The little eunuch looked at the emperor who suddenly got angry with surprise and suspicion, and fell to his knees with a thud in fright.
He couldn't understand why the emperor suddenly became angry when it was clear that the eighth prince Zhao Hongrun had not caused any trouble.
During this period, the emperor looked at Tong Xian fiercely and took a few deep breaths before suppressing his emotions. He suppressed his anger and said to the two young eunuchs in a deep voice: "Get out of here."
The two little eunuchs, who were kneeling on the ground and shivering without knowing what happened, seemed to have received a pardon after hearing this, and rolled out of the Chui Gong Hall.
They couldn't help but not be afraid, because they had never seen the emperor showing such a terrifying expression. Even when the eighth prince Zhao Hongrun ruined the ornamental objects in the imperial garden, the emperor had never been so angry.
After the two young eunuchs left the palace in a hurry, the emperor took a deep breath and then scolded in a sullen voice: "Tong Xian, you are getting more and more courageous!"
The great eunuch Tong Xian trembled all over and kowtowed repeatedly: "The old slave is guilty, the old slave is guilty."
Listening to the thumping sound of his forehead knocking on the ground, the Emperor looked down and saw blood oozing from Tong Xian's forehead. A trace of unbearability flashed in his eyes, and he sighed: "That's it, get up."
Tong Xian then stopped kowtowing and stood there uneasily.
"Why did you hide it from me?... I asked you to serve as the eunuch and supervise the inside and outside of the palace for me. I didn't ask you to deceive me!"
Hearing this, Tong Xian knelt down again with a thud. After hesitating for a long time, he whispered: "Old slave...I just don't want Your Majesty to hear it again...hear that person again..."
"You mean that bitch?"
At this time, the Emperor of Wei's eyes were cold, as if he was no longer the loving father Zhao Hongrun knew. He looked like a tyrannical king, with murderous intent in his eyes.
"..." Tong Xian lowered his head, as if he didn't hear it.
The emperor closed his eyes and took a few breaths. When he opened his eyes again, the terrifying murderous look in his eyes had softened a lot.
"Just live...Tell me the truth, when did that bad boy get involved with Yulong?"
Tong Xian stood up anxiously, no longer daring to hide anything, and reported truthfully: "According to the old slave's guess, it should be the Dragon Boat Festival... As far as the old slave knows, on that day, His Majesty led all the ladies to the high platform to appreciate it.
During the lantern show, Princess Yulong was sitting alone by the pool in the small garden on the west side of Wende Palace. It happened that the Eighth Prince was invited by the Sixth Prince to attend the poetry meeting in Yafeng Pavilion, so she saw a person sitting alone on the way.
Princess Yulong by the pool, so..."
"So that bad guy came up to talk to me?" Emperor Wei asked with a sneer.
"Yes..." Tong Xian lowered his head: "Then, the Eighth Prince took Princess Yulong in disguise and left the palace to play in the city."
"Is this true for the three days of Dragon Boat Festival?"
"yes……"
Emperor Wei thought for a moment and then said with a smile: "What a brother-sister relationship!... Seeing Yulong alone, the bad boy couldn't bear it, so he took her out of the palace with him? How presumptuous! It's really true.
Too presumptuous!"
Tong Xian lowered his head and said nothing. From the emperor's address to the eighth prince Zhao Hongrun, he knew that the emperor would not punish the increasingly favored prince. The problem lay with Princess Yulong.
No, what the emperor said after thinking about it for a long time made Tong Xian slightly shocked.
"Hongrun is one of my most outstanding sons. I have high hopes for him. Although this son is young and naughty, he will definitely be the pillar of our Wei Dynasty in the future. I... don't want him to have anything with that Yulong.
What a hassle."
After saying that, the emperor pondered for a moment and asked: "Yulong... is he fifteenth this year?"
"Yes... I will be able to leave the cabinet next year."
