The hourglass passed silently. The prince was sitting in a rocking chair with his eyes closed. The light cast a faint shadow on his face. In the light and dark, the outline of his facial features became more three-dimensional. It was different from the simple handsomeness in the past. There was a kind of
The solemn majesty of deep silence.
If it hadn't been for Pei Ruyu's secret seal, he wouldn't have known that Lu Guogong was actually another master who assassinated Lin Cheng. He had always suspected that the man was Qin Longhu, but unexpectedly it was his good uncle. Since he was such a top master, it was difficult for him to return the favor.
Pretending to be a coward for all these years!
It’s really thanks to Pei Ruyu’s memorial.
However, the prince has nothing to thank Pei Ruyu. The third son is a bastard. He has no evidence at all and relies entirely on nonsense. He is obviously here to drive a wedge between his father and his son!
The prince opened his eyes, and the candle flame reflected in the prince's pupils, like tongues of fire that would burn out the secret book in the imperial study today. His father burned Pei Ruyu's memorial as decisively as he did, and dismissed it as nonsense, but the prince knew that his father
The emperor was already suspicious, but the southwest was in turmoil at the moment, and the imperial court was fully focused on the war in the southwest. His father did not want the imperial court to be shaken at this time. Otherwise, if he really didn't believe a word of it, he would not even reprimand Pei Ruyu for his secret information.
No.
What is the father thinking about now?
The prince's thoughts slowly drifted out of the East Palace, drifting to the distant sky with the gradually rising night wind. The lonely and cold moonlight seemed to sway an unextinguished light in the sky, and the faint moonlight could only faintly reflect the treasures of the imperial city.
On top of the eaves, except for the watchmen and patrolling troops, the entire imperial capital city was asleep. Occasionally, one or two high or low dog barks could be heard in the empty streets.
War is raging in the southwest, and many people have mourned and mourned in this war. Hundreds of years of accumulation in the two lakes have been destroyed. And further in the northwest, the black iron blade has been revealed, and the silent iron hooves are waiting to go out.
The trumpet, the third son should laugh, right? When he guessed his life experience, such a bloodline actually sat in the position of the prince. The dispute over etiquette and law when the prince was established must be so ridiculous now.
However, the prince believed that Mu Anzhi's broad-mindedness should not only be ridiculed, but Mu Anzhi should also care about the southwest and the imperial capital. Pei Ruyu's seal, in addition to alienating, also served as a reminder.
Reminder, the arrow is already on the string——
Yes, the arrow has been cocked, and he cannot leave the rudder of his destiny to others.
Tonight, Emperor Mu Xuan still has no concubines. Since the war in the southwest resumed, Emperor Mu Xuan's thoughts were all on the previous dynasty and he rarely went to the harem. Emperor Mu Xuan's thoughts were also on Pei Ruyu's secret meeting today, or perhaps only in such a quiet night
, Emperor Mu Xuan could have such a corner of quiet time to face the things he least wanted to face.
Is the content of Pei Ruyumi’s compromise true or false?
Emperor Mu Xuan did not expect that there would be a day when he wanted to escape like this. His queen, his East Palace, his wife, his son, and his family-in-law were all wrapped in layers of fog, making it difficult for people to see clearly.
.
Just let it go.
Just let it go.
Emperor Mu Xuan told himself deep in his heart that once the incident happened, the courtiers would force him to cut out his heart and flesh, and etiquette would force him to cut off his wrists and show no mercy... Maybe he was really old, and he didn't want to see the blood of his relatives anymore...
…
Let it go for a while.
Northern Xinjiang.
The heavy snow fell all over the mountains and fields, and there was not even a breath of wind. The window was slightly opened, and the smell of the hot barbecue soup pot floated all over the courtyard through this narrow gap.
Even Li Shangshu, whose teeth were sore from eating meat all the way, had to praise the fragrance when he smelled it. However, he was old and did not dare to eat more meat, so he picked up the tender bean sprouts, green vegetables and radish leaves to eat.
After a few bites, I couldn't quite stomach it, and the affairs of the court made people worry about it.
Mu Anzhi held up a lamp to persuade him, "The mountains are high and the emperor is far away, so just rest and relax."
"I'm fine, old minister." Li Shangshu didn't dare to let Mu An show his respect, so he picked up the hot kumiss and drank it all in one cup.
