Yan Sikong walked towards the East Palace under the guidance of the eunuch. After he returned to the capital, he only hurriedly greeted the crown prince in the main hall, and the two hadn't met in private yet.
Suddenly, the high-pitched voice of the inner eunuch came from ahead: "Concubine Wen Gui is here, and the ministers are avoiding—"
Yan Sikong caught a glimpse of a dark blue figure from a distance, as slim as a weak willow Fufeng, walking surrounded by a large group of internal officials and maidservants, he took two steps back, knelt on the side of the corridor, and prostrated his face on the ground.
According to the law, foreign ministers are not allowed to enter the harem, but he can give lectures for the prince, there is an exception, but when he sees the emperor's concubine, he should not be regarded as indecent.
The sound of footsteps came from far and near, and Yan Sikong watched a group of colorful clothes and shoes drifting past his eyes, walking alone, hugging each other, what a grand occasion.
Concubine Wen Gui is Emperor Zhaowu's favored concubine, the daughter of Minister of War Wen Youchi, who is not only beautiful but also very talented. She has raised a prince and a princess for Emperor Zhaowu. The second prince is only two years younger than Chen Kui.
At the beginning, Emperor Zhaowu fought with the ministers for nearly ten years in order to make the second prince the crown prince. In the end, he had no choice but to appoint the eldest prince, Chen Kui. However, Chen Kui's foundation was weak and his status was precarious. Behind the second prince was the power of Concubine Wen Gui and Wen Youchi. . Although Xie Zhongren did not explicitly participate in the dispute over the establishment of the crown prince, the eunuch power is an extension of the imperial power and is used to check and balance the power of the prime minister. He will always be on the side of the emperor. Will not give up.
After Concubine Wen Gui left, Yan Sikong stood up and asked the eunuch at the side, "Why did Concubine Wen Gui come from the direction of the East Palace?"
The inner supervisor whispered: "It should be to talk to Empress Hui Concubine."
Yan Sikong's eyes darkened.
As soon as he stepped into the East Palace, he saw Chen Kui practicing sword from a distance.
But in half a year, the boy's body has been raised a lot, and he looks like an adult. At this time, the long sword in his hand danced gracefully with his nimble figure, and silver and white sword flowers suddenly appeared in the air. The sword technique was like a strong wind like a thunderstorm for a moment, and like a drizzle like running water for a moment. The moves are so subtle and fierce that people can't help but want to clap their hands.
Yan Sikong was amazed at how fast Chen Kui's swordsmanship had progressed. Looking aside, he realized that he was being guided by Zhu Lanting, the commander of the imperial guards, who was known as the number one master in the army. This man was in his thirties, with a tall and straight figure, a high nose and a broad forehead, and he was very heroic.
Chen Kui found Yan Sikong, his eyes lit up, he turned around beautifully, settled down, retracted his moves, put into the sheath, the movement was completed in one go, and then rushed over, calling "Sir", as if he had been waiting for a long time .
Yan Sikong was about to salute, but Chen Kui supported him: "Sir, excuse me." Chen Kui looked at Yan Sikong without blinking, "Sir, you look so haggard, but you are too tired?"
Yan Sikong smiled slightly: "I just went to the Ministry of Officials, and there are a lot of official duties. Naturally, it will take more time to get familiar with it, so I can't just greet His Highness, please forgive me." In fact, he rode his horse and galloped for two hours yesterday. He just returned to the city, and stayed up all night, even now standing in front of the prince, all he can't get out of his mind is Feng Ye's face full of surprise, anger and disappointment.
"Why do you have to be so polite to me, sir?"
Zhu Lanting also came over, and they saluted each other.
"Meet Commander Zhu."
"Your Majesty Yan is very polite." Zhu Lanting bowed his hands to Chen Kui again, "It's time for His Highness to lecture, and I will take my leave first."
"I wish the commander to walk slowly, and come to teach me another day."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Chen Kui dragged Yan Sikong into the house, "Mr. went out with the army, and I have been paying attention to the battle report. I look forward to returning from victory every day. Mr. is really powerful and has made many military exploits."
Yan Sikong recited the set of words of self-effacing that he didn't dare to take credit for, and asked instead: "Your Highness has improved a lot in swordsmanship, I hope the commander must have taught him very well."
"Yeah." Chen Kui nodded. Although he was smarter than his peers, he couldn't help being proud of it. "My bow and arrow are better. Next time, I will ask my husband to have a look."
"How can Commander Zhu come to guide His Highness?"
Zhu Lanting is the commander of the imperial guards, the imperial guards are the emperor's personal guards, and the Jingshan army led by Zhao Fuyi belongs to the Beijing garrison, but Zhao Fuyi is in charge of the city, and the imperial guards are in charge of inside and outside the palace. No one buys it.
Most of such personal guards are commanded by the emperor's cronies, and Zhu Lanting is no exception. He is the grandnephew of the empress dowager. Among the foreign relatives, the Zhu family is particularly powerful.
This is not something ordinary people can do, unless...
"It's the emperor's grandmother." Chen Kui said.
