Because he slept late at night, Mei Changsu was a little drowsy in the morning. . In the end, Yan Yujin thought of a way, shouting across the courtyard wall, "Brother Su, get up!" Fei Liu was furious, and he chased after him to catch him. Who would have thought that Feiliu had quick eyes and quick feet, and instantly flashed back to block the door, but Yan Yujin on the other side was not afraid of death and screamed, so angry that this gloomy young man punched Xiao Jingrui for a while, Eldest Young Master Xiao Aggrieved, he parried and said, "Why hit me... I'm not calling..."
Xie Bi analyzed from a distance: "Fei Liu is trying to knock you out before going after Yujin..."
Yan Yujin shuddered, shouting "Brother Su" loudly, while encouraging his friends to "hold on for a while!"
For a while, there was chaos outside the Xuelu, and even a sleeping Buddha had to be awakened.
After opening the door and instructing Fei to exile, the servants quickly brought hot water and breakfast. Yan Yujin wanted to speak as soon as he entered the door, but was forcibly stopped by Xiao Jingrui, and only after Mei Changsu finished drinking the porridge and put down the table and chopsticks, he waved his hand to let go.
"Brother Su, a decree was sent to the palace early this morning, saying that the test of writing was postponed to tomorrow." Yan Yujin reported the news impatiently.
"Oh why?"
"Because you're going to clean up Bailiqi today!" Yan Yujin opened the fan dashingly, and just shook it when he saw Xiao Jingrui glaring at him, only to realize that it was because of the cold wind that the fan had caused Mei Changsu to hide for a while , hurriedly put away the fan, but still handsomely slapped the palm of the other hand, people who didn't know, thought it was him who was going to clean up Bailiqi today.
Xie Bi saw that the eldest son of Yan was busy acting cool and had no intention of continuing to talk. He hurriedly took over the words and explained, "That's right, His Royal Highness Prince Yu came to the table and said that even if Brother Su defeated Bailiqi as a child today, His candidacy remains unchanged, and he still has to take the literary test. But if he loses in the war, it will definitely disturb his mood, which is a bit unfair. Anyway, there is no hurry to choose a son-in-law for a day or two, so why not postpone the literary test One day, it will prevent the people of Beiyan from making excuses and making irresponsible remarks."
"This idea is well thought out, is the Holy One accurate?"
"That's right."
"Oh." Mei Changsu nodded, "Thanks to tell you. It's getting late, I have to get up, I'll say goodbye to everyone first."
"Farewell for what?" Xiao Jingrui handed over his cloak, "We can go together."
Mei Changsu glanced at a few people: "Where are you going?"
"Let's see how you beat Bai Liqi!"
Mei Changsu couldn't help laughing and said, "Wuying Hall is the court hall, not the Qingle Square that you often visit. The last time you went was because of the sage's summons; the original plan was to go with me today because there was a post after the game. Test; now that the literary test has been cancelled, what reason do you have to enter the Wuying Hall without authorization? Even if you are noble sons, at least you should ask for permission to enter first, right?"
"Ah—" Yan Yujin screamed and jumped up, "Forgot about this! I've wasted so much time, I have to go and see you first, I'll watch this lively!"
Xie Bi didn't care, he didn't intend to go, but Xiao Jingrui was a little busy, he hurriedly stood up to follow his friend and walked out, and then he froze and looked back at Mei Changsu, with a tight look on both ends.
"Don't be embarrassed," Mei Changsu gave him a push with a smile, "Xie Bi will help me arrange the carriage and horse, go and ask for an order, don't you want to watch this lively?"
Xiao Jingrui showed a smile, "Yeah!" After a while, he ran out, Xie Bi shrugged and looked at his back, sighing, "I'm more and more like Yujin, he didn't like to watch the fun before..."
As for Xie Bi, who was not familiar with martial arts, Mei Changsu didn't want to explain to him what was so curious about this competition. The three children who had been waiting by the side walked out of the hospital.
The horses, horses and guards of the Hou Mansion had already stopped outside the door. Xie Bi looked left and right, and joked, "The Princess Nihuang didn't send a carriage today, Brother Su, are you a little disappointed?"
Mei Changsu didn't answer with a smile, he lowered the curtain of the carriage, and the groom flicked his whip, making a crisp sound, and headed straight for Miyagi.
