An Er secretly brought two eunuchs to meet Mu Ci.
Since the protagonist of the ceremony is the little prince, Mu Ci pays more attention to the movements in the palace than ever before. Although Li Yao has been eliminated, there is no guarantee that someone will not have bad intentions again. Many secret guards were buried near the table for the first-year celebration. When Mu Ci saw the people brought by An Er, he understood immediately.
Mu Ci asked coldly: "What happened?"
An Er said, "I found these two people sneaking around before the Zhou-Zhua ceremony started, trying to put a cosmetics box on the table."
An Er held up a gold-carved box with a handkerchief and presented it to Mu Ci.
"The outside of this box is coated with honey, and the inside is filled with ordinary powder. Although I have not been able to detect poison, judging from the expressions of these two people, it is very likely that there is some conspiracy."
Mu Ci looked at the box over and over again. This powder box was exquisitely made, with many gems inlaid on the lid, shining with gold and worth a lot of money. The outside was also coated with honey. If it was really placed on the table, Doudou, who loved sweets, would definitely grab the box.
The powder box itself has a good meaning, but it mostly appears when the princess is holding her first birthday celebration. If the prince catches it, he will inevitably be accused of not doing his job properly. It seems that someone wants to throw dirty water on the little prince. Considering that the enthronement ceremony will be held soon, if rumors about the little prince's bad behavior spread, his position is likely to be lost. How vicious their intentions are!
The two eunuchs knelt down and begged for mercy. An Er had already found out that they were sent into the palace by the Qiao family. Mu Ci hesitated for a moment and said, "Take them to Jinhua Palace."
Wang Xingren was ordered to send the two eunuchs to Qiao Yunting, and according to Mu Ci's instructions, he detailed the crimes of the two in front of Concubine Qiao. Qiao Yunting closed his eyes in embarrassment. They were all family confidants, how could he not know where these two eunuchs came from? He had just sent a birthday gift to the eldest prince, and the family was slapping him in the face!
He knew that his father, Qiao Taibao, had some complaints about the establishment of the crown prince after the opposition. Qiao Yunting had tried to persuade him, but his father still acted in this way. Everyone in the palace knew the attitude of the empress dowager and the emperor towards the eldest prince. His father's change of mind might bring ruin to the entire Qiao family!
Mu Ci had shown some mercy by handing these two people over to him. It was just a matter of seeing how he would deal with them. It was also a test of the Qiao family.
Although his father did this without telling him, he still has an unshirkable responsibility. Qiao Yunting was not at all vague. He ordered his men to tie himself and the two eunuchs who had committed the crime up and take them to the Xuande Hall to apologize for their crimes.
Mu Ci had already informed Ye An before Concubine Qiao arrived, and Ye An wanted to summon Qiao Taibao into the palace immediately to confront him.
When he first proposed to establish a queen and a crown prince, he found that Qiao Taibao had objections. Later, those who openly questioned Mu Ci in the court were actually Qiao's party members. Even if Ye An was angry, he would not bear a grudge. After all, this was the meaning of attending court. Even if he opposed, it was open and aboveboard. But what was the point of targeting Dou Dou!
The three ministers have already gone to the Grand Tutor, and it was thought that the Grand Protector would be obedient, but this person was not satisfied with the status quo and tried to interfere with the selection of the crown prince by secret means. Ye An didn't mind at all and then dealt with the Qiao family as well, and only left the Grand Tutor, an honest official.
Mu Ci said, "If you deal with Taibao, how are you going to balance it?"
Ye An was stunned: "Brother Aci, don't you want the Mu family to dominate?"
Mu Ci stared at him with his bright eyes and said frankly, "If I were just a member of the Mu family, I would naturally hope so. But now I can no longer just consider the future of my family. Although my father is the leader of the Mu family, he cannot guarantee that everyone in the Mu family will be like him. The best way is to find a balance. If there is an opponent who is equally matched, the Mu family will be restrained and will not go too far, which is also good for you. If you are determined to deal with Qiao Taibao, you must find someone to check and balance the Mu family, and this person should be loyal to you."
