The princess was well-informed enough to know the news that Concubine Wan fell ill and passed out, but she did not expect Tang Fan to be more well-informed than her.
What shocked them even more was that Concubine Wan actually died.
The hall was silent for a while, and no one spoke, as if everyone was chewing the news.
But when you think about it, it seems to be expected.
Concubine Wan has taken so many lives on her hands, and even the death of the prince's biological mother is inseparable from her. They all say that there is retribution in the reincarnation of heaven, and the retribution has not come until now, and it seems a little late.
The princess sighed: "Brother Huang is going to be heartbroken now, and I don't know what he will do. Maybe he will win the title of Empress for the Wan family!"
Knowing her brother Mo Ruomei, she didn't know what the emperor said to Wantong, but she really guessed it.
Tang Fan didn't say anything. If it was just like that, it would be fine. It would be disrespectful to say that Concubine Wan is already dead. What title was given, and the officials were clamoring and arguing for reasons. Afraid of the emperor's whim, he wants to do something shocking.
She asked again: "So, the prince is not fake, nor was he poisoned or assassinated?"
Tang Fan said: "Yes, although the prince suffered from the cold, his life is not in danger."
The princess frowned: "So, what is the use of the groove under the carriage? It can't be added by the person who set up the prison."
There are strict regulations on the shape of the carriage in the palace. What’s more, because of the rush at that time, the prince’s carriage was temporarily remodeled from the emperor’s car. It was nothing more than removing some decorations and so on. How could it be extra for no reason? A groove to come
Tang Fan said: "Xiaguan came here just to ask the princess to verify what happened last time. Since the crown prince is safe now, no matter how much tangled, it's useless. I'm really sorry to bother you so late at night, so I'll leave."
Princess Chongqing is not a person who can negotiate major matters. After she heard the words of the supervisor, she told Tang Fan that she was close to the prince, but she could not control the overall situation, and it was even more impossible to disobey the emperor Brother, so he even had to make up a lie that the prince had scars on his fingers and let Tang Fan discover the truth himself, so as not to involve himself in the disaster.
Tang Fan can understand this kind of prudent behavior, but it doesn't stop there. He can't discuss important matters with the other party and say more in-depth words.
We are all smart people, and there is no need to say a lot.
The princess smiled apologetically: "Lord Lao Tang is running around. This matter has nothing to do with you. I dragged you into the water."
Tang Fan smiled and said, "Princess is polite. If it has anything to do with the crown prince, it will be a major event that will shake the foundation of the society. Although Tang Fan has no official position now, he can't stay out of it."
With a few polite words, Tang Fan and the others got up and left.
From beginning to end, Sui Zhou didn't say a word, as if he had been completely forgotten.
But the aura of his sitting there cannot be ignored.
Contradictory and bizarre.
Many people know that Tang Fan and Suizhou have a good relationship, but Princess Chongqing also saw with her own eyes that Suizhou sent Tang Fan over in the middle of the night, and only realized how good their friendship was.
Although Suizhou is a foreign relative, it is a real contribution. Everyone may say that Wantong was a fluke, but no one would say that Suizhou was a fluke. There are many helping hands. If the crown prince can successfully ascend the throne, Suizhou's status will only be stronger and more prominent than before.
Not to mention Tang Fan, he worked so hard for the prince, but as long as the prince is not ungrateful, he will definitely take this love from him in the future, and it will only be a matter of time before Tang Fan re-enters the cabinet.
In view of this, the princess and his wife treated Tang Fan and Suizhou with courtesy, and did not dare to be slighted by their identity.
The concubine Zhou Jing sent the two out in person, and said to Suizhou with concern: "Guangchuan, your face is not looking very good, is it because you have been working too hard recently, although you are still young, you should pay attention to rest. Don't work too hard."
Tang Fan: "..."
Of course he knew the reason why Sui Zhou looked bad.
In the middle of the night from... cough, being called from the bed, who can have a good face
However, this is not enough for outsiders.
Sui Zhou's face was paralyzed: "Thank you for your kindness, I will pay attention."
