"My lord, the prince's newborn calf is too reckless. As the chief minister of the dynasty, you must not let the prince continue to be so reckless."
Sun Boli, the minister of Dali Temple, said angrily.
On the side, Teng Huaiyi, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, also said: "Master Sun is right. In the imperial court, after all, the chief minister is the most important. If the young prince is allowed to continue to behave like this, how can he be decent? In the future, when the emperor recovers from his dragon body, he will see the capital being destroyed.
The prince has caused a mess and the public resentment is boiling. I am afraid that he will be angry again. Lord Chief Assistant, now we have to take some measures against the prince."
Zhao Xuanji closed his eyes slightly, and said calmly to Wang Tenghuan, a fellow cabinet minister and fellow cabinet minister, who was drinking tea next to him: "Brother Wang, what do you think of this matter?"
Wang Tenghuan gently put down the tea cup and said: "The prince is young and has just taken over the power of supervising the country. He only knows how to use power to kill people, but he does not know that behind the power is responsibility. As ministers of the imperial court, you and I should assist the prince and let him understand,
To govern the country, killing is not the only way to solve everything."
"What's more, if you and I remain silent, the second Xu Changqing will probably appear."
Hearing this, Zhao Xuanji's face turned dark.
He said slowly: "In that case, tomorrow, we will go to the East Palace together to meet the prince, inform him of his interests, and let the prince temporarily put down his power to supervise the country. Let's learn how to handle the government affairs first, and then talk about other things."
Several adults who were also plotting in the study and belonged to Zhao Xuanji's inner circle looked at each other and smiled one after another. Then they bowed to Zhao Xuanji in unison:
"We, please obey the order of the Chief Assistant."
Zhao Xuanji nodded expressionlessly and said slowly: "Since there are other things to do tomorrow, everyone should go back and rest first."
When the others saw Zhao Xuanji issuing an order to expel the guests, they all stood up and left.
After everyone left, Zhao Xuanji sat on a chair and meditated for a moment, then got up and went to the desk to write a note and pat it lightly with his palms.
Outside the door, an expressionless guard quietly came to Zhao Xuanji without saying a word.
"Send it to the palace quickly and give it to Zhao Rui." Zhao Xuanji took out another bottle of medicine from the drawer and handed it to the guard along with the note, saying calmly.
The guard took the two things, stuffed them into his arms without looking at them, bowed and left quietly.
Arriving in the courtyard, Zhao Xuanji looked up at the night and murmured: "Prince, I hope you won't force me to take this last step."
...
As soon as Li Chen returned to the East Palace, he received the latest news from Sanbao.
"More than half of the first-rank officials in the court gathered in Zhao Xuanji's mansion and discussed for two hours before leaving?"
Li Chen looked calm and asked: "Can you find out what they talked about?"
Sanbao cupped his hands and said: "The spies of Jinyiwei only know that they will jointly go to the East Palace to meet the prince tomorrow. The specific reasons and events are not yet known."
Li Chen walked to a candlelight, picked out the wick with scissors, and the flames became much brighter. Looking at the candlelight, Li Chen asked casually.
Sanbao said softly: "I dare not speak nonsense, but it is definitely not a good thing."
"As the chief minister of the dynasty, his power in the court can be said to be overwhelming with one hand. My father has been seriously ill for several years. In these years, he has been almost the one in charge of the government. Many decrees and strategies are from his hand. Compared with
With us as father and son, he is more like the helmsman of this empire."
"At this time, the first-rank officials surrounding him came to discuss with the Chief Assistant for two hours for only one reason."
Li Chen put down the scissors and said coldly: "What I have done in the past few days has made them anxious. They are not used to having imperial power above their heads to suppress them. They want everything to return to normal, and the best way is
Make me surrender, or...let me disappear."
Sanbao's pupils tightened, and he immediately said: "I, as well as Dongchang, are willing to die for the prince."
"I know that these words must be sincere, because if I am finished, you and your Dongchang will be finished too."
Li Chen chuckled lightly and said, "Let's go to Fengxi Palace."
In Fengxi Palace, when Li Chen arrived, Zhao Qinglan was already ready to rest.
Across the door curtain, Li Chen cupped his hands and said, "I would like to see the queen."
