After Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, left, Zhao Hongrun sat in Wenzhao Pavilion for a long time, thought for a long time, and after several hesitations, he finally decided to go to Ganlu Hall and ask his father for clarification.

When he arrived at the back of Ganlu Hall, he was surprised to see a woman sitting next to Emperor Wei's couch, feeding the latter soup spoonful by spoonful.

"Who is that?"

Zhao Hongrun muttered to himself.

At this time, Tong Xian, who was lying next to the couch, had seen Zhao Hongrun and reminded him in a low voice: "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is here."

Emperor Wei nodded and turned to look at Zhao Hongrun. However, the woman sitting next to the couch stood up with a panicked expression. When Zhao Hongrun approached, she actually greeted him: "Prince..."

Only then did Zhao Hongrun suddenly realize that it was Chen Shuai from Youzhi Palace.

Compared with nine years ago, Chen Shuai, who is now in her thirties, has the charm of a mature woman. However, a few faint wrinkles have gradually appeared in the corners of her eyes, which makes people sigh. No matter how beautiful a woman is, she is also more attractive.

It cannot withstand the ravages of time.

"Chen Shuai."

Zhao Hongrun returned the gift with a smile, as if he had long forgotten the conflict between him and the woman in front of him.

At this time, Emperor Wei stretched out his hand and patted the back of Chen Shuai's hand, and said: "You go to the side hall to rest for a while. The prince and I have important matters to discuss in detail."

"Yes, I will retire for the time being."

Chen Shuai nodded obediently, and after sneaking a glance at Zhao Hongrun, she led the two accompanying maids and hurriedly walked out of the inner hall.

Looking at her, it seemed as if something was chasing her behind her.

"You scared her so much, Hongrun..."

After Chen Shuai left the inner hall, Emperor Wei said with a chuckle.

Zhao Hongrun rolled his eyes when he heard this.

Since he led a group of clan guards to smash up Chen Shuai's Youzhi Palace nine years ago, he has not done anything to retaliate against the latter. Especially when he learned that Chen Shuai was just Xiao Shuai's substitute, in fact, he felt dissatisfied in his heart.

I feel sorry for this woman.

Therefore, the dissatisfaction I had with Chen Shuai back then has long since disappeared.

But it was obvious that even though Zhao Hongrun had forgotten about this incident, Chen Shuai still seemed to be afraid of him, especially now that Zhao Hongrun was the crown prince of the country.

"Why are you interested in summoning her to Ganlu Palace today? Could it be that you have decided to give me a younger brother?" Zhao Hongrun said jokingly.

"No big, no small." Emperor Wei cursed with a smile, and then with the help of the eunuch Tong Xian, he sat up on the couch and said casually: "I just miss it a little..."

Zhao Hongrun heard this and asked with a smile: "Do you miss her, or do you miss... that person?"

Next to him, the great eunuch Tong Xian's eyelids twitched, he was quite impressed, and glanced at Zhao Hongrun sadly. In his opinion, only the Crown Prince dared to make fun of His Majesty's taboos without any scruples.

At the same time, Emperor Wei rolled his eyes and said angrily: "Do you think it's hard for me to punish you now that you are the prince?"

Zhao Hongrun shrugged and made a strange expression, intending to say: Hey, I really think so.

Seeing such a scoundrel son, Emperor Wei was angry and amused, so he had to change the subject: "I heard that you just summoned the King of Nanliang?"

Zhao Hongrun pulled the stool where Chen Shuai had just sat and sat down. He was not surprised at all by his father's words.

You know, even during the period when the old prince Hongyu controlled the entire palace and put Emperor Wei under house arrest in disguise, Emperor Wei Zhao Yuansi actually saw many things inside and outside the palace, not to mention today.

, Zhao Hongrun has no idea of ​​restricting the number of servants.

"Do you plan to use him?" Emperor Wei asked.

