Taihe Palace.
The little emperor looked at Xue Poye and Lan Wuqing who were sitting on the left and right, his face was a little ugly, and he said in a low voice, "Prime Minister Lan, master, is the queen mother defending the court or King Mingyue? Why did she send someone to assassinate Mingyue first?" Wang, turned around and disagreed with us keeping Mingyue King, what exactly does she want to do?"
This was something Xue Poye couldn't understand.
"The old minister may be able to answer the question for the Holy One." Lan Wuqing said with a solemn expression, "But before answering, Lao Chen must ask the Holy One for his understanding. No matter what the old minister said wrong, the Holy One will not mind."
Although Lan Wuqing's request was very strange, the little emperor said without hesitation: "Don't worry, Prime Minister, I have always regarded you as my grandfather, so no matter what grandpa said, even if it was harsh, it was for my own good. Although I am young, under the guidance of my master, I can still tell the difference between right and wrong, so no matter what you say, no one will mind."
Lan Wuqing hurriedly said: "The old minister dare not." But she was very grateful in her heart, this little emperor regards herself as a grandfather, it is really touching.
Xue Poye's face was serious at first, but at this moment he couldn't help showing a smile. This little guy shortened the distance with the old prime minister and flattered himself, which can be said to be very clever. People are comfortable, this kid has a bright future.
"Old Prime Minister, in your opinion, why did the Empress Dowager send someone to assassinate King Mingyue?" The little emperor blinked and asked.
"Because of hate!"
"hatred?"
The old prime minister nodded and said: "That's right, because the Empress Dowager has always hated King Mingyue in her heart."
The little emperor and Xue Poye looked at each other, both felt a little strange, and asked again: "Then why did the Queen Mother prevent us from keeping Mingyue King?"
Lan Wuqing pondered for a long time before uttering a word: "Love!"
"Love?" The little emperor and Xue Poye said in surprise in unison.
The two were confused, because they wanted to kill King Mingyue because of hatred, and because they wanted to prevent King Mingyue from staying because of love, what is there to say between love and hate
…
…
The most prosperous place in Kyoto at night is the Wudejing River. Under the moonlight, the silver-wave-like water is shining with stars. With the rippling water, the stars are like dancing beautifully and intoxicatingly in the clear crystal river.
The Jing River meanders, with singing and dancing on both sides, making it the most relaxing place in Kyoto.
Restaurants, powder houses, and shops line the banks of the Jinghe River, and many young men and women in Kyoto, in order to express their expectations for a better life in the future, will put paper boats on the Jinghe River. The paper boats on the Jinghe River are rippling with the microwave, carrying hope. swaying.
Going down the river, the west end of the Jinghe River looks much deserted, and there are many fewer shops here. There are only a few small restaurants on both sides of the river that seem quite deserted.
Moli Liquor Shop is one of these deserted liquor shops.
There were not many customers in the wine shop, only a few scattered people sitting at two or three tables, talking about some boring topics, and a shop assistant stood at the gate, looking around with clever eyes, as if waiting for something.
Mingyue King's carriage finally appeared from a distance, and arrived at Moli Liquor Store without a sound. When the boy saw the carriage, he rushed into the house like flying, and soon, a short and fat shopkeeper came out of the house. welcome.
King Mingyue got out of the carriage and looked up at the signboard of the wine shop. On the yellowed wooden plaque was written the words "Moli Liquor Shop". Mo and Qingli... This is what is written on paper... Life, how can it be like this?"
"Your honor is waiting in the private room!" The shopkeeper said respectfully.
King Mingyue nodded slightly, looked at the shopkeeper, and said with a smile: "Thirteen years... You don't look old, and you are still in good spirits."
The shopkeeper sighed: "Mingyue King can still remember me... Even if I die now, I am worth it."
"How can I forget every bit of this place." Mingyue Wang smiled wryly, looked at the simple wine shop for a few times, then turned around and said: "Zixuan, An Dao, you two are resting here, don't go in with me gone."
The two agreed, Zuo Zixuan leaned closer and said, "My lord, you have to be careful about everything."
King Mingyue smiled faintly, and said: "Could it be that she still wants to kill me? If that's the case, it would be a good thing." Sighing, he walked slowly into Mo Li Wine Shop.
King Mingyue was obviously very familiar with the structure of the Liquor Store, so he didn't need anyone to guide him, so he came to the very inconspicuous bamboo door of the wine shop, knocked on the door lightly, and heard a voice inside say: " The door is open."
