Twenty-fourth of the lunar month.

Emperor Yi drove from Zhengyang Palace to Taiyi Palace, and the emperor's rain and dew grace lingered in the queen's heart and had not dissipated, and Emperor Yi informed the queen of Song Jie's identification.

When the queen suddenly heard this information, she was stunned in the arms of Emperor Yi for a long time, her first reaction was not to care about the authenticity of the accusations, but to worry that Song Li would not be able to help but defend that useless son. Because she knows better than anyone the weight of King Dingbei in the emperor's heart, once her brother really does this, the emperor will be angry with him, but I am afraid that when the time comes, it will be impossible to say whether the position of Zaifu will be able to sit firmly.

What she has to do now is to let the emperor know that she is the same as him, but everything involves the king of the north, even if it is her own nephew or even her own brother, she will never tolerate and defend it.

Emperor Yi didn't hear the queen's response for a long time, thinking that she was thinking about how to intercede for Song Jie, and suddenly felt a little uncomfortable, stretched out a hand from the brocade quilt, got up, and said in a deep voice: "You don't want to ...... this matter"

The queen stretched out her soft sword to cover Emperor Yi's mouth, then quickly slid down and wrapped her hands around Emperor Yi's half-raised waist, and pressed him back on the couch, and said quietly: "The concubine will not ask for half a sentence of affection for that uncompetitive thing." It's just that the emperor has thought about it, Song Jie has this ability? The whole thing is full of weirdness, and it may be difficult to conclude based on the words of one side of the crime. The concubine only asked the emperor to investigate thoroughly, if it was really Song Jie's doing, the concubine would never protect half of the sentence. ”

"I know what you mean. Emperor Yi dealt with the government affairs for a day, and was pestered by the queen for most of the night, after saying this, he felt that his eyelids were heavy, and he soon fell asleep.

But the queen stared at the tulle brocade tent that was happy all over the world, and did not close her eyes all night.

When Ji Min went to the Song Mansion to get people under the command of the saint, Song Li was reprimanding Song Jie in the study. It was also a coincidence, Song Jie suddenly came back after disappearing for a month, and entered Beijing almost at the same time as the prisoner, Song Li naturally did not connect the two things together at first, but when Ji Min and several criminal department officers shouted to him to accept the order, he had a delusion in shock, and really thought that his nonsensical son was involved in this matter.

It was precisely because of this illusion that he never said a word in his son's loud roar, and let Ji Min take Song Jie away.

When the queen learned that Song Li neither questioned nor obstructed, she couldn't help but breathe a long sigh of relief.

Emperor Yi waited for Ji Min and Song Jie in the warm pavilion of Yangyuan Palace, because he had not yet been convicted, Ji Min did not put Song Jie in a flail and shackles, but struggled and tore along the way, so that his luxurious brocade robe was a little damaged at the cuffs of the placket, and the bun jade ring on his head did not know where to go, and the whole black hair was scattered and scattered, and he was a fallen soul son.

As soon as he saw Emperor Yi sitting on the high-end dragon chair, Song Jie fell to the ground on all fours, opened his mouth first, and he wailed loudly: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, my nephew is wronged, wronged!"

When Emperor Yi saw him like this, it didn't look like he was pretending, "You said that you were wronged, and the criminals had no grievances with you, why did you specifically identify you?"

"Nephew doesn't know, Your Majesty!" Song Jie burst into tears, and his hair fell to the ground.

Emperor Yi stared at Song Jie with his eyes fixedly on the cloak, and said sharply: "You have to think clearly, I will ask you again, did you do it?"

Song Jie lifted his forehead from the floor tiles, his eyes were red as if they were about to drip blood, and his hoarse cry was ruthless, "Your Majesty, my nephew only wants to find out the truth of the matter, if it is really my nephew's doing, my nephew is willing to be punished by a car split, Your Majesty!"

What kind of character is Emperor Yi, originally he didn't believe that Song Jie would do such a thing, he also thought that it was Song Li's instructions, but after thinking about it, Song Li is the prince's uncle, and in the future, the prince will ascend the throne, and the stability of the north of Dayi will depend on the king of Dingbei, and Song Li's action against the king of Dingbei is tantamount to cutting off the prince's siblings.

