"No, the Black Eagle Army showed up!"
Hearing the name of the Black Eagle Army, Chu You's pupils twitched and his thin lips were pursed into a straight line.
Legend has it that the Black Eagle Army was a special force in the hands of Emperor Taizu, and also a secret guard. Not only were each of them the elite among the elite, but they also possessed secret weapons, and one man could defeat a hundred men.
Emperor Taizu didn't give the Black Eagle Army to the previous emperor, but gave it to a woman in Fengyang out of favor? !
Even if Prime Minister Xiao hadn't said anything about the follow-up, Chu You could guess the outcome of the late emperor's move.
Xiao Shoufu's dry lips once again let out a helpless sigh: "The appearance of the Black Eagle Army has reversed the situation. The Jinyiwei and the accompanying imperial guards have been defeated. The Grand Princess led the Black Eagle Army all the way to the front of the late emperor."
"But the royal family and the four dukes were all there, acting as peacemakers. They made the late emperor swear a solemn oath in front of Taizu's mausoleum that he would never be rude to the eldest princess again in his life and would respect her. Otherwise, he would be struck by lightning and willingly... abdicate in favor of a wise man."
The last four words were almost pronounced word by word, and even his voice was a little hoarse.
So that's it! After hearing this story, Chu You finally understood. No wonder the late emperor had always been afraid of and hated Fengyang.
Prime Minister Xiao picked up the teacup, slowly took two sips of tea, his eyes flickering.
This was originally a power game within the royal family, but it gave their family a chance to rise again.
Taizu disliked aristocratic families, promoted the imperial examination system, and tried his best to promote children from poor families. Therefore, during Taizu's reign, most of these aristocratic families were suppressed, and only a few people took the imperial examinations to become officials in order to please Taizu.
After the late emperor officially ascended the throne, in order to suppress Fengyang and secure his rule, he began to support the aristocratic families and married Yuan as his successor to show his sincerity to the aristocratic families.
Twenty years, it took their family a full twenty years to gain a firm foothold in the new dynasty and regain its former glory.
They would never let the hard work of the past twenty years go to waste! Chu You lowered his eyes in thought, recalling what Xiao Shoufu had told him, with an uncertain look on his face.
It was not until this moment that he realized how difficult it had been for his father over the years.
The late emperor also wanted to make him the crown prince, and the court was evenly split between support and opposition. He once thought that the late emperor was not as strong as Taizu, but now he knows that the real reason was Fengyang's opposition.
After all, many of those who witnessed the Imperial Mausoleum incident 20 years ago are still alive...
While he was thinking, the cold voice of Prime Minister Xiao entered his ears: "Her Royal Highness Princess Fengyang will soon die."
Chu You looked in the direction of Prime Minister Xiao again and almost stood up from his chair without losing his composure.
Fengyang was the emperor's greatest helper. The emperor was supported by her to ascend the throne. After the emperor ascended the throne, it was she who assisted the emperor to consolidate his throne step by step.
Once Fengyang died, the emperor would lose a great helper.
This would be Chu You's best chance.
Xiao Shoufu looked at Chu You solemnly and said in a very calm voice: "Your Majesty, this opportunity will never come again. You must think carefully."
"The Emperor is the legitimate son, and it is only natural for him to succeed the throne. Once he has firmly established his throne, do you think you still have any chance?"
"Your Majesty, you and the Emperor have long been at odds with each other. Will the Emperor let you go in the future?"
Prime Minister Xiao suddenly stood up from his chair, his brows furrowed even more tightly.
He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but finally said, "My Lord, don't you have a deep bond with the third daughter of the Gu family? Do you want her to suffer with you?"
It was extremely difficult for Prime Minister Xiao to say these two sentences. He really didn't understand why King Kang was so obsessed with a woman. But now that things had come to this, he could only try every possible way to persuade King Kang.
"..." Chu You felt as if he was stabbed with a knife, and his heart was in unbearable pain.
Prime Minister Xiao stopped persuading him. He bowed to Chu You and turned away.
Chu You stared in a daze at Xiao Shoufu's departing back, motionless as if he were a stone sculpture.
The eunuch guarding under the eaves saw that Prime Minister Xiao had left, and then stepped into the hall again. He looked at the distraught Chu You with concern, and called out softly, "Prince?"
Chu You seemed not to hear and remained motionless.
His heart ached very much, but he knew clearly that he had to choose between the throne and Gu Yunmeng.
He was reluctant to give up the throne.
Ever since he was four or five years old, the late emperor held him on his knees and lovingly told him, "Brother You, everything I have will be inherited by you."
