The empress is pregnant, and the emperor's incense continues

Seeing that Master Du insisted on getting pen and paper, Meng Shangshu hurriedly said goodbye and left.

He came here today to inquire about the news. He didn't expect to hear any useful information from Taifu Du's mouth. He just wanted to inquire about Taifu Du's attitude.

Now that I know Taifu Du's attitude, I am also scared to death.

He pretended to be sick when he returned to the mansion. He thought it would be better not to get involved in the fourth prince's troubled waters.

On the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Meng Shangshu was ill and did not go to the palace to attend the palace banquet. Hu's plan to discuss it with Meng Wenlan was ruined because Meng Shangshu did not go.

She could only place her hope in the Bodhisattva to bless the Hu family to be able to work hard in the court and help the fourth prince become a prince as soon as possible.

Ever since Liu Sangyu moved out of the Buddhist hall, Meng Shangshu had lived and ate with Liu Sangyu.

Therefore, on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Hu did not even notice that Meng Shangshu did not go to court at all.

She rushed to the Buddhist temple early in the morning to chant sutras, praying to the Bodhisattva to bless the fourth prince to become a prince, and then turned around and married Meng Wenlan as her main wife.

At this time, the court, just as Hu thought, had just begun.

The eunuch sang in harmony: "If there is something to do, we will start to play and if there is nothing to do, we will retreat!"

It was the first day of the year to go to court. It was a new year and a new atmosphere. The emperor was in a very good mood. According to the custom, the courtiers would just say a few congratulations and then go off to deal with the backlog of affairs at the end of the year.

As soon as Mr. Hu, the minister of etiquette in the main hall, finished speaking, he immediately went out to start the performance, for fear of being overtaken by some courtier.

"Your Majesty, our ancestors have blessed our dynasty to last for hundreds of years. Today, the world is peaceful and the country is prosperous. It is all due to the emperor's good governance. I also ask the emperor to appoint a prince as soon as possible to protect the ancestral temple and the sacrifices, so that the incense can be passed down continuously."

The emperor listened to Mr. Hu's words. He was quite happy at first, thinking that he would be given a posthumous title of benevolence after death. However, the more he listened to it later, the darker his face became.

He is now in the prime of his life, and someone asked him to establish him as a prince. Is it because he is in poor health and wants to deal with his funeral arrangements?

And thinking that the prince who once rebelled still appeared in his dreams every night, the emperor had a headache when he heard the word prince.

"What do you think, dear friends?"

Establishing a crown prince is a big deal. Although it is easy to curry favor with the new emperor, it is even easier to offend the current emperor, especially when the emperor is in a bad mood.

Many courtiers began to look at their noses and noses as if they didn't hear anything. Everyone is a thousand-year-old fox, and no one will jump into the pit.

And when everyone saw Mr. Hu jumping out first, they naturally thought that most of them wanted to invite the fourth prince. If they followed suit, they would not be able to get the first credit. If they made the emperor unhappy, they might as well not get involved.

The civil servant changed his mind, and the generals in the court were much more direct-minded. Several of them nodded and felt that it was time to establish a throne.

Especially those princes with outstanding military achievements. They knew that the imperial concubine intended to choose an in-law from among them, and they all wanted to contribute to the fourth prince at this moment, so that the imperial concubine could choose their own daughter.

"Your Majesty, please appoint the crown prince as soon as possible."

"I second the proposal."

……

After several people spoke, Mr. Hu was afraid that his credit would be taken away by others. Before the emperor could ask, he said directly: "Your Majesty, the fourth prince is of noble birth and has both civil and military skills. He is the best candidate for the crown prince. Please appoint the fourth prince." For the prince."

The courtiers in the main hall who were still discussing the prince's suitability stopped talking for a moment, all waiting for the emperor's reply.

The emperor's face was hidden behind Mianqi and could not be seen clearly, and the courtiers only heard another voice: "What do you think, dear sirs?"

Everyone knew that the emperor doted on his concubine and the fourth prince. Some people felt that the emperor was taking the opportunity to establish a prince.

But more people still felt that the emperor's attitude was unclear and that Mr. Hu had already attracted the limelight and they did not want to carry the sedan chair.

So after a few sparse echoes, no one spoke again.

The emperor who was sitting high up snorted coldly: "We will discuss this matter later and withdraw from the court."

Taifu Du stood at the front and clearly saw that the emperor's expression was not good. He had stood firm for three dynasties. Not only was he impartial to any prince, but he also accurately figured out the emperor's thoughts, allowing him to stay on the periphery of the storm.

Looking at the emperor's face, he roughly knew what the emperor was thinking. He shook his head and smiled. Just after taking two steps, a young eunuch came over and whispered: "Old Master, the emperor has invited you."

After half a cup of tea, Taifu Du sat in the imperial study. The emperor's expression had calmed down, and he even asked in a good mood: "Master Taifu, which of my princes do you think is worthy of the most important responsibility?"

"This is the emperor's family background. It's fine if the emperor makes the decision." Taifu Du smiled kindly.

The emperor cursed the old fox in his heart, and continued: "These princes were all taught by the Taifu. The Taifu would like to encourage you to make a few comments for my reference."

Mr. Du Taifu said: "Your Majesty, I will tell you the truth. When it comes to handling government affairs, the princes are far worse than you were in your time. I think they need to study for a few more years."

This sentence instantly pleased the emperor.

Taifu Du had taught countless princes, but he actually felt that the emperor was the most capable. This made the emperor's anger in the morning disappear instantly.

He laughed a few times and asked again: "I also think that none of these boys are feasible. Unfortunately, I am getting older and it is time to establish a prince."

Hearing this, Taifu Du's face turned cold and he said displeasedly: "Your Majesty is not yet fifty, and you are obviously still young. If you are older, the old minister will be immortal."

"Hahaha, Master Taifu is not old either. You will live to be a hundred years old."

After a few sentences, the emperor never mentioned the matter of establishing a prince again.

Three days after the incident, no one mentioned the matter of establishing the crown prince. Meng Wenyao said depressedly: "I thought that asking the Hu family to appoint the fourth prince as the crown prince would make the emperor jealous, but who knew that things would become so quiet? It’s over, it’s been in vain.”

Li Hengli finished writing the last word in front of the desk, rubbed Meng Wenyao's hair in a funny way, and said with a smile: "The emperor's heart is unpredictable. Even if the emperor is unhappy and is afraid of the fourth child, he will not show it right now."

"Then how do we know whether the emperor is afraid of the fourth prince?"

Seeing Meng Wenyao looking at him with burning eyes, Li Heng gently scratched Meng Wenyao's nose and said with a smile: "You will know once you try it."

Then he leaned over and told Meng Wenyao his plan in his ear. Meng Wenyao said excitedly: "Since Your Highness has already made a plan, I will write a letter to father to prevent him from knowing about it and getting involved."

Meng Wenyao was too excited and turned around too fast, tripping herself. Fortunately, Li Heng hugged her quickly with quick eyes and hands.

Then they both blushed at the same time.

Meng Wenyao felt that the medicine given to Li Heng should have almost had its effect, so she hugged Li Heng's neck and moved closer with her eyes closed.

"Yao'er, I, I can't."

"How will you know if you don't try."