After splitting up with Marquis Pingyuan and the third prince, Zhang Yunming, Shen Zhuo, Shen Xiang, and Master Song marched northward with most of the volunteers. These Beirong soldiers were already injured and lived by eating dead horse meat, so they had no fighting power at all. Zhang Yunming's volunteer soldiers had strong bows and crossbows, and they had the advantage of weapons and easily won. The Beirong soldiers quickly They surrendered and took tens of thousands of prisoners. Both Zhang Yunming and Shen Zhuo felt that the prisoners should not be killed, as that would arouse people's desire to die, so they decided to escort them back to the capital, since they were wounded soldiers, if they died on the way, at least they would not be considered killed.
Zhang Yunming wanted to quickly find Zhang Yunzheng and bring him back to the capital, so he agreed with Shen Zhuo that he and Mr. Song would lead some volunteers to escort the prisoners back to the capital, and Shen Zhuo would continue northward with the others.
Before Zhang Yunming went to look for Zhang Yunzheng in the mountain, Zhang Yunzheng led the people out of the mountain. They waited until the smoke cleared in the valley, walked through the valley full of dead bodies, and joined the rebels outside the valley. People on both sides cheered when they saw the news. Zhang Yunming ran towards the direction of the cheers when he heard the news. waved his hand.
Zhang Yunming came in front of Zhang Yunzheng, looked Zhang Yunzheng up and down, saw that Zhang Yunzheng was healthy and uninjured, felt hot in his heart, suppressed it hard, and then restrained his urge to rush forward and hug Zhang Yunzheng's shoulders, he emptied himself at Zhang Yunzheng He punched him: "Look at you! Do you know how old you are?"
Zhang Yunzheng gently pushed Zhang Yunming's arm away, glared at Zhang Yunming, and said hoarsely: "Want to fight?!"
Zhang Yunming smiled: "I want to! I want to beat you up!"
Zhang Yunzheng rolled his eyes: "Who wants to talk to you!"
Zhang Yunming felt very strange—this was a word he used to despise Zhang Yunzheng in the past, why did he come back now? "What's wrong with your throat?" he asked.
Zhang Yunzheng coughed twice, and said, "It's okay, it was smoked. Are there many people who have passed by Beirong?"
Zhang Yunming shook his head: "Not much, half of it is useless, it's really a poisonous smoke array."
Zhang Yunzheng cut out: "What is 'poison'? It's cheap and good-looking!" Zhang Yunming also rolled his eyes—why did Zhang Yunzheng protect that little poisonous woman so much? Although Second Miss Shen's plan is astonishing, but wouldn't it be dangerous for a woman who dared to kill so many people to sleep next to her? Zhang Yunming wanted to break them up again... Of course Zhang Yunzheng obviously had no such intention, he asked: "Are you going back to Beijing right away? I want to go back." He just wanted to see Second Miss Shen right away
Naturally, Zhang Yunming would not let Zhang Yunzheng go by himself, he looked around and said, "I'll accompany you, there's not much going on here, the brothers and sisters of the Shen family are going north to the border, we'll go back with the prisoners."
Zhang Yunzheng shook his head and said, "I won't go with you, how slow it is to push the captives!"
Zhang Yunming sighed exaggeratedly: "Then I'll go back with you first, can't it be okay to let others walk slowly with the captives on their shoulders?" After the hurdle of life and death, he should pamper his younger brother a bit.
Zhang Yunzheng said naturally: "Then let's leave tomorrow!" He was not humble at all!
Behind Zhang Yunzheng, Rose came to salute, and Yulan and Zhang Ding, who came to look for Zhang Yunzheng with Zhang Yunming, also rushed forward with a smile. The three embraced and shouted: "Great! Great!" It's time!" "Go back and tell him what we did, he must be pissed off!" "Hahaha, for sure! It's so fun!"…
Zhang Yunming and Zhang Yunzheng found Shen Zhuo on the battlefield, the three chatted and laughed a few more times, Zhang Yunming said his plan, Shen Zhuo naturally agreed. The next day, they bid farewell to each other. Zhang Yunming and Zhang Yunzheng took Yulan Rose, Zhang Ding and more than 20 soldiers and rode in pursuit of Marquis Pingyuan. A few days later, Master Song led the troops to escort the captives to the south, and Shen Zhuo and Shen Xiang led the volunteers to cross the Valley of Death and follow He Duo's southward path to the north to reinforce Yancheng.
At this time, outside Yancheng, it was quiet. On Yancheng, Ji Wenzhao and Zhenbeihou looked at the Beirong camp in the distance. Ji Wenzhao said: "They haven't attacked the city for a long time. We opened the city gate this morning. A small group of people They rushed out, they were just defending, not chasing them.”