He has always had this expression, and those who are not close can't tell what kind of thoughts are hidden underneath. Over time, everyone is used to it. If he shows a smile to Zhou Jing at this moment, Zhou Jing will be scared.
After leaving the princess' mansion, there was a cold wind outside, causing Tang Fan to shrink his neck involuntarily.
A piece of fur covered him, and it was Suizhou who got rid of him.
"Wear it yourself." Tang Fan said.
"I'm not cold." Sui Zhou glanced at him. "It's still hot."
Tang Fan: "..."
Suizhou grabbed his hand: "So go back quickly."
Tang Fan: "..."
Although the cold wind is cold, just because there is one more person around, the chill is virtually reduced a lot.
However, if Tang Fan and Suizhou knew about the conversation between the emperor and Wantong in Zhaode Palace, they probably wouldn't be in the mood to have fun at this time.
Wantong didn't stay in Zhaode Palace for long. After confirming the emperor's intention, he left the palace in a hurry.
After all, entering the palace in the middle of the night is not in line with the rules. The Queen Mother Zhou has always looked down on the Wan family, but now the backer of the Wan family has fallen.
That old woman, why didn't she die!
Wantong secretly spit in his heart and quickened his pace, feeling a little sad for his sister's death for a while, remembering the emperor's promise, he couldn't hide his excitement.
In the distance, a few figures were shaking at the gate of the palace, and Wantong's heart couldn't help but lift.
But soon, he let it go again.
Because he recognized the figure of one of them.
"Master Wan, how is it?" The other party greeted him and asked in a low voice.
"Everything went well." Wantong grinned and wanted to laugh, but then he remembered that the occasion was wrong, he quickly suppressed his smile and lowered his voice.
"You mean..." The other party's eyes lit up again and again.
"That's right, Father-in-law's Hong Fu, said what you asked me to say, but I didn't expect it to be successful!" Wantong said happily, "If the big thing can be accomplished, the father-in-law must have a great contribution!"
"Mr. Wan is very polite, I just came up with an idea," the other party was very modest, not complacent. "Your Majesty has a deep affection for the imperial concubine, so you can agree. That's fine, lest we have to take desperate risks."
Wantong nodded: "That's right, now think about it, our previous method was too risky, it's better to justify it like this, it's great!"
The other party asked, "What did your majesty say?"
Wan Tong: "He asked me to discuss the matter with Wan'an, announce this matter at the great court meeting, and make a decision before everyone has time to object, and then the crown prince will be downgraded and sent directly to another place. When the time comes, His Majesty The meeting will immediately announce the retreat of the road, avoiding the noise of those officials and censors, and after a long time, those people know that there is no room for recovery, so they can only accept it helplessly."
The other party raised doubts again: "I'm afraid it won't be too easy to pass the level of Liubu Jiuqing?"
Wan Tongtong: "Don't worry, I'm going back to discuss this matter with Wan'an Penghua and the others. If there is anything that needs your father-in-law's help, please help."
The other party said: "When it's time to take action, I will naturally help out. Lord Wan, don't worry. Now that you and I are in the same boat, we should be in the same boat. But,"
He changed his words: "You know His Majesty's temperament, but the most uncertain, the promise he made to you today will not be accurate in a day, and maybe someone will persuade him at that time. You changed your mind again, don't forget the last time you abolished the crown prince, it was a complete failure at the door!"
Wantong thought of what happened last time, and couldn't help but secretly hate it. If there was no Taishan earthquake at that time, why would it need so many troubles now!
"Don't worry, this time will not repeat the same mistakes!"
After a hasty meeting, the time and place were not suitable, and the two could not say more. Wantong said goodbye to each other, turned into the carriage, and drove directly to Wanfu.
This Wanfu is not his own home, but the residence of Wan'an, the first assistant of the dynasty.
Wan An hasn't slept yet.
Because Wantong had already sent a message before entering the palace, Peng Hua and Yin Zhi, two other cabinet ministers who were also members of Wandang, came to Wan'an's house first, and they would come to meet him after he left the palace.
