A dream of deep spring

"The emperor woke up just now, and started crying without seeing the two adults. This... I don't know what's wrong with this old slave?" Jin Bao stood at the side helplessly, neither of them had time to worry about him.

As soon as the little emperor saw the two elders approaching, he cried and threw himself into Duan Tingzhen's arms. Seeing this scene, Meng Chifeng felt very happy.

Compared with Duan Tingzhen, Meng Chifeng's treatment of the little emperor is much simpler and rougher. If he doesn't want to go to school, he won't go to school, if he doesn't want to get up early, he won't get up, as if he wants to support him, but who knows, when the two are together, the little emperor will be the first. The only one I was looking for was Duan Tingzhen who would beat him up.

Duan Tingzhen hugged and coaxed his son like an old widower who had died for a long time, and the little emperor gradually stopped crying, sobbing: "Xun'er... Xun'er dreamed that the master and the uncle were fighting. Yes. There is a lot of blood on the master..."

Hearing this, Meng Chifeng's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly said, "It's too late for the emperor to respect him, how could he beat him? Dreams are all fake, don't be afraid, don't be afraid."

Having said that, the young emperor was still frightened to death. He pulled the two of them together and refused to let go, making them dumbfounded.

Duan Tingzhen suddenly felt that this scene was a bit like a divorced couple comforting their children.

It is said that the memory of the dream can only last for a short period of time, and this is probably the case with the little emperor Meng Jiaxun. After a while, he has forgotten the details of the dream, and only vaguely retains the emotion of fear.And this feeling quickly faded away.

By the time it was time to eat, the little guy had returned to his usual mischievous and cute look, and would act like a baby to Meng Chifeng from time to time.Duan Tingzhen originally planned to restrict him less today, but saw that he was surprisingly well-behaved today, he only ate half of the usual amount, and he didn't even eat a few mouthfuls of his favorite dish.

Meng Chifeng was also curious, and asked him half coaxing and half deceiving, but the little guy said, "If I were a little thinner, Master and Uncle Huang would be able to hug me more."

Duan Tingzhen was startled suddenly, not knowing what to say for a while.He knew that the child was extremely insecure, but he was usually busy with political affairs, and he only had a title as a master, so he was rarely seen.Suddenly hearing the thoughts in the child's heart, I just feel very distressed.

Meng Chifeng felt distressed when he heard this, and quickly comforted him: "When you are six years old, if you ask someone to hold you, you will be scolded by an old man. How old are you now, how many catties can you gain in half a year? Uncle Huang I can hold it."

"Really?" He blinked his big eyes to confirm.

"Really." Duan Tingzhen smiled and wiped the vegetable juice from his mouth for him.

With the guarantee from his parents, the little emperor let go of his appetite and ate.

When his uncle and teacher were around, the little emperor absolutely did not want eunuchs to serve him, not even Jin Bao, who took care of him all the time.Duan Tingzhen watched, Meng Chifeng was usually very aggressive in court, but he was very gentle and considerate when facing children.

And at this time, he was unexpectedly principled, guessing that he would not let him move after he was eighty percent full, no matter how pitiful he was.Duan Tingzhen peeked at it, feeling strange.It feels like this good father is not the same person as Meng Chifeng who usually uses his nostrils as eyes.

It was rare for the master and uncle to accompany him, and the little emperor was very excited.It just so happened that the two parents didn't want him to go to bed when he was full, so they simply delayed him and played chess with the little emperor.

Meng Chifeng was not annoyed when he saw Duan Tingzhen holding on to the pawns and falling slowly. Occasionally, the little emperor cheated and wanted to return the four that had been eaten, but he was not annoyed.

When the little boy hesitated while grabbing the chess piece, Meng Chifeng shook his hand from behind and made the decision for him, in exchange for a dissatisfied look from the kid, but when he saw that he had taken advantage of it, he immediately smiled .

"Stop playing." After a while, the little emperor pouted and said, "Both uncle and master bullied me."

Meng Chifeng smiled and rubbed his head with his big hand.

After coaxing the little emperor to sleep, they came out of the emperor's bedroom, and the two walked to the door together. Duan Tingzhen folded his sleeves, bent slightly, and said goodbye to Meng Chifeng.

"My lord, see you at the celebration banquet tonight."

"See you later." Meng Chifeng also cupped his hands in return.Duan Tingzhen's office is in the palace, and Meng Chifeng wants to go back to the palace, and he does not follow the same direction, so the two say goodbye.

When he got to the gate of the palace, he saw Mo Lang, his servant, brought a carriage and was waiting.Seeing him coming out, he rushed forward and said, "My lord, you have come out."

Meng Chifeng was also a little tired at this time, too lazy to ride the horse by himself, so he got into the carriage.Mo Lang sat with the coachman, and said to him: "The eldest son of the Xiao family came over in the morning, waited for more than half an hour, and left before the prince."

He hummed and said, "Next time he comes again, just blast him out."

Mo Lang was speechless: "Really boom?"

"His family has done disgusting things, and I want this king to take care of him? This king can't handle it." He snorted coldly and said, "Why don't you, Mr. Mo Lang?"

Mo Lang immediately fell silent.

The Xiao family was still a farmer more than 20 years ago, and the family moved to the capital because of the eldest son.His parent's ability and temperament are mediocre, and his official career is not smooth.Originally, this family was probably like this, but news suddenly came one day that the second daughter of the Xiao family who entered the palace in the early years became a noble lady and gave birth to a prince. upstart.

