Qi Jiulu was eighteen years old, the same age as Gong Xiangxiao. He had sword-shaped eyebrows and starry eyes, and was described as majestic. His face was slightly thin and angular. Perhaps because of the many athletic children in the north, he was half a head taller than Gong Xiangxiao. He was tall and strong, and even though he was dressed as a scholar, he could not hide his arrogance.
After entering the door, he bowed as a courtesy. When he saw Gong Xiangxiao waving his hand, he simply lifted his robe and sat down.
As soon as he sat down, he chuckled and said, "How about it? The prince didn't mention her sister's affairs, so she didn't agree to see me?"
"Not only does she not want to see you." Gong Xiangxiao said with a strange expression, "She even suggested that I kill you!"
After saying this, he picked up the teacup and blew the foam, waiting to see the man become sad.
However, Qi Jiulu was not surprised and said: "That's what she is like. It's you, the crown prince, who went to deliver the message. If I were to face her, I'd probably chop her over with a knife."
"..." Gong Xiangxiao was speechless for a moment while holding the tea bowl. He wanted to ask him: Such a fierce woman has now entered the palace again. Even though she is quite beautiful, you are the eldest son of a rich family in Sangzi, and you are the same in the imperial capital. After a long talk, the regent personally arranged for the young hero to stay in Cuiyuan. Are you still afraid that you won't find something similar or even better
Oh, Qi Jiulu brought his wife to the Imperial Capital. Although Gong Xiangxiao had never met the Chao family in person, he heard his subordinates occasionally talk about her, saying that she was elegant and beautiful, no worse than the noble ladies of the Imperial Capital.
I'm afraid there's something wrong with this guy...
But considering that Qi Jiulu is a talent that he has managed to recruit with great difficulty, not to mention that the Qi family behind him is extremely wealthy and has many connections in the North. Qi Jiulu himself is very outstanding in both literary and military skills. His family has repeatedly warned that he can If you want to be your right-hand person, treat him with courtesy and don't miss it... Forget it, it is said that talents have some unique quirks, so it's better not to point fingers in such insignificant places.
And think about the unprincipled preference of the emperor's brother in the palace for the Yuan family... Well, maybe the childhood sweethearts are different
Gong Xiangxiao was secretly glad that he didn't have a fiancée to marry and grow up with. He didn't want to be eaten out by a woman like these two.
"Then you still want to go see her?" Gong Xiangxiao thought for a while and then said in confusion, "Today Yungui people didn't know where to go. At least they didn't bring any weapons. If we meet next time, she might really bring them. What's the knife..."
Qi Jiulu said calmly: "I have been skilled in bow and horse since I was a child. Although she has also learned a few skills from her father and brother at home, after all, the strength of men and women is different. Moreover, she cherishes her skin and is not willing to practice too hard, so she just does some tricks and embroidery, which can't hurt me." , Your Majesty, please rest assured!"
So you have practiced arching and horse proficiency since you were a child, just to protect yourself when your former fiancée stabs you with a knife
Have you never thought that you can actually find a fiancée who can’t chop you with a knife
Gong Xiangxiao drank tea silently to hide his ups and downs. Gong Xiangji, who was born as a bastard of King Fuyang, became the emperor by accident. Although the identity in front of him was not as noble as his own, he was still the eldest son of the family, and no one could threaten him. With such a high status, how come he, as the eldest son of the concubine of the Prince Regent's Palace, lives a life of trepidation and walking on thin ice
Is it because I am not henpecked and don’t plan to be henpecked in the future
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but laugh. He felt that he had been too worried during this period, and he was almost ready to seek medical treatment.
After calming down and getting down to business, "The Yungui people said that she suggested Yue Jieyu recruit Mr. Lingshan out of consideration for this prince."
"She is talking nonsense." Qi Jiulu immediately shook his head, "I think it was the Crown Prince's previous act of killing a chicken to scare the monkeys that frightened her, so she wanted to use Mr. Lingshan's incident to put some pressure on the Crown Prince to test... After all, she has no foundation in the palace now. Shen, although he has taken refuge with the queen, he is still young and cannot be trusted, and the manpower, material and financial resources that can be used are very limited, so he took the opportunity to use the public for personal gain and plotted against the prince. "
Gong Xiangxiao said "hmm" and said with emotion: "I can't even tell whether you love or hate Yungui people..."
To be honest, the newlywed Yaner came to the Imperial Capital with his wife. What he wanted most was to see his former fiancée again. Due to the hard work of traveling thousands of miles, you can't deny that he absolutely has deep feelings for Yun Fenghuang.
When it comes to love... I don't show any mercy when it comes to selling people now...
