The maid saw the suspicion in Zirui's eyes and couldn't help but laugh, "Princess Yu's brother is indeed much more cautious than ordinary teenagers. When he came temporarily, our queen said that using His Highness Feiyu's name might be able to hide it for a while, but it would definitely be guessed later. I didn't expect the young master to start to suspect so quickly."
Feng Zirui was stunned, with a fierce light in his eyes: "You are not from Feiyu! Who is the queen you are talking about? What is your purpose in getting close to me by using Feiyu's name?"
The maid quickly explained, "Master Feng, please don't worry. Let me finish what I have to say. Although I am not His Highness Feiyu's servant, I cannot say that I have no relationship with His Highness Feiyu. In fact, I was sent by Concubine Shi De to take care of the young master. The reason why Concubine Shi De took care of the young master was because Princess Yu asked the Second Prince to ask for this favor."
Hearing her say this, Zi Rui was stunned for a moment, and thought for a long time before saying, "I know Concubine Shi De, she is the biological mother of the second prince and Feiyu's grandmother." After saying this, he saw the palace maid nodded, and he felt relieved again, and finally eased the atmosphere and said, "Then we are still family."
The palace maid nodded, "Yes, it's one of ours." Then she advised Zi Rui, "Young Master, you can take a rest. Even if the morning court is over, the Emperor still has to deal with government affairs in the afternoon and will not summon us."
Zi Rui shook his head, but tried to persuade the other party: "Sister, you should go and have a rest. You must be very sleepy after keeping watch all night."
"I'm fine. I saw the young master sleeping soundly in the morning, so I took a nap in the corridor. The palace has been in turmoil these past few days. When I came here, Concubine De specifically told me to stay alert and not let my guard down, whether it's day or night."
Zirui nodded and agreed with what she said.
At the morning court in Qiankun Hall, the Eighth Prince, who had been sick for a day, finally showed up. Emperor Tianwu didn't have time to listen to the ministers' reports, and he was directly concerned about the Eighth Prince's condition. In addition to showing concern in public, he also rewarded him with a lot of good things, including money and rare medicinal materials. He was so eager to empty the national treasury. For a moment, Xuan Tianming even had the idea of asking Feng Yuheng to steal the national treasury first. So many good things couldn't all go into the Eighth Prince's den of thieves.
The care that Emperor Tianwu showed to the Eighth Prince greatly benefited the Eighth Prince's followers. They all felt proud and thought that they had chosen the right person this time. The Eighth Prince would definitely be able to inherit the throne in the future. Those who originally followed the Eighth Prince also breathed a sigh of relief, secretly thinking that the Eighth Prince was really capable. He was able to turn the tide when the Emperor favored the Ninth Prince so much. This person will definitely do something in the future.
Finally, having shown enough concern, Emperor Tianwu asked the Eighth Prince to stay in the palace for lunch. He specially asked the imperial kitchen to prepare their favorite dishes.
When people heard this, they thought, "Oh, are we talking about family matters in the court?" The censors wanted to say a few words, but when they thought of the temper of Emperor Tianwu and the fact that someone had hit a pillar in the court because of this matter before, but still failed to attract the attention of Emperor Tianwu, they lost confidence and could only let Emperor Tianwu act on his own.
But at this moment, Xuan Tianming stepped forward and interrupted Emperor Tianwu loudly, saying: "Your Majesty, it is the end of the year, and the annual tribute from the ancient Shu in the southern border and ten small countries has been delivered to the capital. Your son has presented it to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This is the gift book, please take a look." As he spoke, he raised a book in his hand.
The eunuch Wu Ying beside Emperor Tianwu hurried down to receive it. Just as he was about to hand it back to Tianwu, he heard the emperor on the dragon throne say, "You don't have to review this little thing. Mo'er, take a look! You have to learn to understand the annual tribute in the future. First, consider whether those small countries have fooled our Dashun. Second, you should also pick some good things for your mother. I really owe her too much over the years."
As the conversation went on, the topic turned to the family affairs of the harem. Some court officials frowned, but no one dared to say anything. Even the left and right prime ministers chose to remain silent, not wanting to talk to the old emperor.
Xuan Tianmo respectfully took the booklet from Wu Ying and said, "Your son obeys your order." After saying that, he glanced at Xuan Tianming again and raised the corner of his lips proudly.
Xuan Tianming said nothing and returned to his seat. Later, the Seventh Prince Xuan Tianhua also reported that the annual tribute from the East Realm had arrived. As expected, Emperor Tianwu gave the task to the Eighth Prince and once again told him to remember to pick out good things for Concubine Yuan Shu first.
In addition, it was announced that there would still be a palace banquet on the first day of the Lunar New Year this year, and officials above the fourth rank in Beijing were allowed to bring their families into the palace. The palace banquet was jointly hosted by the Empress and Consort Yuan Shu, and Tianwu said: "At this year's palace banquet, I have an important announcement to make."
Today's morning court had aroused a high level of discussion because of the last words of Emperor Tianwu. After the court was dismissed, people had their own speculations. Most people thought that a crown prince was to be appointed, and some could not help but congratulate the Eighth Prince directly. However, Xuan Tianmo understood that it was too early for the emperor to appoint a crown prince, and the current Emperor Tianwu should not appoint a crown prince immediately.
