The fourth prince heard that everyone in Zhenbeihou's mansion went to see the lanterns, so he also boarded the car and went to the lantern market.
Later, he went to the Hou Mansion once or twice to see Su Wanniang, but each time he only saw a figure wearing a hat. Moreover, during this period of time, Su Wanniang did not leave the house, and only the guards picked up her younger brother back and forth.
With this opportunity to meet, he will not miss it. His car had long followed the convoy of Hou Fu from a distance. Seeing that all the people in the Hou Mansion got out of the car, he asked Ding Neishi to help him out of the car, and limped along with the guards from a distance, hoping to see Su Wanniang without a hat occasionally.
He couldn't believe his luck: Su Wanniang actually left those people and walked away alone! The fourth prince supported Ding Neishi's hand and followed behind, fighting fiercely in his heart whether he should greet Su Wanniang. But Su Wanniang walked too fast, the fourth prince couldn't catch up with her limping legs, and watched Su Wanniang enter the Guanyi Pavilion from a distance.
Su Wanniang walked into the Guanyi Pavilion, her heart was beating wildly, and her face was a little pale.
Just as she was about to ask a clerk where the proprietor was, a man sitting near the door stood up, walked past her and whispered, "Follow me." He turned and walked out of the gate of Guanyi Pavilion.
Su Wanniang recognized that this person was Ji Wenzhao, so she waited for a while, and then left Guanyi Pavilion. On the street, Ji Wenzhao walked unhurriedly, Su Wanniang followed, making several turns, and arrived at a small restaurant with a small door.
The fourth prince watched a young man come out from a distance, the light was dim, and he couldn't see his face. Su Wanniang also came out immediately. Although the two of them didn't go together, the Fourth Prince knew that Su Wanniang was following him.
Seeing those two people walking into the alley, he was completely hopeless for a moment, and stopped motionless. It seems that that person belongs to her... He didn't even dare to think about it, and began to tremble unconsciously.
Waiter Ding felt pity in his heart, and he whispered: "Maybe, she got an errand..."
The fourth prince nodded as if he had come to life, and said, "That's right! She is going to do things for others! That person is so old! He can be her father! He is still so ugly, why?" It's ridiculous, continue to walk slowly in the direction where Su Wanniang disappeared.
Ding Nei waited and said that that person looked like a young man from a distance, how could he be the father of an eleven or twelve year old child? And I didn't see his appearance clearly, so why do you say that he is ugly? But the fourth prince doesn't shiver anymore, so he doesn't say anything.
The small restaurant that Ji Wenzhao chose was dimly lit with candles, and there were only one or two tables of guests sitting in the shadows.
Only then did Ji Wenzhao signal Su Wanniang to follow him, and chose a table inside to sit down. He looked like a commoner with a maid, no one thought there was anything wrong. But he was visibly cautious, scanning the door all the time, this vigilance was in stark contrast to his carefree and carefree attitude when he met Su Wanniang at the Moon Pavilion.
Ji Wenzhao ordered some small dishes, waited for the man to leave, then glanced at the door, and said in a low voice: "Little lady, please thank your master for me, maybe he really saved my life."
Su Wanniang was so nervous that she wanted to vomit, but she just bowed and said softly, "Young master, please tell me the details of the case."
Ji Wenzhao approached Su Wanniang, and whispered: "Su Changting is Si Zhen, who is in charge of the gold department of the household department. All the gold and silver in and out of the household department go through his hands. Someone asked him to join the private party, but he refused. His subordinate Liangfu False accusation of corruption. Yu Liangfu is the son of Lu Taifu's nephew who gave birth to Wufu. No one can criticize Lu Taifu. After Su Changting was imprisoned, Yu Liangfu was elected to take Su Changting's seat. He is the father of the current crown prince Shaobao. These devious relationships can only show that the crown prince, the eldest prince at that time, wanted Su Changting's official position and replaced it with his own people. In fact, if they only made up false accusations like this, then It's a normal official strife, nothing unusual."
Su Wanniang trembled: From this point of view, the crown prince wanted to seek his father's position and harmed his father.
