The prince entered the palace with officials from the six ministries, and when he came out, only the officials from the six ministries were left.
Everyone looked solemn and walked out of Taiyang Palace in silence; no one spoke a word. Just like that, they walked silently through Yingtian Gate, crossed the outer palace square, and were about to walk out of Zhuque Gate when the Minister of Justice couldn't help but speak: "My colleagues, what do you think of the emperor..."
"Your Majesty has his reasons for doing things." Li En raised his hands and bowed: "Your Majesty has a kind fatherly heart. Seeing that His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi was assassinated, how can you still feel at ease with the princes and princesses living outside the palace?"
"Lord Li is right." The Minister of Revenue sighed, "Although it is not in accordance with ancestral rules for adult princes and princesses to live in the palace, your Majesty's love for his children is even more touching."
All the officials praised the emperor for his love and care for the princes and princesses. After leaving the Suzaku Gate, they got on their respective carriages and went their separate ways.
Li En, Ming Jingzhou and Zhou Rui got on the carriage of the Ministry of Rites. The three of them looked at each other and the smiles on their faces instantly fell.
"This matter involves a lot of things. His Majesty has brought all the princes and princesses into the palace. I'm afraid he must be extremely angry." Li En sighed: "Although the officials of the six ministries often quarrel because of political differences, it would be troublesome if they were involved in a plot against the royal bloodline."
"You reap what you sow." Ming Jingzhou leaned against the carriage calmly, "Your Excellency does not need to think too much."
"Alas." Li En sighed. He had served in the same dynasty for many years. Even if he looked at small wild flowers on the roadside for more than ten years, he would have some feelings for them, let alone a living person.
"Stop the car." Zhou Rui saw the colored threads sold in the shop next to him and said with an embarrassed smile, "Please wait for me for a moment, my lords. I will go to the shop to buy some colored threads for my wife."
"Brother Zhou, please feel free to do as you please." Ming Jingzhou helped Zhou Rui lift the curtain. After Zhou Rui got off the car, he looked at Li En and asked, "Why would you help the Prince of Chen?"
Li En smiled: "Do you know what I saw on His Royal Highness Prince Chen?"
Ming Jingzhou remained silent.
Li En didn't care about Ming Jingzhou's answer. He stroked his beard gently and said, "That day, I accompanied the prince to inspect Hongwen Academy. In His Highness, I saw the pure heart of a young man."
Ming Jingzhou touched the book in his sleeve. It was the book he was going to give to Prince Chen but didn't have time to give it to him.
"The emperor has a benevolent heart. To become a good emperor, one must have pure humanity towards all things in the world." Li En did not hide his purpose: "Twenty-five years ago, I saw this kind of purity in your majesty. I didn't expect that after 25 years, I would see this precious humanity in the most notorious Prince Chen again."
"Sir." Ming Jingzhou was silent for a moment: "We should be loyal to His Majesty."
"Of course we are loyal to His Majesty and the people of the world." Li En lowered his eyelids and said calmly, "Assisting the Prince of Chen and cultivating administrative capabilities is what His Majesty wants our Ministry of Rites to do. We are just following orders."
"I thought Your Excellency would appreciate His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi more." Ming Jingzhou lifted the curtain and listened to the hawking sounds coming from the streets with a comfortable expression.
“If those who use etiquette and system to restrain themselves disappear one day, no one knows what the result will be.”
History is full of foolish tyrants who were perfect and praised by everyone when they were young, but whose true nature was exposed after they reached high positions.
"Those who are born kind despite all the ups and downs in life are God's gift to the people of the world."
Ming Jingzhou bowed and said: "I only hope that Dacheng will become a wise ruler for generations to come, and protect the people of the world to live and work in peace and contentment."
"My Lords." Zhou Rui lifted the curtain and climbed into the carriage. "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
"Not long, just right." Li En reached out and helped him.
When Shen heard at home that the prince and princess had been brought into the palace, she called Jiuzhu and told her everything that had happened in the palace.
"The imperial power moves people's hearts." Shen patted the back of Jiuzhu's hand and said, "Jiuzhu, you must be more careful in the future."
"Your Majesty has locked up all the princes and princesses in the palace, and even replaced all the servants around them, in order to protect them." Jiuzhu drank the tonic soup that Shen had prepared for her: "Although this has disrupted all the princes' plans, none of them know what each other's plans are. This way, they are all safe."
"Your Majesty's original intention may just be to protect them." Jiuzhu put the empty bowl on the table and said seriously: "Living in the palace, you don't have to worry about food and drink, and you don't have to worry about being plotted against. How great is that."
