Bastard's Counterattack [Rebirth]

Is it related to Concubine Shu's death?

Rong Youtang shuddered, and suddenly opened his eyes wide. After a while, he lowered his voice and asked: "Your Highness, I dare to ask: Your Majesty has passed away for ten years, and the palace has undergone countless changes. Do you have doubts or evidence?"

Zhao Zeyong's eyes were burning like a torch, his eyes fell on the pen holder in front of him, his jaw line was cold and hard, and he said in a deep voice: "I have always had doubts. After ten years of secret investigation, I finally found a clue recently." Immediately afterwards, he said in a cold tone: "According to Jing and the old servant of the palace secretly reported that this king found a maid who was present at the time of the incident, and she witnessed the whole incident. This king believes that there was a very possibility of human disaster back then."

What happened to the maid?What is the cause and effect?

With no beginning or end, Rong Youtang was at a loss and asked hesitantly:

"Your Highness, I wonder if I can...?"

"Yes, but you have to keep it a secret." Zhao Zeyong didn't treat Rong Youtang as an outsider, he picked up the sapphire paperweight, and clenched it tightly, his muscles and bones protruding.

Rong Youtang nodded solemnly: "I swear never to leak the secret! Your Highness treats me with great kindness, and I really hope to share your worries."

"It is strictly forbidden to act without authorization, you must obey orders!" Zhao Zeyong ordered forcefully, and then slowly informed: "Back then, the empress was happy first, and Concubine Lan Gui was a little slower, but Concubine Lan Gui gave birth to a dragon son before the full term, and the empress was very worried. Up to now, one or two years later, they have been happy one after another, but they have not been able to keep it. Afterwards, the concubine mother and the concubine Zhuang entered the palace at the same time. You must have heard of the rest."

Rong Youtang scratched the back of his hand, and said cautiously: "I have heard it a little bit. It is rumored that when the queen's cousin entered the palace to pay her respects, she was blessed by His Majesty by chance. After giving birth to twin dragon sons, she was named Concubine Chen. The eighth prince's biological mother is Concubine Lan It is said that it was a coincidence." Rong Youtang rubbed his nose and clicked.

"The battle in the harem is non-stop." Zhao Zeyong frowned and shook his head.

A man, many women, a group of sons and daughters, struggle is inevitable.

"Father has been on the throne for more than forty years, and there are only nine sons and three daughters under his knees. Xiaojiu survived by luck. If it wasn't for the protection of relatives, the outcome would be unpredictable." Zhao Zeyong spoke in a flat tone, with an indifferent expression, and squeezed the sapphire paperweight tightly.

Rong Youtang said meaningfully: "Except for the concubine Chen who gave birth to twins and the concubine Shu who had two sons, the other concubines have only one son, and the princesses only have three." In terms of children, there are actually fewer heirs.

"Only they know the reason." Zhao Zeyong said coldly: "When the mother and concubine conceived Xiao Jiu, there had been no concubines in the harem for many years. The imperial doctor's pulse revealed that it was the son of a dragon. The emperor was very happy. The rewarding water is generally sent to the Jinghe Palace."

Jealousy?

Rong Youtang secretly sighed: The harem is cold and deep, the concubines are depressed and lonely, and having no children basically means that there is no hope for life!It is not surprising that there are one or two ruthless and jealous people.

"His Highness Nine is born on the sixth day of November. You should be studying at that time, right?" Rong Youtang asked.

Zhao Zeyong straightened his back, and the back of his hand, which was holding the sapphire paperweight, was clearly knit. He was obviously restraining his anger, and said with deep pain: "Unfortunately, my brothers went to the remote North Garden with the martial arts master to learn riding and archery. The news that my concubine was accidentally injured by a collapsing bookshelf in Wenchang Pavilion, when I rushed back, the Jinghe Palace was under martial law inside and outside, and my father was furious, killed many maids and servants, and severely punished several imperial doctors."

Wenchang Pavilion?