The number of people gathered in Wuying Hall today is much less than last time. Except for Bai Liqi, the other nine candidates have not seen a shadow, and the Da Yu mission has only come to the second mission. Although King Jing came early because of Tingsheng, the Crown Prince and King Yu were nowhere to be seen. The two brothers and sisters from Prince Mu’s Mansion were also late, so when Mei Changsu stood in the hall with three children, except for Prince Jing Yaoyao nodding, no one came over to speak, which was quite different from the lively scene of the past few days. .
But Mei Changsu likes this quiet atmosphere. He led the three little apprentices to a corner of the hall, held their hands one by one, smiled softly and encouraged and comforted them. It didn't take long for those bony eyes full of fear to settle down, and they nodded earnestly. Said that he would work hard and seize the opportunity to get rid of his identity as a slave.
About half an hour later, Princess Nihuang and Mu Qing walked in with high spirits. Mei Changsu greeted them with a smile, while secretly sighing how these two sisters and brothers looked very energetic at any time and place, and shared with the capital. The nobles pretending to be lazy and elegant is really far behind, only King Jing still has some of the same temperament.
"Looking at Mr. Su's expression, it seems that he is confident?" Mu Qing was the one who spoke first. He strode closer, bent down slightly and asked the three children, "Tell me, what did Mr. Su teach you?"
Mei Changsu felt that there was nothing wrong with letting the children get acquainted with the appearance of these people in the hall first, so he ignored him at the moment, and motioned Princess Nihuang to take a few steps to the side with his eyes.
"What? Have you whispered to me?" The handsome girl in the southern border joked.
"Someone asked me to warn you," Mei Changsu said in a low voice, "It seems that there is no hope of marrying you, so someone in the palace wants to force you to submit. Banquet, if you can’t go, don’t go…”
"Forcing me to submit?" After a brief surprise, Princess Nihuang smiled proudly, "How do they want to force it?"
Mei Changsu was a little bit reluctant to elaborate, so he only said vaguely: "Don't underestimate the means of the harem, and be careful about the things at the entrance..."
Just as he was about to speak, there were footsteps suddenly heard outside, Yan Yujin dragged Xiao Jingrui and rushed in, hehe smiled and said, "Catch up, catch up, Brother Su, haven't we started yet?"
Mu Qing stopped him with an unhappy face, frowned and said, "It hasn't started yet, Mr. Su is talking to my sister, you two don't disturb them!"
Being so strongly maintained by him, even Princess Nihuang could not whisper to Mei Changsu any more. After all, she is an unmarried daughter of the Wang family, and it is not a good thing to go too far against etiquette before choosing a son-in-law.
Fortunately, the embarrassing situation was over in an instant, because the holy car had already arrived at this time.
As everyone guessed, the crown prince and King Yu appeared with the old emperor on the left and right, and Princess Jingning was followed by her escort. After the emperor was seated in the middle, the two princes and Jing Ningfang went down the jade steps together, led everyone to the state ceremony, and only sat behind Jiang Yuping.
"Su Qing," Emperor Liang said with a smile, "How are your achievements?"
"It's useless to say more, Your Majesty, please take a closer look at it." Mei Changsu beckoned to call out the three children, who lined up and knelt on the ground.
Emperor Liang looked at the three little figures, and then looked at Bailiqi, who was muscular and knotted beside him. After all, he was a little clueless, and he couldn't help but look back at Meng Zhi.
"Your Majesty, is this the beginning?" Meng Zhi took the opportunity to bow and ask for the decree.
The arrow had been wound and had to be fired. Emperor Liang covered a trace of worry in his eyes and nodded.
The three children stood up at the decree, each holding a sword, the finished character standing, and their expressions were extremely firm. The sense of solemnity was completely different from the flinching state of two days ago. Let the bystanders be distracted first. Be excited.
Bailiqi came off empty-handed, glanced at the opponent in front of him with disdain, and made a random gesture.
"Start!" Meng Zhi ordered together, a breeze suddenly rolled up in the field, the three children turned like a spinning top, their footwork intertwined like a flower, the originally clear figure suddenly had a blurred double image, and the martial arts were slightly inferior. The person immediately felt a flower in front of him.
Chai Ming, the golden eagle of the Great Yu Kingdom, immediately became interested. He sat up straight and was about to take a closer look when he suddenly felt a strong murderous aura coming from the side. The No. 1 expert in Daliang, the commander of the Imperial Guard of Jinling, Lord Meng Zhi, was staring at him fiercely, the anger in his eyes, as if there was a hatred of killing his father and taking his wife between the two. I couldn't help shivering, and while stabilizing my mind, I thought about where I had offended him.
