After picking up the White Cut Black Prince

A few days passed quickly, and the emperor's birthday was approaching.

At this moment, in the Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager was sitting with He Hong.

In terms of seniority, the Empress Dowager is He Hong's aunt, and she is the younger sister of He Hong's father.

The Empress Dowager was over sixty years old, and she looked dignified and noble. Although her hair was covered with silver hair, she did not look old at all. If we compare Emperor Linghui with her, although Emperor Linghui was just over forty, if the two really stood together, Emperor Linghui looked older than her.

A palace maid stood behind the Empress Dowager, massaging her shoulders. She had originally closed her eyes to rest, but when she saw He Hong coming in, she raised her hand and then opened her eyes again. Her every move exuded an air of grace and elegance.

The palace maid behind her saw her raise her hand and stepped aside.

The Empress Dowager had naturally heard some rumors about what happened with He Hong, but she didn't show any joy or anger on her face. She just asked calmly, "Did that guy from the Song family interfere in your affairs?"

The one from the Song family that she mentioned naturally refers to Song Yu's birth, and the matter that she intervened in was naturally about the appearance of a dead body at Zhuangzi's place.

He Hong didn't take it too seriously. He said nonchalantly, "What's the big deal? I've already closed the secret village and moved the people inside to other places. What big deal can happen? Let him investigate if he wants. I don't believe he can find anything. He's just a young man. He's so arrogant after becoming the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Doesn't he have any idea of ​​what he should and shouldn't be in charge of? Your Majesty, don't worry about this matter any more."

He Hong was used to being arrogant. He had been walking sideways in Kyoto for so many years. Even if Song Yusheng had some real talent and a good reputation, so what? Did he think that a corpse alone could really move him?

"Although he is young, he is also a capable person." The Queen Mother did not agree with what he said. Thinking of what happened in the past, she continued, "When Prince Li attacked the palace, no one knew how he rescued the emperor. He saved the emperor's life and protected the country. This alone is enough to make people fear him."

She frowned slightly, raised her hand to rub her tightly furrowed brows, and said, "It's a pity that he is not as obedient as those people in his family. When the Duke of Song became the Prime Minister, he was still walking on thin ice. He, on the other hand, just became the Minister of the Supreme Court and started to cause trouble. I don't expect him to be useful to you and me, but he should at least make people worry less. So, you go find the Duke of Song and tell him to stop Song Yusheng from continuing to investigate."

The Empress Dowager was still somewhat worried. She had to be wary of Song Yusheng.

He Hong didn't understand and asked, "Go find the Duke of the Song family? What's the point? He is Song Yusheng's father, why would he help us?"

The Queen Mother said, "He is the Duke of the Song family first, and then the father of Song Yusheng. Do you think he would offend us? He is a conservative person. He would choose to live in peace if he can. Why would he make such an ugly scene with us?"

Although there is now a fierce competition between the eldest prince and the second prince, at least on the surface, the Song family and their He family are still calm. Even if there is any fighting, it is only in secret. If Song Yusheng still wants to continue investigating, the two families will completely tear their faces apart.

Will Song Lin agree?
He Hong understood and said, "Okay, I'll take care of these things when I get back."

He Hong did not continue to speak. The Empress Dowager thought of what he had done and could not help but complain to him, "You should be more restrained. There are many places to have fun. How can you make things so dirty? Just the matter of buying and selling children, do you think you can be let off? Besides, you are not the chief justice of the Dali Temple anymore. If you make too much trouble, no one will save you."

He Hong was quite unwilling. Did he do these things just for himself? It was as if he was the only one who did these things. Didn't the people in He's party also have some involvement?

Now, apart from the Empress Dowager, no one else could talk to He Hong like this. He Hong showed a little impatience. Seeing that she wanted to continue nagging, he immediately changed the subject and asked, "I heard that the Queen's health has been getting worse recently. Aunt said, do you have a chance?"

The sister that He Hong mentioned was the imperial concubine of the current dynasty, and the biological mother of the second prince.

When He Hong said this, the Empress Dowager's expression became stern and she gave a look to the palace maid beside her. The people in the hall tactfully retreated outside, and many people were still keeping watch.

