The person who stopped Tang Fan was Zhou Jing, but he was not some unknown junior.
The other party is the husband of the princess of Chongqing, and now he is in charge of the family affairs of the sect, and is regarded as the most prestigious foreign relative today.
The princess of this dynasty is similar to the former Song Xiao, and the sense of existence is very weak. It is not uncommon for the married and unknown husband and wife to break up and end in depression, but this Chongqing princess is an exception, because she is also from the Queen Mother of Zhou, and she is the current The younger sister of the emperor, just this level of identity is enough to make people look at it differently.
The life of this princess is also good. She has a good temperament when she is married to a husband. She is good at learning and can read, and she is no worse than an ordinary scholar. When she was young, she was also a handsome young man. For more than ten years, they are the loving couple that everyone in the royal family admires.
"Zhou Concubine Ma, well, the last goodbye was a matter of the great court meeting. Seeing that you are in good spirits, do you think you had a good time here?"
Zhou Jing is naturally different from cheap relatives like Wantong. Even Tang Fan didn't dare to be rude when he saw him, and hurriedly got off the sedan to say hello.
But he was very strange, because although the two knew each other, they rarely interacted. Zhou Jing was cautious in his words and deeds, but today he suddenly stopped people on the street, which was out of line.
"What a spirit!" Zhou Jing smiled bitterly and pulled Tang Fan aside: "Elder Tang Ge, I'm here to ask for your help!"
Tang Fan was even more surprised when he heard it: "Consort Zhou is serious!"
Zhou Jing sighed: "Let's not speak secretly, the situation is urgent, and I won't go around in circles with you. To be honest, something happened to my family!"
Tang Fan: "Princess Mansion?"
Zhou Jing: "Exactly, what about me... Cough, I had a big quarrel with the princess because of an incident in the past two days. I heard that Tang Ge's case is like a god, so I want to hear from you to help us break it up, so that we don't have to worry about it. Let the princess wrong me!"
Although the princess of Chongqing is favored, since she married into the Zhou family, she has treated her uncle and aunt with courtesy for several times, and she has not been spoiled. It was really strange that Zhou Jing came to look for him.
Although Tang Fan likes to explore the truth, he definitely doesn't want to get involved in matters between husbands and wives. As the saying goes, it is difficult for an honest official to break up housework. When a husband and wife quarrel at the end of the bed, the unlucky middleman is not himself, so he hears the words. With a wry smile, he said, "I can't help you with this, so you should ask another Gao Ming!"
At the end, he freed his sleeves from Zhou Jing, turned around and was about to run away.
As a result, Zhou Jing moved faster than him, grabbed his arm with such strength that Tang Fan felt that if he tried to break free again, even the official robe would have to be pulled off, so he had to stop: "Zhou Consort Zhou , you and the princess are husband and wife, if you have anything to say, sit down and talk about it, it will be rainy and sunny, why make things worse, I'm afraid I can't help you much!"
Zhou Jing said angrily, "You haven't even listened to me, how do you know that I can't help!"
Tang Fan was helpless: "Look, I'm not getting better from the cold, I'm rushing home, can we talk about it another day?"
What a joke, the princess and the concubine quarreled, he didn't want to get involved at all!
Zhou Jing said: "That's easy, you can go to my house now, I'll have someone prepare a good dinner table, I'll tell you slowly, in short, if I meet you today, you have to help me Think of an idea! Tang Ge, just beg you, if you let the princess continue to make trouble, there will be no place for my old face to spread out!"
These soft and hard words made Tang Fan laugh and cry, and he couldn't refuse even if he wanted to, because they were holding on to his sleeves.
Tang Fan sighed: "Can't we not go?"
Zhou Jing said categorically, "No way!"
The two were pulling and pulling on the street, and their identities were unusual, which attracted a lot of attention. Seeing that if they didn't leave, even people from the military and horse divisions of the five cities would have to be recruited. Tang Fan could only give in and let him The bearer first went back to report, and then got into Zhou Jing's carriage.
The carriage in the princess' mansion was spacious enough for two big men to sit on it, and there was a thick satin mattress underneath, so he could hardly feel the bumps of the wheels on the road, but Tang Fan was not in the mood to feel it, because he was just in the There was a gust of cold wind blowing outside, and now it suddenly came to the warm carriage. Immediately, I couldn't help sneezing and burst into tears.
Zhou Jing glanced at him and said with concern: "Tang Pavilion is young, you have to take care of your health!"