Ji Wenzhao sighed, and continued: "What shocked me was their methods. After Su Changting was imprisoned, he was lynched. He is an upright character, and he claims to be innocent. They already knew that he would not take refuge in him." If they were afraid of his denunciation, it would be reasonable to kill him. But they tortured Su Changting to death slowly. He was covered in iron, and his bones were broken piece by piece. In the end, his chest and lungs were pierced by broken ribs, and he choked to death. Yes. This is really unnecessary and purely out of anger."
Su Wanniang gritted her teeth tightly, afraid that she would cry, but Ji Wenzhao didn't notice, looked at the door, and said, "I was careless too, someone found the jailer, got him drunk, and asked for details. A few days later, the jailer's house caught fire. The whole family, including a seventy-year-old mother and a four-year-old child, were all burned to death. They killed people first and then set the fire on fire. But the Yamen concluded that the jailer was drunk and fell asleep, and lost the fire. The other jailer was stabbed seventeen times and died at home without looking for him, but the Yamen It was designated as 'suicide', which shows how powerful the prince is. Fortunately, I knew Su Changting's death and knew that he was ruthless, so I immediately sent the person I was looking for, otherwise, I'm afraid he would not survive if he was discovered."
Su Wanniang kept Shen Wen's advice in mind, suppressed tears and lowered her head and whispered, "Young master is also in danger now."
Ji Wenzhao sighed and said, "After I know these things, I don't want to rely on them anymore. In the hexagram of revolution, there is a saying that a gentleman will change, and a villain will change his face, and he will obey the monarch..." He glanced at Su Wanniang, and explained: "Say The most important thing is the transformation of the gentleman, the virtues have become popular everywhere, and even the villain has changed his mind. So at that time I wanted to vote for the prince, thinking..." He shook his head and said: "He is a gentleman, who knows..." He is a villain.
Su Wanniang still lowered her head, and said with difficulty: "My master said that a villain is not good for others, and if he tends to do so, it will bring disaster."
Ji Wenzhao touched the tabletop and sighed: "How incisive! The power of a villain will not bring benefits to others, and clinging to it will definitely lead to disaster! A villain has no bottom line in doing things. To achieve his own goals, he will not hesitate to frame and harm others. An innocent subject without any fault. In order to silence the witness, you can kill the innocent relatives of the witness. Therefore, if you know that the other party is a villain, you can only avoid disaster by staying away from him. The sage said 'far villain', sincerely do not deceive me If I had devoted myself to relying on that day, I might really die in the future as your master said, so I want to thank your master for saving my life."
Fearing that she would cry out, Su Wanniang tried her best to speak clearly, "Master, you can't leave rashly now."
Ji Wenzhao nodded and said: "Indeed, now I believe that your master can pinch and count. The crown prince has sent people to recruit me many times. If I refuse to leave, I'm afraid it will arouse his suspicion. In addition, if I go back and marry If I vote for my mentor's daughter and don't vote for him, he probably won't let me live."
Su Wanniang said: "My master said, first, you must not disclose the inside information of the marriage. Second, you must leave the capital in public and threaten to come back in the future, so that the other party will not suspect that you are fleeing."
Ji Wenzhao was thinking: "How should I lose the capital?" He was so arrogant, how could he say defeat so easily.
Su Wanniang approached and whispered: "Young master, on February 2nd, please openly solve this life-and-death chess game that has been suspended for a year in the Guanyi Pavilion. At that time, there must be many people present to watch. Young master invites all parties in the capital to provide answers and comment. Afterwards, tell your own answer, please be sure to look down upon the others and be extremely proud."
Ji Wenzhao smiled and said, "It's really not difficult."
Su Wanniang took out the chess game rolled into a small roll from her sleeve, handed it to Ji Wenzhao, and said, "Then, please find someone to pretend to be a stranger, and show this to you in public."
Ji Wenzhao took it over, looked around, unfolded it under the table, looked at it for a moment, and then frowned.
Su Wanniang said: "The young master will do the same at that time, thinking that someone will come to embarrass the young master and embarrass the young master in public. It would be better if someone makes a fuss, but the young master will be furious and want to vomit blood in grief! Then he said to come back in a year and see who can solve it." Let's start this game."
