Is it all too late?

It's too late!

Queen Hong kept hearing these words. She knew her son was telling her that she was destroying the bridge after crossing the river, but she really wasn't. Queen Hong explained, "It's useless for your father to be so kind to you. If the name is not right, then the words will not flow. If you continue like this, your mother will worry about you."

She was really sincere in her words, and Gao Xuance could not listen any more: "If you really want to do this for my own good, if I die, please take good care of Yao Niang and her son for me. Of course, I hope you will never have this opportunity. I don't need to say more about the rest. Once the arrow is shot, it cannot be retrieved. If you are asked to bow down to the Lin family and be a slave every day, I am afraid you will not agree. Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you."

"How can they be the same? Can Lin be compared with your own brother?" Queen Hong felt that her younger son was simply making excuses.

Gao Xuance said: "A real man cannot be under someone else's command for long. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself. If you had accepted your fate earlier, the position of empress would not be yours. If we all died together, we wouldn't have so many troubles."

After just a few days of jumping around, I forgot about Lin's aggressiveness.

This was a complete break between the two sides, and Queen Hong was also shocked. She had not expected Gao Xuance to be so sharp.

Gao Xuance walked away with his hands behind his back, no longer paying any attention to anything, while Queen Hong sat paralyzed on the chair. Indeed, she was made queen because of favor, but if Lin and Queen Wang had always been in that position, she would not be able to replace them.

What made Lin better than the previous empress was that she had a family background and an eldest son, and she was even better than the eldest son.

At that time, all she thought about was how to bring down Lin, and she never thought about not bringing him down.

Although the situation was critical, everyone had a good relationship. But how did it get to this point? Both sons seemed to blame her. The elder son blamed her for being partial, while the younger son blamed him for being unfaithful.

The rule is that you cannot do needlework when you are pregnant, but Yao Niang sometimes slept too much and would get up to sew a few stitches. The soles of the shoes were made by Baizhi and her friends. Yao Niang wanted to make tiger-head shoes for her younger son. She made the shoes herself, so she understood the children's walking habits and made them very snug.

Especially in winter, we need to keep warm.

After she had embroidered a few stitches, Gao Xuance came back. She was about to stand up when he hugged her. The servants left without noticing. Yao Niang looked up at him and asked, "What's wrong, baby?"

Gao Xuance's nickname is Baobao. Yao Niang learned this when he was almost shot by an arrow. She never called him like this on normal days, but seeing him so depressed, Yao Niang couldn't help but call him by his nickname.

"From now on, you are the only one I have. You are really the only one I have."

Gao Xuance hugged her tightly, as if seeking Yao Niang's approval.

Yao Niang thought that it was probably because Empress Hong and Gao Xuance had a falling out. She could not understand Empress Hong at all in her heart. When it came to her own life, she wished that the emperor would depose his wife and make her the empress. Gao Xuance had made great contributions and planned for her. He must have taken a huge risk at that time.

Now that Gao Xuance has come to this, Queen Hong has already secured her position, so she lets others take over.

Yao Niang really didn't deserve it for him: "No matter what, I support you. If you are imprisoned, we can just help each other. It just so happens that you don't have official duties, so you can accompany me every day and practice Taoism without distraction, which is also good."

You know, if you fail to seize the throne, the consequences are actually very serious. Yao Niang downplayed it so lightly. Gao Xuance shook his head and said, "No, if something really happens to me, you should take the child and go to the vassal state as soon as possible, and never care about me again."

He thought he was infatuated, but he always put national affairs first. However, Yao Niang gave him her whole heart. She was a truly infatuated woman.

"Why are you so stupid?"

Yao Niang lowered her head: "It's not that I'm stupid, it's that I believe in you."

In fact, Gao Xuance is not cruel enough. If he were really cruel, he would not be like this, but at the same time, this is the person she loves.

He is not completely swallowed up by power; he has ambitions but will not resort to despicable means.

