When night fell, the imperial capital began to quiet down.

At the end of the day's hard work, the people of the outer city all lay in their beds and fell asleep, only the inner city was still lit up with the stars above the sky.

This is also not unusual, and lighting was a luxury in the era when there were no electric lights.

If there is nothing that the people have to do, they will turn off the lights early at night, as long as those rich merchants have the confidence to light hundreds of lamps and candles in the courtyard and inner rooms without blinking, and the lights will be bright inside and out.

Shen Hongyi didn't think there was anything wrong with this contrast between light and darkness, this world was inherently unfair, how could the princes and clans live in the same way as those mud-legged people, he couldn't imagine this kind of picture at all.

Recalling the Mei Ji he had just seen in the mansion of Lord Yuan of Dasi Nong, he couldn't help but feel a little regretful in his heart. He could see that if he stayed in his mansion tonight, he would definitely be able to kiss Fang Ze, but unfortunately, he had more important things to do.

On the balance between power and beauty, he behaved soberly. Because he knows very well that as long as he can be appreciated by the lord, what kind of beauty can't be obtained?

Thinking of the great things he had done in the past two days, Shen Hongwen's heart was hot, and he even trembled with excitement. For the first time, he felt that he could somehow decide the fate of the mighty nation beneath his feet, and the thrill of power made him a little overwhelmed.

However, he still quickened his pace, Shen Hongwen is a very smart person, he understands very well that he is just an insignificant small role, and the lord can give him this right, and he can take it back at any time, so he must do his best to do every errand.

A few minutes later, he came to the door of a mansion in the east of the city.

There are two teams of guards stationed on both sides of the gate, these guards have a fine light in their eyes, a murderous aura, and a sharp armor, at a glance, they are rare elites, and everyone who wants to enter the gate of the mansion will be carefully examined by them.

These two teams of guards are still only people in the open, and it is not known how many people are hidden around the mansion. With this level of vigilance, it can be said that it is impossible for even a single mosquito to fly in without permission.

Shen Hongwen walked up to a guard and showed a token made of white jade with ease, and the guard with a cold face carefully inspected it before waving his hand to let him go.

Shen Hongwen scolded in his heart as he entered the door, these Yulin guards are really rigid, he will go in and out of this mansion several times a day in order to do things for the lord, and he also believes that the guards at the door must remember his appearance, but these guys still insist on checking every time, and they don't mean to be accommodating at all.

But he couldn't help it, it wasn't that no one had complained about this problem in jokes before, but his fate was that he never walked through the door of this mansion again, and this kind of fate was something he didn't want to accept.

When he walked outside the main hall, the sound of beautiful music in the room drifted into his ears in the wind, which made his face subconsciously add a just right smile.

Under the guidance of the maid, Shen Hongwen took off his shoes and walked into the house, and more than a dozen women in the middle of the lobby were dancing to the accompaniment of music, and the warmth opposite to the outside of the house made his nasal cavity irritated and somewhat uncomfortable.

There were still many people on both sides of the hall who were quietly admiring, Shen Hongwen lowered his head, didn't dare to look more, resisted the urge to sneeze, and silently walked to the lower place and waited.

At the end of the song, the dancers retreated, and a young man in his twenties on the throne clapped his palms and said approvingly: "Good dance, let them receive the reward later." A yellow-robed eunuch beside him bowed down to receive the order.

When his eyes swept over the hall, he laughed again: "It turns out that Hongwen is back, I don't know what the result of this trip is?"

Shen Hongwen heard the lord call him, hurriedly walked to the middle of the hall, and bowed down: "Thanks to Your Highness, Lord Yuan has agreed to hand over the fold, congratulating Your Highness on taking another step towards success." ”

The man who was called His Royal Highness had a bigger smile on his face when he heard this, obviously he was in a good mood, he waved his hand, and Shen Congwen withdrew from the hall knowingly, and the next decision was not something that a small role like him could participate in.

Not to mention how excited Shen Hongwen was after returning to his room to find a beauty, after he left, the smile on the face of this highness faded, and he asked everyone in the hall: "Let's talk about it, in your opinion, will this Lord Yuan do what he says and present to his father?"

A suave scribe on the left stood up and replied, "Returning to Your Highness, in my opinion, it is unlikely that Lord Yuan will lie, and he will not be unaware of the consequences of doing so. Besides, even if this Lord Yuan had received the favor of Tiange Hou in his early years, he would not be allowed to sway left and right in such a major matter as Lichu, His Highness's entry into the East Palace is already the trend of the times, and when will he not compromise at this time?"

As soon as he finished speaking, another person on the other side smiled and said, "Brother Ji, I'm afraid I have said a little less, Mrs. Yuan is your aunt, and Lord Yuan must have a part of her credit for changing his mind." ”

Suddenly, everyone in the hall burst out laughing, and the scribe surnamed Ji also smiled, this person was right, his aunt had indeed blown pillow wind in her husband's ears in the past two days.

These people are all from big families, the relationship network is complicated, these families have always liked to marry, after more than 200 years of persistence, until now, there is really no minister in this court who has nothing to do with them.

And this Royal Highness in the hall is the second prince Xiang Hong.

Xiang Hong agreed with the sentence in this strategist surnamed Ji just now, his entry into the East Palace was indeed the trend of the times.

His mother is the Empress of Dachu, the mother of the world, as the queen's concubine, he naturally has the advantage of inheriting the throne. From ancient times to the present, with the eldest son, the other princes can give up the idea of becoming the crown prince, unless someone wants to make the court turbulent and the world in chaos.

Xiang Hong thought this more than once, but he didn't dare to say this to his father, he has been very good since he was a child, and he is not afraid of any difficulties, but he is only afraid of one person, that is, his father.

This fear, which had been intensified for more than a decade, had taken such a deep ingrain in his heart that he could not muster the courage to oppose his father's decision, whether it was justified or not.

But now, he finally saw the dawn, and his father finally relented, saying that all the officials agreed, if you hadn't suppressed it all the time, I would have been the prince by now, okay!

Xiang Hong had some rebellious thoughts in his heart, which gave him the pleasure of breaking his father's authority.

But when he remembered his eldest brother, he calmed down, and it was not time to celebrate.

Because he grew up in the palace since he was a child, he knows very well what his eldest brother thinks, he actually just wants to be a general like Tiange Hou, and he doesn't have any desire for the throne, but some things are not something he can decide how he thinks.

The father insisted on pulling him out, showing that he might make him the crown prince, but in fact, he just wanted to take this opportunity to continue to knock on the wealthy family and win over the army and the children of the poor family.

He has seen this very clearly now.

But he also knows that there is one thing that his father and eldest brother agree with, that is, supporting the poor family and weakening the family, which is also where he and them have the biggest differences.

He never understood why his father was so tough on weakening the family, and it was even a little unreasonable. It's not that he doesn't know the shortcomings of the family, but if he wants to solve this matter, he can take a more conciliatory way, instead of forcibly exacerbating the conflict like this.

Xiang Hong also has great ambitions in his heart, you must know that his body is also the blood of the overlord.

He believed that if he inherited the throne, he would definitely do better than his father. When the time comes, he will use practical actions to prove to his father that he will never completely side with the family as he thinks.

The Son of Heaven, who holds the world in his hands and dominates the common people, how can he be swayed by the Ququ family?