Zhenbeihou asked: "Have you handed over the memorial to the capital?"
Ji Wenzhao nodded: "The soldiers who came back said that Xin used the encirclement."
Zhenbeihou asked again: "Are you sure we have to wait for more than ten days?"
Ji Wenzhao nodded firmly: "We must wait until they break out of camp and leave."
Bei Rong has been besieged for such a long time without attacking, and Zhen Beihou's confidence is getting stronger and stronger. He nodded and said, "Okay, the day they retreat is the time when our army will go out to fight."
Ji Wenzhao said: "Exactly! If my hexagram is accurate, there has already been a major event that is not good for Tugu Khan."
Zhenbeihou looked at Ji Wenzhao with special admiration, and Ji Wenzhao smiled and seemed to have a plan in mind - He Da's army must have been wiped out, and something must have happened inside Beirong.
He was not wrong at all, He Duo's scattered soldiers couldn't understand the language, and they couldn't move northward at all. Tugu Khan couldn't get any news from He Duo for a long time, so he had to send someone to contact him. But the capital of Beirong was in chaos at this time, Tugu Khan's elite soldiers all followed him to the south, and the defense of the imperial city was empty. A team of 1,000 people broke through the city gate, set fire to it after entering the city, and the rear army followed up. The invaders were familiar with the road and knew the capital well, and went straight to Tugu Khan's palace...
Although Zhang Yunming has a horse on this journey, he travels quickly, but whenever he arrives in a big city, Zhang Yunzheng always goes shopping to buy some dried fruits or local specialty snacks, and soon he has a big bag. As soon as he left the city, he led the horses and ran desperately, exhausting everyone to death. Zhang Yunming said angrily: "Don't push so hard, can't you make it? Next time, don't go to the city to buy things?"
Zhang Yunzheng stared: "This is what you taught me when you went to Jiangnan. Why do you have to buy something to give away when you return to Beijing? Are you going to go back empty-handed?"
Zhang Yunming was about to go crazy: "Is this the same? In the past we went to Jiangnan for fun, but this time we came out to fight! If we go back to the city without bringing anything, people will not be surprised, right? They should be happy if we come back alive !"
Zhang Yunzheng snorted and said, "If you have the ability, don't buy anything! I won't be as ignorant as you!"
Zhang Yunming gritted his teeth: "Don't think I don't know who you are buying things for!" So flattering that... When he thinks of that woman, his heart trembles...
Zhang Yunzheng was not shy at all, and raised his eyebrows: "So what? I'm not as stingy as you! I never give anything away, poor fifth princess..."
Zhang Yunming really wanted to fight Zhang Yunzheng, but seeing Zhang Yunzheng's happy face, he could only hold back his breath, but next time Zhang Yunzheng went to the city to shop again, Zhang Yunming also bought a few local products by the way.
People come and go outside Yan Jing's mansion every day, and it is very busy: the families of the students who have gone to the capital often come to inquire about the current situation of the capital, messengers from various academies deliver various letters, and people sent by Yan Jing to inquire about the news leave or return…
The third official Yan took over part of the work of the second official Yan and helped manage the academy, but he lost everything and made a mess, and the affairs of the academy were almost paralyzed. But now Yan Jing is not in the mood to manage the academy, and only pays attention to the situation nervously, wondering if the volunteer soldiers on the West Road have won, otherwise Yan's Academy is just on the way of the Beibei attacking the capital, and it will definitely not be spared from the flames of war.
He is too busy here now, but there are still people who add to the chaos. A boy's voice came from the yard: "I want to go back to the capital! I want to go back to the capital!"
Yan Jing frowned and said, "What's going on?"
The servant next to him said: "Mr. Su wanted to go to the capital with Mr. Yan last time. You said Mrs. Ji asked you to watch this child, but you didn't say let him go to the capital, so you didn't let him go. His wife didn't let him go either." It is said that this is the time to start school, and time should not be wasted. Some other masters have run away, but his master still attends classes every day, assigns homework to them, and especially takes care of Young Master Su, so that he cannot be negligent. But The day before yesterday his wife received the letter, his younger brother and nephew died in battle, he cried a lot and returned to his hometown, now that no one is restraining Young Master Su, he has come to make trouble."
Yan Jing snorted: "How old is he? How can he go back to the capital now?! He needs ten people to send him away..."
Someone rushed in and said in a low voice: "My lord, it's true. I went a hundred miles away and saw the army of volunteers! It's the commander-in-chief of Marquis Pingyuan, and they are now heading towards the capital. The army is neat and morale is high. It doesn't look like you've lost a battle."