Over the years, his belief has been as solid as a rock and he has never doubted it.
If he wanted to choose the throne, he would have to give up his daughter, and he would have to separate from her forever...
As soon as this thought came into his mind, he felt empty all over and very uncomfortable.
Boom! Chu You's heart beat faster and contracted violently.
A look of pain appeared on his face, and he raised his hand to grab the lapel on his left chest.
Veins bulged on his forehead, his face looked almost hideous, and drops of cold sweat were dripping from his forehead.
"Your Highness, what's wrong with you?" The eunuch looked at Chu You worriedly and asked, panicking and at a loss, "I'll go and summon the imperial physician..."
Before he could finish his words, Chu You fell off the chair, clutching his chest in pain...
"Your Majesty!"
The eunuch's shrill shouts almost blew the roof off.
Prince Kang Chuyou suddenly fell ill.
For several days in a row, Prince Kang's mansion not only invited several imperial physicians to come to the house, but also invited several doctors from the capital to come and go.
This matter is no secret. Gu Yanfei has also heard about it, but he doesn't care.
Gu Yanfei had been very free these days, so he stayed at Gu Mansion all day. He not only copied the "Earth Store Sutra", but also made some paper money and folded some paper ingots.
In a few days, it will be my father Gu Ce’s death memorial day.
After a person dies, unless there is an accident, he or she will enter reincarnation. Their father should have also entered reincarnation and started a new life.
In order to accumulate merits for his next life, Gu Yanfei specially wrote talismans on paper money and paper ingots, and asked someone to go to Wuliang Temple in advance to arrange a date, intending to perform a ritual for Gu Ce.
It’s almost been nine years since my father Gu Ce passed away.
At that time, Gu Ce was charged with "surrendering to the enemy and treason". He was impeached by many ministers in the court and scolded by the common people who were unaware of the inside story. He became the target of public criticism. Although the late emperor did not deprive him of his title because he had saved Prince Kang, he still confiscated the hereditary permanent fields of the Marquisate, and the Marquisate was abandoned by all the other prefectures in the capital.
At this time in the previous life, Gu Yanfei, like everyone else, believed that his father had betrayed his country and felt ashamed to have such a father.
But later, after her eldest brother Gu Yuan was injured and lost his job, he stayed in the mansion all day and told her a lot about what their father had taught him since he was a child.
In the words of the eldest brother, their father Gu Ce was a man of integrity, bright and clear as the moon, and as upright and lofty as a mountain.
The eldest brother never believed that his father would surrender to the enemy.
At that time, Gu Yanfei's original idea was shaken. She believed in her elder brother, so she was willing to believe the kind and honest father that her elder brother described.
But later, her eldest brother died and her world fell apart.
For her at that time, it didn't matter what kind of person her father was...
A gust of wind suddenly blew in from the window, blowing up the piece of paper money on which Gu Yanfei had just written the talisman.
"careful!"
Gu Yunzhen, who had just entered the room, took two steps forward and grabbed the piece of paper money that was almost blown away by the wind.
Gu Yunzhen carefully put the paper money into the box. She didn't know how to write talismans, so she could only help Gu Yanfei fold paper ingots.
"Second sister, I'll go with you tomorrow." Gu Yunzhen said.
Gu Yanfei hummed softly and continued to fold paper ingots.
Gu Yunzhen folded the gold foil slowly, taking every step so carefully and cautiously, as if nothing could be more important than this.
The room was quiet for a while, with the occasional cat meowing in the distance.
After a while, Gu Yunzhen's gentle voice slowly rang out, breaking the silence in the room: "Great uncle is a very gentle person, and he is very kind to us young people."
"When I was two years old, my great uncle returned to the capital to report on his work and took my brother and me to various places in the capital to play."
"On the Qixi Festival, he personally made lanterns for my brother and me, and took us to the Qixi Lantern Festival..."
Although Gu Yunzhen was only two years old at the time, this scene was forever engraved in her heart.
As she grew up, she envied her elder brother for having a father like her great uncle. Her father would not hold his own child like her great uncle did, nor would he often take his children out to play like her great uncle did, and her father would not educate his children himself like her great uncle did...
But……
Gu Yunzhen stopped folding paper and turned to look at Gu Yanfei's beautiful profile. The girl's fair skin looked like fragile petals under the warm light, which would be blown away by the wind.
However, her second sister had never met her great uncle and had never interacted with him.
Gu Yun really felt uncomfortable, sour and bitter.
Even if Su Niang was punished, the regret in the second sister's heart could never be made up.
(End of this chapter)
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