Concubine Zhou Xian and Marquis Zhenyang were naturally unwilling. Before leaving, Concubine Zhou Xian gave the prince a resentful look.
But it's useless to be unwilling, the general situation is gone.
The crown prince had evidence of his alibi, and the seventh prince said that the king of Chu was killed by the man in black. Prince Gong's intentions were obviously biased towards the crown prince. The voice of Emperor Cheng'an before was also very clear, he didn't want this matter to be brought up in the court, so ending with the assassin is the best ending.
As for whether there was that assassin, and whether there would be any results in the search of Xiyuan by the guards of the imperial army, it was actually just a play for outsiders to watch.
The crown prince and Pan'er walked out of Yilan Hall, when a gust of night wind blew, Pan'er couldn't help tightening his cloak.
She felt the prince holding her hand, she lowered her head, and shook it back. At this time the prince turned his head, and she followed suit, and saw Empress Fu standing not far behind.
The prince glanced at Pan'er, and Pan'er followed Zhang Laishun to the outside, and the prince walked up to Empress Fu, Empress Fu looked a little tired, as if she was about to speak, but she didn't say anything, just looked at him.
The mother and son looked at each other, Empress Fu sighed and said, "Go back and have a good rest, we'll talk about it tomorrow if we have anything to do."
The prince nodded. Seeing Fu Tao approaching, he said, "Uncle, it's getting late, I'll take you to rest and return home tomorrow?"
Fu Tao patted the prince's shoulder with his big palm: "Okay, you still need to send it to me. Just find an eunuch to send me off. You should go back to rest earlier, and we will talk about it tomorrow if you have anything to do."
The prince asked Fulu to arrange someone to send Fu Tao to rest, and then sent Empress Fu away. He was about to leave when he was stopped by King Qi who was standing not far away.
King Qi had just sent Gao Guifei away, but he didn't leave, obviously he wanted to say something to the prince.
"I didn't expect you to escape this catastrophe. I have to say that you, the third child, impress my brother." King Qi is tall, but looks like Concubine Gao, so he looks a bit feminine. He had a smile on his face, if he looked here from a distance, he would have thought that the two brothers were talking something intimate.
"Brother, there are many things that you can't think of, just like the second brother can't think that he will die today. So people still have to be in awe. The so-called gentleman has three fears, fear of the destiny, fear of adults, and fear of the words of saints. The villain does not know the destiny. Don't be afraid, you will be punished by God if you insult your lord and insult the words of a sage."
The prince smiled back, only seeing his gentle demeanor and calm tone, no one would have guessed that the prince would say such cruel words.
King Qi was enraged immediately, and laughed out of anger.
"Then what do you mean, are you destined to be an adult or a saint?"
"Gu didn't say that, Gu just sighed in his heart, thinking that some people have tried their best, and they don't know what will happen if they cut off an arm and provoke a lunatic. I also think that there are traces of the laws of heaven and morals. , ordinary people can't violate it, so don't waste your efforts."
"How did this king find out that his younger brother, the crown prince, is also a person who likes to show his tongue?"
"Gu said it before, there are many things that elder brother doesn't know. Well, it's getting late, elder brother should go back to rest earlier, and Gu also has to go back." The prince didn't want to argue with King Qi again, so he left He was about to leave, but unexpectedly, King Qi grabbed him from behind.
The guards of the Eastern Palace standing not far away immediately stepped forward, and the prince waved his hand.
He looked over, and King Qi stared back at him.
It's just that his eyes are calm, but Qi Wang's eyes are too restless.
King Qi's words almost came out from between his teeth, "Honestly, did you order the Yishou Ruyi ointment to be dedicated to the emperor?"
The prince was a little surprised, but his face remained motionless.
He chuckled lightly, and said: "I didn't expect that elder brother would suspect Gu, and I suspected that elder brother ordered someone to do it."
Emperor Cheng'an did not believe in Buddhism. He was like this when he was in Qiandi in his early years, but Emperor Taizu and the first emperor believed in Buddhism. Although Buddhism was not a state religion in Dazhou, its status was almost equivalent to that of state religion. Therefore, he did not believe in Daoism. , has always been secretive.
