Prince Nan Huai naturally understood the emperor's thoughts very well.
Now he was like a grandson in front of the emperor. If the emperor told him to go east, he dared not go west.
He was invited to attend the state banquet tonight, and was supposed to go to the palace to help with the preparations, but Shangqiu asked him to enter the palace as a guest tonight. Since the emperor wanted to promote him to the rank of Grand Marshal, he now had to remain humble.
In other words, the grandson has achieved this for now and can slowly try to become a grandfather again.
Moreover, Shangqiu pays close attention to news from the border areas.
Xiao Xiao is now temporarily taking over the position of marshal, and Murong Jie is seriously injured.
He only believed the first part of the news, and did not believe the latter part about Murong Jie being seriously injured.
If Murong Jie was really seriously injured, how could Xiao Tuo and others be willing to come back? Although it was difficult to disobey the emperor's orders, they could not obey the emperor's orders when they were away. At most, they could come back and apologize to the emperor in the future. It was no big deal.
Moreover, since the development of the army, no major wars have occurred, only minor conflicts.
With Murong Jie's strategy and battlefield experience, it would be unreliable if he was seriously injured in this minor fight.
However, if Murong Jie was not seriously injured, and Xiao Xiao was appointed as the acting marshal at the front line, what would Murong Jie do
This is something that Shangqiu has always been puzzled about.
He also informed King Nan Huai of this concern.
"You mean, he will come back to assassinate me?" King Nan Huai sneered, "He dare not, doesn't he still have the same fate Gu?"
"What if Xia Zian found a way to cure the same-life Gu?" Shangqiu said.
King Nan Huai was stunned. This might not be impossible. Xia Zian's medical skills were truly superb.
"It seems that I have to ask Fang'er again." Prince Nan Huai said after a moment of hesitation.
Shangqiu shook his head, "No, Your Highness must not have any contact with Sun Fang'er now. Sun Fang'er gave you the antidote and helped you detoxify. Someone has already followed you. The Emperor has not cleared his doubts about you yet, so you still have to act with caution."
"Sun Fang'er is my future princess consort. Your Majesty knows this."
"He knows it, but he will never let you marry Sun Fang'er now. In fact, he may never have planned to let you marry Sun Fang'er. Now Sun Fang'er knows everything about his illness. Sun Fang'er cannot leave the palace. Someone must follow her wherever she goes. What is the emperor planning behind this? Doesn't Your Majesty know? Sun Fang'er knows everything. Once the emperor is completely cured, Sun Fang'er will die!"
Prince Nan Huai frowned, "It seems that this fate-binding Gu must be removed as soon as possible."
"I still hope that it won't be removed yet, because if the fate poison is removed, I'm afraid the regent may not tolerate you. Will he come back to Beijing to plot against you after he is so seriously injured? It's hard to say."
Prince Nan Huai thought for a moment and said, "Can you tell me whether Murong Jie has returned secretly?"
Shangqiu nodded, "I was planning to do that."
Shangqiu is proficient in Zhouyi fortune-telling, plum blossom fortune-telling, and fortune-telling, and can often give the most accurate answer to a question.
He used a tortoise shell to tell fortunes, tossing it over and over six times, and writing down the yin and yang numbers each time.
Then he drew the hexagram and slowly frowned.
"How is it?" asked King Nan Huai.
Shangqiu put away the tortoise shell and said, "It is the Wuwang hexagram, a different hexagram, a lower hexagram, which means that the thunder from heaven comes without any intention and is obtained without any intention."
"What does that mean?" King Nan Huai asked in confusion.
"A bird that missed its chance and fell into a cage cannot fly high even if it tries hard. It should just do its duty now. It is impossible to climb high. It seems that Murong Jie has really returned to the capital and is suspected of trying to contain the prince. Moreover, the bird that missed its chance and fell into a cage means that the regent has returned to the capital and has taken action against the prince."
Prince Nan Huai was secretly surprised, "He really came back?"
"The hexagram is correct, and it has changed. This means that we can be flexible. The way to be flexible is to be patient and cautious and do our duty."
King Nan Huai thought for a moment and said, "So, it seems that we have to stop buying the bows and crossbows we wanted to buy before?"
"Don't act rashly for now. Wait until Xia Zian goes to Beimo before making plans. By then, everyone's eyes will be on Xia Zian, and the Regent will probably follow him secretly. By then, it won't be too late for the prince to act. Now I'm just worried that this bird's failure will have some implications."
Prince Nan Huai hurriedly said, "Come here, check the surroundings immediately to see if there are any suspicious people."
The guard took the order and walked outside the palace. As expected, he found a few people secretly peeking in. When they saw the guards, they hurried away, as if they were monitoring the palace.
The guard hurried back to report, "Your Majesty, we found a few people sneaking around outside the palace. When they saw me, they left with an excuse. Judging from their steps, they must be masters of the inner martial arts."
King Nan Huai and Shangqiu looked at each other and it was just as he expected.
King Nan Huai was so angry that his teeth were broken. He didn't expect that Murong Jie would come back to fight him.
Brothers, why do you have to do this
Shangqiu made another divination and said, "Your Majesty, tonight is a bad omen. After tonight, things will gradually become peaceful."
"In that case, it is not appropriate for me to go out tonight?" King Nan Huai frowned.
"This is the only way!" Shangqiu said, turning his tortoise shell.
"But, tonight is a state banquet. If I don't attend, the emperor might have some thoughts." Prince Nan Huai said in embarrassment.
Shangqiu smiled and said, "I'll just pretend to be sick and not go. Even if the emperor really suspects me and sends someone to investigate, I have a way to deal with it."
"Use illness as an excuse?" Prince Nan Huai thought for a moment and said, "That's fine. There's nothing we can do now. We can only do this. I'll just follow your advice, sir."
"I just want to inconvenience you, Your Highness, and drink the croton soup first."
The emperor is very suspicious and he has always been on guard against the prince. If the prince does not show up tonight, he will definitely become suspicious and will definitely send people to investigate. Therefore, if he is making an excuse of being sick, he can only be really sick.
This strategy of torturing oneself and playing the victim has always been the specialty of King Nan Huai.
He said, "Okay, go and prepare. I will order someone to enter the palace."
The guards of the palace were ordered to go to the palace to ask for leave.
The guard reported to Eunuch Lu that the prince had eaten something wrong and started having diarrhea early this morning. It has happened more than ten times so far and he can't even walk.
Eunuch Lu sent him back and reported to the emperor.
Sure enough, when the emperor heard that Prince Nan Huai claimed to be ill and would not come, he became suspicious. He said, "All officials above the second rank have entered the palace tonight. If he doesn't come, does he have any plans? The curfew in the capital has been lifted now. If he has any plans, I'm afraid we won't be able to guard against him."
The emperor always remembered that Nan Huai Wang was best at assassination, and he still hadn't figured out whether all the assassins under his command were gone.
Eunuch Lu said, "If the emperor is worried, why don't I go out of the palace and find out the truth."
"Well, take an imperial physician with you. If he is really pretending to be sick, the imperial physician will be able to see it." said the emperor.
Eunuch Lu replied, "Yes, I will go right away."
After saying this, Eunuch Lu stepped out.
The emperor thought for a moment and ordered someone to call Sun Fanger in.
(End of this chapter)