Jiuxi

Chapter 353 Chapter 351 [Go straight to the point]

Imperial City, Funing Palace.

"My mother, my son and I have made an appointment with Sanlang Li Jiasanlang to go hunting together in the northern suburbs the day after tomorrow. Therefore, I want to leave the palace early to make preparations. I kindly ask my mother to let my son go out of the palace."

The Third Prince and King Jian Li Zongjian stood in front of the couch, pleading shamelessly to the noble man in palace attire sitting on the couch.

The noble person is Empress Xu, the lord of the Sixth Palace, the emperor's wife, the eldest prince and the third prince's biological mother.

Everyone knows that among the two direct princes, Queen Xu dotes on the third prince, so much so that the latter becomes the number one dandy in the capital.

Queen Xu was nearly forty years old, so her appearance was naturally inferior to that of a beauty in her twenties, but her peerless grace in her youth was vaguely visible. Nowadays, as time goes by, the empress's eyebrows have gained a graceful and luxurious temperament, and she looks more and more calm and calm.

After hearing the third prince's plea, Queen Xu glanced around briefly and said, "You all should step back."

"As ordered."

The beautiful palace maids, who were short in stature and blessed with gifts, filed out.

The third prince's expression remained normal, but there was murmuring in his heart.

Three years ago, when the Mo Yuan Literary Meeting was held for the first time, the third prince secretly became wary.

Queen Xu's eyes were leisurely and she said unhurriedly: "Your Majesty, does it mean that I feel that what I have done is inappropriate?"

It took the third prince a moment to react.

The palace became quiet, Queen Xu's eyes were calm, and she said slowly: "I have sent an order to Xu Ruqing, telling him to stop the dead soldiers you sent to Moyuan Literary Society."

This sentence made many emotions appear in his heart instantly.

He thought he knew his mother's temperament very well. She was probably the kind of queen that would be praised in history books. She had no tyrannical relatives, devoted herself to managing the harem for the king, and never interfered in the affairs of foreign dynasties. Her reputation as a virtuous queen was well-known.

He didn't understand why his father would acquiesce to this, but he knew that the second prince could use this literary meeting to win over people's hearts. Even if the participants were just down-and-out intellectuals who were not worth mentioning, they could still have a considerable impact on the public.

Today is the first day of the Moyuan Literary Society. Although the third prince will not join in the fun, he is very concerned about what happens at the literary meeting because he has made arrangements long ago.

In short, Queen Xu is the person who knows him best in the world, even far more than the emperor.

"It's normal that you don't understand. After all, I have been too indulgent to you in the past, making you forget your duty as a human subject."

"Mother... I really don't understand."

He stared at Queen Xu blankly and said nothing for a long time.

Just as he said to Yun Niang that day, after He Kuanfu took action, he would naturally find a way to bring this crime to the head of the wealthy family.

However, Queen Xu summoned him to the palace early in the morning and refused to let him out.

Therefore, he had been secretly planning for a long time, and He Kuanfu was one of the pawns that he tried every means to insert into the Cultural Society last year.

Many of his cronies are related to the descendants, and Xu Ruqing is the queen's nephew.

Seeing his mother retreating from the palace, the third prince noticed something strange.

Originally, he just wanted to use He Kuanfu to destroy the atmosphere of the Moyuan Literary Society, but after the second prince publicly invited Lu Chen, he immediately realized that this was an excellent opportunity.

However, Queen Xu's understatement at this moment was like a basin of ice water pouring down the third prince's heart.

The third prince did not ask why the queen knew about his arrangement. This was a very simple question. The reason why he could compete with his two brothers at a disadvantage was because of the queen's favor.

Empress Xu's words were undoubtedly very serious, and the third prince was shocked. He quickly knelt down and apologized: "Mom, please calm down. How dare you, my son, be so disobedient."

"You do not dare?"

Empress Xu smiled coldly, and then said: "You asked He Kuanfu to assassinate Shanyang Marquis because you just wanted to put the blame on the Jiangnan family members, but you knew that those people would definitely not let it go, so you were prepared to get involved. When your majesty suspects that this is your fault and the civil and military officials of the court regard you as the real culprit behind this, you can pin the blame on King Chen or King Xiang."