Ye An didn't expect Mu Ci to think about it for so long. He rubbed his cheek and said with emotion: "So you did all this for me?"
Mu Ci smiled: "I can't help it. Since I want to be your queen, I don't want to hold you back."
Brother Aci is so nice. Ye An held Mu Ci's hand under his sleeve and wanted to be affectionate with him again, but at this time Jin Li came to report that Concubine Qiao was kneeling outside the palace to apologize.
Ye An straightened his clothes and ordered someone to call Concubine Qiao in. Seeing Qiao Yunting tying himself up with ropes, he thought that if he didn't stick to trivial matters, he would be quite clear-headed.
Qiao Yunting kowtowed and said, "My father's actions are shameful. I am willing to plead guilty on his behalf. Please punish me, Your Majesty."
Ye An ordered Jin Li to help Concubine Qiao up and sighed softly, "Concubine Qiao, this matter has nothing to do with you..."
Qiao Yunting said solemnly: "As a member of the Qiao family, I have failed to persuade my father properly, so I have to take responsibility. Your Majesty, please give me some time. I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer."
Seeing that he had made up his mind, Ye An stopped trying to persuade him. Mu Ci sent people to Jinhua Palace, actually hoping that Qiao Yunting would come forward. Qiao Taibao holds military power and was once a troop leader. Although Mu Ci hates that he attacked Dou Dou, he does not want Ye An to confront him directly to avoid discouraging other generals.
Ye An followed Qiao Yunting's plan and allowed him to have a deep talk with Qiao Taibao first, and then summoned Taibao to visit the palace in the name of Concubine Qiao. After Qiao Taibao planned this, he was very nervous. Later, news came from the palace that the eldest prince had caught the sword. Qiao Taibao thought his plan had failed, and he breathed a sigh of relief unconsciously. He did not think much about it when he entered the palace. But when he stepped into Jinhua Palace, he saw his son Qiao Yunting, holding the golden sword bestowed by the emperor, with the tip of the sword pointed at his neck, and said in a deep voice: "Dad, do you want the Qiao family to still have me, alive or dead?"
The golden sword is not sharp, but just using the tip of the sword to pierce the neck can still be fatal. Qiao Yunting knows his father's weakness better than anyone else. Although Qiao Taibao is a military general who has experienced life and death, he cares a lot about his family. He wants to take advantage of this and force his father to make a choice.
The door of Jinhua Palace was tightly closed. No one knew what Qiao Yunting had said to his father. After an incense stick of time, Qiao Taibao walked out of the main hall in a daze and sat down on an open space outside Jinhua Palace. There were stains of blood on his clothes. The general who had been fearless even after fighting on the battlefield, now felt as if his whole body was burned by flames and burst into tears.
The next day, when Ye An went to court, Qiao Taibao sincerely pleaded guilty to the emperor and voluntarily handed over the military power in his hands, causing an uproar in the court. In recognition of his merits, Ye An retained his position in the court and asked Prime Minister Yuan to assist the Grand Tutor in handling government affairs, while the military power was divided among several generals such as Leng Feng.
It was ten days later that Qiao Yunting came to visit the little prince again. He had lost a lot of weight and was wearing a black robe with a cinched collar, with a circle of gauze showing at the neckline. His calm eyes were fixed on the little prince who was clamoring for candy, revealing a hint of warmth.
Qiao Yunting liked the little prince very much, but he still felt a little awkward when meeting the little prince's biological father, Mu Ci. He muttered, "Thank you."
He is a reasonable person. It was his father who was not clear-headed and caused the disaster. If Mu Ci had not shown mercy, the Qiao family would probably have been gone. No matter how much Qiao Yunting hated Mu Ci, he still had to thank him.
Mu Ci curled his lips and said, "You resolved the crisis for Dou Dou, so I should thank you for that."
"...It's too much trouble to thank me all the time." Qiao Yunting smiled cheerfully: "Although I don't respect you, I still respect the future Crown Prince."