It really is the Queen Mother. The Empress Dowager understood righteousness well, and it was she who tried her best to protect the eldest son of the Emperor and made Emperor Zhaowu feel scruples during the battle for the crown prince, so that Chen Yu finally sat on the crown prince.
"How is the empress dowager's phoenix body recently?"
Chen Kui lowered his voice and said sadly: "It's not very good, I go to pay my respects every day, and sometimes she doesn't recognize me."
Yan Sikong sighed, the empress dowager is the biggest tree that protects Chen Kui, if this tree falls, the situation will be even more critical.
When the two came to the study, Chen Kui showed Yan Sikong the file on the table: "I have finished all the homework that Mr. Shen told me. Most of these days, Mr. Shen is teaching me, and I have not slacked off even a single day."
"His Royal Highness is diligent and studious, which is the fortune of the country and the blessing of all people."
Chen Kui smiled: "You will still praise me, Mr. Shen." He nodded his head, "I always want to pry open my place and pour it in, but he is not satisfied enough."
"Master Shen is a student of great learning and a great talent in the world. He also knows that His Highness is very intelligent, so he naturally has high hopes. He will inevitably be stricter, and it is all for His Highness's benefit."
"I know." Chen Kui stroked the scroll with a light smile, "I know whoever treats me well."
Yan Sikong nodded in relief, and asked again: "I met Concubine Wen Gui on the road just now, and the inner eunuch said that she... came to chat with Concubine Hui?"
Chen Kui frowned: "Well, it's not the first time. Recently, she has frequently shown favor to my mother and concubine..."
"Did Your Highness remind Concubine Hui to be careful?"
Chen Kui looked sad: "Why didn't I remind you, but my concubine mother... She has never read a book, and she is simple and cowardly by nature. Respectable." There was a glint of coldness in his eyes, "I completely forgot how she bullied our mother and son in the past."
Yan Sikong shook his head, his heart was full of worry: "There must be a demon in the event of a vision, and Concubine Wen Gui is absolutely uneasy and kind, no matter whether she wants to curry favor or has other schemes, she cannot be allowed to succeed, you must be solemn If you want to talk to Concubine Hui, you must be careful and stay as far away as possible."
"Don't worry, sir."
Yan Sikong held Chen Kui's hand tightly, and looked deeply into the young prince's eyes: "Your Highness, you are the future ruler of the world, but the future is not yet in the future, and there are countless treacherous Xiao Xiaoxiao who tried to stop His Highness in vain. There is only one thing that Shibu and His Highness delve into the emperor's mind, His Highness must not keep it in mind."
"Please tell me, sir."
"Be wary of everyone, doubt everyone, and only trust yourself."
Chen Kui was startled, he pursed his bright red thin lips, and gave a solemn "um".
Only then did Yan Sikong nodded in relief. He straightened his sitting posture, picked up the scroll, and planned to start the lecture.
"Sir." Chen Kui pressed down the scroll, "Don't be in a hurry to give lectures today, tell me about the war against the rebellion in detail, and tell me how you persuaded the rebels to surrender with your perfect tongue when you were sent to Kuizhou. Jun, how did he cross Nanyue Mountain, cross Qingxu Valley, and surprise Yueyang with Prince Jingyuan within ten days!" He looked at Yan Sikong with bright eyes, and the more he talked, the more excited he became, "I heard that Feng Ye Is it true that there is the power of heaven and man to make one stone spear and two stone bows?"
Yan Sikong's body froze. Kuizhou, Nanyue Mountain, Qingxu Valley, Yueyang, these are all the places where he and Feng Ye took risks and fought bloody battles, and each place left their life-and-death friendship, especially Qingxu Valley. They fought side by side, it can be said Nine deaths, but now...
"Sir, sir?" Seeing that Yan Sikong was in a daze, Chen Kui waved his hand in front of Yan Sikong's eyes.
Yan Sikong woke up like a dream: "Uh, Your Highness..."
"What's wrong, Mister?" Chen Kui said concernedly, "Mister doesn't look well, maybe he's sick." As he spoke, he put his palm on Yan Sikong's forehead.
"I... I just think of the tragedy of the counterinsurgency war." Yan Sikong lowered his head in a concealed manner, "It's also my first time on the battlefield."
"I understand." Chen Yu said solemnly, "The ruins are ruined, the blood flows like a river, and once the success is completed, the bones will be wiped out. What a picture it is."
"I hope His Highness will never see that I, Dasheng, will bring peace to the world from now on, Cathay Pacific..."
Chen Kui interrupted him, and said bluntly: "I don't like Mr. saying these things to fool children to me, you and I both know it's impossible."
Yan Sikong was taken aback for a moment, he was stunned by the turbulent dragon aura that suddenly emanated from Chen Kui, this young man had really grown up, his immature face could no longer block the majesty of being a "jun", he He couldn't help but clasped his hands and said, "What Your Highness said is that I will no longer treat Your Highness as a child in the future."
Chen Kui laughed again: "That would be the best, sir, tell me quickly, I want to hear it so much."
Yan Sikong smiled helplessly and closed the scroll: "Okay. Half a year ago, I went to the two lakes with the Jingshan army..."