Yan Jing pursed his lips tightly, frowned and pondered for a moment, and said: "Okay, let Young Master Su go back to the capital, and go with him to more than 30 people, that is, to send him to the place of the senior officials in the capital to assist the senior officials." People, prepare to celebrate the success and congratulations." The visitor responded.
After everyone had gone out, Yan Jing let out a sigh of relief—the volunteers had won.
After a few days, the news about the attempted copying and killing of the two houses of Beihou and Pingyuanhou in Jingcheng Town reached Yan Jing. Yan Jing read the letter carefully and regretted that he was not in the capital and could not witness such a dramatic change. He wanted to borrow What is the reason for going to the capital, but after thinking about it carefully, I will give up. He used to be an extremely personable official, and once he entered Beijing, he was too conspicuous. It's still behind the scenes, anyway, now that the overall situation has been decided, the third prince will become the prince. If Marquis Pingyuan leads troops into Beijing, the third prince will be the emperor. Not to mention that the country is preserved, many of his students and old friends have also chosen the right camp. What to worry about.
The army led by Marquis Pingyuan and the third prince did indeed pass by the vicinity of Yan's Academy, but they deliberately avoided the main towns, and sometimes they even lived at night and lived day and night, which can be regarded as eating and sleeping in the open every day. Marquis Pingyuan was worried that the third prince would not be able to bear this kind of wild life, but the third prince didn't care at all. He felt that this was a replica of his hunting in the wild with the Shen brothers when he was young. For so many years, he had not had the opportunity to travel across the fields so happily, and this expedition was simply a long-awaited spring outing. He was looking at the green of the early spring on the vast plain on the horse. It was really refreshing, and he couldn't get enough of it. He hoped that Marquis Pingyuan would walk slowly, the longer the distance the better, he would be able to see the scene of flowers blooming everywhere when spring comes.
Marquis Pingyuan finally received the news from the capital, knowing that the two mansions were copied and killed, but the people were noisy, Qingliu led all the officials to Fuque, and the case was withdrawn. Marquis Pingyuan called the Third Prince and Young Master Ye, and handed them the news. After the third prince read it, his eyes widened with anger—the emperor actually ordered to copy and kill Zhenbeihou's mansion? ! Now it is the prince's director, this must be instigated by the prince, but the emperor also agreed! He couldn't imagine how heartbroken Shen Xiang would be if the Zhenbei Hou Mansion was copied and killed! How he will suffer too! Zhenbeihou's Mansion has always been the home in his heart. He wants to be a brother of the Shen family brothers, and wants to marry Miss Shen as his wife, and be the son-in-law of Zhenbeihou and his wife... The third prince said to Pingyuanhou: "Let's go back to Beijing quickly." Go!" He couldn't waste any more time on the road.
After reading it, Mr. Ye secretly sighed: that's what my father meant when he said he wanted to sit in the capital! It seems that my father has long seen that once the third prince Pingyuanhou is gone, if he loses, the emperor and prince will probably attack. Mr. Ye thought that it was Shen Zhuo who asked him to find those actors at the beginning, and also thought that during this period of time, Marquis Pingyuan marched quietly on the grounds of not disturbing the people, and finally sensed the smell of conspiracy—how did this seem to tempt the emperor and the prince to go down? Copy the killing order, and then let the order fail, ruining their reputation? He remembered the conversation with his father when he was parting. At that time, his father said that the current situation was mysterious and he saw something was wrong, but why did Shen Zhuo prepare it so early? Shen Zhuo is a general, why shouldn't he understand better than himself? Young Master Ye was a little disappointed.
From then on, Marquis Pingyuan no longer avoided the residential areas, but marched towards the capital with great fanfare. The people along the way knew that this was the volunteer army who had defeated Bei Rong, and they warmly welcomed them and sent a large amount of supplies. The news of the victory of Pingyuanhou and the third prince spread, but Pingyuanhou did not send a memorial to the court.
The old Taoist priest of Xiaoyun Temple entered the alchemy room at dawn. It was still dark, and most of the Taoist priests hadn't gotten up yet, but there was still a Taoist boy on duty in Danfang.
The old Taoist priest has been using the alchemy room to make alchemy, and the Taoist boy who guards the alchemy room doesn't care. The old Taoist said to Daotong: "Go out, I want to be here by myself." The little Taoist who was waiting outside saw Daotong come out, so he pulled him away and said, "Let's stay far away, my master. I don't like being near others."
