It is cool in the mountains in summer.
Gu Jiu and Liu Zhao still lived in Xiaozhu and did not move back to the Crown Prince's Mansion in the capital.
The large house that Gu Jiu bought in the city already had a plaque on its door. It was crafted by the Shaofu himself and inscribed with the words "Grand Prince's Mansion."
Liu Zhao went to see it once and was particularly disgusted by it.
"It would be better to let this prince write it himself."
"Prince Huang's kindness is such that you shouldn't despise him."
"Prince Consort Huang is a fool. Only you value him. Otherwise, he would be staying in the backyard of the Princess's mansion drinking with his concubines."
Gu Jiu was speechless.
Liu Zhao is really vicious.
"Don't say this to Huang Qubing's face."
"Your Highness is not a three-year-old child. You know your limits."
Gu Jiu chuckled.
Sometimes Liu Zhao was so childish that he was even less than a three-year-old child.
Someone came from the palace and asked Liu Zhao to come in.
Gu Jiu hit him and said, "Your chance has come."
Liu Zhao raised his eyebrows.
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "After a battle, how to reward the Marquis of Lu and his son has become an indelible shadow in His Majesty's mind. Lord Li is a civil servant after all, with power and connections, but he lacks a general who can fight, fight hard battles, and fight large-scale wars. Obviously, His Majesty is also aware of this problem.
If this problem is not resolved, we can only watch helplessly as the Northwest Army and the Marquis of Lu and his son continue to grow stronger and stronger, becoming difficult to control. The court must do something while the situation can still be salvaged. I believe Your Majesty has already made up his mind, and you are the best candidate."
"Do you really think that the Emperor would allow me to lead the army?"
"It's better to let you take charge of the army than to let the Northwest Army continue to grow stronger. In your Majesty's mind, the Marquis of Lu is the most serious threat."
"If the emperor lets me take charge of the army, he will definitely send someone to control me. Do you think he will let Lord Li control me?"
Gu Jiu thought for a moment, "It's possible that Lord Li will control you. But I think the most likely option is to send a eunuch to control you."
Liu Zhao raised his eyebrows and smiled, "It doesn't matter who controls this Highness, as long as there is a war to fight."
He felt like he was getting rusty from idleness and couldn't wait to go to the battlefield.
He followed the eunuchs into the palace to meet the emperor.
The father and son closed the door and talked for two hours.
Even Chang En didn't know the specific content of the conversation.
After the conversation, Emperor Wende made a decision.
The next day, an imperial decree was issued, ordering Liu Zhao to go to the Grand Marshal's Office to lead troops for training.
As for who would go to the northwest to control Liu Zhao, Emperor Wende had a candidate in mind.
…
Liu Zhao smashed the table directly.
"The Emperor actually plans to send the Second Brother as the Military Supervisor. I'd rather he choose someone from the Imperial Household Department than that bastard, the Second Brother. If the Second Brother is the Military Supervisor, he'll definitely be a hindrance and cause trouble."
Gu Jiu comforted Liu Zhao, "The candidates for the military supervisor have not been announced yet, so there is still time. Have you forgotten what you asked someone to arrange last year? If it is not needed now, when will it be needed?"
Liu Zhao came back to his senses. "You mean the private minting of coins? Did the second brother really fall for it?"
Gu Jiu pursed his lips and smiled, nodding his head. "The Second Prince is short of money, and the profit from privately minting coins is so high. He can't help but be tempted by the opportunity. If you don't want the Second Prince to be the military supervisor, then remove him from the list."
Liu Zhao nodded repeatedly, "I'll have someone take care of this matter."
…
Just before Liu Zhao set out, and before Emperor Wende announced the candidates for military supervisors, the Ministry of Justice suddenly reported a major case of private coinage.
Following the clues, they actually found the Second Prince's Mansion.
The officials of the Ministry of Justice did not dare to act on their own and hurried into the palace to meet the emperor.
Emperor Wende’s angry roar was heard from Xingqing Palace.
"Call that rebellious son here. I want to try him myself."
The second prince still didn't know what had happened.
The palace sent someone to invite him, and he thought the emperor was going to announce him as the candidate for military supervisor. He couldn't hide his joy all the way.
With him as the military supervisor, Liu Zhao had no chance of achieving military merit.
Liu Zhao must be dragged to death.
Arrived at Xingqing Palace and met his father.
The second prince had a smile on his face, but when he faced the gloomy Emperor Wende, his smile gradually froze.
"Treason!"
Emperor Wende cursed angrily, and the Second Prince was completely stunned.
What happened?
Wasn't he declared as the military inspector?
"You rebellious son deserves death! I'm not short of food or clothes for you, yet you're trying to steal from the court and steal my women."
"Your son is guilty of death! But I don't understand why your father is angry."
"Don't you know what you've done?"
Emperor Wende picked up the case file and threw it in the second prince's face.
The case file fell to the ground and the papers were scattered.
The second prince picked up the case files one by one.
When he saw the above content, his face turned pale, his whole body trembled, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
"No, it can't be true. Father, I am innocent! This matter has nothing to do with me. Someone must be jealous of me and is framing me."
"At this point, you still dare to quibble."
Emperor Wende was so angry that he walked straight up the stairs, came to the second prince, and kicked him over.
The second prince covered his heart with his hands, feeling pain.
He cried, "Father, I am truly wronged. I have nothing to do with the illegal minting of coins."
Emperor Wende smiled coldly, took out another confession and threw it in the second prince's face.
"Look, take a look for yourself. Everyone around you is looking for a job, what else do you have to say?"