Seeing this, He Hong knew that the Queen Mother had something important to say, but she asked, "Opportunity, please explain clearly, what opportunity is it?"

He Hong didn't know why the Empress Dowager asked such a unnecessary question. What other opportunity could it be? If the Queen was dead, then it would naturally be the chance for the Imperial Concubine to become the Queen.

He said bluntly: "If the queen dies, only the Imperial Noble Consort can take her place. Then if the second prince really wants to fight for the throne in the future, it will be justified."

At that time, the war in the northern border was tense, and the generals of the Qi family stayed in the northern border for several years. Generation after generation, they were the only ones who could afford to live there, so they had to choose a queen from the Qi family. Besides, before the emperor passed away, he did not care about the queen dowager's feelings at all, and even left a message that the girl of the He family could not be the queen anymore.

The late emperor also saw the He family's disloyalty, so he left these words.

Although he has passed away for many years, perhaps few people remember this matter over the years, but they just forgot it for a moment. As long as they dare to help the Imperial Noble Consort to ascend to the throne, someone will remember it immediately.

Thinking of this, the Empress Dowager's face became even uglier, and she said, "The Li family, big and small, all of them are trying to make me live in peace. I have worked hard to assist the young emperor over the years. He was just a little kid when he ascended the throne. How could such a big country be left to him to make decisions alone? I was just helping him out, but I made him unhappy. Or is he still angry with me because of Prince Li's matter? What can I do? The Cining Palace was also surrounded that year, and I couldn't do anything."

Although the Empress Dowager was hypocritical to the extreme, there was one thing she said that was true. How could a nine-year-old emperor govern such a huge country like Dazhao? Various forces would surely try to manipulate the situation. If you think about it carefully, you will know that all the memorials reviewed and decisions made by the young emperor were just the ones that his Otomo Fangxiu gave him, which had been prepared by the cabinet long ago. The most the young emperor had to do was to put a red mark on the memorials.

Over the years, Emperor Linghui has listened to his teacher, the Empress Dowager, and his Otomo.

They seemed to have forgotten that he was an emperor, because in their eyes, a young emperor was little more than a puppet.

It is ridiculous to say that the young emperor learned only a few kingly ways when he was young. What he learned most were just benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness as well as the teachings of Confucius and Mencius.

They wanted to use these things to completely tame the little emperor into a puppet emperor. However, perhaps because he read so many of these books, he actually developed some kindness and love for the people and things.

Taifu was different from other teachers. Other teachers taught him, in layman's terms, the word "obedience" was indispensable. But Taifu, such a refined and easy-going Taifu, taught him the way of the emperor.

It is said to be the way of emperors, but in fact it is also the way of "rebellion".

Emperor Linghui had his own ideas. He had a rebellious heart, but also a benevolent heart. He wanted to kill corrupt officials, he wanted to rectify the government and promote new trends, and he also wanted the Taifu's new policies to be implemented throughout the country.

Their efforts were not in vain. It seemed that they had indeed defeated the old party and taken the first step towards the new policy, because the performance evaluation system was introduced.

They had no time to rejoice, no time to be happy, and no time to kill the first corrupt official, because the Taifu was reported and found to have committed the crime of corruption.

If you want to kill someone, there are many ways to do it, such as civil officials' corruption and military officers' treason. There is no need to worry about the lack of evidence.

In the Golden Palace, the ministers were confronting each other. They were forcing the emperor again. They still thought he was the little emperor they had been before, and it was the easiest to control. They were arguing endlessly, and the evidence pointed directly at him and them. On the surface, they said that the tutor was corrupt, but in fact they were dissatisfied with the new policies he implemented.

If the Grand Tutor does not die, the ministers will not let them go, nor will they let the emperor go.

So, the performance evaluation system that they had introduced with so much difficulty ended up killing themselves.

Emperor Linghui tried his best to shout at the Grand Tutor to die, but it was in vain. Blood splattered all over the hall. Although Emperor Linghui was far away from him, his eyes were still stained red by the blood.

After all, the emperor was too cowardly, otherwise, their new policies would not be so difficult to implement.