"Oh." Jiuzhu added, "If all the expenses of the princes and princesses in the palace were paid from His Majesty's private treasury, it would save a lot of money."
Shen suddenly realized: "You are right, maybe His Majesty just wants to save their lives."
Although Your Majesty is an emperor, he is also a father.
In recent days, as soon as Ming Jingzhou returned home, he found that his daughter was particularly attentive to him and would ask him from time to time when he would enter the palace.
"Jiuzhu." Ming Jingzhou put down the teacup. This was already the third cup of tea his daughter had given him. Although he didn't want to disappoint his daughter, he really couldn't drink any more. "Is there anything you need me to help you with?"
Jiuzhu was a little embarrassed: "It is indeed a small matter. If my father is going to the palace soon, please help your daughter bring something."
"For Prince Chen?" Ming Jingzhou suspected that the tea at home had gone bad, as it tasted a bit sour.
"Well, it's just a painting." Jiuzhu twisted the corner of her clothes: "My daughter has already told His Highness that I can't let him down."
"Painting?" Ming Jingzhou was silent for a moment. Seeing that his daughter looked increasingly uneasy, he asked in a strange tone, "Did you paint it?"
"Yes." Jiuzhu walked to the door, took the scroll from Chunfen, and walked back to Ming Jingzhou: "Mother said that her daughter's painting has your style."
With his...style?
Ming Jingzhou silently picked up the teacup, perfectly concealing his embarrassment: "Did your mother really say that?"
"Yeah." Jiuzhu nodded, opened the scroll, and looked at Ming Jingzhou expectantly: "Father, take a look, do they look like him?"
Ming Jingzhou looked at the painting, which looked like a dead branch in the desert, and called it "Red Plum Blossoms in the Snow". He unconsciously took a sip of tea and said, "My girl, His Highness has not seen this painting of yours, has he?"
"This is a surprise for His Highness. Of course I won't show it to him in advance." Jiuzhu looked at the painting, then looked at Ming Jingzhou: "Father, does my daughter's painting have your style?"
"Yes...there must be." Ming Jingzhou recalled his self-confidence and ignorance in his youth, and a strange feeling of guilt arose in his heart towards his daughter.
My daughter is Xiao's father. It's all his fault.
"Ahem." Ming Jingzhou coughed dryly and smiled lovingly: "Daughter, do you think the King of Chen will like your paintings?"
"I'm sure you'll like it." Jiuzhu put the painting away confidently: "Last time, my daughter gave your Highness a painting, and your Highness specially kept it as a treasure."
"I understand." Ming Jingzhou smiled and nodded: "Tomorrow afternoon, your father will go to the palace to meet His Majesty, and I will bring the painting to you."
"Thank you, father!" Jiuzhu quickly put the painting tube in Ming Jingzhou's hand: "You are the best father in the world."
Ming Jingzhou sighed. His daughter was not like him in that she was sweet-talking, but she took after her mother.
The paintings he created at that time were praised by his wife as the best in the world. It was not until his whole family was exiled to the frontier and he made paintings to sell but no one bought them that he became aware of his own painting skills.
Alas, I wonder how many new words the lady had to think of over the years to praise his paintings.
Looking down at the painting tube in his hand, Ming Jingzhou smiled: "Our Jiuzhu's paintings are rare in the world. Your Highness will definitely like them very much."
"Hiss." Prince Chen got up from the bed and asked the eunuch to help him change clothes and wash up: "It seems to be particularly cold today?"
"Your Highness, this is the new white fur coat sent by the palace. Would you like to try it on?"
Prince Chen put on his clothes and leaned lazily on the chaise longue. In just two incense sticks of time, he had tossed and turned in several positions.
Before, he had to report to the Ministry of Rites every morning, walk around here and there, and he felt it was too much work and annoying. Now he is lying in the palace and doesn’t have to worry about anything, so why does he feel bored again?
He asked the eunuch to bring him a few storybooks. After flipping through two pages, the Prince began to think unconsciously that if he were in the Ministry of Rites at this moment, he should start copying books.
If he had not entered the palace, Lord Ming would have prepared new things for him to copy.
"Your Highness?" The eunuch saw that the Prince of Chen had turned two pages and then stopped moving. He asked anxiously, "How many books can I change for you?"
"No need." Prince Chen threw the storybook aside: "I have no interest in these miscellaneous books."