Until the fourteenth year of Cheng'an, Emperor Cheng'an fell seriously ill. After recovering from his illness, he became more and more absurd, even superstitiously believing in what those Taoist priests said, believing in the elixir of immortality that can prolong life.
Especially in recent years, Emperor Cheng'an used to know how to avoid taboos, and he was also concerned about the queen mother in the palace. After the Xiyuan was repaired, he tasted the beauty of the imperial forbidden garden, so he moved those Taoist priests to Xiyuan, and he would visit it once or twice a year.
It is better to say that it is to take the elixir of the Book of Changes to wash the marrow than to go on a tour.
Yes, the I Ching washes the marrow.
At the beginning, the prince couldn't believe it when he heard the report from the people below, but it turned out that Emperor Cheng'an thought so, and he didn't know if it was just his nature, or the emperor had been an old man for a long time and his dragon body was not very good, so he just In a hurry, I went to the doctor and believed this.
However, in recent years Emperor Cheng'an's dragon body has improved a lot compared to before, his face was always faintly gray and blue in the past, but in recent years he has seen a bit of ruddy color. But it only lasted for a few years, and in the past one or two years, it has faintly declined.
The prince once ordered someone to conduct a secret investigation and learned about it. He guessed that the so-called 'elixir' does have certain benefits for the human body, but the benefits are only temporary. After the time limit expires, the disadvantages will naturally appear.
In order to cover up these disadvantages, those Taoists recently introduced a kind of immortal medicine to Emperor Cheng'an. It is said that it is called Yishou Ruyi Ointment. .
This kind of medicine is a tribute from Fanbang, and it was often taken by some nobles as an aphrodisiac in the previous dynasty. After taking it for a long time, it became addictive. In the previous dynasty, an emperor died after eating it, and then it was strictly prohibited. It is rare for the people to see it.
The prince originally thought that this matter was done behind the scenes by the king of Qi and the king of Chu just to please Emperor Cheng'an, but he did not expect that the king of Qi would suspect him, but he would not go into details about these details, and it is obvious that the king of Qi did not believe his words .
"My lord? What good does this lord do for me? Only you, I don't believe that you don't know the harm of longevity wishful ointment. If something happens to your father, it won't be your benefit!" Qi Wang sternly said.
In fact, there was nothing wrong with his guess. After all, the prince was a legitimate prince. If Emperor Cheng'an died unfortunately, the prince should take over the throne. When the crown prince comes to the throne, brothers like King Qi will either leave the capital and be trapped in the fiefdom for the rest of their lives, or stay in the capital as an idle prince, trembling under the crown prince's nose for the rest of their lives, so his guess is not unreasonable .
The prince didn't bother to explain to him: "Whether you believe it or not, this matter has nothing to do with Gu. But since the elder brother said so, Gu doubted it. Could it be that today's incident was done because you suspected that Gu would attack the emperor?" ?”
King Qi was unprepared, with a look of embarrassment on his face.
The prince's heart was gloomy, and he didn't wait for him to answer, but left the sentence "It's not too early, the eldest brother should go back to rest earlier", and left.
The prince did not expect that these two irrelevant matters are actually related.
But after thinking about it, he also understood why, the king of Qi and the king of Chu suspected that he had attacked Emperor Cheng'an secretly in order to ascend the throne as soon as possible. .
Fortunately, Yuanyuan is decisive enough, that little maid named Cattail is also smart enough, and Wang Jinnian is also witty enough, the Seventh Prince...
While thinking, the prince had already walked in front of Pan'er.
The two looked at each other and walked back without saying a word.
The way back is not easy. Firstly, it is the coldest time of the day, and secondly, there are many strange stones. In the past, you can enjoy a bit of beauty, but today you have suffered a catastrophe for no reason because of this environment, and you have been tossing all night. He didn't even close his eyes, so he naturally looked a little impatient.
Zhang Laishun and a young eunuch were holding a lantern in front, Fu Lu was at the side, followed by a few guards, knowing that it was not the place to talk, Pan Er didn't say anything.
It was not until the car back to Jinggu that Pan'er hesitantly said to the prince: "The seventh prince..."
