Let’s not talk about Emperor Wei for the moment, let’s talk about Zhao Hongrun and his party running back to Ningxiang Palace in a panic.
"Run'er? Yulong? What's wrong with you?"
When she learned that her son and her adopted daughter had returned to Ningxiang Palace, Concubine Shen Shu couldn't help but wonder when she saw that her son Zhao Hongrun was sweating on his forehead, while her adopted daughter Princess Yulong's eyes were red and there were faint signs of crying.
"Run'er, did you bully Yulong?" Concubine Shen Shu asked tentatively. In fact, she didn't think such a thing had happened.
"Mom, this is a long story..."
Zhao Hongrun asked his maid Xiao Tao to fetch a few jugs of wine, and he poured himself a glass and drank it all in one gulp.
After drinking several drinks in a row, his nervousness was relieved.
It has to be said that Zhao Hongrun was really afraid that his father would fall out on the spot - not because he was worried about any danger to himself, but because of the situation at that time, if his father really had the intention to kill Princess Yulong, he would
It was impossible to save it at all, but fortunately, even though the old man looked sinister and scary at the time, he did not sacrifice the butcher's knife in the end.
"...It's just a pain for Yulong."
Zhao Hongrun glanced at Princess Yulong, who was sobbing in Concubine Shen Shu's arms, and sighed secretly in his heart.
Because once upon a time, Emperor Wei's attitude towards Princess Yulong was just alienation, which could be understood as just dislike. But today, Princess Yulong understands that his father does not dislike her at all, but hates her, hates her, and even
So, for a few moments, he might have been thinking about killing her.
Even though he is his father, but he treats himself like this, one can imagine how Princess Yulong feels.
What's more, according to Princess Yulong, this father also killed her mother.
"It's really a taboo in the palace, the word Xiao Shuai..."
Zhao Hongrun drank another glass of wine to calm down his shock and took a long breath.
At this time, Concubine Shen Shu was comforting her adopted daughter who was sobbing in her arms while watching her eldest son drink several glasses of wine. She was really puzzled and couldn't help but ask: "Run'er, what happened?
"
Zhao Hongrun did not want to disclose it. After all, it was the dark history of Emperor Wei. If he told Concubine Shen Shu, it might affect Emperor Wei's attitude towards Concubine Shen Shu.
It's a pity that he couldn't defeat Concubine Shen Shu in the end.
In desperation, Zhao Hongrun had no choice but to order the clan guards to close the palace door, and ordered Xiao Tao to send away the little maids in Ningxiang Palace, and gather the whole family in the side hall of Ningxiang Palace - excluding Zhao Hongrun's female family members for the time being.
After all, this matter concerns Emperor Wei.
After the clan guards confirmed that it was safe, Zhao Hongrun told the whole story of what happened in the abandoned palace, including Princess Yulong's words, "Father, you killed my mother." Not to mention Concubine Shen Shu and Xiao Tao.
His face turned pale after hearing this, and even the imperial guards and the palace maid Xiuxiang who were actually outside the palace at that time felt a faint feeling of numbness in their scalps.
After a long time, Xiao Tao asked in a low voice: "Xiao Shu'ai... didn't she kill herself?"
Indeed, this was the rumor both inside and outside the palace: Xiao Boyuan, the general of Nanyan, rebelled and was executed. His daughter Xiao Shuai interceded for her father and brother, but was sternly rejected by Emperor Wei. In anger, she abandoned her young daughter Princess Yulong and committed suicide in Youyou.
Inside Zhi Palace.
But today, Princess Yulong pointed at Emperor Wei in the abandoned palace and shouted in horror, "Father, you killed my mother." However, Emperor Wei did not deny it on the spot. No matter how you look at it, there must be something inside.
"I really saw it." Princess Yulong wiped away her tears, raised her head from Concubine Shen Shu's arms, and said with a choked voice: "Maybe I was still young at that time, and I forgot about it as time went by, but just now I
In that ruined palace, looking at my father...looking at his fierce eyes standing at the door of the hall, I remembered...he once stared at my mother with such fierce eyes, and then, he...he...
…”
"..." Looking at Princess Yulong who was sobbing, Concubine Shen Shu held her in her arms again and patted her back gently.
After a while, Concubine Shen Shu looked at Zhao Hongrun and asked, "Run'er, how do you plan to deal with this matter?"
At this moment, Zhao Hongrun had completely calmed down. Hearing this, he chuckled and said: "Mom, don't worry, my child will handle this matter... Well, mother, this is what my child thinks. You, Yulong, and Xiao Tao
, Oh, and Xiuxiang, the four of you should go to Prince Su's Mansion to stay for a while..."
At this time, Zongwei Chief Wei Jiao interrupted: "Speaking of which, Concubine Shu has not seen His Highness's fiefdom yet, right? Do you want to go and have a look?"
Zhao Hongrun was stunned for a moment, then secretly raised his thumb at Wei Jiao. After all, if he thought about it carefully, Prince Su's Mansion, located in Daliang, was actually not safe. It was far less safe than Shangshui County. It was all under his control, Zhao Hongrun.
However, Concubine Shen Shu shook her head and said with a chuckle: "Run'er, and Wei Jiao, I accept your feelings, but I feel that it is not good for you to be on guard against His Majesty... Let's do this,
Run'er, you will take Yulong to Shangshui in a few days. It is indeed not good for her to stay in Daliang. As for your mother... it is better for you to stay in the palace for your mother. Otherwise, your father will be heartbroken if the couple is together.
of."
Zhao Hongrun remained silent.
