Imperial City, Funing Palace.

"The queen mother, the son and Li Jia Saburo made an appointment to go hunting in the northern suburbs the day after tomorrow, so they wanted to go out of the palace as soon as possible to prepare, and implored the queen mother to let the son out of the palace."

Li Zongjian, the third prince and the king of Jian, stood in front of the long couch and pleaded with a salivating face towards the palace nobles sitting upright on the couch.

The noble person is the lord of the six palaces, the wife of the Son of Heaven, and the biological mother of the eldest prince and the third prince, Queen Xu.

As everyone knows, between the two princes, Queen Xu especially dotes on the third prince, so much so that the latter has become the number one in the capital and does not know the so-called gentleman.

Queen Xu is nearly forty years old, and her appearance is naturally not as good as that of a beautiful woman in her twenties, but she can vaguely see the peerless demeanor of her youth. Now that the years are getting longer, the queen has added a graceful and luxurious temperament between her eyebrows and eyes, and she looks more and more calm and indifferent.

Hearing the pleading of the three princes, Empress Xu glanced at the surroundings lightly and said, "You all retreat." ”

"Yes."

The palace maids with good looks are short and blessed, and they come out in a stream.

The third prince's face was as usual, but he muttered in his heart.

He thought he knew his mother's temperament very well, probably the kind of queen who would definitely be praised in the history books, no strong relatives, dedicated to managing the harem for the king, never interfering in the affairs of foreign dynasties, and the name of virtue was well-known.

However, Queen Xu summoned him to the palace early in the morning and refused to let him out of the palace.

Today is the first day of the Moyuan Literary Meeting, and although the third prince will not go to join in the fun, he is very concerned about the situation of the Literary Meeting, because he has made arrangements a long time ago.

At this moment, seeing the queen mother's retreat from the palace, the third prince noticed a trace of strangeness.

The hall was quiet, Empress Xu's eyes were calm, and she said slowly: "This palace has already sent an order to Xu Ruqing, ordering him to stop the dead soldiers you sent to the Moyuan Cultural Society." ”

It took a moment for the third prince to react.

He looked at Empress Xu in a daze, and he didn't say anything for a long time.

This sentence made many emotions instantly appear in his heart.

Three years ago, the Moyuan Cultural Conference was held for the first time, and the three princes secretly raised their guard.

He didn't understand why his father would acquiesce to this, but he knew that the second prince could use this literary meeting to win people's hearts, even if those attendees were just down-and-out literati who were not worth mentioning, they could still have a considerable impact in the community.

So he secretly laid out early on, and He Kuanfu was one of the chess pieces he tried to stuff into the Wenhui last year.

Originally, he just wanted to use He Kuanfu to destroy the atmosphere of the Moyuan Literary Society, but after the second prince publicly invited Lu Shen, he immediately realized that this was a great opportunity.

As he said to Yun Niang that day, after He Kuanfu made a move, he naturally had a way to lead this crime to the head of the family.

However, at this moment, Queen Xu's understatement was like a basin of ice water pouring the three princes into their hearts.

Empress Xu's eyes were leisurely, and she said unhurriedly: "Does the emperor think that the palace is doing something inappropriate?" ”

"Queen Mother...... Erchen really didn't understand. ”

The third prince did not ask the queen why he knew about his arrangement, this is a very simple question, the reason why he can compete with the two brothers under the premise of disadvantage is because of the queen's favor.

Many of his cronies are related to the descendants, and Xu Ruqing is the queen's nephew.

In short, Empress Xu is the person who knows him best in the world, even far more than the Son of Heaven.

"It's normal that you don't understand, after all, this palace has been too indulgent to you in the past, making you forget your duty as a minister."

Queen Xu's words were undoubtedly very heavy, and the third prince was shocked, and hurriedly knelt down and pleaded: "The queen mother is angry, how dare the sons and daughters be so disobedient." ”

"Don't you dare?"

Empress Xu smiled coldly, and then said: "You asked He Kuanfu to assassinate the Marquis of Shanyang, just to blame the Jiangnan clan gatekeeper, but you know that those people will definitely not give up, so you are ready to enter the game with your body." When Your Majesty suspects that this is what you did, and the Manchu civil and military will regard you as the real culprit behind the scenes, you will deduct the charge on King Chen or King Xiang. ”

King Chen is the eldest prince Li Zongchao, and King Xiang is the second prince Li Zongben.