After saying this, he stood up and walked out of the yard, crossed the gate and went to the large garden outside Zhangliu Palace, where he saw Prince An and Prince Jing using baskets supported by small sticks and sprinkling millet under the baskets.
"What are you two doing in the middle of winter?" Prince Chen walked past the basket and "accidentally" bumped into it: "Ouch, I didn't mean to do that, brothers, you won't blame me, right?"
He looked up at the birds chirping in the treetops and said, "I saved your lives, why don't you fly away?"
The two princes looked at the stick that was kicked far away by Prince Chen, and threw the rope tied to the stick to the ground: "Fifth brother, you are joking. How dare we blame you?"
"Yeah." Prince Chen nodded with satisfaction. It's okay not to dare.
Prince An felt that his fist was a little hard. He turned his head to look at Prince Jing, who was looking at the sparrows flying through the air with regret on his face.
"I don't know how badly Fourth Brother is injured." Prince Chen put his hands behind his back and turned to look at his two brothers: "Second Brother, Third Brother, have you been to see him?"
"It's still early, I don't dare to disturb my fourth brother." Prince An thought for a moment and said, "Why don't we go and take a look together?"
“Okay.” Prince Chen looked around and broke off a branch. There were two half-yellow leaves on it, still lingering stubbornly on the branch.
"We are all brothers, so there is no need to follow conventional etiquette." The Prince shook the branches to shake off the dust, but accidentally shook off a leaf: "The gift is small but the sentiment is great. Putting this in a vase will surely have a special flavor."
Prince An and Prince Jing remained silent.
They suspected that Yun Duqing was not going to visit Yun Yanze, but wanted to send him away.
Unfortunately, Prince Chen did not understand their thoughts and really took the branch with only one yellow leaf and went to Yun Yanze's yard.
"Your Highness, Princess. His Royal Highness Prince An, His Royal Highness Prince Jing, and His Royal Highness Prince Chen are here."
Sun Caiyao put down the medicine bowl, wiped the corners of King Qi's mouth, and looked at King Qi. King Qi said gently: "Please come in."
"Your Highness, your wound has not yet healed, so just lie down and rest." Sun Caiyao stood up, "I will go and greet the princes."
She lifted the curtain and saw Prince Chen walking in with two other princes. Looking at the Prince of Chen in white fur, Sun Caiyao lowered her eyelids slightly: "Your Highnesses, please."
"You're welcome, sister-in-law." Prince Chen handed the branch to Sun Caiyao: "Take this and decorate the room for brother."
As soon as the branch reached Sun Caiyao's hand, she saw the last surviving leaf make a final struggle in the wind and lie on the ground in despair.
Prince An looked at the dead leaves on the ground, then at the bare branch in the hands of Princess Qi, hoping that Princess Qi would use the branch to hit Yun Duqing in the face.
But as a daughter of the Sun family, how could Sun Caiyao lose her composure in front of other princes? Even if Prince Chen picked up a stone from the ground and gave it to her today, she would accept it without changing her expression: "Thank you for your kindness, Fifth Brother. I will definitely put it in the prince's room so that he can appreciate it from time to time."
"Fourth sister-in-law, please." Prince Chen walked into Prince Qi's room and pointed at the long-necked bottle facing the bed: "I think this vase is good, please put it in."
Sun Caiyao, who was beautiful, intelligent, and gentle, shook her hand holding the branch and said, "Okay."
When Sun Caiyao put the branches into the vase, Prince Chen nodded with satisfaction: "It's really good." He turned his head to look at Prince Qi on the bed: "Fourth brother, don't you think so?"
The King of Qi looked at the long-necked flask and smiled, "As long as my fifth brother is happy."
Yun Duqing sent this dead branch just to mock his injury?
Since childhood, this good fifth brother of his has relied on the favor of his father and loved to use such blatant means to make things difficult for him.
"I'm of course happy to see that Fourth Brother likes the gift I brought." Yun Duqing sat down on the chair and looked at the pale-faced King Qi: "Is Fourth Brother's injury better?"
"Much better." The King of Qi smiled gauntly, "Second brother, third brother, please take a seat quickly. Please forgive me for my injury and inability to greet you."
"We are brothers, there is no need to be polite." Prince An observed Prince Qi's expression and said, "The assassin who hurt you has been sentenced to death by father. You can rest and recover from your injuries."
"Thank you for your concern, brother." King Qi looked at the three of them and coughed twice.
Is the mastermind behind this among them?
