Before leaving, the fourth prince patted Zhou Shizhi's shoulder with a smile and said with a half-truth and half-fake smile: "It's rare to see Kabuki in the Western Regions that is good at singing and dancing, and is very beautiful and enchanting. This king originally wanted to buy it." Give a few to the backer king, but think about it or forget it! To save the backer king from taking the lead! The backer king won’t blame me for being stingy, right?”
Zhou Shizhi laughed loudly, "Fourth Prince is really good at telling jokes! I really can't hide anything from you!"
The fourth prince smiled slightly when he heard the words, and said goodbye to him.
On the carriage, Zhou Shizhi's face was slightly gloomy. These four princes were indeed gentle and considerate, and they were extremely gentle and considerate, but the more they were like this, the more disturbing they were.
Is he really the person behind the scenes? It is unreasonable for the prince to meet such an opponent who can overcome strength with softness...
Longevity...
It seems that the fourth prince can't wait! This Longevity Festival will not be destined to be peaceful!
Before the Longevity Day, floods occurred in Kaifeng, Henan Province. The dikes burst for thousands of miles, flooding countless villages and fertile fields, and millions of people were displaced and homeless.
When the news spread to the capital, Emperor Xiangqing was very annoyed: It seems that it is the Longevity Festival, but such a big disaster happened at this juncture. Is this a warning from the heavens to him, the emperor
Since he took the throne, he has worried about the country and the people, and has never had a harsh and harsh policy. Why is God so shameless
But he didn't have time to think about it, the most important thing right now was to send people to relieve the disaster.
Almost all the people in the six yamen were called to prepare for the Longevity Festival, and the remaining officials barely maintained the normal operation of the institution, so there was no one to spare.
As the Wanshou Festival is getting closer, more officials from other places will come to Beijing. The arrangements for the reception should not be messed up. Who should do what? The whole body, a radish and a hole, no one is easy to move.
Some courtiers suggested that it would be more appropriate to send the prince as an imperial envoy to relieve the disaster, and it would better represent the emperor's heart for the people.
As soon as Emperor Xiangqing heard that it was reasonable, he followed suit.
But now that the prince is under house arrest, it is impossible for him to release him so soon, so there will be only the fourth prince.
The fourth prince secretly groaned, disaster relief is purely thankless work! Besides, the Longevity Festival is coming soon, and it may not be possible to rush back to the capital in time! Wouldn't it be a big loss to miss such a big scene? Besides, he has already made arrangements to perform well at that time, and it is absolutely not his wish to leave the capital at this time.
Before Emperor Xiangqing's order came down, the fourth prince fell ill with a high fever. The imperial doctor of the Imperial Hospital went to make a diagnosis overnight, prescribed medicine and ordered someone to brew it, watched the fourth prince drink it, and waited in the palace until dawn for his fever to gradually subside, and then told him to leave.
The fourth prince was ashamed and went to the booklet to express that he was powerless, and asked his father to forgive him. If it really doesn't work, it's okay to leave for the disaster area after you get better in two days.
Naturally, Emperor Xiangqing would not force a sick son of his to go to the disaster relief. If the disaster relief is not done well, and his son is injured instead, the gain will not be worth the loss!
In desperation, he had no choice but to turn his attention to the royal family members.
But this is also troublesome, the royal family members who are capable have already sent errands for the Longevity Festival, and those who are incompetent, he is not at ease to hand over such a big event.
Since ancient times, disaster relief has been the most tricky thing, and one bad thing can easily lead to civil uprisings. It's fine at other times, if something happens during the Longevity Day, this birthday will be embarrassing!
Emperor Xiangqing was having a hard time thinking about this matter, and the queen happened to ask to see him.
Emperor Xiangqing thought she was speaking nicely for the prince, and frowned before seeing anyone. He had already made up his mind that no matter what the queen said, he would not agree.
After the queen saluted, she really asked with a smile: "Is the emperor having a headache because of the selection of candidates for disaster relief?"
"En." Emperor Xiangqing glanced at the queen, nodded his head in agreement after a while, and said lightly, "I don't know what the queen thinks?"
"The concubine has someone to choose, and she wants to solve the emperor's worries and problems!" The queen laughed.
The unhappiness in Emperor Xiangqing's heart deepened by two points, he raised his eyebrows calmly, and said: "Oh? Really? I don't know who the candidate for the queen is? Why don't you tell me and let me hear."
The queen said: "Has the emperor forgotten? Besides the crown prince and the fourth prince, the emperor also has a son!"
Emperor Xiangqing was taken aback, greatly surprised. He didn't expect the queen to say that.
The queen's eyes darkened when she saw this, and she said with a wry smile: "Is the concubine such a person who doesn't know the general idea? Although the crown prince was born by a concubine, but he did such a thing, the concubine is more distressed than the emperor, so how can you be so sad?" Would you intercede for him? To be honest, he should also think about it behind closed doors... "
"You don't have to be sad, the queen." Emperor Xiangqing felt a little sorry when he saw this, and said softly: "The prince was just confused for a while, and I just shut him up and let him think about his mistakes behind closed doors. It's all right!"