"Next year..." Emperor Wei frowned and thought for a while, then said, "Tong Xian, draft the letter of credence. I intend to make peace with Nanchu."
"Nanchu?" Tong Xian was surprised.
The so-called Southern Chu refers to the Chu State located in the south of the Wei Dynasty. Its territory is four times that of the Wei Dynasty. It has a large population and strong national power. It has been at war with the Wei Dynasty for more than a hundred years and is the most troublesome neighbor to the south of the Wei Dynasty.
Despite the peaceful and peaceful scenery in Daliang, Chendu, in fact, at the junction of Wei and Chu, wars have been fighting continuously over the years, and they have never stopped for a year in recent decades.
Although the Wei Dynasty is not weak in terms of national power, due to the innate limitations of its territory, it always seems very difficult for the Wei Dynasty to face Chu's invasion, with few victories and many defeats.
However, since the Chu State also had an enemy, the Qi State, which was not bordering the Wei State, the Chu State used troops on both sides, but the Wei State was still able to withstand it and would not be invaded.
It is undeniable that if Emperor Wei can use the marriage to promote the alliance between Wei and Chu, this will also be a good thing for the Wei Dynasty. After all, the Wei Dynasty is not the only powerful neighbor of Chu State. South Korea in the north has always been hostile to the Wei Dynasty in Hebei.
The party's territory is eyeing the enemy. If Wei and Chu form an alliance and Chu can draw away the troops from Yingshui County and attack Qi instead, then Wei can also divert some of the troops stationed in the southern territory and move them to the north to concentrate on dealing with them.
Korea's invasion.
But the problem is, according to Tong Xian's knowledge, the eighth prince Zhao Hongrun has a very good relationship with Princess Yulong. How can we tolerate the sacrifice of this imperial sister as a diplomatic relationship?
Thinking of this, Tong Xian couldn't help but persuade him: "Your Majesty, think twice... As far as I know, Princess Yulong has been exchanging letters or having feelings for He Xinxian, the grandson of Mr. Zhongshu Ling He these days. He's family background
, I would rather accompany the princess on the ground, why not your majesty push the boat along and make Princess Yulong marry He Xinxian. After the marriage, Princess Yulong will naturally have nothing to do with His Highness the Eighth Prince..."
"Are you teaching me how to do things?" Emperor Wei asked coldly.
Tong Xian was shocked when he heard this, and quickly knelt on the ground to accuse: "Old slave, I would never dare... But as far as I know, His Highness the Eighth Prince and Princess Yulong may have some sibling relationship. If Your Majesty marries Princess Yulong,
Chu State, I am afraid that His Highness the Eighth Prince..."
"Humph!" Emperor Wei snorted, and leaned on the dragon chair with his eyes closed. After a long time, he said calmly: "If it weren't for Yulong, I wouldn't have married to any of Xiangxu's legitimate grandsons, but it's Yulong... I
I don’t want Hongrun to have anything to do with her anymore!” After that, he glanced at Tong Xian and ordered without refutation: “Go and draft the credentials!”
Seeing that the emperor's holy will had been decided, Tong Xian did not dare to say anything more, so he had no choice but to bow and accept the order: "Yes, Your Majesty."
"Wait a minute!... Remember to keep this matter a secret. Don't leak it before coming to Chu as an envoy, especially Hongrun."
"Old slave obeys the order."
One day later, without many people knowing, a letter of credence was sent to the State of Chu.
Then around late August, the State of Chu also sent people to deliver letters of credence in return.
As the Emperor of Wei had considered, the King of Chu accepted the proposal of the Emperor of Wei to make peace with his wife, and soon afterwards organized a team of envoys, slowly heading towards Daliang, the capital of Wei, Chendu.
On August 23, the envoys of the Chu State passed through the border between Chu and Wei, entered the Fenxing Pass at the Great Wall on the Wei border, and slowly came towards Daliang.
