Today was originally a day of great joy for Prince Duan, but unexpectedly something like this happened. The officials and dignitaries who came to Prince Duan's palace to attend the banquet could not stay any longer, so they all complained and left.
In the blink of an eye, only two brothers, Tang Huai and Tang Qi, were left beside King Duan.
Tang Qi had a look of disbelief in his eyes and asked, "Did you see clearly? That was really a dragon whip just now?"
Tang Huai said: "He would not dare to lie about this kind of thing in public."
"His Royal Highness was made the crown prince, and Tang Ning was given the dragon whip..." Tang Qi had a gloomy look on his face, "What does this mean, Your Majesty!"
"Checks and balances." Tang Huai pondered for a moment and said, "He wants Tang Ning and Prince Duan to check and balance each other, but I think Tang Ning's actions today are not what His Majesty wants. What His Majesty wants is a minister who can stabilize the country, and
He is not a powerful minister who oppresses the monarch."
Tang Qi said: "What does eldest brother mean, we don't have to do anything and His Majesty will deal with him?"
Tang Huai looked deeply and said, "I believe your majesty will make a choice soon."
…
Tang Ning and others walked out of Prince Duan's Mansion. Princess Anyang's eyes were still fixed on the dragon-beating whip in his hand. She raised her head, blinked, looked at Tang Ning, and asked, "Is this true?"
Tang Ning said: "His Majesty gave me the dragon whip yesterday. It has not been announced yet."
Princess Anyang finally digested this information, and then she showed a hint of worry on her face and said: "Prince Duan will be the crown prince soon. If you don't give Prince Duan any face today, he will definitely fight you to death. Even Your Majesty will not."
He will protect you, one is a minister, and the other is his heir. Why don't you understand who he will favor?"
Tangning didn't want to reveal too much information to Princess Anyang, so she simply kept silent and handed the dragon-beating whip to Chen Zhou and asked him to put it away again.
A'duo lowered his head and said guiltily: "It's all my fault, I caused trouble to Brother Tang..."
"It's no trouble." Tangning patted her head and said, "I just wanted to try out this dragon whip. Don't tell me, although this thing is a bit heavy, it feels pretty good..."
"Today is different from the past. The situation in the capital has changed drastically. You have to think about yourself and your family's future." Princess Anyang looked up at him, sighed and said, "You, you can take care of yourself.
"
Princess Anyang sighed and returned to the Princess's Mansion. The officials and dignitaries who left Prince Duan's Mansion also returned to their respective mansions.
A news that shocked the capital quickly spread throughout the capital after they returned home.
Tang Ning, the right minister, held the dragon-beating whip given by His Majesty. In full view of the public, he beat Prince Duan, who had been enthroned as Crown Prince, in Prince Duan's Mansion. It is said that he beat Prince Duan to the point where he jumped off a bridge and became incontinent before Tang Ning stopped.
After beating Prince Duan, he walked away from Prince Duan's Mansion. None of the many guards in Prince Duan's Mansion dared to stop him.
Prince Duan has already entered the East Palace with one foot, and he will be the real crown prince after the canonization ceremony.
Everyone thought that no matter what grudges the Right Prime Minister had with King Duan in the past, now that King Duan has crossed the dragon gate, the Right Prime Minister should not provoke him no matter what.
Who would have thought that not only was the right prime minister not afraid of Prince Duan's identity, but he was even bolder than before, beating Prince Duan like a lost dog in front of so many people.
This is not only a loss of face to the prince, but also a loss of face to the majesty.
Your Majesty gave him the Dragon Whip and gave him transcendent powers that other ministers did not have. It was not to allow him to act arbitrarily. What he did today was exactly against His Majesty's taboo.
What your Majesty needs is a minister who can correct the king's mistakes, not a powerful minister who rides on the king's head.
Now that His Majesty has only a few days left to live, it is conceivable that before his death, he will definitely help the next emperor eliminate this hidden danger.
Everyone has almost expected that the Tang Right Chancellor, who created many legends in Chen State and is famous, seems to have reached his glorious stage.
The news from Prince Duan's Mansion was transmitted much faster than Tang Ning imagined.
Only half an hour after he returned home, Wei Jian appeared at the Tang Mansion. He looked at Tang Ning with a complex expression and said, "Master Tang, Your Majesty wants you to enter the palace."
The fourth elder handed a palm-sized porcelain vase to Tang Ning and nodded slightly to him.
Tang Ning looked at Wei Jian and asked, "Can I bring a few more people with me when I enter the palace this time?"
There was a trace of embarrassment on Wei Jian's face, and Tang Ning smiled and said: "It's just three people. These three people are the guests recruited by me. They all know some strange medical skills. I want them to show it to Your Majesty. Maybe His Majesty's illness is still there."
Turnaround."
Wei Jian thought for a while, nodded and said: "Let them wait outside the palace for a while, and we will go in and inform His Majesty."
Tangning cupped her hands and said, "I'm sorry to bother Mr. Wei."
Tang Ning went to the palace and brought the Fourth Elder, the Eighth Elder, and the old beggar. As for Old Zheng, she asked him to stay at home.
