There is no good banquet.
The emperor was seriously ill, and it was great to be able to attend the palace banquet at the age of thirty. Naturally, he couldn't stay at the palace banquet for a long time and eat and drink with everyone.
So the emperor seized the time to do serious business.
The emperor waved to Gu Jiu, "Xiao Jiu, come here!"
Gu Jiu was surprised, and all kinds of thoughts floated in his mind.
She subconsciously looked towards Liu Zhao.
Liu Zhao squeezed her hand to reassure her.
Gu Jiu lowered her eyebrows and stood up, stepped forward, and came to the center of the hall.
The emperor waved to her again, telling her to come closer.
Gu Jiu took a few steps forward, and could already clearly see every subtle expression on the emperor's face.
It's getting old and dying.
To put it more bluntly: not far from death.
Anyone with eyes can see that the vitality of the Son of Heaven is draining, and no man can counter it.
It is not that curing the emperor's stroke and hemiplegia will save the emperor's life.
Looking at the emperor's disheveled face, it is obvious that the emperor's internal organs are exhausted to varying degrees.
Birth, old age, sickness and death are natural laws.
Human power cannot prevent the disappearance of life.
Obviously, the emperor also realized that his life was not long.
The emperor sat in a wheelchair transformed from a rocking chair, half lying down, covered with a thick quilt.
He asked Gu Jiu, "How is the business outside the South City Gate?"
Gu Jiu bowed and replied: "Thanks to Your Majesty's blessing, the progress is going well. The plan for this year has basically been completed."
The emperor nodded, "I have invested so much money in it, and I have to listen to it."
Gu Jiu lowered his head, wondering what kind of medicine was sold in Tianzi's gourd.
The princes and concubines present all focused their eyes on her intentionally or unconsciously.
This time, she seems to have replaced Liu Zhao and became the target of everyone.
Gu Jiu is not happy to be a target, especially in this situation.
But she can't urge the emperor, tell the emperor to hurry up, don't waste her time.
She is not tired of life.
The emperor asked again: "Outside the gate of the south city, you can see money being invested in it, but no money is being made. Can your project make money?"
Gu Jiu nodded, "It can make money. Some projects have actually started to make money, but it's inconspicuous, and everyone didn't pay attention."
The emperor laughed, "Everyone is staring at those houses. You are able to properly resettle tens of thousands of refugees, which is a contribution to the community and future generations."
Gu Jiu pursed her lips and smiled, "It's all thanks to the strong support from the Shaofu Bank."
"Haha, this thanks, you can tell the Shaofu's family order yourself. After all, you have meritorious service. Naturally, I can't be stingy when treating meritorious ministers."
Huh
Will the emperor reward her
Gu Jiu was curious.
The Son of Heaven glanced at King Ning, "By my word, no one or any yamen shall interfere with the operation of the South City Gate if the construction outside the South City Gate has not been completed for a day. All matters related to the operation outside the South City Gate are handled by Gu Jiu." call the shots."
Gu Jiu: "..."
She was dumbfounded, never expecting the emperor to send her such a great gift.
"My daughter-in-law thanks Your Majesty for your kindness." Gu Jiu willingly saluted the emperor.
With the emperor's oral order, she can rest assured and boldly throw off her arms. Others don't want to point fingers.
Even if a new emperor succeeds one day, he will not move the South City Gate. At least not for a short time.
Others have extremely complex expressions.
"Father is very kind to Liu Zhao and his wife."
"The emperor's grandson and wife, the emperor's grandson, don't have this kind of treatment."
"Who told them they didn't marry a capable wife like Gu Jiu!"
The princes did not shy away from talking about it in front of the emperor. He was even joking with Liu Zhao that it was all thanks to his wife that he could sit at the palace banquet today.
"Hahaha… "
King Ning suddenly laughed loudly, "Father is wise. The land outside the south city gate contains tens of thousands of refugees. My son is not at ease if it is handed over to anyone. It is only appropriate for Gu Jiu to manage it. The son agrees with the father with both hands. this decision."
The emperor stared at King Ning, as if he wanted to judge from his expression whether these words were true or false.
