Seduction

"Do you know that Zhen is waiting for you?" The old emperor leaned forward, looked at Zhan Xingruo who was kneeling on the ground, and did not let him get up

"I know." Zhan Xingruo answered without raising his head.

The old emperor nodded, "It's best to know." He said, sighing a little disappointed, "You are still very smart, and I still feel that I have not misunderstood the person."

Wuzheng's brows were tightly frowned, and beads of sweat were streaming down quietly. He hadn't spoken to Zhan Xingruo since the quarrel that day. He was suddenly told to go to court this morning, and he didn't have time to find Zhan Xingruo in a hurry. Yes, Zhan Xingruo walked up unhurriedly.He was neither frightened nor panicked, as if he had been prepared, he knelt down when he saw the emperor.

But coming a little late, there is no need to kneel down to apologize, the hall was silent, Zhang Jiyao and Kong Fuyi both came back, Kong Fuyi was in good spirits, unscathed, Wuzheng looked at him, then looked at Zhan Xingruo, and immediately guessed what , took a deep breath.

"What are you holding in your hand?" The old emperor looked at Zhan Xingruo and asked, pointing to the scroll in his hand.

"Memorial." Zhan Xingruo said.

"What do you want to tell me? Tell me now and listen."

Zhan Xingruo raised his head, looked sideways at Wuzheng slightly, Wuzheng could be regarded as having caught Zhan Xingruo's gaze, and was about to step forward, but was forced back by Zhan Xingruo's stern frown.

"Mr. Zhan, what's the matter? If you want to say it, say it quickly, or do you want the crown prince to help you?" Zhang Jiyao said from the side.

Zhan Xingruo turned to the old emperor again, and handed over the memorial with both hands.

From the very beginning, Zhan Xingruo wanted to catch Zhang Jiyao's attention with reforms and buy some time for Northwest. Not only could he entangle Zhang Jiyao, but he could also find out Zhang Jiyao's henchmen by the way. It's also easy to make a decision.

Kong Fuyi's army has already entered the capital, and now the capital is full of Zhang Jiyao's people, if the barbarians invade at this time, Yuezhu will really be doomed, but fortunately, the northwest is as solid as gold, preventing this one.Zhang Jiyao wanted to go on, but he couldn't do it without breaking through the Northwest, and the first step in breaking through the Northwest was to get rid of Zhan Xingruo, who was an eyesore.

Zhang Jiyao could think of it, and of course Zhan Xingruo could too.The clan raised the idea of ​​rebellion, and his method of reform was to persuade the emperor to use the clan, which happened to hit the fatal spot, and it would be difficult not to die, Zhan Xingruo understood all this.So he didn't have much reaction. Although this day came a little earlier, it was always within his expectation.

Afraid of getting involved with Wuzheng, Zhan Xingruo stopped talking to Wuzheng because of the quarrel. If something happened to him, it would be best for Wuzheng to separate himself from him.

"I am speaking for the thirteenth prince." The emperor was unfolding the memorial when Zhan Xingruo suddenly said, "I think the thirteenth prince is bewitched by others. The thirteenth prince will not be so impulsive and make such a natural act. unacceptable."

The emperor raised his eyes and looked at him, "How do you know he can't?" He laughed, "Are you the roundworm in his stomach?"

There was an uproar in the hall.

Wu Zheng had never heard someone associate such a dirty word with Zhan Xingruo, and of course it was the first time Zhan Xingruo heard it, but he didn't react, but lowered his head, and lightly touched his forehead to the ground, "Please learn from me, Your Majesty. "

The emperor threw the memorial aside, took a red roster from the eunuch, and threw it in front of Zhan Xingruo.

"Master Zhan, look at this thing, do you recognize it?" he asked.

When Zhan Xingruo saw the roster, he thought that his guess was really good. He opened the roster without any suspense, and quickly found his name. Zhan Xingruo looked carefully, and the ink marks seemed to be written by him.

He shook his head and put down the roster.

The emperor looked at him with suppressed anger in his eyes.

"Tell me, what are you thinking? You won the [-]th high school, have I treated you badly in the past ten years?" the old emperor asked, and memories of the past ten years, whether clear or chaotic, slowly flooded back to him. The pill was soaked in the damaged brain.

"No." Zhan Xingruo replied.

"Then why did you betray me!" The emperor slapped the dragon's head with one hand, suddenly started to fight, and shouted, "It's too bad that I still believe in your nonsense reforms!" Jingqing veins throbbed under his neck, and the sudden outburst made the old emperor dizzy .