Meng Chifeng vaguely remembered that the palace people said that his mother was favored for a while in the early years, and her falling out of favor later had something to do with her family.It's just that she was obsessed, she insisted on taking care of that family leech, and didn't allow him to be dissatisfied.Meng Chifeng treats his mother with respect from the bottom of his heart, and has been taking care of the Xiao family all these years, who knew that such a group of dogs could be raised.

The reason for this incident was that his cousin by blood was kidnapped in broad daylight. The woman had a strong temper, seeing that she couldn't escape, she crashed to death on the street of the shop, and she died with regret.

The people present at that time were so angry that they almost fought with the officers and soldiers who rushed over.The Xiao family's publicity and domineering in these years finally aroused public outrage. Dengwen beat the drum once with [-] sticks, but someone beat it every day.Although they didn't do anything, they just watched, but the people who were more than one day made the yamen servants shudder when they saw it.

Under such circumstances, it is useless who is behind the Xiao family.The young master of the Xiao family was sentenced to be beheaded, and all the servants who were present that day were executed and thrown to a mass grave without being buried.

And the patience of the higher-ups towards the Xiao family has reached its limit, and it has become a consensus to destroy the Xiao family to protect the hearts of the people, and Meng Chifeng is powerless to recover.

When he returned to the mansion, he recruited Mr. Zhou, his staff member, to the study. Mr. Zhou's first words were: "The Xiao family is too stupid."

Indeed, the powerful, rich and powerful families in Beijing don't know how many people, and there are many people who suck human blood. The Xiao family is not the most poisonous, but it is the most stupid.

Meng Chifeng was silent for a moment, and said, "This is my fault."

Mr. Zhou: "It's never too late for your lord to figure it out. Knowing your mistakes can make a big difference."

He didn't know what Meng Chifeng said was wrong, but he regretted his negligence and indulged the Xiao family.

"Now the prince must have the attitude of drawing a clear line with the Xiao family." Mr. Zhou continued: "This is not the time to care about old love."

Meng Chifeng nodded.

"By the way, there is one more thing." Seeing that Meng Chifeng didn't insist on protecting the idiots of that family, Mr. Zhou finally let out a sigh of relief, and said seriously: "It's better for the lord to thank Duan Xiang."

He couldn't help being surprised: "What is this?"

Mr. Zhou's tone was not without emotion: "In the beginning, there were rumors against the prince, but Prime Minister Duan used means to suppress it. And it is Duan Xiang's intention to sentence Mr. Xiao severely, although it seems that it does not give face to the prince. , it really saved the reputation of the prince among the people. But for the Xiao family, it is waiting for the prince to come back and deal with it."

Listening to Mr. Zhou explaining the details in detail, Meng Chifeng vaguely understood Duan Tingzhen's plan, and when he thought of that person, his previous indifference disappeared, and there was a little more indescribable flavor.

After a moment of silence, he said with emotion: "I am indeed not as good as him."

"Duan Xiangzhi's character is really a model for the gentry." Mr. Zhou sighed: "The form is extremely unfavorable to the prince. If he resorts to tricks, the prince's reputation among the people will be destroyed once, and he will never lose in the court. It will be small. But the prince lost his power, which is not a good thing for Da Chu."

Duan Tingzhen has no selfishness towards Da Chu, on this point, Meng Chifeng has nothing to refute.

Seeing that he was willing to accept opinions with an open mind, Mr. Zhou said all the words he had held back for a long time.

"The subordinates don't know why the prince doesn't like Duan Xiang. I dare to guess. It is probably because of the dispute when the first emperor passed away. The emperor is so old, why should he keep thinking about it? The prince has not returned to Beijing several times in the past six years, but Duan Xiang People all over the world will see how to devote all their energy to the Great Chu."

"Your majesty is still young, and the prince and Prime Minister Duan are the cornerstones of the Great Chu Temple. If the prince and Prime Minister Duan are at odds, how can the country be safe? Duan Xiang may not have meant to show his favor to the prince. What is it for? Isn't it just for the great Chu Jiangshan?"

He rested, and said again: "Even if it is for the emperor, the prince should not continue to fight with Duan. To say something disrespectful, the emperor was born without father and mother, and when he grows up to five years old, it is the prince and Duan. In the upbringing. In the emperor's heart, the prince and Duan Xiang are both fathers, and if the two fathers are at odds, how can the emperor not be worried?"

These words pierced Meng Chifeng's heart.He didn't want to get married for some reason, and he wouldn't have a child of his own. From this point of view, the little emperor was his own child.He has done the same over the years.

"I know." Meng Chifeng said: "When I have time, I will come to the door to thank you personally."

Hearing this, Mr. Zhou finally felt relieved, and asked again: "The Xiao family, the prince has already thought about it, what is the regulation?"

Meng Chifeng replied: "It must be dealt with according to the law. No matter how much ironclad evidence there is now, there is no way to do it. The king will never say anything more. Tomorrow, the king will ask for a clear investigation."

Mr. Zhou stood up, bowed, and said: "My lord understands righteousness deeply."

"I don't really understand righteousness." Meng Chifeng laughed at himself, and then said indifferently: "The Xiao family should come to the palace banquet tonight. I'll see how they have the face to see me."