The emperor no longer mentioned the abolition of the prince.
Except for those speculators who wanted to take the opportunity to grab wealth, everyone else was relieved.
Now this prince has been established as the East Palace since he was five years old, and it has been more than ten years now. He has received all the education that the East Palace should receive, and knows all the things that the East Palace should or should not do. He is modest and polite, never Bullying others, respecting the master, and being tolerant to left and right, this is the most ideal future Mingjun in the eyes of many people.
He may not be as ambitious as Emperor Taizu, and he has no ambition to expand the territory, but that is not a problem, because the empire has developed a well-established and mature system, from the cabinet Zaifu to officials from all over the country. Disrespectful, even if there is no emperor to issue orders, Daming can still function, so the emperor's biggest role is to do nothing.
The ancients said: The Son of Heaven will rule under the arch, this is even a famous saying.
Before the emperor insisted on abolishing the prince, although many people did not say it, they obviously disagreed in their hearts. King Xing was not trained as a prince from the beginning, and the education he could get was naturally different from that of the prince, not to mention because he His biological mother and Concubine Wan approached, which made everyone feel alert and vigilant, but the emperor insisted on his own way, and there was evidence from the sky, and it was useless for everyone to object.
Well now, even the heavens are dissatisfied with the emperor's tossing, and the Taishan earthquake was used to warn the emperor, and the emperor could not ignore it.
As the battle for the abolition of the crown prince fell to the ground, Liu Jian, Tang Fan and others all hoped from the bottom of their hearts that the matter would end here. If possible, they would like to go to the emperor and say to him: Your Majesty, you have tossed and tossed, let's have a good time. Is Tianan's birthday a success
However, if this emperor is not tossing, it is not like him.
After a few days, he repeated his old tune and proposed to leave the palace to pray for blessings on the day when the Chongzhen Longevity Palace was completed.
As soon as these remarks came out, the courtiers naturally objected again.
The ministers not only felt that the emperor went out of the palace to work the people and waste money, but more importantly, the emperor is not in good health now. If something unexpected happens outside the palace, it will inevitably be troublesome at that time, so it is easy to save trouble. principle, and oppose it to the end.
This time, the emperor did not insist, but took a step back, saying that you can not let me go out of the palace in person, but at least let the prince go out of the palace to pray for me. Previously, the comets and Taishan earthquakes occurred one after another. For the prince, if Donggong can go out to pray for his father, maybe God can make him recover for the sake of the prince's sincerity.
Although Tang Fan and the others thought this was too absurd, the emperor had taken two steps back now, and everyone was worried that the persecution would make the emperor rebellious, and he might do something astonishing, so they had to stop objecting.
On the second day of the first lunar month in the 23rd year of Chenghua, the prince went to Chongzhen Wanshou Palace to pray for blessings.
This is the first time the prince has left the palace in his life. From the cabinet and even the six ministers and nine ministers, all of them are on guard. The Ministry of Rites is even more thoughtful. They are afraid of a little accident on the way. The custom-made carriage was even taller and more spacious. The prince, let alone sitting in it, would have no problem even lying down and rolling around.
Going out from the palace to Chongzhen Longevity Palace, it takes about an hour to ride a horse. If it is a car, it will take longer, because there will be many palace people walking behind the carriage, which is part of the honor guard. Since they are praying for blessings rather than fleeing, the courtiers' deportment steps are naturally slow and elegant, so that people along the way can admire the power of heaven.
Therefore, considering this point, the carriage must be as spacious and comfortable as possible, so that the prince will not be exhausted by going back and forth for nearly four hours.
Tang Fan and others thought more.
They may not have been vigilant about Wan Dang's sudden compromise and silence. After many people learned that the prince was going to leave the palace to pray for blessings, they would easily think that Wan Dang would jump over the wall and take advantage of this opportunity to assassinate the prince.
