Yongjia, Xicheng.

A spacious and sturdy carriage drove down the street, and Qin Zilong accompanied him with more than 20 personal soldiers.

In the carriage, Lu Shen looked at the gilded name card in his hand, and his expression was slightly solemn.

This is an invitation from the Grand Prince to the banquet.

Among the scribes raised in the palace, it is not that no one opposes this idea, after all, Lu Shen's identity is somewhat special, and the prince should not get too close to the leading general on the face to avoid suspicion for the Son of Heaven.

The eldest prince is very eloquent, the second child can invite Lu Shen to participate in the Moyuan Literary Conference openly, why can't the king invite him to a meal?

In order to show that he was worthy of the glory in his heart, the eldest prince specially entered the palace to ask to see Li Duan, only saying that he admired Lu Shen's personality and military exploits, and at the same time wanted to thank him for sharing his worries for his father and the court during this time, so he planned to set up a banquet to invite Yunyun.

Li Duan did not veto, and the eldest prince happily returned to the palace, and then hurriedly sent the palace chief Shi to send Lu Shen his name post.

At this moment, Lu Shen looked at the famous post, and felt that this was a hot potato.

Wei Chigui sat on the other side, looked at Lu Shen's face, and said with a smile: "This eldest prince is a strange person, does he think that he can convince you in a few words, and then let you stand on his side and wave the flag and shout?" Even so, you may not be able to change the emperor's mind. ”

Lu Shen exhaled a breath of turbidity and said slowly: "Before the Yuanjia Change, several princes were still young, and Your Majesty was just an ordinary prince far away from the center at that time, so he didn't think about it at all, and he couldn't teach them according to the standards of the prince, otherwise he would only cause trouble in vain." After His Majesty ascended the throne, his energy was focused on the court, how could he have time to teach them hand in hand? Although he invited a great Confucian as a teacher to several princes, how many people can fulfill their duties as teachers in front of the princes? ”

Wei Chi returned to his head and said: "This is true, just like Lin Jie, as the number one in the world, except for cultivating your senior sister who will be successful, the other children are not excellent, it can be seen that everyone has their own destiny and cannot be forced." ”

Because of the trust and closeness between the two, Lu Shen spoke more directly in front of him, and said: "Most of the princes are better than the hands of the women of the deep palace, and it is a fantasy to expect them to be well versed in people's hearts, except for a few talented people, even if they are smart, they are only smart in small things." Even if all aspects of cultivation are in place, there are countless examples of these heavenly nobles who eventually grow crooked. ”

A surge of curiosity swelled in Wei Chigui's heart.

He knew that Lu Shen was unknown before the age of nineteen, and it was not too much to evaluate him if he was not a martial artist, until he emerged in the Battle of Guangling, and then no one could stop him from rising to the top.

It seems that Lu Tong is indeed calm, and has been cultivating Lu Shen silently for nineteen years, just to make him a blockbuster.

Thinking of this, Wei Chigui smiled and said, "Then how are you going to deal with this great prince?" ”

"It's actually not difficult to deal with this His Royal Highness King Chen, after all, I'm just going to the banquet, does he have the courage to force me to make a statement on the spot? It's nothing more than perfunctory. ”

A touch of complicated emotions appeared on Lu Shen's face, and he said slowly: "The problem is that Your Majesty did not veto this banquet. ”

Wei Chigui was stunned: "Could it be that there is something else to do in this matter?" ”

Lu Shen nodded slightly and said: "From ancient times to the present, it is not uncommon for fathers and sons to turn against each other and even kill each other when it comes to the inheritance of imperial power. His Majesty did not want to go that far, and if he told the Great Prince that there was no hope, there would be no room for manoeuvre. In the morning I entered the palace to face the saint, and although His Majesty did not say anything about it, I could hear that he hoped that I would try to deal with the matter. ”

Wei Chigui frowned and said, "But it is not a good thing for you to be involved too deeply in the dispute between the princes." ”

"There is no good thing in this world that only enjoys and does not pay."

Lu Shen smiled freely, and then said: "I am the marquis of the country at the age of a weak crown, and I am promoted to the commander of the Beijing camp, which is Your Majesty's respect and trust in me. Although I did take credit for the frontier war, my predecessors should have known that those contributions were slightly inadequate compared to my current position. ”

Wei Chigui naturally understood this truth, not to mention the matter of the loyalty of the king, just the emperor's unsparing reward to Lu Shen, it was not too much to give him this task.

He said in a solemn tone: "You still have to be careful after all. ”

Lu Shen bowed his head and said: "The younger generation understands, at least Your Majesty didn't force me to do this, if the eldest prince is too paranoid at that time, I won't get involved too deeply, just get by on the face." ”

While chatting, the carriage had arrived at the place where the eldest prince was holding a banquet.

Of course, the eldest prince will not choose a crowded place like Moyuan or Alum Tower, this Fengyuan Park is located in a more secluded location in Xicheng, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, and the environment is exceptionally quiet.

Fengyuan is not large in area, and there is another universe inside, which has always only entertained high-ranking officials and nobles in Beijing.

The carriage stopped in front of the gatehouse, and as soon as Lu Shen came out, he saw Shi Liao Renzhang, the head of the palace who had a relationship with him before, waiting in front of the door with a smile on his face.

"Xiaguan see Lord Lu."

Liao Renzhang stepped forward and saluted.

Lu Shen smiled and said, "Liao Changshi doesn't need to be polite, where is the prince now?" ”

Liao Renzhang replied: "Your Highness has arrived, and now you are using tea in Yashe." Master Hou, please come with the lower officials. ”

He led the way first, Lu Shen only took Qin Zilong and a few others to Yashe, and the other soldiers naturally had the palace steward in charge of entertaining.