"I'm not worried about you, I'm worried that if you die in my territory, it will be difficult to explain in the future." These words did not choke Li Shangshu to death. Wang Shilang of the Ministry of Industry trembled and knocked over the wine cup in front of him.
Mu Anzhi smiled narrowly, "Don't take it seriously, it's just a joke."
The maid came forward to take away the overturned wine cup and replaced it with a new exquisite jade cup.
Pei Ruyu was a little angry, "His Highness is becoming more and more unrestrained with his words. The two ministers are both gentlemen, and your joke scares the two adults." He comforted the two ministers, "Our Highness is like this, we lift things lightly, and the more important the matter, the heavier it becomes."
You can hold your breath. Your Highness can hold your ground, so we, the humble ministers, will not panic."
On the territory of Northern Xinjiang, Shilang Wang and Xu Shilang, whoever dared to say a word against Mu Anzhi, all responded with a smile. Shilang Wang felt that the fresh tofu rolled in the hot soup tasted good, so he took a spoonful of it.
Blow on the hot soup and eat slowly. Xu Shilang of the Ministry of War is a thoughtful person, so he followed Pei Ruyu's words and asked, "Master Pei, what big things happened recently?"
"Don't you know yet?" Pei Ruyu held up his chopsticks, picked up a piece of tender lamb, rolled it in the hot soup, and put it into a small bowl. It was very tender in the mouth. He said nonchalantly, "It's about Lu Guogong's life experience.
."
Xu Shilang's back straightened even more, and he quickly asked, "Life experience? What is the life experience of the Duke?"
Chen Jian slowly took a sip of wine to cover the raised corners of his lips. He was really impressed by Master Pei's ability to spread rumors. He listened to Master Pei boiling the meat and talking about it, "It's a long story. Wait.
You will naturally know it when you return to the imperial capital, forget it, I won’t say it anymore, after all, it has nothing to do with the East Palace.”
Xu Shilang is Lu Guogong's number one lackey. Even if Pei Ruyu spreads the rumor, he has to know what the rumor is. He quickly said, "I don't mean to pry, but the matter in the East Palace is selfless. Since Mr. Pei knows, please tell us something."
." As he spoke, he looked at Li Shangshu and Wang Shilang.
Wang Shilang was still engrossed in eating hot tofu, sweating all over his head. After finishing a spoonful, he took another spoonful. Li Shangshu also looked very concerned and was always ready to listen. He secretly gave Pei Ruyu a look and stopped when he saw it.
, say it quickly.
Pei Ruyu put down her chopsticks and said, "Hey, it's the identity of Lu Guogong's biological father. He is not an ordinary person, so he found out. Lu Guogong's biological father was originally from Zhennan."
The silver chopsticks that Mr. Xu was rubbing in his hand clattered to the ground. Even Li Shangshu opened his eyes in shock and couldn't believe it. The spoonful of hot tofu that Mr. Wang held was not stable and fell back into the soup pot, splashing out a few drops of hot soup.
, almost burning the back of his hand. This was the second time Chen Jian heard this, and he felt incredible. If it weren't for the Liu family's more than ten years of investigation, not to mention the irrefutable evidence, but also the reasonable speculation based on the evidence, he would have
Can't believe this is true.
Sure enough, Li Shangshu and the other three were shocked and then questioned, this cannot be said easily!
Then, Pei Ruyu told the three people the whole story about the Lu family. Because of the news that the Liu family would bring back, the facts became more complete.
Starting from Mrs. Lu's birthplace recorded in her place of birth, all the way from Hunan to Shandong, every word is well documented. However, the matter of concealing the Liu family cannot even be picked out by officials like Li Shangshu.
Flaw, Xu Shilang murmured, "This, there must be evidence, you can't just talk nonsense."
Pei Ruyu said, "I don't just have evidence. I have all the witnesses and physical evidence. But somehow, the Di report sent by the Emperor to Northern Xinjiang has been cut off since the beginning of winter. The wind and snow last year were not small, and the Di report was
It will be delivered later. You haven't noticed yet, but the Ministry of War has always sent the Di newspaper to other places. This obviously means that the Ministry of War has cut off its connection with Northern Xinjiang."