"Believe me, I will never let you down, Yao Niang." Gao Xuance felt that the person in his arms had already been integrated into his bones and blood.

Not only was Prince Chen not persuaded by Queen Hong to back down, he was also entrusted with an important task and went to Mount Tai to meditate.

There was no need for King Zhou to give any orders for these things, as the censors wrote memorials to criticize King Chen. Even King Chen's father-in-law, Luo Zhizheng, was implicated, as they believed that he had appointed private individuals.

They may not be able to deal with King Chen in a short time, but they can still catch all his minions in one fell swoop.

Especially since Luo Zhizheng was promoted to the position of Second Assistant Minister this year, he may very likely become the First Assistant Minister in a few years.

If he became the Prime Minister, the Prince of Chen would have a stronger support in the future. With the support of the Prime Minister, those who uphold orthodoxy, such as the censors Yu Shijian, would attack Luo Zhizheng in unison.

The first was that Luo Shizhen encroached on the people's fertile land and used improper means to annex other people's land. Because Luo Shizhen was Luo Zhizheng's niece, all the blame was placed on Luo Zhizheng.

But when Gao Xuance told Yao Niang about it, Yao Niang sighed: "In the previous life, she relied on my influence to do evil things. She was a person who would squeeze every drop of oil dry. After I was reborn, she wanted to divorce Shan Yujing and also wanted to rely on my father's influence. I asked my father to take the invitation back, and then she followed the Shan family to Shandong."

To be honest, the emperor is far away from home, how could Luo Zhizheng know what Luo Shizhen did?

But when someone wants to attack you, this can become the biggest reason.

Of course, there were many other things that forced Luo Zhizheng to resign from his position as assistant.

Gao Xuance felt a little guilty: "It's all my fault that I got my father-in-law into trouble."

But Gao Xuance was no pushover. He knew that these people were not arranged by the King of Zhou, but were there to uphold orthodoxy. In fact, he was right. He was not targeting them. It was just that the Kedao officials just wanted to covet the credit for being the king. Of course, he was not afraid.

Emperor Jianzhang turned a blind eye to this scene and insisted that Gao Xuance continue his meditation and not give up. This was the only consolation for Gao Xuance.

But just after Gao Xuance left the capital, Luo Zhizheng resigned as prime minister and the emperor approved it. This was probably what the emperor was thinking.

The Luo family was also shocked by Luo Zhizheng's determination to resign. Luo Jingxi was the top-ranking official in the capital, and people flattered him wherever he went, because his father was a cabinet minister and his sister was the Princess of Chen. But now he had to go back to his hometown in Gaoping, and he really didn't want to leave.

Luo Zhizheng said, "You have been fooled by others with just a few words. You must go home with me. Your father is no longer a minister. You are the eldest son. You should go home to manage the affairs of the clan."

"Dad, now that you're gone, what should I do with my sister?" Luo Jingxi finally took out his trump card.

"If I don't leave now, the Luo family will be annihilated. The Ministry of Justice is targeting me. Even my students will be dismissed from their posts during this inspection. How can I let them all lose their posts because of me?"

Politics is all about exchange. Luo Zhizheng is just a minister. Even if he can be said to have power over the government and the country, he and the Prime Minister have different opinions and he was soon targeted.

Of course he supported his son-in-law and was even willing to fight to the last step. When his son-in-law was conquering the Western Rong, he tried his best to mediate, but now he has no choice.

No matter what, he had to protect his disciples and the Luo family first.

Luo Jingxi was stunned and said hesitantly: "It can't be that serious..."

Jinghao just passed the imperial examination this year, which was a very happy thing, but now Luo Zhizheng is going back to his hometown, so he can no longer study with his classmates in Beijing, and he can't help feeling depressed.

