Linzhi

From the death of the first emperor to the present, the enthronement ceremony of the new emperor has not yet been officially held. He Zhan has gone through two dynasties, but he has been in Luoyang for a long time, and he has become more majestic and dignified to guard one side. From the eyes of others, after three days of farewell, they should look at each other with admiration.

In He Zhan's view, Chang'an has changed a lot?The scene is still the same, but the people are not the same. Ma Hong, who stood at the door to greet him in the past, has changed into a strange face.

"Mr. Wulang, Your Majesty invites you in." The strange young servant bowed and smiled.

"I don't think I've seen you before, where is Ma Hong?" He Zhan asked casually.

The waiter said: "Little man Ye Sheng, Ma Changshi asked His Majesty to guard the mausoleum for the late emperor, and His Majesty has already agreed."

He Zhan nodded, didn't ask any more questions, straightened the hem of his clothes, and stepped over the threshold to enter.

He Taiduan sat at the head, with He Mu and He Xiu on the left and right. The discussion came to an end, the courtiers had already resigned, and the four of them, father and son, could have a happy family relationship together.

Seeing He Zhan's return, He Tai was very happy. He asked him a lot about things in Luoyang. Seeing that He Zhanju answered in an orderly manner, he became more and more happy: "I think back then, when our family was in Fangzhou, as a father, I would never have imagined that someday Each of you can stand alone, so successful!"

He Zhan said: "Everything depends on the guidance of my father and brothers, and I am what I am today."

He Tai nodded first, then frowned: "By the way, why didn't your fourth brother come back with you? Did something happen again?"

He Zhan coughed lightly, talked about the departure of He Xiliu's letter, and presented the letter again.

When He Tai took a look, he almost turned his nose angrily: "It's wrong to be a good prince, he insists on becoming a monk and some kind of Taoist priest, what kind of magic has he got, is he crazy?!"

He Mu persuaded: "Father calm down, fourth brother has always acted recklessly, and it's not the first time, but this time he is a bit too bold. Given time, he will come back after suffering outside."

He Tai said angrily: "Even if he comes back again, I won't give him a canon again!"

Taking advantage of his father's complaints, He Zhan raised his head and glanced around. He always felt that the atmosphere was a little weird, but he couldn't say it was weird.

He Mu sighed: "When we were in Fangzhou, Shiro was protected by us very well. Even Wulang and Erlang often went to the mountains to hunt, but he didn't love literature or martial arts. In fact, I, the eldest brother, also have the responsibility. , if he had noticed earlier and disciplined him more, he would not have done such a thing."

He Tai waved his hand: "He doesn't live up to his expectations, so what does it have to do with you!"

He Mu: "But having said that, Shiro's help to report to Luoyang this time is not entirely in vain. After all, he is still young, so he will inevitably be a little arrogant. Please be more tolerant to my father. Now that Goro is back, we brothers, I will do my filial piety in front of you."

He Tai calmed down a little, but he was not in a good mood: "Forget it, Goro just came back, and he has been traveling all the way, so he can take a rest first. I wanted you to be in charge of the Imperial Army with Li Kuan, but who knows that the Marquis of Zhenyuan went to Shushu to become an official? It’s not too late to talk about it later.”

He Zhan stayed in the hall for just an hour, but he was full of questions. Seeing his father get up and leave, he followed his two elder brothers and exited the Xuanzheng Hall.

He Mu said to him and He Xiu: "Wu Lang finally came back, and we brothers can get together often again in the future, how about going to my place for dinner today?"

He Zhan said with a smile: "We live in the same mansion, don't we often eat together when we eat?"

He Mu coughed lightly: "There are a lot of things going on in the palace now, so my father asked me to move to the palace first."

He Zhan was taken aback, and subconsciously looked at He Xiu, who didn't say a word, and seemed very silent from the beginning to the end.

"Then... I want to go out of the palace to find the third brother. I haven't seen him for a long time, and I miss him a lot. How about another day, brother?"

He Mu smiled and patted him on the shoulder: "Success, let's meet again some other day!"

Then he said to He Xiu: "You two brothers, it's nice to have a quick talk, so I won't bother you."

He Zhan watched him go, only to hear He Xiu whispering beside him: "Brother is becoming more and more like an elder brother."

This doesn't sound like a compliment, but rather an inexplicable irony.

He Zhan couldn't help but ask, "Why is eldest brother living in the palace?"