In fact, this is impossible, because from the moment the prince gets off the carriage, he will be surrounded by heavy guards, who are ready to give their lives to protect the prince anytime and anywhere. Sui Zhou and Wang Zhi are already considered to be the most powerful masters in the world, but even they cannot complete the arduous task of assassinating the prince. It is more likely that they have already been taken over before they handed the sword to the prince. The Praetorian spent all his energy and died of exhaustion.
Since the Ming Dynasty, no emperor or prince has been killed by assassination, precisely because the difficulty is too high. If someone wants to assassinate the emperor or the prince, it is undoubtedly a very stupid act.
However, this journey of assassination is doomed to be impossible, which does not mean that there is no other way, because the construction of Chongzhen Longevity Palace was carried out by Wandang from beginning to end. Tang Fan and others were worried that Wandang would take advantage of the prince's entry into the palace. Wang Zhi even offered to accompany the prince from the moment he entered the palace, and the emperor later agreed.
With Wang Zhi to accompany him, there is no danger that the prince will be in any danger.
Even so, there may still be some subtle loopholes here.
For example, according to the established process, there will be nearly an hour in the middle. The prince needs to stay alone in a quiet room and pray to the sky for the emperor's dragon body and the peace of the world. No one should interfere in this process, even Wang Zhihe. Other ministers could only wait outside the quiet room.
During this hour, no one will know what happened in the quiet room.
Liu Jian, Tang Fan, and the others really wanted to save this step, and directly let the prince worship and burn incense in front of everyone's eyes, and then go back to the palace.
But the emperor felt that he had made too many concessions, and this time he firmly refused to agree to the reduction steps.
As a son, the prince naturally not only could not object, but also took the initiative to sparse, expressing that he would be happy to pray for his father.
After a long stalemate, everyone took a step back and changed an hour to a stick of incense. The prince only needed to stay in the quiet room for a stick of incense. Before the prince entered the temple, the Jinyiwei would search the inside and outside of the palace in advance. , to ensure that no suspicious persons are lurking.
If you are preparing for a big fight, you can't wait until the second day of the first lunar month.
Because the crown prince went to pray and sacrifice on behalf of his father, officials above the third grade in Beijing would accompany him, including Tang Fan.
However, the minister of civil and military affairs and the prince's car were separated by a long line of palace servants, and the two sides would not be together until they arrived at the palace to start the ceremony of worshipping the gods.
Along the way, there were many people who heard that the Prince was coming in person, so they came out to pay their respects and bow down.
The Guards built a human wall to isolate them from the road, and they were only allowed to watch from a distance, but the people were in awe of the majesty of the guard of honor and were infected by the atmosphere. Eye-catching, uncontrollable, the scene is very lively.
This is undoubtedly a scene that any emperor would like and enjoy. Human nature has an innate aspect of succumbing to power and worship, so a dragon chair has been robbed throughout the ages, but unfortunately Emperor Chenghua did not make the trip due to the opposition of his ministers. , otherwise, seeing such a scene, he reckoned that he would be willing to come here every month in the future.
The prince's performance was very satisfactory throughout the whole process. He was replaced by an ordinary teenage boy. I'm afraid that at this time, he couldn't help sticking his head out of the car to watch the fun, but the prince was not an ordinary boy after all. The future destiny of the whole country, and he has experienced such a difficult and rough childhood, makes the prince extremely calm, the etiquette is correct, and the wording is correct. Compared with the unreliable son of today, a kind of hope for the future of the country is touching. spontaneously.
Unlike many officials who seldom deal with the prince on weekdays, Liu Jian, Tang Fan and others kept their hearts high throughout the whole process, for fear of any unpredictable accident.
However, contrary to everyone's expectations, the worship process went very smoothly. There were no messy situations that everyone thought about. The only accident was that when the prince left, the sky started to rain lightly, pattering, and everyone's clothes were wet. In addition to the cold weather, the feeling is indescribable. Many officials fell ill after returning, and Tang Fan was no exception.
This made him have to leave home and be stared at by Sui Zhou and drink medicine every day. The misery was unspeakable, and it was not enough for outsiders.