But he usually listened to Yu's words. Although Yu often felt that her husband was arrogant and had an offensive temper, she was always afraid that if she really got ahead, her eldest son Luo Jingxi would not be truly filial, not to mention Luo Jingyuan. He heard privately that he had presented strategies to King Zhou. Therefore, Yu asked Jinghao to be filial to his father.

Now Jinghao stood up and said, "Brother, let's listen to Dad and go back together. Dad is in his prime and will surely rise again in the future. Besides, Prince Chen will surely be able to understand."

Luo Zhizheng suddenly felt that his youngest son might not be smart enough, was often lazy, and even didn't know how to read people's expressions, but he was indeed a kind person, honest and filial. He was grateful to have such a son.

Of course, Emperor Jianzhang also had to summon Luo Zhizheng for his decisive resignation from the position of prime minister.

"I, your Majesty, wish you a long life."

"Mr. Luo, why are you so determined to resign? In the past, you were demoted for me, and then you have always assisted me. What would I do without you?" Emperor Jianzhang still had deep feelings for Luo Zhizheng.

Luo Zhizheng said: "Your Majesty has countless talented people around you, so why do you need someone as insignificant as me? But in the future, I will not be by your side. You must take good care of yourself. This is the blessing for me."

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while, and Emperor Jianzhang was also quite moved. He finally dismissed the eunuchs and the firemen, and asked Luo Zhizheng privately: "Did you leave to avoid suspicion because of the matter of Prince Chen?"

He wants to hear the truth.

Luo Zhizheng was of course aware of the prelude to this. He had to be extremely careful. Back then, they supported Emperor Jianzhang, who was still a prince, because he was the eldest prince. Now that it was Prince Chen's turn, they were partial. Doesn't this show that he was hypocritical and was only swaying for power?

So, Luo Zhizheng said: "I am not trying to avoid suspicion for the Prince of Chen. Isn't it Your Majesty who has been praising the Prince of Chen? Now, some people are willing to follow the Prince of Chen, probably because of Your Majesty's great favor. As long as Your Majesty changes the title of the Prince of Chen and sends the Prince of Chen and the Prince of An to their fiefdoms as soon as possible, there will be no more troubles."

"That won't work." Emperor Jianzhang rejected it without even thinking about it.

He was indeed hesitant and unwilling to go against the patriarchal system and all the ministers, but he also did not agree with the Prince of Chen becoming a fiefdom.

Luo Zhizheng sighed: "No one in the world is impartial. I love my younger son more, but the family business will still be left to my eldest son. This is probably because the patriarchal system cannot be disrupted."

Emperor Jianzhang did not comment, but he did not object either.

He was a little bit unbelievable again: "I thought you would speak for the Prince of Chen. After all, you are his father-in-law."

"If you speak from a personal point of view, the Prince of Chen is my son-in-law. He has always respected me and has a harmonious relationship with the princess. I am very satisfied with this son-in-law. From a public point of view, the Prince of Chen was able to pacify the Donghu and destroy the Xirong, which is an unprecedented achievement. If he were the eldest son, he would have left his name in history and even be compared with the Qin Emperor, Han Emperor Wu and even Emperor Taizong of Tang. He would have been first-rate in both civil and military affairs. But Your Majesty, he is not. I beg you to send the Prince of Chen to a fiefdom for the sake of the country, so that there will be no such thing as usurping the throne." Luo Zhizheng kowtowed, and his words were very sincere.

The Prince of Chen is very good, but if you really don't want him to be the emperor, you should send him to a fiefdom as soon as possible. Otherwise, if you, the emperor, want to be a good person, do you think you will leave your descendants to fight against each other?

It was because of the tolerant nature of Emperor Jianzhang that Luo Zhizheng dared to say so. Of course, his move was to retreat in order to advance, and he did not really want the emperor to exile Prince Chen.

Emperor Jianzhang held his forehead and said, "I have taken note of what you said."

Luo Zhizheng added: "Your Majesty, please select the border generals as soon as possible. You can no longer let the Prince of Chen lead the army in person on your behalf. The Donghu have made unusual movements recently."

