Bastard's Counterattack [Rebirth]

"Mother concubine also knows about this?" The eldest prince asked gently.He is steady and mature, with thick black eyebrows, always with a three-point smile on his face, gentle and gentle, with slightly high cheekbones, and natural nasolabial folds on his cheeks - he is the one who looks the most like Emperor Chengtian among the princes.

"There is no impenetrable wall in the world. Anyone who should know knows it." Concubine Han tilted her head sideways, absently playing with the exquisite armor inlaid with pearls and jade.

"A good Longyang is nothing."

The eldest prince picked up the teacup again, concentrated on sniffing the fragrance of the tea, and said subtly: "The children of rich and noble families have always been strict with the elders. When there is no room, they will inevitably hang out with neat-looking book boys and servants. It's not surprising. , at most it’s a personal hobby, as long as it doesn’t affect the family, who cares?”

The secrets in the room have been trickled since ancient times. Although Long Yang's reputation is damaged, it is not a big mistake in principle.

Otherwise, how could the seventh brother, who is known as a jerk and absurd, be safe and sound until now?The First Prince thought to himself, with a slight smile on the corner of his mouth.

"Your Majesty must know that he is turning a blind eye and is too lazy to care about it for the time being." Concubine Han slowly sat up straight, leaned slightly, and asked curiously: "I heard that the little boy he raised is the imperial envoy for this investigation. One of them? Or the new champion?"

"Yes."

"Yo, hehehe." Concubine Han laughed tremblingly, covered her mouth with a silk handkerchief, shook her head and sighed: "I admire King Qing. He is usually serious and cold, and he can't win over. The bottom has coaxed the new top scholar!"

"The emperor asked us to recommend candidates for the imperial envoy to investigate the case in Guanzhou. The third younger brother recommended Qi Zhiyang, but Marquis Pingnan didn't know what to think, so he tried his best to recommend Rong Youtang." The eldest prince watched the fire from the other side, gloating and said: "It's all good now, Marquis Pingnan can’t steal chickens without losing a lot of rice! Qi and Rong are quite capable, they escaped from the bandits’ chaotic knife, and they made a great contribution to escorting the corrupt and rebellious party to victory.”

"Hmph, your father is probably being soft-hearted again." Concubine Han Guifei's face turned cold suddenly, her red lips were pursed into a thin line, her eyes were stern, and she said angrily: "In recent years, the so-called sons of the middle palace have made mistakes one after another, what good can Yang Ruofang raise?" Something? She was born narrow-minded, so mad that her tail went up to the sky, and she couldn't even show the etiquette on the scene! This time her son was involved in a serious corruption case, discredited the royal family, and lost the face of his ancestors. The position of the crown prince—"

"Mother Concubine!" The eldest prince interrupted cautiously.

Concubine Han Guifei reluctantly shut up, and stood up resentfully. In an instant, the purple pleated dress embroidered with hundreds of flowers and hanging beads burst into deep and shallow streamers, dazzling and dazzing. A few antiques and a shallow celadon vase are displayed. The maids folded various freshly blooming flowers every morning, and put them in vases for incense and enjoyment.

"Your father handed over the case to the Ministry of Criminal Justice, my son, what should I do, don't you need to teach me?" Concubine Han turned her back to the light, and grabbed a few rose petals, tearing them into pieces, and her fair fingers were stained with bright red flowers juice.

"Don't worry, my son understands."

"Just understand." Concubine Han with no expression on her face, pulled off the petals one after another, tore or discarded them wantonly, and softly told: "Son, you must fight for your mother! I am overwhelmed by her in terms of position, but my son She is the most intelligent and wise, and she must not lose to the poor bones she raised!"

Nine layers of deep palaces, towering vermilion walls, bright yellow glazed tiles covering the sky, the life in the harem is lonely and desolate, and only a limited corner of the sky can be seen forever; there are three thousand beauties, but the emperor has only one, and the rain and dew cannot be shared equally.In such a depressing environment, children are the only sustenance and support for concubines; those who have no children have no hope in life!