Daotong Xindao The old Taoist practiced for such a long time, but he didn't see any elixir, just some black and yellow pieces of medicine, why is he so particular, afraid that people will see it? ... Before he had time to think about it, he saw the old Taoist priest running out and shouting, "Run! It's about to explode!" The little Taoist priest ran away, and the Taoist boy had to follow. As an old man, the old Taoist priest had really slow legs. After a while, there was a "bang" sound, bricks and stones flew horizontally, and a pill furnace flew high into the air, and when it fell again, the original pill room had become a pile of rubble.
The three of them were thrown to the ground by the air wave. The old Taoist priest and the young Taoist priest reacted the fastest, and immediately got up and ran. The old Taoist priest spat out dust and said, "I didn't know it would be so powerful! Oh my god, all of them It’s collapsed! My junior brother will definitely be very angry..."
The Daoist boy of Xiaoyun Guan was on the ground for a long time before he recovered, raised his head and shouted: "The alchemy room exploded!"
The originally quiet Taoist temple suddenly became lively, many people rushed out of the house, many people only wore underwear, and they were all asking: "What happened?!" "What's wrong?!"
The little Taoist ran to a big rock in one breath, pulled out the two hidden packages, and continued running to the front of the temple with the old Taoist. Behind them shouted: "The brother of the Taoist priest blew up the alchemy room!" "Catch them!" !”…
The two lived here for a long time, knew the way and ran quickly, arrived at the courtyard in front of the temple, bypassed the gatekeeper Taoist priest who came up to stop them, and reached a corner door, the little Taoist priest pulled the door bolt, and the two ran out of the temple in disgrace Go, and run away in a while.
The Taoist priests were filled with righteous indignation when they saw the alchemy room that had been blown into ruins. There are many alchemy pills in this alchemy room, as well as many rare medicinal materials and raw materials! That pill furnace is also very precious! This old Taoist is really a loser! Come here to eat for nothing, and even blow up the pill room! Everyone immediately divided the work, some went to the imperial palace in the capital to report to Master Mao, and some began to pick things on the bricks and stones.
Taoist Mao had just talked to the emperor about the diamond powder, when the news came from outside the palace: The alchemy room of the Xiaoyun Temple was blown up by an old Taoist priest! Please come back quickly, Daoist Mao!
Daoist Mao was angry and anxious, he was indeed trying to go back to the Taoist temple, but you don't have to blow up my alchemy room! He hurried to find Eunuch Sun and told him the situation. Eunuch Sun is now full of entanglements between the emperor and the prince. The bombing of the alchemy room that Mao Daochang said is a major event, so let Mao Daochang go early and return early, and he will take care of the emperor when he comes back. Mao Daochang has left the palace.
The prince left the emperor's bedroom by preparing ginseng porridge for the emperor. He first found a place where no one was around and asked his eunuch: "Yesterday, my father was fine. Why are you feeling unwell this morning? Go ask your father." Have you met someone?"
After a while, the prince was rewarded: only Mao Daochang had a long talk with the emperor.
The prince now feels that everyone is against him. He suspects that Mao Daochang has seen that the emperor is not in good health, and he will probably give the emperor some health-preserving measures. He didn't know what kind of moon and incense burner Xue Guifei would draw on the powdered paper. He felt that even if Xue Guifei's paper bag was found, he would not be dragged to him. He never thought that the emperor knew that the two of them entered Hong Kong on the night of Qixi Festival, and when he saw the pattern drawn by Concubine Xue, he pushed out that this bag was given to Concubine Xue by the crown prince. How did the prince think that Concubine Xue Gui's romantic feelings for him ended up ruining his event.
The prince whispered to his confidants: "Find someone to kill Taoist Mao!" The eunuch was about to leave, but came back again and said in a low voice, "I heard that Taoist Mao just left the palace." The prince said impatiently: "Let The guards are going to chase him, and they must kill him! After chasing him into his temple, burn the temple!" The eunuch took the order and left.
The old Taoist stood guard at a tea stall at the intersection, and stretched his neck to look in the direction of the capital. The little Taoist puffed his mouth: "Why are we waiting here?"
Just as the old Taoist was about to raise his hand to pat him on the head, he suddenly realized that the little Taoist had grown into a young man, and he should not pat his head, so he patted the little Taoist on the shoulder and said, "How many times have I said that! The alchemy room was blown up, so we have to say sorry to him, right? We can't wait for him in the courtyard, or we will be beaten to death by those Taoist priests..."
The little Taoist curled his lips: "Isn't this to save him?"
The old Taoist said: "Isn't he ignorant? Let's talk to him... Look, isn't that him?"
On the way, Mao Daochang came hurriedly, and the old Taoist got up to greet him, and said with a smile, "Junior Brother..."