Rong Youtang immediately remembered: Dad has been in the palace for more than 20 years. Because of his proficiency in writing and ink, he was assigned to the Neikufu in the early stage, responsible for checking and recording all kinds of tea and wine utensils newly entered into the treasury; Staying with books day and night, you can read them quietly and chat to relieve your worries, and finally support until you are old and leave the palace.

"The concubine's waist was injured by the bookshelf, which affected her strength and led to dystocia. It lasted two days and two nights. It was very dangerous."

Zhao Zeyong looked pained, frowned, and said in a low voice: "I am guarding outside the delivery room, she knows I am there. In the last half of the night, when she was dying, she insisted on calling me in, and told me to take good care of my unborn brother or Sister, I don’t want glory and wealth, I just want to be safe. Before dawn, she lost a lot of blood and her eyesight was blurred. The imperial doctor said that the adults can’t keep it. If you act quickly, the child may still survive.”

The sun was hanging high outside and the heat was unbearable, but Rong Youtang shivered from the cold, his back felt cold, he hesitated to speak.

"Just as you think, Xiao Jiu was 'carried' out."

Zhao Zeyong squeezed the paperweight tightly with his right hand, and covered his left hand under the wide sleeve of his robe, the cuff trembling slightly.

"Your Highness...please mourn."

Rong Youtang was so shocked that he couldn't imagine the fear and loss that the other party felt when he lost his mother.He approached, stretched out his hand to hold Prince Qing's right hand as if he wanted to crush the jade paperweight, stroked the back of his hand lightly, pulled the paperweight away, and clasped his fingers.

Recalling the bloody past, Zhao Zeyong's eyes turned red, his teeth were clenched, he suddenly grabbed Rong Youtang's shoulder with his backhand, pushed him to turn around, and then crossed his arms into his chest, hugging him tightly!

"Uh--"

The world was spinning for a while, Rong Youtang was caught off guard, his back was against King Qing and he couldn't move, his back was pressed against his chest.

King Qing was stubborn by nature, and he was unwilling to show his sadness and depression.

"Don't move." Zhao Zeyong's depressed voice sounded behind his ears, Rong Youtang put his hands on both sides of the Grand Master's chair, and nodded cautiously: "Okay, I won't move."

"do not move."

"I didn't move."

The two hugged each other silently for a while, Zhao Zeyong slowly smoothed each other's hair, whenever he was bored, he would do things with more care and meticulousness.

After a long time, King Qing sighed.

Rong Youtang cheered up and asked: "Your Highness, who is that court lady? She witnessed the incident at the scene, and she was able to retreat unscathed?"

"It was purely an accident." Zhao Zeyong's tone returned to normal, and he said calmly: "Her name is Bai Qiongying, she is neither a maid of Jinghe Palace, nor a member of Wenchang Pavilion, but a member of Ningcui Pavilion."

"Ningcui Pavilion?"

"Wang Zhaoyi's dormitory."

Rong Youtang blurted out: "The eighth prince's biological mother?"

"Yes." Zhao Zeyong said solemnly: "Wenchang Pavilion is the library of the imperial palace. Concubines, princes, princesses, etc. can borrow books. Bai Qiongying was ordered by Wang Zhaoyi to return books to Wenchang Pavilion. At that time, the concubine was on the second floor. When looking for books, people in the palace are used to pushing high and low, and they are busy flattering Jing and everyone in the palace. Bai Qiongying went up to the second floor to look for the servant in charge of recording borrowed and returned books. She happened to witness the whole process of bookshelves collapsing, so she took advantage of the chaos and left quietly. .Because she was new to the palace, few people knew her, and the relevant servants were all shot to death, so she was lucky enough to escape the catastrophe."

Rong Youtang said: "It's human nature to be wise and protect one's life. But how did you find out today?"

"Bai Qiongying was ordered to return the book, so naturally she couldn't hide it from Wang Zhaoyi."

Zhao Zeyong sighed: "Ningcui Pavilion is close to Lenggong. The place is small and there are few servants. They have concealed it for ten years. But recently Wang Zhaoyi has become a little delirious and yelled about old things. The people from Kunhe Palace pushed it down on purpose."

"Queen?"