The three of them had already drank several cups of tea. Seeing that they had drank from sleepy eyes to full of energy, Wantong finally came.
Seeing the arrival of Wantong, the three of them just stood up and did not step forward to meet them.
These people are called Wan Dang by outsiders, but the core is Wan Gui Fei's younger brother Wan Tong, not the first assistant Wan An.
In the final analysis, although Wan An and the others are headed by Wantong, they still have the pride of civil servants in their hearts, and they have some contempt for cheap relatives like Wantong, but everyone has the same interests, so they came together.
However, this does not mean that this alliance is not reliable. On the contrary, it is precisely because everyone has done a lot of bad things together. If anyone wants to wash their hands in a golden pot, they will definitely be looked down upon by both sides.
"Brother Wan..." As soon as Yin Zhi opened his mouth, he was cut off by Wantong.
"My sister passed away!"
"what?"
"what!"
The sound of surprise in the hall came one after another, and everyone's expressions were exactly the same.
After the shock, everyone looked more and more different.
But Wantong didn't have the heart to care about it, and he immediately told everyone about his conversation with the emperor.
Because of the lesson from the last time, everyone was not in a hurry to be happy at this moment, but instead confirmed to Wantong again and again: "Does your majesty really intend to abolish the prince?"
"Yes!" Wantong drank the tea served by the maid. "This time, I have even said that the prince will be consecrated and sent to the fief as soon as possible. It should be a decision, but we must also make preparations. This time, we must not let those sour and rotten ministers delay the good things. Bad thing!"
Having said that, he placed the tea cup heavily and said viciously: "I don't believe that there will be another Taishan earthquake this time!"
Only then did the others rejoice: "The day after tomorrow will be the Great Court Meeting, so we have to make a good summation!"
Yin Zhidao: "Yuanfu and I both have a group of officials to send. If those people are against it, our people can also refute it. The literati quarrel is just to see who's voice is louder, and the water underneath will become more muddy. , Your Majesty will be less likely to go back on it!"
Peng Hua also said: "In order to avoid too many long dreams at night, the imperial court will abolish the prince's edict. It is best to let the prince leave the capital on the same day. Otherwise, if he stays in the capital for one day, those people will not give up."
Yin Zhi frowned: "I'm afraid it's unlikely that day, it's too hasty, and this will make His Majesty criticized."
Wantong waved his hand: "I can't control that much, in short, the sooner the better, as Yan Shi said, there are many dreams in the night, I am really scared by what happened last time, and about the edict, although there is a supervisor of li, But in order to prevent Your Majesty from repenting, we'd better even help His Majesty prepare the edict first, so that it can be used at any time!"
Yin Zhi opened his mouth and said, "This... is not appropriate?"
Wantong turned to Wan'an: "What about Weng Yuan's opinion?"
When Wantong Peng Hua and the others were discussing, Wan An never said anything. At this time, when Wantong asked, he said slowly, "That's fine."
Wantong was keenly aware of Wan An's subtle anomalies, and said sullenly, "Is Yuanweng regretting getting on our pirate ship?"
Wan An smiled bitterly: "You misunderstood, I was thinking, what do you want to do with that fake prince?"
When it came to the fake prince, everyone present showed a strange look.
Their plan wasn't originally like this.
The groove in the carriage, as expected by Princess Chongqing and Tang Fan, was indeed used to hide people, and not for assassination, but to exchange the fake prince for the real prince while the prince was traveling, and wait for the Chongzhen Longevity Palace After the group returned, the person from the East Palace actually changed.
The fake prince was also carefully selected by them. The appearance was originally seven or eight points similar to the real prince, and then with the adjustment of the face, it was not a problem to be completely like him. In addition, the palace would send someone to teach him his words and deeds. Behaviour, imitating the prince's daily living habits, coping words, etc., as long as he goes back to cover up by being sick, it is estimated that even Cui Yong, who is next to the prince, will not recognize it.
The idea of Wan Dang and others is: Since it is difficult to manipulate the real prince, if there is a fake prince in hand, there will be more room for manipulation. They can make the false prince seriously ill, or become disabled by accident. At that time, in order to inherit the throne, the emperor will definitely need to reconsider the candidate for the prince, and the courtiers will not be able to object at that time.