For example, at this moment, Concubine Han Guifei confides her sorrows, so her children will have good words of comfort.

The eldest prince hurriedly got up, walked quickly to Concubine Han, and bowed to persuade: "Concubine Mother, please take care of yourself, and don't get angry so as not to hurt your spirit. My son never dares to let go, so don't worry." He said gently supporting him With his forearm, he helped the biological mother who had been depressed for decades back to the seat, and patiently comforted her for a while.

Concubine Han took out her silk handkerchief, pressed her eyes, and choked up, saying, "Son, you must strive for success! Born in the royal family, you can't help yourself. Once her mother and son are in power, others may not care about it, but our mother and I will never have it." Life is going well, and the family surnamed Yang is extremely narrow-minded, and they may not know how to torture us. Besides, we have been fighting for more than 20 years, and we can only move forward, and there is no way out."

"My son will never back down! How often do you think I have been slack?" The eldest prince raised his head proudly, his eyes were determined, and he vowed not to give up in the fight for the position.

"Okay, okay! Mother knows, you are a good, sensible and filial child. No matter how hard we suffer, we will take advantage of the corruption case to bring down her mother and son. When the middle palace is overthrown, you are the eldest son of the emperor. It is a matter of course. What are you still worried about?" Concubine Han clutched the silk handkerchief tightly, her eyes were red and swollen, and she refused to let go.

The eldest prince had a double smile on his lips, and said confidently: "Just wait and see the excitement."

after a while

The confidantes of Baohe Palace entered, and quickly waited on Concubine Han, who was in tears, to clean her face and touch up her makeup, refilled the hot tea, and then left quietly.

Concubine Han made a new dress and sat calmly, sweeping away the painful and resentful sobs just now, she played with the silk handkerchief, and said indifferently: "Wang Cuizhi went crazy again last night, crying ghosts and howling wolves, so noisy that Bao and Gong heard it."

"Isn't she in the cold palace? Why didn't she gag when she got sick? It's not proper to make a scene." The eldest prince frowned unhappily, completely ignoring Zhaoyi, who was once the dowry girl of his biological mother.

"Who knows? It might be because she suddenly went crazy in her sleep, running around and jumping around, and the servants couldn't keep her mouth shut." Concubine Han Guifei sneered, very relieved, and said meanly: "Her family is so poor that people are starving to death, so she sold her daughter to our family. As a girl, your grandmother pointed her out as a dowry for your mother, and she chose to be an honest person. Unexpectedly, once he entered the palace, Wang Cuizhi opened his eyes and changed his temperament drastically. When the palace was happy, he shamelessly seduced His Majesty, the Empress. I have always competed with me, guaranteed her to give birth to a dragon son, and urged Your Majesty to confer Zhaoyi." Speaking of this, Concubine Han couldn't help but show a look of complacency, and said coldly: "Wang Cuizhi is ungrateful, disloyal, and disrespectful, she thinks she is living The next pair of children will be able to fly on the branches? Dreaming! So far it’s just a little Zhaoyi. Even Lao Ba’s mansion was built by my Han family’s kindness. Stay in the palace for another few decades! Ha, God has eyes, now that she is crazy and stupid, she is thrown into the cold palace, and she probably won't survive for a few months."

"I heard that she yelled at many secret matters in the harem, but did she involve us?" The eldest prince asked with concern.

Concubine Han gave a "ha" and clapped her hands lightly. The two gold armors bumped into each other, and she said happily, "What can we have to be yelled at by her? It's nothing more than the hard work of being a girl. She sold herself as a slave. My Han family Not only did she not call her a cow, she brought her into the palace, otherwise, on her terms, would she want to face the saint? Wait for the next life! However, she did tell the queen’s secret, which has spread throughout the entire harem.”

