A few days after the edict to depose the prince was issued, the emperor gradually recovered from his illness.
On this day, all the concubines Xian and Li were chatting with the emperor, and Shang Qiyan was also there.
Concubine Xian asked: "Is Mr. Shang's gout better?"
"Lao Lao asked, the old slave is much better." Shang Qiyan said with a smile.
Concubine Li said: "Eunuch Shang is almost sixty years old, right?"
"Go back to your Majesty, I am already sixty-two years old." Shang Qiyan said with a smile.
"He is a bit old," said Concubine Li. "Eunuch Shang is often sick. Your Majesty should be more considerate and ask him to take a rest. It's not like he has no one to serve, so why should he be by your side forever?"
Woolen cloth!"
Shang Qiyan couldn't help but be startled when he heard this. Concubine Li's words were really not nice enough.
Concubine Xian said from the side: "Although Eunuch Shang is not young anymore, he understands His Majesty's thoughts best. He usually stays by His Majesty's side longer than us sisters.
Besides, the work of serving tea and water is also done by other eunuchs and maids, and they all say that the clothes are not as good as the new ones as well as the old ones. Your Majesty is a nostalgic person, and Eunuch Shang has been with your Majesty for decades, how can we leave him?"
"I have no other intention. I just want Mr. Shang to take care of himself," Li Fei said. "I'll leave the less important things to the younger ones. I'm not asking Mr. Shang to return to his old hometown."
"Yes, yes," Shang Qiyan said hurriedly, "I know that the empress feels sorry for me. I also know that my legs and feet are getting worse and worse. I have taught the people below me little by little what I am doing.
Now that they've been taken care of, it's time for the old slave to retreat."
Just as the emperor was about to say something, the messenger eunuch came in and reported: "The Imperial Master of Qingque wants to see you."
The emperor hurriedly said: "Please come in quickly."
Qingque has been in seclusion these days, and the emperor has not seen him for many days.
Qingque still looks like a fairy, with white clothes and silk shoes, and a face like a crown jade.
When he saw the emperor, he only bowed his hand as a gift, and the emperor returned the favor.
"The Imperial Master has become more and more prosperous after retreating," the emperor said, "I wonder if I can gain something from it?"
"I heard that Your Majesty is slightly ill, and now he seems to have recovered, which is gratifying." Qingque said, "I looked at the sky at night and saw that the Taiwei wall among the three walls was getting brighter and brighter, so I should appoint him as the crown prince.
"
"Is that so? I just deposed the prince a few days ago." The emperor said, "I don't want to establish a heir yet."
"Taiweiyuan has been dark and dark since this spring. Now the darkness is gradually disappearing and the light is gradually growing. This is undoubtedly a good omen." Qingque said, "I think it won't be too long before the crown prince's position is fulfilled."
"The crown prince is also the foundation of the country," the emperor nodded, "and cannot remain idle for too long."
Concubine Xian was listening beside her, feeling proud in her heart.
Qingque finally took action. Let the emperor breathe first so that everything else can go smoothly.
It won't be long before news about the fifth prince comes.
Either be killed or detained, and in short, never want to return to Beijing again.
The second prince was not worthy of being appointed, and the fourth prince was also embarrassed to take on the important task. After several attempts, only his own son was chosen.
Concubine Li seemed to be tired, so she stood up and said, "Sister Concubine Xian, why don't we leave first? Your Majesty needs to interrogate the Imperial Preceptor, but we don't understand."
Concubine Xian thought she was jealous, so she pretended not to care and said, "Yes, I have other matters in the palace, so I will leave first."
Concubine Xian came out of Yangze Palace and first went to Concubine Rong. When she returned to her own palace, Shucong and others came out with a smile to say congratulations.
Concubine Xian said: "What is there to congratulate? You must have heard about it, but I have always taught you not to make it public, why don't you remember it?"
"Your Majesty, this is in our own palace, and we don't want to show it outside." Shu Cong said, "I think that your journey has been really hard for Your Majesty, and I am happy for you from the bottom of my heart."
"Of course I know you have good intentions, but you still have to be careful in the future." Concubine Xian said, "Just do what you have to do, and don't talk about it again."
Kang Guangze said: "Your Majesty, why did Concubine Li suddenly act stupidly in front of the Emperor today?"
"Are you saying she said what Shang Qiyan said?" Concubine Xian asked.
"Isn't it just that she said that Mr. Shang is old? Isn't this a direct offence?" Kang Guang said, "Thanks to those few words given by the empress, it was not too embarrassing. Eunuch Shang must be grateful to the empress for this matter.
.”
"Shang Qiyan never seems to make trouble in front of the emperor, but he knows the emperor's thoughts best, and a few words he says intentionally or unintentionally are more effective than other people's excuses." Concubine Xian smiled and said, "Concubine Li has nothing to offend.
What is he doing?"
"Empress, should we take this opportunity to recruit Shang Qiyan to come over?" Kang Guang asked, "Wouldn't it be better to have him as a helper?"
"We also intended to win over Shang Qiyan before, but we didn't want to do it too obviously for fear of backfiring." Concubine Xian said, "Now that we have gone 70% of the way, we just don't want to make enemies with him."
"That's right. That old fox Shang Qiyan is neither willing to offend anyone nor to seek refuge with anyone." Kang Guang nodded and shook his head, "It's all in vain."
"He has been able to stay by the Emperor's side for so many years without any fault. The first important thing is that he is only loyal to the Emperor." Concubine Xian took the opportunity to hit Kang Guang, "otherwise he wouldn't be where he is today."
"This alone is enough for a slave to learn for a lifetime," Kang Guang said hurriedly, "The young one is only loyal to the empress."
Then Liu Mizhang came and said to Concubine Xian: "Yesterday the phoenix flying pigeon sent a message, saying that they have arrived in Dingxiang, and if they go three to five hundred miles north, they will definitely encounter the Huns."
"It will take another two or three days for the fifth prince and the others to arrive in Dingxiang, and they may need to do some repairs." Concubine Xian calculated, "The timing is good, but we must rush to see him before the fifth prince and the others do.
Only the Xiongnu Chanyu can do that."
"Don't worry, empress. Fengming is very smart. He specially asked his entourage to pretend to be border people and drive the cattle and sheep to the north. The Huns may not surround them when they see people. It can be seen that they must rob the cattle and sheep." Liu Mi
Zhang likes this son very much, "Maybe he has met the Xiongnu Chanyu by now."
"As long as things go smoothly on their side, things will be more than half done." Concubine Xian said, "What are the movements of the ministers of the previous dynasty? The emperor has been out of court these days, and none of the people who asked for an audience in front of the palace gate have been seen.
.”
"Naturally, no one has any objections to the deposing of the crown prince. However, many people have begun to talk about establishing the sixth prince as heir apparent. I plan to let one or two people take the lead to give it a try and see which direction the trend is."
"Your Majesty is suspicious, and you must be more careful at this time. You find two people who don't know the importance of things." Concubine Xian said, "Even if it doesn't suit the Emperor's wishes, it can only be done with a few words of reprimand, and there will be no further investigation."
.”
"Yes, yes, that's what I planned." Liu Mizhang said, "Let the two newly promoted fifth-rank officials do it, and also let them practice their courage."