Du Ziping's heart moved, he took out a crystal round mirror, and quietly left a mark on Du Yun and the two eunuchs, these people are ordinary people, how can they notice it? Du Ziping followed one of the eunuchs again.

The eunuch walked around and came to a grand mansion. Du Ziping saw that the vermilion gate of this mansion was closed, the huge copper nails on the door were shining, the flagpole more than two zhang high on the left and right beside the door stood tall, and the two mighty and hideous jade lions sat on each side, and the power was extremely heroic. The plaque in the middle of the gate reads "Ning Wangfu" in three gold lacquer characters.

Du Ziping said secretly: "This turned out to be Du Zimo's fifth son, it seems that he has long been arranged by Du Yun's cronies, and he knows everything about his every move." But the eunuch did not go to the main gate, but went around to the side door, buckled it twice, and came out of a door, and when he saw the eunuch, he hurriedly invited him in.

The eunuch came to a secret room, and in it was a young man, dressed in a brocade robe, embroidered with the finest gold silk, two golden dragons fighting on the sea, which looked even more gorgeous in the light of the candlelight. The brocade-robed young man was Du Heng, the king of Ning, that is, the fifth highness in Du Yun's mouth. In addition to him, there was an old man with a goatee.

The eunuch approached and handed over a note. Du Heng took it, only glanced at it, his face changed greatly, his hands trembled, tears flowed down, and he sat on the chair with his buttocks. The old man with the goatee was taken aback and asked, "His Royal Highness King Ning, what happened?"

Du Heng said: "The front was defeated, the whole army was annihilated, and my father died. With that, he handed the note to the old man with the goatee.

The old man took it and looked at it, with a solemn look on his face, and said, "His Royal Highness King Ning, please mourn, the key now is, what should we do?"

Du Heng came to his senses and said, "Yes, someone suggested that the eldest brother capture me, what should I do?"

The old man with the goatee pondered for a moment and said, "Your Highness, you should hurry back to the palace now and bring these Empress Ming." With the queen here, it is impossible for Her Highness to touch you. ”

Du Heng said: "Yes, Mr. Wan is really resourceful, I'll leave now, don't let the eldest brother take the lead." With that, he hurried away and went straight to the palace.

At this time, Du Ziping quietly opened the crystal round mirror, but saw another eunuch walking to another mansion, although the mansion also occupies a huge area, but compared with Ning Wangfu, the momentum is far less, and the three big characters "Zhao Wangfu" are written on it. The eunuch walked through the side door and came to a secret room. There was also a young man in the chamber.

This man's facial features are somewhat similar to Du Yun and Du Heng, but he is only wearing an ordinary robe, and there are two middle-aged scribes next to him, one tall and one short.

The young man took the note from the eunuch's hand, and his face changed drastically, and he burst into tears. The two middle-aged scribes knew that something was wrong and were about to ask, but the young man handed the note first.

After these two people saw it, their hearts were shocked, and they both said: "Your Highness is mourning, but what should I do now? Your Highness may send someone over at any time, but Your Highness should avoid it first." "This young man is Du Zimo's fourth son, Du Huan.

Du Huan said: "I'm not going anywhere, I'm here." ”

Among them, the short middle-aged scribe hurriedly said: "Your Highness, there are not enough people in the house, we can't sit still." ”

Du Huan wiped his tears and said, "You only know one thing, but you don't know the other." Big brother is not as mindless as you think. If he really sent someone to kill me and my fifth brother, tomorrow's minister would never nominate him to succeed him, even if he reluctantly became the emperor, the people's hearts were scattered, and the Jade Dragon Empire would be over. He understands this truth very well. ”

The short middle-aged scribe said: "Even if His Highness doesn't have this heart, he is weak by nature, and he is afraid that his subordinates will pick him up, so he is confused for a while." ”

Du Huan shook his head and said: "Although the eldest brother is weak on weekdays, he is actually soft on the outside and strong on the inside, and the things he believes will never change." He has always talked about benevolence and filial piety, and he will never easily ruin his reputation for many years. What's more, if he is really greedy for profit and sends someone to kill me and my fifth brother, this Jade Dragon Empire will be over, and he will definitely not be able to resist Dongqiang, I just run away with my life, what's the use?"

Another tall middle-aged scribe said: "His Royal Highness King Zhao is reasonable, but tomorrow in the court, I am afraid that the ministers will nominate His Royal Highness to succeed him." ”

Du Huan said: "Now that the national crisis is at hand, we must hug together, so as to protect my Jade Dragon Empire, and the rest, put it aside first." Seeing this, Du Ziping nodded secretly, this Du Huan not only understands righteousness, but also has outstanding resourcefulness, and is a talent.

Du Huan said again: "However, tomorrow's eldest brother may not be able to succeed to the throne smoothly, we have eyeliner next to the eldest brother, and the fifth brother must also have it, he must know about this, if I guessed correctly, he should go to the palace to find the queen mother now." ”

The short middle-aged scribe said: "It's just that Your Majesty has died, His Royal Highness King Ning is in the court, and there are not many supporters, and the hope of competing for the throne tomorrow is not as good as Your Highness." ”

The tall middle-aged scribe said: "Yes, tomorrow's ministers will nominate a successor, and I think Your Highness, you have the greatest hope." ”

Du Huan said: "Not necessarily, although I have attracted some ministers on weekdays, these people are all young and handsome, and they do not have enough weight to speak." After all, I am not a son-in-law, although those highly respected ministers have been in contact with me, they have always kept their distance, and tomorrow they will be on the rise, or the eldest brother will have a greater chance of winning. ”

The tall middle-aged scribe said: "In this case, tomorrow, Your Highness will look at the situation, and you might as well nominate Your Highness to succeed you." Now that you are in a big disaster, this shows that Your Highness understands the righteousness, and you can also take the opportunity to ask to lead the troops into battle. Your Highness, you have military merits, and it is normal to lead troops. At this critical moment, His Royal Highness can make great contributions again, and his prestige in the DPRK and China will be greatly increased, and there may not be no chance of turning the tables. ”

Du Ziping quietly followed Du Heng to the palace at this time. When Du Heng saw the queen, he immediately asked to retreat, and then cried loudly. The queen was shocked and hurriedly asked why.