The face of the third prince suddenly became extremely ugly.

Queen Xu said: "This palace doesn't know how you can do this, and Xu Ruqing doesn't know what you think in your heart, but this palace can probably guess." You first put the responsibility of assassinating the prince to the clan gate, and when the time is ripe, Your Majesty will suspect that this is your secret instigation, and finally you throw out decisive evidence to make King Chen or King Xiang become the real murderer. At that time, the crowd will be in an uproar, and your plan will succeed and get rid of one of your enemies on the road to the throne. ”

After hearing these words, the third prince broke out in a cold sweat on his back for a while.

Xu Ruqing knew part of his arrangement, but he didn't cover all of it, so even if he truthfully reported all the secrets he knew, Empress Xu could only know part of it, and the rest could only rely on guesswork.

The problem is that she was completely right.

The third prince raised his head, looked at the queen's indifferent gaze, and hesitated: "The queen mother, the son is ......."

Empress Xu still said quietly: "Emperor, do you think your thoughts can be hidden from everyone?" Even if most people believe that He Kuanfu is a pawn used by King Chen or King Xiang to frame you, will your father believe it? Do the two rulers believe it? Do Guo Shumi and General Wang believe it? Even Shanyang Hou Lu Shen, will he believe it? ”

The three princes were speechless again.

Empress Xu said bluntly: "This palace tells you, they won't believe it." Just because you've been unbridled over the years doesn't mean that everyone will be deceived by such illusions. At least in the eyes of this palace, Your Majesty and the two Zaizhi know your mind very well. Now that King Xiang invited Lu Shen to participate in the cultural meeting, an assassin immediately appeared to assassinate Lu Shen, who do you think such a trick can be hidden? ”

The third prince's face was apprehensive, at this moment he realized that he was thinking too simply, how could those who had been up and down in the court for decades be simple-minded?

As soon as he thought of this, he said ashamedly: "The queen mother's lesson is that the sons are confused. ”

Empress Xu looked at him fixedly, sighed lightly, and said, "Emperor, there are no outsiders now, you can be honest, can't you let go of the position of prince?" ”

The third prince pondered for a moment, nodded and said, "Erchen doesn't dare to deceive the queen mother, Erchen does have this idea." ”

There was a long silence in the temple.

Empress Xu raised her eyes and looked at the incense ding on the side, and said slowly: "Then you tell the queen mother, if you can achieve your long-cherished wish in the future, how will you treat your eldest brother?" ”

The eldest prince and the third prince are the same mother, but when Queen Xu gave birth to the eldest prince, it was extremely difficult, and she almost lost two lives.

Perhaps because of this, Empress Xu has never been able to get close to the eldest prince.

The third prince's heart moved, and he hurriedly promised: "Queen Mother, Erchen has always regarded the eldest brother as a brother, no matter how the situation changes in the future, Erchen will not change this idea." Today, the son swore in front of the queen mother that if the son can achieve his long-cherished wish in the future, he will definitely protect the glory and wealth of the eldest brother. If this oath is violated, the son will definitely thunder and thunder in the sky, and he will not die well! ”

His tone was sonorous and powerful, and Empress Xu couldn't help but be stunned, and nodded after a while: "Okay, it's not in vain that this palace loves you so much." ”

The third prince smiled innocently.

Empress Xu raised her hand pityingly and brushed his head, and said softly: "If you let people assassinate the Marquis of Shanyang now, you will only put yourself in a desperate situation, so this palace ordered Xu Ruqing to stop this." Emperor, if you really have that ambition, you are taking the wrong path now, but King Xiang is walking ahead of you. ”

"Second brother? Did the queen mother say that she had a good relationship with Lu Shen? ”

The third prince was not stupid, and soon understood the deep meaning.

Empress Xu said kindly: "It's not just Lu Shen, but all the border soldiers. The emperor should think about what your father cares about the most. ”

"It's the Northern Expedition!"