He sat down, and the hall fell silent.

"I didn't betray you." Zhan Xingruo said.

The old emperor had just sat down, and when he heard his words, he became angry again. He pressed the dragon chair with his hands, and sat up little by little, his round eyes were bloodshot.

Zhang Jiyao smiled triumphantly.

The court hall was extremely quiet, Wu Zheng looked at the man on the dragon chair, for some reason, his father, who was once so kind and kind, has become so strange now, moody and unclear.He didn't know what to do, he didn't know whether he should take a step forward, or he should listen to Zhan Xingruo's words and protect himself.Which side is what Zhan Xingruo wants, which side is what he should do, and which side is the one that he will not regret.

Wuzheng doesn't know everything.

The court hall was extremely quiet, and everyone was suffocating, just like the clouds on a cloudy day, which were so heavy that they were about to touch the ground, but it just didn't rain.

suddenly.

"I have something to say!" An old minister stepped out from the crowd, full of arrogance, and everyone's eyes turned to him.

The old minister had gray temples, and arched his hands forward, "Mr. Zhan has always been a clear and upright man, and he has very little contact with the thirteen princes."

"How does the Minister of the Ministry of War know that he has little contact with the Thirteenth Prince?" Zhang Jiyao stood up, and the veteran looked sideways at Zhang Jiyao, and waved his hand, "The Thirteenth Prince's fief is in the northeast, and he only comes to the capital once a year. In the past, it took three days to go back and forth. In these years, when was Junjun Zhan absent from the early court? Is there any secret technique that can make a round trip on the same day?"

The old minister turned around again, facing the emperor, although the old emperor was stupid, he couldn't yell at that gray beard, he could only recognize him.The minister of the Ministry of War was already a veteran of the two dynasties, and the emperor understood that such a veteran should not be yelled at.

"Your Majesty, I believe that Army Master Zhan's reform has nothing to do with harm. Yuezhu's treasury is empty, the army is exhausted and the people are exhausted. Army Master Zhan prescribes the right medicine and strives for reform. What's wrong with that? The Thirteenth Prince is the Emperor's younger brother. If the emperor directly kills the thirteen princes, wouldn't that violate the benevolent government? What will the world think of the emperor? At this time, Junjun Zhan dares to stand up and speak for the thirteen princes. The minister thinks that he is also speaking for the emperor. One roster is not enough to make a conclusion, and the reasons for this are various and unclear, maybe someone framed it." The old minister was speaking impassionedly, but was interrupted by Kong Fuyi who stepped forward.

"Your Majesty! The last general and his subordinates rushed all the way to the Northeast, and fought to the death with the thirteen princes. He bled to death, suppressed the rebellion and seized the roster, and handed it over to the emperor as soon as possible. The Minister of the Ministry of War said so, my minister. It is really unfair!"

The old emperor looked at the two people, and his temples buzzed again, louder and more chattering than before.

He covered it with his hands, his expression was in pain, and the voice of the discussion in the court was almost killing him.

"Enough!" The old emperor waved his hand.

"He," the old emperor pointed at Zhan Xingruo, "lock him up."

"Father!" Wu Zheng couldn't think so much anymore, pushed aside the crowd, and put his knees on the ground, "Father, please think twice!" He begged, and a few courtiers behind him also knelt down, "Please, Your Majesty, think twice."

Zhan Xingruo was calm at first, but after seeing Wu Zheng and those people who knelt down together, for some reason, his heart fluctuated again.

Zhang Jiyao's men stood while the others knelt.

Wuzheng turned his head to look, almost half of the court was Zhang Jiyao's henchmen, and those who knelt down for him all lowered their heads, revealing their gray hair, this is Jiangshan, it already looks like this, you can open your eyes Those who see the way ahead have already burned themselves up for this country.

Wu Zheng suddenly felt a chill rushing up from head to toe.

"Your Majesty!" The Minister of War just now took another step forward, wanting to save Zhan Xingruo.

"Needless to say." The old emperor had already stood up, "I understand what you mean, find the best calligrapher in the dynasty to check to see if the word is written by Zhan Xingruo, kill it if it is, and let it go if it is not." He said Yin Luo looked at Zhang Jiyao again, "Are you responsible for the suppression of the rebellion?"

"It's the humble minister." Zhang Jiyao bowed his head and said humbly.