Zhao Hongrun nodded and said truthfully: "Although I still feel unhappy with him, I cannot deny that the King of Nanliang is indeed a talent... It would be a pity to kill him."

"Yes." Emperor Wei took a long breath, then looked at Zhao Hongrun and nodded in approval: "Hongrun, you have the power of a king."

After hearing this, Zhao Hongrun said with a strange expression: "Father, in fact, you want to praise yourself, right?"

Emperor Wei was stunned when he heard this, and then he couldn't help laughing.

Indeed, in fact, Emperor Wei also hated Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, to the core. After all, Xiao Qing, the daughter of the Xiao family, was initially planning to marry him, but it was because Zhao Yuanzuo, who was still the king of Jing at the time, interfered with it.

Because of the slander, Xiao Qing and Zhao Yuanxi missed each other and became the concubine of the former prince Zhao Yuanqi.

Therefore, from a certain perspective, the hatred that Emperor Wei Zhao Yuansi had for Zhao Yuanzuo, the King of Southern Liang, need not be as small as the hatred he had for the previous crown prince Zhao Yuanqi.

However, in this case, after Wei Emperor Zhao Yuanxi seized the throne, he did not cut the hated Zhao Yuanzuo into pieces. Instead, he exiled Zhao Yuanzuo for the sake of his talent and waited for him seventeen years later.

Then Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, was recalled to Daliang.

I have to say that this is also the measure of Emperor Wei as a king.

"Are you sure you can surrender him?" Emperor Wei asked solemnly.

Of course he knew that Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, was a double-edged sword. If used well, it would certainly bring huge benefits to Wei, but if used improperly, it would be as much a disaster as Xiao Luan.

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Zhao Hongrun rolled his eyes, snorted and said: "Father, do you think I am you? I am not afraid of him. If he dares to rebel in the future, I will kill him myself.

Head!"

"..." Emperor Wei closed his mouth rather depressed.

It has to be said that when it comes to playing tricks in the temple, even if ten Zhao Hongruns are tied up, they may not be his opponent. But when it comes to leading troops in battle, Emperor Wei, who is his father, really has no confidence in front of his son Zhao Hongrun.

In addition to having the meritorious service of "destroying the Song Dynasty" as a fig leaf, he has actually been outdone by this son for a long time.

Pretending not to see his son's contented look, Emperor Wei rubbed his forehead and reminded: "With you in charge of Daliang, the King of Nanliang will naturally not dare to rebel in the future, but there is no guarantee that he will not use other means... The Wei family

Wei Feng, this person is not simple, so don’t underestimate him."

Regarding the Wei family in Longxi, like most of the descendants of the Ji and Zhao families in Wei, although Emperor Wei accepted it on the surface, he was still quite wary in private. After all, things like magpie nests and doves occupying them had not never happened in various countries in the Central Plains. If Ji

If the descendants of the Zhao family fail to live up to expectations, Wei may have power stolen by the Wei family in the future.

Of course, this generation is impossible. With such a powerful prince as Prince Zhao Run, even a figure like Wei Feng in the Longxi Wei family has no choice but to stay quietly.

After a few words of warning, Emperor Wei finally remembered the purpose of his son's visit, so after a moment of silence, he asked: "Hongrun, you came here this time, but you want to ask if Hong Yin is the same person he was back then."

A baby boy?”

"..."

Zhao Hongrun raised his eyebrows when he heard this.

Indeed, during the chat with his father just now, he had been thinking about how to speak, but he did not expect that his father would take the initiative to mention it.

When he heard this topic, Tong Xian's face changed slightly. He glanced at Gao Li, Gao and the two young eunuchs who were standing behind the prince Zhao Run, and thought about whether to ask these two people to retreat temporarily - but he didn't want to.

It's easy to talk. After all, he has made it clear two days ago that Gao Li and Gao He will not have to take orders from him in the future, but only need to assist the prince Zhao Run with all their heart. Therefore, if he opens his mouth to send Gao Li, Gao He away at this moment

, it is inevitable that there is a suspicion of overstepping one's expectations.

