The emperor came out and looked at the prince who was kneeling in the outer hall.
The second prince's face was solemn, but there was not much worry in his eyes. This time, his mother-in-law, Concubine Xian, was in charge of the banquet. Just now, the emperor had comforted Concubine Xian and asked her to rest early. He also asked the Imperial Hospital to treat Concubine Xian and calm her nerves.
, so as not to sleep poorly.
It can be seen that the emperor did not blame their mother and son at all.
The fourth prince's eyes rolled around and he knelt dishonestly. The fifth prince looked impatient.
The emperor seemed to be able to hear what they were saying in their hearts. It was simply that the third prince was in poor health and it was none of their business.
The Prince of Qi's eyes were red and weeping - ignore these tears, the emperor knew that even if a cat in the palace died, the Prince of Qi would cry until he fainted.
"What's going on?" The emperor shouted in a deep voice, "Does this matter have anything to do with you?"
Although it was not said to be poisonous, the almond cake that the third prince ate could not be identified as almond cake, and the strong taste of almonds was also masked. When the emperor tasted it himself, he could not taste the almond flavor at all, which shows that someone deliberately did this.
The princes immediately cried out for injustice.
"Father, I don't know this at all." "I have been playing the piano attentively."
"The third brother probably knows better than us what we can and cannot eat. It's because he was careless."
"Maybe the third brother is too tired and is in a trance. Alas, I just said that the third brother is not in good health. He works so hard. He should rest more when he has time. Why go to a banquet and have fun."
"This is all my fault. My nephew is guilty."
"That's right, it's your Chu Shaoan's fault. How come it's not you who got sick?"
The princes complained and argued.
The emperor was upset and disheartened when he heard this, and shouted: "Shut up! You are all here, no one can escape the involvement."
The fifth prince heard this and said hurriedly: "Father, in fact, those who are not present have a greater impact. You think, we are all together, staring at each other, but no one knows what those who are not present did -"
The fourth prince nodded hurriedly: "Yes, father, Zhou Xuan was not present at the time. You should ask him."
The emperor pointed at them: "They are all grounded, and they are not allowed to go out for ten days!"
The princes, including the Crown Prince of Qi, were all taken down, but there was no fear or anger. Everyone except the Crown Prince had been grounded too much since they were young, so it didn’t matter. As for the unlucky Crown Prince of Qi, not only did he not cry, he was very happy——
"Chu Shaoan, you are still laughing! Aren't you praised for your merits? Now you are also being punished."
"Your Majesty punished me to show that you don't treat me as an outsider and taught me strictly. Of course I am happy."
"vomit--"
The princes left noisily and cursed, and quiet returned to the outside of the palace. The princes were relaxed, but the others were not. After all, this was an accident for the prince, and he was also the third prince who the emperor loved most and was just about to reuse——
Thinking again of the undercurrent in the palace before, now the undercurrent finally hit the shore.
The emperor stood outside the palace with a solemn expression and remained motionless for a long time. Eunuch Jinzhong lowered his head and did not dare to disturb him at all, until there were footsteps and a young man came quickly from the front.
"Your Majesty." Zhou Xuan saluted.
The emperor hummed and looked at him: "How is it?"
Zhou Xuandao: "Two eunuchs from the Ministry of Internal Affairs committed suicide."
Needless to say what this means, the emperor already understood that someone was indeed plotting to kill him. He closed his eyes and his voice was hoarse: "What is wrong with him for repairing his appearance?"
Zhou Xuan smiled: "It should be your fault for being so important to your majesty."
How dare you say it! Eunuch Jin Zhong only felt a cold chill on his back. Who would feel threatened and murder the third prince because he was valued? But he did not dare to raise his head at all, let alone turn his head to look inside the palace——
The emperor frowned: "Do those two people have any evidence left?"
Zhou Xuan shook his head: "No, there are no traces except death."
"It's nonsense without evidence." The emperor scolded him, "However, the importance you mentioned should be the reason. What I asked Xiurong to do has offended many people."
At the insistence of the Iron-faced General, the emperor decided to carry out the policy of recruiting soldiers. This was something that was hated by the nobles. Now that the third prince was in charge of this matter, all the jealousy was naturally focused on him.
Zhou Xuandao: "It's very possible. It's better to arrest and kill a group of them to serve as a warning to others."