Gong Xiangxiao felt that he was not stupid, but he was still young and had never experienced love between a man and a woman. He really couldn't understand what was going on with this once-unmarried couple.
Is there a possibility that Qi Jiulu said this deliberately to gain the trust of this prince
With this thought in his mind, he calmed down and said, "Then what do you think this prince should do?"
"She wanted to inform the queen through Xile of this arrangement. It can be seen that even if she has the intention to target the prince, it will not be all lies." Qi Jiulu said slowly, "Then in these few days, the Ji family should We will take action against Mr. Lingshan. When the time comes, we will act according to the situation. Who knows, the prince’s painstaking planning will finally help the prince.”
Gong Xiangxiao hesitated and said: "You mean to bring Mr. Lingshan to my side? But... this shouldn't be easy?"
In fact, he wanted to say how could this be possible
Although Mr. Lingshan is currently living in the guest courtyard of the palace, he is the person invited by the regent and is the teacher of his half-brother Gong Xiangzhen. Among the four masters of the palace, he has the least connection with him.
He didn't feel that he could use it as a bargaining chip to impress this person.
Let's talk about comparing with the regent, that is, comparing with Gong Xiangzhen, who is only six years old this year. After all, Gong Xiangzhen has a step-concubine and his own mother, and the Qingping Marquis Mansion behind the Lu family stands for him... But apart from Gong Xiangxiao He has nothing but the title of Crown Prince.
Even to this day, wealth and safety are all protected by the palace.
"Your Majesty, you think Mr. Lingshan has been living in the countryside for many years, so why did he choose to be the regent?" Qi Jiulu just smiled when he heard this and asked.
Gong Xiangxiao said: "It must be because he is optimistic about his father."
Although he is the eldest son of the royal family, he has become increasingly estranged from his father over the years due to the Lu family's tireless efforts to alienate and suppress him. Therefore, he is not very clear about how much power the regent's palace currently has.
But Gong Xiangxiao was very sure that his uncle, the late Emperor Xiaozong, indeed preferred his father to inherit the throne back then!
Even the edict of passing the throne was written, but under the control of the Ji family, it was torn up in front of Xiaozong...
After that, although the matter of the emperor's younger brother was no longer mentioned, Xiaozong still resisted the pressure and gave everything he could to the regent other than the throne.
For example, the Imperial City Division has made Ji family feel bitter to this day.
The Emperor Chunjia whom the Ji family insists on supporting is still a puppet. His father, who was rich and powerful in these years, must not be idle in these years, so the power currently possessed by the Regent's Palace must be very impressive... Otherwise, how could he recruit Mr. Lingshan?
"Yes and no." Qi Jiulu held up his palms and chuckled, and said, "The prince has a noble status, and the prince is in his prime. There is no need for the prince to bear the responsibility for any matters. Therefore, it is difficult for the prince to understand the helplessness of Mr. Lingshan and his like. This man was once He was favored by Emperor Xiaozong, but due to the situation, he abandoned Xiaozong in the temple and retired to the countryside. Even though he had Ding You as a fig leaf, he was destined to make a mistake. He could not turn to the Ji family unless he had to."
Because he resigned when Emperor Xiaozong needed him most. It can be said that he resigned to maintain filial piety. Loyalty and filial piety cannot have both.
But the upper echelons knew that Emperor Xiaozong was not only forced to die by the Ji family, but at least he was deeply disgusted with the Ji family. As a close minister who was appointed by Xiaozong during his reign and promoted vigorously, Wei Changkong returned to seclusion for many years. But he chose to work for the Ji family... Not to mention how much infamy this would bring, it was impossible for the Ji family to trust such ungrateful people.
The good reputation he had built for many years was ruined and he was not trusted by his superiors. The result would inevitably be that Wei Changkong's career would be hindered.
It would be better to continue to stay in the countryside and pretend to be indifferent to fame and fortune!
Gong Xiangxiao understood this and nodded slightly at this moment.
Qi Jiulu continued, "He is a well-known figure in the country and a six-year-old child prodigy. He is even less likely to seek refuge with eunuchs like Zheng Gu."
He couldn't take refuge in his relatives or the powerful officials. The remaining choices were Qingliu, the regent and Emperor Chunjia.
"The current leader of Qingliu is Cui Wan. He and Mr. Lingshan are about the same age. It can be said that before Mr. Lingshan resigned, he was suppressed to death. There is such a festival, not to mention whether Mr. Lingshan is willing to If you are willing to put down your dignity and come to ask for help, just tell me how famous Wei Liushou was back then, and how Cui Wan has finally achieved his current status in the scholarly community, how can he trust such a person to make a comeback?"
