"Sir, this time it was the Northwest Army that went to Southern Xinjiang to quell the rebellion. Normally, for such a big event, His Majesty should have sent the Huguang Army, which he trusted more, nearby. Why did he send the Northwest Army again?" Pang Yi and Gu Changlin clinked glasses, and then asked Zhong Mingwei. "And the relationship between His Majesty and the Prince of Pingxi has always been delicate, but this time to quell the rebellion in Southern Xinjiang, the Prince of Pingxi went all out. His Majesty also fully trusted him, which is puzzling."
"I also find it strange. The King of Pingxi has always been concerned with the affairs of the northwest. He has never cared about the affairs of other places. But this time he came all the way back to Beijing. It seems that he came just for the chaos in Southern Xinjiang." Zhong Mingwei said with a puzzled look on his face, "Even if he was the first to notice the unrest in Southern Xinjiang, he would have just sent a secret letter to the capital. Why did he have to come here in person? Especially since he hasn't been back to Beijing for more than 30 years."
"Isn't the Queen Mother going to celebrate her 70th birthday? Maybe the Prince of Pingxi wants to come back to celebrate the Queen Mother's birthday. So he will take over the task of quelling the rebellion at the same time." Pang Yi said.
"You mean, the Prince of Pingxi came here specifically to give the Queen Mother this great gift?" Zhong Mingwei looked at Pang Yi. "He captured Xu Chengjin alive and destroyed the Xu family?"
"That's true. The King of Pingxi hasn't been back to Beijing for more than 30 years. It's really unexpected that he gave the Queen Mother such a big gift as soon as he returned to Beijing," Pang Yi was stunned and then nodded. He took a sip of wine and frowned, "I heard that the Queen Mother and the late Emperor loved the King of Pingxi the most in the past, and even intended to make the King of Pingxi the Crown Prince. But later, by mistake, the King of Pingxi went to the Northwest, and Your Highness ascended the throne. But over the years, the King of Pingxi has always been filial and respectful to the Queen Mother. There would be big gifts from the Northwest during festivals, and every autumn, the Queen Mother's favorite yellow sheep would never be absent. No matter how you look at it, the King of Pingxi is a filial person, but it was unexpected that he did this out of the blue."
"You see that they are a loving mother and a filial son, but there may be something else going on that you can't see," Gu Changlin, who had been drinking quietly, suddenly said, "The Prince of Pingxi hasn't been back to the capital for more than 30 years, and as soon as he came back he did something so lavish that it almost cost the Queen Mother her life. It's obvious that there's something weighing on his heart that he's been suppressing for more than 30 years."
After hearing this, everyone was silent. After a while, Xiao An was the first to speak. She looked at Zhong Mingwei hesitantly, paused, and then whispered, "When I was a child, I heard my parents talking in the study. They said that... At that time, the late emperor and the empress dowager intended the Prince of Pingxi to be the crown prince, and they also planned to marry the legitimate daughter of the Xu family to the Prince of Pingxi. They were just waiting for the Prince of Pingxi to come of age to hold the wedding. Who would have thought that something went wrong the next year. The Turkic army was approaching, and the northwest army was defeated. The morale of the army was shaken. At that time, a prince was urgently needed to go to the northwest, one to command the army to kill the enemy, and the other to boost morale and stabilize the army. But at that time, the late emperor and the empress dowager The late emperor was old, and all the princes were eyeing the throne, and no one was willing to leave the capital. The late emperor was so angry that he vomited blood in the court. Later, it was the Pingxi King, who was only sixteen years old at the time, who stood up. Although the late emperor was reluctant to let him go to the battlefield at such a young age, he had no other choice but to appoint him as the General of Zhenxi and send him to the northwest. Before leaving, the late emperor told the Pingxi King that he would wait for him to return triumphantly from the northwest, and then he would hold a grand wedding for him and the legitimate daughter of the Xu family. However, not long after the Pingxi King left, the late emperor died suddenly. Then the Xu family supported the emperor to ascend the throne, and then the legitimate daughter of the Xu family became the mother of the country. Since then, the Pingxi King has never returned. "
"You mean, His Majesty stole the fiancée of the King of Pingxi?" Meiya understood. "So the King of Pingxi was so angry that he didn't come back for more than thirty years, and even... he's still unmarried now, at nearly fifty?"
Xiao An looked at Zhong Mingwei's expression and shook her head hurriedly: "I just heard it. I was still young at that time, only four or five years old. I don't know if I heard it clearly."
"I think it's possible," Gu Changlin said slowly while pouring wine, "The late emperor clearly meant to wait for the Pingxi King to return triumphantly and arrange a wedding for him and the Xu family's legitimate daughter. Of course, it would be natural for him to marry the Xu family's legitimate daughter and make her the crown prince because of her outstanding achievements. But when the Pingxi King went to the northwest, the capital became chaotic. First, the late emperor died suddenly, and then the eldest prince Zhong Zhiheng, who had always kept a low profile, quickly cleared all obstacles with the help of the Xu family. A group of princes died or were disabled, and finally he ascended the throne and married the Xu family's legitimate daughter." At this point, Gu Changlin paused, then looked at Zhong Mingwei, "Mingwei, do you think there seems to be a deal here?"
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