The prince is seriously ill

The sun in the south of the Yangtze River is just right, but there is a gust of wind in the north for no reason.

Inside Yuluan Palace, there are layers of maids outside the door, and the door is closed tightly.The queen sat in the hall, and a big eunuch stood respectfully on the ground.

The eunuch said: "Master Xu asked the slave to tell the empress that the second prince Xun Yu has news."

The queen immediately stood up, staring wide-eyed and said: "What did you say? Is there any news about the second prince? Is he still alive?"

"That's right! The Empress Do you still remember Yang Huanzhong and Yang Huanwei?"

The queen frowned and thought for a while, then said: "You mean the bodyguard Yang who escorted the second prince to become a monk at Wuxiang Temple ten years ago?"

"Your Majesty has a good memory, it's him." The little eunuch lowered his head and said, "At first, the servants thought he was missing, but just yesterday, the servants found out that Concubine Shu had already sent someone to put Guard Yang's wife and children under house arrest. "

The queen paced back and forth in the room slowly, then stopped and said, "When did Concubine Shu put Yang Huanzhong's family under house arrest?"

The eunuch hesitated for a moment, lowered his head, and said in a low voice, "It was three...three years ago."

The queen stood up, and slapped the table with her palm, "Bastards! How did you do things? They did something to Yang Shiwei's wife and children three years ago, and you didn't find out until today? Trash! A bunch of trash!"

The eunuch plopped down and knelt down, "The empress, calm down! It's the slave who is not doing his job well. I implore the empress to allow the slave to take the crime and make meritorious service."

The queen snorted coldly and said, "Guard Yang has been missing for ten years, but Concubine Shu suddenly attacked his family three years ago. There must be something strange about this."

"What the empress said is very true. The slave has already found out. The thing is like this: After the second prince disappeared, Yang Shiwei hid outside for seven years. Seven years later, because he missed his wife and children in the capital, he ventured back home once. He thought that seven years had passed, no one would miss him anymore, and it would be safe to come back to take a look at his wife and children. Unexpectedly, Concubine Shu got someone to point her out, and sent someone to secretly monitor every move of Yang's wife and children for a whole ten years , has already set up a net to wait for him. So three years ago when he arrived home, Concubine Shu caught him right away."

The queen felt her heart beating like a drum, and was so angry that the veins on her forehead burst out. She suppressed her anger forcibly, closed her eyes and said, "If that's the case, since Concubine Shu caught him, why did she let him go again? What did you say to Concubine Shu? What I want to know most is whether the second prince is still alive."

The eunuch faltered and said: "After the concubine Shu captured Yang Huanzhong, she used his wife and children as hostages to coerce him to look around for the whereabouts of the second prince. Until three months ago, Yang Huanzhong wrote to say that the second prince, Xun Yu, was hiding in Jiangnan's richest man. The Shen family. The servant has already sent people to the south of the Yangtze River, and he will definitely be able to find the second prince before the concubine Shu, please rest assured, the empress."

The queen took a deep look at him, flashed a flash of killing intent, but sat down again, squinted her eyes and said: "You are already three years behind others, and this matter is not in a hurry." After saying that, she waved her hands, "You go down first , I have to make a long-term plan."

"Yes, the slave will leave." The eunuch bowed and exited.

As soon as the chief eunuch left Yuluan Palace, a court lady in green looked around furtively, seeing no one was following her, she hurried to Qingquan Palace.

Qingquan Palace.

The palace maid in green knelt on the ground and said: "Qi Bing Concubine Shu, the empress has found out the whereabouts of the second prince, and at this time, she is sending a master to rush to the south of the Yangtze River."

Concubine Shu lazily leaned on the soft couch. Hearing the words, she evoked a mocking smile, played with Kou Dan in her hand and said, "Ms. Xu is nothing more than that. Only now do I know that the cripple is alive." After finishing speaking, Concubine Shu glanced at her. , "Keep an eye on her for me, and report to me immediately if there is any trouble."

The maid in green said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, this servant knows what to do."

Concubine Shu nodded in satisfaction, and winked at Qiutong, the maid next to her. Qiutong understood, stepped forward and said, "Come with me to get ten taels of silver."

The maid in green hurriedly kowtowed and said, "Thank you, Concubine Shu, for the reward, and this servant will leave."

Not long after, Qiutong came back again, closed the door, walked quickly to Concubine Shu, took out a secret letter from her bosom, handed it to her respectfully, and said, "Your Majesty, this is the letter sent by Lord Qin just now." Yes, I asked my servants to deliver it to the empress with their own hands, and told the empress to destroy it after seeing it."

Concubine Shu sat up and tore open the secret letter casually, but saw a few words written on it:

"Lu Zhizhang, the Jiangnan inspector, arrived in the capital yesterday. The matter of the emperor's second son will be resolved tomorrow morning. The emperor is suspicious, and the empress must not talk too much."