Zhao Qinglan's cold voice came from inside the door curtain, "The night is already dark. It is not appropriate for the prince to see me. If you have anything to say, please leave after you finish speaking."
"The queen is sure you want me to speak here?" Li Chen said with a half-smile.
Inside the door curtain, Zhao Qinglan was silent for a while, and then ordered with some reluctance: "You all stand down."
After everyone else in the palace left, Zhao Qinglan said coldly: "What do you have to say, can you say it now?"
As soon as the others left, Li Chen's eyes sharpened and his waist straightened. As if he had suddenly turned his back on the guests, he strode over and opened the door curtain.
Zhao Qinglan, who was sitting on the sofa, saw this and said angrily: "How outrageous! You broke in without my permission. Even if you are the prince, I can punish you!"
"okay."
Li Chen sat down on the sofa, picked up the tea cup in Zhao Qinglan's hand and drank, saying: "Am I too presumptuous? The queen should not say anything about this kind of complete self-consolation."
When Zhao Qinglan saw that Li Chen was drinking from his own cup, he was immediately ashamed and annoyed.
She stood up and looked at Li Chen coldly and said, "Don't think that I am so easy to bully."
Zhao Qinglan's status is noble, and her demeanor as a mother is absolutely extraordinary. At this moment, when she is furious, she really has such a terrifying power.
But this method obviously didn't have much effect in front of Li Chen.
He has plenty of ways to remove Zhao Qinglan's thorns.
"A quarter of an hour ago, I just received news that more than half of the first-ranking officials with real power in the imperial court, including Dali Temple Minister Sun Boli and Minister of Punishment Teng Huaiyi, had a secret conversation for two hours in the Prime Minister's Mansion. No one knew what the secret conversation was about.
But I know they will come to the East Palace tomorrow to cause trouble for me."
Li Chen looked at Zhao Qinglan, who was wide-eyed and shocked after hearing his words, chuckled lightly, put one hand on the soft armrest and the other on the backrest, leaned over Zhao Qinglan, and stared at the
With eyes as clear as crystal, he said: "I am thinking, should we take advantage of this great opportunity for them to gather together, and hide a hundred ax hands in the East Palace tomorrow, and wait for your father and the others to come, and just slash them randomly?"
die?"
When Li Chen said these words, there was a smile on his face.
But those cold eyes, which were as bottomless as a deep pool, contained a surging murderous intention flowing inside. It seemed that it had accumulated to the limit and might explode in the next moment.
If anyone else had said such treasonous words, Zhao Qinglan would have thought the other person was crazy.
Those are the chief assistants in the court who have controlled the government for more than ten years, and more than half of the first-level officials with real power. It can be said that these people represent the top of the power pyramid of the Great Qin Empire. Once something happens to them, the entire Great Qin Empire will be
Chaos.
But based on what Li Chen did during this period, Zhao Qinglan felt that Li Chen really dared to do this.
You must know that Li Chen achieved a terrifying achievement. The number of important court officials he killed was equal to the number of days he had obtained the power to supervise the country.
Such a bloodthirsty madman could do anything.
"don't want!"
Zhao Qinglan exclaimed: "Once you do this, the capital will fall into riots in an instant, and the frightened courtiers will be in danger. When the capital is in chaos, the tense situation in the empire, which is already tense because of the disaster victims, will trigger the whole body."
, this will only make the empire more dangerous, and those bandits and foreign enemies who are eyeing the empire will take the opportunity to enter."
"Prince, you must not be impulsive!"
Li Chen stared at Zhao Qinglan, his eyes flickering.
He raised his hand, slowly rubbed Zhao Qinglan's face, which was as smooth and transparent as a freshly peeled egg, with the back of his hand, and said, "I know, but they don't want me to live, so I'll fight them."
"Otherwise, I can't let them slaughter me, right?"
Zhao Qinglan bit her lips. Every inch of skin that Li Chen's palms touched made her feel numb and numb like an electric shock. She forced herself not to care about that feeling, but her gradually rapid breathing was an indisputable fact.
Enduring the strange and unfamiliar agitation in her heart, Zhao Qinglan tried her best to calm down. In order to prevent Li Chen's hand from irritating her anymore, she raised her hand to grab Li Chen's hand, looked up at Li Chen, and said:
