If converted to the future hour system, the fourth watch day will be three o'clock in the morning. Whoever it is, after a busy day, after returning home at three or four o'clock in the morning, there is only one thought left, which is to throw yourself on the bed and sleep to death.
What's more, how can a disabled person like Zhu Gaochi, who is fat and weak, still be in the mood to drink and have fun?
Zhu Di's heart moved slightly after hearing this, and he listened calmly as Zhu Zhanji continued: "Today's welcome ceremony and the grand banquet in the palace have been witnessed by the emperor. There are so many civil and military ministers, and tens of thousands of palace attendants.
Have you ever been a little chaotic? If my father was really rude and arrogant, how could he have managed all of this in an orderly manner? How could my father, who was so dedicated, come to his rescue just an hour before Grandpa Huang arrived?
What about suddenly drinking too much? Isn’t this so unreasonable?”
"..." In fact, Zhu Di was also a little strange. Yes, the prince had always been cautious in his actions. How could he act so wildly when he knew he wanted to deal with him? Now that Zhu Zhanji reminded him, he felt even more fishy. Take a look.
The prince kneeling there, Zhu Di snorted coldly: "Don't you have a mouth? Do you let your son say anything?"
"Yes, Father." Zhu Gaochi hurriedly replied: "Zhan Ji is right. I did return home at the fourth watch last night. However, because I was nervous about today's ceremony, I tossed and turned and couldn't sleep, so I had to ask someone to bring me a cup. Father
I came here with the styrax wine given by the emperor, and after drinking it I lost my mind."
Styrax wine was brewed with the styrax that Zheng He brought back from the West. It has a miraculous effect of calming the mind and calming the mind. The emperor also drank it often, so he naturally knew that this wine was not intoxicating, let alone just one cup. Zhu Di frowned slightly and said: "That's nonsense.
How can a mere glass of Suhe wine make you unconscious?"
"This matter is absolutely true. If there are any lies, I will make my son suffer a bad death." Zhu Gaochi swore and said: "On the way my son came here, I also discussed this matter with Zhan Ji. He said that the guard who served me the wine last night had already
committed suicide
"Oh?" Zhu Di frowned even more tightly. If what the prince said was true, then he was framed. Who dared to frame the prince of the Ming Dynasty because of his courage? The answer is self-evident.
There was silence in the hall, Zhu Di silently paced back and forth, no one knew what the Supreme Being was thinking.
Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji, father and son, knelt there, like prisoners awaiting trial, waiting for the emperor's verdict.
Finally, Zhu Di stopped and said to the prince in a cold voice: "I am tired today. You should go back and think about your mistakes behind closed doors. I will deal with it after I find out the cause."
"Yes." The father and son thanked each other, and they both breathed a sigh of relief. Although it was just a reprieve, they finally escaped this blow, right?
When the prince and grandson retired, Ji Gang asked to see him outside.
Zhu Di let him in, and Ji Gang knelt down to report: "Your Majesty, the Jinyi Guards were ordered to arrest the officials of the Eastern Palace and the main officials who stayed in the capital for interrogation. Now they have captured one of the criminals. Please take a look at the Emperor."
Long list.
When Zhu Di looked at the list, there were more than 200 people starting from Jian Yi, the official minister, and Yang Shiqi, the cabinet scholar. He couldn't help but look ugly and said: "Do you want to build a big prison?"
"I don't dare. Could it be that I have misunderstood the holy will?" Ji Gang has been the leader of Jinyiwei for more than ten years. Naturally, he has his own uniqueness. Being well-informed and able to adapt to the wind is what makes him invincible.
The secret was that when he saw the prince and his son leaving Qianqing Palace safe and sound, he knew that the emperor had not made up his mind to abolish the throne. He quickly told his men not to embarrass the ministers for the time being, and to test the limelight himself.
"Of course, I only asked you to inquire, and I didn't ask you to arrest Jian Yi, not even an important minister like Jin Zhong. Do you want to shock Chao Gang?" After a try, the emperor was really furious, and Ji Gang knew that his judgment was correct.
Wrong, the prince will not fall so soon
"I am so stupid that I deserve to die." Ji Gang immediately said casually, "The emperor won't let me be arrested, so I will let them all go."
"There is no need to let them all go," Zhu Di snorted: "The subordinate officials in the East Palace still need to be interrogated clearly." The thunderstorm that has been brewing for so long cannot be eliminated just because of Zhu Zhanji's few words.
split
"Yes." Ji Gang cheered up, and now he was able to deliver a message to the King of Han. "What else does your Majesty have to say?"
"Bring Jian Yi, Jin Zhong and Yang Shiqi to Beiyuan. I have something to ask them." Zhu Di ordered, and Ji Gang quickly agreed.
Jinyiwei Prison is a horrible place that makes people change their minds after hearing about it. Jian Yi, Jin Zhongyi and the ministers never expected that one moment they were sitting and feasting in the palace, and the next moment they were sent to prison. Fortunately, they didn't wait.
They tasted the torture of the Jin Yiwei, and an urgent order was issued...except for one of the subordinate officials of the East Palace, all the other officials were released.
The power of God is truly unpredictable, and blessings and misfortunes are unpredictable. Several elders looked at each other, and their moods did not relax after being released... Because the subordinate officials of the East Palace were still in prison, this signal of the prince's loss of power could not be more obvious.
At this time, Ji Gang came over, smiled and apologized to all the ministers: "A misunderstanding has shocked the adults. It is Ji's fault. I will serve wine to apologize to you someday, and you must appreciate it."