Tang Fan covered his mouth with a handkerchief and rolled his eyes secretly.
Who pulled me here
Zhou Jing seemed to feel his resentment too, and laughed dryly: "I was also forced into a corner, so please forgive me!"
Tang Fan asked helplessly, "Dare to ask why the concubine and the princess quarreled?"
After getting on the carriage, there was no one else, but Zhou Jing said vaguely: "It's nothing more than those trivial things. I'll tell you in detail when I'm in the house."
Tang Fan suddenly felt that something was wrong.
Zhou Jing is a person with a good personality. The Princess of Chongqing is not an arrogant and domineering woman, not to mention that the two are not newly married. If there is a big conflict, Tang Fan will not believe it, but if it is not a major event, what about Zhou Jing? As for stopping a cabinet minister on the way and asking him to go to the house for mediation? You must know that the friendship between Tang Fan and Zhou Jing is far from deep enough that Zhou Jing will let him judge his own family affairs, not to mention the family affairs of the princess and the concubine.
Thinking of this, Tang Fan put down the veil, and his voice was a little dull because the wind chill had not yet healed, but it sounded a little more solemn.
"Is there something you want to tell me about the concubine?"
When Tang Fan was serious, very few people could remain calm under his sharp gaze, and Zhou Jing was no exception.
He involuntarily avoided Tang Fan's gaze: "Old Tang Ge will know soon, please don't ask again."
The carriage stopped at the entrance of the princess' mansion, and the servants of the mansion saw the concubine came in with a young man he had never seen before, but he acted with some respect and curiosity, secretly guessing the identity of the other party, but they were very I soon found out, because the concubine called him "Ge Lao".
Ge Lao is definitely not the name of one person. In Daming, only seven people can be called that, which is equivalent to the prime minister, the prime minister, under one person, and above ten million people.
Although this position is far less stable than the title of the noble family of the relatives, and it is often rotated every few years, it is undeniable that those who can become the elders of the pavilion will undoubtedly control the power of the center of the Ming Dynasty, and determine the fate of the world.
And this young man looks like he is only in his twenties. If he is an "Old Pavilion", is there such a young prime minister in the world
No, not really.
The well-informed servants of the princess quickly thought of a person, and this person's age was just right for the young man in front of them, but they did not expect that the legendary young and promising old Tang Ge was like this. Handsome and elegant person.
Well, when the other party walks, he always covers the lower half of his face with a handkerchief, as if he is a little unwell
Tang Fan naturally wouldn't be idle enough to observe the reactions of the people in the princess' residence, and Zhou Jing obviously didn't have that in mind. He led Tang Fan all the way in a hurry without even smiling, which made Tang Fan almost think it was the princess. what a big deal.
Until the two came to the backyard study.
The backyard and even the study are generally not open to the public, unless you have a very good relationship with the host, because the study is a private place, and even more important people, like those with status, often store a large number of important letters, not to mention guests, sometimes even Children of the host family are likely not to be allowed in either.
But now Zhou Jing brought Tang Fan here directly.
He pushed open the door and said to the person inside, "Ashu, I have invited someone here."
The person sitting inside is naturally no one else.
Princess Chongqing is over 40 years old, and her charm is still there. She looks like she is not more than 30 years old, and she is not much older than Tang Fan.
But he didn't dare to neglect, he bowed his hands and said, "Princess is well."
The Chongqing princess gave her husband a look, and the latter said knowingly, "I'll go out for a walk, you guys can talk first."
Up to now, no matter how stupid Tang Fan is, he can realize that things are not simple, not to mention that Tang Fan is not stupid at all.
To be able to let the concubine go outside to take care of the situation in person, what the other party wants to say must be a very important thing.
So Tang Fan didn't rush to ask questions, but waited for the other party to speak first.
Princess Chongqing smiled bitterly and said: "Master Tang, please forgive my husband and wife for inviting you here, there is really a last resort, although I have no contact with Master Tang, but I have heard of your ability time and time again, so I take the liberty to harass me and return it to me. I beg your pardon."
Her tone was gentle and soft, as expected from outside rumors, she had no princess' arrogance, and she kept her posture extremely low as soon as she opened her mouth.
"Princess, don't be polite, the lower official is attentive." After Tang Fan finished saying this, he couldn't help but took out his handkerchief again, covered his mouth and coughed, took a breath, and finally said to Princess Chongqing with a wry smile, "The wind is not cold yet. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Princess Chongqing knew that they were the ones who were rude. They stopped people from halfway regardless of their illness, but she and her concubine really had no choice, so they decided to do this.