Mao Daochang turned his head to look over, and when he saw the old Taoist priest, he raised his eyes angrily: "Who is your junior brother? I am your enemy, right?! Do you want to destroy me before you are willing?! Ah?! You come to watch , have I ever been sorry to you?! Give you food and let you live in vain, do you still have a conscience?... "
The old Taoist laughed dryly: "Junior brother, don't forget what the master said, speaking harshly will not help your life, and being angry will damage your life. Junior brother should calm down..."
The little Taoist listened dumbfounded—his master was really good at teaching people, and he wouldn't suffer at all against Taoist Mao.
Mao Daochang was so angry that he drooled and said, "How can you calm down?! Are all the medicinal materials in my elixir room gone? I have accumulated them over the years! It is a precious thing for refining health elixir. Where can I find it again?" ?! How could you be so ruthless?!"
The little Taoist interrupted: "My master didn't know that gunpowder was so powerful! So I just planned to blow a hole in the roof..."
Mao Daochang jumped: "Blow a hole and you'll be fine?! That's your house?! You can blow a hole if you want to?!"
The old Taoist spread his hands: "Otherwise, how can I call you back from the palace? I was given this trick by someone else."
Although Daoist Mao originally wanted to leave the palace, but now in the dispute, he couldn't admit it, and said angrily: "Why do you want me to come back?! I work for the emperor in the palace, and The emperor often sees each other, why do I want to come back? Are you jealous of me?! Seeing that I live better than you, you think of a way to pull me down!"
The little Taoist also shouted: "Hey, my master did this to save you! Otherwise we would have returned to the mountains long ago, who wants to see those supercilious eyes in your eyes..."
Daoist Mao snorted, "What are you saving me?! Sophistry! Do I need your help? I'm not doing well now?!..." Just as he was talking, there was a sound of hooves on the road, and a dozen horses came running over. The old Taoist priest He narrowed his eyes and said, "It looks like it's from the palace..."
Mao Daochang also turned his head to look, and saw a knight looking towards them immediately, Yaoyao raised his finger and pointed in this direction, someone drew out his sword loudly, and said loudly: "Wu Na Yaodao! Where are you going?!"
Daoist Mao was puzzled, and looked at the old Taoist: "Did you cause trouble?..."
The old Taoist pulled down Taoist Mao's sleeve and said, "Run! This is here to kill you!" The little Taoist half opened his mouth, but the young man reacted quickly. He turned around and ran, and the old Taoist hurriedly followed him. Taoist Master Mao looked hesitantly at those rushing people, seeing that they were not chasing the old Taoist priest and the young Taoist priest, but came towards him, so he believed that they were looking for him, and hurriedly chased after the old Taoist priest and the young Taoist priest.
These guards in the palace rode over the tables and chairs of the tea stand to hunt down the fleeing Taoist priests. Outside the tea stand happened to be a sentry post set up by Marquis Pingyuan. There were more than a dozen volunteers watching the passers-by. They saw a group of guards I don’t know the reason for chasing three Taoist priests, but it’s very embarrassing and can’t really stop it, but it’s okay to throw a chair, pull down the horse and ask. After such a disturbance, the little Taoist priest led the old Taoist priest and Mao Daochang into the place. A forest not far behind the tea stand. He used to play a lot of hide-and-seek with Zhang Yunzhao and Shen Qiang, and he was keen to find hiding places. After walking through the woods for a while, he found a low-lying place and jumped in. The old Taoist pulled a branch around and sat on the small Beside the Taoist priest, he covered himself with branches. Mao Daochang also hurriedly picked up two handfuls of branches from under the tree, squeezed into the low-lying area with all his strength, and hurriedly pulled the branches over his head to barely cover himself.
If someone looked at them from the front, they would be able to see the heads and shoulders among the branches, but the cavalry happened to ride behind them. The low-lying terrain hid the bodies of the Taoists, and a branch and leaf blocked people's sight.
The three of them listened in horror to the sound of horseshoes passing by not far away, and none of them dared to move a single point. When the sound of horseshoes was far away, the old Taoist whispered to the young Taoist: "That Mr. Zhang said that we can hide in Pingyuan Hou's Mansion, and we will go there now."
Daoist Mao was still in shock, and asked the old Taoist: "Why did someone kill me? Surely it wasn't because of you?"
The old Taoist said: "A master has calculated that if you don't leave the palace, you will be burned to death by the prince."
Daoist Mao was stunned: "Prince?! Why is he a prince?! He is the one who recommended me into the palace! Could it be that he gave the emperor diamond powder?!"
The old Taoist asked: "The emperor ate diamond powder?"