But the inference is inference, what the truth is, it needs to be interrogated to know, so Emperor Yi asked Ji Min to bring Song Jie to see him. Song Jie, the first gentleman in the capital who only knows cockfighting and lackeys all day long, and flying eagles and horses, what kind of virtue is it, Emperor Yi knows it clearly, he will never pretend to be so similar. Seeing this, he can basically conclude that Song Jie was framed, and the ultimate goal is to bite the prime minister of Dayi-Song Li.

Since it is a bite climbing, then the main messenger has someone else, and Emperor Yi immediately ordered Ji Min to reopen the court for interrogation, no matter what means are used, the real result must be investigated.

At the same time that Emperor Yi personally interrogated Song Jie, Concubine Yue also met with Mao Shouren. As soon as they met, they asked, "What the hell is going on, how did you become Song Jie?"

The direction of the matter did not go according to the plan they agreed on at all, they were originally scheduled to try their best to kill the king of Dingbei first, if the assassination failed, they would give up resistance and be captured, and after being escorted back to Beijing, they were assigned by the queen to kill two birds with one stone, and the corresponding physical evidence Mao Shouren was ready. Even if Emperor Yi still didn't believe it in the end, at least he could be suspicious of the queen from then on.

But what I never expected was that the front was right, but when the back was identified, it became Song Jie, as for why it became like this, Mao Shouren was at a loss.

"It's not just Song Jie, the number of people is not right!" Mao Shouren frowned, "There are only sixty of us, but there are more than a hundred corpses when the corpses are counted at the scene." ”

"What do you mean......" Concubine Yue raised her gilded armor, and looked at Mao Shouren with fine lotus steps, and the two looked at each other, and understood at the same time.

The most plausible inference is that there was another group of people who joined the assassination of King Dingbei at the same time. And all the sixty people on his side died in the middle of the rocky mountain, and the only one left alive was the person who bit Song Jie to death now, and this person was undoubtedly not from his own side.

But why did he target Song Jie? Is it for Song Li?

At this point, things are completely out of their imagination and control. However, they are not all without gains, if they can pull Song Li into the water, it will be equivalent to breaking a big wing of the prince, no matter how it is counted, it is also an unexpected big surprise.

Of course, in addition to the accident, what made them feel even more strongly was the shock. More than a hundred people, all of them are extraordinary, except for one person who deliberately stayed, all of them died on the spot, and the other party was only a few people who were slightly injured, in such a narrow place, as long as the front and back are blocked, how can they get out of the way?

How did the king of Dingbei do it?

Concubine Yue and Mao Shouren didn't know, but no one would tell them, the dead wouldn't, and the remaining Dingbei kings shouldn't either.

The case suddenly reached an impasse, and the entire Xihao City was in a dull and suspicious atmosphere. When fine snowflakes floated in the sky above the imperial capital on the twenty-fifth day of the lunar month, Emperor Yi received a report from the king of Dingbei returning to Beijing in front of the blooming snow plum in the corner of the corridor of the Yangyuan Palace.

Emperor Yi eagerly announced the arrival of the king of the north, he waited in front of the high palace steps outside the palace, the wind and snow beat his cheeks, blew open his clothes, puffed up the sleeves of his robe, he was unaware, his eyes were firmly fixed on the front of the sky shrouded by the wind and snow.

Li Defu, the personal eunuch, stood beside him, his face as cold as white paper, shivering in the wind and snow. He trembled his voice and cried, repeating the same sentence constantly, "Your Majesty, go and wait in the palace, it's cold outside......"

The snow was falling heavier and heavier, and the wind was flying with snow flakes, and Emperor Yi's body was already plain white. I don't know how long it took, at the end of the palace steps where the catkins flew, a gray dot finally appeared, and Emperor Yi wiped off the snowflakes that had not melted at the corners of his eyebrows and eyes, and walked down the stairs quickly.

The eunuch Li Dequan hurriedly followed, stretched out his hand to help, and almost fell down the palace steps because he was in a hurry. The people under the palace steps also quickened their pace, and finally, the two figures stood face to face in the center of the palace steps.