King Mingyue let out a long sigh, gently opened the door, walked into the private room, and then closed the bamboo door smoothly.
This is a very simple private room, which is completely different from the exquisite and luxurious "private room" in the usual sense. The so-called private room here is just quiet.
Inside the house, a woman in a white dress stood quietly beside a painting, with her back to the bamboo door, her slender and graceful back was trembling slightly, and she was covered with a white gauze. It's just the black and beautiful hair, but it doesn't lose its luster because of the cover of the scarf.
King Mingyue stood by the door with his hands behind his back, looking at the beautiful figure in front of him, his hands trembled slightly.
"You're still here... I know, you've always had me in your heart...!" The woman's voice was as calm as water waves.
King Mingyue sighed and said, "You shouldn't have let me come over, it will put you in danger!"
The woman said indifferently: "Dangerous? Can't you protect me? Do you remember that thirteen years ago, right here, you told me that you would spend your whole life protecting me and making me happy... You have forgotten ?”
King Mingyue shook his head, with a painful expression on his face, and said, "Min'er... I remember... but, I can't...!"
The woman turned around slowly, gently lifted the veil, revealing a very beautiful face.
This woman turned out to be the Queen Mother! ! !
King Mingyue looked at the Queen Mother and said with a wry smile: "Do you know how many people in Kyoto will watch us, you do this...!" Before he finished speaking, the Queen Mother sneered: "Is King Mingyue afraid? Is it because they are afraid that they will be raped?"
It is really shocking for the empress dowager to say such words, but the empress dowager's expression is extremely calm, and those beautiful eyes are full of deep sorrow.
King Mingyue sighed, "You know what I mean, so why do you say that?"
The queen mother sat down gently, looked around the private room, and said softly: "Look, this place hasn't changed at all. This table, these chairs, and this painting are all as they were thirteen years ago... Save it, you are cruel to me, but I... I always think about you...!"
"Queen Mother...!" King Mingyue smiled wryly, "Is it still useful to talk about these things today?"
"Why is it useless?" The queen mother asked back: "The damned one is already dead, as long as you want, we can be together."
King Mingyue frowned and said, "Queen Mother, these words are taboo, so it's better not to say them."
The Empress Dowager sneered and said, "Taboo? I'm a weak woman, but I don't know what taboo is!" Looking at King Mingyue, she finally said, "He wants to keep you in the capital, what are you going to do?"
Mingyue King frowned, pondered, and did not answer.
"Beside him is Lan Wuqing, Xue Poye, and that woman Liu Qiong... Can you beat them?" The queen mother said indifferently: "You are not here today to reconnect with me, but because You know, in Kyoto, only I can be your most useful ally... You dare not deny it?"
King Mingyue sat down at the table and said with a wry smile: "Min'er, do you think I'm a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death? Do you really think that the reason I came to Moli Wine Shop today is to ask you to help me?"
The Queen Mother said indifferently: "You are greedy for life and afraid of death? Aren't you? As for you coming to Moli Liquor Store today, I can't think of any other reason except for me to help you." She glanced at Mingyue King coldly: "You went to the Northwest Since then, in the past ten years, I have returned to Beijing two or three times. I sent someone to make an appointment with you, but you never went to the appointment... You didn't come here until today when the situation was critical. I can only think that you are using me."
King Mingyue pondered for a long time before saying: "Min'er, I'm staying... I want to stay in the capital, stay in Liuheyuan... I don't care what the Holy One thinks, but I really want to stay here. Only in this way may I be able to stay here." protect you… !"
"You didn't protect me thirteen years ago, but now you want to protect me?" The queen mother smiled contemptuously: "Even if you wanted to protect me, what did you rely on? In the capital, apart from your reputation that you can't eat , what else do you have? What do you use to fight them?"
King Mingyue frowned and did not speak. The queen mother continued: "At the banquet, I used Panta warriors to test it out. You should have seen the result. Those people are like dogs. Your General Dou is brave and invincible in the northwest, but in Kyoto, little At the banquet, they can make your general swallow endless shame... Today is just a small temptation, and you should feel how insidious their tricks are. It is their carefully planned conspiracy to keep you in Beijing... You Your imperial brother helped his son get rid of most of the power, and now the most threatening to the imperial power is your Yongzhou... If you don’t get rid of you, your nephew won’t be able to sleep well!"
King Mingyue sighed and said, "I don't want to fight for anything...!"
