"Mother, this matter must be a very big deal. I sent people to investigate, and it seems that something is really wrong with Pei Yuanjun." Pei Luoan was sitting in the Queen's Pepper Room. A trace of worry appeared on his handsome face. His brows were furrowed, and his face was as pale as ever.
"Have you found out the specific reason?" The Queen put down the teacup in her hand and asked.
"There's nothing specific, but I have a vague feeling that Uncle Wang might have really offended the emperor this time. The emperor sent someone to reprimand Uncle Wang, and there has been no movement since then." Pei Luoan said.
Many people now know about this matter, and many are watching and trembling with fear.
If someone of Pei Yuanjun's status were to fall, the strength he left behind would be vacant, and there would be a lot of extra power. It would be important to decide who would get it.
At this time, neither Pei Luoan nor Pei Yusheng dared to slack off. They all paid attention to Pei Yuanjun's movements, but unfortunately there seemed to be no movement in the entire Prince Ying's Palace.
Even if I wanted to find out, I couldn't.
The Emperor did not say anything. In the past, rewards would be sent to the Prince of England's Palace from time to time, but recently it seemed to have stopped. Although the Emperor did not say anything, everyone felt that a storm was coming. When they were playing in the Imperial Study, everyone was more careful, fearing that the slightest mistake would anger the Emperor.
The envoys from the Northern Frontier didn't say anything, and didn't mention the tiger that was presented as tribute, as if they didn't notice that the tiger was half-dead. However, the tiger now belonged to the Great Zhou and had nothing to do with them. Even if it was killed now, they could only pretend not to see it.
On the battlefield in the Northern Frontier, with the addition of Duke Yu, the Northern Frontier was already in a weaker position.
The envoys sent here this time were also intended to negotiate peace with the Great Zhou. Even if the Great Zhou did something excessive, they would be angry but not speak out.
The Great Zhou also sent officials to liaise with the envoys from the Northern Frontier, seemingly trying to explore peace talks, but it certainly couldn't make the final decision on how it would work. The Northern Frontier had not sent anyone in power who was capable of agreeing to peace talks.
However, since they are interested, the Great Zhou can talk about it first. The war in the northern border will not be let go and is in a stalemate.
"How are the talks in the northern border going?" The queen's face turned cold. She had tried to check, but found nothing. Of course, she didn't dare to extend her hand too far.
The Queen knows best what kind of personality the Emperor has. As long as it is not a matter of principle, the Queen is willing to turn a blind eye.
Just like the matter of royal children having to pay homage to the spirit tablet of Empress Yuan before getting married, the Empress Dowager had no intention of interfering. Although she didn't agree with it in her heart, she still let her son take Ji Hanyue to pay homage. As for Liu Jingyu, since he didn't have the qualifications, the Empress Dowager didn't think it was a big deal.
So what about the Empress? She's just a dead person.
If I didn’t win against myself back then, I can’t win against myself now.
Whether to worship or not is just a matter of form. Even if the emperor recognizes her, she won’t.
"The people in the northern border are also very slick and won't give us definite information. The people we sent here are my father's men. Although they hold low positions, they are always upright. I can't ask too many questions." Pei Luoan sighed, his face becoming more depressed. Looking at his spirit, he didn't look like a groom who was about to get married. He looked not happy at all.
"Go and protect him." The queen gritted her teeth.
The so-called protection is actually just a push, and the stone is just like that, but it is done more secretly, and it is covered with a big
Just a kind-hearted person.
"Mother, this... isn't appropriate!" Pei Luoan was shocked. It was always a taboo to act rashly before things were clarified.
"It is basically certain that Pei Yuanjun has angered your father. If you don't take this opportunity to get rid of him, even if you become the emperor in the future, you will not be able to move him easily. Even if you do, it will be painful. It is best to do it now."
The Queen gritted her teeth and said.
She took advantage of his illness to kill him, that's what she did at the beginning, and now she feels that this is the most appropriate thing to do.
"But...if it's my father...will he be suspicious?" Pei Luoan asked anxiously.
"You didn't do anything. You just hoped Pei Yuanjun would be okay and wanted to save him. If your father is angry, the more you persuade him, the angrier he will get. If you tell him that the Zhou Dynasty will be in trouble without Pei Yuanjun, your father will definitely be even more angry. Which emperor would like a minister to climb over his head by relying on his favor? No matter how much he favors him, he is just a minister."
The Queen laughed sarcastically.
She remembered a saying at the beginning: no matter how much she favored him, he was just a woman. What would be the final result? The emperor would not ruin his plan because of a woman.
Why should I act so affectionate now
"Go see father now?" Pei Luoan was still worried. Although he got the answer from fragmentary news that Pei Yuanjun was also panicked at this time, he was still a little panicked after all.
Whenever he saw Pei Yuanjun in the past, he always felt a little weak.
"Yes, right now. The sooner the better. Anyway, your original intention is good. As for what will happen next, others will surely react. The court officials are not stupid. Pei Yuanjun relies on the favor of your father and offends many people. If the wall falls, everyone will push it. In the end, if the matter gets out of hand, they will only say that you are kind."
