Emperor Baoqing said angrily: "I never thought that there would be such a bold person who dared to openly commit murder under my nose."
When the emperor was angry, his anger reached the sky.
Zhang Yunlong fell to the ground and did not dare to get up.
Emperor Baoqing took a deep breath and said, "Get up and speak."
Zhang Yunlong stood up and said: "Your Majesty, I have been thinking about this all the way and feel that something is a little strange."
"you say!"
"When something happened to King Shou, it was immediately reported to the capital. Chiang Shilang came out quietly. Why was he attacked again? Who leaked the news?"
Zhang Yunlong said calmly: "Who has such courage, dares to risk the disobedience of the world, and pursues him again? Who wants the life of King Shou so much?"
Emperor Baoqing dusted his sleeves and his face gradually calmed down, "Who do you think it is?"
Zhang Yunlong said seriously: "Your Majesty, I was ordered to investigate the poisoning incident and found that there was no trouble in Prince Xian's Mansion."
"Where is the British government?"
"The British Duke's palace is as calm as ever. There is no movement from the other two kings either."
Emperor Baoqing said "hmm" and sneered: "Just because there's no movement in the light, doesn't mean there's nothing in the dark."
Zhang Yunlong's heart trembled and he didn't dare to answer.
After a long time, Emperor Baoqing spoke again, "In your opinion, what should I do?"
"I think we should send someone to take King Shou back to the capital as soon as possible." After Zhang Yunlong finished speaking, he lowered his head silently.
The room fell silent for a moment.
"Yunlong,"
The emperor said calmly: "Do you know why I sent Lao Ba to the Western Army?"
Zhang Yunlong turned his black eyes and said: "The emperor has foresight, I dare not make wild guesses!"
"The world cannot be left to incompetent people. If the empire of the Great Zhou Dynasty is to last forever, it must be filled by capable people. The deposed prince was originally the best person to inherit the great power, but he actually..."
Zhang Yun's head hung lower.
The emperor's expression changed, "Prince Rui was dragged down by the empress and the old Prince Qi's palace. Prince Kang and Prince Jing's biological mothers were from ordinary backgrounds and have weak temperaments, so they are not the best candidates. There is still one third child and one eighth child."
The first time Zhang Yunlong heard the emperor talk about the scholars, he immediately concentrated.
"I left the two of them, one in the capital and the other in the army, because I wanted to take the exam." The emperor's eyes flashed and he said sadly: "The road to imperial power has always been bloody. I have more than ten brothers, the prince Wise, but weak-tempered; the second brother is good at writing beautiful articles, but is extremely pedantic; the third brother is highly skilled in martial arts, but his mother's family is too powerful... If the late emperor's empire was left in their hands, how could he survive
Today's prosperity. "
Zhang Yunlong was frightened when he heard this, and cold sweat ran down his back.
Emperor Baoqing said word for word: "Therefore, when I establish the throne, I will not use the direct descendants as the eldest, but the capable ones will be at the top."
"Your Majesty is wise!" Zhang Yunlong bowed down again.
"Has Yunlong ever observed the wild beasts in the forest?"
"Return to the emperor, no."
"After games, fights, and battles between beasts, the winner will be able to rule the world. I ordered the female doctor Gu to leave the capital privately, which has already favored Lao Ba. I also protected him too much in the past. If he intends to get involved in the throne, this relationship , he has to go through it himself.”
Zhang Yunlong felt the cold wind blowing under his feet and was dripping with cold sweat!
No wonder the prince was not established for a long time after the first prince was deposed. No wonder the two kings fought for half, but the emperor was impartial.
The emperor's real intention is to elect a wise king who can rule the world.
So, what the Emperor calls brotherly love, brotherly love, is just a smoke bomb used to maintain the balance among the kings when the time has not come.
Sweat dropped like rain on Zhang Yunlong's forehead. He had followed the emperor for more than ten years and was deeply favored by the emperor, but he never understood that the emperor's heart was so unfathomable.
If the emperor hadn't said it himself, who in the world would have guessed it.
"Human nature is no different from wild beasts. For the sake of the kingdom of Zhou Dynasty, I will be ruthless. Yunlong, I am a king first, and a father secondly."
Emperor Baoqing said with an expression of relief, "When the first emperor was there, the powerful ministers were in power; before that, the relatives were in power; and now looking at my country, it is as stable as a soup. This is the benefit of a wise king. Therefore, I can't help."
In the palace, the morning sun fell around people, making the room feel warm.
Eunuch Li raised his eyes and looked at the emperor who was standing with his hands behind his back, then looked at the hourglass, his lips moved, but he didn't say anything.
Half an hour ago, Zhang Yunlong hurriedly entered the palace, had a secret talk with the emperor and then left. The emperor stood here without any movement for a long time.
Seeing that it's time to go to court, this... We can't let Manchao Wenkai wait!
"Your Majesty, the time has come!" Eunuch Li gritted his teeth and whispered.
Emperor Baoqing turned around, there were two more touches of green under his eye sockets, the shallow snake lines at the corners of his mouth became deeper, and his whole face looked a bit chilly.
Eunuch Li was slightly startled and muttered: "Your Majesty, it's time to go to court."
Emperor Baoqing glanced at him sideways, frowned and said, "I am not feeling well today, so I will stop going to court for the day."
Eunuch Li's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly shook his fly whisk and went out to deliver the order.
"Wait a minute, King Chuanxian, King Kang, and King Jing enter the palace!" The emperor's voice was without any warmth and was extremely majestic.
Eunuch Li looked back, hiding the shock in his eyes, and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."
When the three kings entered the palace, the palace door was already wide open.
Su Ziyu was on duty, and when he saw someone coming, he hurriedly stepped forward to salute. After seeing the ceremony, the wise king said a few words and left in a hurry.