"Fourth brother was injured, why is he coughing?" Prince Chen summoned the eunuchs and said, "Go to the Imperial Hospital and ask the imperial physician to take Fourth brother's pulse."
He helped the King of Qi to press down the quilt and said: "Your body and hair are given by your parents, Fourth Brother, please do not neglect it."
pain.
The King of Qi's face turned pale instantly. Yun Duqing, the bastard, pressed on his wound.
Not long after, King Huai also came to visit King Qi with some gifts. He was a little more generous and brought a box of ginseng pills.
"Are all your brothers here?" King Huai handed the ginseng pill to the eunuch and walked to the bedside: "Fourth brother, why didn't you even cover yourself with the quilt..."
"No need for help, brother. I can do it myself." The King of Qi looked at the King of Huai warily.
"Why are you being so polite to my eldest brother?" King Huai bent down and pressed the quilt on King Qi's chest. Seeing King Qi's face turn pale instantly, he smiled guiltily and said, "Look at me, I actually forgot that my fourth brother is injured in the chest."
The King of Qi took a deep breath.
Yun Liuan, you son of a bitch!
King Huai withdrew his hand and sat down next to King Chen.
Judging from Yun Yanze's expression, he was really hurt.
Who did this? Did he expect that his father would lock them all up in the palace because of this matter?
At first he suspected that it was Yun Yanze's trick of inflicting self-torture, but when he heard from the palace servants today that his father had sent people to thoroughly investigate the Prince Qi's Mansion and the Zheng family, he knew that Yun Yanze could not have done this.
He's not that stupid.
He turned his head to look at Prince Chen, who raised his eyebrows and looked at him.
It couldn't be Yun Duqing either. With the favor of his father, he didn't have to do anything and was better than his other brothers.
Could it be Prince An and Prince Jing?
These two have always been mediocre and inconspicuous, so where do they get the courage to plan such a thing?
"It's rare for the five of us brothers to get together." Yun Duqing suddenly said, "It's cold today, why don't we cook a hot pot together at Fourth Brother's place?"
King Huai turned his head to look at King Qi lying on the bed. It seemed that an injured person couldn’t eat hot pot?
"Fifth brother, you said it well." King Huai clapped his hands and laughed, "Big brother, I will ask the servants to prepare it now."
Being locked up in this small Zhangliu Palace, where I can't even step out of the palace gate, life is really hard to endure. I always have to find something to entertain myself.
An hour later, the King of Qi smelled the aroma of hot pot filling the room. Looking at the four people sitting around the table, chopsticks flying and cups dancing, he wanted to pick up the pillows on the bed and throw them all out.
These bastards!
After eating his fill, Prince Chen stood up and put on his white fur coat. He smiled at Prince Qi on the bed and said, "It seems that with us here with you, your fourth brother's complexion has become much rosier. In that case, fourth brother, we will come to see you again tomorrow."
"Yes, don't worry, fourth brother." King Huai nodded: "Until you recover from your injury, we will come to see you often."
The King of Qi looked at them with a forced smile, his eyes revealing murderous intent that he tried hard to conceal.
"Then I would like to thank all of you brothers first." He regained his gentle smile: "It's all my fault that I didn't see through the assassin's plot and made my father so worried. But it's good this way. We can finally live together like we did when we were kids."
Hearing this, the smile on King Huai’s face immediately disappeared.
Yes, if Yun Yanze had not been assassinated, they would not have been imprisoned in the palace.
If he knew which bastard did such a stupid thing to alert the enemy, he would kill him head and body!
What happened in Zhangliu Palace soon reached the ears of Emperor Longfeng. Instead of getting angry, he smiled and called Liu Zhongbao over: "Du Qing likes to eat hot pot, you should ask the Palace Department to send more fresh ingredients to the kitchen of Zhangliu Palace. Especially the dishes he likes to eat on weekdays, don't stop."
"Your Majesty, rest assured. I have already given instructions." Liu Zhongbao bent down to help Emperor Longfeng grind. "Your Majesty, the eunuchs and maids from the Prince's Palace and the Princess's Palace have all been detained together. Other servants have also been confined to the palace and are under strict supervision by the Jinwu Guards."
"Hmm." Seeing that Liu Zhongbao seemed to have something to say, Emperor Longfeng asked, "What else happened?"
"I heard that two servants of the Qi Wang's maternal grandfather's family ran away with their master's jewelry, and the Zheng family is searching everywhere for them." Liu Zhongbao smiled and said, "Nowadays, many people in the capital are laughing at the Zheng family for not being able to control their servants."