Ning Wangzheng'er said that it was pure gold sincerity, without any falsehood.
King Ning also told Gu Jiu, "Little Jiu, Your Majesty has high hopes for you outside the South City Gate, you must not let His Majesty down, you understand?"
Gu Jiu bowed to accept the order, "Daughter-in-law understands, daughter-in-law will follow father's instruction."
King Ning laughed and waved his hands, "Back off, Liu Zhao is in a hurry."
A joke made the atmosphere on the field calm down a bit. Everyone was laughing and laughing, looking relaxed and leisurely.
Gu Jiu couldn't wait, so he quickly retreated and returned to Liu Zhao's side.
The couple looked at each other and smiled, with a tacit understanding.
The emperor stared at King Ning for a while, his eyelids drooped, "I'm tired."
"The old slave sent His Majesty back to the bedroom to rest."
The Son of Heaven nodded.
King Ning threw away his wine glass, "Son, send father back home."
The emperor did not stop.
King Ning snatched the wheelchair from Chen Dachang, and pushed the emperor back to the palace.
As soon as the Lord left, the palace banquet suddenly lost a bit of flavor.
But even if you want to leave, you should say hello to King Ning.
Therefore, everyone sat in their seats and waited for King Ning to come back.
As a result, King Ning's visit was delayed.
King Ning sent the emperor back to the palace and settled him on the bed.
King Ning wanted to say goodbye and go back to the banquet, but the emperor beckoned him to stay.
King Ning had no choice but to sit beside the dragon bed and listen to the teachings of the emperor.
The emperor let out a long breath, "I am afraid that time is running out, and I need to tell you something."
"Father lives a long life..."
"Stop talking nonsense, and listen to me honestly. King Yan, I have demoted him to a commoner. After you ascend the throne, don't rush to show favors. Don't talk about training him for a year or two, so that he can know what is good and bad."
King Ning laughed, "Father, don't worry, brother Yan Wang will definitely ask him to reflect deeply in the past two years."
The King of Yan has been reprimanded, and everyone still can't change the name of the King of Yan for a while.
The emperor said again: "Sun family, I leave it to you to deal with. The Sun family, keep it, don't move. The Sun family's affairs have nothing to do with the Sun family."
King Ning shook his head, "Mrs. Sun is my sister-in-law, and it's not appropriate for me to deal with her. Father, please work harder, and simply make a decree that death or life depends entirely on father's will."
The emperor snorted, "Give you a chance to stand up, but you will push it away."
But Ning Wang said: "A mere Sun family is useless. Liwei has the head of the Cai family."
"How is the investigation of the Cai family's case?"
"A few years ago, there were two more witnesses. At present, it seems that Cai's surname was not wronged in the massacre of the village. Those who led the army back then were mostly from the Gyeonggi area. They were found one after another and were all detained in imperial prisons. When the spring starts, we will try each case one by one, and this case will definitely be turned into an iron case."
The emperor reminded him, "In the early days of enthronement, standing up is important, but you can't make a big prison, and you can't implicate innocent people."
King Ning teased the emperor, "The older the father, the more merciful he is."
I think back then, in the first two years after he took the throne, the emperor killed a mountain of corpses and blood in the capital. Now he tells King Ning not to set up a prison.
The Son of Heaven sighed, "Recently, I have been thinking about what happened back then, and the killing was indeed too heavy. Some people, who shouldn't have died, died too. There are many pillars of the country among them."
King Ning was noncommittal.
In his opinion, kill as soon as you should, without regret.
At the beginning of his ascension to the throne, if he didn't kill a group of people, the courtiers would still treat him as the new emperor.
King Ning dragged the Cai family case because he wanted to use the heads of the Cai family, as well as the heads of those soldiers who committed the crime, to show off their muscles and let the world know his determination.
The Son of Heaven stared at King Ning, already able to see a glint of glory from King Ning's eyes.
The emperor wanted to persuade him, but after thinking about it, he also came here in the same way back then.
Forget it, King Ning is quite old, not a young man in his twenties, he should know how to make a good choice.
The emperor talked about another matter, "After you ascend the throne, will you establish a prince?"