She frowned slightly, but she was not targeting Tang Fan, she was mulling her words, and she seemed to be thinking about whether she should say it or not.
Tang Fan did not urge, the two sat quietly opposite each other, only the footsteps of the concubine Zhou Jing could be heard softly outside the study.
After a while, the princess said slowly: "Yesterday, when I went to the palace to visit the queen mother, I heard that the prince was ill, so I stopped by to visit him."
Hearing that it was related to the prince, Tang Fan's face suddenly became a little more serious, waiting for her next sentence.
The princess said: "I didn't feel any difference at that time, because the prince was ill and his spirit was not very good. I didn't stay for a long time. I only got up to leave after about a quarter of an hour, but after I came back, I remembered one thing, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt That's not right... The prince was tossed in and out of the palace when he was a child, so must Lord Tang have heard about this?"
Tang Fan nodded, it was inconvenient for the princess to mention Concubine Wan, but basically there was no one inside or outside the palace who didn't know about it.
Princess: "When he was three years old, he fell on the threshold due to the neglect of others, knocked on his forehead, and left a mark. I can still see a little bit of it now. I was not there at the time, and it was only later. I heard it from my mother. But few people know that when he fell, the prince also injured the little finger of his left hand, the broken wood pierced the flesh, and the wound bleeds, and slight traces can still be seen today."
She took a deep breath: "But when I met the prince yesterday, I accidentally saw his finger, but I didn't find the scar!"
Having said that, the princess has always been telling what she saw, but the deep meaning in her words is terrifying.
Tang Fan frowned tightly: "Is the princess sure that the scar can still be seen now?"
The princess smiled wryly: "I'm not sure if my old eyes have misunderstood, this is no trivial matter, and I don't dare to rush into the palace to confirm it. But a month ago, when I met the prince, I did see that he had left on his hand. It is impossible for this small scar to disappear suddenly after only a month."
Tang Fan asked, "What about the scar on his forehead?"
Princess: "It's still there."
Tang Fan asked again, "When the princess first entered the East Palace, did she ever encounter something different from the past?"
The princess thought for a while: "That's not true."
Tang Fan: "Is the prince's speech and behavior different?"
Princess: "I only said two or three words with the prince. He was lying on the bed at that time, and he couldn't see anything different."
Tang Fan: "What about the people around the prince, haven't they changed?"
Princess: "It doesn't seem to be, but I don't meet the prince very often on weekdays, and I rarely pay attention to the people around him."
Seeing Tang Fan pondering, she sighed: "I know that this is too absurd and unbelievable, if I see it wrongly, it will be fine, at most it will be a reprimand, but if it is true Yes, but the consequences are unimaginable. My husband and I have been thinking about it, but I dare not make a big issue, so I have to invite Master Tang in the name of quarrel. According to you, how should I deal with this matter? "
Tang Fan smiled bitterly: "Xiaguan has never seen the prince with his own eyes, so it's really hard to make a judgment."
The princess said apologetically, "I also know that this has made adults embarrassed."
Now everything is just based on the suspicion of the Chongqing princess, and the evidence of the suspicion is only an old wound on her finger that is barely noticeable.
She didn't see the scar, it didn't mean that the prince was fake, maybe the princess was blinded by the light.
Not to mention the fake prince, what a big deal this is. Once the conspiracy is revealed, let alone the perpetrator will lose his head, it will be a major case involving a large number of people.
So Rao, the princess of Chongqing, didn't dare to speak up, so she could only quietly ask Zhou Jing to find Tang Fan to discuss.
The princess asked, "Why don't I go into the palace and ask the mother?"
Tang Fan shook his head: "The empress dowager may not meet the prince more often than the princess, and the people in the palace are more talkative, so it's really not good to make a big fuss, so let's just find someone to inquire about the wind and then make a conclusion. "
The princess breathed a sigh of relief: "This is the best, I hope I'm wrong."
Night fell slowly. Today is the fourth day of the first lunar month. While the officials are still resting, all the yamen in Beijing are closed.
However, the streets of the capital did not become lively because of the Chinese New Year. The only thing that was lively was the market at Dengshikou and a few nearby alleys.
An inconspicuous blue-clothed sedan car stopped at the back door of an equally inconspicuous mansion, and the driver stepped forward and knocked on the door, not loud enough to disturb the neighbors.
After a while, the door was opened from the inside.
