"Your Majesty, please come in." In front of the study room of the Prince Regent's Mansion, the bookboy lowered his head slightly and opened the door for the young man in gorgeous clothes in front of him.
Gong Xiangxiao calmly took a deep breath before striding forward.
The study is a very spacious place where the regent usually conducts official business and discusses matters with his close advisers.
Upon entering, there is a flower hall, equipped with tables, chairs, tea sets, potted plants and treasures, which can be used for occasional breaks. Lift up the bead curtain behind the flower hall and go in to see where the real study is.
The regent had a reputation for being studious since he was a child, and his status was noble. The study room was packed with bookshelves, with huanghuali carved curly grass pattern bookshelves on all sides, and many classics and historical books.
Slightly behind, there is a screen with a 20% discount of ladies on spring outing. Behind the writing desk on the east side of the screen, a man with a bell-like appearance and a brocade robe and a jade crown is walking away. He is the regent.
The regent, named Fugong Xiangmao, was nearly forty years old. When he was in the prime of life, he was tall and tall, with thick hair and a thick beard. His eyes were bright and full of energy, and he was full of momentum.
Gong Xiangxiao had discussed it with Qi Jiulu repeatedly before he came, but at this moment he couldn't help but consciously avoided his direct gaze and bowed and saluted: "Father."
"torch. "Due to his early experience in the military, the regent acted like a man in the army. He was the most decisive and did not like red tape. At this moment, he raised Dongba towards the chair not far away. Seeing the prince sitting down respectfully, he went straight in. Asked, "Why are you so close to Qi Jiulu and why do you bring him to the palace to meet the saint?" "
Gong Xiangxiao lowered his eyes and said: "Brother Xinjun is about the same age as the child. He is cheerful and generous, and has the demeanor of a Northland athlete. The child likes to get along with him. The reason why Mingyue brought him to the palace to meet the saint , all because the kid lost to... "
The Prince Regent interrupted him: "Just listen to what I said to the people outside. I want to hear the truth."
"... I want to go to the North." Gong Xiangxiao was silent for a moment and said, "Brother Xinjun is from the North, and he has been praised by his father. I want to see if he can help me."
"What am I going to do in the Northland?" the regent said lukewarmly, "I'm probably at the bottom of the list whether it's just a game or not. What's the use of going to the Northland with my little skills? No. Or do I expect to go there and show off my power in the name of Gu?"
Gong Xiangxiao clenched his fists: "If the father allows the child to go to the North, the child will definitely not dare to use the reputation of the father to show off in the market! Furthermore, it is precisely because he has been doing nothing in the Imperial Capital that the child wants to imitate the father. , go to the Northland to sharpen your skills! In the future, you can also be your father... "
The regent said calmly: "My filial piety Guqiu knows, Ruoguo only has two children, me and Zhen'er, how can he let me stay away? Especially when my mother and concubine left, she repeatedly told Guqiu to take good care of me. Ruoguo knew that I was gone. How can we not feel bad for being in such a bitter cold place in the north, east of Jiuquan? There is no need to discuss that matter again, and I don’t want to bring Qi Jiulu into the palace again in the future. Let’s go back to the courtyard to reflect for a few months.”
Gong Xiangxiao suddenly raised his head and looked at him. He wanted to ask me, since I remember my first wife so well, why did I allow Lu to squeeze me out to this point?
But he looked at the regent for a while, stood up silently, bowed and left without saying a word.
As I walked out, I seemed to hear a faint sigh coming from behind me.
Bu Nao Gong Xiangxiao didn't bother to understand the meaning of that sigh, and strode back to the courtyard where he lived. He saw Qi Jiulu already waiting here, pouring tea happily, and grabbed the tea bowl from his lap, and drank it in one breath. Go, Fang blushed and said in a cold voice: "He really didn't agree again!!!"
"Your Majesty, maybe the prince sincerely cares for me." Qi Jiulu persuaded him slowly, "After all, Qingping Marquis has suspected that he is involved in the big families in the north. If I go there, if something goes wrong, the prince will affect the overall situation and will affect the overall situation." My brother, I’m afraid it’s hard to break up with Mr. Lu, so the best choice is to put me under your wings to avoid any accidents.”
