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> Although the Emperor had not expected Prince Rui to suddenly volunteer and be sent to fight in the end, the Emperor had known that Western Xia intended to invade, so he pretended to be seriously ill to lure Western Xia into a war, weakening its military strength and taking advantage of this opportunity to rectify the conflicts among the princes!
It would be fine if the common people and ordinary officials were unaware of the emperor's inner workings, but there were some people in the palace who knew it very well.
Although the emperor's health was not bad as reported by Xixia, it was gradually declining, and it was time to decide on a successor. However, although the emperor had appointed a crown prince, the succession edict had not been issued, and the "Zhengda Guangming" plaque placed in the Jinluan Palace had not been finalized!
Although the crown prince is the most favored by the emperor, the three princes Xian, Xia, and Ning are also very popular, and each has its own forces in the court to support them. These forces hold a large number of troops. If the emperor does not handle it carefully, even if the new emperor is selected, once he dies, Dongling will be in chaos and the princes will fight for the throne; if he wants to ruthlessly seize the power of other princes and clear the way for the new emperor to ascend the throne in the future, it will only cause two major disasters.
First, a war would break out, and the princes who had been deprived of their power and their supporters would immediately rebel, or even several princes would unite to rebel, waiting for the successor to the throne to be selected and a reshuffle would take place.
Second, the princes who were stripped of their power gave in, and after the new emperor ascended the throne, he killed all the brothers who had opposed him.
In fact, the emperor's heart favors the crown prince, but faced with this situation, he wants the crown prince to succeed to the throne smoothly, and he also wants to keep all his sons, but he is caught in a dilemma!
While the powerful princes conspired to win over important ministers and other princes, they also wanted the emperor to change his original idea of establishing a legitimate heir - to depose the crown prince and establish themselves as the heir. As a result, they all acted filially and respectfully in front of the emperor, and made achievements in the government affairs assigned to them by the emperor.
Therefore, at this time, it will be very important to decide which prince the military token returned by Prince Rui is handed over to!
Although the crown prince and the three kings have troops at their disposal, this military token controls one-third of the country's troops. Whoever can get it will have the final say in the future.
But to the emperor, it seemed like a dead end no matter who he handed it over to. However, his health was getting worse and worse. If he didn't hand it over now, it would be even more troublesome if he fell ill and caused a fight among the princes.
Therefore, people inside and outside the palace estimated that the talisman would be handed over in the next few days.
At this time, hearing Mo Cunfeng's question, the emperor smiled, but said nothing. He stared sharply at the imperial edict on the table and said, "Let's talk about this later. I said I would reward the eighth child, and it's time to arrange the child's marriage."
Mo Cunfeng put on a smile and said yes repeatedly, just like the military token, this imperial edict was also the key, as it mentioned the candidate for the principal wife of Prince Rui's Mansion!
At this time, a palace eunuch pushed the door open and came in, saying, "Your Majesty, Chief Steward Cao is here."
The emperor waved his hand.
The eunuch immediately reported, "Call Cao, the chief steward."
In the garden, a man with a handsome brow walked in quickly.
The palace gate.
The man knelt down and kowtowed, "Your servant Cao Zhaonan pays homage to His Majesty."
The man kneeling down was of great importance, he was Cao Zhaonan, a popular eunuch in front of the emperor. He and Mo Cunfeng served as the chief and deputy chief eunuchs of the inner court respectively.
What makes people most awed by this eunuch Cao is that the emperor broke the convention and allowed this eunuch to assist the prince in supervising affairs since the prince was young, while Cao Zhaonan was also allowed to enter and leave the palace to manage internal affairs. It is said that a new emperor appoints his own ministers, and if the prince ascends the throne, this eunuch Cao will surely be favored by the new emperor in the future.
The fact that the most capable eunuch was assigned to the crown prince shows the emperor's high hopes and intentions for the crown prince.
At this time, the emperor said calmly, "Get up, and announce this decree tomorrow morning."
Text 060 Sleepless on a Snowy Night
Cao Zhaonan's eyes twitched, the corners of his lips raised, and he said respectfully: "I obey your order.
The emperor waved his hand and said, "Go away, Cunfeng, you can go with me."