Princess Nihuang's martial arts are also famous for their splendor and splendor. As soon as he saw the erratic figure, he was attracted. When he was leaning forward to observe carefully, he suddenly heard an exclamation from Mei Changsu, "Aiya!" , couldn't help but blink, turned his head to look, but saw that he had overturned the tea bowl on the table, and was hurriedly sideways to avoid the tea dripping from the edge of the table. The princess pursed her lips and smiled.
Just when the two masters were distracted at the same time, there were several suppressed grunts on the field, followed by a plop, the three children retracted their swords and jumped, the light and shadow disappeared, and when everyone looked again, Bailiqi was half-kneeling on the ground, Supporting his body with his arms, his face was full of anger and unwillingness.
"Won!"
"Won!"
Yan Yujin and Princess Jingning cheered at the same time. Although Emperor Liang had an imperial demeanor, he also smiled at this time.
Chai Ming, who was concentrating on fighting against Meng Zhi's anger, suddenly felt his whole body loosen, and the commander Meng, who had just been indifferent, changed his face and showed him a sincere and friendly smile. At that moment, he felt Did you just have a dream
"Baili Warrior, how are you?" Bei Yanzheng made angrily and anxiously grabbed it.
"Your Excellency, don't worry, we won't hurt the guests." Mei Changsu said with a smile, and gestured to the three children, "Thank you, Your Majesty, Long En."
The little three swordsmen immediately bowed their heads, and Liang Dilong was overjoyed and said, "You have made a contribution, and I will not break my promise. If you remove the status of a criminal slave, you can place it by Yousi, or you can rely on relatives and friends."
Princess Jingning was overjoyed, and immediately said, "My father is really benevolent."
Emperor Liang glanced at his younger daughter and thought: "Jing Ning, do you really like these children so much? Since they have such sword formation skills, why don't they clean up and go to your place to serve you, you are better than the average guards. For them, they have no worries about food and clothing, and they can be considered a comfort zone..."
As soon as these words came out, both Mei Changsu and King Jing lost their color, especially King Jing, who wanted to jump up almost immediately, but was stopped by Mei Changsu's strong eyes.
"Your Majesty's words are inappropriate." The person who directly objected at this time was Xiao Jingrui. He stood up and saluted, and said in a loud voice, "Your Majesty's decree to let them out of the Tuck Garden is to allow them to be free in the future. Chrysostom has already opened. , how can they be taken back? Besides, they don't know the rules of the inner palace, so it's useless to receive them. They can't carry weapons with them when they serve the princess, and this sword formation is useless at all. Jing Rui felt that even Princess Jing Ning herself might not want them to be cleansed. into the inner palace."
Princess Jingning hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, there are young eunuchs in Ning'er Palace. What do you want them to do? The royal father will give Ning'er what he wants."
Emperor Liang has always loved Xiao Jingrui very much, and he was not angry with his blunt words. Mei Changsu was already sweating thinly.
"Mr. Su is well trained, and he should be the first creditor. When the county master's literary test is over, I will give another reward." Emperor Liang was in a good mood at this time, and he actually poured a glass of wine by himself and sent it to Mei Changsu's table, "First A toast sir, to congratulate this battle."
Mei Changsu Xie En took the cup, drank it all, couldn't help coughing, and was busy trying to hold back, flushing flushed on her face.
Emperor Liang pretended to comfort Bailiqi and the Beiyan envoys again, and happily drove back to the palace. As soon as he left, Mei Changsu covered his mouth with his sleeve and bowed down from a cough. Xiao Jingrui jumped over the table and ran over, supporting him and patting his back. The Crown Prince and Prince Yu also hurried over to ask.
"It's okay... Your Majesty's imperial wine is too fragrant..." After coughing for a while, Mei Changsu released the hand covering his lips, leaning on Xiao Jingrui's arm and raising his head. The Prince and Prince Yu expressed their concern and stood very close. But just like the last time at the Wuying Palace feast, neither of them had the slightest scent of ambergris, which shows that they did it deliberately, not a coincidence.
Mei Changsu was convinced again. By the side of King Yu, there must be the prince's inner detective.
"Don't you worry? Do you want to take a break before leaving?" Princess Nihuang was invited to the side by a female official just now, so she came to greet him at this time.