"When was it lost?"
"It seems to be last night?" Liu Zhongbao laughed: "I just overheard it, but I don't know what happened exactly."
"You old fox." Emperor Longfeng laughed and put down his pen: "Come here, call the Dragon Guard."
The Dragon Guards are royal guards who only obey the emperor's orders. They are highly skilled and will not take action easily.
"Bring back the two servants of the Zheng family who were lost." Emperor Longfeng smiled coldly, "I also want to know what the servants who betrayed their master look like."
After breakfast in the morning, Jiuzhu was called out by Zhou Xiao.
"Sister Zhou." Jiuzhu glanced at the panting Zhou Xiao and held her hand: "How about we have someone carry you up with a slide?"
"No." Zhou Xiao panted and shook her head: "To ask for a peace amulet, you must walk to the statue on foot to show your sincerity."
"Okay." Jiuzhu sighed helplessly and could only pull her up step by step. Behind the two of them were a large group of maids and guards. It didn't look like they were going to burn incense and pray for amulets, but more like they were going to dismantle statues of gods.
"Sister, are there really great monks in this wilderness?" Zhou Shucheng looked at the girl from the Ming family who was walking without blushing or panting and was still able to pull her sister along. He began to doubt whether there was something wrong with his physical strength. He was a grown man, but he was not even as good as a girl of sixteen or seventeen years old?
"Yes." Zhou Xiao nodded affirmatively: "I heard that there are several monks living in the temple on this mountain. The amulets they draw are particularly effective. I want to ask for one for my father, mother and... and for Ming Liulang as well."
Maybe with the amulet he wouldn't break his leg again.
Zhou Shucheng: “…”
Is it just a coincidence to ask for a talisman for Ming Cunfu?
It was clearly because of Ming Cunfu that he was suffering here.
Jiuzhu wanted to say something but stopped herself. She looked back at the distance from here to the foot of the mountain and decided not to tell Sister Zhou. Talismans are the specialty of Taoism. Generally, orthodox Buddhists do not draw talismans.
"In front!" Zhou Xiao pointed ahead: "I see the temple! Sister, please pull me up quickly."
Looking at Zhou Xiao, whose legs were trembling but who still insisted on climbing up, Jiuzhu thought that if Fu Liuge dared to do anything to let Sister Zhou down in the future, she would break his legs without Sister Zhou having to do anything.
"Wait for me!" Zhou Shucheng put his hand on the boy's shoulder, panting: "You, you two girls, walk slower, can you please give me some face!"
The servants helped Zhou Shucheng and almost dragged him to the temple gate.
The temple was even more dilapidated than they had imagined. A broken bell covered with dust hung on a tree. The fallen leaves in front of the temple were lying all over the ground in a mess, but there was no accumulation of leaves, probably because no one had time to disturb them today.
"May the Bodhisattva bless me, please don't blame me." Zhou Shucheng bowed to the Buddha statue in the temple and asked loudly, "Is the master here?"
Seeing that no one paid attention to him, Zhou Shucheng gave the servant a look.
"Master, we sincerely pray to the Buddha and ask you to show up." The servant shouted at the top of his voice, "We have brought incense money!"
"Amitabha." A monk wearing the ancestral robes came out and bowed to Jiuzhu and others: "Dear donors, please."
Seeing that the monk was tall and had strong legs, Zhou Shucheng couldn't help but ask, "Master, are you a martial monk?"
I guess monks aren't very good at drawing talismans, right?
"Donor, you are joking." The monk chanted the Buddha's name: "I am self-sufficient in the temple. I do the work of growing vegetables, fetching water and cleaning every day. Naturally, my body is healthy."
"So that's it." Zhou Shucheng suddenly realized and was about to enter.
"Wait." Jiuzhu stopped Zhou Shucheng and prevented him from entering the temple.
"Master, are you going out?"
"I am practicing in the mountains, why should I go out?" The monk smiled at Jiuzhu, "You are joking, benefactor."
"Since you don't go out, why do you wear the ancestral robes?" Jiuzhu hid Zhou Xiao behind him: "Buddhists all practice meditation and don't care about the secular world. They won't wear the ancestral robes in important occasions such as Dharma meetings and lectures."
Zhou Xiao looked at Jiuzhu, and unexpectedly saw a hint of solemnity in her usually sweet face.
He raised his hand and asked the guards of the Zhou and Ming families to surround the temple gate. After making sure that not even a mosquito had a chance to fly out, Jiuzhu said with certainty: "You are not a real monk."
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