〖In July of the twenty-fifth year of Wuwei, Taizong performed greed and blasphemy, so many people who were dismissed and imprisoned were mostly the king's close followers. Moreover, Taizong had several times to meet Emperor Yong, but they were all kept secret.
- "The History of Yong: Biography of King Rui"〗
Prince Li An angrily swept the official documents on the table to the ground, and it was King Yong who did it again. These days, I don't know what the madness of King Yong was, but he kept writing letters to report the illegal affairs of officials. It was not Li An's business. This time, King Yong was targeting officials from Li An's family. Not only did he prepare a complete set of criminal evidence, but his methods were like thunder. Often an official was still working in the morning, but in the afternoon, he was sent to the Heavenly Prison with a watch. Nowadays, the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty are as cold as a cicada, and they are all worried about being implicated. After all, there are several officials who are honest and upright, and even some officials have secretly gone to show goodwill to King Yong. After all, King Yong is mainly targeting the heirs of the prince. Down.
Lu Jingzhong frowned slightly and said, "His Royal Highness, it is only natural for King Yong to attack you. Now, it is an unprecedented opportunity for him. The emperor has a grudge against you. If he does not take the opportunity to make progress, he will not be King Yong anymore. But what this minister is worried about is that in the past, the reason why His Highness was always able to suppress King Yong was mainly because of the Emperor's support, and now if the Emperor intends to depose His Highness, then His Highness will lose the throne in a matter of days and nights."
"Yes, the emperor may have changed his mind now." A pleasant voice came, but Li An and Lu Jingzhong frowned at the same time.
The door was pushed open, and two beautiful women walked in, Li Hanyou in front and Xiao Lan in the back.
Li An said angrily: "The lonely study has become an undefended place, where are the guards?"
Li Hanyou smiled and said, "Don't worry, Your Highness, it's just that they saw Senior Sister Lan, so they didn't dare to stop her."
Li An was even more annoyed, thinking to himself, when Zhang Jinxiong was the head guard of the bodyguard, how could anyone ever let someone break into my study like this, so he said, "Jingjiang, headmaster Zhang, you should also let him out, you have kept him for so long. What are you doing under house arrest?"
Li Hanyou's heart skipped a beat and said, "Your Highness, Xia Jinyi is hard-pressed to deal with your accident this time, Zhang Jinxiong is Xia Jinyi's senior brother, and the tutor is worried that he is also involved, so for the sake of safety, he has to be placed under house arrest temporarily. There's nothing wrong with him, we'll let him go."
Li An was even more displeased. Although he also put his mistakes back on Xia Jinyi for the purpose of shirking responsibility, but Xia Jinyi is dead after all, so he will do this. Zhang Jinxiong is different, not only has he always tried his best. Due to his duty, Li An doesn't believe that Xia Jinyi has any malicious intentions, so he also loves Zhang Jinxiong. Just as he was about to speak, Lu Jingzhong gently kicked him, and Li An immediately realized that now is not the time to argue about these things. He could only hold his anger and said, "I don't know how you know that the father has changed his mind?"
Li Hanyou sighed softly, sat down, and said, "Although there is no clear proof of this matter, there are already clues. Your Highness knows that the emperor pardoned His Highness this time was not due to someone's protection. The tutor originally planned to meet His Majesty in person. I pleaded for His Highness, but before it was too late, His Highness was pardoned."
Li Anxin was overjoyed and thought, this is fine, lest I have to accept your favor. However, Lu Jingzhong frowned and said, "Your Majesty is very unusual. If you say something inappropriate, the crime that Your Highness has committed this time is really serious. Even if the Emperor wants to forgive His Highness, he should calm down after a while. After that, there must be someone who His Majesty pays attention to. At that time, it was the sincerity of the Emperor to pardon His Highness. Now that we have not started, the Emperor has pardoned His Highness. Sure enough, there are some problems. This is my negligence. ."
Li Hanyou sneered: "I got news from the palace that the emperor discussed with Princess Changle before making a decision."
Li An was shocked: "How come, Changle has never been involved in political affairs."
Li Hanyou sighed and said, "We think the same way, so although we really hope to force her to get married, it's just to distance her from King Yong. We never thought that she would give us a heavy blow at this critical moment. Although there is no information about what she and the emperor said, but from the current situation, the emperor has already intentionally deposed His Highness, but lacks some excuses, and His Highness has been the Crown Prince for many years, and he can't help but have some wings around him. , none of our people can get close, I'm afraid, the emperor has really changed his mind."