In addition to the two figures standing opposite each other, there is also the endless snow, and the sound of "clacking" and "clacking" that seems to be still around, the eunuchs and palace maids who are kneeling neatly in front of the Yangyuan Hall have become silent snow sculptures. Within the Ninefold Palace, in the entire Xihao Capital, it seemed that the cold that penetrated the sky and the earth had disappeared, and only the golden and jade warmth between the main horns was flowing.

Mao Shouren, who was on duty, stood in front of a cold plum tree under the corridor of Yangyuan Palace, looking at all this coldly, and his cold eyes couldn't help but reveal a trace of unconcealable emotion.

At the gate of the palace, Li Dequan wanted to ask someone to take off the thick velvet for the king of Dingbei, but was stopped by Emperor Yi waving his hand. When the two walked side by side into the warm pavilion in the Yangyuan Palace, the inner eunuch came over and took away the two of them together.

Emperor Yi had already ordered someone to take away the ambergris incense that was usually smoked in the warm pavilion and replaced it with a clear and mellow Canan incense, because the king of Dingbei was not used to the smell of ambergris.

After the inner prison served hot tea, Emperor Yi looked at King Dingbei and said softly, "Brother Wang has been reduced." ”

King Dingbei felt that the atmosphere was a little sentimental, so he deliberately joked loudly: "Your Majesty, please rest assured, the courtiers have a lot of food, and they can eat a cow in one meal." ”

Emperor Yi was not in the mood to joke with him, his eyes swept around him, and he still asked uneasily, "Brother Wang is really okay?"

The king of Dingbei slapped his chest loudly to show that he was indeed fine. Emperor Yi inquired carefully about the situation at that time, and after the king of Dingbei replied according to the truth, the two exchanged opinions on the confession of the offender. King Dingbei also did not believe that Song Jie did it, thinking that the prisoner must be confusing the public, or there was a deeper purpose.

The two had a long talk in the warm pavilion, but they didn't realize that it was the time of the beginning of Shen Weiyou, and it was dark early in winter, and the palaces and halls had turned on the lamps in turn. Li Dequan came in and reported that the dragon chariot had been prepared, and asked the emperor and the prince to drive to Fengtian Palace. It turned out that Emperor Yi had already ordered the Inner Court to arrange a reception dinner for King Dingbei in the Fengtian Palace.

"Your Majesty, by all means, the minister is still fasting during the mourning period, how can he ......" King Dingbei's face was embarrassed.

"Brother Wang, I've already thought about it for you, don't drink, don't play music, don't get meat tonight, I want a vegetarian meal for Brother Wang!"

Tonight, Emperor Yi set up a banquet for the king of Dingbei in Fengtian Palace, and ordered officials above the third rank to accompany him. Except for the vassal kings, generals stationed abroad and local officials, there were a total of 53 officials above the third rank who were suspended in the court, except for two who were seriously ill and took leave, and Ji Min, the secretary of the criminal department, the remaining 50 people were all waiting in the front hall of the Fengtian Palace.

When Emperor Yi and King Dingbei stepped into the palace door one after another, the ministers bowed down to salute the two, Emperor Yi did not squint, went straight through the front hall, turned the corridor garden, and came to the chief dragon seat of the Baiyan Hall to sit down. After the king of Dingbei bowed his hand in return, the ministers followed the emperor in turn, and Bai Qi took a seat on the left of Emperor Yi, opposite Song Li on the right.

In the "opening ceremony" sound of the celebrant singing the promise, Emperor Yi Ping held the golden cup in his hand, and there was a hint of coldness in his light tone, "Everyone Aiqing," Emperor Yi slowly stretched out the golden cup to His Royal Highness, "There are good things in this cup, which can be clear in the heart and clear in the eyes." After drinking this cup, the evil thoughts are gone, and you will be able to distinguish right from wrong, understand right and wrong, and know what to do and what not to do. ”

Everyone looked at the silver cup on their seats, the liquid in the cup was green and translucent, and shone with a faint green light in the bright yellow candlelight. Every word and every word of the emperor is a pun, secretly pointing to this assassination and reminding all of them that from now on, they must not have evil thoughts about the king of Dingbei.

Song Li was the first to stand up, holding the silver cup steadily, the long beard under his chin was windless, and he said loudly: "Your Majesty's teachings make the ministers feel guilty and embarrassed, and the ministers are in the position of the first assistant, but they can't worry about the king, and they can't educate the evil sons, and they will eventually make a big mistake." The minister only wants to find out the truth, if it is really the son of evil, the minister must wipe his neck with his own hands, and carry the head to ask the prince for guilt......"

Before Song Li finished speaking, King Dingbei got up and interrupted him, "Lord Song, there are still many doubts in this case, and there is no need to blame yourself too much before the conclusion is reached......

Song Li is over fifty years old, but his waist is still straight, he looked directly at King Dingbei from afar, interrupted him, and his tone was a little excited, "Lord, since the lower officials can say it, they will definitely be able to do it." Speaking of this, he turned slightly to face Emperor Yi, and his voice was sonorous and powerful, "The minister swears allegiance to His Majesty!" After speaking, he drank all the things in the cup.

"The minister swears allegiance to His Majesty!" echoed the high and low voices in the Hundred Banquet Hall.

But when they followed Song Li and poured it violently, they felt a fishy smell rushing to their noses, and the mouth was suddenly bitter and unbearable, and their stomachs were immediately overturned. Many people are disgusted and want to vomit, but the drink given by the emperor, who dares to vomit, has to desperately barely hold back, I want to eat something to suppress the taste, but take a closer look, the small plates on the plate are all red grass, daylily noodles, glutinous balls and other plain dots, which look exquisite.

The entire Baiyan Hall looked like usual, and there were only a few people such as King Dingbei, Song Li, and Nie Bei.

Emperor Yi looked at all this coldly, and his eyes slowly swept in front of the ministers in turn. He was sure that the person behind the scenes was among this group of people, and the unsuccessful Song Jie was just the target for death.

He asked the imperial dining room to soak the bitter gall in water, and after all the bitter gall and bitter taste entered the water, the bitter gall was fished out and clarified for a period of time, so that the bitter water produced was both fishy and bitter, but it could dispel heat and detoxify, and it was beneficial and harmless to the body.

In this way, he repeatedly warned them not to transgress their duties and not to develop obsessions. Because he knows that the king of Dingbei is not himself, and the higher his position, the more people who will take risks, and the greater the danger will naturally be.

And the people who really want him to die are these high-ranking and powerful people in front of him. Because jealousy can only be born between peers, and beggars will only be jealous of other beggars, and it is impossible to be jealous of the rich.

Of course, the king of Dingbei knew Emperor Yi's good intentions, so his heart was even more bitter at the moment than the bitter water he had just eaten.

The atmosphere in the hall condensed to the freezing point, but Emperor Yi still didn't have the slightest intention of making a sound. Everyone stared down at the plate on their seats, and their minds were in chaos, not knowing what this unfathomable saint would do next.

The drum beat of the second watch outside the hall, the aftermath was long and clear, and after a long silence, Emperor Yi finally spoke again, and what he said once again exceeded everyone's expectations.

"I have decided to canonize Bai Guang, the son of the King of the North, as the prince of the king!"

According to the regulations of Dayi, the royal family follows the "descending" system, that is, the son of the prince is the king of the county, the son of the king of the county is the king of the county, and so on. And Wang Shizi, they can only be canonized when they are adults, and they need to make great contributions to the imperial court, like Bai Guang, a young son who is less than three years old, canonized Wang Shizi, and the Dayi Dynasty has never had such a precedent.

Also, Bai Qi is not only the first person with a different surname to be crowned king in Dayi, but also a hereditary replacement, enjoying the title and glory of the prince for generations, which is an honor that Dayi's courtiers have never had.

Bai Qi was the first to sit still, and just wanted to get up and say goodbye to the emperor, when he suddenly saw someone striding out in the middle of the seat, who looked about forty years old, tall and wide, and had a white face and beard.

The man walked quickly to the open space between the banquets, brushed off his robe, knelt on the ground and shouted, "Your Majesty, I can't help it!"

After Emperor Yi stared at the light of the palace candles, he couldn't help but feel on fire, and said in a deep voice: "Tong Qing, do you have an opinion?"