Mo Cunfeng was delighted, but his face remained calm as he asked, "Which lady does the emperor want to summon to sleep with him tonight?"
The emperor glanced at the green cards neatly arranged on the table and said, "I will stay in the Golden Palace tonight."
Jun Mo Cunfeng nodded and retreated with Cao Zhaonan.
Cao Zhaonan walked in front, and Mo Cunfeng was slightly behind. He raised his eyes and saw many imperial guards holding heavy weapons on duty outside the court, and several eunuchs were on duty at night.
At this time, a eunuch nodded slightly, and with a cry of "Yo", he rushed to Cao Zhaonan's waist, shouting and cursing: "How dare you, a mink, disturb the emperor's holy bedroom? I'll catch and kill you."
He and Cao Zhaonan were caught off guard and were pushed by him with such force that they stumbled and the imperial edict in their hands fell to the ground.
Mo Cunfeng was just walking up to him when his face suddenly changed and he shouted angrily, "You daring servant! How dare you barge into Cao's carriage? Go to the Ministry of Punishments and receive your fifty lashes!"
The eunuch trembled in shock and went to help Cao Zhaonan. Mo Cunfeng quickly picked up the imperial edict on the ground and handed it to Cao Zhaonan.
Cao Zhaonan took it and said calmly: "Cunfeng, you should be more lenient with your own people. Well, I will obey your orders and go first. We can have a drink later."
Mo Cunfeng nodded. Seeing Cao Zhaonan leaving the palace, he immediately pulled the eunuch over, smiled coldly, and said, "Go tell the Queen that the name written on the imperial edict is Miss Wang Yuzhi from the Wang family."
Outside the palace gate, Cao Zhaonan turned and looked at the dark palace wall. He glanced at the "imperial edict" in his hand, opened it, and saw that it read:
By the providence of Heaven, the Emperor summoned Wang Yuzhi and said: "I know that Wang Yuzhi of the Wang family is both virtuous and beautiful. She has won my heart with her intelligence and talent after three tests. The Eighth Prince Shangguan Jinghong is wise, intelligent and virtuous. The two of them are a perfect match made in heaven. I hereby promote Wang Yuzhi to be the First Consort of the Rui Prince. They will be married in three days."
He closed his eyes and slowly took out another bright yellow silk from his sleeve. As his sleeve flicked, the silk spread out and on it was written:
By the providence of Heaven, the Emperor summoned and said: "I have learned that the Lang family's Lang Linling is both virtuous and beautiful. She has won my heart with her intelligence and talent surpassing all the other beauties in the three tests. The Eighth Prince Shangguan Jinghong is wise and virtuous. The two of them are a perfect match made in heaven. I hereby promote Lang Linling to be the First Consort of Prince Rui. They will be married in three days."
He smiled faintly, wrapped the yellow silk with the name "Wang Yuzhi" in his palm, exerted a little strength, spread out his palm, and the dust flew into the air. The things that were prepared in advance in the Prince's Mansion and brought over have been used up and are no longer useful.
Later in the evening, in Prince Xian’s Palace.
A dull "pop" sound was heard from the Xian Wang's study, and a bunch of ancient books fell off the bookshelf and scattered on the ground.
There were three people in the study.
It was the wise king who had swept the book to the ground. His brows were furrowed, and it was obvious that he was angry.
The other person was a woman, wearing a gray fox fur coat with snow scattered on her head. She whispered, "Son, don't be upset. We need to come up with a plan as soon as possible."
The person she was talking to was the virtuous king. Looking at her again, although she was wrapped tightly in fur, one could still see her beautiful face underneath, her elegance and grace were still there.
This woman is Queen Lang.
But why did the queen leave the palace in the middle of the night? You must know that it is a serious crime for a concubine to leave the palace without permission, no matter how noble your status is.
The virtuous prince nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, "What mother said is absolutely right. Thanks to mother's ears, she left the palace late at night to inform me, so that my son could know father's thoughts earlier."
