chaoen, who was leading the way in front, replied: "The crown princess died violently, the prince is in mourning, and it is inconvenient to wear mourning clothes to attend the banquet of the saint, so the saint sympathized with him and did not invite him to come." ”

I think the saint wanted to kill Li Xuan when he saw him, right? If you don't let him come, you can't see it!

Li Lan complained in his heart, but his face showed an expression of "sudden realization", and he said with some sadness: "So that's the case!" This king is wrong to blame the prince! Alas, you must go to the East Palace to apologize another day! ”

Li Lan showed a sense of "brother, friend, brother, and brother", as for others believing it or not, then he didn't care, anyway, he was performing.

"We're already late, the saint should be in a hurry, let's hurry up."

Li Jian urged with a calm face, unable to see what he was thinking.

Li Lan felt the gap between himself and Li Jian in the "green tea" rank, and immediately kept silent. When the two came to the front hall of Huaqing Palace, they saw that the banquet venue had been arranged.

In addition to the two of them, the other dozen or so princes have already taken their seats.

Li Ling and Li Jian immediately sat down in front of the table with their names written on them, kneeling and not squinting.

All the adult princes present were solemn and unsmiling. However, some underage princes looked left and right, but they did not dare to move around at will.

At this moment, the dancing girl of the pear garden appeared in the center of the main hall, and the princess of Gongsun also came, directing and dispatching on the side. The musicians from Liyuan also entered one after another, and various instruments were brought in.

The scale of this year's birthday banquet is naturally not as lively as before, but it is also much more lively than that of ordinary powerful families.

After a while, the musicians of Liyuan, under the command of Lei Haiqing, began to play "The Song of Ni Clothes and Feathers". The dancers also walked into the middle of the main hall and began to dance to the dance music.

Everything is a habit in Kego's daily life.

But there is still a big difference, that is, Brother Ji himself was not present at all!

The whole piece consists of 36 sections, including three parts: scattered prelude (6 sections), middle prelude (18 sections) and Qupo (12 sections), integrating song, dance and instrumental performance.

And this piece can be played repeatedly at the banquet.

The princes listened to the music and watched the dancers dance. They waited and waited for two hours in a row, but Brother Ji didn't show up!

The cold cuts on the table were removed and replaced with new dishes. And the hot dish has never been served. Every prince held their breath and waited for Brother Ji to appear.

At this moment, Gao Lishi walked in from the gate of the front hall and shouted to everyone: "The saint is busy with state affairs and has no time to attend the birthday banquet. The banquet has begun, let's serve. Don't stop dancing! ”

After saying that, he left without looking back, without the slightest stop!

Many of the princes present looked at each other, they were invited by the saint, but in the end, the saint did not show up at all, what does this mean?

There is no father and son under the imperial power, and the father's birthday banquet does not appear in the father's person, which is contrary to the righteousness of humanity.

But the emperor's birthday banquet did not appear to the emperor himself, that was the willfulness of the imperial power. The emperor just doesn't come out, how can you drop?

What's more, the princes lost the opportunity to observe whether Brother Ji was infected at close range, and this wave is a big loss!

Li Lan looked around and found that everyone was still calm, and he couldn't stand it and wanted to "visit the sick", so he had to put down his anxious mood and refused to act as a bird.

Everyone has dishes with good colors and aromas, and no one uses chopsticks at all. The enchanting posture of the dancers in the main hall is also appreciated. The ethereal and beautiful "Song of Neon Clothes and Feathers" is even more disturbing, and it can't drive those musicians away.

After nightfall, this indescribable "birthday feast" finally came to an end. The princes were ordered to return to their respective stations immediately and not to stay in the vicinity of the Huaqing Palace.

A silent "farce" came to an end, leaving many people with infinite reverie.

……

In the "Nine Dragon Soup" of Huaqing Palace, Brother Ji was lazily lying in the hot spring, and Gao Lishi was dragging a note in his hand, which was actually the one with the same paragraph as Li Lan.

There are also sixteen words on it: the saint has a hidden disease, and there is no cure for it; Time is running out, and you can do it yourself.

"That evil beast, it's really bold enough!"

Brother Ji in the soup pool opened his eyes and said a clueless sentence in a solemn tone.

"Back to the saint, the slave estimates that every prince should have one in his hand now. It only depends on whether they admit it or not, do you want to send someone to ask? ”

Colliers asked cautiously.

"That's it, Li Xuan is gambling that I won't dare to kill him. I have to say, he made the right bet. ”

Brother Ji snorted coldly, and then his tone became a little helpless.

Killing Li Heng is similar to pinching a flea to death, and there can be countless reasons, just like killing three sons in one day.

However, the current Li Xuan can't die. Once he died, it was the content of the note.

Brother Ji is a rat bogeyman this time, and he feels extremely aggrieved!