Du Heng said the matter one by one. The queen said: "Your eldest brother will never dare to come here to arrest you, but tomorrow in the court, a new monarch will be elected, and you have no advantage." ”

Du Heng said: "What should I do then?"

The queen said: "I have followed your father for many years, and I have also drafted an edict for him, I imitate his handwriting, even he himself can not recognize, now I will draw up a testament, and this seal is now in my hand, tomorrow morning no one can recognize it." ”

The next day, Du Yun summoned hundreds of officials and announced that Du Zimo had died, and Long Fei and the Dongqiang army would soon come to attack the imperial capital. The Manchu ministers were all taken aback and wept bitterly.

Suddenly, I heard someone say: "The princes should mourn first, and now the major affairs of the country are to establish a new monarch first, and then discuss to meet the enemy." Everyone saw that it was Chen Yufu, the prime minister of the dynasty, who said this, his status in the court, second only to Li Yilong, he was the right minister, Li Yilong was the left minister, and now Li Yilong did not know whether he was alive or dead, and the ministers of the court and the central government were headed by him.

When everyone heard this, they all felt reasonable, but who was the emperor to be promoted? Most eyes looked at Du Yun. Although Du Yun did not canonize the crown prince, he is the eldest son and the prison country, so naturally the new monarch belongs to him.

Chen Yufu saluted Du Yun and said, "I am willing to ask Your Highness to ascend the throne!" The ministers immediately knelt down. Although Du Yun was overjoyed, he also had to make a show, and waved his hand again and again: "How can this be done?"

Chen Yufu said: "Now that the matter is urgent, I hope Your Highness will not work hard." ”

Du Yun pretended to push again, and was about to push the boat down the river, but suddenly heard a voice, "Slow!"

When he looked up, his heart was shocked, and it was the queen who came.

The queen said: "Although the death of the first emperor was sudden in advance, before he set out on the expedition, he left an edict, and Du Heng, the king of Lining, was the new king. ”

As soon as these words came out, everyone was stunned. Chen Yufu was also stunned and asked, "May I ask the queen, where is the edict?"

The queen waved her hand slightly, and a palace maid walked over with a jade plate, and an edict was placed on the jade plate. Chen Yufu took it and looked at it, and it wrote: "After a hundred years, Du Heng, the king of Ning, can ascend to the great treasure." ”

Chen Yufu was suspicious, Du Zimo was in excellent health before his death, and he was never sure about the position of the crown prince, how could there suddenly be such an edict?

He looked at it again, and the font and seal letter were completely correct, and he couldn't help but believe it, and thought to himself: "Could it be that Your Majesty is just for the sake of King Lining, so he doesn't affirm the position of the crown prince?"

The queen said: "Is this edict fake?"

Chen Yufu hesitated: "The old minister's eyes are dizzy, and he can't recognize it anymore. Du Heng behind the queen scolded secretly, this is really an old fox.

The queen said to the ministers again: "Chen Xiang is old, so change to a younger one, come up and take another look." ”

Everyone knew that the stakes were high, and they did not dare to move forward. The queen asked again, but still no one answered. She frowned, but suddenly heard someone say, "I'll take a look." ”

Everyone looked at it, it was Zhao Wang Duhuan. When Du Yun and Du Heng met, their hearts were all sudden, this Du Huan was wise and scheming, and Du Zimo once sighed that Du Huan was not a son-in-law. He is also quite prestigious among the ministers.

When Chen Yufu saw it, he thought to himself: "The bones of the first emperor are not cold, is there going to be a good show of fighting for the throne here?"

Du Huan stepped forward, only glanced at it, and said, "This is a false edict. ”

When the queen and Du Heng heard this, their faces changed. The queen thought to herself, how did he see it? Could it be that he was lying to me?

Her hesitation, Du Huan's heart was even more determined. He saluted Du Yun and said, "Please take the throne eldest brother!"

This sentence surprised everyone even more. Originally, as soon as he appeared on the stage, everyone thought that he was also going to compete for the position, but they didn't know that they would support Du Yun.

The queen said angrily: "Du Huan, why do you say that this is a false edict?"

Du Huandao: "When my father was on the throne, he said that women are not allowed to participate in politics, so how can you put such an edict in your hands?" Later, he shouted and reprimanded.

Then, he turned to the ministers and said: "My dynasty has always been succeeded by the eldest son, only when Ruizong ascended to immortality, there was no heir, and this was succeeded by the father, and since the father identified the eldest brother as the prisoner of the country, his meaning is very clear, and there should be no other changes." ”

After speaking, he pulled his hands and smashed the edict, and said again: "Please take over the eldest brother." ”

Chen Yufu saw Du Huan's appearance, and suddenly thought: "If you talk about ability and courage, this Du Huan is really the best candidate to take over." "It's just that he also knows that this must not be done, at least for now.