Gong Xiangxiao sneered: "Then his safety, honor and disgrace all depend on his thoughts?!"
Well, when he was very young and had a close relationship with the Regent and his son, he firmly believed that the Regent would never do anything wrong and would not harm him.
But with the entry of the Lu family and the birth of Gong Xiangzhen... Gong Xiangxiao could no longer believe in his status in the eyes of his father.
He needs his own legs and strength to ensure his sense of security.
The question was whether that was where the regent restricted him.
How old is his half-brother Gong Xiangzhen? I became a disciple of Mr. Lingshan, and his treatment from the beginning was not comparable to that of Gong Xiangxiao. He was an ordinary scholar when he was educated, and later he became a companion in the palace. He and the emperor were considered brothers in the same school, but Of course, the knowledge and talents of those who serve as emperor's teachers are not bad, but what they pay most attention to is the emperor, Gong Xiangxiao and others.
In those years, Emperor Chunjia, who received the most attention, was diligently studying knowledge. How could Gong Xiangxiao and others achieve anything? Bu Naonou, despite his seemingly noble status, is just a carefree person.
Gong Xiangxiao had to suspect that because of the Qingping Hou Mansion, the regent did not want to have an outstanding heir apparent.
Thinking at the best, his father was very fond of him, but he clearly needed the support of Lu's natal family, so he had to be coy and submissive to suppress the prince, so as to avoid suspicion on the part of the Lu family; thinking at the worst, the Prince Regent If he was wrong, he would be hurt, but it would never be the same again. He didn't want his two children to fight against each other in the future, so he firmly held the initiative in his lap.
The second son, Gong Xiangzhen, was very young, nothing more.
If the grown-up prince has full wings, his father's silence may not be so effective... So why do you want Gong Xiangxiao to follow his example and go to the army to hone his skills? Back then, Emperor Xiaozong desperately wanted to pass the throne to the regent even after his death without an heir. What was his purpose? Don't you think that the younger brother has rich experience and talents, and will not let the power of the royal family fall aside after he takes the throne
Gong Xiangmao himself was not the beneficiary of joining the army, so when he wanted to control his son, he naturally would not give him a chance.
Either way, it means that Gong Xiangxiao cannot control his own destiny.
That's something he couldn't tolerate.
Even if the person trying to control his life, death, honor and disgrace is not his biological father.
"That's why we want to test the prince." Qi Jiulu took the empty tea bowl from his legs, filled it and handed it back, and said calmly, "The prince Ruming has a shallow foundation. He can do a lot with Dou's legs alone. Too few. And that does not mean that the prince has acquiesced. If the prince is alert, it is unknown whether those people will continue to serve the prince."
Gong Xiangxiao exhaled slowly, clenched his fists, and nodded heavily: "My prince... Minghong."
He said that sentence through gritted teeth.
Qi Jiulu then advised: "The prince does not want the prince to achieve success, so the prince can be a little more reckless when he comes to the east. It is okay to occasionally show his dissatisfaction with the prince's move. However, please bear in mind, the prince: does the prince feel that As a noble man, he is old, so he should share the prince's worries and solve problems, and set an example for his younger brothers. He has no other intention! After all, the prince will admire the prince and protect the young prince fiercely. At most, because of those years with the young prince, The prince is unfamiliar, and because he often doesn’t see the young prince, he is not good at expressing himself!”
"... My prince knows." Gong Xiangxiao sighed sadly and said, "My prince, Ru Ming, has no right to make mistakes with his father."
So what was Bu Shen thinking? The situation was that he needed to fulfill his duties as a prince, so that even if he did something wrong, even if he was caught by the Lu family, he could easily get through by relying on the love of flesh and blood.
He was silent for a while and then suddenly asked, "Xinyun, can I... I left home and came to the Imperial Capital to let my family cultivate my younger brother, but I was worried that one day, I would get nothing in the Imperial Capital, and there was also a new eldest son of your younger brother in the family, who would have nowhere to go. Can we go?"
