Prince Yin still maintained his dignity as a member of the royal family. His clothes were luxurious and clean, spotless, his face was smooth and flat, and his bun was neatly angled.
But his eyes were dull and lifeless, and he looked extremely tired.
Prince Yin's left hand rested on the nanmu shelf in the carriage, rubbing it constantly. He stared at Xue Poye who was sitting in front of him and said slowly: "I hope I haven't disturbed Mr. Xue."
Xue Poye smiled bitterly and shook his head and said: "Your Highness, please don't say that. I don't dare to be an official. If your Highness has any reprimands, I will listen respectfully." However, his words were thoughtful and he used the words "Your Highness, what reprimands do you have?"
", rather than "What are your orders from His Highness?"
Although these two sentences are separated by one word, they are thousands of miles apart. The meanings of "reprimand" and "command" are completely different.
Reprimanding is nothing more than reprimanding, it is a matter of scene. This order means that you must do things according to the other party's wishes. That is Riko's business.
Although Xue Poye had no intention of being overthrown by others, he still had to be on guard. After all, Prince Yin was defeated like a mountain. If he made some weird requests at this time, Xue Poye would not be able to agree to it at will.
Prince Yin was naturally shrewd, and he naturally understood the meaning behind his words. He smiled faintly and said slowly: "I will not delay Mr. Xue for too long. I just have one thing to ask of you."
Xue Poye's heart trembled, but his face remained calm as he said: "Your Highness, it's okay. If I can do it, I will do my best. If I can't do anything, I can only apologize and hope that Your Highness will forgive you."
Prince Yin leaned against the carriage. It was bitterly cold outside, but it was very warm inside the carriage.
"I will leave Kyoto tomorrow, and maybe I will never come back in this life." Prince Yin said calmly with no expression on his face: "I have actually wanted to leave this hell-like whirlpool for a long time."
Xue Poye didn't know whether his words were true or not, so he said respectfully: "Then I wish your highness a safe journey."
Prince Yin waved his hand and said with a faint smile: "I don't care whether things go well or not."
There was silence in the carriage for a while, and the atmosphere was very awkward.
"Xue Poye, I am about to leave, but you have just arrived. People go and people come. Things in this world are so strange." Prince Yin stared at Xue Poye with a smile on his lips: "You have already won the respect of my father.
With the emperor’s trust and love, I’m afraid I will have a bright future.”
Xue Poye was startled, then suddenly smiled bitterly and said: "It turns out that His Highness already knew my real name."
Prince Yin sighed: "Before you went to Liuheyuan, I knew your true situation. In fact, this is not difficult." After a pause, he shook his head and said: "Perhaps you had other ideas at the beginning, so before your cousin
I told you a false name in front of me, but when you enter Beijing from Hangzhou, it is really easy to find a driver, so I just send people to Hangzhou to find the driver, and I will know everything about you."
Xue Poye smiled bitterly and shook his head. Maybe the powerful people in Kyoto already knew his true identity.
However, the only person who knows about his situation is his business in Hangzhou. As the helmsman of Qinglianzhao, he is extremely secretive. Only very few people know about it. In other words, at least no one knows about his Qinglianzhao at present.
identity.
"Actually, you don't have to hide your identity just because you are a businessman. This dynasty is not like before, but it is still more open-minded towards businessmen." Prince Yin said slowly: "In order to take care of you, I am afraid that you will be in trouble, so I still ask people to do it.
I killed the coachman directly, I thought I was helping you, but now it seems that it is nothing important."
Xue Poye's body trembled, and he sighed in his heart. It seemed that he had indirectly killed another person.
"Your Highness, I am a businessman. I always... well, I always feel a little inferior." Xue Poye could only go up the pole. It turned out that they thought he concealed his identity because of the businessman.
"You are a businessman, so when I entrust you with this matter, I will not leave it empty-handed. Let's make a deal!" Prince Yin was still very calm.
Xue Poye was stunned and asked curiously: "A deal?"
Prince Yin nodded and said: "That's right." He pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled bitterly and said: "I don't want to talk in circles anymore. You should know that I also have Ziyanfang, and there are more than 40 Ziyanfang branches in various states.
, this may be the last thing I can take out, as long as you are willing, they are yours now."
Xue Poye was so startled that he almost jumped up.
Ziyanfang is a rouge and gouache shop. It sounds simple, but its business is huge. Xue Poye has been to Yuhe once and has seen Ziyanfang. Compared with his own Han Garden, Ziyanfang is huge and luxurious.