But the Grand Tutor never blamed him. He just wanted to use his own death to teach the little emperor one last lesson.

However, Emperor Linghui was immersed in the sorrow of his Grand Tutor's death and did not understand his final masterpiece.

The death of the Grand Tutor also killed the emperor who still had great ambitions. He no longer wanted to please his ministers or his mother. He could not do what he wanted, and he would not let them feel comfortable. Since then, in the eleventh year of Linghui, the death of the Grand Tutor marked the beginning of the confrontation between the monarch and his ministers. This awkwardness lasted for decades.

The Defei was the woman the emperor met when he was most devastated. Perhaps because he was used to being controlled by others, he only liked gentle and considerate women like her, but that was not enough. The most important thing was that the Defei understood him. Although she was a palace maid, she was literate. She was not vulgar and was considerate. She even understood the bitterness of Emperor Linghui's ascension to the throne at a young age.

From then on, the relationship between the two became deeper and deeper, and later, Li Zhaoxi was born.

Although Emperor Linghui had many children, it was only when Li Zhaoxi was born that he felt like a father. This was the child born to him and the woman he loved. It had nothing to do with power or status. This was the child he truly and sincerely looked forward to day and night.

He named her Xi, hoping that she would be successful, peaceful and happy.

He would paint her every year, from when she was a cradle, to when she was a toddler, and then when she was old enough to climb trees and catch fish.

Every stroke of his pen was filled with infinite love. She was the child he and Yinrong had together, and she was the princess he had been waiting for day and night.

He protected her like his own heart, and he knew that many people wanted to kill her, so when she and Qi Ziyuan sneaked out of the palace to play, he was so scared that he sent people to look for her. He was terrified that his child would be killed by someone.

That day was the first time he lost his temper with Li Zhaoxi and punished her.

He thought he could protect her forever.

But things did not always go as planned. Emperor Linghui finally felt that he had some hope and promise in life, but a rebellion broke out. Although his country remained intact, his family was destroyed.

He was at the Song family, watching Xiaoxi being bullied at the Meridian Gate day after day, but he could do nothing about it.

In the end, Yinrong was gone, and Xiaoxi was gone too.

God seems to be merciful, but he has never shown mercy to him.

The ministers did not need an emperor like him who was against them. They wished he would die. On the surface, they were forced to surrender by Prince Li, but in fact, each one of them was happier than the other.

Such an emperor should just die.

It’s a pity that Emperor Linghui did not fulfill their wish. He did not die, but fought back with the help of the Song family.

But from then on, the emperor never turned back from the path of a tyrant, and even became worse than before.

Afterwards, there was nothing much to say about everything. Emperor Linghui grew older day by day. He practiced Taoism and swallowed elixirs in an attempt to see the woman in his dream again.

Inside the Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager seemed a little tired. She held her forehead and sighed, "Forget it, forget it. Now we can only take one step at a time. The Qi family is not as good as it used to be. The most urgent thing is the Song family. Don't offend them for the time being. After all, the current head of the Song family is Song Lin, who is a conservative person. Don't tear your face off with him first."

No matter how capable Song Yusheng is, it is not his turn to speak or make decisions in the Song family. He Hong saw that the empress dowager did not want to continue talking, so he stood up and bowed, saying, "Then my nephew will leave first, and you, aunt, can rest first."

After saying that, He Hong retreated outside and left this place.

When he came out of the Cining Palace, he left the palace through the Meridian Gate and happened to run into Song Yusheng entering the palace.

When the two passed by each other, He Hong made a sarcastic remark, "The Dali Temple is so idle. Isn't Lord Song busy dealing with the corpse on the polo field recently? How can he have time to enter the palace?"

Song Yusheng ignored his sarcasm and laughed, but the smile was very faint, not even reaching his eyes. He said, "Even if I am busy, what does it have to do with Minister He? I am not from the Ministry of Works, do you really want to control me, Lord He?"

He Hong was teased by this, but he was quite thick-skinned, relying on his higher rank to suppress others, and said: "I just asked you a question, and you are so resentful. Not to mention that I am one rank higher than you, just talking about age, I can be called a brother to your father. It is said that the Song family has a strict family tradition, but now it seems that it is not entirely true."