Concubine Shu finished reading it, lifted the lampshade, and placed the secret letter on top of the lamplight, and the black and white words instantly burned to ashes.

Morning the next day.

Sitting on the dragon chair, Emperor Xun Zhi's body was obviously thicker than that of ten years ago, his eyelids were slightly swollen, and his slender eyes were narrowed to sharpness. He was still mighty, but he was a little more old-fashioned when he was nearly half a century old.

"Governor Lu Zhizhang of Xuanjiang River has an audience."

"My humble minister Lu Zhizhang sees the emperor."

Xun Zhi waved his hands and said, "Lu Aiqing is dead. Lu Aiqing hastily rushed back to the capital. I don't know what's important?"

Lu Zhizhang said: "Back to the emperor, Zhang Xun, the magistrate of the south of the Yangtze River, sent a heavy army to escort 30 taels of silver into Beijing a month ago to fill the treasury to support our country's border war. On the road that must be passed, fortunately, the minister had already prepared for it, so Zhao Ming repaired the plank road and secretly plotted, and sent fake masters to pretend to be officers and soldiers to escort a few boxes of stones on the dry road with great fanfare. be hijacked, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous."

Xun Zhi said angrily: "Who is so bold that he dares to rob the court's silver? Lu Zhizhang, can you find out who the thief is? I will give you one month to clear the Qingyunzhai thief's nest and bring the head of the thief leader to see you." I."

Lu Zhizhang said: "The emperor has ordered that the humble minister should go through fire and water and die, but the emperor, the humble minister is really powerless. Does the emperor know who the leader of the group of bandits is?"

A trace of loneliness flashed in Xun Zhi's eyes, "Who?"

"It is Zhu Chengbing's mother and son who slipped through the net in the case of Zhumen, the wife and son of Lord Zhu, Shangshu of the Ministry of War."

Xun Zhi was silent for a moment, his sharp eyes swept across the group of officials, and said in a deep voice, "The Zhu family intended to rebel, and they were condemned all over the family. How did Mrs. Zhu, mother and son escape?"

Xingbu Shangshu hurriedly stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty Qi Bing, it has been twelve years since the Zhumen case. The sky prison has always been heavily guarded, and the person who can rescue the rebellious officials and thieves from the prison without anyone noticing must be an important official of the court at that time." After thinking about it, only Mu Pingchuan, the traitor of the Mu family, was the most suspicious. At that time, Mu Pingchuan had a large army in his hands, and Mrs. Mu and Mrs. Zhu were siblings, so he must have used his power to help his sister-in-law, Mrs. Zhu, escape."

Xun Zhi remained silent with a sullen face.

Lu Zhizhang said: "After Mrs. Zhu's mother and son ran away, not only did they not change their past, but they never died. They searched everywhere and forcibly recruited them into bandits. So far, there are tens of thousands of horses. The minister also found out that they were set up in Qingyun County. He bought more than a dozen properties, hoarded weapons, bought and sold horses, practiced day and night, and robbed people to join them. The wolf's ambition is obvious. The emperor ordered the humble officials to wipe out the Qingyunzhai thief's den within a month. Powerless. I implore the emperor to think twice."

"You said they stationed troops and bought horses, and practiced day and night?" Xun Zhi lowered his voice, but his eyes were filled with rage, "Is this true?"

Lu Zhizhang said: "It is absolutely true, here is an account book, please have a look at it, Your Majesty."

While Xun Zhi looked down at the account books, Qin Dian secretly gave Lu Zhizhang a wink.

Lu Zhizhang understood, and said again: "Besides, the emperor will never think of who is behind the gangsters in Qingyun Village."

Xun Zhi threw the account book on the table, "You mean, besides this, there is another person?"

"Your majesty is wise, it is none other than the second prince who was ordered to become a monk ten years ago but disappeared without reason."

Xun Zhi stood up abruptly, his beard twitched slightly, "You mean that...that..." Xun Zhi didn't know what to think of, and frowned in disgust, as if swallowing a fly, what kind of prince should he be? ?

"Wei Chen has a memorial here, which records the complete process of the incident."

"Bring it up," Xun Zhi said while suppressing his anger.

For a time, no one dared to say anything.

Xun Zhi held the memorial, the more he read it, the more he stared at it. I don't know what he saw. He tore it into a mess like crazy, smashed it into a ball, and smashed it on the ground. His chest heaved violently, and he cursed in a hoarse voice: "It turned out to be him!" You bastard! White-eyed wolf! Eat doggy things! If I knew this, why did I care about the love between father and son and keep you until today?"

"I pass on my decree that the third prince, Xun Jin, will suspend his return to the court, and command an army of 20 troops to go south immediately, step down the Qingyunzhai bandit den, and capture the rebels Xun Yu and others alive. The decree will be sent to the third prince Xun Jin in a hurry."