However, because the Emperor of Wei deliberately blocked the news of the Chu envoy's arrival, not many people in the court knew about it. After all, the eunuchs who had handled the credentials had been warned in advance by the Emperor and were not allowed to reveal the news.
But the strange thing is that although the emperor was on the left and right, someone still learned the news, wrote the news in a letter, and sent someone to Zhao Hongrun's Wenzhao Pavilion.
It was around 4:00 on August 19th. When Zhao Hongrun got up and went to bed in a daze, got dressed and waited for his meal, Zongwei Shen Yu came in holding a small wooden box in his hand.
"Your Highness, someone has sent a letter."
"Who?" Zhao Hongrun yawned lazily.
"The person who came did not reveal anything. He only said that this letter must be read by His Highness himself."
"Bring it here." Zhao Hongrun waved his hand without doubting that he was there.
Seeing this, Shen Yu walked up to Zhao Hongrun and opened the lid of the small wooden box.
Zhao Hongrun raised his hand and took out the letter from the box, spread it out and took a look. It didn't matter. His expression suddenly changed, and he sat up straight from his lazy sitting posture.
"Where is the person who delivered the letter?" Zhao Hongrun asked in a deep voice.
"That man came here in the morning to deliver a letter and has already left." Shen Yu replied.
"You didn't say who sent it?"
"Never disclosed."
"..." Zhao Hongrun frowned and thought for a moment, then asked, "Who is the person who sent the letter?"
"He's a guard." Shen Yu recalled: "But the man seemed to have deliberately kept his face low for me to see clearly... Your Highness, is what he said in the letter important?"
"Is it urgent?" Zhao Hongrun snorted twice and said in a dissatisfied tone: "The letter said that the father is planning to marry the emperor's sister Yulong to Chu State. Do you think it is important or not?"
"This... marriage?" Shen Yu was stunned when he heard this, and asked in confusion: "How could it be Princess Yulong? Princess Yulong is not old enough to leave the palace and have a hairpin."
No wonder Shen Yu was surprised. After all, as far as he knew, there were no princesses in the palace who were old enough to be married. Even if they wanted to make peace with the Chu Kingdom, logically speaking, it would not be the turn of Yulong, a princess who had not yet left the palace.
"Isn't it because someone is spreading rumors intentionally?" Shen Yu frowned and thought.
"What benefit does spreading such rumors bring to the person who delivers the letter?" Zhao Hongrun snorted, frowning and said, "What exactly is going on? I will ask my father and I will know the truth."
With that said, Zhao Hongrun was about to go to Chui Gong Hall, but after taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped and looked thoughtful.
Because he suddenly remembered the advice given to him by the great eunuch Tong Xian that day.
Could it be...
Zhao Hongrun frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly ordered: "Shen Yu, go and find out immediately to see if anyone in the palace or in the court knows about this matter."
Shen Yu nodded and immediately went to find out the news.
About two hours later, Shen Yu sent back the news: No one in the palace or in the court knew about it.
Hearing this news, Zhao Hongrun's heart skipped a beat. He didn't think anyone was playing such a nasty joke on him.
In contrast, he prefers another guess.
That is, his father, Emperor Wei, was dissatisfied with his contact with Princess Yulong, and for various reasons, planned to marry Princess Yulong away to the Kingdom of Chu.
The reason why there was no news in the palace or in the court was probably because the emperor knew that Zhao Hongrun would oppose this matter, so he deliberately blocked the news and waited until the Chu envoy came to Daliang to tell the whole story.
By that time, even if Zhao Hongrun comes out and speaks out against it, it may not be of any use.
If this is really the case... I absolutely cannot ask my father about it at this moment.
Zhao Hongrun had a hunch in his heart that if this matter was true, then he foolishly went to Chui Gong Hall to question Emperor Wei, and his father would definitely find ways to put him under house arrest until the marriage between Wei and Chu was settled.
"We must find a way to test it..."
After thinking about it, Zhao Hongrun had an idea.