Chapter 179: Cleverly taking advantage of father and son’s meal
After Concubine Li had laughed enough, Concubine Fu said: "Sister, I have something to ask you for help."
"Ask me for help? How can I help?" Li Fei asked with a half-smile.
"I thought that in less than two days, the fifth child would be taken out of the palace." Concubine Fu sighed and said, "This child has long had a wish to have a meal with the emperor. It's a pity that he has been busy.
, unexpectedly could not do so.
It is inconvenient for me to go see the Emperor again, but my sister can. Besides, His Majesty has always loved you very much. If you can intercede for him in front of the Emperor, we, mother and son, will be very grateful."
"Invite the Fifth Prince to have a meal with the Emperor?" Concubine Li repeated what Concubine Fu meant, "This is not a big deal."
"Thank you very much, sister." Concubine Fu said with an apologetic smile.
"Don't be in a hurry to thank me, just in case this thing doesn't work out." Li Fei said, "I'm not completely sure."
After seeing off Concubine Li, Concubine Fu asked Xue Hengzhao: "Will Concubine Li help with this?"
"Don't worry, the empress, she will definitely do it." Xue Hengzhao said, "She doesn't have any good intentions towards us, but she even wants to bring down the queen.
This matter was jointly carried out by the Yao family and the Ma family, and Li Fei naturally knew it.
If those two families are really allowed to succeed, the queen's power will only grow stronger, which will be even more detrimental to them.
She wants us to consume each other and reap the benefits. If I ask her to help me at this time, she will definitely not refuse."
This evening, Li Fei will accompany you.
She also accompanied the emperor during dinner.
The emperor was unhappy, so Concubine Li poured a glass of wine, held it in both hands and handed it to the emperor.
Her hands are extremely beautiful, and the contrast with the gold cup inlaid with treasures is really pleasing to the eye.
"Your Majesty has lost a lot of weight these days, and I feel very distressed for you." Concubine Li frowned lightly, her tone half angry and half resentful, "Your Majesty, please enjoy this cup and warm yourself up."
"Only when I come to you can I have a moment of peace." The emperor drank wine and held Concubine Li in his arms.
"Your Majesty is still worried about the fifth prince?" Concubine Li asked.
"Yes, this matter has caused such a big fuss. I thought I could spend the New Year in peace and quiet." The emperor's tone was full of weariness.
He had ignored the government affairs for many years, but because of Qingque's words, he returned to the Jinluan Palace. He could be said to have worked hard, so it was very hard.
I just want to be in power for a few years in peace, to end my mortal relationship, and to enter the fairy world early.
Things happened one after another, which made him very depressed.
"Your Majesty, do you think my prince is really that bold?" Concubine Li asked, looking at the emperor intently.
"I don't want to believe it," the emperor said, "but now there is such a fuss..."
"Your Majesty, I do have a humble opinion." Concubine Li said, "Before your Majesty hands the fifth prince to Dali Temple, can you ask him alone?"
"You want me to interrogate him alone?" the emperor asked.
"It's not an interrogation," Li Fei smiled, "I remember when I was a child, I heard Mr. Gu Mu tell a story about Song Taizu releasing his military power over a glass of wine.
I really admire Song Taizu's strategy. He handled such a difficult matter without a single blow or even a bad word.
Your Majesty might as well learn from this, I think, Your Majesty and the fifth prince are biological father and son, their blood is thicker than water. Do they have to go to court?
We might as well have a meal together and talk things over at the dinner table like a normal father and son.
If the fifth prince was just confused and made a mistake, he would definitely be influenced by it.
If he pleads guilty in front of you, the emperor might as well forgive him a little. It's better than going to court and asking questions and shouting to kill, right?
I don’t know if this method will work, but I just want to save the emperor some worry and retain more of the royal dignity."
"What you said makes sense. I never thought of it before. If the fifth prince still has filial piety, he should repent." The emperor thought that this method might as well be tried. In fact, he really wanted to know what the fifth prince had.
Didn't do those things.
If he did it, what exactly was he thinking?
The next day, after the morning court, the emperor said to Shang Qiyan: "I asked Lao Wu to come over for lunch. I want to eat with him."
"I know this, so I went back to get the recipe and asked Your Majesty to take a look at it." Shang Qiyan quickly replied.
"I won't read it anymore. You can just look at the arrangements." The emperor was too lazy to bother with these trivial matters. He walked a few steps, then thought about it and said, "But there must be a fish."
He remembered what the cook said, and he had dinner with the Fifth Prince today in order to wake him up.
Then there must be something to draw on, and the emperor naturally thought of fish.
"The regular dishes include steamed sea bass and silver-threaded yellow croaker," Shang Qiyan said, "I wonder if these two dishes are to your Majesty's taste?"
"That's it." The emperor doesn't care about the fish, as long as there are fish.
Shang Qiyan led people to pass the lunch, and at the same time asked people to go to the back hall.
"Waiting for the fifth prince to bathe and change clothes, he will have dinner with His Majesty later." Shang Qiyan warned, "Be careful and don't make any mistakes."
When the fifth prince arrived, a table of royal meals had already been passed around.
The emperor was writing the invitation in front of the writing desk. He waited for the emperor to finish writing the last stroke before stepping forward to say hello.
The emperor glanced at him, put down his pen and said, "Sit down and eat."
The fifth prince waited for the emperor to sit down before he sat down at the bottom.
The emperor never picks up the dishes when he eats, but has full-time eunuchs to serve them.
The emperor looked at all the dishes on the table and said: "You and I haven't had a meal at the same table for a long time. You were not in the capital for your son's full moon banquet. I came back and said I would welcome you, but you missed it because of various things.
Gone."
"My father is so busy with state affairs that he often forgets to sleep and eat. I am really ashamed that my son and ministers cannot share our worries and only cause more trouble." The fifth prince said reproachfully.
When the emperor heard what he said, it was just what he wanted, so he said to the eunuch serving the dishes: "Today's seabass is good. I heard that the fifth prince likes fish very much, so I gave him a piece of the fattest part of the fish belly."<
/p>
He noticed that the expression on the fifth prince's face was a bit complicated, and thought he was guilty and ashamed.
A piece of delicious seabass meat was placed neatly on a small plate. The eunuch held it in both hands and placed it in front of the fifth prince.
"Thank you very much, Father, for the gift." The fifth prince bowed to express his gratitude.
"No need to be polite, just try this fish and see how it tastes." The emperor planned to lecture the fifth prince after he finished eating the piece of seabass.
The fifth prince ate the fish in three mouthfuls according to the dining etiquette he had learned since childhood.
"How does it taste?" The emperor looked at him and asked.
"It's very delicious." The fifth prince lowered his head and replied.
"Perch is the most delicious in the world, but there is another reason why you eat this fish so deliciously, that is, it is a reward from me." The emperor began to beat the fifth prince, "Otherwise, no matter how delicious it is, without my permission, you
You shouldn’t eat it secretly.”
When the emperor was preaching, he did not forget to observe the reaction of the fifth prince. He saw that he was calm at first, but then he became a little strange.