At midnight, the city gates of Kyoto were closed, and except for some special places in the city that had lights on, the entire Kyoto fell into darkness and silence.
In the Viscount's Mansion, all the maids and servants have gone to bed, and the guards of the mansion rarely need to patrol and guard. Two big men stood at the door of a small courtyard with extremely serious expressions.
A certain room in the courtyard was a little crowded at the moment.
"The news has spread in Kyoto, there shouldn't be any lies..."
"After that, there was no news from the palace. I am afraid that you were left in the palace."
"The palace is heavily guarded and there are countless experts. It is impossible to forcefully break in. No one knows the situation in the palace yet, but everything will be clear after tomorrow morning."
"As long as you leave the palace, even if you are imprisoned in the prison of the Ministry of Justice, we may not be able to accomplish anything. However, after rescuing you, we can no longer stay in Kyoto and must escape immediately... It is just right to take the waterway, but before that,
We still need to make some other arrangements..."
…
…
The thin middle-aged man thought for a moment and spoke again: "Everything depends on tomorrow. There is no need to be too anxious at this time. Although King Shu has an extraordinary status, this matter also involves Prince Ning. Even if he is the emperor, he must
Considering Prince Ning, this matter will definitely be the focus of the court tomorrow morning. What we have to do now is to wait..."
"Wait a minute, my uncle doesn't know what to do in the palace!" Lao Fang slammed the table and said angrily.
Lu Luo glanced at him and said: "The matter is of great importance. If you are not careful, you will be doomed. Brother Fang should calm down first. Otherwise, not only will we not be able to save you, but we will also lose our lives in vain."
Lao Fang clenched his fists, breathed heavily, and veins were pulsing on his forehead. In the end, he did not speak again.
Except for brothers Lu Luo and Lu Mang, the room was full of people who had moved with Lao Fang from Qing'an Prefecture to the original Liuye Village in the capital. There were many people with hotter tempers than Lao Fang, but this time they met
The matter was so unusual that everyone fell silent for a rare moment.
Not long after, the door opened and everyone dispersed. Ruyi walked out of the courtyard and took two steps to the courtyard next to her. Suddenly, a voice came from the courtyard.
"Well, the old man is working hard. You should go and rest quickly. The old man has a good sleep and will go there to take a look tomorrow morning..."
"Thank you, second uncle." Ruyi breathed a long sigh of relief, closed the courtyard door, and sat on the stone bench in the courtyard. Miss Liu Er leaned against the stone table with her sword in her arms and said, "I will wait at the palace gate tomorrow morning.
With."
Ruyi nodded. That was probably the place where she could get the news the fastest. Although she preferred to go there in person, if things changed, she would need to make more preparations and must think about their future from now on.
"Remember to calm down when encountering trouble, don't be rash." She reminded, but Miss Liu Er did not respond and walked to her room.
Xiaohuan stood at the door with a look of panic and helplessness on her face. Ruyi came over, hugged her gently, and whispered in her ear: "Don't worry, my uncle will be fine. Now go to sleep."
…
…
A night of silence.
I don't know what happened in the house. Everyone became very strange. The maids and servants who got up early in the morning felt the strongest.
The second young lady went out before dawn, and the wife and Miss Xiaohuan also left in a car. Even the houses outside the house did not open their doors. It seemed that many people were missing from the house.
Especially when the sun rose, the old man had not moved the strange chair out to bask in the sun, which made the servants in the house even more confused.
Thinking that the lordship did not come back yesterday, the lady went out early in the morning, and so many people were not around, maybe she took someone to catch her...
I thought of a certain possibility and immediately expelled it from my mind. This is the master's business. Do not get involved in the master's affairs. This is the first rule that you need to abide by when you are a servant in a wealthy family.
The Viscount's Mansion seemed to be calmer today, but there was an explosion in the court hall.
The matter of Qi's redemption of the city and the establishment of a crown prince gradually faded out of the sight of the officials, but another matter was put on their desks.
Emperor Jing glanced at a thick pile of memorials to impeach Li Yi, the son of Chang'an County. He flipped through a few of them and then lost some interest. He said, "Please tell me what you think about this matter."
"Your Majesty, Li Yi, the son of Chang'an County, beat the prince of the dynasty in the palace in front of everyone. Such behavior is really too bad. If it is not severely punished, where will the royal family's face be, and where will your Majesty's face be!"
The middle-aged official stood up and spoke righteously.
This person is the Minister of Rites. In addition to being in charge of education and diplomatic matters, the Ministry of Rites is also responsible for maintaining all matters related to national laws and regulations.
Of course, there is a more important reason why the Minister of Rites stood up.
His surname is Chen. The Duke of Chen's government has always had a close relationship with the King of Shu. If something like this happens, he will definitely side with the King of Shu.
"Shilang Chen's words are reasonable. Li Yi, the son of Chang'an County, committed an offense and seriously injured His Highness the King of Shu in front of all the officials. He must be severely punished!" Another official stood up and said.
"Shilang Chen and Master Wu are right!"
"The son of Chang'an County must be severely punished!"
"I second the proposal!"
…
…
As soon as he stood up, several others agreed and seconded the motion.
The censors in the imperial court were very free today. The impeachment and remonstrance was actually their business. All the officials had always been on the opposite side of them. But today, the officials' voices were surprisingly unified. One after another, they rushed to express their opinions.
Opinions, it's not their turn to speak at all.
Of course, Prince Li Xuan, who is the supervisory censor, is also one of the protagonists involved in the fight. The censor still wants to have face. If they can stay silent today, they will not speak. If someone points this out, their faces will be
Where should I put it?
What happened today was not like arguing over the establishment of a prince or other matters. The officials had different positions, and the quarrel was so intense that they wanted to fight. Everyone who stood up today condemned Li Yi, the son of Chang'an County. The general meaning is that
Li Yi was lawless. He beat the prince in the palace in front of so many people. This was a bad behavior that had not been seen in the country for decades. The culprit was Li Yi. If he didn't kill him, it wouldn't be enough for the people to be angry. If he didn't kill him, it wouldn't be enough.
To comfort the people, not killing is not enough to be humane...
In the process, they also emphasized the misery of His Highness the King of Shu. If His Highness the King of Shu had not been too seriously injured and had no choice but to carry him over for everyone to see, they would surely be able to win enough allies.
Contrary to these people, the veteran generals all dozed off in the court hall. Li Mingze, the minister of official affairs, had a calm expression and said nothing from the beginning to the end.
At this time, a young censor stood up, and a certain official of Qin Xiang's family who was about to go up paused.
This censor named Song Lang was appreciated by His Majesty a few days ago, so what he said must have more weight.
"Your Majesty, I am impeaching Li Xuan, the supervisor of Gyeonggi Province. As a censor, he failed to perform his duties as a censor. He knew the law and broke the law. He beat the prince together with the prince of Chang'an County. He should be guilty of the same crime... Please make your decision."
After Song Lang finished speaking, he stood there quietly. The noise in the court suddenly became much quieter.
Several Shangguan officials at Yushitai's heart trembled at the same time, cursing secretly in their hearts, this Song Lang is really audacious, can this matter be mentioned in the court?
Prince Ning only has such a son. If he is really "punished with the same crime", I'm afraid it won't be long before their official offices in Yushitai will be demolished!
Is the official position of Prime Minister Qin high enough?
Officials from Qin and Xiang's line are usually quite arrogant in the court, aren't they?
But none of them mentioned anything about Prince Li Xuan just now, not because they forgot, but because they didn't dare!
Not only were the censors secretly scolding Song Lang, but the officials who had just spoken to severely punish Li Yi also had dark faces.
This stupid young man really doesn't care about anything. Everyone already knew this, but when he made such a fuss, he had to put it on the table.
The Minister of Rites who was the first to speak stood up again and said: "It is obvious to all that Li Yi, the son of Chang'an County, is the culprit of this matter. Prince Li Xuan may have just been bewitched by him. What's more, he has not
It has not caused much harm to His Highness the King of Shu."
The words of the young censor Song Lang caused a sudden change in the direction of the court, from convicting Li Yi, the son of Chang'an County, to acquitting Li Xuan, the crown prince of Ning Prince, which made all the officials secretly despise him.
A young official looked at the officials in the court taking pictures of King Ning's power. He was able to say such words against his will without blushing or gasping for breath. He sighed and disappointed in his heart. So what if King Ning can surpass His Majesty?
, does it exceed the laws of the country?
Thinking of his lofty ideal of studying hard for ten years and vowing to do his best to serve the country, the young official's face showed a trace of determination, and he stood up in stride and spoke his voice.
"I second the proposal!"
…
…
Looking at the performances of countless officials, Emperor Jing finally waved his hand, and a eunuch took out a folding paper from his sleeve, walked down, and handed it to Prime Minister Shen and Prime Minister Qin who were standing in front of the officials and never spoke.
Since ancient times, the left has been respected. Therefore, among the left and right prime ministers, although Prime Minister Qin is more powerful in the court, in real terms, Prime Minister Shen's status is higher.
Prime Minister Shen took the fold and opened it with confusion. After a moment, the expression on his face became a little strange, and he handed the fold to Prime Minister Qin who was standing aside.
Seeing the expression on Shen Xiang's face, Qin Xiang couldn't help but have a bad premonition in his heart. He took the folded book he handed over and cast his eyes upward.
A moment later, when the fold came out of Qin Xiang's hand, his face began to look a little ugly.
As this piece of paper was circulated among the officials, the sound of startled breathing could be heard in the hall, and the officials had different expressions. Gradually, the court became strangely quiet.
Many high officials in the court looked at the Prime Minister of Qin and officials close to the King of Shu in a vague way. Although they did not say it clearly, the meaning was self-evident.
As an adult prince, he actually took the initiative to bully a young and foolish princess. When His Majesty was seriously ill, not only did he not fulfill his filial piety in the palace, but he held a banquet in the palace. Thinking of the previous actions of King Shu, Prime Minister Qin, please tell me,
What is it that you want to assist the superior?
If a person with such a temperament were to become the emperor, many officials would feel that their lives would be greatly threatened.
This is just a pinch of salt.
In addition, what happened to the intermittent hysteria in Chang'an County?
This note came from His Majesty. There is no doubt about its authenticity. The Imperial Medical Office has testified that the illness of the Prince of Chang'an County should not be false. The Prince of Chang'an County is actually suffering from hysteria. No one has ever known about this before.
But in this way, the mystery in everyone's minds was finally explained.
No wonder he would do such a thing. How could a normal person, other than a madman, beat the prince in the palace in front of all the civil and military officials?
Prince Li Xuan has always been close to him. Could it be that he was infected by Prince Li?
However, beating the prince is beating the prince. Hysteria is not a reason to beat the prince. Although the punishment will be reduced as appropriate, the King of Shu was injured in that way. If it was exposed lightly, how would the royal family survive?
But how could the stupid Princess Yongning be suddenly cured by him?
Princess Yongning's condition is unknown to everyone in the court and central government. A year ago, in order to cure Princess Yongning's illness, His Majesty ordered a search for famous doctors all over the world, and even promised a huge reward. The reward was as rich as any other.
Everyone's heart is moved, but unfortunately, even the Imperial Medical Office believes that Her Royal Highness's illness is incurable, and countless famous doctors are helpless about it. As time goes by, this matter will be ignored.
But things in the world are so unexpected.
The King of Shu was beaten, and Princess Yongning was cured of her terminal illness, all by the hands of one person. Is this a reward or a punishment, a praise or a scolding? This water has been muddied by Prince Ning, and now it has undoubtedly become complicated. The relationship between the court and the court
No one dares to interrupt casually anymore.
The eerie silence lasted for who knows how long. Emperor Jing waved his hand, and a eunuch who announced the edict took out the imperial edict that had been prepared and began to read it.
…
…
Li Yi yawned, and when he opened his eyes, he saw a familiar old face.
After a very comfortable sleep, Li Yi sat up, tried to keep himself as far away from Chang De's old face, and said, "Is there anything going on this early in the morning, Mr. Chang?"
"Li Xianzi, it's time for you to leave the palace." Chang De said calmly with no expression on his face.
The palace maid had already brought toiletries. After Li Yi finished washing, he stepped out of the palace door. There was a warm breeze outside and the sun was shining brightly.
"How did you cure Princess Yongning?" Li Yi turned around and saw Chang De standing in the hall looking at him.
"Before answering this question, can I ask Manager Chang a question first?" Li Yi crossed his arms and looked at him and said.
"Say." Chang De said lightly.
"Do you know the Sunflower Book?" Li Yi looked at him and asked with great interest.
…
…
When Li Yi walked out of the palace with brisk steps, Chang De, who was standing at the gate of a certain palace and silently reciting the four words "Sunflower Collection", seemed to feel something. He suddenly turned his head and looked in a certain direction, looking into the void.
In Yiwu's palace, the confusion on his face lasted for a moment before he slowly looked away.
At the same time, the head of the catering bureau looked at the servants standing in rows with a gloomy face, and said angrily: "Tell me, who secretly ate the white chicken that His Highness the King of Jin requested!"
People on a certain street in Kyoto were surprised to find that a smoothie shop that had been doing a lot of business in recent days was not open. After lingering at the door for a while, they left with some regrets.
In the backyard of the shop, the woman in white had a calm face. Several strong figures were sitting there, looking in the direction of the palace. The atmosphere was extremely tense...
