In the Zhaoren Hall, Zhu Ying sat on a chair with her cheeks in her hands, staring at the third and fourth princes in front of her.
The two little guys had previously learned that Mrs. Zhao Guotai and Mrs. Zhao Guotai had entered the palace one after another, and they also knew that they had brought an outsider. The fourth prince was itching to go and see what was going on, but was stopped by the third prince. He held them back until the emperor asked their brothers to join them for a meal, but the fourth prince still couldn't help but explore the matter, but was dismissed by the emperor in an understatement.
But now, it's good that Mrs. Tai and Jiuniang have left. He and his third brother have just finished dinner with their father, when Zhu Ying comes with several more people! There are four of them, and the naughty kid has never seen them late at night. Four people came to Qianqing Palace, and they had never even heard of it! Moreover, these people didn't look like they were officials, they looked like little people.
Don't ask him how he knew he was a nobody. The naughty boy is no longer the ignorant one he used to be when he lived in the palace for a long time. He has seen many people and things, so of course he will have a little bit of eyesight - after all, from these people You can see it on your clothes!
However, although he was very curious, the fourth prince and his third brother were expelled from the Qianqing Palace by the emperor. By the way, they also sent a guard who was unable to get in, namely sister Yingying, who he had never been able to deal with. He had just said all his good things. , but Zhu Ying remained unmoved. Faced with the tight-lipped situation, he was really itching with hatred.
"Sister Yingying, the third brother is the prince. Even if there is any big event, do we have to hide it from him, the crown prince of the East Palace?"
Although the third prince also wanted to know what was going on, the fourth prince tried every possible means and finally pulled up a tiger skin as a banner in front of him. He still had to scold him with a straight face: "Fourth brother Be careful! Even if I am the prince, you don’t have to tell me everything. My father makes his own decisions, how can you question his arrangements?"
The fourth prince was unconvinced and wanted to speak, but when his third brother glared at him, he could only shut up in anger. Zhu Ying, who had just had time to look at him with a smile, yawned.
"Okay, don't ask me what's going on! My mother just called my second brother and me before entering the palace. She gave a few instructions in a few words. I just went to the outer city with Eunuch Chen. I know a lot more than you do.”
Seeing that the fourth prince was full of disbelief and the third prince was silent, Zhu Ying said lazily: "Of course, at least I know more unexpected news than you. But the emperor will definitely tell you soon, so you two little Guys, don't be impatient, let alone try to take advantage of me. I won't say anything without the emperor's orders."
Although she wanted to share the great news that the second prince was dead, she still understood the seriousness of the matter! Even if it was Zhang Shou in front of her, she would hold it back and wait for the emperor to express his stance, Only she would say, let alone the two brothers, what's the benefit of telling them earlier? Maybe the emperor would like to see their true reaction after learning the news.
I don’t know who is thinking about finding rare things to live in... Of course there are other possibilities, but she feels that in addition to the possibility that the person is really dead, there is a greater possibility that someone kidnapped the second prince and planned to do something evil. .
Seeing the fourth prince running to the side angrily, he turned his head and sat down. The third prince wanted to urge him to go to bed on the grounds that he would have guests tomorrow, but he didn't think he could figure out what was going on. Not feeling sleepy, he thought for a while and then changed the topic and talked to Zhu Ying about Zhang Shou's class today. At this time, Zhu Ying finally became energetic.
At first they were just looking for something to talk about, but the two of them became very interested as they talked, especially Zhu Ying's memory was better than that of the fourth prince, so the story was told vividly.
As a result, the fourth prince who was sulking on the side finally couldn't help but intervene. For a while, the elder and the younger were chattering about Zhang Shou's stories.
As for the matters in the Qianqing Palace, they unknowingly forgot about it until a voice came from outside: "His Royal Highness, the fourth prince, and Miss Zhu, the emperor has called."
The fourth prince was the first to jump up as if he had just woken up from a dream. He turned around and tried to run out, but was held back by Zhu Ying, who had quick eyes and quick hands. Just as he was about to protest, Zhu Ying slapped him on the head and said: "At night It’s so cold, are you crazy to rush out and freeze like this? Someone, bring me your coat and cloak! Children must be obedient and put them on quickly!”