All the officials were silent for a while, and then knelt down to send the Ninth Five-Year Master away.

After a long time, Xu Zhishan, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, stood up silently, looked at Qin Dian who was smiling complacently, and walked away with a cold snort.Lu Zhizhang and Qin Dian worked hand in hand. Although he didn't see what was written in the memorial, he guessed most of it.At this time, if he speaks for the second prince, no matter what he says, it will be counterproductive and touch the saint's nilin.Now, the only thing left to do is to look at Xun Yu's own good fortune.It's just that if Xunyu is over, the Xu family may be over too.

Xun Zhi left from the court hall and went straight to Qingquan Palace.

Concubine Shu greeted him at the door early, helped Xun Zhi into the bedroom, waited for him to sit down, gently pinched his shoulder and said: "What's wrong with the emperor, who dared to offend my husband by eating a bear's heart and a leopard?" ? Your Majesty, don’t be so angry.”

Xun Zhi covered her soft little hands with one hand, pulled her into his arms, sighed and said, "My concubine, I have encountered a problem."

Concubine Shu leaned against his chest, and said softly: "What happened to the emperor? The concubine, vent your anger on the emperor."

Xun Zhi looked down at her and said, "How long has it been since Aifei saw our Jin'er?"

Concubine Shu pouted when she heard the words, "It's almost seven months." As she spoke, she seemed to think of something, her eyes turned red, she wrapped her arms around Xun Zhi's chest, and said, "That poor place in the northwest is another The wind and sand are short of water, and I don’t know how Jin’er is doing there. But our Jin’er finally won the glory of his father and mother, and beat those annoying Wurong people back to his hometown. Your Majesty, is our Jin'er coming back soon?"

"The frontier has won a complete victory. Jin'er was supposed to be able to return to the court at the end of the month." Xun Zhi said with cold eyes, "Unexpectedly, that rebellious son Xun Yu intends to rebel and gather tens of thousands of thieves to make trouble. How can I tolerate it?"

"Second prince Xun Yu?" Concubine Shu pretended to be surprised, sneered and shook her head and said, "Your Majesty, don't be deceived, the second prince is the emperor's own flesh and blood, although he is born different, the emperor has kindheartedly left him behind. Life, and even assigned concubines to take care of him, sent him to the Imperial College to study and practice calligraphy, everything he had was given by the emperor, he should be grateful to the emperor, how could he do those treasonous things, intending to win the emperor's country?"

"My concubine has a pure heart, so I don't know that people in the world are unpredictable. Even if they are as close as brothers and sisters, when faced with the temptation of the throne, they will kill each other. The anxiety is too urgent."

Concubine Shu sat up straight and said, "Then what does the emperor mean... to send Jin'er to exterminate the rebels?"

Xun Zhi nodded, "That's right! Jin'er will not be able to come back until half a year at least."

Concubine Shu threw herself into his arms when she heard the words, and laughed coquettishly, "The concubine thought that the emperor was upset about something, but she was afraid that the concubine would miss him if he didn't see Jin'er at the end of the month. The concubine is really considerate of the concubine. Happy! It's just that although Jin'er is the son of a husband and his concubines, he is also the prince of the emperor and Daliang. When something happens to the country, he should immediately stand up to share the worries of his father and the subjects. This is his responsibility, and it is also his responsibility. Your Majesty should be relieved, and although the concubines love to be petty, they are clear about right and wrong. Our Jin'er is so brave and good at fighting, and he will return victorious soon. What's the matter?"

Xun Zhi was overjoyed when he heard the words, he waved his hand to signal the maid to step back, stroked her earlobe and said, "Have you thought about concubine Ai?"

Concubine Shu understood, wrapped her hands around his neck tightly, kissed him with her small cherry mouth, and held his place skillfully with one hand, looked at him with winking eyes and said: "I miss the emperor so much, the emperor has been waiting for five days." I'm not here." He took the initiative to take off his clothes.

Sensing her enthusiasm, Xun Zhi simply lay down and panted heavily, "Since my concubine misses me so much, then I can get it myself."

"I hate it," Concubine Shu said angrily with a blushing face. She hammered Xun Zhi's chest with her frail and boneless fist like a tickle, but her movements were unambiguous. She kissed the slightly loose flesh on his neck and put her hands on the bed. , sat up gently.

The bed board made a creaking sound.Xun Zhi moved a few times, then trembled, and collapsed comfortably on the bed.

Concubine Shu paused, feeling it just now, and unwillingly clamped the weak thing that had slid down, but she didn't respond after teasing for a long time, and lay sideways beside Xun Zhi.

The snoring sounded, the smile on Concubine Shu's face disappeared, she got up and put on her clothes, looked at the old Xun Zhi on the bed, twitched her mouth contemptuously, and covered him with a thin quilt, resisting the discomfort.