It was dark at night, but the emperor was still sitting there with great interest in the East Nuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, listening to the fourth prince talking endlessly about the scenery of the Lu Mansion tonight. The third prince standing beside him listened with a smile, although he felt a little sorry for himself I couldn't go over to join in the fun, but he was not as restless as the third prince, so there was no talk of envy or jealousy.
But what he didn't expect was that after the third prince finally finished speaking, he rushed to him, held his hand and said: "Third brother, the Lu family invited a man who was unsuccessful in the imperial chef selection competition tonight. The chef came to take charge, and also invited the guy named Song to make the dessert! The dessert was very delicious. I went to the kitchen to find the guy named Song, and he promised to make it for you in the future..."
"Ahem!" The emperor finally couldn't help but coughed twice. Seeing that the fourth prince immediately shut up and stood still, he reprimanded him with a straight face, "Don't keep talking about Song, Hailing is yours too. Cousin, he will be considered your brother-in-law in the future, how can you treat someone as a cook?"
"But he is a chef who loves to make desserts..." The fourth prince whispered in his heart, but he kept saying yes in his mouth. Because he knew very well that if he said what he said in his heart, the third brother next to him would definitely Give him a good scolding!
Ever since he was slapped that day, he had keenly felt that the third prince was more concerned about him, but also more strict. He couldn't tell whether that was because he was becoming more and more like a prince, or more and more like an older brother!
The father and son chatted for a while. Seeing that it was getting late, the emperor thought that his two sons would have to get up before dawn to study, so he had no choice but to order someone to take them down to stay. Since the third prince was studying in Ciqing Palace, he took the two brothers His residence was located in the Zhaoren Hall, with the bright room in the middle being used for living, and the East and West Nuan Pavilions being used for bedrooms. The third prince lived in the east, and the fourth prince lived in the west.
What made him feel helpless and relieved was that because they moved together, the fourth prince always complained that it was too dark to sleep alone, so most of the time, the two brothers slept together in the East Nuan Pavilion of Zhaoren Hall.
But just as the two older female officials came up to take the brothers down, the new steward of Qianqing Palace, Chen Yongshou, hurriedly announced that there was an emergency. Seeing someone sneaking in and whispering next to his father, the fourth prince instinctively grabbed him The elder brother stayed, hoping not to leave for a while, and pricked up his ears to hear what was going on. In the end, he undoubtedly received another lesson from the third prince.
"Fourth brother, my father must have important state affairs, let's not disturb him!"
But the fourth prince reluctantly followed the third prince to the door, and he heard the emperor laugh: "Haha, there are no important state affairs, but there is a strange family matter! Sanlang, Shiro, there is no need to leave, stay here!" Chen Yongshou, go and bring everyone here."
The fourth prince was already full of curiosity. When his father said this, he was immediately overjoyed and hurriedly dragged the third prince back to the emperor's side. However, although his eyes were rolling, he could not hold back from asking rash questions.
The third prince knew that his fourth brother's patience was limited, so he had no intention of testing his patience. He immediately asked: "Father, has something happened in the palace? The two noble concubines are taking care of the palace affairs together. Don’t invite them…”
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by the emperor's laughter: "It has nothing to do with the two noble concubines. This is not something they can take care of. Li Shanggong, please go there in person and collect all the ceremonial supervisors in the palace." Call everyone from Zhangyin Bingbi and Suitang."
Seeing that Li Shanggong, who had been personally selected by the Empress Dowager and transferred to the Qianqing Palace as a deacon, solemnly agreed, Fan Jin saluted and left in a hurry. Now, let alone the third prince having some guesses, even the fourth prince could not help but be surprised. The two brothers expressed their feelings towards each other. At a glance, they all turned into statues with eyes, nose, and heart.
Of course they are not naughty children who grew up in the Qianqing Palace. Even the four princes, who are as outstanding as the four princes, will never make trouble when the emperor is handling state affairs. As for the Secretary of Ceremonies... the Secretary of Ceremonies said that it is a family matter, but in fact it is okay. Become a state affairs!
However, compared to the eunuchs of the Si Li Supervisor, those who arrived first were Zhang Shou, Zhu Ying, and Zhang Chen, and behind them, Hua Qi and Ah Liu joined forces to support one person. Seeing this scene, the third prince was just surprised. The fourth prince couldn't bear it anymore and blurted out: "Teacher, sister Yingying, what are you..."