The third prince hurriedly replied, and then hesitated: "Queen Mother, Erchen has thought about this issue before, but Erchen feels that his father's support for the Northern Expedition is a last resort. ”

Empress Xu naturally understood the reason for his words, and couldn't help frowning: "Do you really think so?" ”

The third prince nodded and said, "Not only the ministers think so, but many ministers in the court also think so. ”

Empress Xu shook her head and said, "It doesn't matter what others think. You remember, Your Majesty's truest wish in this life is to defeat the Jing Dynasty and return to the old capital. ”

The third prince believed that the queen mother would not lie to him, especially after the previous conversation, he nodded seriously and said: "The queen mother's teachings will be remembered by the sons." ”

"Also, this palace knows that you have a close relationship with the Jiangnan clan, but you have to remember one thing."

Empress Xu leaned forward slightly, and said very solemnly: "Don't have a heart-to-heart relationship with the Li family. ”

This Li family undoubtedly refers to the Jinlin Li family, to be precise, it is the father and son of Li Daoyan and Li Shizhi.

The third prince was puzzled, but at this moment he could only choose to believe his mother, and nodded: "Yes, the son has written it down." ”

Empress Xu raised her eyes to look at the northeast and said slowly: "At this time, your second brother should be at a banquet for Lu Shen." Emperor, in the future, you must understand one thing, in the court battle, stabbing is the lowest method, and you should not use it until you have to. ”

The third prince said convincingly: "What the queen mother taught me is that I don't know what my son should do now?" ”

Queen Xu said: "Now that you go to make friends with Lu Shen, you will be inferior, not to mention that King Xiang is ahead of you, there was still a conflict between you and Lu Shen." That's it, this palace will teach you a way to make sure that your father will not be suspicious. ”

The three princes were overjoyed.

Listening to the queen's words, his eyes became brighter and brighter.

……

Moyuan, a house of few houses.

The banquet prepared by the second prince is naturally dazzling.

The wine and food on the table, the silk and bamboo music behind the screen, and the beauties such as Xue Susu pour wine and cloth dishes next to it, and the prince is accompanied by the prince on the opposite side, which is rare in the world.

If you are a weak-minded person, I am afraid that you have already lost yourself in this atmosphere of reverence.

Fortunately, Lu Shen is a human being in two lives, and I don't know how many storms he has seen, but he can still hold on at this moment.

The second prince was extremely talkative, and when he talked about astronomy and geography for wine, Lu Shen smiled, neither looking too rusty, nor unthinking.

A little bit of wine on his face, the second prince suddenly sighed softly.

Lu Shen knew that the drama meat was coming, so he asked very cooperatively, "Why is Your Highness sighing?" ”

The second prince muttered: "I won't tell you, this capital is rich and all-encompassing, goods from all over the world can be bought, and all kinds of characters can be seen by gentlemen and villains, only one is extremely rare." ”

"Oh?"

Lu Shen raised his eyebrows slightly, and said with a smile: "What is so rare, I hope His Highness will make it clear." ”

The second prince held the wine cup in his right hand, looked directly into Lu Shen's eyes, and said calmly: "A thousand gold is easy to get, but a confidant is hard to find!" ”

The reason why Lu Shen agreed to stay for the banquet was actually just to see where the other party would go.

Now it seems......

The next moment, the second prince suddenly changed his words and said: "Lu Hou, this king has something to ask for, I hope you will not hesitate to advise." ”

Lu Shen said calmly: "Your Highness, why do you need to be like this, please speak up." ”

The second prince looked at him fixedly, and said in a deep voice: "This king wants to ask for the position of prince, can Lu Hou help me?" ”

As soon as these words came out, Xue Susu, who was pouring wine for Lu Shen, shook his wrist and almost spilled the wine on Lu Shen's body.

Lu Shen turned sideways to avoid it, and then looked indifferently at the second prince with a sincere face, and said slowly: "Your Highness, you are drunk." ”

The second prince was slightly stunned.

Lu Shen said unhurriedly: "If Your Highness doesn't dislike it, and listen to the minister tell you a story." ”

The second prince looked at him fixedly, and nodded after a long time.

(End of chapter)