Wang Ji did not answer his son, but said, "The emperor gave me a secret decree." He paused and continued, "As long as he is the emperor, Xiaoxiang will be the queen, and her son must be the crown prince. If by any chance she has no children in the future, Your Highness will make her the crown prince." After saying that, Wang Ji carefully took out the bright yellow silk from his sleeve.
Wang Qing took it and couldn't wait to read it. He sighed and forced a smile on his fat face: "Father, the Wang family's century-old foundation depends on this thought. Do you agree?"
Wang Ji shook his head solemnly: "Qing'er, you are wrong. The emperor did not leave us any leeway. We have to choose whether to agree or not."
"Then..." Wang Qing hesitated to speak.
"The gourd vine matter and the others are all under his control. If you and I have any second thoughts, the entire Wang family will be destroyed."
"But, the poison is..."
"Qing'er, saying this won't help, so why not just leave it like this." Wang Ji sat down slowly.
Wang Qing added: "I have always felt that the emperor is cautious in his actions, and it is not all as absurd as people say. Now that I think about it, we underestimated him."
Wang Ji could not help but mutter to himself, "We are not the only ones who look down on Your Majesty."
He sat in a chair and slowly recalled the secret conversation that night. Shang Rui had already shown no disguise in front of him, which was completely different from the usual impression of being lustful and immature. He could use anything that was useful to him, and he could also easily disrupt the chess pieces that had been laid out and then attack in another way. The emperor's demeanor was all in his eyebrows. It was not difficult for him to imagine that if he had shown any sign of disloyalty at that time, that person would not let him leave Kangning Palace tonight.
At this moment, Ming Lian in Kangning Palace personally removed the soup from the table, and then reminded Shang Rui who was meditating, "Your Majesty, it's getting late, you should rest."
Shang Rui did not respond, so Ming Lian could only bite the bullet and call out "Your Majesty" again. Shang Rui came to his senses, but did not get on the bed. He sat at the sandalwood square table where he reviewed memorials and wrote a letter.
By the time I finished writing the letter, the sky outside the window had already turned pale.
Shang Rui rubbed his eyes and ordered Ming Lian to personally inform Helan Xun to wait at Tian Yuan's farm.
After doing all this, a person's name remained in his mind - Min Xiayue.
Getting her was really an accident and a pleasant surprise.
But now, he was a little hesitant about such an important move.
When Shang Rui thought of Xia Yue, apart from her relationship with Wei Ranyu, what filled his mind were the two lines of pearl-like tears when she was sleeping on the table.
On second thought, Xia Yue, as an orphan of the Yu family, had an unusual relationship with King Yanping while holding Gao Xin's precious jade. At the same time, she was at Qi'an's residence, which showed that her relationship with Qi'an was not ordinary.
Thinking of this, Shang Rui closed his eyes and leaned his head back. After a while, he stood up from the chair and said, "Someone, change clothes."
The palace maids and eunuchs on duty had just changed shifts, and the eunuchs and palace maids who had been waiting for the emperor to go to court filed in. Shang Rui opened his arms and let them wash and dress him.
People in the secular world just do their own jobs.
Even though he had planned so hard to gain power, he was still just a chess piece of the world. Which emperor could escape such a fate
If even he is like this, how can he protect others
In the Qiantai Hall, civil and military officials were already waiting. Shang Rui sat on the dragon throne, looking down on everyone.
As he expected, the news arrived when he was in court, causing an uproar in the court. The South Region had mutinied, Xu Yang was missing, and the Xu family was all anxious. Or maybe the Xu family was already impatient for the Prince of Huai to rebel, not for anything else, but because his surname was Wei.
Shang Rui followed Xu's wishes and sent Xu Jingye to the southern region as the commander-in-chief to suppress the enemy. When Empress Dowager Xu learned about this, she complained in the harem. Xu Jingye was already the King of Wei with a fiefdom, and the throne was hereditary. Now he had taken away the military power. Between the Xu family and her son's throne, Empress Dowager Xu never hesitated on how to make a decision.
As soon as the court was over, the empress dowager sent someone to invite the emperor over.