Doctor Tong Xian's forehead hit the gold brick ground, and his voice cried, "Your Majesty, the Dayi Dynasty has been founded for nearly a hundred years, and there has never been a precedent for the canonization of the son of the world......

Emperor Yi looked at him coldly, and interrupted him word by word: "The ancestral system of the first dynasty should be followed, but no precedent does not mean that it is abolished and reformed! I give you the right to advise, but you have to use it in the right place!"

Hearing this, Tong Xianyan raised his chin, his forehead was already a shocking red, the gold bricks in front of him were stained with blood, he wiped the blood droplets that fell from the corners of his eyes with his hands, and then untied the silver ring of his hair, and his long hair immediately hung down, he took off his hairpin and scattered, and cried loudly and persuaded: "Your Majesty, there is a difference between the monarch and the minister, and it cannot be overpassed, and the restriction cannot be exceeded! The minister risked his life to ask His Majesty to take back ......his life."

Emperor Yi finally became angry and shouted, "Pull this rebellious man out!" Two guards at the door ran over, and one carried Tong Xian outside.

"Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty!"

"The king is not the king, the minister is not the minister......"

"Trouble will happen, trouble will happen!"

Tong Xian screamed loudly while struggling, and the person had been dragged out of the Fengtian Palace, but the aftermath was still echoing in every corner of the Baiyan Hall.

Bai Qi only felt that the bitterness in his heart spread out, slowly overflowing all over his limbs, he was robbed by Tong Xian just now, and he didn't have time to excuse himself, and now that this kind of thing has happened, it is not suitable to push it again. Moreover, the emperor is angry, and it is not suitable to intercede for Tong Xun in front of the minister, not to mention that once he intercedes for Tong Xian, it means that his words are right.

When Bai Qi was in a dilemma, Emperor Yi spoke again, "Yellow Lotus is bitter, bitter gall is bitter, but the broken heart is even more bitter!" His tone seemed to contain a kind of incomprehensible compassion, he glanced at the king of Dingbei who lowered his eyebrows on his left, "You know where my bottom line is, but you still provoke and touch again and again. Song Qing, tomorrow you will let the Literature Museum look through the classics to see if there is a rule that young sons cannot be canonized!"

......。

The banquet broke up unhappily, and when the ministers withdrew from the Fengtian Temple, it was already more than half of the hour. Emperor Yi stood under the corridor of the Fengtian Hall with his hands in his hands, looking up at the eaves that flew obliquely into the clouds, and there was a trace of tiredness in his voice, "Brother Wang, I do this...... It's a last resort!"

The ministers had already retreated, and only Emperor Yi and King Dingbei were left in the entire Fengtian Palace, and the inner eunuchs and palace maids were waiting in the distance. Emperor Yi's simple sentence contains all kinds of emotions such as sadness, worry, anxiety and struggle, which can only be understood by Bai Qi. Even the emperor who controls the world has many helplessness, such as people's hearts, such as those treacherous thoughts that cannot be prevented.

"Dayi belongs to the strict law of etiquette and governs the country to a certain extent. In His Majesty's dynasty, he was more able to follow the advice and advice and never commit crimes, which is why there is a good situation of the monarch and the virtuous ministers. King Dingbei looked at the tall silhouette of Emperor Yi in the wind and snow, and said resolutely and sincerely: "Your Majesty should know that the Bai family has been a general for three generations, counting lives and deaths, and has never cared too much about the safety of his own skin. What I care more about is the relationship between His Majesty and the courtiers, and the smooth flow of His Majesty's executive decree. ”

How could Emperor Yi not hear the deep meaning of King Dingbei's words, but at this point, Emperor Yi never listened to anyone's advice, even his brother, who has always respected and loved, he was as stubborn as a stone, "I understand, Brother Wang wants to intercede for Tong Xian, I haven't figured out how to deal with him yet, and when he has figured it out and admitted his mistake, I will talk about it." As for you, Brother Wang, I just want to canonize Bai Guang as the son of the world now, and I want to give you the glory and honor of the Bai family to surpass others. Because only in this way will those who want to harm you feel scared, feel jealous, and it is possible to stop acting!"