His attack on King Duan was actually not impulsive, but deliberate.
This was his test of Emperor Chen, but just in case, he still brought the old beggar and two elders with him.
On the carriage entering the palace, Wei Jian held an apple in his hand, but did not bite it. He looked at Tang Ning, sighed softly, and said, "Master Tang, this time, it is really Meng Lang."
Tangning did not continue his topic, but asked: "The last few times I entered the palace, I smelled a kind of incense in His Majesty's palace. The smell was a bit strange. I liked it very much. I don't know what kind of incense His Majesty used.
?”
Wei Jian didn't know why Tang Ning asked this question, but he still said, "Your Majesty always uses sandalwood."
Tangning's eyes flickered, but she didn't speak again.
Because he also brought three old beggars into the palace this time, the carriage stopped in front of the palace gate. After the guards at the palace gate checked, they walked to the palace on foot.
It saves time to pass by Shangshu. Several figures walked out from Shangshu Province.
Prime Minister Wang, Grand Scholar Zhang and Fang Hongfangzhe stood side by side. Tang Ning's eyes met with theirs, and everything was unspoken.
The Prime Minister and the others did not speak, their eyes followed Tang Ning's figure and looked in the direction of the harem.
Except for a few of them, no one in the capital knew that the outcome of Tang Ning's meeting with His Majesty would be enough to change the situation in the Chen Kingdom, and perhaps set off a bloody storm within the capital.
…
At the entrance of the Yangtze Temple.
The three old beggars were waiting outside the palace. Wei Jian and Tang Ning walked in. Tang Ning bowed and said, "I see your Majesty."
Emperor Chen didn't look at him, looked at Wei Jian and said, "You go out first."
Wei Jian originally wanted to talk about those three people, but when Emperor Chen spoke, he had no choice but to bow and exit the hall.
Emperor Chen looked at the eunuchs and maids in the palace and said, "You guys can go down too."
"Yes." Several eunuchs and maids quickly withdrew.
Tang Ning looked around the hall. She found that the Temple of Yang was still filled with smoke, and the smell in the air was exactly what the Fourth Elder said was the smell of a mixture of calming incense and sandalwood.
Chen Huang lay on the bed, turned his head to look at Tang Ning, and asked, "Don't you have anything to say to me?"
Tang Ning said: "I was entrusted by your majesty to teach King Duan a lesson today with the dragon whip. That's because King Duan, as the prince, robbed the daughters of the people, confused right and wrong, and did not practice morality. I can't imagine that I, Chen Guo,
If the world falls into the hands of such a person, what will be the outcome..."
"You know, I gave you the dragon whip, not to beat the prince." Emperor Chen's eyes showed a trace of regret and said: "You are the pillar of the country. I wanted you to support each other and govern well."
In this country, it seems that this is impossible now..."
Tang Ning did not speak, but Chen Huang sighed softly and said: "Ever since I found out about you and Man'er, I have treated you as my son. I really hope that Prince Duan and Prince Kang can be like you. If they can be half as good as you
With my ability, even if I am asked to die now, I can still feel at ease..."
Tang Ning's eyes changed slightly. He did not doubt Emperor Chen's words. As an emperor, he had indeed given him the limit of what an emperor could give to his ministers, as well as unimaginable trust.
"It's a pity that they didn't." The look of regret on Huang Chen's face became even stronger. He looked at Tang Ning and said, "Although I hope you stay, I also have to think about the royal family and the next emperor..."
He paused for a moment, with a complicated look on his face, and slowly said, "Take Man'er away. The farther you go, the better. Never come back to Chen Country."
Tang Ning knew that this was Chen Huang's decision.
He couldn't tolerate a prime minister who was incompatible with the emperor, so he had to give up Tang Ning.
But his decision still surprised Tangning. He originally thought that Chen Huang would ambush three hundred swordsmen here, or remove his official position first, and then accuse him of being disrespectful...
After all, this is Chen Huang's behavior.
Maybe it was because the man was about to die, or maybe he felt guilty towards Zhao Man, or maybe he suddenly became kind-hearted... No matter what the reason was, Tang Ning felt relieved. After working with Chen Huang for so many years, Jun and Chen
There was a tacit understanding of cooperation, but actually he didn't want to confront Chen Huang.
Seeing that he was silent, Chen Huang closed his eyes and asked, "What else do you want to say?"
"Yes." Tangning looked at him and said, "Your Majesty's illness... is actually not an illness. Your Majesty is poisoned."
Chen Huang was lying on the bed, his closed eyes suddenly opened.
At this moment, he forgot about Tang Ning's beating of Prince Duan and the feud between the emperor and his ministers. He didn't even ask Tang Ning what kind of poison he had been poisoned and how he was poisoned...
He looked at Tang Ning with bright eyes, and his voice trembled with excitement, "I, can I still be saved?"
Tang Ning nodded and said, "That's why I'm here today."
At this moment, Tang Ning saw a light she had never seen before in Chen Huang's eyes.
This light contains an extreme desire for life.
After Chen Huang was stunned for a moment, his face showed an unprecedented brilliance. He struggled to support his body and laughed: "Quick, help me up..."