Emperor Xiangqing's words were to comfort the queen, in order to reassure the queen, but he didn't want the queen to "thump" in his heart after hearing this: this is not what she wanted.
"The emperor always knows what's in his heart, and the concubine is not worried!" The queen had no choice but to say respectfully.
Emperor Xiangqing smiled and nodded, frowned slightly, and said: "Is the candidate the queen said is the third prince? If you don't say it, I almost forgot about this son! Him? He never said anything, and he didn't do anything. I have some errands, can he go, okay?"
The queen was really heartbroken after hearing this, this is her real son, I don't want to have such no place in the heart of the emperor!
"He can do it," the queen smiled softly, and said softly, "Because he is the emperor's son, he is the emperor's blood! How can he not even have this ability? To tell the emperor, the concubine is the same as the emperor, and he is also the emperor. Almost forgot the existence of the third prince. When I saw him by chance that day, I realized how old he was! He lost his mother and concubine since he was a child, and his concubines have neglected to take care of him all these years. When I think about it, I really owe him Quite a lot! Your Majesty, just give him a chance to try it out! If you are worried, it’s easy, send someone who needs to be used in the palace to follow, and ask the flying cavalry to pass the news back and forth, and you can point it out at any time!"
Emperor Xiangqing was still a little hesitant, indecisive.
After all, the matter is of great importance, and he can't be emotional. The third prince, he really doesn't have much impression, the only influence is his silence.
The queen suddenly burst out laughing, and seeing Emperor Xiangqing looking over, she laughed and said: "The emperor said that the third prince has always been silent and timid, but it is not true! The third prince is usually silent It's because the palace has always been peaceful, and he never argues with others, so naturally he doesn't show anything in front of the emperor. Something happened a while ago... "
The queen then told the story of the third prince protecting Lu Xiaoshu from the concubine.
Emperor Xiangqing was also a little surprised when he heard this, raised his eyebrows and said with a smile: "There is such a thing? I'm afraid the Crown Princess was very surprised at that time!"
"That's not it!" The queen laughed and said, "Let's not talk about the princess, the maids and eunuchs and the servants were all taken aback! They said that they never thought that the third highness would have a temper!"
Emperor Xiangqing frowned again, and said: "It's nothing else, but it happened because of a woman, that's true! Hmph!"
"The emperor's words are wrong," the queen sighed, and said softly: "Miss Lu is the daughter of the Marquis of Changping, the crown princess—oh, if you don't agree with me, you will throw her into the pool of Taiye. Don't say that People will die in the cold weather, even on weekdays, she can't do that! Fortunately, the third prince stopped him, otherwise such absurd things would be spread, how would the royal family have any face? How would they explain it to Marquis Changping? Zhaochen The concubine said, the third prince understands it in his heart!"
"It's reasonable for the queen to say that!" Emperor Xiangqing nodded slowly, and said: "It seems that the third prince is really clear in his heart!"
Emperor Xiangqing told the queen that he was even interested in this son who had never cared much, so he ordered someone to pass the third prince to him, and he wanted to take the school examination himself.
The third prince was reading a book in his own palace, and when he heard his father's call, he froze there for a moment, feeling a little at a loss.
Since I was a child, this is the first time I have experienced it.
It wasn't until the servant reminded him joyfully that he came back to his senses, and the servant hurriedly changed his clothes. He changed into a set of ginger-yellow round-neck tuanmang robes to meet Emperor Xiangqing. He tied his hair with jade hairpins and a white jade belt around his waist, but he was also extremely noble and elegant.
Emperor Xiangqing looked at his slightly restrained son standing in front of him, and suddenly felt some sadness in his heart, sighed secretly, and asked him some daily life in a soft voice.
The third prince's heart became more and more confused, and he felt a little uneasy for no reason. If the queen hadn't been watching with a gentle smile, he would hardly be able to say a word.
The queen suddenly treated him very well and cared very much. It was also because of this concern that he was grateful in his heart, and when he saw her, he felt a little calmer for no reason.
When Emperor Xiangqing saw him replying, he was always a little trembling and stumbling, which didn't match his elegant and noble appearance. The moment he opened his mouth, his temperament was pulled down a lot. By the side, it's hard to say anything, and his expression suddenly became cold again.
The queen noticed it immediately, and smiled softly at the third prince: "Third son, why are you nervous in front of the emperor and mother? Although you haven't been summoned to see you for so many years, you are of flesh and blood!"
The third prince forced a smile, and his expression became more and more calm. When he wanted to say something, his mouth seemed to be heavy, and he lowered his head slightly in sadness.
He couldn't help but think of the crown prince and the fourth prince. He had seen them talking and laughing in front of his father from a distance, and their expressions were so unrestrained. At that time, he was secretly envious, and thought that if one day he would have the opportunity to have his father summon him for questioning How nice it would be...
However, today when he was summoned by his father and actually stood in front of his father, he found to his dismay that his mind was blank and he couldn't say anything at all.
Not to mention taking the initiative to say anything, even answering his father's question, he was flustered.