The emperor laughed angrily at him again: "How can you kill people randomly without evidence?" He frowned and looked at Zhou Xuan, "Are you too murderous now? Why do you always kill people?"
Zhou Xuandao: "No way, Your Majesty, I just think that for some things and some people, killing is more appropriate."
The emperor looked at the handsome face of the young man. The elegant atmosphere of the past was fading more and more, and the evil spirit between his eyebrows was becoming more and more uncontrollable. A scholar, who had been immersed in mountains of swords and seas of blood for the past few years - an adult could not keep his true nature.
His heart was very sad, not to mention that Zhou Xuan was still so young. If Zhou Qing was still here, Ah Xuan would never be like this.
"Axuan." The emperor said, "You don't need to worry about this matter. General Iron Mask is back. Let him rest for a while. You can worry more about the military camp."
Zhou Xuan didn't force it, he turned around and left in a big stride.
The emperor watched Zhou Xuan's figure quickly disappear into the night, and sighed softly: "We can't let A Xuan stay in the military camp anymore. It's time to change his place."
Eunuch Zhong could take up this topic and said softly: "The Queen mentioned the marriage between Princess Jin Yao and Ah Xuan to Madam Zhou, and neither Madam Zhou nor the eldest son seemed to object."
The emperor naturally knew about this matter. Mrs. Zhou and the eldest son did not object, but they did not agree. They only said that Zhou Xuan had nothing to do with them and that Zhou Xuan made the decision on his own marriage - it was heartbreaking and heartbreaking.
Although the two brothers have different temperaments, their stubborn personalities are almost indistinguishable from each other. The emperor was heartbroken and said: "I will find an opportunity to ask him about the marriage. Once we are married and have a family, our hearts will be settled.
Since his father is no longer here, the child's heart has been hanging around."
Seeing that the emperor's mood had eased, Eunuch Jinzhong said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, it's dark and a little cold. Come in."
The emperor nodded and entered the palace. The palace was quiet as if there was no one around. Two imperial doctors were brewing medicine next door. The prince sat alone in front of the curtain in the dormitory, looking at the heavy curtain as if in a daze.
"Jin Rong." The emperor whispered, "You should also go and have a rest."
The prince then came back to his senses, stood up, and seemed to insist on staying here, but the next moment his eyes darkened, as if he felt that he should not stay here, he bowed his head in response, and turned to leave. The emperor couldn't bear to see him like this,
Called: "Jinrong, do you have anything to say?"
The prince raised his head and said: "Father, although I am worried about the health of my third brother, I still ask my father to continue to let my third brother take charge of the matter of recruiting scholars. This is the best comfort to my third brother and the greatest deterrent to others.
"
The emperor looked at the prince's mellow face and nodded solemnly: "You are right. Once Asiu wakes up, I will have someone carry him to court even if he wakes up."
Only then did a smile appear in the worried eyes of the prince, and he bowed deeply: "My son, please retire. Father, you should also take care of yourself."
The emperor nodded and watched the prince leave, then raised the curtain and entered the bedroom.
The third prince was sleeping on the dragon bed, and his personal eunuch and Qi Nu were standing nearby. When they saw the emperor coming in, they both hurriedly saluted. The emperor signaled them not to be too polite and asked Qi Nu: "How is it?" He leaned over to look.
The third prince, the third prince was sleeping heavily, "Are you unconscious?"
Qi Nu whispered: "Your Majesty, don't worry, I gave His Highness the Third Prince some soothing medicine. After sleeping this night, you will wake up tomorrow."
The emperor nodded, and just as he was about to stand up straight, he saw the sleeping third prince frowning, moving slightly, and muttering something in his mouth.
He hurriedly got closer and heard the third prince murmuring, "It's very beautiful, it's very beautiful."
What does it mean? The emperor asked Xiaoqu, the third prince's eunuch, in confusion. Xiaoqu was startled, but then he thought of it. His eyes flickered, and he lowered his head and said, "His Royal Highness was at Lord Zhou's place, and he saw it, swinging on a swing."
Swinging, the third prince couldn't play this kind of game, it was too dangerous, so he liked it and was very happy when he saw it. The emperor looked at the pale face of the third prince who fell into sleep again, and his heart felt sour.
"When you are ready." He leaned over as if coaxing a child, "I want to play on the swing in the palace."