The Queen reminded, "For things like this, the sooner the better. If you are slow, people will think you are just following the crowd. You are the crown prince, and you can only let others follow your crowd, not others. This time, you can use Pei Yuanjun to establish your own prestige, and step on Pei Yuanjun to elevate your position as crown prince."
It's not just about pulling it up, it's also about keeping it steady.
Pei Luoan's position as the crown prince has never been stable since King Jing grew up.
This is what the Queen is most worried about. "If you don't hurry up, the ones over there will taste a bit of the flavor, and they will definitely be faster than you by then."
The Queen Mother pointed in the direction of the palace where Concubine He was and sneered, saying that the woman was also a man who knew how to deal with things, otherwise how could she enter the palace with such an identity.
The Queen was no match for her, and she left behind a woman who had kept her away from her for so many years. Now she had pushed Pei Yusheng in front of her son. If she had known that this woman was so difficult to deal with, she would not have helped her at the time. Now she regretted it so much.
If this woman didn't enter the palace, Pei Yusheng would have no chance!
"Mother, I will go to the imperial study now." Pei Luoan tasted the meaning of the Queen's words and stood up. Since this matter had to be done sooner rather than later, he would go now and would not let Pei Yusheng have a taste of it.
He thought so, and the Queen thought so too. After coming out of the Pepper Palace, Pei Luoan went directly to the Emperor's study.
Pei Yusheng also got the news from Liu Lanxin, and after discussing with Concubine He, he also agreed with this approach.
Pei Yuanjun had to stir up this matter before the prince, so it was crucial who pushed first.
Besides, they were not really "pushing", they just wanted to protect Uncle Wang.
Pei Luoan and Pei Yusheng each had their own thoughts, and both wanted to be the first to show up in front of the emperor, but they didn't expect to meet on the road in front of the imperial study.
When they saw each other, both of them felt a jolt in their hearts and immediately understood what the other meant. They just wished that the other would die in front of them.
This was the imperial study. The two men didn't dare show their emotions on their faces. After they greeted each other and expressed their concern, they went to the imperial study together.
After Liquan reported for them, the emperor summoned them in.
The two people entered the imperial study one after another.
Not only the emperor was here, but also the two prime ministers.
"Father, I want to ask you about my uncle." After paying his respects, Crown Prince Pei Luoan spoke directly without any further ado.
Pei Yusheng originally wanted to interrupt, but he didn't expect him to speak first. His face immediately turned ugly, but he didn't dare to say anything.
"What do you want to ask?" The emperor's face darkened, he put the memorial in his hand heavily on the table, and asked in a deep voice.
"Uncle Wang is a pillar of the country. The tigers in the northern border are nothing. I heard that Uncle Wang was more seriously injured. I want to go and see him. We can't blame Uncle Wang for the tigers in the northern border." Pei Luoan said, as if to defend Pei Yuanjun.
"Father, I think so too. Uncle Wang has been staying at home these days. This cannot go on. There are many things that need to be solved by Uncle Wang. In just a few days, the situation has become a mess. Without Uncle Wang and his instructions, many things cannot be done."
Pei Yusheng also said with a serious face.
In this matter, the royal brothers who had been fighting each other to the death, rarely had the same idea. This time they decided to bring Pei Yuanjun down first to maximize their interests. Pei Yuanjun was not one of them anyway, and he had never shown any respect to them when he saw them in the past.
He was so arrogant in his behavior that he was even more favored by the emperor than those of them who were crown princes or princes. How could they tolerate this
"Father... Uncle Wang is such an important person, you can't keep him locked up forever. Uncle Wang is in the mansion now, he must have regretted it, please forgive him." Pei Luoan said again, kowtowed to the emperor, "I beg Father to forgive Uncle Wang."
"Please, father, spare my uncle!" Pei Yusheng also kowtowed, with the same respect, as if he sincerely wanted to save Pei Yuanjun from trouble.
"Can't do without him?" the emperor said coldly, his eyes sweeping over his two sons kneeling on the ground.
"Yes, Father, I think what Uncle Wang did before was unintentional. It was all Northern Frontier's fault. Why did they have to send wild beasts instead of anything else? Uncle Wang is a famous general of our Great Zhou Dynasty. How could he let Northern Frontier be so violent? Northern Frontier provoked first, and Uncle Wang has already suffered losses. We can't let him suffer any more now."
Pei Luoan looked up and pleaded.
"Father, Uncle Wang is a pillar of our Great Zhou Dynasty. We cannot allow even the slightest mistake, and we must not let such a small matter chill his feelings." Pei Yusheng followed immediately.
The two brothers cooperated very well. With Pei Yuanjun's words, the entire Zhou Dynasty was almost destroyed without him.
A monarch should be most afraid of ministers who have too much power, especially those who are so powerful that they threaten the monarch. In history, there have been many ministers who died because of such a sentence, and their entire families were killed...