The Queen Mother sneered and said, "That's right, I almost forgot that King Mingyue is a man who has nothing to contend with. Ten years ago, you gave up the throne, the capital, and even your woman...you gave up too. Today, you still have that virtue."
King Mingyue glanced at the queen mother, his eyes filled with pain, and asked: "Min'er, when Panta warrior punched me with both fists, I felt very calm. If it is true, if it is true that you sent him Kill me... I will be very happy... In my life, the person I am most sorry for is probably only you...!"
"That's not what I want to hear!" The queen mother said coldly: "I want to know, what are you going to do? Do you want to be slaughtered, or... you are a maggot, a fish?"
…
…
Taihe Palace.
Lan Wuqing closed her eyes and meditated for a long time, as if she was trying to straighten out her thoughts, or she wanted to tell the story in a more concise language. After a long time, she said: "Speaking of which, King Mingyue and the Queen Mother were born in the thirteenth year. We met years ago. That time King Mingyue returned to Beijing from the northwest to celebrate the Empress Dowager’s birthday, and that year was the Empress Dowager’s fiftieth birthday, and King Mingyue came to Beijing according to the late emperor’s order.”
The Empress Dowager is the mother of the dead Emperor Deqing.
"It was at that time that King Mingyue met the current queen mother...!" Lan Wuqing glanced at the little emperor, saw that he was listening carefully, coughed, and continued: "King Mingyue and the queen mother are very talented and beautiful, very... Hehe... According to the situation at that time, King Mingyue was going to marry the current queen mother as his concubine."
The little emperor and Xue Poye looked at each other, they had never heard of this before, and the little emperor asked, "Then why didn't you become a concubine, but became a queen?"
Lan Wuqing hesitated for a moment, and said: "The old minister said that if the old minister makes a slip of the tongue, I hope the Holy Majesty will not take the blame."
"Old Prime Minister, but it's okay to say!"
"Back then, King Mingyue and the Empress Dowager loved each other very much. Although outsiders didn't know about it, most people in the royal family knew about it." Lan Wuqing spoke slowly, as if she was worried about missing something: "A year ago, the empress had just died. , the harem has no owner, according to the rules of the royal family, King Mingyue wants to get married, marry the queen mother... Your Majesty, the old minister is bold, let's call the queen mother by the name first... to marry Han Min, that is to enter the palace to meet the queen, and the queen will be the master. .”
"But there is no owner in the harem, and the queen is vacant, so King Mingyue brought Han Min to meet the late emperor in order to let the late emperor marry him, but...!" Lan Wuqing smiled wryly and shook her head, "Han Min looks too much like the Empress Dowager Shengshu." Yes, the first emperor saw it, then...!" He didn't continue, but both the little emperor and Xue Poye understood the meaning.
Empress Dowager Shengshu was the title given to his mother, Ye Qingyao, by the young emperor immediately after he ascended the throne.
There is no doubt that Han Min's appearance is 70% or 80% similar to Ye Qingyao. It is for this reason that Emperor Deqing imagined Han Min as Ye Qingyao the first time he saw Han Min.
Ye Qingyao was a dream of Emperor Deqing, a person he would never forget. The appearance of Han Min lifted the spirit of Emperor Deqing, who had been deeply in thoughts. Seeing Han Min was like seeing Ye Qingyao.
Of course Emperor Deqing knew that Han Min would never be Ye Qingyao, but it was enough for Han Min to be a substitute for Ye Qingyao like a painting.
Like many royal families, the unfortunate thing happened.
What Emperor Deqing wanted was not beauty, but that unforgettable love, but this emperor didn't think about it. He satisfied his own desires, but broke up another unforgettable love.
In other words, Emperor Deqing knew that this would break up others, and both King Mingyue and Han Min would fall into deep pain. However, a king who dominates the world already disdains to think about these things.
Since he is the strongest person, no matter what means he uses to satisfy his selfish desires, even if he hurts others, it is only right and proper.
"Mingyue King must be very unwilling." Xue Poye rubbed his nose and said, "For so many years, he is really capable of enduring it."
Lan Wuqing waved her hand and said, "In my conscience, King Mingyue can be regarded as a benevolent and righteous gentleman, and his heart to fight for power is also extremely weak. It is for this reason that the late emperor always regarded him very highly... just a word of love." No matter how many heroes in ancient times, they can't pass it. Mingyue King may have a grudge against the first emperor because of this matter, but the old minister thinks that Han Min may be the one who has the most resentment about this matter. King Mingyue must be love-hate. When King Mingyue abandoned her and went to the northwest, there must have been deep hatred in her heart... During the banquet, Han Min looked at King Mingyue coldly. The hatred in his eyes was fake. here."