Li An only felt that a basin of ice water was poured from scratch, and it was freezing to the bone. He had never been so frightened, but he knew very well how he got to where he is today. Without the blessing of the emperor, what would he do to compete with King Yong, and he had never regretted seducing Chun Concubine so much. Li An thought angrily, It was something crazy that would provoke the emperor.
Lu Jingzhong glanced at the sneer at the corner of Li Hanyou's mouth, thinking to himself, you want to take the opportunity to blackmail Your Highness, but you have to pass my level, so he said: "Your Highness, don't worry too much, although the Emperor has been shaken now, but not yet. Make the final decision, so there is still a chance for your Highness to recover, Fengyi Sect Master and her old family are not on good terms with King Yong, if King Yong becomes the heir, I am afraid that the one who regrets it will be someone else."
Li An was a little confused, but Li Hanyou immediately grasped Lu Jingzhong's threat. Lu Jingzhong clearly said that if the crown prince lost his storage position, his Fengyi Sect would also suffer heavy losses, so it's better not to take the opportunity to threaten. Although she was angry in her heart, she also knew that this was the truth. Now Fengyimen and the crown prince are already on the same boat, so she smiled lightly and said, "Your Highness, at this moment, only His Highness will ascend to the throne as soon as possible."
Li An jumped up in fright, and when he looked up, he saw that Li Hanyou, Xiao Lan, and Lu Jingzhong all had indifferent expressions. He first wanted to reject it harshly, but then he thought about it, and now that his storage position was in danger, he even refuted one sentence. Can't speak.
Li Hanyou and Xiao Lan exchanged glances, stood up and said, "Although Your Highness abides by filial piety, but now the emperor Sheng Cong is being deceived by villains, if it is unfortunate that King Yong ascends the throne as emperor, then he will definitely be forced to use military force, Dayong will not be at peace from now on, Your Highness If we can make up our minds, we must support His Highness to ascend the throne, the emperor is already old, it is better to take good care of it, what does His Highness think?"
Li An said weakly: "But now our power is too weak, the sixth brother has gone to the border, and the forbidden army is difficult to control, what can we do?"
Li Hanyou smiled slightly and said, "The sect master has already made arrangements for this. As long as His Highness agrees, our Fengyi Sect will take risks. Rest assured, Your Highness, we will definitely be cautious and succeed in one fell swoop."
Li An finally hesitantly said: "What are your plans?"
Li Hanyou smiled proudly and said, "Don't worry, Your Highness, we already have a proper plan, and it will only take a few months for His Highness to succeed him. I'm afraid we can only give up in despair."
Li An blushed and said, "This king must be cautious, but he has to act carefully. It's best to wait until King Qi returns."
Li Hanyou said with a faint smile: "Don't worry, Your Highness, we have already prepared for this matter, His Royal Highness King Qi will be able to come back in October at the latest, that is the best time for us to launch, and now we have to take advantage of this time to make arrangements, Prince Your Highness also wants to wipe out King Yong's power in one sweep, right?"
At this time, Lu Jingzhong said indifferently: "Fengyimen attaches great importance to His Highness's great cause, but it does not know what requirements it has on His Highness."
Li Hanyou smiled slightly and said, "Young Master Lu still understands things. In fact, our requirements are not too high. If your Highness succeeds, and you are willing to appoint my senior sister Lan as the queen, then my Fengyimen will definitely serve His Highness wholeheartedly."
Li An said with an embarrassed expression: "Cui Cui has never lost her virtue, and she has raised her son for me, how can I belittle her for no reason."
Li Hanyou said: "His Royal Highness, in the past you refused to abolish Cui Clan, it was because of the emperor, now the emperor no longer supports you, if you refuse to agree to our conditions, why should we take such a risk of ruining our reputation? Besides, we just want you to make Senior Sister Lan as the empress, but we didn't say that you must belittle Cui Cui, and it's okay to be a noble concubine."