Although he muttered that he was afraid of being so close, the fourth prince still did not dare to disobey the female devil, and obediently wrapped up the big coat brought by the palace attendants, while the third prince also hurriedly dressed up. But after going out, the fourth prince The step was too hasty, one foot fell in the air, and he fell forward involuntarily. As a result, Zhu Ying caught him with a fish, saving the little guy from the dilemma of falling and chewing mud.
Zhu Ying, who couldn't laugh or cry, simply held the hand of the fourth prince, and then held the third prince's hand, and then said angrily: "Be careful where you step when it gets dark, don't be rash! Okay, follow me slowly Walk,"
Although the fourth prince was proud that he was an adult, his arms could not twist his thighs. He could not break away from Zhu Ying at all, so he could only follow helplessly. The third prince glanced at the other people who came out and saw what everyone was pretending to be. He couldn't help but raised his head and glanced at Zhu Ying again, and saw that she was glaring at each other with her fourth brother. She looked like a child who had not grown up.
But this young sister Yingying still said that the fourth prince was reckless...
Zhu Ying didn't know that the third prince was slandering her. She only knew that by sending the two brothers to Qianqing Palace to accompany the emperor, she could go back. After probably losing a son, the emperor needed it even more. It's the third and fourth princes who are here, not her.
Sure enough, when she took the brothers into the Qianqing Palace, she saw that the people she had just brought were gone, and the huge place seemed empty. Only the emperor sat alone on the throne. In the dim room Under the light, she could not clearly see the expression on the emperor's face, but she felt a sense of loneliness and loneliness coming towards her.
She instinctively let go. At this moment, the naughty child beside her immediately let go and ran to the emperor's side. All the words she had been holding in her heart came out: "Father, what is going on? ?Why do so many people come into the palace at night? If something really happens, the prince’s third brother and I are already old enough to be willing to help our father to solve his problems!”
Seeing that the fourth prince led him in as soon as he opened his mouth, the third prince felt really helpless. He could only take a few steps forward, saluted and asked: "Father, although I have little talent and knowledge, if my father has ordered me, I will You must do your best.”
"I don't want you to do anything."
When the emperor said this, his increasingly heavy mood finally eased a little after being questioned one by one. He glanced at the fourth prince who was holding his hand and refused to let go, and then looked down. He glanced at the polite third prince under the throne. When he saw Zhu Ying quietly planning to retreat, he coughed.
"Yingying, I didn't let you go."
Zhu Ying, who was about to run away, stopped immediately. She smiled helplessly and said: "Your Majesty, it's already so late. Your Highness the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince are with you. Isn't that enough? I have to go back quickly.
Otherwise, grandma and mother should be anxious! I don’t know when dad came back and whether he would think something had happened when he found that only the second brother was left."
"Your grandmother and mother came home early, maybe they have arrived home early. As for your father, after the Ministry of War, he was cleaning up old files, cleaning up personnel, anyway, it was all kinds of cleaning. It was common for him to stay up all night, so there was no need for you.
Worry about him. Even if he goes back, your second brother is really good, are you still worried about him getting beaten?"
The emperor made fun of Zhu Er directly, and then said calmly: "Your second brother used to be a well-known dandy in the capital. He was not as good as your eldest brother. He even came close to getting married to you."
He was arranged to go out by his random tricks. But after all, he has a good nature, so with your guidance as a wishful man, he finally took the right path."
"Unlike my Erlang, who is self-righteous, arrogant, deceives superiors and deceives inferiors, acts wantonly, only knows how to get into trouble, never knows how to change, and now he has ended up in a state where he does not know whether he will live or die!"
Hearing the words "I don't know whether he is alive or dead", the fourth prince was still in a daze, but the third prince suddenly came to his senses. He raised his head in surprise and asked instinctively: "Father, my second brother is unknown whether he is alive or dead? Didn't he go to Qiongzhou by boat?
? Could it be that the ship is on the sea..."
Seeing that the third prince stopped abruptly when he said this, with a look of panic on his face, the emperor smiled suddenly and said: "There must have been an accident on the ship at sea. A ship belonging to the Song family in Guangdong happened to rescue a boatman at sea. Then
The boatmen said that the ship had sunk, and after they lowered their nets and caught a few things, they did not dare to neglect and quickly found a way to return to report the news."
"I have just personally asked the surviving boatman. He said that the ship sank suddenly at night. The mainsail was on fire and the bottom cabin was filled with water. At that time, it was a mess up and down. He was an inconspicuous little sailor.