"About the cause of death of the late Concubine Shu?" The First Prince was quite interested.

Concubine Han was full of joy, nodded, and said with great interest: "That's right. What she said has nose and eyes, and it is very likely to be true. It turns out that the queen is so jealous and hates Concubine Shu! She is really cruel and merciless, and she killed Concubine Shu. Nine lives, she survived by luck, but in the end, hahaha, Your Majesty ordered her to be taken care of!" Concubine Han Guifei tried her best to lower her voice, laughing again and again.

"Being watched by everyone, she doesn't dare to do anything to the ninth brother, I'm afraid she will be very embarrassed."

"No way!"

Concubine Han Guifei laughed until her red earrings dangled, covered her mouth with a silk handkerchief, and said bitterly: "As the saying goes, don't bully young people, it's good for her to offend King Qing early! Zeyong is famous for being upright and iron-fisted. Xiao Jiu suffered accidents in Kunhe Palace and almost died young, no matter who did it, in short, the queen will be blamed for this!"

"Let's wait and see, the third brother is not easy to fool."

In Baohe Palace, Concubine Han's mother and son discussed secretly for a long time.

Today is the day for visiting relatives stipulated by the harem. Children of concubines and relatives with imperial orders can ask for instructions to enter.

Kunhe Palace

"waste!"

"Didn't find it? How could it not be found? Such a big living person, did he disappear out of thin air?" Empress Yang Ruofen's face was ashen, sitting on the head, holding on to the armrest tightly, her tendons on the back of her hands protruding.

Yang Ruofang, Zhou Renlin's wife and the queen's younger sister, had a sad face, and said with an apologetic smile: "Sister, please rest assured, a large number of people are currently being recruited to search the whole city, I am afraid that King Qing will hide her in the palace—"

"Even if you are hiding in Prince Qing's Mansion, you should find ways to go in and silence your words!" The Queen interrupted.

"Yes, yes... Prince Qing's Mansion is heavily guarded, and there are so many masters..." Yang Ruofang looked perplexed, and tried to comfort her: "Sister, don't worry—"

"How can I not be in a hurry?" The queen interrupted again, got up suddenly, paced back and forth anxiously, thin and haggard, and the heavy makeup could not cover the black eye bags and wrinkles.

Yang Ruofang couldn't sit still, she hurriedly stood up, guessing: "Sister, according to the report of the secret agent, Bai Qiongying was seriously injured and poisoned, she may have died."

"Maybe? It's just something that's not certain." The queen was so anxious and merciless, she stared at her sister intently, and asked in a low voice: "How did Bao Feng do things? He made mistakes again and again. If this time If the situation cannot be calmed down, this palace will definitely cut him into pieces!"

"He, he has actually tried his best. This matter is all due to Wang Zhaoyi who is talking crazy. She caught King Qing's attention. Otherwise, we would have silenced Bai Qiongying long ago. How could he be rescued by King Qing?" Yang Ruofang said angrily. foot.

In the dormitory, two confidantes guarded the doors and windows, while the rest of the maids and servants were screened away.

"Wang Zhaoyi will die sooner or later! She is crazy, and nothing she says can be used as a testimony." The queen gritted her teeth and urged anxiously: "The most important thing right now is to get rid of Bai Qiongying, understand? , I really didn’t know that a well-informed fish slipped through the net when the incident happened.”

"I know, I understand." Yang Ruofang nodded her head, and smiled apologetically, "My lord father is thinking of a way, and we know how powerful it is. We will definitely not let Bai Qiongying live to testify to King Qing."

The queen nodded, and then ordered: "Go back and tell your father, urging him to act quickly, and don't make the trouble unresolved. In addition, ask my father to send someone to investigate the rumors in the market, to find out who is spreading the rumors. My son is in collusion with the corrupt and chaotic party. , find the source, and pinch it quickly.”