Ji Wenzhao nodded: "Okay! In this way, it also seems that I am not avoiding the official. I have decided to come back in a year, at least people feel that there is still a chance to recruit me. I will do what I say, please thank your master again, and thank you again." I hope to be able to thank you in person in the future.”
After explaining everything, Su Wanniang stood up, bowed to Ji Wenzhao and said, "Thank you for finding out the case, I am here to thank you for your kindness, and hope to have a chance to repay you in the future."
Ji Wenzhao looked up at Su Wanniang strangely, only to realize that her face was already full of tears. Ji Wenzhao frowned and said, "What kindness do I have to you? Could it be... Su Changting..."
Su Wanniang couldn't bear it anymore, and said in a crying voice, "It's...my father." She turned and walked out. Under the dim candlelight, no one noticed that the woman with her head bowed was suppressing her crying.
Ji Wenzhao watched Su Wanniang leave with dumbfounded eyes, a maid? ! Her master went through all this trouble just to find out the cause of her father's death for this servant girl? Who is this maid
It took him many years to realize that the master was not for this maid, but for him.
Su Wanniang went to the street, crying as she walked. Thinking of the pain my father suffered, how hopeless and helpless he would be when he died, how my father loved and admired me when I was a child, how my father held me to teach me how to draw, and commented on the poems I wrote... I thought of my mother who was hurt by his father's death. I can't afford to be sick, it seems that I don't have a few days to live...
She cried more and more, and she didn't dare to go to the lamp market, so she found a dark corner, covered her face with her hands, suppressed her voice, and cried bitterly. The fourth prince couldn't catch up with Su Wanniang, and lost them long ago. Unwilling to just walk back like this, he limped and turned left and right in the alley while supporting Ding Neishi's arm, looking for Su Wanniang. Suddenly, he heard someone crying softly, he had heard that voice before.
The fourth prince excitedly walked towards that dark corner step by step, where, under the dim light of the dark night, a girl was sobbing against the wall, her shoulders trembling, in pain. The fourth prince felt that kind of sadness, and felt sad for a while. He took out his handkerchief, but he stood a dozen steps away, but he didn't dare to go forward.
Su Wanniang cried for a long time, thinking that Shen Wen and the others were waiting for her, she hastily wiped her face with her sleeve, and sighed long. Then turn around and walk out of the corner. Looking up suddenly, he saw a young man standing by the side of the slightly bright street.
The lights in the distance illuminated the young man's slightly frowning brows, and his hurt eyes seemed to understand her current state of mind. Su Wanniang's tears flowed down again, she raised her hand to cover her mouth and choked up a few times, trying to suppress the crying.
The fourth prince raised the handkerchief in his hand to Su Wanniang, and said, "Do you want an extra handkerchief?"
Su Wanniang looked at the young man carefully, and recognized the person she had bumped into. Feeling embarrassed and nervous for a moment, she stammered, "No... no... thank you..." bowed her head and was about to walk away.
The fourth prince hastily said again: "Do you have... something to help?"
Su Wanniang shook her head, remembering that Shen Wen said that this person is not necessarily a bad person, he might just want to establish a relationship with the Hou Fu, so she took another look at the boy's clothes. The fourth prince's clothes were very simple, but they looked exquisite even in the dark night.
Ever since Su Wanniang knew that it was the prince who harmed her father, she remembered what Shen Wen said, that whoever harmed her father would also come to harm the Hou's mansion. For a moment, all Shen Wen's caution became necessary: the other party is the prince! The future emperor! No wonder Shen Wen worked so hard.
Su Wanniang still doesn't know how Shen Wen can know the inside story, but now she has completely connected herself with Shen Wen and the Hou Mansion. Since this young man wants to establish a relationship with the Hou Mansion, then I can help him, maybe I can give the Hou Mansion some help.
Su Wanniang wiped her wet face again, saluted with some embarrassment, and asked, "Is there anything you can do for me, my lord?"
The fourth prince was taken aback, put down the handkerchief, and shook his head. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, "Why are you crying?... But the errands are not done well? The master wants to scold you?" There was genuine concern in the words.