Qi Jiulu said calmly: "You can't have your cake and eat it too, it's been like this since ancient times."
Seeing his calm look, Gong Xiangxiao suddenly felt envious of Yun Fenghuang. It's not that he had any hobbies for Qi Jiulu. God bet, there was no one in his life who was so willing to do anything and ask for nothing from him. .
When he was young, the scene of a harmonious family of three with a doting father and a cruel mother seemed distant like an illusion. After... After... Even if the Dou family was standing on his side, Gong Xiangxiao knew in his heart that the bond of blood was the same. , the most important thing, if you don't agree, you will lose your position of power.
"Is that concubine Yun really cruel?" The young prince secretly expressed the same emotion as Qi Jiulu before, "Facing an old lover as loyal as Brother Xinjun, she could try to cut off the involvement again and again... I don't know. What did she think?"
Yun Fenghuang, who was in the deep palace, didn't know that Gong Xiangxiao was trying to guess her thoughts. At this moment, she looked at the crying palace maid in front of her with a confused face: "Save me? I am a palace maid of Yanlan Palace. If you can't ask the imperial concubine to make the decision, why would you come to Huzhu Palace and cry with him?"
"The Imperial Concubine... The Imperial Concubine..." The palace maid cried so hard that she choked several times before she could explain clearly, "If the Imperial Concubine is pregnant, no matter what happens in the Yanlan Palace, don't disturb her! This maidservant is despicable and has been sent away. After coming out, you are not allowed to go near the main hall at all. Furthermore, Mingyue, it turns out that the imperial concubine sent someone to send the maid to Huzhu Palace... I beg Yun concubine to have mercy and save the maid! I will work as a cow and a horse in all my life, and I will never forget you. Great kindness!”
No wonder she was so anxious: Yuan Yuniang was famous for her "concubine-killing" during the imperial dynasty. She was afraid that she could not even remember how many lives she had taken from the concubines in the Eastern Palace under her legs.
And the palace maid was originally from Yanlan Palace who specially pinched the concubine's shoulders and beat her legs. Didn't Emperor Chunjia just say that he was going to visit the concubine when he left Yanfu Palace? When she was shut up, the emperor casually mentioned that she had some shoulder and back pain after practicing riding and shooting just now, and the imperial concubine called her out to give the emperor a squeeze.
Xu Fu's legwork was thoughtful, and the emperor praised him a few times.
Then the imperial concubine gave the person to the emperor.
But Emperor Chunjia refused to ask, saying that he had someone to serve him in Taichu Palace, and that the concubine had a difficult pregnancy and needed the service of the palace maids.
Seeing that Concubine Zheng was very insistent, the emperor said some considerate words, "Concubine Zheng, I have worked really hard for my pregnancy. Although I am a man, I have heard that it is not easy for pregnant women, so it is rare for me to have such an opportunity." For those who serve, please don't be polite to me. Just keep it for yourself...etc.
The imperial concubine never said anything more about that matter.
The emperor probably thought that everything was fine, so he said goodbye happily, and Shi Shiran returned to his Taichu Palace.
It turned out that the imperial concubine turned around and sent her to Huzhu Palace. She said that from the emperor's tenderness and thoughtfulness, it was not easy to infer Yue Jieyu who was also pregnant!
Moreover, the people around Yue Jieyu were cleared out some time ago because of the "conspiracy to murder the new concubine Yun Fenghuang", and at that time they were probably incomplete.
Is it to make Yuan Yuniang's pregnancy more comfortable, is it to allow her to give birth to the emperor's heir in a better manner, is it not... In short, Concubine Zheng made a generous decision to give Yue Jie the maid who was certified by the emperor himself as being able to serve. Yu!
Let's not talk about whether the imperial concubine did this to make Yuan Nian Niang angry. No, she had other motives. In short, the palace maid almost died of fright after hearing the news. No, she was sent to Huzhu Palace, just in time to catch Yuan Nian Niang from taking a nap. , the people from Ningbi Palace arranged a room for her to wait, and she thought about it for a while. Did she have the courage to sneak out and come to Ziquan Palace for help