Right Prime Minister Feng Qing also had some thoughts in his mind. He walked to Xuan Tianming and asked in a low voice, "What does His Highness the Ninth Prince think about this?"
Xuan Tianming said: "It has nothing to do with establishing a crown prince, it should be about establishing a noble concubine."
"Noble Concubine?" The Right Prime Minister frowned, "Are you going to praise Concubine Yuan Shu? Your Highness, if this continues, we have to be prepared in case the situation suddenly changes and we are caught off guard. Seeing the emperor like this... Alas!" He sighed heavily and did not continue speaking, but his words showed his extreme disappointment with Emperor Tianwu. In the past, the old emperor was also willful, but not out of line. He also doted on the Ninth Prince, but he would not do anything that contradicted the government because of this. What's more, compared with the Eighth Prince, the Ninth Prince is much better and has much more abilities. What's more, there is Feng Yuheng standing behind the Ninth Prince! She is simply a fairy.
The Right Prime Minister stopped talking, slowed down his pace, and silently followed behind to walk out of the palace. However, Xuan Tianming spoke again, saying to Xuan Tianhua beside him: "Did anyone from the south go there?"
Xuan Tianhua nodded, "We have sent someone over, but after all, the journey is long, and it will take more than a few days to get a reply. We still have to look for it in the capital. The person who raises the Gu must be hiding in the capital, or, maybe, hiding in the palace."
"Ah Heng is investigating in the palace, so I'll leave the capital to my seventh brother. I have to go to the camp these days, so I'm afraid I won't be able to take care of too much."
While the two brothers were discussing how to rescue Emperor Tianwu, the Eighth Prince Xuan Tianmo was already walking towards the Cunshan Palace. He had to explain yesterday's events to Concubine Yuan Shu as soon as possible. After all, when he entered the palace this morning, he had heard that Concubine Yuan Shu had searched the palace last night, but the person she was searching for was now in his house.
In Cunshan Palace, Concubine Yuan Shu was still listening with pride to the flattery of the two palace maids until the Eighth Prince came in. Then she sent the two palace maids away and left only Yuexiu to serve her.
As soon as Xuan Tianmo sat down, he immediately told Concubine Yuan Shu what happened yesterday, which also made Concubine Yuan Shu tremble with fear.
Like Xuan Tianmo, she couldn't figure out who had entered the Sheng Palace and how they had managed to throw someone onto Xuan Tianmo's bed without anyone noticing, and even drug her son. All of this was done so neatly that they couldn't defend themselves. What if the other party wanted to kill someone? Wouldn't it be that the knife would fall with a single blow, and her son wouldn't even know how he died? She was so frightened that she broke into a cold sweat. She reached out and grabbed Xuan Tianmo's sleeve and said, "You must investigate. If you can't find someone like this, you'll be in great danger." After that, she asked again, "Could it be Lao Jiu? I've heard more than once that he has the best kung fu among you brothers."
Xuan Tianmo nodded: "Don't worry, mother. I will investigate this matter carefully. As for Lao Jiu, he is indeed good at martial arts, but I am not bad either. Maybe I can't beat him in a one-on-one fight, but he is not so elusive. It's just that..." He thought about it again and said uncertainly: "The girl next to him always makes people feel weird. I am afraid that this matter is related to her."
"Are you talking about Princess Ji'an?" Concubine Yuan Shu asked with a frown, "Didn't you tell me a few days ago that you wanted to get Princess Ji'an? I've said that this girl is not ordinary, and Concubine Li is also targeting her. She even gave the ninth prince a yang funeral in the palace, but isn't she still living well? That girl is evil, you'd better not target her."
"But if she could stand by my side one day and work for me, she would be more powerful than a million Zhu Kongshans." When it came to Feng Yuheng, Xuan Tianmo became excited again, and even told Concubine Yuan Shu about the benefits of marrying Feng Yuheng in detail, which made Concubine Yuan Shu sigh.
But they never expected that all these words were heard by Feng Yuheng. The person they said was elusive was now hiding under their noses, but no one knew it.
Feng Yuheng was so disgusted that she wanted to whip someone. One Concubine Li was not enough, and now there was Xuan Tianmo. Why was she so popular? Her face was not that stunning, was it? At most, she was just above average. In this Dashun where beauties were everywhere, it was not difficult for her to be favored by so many princes.
She couldn't understand why so many people were attracted to her. What was so good about her? What did they like about her? Couldn't she just change it? This was unacceptable.
Feng Yuheng was very depressed, but she still had to carry out her eavesdropping work. Then she heard Concubine Yuan Shu say, "Let's talk about that girl later. I still advise you not to worry too much about it. It's not reliable. As for the person you said who knows things has arrived at your house, I won't search for him in the palace." She thought about it again and said very solemnly, "If it really doesn't work, we have to speed up the progress of this matter. I won't feel at ease until you ascend the throne. The sooner you ascend the throne, the sooner I will feel at ease. I've served that old man enough."
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