Cheng Yujin felt speechless. She really couldn't put too much pressure on her children when she was a child, or she would really be abnormal when she grew up.
Cheng Yujin was disgusted in her heart, and still had to take the initiative to lean on Li Chengjing's side. Li Chengjing's neck was fair and slender, Cheng Yujin looked at it from a close distance, suddenly became wicked, and scratched at his collar with a finger: "Like this?"
Li Chengjing glanced at her unmoved, and said, "I don't know you well yet? You just have the guts."
Cheng Yujin could hear everything, but she couldn't listen to others' questions. She, Miss Cheng, must be at the top of her game, when has she been looked down upon? Cheng Yujin really loosened his collar, scratched his fingers inside, and made a circle on his chest if he didn't know it.
Li Chengjing nodded, and a master saw Xi Tu'er's expression: "Ruzi can be taught."
Cheng Yujin was annoyed and pinched him lightly. Li Chengjing grabbed her hand through her clothes, raised her eyebrows and said with a smile, "Do you want to pinch somewhere else?"
Cheng Yujin's face turned red: "Dirty!"
"If I say something, you call me obscene?"
Cheng Yujin drew back her hand in anger, her ears turning red. Li Chengjing silently sighed that he really relieved his stress after marrying his wife, and before his sigh fell, he heard Cheng Yujin say: "His Royal Highness, King Shou shakes in front of the Holy Master every day, not only giving you random eye drops, but also Queen Yang's foot ban. Do something to beat and beat him?"
Li Chengjing clicked his tongue and said, "Can you change the subject more clearly?"
Cheng Yujin refused to admit defeat, Li Chengjing sighed, and nodded Cheng Yujin's eyebrows: "I don't understand the style."
Cheng Yujin glared at him angrily: "I'm talking to you about business, don't interrupt."
This is really a grievance, Li Chengjing turned out to be the one who interrupted. Li Chengjing had no choice but to accept his fate, and in such a charming atmosphere, he explained the confusion to the crown princess who was concerned about national affairs: "One person's heart will be biased, but the world will not. King Shou is too immature, and he is protected by the Yang family and Queen Yang. So far... To put it bluntly, he is very naive. At his age, I passed the jinshi examination and went to another place to become an official, but he is still smart, playing tricks that can be seen through at a glance. I know him Smear me in front of the emperor, and everyone else knows it, so it's not something to be afraid of."
Without real power, without people's hearts, without fame, just relying on a clever mouth, what is there to be afraid of? Li Chengjun can't threaten Li Chengjing at all, Li Chengjing is of course willing to be a big brother and make him jump.
Cheng Yujin sighed after hearing this, and said, "The emperor is too partial. He doesn't even think about it. Without you, how can he recuperate in peace, and how can he enjoy family happiness with His Second Highness?"
"It's not that he's partial, it's that he didn't put me at ease." Li Chengjing said calmly, "I didn't stay by his side for a long time, and when I see you again, it's the nineteenth year of Jianwu's palace exam. I just treat him, it symbolizes The meaning is greater than the real person, the monarch and the minister are greater than the father and the son, and the symbol of the prince is greater than the son. To put it bluntly, I am just a strange minister who participated in the palace examination and was reused by the sage."
"Your Highness..."
"I'm fine." Li Chengjing held Cheng Yujin's hand and smiled softly, "I thought I cared, but after talking about it that day, I found that I didn't regard him as a father. In terms of feelings, he is not as good as Cheng Laohou. Lord. He is also a symbol to me."
Li Chengjing said these words, and found that the knot in his heart was loosened little by little. In fact, he didn't stay by the emperor's side for a long time. Although the emperor raised him personally at the beginning, he did not leave the hands of others, but after all, it was something before the age of five. The memory of a five-year-old child, how long can he be expected to remember. After being separated at the age of five, Li Chengjing did not see the emperor again until he was sixteen.
Five to sixteen years old is enough to transform a person into a completely different person. In fact, Li Chengjing didn't even remember what the emperor looked like before the palace exam.
He glanced at a distance during the palace exam, only to find that the emperor was completely different from what he imagined. He thought that when he finally saw his father, he would be excited, envious, and depressed, but at that moment, he didn't feel anything, only a sense of relief from the completion of the task.
Presumably the emperor treated him even more so. Away, stranger, temptation, not closeness. Although the two are father and son, they are actually no closer than ordinary monarchs and ministers. What can be compared to being raised under the knees since childhood and truly growing up as sons as the second prince.
Li Chengjing can understand that the emperor is partial to the second prince and pity Empress Yang who has been with him for many years. But understandable, does not mean acceptable.
The Zhong family can give up Queen Zhong's hatred and live a good life, but Li Chengjing can't.
He can't get past this.
Li Chengjing silently clenched Cheng Yujin's hand. It's nothing more than to see who consumes more than who, who is right and who is wrong, who wins and who loses, just wait and see.
