Xiao Shaozong was surrounded by a group of people, but Guihe, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, had already come over and said: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty invites you to come and have a meal."
Xiao Shaozong cupped his hands in all directions, said nothing, and left with the eunuch in charge.
Yuan Lao Shangshu looked at Xiao Shaozong's leaving figure, thoughtfully, but Lu Xiao, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, came over and said meaningfully: "Sir, Wang Quanxia of Huainan has been cleared of his grievances. He should be able to rest in peace."
The old minister smiled and said: "The law of heaven lasts forever. Even if this loyal minister is wronged, he will be able to recover his innocence one day. Even if the traitorous minister is exhausted, his true colors will eventually be revealed."
"Your Majesty's body...!" Lu Xiao hesitated before speaking, and finally said: "Your Majesty has been working too hard recently, and his body is sick. He is not looking very good when he goes to court today. The hospital should take good care of His Majesty."
"The emperor is the son of God. With God's protection, he will recover soon." The old minister sighed: "I originally wanted to retire and return to my hometown, but now it seems that I have to wait for a while."
"This is the blessing of the imperial court." Lu Xiao supported Old Shangshu Yuan and walked out of the palace. He chuckled and said, "Old Shangshu has been in charge of the Ministry of Rites for decades. The rituals and music of our country have flourished. Old Shangshu has also chosen for our country. With so many capable ministers and officials, as long as you are in power, our great state of Chu will not be constantly corrupted."
"It's too much praise, it's too much praise." The old minister waved his hand: "When I was young, I did understand right and wrong. Now I am old and frail, deaf and blind, and I can't understand many things...!" He shook his head and sighed. : "It would be my great fortune to retire and return to my hometown before I am completely confused."
While the two were talking, they left the main hall. Lu Xiao looked around. The old minister walked slowly, so when he left the hall late, most of the officials had already walked to the front. When Lu Xiao saw no one nearby, he lowered his voice and said: "Sir, I heard that the prince's health was deteriorating half a year ago. The emperor sent an imperial doctor to Huainan Palace to visit him frequently. It is said that the situation at that time may not last even half a year."
"I have heard a little about it." The old minister said: "But today, I look at the prince. Although his complexion is not good, his voice is quite powerful. His health seems to have improved."
"I have a friend in the Taiyuan Hospital. He said that the prince is suffering from a terminal illness. Even if Daluo Jinxian is alive, there is nothing he can do to save his life." Lu Xiao whispered: "When King Huainan was still alive, he was looking for famous doctors all over the world to serve as the prince. Diagnosis and treatment, but nothing can be done, could it be that the prince has found some famous doctor in the past six months?"
The old minister said softly: "I heard that the prince is confined in the palace. No one can step into the palace. Where did this famous doctor come from?"
Lu Xiao nodded slightly and said thoughtfully: "This is weird. Without the help of famous doctors, how could the prince survive until this point?"
"Perhaps it has something to do with the physical constitution." Lao Shangshu said: "Maybe after being tortured by the terminal illness for so many years, the body can resist it for a while." He coughed twice and smiled: "Well, this kind of thing is not something we can interfere with. .”
Lu Xiao smiled and said: "What the boss said is true." He added: "There happens to be nothing to do tonight. I heard that the boss likes to grow his own vegetables. I want to go over tonight and have a few bites of the vegetables grown by the boss himself. I wonder if the boss can do it? Love you?"
The old minister laughed and said: "If you don't get what you want, I'm just afraid that Mr. Lu will dislike it. Mr. Lu, just go over tonight, I will send someone to hold a banquet and wait for you."
When the two of them left the palace, Xiao Shaozong had already gone to the imperial study room in the palace. The emperor was already in the imperial study room ahead of Xiao Shaozong. When Xiao Shaozong came in, he immediately stood aside uneasily. Xiao Shaozong didn't even look at him and went over to the desk behind him. He sat down on the chair, leaned back on the chair, and glanced around the imperial study room, his expression extremely calm.
"You go down first." Xiao Shaozong's eyes finally fell on the emperor, and he said calmly: "Don't worry about your future. I think I am a person who values promises very much." He raised his hand and waved, and the emperor actually saluted Xiao Shaozong, Not daring to say a word, he slowly exited the door. Outside the door, there were two swordsmen wearing black clothes and black hats with long swords waiting. One on the left and one on the right, they held the emperor as if they were prisoners. Brought it down.
After the two people left with the emperor, a figure appeared on the path outside the door. He walked directly to the door of the imperial study room, coughed, and without waiting for Xiao Shaozong to speak, he stepped into the imperial study room. He raised his hand, and a strong wind suddenly hit him. He got up and the door behind him immediately closed.
Xiao Shaozong just raised his eyes and looked calm, as if he was very familiar with the person who came in.
This man was actually wearing the clothes of an old eunuch in the palace. He was tall and strong, with a face that looked about fifty years old. His appearance was very ordinary, and there was nothing eye-catching about him. He walked to the imperial desk, cupped his hands and smiled. : "The Crown Prince can now appear openly and openly in the palace, and he has regained the throne. It is really gratifying and congratulatory."
Xiao Shaozong was obviously very familiar with this person. He motioned for the person to sit down on a chair nearby, and then said: "The throne is not important. What is important is that my father can regain his innocence, so that I don't have to bear the identity of the son of a guilty minister." .”