He Xiu: "Father has not yet held the enthronement ceremony, so naturally it is impossible to confer the crown prince. My eldest brother is afraid that others will be the first to succeed, so he lives in the palace first in the name of helping father with errands."

He Zhan said unexpectedly: "This seems to be incompatible with etiquette?"

He Xiu smiled: "Naturally, it's not in line with etiquette, so elder brother couldn't live in the East Palace, so he can only live in the side hall of Zichen Palace first."

He Zhan finally knew what was wrong. The brothers had always been close, and He Mu would never put on airs as an elder brother before, but now not only He Mu has changed, but even He Xiu's words and deeds are very different from before.

At least, the previous He Xiu would not be so cynical.

He Zhan thought of his elder brother's loss of his wife, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "I've also heard about the second sister-in-law. Second brother, please let me be sad. The second sister-in-law is in the spirit of heaven, and I don't want to see you hurt yourself like this." .”

He Xiu's face softened slightly: "No, I have to live well to avenge your second sister-in-law."

He Zhan: "I heard that my father asked you to take charge of the King Qi's conspiracy."

He Xiu: "That's right, but I'm not the only one who made the interrogation decision. There are also people from the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple."

He Zhan murmured: "When I was in Luoyang before, there was a distant relative of Princess Lin'an's son-in-law who asked me to intercede with His Majesty. I don't know how much the princess is involved in this matter. After all, she is the daughter of the late emperor, her father's sister, and if she is involved too widely, I'm afraid It's also a hindrance to my father's reputation."

He Xiu snorted coldly: "Don't even dare to rebel, what kind of reputation are you afraid of? Lin'an and the son-in-law can't keep it. Once something happened to them, the memorials to impeach them would fly on my father's case like a snowflake. Guess who was the first to impeach Princess Lin'an?" who is it?"

Meeting He Zhan's puzzled look, He Xiu showed a mocking smile: "It's Sima Yun, the Sima Yun who was the governor of Fangzhou at the time and refused to save us."

He Zhan: "I remember that he followed the path of King Qi and entered Yushitai."

He Xiu: "That's right, after the rebellion happened, he was in a hurry to draw a line with King Qi's family, and immediately went to court to impeach Princess Lin'an for various crimes, including overreaching the princess's mansion, and the son-in-law's adultery with the maidservant during his mother's filial piety, etc. "

He Zhan disdained: "The villain who fell into trouble!"

He Xiu: "There are people like this everywhere. It's a pity that not everyone who caused your second sister-in-law to die in vain may be caught."

He Zhan was startled: "Who else?"

When this matter was mentioned, He Xiu's face darkened instantly, as if he had returned to the day when he learned the inside story.

"Your sister-in-law, Mrs. Song!"

"That's impossible, how could the eldest sister harm the second sister-in-law!" He Zhan couldn't help exclaiming.

"On the day of the palace change, the King Qi incident happened. Your second sister-in-law stepped forward and confronted Concubine An Shu. Concubine An Shu became furious and ordered someone to take your second sister-in-law away. She refused to submit and turned around to run, but fell backwards. , your sister-in-law could have held her back, but she withdrew her hand for some reason, causing your second sister-in-law to be pierced through the chest by the soldier behind her, and the fetus in her womb..."

He Xiu's eyes turned red, he gritted his teeth, but couldn't continue.

He Zhan's expression was gloomy, and he didn't know how to comfort him, so that he could relieve his grief. Even for the victor, that palace change was also tragic. Just now in the palace, everyone tacitly didn't mention He Jia, not because they had forgotten, but because Because the pain is unforgettable.

"Could it be... someone read it wrong?"

He Xiu paused every word: "Your second sister-in-law's mother saw it with her own eyes, and everyone present saw it too. How could it be wrong?"

He Zhan: "But the eldest sister-in-law is fine, why did she kill the second sister-in-law? Maybe, she was just timid and missed, but she didn't expect to kill the second sister-in-law. Second brother, I know you are uncomfortable, but my father just took over now." Too big, there are still many things waiting for us to do, we brothers must not fight among ourselves at this time, it will only hurt the loved ones, and let the enemies hurry!"

He Xiu turned his head and looked into the distance, his chest heaved and heaved, and it took a while before it gradually calmed down.

"I know, that's why I have been holding back, but you have seen the performance of the elder brother today. Before my father ascended the throne, he has already started to make plans for the future crown prince."

To be honest, before this, He Zhan had never thought about who would be the future crown prince besides He Mu.

