Emperor Liang left the Changxin Hall of the East Palace in a rage. He didn't sit on the chariot, and he didn't need anyone to help him. He walked too quickly. As soon as he arrived at the Yongfeng Pavilion, he suddenly felt dark in front of his eyes and fell backwards. Fortunately, he was very sincere. Quickly hold on, not hurt. Gao Zhan hurriedly took the soothing incense box from his sleeve and blew some medicinal powder into Emperor Liang's nose. He sneezed, and his red eyes gradually became clear.
"Your Majesty..." Meng Zhi squeezed his back and lost his breath for him, helped him to sit on the rock beside the road, and persuaded slowly, "The dragon body is the most important thing, please take care of your Majesty."
Emperor Liang wiped his face and eyes with the towel handed by Gao Zhan, resting most of his body weight on Meng Zhi's arm, breathing heavily. After a long time, the anger that filled his chest gradually disappeared, replaced by sadness and sadness in the bottom of his heart, tears could not help falling from his eyes, he hunched his back and coughed, and the wrinkles on his yellow face seemed to have deepened a bit.
"Meng Qing... Donggong is so resentful, could it be that I... really did something wrong?"
Meng Zhi was stunned by his question, not knowing how to answer for a while. He went to Emperor Liang to serve as the commander of the Imperial Army. It was not a long time, but for many years, he had only seen this emperor, his majesty, control and balance the princes and his princes. He was so haggard and emotional, weak and sad like an ordinary father? Looking at his gray hair, trembling withered hands, and turbid and old eyes, recalling his fierce and decisive temperament in those days, one can't help but feel dazed and unfamiliar.
Maybe, when people get old, they will really change a lot...
"Your Majesty, on this side of the East Palace, do you plan to..." Meng Zhi asked for a while, but felt it was not right, so he hurriedly swallowed it back.
Emperor Liang lifted his sleeves to wipe away his tears, gritted his teeth and thought for a long time, his expression was hesitant, and no one dared to ask him. After half a cup of tea, he instructed: "Today's affairs are strictly forbidden to be spread, and they should be hidden for now."
Meng Zhi and Gao Zhan were a little surprised when they heard the words, but they didn't show it on their faces, they just took orders silently. However, Emperor Liang is not a person of grace. After pondering for a while, he added: "From now on, the East Palace will be banned, and everyone should wait, and they are not allowed to come and go at will."
Meng Zhi asked hesitantly, "Including the prince?"
"Including the prince!" Emperor Liang said in a painful tone, but he was firm. "Prince's third division, you are not allowed to see it unless you are in command. This matter, Mengzhi, you will do it."
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty," Meng Zhi knelt down and said, "The confinement of the Crown Prince is a serious matter, and it is difficult to fulfill it only by word of mouth. I ask Your Majesty to grant the imperial decree."
Emperor Liang glanced at him, and was about to speak when Gao Zhan suddenly said, "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Prince is chasing after him, kneeling by the Immortal Liquid Pool, can you see me?"
"... tell him to go back, now... I don't want to see him..." Emperor Liang closed his eyes, his voice was very tired, "... Carry the chariot over and go back to the palace..."
"Your Majesty," Meng Zhi was a little anxious, "this side of the minister..."
"Chuan Ran!" Gao Zhan's sharp voice sounded harshly, interrupting Meng Zhi's words.
Emperor Liang had already stood up at this time and stepped on the pedal of the chariot tremblingly, shaking unsteadily. Under the command of Gao Zhan, three or four little eunuchs came around to support him, and finally settled him in a stable seat.
"Your Majesty..." Meng Zhi waited for him to sit down, and was about to say something, when Gao Zhan loudly said "Get up and drive—" to cover his voice. When Meng Zhi frowned and took a step forward, Emperor Liang was already leaning on the soft pillow in the chariot, closing his eyes and waving.
He had a look on his face at the moment, and the gesture clearly meant that no one would disturb him any more. Although Meng Zhi was embarrassed, he had no choice but to ask no more questions and escorted him to the chariot on his knees.