Seeing the sneer at the corner of Li Hanyou's mouth, Li Anxin understood that if he agreed to this condition, then Cui and Shizi would have absolutely no hope of living, how could he bear this. Seeing him hesitate, Li Hanyou didn't force it, and said, "Your Highness, think about it carefully, this matter is not urgent, you and Lu Shaofu can discuss it slowly." After that, she stood up and said goodbye: "My concubine is still here. If you have something to do, please think about it carefully, Your Highness, you can tell me Senior Sister Lan after the decision is made.”
Looking at the backs of Li Hanyou and Xiao Lan, Li An was so angry that he shattered the teacup, and said angrily: "Young Master, tell me, why do they take me seriously, if I agree to this condition, I'm afraid it will become The puppets in their hands."
Lu Jingzhong looked stern and said after a long while, "Don't worry, Your Highness, there is still room for improvement in this matter. They are asking prices all over the sky, and His Highness can also repay the money on the ground."
Li An hesitated for a moment and said, "Young Master, it's hard for me to protect myself now, why don't I sacrifice Cui's family and the prince, if King Yong succeeds the throne, their mother and son will only have one death, let's discuss with Fengyimen, I You can depose the crown princess, and then seal the prince to the throne."
Lu Jingzhong sneered in his heart, the crown prince is really a ruthless person, so he would abandon his wife and children, but he did not show contempt, and said lightly: "Although Your Highness can sacrifice the crown princess and the prince now to win the Fengyi Sect However, if Lan Concubine establishes the queen and her son becomes the prince, then as long as you do not agree with them, Your Highness, they can kill His Highness and make Lan Concubine's son the emperor. Unreachable."
Li An smiled bitterly: "But if I don't agree, I'm afraid they will abandon me now. Am I not a prisoner of King Yong?"
Lu Jingzhong said with a sinister smile: "His Royal Highness has been overly concerned, and now His Highness wants to give up the storage seat, and Fengyimen is not willing. King Yong made it clear that he does not want to cooperate with them. Therefore, as long as His Highness is tougher, Fengyimen will never dare to turn against you. It is better that you reject this matter and say that Concubine Lan can be named a noble concubine, and there is no heir for the time being. If the son of Concubine Lan can be outstanding, he can be named Chu, let’s delay it for now, and when His Highness ascends the throne, they will not be able to help them, after all, without His Highness’s support, wouldn’t those important officials in the court support the rebellion of Fengyimen?”
Li An then said with a wide-eyed smile: "You're right, so Gu just told Concubine Lan like this."
Lu Jingzhong said respectfully, "His Royal Highness is also going to comfort the Crown Princess. If the Crown Princess knows about this, I'm afraid she will be very worried."
Li An nodded and said: "Don't worry, by the way, the officials of the East Palace have all come to see you?"
Lu Jingzhong smiled and said, "I've already come. Although His Highness is temporarily unable to manage the affairs, these officials should still be selected, so that people will not see that the emperor is already dissatisfied with you."
Li An nodded and said, "You can deal with these things. I'll go see the crown princess and the prince. During this time, she was frightened."
Li An just walked to the back house, and saw some young women coming out in groups of three and two. These women were accompanied by maids and maids. When they saw Li An, they all saluted and bowed. A maid next to the princess stepped forward and said, "Your Highness. , This is a family member of a newly elected official from the East Palace who came to visit the princess."
Li An nodded and said, "So that's the case." He didn't say much about going to see the princess, but before taking a few steps, he saw a beautiful young woman dressed in official clothes, with a lot of manners, Li An couldn't help but feel crazy. , He knew this woman, but he was infatuated with the concubine Shang Chun at that time, so he didn't do anything to her. When selecting officials in the East Palace this time, he saw Shao Yan's name and drew it involuntarily, although there was not necessarily a clear name at the time. Thought, but also had the idea of getting the couple by their side to get started. I didn't expect to see Huo so soon. After more than half a year, she came out even more beautiful, especially her gentle and water-like temperament, which made people see Love and pity. Li An pretended to be calm as he watched the women leave, a ray of light flashed in his eyes. If Xia Jinyi was here, he would have known his intentions immediately, but now, naturally, no one can help him arrange it.
After comforting the princess a few words in a hurry, Li An returned to the study. At this moment, he was the only one left here. He thought that he should not do it at this time. Now is the critical moment, but think about it again, how to arrange the capture. He doesn't need his efforts at all, Fengyimen and Lu Jingzhong will make the overall plan, and I just need to follow it. No one is better at this kind of thing than them, so can I relax and make up for it? The heart of the day is trembling.