Mao Daochang nodded: "It looks like, the emperor asked me what that thing was, and I told him that it could kill people, the emperor looked very angry..."
The old Taoist sighed to Daoist Mao: "Brother, if the emperor dies, it is said that the dust accumulated in the body, destroying the liver and kidneys, who do you think the prince will blame?"
Mao Daochang's face turned blue, and he stammered: "I will definitely say that I took my elixir... Brother, I will go with you to the Pingyuanhou's mansion, right? I heard that there are soldiers and arrows in their mansion, even the Imperial Forest Army Can't get in! Are you sure they will take us in?"
we? ! The little Taoist gave Daoist Mao a look, but the old Taoist didn't mind, and said: "I have done a lot for Mr. Zhang! They won't let us in, so I say he owes me a favor!"
In fact, the old Taoist didn't need to say anything like owed favors. When they arrived at the gate of Pingyuan Hou's mansion, they said they were Mr. Zhang's friends. When they heard the news, Mrs. Li immediately asked them to take them into the first-class guest room. It was delicious and delicious, and servants were sent to serve it. Mrs. Li is now worried about her two sons every day. As long as they are their friends, Mrs. Li will love her house and treat her well. These are all later.
In the palace, seeing no one around, the prince took a few deep breaths: Father is really sick! Did Concubine Xue Gui's medicine start to work? According to this state, the emperor should lie down in a year and a half, right? But he couldn't wait for a year and a half, he couldn't even wait for ten days and a half! He wants to be emperor now! His heart was pounding—he had to do it, he remembered his mother said that if this powder is used in a small amount, people will slowly get sick and die of weakness, and if it is used in large amounts, it can block the liver and gallbladder and cause a sudden emergency , Two or three days can kill you. Give it to the emperor, if anyone doubts it, just say it's Taoist Mao's elixir...
The prince walked down the corridor slowly, and asked the imperial chef to tell the imperial chef that when making ginseng porridge, he had to smash the rice so that it could be swallowed. Then he went to the palace and went back to the East Palace.
When someone came to report that the ginseng porridge was ready, the prince went back outside the emperor's bedroom, took the food box from the eunuch's hand, and said, "I will send it in for the emperor." The eunuch in the imperial dining room saluted, and the prince again Taking a deep breath, he carried the food box and entered the door.
Originally, there were three or four eunuchs standing in the outer room, but now that Eunuch Sun was staring at the emperor's bed, the outer room was actually empty.
The prince's heart was beating wildly, and he gently placed the food box on the desk, opened the lid and put it aside, with his back to the inside, took out a small bottle from his sleeve, and poured the powder into the porridge. He didn't dare to mix it with the silver spoon in the food box, so he endured the heat, stirred the powder evenly with his fingers, and lifted his robe to wipe his hands. There was a pot of bonsai on the corner of the desk, and the prince reached out and stuffed the vial into the soil. He checked that there was no abnormality on the surface of the bonsai, and then he picked up the food box with ginseng porridge, walked to the inner door, and said in a low voice, "Father, my son has brought you ginseng porridge."
The emperor inside hummed, and the prince lifted the curtain and entered the room.
According to feng shui, the bedroom should not be large. Once the emperor entered the bedroom, he reached the dragon bed in less than three steps. Eunuch Sun stood at the head of the bed with his eyebrows lowered, like a wooden man.
The prince asked the emperor: "Father, do you want to drink?"
The emperor hummed again without opening his eyes.
The prince put the food box on the coffee table, picked up the porridge bowl, then picked up the silver spoon to stir it, and sat down beside the emperor's bed. Just as he was about to feed the emperor a spoonful, the emperor opened his eyes slightly and looked at the prince from under his eyelids. , the prince waved his hand, but continued: "Father, please use the porridge."
The emperor closed his eyes, pulled the corners of his mouth and said, "I don't want to drink porridge."
The prince was stunned, and then persuaded: "Father, ginseng can increase vitality, nourish yang and nourish yin, father should use some."
The emperor said, "Then let's have some ginseng soup."
The prince tried his best to keep the muscles on his face from twisting. He withdrew his hand and was about to go out with the porridge. The emperor said, "Put the porridge here, maybe I want to drink it later." Eunuch Sun stretched out his hand, the prince hesitated for a while, thinking that the thing could not be tested, he handed the porridge bowl to Eunuch Sun, and said to the emperor: "I'm going to make ginseng soup for my father." After getting up, he saluted and went out. .
