King of Han Dynasty of Ming Dynasty

It was early morning, and the breeze was slightly cool.

In the imperial prison.

The oil lamp hanging diagonally on the corridor, with swaying candlelight, filled the entire corridor with dim light, bringing a little warmth to this dark and damp place.

The two brothers Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaochi sat upright on their chairs, sipping the hot tea prepared by the Jinyiwei from time to time, and no one spoke.

Da da da.
Not long after.

A hurried and chaotic sound of footsteps suddenly broke the rare tranquility. A moment later, Yang Shiqi, led by the Jinyiwei, came in front of the two people, bowed respectfully and said:
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Prince Han."

The two people sitting on the chairs seemed to be in a trance, as if they didn't hear anything. They drank the hot tea in the cup without even moving their eyelids, let alone responding at all.

Yang Shiqi bowed with his head lowered and his body half-bowed. Seeing that there was no response or movement in his ears for a long time, he dared not make any unnecessary movements. He could only half-bow his body obediently and maintain the posture of saluting, not daring to make any unnecessary movements.

At the same time, he was certainly not a fool. Although he didn't know what had happened, the actions of the Crown Prince and the King of Han all expressed their dissatisfaction with him, and they were trying to discipline him.

That's it.

Time passed minute by minute. Yang Shiqi, half-bent over, slowly felt the fatigue in his body and the soreness in his waist. He didn't know when cold sweat appeared on his forehead and slid down his cheeks from time to time.

Just as Yang Shiqi was about to reach his physical limit, Zhu Gaochi, who was sipping the hot tea in his cup, finally spoke and snorted:

"Well"

"Shiqi is here?"

"No gift."

This is said.

To Yang Shiqi's ears, it sounded like the sound of nature, so without the slightest hesitation, he quickly withdrew his hands from the salute, straightened his half-bowed body, raised his hand and gently wiped the beads of sweat that had covered his forehead without knowing when, and responded:
"Thank you, Your Highness."

So he stood aside obediently, without saying a word, nor did he ask why he was summoned. His temperament was no longer as straightforward and outspoken as before, because he knew in his heart that the Crown Prince and the King of Han must have something he didn't know about when they behaved like this. He learned a lesson from his mistakes. He was just punished and his waist and hands were almost broken. If he said something wrong or did something wrong again, God knew if he would be punished again. So he chose to wait quietly for orders.

Zhu Gaochi slowly put down the teacup in his hand, tapped the table with his right hand, and stared at it expressionlessly for a long time before speaking softly:
"Shiqi, do you know why we have hurriedly summoned you here today?"

Yang Shiqi was slightly stunned when he heard this, his face full of astonishment. He fell silent for a moment, not quite understanding what this meant.
Do you know why he was summoned here?
Please!
How does he know?

He had been at home, sleeping soundly and comfortably with his beautiful wife in his arms. However, he was suddenly told by the prince to pull him out of his warm bed and hurriedly come here.

From the time he received the oral order to the time he arrived here, he couldn't figure out what was going on for a long time, nor did he understand clearly why he was summoned here.

结果
He did not ask what instructions he had for being summoned, but the prince suddenly asked him the reason.

Don't be too confused.

After a brief pause, Yang Shiqi shook his head slightly and replied:
"Return to His Majesty the Crown Prince."

"I am ignorant and don't know. Please enlighten me, Your Highness."

Zhu Gaochi raised his eyebrows, his expression unchanged, and asked:
"I don't know?"

"Hehehe"

"I really don't know, or are you pretending to be ignorant while knowing the truth?"

This statement is not unimportant.

Hearing this, Yang Shiqi was startled for a moment, his face showing fear and panic. He knelt straight down and quickly replied:
"I beg Your Highness the Crown Prince to understand this."

"I really don't know. I have absolutely not lied to Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"I hope Your Highness will make it clear."

"I don't know?"

After hearing this, Zhu Gaochi's calm expression darkened at a speed visible to the naked eye. He snorted coldly and said in a deep voice:
"Go to my mansion today and ask to see me."