"Currently there is no strong evidence. Bai Qiongying left the palace due to illness at the beginning of the year, but did not return to her hometown, and her whereabouts are unknown. It is estimated that Wang Zhaoyi could not hide the secret."

Since the matter is serious, Rong Youtang lowered his voice even more, and asked bluntly:

"Your Highness, is Wang Zhaoyi very confused? A delirious person can't control himself, so she must have yelled about more than one past event?" Zhao Zeyong nodded with a headache: "The imperial doctor hasn't said it clearly yet, but it should be insane. She sometimes Sometimes he is sober and confused, and when he is ill, he is violent and violent. He doesn't understand what he said. He names and reprimands his father, queen, concubines, and even relatives of the emperor by name. There are traces to follow, not random slander, including the collapse of the Wenchang Pavilion bookshelf."

"Is she still alive?" Rong Youtang gasped, thinking: The palace is a top secret, how can it be publicized wantonly?

"Father has already ordered him to be placed under house arrest. When he gets sick, he will be bound and gagged. If the medicine stone cannot be cured, he will be imprisoned in the cold palace sooner or later, and must not affect the order of the harem."

Rong Youtang frowned and pointed out: "Wang Zhaoyi looks like her, her testimony is invalid, so I can only find a way to find Bai Qiongying. But, how did they get involved with Zhen Qianbao?"

"It's a coincidence. Zhenqianbao hired Hao Sandao to assassinate you. The king then sent someone to thoroughly investigate Zhenqianbao. Recently, he found out that he had offered a huge reward for the whereabouts of a woman named 'Zhu Qiaogu' earlier this year."

"Is that Bai Qiongying?"

"Yes, her alias."

Rong Youtang suddenly realized, his spirit was shaken, he turned his head and asked urgently: "Has Bai Qiongying been caught and silenced?"

"No. She is very smart, and I don't know where she is hiding under her anonymity." Zhao Zeyong was quite impressed.

Rong Youtang pondered for a long time, and said solemnly: "God bless you, please find Bai Qiongying first!" After a pause, he raised with high spirits: "Your Highness, I will lobby Song Shen to see if there is any room for maneuver. Since the teacher is from the same sect, even if he himself is unable to disclose due to the oath, there must be other disciples, right? We can start from this direction! It doesn’t have to be to pry Song Shen’s mouth open, but his senior brother’s is also fine.”

Zhao Zeyong smiled, his mood improved a lot, and he kissed the back of the other party lightly, "You are right, you are such a quick-witted champion! In fact, Song Shen could have escaped completely, but he didn't. This king guessed that he had more than one difficulty. .”

"That's right!"

Rong Youtang patted the armrest vigorously, and guessed: "I think he stayed in Beiying voluntarily, as if he was avoiding disaster. I guess the people behind the scenes are dissatisfied with his cooperation with me to clean up the Zhou family a while ago."

"We must find out as soon as possible to prevent the other party from killing people."

Rong Youtang nodded in agreement: "Investigate it and find out the truth! To comfort the spirit of the empress."

King Qing calmed down, and with a little force, he turned the people in his arms to face each other.

"what!"

Rong Youtang was taken aback, and when he came back to his senses, he was extremely embarrassed:

Although the grand teacher's chair was wide, there was already a tall and strong King Qing sitting in it. In a hurry, he separated his knees and knelt in the space on both sides of the chair, straddling the opponent's lap!

"This, this is too outrageous." Rong Youtang struggled impatiently, and quickly turned to look at the door, lest someone would break in suddenly. "Don't move." Take a sitting position.

Rong Youtang slid down with a grunt, quickly stood outside the desk, and quietly adjusted his robes.

long time

Only then did Rong Youtang clear his throat, and apologized: "Your Highness, I have explained the situation to the Imperial Academy, and I will start studying at the Imperial Academy tomorrow morning. Please send another person to take over the Beiying Kitchen."

"Hmm." Zhao Zeyong drank half a cup of tea with a dry mouth.