King Chen is the eldest prince Li Zongchao, and King Xiang is the second prince Li Zongben.

The third prince's face suddenly became extremely ugly.

Queen Xu said: "I don't know how you can do this, and Xu Ruqing doesn't know what you are thinking, but I can probably guess it. You first pass on the responsibility of assassinating the prince to the family members, and wait until the time is right. At that time, His Majesty will suspect that this is your secret instigation, and finally you will throw out conclusive evidence to make King Chen or King Xiang the real culprit. By then the public will be in an uproar, and your plan will succeed, and you will be eliminated from the fight for the throne. An enemy on the road.”

After hearing these words, the third prince felt cold sweat dripping down his back.

Xu Ruqing knew part of his arrangement, but not all of it. Therefore, even if he truthfully reported all the secrets he knew, Queen Xu would only know part of it, and the rest could only be guessed.

The problem is, her guess is absolutely correct.

The third prince raised his head, looked at the queen's indifferent eyes, and said hesitantly: "Mother, my son..."

Empress Xu still said calmly: "Your Majesty, do you think you can hide your thoughts from everyone? Even if most people believe that He Kuanfu is a pawn used by King Chen or King Xiang to frame you, will your father believe it? ? Do the two prime ministers believe it? Do Privy Guo and General Wang believe it? Even Shanyang Marquis Lu Chen, will he believe it? "

The third prince was speechless again.

Queen Xu said bluntly: "If I tell you, they won't believe it. Just because you have been so wanton in the past few years does not mean that everyone will be deceived by such illusions. At least in my opinion, Your Majesty and the two prime ministers are very I know what you are thinking. Now that the Prime Minister invites Lu Chen to attend a cultural gathering, an assassin immediately appears to assassinate Lu Chen. Who do you think you can hide from with such tricks?"

The third prince looked panicked. At this moment, he realized that his thinking was too simple. How could those who have been in the court for decades be simple-minded?

When he thought of this, he said with shame: "My mother taught me the right thing, but my son and I are confused."

Queen Xu looked at him steadily and sighed softly: "Your Majesty, there are no outsiders now. Tell the truth, are you unable to let go of your position as Crown Prince?"

The third prince pondered for a moment, nodded and said, "I dare not deceive my mother. I do have this idea."

There was a long silence in the hall.

Queen Xu looked up at the incense cauldron on the side and said slowly: "Then tell your mother, if you can realize your long-cherished wish in the future, how will you treat your eldest brother?"

The eldest prince and the third prince are from the same mother. However, it was extremely difficult for Queen Xu to give birth to the eldest prince, and she almost died. Perhaps because of this reason, Queen Xu has never been able to get close to the eldest prince.

The third prince's heart moved, and he quickly promised: "Mother, I have always regarded my eldest brother as my elder brother. No matter how the situation changes in the future, I will not change this idea. Today I swear in front of my mother that if I can achieve this in the future My long-cherished wish will ensure that my eldest brother will be prosperous and wealthy for the rest of his life. If he violates this oath, he will be struck by lightning from the sky and die a miserable death!"

His tone was sonorous and powerful, and Queen Xu couldn't help but be stunned. After a moment, she nodded and said, "Okay, it's not in vain that I love you so much."

The third prince smiled naively.

Empress Xu raised her hand and brushed his forehead with pity, and said softly: "If you let people assassinate Shanyang Marquis now, you will only put yourself in a desperate situation, so I ordered Xu Ruqing to stop this. Prince, if you really have that ambition, The path you are taking now is wrong, and the Prime Minister is walking in front of you."

"Second brother? Mother said you want to have a good relationship with Lu Chen?"

The third prince was not stupid, and he quickly understood the profound meaning.

Empress Xu said kindly: "It's not just Lu Chen, but all the soldiers in the border army. Your Majesty, you should think about what your father cares about most."