Cheng Yujin was silent. The relationship between Li Chengjing and the emperor's father and son was inherently fragile. After so many ups and downs, the Yang family fell, and their father and son eventually turned against each other. Any language is extremely pale, Cheng Yujin hugged Li Chengjing silently, the two snuggled for a while, Li Chengjing hugged Cheng Yujin and walked inside.
Cheng Yujin didn't struggle. No one is an iron wall, a body of King Kong, no matter how powerful Li Chengjing is, there will be times when he is vulnerable. At this moment, he must be in great need of comfort.
The emperor finally brought down the two mountains, Yang Fucheng and the Empress Dowager Yang. For the first time since he ascended the throne 25 years ago, he felt what an emperor should be like. He holds the power and is the only one who is the only one, and is waiting to show his strength, but his head disease attacks from time to time, which restrains the emperor's energy. Naturally, he has no time to display his grand ideas.
The emperor was very annoyed at the head disease, but the things on his head, even the most sophisticated imperial medical team could do nothing. Acupuncture, drinking medicine, and massage have all been tried, but the effect is limited. When a headache occurs, it cannot be relieved at all, and you can only get through it on your own.
The emperor gradually stopped believing in the imperial doctor, but placed his hope in some divine and Buddha techniques. He wants health, and more longevity.
The second prince listened to the advice of his staff and introduced some strange people to the emperor. One of them was a Taoist Taoist priest, thin and slender, with a Taoist name of Chongxu Sanren. He said that after he rescued a white deer in Zhongnan Mountain, he was rewarded by the deer and gave him a longevity medicine. He went into the mountain to search for the trace of the white deer, After living in seclusion in Zhongnan Mountain for 200 years, he finally found the Dao.
Chongxu Sanxian Daogu Xianfeng, the appearance of an expert outside the world, does look like a secluded and escaping style. The emperor was immediately attracted by the other party's bizarre encounter. The emperor asked Chongxu Sanren for a long time, and after listening to him talk about his experience in cultivation, he was convinced and named Chongxu Sanren as the guest of honor.
From then on, Chongxu Sanren frequented the palace and taught the emperor how to prolong life. I don't know what he gave the emperor, but the emperor felt that the headache was greatly relieved after taking it, and even his body became lighter. Therefore, the emperor was more convinced of the vain people, and built the Yinghua Hall in the northwest corner of the Forbidden City, dedicated to the immortals, and asked the immortals.
The Yinghua Hall was filled with smoke, and the scriptures were recited incessantly. The emperor stayed in the Yinghua Hall every day, with no intention of foreign affairs, and he was not allowed to disturb others when he was cultivating. Because Chongxu Sanren was recommended by the second prince, and the second prince was obedient to the emperor, the second prince became one of the few people who could enter and leave the Yinghua Hall at will.
A good emperor went to practice Taoism, and the ministers were very bad. It may be true to save the deer from the emptiness, but they have lived for two hundred years, and they absolutely do not believe it. But who made the emperor believe that even if the officials were anxious, they could only bear it.
Because of the frequent access of alchemists, the heavily guarded palace suddenly became smoky. Li Chengjing didn't believe a word of those Taoist priests, but because of the emperor, he couldn't say anything.
The emperor originally placed his hope in the gods and Buddhas because the headache could not be cured for a long time, and he was disappointed with the medical skills. If Li Chengjing blocked the emperor's request, it would seem that he had other intentions. Li Chengjing admitted that he was very forbearing, but those Taoist priests were not enough to search for gold and silver jewelry, so he slowly turned his attention to the power of the imperial court.
Everyone is like this, it is impossible to be content and happy. When you have money, you want power.
Chongxu Sanren knew that the prince had a very high prestige, and he had a deep reputation both among the people and in the court. He didn't dare to explicitly target the crown prince, but only said that a White Deer Terrace would be built. According to him, when Kuafu opened up the heavens and the earth, the clear qi ascended, for the heavens, and the turbid qi descended, and for the earth, practicing in the place closest to the heavens would get twice the result with half the effort. And Chongxu Sanren's cultivation of Zhengguo is entirely dependent on Bailu's guidance, so it is necessary to build a towering Bailutai, maybe in this way, they can attract back the deer of the year and grant the emperor's longevity medicine again.
The emperor was immediately persuaded, and immediately ordered the construction of Bailutai. Because what the Shenlu looks like and how to attract the Shenlu back are all determined by Chongxu Sanren alone, so how Bailutai should be repaired is entirely up to Chongxu alone.
The people in the six divisions were already dissatisfied with such a big project, and these Taoists were still pointing fingers, saying that this was not right today, and tomorrow they would accuse that person of being inactive and arrogant. The officials of the six departments are all elites who were born as orthodox jinshi and became official officials. Those who can stand here are all outstanding scholars. But Taoist priests are not classy alchemists. In the past, Taoist priests didn't even have the qualifications to meet them. Now, these gangsters are stepping on their heads, pointing fingers and criticizing their opinions. How can the civil servants bear it
People kept coming and complaining to Li Chengjing. Li Chengjing could bear it at first, but when he saw that the emperor planned to use his national strength to build a high platform, he finally couldn't bear it anymore, and went to the emperor to react to the absurdity.
Just last year, there were floods and plagues. At this time, it was time to recuperate and reduce taxes. As a result, the emperor wanted to build a lot of construction, just to build a useless Bailutai. It is not extremely absurd. However, how can the emperor hear such words now, especially Chongxu Sanren has inadvertently said several times in the emperor's ear these days, saying that the prince deliberately blocked Bailutai because he did not want the emperor to ask for the elixir of life.
The Prince's intentions are very subtle.
The emperor was already suspicious. After listening to Li Chengjing's exhortation, he was furious. The emperor angrily scolded Li Chengjing, stopped the crown prince's power to assist the government, banned the East Palace, and handed over the auxiliary government affairs to the second prince. In addition, the second prince was pure filial piety and loyal, and was solely responsible for the construction of Bailu Terrace.
Kunning Palace.
When Empress Yang heard the report from the palace maid, she hurriedly greeted her: "Jun'er."
"Mother." The second prince quickly stepped forward to salute Empress Yang, but was forcibly stopped by Empress Yang: "Jun'er, come in and talk."
After Empress Yang took the second prince into Kunning Palace, she immediately screened everyone away, leaving the mother and son to speak alone. Empress Yang asked, "Jun'er, how is your emperor these days?"
"My father took Chongxu Sanren's pills, and he felt that it was very beneficial to his body. He was very happy. Chongxu Sanren promised that after ten days, he would start the furnace to make pills again and make longevity pills for his father."
"Longevity Pill?" Empress Yang frowned and couldn't help asking, "Can you really live forever?"
The second prince shook his head and said, "I don't know about my son. But after taking it, the father said that the headaches are not as frequent as before. It is really useful to think about it."
Empress Yang seemed to understand, but she felt that she might have really met a living immortal. Empress Yang thought for a while, and whispered to the second prince: "Jun'er, this Sanren is really a god, you must not offend him, but don't get too close, if the Sanren wants to take you to practice, you must not agree. do you know?"
These worldly masters have strange temperaments. Empress Yang is especially afraid that the other party will suddenly rise up and travel the world with the second prince. If she lives in seclusion for another hundred and eighty years, Empress Yang will have nowhere to cry.
"My son knows." The second prince nodded and said, "My son will never leave my mother alone. I just need to do the errand my father gave me. If I get too close to the Taoist priest, I'm afraid my father will suspicion."
Empress Yang suddenly remembered something and asked in a low voice, "What about the prince?"
The mother and son looked at each other and understood what the other meant. Speaking of doubts, the emperor is most suspicious now than the crown prince.
The prince is strong, and over the years, he has become more and more deserving of power over the Lord. The seeds of the emperor's suspicion have been buried for a long time. Recently, it has been completely detonated because of the longevity incident.
Of course, a sword that is invincible is preferred by the ruler, but if the sword is too sharp, it will even cut the master's hand, and it will be broken.
If Li Chengjing wants to blame, he blames himself for being too sharp. After all, he is only the prince, the prince in reserve, how can he beat the real card
The second prince replied in a low voice, "The crown prince has thoroughly annoyed his father because he has repeatedly dissuaded his father. He has been confined in the East Palace for the past few days, and the right to participate in politics has also been removed, and the full power has been handed over to the sons."
When Empress Yang heard a long sigh of relief, when Empress Dowager Yang and Yang Shoufu were there, the goal of exhausting all her efforts but never getting it right was achieved in this way. Empress Yang's heart tightened, and she felt more and more that wealth and wealth were in danger, the mantis was catching the cicada, and the oriole was behind.
Empress Yang hurriedly instructed her son: "It is not easy to obtain the power of the auxiliary government, you must guard it. Although the emperor is angry now, but after all, he is the heir who has been cultivated for many years. I still prefer the crown prince. Power can be given to you, and naturally it can be taken away. You must take advantage of this time to perform well and let the emperor see your abilities."
"My son understands." After the second prince finished speaking, he suddenly showed some hesitation, "Mother, to tell you the truth, in the past few days, Chongxu Sanren has secretly revealed that he wants to support his son. The son is not sure. I did not dare to get too close to the Taoist priests, so I didn't reply to the letter. Chongxu Sanren also said that if I agreed with his proposal, he would spare no effort to speak for me in front of the father, and he would give Give me the credit for offering the Longevity Pill. Just wait for it to be done and make him a national teacher."
