Early the next morning, the eldest prince Zhao Hongli, accompanied by his staff Zhou Min and Zong Wei Chief Feng Shu, rode a carriage to the gate of the imperial palace.
After getting off the carriage, looking at the majestic palace gate in front of him, Zhao Hongli felt both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time, because since he resigned from the position of "Prince and Crown Prince" and moved away from the East Palace, he rarely returned to the palace.
"Jin Ju, who is of humble rank, pays homage to His Highness."
The man on duty at the palace gate today was Jin Ju, one of the eight imperial guards, Wu Lang. When he saw the eldest prince Zhao Hongli coming to the palace, he was a little surprised.
After all, in the past two years, Jin Ju has been on duty in the palace and has rarely seen the eldest prince coming in and out.
To put it bluntly, if he hadn't seen His Highness today, Jin Ju might have almost forgotten that there was such an eldest prince in Daliang, His Highness.
Maybe he noticed something from Jin Ju's eyes, but Zhao Hongli felt really bad.
I think back then, he was the crown prince and crown prince of the Wei Kingdom, living in the East Palace, with great influence. Even the then Yong Wang Hongyu, and even the United Xiang Wang Hongjing, could only survive under his power.
But now, King Yong Hongyu is only one step away from that position, and he, the former Prince of the East Palace, Zhao Hongli, has to face strange looks from others even when he comes in and out of the palace.
Even Zhao Hongli could feel that the Imperial Guard soldiers were muttering secretly: Why is he here? What is he doing here?
"Your Highness."
Perhaps sensing His Highness's mood swings, Luo Yao stepped forward and quietly reminded Zhao Hongli.
In fact, Luo Yao also felt that the gazes of those Imperial Guards were a bit rude. The so-called world is so hot and cold. But having said that, the Imperial Guards today are no longer in the same situation as when they were scrambling to cling to the East Palace. Luo Yao was also worried about Zhao Hongli.
Do something because of the difference in mood.
"call……"
Secretly exhaling, the eldest prince Zhao Hongli walked into the palace as if nothing had happened, turning a blind eye to the strange looks of some of the imperial guards.
Watching the eldest prince Zhao Hongli and his three people leaving, Jin Ju, the commander of the imperial guard, touched his chin, thoughtfully.
Suddenly, he waved over a confidant and told the latter to take the time to go to Prince Su's Mansion later when he was on duty and report the matter to Prince Su Zhao Run or the latter's Zongwei. - Zhao Hongli suddenly missed the opportunity today.
Entering the palace for no reason, Jin Ju felt that there was something fishy about it.
At this time, Zhao Hongli was taking Luo Yao and Feng Shu to the "Fengyi Palace" where his mother, Queen Wang, lived.
Along the way, he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.
Logically speaking, a mother would naturally try her best to help her son fight for the throne, but Zhao Hongli was not sure about his own mother.
But he was still worried, and he also knew that he had to convince his mother for this trip, because without the strong support of his mother, Queen Wang, even if he had the help of King Huan Zhao Hongxuan, his momentum would still be far behind King Yong's reputation.
When he thought of his little brother Zhao Hongxuan's words of encouragement, Zhao Hongli encouraged himself secretly in his heart.
The Queen's Fengyi Palace is naturally more majestic and dignified than any other palace in the palace where the concubines live. Before arriving at Fengyi Palace, you can see clusters of palace eunuchs and maids walking around in an endless stream.
Of course, when these eunuchs and maids saw Zhao Hongli, their eyes were full of surprise.
At the same time, in Fengyi Hall, Queen Wang was sitting on her knees in the Zen room of the inner hall as always, softly reciting Taoist classics. "Note: Zen is a "quiet" behavior, which can be understood as cultivating one's moral character and cultivating one's nature.
It is not unique to Buddhism."
I saw this queen, with red lips, white teeth, delicate skin, and extremely well-maintained skin. She looked like she was in her twenties. It was hard to imagine that the queen was actually over forty years old.
Suddenly, a faint sound of footsteps was heard, causing Queen Wang, who was quietly reciting Taoist classics, to frown slightly.
"Is it Feng Lu?"
Queen Wang asked softly.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me." The eunuch Feng Lu lowered his head and said with fear.
Queen Wang turned her head and glanced at Feng Lu, and asked calmly: "What is the important matter that makes you come to disturb me?"
The great eunuch Feng Lu was a confidant of Empress Wang, and he knew the queen's temper best. Hearing this, he quickly explained: "My empress, you have just entered the palace from below, and are on the way to Fengyi Palace."
"Hongli?" Queen Wang was slightly stunned when she heard this, and asked doubtfully: "Is King Yong giving Hongli a hard time?"
"Not yet." The eunuch Feng Lu shook his head.
As one of the two great eunuchs who were equal to Tong Xian in the palace, Feng Lu also had a network of connections among the eunuchs that could not be underestimated. However, because Tong Xian was always with Emperor Wei Zhao Yuansi, Feng Lu was not as well-known as him.
Just Tong Xian.
Seeing the confused look on Queen Wang's face, the eunuch Feng Lu reminded him again: "My queen, have you forgotten? King Huan returned to Daliang yesterday, and after entering the city, he visited His Highness's mansion..."
"King Huan Zhao Xuan..." Queen Wang nodded thoughtfully and ordered: "Go and greet Hongli and bring him here."
"yes!"