"It's the Northern Expedition!"

The third prince answered quickly, then hesitated and said: "Mother, I have thought about this issue before, but I feel that my father is forced to support the Northern Expedition."

Queen Xu naturally understood the reason for his words and couldn't help frowning: "Do you really think so?"

The third prince nodded and said, "Not only do I think so, but many ministers in the court also think so."

Queen Xu shook her head and said: "It doesn't matter what others think. Remember, His Majesty's most sincere wish in this life is to defeat the Jing Dynasty and return the old capital."

The third prince believed that his mother would not lie to him, especially after the previous conversation. He nodded seriously and said, "My sons and ministers will definitely remember the teachings of my mother."

"Also, I know that you have close contacts with the Jiangnan family, but you have to remember one thing."

Empress Xu leaned forward slightly and said with great solemnity: "Don't have a heart to heart with the Li family."

This Li family undoubtedly refers to the Jinlin Li family, to be precise, they are the father and son Li Daoyan and Li Shizhi.

The third prince didn't understand what it meant, but at this moment he could only choose to believe his mother, nodded and said: "Yes, I have recorded it."

Empress Xu raised her eyes to the northeast and said slowly: "At this time, your second brother should be entertaining Lu Chen. Your Majesty, from now on, you must understand that in court battles, stabbing and violence are the lowest methods." , don’t use it unless absolutely necessary.”

The third prince said sincerely: "What the mother taught me is that I don't know what my son should do now."

Empress Xu said: "Now that you try to make friends with Lu Chen, you will be at a disadvantage. Not to mention that the Prime Minister beat you to it, you and Lu Chen had a conflict at the beginning. Well, I will teach you a way to ensure that your father will not There will be suspicion.”

The third prince was immediately overjoyed.

Listening to the Queen's words, his eyes became brighter.

……

Moyuan, Lioting Yashe.

The banquet prepared by the second prince was naturally dazzling.

There were fine wines and delicacies at the banquet, and music was played on silk and bamboo behind the screen. Next to them, there were beauties like Xue Susu, serving wine and serving dishes. On the other side, there were princes and princes accompanying them. Such treatment was rare in the world.

A weaker-minded person would have been lost in this atmosphere of endless respect.

Fortunately, Lu Chen was a man who had seen many storms in his life, but he could still hold on at this moment.

The second prince was extremely talkative, even discussing astronomy and geography to go with the wine. Lu Chen was smiling, neither appearing too unfamiliar nor out of place.

With a hint of drunkenness on his face, the second prince suddenly sighed softly.

Lu Chen knew that the drama was coming, so he asked cooperatively: "Why is Your Highness sighing?"

The second prince sighed and said: "To tell you the truth, this capital city is rich and includes everything in the world. Goods from all over the world can be purchased. Gentlemen and villains can meet all kinds of people. There is only one thing that is extremely rare."

"Oh?"

Lu Chen raised his eyebrows slightly and said with a smile: "What is so rare? I hope His Highness will make it clear."

The second prince held the wine cup in his right hand, looked directly into Lu Chen's eyes, and said calmly: "A thousand pieces of gold are easy to get, but a confidant is hard to find!"

The reason why Lu Chen agreed to stay for the banquet was actually just to see where the other party would go.

Now it seems...

The next moment, the second prince suddenly changed the subject and said, "Marquis Lu, I have something to ask for, and I hope you will give me your advice."

Lu Chen said calmly: "Your Highness, why do you need to do this? Please speak out."

The second prince looked at him steadily and said in a deep voice: "I want to be crown prince. Can Marquis Lu help me?"

As soon as he said this, Xue Susu, who was pouring wine for Lu Chen, flicked her wrist and almost spilled the wine all over Lu Chen.

Lu Chen turned sideways to avoid it, then looked at the second prince with a sincere face calmly, and said slowly: "Your Highness, you are drunk."

The second prince was slightly startled.

Lu Chen said calmly: "Your Highness, if you don't mind, let me tell you a story."

The second prince looked at him steadily and nodded after a long time.

(End of this chapter)