King Ning's heart skipped a beat, "I also ask Father to teach me."
The emperor thought for a while, "I give you a suggestion, not to establish a prince for the time being. All the princes, all leave the palace to start a mansion, and don't have to live in the palace. Your youngest son has reached the age of marrying a wife, so you don't have to stick to the rules."
It stands to reason that the princes usually live in the palace before they are crowned kings and knights.
But King Ning is in a special situation.
Because his sons are grown up, it is not suitable to live in the palace.
King Ning nodded, "My son understands. My son also thinks it is good not to have a crown prince temporarily. There are rumors among the folks that none of my crown princes died well, and none of the crown princes died well. I am afraid it has something to do with the premature establishment of a crown prince."
The emperor scolded angrily, "You believe the absurd words of the market."
King Ning laughed, "There is some truth to this statement. Therefore, my son intends not to establish a crown prince. When it is absolutely necessary, he will only establish a crown prince."
The crown prince seems to be the same as the prince, but in fact there is an essential difference.
The crown prince lives in the palace, and the prince lives in the east palace.
The prince has his own team, commonly known as the small court, and there is no crown prince.
In addition to having his own administrative team, the prince can also have a princely army of 5,000 people according to the system.
None of these are available to the prince.
The crown prince just has one more inheritance right than the other princes, but in fact the power in his hands is not that great.
Without the will of the emperor, the prince can neither build his own small court while the emperor is alive, nor can he have a pro-army of 5,000 people.
Like King Ning now, he is arguing with those courtiers all day long because he does not have his own administrative team and cannot replace the ministers of the court.
The emperor nodded, "You have a good idea, don't set up a prince in the future. It's a pity that the prince's life is not good and he won't live long."
Those who can be established as princes have all backgrounds and talents. But it is a pity that he did not live long for various reasons.
King Ning laughed, "Father also believes in the absurd words of the market."
The emperor waved his hand, a little tired, "Your sons, you can figure it out yourself."
Ning Wang suppressed his smile and said: "They are all young and impulsive ages. If you look at them for a few more years, my son is not in a hurry."
The emperor was noncommittal.
After the emperor fell asleep, King Ning got up and went back to the banquet.
The princes have already drunk to the point of disarray.
Liu Zhao and Gu Jiu ran away without saying hello.
King Ning snorted, "It's getting more and more unruly."
Chang En said with a smile: "I heard that Mrs. Chao dislikes the taste of the palace banquet, so she rushed back to the palace for the New Year's Eve dinner."
King Ning laughed loudly, "The food and drink at the palace banquet is indeed unpalatable, and this king also dislikes it very much. That's all, the palace banquet is over here, everyone goes back to their respective homes."
Gu Jiu and Liu Zhao went back to the palace in a carriage, and finally ate a hot meal, very satisfied.
"The cooks in the palace are still good. The cooks in the imperial dining room, I don't know if it's because there are too many restrictions, the food they cook is always poor."
Liu Zhao said: "The food cooked in the imperial dining room focuses on nourishing the body first, and the taste second."
Especially since the emperor had a stroke, the food in the imperial dining room became less oily and less salty. It seems that everyone in the palace must look up to the emperor and eat the same recipe as the emperor.
To put it bluntly, the Imperial Dining Room just didn't want to take risks.
Good meal, will they cook it
of course!
And it tastes better than anyone else.
But life is more important than delicious food.
I would rather not make a mistake if it tastes bad, than make a mistake and lose my head if it tastes delicious.
Gu Jiu shook his head, "Living in this world is about eating and drinking. Tell me to eat that kind of food without oil and salt every day. What's the point of living? After my father ascends the throne and proclaims himself emperor, we must not live in the palace, or our lives will be shortened. "
Liu Zhao laughed, "Is it because the food in the palace is not good?"
"It's also because of the strict rules in the palace, it's extremely difficult to go out of the palace. Since I want to manage the project outside the South City Gate, naturally I can't live in the palace."
Gu Jiu's reasons for not living in the palace are all ready-made.
Liu Zhao smiled and said, "Don't worry, we won't live in the palace."