When he mentioned the errand, Su Wanniang thought of what Ji Wenzhao and what he knew tonight, and her tears flowed down again. She wiped her tears away with her hands, and said with a choked voice, "It's not...it's me...I think of my late father..."
She lowered her head all of a sudden, covered her face with her sleeves, turned around, and was about to retreat to that corner. The fourth prince stepped forward, and the one who was eager to step down was the injured leg. The leg softened, and the body fell forward, and was hugged by Ding Nei. He stopped, but his hands subconsciously grabbed Su Wanniang's skirt!
As soon as Su Wanniang took a step, she felt something was wrong, looked down, and was furious, although the fourth prince immediately let go, the martial arts that Su Wanniang and Shen Xiang learned were not practiced in vain, she kicked the fourth prince who was still standing still to the ground .
Ding Neishi was shocked, and rushed over to support the fourth prince who fell to the ground and hugged the fourth prince who was curled up with uncomfortable knees, and said angrily to Su Wanniang: "You lady! Why are you so unkind?! My family... the son has a leg injury, so he can't walk. Inconvenience, you just accidentally pulled your skirt when you fell down, are you so ruthless?!"
Su Wanniang also regretted it, and quickly squatted beside the fourth prince, before she could stop crying, she cried, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
Waiter Ding Nei refused to let go: "You were wrong last time, you hurt my son, and my son didn't do anything to you, but now you kick someone?!"
Su Wanniang really regretted it, she raised her head and asked, "Could it be that I crashed the young master last time?!"
Ding Nei waiter snorted: "Of course the injury is serious!"
Now Su Wanniang was scared, and cried even more bitterly: "I will definitely heal the son's wounds..."
The fourth prince regained his breath, and hurriedly shook his hand vigorously: "It's not... your business... I was injured..." Then he frowned and looked at Ding's servant: "You... don't scare her!"
Ding Nei waiter stared at the fourth prince with hatred.
Su Wanniang felt that this young man didn't want to make her feel guilty, and she felt sorry for him even more. She wiped away her tears, but she couldn't stop crying and asked, "Is there a doctor to treat you, sir?"
The fourth prince looked at Su Wanniang's tearful face and forgot to answer.
Ding Nei waiter snorted: "It's good if they are not cured, if they are cured, it will be even better."
Su Wanniang wiped away tears vigorously, looked at the fourth prince with concern and said: "My master invited Shi Helin and his apprentice Duan Zeng to my mother. During this period of time, I watched them. They have excellent medical skills. Do you want to let them go to the palace for you?" You see?"
The fourth prince shook his head and said, "It's really inconvenient where I... live."
Su Wanniang thought about it again: "They are going to my mother's place in five days, can you, go there and meet them?" There was no way she could bring these two people into the Hou's residence.
The fourth prince immediately nodded and said, "Okay, when will we go?" somewhat anxiously.
Su Wanniang hesitated and said, "I don't know when they will arrive. In this way, if they arrive early, I will tell them to wait. It will be fine if the young master arrives before the time."
The fourth prince quickly nodded again: "Thank you for the arrangement, miss. That's it." He didn't care what kind of doctor he was looking for, but it was a great improvement to be able to go to Su Wan's mother's house to meet her in such an open manner.
At this moment, Su Wanniang finally stopped crying and let out a sigh of relief. Thinking of leaving Shen Wen for too long, he saluted and bid farewell. When he got up and was about to leave, he suddenly remembered: "Oh, where my mother lives is..." and told the fourth prince the address.
With the light of the sky at night and the faint lights leaking from the houses on the street, the Fourth Prince looked at Su Wanniang's eyes swollen from crying and her beautiful face with sadness, and was in a daze for a moment, unable to hear what Su Wanniang was rambling at all.
When Su Wanniang was gone, he was still sitting on the ground, not moving for a long time.
Waiter Ding Nei whispered beside him: "Your Highness, get up, the ground is cold."
The fourth prince whispered, "It's not cold, it's very warm."
Ding Neishi sighed helplessly, and looked up at the hazy moon in the Lantern Festival night sky.