All the ministers wanted to spit on this guy's face, but as soon as the subordinate officials of the East Palace were still in prison, they had to suppress their temper and asked: "Master Ji, what is going on, why are we arrested?"
"Brother said, there was a misunderstanding." Ji Gang said with a smile.
"Then why don't you let the ministers of the East Palace go?" the ministers asked.
"That's what the emperor means." Ji Gang said with a sly smile: "Master Jian, Master Jin, and Bachelor Yang, the emperor invites you to meet him in Beiyuan. Then you can ask the emperor, won't you know?"
"Humph, let's go..." Jian Yi stared at Ji Gang with hatred and said: "Master Ji, please treat the ministers in the East Palace kindly. If they have any shortcomings, I will fight to the death with the Jin Yiwei even if they have an egg against a stone."
"That's right." The ministers were arrested for no apparent reason, and they were all simmering with anger. When they heard this, they naturally responded in unison, making Ji Gang almost burst into anger.
The nest was on fire and the group of civil servants were sent away. Ji Gang turned back with a dark face, kicked over the table, and cursed: "What a bunch of people, if the emperor hadn't suddenly changed his attention, I would have killed you."
"Ancestor, there are still people from the East Palace in the prison," Zhuang Jing said quickly, "My son will make two of them right now to relieve our ancestors' anger."
"No need." Ji Gang snorted and said, "We still don't know what the emperor means, so let's not act rashly."
"Could it be that the prince has returned to the sun again?" Zhuang Jing and others asked in disbelief.
"It's not that easy," Ji Gang said with a cold smile: "Ride a donkey and look at the ledger. We'll see. The mouse pulls the shovel. The big head is behind."
On the carriage going to the palace, the three ministers all looked anxious. Although the imprisonment of the subordinates of the Eastern Palace does not mean that the prince will definitely be deposed, it is already a very dangerous signal for the prince.
"Let's all talk." Seeing that the two of them were silent, Jian Yi said anxiously: "The prince has reached the most dangerous stage. We ministers who stayed in Beijing to assist him cannot be alone."
"Of course." Yang Shiqi nodded and said, "No matter why the prince is convicted, we are all responsible. How can we only care about ourselves."
"That's right. Why was His Highness the Crown Prince convicted?" Jian Yi frowned and said, "Even if you miss the opportunity, the Emperor will not beat the Crown Prince to death with a stick." Then he looked at Yang Shiqi and said, "Shiqi, you are a smart man.
, you come and take a closer look.”
"What happened today is just an introduction," Yang Shiqi said lightly: "When the emperor ran out of food in the desert and the whole army wanted to kill horses to feed themselves, I knew someone was going to be unlucky. Since King Zhao was not unlucky, the prince couldn't hide.
It’s over.”
"The prince did not dare to be careless, but who would have imagined that the White Lotus Sect would rebel on the only way to the Xuanfu..." Jian Yi said: "To say the least, the failure to transport food is also the responsibility of the local officials.
The prince did nothing wrong?"
"Of course you will think so if you are always interested in the prince," Yang Shiqi sighed: "The emperor doesn't like the prince in the first place, but he will think that this is all his responsibility. If someone adds a few more slanderous words, the emperor will think that the prince is doing it on purpose.
If you are negligent and want to starve him to death in the desert, then it's not just as simple as blaming him."
"Ah..." Jian Yi's expression changed drastically and he said, "Your Majesty, the Holy Ming, shouldn't want to depose the prince just because of almost slander."
"That's why we were called over." Yang Shiqi said solemnly: "The duel between the three of us will help the emperor make up his mind whether to sentence the prince to death or to investigate the case in detail."
"You're right." Jian Yi nodded heavily and said, "We must be trying to protect the prince." He looked at Jin Zhong and said, "Brother Shizhong, I know that you are the emperor's lone minister and you have always stayed out of the matter. But
Because of this, your words carry more weight than the two of us combined. Please make an exception this time and save His Highness the Crown Prince."
"Brother Yi Zhi, what are you talking about?" Jin Zhong said calmly: "In the past, when the emperor of the Han Dynasty wanted to depose the crown prince, Zhang Liang came up with the idea to invite Sihao from Shangshan. Now I am following brother Yi Zhi and brother Shi Qi to take advantage of this opportunity.
I have to keep the prince safe even if I don’t care about my life.”
Seeing how happy he was, Jian Yi was overjoyed and said: "Brother Shizhong, I didn't expect you to be so heroic and courageous. In this way, His Highness the Crown Prince's hopes will be greatly increased."
"Don't be too optimistic." Jin Zhong said calmly: "The emperor is a very independent person and will not change his mind just because of someone. If you want the emperor to dispel his doubts about the prince, firstly, you must have evidence, and secondly, you must let the emperor
See, we are loyal to the emperor, not to the prince."
"Brother Shizhong is right." Yang Shiqi couldn't help but look at Jin Zhong with admiration and said: "Yes, what the emperor is most worried about is actually that the ministers are of the same mind as the prince. If the emperor believes that the ministers are still on the emperor's side, they will naturally treat the prince.
The doubts are greatly reduced. But we cannot let the emperor feel that the prince is unpopular, as that will not be good for the prince."
"Going round and round, everyone is confused," Jian Yi scolded: "Just tell us, what should we do?"
"Let's divide the work, like this..." Yang Shiqi then explained the plan.