After a while, Lu Shen came to the house, and before he entered the door, he heard a hearty voice from inside.

"The Marquis of Shanyang is here, this king has not had time to greet him, please don't be surprised."

For a prince, such an attitude is enough to be called a corporal of courtesy, and it is also in line with the gentle image that the eldest prince has always shown in front of the world.

Lu Shen raised his eyes and saw that the eldest prince was wearing regular clothes, with a warm expression, coupled with his dignified appearance, it made people feel like a spring breeze.

He stepped forward and saluted: "I have seen His Highness, how dare the minister work to greet His Highness." ”

The eldest prince kindly took his arm and smiled: "Others can't afford it, but you can, please." ”

During the time he came to the capital, Lu Shen had seen the arrogance of the third prince, and also experienced the calmness and ease of the second prince, and now he felt the benevolent style of the eldest prince in person.

If it weren't for hearing what the Son of Heaven said, it would be hard for anyone to believe that under the gentle and humble appearance of the Great Prince, there was such a violent and arrogant character.

Lu Shen followed the eldest prince into the elegant house, and after the two sat down, their own maid served fragrant tea.

After inviting tea, the eldest prince sighed with emotion: "Actually, when you returned to Beijing, this king wanted to invite you to talk, but the second brother took the lead, and this king is not good to compete with him. Later, so many things happened, and this king knew that you were too busy to touch the ground, and it was not easy to delay your business, so he has been delaying until now. ”

Lu Shen said calmly: "Your Highness is very kind, and the minister is very grateful. ”

The eldest prince was a little disappointed in his heart, after all, he said so sincerely, Lu Shen should have been more honest, instead of perfunctory with a polite sentence like now.

Of course, he also knew that there were some things that were not in a hurry, so he suppressed the emotions in his heart and continued to praise: "You are a capable minister valued by your father, whether you are leading troops to fight in the frontier, or assisting your father to eradicate traitors in the capital, it is not easy to do everything one by one, and this king sees it all, so he specially set up a banquet to show respect." ”

"Your Highness is serious, the minister is just doing his duty, and he doesn't dare to speak in vain."

Lu Shen still maintained a relatively appropriate distance.

The scribes in King Chen's mansion had made many deductions for today's banquet, so the eldest prince had already been mentally prepared for Lu Shen's attitude of not advancing oil and salt.

Seeing that he still refused to take his words at this moment, the eldest prince smiled heartily, and then began to ask Lu Shen about the details of the border war.

Lu Shen's narration was very boring, but the eldest prince seemed to have listened to a magnificent story, sometimes sighing, sometimes admiring.

It was as if he was the perfect listener in the world.

……

Nancheng, built a royal mansion.

On the inner floor of the back house, the third prince Li Zongjian was holding a long sword and was practicing a set of swordsmanship.

His movements are pretty standard, and he looks pretty decent.

After a while, the third prince put away his sword and stood, looked at the long sword in his hand, and said with a regretful face: "Although the boss has no brains, he has a good talent for martial arts. ”

There were no servants here, only Queen Xu's maiden nephew Xu Ruqing was by her side.

Hearing the words of the third prince, Xu Ruqing said calmly: "Your Royal Highness's status is precious, why do you need to dance with knives and guns like recklessness in the rivers and lakes?" Martial arts is to strengthen the body, and this matter is not difficult for His Highness, and it does not require much talent. ”

The third prince walked over and wiped his face with a hand towel, and said with emotion: "I still like to hear you tell the truth, everyone has their own areas of expertise, the key is to be able to recognize their strengths and flaws." ”

Xu Ruqing nodded, and said, "Lu Shen has arrived at Feng Paradise, and our people are already in place. ”

The third prince smiled lightly and said leisurely: "Do you know why I am sure that Lu Shen will go to the banquet?" ”

Xu Ruqing knew his temperament very well, so he waited quietly for the following.

The third prince continued: "Because my father can't bear to let the boss go to a dead end. In my father's opinion, if you want to make the second brother the crown prince, you don't need to take into account my feelings, just appease the boss. The boss thought that this banquet was the beginning of his efforts to win over Lu Shen, but he didn't know that in his father's heart, Lu Shen might be able to help him persuade the boss and dispel the boss's desire to continue to compete for the throne. ”

He walked forward, Xu Ruqing followed step by step, and asked, "If our people succeed today, will Your Majesty doubt Your Highness?" ”

The third prince said lightly: "The boss's temperament is wide on the outside and taboo on the inside, he and Lu Shen will definitely have a very unpleasant quarrel today, Lu Shen was ambushed on the way back, and the old nature has the biggest suspicion, what does it have to do with others?" Moreover, this banquet was not made public, except for the boss, who would know Lu Shen's whereabouts? ”

Xu Ruqing couldn't help but say respectfully: "Coupled with Li Sanlang's involvement in this matter, as long as a little news is revealed to the Prime Minister's Mansion at that time, the old Prime Minister can only push this charge on the eldest prince in order to keep the wealth of the Li family." ”

"Old man?"

The third prince smiled, shook his head and said: "The old man doesn't have many days, I just want to tie Li Shizhi to the boat, and then let him sit on the shore lightly, I really can't rest assured." ”

Speaking of this, he turned his head and admonished: "Although we have made detailed arrangements, but Lu Shen's guard, Hidden Dragon Crouching Tiger, maybe there will be a master, you go and meet the sixth in the world again, let him kill with one blow as much as possible." ”

Xu Ruqing bowed and said, "Obey." ”

After he left, the third prince looked up at the bright sunshine, and there was a chill in his eyes.

He suddenly waved his backhand, and the long sword was immediately out of his hand, and then a flower bed under the porch was torn apart.

"If you don't see blood and don't die, how can the overall situation be reversed?"

The third prince laughed at himself and shook his head.

(End of chapter)