The Fourth Prince's face suddenly changed, he raised his leg and kicked Wang Zhou in the back.
Use all your strength.
There was a heavy muffled sound.
Wang Zhou fell to the ground and fainted.
The fourth prince heaved a sigh of relief, lifted up the corner of his robe, and quickly knelt before the emperor, "It is my fault that I have disturbed your majesty."
The fourth prince secretly raised his eyes to glance at Emperor Zhaowu and saw that his face was as gloomy as dark clouds.
He gritted his teeth secretly and frowned deeply.
He shouldn't have gotten involved in this.
But Queen Jiahe arranged for him to come.
Empress Jiahe was his cousin, and she shared his success and failure.
Only at this moment did he realize the deep meaning behind Empress Jiahe's insistence that he come.
If he had not been here today, if it had been any other official, he would have really been in trouble because of this troublemaker named Wang Zhou!
Fortunately, he reacted in time and kicked him unconscious, preventing Wang Zhou from succeeding.
"Stand up," said Emperor Zhaowu.
The Fourth Prince stood up and signaled the guard with his eyes, asking him to quickly drag the unconscious Wang Zhou out. He followed Emperor Zhaowu and asked respectfully, "Father, you are so busy, why did you think of coming to me?"
Emperor Zhaowu said: "I'm here to take a look at Xiaojiu's case."
The fourth prince was startled, but said, "Since your Majesty wanted to come and see you, you didn't inform me, and let this unruly person find an opportunity and almost frightened your Majesty's body."
But doubts arose in my heart.
His father ascended the throne at a young age. After ascending the throne, he eliminated the remnants of the rebellion and managed the government affairs. He was so busy with government affairs that he had no time to spare. As princes, they may only be able to look at their father from afar at banquets all year round.
The child of an unfavored concubine didn't even have the chance to see his father at a banquet.
It's like a child without a father.
What's more, Emperor Zhaowu was not a person who paid attention to the affection between his children. He was cold and conceited, and rarely focused his energy on his children. He had nearly twenty children, some of whom never saw him from birth to death.
In his father's heart, Rong Ting should have been an unknown son, whose death would not even attract attention.
Compared to those children who died early, he only had one more life.
Why did the emperor pay attention to Rong Ting today?
Emperor Zhaowu said: "It just suddenly occurred to me."
After reading Qin Lian's letter, he put it aside. However, when he was free, he remembered the agreement he had made with the foreign envoy who came to Gong a few days ago. There were not many memorials today, and after reviewing them, he had nothing to do, so he thought of Rong Ting.
But when Emperor Zhaowu squinted his eyes and thought about it, even the appearance of his ninth son was a little blurry.
I only vaguely remember that he looked very much like his mother and had a very good-looking appearance.
If other people had a bit of their qualities, they would be worthy of the word "beautiful".
It’s a pity that their fates were equally bad. One died of hemorrhage during childbirth, and the other was seriously injured by an arrow during hunting.
Emperor Zhaowu suddenly felt annoyed.
If Rong Ting’s leg doesn’t heal for a long time, it will be his reputation that will be lost when the Di Qiang come to pay tribute next year.
Emperor Zhaowu looked gloomy and asked the Fourth Prince, "I clearly assigned you to the Censorate, so why are you judging this case in the Ministry of Justice today?"
The fourth prince had received instructions from the queen and had prepared a flawless answer. "My ninth brother was bullied, and I have been worried about him. I can only feel relieved if I try the case myself."
The emperor nodded, remembering that the queen was the fourth prince's cousin and Rong Ting was raised by the queen. It was normal for the two brothers to have a good personal relationship, so he did not doubt it too much.
The Fourth Prince felt relieved and lowered his eyes in a humble manner, thinking that his cousin's aunt was very smart. She had anticipated his father's return and had made preparations for him.
Emperor Zhaowu then asked, "What about that man who just cried out that he was innocent?"
The fourth prince said: "That man is just a scoundrel, the villain is just complaining first. He bullied Xiaojiu, and I will not let him off easily!"
The expression is one of gnashing teeth.
Emperor Zhaowu frowned when he heard the excessive anger in his tone, "If you were to judge this case, I'm afraid people outside would talk about you, saying that you are biased towards your brother and that you are unfair."
"Come here." Emperor Zhaowu called the eunuch beside him, "Pass my oral order, transfer this case to Minister Cui Li, and re-examine it tomorrow and make a judgment."
The eunuch smiled and agreed, "Your Majesty has thought things through. I will do it right away."
The Fourth Prince was stunned.
I didn't expect this to happen at all.
Change the judge?
What about Cui Li, the minister in the Ministry of Justice who has a good reputation and is the most upright?
If it was Cui Li who took over, there would be no room for him and the queen to control.
It is very likely that the withholding of monthly wages and the abuse of Rong Ting could not be concealed.
It was like a bucket of ice water was poured from head to toe on a freezing cold day. The Fourth Prince seemed frozen. He stood there for a long moment, at a loss as to what to do.
Emperor Zhaowu rubbed his temple and walked out of the palace.
He was thinking about the competition with foreign countries next year, and wanted to take some time to go and see Rong Ting in person to see how his injuries had recovered, so as not to let him lose face next year.
…
Wang Zhou was escorted to Jinling. Jiang Rao had difficulty getting news about him for a while, so she placed her hopes on her dreams.
As a result, the more she thought about what she wanted to dream about, the more her dream did not unfold as she expected.