"Wei Shangren is such an ungrateful bastard," the Queen Mother cursed. "I treated him so well, but he was always afraid that my third sister would suffer with him. He is the best prince in the world, with a large territory and many people. But now he is still not satisfied and repays kindness with hatred."
Shang Rui said, "Mother, don't be angry. Things have come to this point. Nothing you say will help. Besides, I still have my uncle to support me."
It would have been fine if she didn't mention this. Once she did, Empress Dowager Xu had a headache again. But she swallowed the words back. No matter what, she couldn't say bad things about her family in front of her son. Finally, she said, "There are some things that you should think about more."
"My son understands."
Shang Rui came out of Chengfu Palace and returned to the imperial study. Helan Xun and his men were already waiting for him there.
"What's the news from other places?" Shang Rui asked as soon as he entered the door.
"Prince Huai sent a letter to each prince."
"Letter?" Shang Rui sneered.
"Basically, he is calling on all the princes to restore David's orthodoxy, but no one has responded to him yet," Tian Yuan replied.
Shang Rui's expression turned even colder when he heard this: "Where's King Liang?"
Prince Liang and the former crown prince were the closest during their lifetime. Later, when the former crown prince fell, he was also implicated. Although he survived by chance, he had the worst life in all aspects, and logically, he should have the greatest resentment.
"The same goes for King Liang," said Helan Xun.
Shang Rui remained silent.
Tian Yuan said: "Should we order them to come to the capital immediately? This will serve as a warning to them."
Helan Xun said: "I'm afraid it's not appropriate. Everyone is in danger right now. If we hastily summon them to the capital, it might backfire."
"But I..." Tian Yuan wanted to say more, but Shang Rui raised his hand to stop him.
Shang Rui said slowly: "The people we placed in various places can take action now."
Four
In the suburbs of Beijing, Tian Yuan’s home.
Xia Yue stayed at home quietly all day, taking medicine and eating, but no one showed up. When she rested at night, Xia Yue thought that if no one showed up tomorrow, she would just go back with He Xiang, otherwise she would die of suffocation before she could find out the truth.
On the third morning, she had just finished washing up when she heard the sound of the piano. The melody flowed slowly, and in this quiet snowy day, it was like the sound of birds singing in the valley, and then it was like the sound of water flowing in the mountain stream, gentle and fresh, extremely beautiful. She was a person who could not sit still and was very fond of piano and chess. When she heard the sound, she couldn't help but go to find it with He Xiang.
Only after passing the corridor could I realize that the sound of the piano came from the rockery.
He Xiang helped her climb the stone stairs.
In the pavilion on the top of the mountain, a young woman was playing the zither. When she heard someone approaching, she looked up suspiciously, and the sound of the zither stopped abruptly.
Xia Yue was stunned for a moment, and suddenly felt that she was a little abrupt, so she had to bow and said, "Excuse me for disturbing you."
The young woman smiled and said, "Is it Miss Min?"
"Exactly. Madam?"
"My husband's surname is Tian. Did I disturb your rest just now?"
This person is none other than Tian Yuan's wife, Wu. Yesterday, Tian Yuan was busy with the affairs of the Southern Region when he remembered that Xia Yue was still with him. At that time, Shang Rui left Yao Chuang to look after her. But this was in his manor, and he did not receive any instructions from Shang Rui on how to look after her. If Xia Yue left, would he stay? He did not know what Shang Rui was going to do with Xia Yue, and he did not dare to get too close, so he had to worship her like a bodhisattva.
Tian Yuan had secretly asked Helan Xun before. Helan Xun was more cunning than him, and said with a smile: "Why don't you send your wife there early tomorrow morning. Chat with her, build friendship, and kill time. If you can keep her, keep her, if you can't, that's fine. But if the emperor suddenly asks about it, you will be in trouble if she is missing."
Helan Xun knew Xia Yue. He didn't know whether Shang Rui liked her or not, but now that the South Territory was in turmoil, keeping her might be a good move.
So he coaxed his wife to come to the farm in the snow before daybreak.
Xia Yue heard her say her husband's surname was Tian, and after taking a look at her clothes, she tried to ask, "Is it Mrs. Tian?"