There are so many customers, and money is pouring in.
That day at Wanqinyuan, Prince Fu even bet on Ziyanfang with "Xuanyuan Sword". Xuanyuan Sword is a royal sacred weapon, which shows the status of Ziyanfang.
Now that Prince Yin wanted to trade Ziyanfang to him, how could Xue Poye not be shocked? Using Ziyanfang as a bargaining chip, what he was doing was probably not simple.
Xue Poye said simply and honestly: "Your Highness, if you say this, I will not dare to take on the responsibility. I am so virtuous and capable, and how courageous do you have to take over Ziyanfang? More importantly, what is your Highness?
It seems that the lower official is powerless to handle the matter entrusted to him."
Prince Yin smiled faintly and said: "I haven't said anything yet, how do you know that you can't do anything? Don't think that because Ziyanfang is so important, the things I entrust you to do will be difficult to handle. In fact... today's Ziyanfang, in
In my eyes, what is the difference between the value of it and the value of a stone?"
Xue Poye opened his mouth, but no words came out.
"I'm giving you Ziyanfang, and the matter I've entrusted to you is very simple." Prince Yin said slowly: "I want you to agree that after I leave, you must protect Concubine Yi, who is also my concubine.
Mother."
"What?" Xue Poye was startled.
Prince Yin said seriously: "This is not a difficult task, you must agree."
Xue Poye frowned and said: "Your Highness may be too high-minded to the official. How can the official have that ability? What's more, Concubine Yi is the mother-concubine of the country, who dares to hurt her?"
Prince Yin sneered and said: "There will never be too many people who want to harm her. Once I leave, my mother and concubine will definitely be weak. Those with ulterior motives will definitely take action against my mother and concubine." After a pause,
He said in a deep voice: "You are in charge of the Fenghuo Camp, and the Xuanhua Palace of the mother-in-law is under the protection of the Fenghuo Camp. As long as you are willing, you can completely protect the safety of the mother-in-law, at least you will not let her in the Xuanhua Palace.
He was harmed by others."
Xue Poye sighed: "Your Highness, please allow me to say a disrespectful and offensive word. If someone really wants to harm Concubine Yi, he will do it elsewhere even if he is not in Xuanhua Palace."
Prince Yin looked cold and said coldly: "My mother is the mother and concubine of the country. If she is killed in other places, my father will always have to deal with it. Everyone knows my father's methods, so no one will be in danger outside Xuanhua Palace."
Harm the mother and concubine. As long as the Xuanhua Palace is protected, the mother and concubine will be safe. Xue Poye, you must promise me!"
Xue Poye saw Prince Yin's worried look. No matter what, Prince Yin was always an extremely filial person, so he could only say: "Your Highness, don't worry, guard the safety of the palace. This is the responsibility of a lower official. I dare not slack off. As for
Concubine Yi’s Xuanhua Palace, I...I will do my best!"
Xue Poye didn't say anything about protecting Concubine Yi's safety, but Xuanhua Palace was determined to protect it with all its strength.
Prince Yin seemed to be relieved, nodded slowly, and said softly: "The matter that I was most worried about has been solved, Xue Poye, I thank you!"
"You have fulfilled your responsibilities, your Highness, don't worry!" Xue Poye said seriously.
The mother is worried when her son travels thousands of miles away, but the son who is in another place is not worried about his mother.
Prince Yin took off a black ring from his hand, handed it to Xue Poye, and said sternly: "This is my token. With it, Ziyanfang will be yours. All the principals of the various states in Ziyanfang will see you."
Things are like seeing people, I have already informed Yuhe Ziyanfang that you can take over at any time, and the boss will give you the property deeds, land deeds and accounts of the forty-eight Ziyanfangs."
Xue Poye stood up and bowed: "Your Highness, you have misunderstood. It is the duty of the lower official to protect Xuanhua Palace, not that the lower official wants to make a deal with His Highness!"
Prince Yin pressed his hands, and Xue Poye sat down and sighed: "Xue Poye, you know the situation of this palace. After I went to Yunzhou, many people in Ziyanfang were worried about it, and even
It's my father, so maybe it will be confiscated. This is my hard work. Once it becomes an official and businessman, it will lose its luster, so I have to find someone to let it continue to operate." After a pause, he slowly
Said: "My father favors you. As long as you take over the Ziyanfang, my father may acquiesce, and the Ziyanfang will be able to continue its glory. Therefore, I am not giving you the Ziyanfang just to give it to you, but to give it to you."
