The next day, the palace Cining Hall.

The palace maids and eunuchs stood with their heads bowed with bated breath, all of them looking at their noses and noses, and they did not dare to make any unusual movements.

In fact, this kind of atmosphere is quite rare in the palace, since the Son of Heaven ascended the throne for 12 years, no matter how the people and the frontier soldiers and civilians evaluate him, at least in the palace he has the title of the benevolent and virtuous Son of Heaven, and he will never punish the palace people for no reason.

However, as soon as this benevolent and gentle son of heaven opened his mouth today, he was severely reprimanded.

"Bastard thing!"

Li Duan sat on the long couch and looked coldly at the third prince Li Zongjian, who was kneeling below, and the anger on his face was not concealed at all.

On the other side of the couch sat a dignified and graceful woman, she was the Empress Xu of the main palace who had two sons for the Heavenly Family.

There were also two young men standing in the hall.

The first is the emperor's eldest son, Chen Wang Li Zongchao, and next to him is the second prince's son, Li Zongben.

Li Zongchao was twenty-two years old at the time, both the queen and the eldest son of the heavenly family, in the eyes of many people, he was a sure candidate for the prince, and the other two adult princes did not have the capital to compete with him at all.

As he grew older, Li Zongchao became more and more calm and dignified under the teachings of several great Confucians of the time, although it did not seem to stand out, but for a prince who aspired to the position of prince, it was an excellent performance to keep to himself.

The second prince, Li Zongben, had just turned twenty years old, and he was born from the Shufei Liu family.

Concubine Liu Shu has her duty in the palace, although she is not more favored than Queen Xu, but because of her supple and cautious temperament, she is also quite respected by the palace people. She is not very good at being petty, and most of the time she stays in her dormitory to read and write, which makes the Son of Heaven look at her differently, and she will go around every few days.

Li Zongben seems to have inherited the temperament of his mother, showing his talent since he was a child, and he is quite talented in the eyes of scholars in Beijing, and occasionally participates in some of the more important literary meetings in Beijing.

Although his talent is enviable, Li Zongben has never deliberately befriended literati, let alone the ministers of the DPRK and China, and has a somewhat detached demeanor.

The two princes looked at the third brother Li Zongjian who was kneeling on the ground in a proper manner, the eldest prince frowned slightly, and the second prince looked calm.

Neither of them is a prince who grew up in the deep palace and doesn't know the suffering of the world, when the Yuanjia Revolution happened, the eldest prince was nine years old and the second prince was seven years old, and they both already had a certain cognitive ability.

But at that time, Li Zongjian was less than four years old and barely began to remember, but he didn't know how difficult his father and mother were to support the national fortunes of Daqi. And because of Queen Xu's inevitable love, Li Zongjian gradually developed an arrogant and domineering temperament.

Li Duan has always been not strict with him, and because of some considerations, he acquiesced to him and Zuo Xiang's grandson, but he didn't expect this rebel to dare to make such a ridiculous move as yesterday.

Li Zongjian's expression looked very aggrieved, and he said in a low voice: "Father, the son did not embarrass Lu Shen yesterday. I heard earlier that Li Yunyi of the Li family invited Lu Shen to a banquet in the Alum Tower, he only wanted to make friends with such a young hero, and he had no disrespect, Lu Shen not only ignored his kindness, but also threatened him many times in his words. ”

He didn't notice that Li Duan's face was getting more and more ugly, and said to himself: "Erchen thinks that although Li Yunyi is just a person, he is the grandson of Zuo Xiang after all, and no matter what, he must make the Prime Minister's Mansion passable." Lu Shen is a military general with the emperor's weapons, and he has to go to the border army to perform his duties, so there is no need to fight with the prime minister. The son wanted to share his father's worries, so he made his own claim and said that he had no bad intentions with them, and asked his father to learn from them. ”

"So, you're thinking about me?" Li Duan said in a cold voice.

Listening to such a cold tone, Li Zongjian couldn't help but shudder, raised his head cautiously, looked at the cold gaze of the Son of Heaven, and endless fear appeared on his face.

Seeing this, Empress Xu hurriedly said softly: "Your Majesty is angry. ”

In front of these princes, Li Duan wanted to give his wife some dignity after all, so he didn't have an immediate seizure.

Empress Xu said to the palace people: "You should retreat first." ”

"Yes, sissy."

Everyone responded in unison, and then exited the Cining Hall with very light steps.

Li Duan still stared at Li Zongjian, and said slowly: "What does the dignity of the Prime Minister's Mansion have to do with you?" ”

After these words came out, Empress Xu's expression changed suddenly, and the eldest prince and the second prince were also shocked.

Li Zongjian was not stupid, and immediately tasted the deep meaning of the words of the Son of Heaven.

It doesn't hurt that he and Li Yunyi are very close, after all, although Li Yunyi is very loved by Zuo Xiang, he is also an extremely famous prodigal son in Beijing, and no one thinks that he can inherit the various resources of the Jinlin Li family. There are such incompetent and talentless children like this, at most, it will make people sigh, Zuo Xianghuan has been up and down for decades, and the city government is deep and far-reaching, but in the end he loves such an unscrupulous child, which is really incomprehensible.

In short, the Three Princes and Li Yunyi are essentially the same kind of people, as long as they don't get involved in serious matters and make a little mess of things on weekdays, no one takes them seriously.

But yesterday's incident had a different meaning.

It is not a jealousy or a struggle of will between the sons and daughters of the powerful, the generals of the border army are the forces that the Son of Heaven relies on very much, and they belong to the opposite group of the hundred officials headed by the left prime minister above the court.