The door was opened by a handsome middle-aged man.
The bearer whispered for a moment, then turned back to the front of the sedan chair, bent over and said something, and then someone stepped down from the sedan chair and entered the house.
After about a stick of incense, the man came out from the inside, got on the sedan chair, and quickly left here.
Less than a quarter of an hour after the other party left, the door opened again, and the middle-aged man came out just now, walking in a hurry, and the figure quickly disappeared into the night.
But no one thought that all of this fell into the eyes of the caring people.
Forbidden City.
Wang Zhi's footsteps were two points faster than before. Although he couldn't tell, it was quite difficult for Xiao Huangmen to follow behind.
He didn't dare to complain, so he could only speed up his pace secretly, while praying that the lantern in his hand would not be extinguished.
Coincidentally, just when he had this idea, a gust of cold wind blew, and the lantern shook a few times, and it really seemed to be about to go out.
Xiao Huangmen was startled and couldn't help but glance at Eunuch Wang in front of him, but the latter didn't even look back.
To be honest, Wang Zhi could have gone faster if he hadn't been worried about being too conspicuous.
But now he can't do it.
Since Wynn left, his manpower has almost been removed, and all of Liang Fang's people have been replaced, even the Dongchang factory is no exception. Feeding mosquitoes.
How could Liang Fang have such confidence and not worry about being reprimanded by the emperor, there is no doubt that this has something to do with the people behind him.
With Wang Zhi left, it's hard to say anything.
The reason why Wang Zhi was not cut off was not only because he was always smooth in his life, and did not stand on the side of the prince and the civil servants as clearly as Wynn, but also because he was finally picked up by Concubine Wan, after Wynn left. , He moved closer to Wandang and bowed his head at the right time. This attitude paralyzed the other party. He was able to stay, but the price was to leave the two important positions of Silijian and Yumajian and go to Shangbaojian.
Wang Zhi himself still has some people, but these people were retrained after he returned to the palace. Many of them failed to climb to the corresponding positions, and their power was relatively small and could not play any role.
The warmth and warmth of the people inside the palace are better than those outside the palace. Soon, some people fell into trouble because they saw Eunuch Wang lose power. However, Wang Zhi is not the temperament to be bullied. After returning to the palace, his domineering was suppressed under a soft and low-key camouflage, and he was able to bend and stretch. Eunuch Wang remembered the faces of these people and had already blacklisted them in his heart.
However, if someone thinks that Eunuch Wang has had a miserable life in the palace because of this, it would be a big mistake.
The thin and dead camel is bigger than the horse. Eunuch Wang still has his own power. Wynn even handed over some of his staff to him, so Liangfang didn't dare to push Wang Zhi too much. One eye is closed, otherwise the two eunuchs with deep roots will be forced to jump off the wall and launch a counterattack against Liang Fang, and the outcome will only be a lose-lose.
He didn't tell Tang Fan about these difficulties. No matter how powerful Tang Fan is, his ability is limited. Besides, foreign ministers can't interfere in palace affairs. This is a big taboo. To reduce contact, this line will not be used unless it is absolutely necessary.
There are a few contacts or two, all for the prince.
This time is no exception.
After receiving the tip from Wei Mao, Wang Zhi couldn't wait to find an excuse to come to the East Palace.
He had to see it with his own eyes to be relieved.
At a time like this, the prince might still be reading books, but he fell ill recently and naturally fell asleep early.
It seemed unusual for Wang Zhi to ask for a meeting in the middle of the night, so he was naturally stopped outside the palace, and the palace staff in the East Palace told him that the prince had already gone to bed.
However, Wang Zhi was not helpless, he brought the Queen Mother's oral decree: "The Queen Mother was listening to the scriptures, and suddenly heard the Medicine Master Sutra, thinking that the Prince was ill, she ordered me to send the Buddhist scriptures that have been enlightened, maybe it will help the Prince sooner. get well."
If there is already the Queen Mother, the palace servants naturally dare not stop them, so they go in and report.
After a while, the palace servant came out again, saying that the prince was awake and would like to see him.
Hearing that Wang Zhi came, the bedroom where the lights had already been turned off lit up a candle with a thick arm, brightly illuminating most of the hall.
The bed tent was half rolled up, and the prince was sitting on the couch, ready to change clothes.
Wang Zhi stopped him: "Your Highness, please sit down."