But this plan was ultimately rejected by Wan Dang's ally, Sili Jian's head Yin Liang Fang.
Because he felt that it was too risky, and it was easy to make mistakes. If someone noticed, it would be easy to wipe out the entire army.
Wan An and others were also worried that something would happen, so they disagreed with Wantong's plan.
Internal opinions were deadlocked, and ultimately it was not implemented.
It happened that when the prince came out of Chongzhen Longevity Palace, it rained, and the prince was also drenched in the rain. He was very weak and fell ill when he returned.
So Wan Dang simply stopped the shocking adventure of changing the prince. After listening to Liang Fang's suggestion, Wan Tong decided to look for opportunities to start from here.
Although this is equally risky, it is still more reliable than changing the prince.
So when the prince returned to the palace, there was indeed a fake prince lying in the groove under the car, but it was not replaced in the end.
Among them, the thrilling, twists and turns are not something that Tang Fan, Princess Chongqing and others could have guessed.
Unexpectedly, at this time, Concubine Wan died again.
As the saying goes, a thousand calculations are worse than heaven's calculations. Although the process is extremely tortuous, it is finally as they intended.
Everything is ready, and everything is only to be seen at the conference.
However, although the prince was not replaced, the fake prince was still there, that's why Wan An asked this question.
Wantong thought for a while and said, "Hide it for now, it won't be too late to dispose of it after the crown prince is really abolished."
His implication is very clear, in case the prince fails to be abolished again, this fake prince might still come in handy.
Wan An hesitated: "The existence of the fake prince is a hidden danger after all..."
Wantong smiled but not smiled: "Is it possible that Yuan Weng is afraid that the fake prince will come out and tell us, and will you be implicated? Don't worry, that person has been properly hidden by me, and the people from the prince's side will not be able to find it!"
Wan An still had doubts: "Suizhou also leads Jinyiwei..."
Wantong laughed angrily: "What kind of thing is Suizhou, he has to obey my orders in Jinyiwei, I am the commander of Jinyiwei!"
Peng Hua quickly smoothed things out: "Brother Wan, why do you need to get angry, Yuan Weng is also trying to be cautious!"
"Yuan Weng don't have to worry, even if they guess something, they have no real evidence, and they can't make waves at all. As long as the day after tomorrow goes well, you're done!"
Wantong also eased his tone. At this moment, there are still many places to rely on Wan'an, and he can't turn his face with the other party.
Although he didn't like Wan'an's cowardice, who was always worried about accidents.
In his opinion, this is the disadvantage of cooperating with civilian officials. They will always look forward and backward all day long, fearful and unreliable.
It's not as good as Li Zixing and Jixiao's, but they are much more daring and dark-hearted when they do things.
The two sides took a step back, and Wan An smiled apologetically: "When you are old, you always have more worries. Brother Wan, don't mind, I am also afraid of falling short!"
Wantong laughed: "Yuan Weng is serious, His Majesty has a gentle temperament. We have all suffered from this loss. How can we not worry about it! It is better to have Lao Yuan Weng for drafting the edict?"
He was tempted to try, but Wan An didn't seem to understand it. Instead of his hesitation, he readily agreed.
Wantong was relieved when he saw this.
When everyone left Wantong's house, it was close to the third watch.
After getting on the sedan chair, Wan An's smile and calmness disappeared all of a sudden, replaced by an expressionless face.
The family hadn't slept yet, and grandson Wan Hongbi was waiting for him to come back.
Wan's three-generation single biography, Wan An's son Wan Yiyuan was an official in Nanjing, and his grandson lived with his grandfather and grandmother.
Wan An usually doesn't avoid his grandson if there is anything, and he also intends to teach him by taking the opportunity.
The grandfather and grandson are very close, and Wan Hongbi can see at a glance that his grandfather is not in a high mood: "Grandpa, did something happen?"
Wan An glanced at him, unwilling to show strangeness in front of other family members: "You come to the study with me alone."