Gu Jiu was curious, "Did Father promise you?"
"Father thinks we are too old, it is not suitable to live in the palace."
Gu Jiu pursed her lips and smiled, "Seventy-two concubines in the six courtyards of the Sangong. When the father ascends the throne and proclaims himself emperor, the palace will become lively again."
With King Ning's greedy and lustful nature, after ascending the throne, he will definitely accept concubines and enjoy life.
Now in the backyard of the palace, there are still dozens of women who have been blessed by King Ning.
Those women used to want to leave the palace and find someone to marry.
Now that King Ning is the heir apparent, no one wants to leave the palace. They are all waiting for King Ning to ascend the throne, and they can also ascend to heaven with chickens and dogs, become concubines in the harem, honor their lives, and promote their natal family.
When King Ning and Mrs. Pei came back from the palace, everyone gathered in Chunhe Hall to watch the new year.
Several children were playing together, and the second son's pregnant concubine was also honored to attend tonight's family gathering.
Xiao Qin'er had a half-smile, obviously she was watching Ouyang Fu's joke.
Ouyang Fu is very calm and doesn't give anyone a chance to see her jokes.
King Ning sat on the Luohan couch, looking very relaxed.
He looked at his sons, and suddenly said: "I don't expect you brothers to be respectful, but I don't want to see brothers and sisters killing each other. In the future, I have to control everything. If you let This king knows who is behind the scenes, so don't blame this king for being ruthless."
The originally lively atmosphere suddenly became dignified.
The young masters all had expressions on their faces.
Pei frowned, "It's the Chinese New Year, what are you talking about? Can't you wait until the Chinese New Year is over to say these things?"
King Ning shook his head, "After the new year, I am very busy. I am afraid that such a rare opportunity for the family to get together may not be possible. Since I have something hidden in my heart, I must take advantage of this rare opportunity to speak out."
Pei was helpless.
Liu Zhao was the first to say: "My son will always remember the teachings of his father."
King Ning looked at the other sons.
The brothers expressed their opinions one after another, they will never act recklessly, and they will definitely do things properly.
King Ning probably feared that the stimulation would not be enough, so another big news came, "After this king ascends the throne, there will be no crown prince."
boom!
No crown prince
What does this mean
Everyone was wondering, but no one stood up and asked why King Ning didn't appoint a prince.
Pei was worried, "Has this matter been decided?"
King Ning nodded, "I have already discussed this matter with my father, and my father also agreed not to establish a crown prince and not to set up an East Palace. The East Palace is superfluous and wasteful."
Mrs. Pei let out a sigh of relief, "It's good not to set up the East Palace, so as not to cause divisions in the family. If the officials of the East Palace are good, that's fine. If they meet people with impure thoughts, the prince will ask them to lead them into trouble. "
King Ning laughed, "It's still the princess who understands the king's intentions. My sons, listen carefully, there will be no crown prince, and no east palace. So put away all the little things in your heart, and don't engage in any disputes for the succession. Whoever dares to make trouble, this king will do him."
As soon as these words came out, all the sons felt tired.
The father is as messy as always, never playing cards according to the rules.
King Ning laughed, very happy to clean up his sons.
This may be the bad taste of the royal family members. It is very pleasant to watch the children deflated.
"Drink, drink." Mrs. Pei picked up the glass.
Everyone wanted to save face, and they raised their wine glasses one after another, and the atmosphere became lively again.
Big brother and sister Nian got into a fight over toys.
Their respective nannies quickly carried the two children to the side hall.
As for Brother Yu, he is sleeping soundly in Nanny Fang's arms. No matter how much his brothers and sisters cried, he didn't wake up.
King Ning heard the cry of the child, so he reminded: "You brothers, hurry up and have more children. The marriage of the fifth and sixth should also be put on the agenda. After the new year, the princess remembers to help them Look."
"Speaking of marriage, has the prince considered girl Hua's marriage?"
－－－－－Off Topic－－－－－
The explosion hurts the liver even more, and the vitality is greatly damaged. It took two days of recuperation before he recovered a little energy.
Sorry for the late update today.
I have a good rest today, and will resume normal updates tomorrow.