Song Yusheng was not used to him, so he said directly: "If Minister He wants to think this way, then I can't do anything about it. But the emperor is waiting, and I can't tell you in detail whether my Song family's family tradition is strict."

There was really nothing to say to a man like He Hong, and Song Yusheng didn't care what he thought. Even if he was really rude today, so what? He Hong just announced it to the world and saw whether people in the world believed him or Song Yusheng.

He Hong couldn't do anything to Song Yusheng. He could only watch him leave, gritting his teeth in anger.

Kicking him was like kicking a piece of soft cotton. Even if you were angry, you couldn't let it out.

He Hong didn't think about it anymore and went back home, preparing to find a day to meet the Duke of the Song family.

On the other side, Song Yusheng quickly arrived at the Qianqing Palace where Emperor Linghui was.

It was not Song Yusheng who came to the palace today on his own initiative, but Emperor Linghui who called him.

Emperor Linghui sat on the throne, no one stood beside him, and he drove all the servants out of the palace. He was only wearing a blue straight-collared Taoist robe. The last time Song Yusheng saw him was when he had just returned to Kyoto. However, only a few months had passed, and he looked older than the last time.

He seemed to be holding a scroll and reading it at the moment. When he saw Song Yusheng coming, he put down what he was holding, raised his head from the scroll and looked at him. Emperor Linghui said indifferently, "Here you are."

Song Yusheng wanted to salute, but Emperor Linghui waved his hand to stop him.

He said, "There's no need to perform formalities. There's no outsider here."

After all, it was Song Yusheng who brought him out of the palace with his secret guards. Emperor Linghui also knew his character and never treated him as an outsider. Even though Song Yusheng might not like being his confidant, Emperor Linghui regarded him as a trusted minister from the bottom of his heart.

Seeing that Emperor Linghui had stopped him, Song Yusheng did not insist and gave up.

It was almost noon at this moment, and the afternoon sun was quite hot, making the hall look like a furnace, which was very scorching. However, there was no ice in the house to keep out the cold.

Because Emperor Linghui's health had been damaged by taking elixirs for many years, he was not afraid of the cold in winter and the heat in summer. It looked good, but if he continued like this, it would sound good, and he would soon ascend to heaven. But if he said it bluntly, anyone with a discerning eye could see that Emperor Linghui would not live for many more years.

Anyone else would not be able to stand the oppressive heat in the hall, but Song Yusheng, perhaps because of Wen Chu's habit, had adapted to it to some extent. Moreover, he was a quiet person and could tolerate the heat, and he had never been seen sweating in this hot hall.

The scroll in front of Emperor Linghui was exactly the ten-year-old Li Zhaoxi.

In the scroll, his young princess smiled as brightly as the morning sun.

Emperor Linghui shifted his gaze from the scroll and looked up at Song Yusheng. His eyes were dark and his face was covered with wrinkles. His every move was unusually slow, like that of a sixty-year-old man.

He said slowly, "I heard from them last time that you have a little maidservant who looks a lot like Xiaoxi, is that right?"

There was nothing unusual on Emperor Linghui's face. He just looked at Song Yusheng with a bit of inquiry in his eyes.

Song Yusheng didn't know why he suddenly brought up this matter. His fingers in his sleeves unconsciously clenched together. From time to time, he could hear the sound of bells under the eaves outside the hall being blown by the wind.

Song Yusheng was actually in hesitation at this moment. He was usually very decisive in doing things. Once a problem passed through his mind, he would have a plan in his mind the next moment. But at this moment, he hesitated for a moment because of Emperor Linghui's question. He didn't know how to answer it.

Emperor Linghui was surprisingly patient. He just kept looking at him and waiting for him. He thought, if Song Yusheng said no, he wouldn't be able to do anything. Could he force Song Yusheng to hand the person over to him?

He was an emperor who had fallen out with his ministers, and the eunuchs closest to him had also betrayed him. Apart from the dignity of being an emperor, which allowed him to maintain a little decency and allow him to stir up some troubles, his other powers were really pitifully little and thin.