The holy car left, and the East Palace was as silent as death. Meng Zhi pressed his heart with emotion, and immediately began to deal with follow-up matters. It is not difficult to hide the matter of the Changxin Palace today, but there are not many people present. It is natural to strictly order the forbidden army to keep silent. Gao Zhan from the inner court will handle it. One word, so the message is simply blocked tightly.
However, it is more difficult to prohibit everyone from entering and leaving the East Palace. The Prince himself can say that he knows the reason for the confinement, and he does not dare to fight in despair. The hard part is mostly outside. It's not a problem for others. The prince's young teacher, the young Bao, the grand master, etc. come to see the prince every day. Although these people are not part of the party, they are dedicated to fulfilling their duties. It was them, but when the prince was moved from the left to the Guijia Palace, they were the ones who protected them the most. It's just that such quaint ministers have no real power in the court now, and they are not as important as the previous dynasty, so the prince respected them. But he didn't rely on them. King Yu valued them, but he didn't fear them. Many times they were symbolic, and they didn't play a big role in the real intrigue. But no matter whether they have real power or not, these old gentlemen are the third division of the crown prince. Meng Zhi can only rely on the four words of "the sage's decree", and he can't explain the reasons in detail. It is really embarrassing to stop them. Besides, such a major event that shook the world as the claustrophobic emperor of the East Palace did not even have a decree issued by Daoming, so it was inevitable that people would be questioned.
After being tossed by the third division for a full hour, Meng Zhi, who was dry-mouthed, suddenly realized that what he was doing was too stupid. What is the reason? Now is the time to debate, and this matter cannot be debated by him at all. , so it was wrong from the start.
After figuring this out, Meng Zhi immediately understood what to do. After evading the excuse, he specially assigned a few stupefied soldiers to guard the gate of the palace. No matter what they said, he would come back with a stern "instructed by the saint". Whoever wants to reason with these soldiers will definitely be on the other side. Can't speak, can't understand. The three divisions were so angry that they shouted to let these soldiers come to Meng Zhi. As a result, they bluntly replied, "I don't have the right to talk to the commander."
Avoiding the officials of the East Palace and those old ministers, Meng Zhi relaxed a little bit, and came back to change shifts, reassign the most handy people on duty, and arranged to go to the East Palace. Fortunately, Emperor Liang's side fell ill after returning to the palace. He had been lying in Zhiluo Palace without moving, which saved Mengzhi a lot of trouble. By the morning of the next day, the news of the prince's ban gradually spread, and there were waves of people from all sides who came to inquire. The East Palace can't enter, the internal supervisor Gao Zhan is strictly controlled, and the Imperial Guard can't open his mouth. The more there is no real source of information, the more wicked the guess is. Even King Yu doesn't care to show the appearance of avoiding suspicion, so he came to visit in person. Meng Zhi, I want to explore the tone. However, he fluttered in the air, and neither the Meng Mansion nor the Commander Mansion could find anyone. He thought he was on duty in the inner courtyard, but after searching, he was not there. It can be said that he disappeared without a trace.
If you don't know the real reason, it is difficult to formulate corresponding countermeasures. In addition, Emperor Liang is still ill and does not go to court. In the harem, only Concubine Jing is allowed to serve. Even the Empress and Concubine Yue are not seen. He can't find out his true attitude, whether it is planning or strength. Guarantee, or ready to add fuel to the fire, all dare not act rashly, all kinds of strange arguments circulated in private, chaos in the court and the field.
Of course, although Meng Zhi, who was one of the important figures in the incident, didn't know where he was hiding, he certainly didn't really disappear. The No. 1 master of the beam, who no one could find, was standing in King Jing's bedroom at this time, and made a soothing gesture in front of the surprised room owner.
"Don't worry, Your Highness, no one noticed me coming," Meng Zhi said in a low voice, "I think it's better to inform Your Highness as soon as possible about the matter of the East Palace."
King Jing was originally a calm person, but recently he has been more experienced, so after being surprised, he quickly calmed down. After instructing his confidants outside the door not to let anyone in, he dragged Meng Zhi into the inner room, and while opening the secret door, he said, "Let's talk after seeing Mr. Su, lest you say it a second time."