Fortunately, the two brothers Gao Li and Gao He had been following the eunuch Tong Xian for many years. When they saw that the latter looked strange, they realized that this was not a topic they could listen to, so they took the initiative to ask Zhao Hongrun for instructions.

Unexpectedly, Emperor Wei waved his hand and said, "That's all, you two can stay here. There are some things you know well, so you can better assist the prince in the future..."

Having said that, under the flattered gazes of Gao Li and Gao He, he turned to look at Zhao Hongrun. After a slight hesitation, he nodded and said, "Yes, Hongyin, that baby boy was Yulong's."

Brothers..." After that, he lay down on the quilt behind him and recalled: "Back then, Sima An and Wei Mu pacified Nan Yan. Afterwards, Sima An quietly sent the baby boy to

The beam was handed over to me... I also thought about killing a hundred people, but after thinking about Concubine Xiao's pleading for this son, I... really couldn't do it, so I entrusted the son to Concubine Xiao who once served me.

The palace maid "Xu Zhen"...oh, that is the "Xu family" of Yaohua Palace now..."

The "Xu Zhen" and "Xu family" in his mouth are the mother-in-law of the seventh prince Yi Wang Zhao Hongyin.

"Concubine Xu, adopted Lao Qi?" Zhao Hongrun asked in surprise, but he was not too surprised, probably because he had experienced the incident between Queen Wang and Concubine Shi.

"Well." Emperor Wei nodded and said seriously: "Ms. Xu is Concubine Xiao's personal maid. Concubine Xiao was once kind to her, so I entrusted Hong Yin to her... For many years after that, I secretly ordered the chamberlain to

The supervisor paid close attention to Yaohua Palace and learned that Mrs. Xu did not disappoint me. Over the years, she has treated Hongyin as her own son and taught her well, but it was me... I was the one who owed something."

"..." Zhao Hongrun remained silent.

The seventh child, Zhao Hongyin, was one year older than him and the same age as Princess Yulong. In Zhao Hongrun's impression, he was a docile and polite prince. Like Zhao Hongxuan at that time, he had a relatively introverted personality.

However, because Zhao Hongyin rarely communicated with his brothers at that time, Zhao Hongrun did not know him too well.

But it is certain that Emperor Wei was partial.

At that time, Emperor Wei's favorite was Zhao Hongzhao, the sixth person in Daliang, whom the Wei people praised as "Qilin's son". Following him, Zhao Hongyin, the seventh person, Zhao Hongrun, the eighth person, and Zhao Hongxuan, the ninth person, were almost no one in the palace.

So much so that some people in Daliang mistakenly believed that Zhao Hongzhao, whom Emperor Wei favored, was the latter's youngest son?

In comparison, Zhao Hongrun gradually became more valued by Emperor Wei, and Zhao Hongxuan, the ninth child, gradually became known. However, Zhao Hongyin, the seventh child, was still in the same situation where his grandma did not care for his uncle and he did not love him. In Zhao Hongrun's view, this was probably his father.

It was caused by the thorn in the emperor's heart - just like he was quite indifferent to Yulong, his daughter.

In fact, the solution to this problem is very simple, but unfortunately, this era does not have the conditions to accurately identify the father and son. Even the "blood identification" is just a scam spread by false rumors. Zhao Hongrun does not know what to say.

Suddenly, he thought of a question: Why did his father take the initiative to mention Lao Qi to him?

"Could it be..."

Glancing at Emperor Wei, Zhao Hongrun felt a little unbelievable, so he asked tentatively: "When did your father...well, realize that Lao Qi and Xiao Luan were mixed together?"

Emperor Wei glanced at his son and did not hide anything. He exhaled and said truthfully: "After the "Jinxiang Massacre"..."

"No way?"

Zhao Hongrun was a little shocked at his father's keen sense of conspiracy.
To be continued...