Mrs. Wu smiled and nodded, then stood up and pulled Xia Yue into the pavilion to sit down. She patted the snowflakes on her shoulders and said, "Are you used to living here? My master is busy and didn't take good care of Miss Min."
"No, no, I am sorry for disturbing you."
Mrs. Wu was about thirty years old and had an extremely friendly attitude, so the two of them started talking to each other soon.
At the instruction of Helan Xun, Tian Yuan did not tell Wu Shangrui's identity.
Xia Yue said as she touched her piano: "What a nice piano."
"The master gave it to me when I got married."
"Mr. Tian is really a caring person."
Wu laughed: "He is a rough man."
"What song did the lady just play?"
"The Wild Goose Pagoda is very popular in the capital recently. I have always liked this kind of simple and sentimental music. I will let the men play the grand and majestic ones."
"So this is the song 'Yan Er Pagoda'. I heard it quite often recently, but unfortunately I didn't hear it clearly because I heard it sporadically."
Wu smiled, "If you like, I can remember the score. Wait for me, I'll find paper and pen to write it down for you." When she left, she took off her snow-white cloak and put it on Xia Yue, "It's cold outside, you're just getting better, don't catch a cold."
She pointed at He Xiang and said, "Tell this girl to go with me to get a stove and some hot tea, so we can enjoy the snow and sing songs."
Xia Yue was in a good mood because she rarely met a kindred spirit. She hummed the most familiar part of the song. But she still felt unsatisfied and could not help but touch the strings in front of her.
Qin, it is indeed a good Qin. She had seen a real good Qin before, which was collected by Qi An. But it gave people a feeling of being too hard, not as delicate and intimate as the one played by Mrs. Tian. Perhaps if Qi An and other real masters heard this statement, they would sneer at it. Anyway, she didn't understand it very well, she just knew that a good thing was a pleasant melody and a pleasant playing experience.
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but fiddle with it.
Her left hand was not able to move, so she used only her right hand to play the melody she had just hummed intermittently.
Hearing footsteps behind her, she was afraid of being laughed at, so she stopped playing immediately. When she looked up, she saw that the person coming was Shang Rui.
He smiled and asked, "Why don't you play it anymore?" His expression was almost the same as a few days ago, but it was definitely not the same tone he used when he spoke to her before he left the day before.
He was wearing a wide-sleeved white robe today, which, against the backdrop of the white snow, made him look more handsome than ever before.
Xia Yue stared at him and suddenly asked deliberately, "Master Hong also knows the zither?"
Shang Rui shook his head: "I don't understand." His expression did not fluctuate at all.
Xia Yue had no idea that the name "Hongwu" revealed by Yao Chuang was also at the instruction of Shang Rui, so how could he let her see the flaw.
She looked at him carefully, afraid of missing any clues, and said, "Mr. Hong must be pretending to be modest."
He still smiled: "Do you think I am a humble person?"
That's true.
Xia Yue continued, "I heard that the young masters in the imperial capital are all indulgent in sensual pleasures, and it is rare to find someone who is not familiar with music."
Shang Rui smiled, his eyes wandering: "Miss Xia, indulging in pleasure is not a good word."
Because his mood was always unpredictable in front of her, Xia Yue didn't know if what she said had upset him again. She was not good at this, so she could not find any other topics to test him.
Shang Rui also fell silent.
It was snowing heavily outside the pavilion. Some snowflakes fell on the ground, and some fell on the branches of the trees and accumulated in clusters, reminding her of the pear blossoms in Jinluo.
It was an extremely quiet world, with only the wind blowing and snow falling.
He stood there with a tall figure, and suddenly said, "Maybe, our family is indeed different from others."
She looked up at him, not knowing why.
He added: "My mother has always believed that decadent music can be depressing and is not the way to manage a family. So since I was young, I only learned how to manage a family and did not learn music or anything else."
In his childhood, besides riding horses and shooting arrows, he was also good at painting. Who would have thought that he, who was so restless, could spend a whole day just holding a brush, but his mother never allowed it. He still remembered what his mother said at the time: You want to learn the art of being an emperor, how can you waste your time on these things
"That would definitely be boring," Xia Yue said.