"I was not at home at that time, and you happened to meet the Crown Prince in his residence. What did you say to him?"

"Do you really think that I am not in the mansion? Do you really think that I know nothing?"

"Yang Shiqi, ah Yang Shiqi!"

"He's using my stupid son's mouth to try to get our opinion."

"Do you really think that you are the only smart person in the entire Ming Dynasty and everyone else is stupid?"

"Do you know what kind of crime is it to use the crown prince?"

"You still have the nerve to say you don't know?"

"How dare you pretend to be ignorant in front of me?"

"Are you too arrogant, or are you spoiled too much by me, causing you to forget everything else, forget the duties of a monarch and a subject, forget what you should do and what you shouldn't do!"

As soon as these words came out.

Yang Shiqi was so frightened that he lost his soul. At this moment, he finally understood why he was pulled out of bed by the urgent summons of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince at dawn one or two hours later.

At the same time, the meeting place was not the prince's mansion, or anywhere else, but the Jinyiwei prison. Looking at the deep and cold corridor, and the oil lamps on the corridor that swayed and flickered in the breeze from time to time.

When it comes to relationships, this is where the problem lies!
The only feeling Yang Shiqi had when he was frightened was that if he was not careful today, this place would be where he would stay forever.

Of course, this is still the most ideal result. After all, if he stays here, at least he will not die, and at the same time he will not implicate his family. If things develop in the worst direction, what kind of result will it lead to? Yang Shiqi has no idea at all.

At the same time, Yang Shiqi couldn't help but recall the questions the Crown Prince asked him today in the Crown Prince's Mansion, as well as the words he had answered. He couldn't help but secretly hate himself, wondering why he didn't know how to be more cautious and why he had to say too much about this matter.

Why did I completely forget about the Crown Prince's previous instructions to me not to tell the Crown Prince everything?

This is just great.

I was only concerned about my own pleasure just now, but now I am suffering the consequences. I really regret it.

If he had known that such a thing would happen, Yang Shiqi would never have said too much even if he was beaten to death, and would never have said such words to Zhu Zhanji without restraint. At the same time, he never dreamed that Zhu Zhanji had clearly promised him that he would pretend to know nothing about the matter and would never go to ask the prince. As a result, the news reached the ears of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince within just a few hours. As for others reporting it.

Even if Yang Shiqi was beaten to death, he would not believe it. After all, when he talked with the crown prince Zhu Zhanji, there was no one in the whole courtyard. In order to reassure him, Zhu Zhanji directly dismissed all the people. He also confirmed again and again that there was no one before he dared to answer Zhu Zhanji's question. So if the matter here was exposed, the only possibility could only be that Zhu Zhanji was foolishly self-righteous and went to ask the crown prince about the reasons and results, which finally led to the real reason why he was dragged to the Jinyiwei prison by the crown prince.

Thinking of this, Yang Shiqi couldn't help cursing in his heart, "You bastard, you are not worth having a plan with. You are simply a complete pig teammate."

Although he was cursing and furious in his heart, Yang Shiqi did not dare to show any expression or make any statement. Otherwise, wouldn't this action confirm what Zhu Gaochi said, that he deliberately spread the story about Crown Prince Zhu Zhanji to get the Crown Prince to talk?
Then, after a brief moment of stunned silence, Yang Shiqi did not dare to hesitate at all. Trembling, he quickly opened his mouth to defend himself:
"No no no no."

"Your Highness, please understand. I beg Your Highness, please understand."

"I have absolutely no such intentions, absolutely no such thoughts, and absolutely no intention of using the Crown Prince to get His Royal Highness to talk."

"There is nothing I can do about this matter."

"Your Highness the Crown Prince forced me to say this!"

"Otherwise, I will never do that."

The words have not yet fallen.

Zhu Gaochi waved his hand and interrupted Yang Shiqi's words of defense and loyalty, and shouted angrily:
"Forcing you?"