Su Ziyu looked at the three people's backs with a look of concentration on their faces.
The attendant behind him stepped forward and whispered: "My lord, the person on duty at the south gate said that before dawn, Commander Zhang would enter the palace to meet the emperor. An hour later, the emperor announced that he would stop the court. At this time, the three princes were announced to enter the palace. Do you know what happened?"
Su Ziyu calmly took out a banknote from his arms and said, "Take it to buy wine for the guards at the south gate."
"Yes, sir!" The attendant took half a step back and left in a blink of an eye.
There was a cold smile on Su Ziyu's lips, daggers in his eyes, and then he waved to the person behind him.
"Go to Guandao and keep watch to see if Yang Rui has returned."
"yes!"
"What, the emperor suspended the court and announced that the wise king has entered the palace?"
Concubine Yin paused with her bare hands, and the jade hairpin fell down and broke into two pieces.
Early in the morning, the jade hairpin broke, which was not a good sign. Mingchun picked it up in panic and stuffed it into the arms of the palace maid behind him, "Go and throw it away."
Concubine Yin pushed away the palace maid who was combing her hair, stood up and took a few steps.
Although the emperor devoted himself to cultivating Taoism and ignored state affairs, he rarely failed to attend court in the morning. What's more, the emperor's body has been in good condition these past few days. He hasn't heard of any illness
Could it be... something happened in the court
Concubine Yin's narrow phoenix eyes fell on Mingchun, "How often does Liu Yuzhao get a consultation these days?"
"Back to your Majesty, Imperial Physician Liu comes to the palace every day and never leaves the Emperor's side. All decoctions and medicines are handled by Imperial Physician Liu."
Concubine Yin pondered for a while and said, "Mingchun, hurry up and ask about it."
"Yes, concubine."
The three kings entered the emperor's bedroom through the arched door. They did not dare to enter without permission and had no choice but to wait for the summons in the outer hall.
After waiting for an hour, Eunuch Li bowed and came out, "Three princes, your Majesty invites you."
Entering the palace, he knelt down to salute. The bright-yellow man at the head did not shout, but only glanced at the three of them lightly, landing on the face of the wise king.
It happened that the wise king was looking up at this moment. The father and son's eyes met, and neither of them deliberately avoided it.
As soon as Zhao Jingwei met her father's eyes, her heart skipped a beat. Those eyes were as smooth as a pool of water, unfathomable.
He couldn't guess what his father was thinking in his heart at this moment, so he could only hang his head deeply.
Emperor Baoqing just opened his mouth and said: "Everyone, please get back on your feet. I ordered people to cook thin porridge today and invite you to taste the porridge together."
The three kings looked at each other.
Lean less.
When the porridge was served, Zhao Jingwei frowned.
The porridge and side dishes are as bland as before and difficult to swallow.
Emperor Baoqing took a bite first and said, "It tastes good. Why don't you eat it?"
This was the first time that Kang Wang Zhao Jingyun and Jing Wang Zhao Jingyong were invited to eat porridge by their father, and they took a few mouthfuls with a smile on their faces.
Zhao Jingwei just moistened her lips.
Emperor Baoqing took in the look of the third son in his eyes and said with a faint smile: "Lao Ba accompanied me to eat porridge. He took three mouthfuls of a bowl and finished it in five mouthfuls."
When everyone heard this, they felt sour in their hearts. The strange emperor called them here for no reason, because he was thinking about Lao Ba.
Emperor Baoqing looked to the northwest, lost his mind for a while, and then said with a smile: "It's hard for you, go ahead."
The third son was stunned, wondering why his father let them go again when he was doing well.
"The wise king stays."
Zhao Jingwei was slightly shocked when he heard this.
After the others left, he stepped forward and said with a smile: "Father, I have left you here, do you have something important to do?"
Emperor Baoqing glanced at him and said, "Who among the people in this world wants you to die the most?"
When Zhao Jingwei heard this, she was so horrified that she prostrated herself on the ground, trembling and not daring to answer.
"It's okay. I will atone your innocence. Just treat it as a private chat between you and me, father and son. You can speak out."
Zhao Jingwei breathed a sigh of relief when he heard about the father and son. In his impression, his father was always majestic, but there was rarely such a tender moment.
After thinking about it carefully, he said boldly: "Father, there is only one person in this world who longs for my death the most."
"who?"
Zhao Jingwei bit it and said: "Eighth brother!"
Emperor Dingqing couldn't help frowning and said: "On the contrary, you also hope that he will die the most?"
Zhao Jingwei raised her head sharply, feeling anxious. What happened to my father today? Why did he, who was always deep, have to speak so clearly.
After turning around a few times in his mind, he still had a look of pain on his face and said: "My father often taught me to have deep brotherhood, and I will remember it in my heart. Therefore, I can't let go, and I don't dare."
Emperor Baoqing sighed, and when he vomited it out again, he had a sneer on his face.
"Stand back!"
Zhao Jingwei still didn't understand the intention of her father's words until she walked out of the inner hall. Your heart is really unpredictable!
But at this moment in the palace, Emperor Baoqing walked a few steps in the palace with his hands behind his back and said: "Here comes to draw up an edict."
As night falls, lanterns gradually light up on the streets, like stars falling on the earth, dotted with stars.
In the dilapidated pavilion on one side of the official road, Su Ziyu stood with his hands behind his back. He didn't know how long he had been standing there.
"Master, I'm afraid Master Rui won't be able to make it back today. Let's go back. If we're late, we'll end up at the city gate."
Su Ziyu shook his head, "Wait a little longer." "You've been waiting for three days." The boy looked sternly, squatted on the ground, and scratched the ground with a dead branch.