The great eunuch Feng Lu nodded, bowed and retreated.
A moment later, when the eldest prince Zhao Hongli arrived in front of Fengyi Hall, he saw the great eunuch Feng Lu waiting outside the hall with a smile on his face.
Zhao Hongli was not surprised by this.
After all, as the son of Queen Wang and the former crown prince, Zhao Hongli is naturally more aware of the power of his mother than others. For example, the eunuchs in the palace are actually controlled by the two eunuchs Tong Xian and Feng Lu.
.
This was also one of the reasons why he rejected the overtures of King Xiang Zhao Hongjing and decided to kick this brother out first, and then face King Yong Hongyu alone.
"Your Highness." Seeing Zhao Hongli approaching, the eunuch Feng Lu hurriedly came up to greet him and said with a smile: "The Queen has learned that His Highness is coming and ordered the old slave to invite His Highness to the Zen room in the palace."
Zhao Hongli nodded, turned around and asked Luo Yao and Feng Shu to wait in the main hall of Fengyi Hall, because he knew that his mother, Queen Wang, never liked meeting strangers, let alone in that Zen room.
Under the guidance of the great eunuch Feng Lu, Zhao Hongli went all the way to the Zen room where Queen Wang was.
Looking at the Zen room in front of him with the faint scent of sandalwood blowing against his face, Zhao Hongli felt his heart pounding.
Because on the way, he had already heard from the great eunuch Feng Lu that this time it was Empress Wang who met him alone in the Zen room without any eunuchs or maids. This made Zhao Hongli feel a little flustered. After all, his mother and son had been together since childhood.
The two rarely see each other alone.
After standing outside the door for a moment and being mentally prepared, Zhao Hongli took a deep breath and walked into the meditation room bravely.
After entering the Zen room, Zhao Hongli saw at a glance that his mother, Queen Wang, was sitting on her knees facing a wall with calligraphy and paintings hanging with the word "Tao". He quickly walked forward gently, gave a deep bow, and whispered
Called: "Mother."
"Come and sit." Queen Wang pointed to the futon on the right with her right hand.
Zhao Hongli did not dare to disobey, so he walked forward and knelt down next to his mother, looking at the huge calligraphy and painting with the word "Tao" on the wall, thinking about how to speak.
Unexpectedly, Queen Wang was the first to ask: "Has my son read any books at home recently?"
Zhao Hongli said respectfully: "I recently studied "Guan Yinzi" with Luo Yao."
"Oh?" Queen Wang smiled slightly when she heard this and asked, "Luo Yao, a Confucian scholar, also likes to study Taoist books?"
Zhao Hongli said respectfully: "If you return to your mother's house, although Luo Yao is a Confucian student, he prefers Taoist classics."
This is not Zhao Hongli's words. After all, there were not many books circulating in the world in this era. Therefore, people from various schools often read the works of other schools and even borrowed the ideas of these schools.
Taoism can be said to be one of the schools of thought that has been borrowed the most.
After listening to Zhao Hongli's explanation, Queen Wang nodded. In fact, she had already checked Luo Yao's details, and naturally knew that Luo Yao was a genius who was proficient in Confucianism and Taoism. The key lies in Zhao Hongli himself.
If Zhao Hongli himself does not seek to make progress, even if he is assisted by a talented person like Luo Yao, it will not help.
Therefore, Queen Wang asked Zhao Hongli a few questions that were not difficult. Seeing Zhao Hongli's fluent answers, Queen Wang couldn't help but sigh in her heart: If this son had guarded against arrogance and impetuosity in the first place, how could all these things have happened?
Thinking of this, Queen Wang was not interested in continuing the test and asked: "My son came to Fengyi Hall today. What's the matter?"
When this matter was mentioned, Zhao Hongli suddenly became nervous. After hesitating for a while, he changed his posture, knelt down to Queen Wang, and said bravely: "My child, please help me, Queen Mother."
"..." Queen Wang was a little surprised when she heard this, and couldn't help but turn her head and glance at Zhao Hongli.
You must know that only when he was a child, Zhao Hongli dared to make some unreasonable requests, but when Zhao Hongli grew up, he never mentioned it again.
"You should get up first." Queen Wang said softly.
Originally, according to Zhao Hongxuan's suggestion, Zhao Hongli should put on a posture of "I won't get up if my mother doesn't agree", but unfortunately, Zhao Hongli did not have the courage to act rogue in front of his mother and sat up straight.
Seeing this, Queen Wang looked at her son quietly, and after a while she sighed and said, "My son still wants to compete with King Yong for the throne?"
"...Yes." Zhao Hongli said bravely.
Empress Wang said calmly: "Hongli, since you were born, you have been the crown prince and crown prince of Wei Dynasty. Among all the brothers, you are the only one who is only one step away from your father's throne... Over the years, you have
There are countless opportunities, but you have failed to seize them, causing King Yong to become the trend now... Do you really think that even if my mother comes to help you, you can defeat King Yong and take that seat? "
Zhao Hongli was speechless when he heard this, because the facts were just as his mother said.
"...Let's stop here, Hongli." She sighed slightly, and Queen Wang said softly: "Give up this idea, as long as your mother is in the palace, King Yong will not dare to touch you. Even if King Yong in the future
If I intend to make your brothers kings, my mother will also try to make you become kings in Liang County..."
Zhao Hongli was dumbfounded after hearing these words.