Empress Yang is also embarrassed. Empress Yang is actually not good at these circles, especially the political situation, she can't understand at all. If the Empress Dowager Yang is here at this moment, or Yang Shoufu is here, that's fine.
Empress Dowager Yang and Yang Shoufu have been ups and downs in Vanity Fair for many years, and their political sense is extremely keen. And Empress Yang just listened to her father and aunt's words. For many years, she had been enjoying herself in the harem comfortably, and had never worried about the affairs of the court. In her opinion, everything in the courtroom has nothing to do with her. This is what her father and aunt should worry about. Now that the protective umbrella was suddenly gone, Queen Yang was suddenly pushed to the front of the stage, and it was difficult to see everything.
She can't even distinguish the official names, how can she understand the interest relationship between the various parties? Although the Second Prince was better than Empress Yang, he wasn't much stronger.
The second prince was regarded as the hope of the whole family by Empress Dowager Yang and Yang Shoufu, and grew up under the protection of airtightness. For the past seventeen years, he has only devoted himself to studying and doing filial piety in front of his elders. This led to the second prince's golden clothes and jade food, all the way to a golden light and smooth road, but in fact, his xinxing did not keep up.
Everything he is now, did not come out of him. When there was no Yang Fucheng to escort him in front, and the second prince faced the old foxes from the cabinet and the minister alone, the childishness of his heart was obvious.
Just like now, Chongxu Sanren showed his favor to him, and the second prince didn't know whether to accept it or not. If Empress Dowager Yang and Yang Shoufu were alone at this time, they would immediately be able to see the plans behind Chongxu Sanren. But nothing happened, and the second prince couldn't make up his mind, so he had to come over and ask Empress Yang.
But Empress Yang is also not assertive. After thinking about it for a long time, she felt that the emperor trusts Chongxu Sanren so much, and there is no need for one more person to say good things to the second prince, and there is no need to stop him. Empress Yang said: "Since he has the heart, it's okay for you to respond temporarily. Anyway, when you call the emperor in the future, isn't it a matter of you whether to seal the national teacher? The emperor is deeply troubled by headaches, etc. He must be very happy that the longevity pill was made. If you come to donate it, the credit will fall on you. It also happens to remind the emperor that he gave the eldest son of high hopes the ambition of the wolf, but it is you who has been forgotten all the time. He is truly a man of filial piety.”
The second prince understood after hearing this, stood up and cupped his hands: "What mother said, the son remembered. The son resigned, and the mother took good care of her health. We have a long time in Japan."
Empress Yang couldn't help her eyes sore when she heard this, she pressed the corner of her eyes with a handkerchief, and said, "You have to be careful in everything. Although Dou Xiyin has done something wrong, she is sincere to you, and now she has been deprived of the princess. With the title, I can only live in the Shouwang Mansion without a name and no distinction, and maybe I will suffer a lot of grievances. She is your cousin after all, and you can take care of those who can take care of you when you go back. "
"My son understands. It's getting late, my son is leaving the palace. My son retire."
During this time, the rest of the capital was also not peaceful. In the front hall of Ciqing Palace, the officials of the East Palace are arguing fiercely.
One of the staff said: "Now the sage is close to the traitor, superstitious in alchemists, and even listens to the words of the villain and suspects His Highness. Huadian has close contacts with Chongxu and others. Your Highness, you should take precautions early."
These words are undoubtedly the voice of everyone, and there are many voices in the audience. One of the staff stood up and bowed to Li Chengjing: "His Royal Highness, there is a plan for the humble position, I don't know if it should be said or not."
Li Chengjing nodded lightly: "But it doesn't matter."
"I believe that everything is foreshadowed, and failure to predict will lead to failure. Although the sage has always been wise and generous, but at this time the sage has been deceived by a traitor, it is impossible to guarantee that he will be more suspicious of His Highness in the future. His Highness should have made plans earlier to prepare for the unexpected."
"What's your plan?"
"His Royal Highness is now vacant in the backyard, so you might as well take a side concubine to consolidate the power of the East Palace. It just so happens that General Dong Da, the admiral of Zuoye of the Fifth Army Battalion, has an only daughter who is like a pearl. I heard that Miss Dong admired His Highness very much, and she was moved by His Highness's affection for the Crown Princess. She is willing to demote herself to be a concubine and serve His Royal Highness. His Highness might as well accept Dong as his side concubine. In this way, all the troops of Zuoye of the Fifth Army Battalion will fall into His Highness's hands. Moreover, Miss Dong does not ask for a position, she envy His Highness and the Crown Princess. They are gods and goddesses who volunteer to serve the Highness and the Crown Princess as a concubine, so I think it will not make the Crown Princess embarrassed. The Crown Princess has always understood the righteousness, and she will definitely understand the meaning behind this move, Your Highness may wish to think about it.”