The third prince is the grandson of the left prime minister, and the target is the border army general who has just been rewarded, how does this make the world look at this matter?

Some things don't stand up to scrutiny.

For example, the third prince has always been a foolish gesture, but now he openly supports Zuo Xiang, could it be that he has some thoughts about that position in his heart, and wants to win more supporters in the court?

Thinking of this, Li Zongjian looked in disbelief and said in a panic: "Father, the son really hasn't thought too much. It's just that Li Yunyi and Erchen have a deep friendship and have played together since they were children, and now seeing him being bullied by a small border general, Erchen naturally wants to stand up for him. ”

Li Duan said in a deep voice: "Don't you know that at the great court meeting the day before yesterday, I crowned Lu Shen as the founding county man and promoted him to be the chief general of the new army?" ”

Li Zongjian said with a bitter face: "Father, the son didn't embarrass him, he just asked him to toast Li Yunyi, this is ...... It's not a big deal......"

"You bastard! How can there be such a foolish thing as you! ”

Li Duan had a helpless anger in his heart, Li Zongjian became what he is now, in fact, he also has a certain responsibility.

Empress Xu hurriedly stood up and saluted: "Your Majesty is angry, and you must take care of the dragon's body." Zong Jian's child is willful and messy, and he is a concubine who is not disciplined effectively, and he asks His Majesty not to hurt his spirits, and the concubine is willing to be punished. ”

Li Zongjian looked at it stunned, then shook his head and said: "Father, the son will never go to Lu Shen for trouble again, the father and the emperor must not blame the queen mother, it is the son who did not do it right, and the son will go to Lu Shen tomorrow to make amends." ”

"Emperor, silence!"

Empress Xu also had a headache, and a bit of genuine anger appeared in Feng's eyes.

Li Duan turned his head to look at the queen who had been with him for more than 20 years, and couldn't help but sigh softly, and then waved his hand and said: "From today onwards, you are not allowed to go out in the palace, and if you grow in half a year, you will talk about it, otherwise you will stay in the palace and study honestly." I will often summon your gentlemen into the palace from time to time, and if they say that you still don't know how to restrain......"

"The sons dare not dare, the sons must keep in mind the instructions of the father and the queen mother."

Li Zongjian was busy kowtowing.

"Let's all go down."

Li Duan raised his hand and rubbed his eyebrows.

The three princes saluted in unison, and then walked out of the Cining Palace.

The late autumn sun sprinkled a little bit of gold between the halls, and the light and shadow shrouded the three of them like a flowing river.

Li Zongjian kept sighing, and the eldest prince Li Zongchao was relieved when he saw this: "Third brother, the father and the queen mother are all for your good, don't be resentful." ”

Li Zongjian smiled bitterly: "Big brother, how can I be so stupid? ”

Li Zongchao thought to himself, if you are not stupid, how can you say that you will go out to find Lu Shen to make amends, then how can it be to make amends, it is obvious that Lu Shen, a young courtier with no foundation, is roasted on the fire.

It's not right to say that you are stupid, at that time, you still had the intention of dealing with Lu Shen, but how could such a trivial trick be hidden from your father, after all, it was just a little cleverness that could not be put on the stage.

Thinking of this, he was a little more sincerely concerned about this younger brother of a fellow mother, and said in a low voice: "Third brother, it is not easy for my father to maintain the overall situation of the court over the years, and he can't do without the support of Zuo Xiang and others, so he will acquiesce to you and Li Yunyi getting closer, which can be regarded as a reassuring move for Zuo Xiang." But you have to understand that you are the prince of the Heavenly Family, and everything should be done with the Great Qi World as the priority. ”

Li Zongjian's eyes widened, and he said a little dazedly: "Can the eldest brother speak more clearly?" ”

Li Zongchao explained: "Now that my father wants to promote the Northern Expedition, Lu Shen is only a middle-level military general on the surface, not even a commander of the first army, but he has made the greatest contribution to this great victory in the Jiangbei River, and has been appreciated by the two border governors at the same time. You came forward for Li Yunyi to force Lu Shen to toast and make amends, not only to suppress people with power, but also to belittle the face of the two metropolitan governors. In the eyes of those adults in the court, you represent the will of your father, and this will make the situation more complicated, understand? ”

Li Zongjian said puzzledly: "Can I represent my father's heart?" ”

Li Zongchao bowed his head and said: "In the eyes of the world, the heavenly family is one, and it is nothing for you to make a fool of yourself, but in the current situation, every move will cause them to think deeply." ”

Li Zongjian frowned and thought for a long time, but still shook his head and said: "I still don't understand, I didn't do anything to Lu Shen, I just hope that he will sell me face, so that Li Sanlang will not become a laughing stock in Beijing." Well, that's it, I'm not going to provoke this person anymore, right? ”

Li Zongchao smiled helplessly, and secretly sighed in his heart that this third brother was really an elm head, no wonder his father didn't have any good way to take him in the end, so he could only be grounded in the palace.

Before you know it, the three princes walked out of the palace side by side.

At the time of parting, the second prince Li Zongben, who had been silent before, first saluted the eldest prince, and then looked at Li Zongjian and said: "Third brother, it must be very boring to be grounded during this time, and when the time comes, I will let people find some interesting stories and send them to you." ”

Li Zongjian finally showed a smile and said gratefully: "Thank you, second brother!" ”

Li Zongben smiled slightly, and immediately turned to leave.

He glanced up at the bright sky, and there was a little more sarcasm in his eyes.

This third child really thinks that everyone else is a fool, and it is interesting that the boss really believes it.

Scold......

(End of chapter)