The night was long, the full moon hung high in the sky, and the cold wind blew into the study of the Dexin Palace.

The emperor sighed slightly, "Do you think I shouldn't arrest the crown prince?" ”

Liu Qian was silent for a moment and nodded slowly, "Your Majesty, at least, it shouldn't be now, it will cause a lot of damage to the prince's prestige, the prince has an accident, and the court is in turmoil." ”

"You're still the same as before. The emperor sighed lightly, "Everything requires stability, and the overall situation is the priority." ”

The emperor got up, put on a dragon robe, and slowly walked to the stove, Liu Qian stepped forward and stretched out his hand to help the emperor, for the monarchs and ministers who have experienced countless hardships together, this intimacy is nothing, Gao Lishi, who was standing in the distance, saw this scene, and only subconsciously chose to forget, and did not move his footsteps at all.

Walking into the stove, the emperor sat down gently, Liu Qian saw that the emperor's face was a little better, and he also sat aside with confidence.

"Your Majesty, the old minister is incompetent and can't help anything. ”

Liu Qian, who was close to old age, felt helpless for a while, and could only say what he thought. The emperor sat in his chair and smiled indifferently at the old man, who was both a courtier and his friend.

"Lao Liu, you have a heart, but don't get involved in the royal affairs, when the time comes, my sons will settle old accounts with you after I die, so that your grandson will not have a good time." ”

Hearing the emperor mention his grandson, Liu Qian burst into tears, "Your Majesty still remembers that stinky boy, and the old minister thanked Your Majesty for him." ”

Then get up and kneel. The emperor was a little helpless, and said softly: "Lao Liu, don't fix this nonsense, you just have time to accompany me for a while." ”

"Your Majesty... ”

The emperor waved his hand and motioned to Liu Qian not to interrupt him, "I know that you don't believe that the prince would do such a thing, but you don't want to believe it, and I can't believe it, so I have already sent someone to investigate, and the investigation will come to light." ”

After all, Liu Qian is an old man who is an official in the court, and even the emperor's move is tantamount to destroying the situation that has finally calmed down in the court, and the consequences are unimaginable.

"Your Majesty, this move will cause turmoil in people's hearts, so that everyone, people's hearts are panicked, one is not good, it will cause civil strife, the prince has lived in the East Palace for a long time, Zhao Wu's dragon and tiger riders are all elite of the Ming Dynasty, and the water army of the acting king is also the leader of the Ming Dynasty, if the three forces cannot be balanced, the Ming Dynasty is in danger. ”

The Emperor looked at the flames in the furnace, weak and helpless, like a man running out of oil when he dies of old age.

Sighing slightly, the emperor said slowly: "I don't know, but I am going to die. ”

"Your Majesty. Liu Qian's lips trembled slightly, and he didn't know what to say, in this world, there are two things that are the most helpless, the twilight of heroes, and the aging of beauties, both of which are great sorrows in the world.

The emperor smiled slightly, "People live for a lifetime, but the words life and death, except for those immortals who sit high in the sky, who will not die." Don't be sad, but even if I'm old, I'll be a tiger, and I'll be able to bite off a few pieces of meat before I die. ”

Gao Lishi walked in at the right time with two cups of hot tea, took out the hot tea one by one, picked up one of them and put it on the table next to the emperor, and put the other cup on the table next to Liu Qian.

Looking at the style of the teacup, the emperor asked, "Old Gao, but is it tribute tea?"

Gao Lishi took a step back, bent down and said, "Your Majesty, it is Gongcha." ”

The emperor raised the teacup and said to Liu Qian: "Old Liu, after a busy night, take a sip, this tea has a refreshing effect." ”

Liu Qian picked up the teacup with a smile, tasted it slowly, and took a sip of tea, "Your Majesty, this tea is really good, fresh and refreshing." ”

The emperor put down the teacup in his hand and twisted a tea leaf from the teacup, and when Gao Lishi saw this, he hurriedly knelt down and confessed again and again, "Your Majesty, the old slave deserves to die, the old slave deserves to die." ”

The emperor squinted, looked carefully at the only tea leaf in the teacup, and said, "Old Gao, you are also an old man, this kind of mistake can also be made?"

Gao Lishi kept kowtowing, a pool of blood began to emerge on the ground, Gao Lishi shouted that the old slave should die, Liu Qian continued to drink tea very interestingly, and did not participate in it, he knew that this matter was not simple.

"Lao Liu, you may not guess that after the prince personally selected this tribute tea, the prince brought the tribute tea he brewed to me and let me taste it. ”

Liu Qian didn't speak, just listened, Gao Lishi, as the head of the 30,000 eunuchs in the imperial city of the Ming Dynasty, has served the emperor for many years, and has never made a mistake, how could he do such a thing easily tonight.

The emperor looked at Gao Lishi, who kept kowtowing, and was bored, "Okay, let's talk about it, who made you do this?"