Su Wanniang hurriedly ran towards Guanyi Pavilion, and when she arrived at the gate of Guanyi Pavilion, she didn't see the guards of the Hou Mansion, so she walked in the direction she came from. From a distance, she saw a group of people gathered together, including the guards of the Hou Mansion. There were also guards from the Prince's Mansion, Su Wanniang's heart tightened, and she quickened her pace to go there.
When she got to the front, she asked the guards of Hou Mansion to make way for her and squeezed inside. Before reaching the middle, I heard the arrogant voice of the fourth princess: "...you have to kowtow when you see the prince! If you don't obey the order, you should be killed!"
Su Wanniang asked the guards of the Hou Mansion beside her: "What's going on?"
The guard said in a low voice: "I met the prince and the fourth princess to watch the lanterns. The fourth princess came up and asked the second lady to kneel down and kowtow to the prince, saying that the child wanted to show respect to the prince in this way. The eldest son wanted to stop him, but the second lady said she had to make her own decision." , just like the fourth princess."
Where is the reason to kowtow when meeting the prince? This is obviously bullying. But in the future, the fourth princess only needs to say that Shen Wen is an eight-year-old child who should kowtow when meeting elders, let alone a prince, and no one can say anything. If Shen Wen didn't kowtow, such a young child would not listen to the princess's words. To put it mildly, the Zhenbeihou Mansion has no tutors. To put it seriously, the Zhenbeihou Mansion has rebellious bones and can make sense of it.
Su Wanniang continued to walk towards Shen Wen, in the crowd, she had already seen the prince, standing with a smile on his face among several officials of the East Palace, and in front of him were the fourth princess in colorful costumes and three or four palace servants. Facing them, stood Shen Wen in a bloated red padded jacket with a sesame seed around his mouth.
Su Wanniang was furious, her swollen eyes narrowed, and she felt that if she had a sword in her hand, she could jump over and stab the prince. Now, she wants to stand in front of Shen Wen.
Before Su Wanniang arrived at Shen Wen's side, Shen Wen asked loudly: "The princess sister asked me to kowtow to the prince, but is it because the prince is a high-ranking official?" The child's voice was loud.
The fourth princess said loudly: "Of course! The prince is the king!" Seeing Shen Wen's confused eyes, she added: "Greater than your father's official!"
Shen Wen stared and asked unwillingly: "Then is he the biggest official?"
The fourth princess sneered contemptuously: "Yes! He is the biggest official! Kowtow!"
Seeing this scene, Su Wanniang called: "Miss! I'm back." If there is anything, she will come to help Shen Wen!
Shen Wen looked at Su Wanniang with a smile, waved his hands and shouted, and the clear and clear childish voice was overheard: "Sister Wanniang, come quickly, and look at the prince who is older than the emperor!" No one has a voice.
Shen Wen added loudly during the moment of silence among the people: "The fourth princess told me just now!"
Su Wanniang pretended to be surprised and asked loudly: "Really?!"
Shen Wen nodded excitedly like a small animal: "Yes, yes, the princess sister said, the biggest! The biggest!"
Su Chuanya's small head also popped out, echoing: "The biggest! The biggest!"
The fourth princess finally came back to her senses, and said angrily: "Where did I say that the prince is older than the emperor?"
Shen Wen looked at Su Wanniang suspiciously: "Sister Wanniang, isn't the crown prince the biggest?"
The fourth princess said: "I'm talking about officials!"
Shen Wen was still puzzled and said: "You also called yourself a gentleman, didn't you..."
She looked at Su Wanniang, and Su Wanniang said seriously: "Yes, it's the king, not the crown prince, but the king's heir..."
Shen Wen shook his head: "I don't understand, anyway, the princess sister said that the prince is the king, the biggest!"
Su Chuanya responded again: "The biggest! The biggest!"
Thunder bursts, rumbling through people's hearts. Who doesn't know that the relationship between the crown prince and the emperor is delicate. On the one hand, the emperor needs to have an heir; took the position of prince.