"Is there still a need for investigation?" Yang Ruofang pointed out with a slack in her neck, "It must be the Han family's doing it! They are making trouble even if they have nothing to do, let alone something happened to His Highness the Second Highness?"

The queen turned her head suddenly, the phoenix hairpin on her head was shaking in a mess, her eyes were cold and piercing, she remained motionless, staring majestically at her sister.

"No, no no!"

Yang Ruofang knew that she had made a slip of the tongue, so she took two steps back in fright, and quickly made up: "Sister, don't blame me, my sister was in a hurry and said the wrong thing, the Second Highness is clean and upright, it must be the Han family who caused trouble and spread rumors to ruin its reputation. Tell your father and try to squash the rumors."

"Humph!"

The queen was wearing a bright yellow phoenix robe, exquisite and elegant, with a thin neck, a blue vein extending from her throat to her chin, she tried her best to restrain herself, slowly walked back to her seat, and asked rather dissatisfied: "What happened to your family this year? My nephew behaved improperly and had frequent accidents, and my palace has worked hard to support her, but she can't help her, which is really disappointing."

When this matter was brought up, Yang Ruofang became furious immediately, and called Qu Low: "My Jieer Honger is so innocent, they were plotted against by traitors!"

"What?" The queen frowned, trying to suppress her anger, and asked indifferently: "The traitor? Who is so bold?"

"Allow--"

Yang Ruofang almost blurted out, pondered for a moment, gritted her teeth, and simply said frankly: "My sister doesn't know something, King Qing has a male pet named Rong Youtang, that little beast is arrogant and arrogant, like the number one dog leg of King Qing! You know Yes, King Qing used to be lukewarm towards you and our Yang family, but now that he has stayed in Beijing to serve as the commander of the Northern Camp, he has become even more domineering and domineering, pampering his male favourites, and wantonly bullying my children!"

"I just didn't tell you about certain things, and it's not that I don't know." The queen raised her eyes without raising her head, rolled her eyelids up, glanced at her sister, and pointed out coldly: "You think I don't know? Hmph, because of some quarrels in the Imperial College , Hong'er had a grudge against the champion of the new department. As a mother, you should have guided your child to be magnanimous and modest, and concentrate on his studies in order to win the gold medal, but you privately dispatched Bao Feng to hire murderers to assassinate him, and in the end you were captured by King Qing's life ! As a result, Bao Feng was forced to escape from his shell, abandoning the name of 'Zhen Qian Bao' in the world."

Sister, Rong Youtang is Mingtang, he is the bastard raised by Aunt Rong, he has not been drowned, he has been hiding his power for many years, and he is planning to take revenge on us!

"I, I..." Yang Ruofang murmured, feeling distressed, and dared not tell other private matters that she ordered Bao Feng to do. She was frightened and apprehensive, with cold sweat on her palms.

The queen was as cold as ice, and reprimanded her sharply: "I know that you have been foolish since childhood, but father shouldn't cover up for you again and again. If Bao Feng is captured alive by King Qing and reveals something about the past, let's wash our necks and wait for our heads to be lost." !"

"Your Majesty, calm down, please take care of your phoenix body." Yang Ruofang knelt down, trembling, not daring to call her "sister" again.

"Take care? I want to live a peaceful and quiet life, but each of you is not worrying." The queen sighed wearily, waved her hand, drove away and ordered: "As for King Qing's lingering in Longyang, this palace will deal with it by itself." Deal with it, don't meddle in it, deal with Bai Qiongying and the rumors first when you go back, make sure it's done!"

"Yes."

Yang Ruofang was very respectful, she left the palace in disgrace, not daring to delay, and immediately sent the news back to her natal family.

The red walls and yellow tiles of the imperial palace strictly shielded the secret conversations in the harem, and the common people at the feet of the emperor were wholeheartedly busy living their small lives.

in a few days

In Shenshi, the important ministers of the Criminal Ministry and the supervisory officials had a heated dispute over the ruling of the case. They were on the verge of hitting the table angrily. They agreed to renegotiate tomorrow morning and broke up unhappy.

