It's past three o'clock, and we are already firmly seated on the first floor of one of the top three houses in the capital. The lights are still bright, people are drinking wine, their clothes are fragrant, and they are singing and dancing.
But the private room on the top floor was quiet. The Chen brothers and Su Che were drinking and talking quietly, which was incompatible with the atmosphere downstairs.
"Zhong Fang, you said, since the official family is trying to make King Qi succeed to the throne," Chen Yu asked puzzledly: "Why don't you just let him be the prince? Wouldn't it be a good thing?"
"It's not that simple. For many years, both the government and the public have regarded Zhao Zongshi as the best choice for the crown prince. Behind him, a force strong enough to change the court has formed." Chen Ke shook his head and said with a bitter smile: "If he is suddenly established
King Qi, this force will be greatly disappointed and even frightened... They are worried that once King Qi ascends to power, they will be retaliated against, or at least pushed aside by those who support King Qi. This is unacceptable to them. If
Improper handling may have disastrous consequences.”
"Actually, this is almost the same as Yi Chu." Chen Yan said quietly: "Zhao Zong is not a prince, but better than a prince. With the stable temperament of an official, he naturally has to be cautious."
"I think I'm a little over-worried," Chen Yu said with a smile: "Look at the letter submitted a year ago, didn't it mean that the thunder was loud and the rain was small?"
"That's because they were suppressed by Han Qi. Besides, Zhao Zongshi became the governor of Kaifeng after all, which can always give them hope, so there are not many big officials involved." Chen Ke said: "No one dares to say that once the officials reveal the truth,
Window paper, will those people unite to oppose the King of Qi and protect Zongshi? This risk is too great, and it will damage the prestige of the King of Qi. Therefore, the officials are increasing the pressure on the King of Qi now. Although it is a little late, it can still be considered as making up for the situation.
When the prestige of King Qi can surpass Zhao Zongshi, it will be a matter of course for him to establish a throne."
"Haste makes waste, that's the truth." Su Che said with a smile: "But if I were to play this game of chess, I would be the first to get Mr. Han out of the capital."
"That's right, Han Qi is Zhao Zongshi's staunchest advocate and supporter!" Chen Yu's eyes lit up and he said: "Taking this guy down is half the battle."
"It's a pity that you are not an official, brother." Chen Yunuo said with a smile: "Besides, the officials are still worried about whether the Wenxiang Guild will lose its tail..."
"These are so many twists and turns that it makes your head feel heavy just listening to them," Chen Yu said with a wry smile: "It's actually more complicated than a battle between two armies."
"Isn't this a battle between two armies?" Chen Ke stood up, opened the window, looked at the brightly lit city in the distance and said, "It's such a nightless day..."
"Yes, there are still two hours. This year will be completely over." Several brothers also stood up and walked to the window to breathe in the clear air.
"Hey, where is that? It seems to be on fire." Chen Yu pointed to a magnificent building in the distance.
When everyone heard the sound, they saw the fire rising into the sky. It immediately eclipsed the lanterns all over the city.
"Alas, fireworks are so harmful that even the palaces of princes and princes are not spared." Su Che shook his head and sighed: "We must restrict them."
"That seems to be the Prince's Mansion of Qingling County, right?" Chen Yu identified it carefully.
"Burn it well, burn it well..." Su Zhe immediately changed his words and said, "Only if the Fu Yin family is burned, the Kaifeng Mansion will take it seriously."
Chen Ke and Chen Yan looked at each other, and they both saw surprise in each other's pupils.
"The water has escaped, the water has escaped!" Fires shot up into the sky, and chaos broke out inside and outside the county prince's palace.
Meng Yang was awakened from his dream. He didn't have time to call his servants, so he put on his clothes and put on his shoes. Then he ran out of the room and saw Lu Huiqing, who lived next door, also wearing a cotton robe with a confused look on his face.
"What's the matter, Mr. Meng?" Lu Huiqing has been very active since he joined Zhao Zongshi. He was the one who instigated Jiang Zhiqi's rebellion, and he also did many dirty things that were unknown to the public. He finally succeeded in winning Zhao Zongshi's trust and became the leader of Zhao Zongshi's family.
He was a member of the inner circle. The palace was short of manpower these days, so he took the initiative to stay on night duty, which moved Zhao Zongshi very much.
"There's a fire in the back house." Meng Yang looked at the direction of the fire, his expression suddenly changed, and Saya ran back. As he ran, he ordered: "Go and ask the guards to open the door quickly, so as not to delay the patrolmen who come to put out the fire."
"What about you?" Lu Huiqing asked from behind him.
"I'll go to the back house first!" Meng Yang had already left the courtyard gate as he spoke, called a dozen guards along the way, and rushed into the hanging flower gate.
Normally, the prince is not at home, so it is inconvenient for men like them to enter the back house, but the matter is urgent and they don't care much.
Fortunately, after entering, we discovered that Princess Gao was calm in the face of danger and had already brought her children to an open area. She also organized the eunuchs to fetch water to put out the fire and the palace maids to rescue property.
"Mother," everyone jumped up from the bed late at night. They were all disheveled, some were barefoot, and some were without clothes. They looked very embarrassed, and Gao was no exception. Meng Yang lowered his head and said, "How many princes are you?"
Are everything okay?"
"It's okay." Mrs. Gao wrapped herself in a white mink cloak and frowned: "The northwest wind is so strong, it will burn the ground to white!"
"Now is not the time to talk about this." Meng Yang said urgently: "Please take the prince to the front yard to take shelter, and I will leave this place to you."
"Then thank you, Mr. Lao." Gao sighed and said, "It's really nothing valuable, just don't hurt anyone."
"Yes." Meng Yang nodded and urged. As soon as Mr. Gao left, he didn't care about putting out the fire. He led the people and rushed to the library. He saw that the surroundings were surrounded by fire and thick smoke was billowing. Although the library had a fire protection design,
The doors and windows are also on fire...
Meng Yang's expression changed several times, but he finally made up his mind and gritted his teeth and said: "Break down the door!" It turned out that General Tie was holding the door.
Meng Yang had a high status in the house, so the guard naturally obeyed his orders. He drew his knife, aimed it accurately, and struck the lock head with a sharp blow. There was a clang and the lock fell to the ground.
"Guard the door and don't let anyone in." Meng Yang ordered and went into hiding.
When he was about to have some tea, he opened the door and came out. He saw all the guards looking anxious and saying, "Ahem, come out, we are surrounded by fire!"
Meng Yang saw that the fire was getting stronger and stronger, and if he didn't go out, he was in danger of becoming a barbecue.
"Let's go!" Meng Yang nodded and was about to rush out, but a guard grabbed him and handed him a wet sweat towel and said: "Cover your mouth and nose to prevent the heavy smoke."
Meng Yang had no time to think about it, so he took it and covered his nose. He couldn't help but feel dizzy. He stared at it and said, "What does it smell like?"
"I couldn't find water for a while, so I wet myself with urine." A group of guards also covered their mouths and noses with sweat towels, protected him and rushed out.
It was important to save his life, so he couldn't care about so much. Meng Yang covered his nose with that thing and rushed out. Unexpectedly, after a few steps, he felt the world was spinning, his vision went dark, his feet went weak, and he fell to the ground.
"Mr. Meng was smoked down!" The guard who handed him the sweat towel put him on his shoulder, carried him like a sack and ran out...
When Meng Yang woke up, he saw Zhao Zongqiu's big painted face. Although his face was painted, it could not block his concerned gaze: "Thank God, sir, he woke up."
Meng Yang felt a splitting headache, his mind went blank, and he hissed: "What happened?"
"You were knocked down by the thick smoke." Zhao Zongqiu said: "Fortunately, the guards did their duty and saved you!"
"The heavy smoke has overwhelmed me..." Meng Yang regained his consciousness little by little: "How are you now?"
"The patrolmen brought over a dozen water dragons, and the guards worked hard to put out the fire." Zhao Zongqiu said: "The fire has been brought under control. By the way, sir, do you want some water?"
"No, please leave me alone." Meng Yang said, "The fire situation is important."
"Where is my brother," Zhao Zongqiu said, "and Lu Huiqing, you don't need me."
"It's better to go. When there are many people and chaos, one more person will bring more insurance." Meng Yang hissed.
"Okay then," Zhao Zongqiu nodded and said, "I'll ask someone to come in and serve you."
"No, I want to be quiet for a while." Meng Yang said flatly.
Zhao Zongqiu shrugged and finally went out.
As soon as he left, Meng Yang pressed his chest to find nothing! He almost lost his mind, so he quickly put his hand into the cotton-padded jacket and touched it inside and out, only to find that except for two rows of ribs, it was still empty! Even though it was winter,
But he was sweating profusely, jumped down to the ground barefoot, and turned over the bed again, but still found nothing.
"It's broken..." Meng Yang's vision went dark again. He forced himself to hold on, put on his shoes and stumbled out of the house. Seeing that Zhao Zongqiu hadn't gone far, he hurriedly shouted: "Come back quickly!"
Zhao Zongqiu looked back and laughed and scolded: "Do you think I am a bitch who comes when called and leaves when called?" Even so, he turned back.
Meng Yang pulled him into the room. Before Zhao Zongqiu could stand still, he asked: "Who has touched me?"
"Why," Zhao Zongqiu looked at him strangely and said, "Were you taken on a dry road?"
"Yes...ah!" Meng Yang's face turned red and he said, "I don't have time to gossip, I lost something!"
"What's missing?" Zhao Zongqiu was a little unhappy and thought to himself, "What? Do you think I'm a thief?"
"A deadly thing!" Meng Yang trembled: "If that thing is lost, the prince, you and me will all be done with it!"
"What?!" Zhao Zongqiu finally became serious.
"Don't ask anything, just answer me, who touched me?!" Meng Yang asked anxiously.
"Let me think about it," Zhao Zongqiu said with a frown: "When I came, I met a guard carrying you out. Then my brother asked me to take care of you, so I followed you to your room. The imperial doctor came to see you during the period.
, I only checked your pulse, said it was okay and left without touching you anywhere else. Apart from that, there was no one else."
"Where are the guards?"
"Back to putting out fires again."
"Quickly, come with me to find them." Meng Yang ignored the weakness in his hands and feet and walked out. He saw more than a dozen water dragons already watering the water, spraying out streams of white water, making the backyard of the palace look like a giant