The prince had no choice but to go out, he smiled at Shen Wen, the gloomy inside made Shen Yi behind Shen Wen on guard. The prince said: "Miss Shen Er, you can't say that. The emperor is the emperor, the biggest in the world. Don't you know? How did the Marquis of Zhenbei teach you?"
Shen Yi held his breath, the smile on Shen Jian's face disappeared, Shen Zhuo and Shen Xiang both shut their mouths tightly.
However, Shen Wen showed a big smile: "Uncle Prince! My father always taught me: the emperor is the biggest! But now I don't see the emperor, only uncle Prince!" I only know the prince, but not the emperor! Everyone gasped secretly, Tong Yan had no taboo, but Tong Yan has always been considered to have the power of prophecy.
The prince said contemptuously: "Father is in the deep palace, so of course it's not something ordinary people like you can see!"
Shen Wen stared round his eyes, nodded and said, "Yes, yes, we can't see the emperor's grandfather, so the princess sister asked me to kowtow to the prince's uncle, instead of the emperor!"
What does it mean not to use it? ! The fourth princess hurriedly said: "You will naturally kowtow to the emperor when you see the emperor, but now you have to kowtow to the prince when you see the prince! How dare you not obey?!"
Shen Wen nodded hurriedly: "I follow. I will follow. When I meet the emperor in the future, I will definitely kowtow. I also told him that I kowtowed to the prince first, and I kowtowed to him the second! Sister princess, how about that?" Is there anyone who wants to kowtow? Is it the queen's grandmother?" What is the first one? What is the second one? Why does this sound so wrong? !
The fourth princess was furious: "What?! How dare you scold my mother?! I'll beat you to death!" Grandma Queen? ! How old is the queen mother? After speaking, she raised her hand, and Su Wanniang hurriedly protected Shen Wen.
Shen Wen hid behind Su Wanniang and burst into tears: "I'm scared, okay! I kowtow to the prince first, the queen's grandmother second, and the emperor's grandpa third, isn't it okay? Are you happy? Hit me!..."
The prince gritted his teeth and said, "Bold! You are disrespectful..."
Shen Wen didn't let him finish talking at all, and cried loudly: "Uncle Prince! I was wrong, I shouldn't say kowtow to the emperor's grandfather at all, I just wanted to listen to my father... But you are so angry, and you are the biggest king, Can I just kowtow to you? Princess sister, can I just kowtow to the prince?… "
The crown prince growled: "Who said you won't be allowed to kowtow to the emperor?! You slanderous..."
Shen Wen cried as usual: "You never said that you should respect the emperor's grandfather! You only said that you should respect you, can't I listen to you? Woohoo, the emperor's grandfather, I'm sorry! If he kowtows, he will kill me..." Shen Wen said the word "first" very clearly.
Su Chuanya also cried: "Don't hit me, don't hit me..."
What is this all about! The East Palace official next to him pulled down the prince's sleeve: "Your Highness, don't... don't say anything..." I can't say anything! Hurry back to the palace!
The prince was so angry that he wished he could twist his face together, pointed at Shen Wen and said, "You..."
Shen Wen put down his sleeves behind Su Wanniang, and tremblingly said: "Uncle Prince, I even said that I will not kowtow to the emperor first, and you are still so angry, what are you going to do with the emperor's grandfather to be happy?"
The people around were stupefied with fright, and the faces of the people next to the prince were ashen. The prince was trembling with anger, pointed at Shen Wen and said, "You rebellious..."
Shen Wen yelled: "Grandpa Emperor! Help! I said something nice about you, the prince uncle is going to kill me!"
The officials of the East Palace didn't dare to stay any longer, they pulled the crown prince to break away from the crowd and went out. The fourth princess gave Shen Wen a hateful look and said, "Just wait!"
Shen Wen nodded eagerly and said: "Okay, I will wait for the princess sister to come and tell me that the prince is the biggest!"
Su Chuanya clapped her hands again: "The biggest and the biggest! The crown prince is the biggest!"
The palace man next to the fourth princess cried and dragged the fourth princess away with the prince's guards.
The people gradually dispersed, and the children of the Hou Mansion looked at Shen Wen dumbfounded. Shen Wen looked back in a daze, with tears still on his face, and asked, "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"
Shen Yi suddenly looked up at the sky, took a deep breath, and then said to Shen Wen: "No!"