After all, among all the brothers, He Mu is the eldest. There is no doubt about it. When he was in Fangzhou, the family was in poverty, and his father didn't care much. I remember these bits and pieces, so although I felt that my eldest brother moved into the palace with some urgency, I didn't think much of it.

But now, he didn't know how to answer He Xiu's words.

After a while, He Zhan suddenly asked, "Second brother, do you also want to be the prince?"

He Xiu didn't rush to refute or reprimand, which made He Zhan feel uneasy.

After a while, he heard the other party say: "What if I say yes?"

He Xiu stopped and looked at the younger brother of a compatriot: "Will you help me?"

He Zhan was silent for a long time, and said, "Second brother, King Qi Yin is not far away, why can't we brothers love each other like before?"

He Xiu shook his head: "Wulang, you have seen the bloody storm of Turkic people fighting for the position of Khan, and you have led troops outside, why are you so naive? Could it be that you have been hanging out with Saburo all day long, and he taught you to be like this? He San himself is clearly ambitious, and the city is deeper than mine, how could he teach you this?"

He Zhan retorted subconsciously: "The third brother is not this kind of person!"

He Xiu laughed: "What about this kind of person, isn't it good? Goro, the throne is not something that everyone is born with, but the capable ones. He Xuan and the others just lost, so we want They will do whatever they want. If we lose today, will He Xuan be lenient to us? If the elder brother is the queen's son, then that's all. If not, why can't I fight for it? ? When my father was exiled back then, would others have expected him to be in the situation he is today? The world is impermanent, and no one can say for sure what will happen in the future."

"Also, don't hang out with Saburo all the time. He used to get close to elder brother. In the future, elder brother will try his best to win him over. And you, you and my mother, elder brother will definitely guard against you. Don't put your face on your cold butt, and come to me and cry again."

Seeing him in a daze, He Xiu sighed, and eased his expression: "You just came back, I shouldn't have said these things to you, go and have a good rest, we can talk about it another day."

When the two reached the gate of the palace, He Xiu turned and got into the carriage.

"Take you for a ride?" He asked He Zhan.

He Zhan shook his head: "I won't go back to the house yet."

"Looking for Sanlang again?" He Xiu shook his head, "It's a pity that you and Sanlang were not born from the same mother's belly."

He Zhan stood there for a while, watched him go, and then rode away on the horse he had come.

In fact, when he was in Luoyang, he had imagined various futures, including the situation where his father established a prince, but He Zhan did not expect that all this would come sooner than he imagined.

Thinking of his third brother, he suddenly felt an unprecedented desire to see him.

At this time, He Rong is most likely to be in one place.

With one thought in mind, He Zhan turned his horse's head and walked in another direction.

Falling off his horse in front of the rouge shop, He Zhan walked in.

The clerk recognized him at a glance, hurried out to greet him, and helped lead the horse to the stables behind, while smiling, he said, "I haven't seen Mr. Wulang for a long time, you just came back from Luoyang, right?"

When the little ladies who came to buy rouge had seen such a tall and handsome man, they all stole glances and laughed softly under the cover of Mi Li.

He Zhan hummed, absent-mindedly: "Is my third brother here?"

Guy: "Yes, just behind, I'm with my master and Xue Langjun, do you want the villain to report?"

He Zhan: "No need, go do your own work."

He walked to the back hall alone, and there was a faint voice coming from inside, which seemed to be mixed with his own name.

He Zhan couldn't help but stop and listen attentively.

"Wu Lang will be back in the next few days, right?" This was Xue Tan's voice.

"It should be." He Rong replied.

Xue Tan wondered: "You have always been close to him, why are you indifferent now?"

He Rong: "If he is here, he will be noisy all day long, which is very annoying, and his birthday is approaching, if he comes back now, I will have to bother to prepare gifts. It's just good if he doesn't come back, saving money. "

Hearing this, He Zhan felt a sense of grievance spontaneously, and couldn't help stepping into the room.

"Third brother, am I just letting you not worry about me like this!"

Just as he finished speaking, seeing He Rong's expression, he immediately realized that he had been tricked.

"You know I'm out there?"

He Rong pointed to the ground, smiling but not smiling.

shadow!He Zhan suddenly felt annoyed at his negligence.

He Rong stood up and looked at him, then pulled him over and hugged him.

"That's right, I've grown a little taller again, it seems that the food was not in vain."

He Zhan had a big smile on his face before he realized it. He threw his arms forward and returned a warm hug.

"Then what birthday gift are you going to give me?"