"And in terms of status, Mr. Lingshan was a minister who had high hopes for His Majesty Emperor Xiaozong."
"So now that Emperor Xiaozong is in heaven, the person he serves most legitimately is naturally the successor of His Majesty Emperor Xiaozong."
Xiaozong's successor has always been controversial. From a legal point of view, it is of course his heir, Emperor Chunjia. However, some knowledgeable old people who came from Xiaozong's dynasty know that Xiaozong never thought about establishing an heir during his lifetime. He always wanted to pass the throne to him. Regent.
Given the current situation, if one chooses a backer between Chunjia and the Prince Regent, any fool would choose the latter.
After Qi Jiulu analyzed the reason why Wei Changkong was recruited by the regent, he continued, "Mr. Lingshan plays a very important role in Shilin. Since the prince has brought people to the palace, it is absolutely impossible to just let him do things that are overqualified and overqualified." The teacher of your younger brother. The next step is probably to recommend him to compete with Cui Wan in order to win over Shilin... Naturally, the Ji family will not sit back and watch this matter go smoothly. "
He picked up the tea and took a sip, "These princes will not think of it, but they still plan to hold a grand initiation ceremony for your younger brother. They must have a perfect plan, at least in the eyes of the prince and Mr. Lingshan, it is a foolproof plan. Well, the prince said before, You just asked the palace maid to be thrown into Chengyue Palace, but then she appeared in Yanlan Palace for some unknown reason, which must have been what the prince meant."
"Did the father order this matter?" Gong Xiangxiao frowned, "The father plans to start from the palace?"
He was not surprised that the regent knew that he had secretly entered the palace and was colluding with Yun Fenghuang.
After all, he did all this relying on the Imperial City Division, which had been in the hands of the Regent since it was handed over from Xiaozong to the Regent. His step-concubine Lu and the still young Gong Xiangzhen had nothing to do with it. Even for him, the eldest son, it was also because he was still young when he entered the palace as a companion. At that time, the Lu family had just entered the family, and the relationship between father and son was quite deep. The regent specially arranged a group of people in the palace for the eldest son to use, so as to avoid things happening. It was saved due to accidents or losses.
If he hadn't been the emperor's companion until now, Gong Xiangxiao doubted that he would never have come across anyone or anything in the Imperial City Division.
"It's not certain yet." Qi Jiulu shook his head and said, "But since she did this, she must take the opportunity to make a contribution and win the queen's trust. So if the prince doesn't start from the palace, it's fine. If he starts from the palace, he will appear at any time. What an accident."
Gong Xiangxiao pondered: "Really?"
He understood what Qi Jiulu meant, that is, he trusted Yun Fenghuang's ability to get things done in the palace, and even believed that as long as the regent's plan had an important part in the palace, then he would definitely fail if he omitted this Yun Gui man.
Therefore, Gong Xiangxiao could choose to remind his father now and check for any omissions.
After all, regardless of the relationship between father and son, in terms of interests, Gong Xiangxiao has been tied to the Regent's Palace so far.
But Gong Xiangxiao thought for a long time, and finally raised his head and asked: "If you and the Yungui people cooperate internally and externally, each can get what you need... How sure are you?"
When he said this, he was thinking a lot. He thought of the father and son who depended on each other when the regent personally picked him up to accompany him as a reading companion; he also thought of the subsequent drifting apart; when the step-concubine was pregnant, the couple were close and stood in the distance looking lonely. Himself; and now that Gong Xiangzhen has become increasingly separated from this family and this palace after his birth...
The most important thing is that Qi Jiulu accidentally reminded him not long ago that the day Dou died of illness was too coincidental...
It was almost like making room for the regent to marry the adopted daughter of Marquis Qingping.
Gong Xiangxiao was reluctant to suspect that his father, who was once loving to his biological mother and was amiable to him, would do such a cruel thing.
But the situation he had experienced over the years made him even less willing to risk his own life.
From the current point of view, although staying in this palace is not so comfortable, he himself is still safe.
But this may not have anything to do with the fact that he has been accompanying the puppet emperor so far, has not made any achievements, and is not close to the regent.
Once he reveals his talents, even if he just relays Qi Jiulu's talents, Gong Xiangxiao doesn't know what kind of changes will occur
The Lu family occupies the identity of stepmother, Qingpinghou is the most powerful eunuch second only to Zheng Ju, and the only regent who can protect him is his biological father who also has a lovely second son... Gong Xiangxiao closed his eyes and spoke slowly. He said: "My prince will try to bring you into the palace as soon as possible... You should think carefully about how to tell Mr. Yun Gui then."
"Don't worry, Prince." Qi Jiulu nodded slightly, with a serious smile on his lips, "I will convince her."