"I've really recovered, and I don't need to take medicine. Look at my face, compared to a few days ago, is it very different?" Tang Fan was wrapped in a thick fur coat - this is what Suizhou forced him to wear up, said with a bitter face.
Few people can combine entanglement, pain, sadness, pleading, innocence and other expressions on one face, and Tang Fan did it.
It's a pity that the person who talked to him was unmoved: "I can feed you."
what to feed
Nature is not a spoon.
Master Tang's face was dyed red.
This kind of scene is staged countless times every day, and finally ends with Tang Fan's defeat repeatedly.
But he couldn't blame him. The medicine was really bitter. If Sui Zhou was allowed to drink it, he probably wouldn't want it. However, he was in good health. He was also in the rain that day, and he was in good health. He didn't get sick at all.
In contrast, the civil servants are a little horrible, especially the cabinet. Except for Tang Fan, almost all of them are over forty years old. Now, apart from the second assistants Liu Ji and Xu Pu, who still stick to the cabinet to handle official business, the others Everyone was brought down by the rain, even Shoufu Wan'an was no exception. It is said that he is still lying in bed and can't get up.
Tang Fan's situation is not bad. He only took one day off. If there is no accident, he can go back to work tomorrow.
Because if they don't go back, Liu Ji and Xu Pu will not be able to hold on anymore. Things that should have been handled by seven people are now piled up on two people. At noon, Liu Ji just sent someone over to ask, urging Tang Fan whether You can go back to the cabinet to help in the afternoon.
Tang Fan would naturally be happy if he could go back to the cabinet without taking medicine, but if he really did, he would be in a lot of trouble at night.
After drinking the medicine in one breath, Tang Fan felt that his mouth was full of bitterness, and even his face was wrinkled into an old chrysanthemum.
"Is there any sugar?" he asked Suizhou.
Suizhou: "What candy do you want?"
Tang Fan: "...whatever you want, sweet-scented osmanthus candy or maltose."
The other party's answer was to directly block him and give a deep kiss, and hugged his waist tightly to prevent him from stepping back, until Tang Fan was about to breathe out, and then he let go: "I just ate maltose, Is that all right?"
Tang Fan: "..."
After he said that, Tang Fan really felt that there was a faint taste of maltose in his mouth now.
But this way...
Tang Fan blushed.
Suizhou watched Tang Fan's reaction with interest.
The fair-skinned face turned red and transparent, and his eyes were misty because he was holding his breath just now, as if he was angry and didn't know how to resist.
No matter how many times, he still feels very happy.
"I saw your Fengyue storybook last time. Isn't the description in it quite straightforward? Why is it so easy to be shy all the time, eh?"
He hooked the other's chin, pointed his head over, and spoke almost against the corner of Master Tang's lips.
There was a faint plum fragrance under the porch, and the two were very close. Suizhou simply embraced them all. The two faced each other, and Tang Fan sat on top of him with his legs apart.
In broad daylight, facing the yard again, this sitting position is really…
Enough to make the guards be punished!
Master Tang wanted to struggle, but not to mention that he was still ill, even under normal conditions, he would not be able to struggle against Uncle Sui's Wuzhishan.
"It's so warm, I'll keep you out of the wind." Uncle Sui said as a matter of course.
Tang Fan: "..."
He couldn't bear it any longer: "Why did you get lazy by the way when I took leave?"
Sui Zhou explained very seriously: "I also took leave."
Tang Fan raised his eyebrows: "Sick?"
Suizhou: "No, take care of sick family members."
Tang Fan: "..."
Your shame!
The two were arguing with each other, and there was a knock on the door from outside: "This is the old mansion of Tang Pavilion, is anyone there?"
Tang Fan took the opportunity to break free from Suizhou's embrace and walked over to open the door.
A middle-aged man with a casual appearance stood outside. When he saw Tang Fan coming out, he quickly bowed his hands and salutes: "Sir, the youngest is from Liu Ge's old family."
Tang Fan recognized him, and the other party was Liu Jian's servant.