Even Luo Zhizheng said this, which meant to urge him to make a decision.

The emperor and his ministers discussed the issue. No matter what, Luo Zhizheng had passed the test. He did not shield his son-in-law, nor did he speak for Prince Chen. He just analyzed the situation from an outsider's perspective and allowed him to make plans early. Otherwise, if Prince Chen continued to hold military power, the new emperor would definitely not tolerate him in the future.

Everything is good, except that he is the second child and not the eldest son.

The emperor's love for him is actually harming him.

After Luo Zhizheng left, Emperor Jianzhang was stunned for a long time...

Ever since Gao Xuance went to the Zen temple, Yao Niang sighed at the child in her belly: "What should I do? Your father may not be able to see you being born in person again."

Moreover, this time, Yu Shi did not go to the palace to accompany the birth. She went back to her hometown with her father and did not even have time to say goodbye.

In the palace, Xu Qingrong had already thought of herself as the Crown Princess, but she began to feel uneasy only after Gan gave birth to a son.

Now the King of Zhou already has two sons, the eldest son born to Lady Li and the second son born to Concubine Gan. The problem of offspring has finally been solved, and the King of Zhou himself breathed a sigh of relief. He would no longer be troubled by the problem of offspring.

Xu Qingrong was gritting her teeth in hatred, but she would not ruin the overall situation. Besides, her power was not as great as before, and she had to report almost all the big and small matters in the inner house to King Zhou.

Moreover, King Zhou's advantage is so obvious that Xu Qingrong does not have to deal with Yao Niang anymore. After all, all the court officials are on King Zhou's side.

Yao Niang taught Cheng Yun to read every day and would often express her own opinions. Especially when she learned that Emperor Jianzhang would personally conduct a random inspection the next day, she personally drafted the manuscript and then taught her son.

Cheng Yun didn't understand: "Mother, why do you have to say that?"

Yao Niang smiled and said, "Because of what you said, your emperor will know what to do."

The next day, when Emperor Jianzhang came, Chengyun had just started learning to ride a horse. After all, Gao Xuance was not around, and Emperor Jianzhang usually doted on Chengyun, so he specially taught him how to choose a horse.

He also said to Cheng Yun: "Today, the master told you something about horses."

"Yes, sir, he also taught his grandchildren how to choose horses." Cheng Yun bowed respectfully.

Emperor Jianzhang became interested: "So how are you going to choose a horse?"

Cheng Yun smiled and said, "Sun'er doesn't care about the quality, gender, or whether they are docile. He just wants to let the horses run freely. Only by racing rather than judging the horses can you choose a good horse that suits Sun'er. Otherwise, even a precious horse may not be suitable for Sun'er."

It is better to race horses than to judge them. Yes, this sentence is really an eye-opener for me.

King Zhou, King Chen and even King An all want me to choose you, so let you all come out and give it a try.

The Donghu and the remnant Xirong forces combined to cause chaos. This time, Emperor Jianzhang selected the Marquis of Jianguo, the governor-general of the three borders and famous generals to lead the army on the sea. At the same time, he sent King Zhou directly to the front line to lead the army in person on his behalf.

The faction supporting the eldest son of the legitimate heir was originally happy to see Luo Zhizheng being driven away, but they did not expect that the King of Zhou would lead the army in person to fight against the Donghu on behalf of the emperor.

Although civil officials are now in power in Dalin, there is already a national policy. If a monarch does not win a battle for three years, he cannot enter the ancestral temple. The King of Chen has already won, but what about the King of Zhou? Can he achieve another success?

However, Prince Zhou and Xu Qingrong were very nervous. Prince Zhou was under too much pressure. His strengths lay in accounting in the Ministry of Revenue or working for his father in the Ministry of Works, not in going to the battlefield. Especially after he fell off his horse, he even stopped riding.

Who on earth gave my father such a bad idea that he should lead the army in person...