There is a major disagreement at the top, and the subordinates can only wait patiently for a decision.

Therefore, it was rare for Mrs. Xiao Rong to leave the duty early. When he was free a few days ago, he plunged into the head of the household department to be on duty. He was busy in the dark, and finally managed to finish his duty. Today he hurried to the Imperial Academy.

Unexpectedly, just after saying hello to the Hanlin disciples, when he turned around, he bumped into the academicians in charge of the academy, Qiao Zhicheng and Zhou Mingjie!

Enemy Road is narrow...

Rong Youtang stopped, bowed his head slightly, cupped his hands and said: "I pay my respects to Mr. Qiao."

"Yo? It's Xiaorong! No need to be polite, get up quickly." Qiao Zhicheng smiled all over his face, stepped forward to help him warmly, and greeted warmly: "Didn't Your Majesty ask you to assist the Ministry of Criminal Justice in investigating the case? The case is over?"

"Not yet."

"Then why do you come to the Imperial Academy when you have time? Don't worry about investigating the case, I won't send you an errand for the time being." Qiao Zhicheng waved his hand generously.

"Thank you sir for your compassion." Rong Youtang clasped his hands again, and explained: "I happen to be a little free today, and I have the courtyard in mind, so I came here to see if there is something I can do."

Hmph, hypocrisy.

Mingtang has really changed. He has changed from being weak and obedient in the past. He doesn't even look down on his father and brother who have always been the most respected. He is disobedient and rebellious. He should be beaten to death by the family law!

Zhou Mingjie had mixed feelings in his heart, he silently looked at Rong Youtang, who was tall, tall and handsome, and couldn't accept the fact that "he is his brother Mingtang in front of him" no matter what!He is the eldest son of the Zhou family, and he is highly valued and loved. He never dreamed that he would lose to his younger brother... Just as he was wandering away, he was suddenly elbowed by Qiao Zhicheng: "Mingjie, you accompany Xiaorong to the old... Tangzhuanzhuan, now it has a new look, it is worth seeing."

Hang out with him?I am not a rude servant!

Zhou Mingjie's complexion changed suddenly, he felt humiliated, suffering from being watched by everyone, unable to attack, so he had to grit his teeth and bear it, and dryly agreed: "Yes."

You don't want to accompany me, and I don't want to see you!Rong Youtang immediately declined: "Thank you for your kindness, sir, but Mr. Zhou is your right-hand man, and you can't leave him for a moment. You can go there on your own."

"Hey, I have nothing to tell you right now. You are the same age, and your friendship is extraordinary. Go ahead." Qiao Zhicheng urged kindly, thinking that he had done a good deed.Although he knows that Zhou and Rong are not compatible, but people go to high places, many friends have many paths, enemies should be resolved rather than knotted, and the way of an official is to avoid showing emotions of anger and anger.

"Yes."

Rong Youtang had no choice but to agree.

After a while, the two went to the old hall side by side, separated by a few feet, looking at each other with disgust, neither squinting, the atmosphere was cold.

Standing in a stalemate for a while, Rong Youtang acted as if nothing had happened, but Zhou Mingjie couldn't suppress the loneliness, resentment and jealousy in his heart. He turned his head, unable to control himself, and said sarcastically: "You have become more frivolous and rude when you came back from a trip to Hejian to investigate the case. , where have you read the principles of life taught by sages and sages?"

Rong Youtang remained calm and composed, unwilling to engage in unnecessary verbal disputes with the Zhou family, looked ahead and asked leisurely: "What did Mr. Zhou say?"

"You——" Zhou Mingjie took a deep breath, his face contorted, he couldn't take oil and salt, killed his brother who refused to recognize his elder brother, and said coldly: "Don't be complacent, you have the kind of aloofness all your life, never ask to go back to Zhou's family !"