He smiled again: "How can everyone in the world live a perfect life? Can't we enjoy the inheritance of our ancestors while not knowing what is good for us?"
There are gains and losses in life, so he never regretted it. Many literati despise power, but those who have not really tried it will never understand the satisfaction of vanity and wild ambition after it is realized. If you use a lifetime of freedom and hypocrisy to exchange for a moment of the throne of the emperor, many people, including him, will readily agree, right
When he said this, his tone was extremely calm, and his eyes were deep and calm. But the wind blew in, carrying snow, lifting the corners of his headband and robe. Those tiny snowflakes seemed to be trying to get into his sleeves with the help of the wind.
Shang Rui gathered his sleeves slightly to keep them out.
As Shang Rui moved, Xia Yue accidentally glanced at his hands. The skin on the back of his ring finger and pinky finger was red and swollen. His hands were originally slender and well-proportioned. She still remembered that he wore a white jade ring on his right thumb. It was estimated that there were no other flaws except for the calluses from holding a pen and drawing a bow. Now, the ring has been removed, and his fingers have become like this, which is out of place against the luxurious sleeves with dark white patterns.
Xia Yue was a little puzzled. How could a young man like him, who came from a wealthy or noble family and was served by so many people, get frostbitten
Before Xia Yue had time to think about it, she saw that he had noticed her gaze and took a few steps to avoid her sight.
She also felt that it was inappropriate for her to stare at the man so closely, so she said casually: "You don't have to mind it. In fact, you are first-rate in riding horses, archery, and bullying."
He smiled and nodded, "Yes, yes, yes. Some girls can slap someone in the face if they disagree with them, and even ask someone to carry her for two miles in the snow. I don't know who is bullying whom."
She was suddenly embarrassed and turned her face away awkwardly.
He said, "You threw away the hairpin I bought. I spent a lot of money on it. If you apologize to me, I will forgive you."
"You caused me to break my hand, why should I apologize to you?"
"Then I'll apologize to you first, and then you tell me?" he said shamelessly.
"I… "
As he was speaking, He Xiang and Wu came back with things, and Ming Lian followed behind them carrying a stove.
Seeing so many people coming, Xia Yue stopped talking to him.
Wu was not surprised to see Shang Rui, thinking that she had seen him before: "Mr. Hong, have some tea to warm yourself up."
Shang Rui did not refuse and sat down leisurely.
After Wu put down her things, she suddenly remembered something and stamped her feet and said, "Look at my memory. I said I would go get a pen to write a music score for Miss Min, but I was so busy that I forgot about the important thing." She seemed to be a person in a hurry, not like the mistress of the house at all. After she finished speaking, she ignored Xia Yue's dissuasion and took her maid back to the house.
They were alone again. He Xiang no longer liked Shang Rui because of Xia Yue's injury. Ming Lian didn't talk much. So the four of them fell silent.
Shang Rui opened the teacup and took a sip. Then she saw his hands again, his frostbitten fingers standing out against the smooth and delicate white porcelain cup.
At this moment, Wu came back and handed a book to Xia Yue: "There is a ready-made score in the study."
Xia Yue hurriedly thanked him.
Mrs. Wu sat down and noticed Shang Rui's hand, so she asked casually, "Is Mr. Hong's hand feeling better?"
Shang Rui didn't take it seriously: "It's a small matter, no problem." Then he flicked his sleeves and put his hands away.
Mrs. Wu said, "I heard from Liubi that he got frostbitten in the snow near our village?" Liubi is Tian Yuan's pen name.
Xia Yue was stunned when she heard this, then she looked at his hands and suddenly understood.
It must be because of her.
Suddenly, she wanted to say something, but because of the people around her, she didn't know how to start, so she had to give up. She had never been able to hide herself, and Wu seemed to have read something from her eyes, so she found an excuse to avoid it, and before leaving, she didn't forget to call Minglian and Hexiang.
If it were someone else, once they realized Wu's deliberateness, they might feel embarrassed, but Xia Yue was always free and easy, so she couldn't help but ask directly: "Why didn't you wipe it with ginger slices at that time?"