Zhu Gaosui stood in front of the oil lamp in the room and slowly lit a letter.
Watching the letter gradually turn into ashes, he threw it into the charcoal brazier under the table.
After Mr. Zhang returned to Beijing, he no longer had anyone with whom he could talk. Although occasionally some officials from the DPRK and China came to sit down and comfort him because of the assassination, most of them were high-sounding officials.
perfunctory words.
What was just burned was a letter sent by Mr. Zhang.
Although he killed hundreds of Jinyiwei captains, in the end he didn't even rush into the Dongchang Prison. Zhu Gaosui was somewhat disappointed.
While the emperor is away and the prince is in prison, it is a good opportunity to deal with him.
But this time it ended in failure again.
Zhu Gaosui held his forehead with his hand and lowered his head, feeling a heavy sense of frustration in his heart.
In the past few days, my father's state was no different from before. It seemed that he was in a mess and not as magical as Mr. Zhang said. None of his plans satisfied him.
A guard walked in cautiously, stood in front of Zhu Gaosui, folded his fists, and whispered: "Your Highness, Wang Changlian, the Minister of Rites, wants to see you."
"Wang Changlian, Minister of Rites?" Zhu Gaosui was stunned, raised his head from his right hand, and looked at the little guard with some credence.
"Yes, Your Highness, Wang Changlian, Minister of Rites, would like to see you." The guard said again.
Zhu Gaosui was not very familiar with Wang Changlian. However, he was recommended to the emperor by Xiao Chen, the purple-clothed captain. This fact was known to all the officials in the imperial court.
So far, although I have not been in direct hostility with Xiao Chen, I have never stopped plotting against him.
Now, this Wang Changlian suddenly came to visit, what did he do?
"Let him come in." Zhu Gaosui said calmly.
If you are making random suspicions here, you might as well let him in and listen to his words, then you will know the purpose of his trip.
After a moment, Wang Changlian, dressed in the official uniform of a second-rank imperial official, strode in.
"Your Majesty, Wang Changlian, comes to see His Highness King Zhao." Wang Changlian saluted and greeted him respectfully.
"Master Wang, you are a rare guest, please take a seat." Zhu Gaosui stood up and pointed to the seat opposite him. Then he turned back to the back hall and shouted: "Come here, serve tea to Master Wang."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Wang Changlian was polite and sat on the chair in a neither humble nor overbearing manner.
Hearing Zhu Gaosui's greeting, the guard in the back hall hurriedly made a bowl of tea, brought it up in a hurry, placed it respectfully opposite Wang Changlian, and bowed and retreated.
"Master Wang, as the Minister of Rites, is a pillar of the imperial court. Why did he suddenly visit me today?" Zhu Gaosui picked up the tea bowl he had before and made an invitation gesture towards Wang Changlian and asked with a smile.
Wang Changlian chuckled: "Perhaps the Ministry of Rites does not have any real power in the court, so the news was very slow to reach the Ministry of Rites. Only now did I know that His Highness was assassinated. I took advantage of the end of the hunting activity to come here.
Let’s pay a visit to His Royal Highness King Zhao.”
As he spoke, he took out half a bag of tea leaves from Huailai and put it on the table: "Xiaguan has just taken office not long ago, and he doesn't have anything useful in his hands. In addition, this is the Huailai Defense Area, and there is no concentration center nearby.
Therefore, I can only send this half bag of tea to His Highness, which can be regarded as my sincerity to Your Highness."
Looking at the crumpled half bag of tea leaves, Zhu Gaosui almost laughed out loud.
Although he has been restricted by his father for a long time, and the Zhao Palace has declined in the capital and has no reputation, but it is better to bring half a bag of tea to comfort him than to bring nothing at all and just exchange a few words.
Half a bag of tea leaves and half a bag of leftover tea leaves to give away to others. This Minister of Etiquette is really a talented person.
Thinking of this, Zhu Gaosui couldn't help but shook his head.
This Ministry of Rites is really different. The previous Minister of Rites, Cangcheng, was a poor Minister who accepted death. But today, the newly appointed Minister is as poor as ever. It’s okay not to deal with the Ministry of Rites in the future.
Seeing Zhu Gaosui's unwillingness to pay attention to his words, Wang Changlian knew that the other party must despise the half bag of tea leaves, and he might even think that if he came to see him with half a bag of tea leaves, he would not treat his majestic King Zhao.
It's a huge insult.
"Your Highness, please don't underestimate this half bag of tea. This is the real top quality West Lake Longjing." Pushing the tea forward, Wang Changlian chuckled.
Hearing this, Zhu Gaosui also chuckled.
No matter how dissatisfied I am, the other party is the dignified Minister of Rites. Although he does not have any substantial power, royal etiquette, all sacrificial activities, and even the next emperor's coronation ceremony are all hosted by the Ministry of Rites.
In terms of face, you still can't embarrass the other party too much.
"Mr. Wang, you are so polite. I have brought a lot of tea here. Look, you only drank half a bag of tea. How can I accept it? In this way, when you leave later, I will
I'll bring you some bags of fine tea." Looking at Wang Changlian, Zhu Gaosui smiled and said generously.
Wang Changlian shook his head, looked at Zhu Gaosui with a smile, and said meaningfully: "As far as I know, only a few people have tasted this tea. The first one is the current emperor, and the other is Mr. Li Anli, the Minister of Punishment.
, and Eunuch Lin from Dongchangchang, and the other one is me."
"Oh?!" Zhu Gaosui couldn't help but be stunned. The smile on his face gradually disappeared and was replaced by a burst of seriousness.
"Master Wang's words are quite profound. Forgive me for being stupid, but if you have anything to say, please speak clearly." Sitting upright, Zhu Gaosui put away his condescending tone.
"This bag of tea was brought back by Colonel Ziyi when he was working on a case in Jiangnan. The tea is of the highest quality. If coupled with the identity of the person who sent the tea, the value of the tea will naturally be extraordinary." Wang Changlian stretched out his hand.
, pushed the half bag of tea leaves on the table forward a little further.
Looking at the half bag of tea leaves and listening to Wang Changlian's words, Zhu Gaosui hesitated in his heart.
What is he doing? Acting as a lobbyist between himself and the purple-robed captain? No one can shake his desire to seize the heir. And Xiao Chen has always supported the prince. No one can reconcile this contradiction.
"I appreciate Lord Wang's kindness. I will never be able to drink all the tea in the palace in my lifetime. You should keep this tea for yourself." Zhu Gaosui declined politely.
"Okay, this half bag of tea leaves is my most precious thing. Since His Highness won't accept it, I will keep it myself." Wang Changlian smiled and took the half bag of tea leaves into his arms.
Immediately, he lowered his voice: "Your Highness, have you ever heard that someone wanted to do harm to the Crown Prince and killed more than 600 Jinyiwei captains."
Zhu Gaosui, who looked serious, couldn't help but feel a thump in his heart.