On the way, I bumped into a valet who was accompanying Erlang, and I picked up a waist tag in a daze. Later, I didn't care about it so much, I just took the stuff and jumped into the sea in a panic."
"After jumping into the sea, he relied on his good water skills and tried to swim ashore, but it was in vain. Fortunately, he was extremely lucky. Even though he fell asleep from the cold halfway, he actually drifted down the river and met him in broad daylight.
On the Song family's ship in Guangdong, luckily there was a doctor on board and there was enough medicine, so I was able to save my life."
"He admitted that the efforts of the Guangdong Song family to salvage and rescue people in the surrounding waters were in vain, because he himself did not know how long he had been floating with the current. The things that the Song family salvaged were probably all those he brought out, and they were still lost in the sea.
Quite a few.”
At this point, the emperor ignored the dumbfounded expressions of the third and fourth princes. Seeing Zhu Ying frowning and thinking, he continued: "Erlang was suddenly kicked out of the capital by me. He still has time to clean up."
He gave a lot of fine things to this and that on the boat to win people's hearts, even the embroidered ribbons and messy tassels, etc., he gave to the sailor!"
"If he had been so generous, he wouldn't have left his own prince's courtyard in such a mess!"
The third prince finally sorted out the general context. At this time, he couldn't help but take a deep breath, and then asked: "Father, what you mean is that it is not certain whether the ship will sink or not, and it is not certain what will happen if the ship sinks."
Where did it happen?"
"That's right."
The emperor nodded slightly in approval to his prince, and then sighed helplessly: "The little sailor said that he was scared, so he jumped into the water first in a daze, completely forgetting that he was in the sea and not in the river.
It was a cold day again, so he swam far away before the shipwreck, so he was not dragged into the whirlpool by the movement of the shipwreck."
"After he was rescued, he didn't know how long he had been floating in the sea, because he was so frightened at first that he forgot the date, and fell asleep again in the middle. And because it was night, he didn't know where the sunken ship was, so he had to go to the sea.
The people on Song's boat said that it was nearby not long after the boat sank. After others salvaged something, he found that it was on his body and didn't dare to say anything."
"If I hadn't met them one by one before, he wouldn't have told the truth. After being frightened by me and telling the truth, the boy kowtowed again and said that he still had his parents at home and only wanted me to kill him.
When he lost his head, he was able to spare his parents. This is his second time going to sea, and he doesn't know the stars, so he can't calculate the distance accurately."
"He only knew that after setting sail from Tianjin, the wind was not strong and the ship did not move very fast. He heard from the old boatmen on the ship that he would be able to go up after passing the speed of Shandong. But in fact, three days after setting off, the sails of the ship were burned, and the sails were burned.
All the tanks were filled with water."
Seeing that his father clearly remembered every word spoken by such a little sailor, the third prince suddenly felt uncomfortable. He knew very well that after all, his father was not that kind of heartless emperor.
Although he and the second prince had no relationship at all, and this royal brother was not as good as a finger of the fourth prince to him, but he thought of his father's mood at this moment, and when he saw his father
One of his hands was holding the fourth prince's hand tightly from beginning to end. He couldn't help but stepped forward, and then gently held his father's other hand.
"Father, maybe things are not that bad... maybe the second brother was rescued like the sailor?"
That idiot can't swim! Zhu Ying complained in her heart, but she would not do such a stupid thing to stab the emperor's heart. Although she would not go up to shake hands and comfort like two little guys,
But think about it, instead of letting the emperor continue to be sad because of the love between father and son, it would be better for people to think about the problem calmly.
"Your Majesty, I heard my father and eldest brother mention that the sea route has always been risky, and more often than not it depends on the direction of the wind, but even so it is better than relying on only one canal. So in the early years of Taizu, the sea and canals were used simultaneously, and both wings were integrated.
Flying, but sea transportation usually travels by fleet. Although the second prince went to Qiongzhou Mansion because he was punished and demoted, why was there only one ship when setting off from Tianjin? "
Seeing that the emperor was slightly stunned, she continued: "And the most important thing is, if we really send someone to investigate carefully, then let alone ten days and a half months, it might take a year and a half, or even three to five years."
, there is no way to determine the life or death of the second prince. And with this little time, there may be a group of people among the people who use the banner of the second prince to swindle and deceive, and even occupy the mountain and become the king."