"Oh, to be honest, I really don't want to leave." Rong Youtang was very melancholy.He practiced in Beiying for half a year. Although it was hard work, he lived a solid life every day and gained a lot. He got along well with most of the soldiers, which can be said to be handy.

"You are an official in the capital now, and you can go back to Beiying to have a look when you are free; what should you do if one day you are sent to a place by your father?" Zhao Zeyong raised his eyebrows, but he was actually asking himself.

Rong Youtang was stunned, and said seriously: "It's nothing, I can only obey orders. But, no matter where I am dispatched, I will eventually return to the capital!"

"Okay!" Zhao Zeyong praised him greatly, and told him, "Just do it yourself, and come to Prince Qing's Mansion if you have any troubles."

Rong Youtang smiled gratefully, bowed deeply and cupped his hands, and said sincerely: "Thank you, Your Highness."

"Lord Xiao Rong, you don't need to see outsiders." Zhao Zeyong raised his hand solemnly, with a smile on his face.

next day

When the new official took office, Rong Youtang's official robe was washed clean, stretched and ironed, dressed neatly, brought the imperial letter, and rushed to the Hanlin Academy half an hour in advance.

"Brother! Come in." Xu Lingyun greeted with his head.

"Brother Xu? I'm ashamed, my little brother is late?" Rong Youtang felt guilty all of a sudden, and nervously stepped into the side hall that Hanlin Academy usually used to entertain guests.

Xu Lingyun smiled and said, "You're not late, it's because I was impatient and came early. Sit down and drink tea."

"I'll come, I'll come." Rong Youtang hurriedly took the teapot and asked, "Brother Xu, have you seen Senior?"

Xu Lingyun shook his head: "No. According to the concierge, seniors usually arrive on duty in the middle of the day."

"That's good, it's always right to be early, and it's rude to be late." Rong Youtang sighed.

As soon as he sat down, Tanhua Deng Kui also arrived. He still looked modest and generous, but he was a little haggard, with dark bags under his eyes.

"Morning Brother Nian, please sit down." Rong Youtang didn't think much, and poured a cup of tea with the pot.

"Thank you." Deng Kui took his seat according to his words, and said pleasantly, "You two virtuous brothers arrived really early, Brother Yu is ashamed."

Two virtuous brothers?

Rong Youtang and Xu Lingyun raised their heads at the same time, looked at Deng Kui in surprise, and thought: Don't you always call "Brother Nian"?It's not good for us to force ourselves to be close, so we just follow your name.

"What's the matter?" Deng Kui was also surprised, seemingly unaware, raised his hand to straighten his officer's hat, and asked nervously, "Could it be that Brother Yu's appearance is not right?"

Xu Lingyun shook his head numbly.

"No, Brother Nian and Brother Deng are dignified." Rong Youtang was a little awkward, so he was forced to change his address accordingly.

——If you are destined to be Tongnian, you should at least call each other Brother Nian, and Tongnian who are close are often more casual in private.Deng Kui is Tanhua, and he is a round older. When chatting, he took the initiative to call him "good brother", and Rong Youtang called him "brother Nian" politely and distantly, so as not to be mistaken by the world for being the number one scholar alone and arrogant.

"Brother Yu was lucky enough to be named on the gold list, and immediately sent a letter to inform my family to come to Beijing. I have been busy looking for a suitable house for the past few days to settle my family. I have been busy running around and overworked. I have lost sight of the other. If there is any impoliteness, I hope the two virtuous brothers will be Haihan." Deng Kui said sincerely. .

Xu Lingyun was confused, and subconsciously looked at Rong Youtang: Hey, what exactly did he want to say?

"Where do you start with this? Brother Deng is too worried." Rong Youtang responded politely.He is not a nerd, he has been in the business field for a long time, he has already seen the dissatisfaction hidden in Tanhua's eyes, and he just pretended not to know.

Deng Kui laughed dryly, bowed his head, and the smile disappeared immediately. He didn't sleep well for the past two days, and he regretted not accepting the young No.

If the relationship is not handled well at the beginning, it will be difficult to make a good relationship in the future.