As soon as he entered the study, Wan An could no longer hide his feelings, his shoulders almost collapsed, and he sighed deeply.
"Grandpa made a big mistake!"
Wan Hongbi was taken aback: "Grandpa?"
Wan An didn't answer, but instead asked, "How do your colleagues in the Hanlin Academy evaluate Grandpa?"
Seeing Wan Hongbi hesitating, Wan An gave a wry smile: "If you don't say it, I can guess it, but it's just that I am cunning and cunning. Do nothing, right?"
Wan Hongbi said, "Grandpa, what's the matter with you today, why did you go to Wanjia just once... Did the Wantong guy say something to you?"
Wan An shook his head and continued to talk to himself: "Actually, I have never regretted it, everyone has their own way, like Yu Jie'an, they are loyal to their hearts and courage, and they do their best. The emperor beheaded with a single word? Whoever said a word for him who received his favor at that time? Those people who were spared from military disasters because he kept the capital, who said a word for him? So I I don't regret it, I don't want to be like Yu Ji'an, I can't get a good ending when I come, what's wrong with catering to the above, at least wealth and safety, right?"
Wan Hongbi was really frightened: "Grandpa, what happened?"
Wan An closed his eyes in pain.
He didn't go all the way with Tang Fan and the others, it didn't mean he wanted to rebel, but what is the difference between what Wantong is doing now and rebelling
It's okay to waste the prince, but you can get a fake prince...
This is completely beyond Wan'an's psychological expectations.
Although the fake prince has not been replaced for the time being, Wan An can see that the behavior of Wantong and others has reached the point of lawlessness. Even the prince dares to change. What else are they afraid to do
In the future, if King Xing is not to their liking, do they want to change to a fake King of Xing
Wan An was scared.
But it was too late, he found that he couldn't stop Wantong and others' crazy pace.
Thinking back now, when the people like Li Zisheng and Jixiao, who are favored by the sons today, are just like traitors in other dynasties, and when the new emperor ascends the throne—whether it is the king of Xing or the current prince, these people will be thrown out. Eliminate public grievances.
What about yourself
Thinking that in the second half of his life he might be linked to names such as treason, Wan Anta felt a chill from the bottom of his heart.
He and Liu Jian and Tang Fan are not the same people, which does not mean that he is willing to be implicated by Wantong and others.
If there is only Wantong, it may not be a big deal, but there is a ruthless and unscrupulous Liang Fang in the palace echoing from a distance...
Thinking of this, Wan An opened his eyes and looked at his grandson: "Do you want to be a traitor or a straight minister?"
Wan Hongbi was inexplicable. He stood here for a long time, he didn't know anything, and he was still confused. Hearing this, he could only ask cautiously: "No, can you?"
Wan An: "Then what do you want to be?"
Wan Hongbi wanted to make his grandfather happy, so he smiled and said, "Of course it's the same as grandpa, to be peaceful and rich!"
Wan An was both angry and funny: "Just you want to be peaceful and rich? The heat is still far behind, your grandfather and I have not been able to fully do it. Looking at the court, only the dead old thief Liu Mian can be the four word!"
Although he has been the mortal enemy for half his life, Wan An has to admit that when he looks back, he is really like an unbeatable cockroach, and he is annoying. You can't rely on it, it's slippery or slippery. Look, even the emperor's teacher Liu Jue was forced to step down. The cabinet members changed batches after batches.
On the other hand, he was Wan An, but he fell into a doomed place.
The author has something to say:
small theater:
It's New Year's Eve, and the servant girl went home for annual leave.
In the cold weather, no one wants to get out of the bed.
Tang Fan: Guangchuan, someone knocked on the door outside.
Suizhou: Just pretend you can't hear it.
Tang Fan: He's still knocking, let's go.
Suizhou: No, he will stop when he gets tired.
A quarter of an hour passed.
Tang Fan: ... still knocking.
Suizhou: (╰_╯)#
Tang Fan: Forget it, I'll go drive it, but I'll be on it in the future.
Suizhou: ... I'll go open now.