The Second Prince eagerly flipped through the confession, his hands trembling, his eyes widening. Finally, his face turned pale.
Emperor Wende asked, "At this point, what else do you have to say?"
The second prince burst into tears and hugged Emperor Wende's calf.
"Father, I was confused for a moment and made a grave mistake. I deserve death. Please, Father, consider my diligence and give me a chance to mend my ways. From now on, I will turn over a new leaf and never make the same mistake again."
Emperor Wende was furious and kicked him away.
"Rebellious son! I turned a blind eye to all the things you did in private, and never questioned them. But I never expected that you, a dignified prince, would privately mint coins, undermining the court and the Great Zhou Dynasty. I have repeatedly issued orders to severely punish the private minting of coins by the people. You are not unaware of the seriousness of this matter. Yet you knowingly committed the crime, and you deserve to die!"
"Your son deserves to die, your son deserves to die..."
The second prince kept shouting "Damn it!" and slapped himself in the face harder than anyone else.
A damn word, accompanied by a slap, a loud slap.
Emperor Wende watched all this with cold eyes, as if he was looking at an ant.
When the Second Prince's cheeks were swollen, Emperor Wende spoke, "Enough! Get out of here and obey my orders."
"Your son obeys."
The second prince rolled out of Xingqing Palace in disgrace, thinking he had escaped a disaster.
Little did he know that the next day, Emperor Wende ordered him to be imprisoned in the Zongzheng Temple and fined for five years.
When he arrived at the Zongzheng Temple, he was beaten with a stick again.
The second prince was beaten to pieces and screamed like a ghost.
It's so miserable.
Concubine Shen Xian couldn't leave the palace, so she could only send her confidant to visit the Zongzheng Temple.
Upon learning that the second prince had been beaten with a stick and was lying in bed unable to move, and hearing that the conditions in the Zongzheng Temple were difficult and there was not even an ice basin, Concubine Shen cried bitterly in the palace.
After crying, she ordered Ouyang Fu to go to Zongzheng Temple to take care of the second prince.
Ouyang Fu said, "Please forgive me, mother. The Zongzheng Temple only allows my daughter-in-law to visit and send a few happy clothes. She is not allowed to stay and take care of His Highness."
"I asked you to take care of him, but you just keep making excuses."
"My daughter-in-law is not making excuses. The Zongzheng Temple does not allow daughters-in-law to stay for long. If you say a few more words, you will be kicked out."
"Ridiculous! The Zongzheng Temple is meddling too much, isn't it? Or are you unwilling to stay at the Zongzheng Temple to take care of the second child?"
Ouyang Fu was speechless.
"If you don't believe me, mother, you can send someone to the Zongzheng Temple to find out the truth. If my daughter-in-law tells a lie, she will be struck by lightning."
…
The second prince suffered in the Zongzheng Temple, and no matter how long Concubine Shen stretched her hands, she could not reach the Zongzheng Temple.
Those people in the Zongzheng Temple don’t care about the concubines in the harem at all.
Concubine Shen was so distressed that she scolded Ouyang Fu for several days.
In a rage, Ouyang Fu simply refused to enter the palace and hid in the Second Prince's mansion without leaving.
Concubine Shen was furious.
He sent someone to the Second Prince's residence to reprimand Ouyang Fu, but was directly driven out by Ouyang Fu.
It's her mansion, and she has the final say.
Concubine Shen is dreaming if she wants to extend her hand to the Second Prince's Mansion.
Concubine Shen was so angry that she scolded Ouyang Fu from head to toe in front of the palace maids.
If the palace maids hadn't stopped her, Concubine Shen would have gone to Empress Pei to complain about Ouyang Fu's unfilial behavior.
When Empress Pei learned about Concubine Shen's series of crazy actions, she sneered.
"She deserves what happened to her. When Liu Zhao was imprisoned in the Zongzheng Temple, I wasn't like him, acting like a madman. Imprisonment in the Zongzheng Temple means suffering at most, but it won't kill you. There's nothing to worry about."
"Your Majesty is right. Concubine Shen just can't stand it."
Empress Pei raised her eyebrows and smiled smugly, "I am a concubine. It's unbecoming for me to panic when encountering a little thing. Eunuch Wen, please give Concubine Shen a warning on my behalf. Don't make trouble all day long. The harem is not their Shen family's backyard."
"I obey your command!"
…
Before leaving, Liu Zhao went to the Zongzheng Temple to visit the second prince.
"I've lived in the same courtyard as my second brother. See the sweet-scented osmanthus tree in the courtyard? There's a message I carved on it."
The second prince lay in bed, feeling excruciating pain every time he moved.
He was sweating all over and his clothes were soaked.
Liu Zhao was waving a folding fan, bringing a slight breeze of coolness.
"It's a pity that you came here at the wrong time. It's too hot this season. It's torture to come here. But when the weather gets colder, there will be braziers available, and it will be more comfortable. Just bear with it for a few more months, and you'll be fine by winter."
The second prince gritted his teeth. At this point, what else did he not understand?
"Liu Zhao, are you trying to harm me? You knew I was going to be the military supervisor, so you panicked and framed me, right?"
Bang!
Liu Zhao put away his folding fan and hit the second prince on the head.
"You're so disrespectful! What did you call me just now? Don't you know how to call me Big Brother?"
The Second Prince's eyes were about to burst, "Liu..."
"Hmm?" Liu Zhao raised his eyebrows, smiling.
That expression was clearly a threat: If you dare to call my name, I will beat you to death.
The eldest brother is like a father, this is not just a saying.
The second prince called Liu Zhao by his name directly, and Liu Zhao beat him up, and no one dared to say a word against him.
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