After struggling for a long time, Li An finally couldn't help it. These days are fasting and house arrest. He is already very depressed. Although there are singers and dancers in the palace, he has no interest in this. Years of indulgence have long made him lose interest in those women who bow their heads. Li Anxin wondered whether it would cause trouble. After a long time, he remembered that Chun Concubine was unwilling, but after he threatened and lured him, he gave in. As long as he promised to give his husband an official promotion, he was afraid of this woman. Why don't you give in? Besides, an official's wife, even if the royal father finds out, won't be too angry.
The next day, I received a post from the Crown Princess, inviting her to enter the mansion for a while, and Mrs. Huo didn't find it strange. Yesterday, when she visited the Crown Princess at the Prince's Mansion, she felt that the Crown Princess was in a bad mood. Because besides the matter of the prince, one of her beloved maids died. The princess was very affectionate to Huo, and she appreciated the embroidery that Huo gave to the princess, so Huo was not surprised, not to mention her husband. It is the reading of the East Palace. If he can be favored by the Crown Princess, then it will always do no harm to her husband. So the Huo family went happily.
Under the guidance of several palace maids, Huo was taken into an elegant pavilion. She felt a little strange, why this place did not look like the palace of the princess. Although it was elegant, it lacked a bit of momentum. As soon as she entered the flower hall, Huo Shi suddenly screamed out in fright, this is a very gorgeous private room, the floor is covered with thick blankets, surrounded by gorgeous furnishings, there is a large bed in the corner of the room, surrounded by pink yarn The tent, but there are exquisite erotic pictures hanging on the surrounding walls. Mrs. Huo didn't dare to look at it after just one glance. She was full of fear and was about to exit when she saw a man standing at the door, Mrs. Huo. Recognizing that the person was His Royal Highness, she was stunned. Although there was no public uproar about the Prince's affairs, she still knew some rumors. She held back her fear and said, "My concubine entered this place by mistake, please forgive me, Your Highness. ."
Li An smiled ambiguous: "I sent someone to invite you, how can I forgive you."
Huo Shi was shocked and said, "Your Highness, this is inappropriate." As he spoke, he was about to walk out. But he was hugged by Li An. Li An had practiced martial arts and easily hugged her by the waist. Huo Shi was still struggling. Li An suddenly said viciously: "Believe it or not, I will immediately send someone to kill your husband." Huo. His hand softened, and a look of fear and sorrow flashed in his eyes. Li An has said coldly: "If you are obedient to Gu, then your husband will be able to rise to the top."
Huo's mind was already lost, and Li An took the opportunity to drag her to the bed, the pink curtain was lowered, and there was a low cry from inside.
In the afternoon of the second day, when Mrs. Huo got into the sedan chair and returned home, a pair of eyes took advantage of the brief moment when Mrs. Huo came and went to look at her clearly, and a ruthless light flashed in her eyes.
Not long after, Dong Que had returned to Hanyuan. After removing the disguise covering his identity, he said coldly, "The prince has already succeeded."
I gently shook the folding fan and said, "Are you sure?"
Dong Que said with a smile: "No one knows this kind of thing better than me. This woman must have been ravaged by the prince."
I smiled and said, "I naturally trust your judgment on this point. What do you think will happen to Huo Shi?"
Dong Que said with a sympathetic look: "According to the habit of the prince, he will not be bored for the time being, so it is impossible for the Huo family to want to commit suicide. I saw her expression, she wanted to cry without tears, but she did not die. Zhi, I don't think she will be short-sighted for the time being, and this Huo family is probably not a mighty and unyielding woman."
I said lightly: "Do you think she will tell her husband?"
Dong Que shook his head and said, "She won't talk about this kind of thing in the short term, and Shao Hanlin is a somewhat old-fashioned scholar. It's hard to forgive this matter. I don't think she would be so stupid."
I sighed slightly and said, "Actually, I can tell this woman to be careful."
Dong Que said coldly: "Young Master, this kind of compassion is useless. Even if you reminded their husband and wife, they will only think that you frame the crown prince, and they will startle the snake."
I smiled bitterly and said, "I know the truth, so I watched this tragedy with a cold eye. Dong Que, I really feel that the task I gave you in the past was too cruel."
Dong Que said silently for a long time: "This is of my own accord. It is the prince who did this kind of thing. What does it have to do with us?"