"Is your master looking for me?"
"Yes, my master is at the entrance of the alley, please walk over there and talk."
Tang Fan was a little surprised. Liu Jian was also reported to be sick at home today, so why did he run out again
He talked to Suizhou and followed him out again. Sure enough, he saw Liu Jian wrapped in a thick fur coat standing in the corner, stomping his feet to keep warm, it didn't look like he was sick.
"Master Hui'an?" Tang Fan walked over to say hello, "Since everyone is here, why don't you come and sit down?"
"No." Liu Jian pulled Tang Fan over a bit and whispered, "If you are fine now, why don't you come to the palace with me to visit the prince."
Seeing that he was mysterious, Tang Fan couldn't help but ask, "What happened to the prince?"
Liu Jian said: "Do you know the fact that the prince fell ill after returning from sacrifice?"
Tang Fan nodded.
He knew about this, because of that rain, many people were sick, and the prince was one of them.
When he came back, although the prince had a carriage to ride, he did not need to go back in the rain like other people, but there was a section of high white jade stone steps from the palace gate to the carriage, which required walking.
Even if Wang Zhi took off his outer clothes to cover the crown prince's head, the crown prince still inevitably wet his hair and clothes. After returning to the palace, he contracted the cold and fell ill like many others.
However, the rain was not heavy at the time, so even if Tang Fan rode a horse and drenched all the way back, he would at best drink two bowls of bitter medicine, and at that time many people took off their outer clothes to cover their heads, and generally even if they were sick , the condition is not very serious.
And this time, no one can blame Wan Dang.
After all, no matter how Wandang hopes that the prince will be deposed, it is impossible to predict that it will rain that day. Even if it is expected to rain that day, it may not be possible to predict that the prince will definitely fall ill because of the rain. If they want to adopt this method Come to get rid of the prince, that is too ridiculous.
The prince had been ill for two days. Tang Fan also asked about it yesterday. It didn't sound like it was serious. .
"Could it be the prince..."
Liu Jian knew that he had misunderstood: "No, it's just that I heard that the prince is ill, and I wanted to see him in person, so I felt at ease, so today I specially took a leave of absence. I heard that you were also at home, so I stopped by and asked you. "
Before entering the cabinet, Liu Jian served as a lecturer in the East Palace for several years. His friendship was different from that of the prince, and it is not surprising that he would be more concerned about the prince's body than others.
Tang Fan said: "I'm naturally willing to accompany the Duke of Hui'an on a trip, but I'm suffering from a cold now. If I lose my appearance in front of the prince, or pass the ill anger to the prince, it won't be beautiful."
Liu Jian thought about it as well: "It's okay, then I'll go alone. We'll talk about it in the cabinet tomorrow."
With a resolute temperament, he said goodbye to Tang Fan and left in a hurry.
Out of etiquette, Tang Fan stood there until he watched the other party's carriage go away, the cold wind was blowing, the corners of his robe were raised, and he stood tall and beautiful, indescribably handsome.
pity…
Master Tang's cold was not cured, so he couldn't help but sniffed and sucked back the snot that was about to flow down.
Then turn around.
Tang Fan: "..."
Suizhou: "..."
been discovered! Gone is my mildness!
Master Tang roared in his heart, and suddenly had the urge to cry.
Suizhou held back his smile: "Go back, it's cold outside."
Tang Fan coughed lightly: "I just came out without a veil on my body."
Suizhou said: "So you should go back to drink medicine with me, or else you will lose face in front of your subordinate colleagues in the cabinet tomorrow, won't you lose your own face?"
He didn't say it was okay, but when he said Tang Fan, he couldn't help but imagine that if he had a dispute with Wandang tomorrow over something, he would have remarked and talked sternly, but suddenly felt his nose dripping down, and then he couldn't help sucking. sniff...
All the momentum was completely in vain.
Tang Fan: "..."
Looking at his flickering face, Suizhou was a little strange. After thinking about it, he felt that there should be no problem with his wording.