The prince didn't force it, he smiled at Wang Zhi, his expression could not hide his tiredness and weakness: "Eunuch Wang is tired, please take me to thank my grandmother, and when I recover in two days, I will go to my grandmother and ask for my thanks."
The prince's words and deeds were not unusual, and his tone of speech was the same as usual. Although Wang Zhi didn't see the prince every day, he often dealt with each other, at least in Wang Zhi's view, there were no flaws.
But in the past few days, the prince has undoubtedly lost a lot of weight, his cheeks are slightly sunken, and his eye sockets are also a little blue, which makes people a little scared.
"Your Highness, don't be polite, Duke Huai misses you very much. If he hears that you are sick, he may not be so worried!"
The prince smiled bitterly when he heard the words: "it's useless for me. I can't keep Wynn. I... I'm really sorry for him! "
There is no flaw in this sentence. Wang Zhi thought to himself.
Then he saw the prince coughing piercingly. This kind of coughing was shocking.
The palace servant next to him quickly stepped forward and patted the crown prince's shoulder.
Wang Zhi glanced briefly, then asked, "Your Highness, why don't you see Cui Yong?"
What he asked was the prince's personal servant.
The prince said: "I coughed all night and couldn't sleep. Earlier, the hospital prescribed some soothing pills, which have been used up. Cui Yong went to get them for me."
He asked left and right again: "Is he not back yet?"
Gong Ren said: "Yes, it has been less than half an hour since Cui Nei was gone."
There is nothing wrong with this sentence, at least Wang Zhi can't fault it. He decided to leave the East Palace later and go to the Tai Hospital to have a look.
When the palace servant spoke, his eyes swept over the little finger of the prince's left hand, intentionally or unintentionally.
The other party's lower body was covered with a quilt, and his hands naturally hung on the side. His left hand was holding the quilt loosely, and his little finger was just blocked. Wang Zhi couldn't directly grab the prince's hand to check.
"Eunuch Wang?"
Wang Zhi returned to his senses: "Is there any order from Your Highness?"
The crown prince smiled helplessly: "I was just asking you, are you still used to being in Shangbaojian now, but do you want me to speak to the father and let you go back to Yumajian?"
Wang Zhi shook his head: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness, it's just that it's not appropriate for you to talk about it. In order not to implicate you, please don't say this, Your Highness."
The prince sighed and said nothing.
The palace servant whispered from the side: "His Royal Highness should drink the medicine."
Wang Zhi couldn't stand there any longer, so he said goodbye and left.
After all, he and the prince are not as familiar as Wynn and the prince - if Wynn is still here, he will be able to tell whether there is a problem with the prince better than him.
It's a pity that Wynn is still burning incense for Emperor Taizu in Nanjing. I'm afraid that he will be out of reach.
Wang Zhi left the East Palace and went to the Tai Hospital again.
Cui Yong was really there, because the pills needed to be made now, and he was there to help the imperial doctor. Wang Zhi asked him two questions, and it was nothing more than the prince's condition. Judging from Cui Yong's tone, he didn't think there was anything wrong with the prince. OK.
After this trip, Wang Zhi found nothing.
He almost had to wonder if it was because he always bullied Tang Fan on weekdays, so now the other party took the opportunity to play with him.
But this thought passed by in a flash, Wang Zhi knew that Tang Fan was not such a person, and he was never vague when it came to business.
Wang Zhi didn't know that Tang Fan also heard the caution from the Chongqing princess. Since there was a Wei Mao in the middle at that time, and the time was limited, Tang Fan could not explain everything one by one, so he only let Wei Mao pass the word and call him Wang Pay more attention to the abnormality of the prince.
Because of Tang Fan's words, Wang Zhi went to the Queen Mother in the middle of the night to get Buddhist scriptures and sent them to the East Palace, but found nothing.
Wang Zhi returned to his residence. The palace was not as comfortable as the house outside the palace, but with Wang Zhi's qualifications in the palace, it was not a problem if he wanted to make his house comfortable.
He asked Xiao Huangmen under him to boil water, took a comfortable hot bath, then sat on the bed with the quilt and began to think back and analyze.
After getting along with Tang Fan for a long time, he also learned to imitate each other's way of thinking, but after thinking about it for a long time, he still found nothing.
Forget it, this kind of laborious thing should be handed over to Tang Mao Mao!
Wang Zhi turned off the lights and went to sleep.
But he didn't expect that, before he could pass the news out of the palace, the next day, the fifth day of the first day, the first day that court officials began to resume office, Tang Fan would be impeached.