It is for the future of Ziyanfang. The guys in Ziyanfang have been trained for many years and are proficient in this. Once Ziyanfang is confiscated, these people will lose their jobs, and Ziyanfang will also lose its experts, so you
You have to accept it and let these guys have something to eat."
Xue Poye stared at Prince Yin and suddenly remembered something.
When a man is about to die, his words are kind; when an animal is about to die, his cry is sad!
Although Prince Yin is not dead, for a prince, being expelled is not much different from death. At this time, it is rare for him to think of the people who work for him.
Xue Poye naturally had plans to do business in Kyoto, and this plan was not for a day or two. He had thought about this issue when he was in Hangzhou, but the time was never ripe.
A big pie fell from the sky today, which shocked Xue Poye, but deep down in his heart, he was still a little excited.
Just taking over such a big industry suddenly and not knowing what the consequences will be?
While hesitating, Prince Yin put the black ring into his hand and said calmly: "I have delayed you for a long time today. For a person like me, it's better not to bother me anymore. You can go."
Xue Poye stayed for a moment, looked at the exhausted Prince Yin, and finally said: "Your Highness, take care!"
Prince Yin nodded and suddenly said: "Xue Poye, to this day and in the future you should still take care of yourself!" He smiled bitterly and shook his head, sighing: "I never expected that the last person I entrusted to the capital when I left Kyoto was you, hehe.
..., to this day, only you can entrust me with important tasks, only you, only you...!"
He had a lonely look on his face, as if he was tired of something.
Xue Poye was silent for a moment and finally said: "Your Highness, I asked you something that I shouldn't have asked. I hope Your Highness will not blame you!"
"Say it!" Prince Yin looked at Xue Poye and said.
Xue Poye hesitated to speak. After a long time, he said: "Since we have the crown prince, why bother fighting anymore!"
This is a very stupid question. In the imperial family, even if the prince is established early, there will still be this kind of struggle for the throne, just like there is a struggle in every corner of the court. This is human nature.
But Xue Poye just wanted to know Prince Yin's state of mind. Maybe it was rash to ask, but Xue Poye couldn't help but ask.
Prince Yin closed his eyes and was silent for a long time before he slowly said: "If I don't fight, others will fight. After they ascend the throne, they will punish me to death, and even hurt my mother and concubine. I want to protect myself and my mother and concubine."
, there is only struggle. Once it starts, there are only two ways to end it, the winner is the king or the loser!"
"Maybe that won't be the case!" Xue Poye frowned.
Prince Yin sneered: "Even if they won't punish me after they ascend the throne, but...!" After a pause, he waved and said: "Go!"
Xue Poye knew that he didn't want to say anything anymore, so he had to bow and get out of the carriage.
Prince Yin suddenly opened the curtains and said calmly: "I don't want to be like your uncle!" After saying that, he lowered the curtains.
Xue Poye was stunned and didn't react for a moment, but he soon understood what Prince Yin meant.
Even if the crown prince or other princes do not embarrass Prince Yin after they ascend the throne, Prince Yin will only become a mediocre prince who looks noble but is actually useless.
Young people are all arrogant and arrogant. No one would set a "disabled person" as their goal, let alone a figure like Prince Yin. If it were not His Majesty, no one would have a chance of winning against him.
Xue Poye looked at the curtains, stunned, but at this time the carriage had slowly driven away and soon disappeared from Xue Poye's eyes.
Prince Yin sat in the car with his eyes closed. After a long while, he said to Duan Kezhang: "Follow me back to the palace, take the sacred artifact, and go to see your father together. I think he is also waiting for me to hand over the sacred artifact.
Woolen cloth!"
Duan Kezhang agreed, and a strange light flashed in his eyes.
Xue Poye returned to his room. There was no trace of the small stone, and he didn't know where he went to study it. He closed the door, leaned on the bed, and took out the black ring.
The ring does not look special, or even very ordinary, but in itself, it is not necessarily very precious, but the wealth behind this ring is astonishingly huge.
The prince has an external treasury, and most of the funds for Prince Yin's fight for the throne depend on the wealth behind this ring.
After playing with the ring tray for a while, bored and lazy, Xue Poye fell asleep in a daze.
This sleep turned out to be extremely sweet. In my dream, I actually dreamed of many scenes after returning to Hangzhou. The most exciting one was naturally the one with Xiao Suzhen.