Gao Lishi gritted his teeth, cold sweat flowed from his forehead, and the clothes of the chamberlain on his body were already wet, "Your Majesty, the old slave should die." ”

The emperor lost his patience, but after all, Gao Lishi has served himself for many years, and he can't bear it, but Gao Lishi's approach just touched his bottom line, and he participated in the royal affairs, although Gao Lishi, as an internal servant, is understandable to do this, and find a way out for his future, but he did it too early, and when he was dying, wouldn't he arrange everything for him?

Just as the Emperor was about to press Colliers again, someone pushed the door of the study open from the outside, and someone walked in.

The person who came was dressed in the royal service of the palace, wearing a long skirt, heroic and compelling, Princess Taiping, Li Wenxuan.

When Liu Qian saw the comer, he hurriedly knelt down, "The old minister has seen the princess." ”

The emperor squinted, saw his imperial sister, and said with a smile: "Taiping, why did you come here if you didn't accompany the queen mother." ”

Li Wenxuan first said a word of exemption to Liu Qian, let the old man who looked very old get up, then squatted down gently, gave a salute, looked at Gao Lishi who was kneeling on the ground, stepped forward, helped the Gao Gonggong, and then said to the emperor: "Imperial brother, I asked Gao Gonggong to do this, and it has nothing to do with him." ”

Even so, the emperor did not get angry, but said with a smile: "Taiping, I guessed that it was you, in terms of guts, you are the only one in the imperial city who dares to do this, when it comes to intelligence, this method is also wonderful." ”

Li Wenxuan didn't care about the emperor's praise for himself, but instead sat on the chair next to the emperor and persuaded: "Brother Huang, can't those children stay in the imperial city for the time being and find a random place to lock them up? ”

The emperor frowned slightly and asked, "How do you know that you are in prison?" ”

Li Wenxuan explained: "Just now, Jinyi Wei Lu Zhong, Lu Da

The people took the Jinyi Guard and directly arrested the three princes, saying that they were locked up in the Jinyi Wei Imperial Prison by His Majesty's order, and Yang Zhao and Lord Yang of the Yushitai came forward and took the hundred officials out of the imperial city. ”

The emperor nodded, it seemed that the three people he chose were not wrong in their choice, and they solved the matter outside so quickly.

"The ministers?"

Li Wenxuan continued: "They all went back, but now the officials are in chaos, Concubine Hui and Concubine De have sent people over here, but they were all blocked by the Royal Forest Army and persuaded to go back, they wanted to go to see the Queen Mother, but the Queen Mother had just fallen asleep and was directly stopped outside by me." ”

"They began to pester me, I couldn't help it, I just saw Gonggong Gao holding tea, so I thought of this method, Brother Huang, you have a lot of adults, don't blame Gonggong Gao." ”

The emperor listened to his sister's words, and said helplessly: "Old Gao, get up, and tell me directly next time you have something." I guessed that it was them, but I didn't expect them to find you, and they even wanted to disturb the Queen Mother's rest, it seems that I usually treat the queen official with kindness. ”

Seeing that the emperor no longer blamed himself, Gao Lishi knelt on the ground, "Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you, Your Majesty." ”

The emperor waved his hand lightly and said, "Lao Gao, you are also an old man, so far!"

Colliers nodded, knowing in his heart that he had escaped this crisis. Li Wenxuan said: "Brother Huang, are you really going to investigate like this?"

The emperor asked rhetorically: "Don't check? The queen mother was frightened, if you don't check, I just won't be a filial son." ”

Li Wenxuan sighed lightly, knowing that nothing he said could change the emperor's decision, so he had to get up and leave. As a princess who has just returned to the Li family, there are some things that I still don't participate in, and Gao Lishi just now is an example.

After Li Wenxuan left, Liu Qian looked at Li Wenxuan's back with a smile and said, "Your Majesty really loves the princess. ”

The emperor looked at Li Wenxuan who was leaving, and the corners of his mouth were full of smiles, "No way, who let my third uncle, just such a daughter, really have to be spoiled, the queen mother is even more fond of her, even I have to let her, now Taiping can be said to be the first person under the queen mother in the imperial city." ”

When Liu Qian heard the emperor's evaluation of Princess Taiping, he couldn't help but admire in his heart, Princess Taiping could really go sideways in Daming in the future.

"Your Majesty, what about the prince?"

The emperor twisted his eyebrows, let out a long sigh, and said: "Lao Liu, I want to come and go, in the Manchu Dynasty, on identity, on loyalty to me, I want you to go to the edict and ask me what these three rebels want to do." ”

"Your Majesty, the old minister did his best. Liu Qian had to agree.

"I will draft an edict in a while, and when it is dawn, you will go to the Wei Mansion on my behalf to announce the death of the old prince, and then you will bring his rewards, don't tell me, you don't know anything!"

Liu Qian hehehe, nodded at His Majesty. When he thought of the news he inadvertently knew a few days ago, he could only sigh slightly, such an old man who had fought countless battles in the Spring and Autumn Period did not die on horseback, but died in Jiming Temple, and he didn't know if it was a mockery, but this did not affect Liu Qian's admiration and gratitude for the old man.