After leaving the palace, the prince asked someone to go to the imperial kitchen to get ginseng soup, saying that he was going back to the East Palace to deal with matters, and hurried back to the East Palace—why didn't he bring more powder? I have to run again! The crown prince took something from the East Palace, and when he came back, the imperial kitchen had already brought ginseng soup—the imperial kitchen simmered ginseng soup all day long, and he was always on call.
This time, as soon as the prince entered the house from the outside with ginseng soup, there was no one outside the palace! The prince thought to himself that his luck was so good, it was God's will! The first time is raw and the second time is cooked, and if you do it again this time, the prince will not be so nervous. He took out a small paper bag from his sleeve, poured the powder into the soup, crumpled the paper into a small ball, and put it back in the sleeve, but he was worried, took it out, and stuffed it into the bonsai soil again, Also touched the vial he put in last time.
Watching the powder on the soup sink into the soup, the prince picked up the plate and walked into the bedroom again. At this moment, he was not nervous anymore, he calmed down, put down the tray, picked up the soup bowl, stirred the dust with a silver spoon, and said to the emperor: "Father, the ginseng soup is here, please use it."
The emperor opened his eyes, not half-opened this time, but fully opened. The prince saw that the emperor's eyes seemed to have shot a cold arrow, and he blinked to calm himself down. He felt that he had to do this again—look at this fine Get angry, the emperor won't die in these two days, I hope the medicine given is enough... The prince felt that no one knew about this kind of thing, even if the emperor thought there was something in the soup, it didn't matter, so he said that the ginseng was not washed clean. Doesn't ginseng generally have an earthy smell? …
The crown prince smiled while thinking and handed the soup bowl to the emperor. The emperor did not raise his hand and said, "Give it to the servant Sun."
The prince thought that the emperor wanted Eunuch Sun to serve him, so he handed the bowl and spoon to Eunuch Sun who stretched out his hand, and said, "Father, you'd better drink it while it's hot."
Said to Eunuch Sun: "Go." Eunuch Sun responded and went out with a bowl.
The prince's heart began to beat wildly. He put more stone powder this time, but the silverware couldn't be detected, so it should be fine. But why did the father let Eunuch Sun take it out
The emperor squinted at the prince and asked, "What's wrong with the princess?"
The prince's heart skipped a beat, but then he let go, if it's just the princess's business, then there's no need to worry. He wanted to say that the Crown Princess died of illness, but then he thought, the emperor's face is so ugly, does he already know that the Crown Princess was beaten to death by him? The emperor will definitely not like to lie again...
In a dilemma, the prince sighed: "I really can't get along with her. There was a big fight that day, and the boy beat her..."
The emperor asked lightly: "Just hit her?"
The prince licked his dry lips and said, "Father, my son did... wrong things..."
The emperor half-closed his eyes: "What's the matter?"
The prince said with difficulty: "My child, it's hard to strike..."
The emperor sneered, waited for a while, and asked, "That's all?"
The prince thought that the emperor wanted him to take care of this matter, so he nodded and said, "That's it..."
Eunuch Sun came in from the house, holding a soup bowl, and whispered to the emperor: "Your Majesty, just like the previous bowl, there is that thing..."
The prince's heart shrank into a ball, and he felt extremely ominous, but he couldn't believe it.
The emperor suddenly opened his eyes and kicked the prince to the bedside. The prince fell to his knees and cried, "Father! Father! Take care of yourself!"
The emperor snorted: "Take care of your health?! Take care of your health and you gave me diamond powder?!"
The prince was so frightened that he wanted to pee, but he still said stubbornly: "Father, what stone powder?! The child doesn't understand..."
Eunuch Sun handed the bowl to the emperor. The emperor saw that there was a layer of solidified lard on the top of the bowl. When it was opened, fine powder could be seen under the fat. The emperor threw the bowl in front of the prince: "Look for yourself! Do you think it's perfect? This powder likes oil, pour hot oil into it, the oil floats on the water, and then cool the bowl with ice water, the powder is on top, you still have What can I say?! Not only in one bowl, but in two bowls! You bastard! I have treated you so well, bastard..." He was so angry that he had no words, and could only keep cursing the bastard.
The prince stammered in despair: "Father... father... what do you mean? My son... no... I don't understand!"
Eunuch Sun coughed softly: "Actually, someone in the outer room was staring at the beam just now, and the bottle and paper under the bonsai have been dug out..."
The prince kowtowed vigorously: "Father! It's Daoist Mao! Daoist Mao told the child that the stone powder can promote longevity, and the child is worried about the health of the father..."
The emperor angrily picked up an incense burner beside the bed and threw it at it: "It was Taoist Mao who told me what it was! You bastard full of lies! Come!"
The prince cried and walked towards the emperor: "Father! Father! Please spare the child..."