I don't know how long it took, but Xue Poye woke up and turned around. He found that the door was still locked, the sky had darkened, the heater in the room had also dimmed, and it was actually a bit cold.
He stood up, stretched, opened the door and walked out of the house. A chill hit his face and he couldn't help but shiver.
Walking in the courtyard, I saw that the small stone house was brightly lit, so I walked over leisurely, leaned against the window and looked in, and saw Mingxu standing next to a dummy, drooling and explaining about the human body.
Acupoints everywhere on the body.
The dummy was very lifelike, white, and I don't know what it was made of. It was covered with meridians and acupuncture points. It seemed that Mingxu had just made it in the past few days.
Little Shitou sat on the chair and listened with great interest, while the green lady stood aside and listened with a smile.
Xue Poye sighed, probably he had forgotten Monk Mingxu's "lie" commandment a long time ago.
He held the two official positions of Minister of Household Affairs and Deputy Chief Guard of Yulin, but he was quite leisurely. This made Xue Poye feel good. When he walked to the courtyard, he couldn't help but stretch and said: "It feels good!"
As soon as he finished speaking, footsteps sounded, and a general in armor, Yu Lin, rushed towards him. Xue Poye frowned and stared, but it was Captain Gong Yangyue.
The three captains of the Yulin camp, Ximen Lei Zang and Zhao Tianda, were guarding the bank of the household department. Gong Yangyue stayed in the camp for deployment, but he didn't know what was going on when he came here at this time. He saw Gong Yangyue walking in a hurry and smiling normally.
His face was solemn at this moment. Xue Poye quickly came up to meet him and said in a deep voice: "Captain Gongyang, what happened?"
Gong Yangyue stopped, bowed, looked around, then approached Xue Poye and whispered: "Sir, something happened in the palace!"
Xue Poye frowned and said, ***, things always happen in the palace these days. I don’t know what happened this time. He whispered: "What happened again? Is anyone dead?"
"Dead!"
Xue Poye was startled and lost his voice: "Damn it, someone died again, who is it? Isn't it another concubine who is doting on the concubine?"
Gong Yangyue looked solemn and said: "Yes... the Holy Emperor has been assassinated!"
Xue Poye was so frightened that he lost his voice and said: "You are...you mean...the Holy One...the Holy One is dead...passed away...!" Fortunately, he still thought of the word "died" at this time.
This shock was no small matter. Xue Poye's mind immediately thought of the major consequences of the assassination of Emperor Deqing. He might soon become a victim of the power struggle.
In any case, Emperor Deqing could not die at this time.
Gong Yangyue hurriedly said: "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, and he has the protection of God, sir...!" He looked around and found no one, so he was slightly relieved.
If Xue Poye's words were heard, he would be caught.
Xue Poye hurriedly asked: "How is the Holy Spirit doing now?"
"The Holy Lord is in the palace, there is nothing serious." Gong Yangyue said in a low voice: "It's just that the assassin was killed on the spot. Don't worry, sir."
Xue Poye breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this, and the stone in his throat dropped, and he said repeatedly: "That's good, that's good." After a pause, he whispered: "Do you know who the assassin is?
?”
Gongyang Yue looked strange and nodded.
Xue Poye said in a deep voice: "Come with me." He led Gong Yangyue back to the house, lit the lamp, closed the door, and then asked in a low voice: "What exactly is going on? Tell me clearly.
How could His Majesty be assassinated? By the way, where was His Majesty assassinated? Was it our brother guard from Fenghuo Camp?"
Gong Yangyue shook his head and said: "He is a brother from Tai Chi Camp."
Xue Poye breathed a sigh of relief. If it were the Fenghuo camp guards, he might be in trouble again.
"But...!" Gong Yangyue said slowly: "But this assassination has nothing to do with the Yulin Guards, and the Holy One did not anger the Yulin Camp."
"That's good!" Xue Poye felt completely relieved when he heard that the Holy One was fine and the Yulin Camp was not responsible, and asked: "Yes, you said that the assassin had been killed on the spot, who was it?
"
"It's Prince Yin!" Gong Yangyue said a name that shocked Xue Poye: "It's Zhang Wuming, one of the Three Pines of Yin Clan!"
Zhang Wuming is Duan Kezhang!
Xue Poye's eyes were straight, in disbelief, the muscles on his face were twisted, and his expression instantly became terrifying and abnormal.dd