"It doesn't matter." Mei Changsu smiled lightly, then turned to the Crown Prince and Prince Yu and said, "The two Your Royal Highnesses are busy with state affairs every day.
The Crown Prince and Prince Yu seemed to have something to do with each other, and they couldn't be too entangled, so they politely said a few words together, turned around and left. Mu Qing pulled Yan Yujin away with one hand, and pushed Xiao Jingrui with the other, but did not push.
"Brother Su is still unsteady." Although Xiao Jingrui knew that Mu Qing meant to let her sister and Mei Changsu get along alone, she still insisted on standing where she was.
Princess Nihuang couldn't help laughing, looked at Young Master Xiao with great interest, and said to Mei Changsu in a low voice, "The Empress did invite me to the palace for a banquet. I can't help but agree, I'll go."
"County Master," Mei Changsu hurriedly stopped her, and after thinking about it without any extra words, he sighed and said only the words "take care of yourself".
After Princess Nihuang left, there were not many people left in the hall. Mei Changsu did feel extremely unwell, and it was illegal to take a chariot or a sedan chair in the forbidden garden, so he had to sit down and rest for a while, and Xiao Jingrui and Yan Yujin naturally stayed to accompany him.
Princess Jingning had been talking with Prince Jing all the time. At this time, it seemed as if Xiao Jingyan had just come to an end. Xiao Jingyan came over to greet him. After a few words, everyone had nothing to say. .
Because the emperor directly drove to the concubine's residence, Meng Zhi did not accompany him either. Because he was secretly worried about Lin Shu, he didn't leave. He called the other two children in the hall and ordered them to perform footwork. Yan Yujin was very interested, so he moved over. Only Xiao Jingrui came to Mei Changsu carefully. Beside him, looking at the cold sweat that kept oozing out of his forehead, he asked in a low voice, "Is this glass of wine so strong? Did you get sick?"
Mei Changsu suppressed the pain in his inner breath, and knew in his heart that it was the old wound that had been aroused by the wine, so he didn't want to speak, he just closed his eyes and sat silently. Meng Zhi looked at this side frequently for a while, and finally couldn't help rushing over.
"What happened to Mr. Su?"
"I don't know," Xiao Jingrui's voice trembled with nervousness, "I haven't gotten better after so long."
"Let's see." Meng Zhi stretched out his hand to hold his pulse gate, his brows immediately wrinkled, he raised his qi and concentrated, and injected an internal energy to calm his injury.
At this time, Yan Yujin, King Jing and Princess Jingning all realized that something was wrong and rushed over together. The three children also stared blankly with worried expressions on their faces.
After a full half an hour, Meng Zhifang let out a long sigh, and his expression turned slightly sullen. Mei Changsu retracted his wrist and thanked him in a low voice, his voice was a little emboldened, not as hesitant as before.
"Scared me..." Yan Yujin was most afraid of this dignified atmosphere, and he exhaled, "It's finally okay. Brother Su's body is too prone to problems, I really need to take good care of it. Jing Rui, let's send it off quickly. Brother Su, go back, the polo match we made today probably won't work..."
"Of course not! Are you still in the mood to play?" Xiao Jingrui was extremely displeased.
"I don't want to fight either, but I have to tell Tingjie that it was an appointment."
"Just go and tell him, I won't go."
Listening to the two of them talking, Mei Changsu always felt that a strange feeling flashed in his mind, and he couldn't catch it for a while, so he couldn't help frowning.
"Why, are you uncomfortable again?" Xiao Jingrui asked hurriedly.
"No... you said just now... who did you date to play polo?"
"Liao Tingjie, you don't know him, he is the heir of Lord Zhongsu..."
As if a bright light flashed, the strangeness that had been felt since sometime this morning surged up at the same time, Mei Changsu suddenly figured out something, and a trembling trembled in his chest.
The county lord has been invited into the palace. According to reason, the Queen and King Yu should have arranged all aspects of this trick a long time ago. Why... Why is Liao Tingjie, who was designated as the husband-in-law of the county lord in the King Yu camp, still in the palace? Someone outside the palace made an appointment to play polo
Every word that Princess Liyang said last night quickly flashed through her mind again, and the most abnormal point was immediately caught.
The eldest princess said that the reason why she found out about the conspiracy was because Xie Bi was restless and was seen by her, and she knew it by pressing. But this morning, Xie Bi was in a very good mood. When he went out, he made a joke about Princess Nihuang, and he didn't seem to be ashamed at all.