Zhang Shou smiled slightly and did not speak first. However, Zhang Chen had no time to speak. Zhu Ying had already rushed to explain the cause and effect of the matter. Of course, Zhang Chen and the fourth prince's plan was completely ignored. It was only said that Zhang Chen was confused and had an argument with Zhang Shou, so he found a secluded place to drink. As a result, he was almost tricked.
After Zhu Ying finished speaking, Zhang Shou calmly saluted and said: "The incident happened suddenly. Master Hua Qi and Ah Liu took the person back to the Lu Mansion for questioning..."
"Your Majesty, they arrested the royal servants without authorization and used lynching to extract confessions. Please make the decision for the villain!"
The imperial attendant who was tightly restrained by Hua Qi and Ah Liu, as if he were a dead dog, suddenly yelled, which not only interrupted Zhang Shou's words, but also made everyone in the Dongnuan Pavilion of Qianqing Palace change their expressions. While others were just sluggish, meditating, or furious, someone had already taken decisive action, and that was...
There is no doubt that the fourth prince, who is the most action-oriented, takes the lead. He rushes forward and slaps the opponent hard on the face. Although Zhu Ying just said the word hypnosis, he didn't quite understand what it meant. , but it doesn’t sound like a good approach. Zhang Chen was lucky and didn’t fall for the trick. If he had acted as a bait according to Zhang Chen’s words, wouldn’t he have been the unlucky one?
The fourth prince, who was full of fear, slapped him in the face. Still feeling uneasy, he simply raised his foot and kicked the imperial attendant fiercely. But he had just kicked twice when he felt two hands coming from under his armpits. Passing through, he immediately grabbed his shoulders forcefully and dragged him back. He was just stunned for a moment before he realized who it was and immediately started struggling hard.
"Third Brother Prince, please let me go and let me kill this thief who calls out to catch thieves!"
"How can I allow you to be so presumptuous in front of my father! Whether you live or die, you should be at the mercy of my father!" The third prince is only half a year older than the fourth prince, and he is about the same size and strength. Of course, he can only hold the man and drag him back. .
Seeing that the fourth prince was still angry, he said in a stern tone: "Fourth brother, if you continue to act like this, I will report to your father and send you out to Zhaoren Hall to think about your mistake behind closed doors!"
He was not afraid to think about the fourth prince behind closed doors, but he couldn't bear it when he couldn't see what happened next. So, he could only let the third prince drag him back in a depressed manner. When he saw the emperor glance over with a half-smile, he He was lowering his head and sulking, but he didn't expect that after the third prince let go of his hand, he walked up to the imperial attendant who had been beaten.
"You just said that someone secretly arrested you, the royal servant, and then used lynching to extract a confession?"
The third prince was only four feet tall, and he was not wearing any gorgeous robes at this time, but of course the imperial attendant knew that the other prince was the newly crowned prince, and that he was Zhang Shou's student. The fourth prince's actions just now told him
He, what does it mean to be estranged and not close to each other, but life and death are at stake, and even if the possibility is only one in a thousand, he has to take a gamble.
Therefore, when Zhang Shou did not open his mouth to defend himself, he hurriedly said loudly: "Yes, the villain was just ordered to protect the fourth prince, because he saw that the eldest son of the Duke of Qin was drinking alone, and there was no one else in the whole courtyard.
I was worried that something had happened, so I went over to take a look. Who knew he was drunk and crazy..."
"It's ridiculous. When did I ever get drunk?"
Zhang Chen was so angry that he wanted to rush up and beat someone like the fourth prince just now. Fortunately, Zhang Shou had quick eyes and quick hands and held down the person's shoulders early, thus stopping this impulsive man who was no less impulsive than the fourth prince.
The descendants of Guijie.
Seeing Zhang Shou stop Zhang Chen, Zhu Ying sneered: "It's no wonder the fourth prince is so angry, you bitch really knows how to confuse right and wrong! Do you think you didn't use hypnosis to seduce Zhang Chen back then?"
Did anyone hear it? Uncle Hua, Ah Liu, and I saw you sneaking around and acted like a monkey, and even heard your voice!"
"Besides, before Zhang Chen could drink your pot of spiked wine, we also brought the evidence!"
"If you want to incriminate yourself, there is no need to hesitate! You are a family, so of course you can say whatever you want. It's not like you can't forge any damn evidence. Just put some medicine in that pot of wine and you can frame me.
On the head!"
Although he could sense the real murderous aura around him and knew that his life was in the hands of the two people next to him, the imperial attendant had already risked his life. At this time, he seemed to be extremely sad and angry and shouted: "The emperor knows clearly, His Royal Highness the prince clearly knows, little
Everything he said is true! If this villain doesn’t confess before, he will be suffocated to death by the torture of Hua Qi, the general of Duke Zhao’s family!”