The emperor shouted: "Beast! How can I spare you?!"
Hearing this, the prince leapt up, threw himself on the emperor, and ruthlessly grabbed the emperor's neck: "Father! Don't force me anymore!"
When he was about to succeed, he suffered a complete failure. He was almost insane for a moment, and his strength was incomparable. When the incident happened suddenly, the emperor was completely unprepared. He was so strangled that his face turned red and his eyes rolled up... The prince's eyes lit up, and the flame of hope was ignited again , he used all his strength and murmured: "Father! Please die! Die quickly! You should have died a long time ago!..."
Eunuch Sun couldn't pull the prince away, and while shouting for someone to come, he picked up the censer thrown by the emperor from the ground, and hit the prince on the head. Although he wanted to save the emperor, but this is the prince, he did not dare to beat him to death. After several strokes, the prince did not let go, but blood flowed from his forehead, and he continued to pinch the emperor's neck with a ferocious face. Eunuch Sun was terrified, and finally hit him hard. The prince rolled his eyes and fell headlong under the bed.
Only then did people from outside run in and tie up the prince.
Eunuch Sun quickly helped the emperor up, and patted his chest and back. After a while, the emperor recovered his breath. He coughed desperately, and after spitting out a few mouthfuls, he even coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Eunuch Sun hurriedly poured tea and asked the emperor to rinse his mouth. The emperor's complexion was ashen, as if he had aged instantly. His lips trembled, and he pointed and said: "Guo will go to the crown prince, go down..." He originally wanted to say that he would go to prison, but he suddenly felt exhausted and said, "I am claustrophobic and kneel every day." For two hours, palm your mouth..."
The guards complied, and carried the unconscious prince out.
One corner of the emperor's mouth drooped, and he kept drooling. Eunuch Sun said to the outside: "Go and call the imperial doctor!"
The emperor tilted his mouth and said vaguely: "Xuanzhi, the prince... is wrong with the country, unfilial... for... Prince Li..." After finishing speaking, he rolled his eyes and passed out.
While calling the emperor, Eunuch Sun urged people to find the imperial doctor quickly. When the imperial doctor came, he checked the emperor's pulse and said it was phlegm rushing to the heart. He hurriedly prescribed a prescription, decocted the medicine, and then poured the medicine on the emperor. In the evening, the emperor woke up. Seeing this, Eunuch Sun brought the imperial decree and other official documents, put them on the small table next to the emperor's bed, and asked carefully, "Your Majesty, how do you feel?"
The emperor motioned to Eunuch Sun to help him sit up, and asked feebly, "Is there any news about the military situation?" Bei Rong won't come, will he
Eunuch Sun said cautiously: "There is news that West Road, His Royal Highness the Third Prince and Marquis Ping Yuan may have won..." He gave the good news to the emperor, thinking that maybe this would make the emperor happy, but the emperor didn't like it Anger: "Win?! After winning...there is no good news to the court?!" He coughed and his mouth became even more crooked. Eunuch Sun beat him on the back. The emperor gasped for a while, closed his eyes and rested his mind, and said: "Go, take the fourth prince back to the palace." Seeing the emperor's gloomy face, Eunuch Sun quickly agreed, saying that the emperor was ill, and someone really needed to come to help.
The next day, an imperial decree came out from the palace: The crown prince disobeyed the emperor and has been deprived of the position of crown prince!
The capital was not surprised by this news. After all, when the case of copying and killing the two houses of Zhenbeihou and Pingyuanhou was reversed, everyone knew that the prince had made a mistake. These days, they heard rumors on the street that the third prince, Pingyuanhou, won. The emperor had to remove the prince just to appease them.
After hearing the news, Old Madam Lu smiled briefly, and said to people: "Tell the people in the palace, do it, and let him know who it is for." Just as the man was about to leave, Old Madam Lu said again: "Send someone to keep an eye on the fourth prince and touch his temper." This time, I can't choose wrong again.
Ye Zhongshu also got news from the palace, and when he knew what had happened, he sighed: "He still came this far..." He had already seen that the prince had bad intentions, but it was really hard to let anyone go in the palace, only one eunuch I was able to stare, but I didn't expect that the emperor finally found out... Ye Zhongshu ordered people: "Quickly, find someone to leave the city and go in the direction of the eldest son and the others! Pass this news to him."
In fact, there was no need for Ye Zhongshu's family to pass on the letter, the people of Pingyuanhou had already passed the matter to Pingyuanhou on the way to the army. After receiving the letter, Marquis Pingyuan said, "Hurry up and return to Beijing!" The crown prince was deposed so quickly! They need to go back asap.