Doudou had no idea what the adults were talking about and rolled over curiously. Every time Qiao Yunting came to see him, he would bathe and change clothes, make sure there was no smell of locust flowers, and also give him lots of delicious food and fun things. As soon as Doudou saw Qiao Yunting, he would come over and hug his arms.
"Qiao, Qiao!" Doudou had an innocent smile on his face.
Qiao Yunting was stunned for a moment, realizing that the little prince was calling him, and his eyes suddenly became moist. He always thought that since he didn't come often, the little prince might not remember him. But the little prince remembered it. Qiao Yunting thought that if he could save the little prince, even if he died in front of his father that day, he would have done something meaningful in this boring life.
On the eve of the enthronement ceremony, the Queen Mother summoned Mu Ci to Changle Palace alone.
Because of Ye An and Dou Dou, the Queen Mother no longer has the sharpness towards Mu Ci that she had at the beginning.
"Mu Ci, I called you here because I want to talk to you calmly."
The empress dowager sat in the main seat and motioned Mu Ci to sit in the empty chair next to her, which was usually occupied by the emperor. Mu Ci thought for a moment and politely declined, then found another chair at the bottom and sat down.
The Queen Mother smiled and said, "I know you are a cautious person, and it is true. Since you entered the palace, I know everything you have done. I am very satisfied with you, and I thought I should let you know in advance what it feels like to sit on the Phoenix Throne."
Mu Ci didn't know the Queen Mother's intention and looked at him in confusion. The Queen Mother stood up and slowly walked down from the main seat.
"Speaking of which, I am not as lucky as you. When the late emperor was alive, I was only a concubine. It was not until the emperor ascended the throne that I was named the empress dowager. I have never been an empress. The real throne was only occupied by Empress Gongsu Cui Yan."
Empress Gongsu?
Mu Ci's expression was stern, and he said respectfully: "Your Majesty, please let the Queen Mother know clearly."
The Queen Mother said, "This is also a past event that has been buried for many years. Cui Yun, me, and the late emperor, met one after another by chance. I and Cui Yun both liked the late emperor, and the late emperor liked Cui Yun more and made Cui Yun the queen. At the beginning, the late emperor was indeed in love with Queen Gongsu, but after ten or twenty years, they became suspicious of each other and tested each other. Later, the late emperor was worried that the Cui family supported by Queen Gongsu would be unstoppable, and Queen Gongsu was also calculating the throne and wanted the King of Huainan to be named the crown prince. For a while, the late emperor often sighed to me. He felt that Cui Yun, who was cautious at every step, was completely different from the past. He even wanted to depose the queen. He once asked me a question, why did he and Cui Yun end up in such a situation?"
Mu Ci couldn't help but ask, "Why?"
The Queen Mother said softly, "It's a pity that I didn't understand it at that time. When I finally sat in this position, I was finally able to answer the late emperor's questions, but the person sitting next to me was no longer the late emperor."
Mu Ci: “…”
The Queen Mother continued, "You are a smart person. Do you know what I want to say?"
Mu Ci hesitated for a moment and shook his head slowly.
The Queen Mother said, "I want to say that you are thinking about the Emperor and advising him to restrain the Mu family. This is very good. I hope you remember that the person sitting next to you may not always be with you. Don't let the throne blind your heart."
It turned out that the Queen Mother had such deep intentions. Mu Ci was overwhelmed with emotions. He knelt down sincerely and kowtowed to the Queen Mother.
"…Thank you for your teachings, Queen Mother."
He stood up and left the hall, and in a trance he saw a familiar figure standing outside the hall with a smile on his face.
Perhaps because he was still shocked by what the Queen Mother said, Mu Ci's eyes felt a little hot.
Ye An smiled and said, "Queen, I have been waiting for you for a long time."
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Happy Dragon Boat Festival!
Because I'm out of town, the update tomorrow will be a little late!
Concubine Qiao and Dou Dou are simply loved by their elders and they are not a couple. Thank you to the little angels who cast their votes for me or irrigated me with nutrient solution~
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated [nutrient solution]:
1 bottle of Feixian Yaomingyue;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!
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