"Hey? That's right!" Xu Lingyun figured out some meaning, and smoothed things over: "Why haven't the rest of the same year arrived yet? According to the law, many of them will study in the Imperial Academy."

"They were waiting in another place. When I entered the door, I saw that Tongnian had gone to the west courtyard." Rong Youtang took advantage of the situation to change the subject.

"What will we be responsible for? I'm a little nervous." Xu Lingyun was worried.

Rong Youtang said with relief: "Hanlin is mainly responsible for editing and collation of book history, and also has other responsibilities such as selecting and teaching scholars, supervising imperial examinations, inspecting case books and recording books. We have just arrived, and we will definitely be led by seniors, so don't worry."

"That's good, that's good." Xu Lingyun nodded and sat up straight.

During the chat, Deng Kui also spoke from time to time, but the friendship cannot be faked, and he would always be separated from the small circle invisibly, and he couldn't help being frustrated and anxious.

After waiting for a quarter of an hour, the rest of Hanlin began to be on duty.

The first person who appeared in front of Rong Youtang was wearing a green official uniform, with gray beard and hair, neat robes, dignified and steady demeanor, gentle and restrained.

Rong Youtang greeted him immediately, bowed his hands and saluted, and said respectfully: "Xinke Scholars, Zhili Rong Youtang, came to work by order, and pay respects to seniors."

Xu Lingyun and Deng Kui followed closely behind, clasping their hands to explain their intentions.No matter who the visitors are, they dare not be arrogant and rude. The Hanlin Academy is a noble place that scholars all over the world yearn for. Every Hanlin must have its own merits.

The waiter Meng Weiting was stunned for a moment, stopped, turned slightly sideways, and without receiving the full salute, asked with a kind smile, "Are you the top one in this discipline?"

Rong Youtang said yes, and said embarrassingly: "The juniors are newcomers, please give me some advice from the seniors."

"The 17-year-old number one scholar is rare in ancient times." Meng Weiting smiled with his beard and praised: "I have read your article, it is very good, concise and understandable, and very insightful! You are indeed a disciple of Master Lu, a famous teacher who produces a high-level apprentice. "

"Senior's absurd praise, I really dare not take it." Many people are not surprised by the ceremony, Rong Youtang became more respectful: "The younger generation was a student who immersed himself in his studies, but now he comes to the Hanlin Academy, and he will inevitably cause trouble to the seniors."

Xu Lingyun and Deng Kui also chatted a few words from time to time.

Meng Weiting smiled cheerfully. He had a good impression of the modest and polite handsome young scholar, and told him, "Don't wait in the living room, come with me. The new division Jinshi enrolls today, and the head of the school should find time to be there."

"Thank you for your advice, senior."

Thus, the three of Rong Youtang got rid of the predicament of sitting and drinking tea.

After a while, they followed Meng Weiting into the Office of the Hanlin Academy.

Rong Youtang held his breath and stepped across the threshold, quickly scanning:

The large and open hall, rich in ink fragrance, is about six or seven feet deep and the same width by visual inspection. There are bookshelves as high as several walls, full of books, and a ladder stands in the corner.The large screen separates several areas, and the book cases are neatly arranged in the compartments, and the pen holders on the case are lined up with big and small pens.

"The imperial edict is placed in the third room of the East. Mr. Zuo will arrive later. He is responsible for entering the new Hanlin." Meng Weiting told him that he was the attendant lecturer, and he was busy preparing for today's teaching for Jinshi when he was seated.

After the three of Rong Youtang did as they said, seeing that they were about to fall into the predicament of waiting with nothing to do, Rong Youtang glanced around, not daring to do anything, and took the initiative to ask: "Senior, what can I do for you, junior?"

Meng Weiting looked up, thought for a while, pointed to the open wooden box in front of the large bookshelf on the east wall, and said gently: "Those two boxes are newly delivered local chronicles, and they are going to be entered into the archives. Unfortunately, due to improper storage during delivery, some pages of the book Mildew, are you willing to check and classify them one by one?"

"This junior can't wait for it! I came here to help." Rong Youtang was extremely happy.