Rong Youtang walked quickly, turning a deaf ear.

"Do you think that if you climb up to King Qing, you will have no worries for the rest of your life? Absurd! King Qing will marry a wife and have children sooner or later. Based on his family background and status, his princess must be a noble daughter. How can you invite pets and flattery? The concubine died with one finger!" Seeing that the other party ignored him, Zhou Mingjie became angry from embarrassment. He blushed and sneered angrily, "What? Did I hit it? If you have a new love, there will be a time for you to cry!"

The eaves corner of the old hall was close in front, Rong Youtang listened to the other party chattering all the way, and finally asked with a smile: "Mr. Zhou didn't sleep well at night recently? Why are you talking nonsense during the day?"

"Whether you're talking in your sleep, God knows, you know and I know." Zhou Mingjie frowned.

Rong Youtang stepped over the threshold, raised his hands gracefully, and suggested seriously: "If you have a bitter mouth, dry throat, hot and anxious, and can't sleep at night, Rong has a prescription for this disease."

"Hmph, what good intentions can you have?" Zhou Mingjie snorted, but couldn't help being curious, and asked, "Let's hear it!"

Rong Youtang walked towards the old office hall with his head held high, and said simply and neatly: "It's very simple, take Coptis baliang, half a catty of lotus seeds, boil ten bowls of water into one bowl, three meals a day, and drink for seventy-seven years .”

Zhou Mingjie was stunned, and asked angrily in a low voice, "What do you mean?"

"Don't understand?" Rong Youtang stopped in front of the threshold of the old hall, turned around, and told him solemnly: "This folk prescription is specially used to treat red eyes and dissatisfaction!"

After finishing speaking, he strode across the threshold, smiled openly, and greeted loudly: "Brother Xu?"

Xu Lingyun, who was urging the craftsmen to paint in front of the main entrance of the old hall, turned around when he heard the sound, his eyes lit up immediately, he walked down the steps quickly, and asked pleasantly, "Why are you here when you are free?"

"I've always thought about it in my heart, I've wanted to come for a long time." Rong Youtang expressed apologetically, and asked with concern: "Brother Xu, how is it?"

"Very good. Earlier I heard that you were hunted down by bandits in Hejian. I was worried for something. I rushed to your residence to inquire. Your father is a very nice person. Before leaving, I even gave you two pots of orchids." Xu Lingyun thanked him again. move.

"Brother Xu likes it as long as he likes it. My father usually likes to cultivate flowers and plants the most. The garden is crowded to the brim, and they are all his favorite things. My little brother doesn't even dare to pick the leaves randomly when he is wandering around." Rong Youtang smiled.

"My father is elegant and noble, and it is worth imitating. Brother Yu has also raised several pots of orchids, but unfortunately they are not growing well. In his spare time, he has to visit the old man for advice." Xu Lingyun said familiarly.Not only because of fate, but also for gaining the glory of the celebrities under King Qing's family, he did not show courteousness to Rong Youtang, but found a unique way, successfully won the praise of Rong's father, and now he is the guest of the Rong family.

"Welcome." Rong Youtang nodded happily.Amazed and delighted, he looked carefully at the renovated old hall, accompanied by Xu Lingyun, talking about the repair process excitedly.

Flatterer!You, Xu Lingyun, are still second in this subject, tsk tsk, hugging men's thighs and flattering the old eunuch.Zhou Mingjie stopped at the gate of the old hall, and was about to turn around to leave when he heard the Seventh Prince's loud voice from above: "Hey! Who's that down there?"

Zhou Mingjie shouted unlucky, turned around and cupped his hands: "I have seen His Royal Highness Seven."

"Oh, it's you." The Seventh Prince Zhao Zewu stood on the balcony on the second floor of the old hall, condescending, wearing a golden crown and fine attire, sniffing, and ordered without hesitation: "Come up, Master Wu has something to tell you."