Before he could figure it out, he heard Tang Fan say indignantly, "I'll take another day off tomorrow!"
Of course, this wish is impossible to achieve. Liu Ji and Xu Pu worked in the cabinet for a day, and they were almost not driven crazy. In the end, they could only stay in the cabinet for dinner, and they did not leave until the dead of night. If Fan continued to ask for leave the next day, they would have to send someone to urge him.
Tang Fan had to drag his unhealed body to the cabinet to be on duty, with three brand new handkerchiefs in his arms in case of unforeseen circumstances.
Everyone else also came, including the first assistant Wan An.
There is no meeting today, and there is no need for everyone to meet.
Tang Fan and Liu Jian were in the same room, and they happened to ask about what happened yesterday: "Empress Hui'an saw His Royal Highness the Prince?"
Liu Jian frowned and hesitated.
Tang Fan: "Could it be that the prince refuses to see you?"
Liu Jian: "That's not true, but the prince seems to be not very ill. It is said that he was lying in bed and got up after hearing that I was coming."
Tang Fan was startled: "Does it matter?"
Liu Jian: "Fortunately, the imperial doctor happened to be there. He said that the cold can be big or small. Let the prince take care of it and don't take it lightly."
Tang Fan nodded: "That's the reason."
Only then did Liu Jian express his dissatisfaction: "But after I heard that the Crown Prince fell ill, His Majesty never visited him in person!"
As long as he thinks of the unhappy look on the prince's face, Liu Jian can't help feeling sorry for him.
Tang Fan also sighed, it's hard for outsiders to judge this kind of thing, and when they are courtiers, they can't talk about it arbitrarily.
From an outsider's point of view, the prince may be pitiful.
But the emperor may feel that he has given the prince the best thing in the world - the future throne, so what if the prince suffers a little grievance? What's more, the father guides the son, and the ruler guides the minister. They are both the ruler and the minister, but also the father and son. How can there be a reason why a father neglects his son, and the son resents his father
So this is destined to be an unresolved account, entangled for half a lifetime, and complicated.
Even Concubine Wan may feel that she is very pitiful. She is clearly the woman who is most valued by the emperor, but in the end, she has no biological son who can inherit the throne, but instead, she has cheapened the son of a hidden female official.
If the crown prince can stick to his original intention after ascending the throne, not be entangled by grievances and forget his own duty to govern the country, it will be quite remarkable, and it will not be in vain for the assistance given by countless people when he is in trouble, even at the cost of their lives of protection.
Liu Jian obviously understood this, so he just complained to Tang Fan in private, and then put the matter aside. The two hadn't come for a day. There were already a lot of official business waiting for them at the Department of General Affairs and the Sixth Department. I buried my head in the middle of it, and I was dizzy and dizzy, and it was not until the evening that most of it was solved.
"Even if I die in office in the future, I will definitely not take leave!" Liu Jian shook his head and joked, "It's going to be tiring and exhausting when I come back from leave, it's worse than usual!"
Tang Fan couldn't help laughing, and sadly found that the snot was about to fall again, he quickly took out his handkerchief and pressed it, which made his voice sound a little dull: "Master Hui'an, don't make me laugh... "
Liu Jian apparently also noticed his embarrassment, and laughed without sympathy.
After finally finishing the important official business, Tang Fan hurried out of the palace and headed home.
Before he fully recovered, he was going to decline all invitations to invite anyone, so as not to appear more humiliating in front of others.
It's a pity that people's calculations are not as good as heaven's calculations, and he was stopped halfway through.
The author has something to say:
Can't help but come to a small theater:
Master Tang dragged his runny nose to work, carrying three brand new handkerchiefs in his arms, just in case.
It is worth mentioning that the three handkerchiefs are embroidered with Sui characters.
But this is not Uncle Sui's handkerchief, but embroidered by him.
Don't doubt, although Uncle Sui is a big man, he can not only know martial arts, but also cook and fly needles.
In fact, Daming is a good husband!