Meng Weiting's favorability increased a bit, and he said: "Go, ask anytime if you don't understand."

"Yes."

Xu Lingyun adhered to the principle of "speak less and make less mistakes", and was meek and obedient throughout the whole process.

After a while, the three of them each took a small mat, sat around the wooden box, and rolled up their sleeves to check the books.

It was still early, and there were only four people in the spacious office, and they were far apart.

"Hey, fortunately my brother asked for an errand, otherwise it would be embarrassing for us to stand and wait!" Xu Lingyun whispered happily.Like a treasure, he carefully took out the book and flipped through it lightly, lest it be damaged a little bit.

"Exactly." Rong Youtang didn't dare to be careless at all, he was as delicate as embroidery, carefully examined it, and agreed: "Even if we are asked to sweep the floor, it's better than standing still."

Deng Kui picked through quickly, picked up a stack of books in a blink of an eye, and said disapprovingly: "Actually, there is a corresponding list of attached books, just write to the local government to send a new batch to Beijing, which can save a lot of trouble." A is doing rough work, hmph, let's get off the ground, shall we?

"No need. Nian, Brother Deng, please read, most of the books are good, only a few are moldy." Sending more batches will be a waste of money!Xu Lingyun thought disapprovingly.

Rong Youtang concentrates on doing things and is meticulous.

Deng Kui couldn't hold back, he picked absently, looked at the whole office secretly, and suddenly his eyes lit up!

"Two virtuous brothers, wait a moment. Brother Yu will return as soon as he goes." Deng Kui put down the annals and got up to look for Meng Weiting alone.

Xu Lingyun asked puzzledly: "What are you doing, Brother Deng?"

Rong Youtang was puzzled and replied: "I don't know."

After a long while, they opened their eyes wide and saw Deng Kui walking to the tea room in the corner of the office, with a graceful posture, boiling water and tea skillfully!

"He, he..." Xu Lingyun was speechless.

Rong Youtang bowed his head: "Brother Xu, let's continue picking books."

"Ah."

In the next moment, they reached out to the water pile that Deng Kui had checked at the same time!

Obviously, both of them were worried.

Their eyes met, Xu Lingyun and Rong Youtang smiled so much that they rolled their eyes, tacit understanding.

A quarter of an hour later, all the Hanlin arrived, and the office hall suddenly became lively: exchanging greetings, sorting out their desks, pouring tea and drinking water——when they found that Deng Kui had occupied the tea room, they were all a little surprised, and politely took the roll. Tea, polite conversation.

Among them, Yan Yongxin, a family friend of the Rong family, was also compiled by the Imperial Academy.

Yan Yongxin held a teacup and led several colleagues towards the nephew's adopted son.

With sharp eyes, Rong Youtang hurriedly called Xu Lingyun to get up, bowed and cupped his hands together and said:

"The junior pays respects to the seniors."

Several veteran Hanlin nodded and supported, kind and easy-going, one of them asked with a smile: "Brother Yan, the number one scholar is the Xiaorong you mentioned, right?"

"Exactly. This is the child of Yan's family." Yan Yongxin took the opportunity to introduce: "Youtang, Xiao Xu, this is Mr. Duan, Mr. Gu, and Mr. Chang."

Rong Youtang and Xu Lingyun hurriedly greeted each other again, and answered the seniors' questions respectfully, nothing more than ordinary gossip about age, place of origin, whether they could get married, etc. The atmosphere was harmonious and happy.

While talking and laughing, someone outside the door suddenly reported:

"The two masters in charge are here!"

All the Imperial Academy stood up to greet him, Yan Yongxin hurriedly greeted: "You Tang, you two also come."

"Yes." Rong Youtang and Xu Lingyun followed closely behind.

The Hanlin Academy has two heads: one is Qiao Zhicheng, and the other is Guo Yuan, the minister of household affairs.Among them, Guo Yuan is concurrently in charge.

Rong Youtang looked intently:

The light at the door flickered a few times, Guo Yuan was the first to step through the threshold, followed by Qiao Zhicheng who he didn't know.

——Qiao Zhicheng was followed by another person.