In fact, he also felt that this matter was a bit of a fuss. You must know that in the abandoned palace just now, his father could have captured him and Princess Yulong, but in the end, Emperor Wei still let him and Princess Yulong leave. This shows that
The old man has let go of this matter
, if Zhao Hongrun is too vigilant afterwards and takes Concubine Shen Shu and Princess Yulong away from Daliang, although it can indeed ensure their safety, but relatively speaking, the love between husband and wife, the love between father and son, and the love between father and daughter,
These have all faded away.
To put it bluntly, this kind of caution will worsen the relationship between them and make Emperor Wei have bad thoughts.
However, if Princess Yulong is just sent to Shangshui County, this will not arouse the resentment of Emperor Wei. In fact, Emperor Wei may not want to see Princess Yulong recently.
However, in this way, Zhao Hongrun could not guarantee Concubine Shen Shu's safety. After all, Emperor Wei's mood today was indeed a bit abnormal.
Perhaps seeing through her son's concerns, Concubine Shen Shu waved her hands and said with a smile: "Run'er, you don't have to worry about your mother. Your mother has been a couple with your father for so many years. She already knows him more or less, so everything will be fine.
. . . I’m just worried about you and Yulong.”
"Worried about the child?" Zhao Hongrun chuckled when he heard the words, and said as if he was boasting: "Mom, don't worry about the child. The child today is not the same as three years ago. Even if the father wants to punish me, he must do it according to the rules.
What's more
Besides, the child and the old man have the same political views, and there is almost no conflict. It is impossible for him to punish the child... Later, the child will go to Chui Gong Hall to have a "man-to-man conversation" with the old man after three years of absence.
"
Concubine Shen Shu couldn't laugh or cry when she saw Zhao Hongrun, an old man, addressing him as his father and the king of Wei.
"You are not yet weak, but you still have a conversation between men..." Concubine Shen Shu glanced at her son and said with deep meaning: "You can only be considered a man when you have a family and a career. If you have the ability, let your mother have a grandson as soon as possible..."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Hongrun's full of pride suddenly disappeared. He smiled bitterly and did not dare to continue, but quickly changed the subject: "Mom, the top priority now is not whether you can have a grandson."
"Smelly boy..."
Concubine Shen Shu rolled her eyes at Zhao Hongrun, then looked at Princess Yulong in her arms, nodded and said: "You have such confidence, my mother is relieved. As for Yulong, my mother also feels that it is best for her not to go in and out of the palace again for the time being.
…”
As she said that, she saw a look of fear on the face of Princess Yulong in her arms, as if she was afraid of something, so she quickly comforted her and said: "It's okay, kid, those are all old things. The kindness of the older generation is
What does grudges and grudges have to do with you juniors? After a while, when your father figures it out, everything will be fine."
"..." Princess Yulong remained silent, perhaps because she gradually began to resist Emperor Wei.
It's no wonder, after all, in her mind at the moment, the memory of her father killing her mother seemed to be constantly replaying, which made her extremely painful.
After staying in Ningxiang Palace for a while, Zhao Hongrun asked the clan guards to take the girls, including Princess Yulong, back to Prince Su's Mansion first, while he himself only brought Wei Jiao, the captain of the clan guards, to Chui Gong Palace.
The Emperor of Wei seemed to have known that Zhao Hongrun would come to Chui Gong Hall, so he dismissed the three Zhongshu ministers and the serving eunuchs in Chui Gong Hall early, leaving only the great eunuch Tong Xian.
Stepping to the inner hall, Zhao Hongrun bowed to Emperor Wei, and then said with a playful smile: "I suddenly remembered that three years ago, I seemed to have had a man-to-man conversation with my father... That time,
It was my son who won!"
Wei Tianzi originally had a tense face, but seeing the playful and smiling face of his son in front of him, his tense expression gradually relaxed, and he said calmly: "My son's so-called man-to-man conversation today is just to ridicule me? Or...
..." He glanced at Zhao Hongrun and said lightly: "...Want to take this opportunity to win against me again?"
The implication was that he was asking his son in a subtle way whether he decided to continue investigating the matter of "Xiao Shuai".
After hearing this, Zhao Hongrun laughed: "Is this an opportunity?...Tsk, tsk, tsk, if this is an opportunity, doesn't it mean that my son has missed several opportunities to defeat his father? Well,
For example, Lord Xiong Tuo of Yangcheng once told Erchen something, and the survivors of Yuma in Dang County also revealed some things to Erchen... Actually, Erchen didn't think this was a good opportunity."
"..."
The great eunuch Tong Xian was stunned for a moment, and then his worried face gradually revealed a smile.
At this time, Emperor Wei also had a faint smile on his face, and asked ambiguously: "Oh, it seems that my son knows a lot of things... Tsk, tsk, why, are you worried about father and son now?
Friendship? Hehe, isn’t it just what you dream of, turning your father into a disgrace?”
When Wei Jiao, the chief guard of the clan, lowered his head and snickered, Zhao Hongrun shrugged and said calmly: "We are all equally disgraced, but there are distinctions. Some are harmless, and some... tsk tsk, I really made myself too embarrassed.
My son, I can’t keep it off my face."
After hearing this, Emperor Wei took a deep look at Zhao Hongrun, pointed at Zhao Hongrun and smiled at Tong Xian: "Did you hear that? In so many years, today's sentence is the most popular..."
Hearing this, Tong Xian smiled and praised: "Today is different from the past. Today's His Highness Prince Su is no longer the little bully in the palace back then."
"Little bully?"
Zhao Hongrun pursed his lips, and beside him, Zong Wei Chang Wei Jiao couldn't help laughing.
At this time, Emperor Wei had turned his attention to Zhao Hongrun, and the smile on his face gradually faded: "So, Hongrun, what do you think about...the remnants of the Xiao family?"