Pei Ruyu looked at Li Shangshu and the others with pity, "So I said, don't rush back. Ruihou's lineage is the official bloodline of our dynasty, and Lu Guogong and Lu Queen's father's family are all Zhennan bloodlines, so this matter is related to the East Palace.
Now, when this incident occurs, the northern border is far away, and it can't be affected for a while. If you are in the imperial capital, this chaos will happen. Let alone the rich and powerful, you are all high-ranking officials, and you are afraid of being wrapped up in that chaos.
Whether your life can be saved or not remains to be seen. Especially Master Xu, how difficult are you in this situation? You said that you are also a confidant of Duke Lu, are you going to be with him or not?"
Xu Shilang said angrily, "I, I am a loyal minister of His Majesty. Who am I going to be with? A gentleman is a friend but not a party. Mr. Pei, you are still born in Sanyuan!"
"It turns out that Mr. Xu is not a die-hard Mr. Lu Guogong. I misunderstood him. I will punish myself." Pei Ruyu's smiling look fell in the eyes of Mr. Xu. He was really a treacherous person.
Xu Shilang kept a straight face and emphasized again and again, "My official position was bestowed by Your Majesty, and I have also been appreciated and promoted by Your Majesty these years. I am loyal and loyal to Your Majesty!" He also pulled the soft tofu over, "Master Wang, do you think so?
?”
Master Wang was still trembling while fishing for tofu. He seemed to be deaf and did not hear what Mr. Xu said. However, Mr. Xu refused to let him go and said, "Master Wang, the Langya Wang family that Master Pei just mentioned is your family, right?"
"
Wang Shilang finally stopped fishing for tofu. Wang Shilang looked hopeless and said, "Forty or fifty years ago, I was still young."
"Have you heard of it?" Xu Shilang asked.
"I have listened to the teachings of saints since I was a child." Wang Shilang recited the Buddha's name. This originally had nothing to do with him, but suddenly a pot hit him on the head. This was an unreasonable disaster.
Xu Shilang didn't believe it, "How can you not know this at all?"
Shilang Wang glanced at Shilang Xu kindly, "I heard that Master Xu had a three-life relationship with a girl from his hometown when he was young, and later in the spring, he married the granddaughter of the late Duke Fan Wenxiang. Is this true?"
"Nonsense!" Xu Shilang was angry, "Don't change the subject. I'm asking about the collusion between your Wang family and the Infant Care Center?"
"I also heard that Mr. Xu's father took an 18-year-old concubine when he was eighty years old, and spent tens of thousands of silver taels for spring wine. I wonder if this is true?" Wang Shilang doesn't think he likes tofu. He really is not a piece of tofu. At that time, Shilang Xu
He was about to fight with him, but fortunately the young people in the room knew martial arts and Chen Jian stopped him in time. Mu Anzhi had to let Mr. Xu calm down first, and the banquet broke up.
After consultation with Mu Anzhi and Pei Ruyu, he didn't hide anything about Lu Guogong's life experience, and immediately spread the word to everyone in the entire northern Xinjiang.
Of course, during the promotion, I did not forget to help Lu Hou confess that the two of them are really not from the same blood, they are completely from the same ancestors.
In fact, Xu Shilang knew in his heart that the truth of this matter was not certain, but His Highness spread such rumors with the sole purpose of putting Lu Guogong to death!
Now that he can't return to the imperial capital for a while, Xu Shilang's heart is really in a state of turmoil.
Officials in northern Xinjiang were also shocked by this incident. Unlike Pei Ruyu, Du Changshi and others, Tang Anzhi was a die-hard supporter of Mu Anzhi. He originally thought that Mu Anzhi was going to take advantage of him, but he didn't expect that Mu Anzhi would just let him go.
Zhao. It frightened Tang Yaojie. He pulled Tang Mo around all day long just to ask what Tang Mo meant.
Tang Mo was mainly shocked by Lu Guogong's life experience. As for other things, he didn't mean anything. Anyway, the prince is also his cousin, the third prince is also his cousin, and all the princes are his cousin. Does this have any influence?
Tang Anzhi was depressed and asked him, "Are you closer to the East Palace or to His Highness the Third Highness?"
"They are all close." The relationship between Tang Mo and Dong Gong was not bad.