She dreamed of the past.
It was not something she had experienced, but something that happened when Rong Ting was a child.
In the dream, colorful lanterns were hung everywhere and it was very lively. It must be a festival.
All the children were wearing new clothes, looking very proud and running around laughing.
Rong Ting, however, was wearing a tattered jacket and did not fit in with the people around him. He huddled his small body behind a tree, with his head tilted and his eyes slightly exposed, looking around secretly.
His eyes were not as carefree as those of other children his age. Instead, they were filled with envy and confusion.
Why other kids have everything.
He had nothing.
…
There was suddenly a noisy sound outside.
It was Ming Shao who was speaking, "Young Master, please come back half an hour later. The girl is not awake yet."
Jiang Rao rubbed her sleepy eyes, sat up, put on a cloak, got off the bed, and walked to the outer room. As soon as she opened the curtain, a soft little ball fell on her thighs.
Little Tuanzi said happily: "Sister is awake."
He was holding something in his hand and kept shouting, "Sister, sister, please help me light the cinnabar."
Jiang Rao helped her brother steady himself, looked at the cinnabar box in his hand, and asked in confusion, "Draw cinnabar?"
Ming Shao came in and said, "Miss, today is a festival in Yecheng, celebrating the spring. We need to light cinnabar and eat sweets, which means a sweet and peaceful year."
Jiang Jinxing, who was lying on Jiang Rao's knees, pouted and began to beg her, "I want sweetness, I want peace, both!"
She was amused by his eagerness, opened the cinnabar box, smeared a fingertip of cinnabar, and pressed it on the middle of his forehead.
The little blush on Fatty's round, peanut-like face made him look a bit like the festive lucky doll in the New Year pictures.
Jiang Jinxing ran to the bronze mirror and took a look, feeling extremely satisfied.
He ran back to Jiang Rao and stretched out his chubby fingers to help her apply cinnabar, "I also want to wish Sister peace."
After lighting the cinnabar, he was completely satisfied and ran out to play.
Ming Shao went out for a while and came back with an oil paper bag in her hand. Jiang Rao asked her, "What is this in your hand?"
Ming Shao weighed the oil paper bag and said, "No.
I don’t know who sent it. There is a handwritten prescription on it for healing bruises. I asked the doctor in the mansion to take a look. He said the prescription was a good one, and the medicine was good, not some junk. The doctor asked me to give it to the girl. ”
She said, "Miss, your skin is white and delicate. If you leave scars, I will feel sad and pity. This medicine does not need to be taken internally. It is not bitter. Miss, please don't hide from it."
Jiang Rao knew she was talking about her hiding from taking the medicine, and her ears turned red. She took the prescription and took a look at it. She saw that the writing was very sharp, which amazed her, who wrote like a dog. "This handwriting is really beautiful."
"Yes, show this calligraphy to the master, maybe he will say it is beautiful."
Fourth Master Jiang's calligraphy has reached the pinnacle and has become a school of its own. No one in Dazhao can match him. Once, a scroll of his calligraphy was worth an entire restaurant. The restaurant owner was so delighted that he said he had made a profit.
Being talented, one is bound to be arrogant, narcissistic and unrestrained, and look down on other people's writing.
Jiang Rao did not respond to Ming Shao's words. She felt that although she said the calligraphy was beautiful, her father might not like it.
After all, she had never heard her father say that someone else's handwriting was beautiful.
She handed the recipe to Ming Shao and said, "Keep it. When you find out who it is, thank him properly."
The streets were bustling with noise and there was a festive atmosphere, and Jiang Rao couldn't help but think of the dream she had just had.
Looking at the child hiding behind the tree as if abandoned, she wished she could go back to the past and hug that poor lonely little thing.
She sighed softly and said to Ming Shao, "Please prepare cinnabar and maltose for me. I am going to the west of the city."
…
The streets are filled with the sounds of children playing.
This year's Spring Festival is much more lively than in previous years. The melting snow and warming weather are signs that Yecheng will soon be unsealed, and the whole city is celebrating.
On the street, children nestled in adults' arms to ask for candy, and when they got the candy, they shouted happily.
Rong Ting's house was filled with silence and desolation.
There was a medical book on the table. He was sitting in a wheelchair, massaging his injured leg with his palms according to the instructions in the book.
His brows were furrowed deeply, leaving a wrinkle between his eyebrows. It was obvious that he was in great pain, but he endured it.
The sounds from the street fell into Rong Ting's ears one after another. His eyes were cold and he closed the window.
The noisy voices became quieter, and his impatience subsided a little.
When I was a kid, I was stupid, but I looked forward to the holidays.
I want new clothes, the gifts that other children have, or even just a blessing.
But later he saw clearly that a worthless prince,
Not even worthy of a blessing.
No matter how worthless something is, he doesn't deserve it.
Rong Ting's brows were once again filled with annoyance, his narrow eyes narrowed, and his brows contained a sharp hostility.
Suddenly, there was a series of knocking sounds at the door.
During this year, the people who often knocked on his door were none other than those naughty kids from the west side of the city. They would smash his door open with stones, trying to lure him out so that they could laugh at him and amuse themselves.
Rong Ting had no intention of opening the door.
The kids couldn't knock on the door, so they threw a few stones in, and soon got bored and left.
He waited patiently for the knocking sound to disappear, but although there was a pause in the knocking, it soon started again.
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