"But later the queen mother stopped us from keeping the Mingyue King." The little emperor frowned and said, "Does this mean that she still loves the Mingyue King in her heart?"
Lan Wuqing stroked her beard and didn't answer, but the expression on her face made it clear that the answer was yes.
The little emperor glanced at Xue Poye and asked, "Master, do you think they will hook up?"
Xue Poye did not answer, but instead asked: "My lord, do you know where King Mingyue is now? Where is the Queen Mother?"
"Master, what do you mean?"
Xue Poye said slowly: "As soon as King Mingyue left the palace, I sent someone to follow him. On the way, someone sent him a letter asking him to go to the appointment. We took down the person who sent the letter and asked The reason, that letter was sent by the Empress Dowager to King Mingyue... King Mingyue's carriage has now gone to Liquor Liquor by the Crystal River!"
"The queen mother is there too?" The little emperor said angrily, "Is she out of the palace?"
"She has already left the palace, and if she guessed correctly, she is now at the Liquor Store with King Mingyue!" Xue Poye said calmly, rubbing his nose.
"She is so courageous." The little emperor was obviously angry. If the dignified empress dowager had a private meeting with the prince, if it got out, what would the royal family's face be? What is the face of the court
"Your Majesty, don't be annoyed. At this time, we should consider how to deal with their alliance." Xue Poye said calmly: "The Queen Mother is not a fool, she knows in her heart that we will definitely get news when she meets King Mingyue this time. She went there unscrupulously, she was confident, perhaps in her heart, she had long felt that with King Mingyue, she would have enough money to fight against us."
The little emperor sneered and said: "When the father was here, he pampered her. Now that the father has passed away, she has no backing, so she is afraid...!"
Lan Wuqing said seriously: "Your Majesty, King Mingyue has a very high reputation in the capital. Even in the court, many officials still respect him very much. If he really joins forces with the Queen Mother, things will be very troublesome."
"What's the trouble?" The little emperor said indifferently: "Isn't it just a prince and a woman? I have you, so are you afraid that they won't succeed?"
Lan Wuqing shook her head and said, "If it's two months later, it's fine, but if they make trouble in the next few days, there will be a lot of trouble."
Xue Poye was also a little confused, and asked, "Prime Minister, what do you say?"
"Although the Holy Majesty is now enthroned as a great treasure, he is still two months away from reaching the age of being in charge. In other words, the Holy Majesty has not yet been in charge of the government. According to the teachings of the Great Chu ancestors, the Empress Dowager has the right to restrain the young and frivolous emperor. Wei vetoed the Holy Majesty's resolution!" Lan Wuqing's face was a little ugly: "Now that the Holy Majesty has not yet ruled personally, the Queen Mother can use this to restrain the Holy Majesty and order the Holy Majesty to let the King Mingyue go, otherwise... I'm afraid everyone in the world will secretly accuse the Holy Majesty of being unfilial. Queen Mother...!"
"Damn it!" Xue Poye couldn't help cursing: "Is there such a broken rule?"
The little emperor's face was also a little ugly, and he asked anxiously: "Prime Minister, what should we do?"
Lan Wuqing pondered for a long time before saying: "Either delay it for two months and ask Mingyue King to preside over the ceremony of pro-government. This is reasonable and reasonable, but if Mingyue Wang wants to refuse, he must be able to find a reason, and they will give it a try. You can guess that we are procrastinating, and I am afraid it will be difficult to implement this strategy." After a pause, he said: "There is another way, which is to ask the three divisions, six departments, civil and military officials to remonstrate with the court and ask Mingyue King to stay in Beijing. Fuguo, once there are three divisions and six departments, the empress dowager will have to think about it if she wants to use her position in the harem to order the majesty. After all, it is at odds with the political views of the Manchu dynasty. It kills two birds with one stone.”
"The second method is better." The little emperor and Xue Poye said in unison.
Lan Wuqing said with a wry smile: "But the Holy One must understand that this document must be signed and stamped by the three divisions and six departments, even if there is one less yamen, otherwise the censors at Yushitai will not be able to impeach the empress dowager for disorderly government. Now King Mingyue comes to Beijing , with his prestige, no one knows whether all the ministers of the three departments and six departments support the Holy One."