"What the prince said is absolutely true." The old eunuch said: "If you can't clear the old prince, you will always be implicated, and things will be difficult to handle later. There will still be some stubborn people in this court. When the time comes, If the announcement of the throne is promulgated, it will definitely cause a huge turmoil. Without the previous serious crime of rebellion, as the eldest grandson of Emperor Taizu, it is natural and justifiable for the prince to inherit the throne."
"There is no such thing as natural justice." Xiao Shaozong said: "The so-called natural justice in this world is just because of strength."
The old eunuch nodded and said, "Hit the nail on the head."
"Is there no news about the swordsman yet?" Xiao Shaozong pondered for a moment before asking softly.
"Maybe he's dead." The old eunuch said, "He was seriously injured."
"The embankment of a thousand miles was destroyed by an ant nest. I don't want there to be any hidden dangers." Xiao Shaozong sighed: "No damn person is dead. This is the hidden danger. That swordsman... and Qining...!"
"He is a swordsman in the palace. He has always been lurking in the palace like a shadow." The old eunuch said solemnly: "Few people in the world know of his existence. I have the team in the palace under my control. They believe I am the chief of the internal security appointed by the emperor, and they also believe that the swordsman has betrayed the Chu State, all because of that imperial edict." Suddenly smiled and said: "I suddenly discovered that sometimes that piece of jade seal is really useful, and many of it is very troublesome. Everything can be solved easily.”
"Problems that can be solved too smoothly often have hidden dangers." Xiao Shaozong said: "Unless the swordsman dies, there will be variables, and what I like most is to have everything in my hands, and I don't want it to appear outside my control. Do you understand the variables?"
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, the net has been cast in the capital." The old eunuch said: "If he is not dead now, as long as he stays in the capital, he will only be dead in the end."
Xiao Shaozong was thoughtful and pondered, and after a moment he said: "Dong Qi is in the palace, he seems to have forgotten his identity, and even thinks that I should be his friend." He raised his hand to his forehead and sighed: "I don't He doesn’t have any friends. He still thinks he has the qualifications to trade with me, but he has forgotten that what he wants to get can only be my reward." His eyes became cold: "I give it to him, he can take it, but I won't give it to him. He, he can’t steal it!”
There was a cold look in the old eunuch's eyes, and he whispered: "We designed the plan to kill Qin Ning perfectly, but he still failed. This should not have happened."
"Oh?" A slight smile appeared at the corner of Xiao Shaozong's mouth: "Do you think he has another agenda?"
The old eunuch said: "The prince once said that if there is the biggest hidden danger in our plan, it is the Jinyi Qi family. Only Qi Ning still has the strength to destroy our plan, so this person must die, so that the prince will not appear. Disgusting variables.”
"From the beginning, the Qi family has been a chess piece on the chessboard that must be captured." Xiao Shaozong sighed: "But how to capture this chess piece is very troublesome." He smiled faintly: "The people from Dong Qi secretly came to find them. At the beginning, the East China Sea just wanted to use the East China Sea to cause trouble to the Chu State and weaken the power of the Chu State. It would naturally benefit Dong Qi without any harm. When he approached Jiang Mantian, I finally figured out that the most missing piece in this chess game was The chess pieces are finally on the table."
"Years ago, the prince had already thought of using the people from Baiyun Island in Eastern Qi to kill the pillars of the Qi family. He had a far-reaching plan." The old eunuch said with a smile, "I just didn't expect that Qi Jing would pass away in such a middle age and his target would become Qi Ning."
"Actually, Qi Ning is even more difficult to deal with than Qi Jing." Xiao Shaozong sighed: "The four pillars of the Chu State are the four hereditary princes. From the beginning, the Su family was not a concern. The one who really has to deal with it is Sima. The Qi family and the Qi family are as good as a golden sword...!" He raised his head slightly, pondered for a moment, and then a contemptuous smile appeared on the corner of his mouth and said: "The golden sword in Tantai is just a piece of grass. His position depends on who is stronger. , before the situation is clear, Jin Dao will only sit back and watch, as long as I take action and gain the upper hand in an instant, Jin Dao will be ours, otherwise...!"
"Even if it is a piece of grass that falls in the wind, of course we will not allow them to have a choice." The old eunuch said coldly: "With a choice, there are variables. Since there are variables, we can just pull out the grass directly." Make sure nothing goes wrong.”
Xiao Shaozong sighed: "If it weren't for Qi Ning's appearance, this grass would have been pulled out cleanly, and the East China Sea would have directly become a sharp blade in our hands." After a slight pause, he said: "The Su family has nothing to worry about, Jin The sword itself cannot be protected. As long as the Sima family and the Qi family are defeated, the chess game will become clear." His eyes became sharp: "I am good at waiting, but God did not let me wait too long. Qi Jing and the late emperor passed away one after another. This pair of Of course, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me, so I adjusted my plan accordingly, and the Sima family did not disappoint me. They are proud of their skills and possess all the power...!" With a trace of teasing in his eyes, he said to the old eunuch: "Yanmo, do you know that as long as a person is in power for a day, the desire for power will entangle him until the moment of death. Sima Lan did not let me down, just because I know that the greater the power in his hands, the more power he will have. The more prosperous he becomes, this is his biggest weakness that can destroy himself. With this weakness, Sima was destined to die from the beginning!"