sea.
It seemed as if the waves were tired from the crashing waves during the day. When night fell and the sky was full of stars, the sea surface was as calm as a mirror.
A small boat was lying on the mirror, with a lantern, a small square table, two people, two bottles of wine, and two plates of peanuts.
Zhuo Donglai respectfully poured a glass of wine for Bei Wangchuan.
"This is the situation. I'm sorry for wronging you, Senior. Grandpa said he'll apologize to you after tonight."
Bei Wangchuan's eyes were still filled with doubt, and he asked carefully, "Is Fu Xiaoguan really the emperor's illegitimate son?"
Zhuo Donglai smiled calmly, "It should be true. After all, the diary of those three years can't be found. Although it was later said that it was in the hands of the Queen Mother, that was also said by the Queen Mother herself, and no one has actually seen it. Moreover... Fu Xiaoguan was indeed born to Xu Yunqing. Although Xu Yunqing married Fu Daguan, my grandfather believes that Fu Daguan was probably His Majesty's man."
Bei Wangchuan was slightly stunned. He didn't know who Mr. Fu was, but he just thought this matter was a bit absurd.
Zhuo Donglai explained further, "Think about it, Senior. Official Fu was originally a juren (a scholar-official). Although his ancestors did have some land in Linjiang, it was nowhere near as vast as it is today. Grandfather has thoroughly investigated Official Fu. The Fu family's status as major landowners was established in the 41st year of the Taihe era. In that year, the Fu family purchased tens of thousands of acres of land. How much money did that cost?"
"It's impossible for the Fu family's ancestors to have so much money, so... the source of that money must have been given by His Majesty back then. His Majesty had only one purpose: He hoped that Xu Yunqing could live a good life, and he also hoped that his illegitimate son could live a good life."
As a powerful warrior, Bei Wangchuan didn't think too much about this kind of thing, but he also asked, "Since His Majesty already knew that Fu Xiaoguan was his son, why didn't he just welcome Fu Xiaoguan back to Guanyun City?"
"After His Majesty married Xiao, he probably wanted to take Xu Yunqing and Fu Xiaoguan back with him. Because during that period, His Majesty did not make Xiao the empress, and he assumed that the position of empress would be reserved for Xu Yunqing. However, he did not expect Xu Yunqing to die of illness. This disrupted His Majesty's plans, and he decided to make Xiao the empress."
"Your Majesty knew that the prince was young and would be in great danger in the harem without his mother's care. Therefore, Your Majesty gave up the idea of welcoming Fu Xiaoguan back. Moreover, Fu Xiaoguan's reputation at that time was not very good. Your Majesty probably wanted Fu Xiaoguan to live a peaceful life as a small landlord in Linjiang, but he never imagined that Fu Xiaoguan would be so talented."
Bei Wangchuan continued, "So, Your Majesty wants to meet with Official Fu, and has even prepared such a literary gathering for this matter?"
"That's right. The Wu Dynasty values military power, but has never held any literary gatherings."
Bei Wangchuan took a deep breath. The assassination of Fu Xiaoguan in the border town was requested by the Right Prime Minister Zhuo and his entourage, but Zhuo and his entourage said that the financial backer behind the scenes was the Fourth Prince of Jinling.
He had heard something about the Fourth Prince wanting Fu Xiaoguan dead. After all, Fu Xiaoguan had offended many people in Jinling.
Now Fu Xiaoguan's identity has changed and he has become a prince of the Wu Dynasty... Then there must be many people in the Wu Dynasty who want Fu Xiaoguan dead, and the one who wants him dead the most must be Empress Xiao.
As the Right Prime Minister of the Wu Dynasty, why did Zhuo Yixing help Empress Xiao transfer the people around Fu Xiaoguan? What was this old fox thinking?
Seven disciples from the Taoist temple were coming here. If it weren't for the injury to his shoulder blade, and if Shui Yunjian hadn't said that he couldn't draw the bow for a year, he would really want to go and meet them.
What a pity, they made a wasted trip. By the time they returned, I'm afraid Fu Xiaoguan's body would have been cold.
He was suddenly startled. Since Fu Xiaoguan was the emperor's son, and he had assassinated him in the border town, if the emperor investigated the matter... No, Fu Xiaoguan could not die!
He drank a glass of wine and pointed at Zhuo Donglai. Zhuo Donglai fell to the ground in shock. Bei Wangchuan held the oar with one hand and the boat quickly sailed towards the shore.
…
…
The imperial city of Guanyun City.
Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Nangong Yiyu was extremely anxious, but His Majesty asked him to sit down.
"If you're any later, it might be too late!"
Emperor Wen smiled, then turned to a young eunuch and said, "Little Li, go to the study and get my chess set."
The young eunuch bowed and retreated, but Nangong Yiyu was startled, "Your Majesty..."
"It's been a while since I played chess with you. Tonight is a beautiful night with beautiful scenery. Seeing the fog covering Kyoto, I think tomorrow I'll be able to see Yunyou Guanyun City. Don't panic if something happens. Tomorrow morning, go to Guanyun Terrace to watch the sea of clouds with me."
Nangong Yiyu looked at Emperor Wen carefully. Although Emperor Wen seemed calm, there was a hint of worry between his brows.
It seems that His Majesty has made some arrangements, but his arrangements, like everything he has done in the past ten years since he sat on the throne, are a bit unreliable!
Little Li brought out a chess set made of warm jade, Nangong Yiyu set up the chess scale, and Emperor Wen chose the black chess piece.
As he made his move, he seemed to be muttering to himself, "I've been on the throne for ten years, and you've said I was unreliable for ten years... I don't mean to blame you, but I must correct you on one point. If you say I was unreliable for the first five years, I admit that, but in the last five years, I worked hard to govern the country and wanted to be a good emperor. You've wronged me for five years!"
Nangong Yiyu's eyes fell on the chess scale. He was not frightened by Emperor Wen's words. He placed a piece on the chessboard and ate up Emperor Wen's three pieces.
"Since Fu Xiaoguan's bloodline is your majesty's, your majesty should have announced it to the ministers at the last grand court meeting, thus confirming Fu Xiaoguan's status. During the sacrifice to heaven, write a manifesto to inform the heavens of this matter, and then have the Imperial Astronomical Observatory choose a day to offer sacrifices at the Taimiao, and the matter will be settled."
Nangong Yiyu raised his head and looked at Emperor Wen. "But Your Majesty told this privately to... the Empress. Your Majesty knew that Empress Xiao had been keeping a close eye on the rumors. Fu Xiaoguan was assassinated in the border town, and it was Beiwangchuan who did it. I think Empress Xiao was behind this. Your Majesty, you are trying to fish in troubled waters. If you are not careful, it will cause great trouble! Tell me, is your handling of this matter reliable?"
Later on, Nangong Yiyu used the word "you", but Emperor Wen didn't take it seriously. He chuckled and dropped a black piece, eating up Nangong Yiyu's five white pieces.
As he twisted the five white pieces, he said, "Have I been emperor for the past ten years in vain?"
He sat up straight and said slowly, "I have something on my mind that I can only confide in you."
Nangong Yiyu was startled and sat up straight, "Your Majesty, I am terrified."
"You're so scared! You're the only one in this whole court who's honest with me...Xu Yunqing's death wasn't caused by illness, but poison!"
Nangong Yiyu's expression suddenly changed!
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