Li Xuan is now going back and forth with one trick: as long as I lie flat, you won't be able to cut my leeks. As long as I don't want to win, I'm invincible.

Li Xuan didn't cultivate his own power at all, so he was the weakest one among the many princes.

On the other hand, Brother Ji must fully support Li Xuan, otherwise, he will fall too easily. If Li Xuan falls, the balance of the court will be broken!

Li Xuan saw through this and rode his face at Brother Ji.

"Sage, it's impossible to kill Li Xuan, but it's not difficult to send someone to beat him.

The slave will go with a team of soldiers and horses now, beat Li Xuan, and vent his anger to the saint. ”

Colliers suggested in a whisper. Hearing this, Brother Ji couldn't cry or laugh.

He waved his hand and said, "This kind of thing, if you do it, it's just to increase your laughter, what's the point!" Alas! Thanks to this evil beast, things are in trouble now. ”

Brother Ji couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, he felt that he had a strange disease, which should have caused many princes to speculate.

This is also the most important reason why he deliberately did not attend the birthday banquet today.

Brother Ji and Li Xuan fought in the air, and neither of them appeared at the birthday banquet, but it profoundly affected the scene in the birthday banquet.

Originally, Brother Ji didn't let the prince come to the birthday banquet to hint to the princes: I am very dissatisfied with the prince, and you all have a chance.

He prepared a lot of words to stir up the enterprising spirit among the princes.

But this trick was disrupted by the sudden "note", so that Brother Ji didn't dare to attend the birthday banquet at all.

He was really afraid of being seen.

As an emperor, the most important deterrent is actually "unknown".

If the punishment is unknowable, it is unpredictable.

Don't let his "good boys" know about their condition, even if there is speculation, but they can't hammer it. It's enough to get to this point.

As for the rest, Brother Ji has already retreated to the second best thing and doesn't dare to think about it.

"Li Xuan, this scourge, can't be cleaned up at all."

Brother Kei suddenly thought of a good solution.

"In this way, I will go to the East Palace in a few days to pass the decree, and I will say that the prince is benevolent and filial, and he is an example for the princes. Let him go to Huashan and pray for me.

My natal mountain is Huashan, so it should be useful for him to pray for blessings. ”

Brother Ji suddenly said with a smile on his face.

Let Li Xuan, the prince, be in Chang'an, this guy is always dishonest. Bed bugs don't bite people, they only disgust people. Brother Ji decided to arrange a "good place" for Li Xuan.

"Sage, what about the other princes? They all got Li Xuan's note! ”

Colliers asked suspiciously.

I have to say that Li Xuan's hand really disgusted Brother Ji, but Brother Ji can't abolish the prince yet.

In other words, Li Xuan hopes that Brother Ji will abolish the prince, in that case, Brother Ji's incurable disease will be completely hammered.

What the consequences will be, I dare not imagine!

"I'm going to lure the snake out of the hole in the near future, and when I play a play, they'll be honest."

Brother Ji snorted coldly and said.

"What the sage said...... Pretending to be seriously ill and unable to serve as a director? ”

Gao Lishi was a little puzzled, and suddenly remembered the incident back then, and suddenly realized.

During the Kaiyuan period of that year, Ji Ge was in the prime of life but suddenly fell ill. At that time, many powerful people were ready to move, even the horses!

As a result, it didn't take long for Brother Ji to get "miraculously" better, and by the way, he cleaned up those with bad intentions.

The exile of exile, the killing of heads, nip the danger in the bud.

Now, is the story going to be repeated?

"Yes, it's to emulate the hand I used to lure the snake out of the hole."

Brother Ji snorted coldly and said.

Regarding Brother Ji's bad idea, Gao Lishi did not dare to agree.

At that time, Brother Ji was in the prime of life, so after setting things right, it was easy to calm down the situation.

But now, Brother Ji is in his sixties! Now that it is rumored that he is seriously ill, the people outside really think that he has died!

The situation will definitely be out of control at that time!

Gao Lishi hurriedly knelt on the ground and kowtowed and pleaded: "Sage, this matter can be slowly figured out, and you must not take risks!" Please think twice, please think twice! ”

"Don't you think you can't do it?"

Brother Ji asked with a slight frown, and his heart was a little shaken.

Colliers is not a particularly smart person, and if even Colliers says no, then it really can't!

"That's it, I listen to you. The other kings can be suspended, and Li Xuan must be transferred to Huashan to pray for me! ”

Brother Ji said viciously with a fist.

He said forget it, but in his heart he was still thinking that he had to come to a "want to catch and indulge" to be considered insurance. Otherwise, his good boys will definitely find a way to do things, and they must use a bloody fiasco to deter these people.

"Lux, stand down, I want to be alone for a while."

Brother Ji waved his hand tiredly and said.

(End of chapter)