Shen Xiang came over, pinched Shen Wen's face fiercely, gritted his teeth and said, "You... little pig!"
Shen Wen cried out. Shen Xiang let go, looked at Su Wanniang and asked, "Where did you buy her food? Huh? Why are you still crying?"
Su Wanniang lowered her head and said, "I lost the money." Only in this way can the two be explained.
Shen Xiang immediately said, "Let's go shopping together."
Shen Yi said with some concern: "Let's go back home."
Shen Jian smiled and said, "Brother, at least, tonight, you should be fine, let's take a stroll."
Everyone laughed, Su Chuanya came over, grabbed Shen Wen's hand, and asked, "Sister, how am I doing?"
Without waiting for Shen Wen to answer, Su Wanniang took his hand and said: "From now on, you are not allowed to speak when Miss is talking, what do you know as a child."
Su Chuanya said: "Of course I understand, Miss and I will have a snack."
Everyone laughed, and the group walked around the lantern market for another hour before returning to the mansion.
Back in the palace, when the third prince bid farewell to the fifth princess, he leaned into the fifth princess's ear and whispered, "Find a few big pearls and give them to me tomorrow."
The fifth princess was startled, then nodded silently, the two separated and disappeared into the palace wall.
The fourth prince was silent all the way, and didn't say a word until he fell asleep. It's just that the waiter Ding who was outside knew that he fell asleep very late.
The prince was so angry that he returned to the East Palace trembling all over, and all the staff and officials of the East Palace were summoned to the meeting hall.
It was late at night, and under the candlelight, the prince had a ferocious face and said through gritted teeth: "Kill her! Kill her! Let someone kill her!"
An aide frowned and said, "Your Highness, the most urgent task is how to explain to the emperor."
The prince patted the table: "Don't just talk about what is urgent, what should be done!"
One person said hesitantly: "It can be said that the daughter of the Marquis Mansion is extremely dull and talks nonsense..."
The other said: "It can also be said that the Hou family deliberately slandered and wanted to drive a wedge between the prince and the emperor."
Another said hesitantly: "That girl is only eight years old, she doesn't look very smart."
He sighed again: "No matter what you say, those words will reach the ears of the emperor. Your Highness still needs to think about how to say something to reassure the emperor."
The prince patted the desk again: "That idiot! That idiot! I'm going to kill her! No, destroy her! Make her life worse than death!"
Saying these words can't kill anyone, so one person said carefully: "How about we find someone to kidnap her?"
The prince thought for a while and said: "She is still too young, too foolish! I want to wait for her to grow up and let her fall in love with someone, and then she will be humiliated and abandoned, her innocence will be taken away, her boudoir reputation will be destroyed, and she will be accused of being a worthless person." Husband! Let the Hou Mansion be ashamed..."
Several staff members felt that the prince was putting the cart before the horse, and now it was time to think about how to dispel the emperor's suspicion, instead of being so angry at a little girl. One person tried again and said: "If you don't explain it to the emperor, the emperor may think that your highness is guilty..."
Another said: "Not necessarily, maybe the emperor thinks that His Highness is open and frank, and won't let these things haunt his heart."
One person said: "It's better to say it, I think, just say that girl is stupid, don't take it seriously."
Another person said: "It's better not to say it, or wait for the emperor to speak. If the emperor doesn't say so, don't take the initiative to mention it."
Another person said: "It's better to ask the emperor for advice on future affairs, and to say something that I don't know the depth of..."
The person next to him: "Don't be so obvious..."
The prince once again took the case: "How should I say it?!"
Everyone was quiet for a while, and someone whispered: "Your Highness, please go to pay your respects tomorrow morning, and adapt accordingly."
In the morning of the next day, the emperor knew the words of Shen Wen the night before in his bedroom, "I only know that there is an emperor, but not that there is a prince".
The emperor laughed, "Your nonsense, or..." He frowned: "What did the Marquis of Zhenbei say?"