Ambassador Tang Yasuo really wanted to say, are you stupid? You are obviously working for His Highness the Third Highness, but you actually said that you are also very close to the East Palace? With Tang Mo's political literacy... forget it, Tang Mo doesn't need political literacy at all.
Reincarnation is much more important than political literacy.
Tang Yaoyang was so anxious that he simply changed his mind. He had no friendship with the East Palace at all. In the past two years, he had been valued by the Third Highness, and he had done a lot for the Third Highness. Anyway, even if the Third Highness had an emergency,
He is also loyal to the king. He is a loyal minister of the court, and he will never give priority to a prince with foreign blood!
This is the reason why Pei Ruyu wants to spread the blood of Lu Guogong even if there is no sufficient evidence. The words etiquette and law may seem illusory, but they always have an invisible effect.
Mu An admires the loyalty of brothers Dalin and Xiaolin very much. Even if this loyalty is not towards him, such noble character is still commendable.
The two of them are said to be quite old, in their early fifties. In order to find out the grievances of the master's family these years, they have not married or had children, until now. The princess handed them over to Mu Anzhi, please
Mu Anzhi helped with the arrangements. Mu Anzhi placed the two of them among his guards. After Du Changshi found out, he wanted to borrow someone to help with the training. Mu Anzhi was a little surprised, "You still lack training.
Teaching?”
"There is no shortage of instruction." Not only is there no shortage, the recruits are all given high-quality flags from the Marquis of Lu. Du Changshi said, "I learned about the two Generals Lin from my eldest sister, and I admire them very much.
.Nowadays, the army is full of new recruits, and even the generals trained are young and strong. I just want two veterans in the army to tell them what is the soul of an army."
"What is the soul of an army?" Mu Anzhi asked.
"Loyalty!" Du Changshi said solemnly, "This is the soul of an army!"
Mu Anzhi was slightly shaken, and after a few words of kindness to the two of them, he gave them to Du Changshi.
Du Changshi and the Lin brothers are serious about asking for military training. After all, although he has many ideas, he is still a novice to military training. Many experiences cannot be learned from simple books. Veterans like Erlin often have many valuable experiences.
What's more, their perseverance and perseverance are unparalleled. They usually adopt some of their suggestions. They are broad-minded, never suspicious, and respect them very much. They can be said to be excellent Shangguan.
There is only one thing...
When Xiao Lin was young, he also served as the personal guard of the old prince. This was the first time he saw the soldiers training outside in the ice and snow, and the officials in charge drinking hot chicken soup in a warm room. There was also a big food box that came to serve at noon every day.
Steward Ye, who was delivering lunch to Du Changshi, was truly a loyal servant among loyal servants, and invited them to join him for dinner. The two of them ate once, but they really couldn't find anything to eat. The Lin brothers could only satisfy their hunger with big cakes and beef.
A rough man, Du Changshi is a pampered young man who never tires of fine food and delicate food. Even when he drinks, he only likes to drink the sweet, soft and fragrant pear blossom white. He also has the look of Mr. Ye trying to persuade him to eat, "Try it, uncle, I am the pea sprout."
We brought freshly fried ones, fresh out of the pan and very tender.”
Xiao Lin secretly thought that this was the case for Du Changshi's own mother.
When the two brothers were talking privately, Xiao Lin said, "Don't you know that the Du family has a very strict family tradition and is very strict in raising their children. Mr. Du is really not like the children of the Du family."
Dalin's temperament was more upright. He just laughed after hearing this. He took a few sips of herbal tea and wiped his lips and said, "Master Du is a bit spoiled. Look at the recruits he has trained. Not only are they like wolves and tigers, but they also have a military appearance."
Mighty and good in battle."
"How about I just talk to my eldest brother in private? It's really strange. It's the first time I see someone training like this." Xiao Lin also found it strange, "I heard that the boss of the Du family is now the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs at a young age. Mr. Xiao Du
With such talents in both civil and military matters, this generation of Du's children is really outstanding."
"Yes. Especially Mr. Xiao Du, he makes people like him as soon as he sees him." Dalin had a smile in his eyes, and he worked very hard in the army.
Xiao Lin thought about it, and indeed, there was something quite amiable about Mr. Xiao Du.
The Princess of the County was very happy when she heard that the two brothers were already fifth-grade generals among the new recruits. She thought that Du Changshi was a good boy, so the Princess of the County took note of this favor.