The emperor smiled and said nothing. The fourth prince was so angry that his shoulders were shaking slightly, but he had just been scolded by the third prince. At this time, he did not dare to act rashly anymore. He could only stare at his brother's back expectantly.
.
The third prince looked solemn and pursed his lips tightly. After he finished speaking, he looked at Hua Qi and asked word by word: "Master Hua Qi, are you serious about what he said?"
Hua Qi laughed and nodded happily: "I don't dare to be called Master Hua Qi by His Royal Highness, just call me Hua Qi. What he said is right. I admit that lynching was indeed used. It was at the Lu family at the time, and
It's Lu Sanlang's happy day, and if he is tortured to the point of drawing blood, it will inevitably spoil his happiness, so I had to use this simplest but bloodless method."
Seeing that the imperial attendant visibly breathed a sigh of relief, he said calmly: "But who asked me to ask the first question? As soon as this person opened his mouth, he put all the blame on Mr. Chu, the chief minister of ceremonies? I doubt him.
He used chicken feathers as an arrow to fool me, and since the trainee’s waist badge was not an official tooth badge, and I didn’t know whether it was real or fake, I had to take a ruthless hand to examine it.”
Zhang Chen, who was still being held down by Zhang Shou, was stunned at this moment.
He didn't expect that Zhang Shou would not defend himself, Zhu Ying would not refute it, and Hua Qi would openly admit to the abuse of lynching, and he was dealing with an imperial attendant...even a trainee! He just felt that his vest was getting sweaty at this moment.
, I really wanted to raise my head to see what the emperor's expression was, but it was the words of His Highness that caught my attention.
"In other words, you did kill him first and then put him on trial without knowing his identity?" After receiving Hua Qi's nod in reply, the third prince said calmly, "It's very inappropriate to do this in theory, but since it didn't cause him
If there is any injury, and this person was sneaky in the first place, even though he is at fault, he is still in a hurry and can be forgiven."
Unexpectedly, the third prince would be so understated. The imperial attendant was simply shocked, and then subconsciously shouted: "Why is there no damage? The villain is almost dead..."
"Then are you dead?" The third prince stared at the eager guy with cold eyes and asked word by word, "Are your limbs injured?"
Zhu Ying almost laughed out loud when she saw the third prince talking nonsense so seriously. Zhang Shou also tasted the sophistry in it and couldn't help laughing. However, the one who had the biggest reaction was none other than the current emperor, because
Not only did the person burst out laughing, they even punched the armrest with laughter.
When he heard the emperor's laughter, the imperial attendant was stunned for a moment, then he seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw, and immediately shouted loudly: "Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince is favoring them, the villain is really..."
"Really? You really think that I will believe your evil deeds!" The emperor's laughter stopped suddenly, and after interrupting the other party impatiently, he stood up straight, "I trust everyone here, except
You! You just said that you have been punished once and almost died? Very good... Hua Qi, you are right here, giving me a post to see if he can escape with another life!"
As soon as these words came out, after a moment of silence, Hua Qi immediately coughed and said: "It's in the East Nuan Pavilion of Qianqing Palace? His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince are also here. Isn't this... inappropriate?"
"There's nothing wrong with it. The most serious thing is just killing someone. This palace was originally built on the ruins of Yuan Dadu's palace. I don't know how many dead bones were buried underneath, and I don't care if a lot of people die!" The emperor chuckled nonchalantly,
Then he glanced at the dumbfounded fourth prince and the third prince who was trying to stay calm, and spoke in an understatement.
"As for Saburo and Shiro, it's time for them to see blood."
"That's great." Hua Qi chuckled, letting go of her hand and letting Ah Liu hold the imperial attendant by herself, but directly rolled up her sleeves, "This kid just managed to survive a mere three layers of paper before and he almost peed his pants.
Now, I’ll try to be more agile with my hands and feet, and I’ll put up five or six layers at least, otherwise I’ll lose all the skills I learned back then! Someone, prepare some paper for me, and I want that kind of yellow paper!”
The emperor and Hua Qiyi teamed up, and the others remained silent. The imperial attendant saw that Hua Qi was really brazenly shouting in the Qianqing Palace, and his last trace of luck finally disappeared. Almost.
Subconsciously, he shouted in a tearful tone: "The person who ordered the villain to spy on Lu's house was Eunuch Chu, the chief seal of the Supervisor of Ceremonies. The villain did not lie at all!"