The prince understood what she meant, and the only person in black present at that time was the hidden guard next to the prince. In fact, in the palace, the prince usually does not bring hidden guards. The buildings in the Forbidden City are square, open and closed, and there are not many trees, which is not conducive to hiding the hidden guards. After coming to Xiyuan, the environment in Xiyuan is complicated. The prince brought the dark guards.
It's not always with... , but it depends on the situation.
At that time, although the prince was in a hurry to take the plate and leave, he and the hidden guard were also aware of the surrounding environment, and they would definitely not miss out if anyone else was present at the time. Since the Seventh Prince was not found, that is to say, he was not at the scene, Pan Er's previous statement was also confirmed, the Seventh Prince was thrown nearby.
Since the Seventh Prince was not there, where did he see the man in black? According to what the eunuch said before, although the Seventh Prince's words were vague, the meaning he expressed was quite clear. He was going to set off the river lantern, and he didn't know when he saw the man in black.
But Pan'er said that a man dressed as an eunuch brought the Seventh Prince here, which means that the Seventh Prince didn't see any man in black, he was lying.
Why is he lying
A seventh prince who everyone in the palace knew to be a fool would lie? Then there is only one possibility, the Seventh Prince is not stupid, maybe what he saw at that time, or maybe it was fake that he was knocked out before, he knew someone wanted to harm him, so he pretended to be frightened in order to protect himself Silly.
Pan'er's mood was very complicated, because she and the prince were able to escape smoothly, because of the words of the seventh prince, and also because of a feeling of being on pins and needles, and this feeling came from the secret being known.
"If the Seventh Prince is really pretending to be stupid, what will His Highness do?"
The prince glanced at Pan'er and said, "What do you think Gu will do?"
Pan'er subconsciously thought of silence, because she had mentioned that the seventh prince might be there at the time, and the prince's first reaction was to get rid of this person.
But just now there was still a life-saving grace, and when she turned around and silenced the person, Pan'er always felt a little...
"Okay, what do you think of Gu? It's not easy for him to pretend for so many years, and today he sold Gu's favor again. Gu will not forget his kindness."
Seeing that her complexion was still not very good, the prince said: "Don't think about it too much, I will deal with the outside affairs, if you are sleepy, just lean against the solitary arms and sleep for a while."
Pan'er was not pretentious, she even got into the prince's arms with the cloak lead, smelling the Canaan fragrance on his body, she felt a peace of mind that she had never felt before.
The car swayed forward slightly, making the plate a little drowsy, but the prince was extremely awake. In the dark, he frowned slightly, obviously thinking about something.
After all, this matter seems to be over, but it is far from over. The follow-up matters, Concubine Zhou Xian's desperate counterattack, King Qi's secret calculations, and King Yan's cold eyes and waiting for opportunities, all these need to be solved. The prince thought about it and thought about it.
"Actually, you don't have to come, why did you come?" When Pan'er turned his head back earlier, he did not ignore Empress Fu's eyes, especially that one was not looking at the prince, but at her.
The prince stopped unconsciously touching Pan'er's shoulder.
After a long time, he said: "I don't want anything to happen to you."
"If their plot succeeds today, will you regret it?"
"It didn't happen." The prince never wasted energy thinking about things that didn't happen.
"What if? If you do it again, will you come again?" She raised her head and looked at him with full eyes.
The prince was a little stunned, and stretched out his fingers to stroke her eyebrows.
He thought for a while, and then said: "It should be possible. Gu said, I don't want anything to happen to you."
Pan'er laughed, and buried her in his arms again.
Me too, if I do it all over again, I will still choose to come to you. Thank you for not making me regret my original decision. I almost regretted it in the past.
As Pan'er thought about it, her mood fluctuated for a while.
For the first time, she didn't suppress it, but obeyed what she thought in her heart.
She wrapped her arms around the prince's neck, leaned on his shoulders, and murmured softly: "Do you know, Your Highness, I actually liked you very much in the past, but I can't like you, because the more I put down my thoughts on you , the more I can’t tolerate others. I can only pretend nothing happened, and hide this thought so deeply that I thought I was about to forget it. Today I thought I was going to die, so I remembered it.”