Song Yusheng was silent for a long time, but he still told the truth. He said, "Yes, that maid looks very similar to Princess Huaihe."

When Emperor Linghui heard this, his body trembled slightly. He asked, "Did you bring it back from Yunjing Town?"

They both knew that what Emperor Linghui wanted to ask was whether she was Li Zhaoxi.

Song Yusheng knew that there was no turning back. He didn't know if he could say it, but he thought that Wen Chu would eventually come out of it. She couldn't hide forever.

Song Yusheng was also thinking about himself and her future. He didn't want to imprison her like this anymore. If possible, he wanted to be a couple with her. Even if there would be a thousand difficulties, he couldn't fall to her inner demons.

He couldn't accept that.

Song Yusheng thought about this and finally nodded.

A gust of hot wind blew into the hall through the window. The heat wave made Emperor Linghui's body tremble violently. When he heard Song Yusheng's answer, his old eyes were suddenly filled with blood. How dare he, how dare he hide his child!

Emperor Linghui suddenly felt like he was going to collapse, and his breathing became rapid.

His body had long been damaged beyond recognition, and anything could defeat him. He endured the severe pain in his body and walked down from the platform. His legs trembled uncontrollably, and he staggered to Song Yusheng, almost falling once. He walked in front of Song Yusheng and grabbed his collar uncontrollably.

Song Yusheng did not move, letting him hold him like this. When he lowered his head, he could see that his hands were shaking uncontrollably. Emperor Linghui was filled with anger, and he finally felt the wrath of an emperor. He questioned, "You you!"

"How dare you?! How dare you!"

Just hiding Li Zhaoxi by his side could make Emperor Linghui collapse like this. If he really knew what Song Yusheng had done, he would kill Song Yusheng even if it cost him his life.

As the saying goes, the emperor's wrath will leave millions of corpses and thousands of miles of blood. However, from Emperor Linghui's questioning, Song Yusheng heard a sense of grief and despair. Tears finally flowed from Emperor Linghui's scarlet eyes, as if he could no longer endure this kind of suffering. Tears filled his wrinkled face, and Emperor Linghui burst into tears.

Emperor Linghui actually knew that it was not Song Yusheng who did not allow her to see him, otherwise he would not have admitted it today. It was Xiaoxi who did not want to see him.

Being a father who had done this, how could he have the face to even ask to see her again.

But he hadn't seen her for so many years, and he really missed her very much.

What could he do? He wanted Song Yusheng to bring her to see him.

Emperor Linghui slowly loosened Song Yusheng's collar. Because he had used too much force just now, almost using up all his strength, Song Yusheng's white undershirt was even pulled out a little, and it was full of wrinkles.

Emperor Linghui stretched out his hand and smoothed out the wrinkles on his clothes with a flattering attitude.

The emperor's behavior towards a minister was almost like an old dog wagging its tail for mercy.

Even a man like Song Yusheng felt a bit of pity in his heart. When he thought that this was Wen Chu's father, his throat tightened a little. Before he could continue, he reached out and grabbed his wrist.

"Your Majesty, don't do this."

It was treason for a minister to touch the king and stop his actions. However, Song Yusheng stopped his actions just to maintain his last dignity as a monarch.

Emperor Linghui refused to listen and insisted on smoothing out the wrinkles for him. He said, "I was wrong. I shouldn't have touched you like this."

At this moment, he didn't even call me "I".

In the past, Song Yusheng only felt that Emperor Linghui was useless and pathetic, but after knowing that he was Wen Chu's father, he actually developed a different kind of pity for him.

He knew that this might be because he loved the person and loved everyone in him.

Emperor Linghui insisted, and Song Yusheng had no choice but to let him do what he wanted.

It was not until his clothes were almost back to their original state that Emperor Linghui asked, "My birthday is coming up in a few days. Can you bring her to see me?"

Tears rolled down his wrinkled cheeks, his voice was full of pleading, and he lowered himself to the lowest posture. He just wanted to beg him to bring Li Zhaoxi into the palace.

He really wanted to see his little daughter.

Even though, even if she didn't want to, he still wanted to see her.

(End of this chapter)