Queen Lang gritted her teeth and smiled, "Now we know that this imperial concubine selection contest is just a good show that your father put on for all of us to see, in order to put an end to gossip and dissent! If Shangguan Jinghong hadn't personally selected the best, wouldn't Lang Linling from my Lang family be the most outstanding among these women? Who doesn't know the relationship between the Wang family and Shangguan Jinghao? By promising Wang Yuzhi to Prince Rui, your father simply wanted to push the eighth child to the side of the crown prince!
The virtuous king interrupted and sneered, "Since this marriage has come to this, you can imagine where the military token has gone!"
Queen Lang tightly grasped the red armor and said, "I thought you were doing everything in an orderly manner these years, and your father doted on me. It turns out that he is still obsessed with Shangguan Jinghao's dead mother."
"Sir, in my humble opinion, we should not delay and come up with a plan immediately."
At this time, the young man in blue who had been silent in the room lowered his voice. He was wearing a straw raincoat hat with a black veil hanging down from it. The veil moved slightly while he spoke, but his face was hazy and could not be seen clearly.
The wise king clasped his hands and looked out, and outside the window screen, the sky was silver with frost and snow.
He turned his back and smiled, pointing at the young man in blue, "You came to report tonight, just in time! I don't care what the relationship between Shangguan Jinghao and Lao Ba's woman is, but he is alone now. Once the military token is handed over, the person holding the token must go to the border for inspection. But if the person is seriously injured, how can he go?"
Queen Lang was shocked, but the virtuous king had already asked with a smile: "Where is my second brother now?"
The young man replied calmly, "Sir, by Liuzi Lake."
Snowy night, Prince Rui’s palace.
In the bedroom of Prince Rui, the fire was blazing, the gauze curtains were fluttering, and several rolls of clothes were lying on the ground. He was wearing a blue-gray gown and a plain black robe spread diagonally on top.
The woman's broken gasps came through the tent.
Suddenly, a rapid knock on the door cut through the woman's voice.
"Come in." Inside the tent, the man's low voice was a little hoarse.
"Master, I have something urgent to report." Outside the door, a pair of thick black cotton boots stepped in, bringing in several strands of silver.
The man in the tent seemed to see the man's hesitation and said calmly, "Uncle Tie, you can tell me what you mean. You know there are no outsiders here."
"Master, that person came to report that Qiaochu might be in danger."
The curtain was suddenly opened—
"Jinghong."
The man glanced sideways at the hand clasped on his arm, his fingers as white as jade.
"Answer me a question before you leave, okay?"
"Um."
"If I have something to do, will you still go to Qiaochu?"
She stretched out her jade hand and slowly picked up the black robe on the ground.
When people leave the tent, they feel cold and only a faint "no" is still floating in the air.
——————
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Text 061 He Caught Me
By Liuzi Lake, the night snow has just stopped.
Qiaochu endured the pain in his jaw and said softly, "I can tell you every detail of that day, as long as you ask."
The prince sneered, "Since you and Qiaomei are sisters, she could have told you what happened that day. How can I believe it?"
She was startled, then smiled bitterly. Even if she wanted him to verify with Qiaomei, it was impossible. During the days when she was isolated thousands of miles away, Qiaomei had sent a maid to ask about what happened that night. If there was a discrepancy in what she said, and the prince became suspicious, she would not get the antidote. This girl, who was only half a year older than her, was cautious.
They both knew what happened that day, but it is no longer possible to verify who told whom.
She tried hard to search her memory for proof, but it was in vain. She closed her eyes in despair.
His fresh breath hit her face, one side was the pain in her jaw, and the other side was the heat of his lips that suddenly covered hers.
He sucked and plundered her lips. She kept her lips tightly closed, but he pried her lips open roughly, and his lips and tongue drove in, invading her mouth.
She put her hands on his chest, feeling dizzy and at a loss.
In the past, when Qin Ge kissed her, she was always shy and happy. She loved that man deeply and liked his invasion and demand of her.
Except for the last step of making her his woman, he had done all the intimate things with her, anywhere in his apartment. His lips and tongue, his hands tasting the most private parts of her body, caressing and loving.
Now, she is filled with mixed feelings and she cannot get back the feeling in her memory.
And, at this moment, she suddenly hated his kiss, although the intimate contact made her whole body tremble, and his hand that reached into her clothes aroused her pleasure.