"How can he force you? If you don't want to say it, or you don't want to say it, can he still do anything to you?"

"Or, the Crown Prince dared to order people to arrest you and torture you severely in order to pry open your mouth and prevent you from speaking?"

"Didn't I tell you before that you are not allowed to reveal anything to the Crown Prince without my consent?"

"At the same time, I have also told you that no matter what the Crown Prince says, I will not threaten you."

"We will all protect you here and will never punish you for this. Have you forgotten all these words?"

"so."

"Yang Shiqi, have you turned a deaf ear to my words, or are you self-righteous and arrogant, thinking that I can't bear to let you go, or that I dare not do anything to you?"

These words cannot be said to be heavy or harsh enough.

Not to mention obedience here, just from the expression on the Crown Prince's face, he could feel how angry the Crown Prince was about what he had done in the East Palace today.

At the same time, Yang Shiqi couldn't help but reflect on what he had done today. The more he thought about it, the more frightened, scared and frightened he felt.

Don't tell me yet.

Just what the prince said.

It seems that he has really forgotten these rules and the distances that should exist, little by little. It seems that he has really lost his mind and become a little arrogant because of his favor.

In the past, he has always been cautious in his words and actions and has always been taciturn.

I don’t know when it started.

The calm and cautious man in the past slowly disappeared.

Instead, there is more self-righteousness.

As for these issues, when he reflected on them at this moment, he remembered that the prince seemed to have warned him countless times, but he seemed to have never cared about them before, and had turned a deaf ear to those words. He never really took them seriously, thinking that they were all trivial matters and insignificant things.

If today, if the Crown Prince had not been angry, if the Crown Prince had not been really angry, and if he had not laid out all the problems without any reservations, then Yang Shiqi would probably never really care.

Thinking of this, Yang Shiqi became more and more frightened and scared. His heart was filled with endless fear. He did not dare to say anything to defend himself. With a trembling voice, he kept admitting his mistakes:
"Your Highness, Madam."

"Your humble servant, your humble servant knows that he was wrong."

"I beg Your Highness to give me one chance. I will definitely change. I will definitely change."

"I will definitely learn from this and will never make the same mistake again."

While speaking, Yang Shiqi could not stop kowtowing repeatedly. His attitude suddenly changed drastically. He was no longer self-righteous as before, but admitted his mistakes frankly and sincerely.

"You know you're wrong?"

"Have you finally realized your mistake?"

"Yang Shiqi"

"Think about it yourself, aren't the chances we've given you enough?"

"How many times have we pointed out you, overtly or covertly, and how many chances have we given you?"

"And how did you do it?"

"They keep pushing their limits."

"Do you really think I'm a pushover? Do you really think I won't get angry? Do you really think I don't have a temper?"

"No, no, no, no. It's not like that."

Yang Shiqi was extremely frightened at this moment. He waved his hands and shook his head frantically, and explained hurriedly:
"I have absolutely no such thoughts and intentions. I beg Your Highness to understand."

"I know I was wrong. I really know I was wrong."

"I beg Your Highness to give me a chance to reform myself."

Seeing this, and seeing Yang Shiqi sincerely admitting his mistake, a trace of reluctance flashed across Zhu Gaochi's half-closed eyes, but it disappeared in a flash, replaced by a cold look. This was because Zhu Gaochi knew better than anyone that only by giving people enough shock could they remember the mistakes deeply and not make the same mistakes again. So he knew that at this moment, the atmosphere that he had worked so hard to create could not be withdrawn in such an unclear manner.

After a brief pause, Zhu Gaochi simply sorted out his thoughts, suddenly opened his half-closed eyes, stared straight at Yang Shiqi who was very close to him, and asked in a deep voice:

"Chance."

"After all your years of hard work and dedication, I will give you one last chance."

"Did you come to visit me today on a whim, or did someone mention it to you?"

"I hope you won't hide anything about this matter."

"Of course, this is your only and best chance, if you have concealed something." (End of this chapter)