The waiter, Eunuch Sun, said in a low voice: "I heard that the girl is about eight years old and looks fat. When she talked with the prince and the fourth princess last night, there were still some sesame seeds on her mouth. The eldest son of Zhenbei Hou didn't want her to speak, but she Said that he wanted to talk to the fourth princess, so he asked her to come to the front to meet the fourth princess. According to reports, Shen Yi has been watching the young girl from behind, as if he wanted to stop her at any time, as if he knew what would happen."
The emperor pondered and said: "Let that child enter the palace and meet the queen."
Eunuch Sun replied yes, and the emperor smiled again: "The prince is still impatient. He has only been a prince for a few months, and he provokes the people of Zhenbeihou's mansion in front of the public. I have not stayed in public for so many years. The handle. After this incident, he explained it in every possible way, and he also left an excuse among the people."
Eunuch Sun spoke kind words for the prince in a low voice: "At first, it was the fourth princess' idea, but the prince didn't..."
The emperor hehe interrupted: "I still don't understand his narrow-mindedness? He ordered his younger sister, the fourth princess, to lead the battle, and he ran beside him. Last time in the Marquis of Changle, he suffered a small loss, and he couldn't let it go. This It's been a year, and I want to get it back. I went to the lamp market to intercept people, but I still didn't succeed... "
Someone outside reported that the prince came to pay his respects. Sometimes the prince would come to pay his respects to the emperor, and they would go to court together after breakfast.
But today the emperor smiled and waved his hands: "Let him wait, I still want to sit on the bed for a while."
Eunuch Sun added pillows for the emperor, knowing that the geese had left traces, those words still left a shadow in the emperor's heart.
The emperor didn't feel that he was jealous of the crown prince. What made him unhappy was that the crown prince didn't let the girl kowtow to the emperor in full view! They just kept bickering there, and didn't say a word about how sacred and inviolable the emperor is, why can't that girl just talk about it casually. In his opinion, the prince should take this opportunity to bow down on the spot and lead the crowd to shout long live. From this point of view, it really looks like what the girl called out: At that time, the prince only thought about how to make people respect him, but he didn't think about how to respect the emperor! In this regard, the emperor decided that he should teach the prince a lesson.
Sure enough, the prince waited for more than half an hour, and the emperor met the prince after breakfast, and then they went to court together. Time was running out, and the prince didn't have time to mention what happened the night before. After all, it was just a trivial matter, and it would make him feel guilty to bring it up.
On this day, every time the crown prince spoke in the court hall, he was interrupted by the emperor with a smile, and turned to ask other courtiers what they meant. The prince stopped talking later, and was told by the emperor that he could not concentrate on government affairs. The prince was so hungry that he only ate something when he went down to court. In the evening, I wanted to find a chance to meet the emperor, but said that the emperor had to rest early and went to Yao Cairen's place.
The prince hurriedly went to see the queen, and explained in detail what happened on the night of the Lantern Festival and today's court. In fact, during the day, the four princesses had already been here, and the queen knew the details of the before and after.
After hearing the prince's words, the queen smiled and patted the prince's hand and said, "Don't worry, your father has sent a message today, saying that he will ask that girl to come into the palace and let me have a look at it. Look, Isn't this just an arrangement for you to vent your anger? I will find a day when all the women in the capital are present, and humiliate that girl severely, so that she will never be able to hold her head up again!"
The prince smiled, but then whispered: "But father, will you be over-hearted..."
The queen laughed again: "How come, you are a son that your father wants, otherwise why would you be crowned prince?" She emphasized "one".
The prince breathed a sigh of relief, and said to the queen, "Thank you, queen mother."
The queen also smiled: "The emperor is very polite. It's the first month of the month. Be happy. The matter is over and it's over. Don't think too much about it."
But this matter did not pass, and the next few things the prince did were criticized by the emperor with words such as "not thinking carefully" and "impatient". The prince was extraordinarily humble and respectful to the emperor, and he did not dare to disobey him at all, and thanked the emperor for his advice with courtesy.
The people around looked at it and understood that it was the emperor who heard the rumors about the Lantern Festival and beat the prince, and the prince was expressing his obedience to the emperor. The first thin crack appeared in the harmonious relationship between the emperor and the prince.