On the other hand, it is extremely risky for the Queen and King Yu to set up this plan, and at most a few helpers know that they must not pass it on to others. Xie Biyu couldn't help anything with this kind of palace secrets. King Yu had nothing to do and told him what to do
So Princess Liyang is lying, she is lying in a place that she thinks is irrelevant and difficult to talk about, because she can't know about it from Xie Bi, the source of the news should be her husband, Marquis Ning Guo Xie Yu.
Only a few people knew about the technique of the queen mother back then, and Xie Yu was one of them. If Princess Liyang heard him offering a time to the people he supported, even if it was only a few words, she would immediately understand.
And the most critical misunderstanding is in this last step.
Princess Liyang introduced Xie Bi for the sake of concealment, and Mei Changsu knew very well that Xie Bi was from King Yu, so naturally, he thought that the person who wanted to do this poisonous scheme was the queen. What he didn't think of for a while was that this matter had nothing to do with Xie Bi, but the handwriting of his father Xie Yu.
As for Xie Yu's position... Xie Yu's position...
Mei Changsu took a deep breath and gritted his teeth.
What remains neutral? What is outside the scramble for succession? Others don't know, you should know best what kind of person Xie Yu is. He has blemishes and knows that he can't be a pure minister. When the old emperor is old, how could he not plan for the future? Xie Bi supported King Yu in such a high-profile manner, and he had already offended the prince. Once the prince succeeded, the Xie family would also be demoted. Therefore, neutrality in this situation was meaningless. With Xie Yu's shrewdness, how could it be meaningless? thing? But the fact is, he just seems like a fool, letting his son get along with King Yu, but he puts on a look that no one is helping. This shows that he has a seamless plan of his own, which can allow him to enjoy the honor in peace after the victory of either side.
Xie Biming supported Prince Yu secretly, and Xie Yu secretly supported the prince. Tell the prince again that Xie Bi was doing his inner response for him, and occasionally brought back some information to confirm it, so Prince Yu was kept in the dark, and the prince was even more happy.
As long as it is successfully concealed, the situation in the future will be: King Yu wins, because of Xie Bi, the Xie family does not fall, the crown prince wins, Xie Yu and his son are both heroes, which is more beneficial.
So Xie Yu is in his bones and really wants to support the prince.
Thinking of this episode, cold sweat dripped down Mei Changsu's forehead.
The real danger is not in the Empress's Zhengyang Palace, but in the Zhaoren Palace, where the prince's biological mother, Yuegui Concubine. Now that the county lord has been in the palace for a long time, if she follows her own advice and only beware of the queen, will she be slack in the place of the more noble concubine and fall into other people's traps
If this worst happens, count the time, maybe it's still too late...
"His Royal Highness King Jing, please go to the palace to inquire immediately. If the county lord goes to the Zhaoren Palace of Concubine Yuegui, you must rush over immediately and find her at all costs," Mei Changsu stood up abruptly and held Jing tightly. Wang's hand, sternly said, "The Princess Nihuang is in danger now, I will tell you in detail in the future, go now, go now!"
Although Xiao Jingyan was bewildered, seeing his serious expression, he believed it immediately, turned around and ran away.
"Princess Jingning, please, come to the grandma right away... The queen mother asked her to rush to Zhaoren Palace immediately. This is also to save Nihuang. You must count every second..." Mei Changsu turned to Xiao Jingning again, her tone still the same. Hastily, "Princess still remember to owe me a favor, please pay it back at this time."
Xiao Jingning took two steps back and was a little at a loss, but when she heard that it was to save Sister Nihuang, her heart shuddered, and she took action immediately without thinking about it.
"Commander Meng, please arrange for a manpower immediately to ambush outside Zhaoren Palace. If you see Sima Lei, the prince's son, come out, immediately take it down with the crime of 'foreign minister trespassing', is there any problem?"
Meng Zhi didn't ask much, patted him on the shoulder and said "don't worry", and flew out immediately.
There were only two noble sons left in the hall who were at a loss as to what was going on, staring at Mei Changsu blankly.
"Brother Su... What's going on here?" Yan Yujin asked eagerly after a while.
Mei Changsu closed his eyes, looking extremely tired, a heavy sigh overflowed his lips, and murmured, "It's all my fault... I misunderstood something... Now I can only hope... for the worst possible outcome. , has not happened yet…”