Meng Zhi made a promise, followed behind King Jing into the secret passage, and then came to the secret room that he had been to several times. Prince Jing pulled the bell rope placed in the wall to notify Mei Changsu of his arrival, but after waiting twice as long as usual, there was still no figure of the counselor appearing, which made the two people in the secret room a little uneasy, but And you can't go straight through it to see what's going on.
After waiting for another stick of incense, there was finally movement in the secret passage over Su's house, but even King Jing, whose martial arts were inferior to Meng Zhi, could be sure that the person who came silently after the door rang must not be Mei. Changsu.
Sure enough, after the moment, Fei Liu's young and handsome face appeared at the entrance of the secret room, and he said in a cold voice: "Wait!"
Meng Zhi glanced at King Jing, and seeing that he was not angry, he took a step forward and asked, "Fei Liu, did Brother Su call you here?"
"Um!"
"Where's Brother Su?"
"Outside!"
"In the bedroom outside?"
"More outside!"
"In the living room?"
"Um!"
Meng Zhi probably understood, "Did someone come to talk to Brother Su?"
"Um!"
"who is it?"
"Poisonous snake!"
Meng Zhi was taken aback, "Who are you talking about?"
"Poisonous snake!" Fei Liu didn't like to answer the same question repeatedly, and glared at him impatiently.
Meng Zhi thought for a while and confirmed, "Is it King Yu?"
"Um!"
Hearing this, King Jing and Meng Zhi both understood the situation, felt a little relieved, and sat down peacefully. Fei Liu was still standing outside the door, looking at the two of them earnestly, with no intention of leaving. King Jing suddenly moved in his heart, beckoned to him, and asked, "Fei Liu, why do you call King Yu a poisonous snake?"
"Brother Su!"
After seeing the relationship between Mei Changsu and Feiliu many times, King Jing also found out a little about the way of thinking of a teenager, and guessed: "Did Brother Su tell you that his name is Poisonous Snake?"
"Um!"
"Do you know why Brother Su called him a poisonous snake?"
"Know!"
"You know?" King Jing was a little surprised, "Why?"
"nausea!"
"Who... Who is disgusting? Is Yu Wang?"
"Brother Su!"
King Jing and Meng Zhi looked at each other, both of them didn't quite understand, after thinking for a long time, they came up with a roughly reasonable explanation, "Fei Liu, you shouldn't mean that Brother Su is a very disgusting person, but It means that he will feel sick after seeing King Yu, right?"
"Um!"
Prince Jing rolled his eyes, suddenly became curious, and asked, "King Yu is a poisonous snake, so what am I?"
Fei Liu tilted his head and stared at him for a while, then said slowly, "Buffalo."
Meng Zhi was almost choked, "Buffalo? Why do you think His Royal Highness Prince Jing is a buffalo?"
"do not know!"
"I don't know?" Meng Zhi was really confused this time, "Did you randomly choose the word buffalo to refer to His Highness?"
"I think," King Jing didn't have a smile on his face, but he was still calm, "Fei Liu means that he doesn't know why his brother Su called me a water buffalo."
Meng Zhi's heart jumped, and he hurriedly defended Mei Changsu: "No way, Mr. Su is serious, so how could he give His Highness a nickname? That's not the way he always acts."
King Jing said lightly: "Maybe this Mr. Su has another side that we don't know about? Besides, he is not the first person to call me Buffalo. Before, the first emperor... and Xiaoshu have all called me that. I, they often say that I don't like drinking tea, I like drinking water, and I have a stubborn temper like a cow. No matter how I look at it, I look like a buffalo..."
Meng Zhi was so frightened that he even held his breath, the muscles on his face froze, as if he didn't know what kind of expression to make. However, it would be fine for him to lose his temper for a while, because Mei Changsu walked in at this moment, and King Jing's eyes were drawn to his counselor.
"I'm sorry for being late. King Yu came to discuss some things just now before sending him off." Mei Changsu was explaining, seeing the different expressions of King Jing and Meng Zhi, and immediately noticed that the atmosphere in the room was wrong, "What's the matter? What were you just... talking about?"
"It's nothing," King Jing stared into his eyes, but his tone was very light, "We're talking about... about the buffalo..."