"Okay, okay, the counter-insurgency general wants to reward, and you want to reward, too." The old emperor waved his hand, "And this, since your people brought back the roster, the interrogator will also give it to you." He pointed Zhan Xingruo said.

"Father! Father!" Wu Zheng stood up and was stopped by the guards. He tried his best to break free and shouted, but the old emperor ignored him. If Zhan Xingruo was handed over to Zhang Jiyao, it would not be the same as sending a sheep into a tiger's mouth. , "Father! You can't leave it to him! Father!" No matter how hoarse Ren Wuzheng was, the old emperor didn't look back in the end.

The two guards held Wuzheng tightly, and when Wuzheng turned to look at Zhan Xingruo, he had already been taken away.

"A Li!" Wu Zheng chased after him, but was stopped again.

"Ler me get through!"

The guard was embarrassed, "There are rules, we can't..."

"Bullshit rules, I'm the prince! How dare you stop me!" Wu Zheng yelled so loudly for the first time, the guards were startled, and for a moment in a daze, Wu Zheng rushed over, but it was too late in the end, Zhan Xingruo had already gone carriage.

At night, the sky cleared up.With sparse stars and a round moon.

All this was within Zhan Xingruo's expectation. He was locked in the big prison, raised his head, and his eyes lingered on the tall and small square window.

He was also dressed in white clothes in the cell, no different from his usual ones, and he didn't have to get up early, and he could sleep as long as he wanted, which was a pretty good thing, but Zhan Xingruo still couldn't convince himself to be happy.

He just lay down when he suddenly heard the rattling sound of unlocking the lock. He sat up and saw Wu Zheng holding his lunch box to see him.

Zhan Xingruo smiled, "Actually, I don't want you to see me in such a mess."

Wuzheng raised his head and looked at him, but couldn't smile, his eyes lost the gentle halo of the past, and became sharper. Zhan Xingruo didn't know if it was his own illusion, so he shook his head.

"Did they do anything to you?" Wu asked.

"Not yet." Zhan Xingruo replied.

A moment of silence.

"If I had stood up from the beginning, maybe..."

"No." Zhan Xingruo waved his hand, "You don't need to blame yourself, this is the result that you can't escape. Since Zhang Jiyao has already laid down his life to let me go, naturally he won't let me go. You come out, but you are involved. What you do today Right." He said calmly.

Wu Zheng brought out a few small dishes from the lunch box, "It's all what you like to eat." He handed it to Zhan Xingruo, and it was indeed Zhan Xingruo's favorite, but Zhan Xingruo really didn't have much appetite now.Zhan Xingruo wanted to laugh when he thought about it. These dishes never appeared in front of him at the same time when he could eat them. Wuzheng has been paying attention to "warm, kind, respectful, frugal, and let" since he was a child, and he eats one dish at a time.

And there is never any leftover, so you can cook as much as you eat.

After suffering, Zhan Xingruo followed him one dish a day, and the entire Prince's Mansion was very frugal.

Zhan Xingruo looked at so many dishes in the lunch box, and said, "If you give me so much, it will be wasted if you don't eat it all."

Wuzheng shook his head, "If you like it, just eat it."

"Why are you so good all of a sudden? Are you afraid of my death?" Zhan Xingruo asked.

Wu Zheng was taken aback.

"I've already asked someone to identify it. You'll be fine. If you didn't do it, you didn't do it. Does Zhang Jiyao still have the ability to turn black and white?" Wu Zheng said.

"Why not?" Zhan Xingruo sat down against the railing, "This day is within my expectations. Wuzheng, have you seen it? The one who begged me today."

"I see." Wu Zheng nodded.

"Remember them, they are the ones who can help you in the future. If I don't have a chance to come out this time, you have to go on by yourself."

"A Li!" Wu Zheng held onto the railing, his brows furrowed.

"There are still gentry in the court who are willing to stand up and support us in appointing clan relatives and reforming the tax system. My intention is not to implement this reform at this time. To put it bluntly, it is just some ideas. They hold Zhang Jiyao for you." Zhan Xingruo raised his head and looked at the moonlight from the window.

"Wu Zheng, do you remember, what did you say to me at the Lantern Festival more than ten years ago?"

Wuzheng shook his head.

"I said my dream is to bring peace to the world, but you tell me that peace is only something that an emperor can do. After you become emperor, you will work with me to bring peace to the world."

Zhan Xingruo turned his head and looked into Wu Zheng's eyes.

"Don't forget."