Later, I became the prince of the group

When Jin Su received the letter from Emperor Chengxing, there was no further delay, and they had to set off early the next morning.

After Jin Su reported the news, he took the lead to go out to do some research, and Chu Rui stayed behind as expected.

Liu Qi glanced at Chu Yan, who nodded, and he called out: "Xinqing, remove the vegetables."

Xinqing came in sloppily, put the dishes on a large square plate, and withdrew them all. Liu Qi moved the table back to its original position, and followed him out the door. As soon as the door was closed, she immediately turned back and lay on her stomach. Listen to the movement inside the door.

Chu Yan sat on the edge of the bed with his legs hanging down, and the charcoal fire was burning enough in the room, so he was only wearing a snow-white undershirt and trousers, which looked a little thin.

With a dejected look on his face, Chu Rui called out "Brother": "I'm sorry, I was impulsive and hurt you."

Chu Yan asked calmly: "Why did you come out? Didn't Liu Qi tell you why he knocked you out?"

Chu Rui said: "Brother Qi said..."

Chu Rui was knocked out that day, and when he woke up again, he was already in the camp in the valley by the stream in the suburbs.

As soon as he rushed out of the tent, he came face to face with the prison car of the King of Pingcheng, and he didn't know how long it took before someone called Liu Qi and told him what was going on.

It turns out that the so-called 5000 people from the former Liangzhou Army who robbed the Prince of Pingcheng and his son was a realistic scene. Those 5000 people were indeed the former Ministry of the Prince of Pingcheng, but no one knew that the King of Pingcheng had already obtained it from the emperor secretly. According to the imperial decree, it promised that as long as the king of Pingcheng did not rebel, he would retain his father's title and be imprisoned in Beijing with his son.

So the king of Pingcheng County promised Emperor Chengxing to perform this play.

After the old department "robbed" people, they took them directly to the agreed place, where not only the prison van was prepared, but Jin Su and Lu Yuncheng led a [-] army waiting for them.

On the other side of the former Liangzhou Army, the main generals also knew the inside story. As for "instigating the soldiers to stay halfway", it was also to make the people in the capital believe that the Pingcheng County King had really escaped. At the same time, Cheng Guogong wanted to do something. At that time, he would think that Liu Wen's soldiers were restraining the soldiers from Liangzhou, so the emperor would definitely send people from the capital if he wanted to hunt down the Pingcheng County King. The longer the delay, the better.

Chu Rui said: "You let Brother Qi and I hide in the army because you were concerned about my safety. You didn't tell me in advance, because you were afraid that I would act with you without knowing how to show off, and you were also afraid that I would become a frightened bird and be exposed instead."

"Since you know, why are you running?"

Chu Rui pursed his lips, and said with some self-blame: "I... my elder brother's worry was right, but I just didn't know the seriousness. I was not convinced at that time, and felt that my father looked down on me, and wanted to prove that I could protect Big brother's... but big brother protected me. Everything my father and big brother do is for my own good, but I can't even see through it."

Chu Yan was a little surprised that he thought so, and waved to him: "Come here."

Chu Rui remembered that slap that still left a shadow, Liu Qi punched and kicked him, he didn't think it was as heavy as the slap that Chu Yan pressed his wound and slapped him that day.

"Don't hit me..."

"I won't hit you." Chu Yan said.

Afraid that he thought he was complaining that he did something to him, Chu Rui explained: "If you are angry and want to beat me up, let Brother Qi come, don't get angry." He walked over and knelt beside Chu Yan's legs.

Chu Yan wanted to say that he didn't need to be so close, but looking at Chu Rui's expression, he didn't say anything, he just said: "I saved you, half of the reason is that I was ordered by my father, and it was you who escorted me on the surface. Secretly, you are the bait, but you can't be the bait yourself, I promised my father that I must let you go back safely."

"The other half... is because you have never done anything sorry to me since I woke up, but you have always respected me." Chu Yan said sincerely, "I know that you actually have a heart of admiration, young You always admired your father, but later you found that your father is not often seen, nor can you rely on him freely, so you put this heart on Chu He, and always want to be with him."

Chu Rui looked at him in surprise, he didn't realize it himself, but when he thought about it, it seemed to be the case.

When he was young, he wished he could be inseparable from Chu He, but the queen and the imperial concubine were inseparable, so they could only play together secretly.

Chu Yan said again: "When I get better, although you don't say it, you are actually happy to have an older brother who can accompany you."

So although he can play petty temper and make troubles childishly, he can perform the bet without the burden of face and make an apology to Chu Yan, and he can also block the wedding wine for Chu Yan, so that those small troubles have become popular attention, which is very impressive. Ridiculous and helpless.

Later, Chu Rui matured rapidly, and would ask him several times on the sidelines if he had thought about that position. He made a fool of himself, and Chu Rui was willing to believe him. In fact, it was not Chu Rui who persuaded himself to believe it, because he subconsciously did not want him to believe him. The relationship with Chu Yan has also become like an enemy.

In Chu Yan's tone, there was a little more emotion from the heart: "For your sake, I can't do nothing."

Chu Rui moved his lips: "Brother..."

"When I attacked you that day, firstly, I was angry with you for acting recklessly and almost killed you. Secondly, Jin Su beat you. There is no general who does not care about his own soldiers. Cousin dare not blame you, so I will come for him."

Chu Rui quickly asked: "What about you, don't you hate me?"

It’s really not strange to say that it’s impossible, but it’s not to the extent of hatred. Besides, he looks really remorseful. After thinking about it, Chu Yan said lightly: “It’s okay, I’ll be thankful if you don’t repay kindness with complaints. Anyway. The injury is either on you or on me, on you you can't bear the tender skin, but on me I can bear it, it's just that Liu Qi has been worried for so long..."

Chu Yan glanced out of the window, he had already found out that someone was eavesdropping there, and he wanted to know who it was, so he deliberately said loudly and righteously: "Don't be so reckless in the future, you know, next time I won't let you My princess is worried for nothing."

Chu Rui didn't hear the clue, his eyes were soaked with tears, and he quickly lowered his head to stare at the blurred redness of Chu Yan's wound.

Chu Rui recalled that day. Although he was dazed at the time, everything he saw remained in his memory.

He remembered how he met the desperate dead people head-on and was surrounded by them... Immediately after him, General Lu desperately led his people into the enemy's encirclement, but more people fell into the encirclement. outside.

Countless people died beside him, blood spattered on his body and face, and the tip of a spear approached his throat countless times. At those moments, he felt that he could give up any meritorious service or prince's honor. He just wanted to live.

He still remembered how Chu Yan shot and killed the enemy with overwhelming force and broke into the encirclement. He only knew that Chu Yan practiced martial arts with his uncle, but he never knew that he had such a real talent.

I don't even know... his elder brother is willing to risk his life to save him.

These days, he has dreamed countless times. He dreamed that when Chu Yan was still the little prince, he was shaking his newborn cradle and said, "My brother is too ugly, but don't worry, I will protect you and prevent you from being caught by other good-looking people." The younger brother bullied"; dreamed of Chu Yan's gloomy years, every time they went together to bully Chu Yan, Chu Yan only caught Chu He fighting, think about it carefully, even if he is stupid, he knows that Chu Rui is him The younger brother who didn't want to hurt; also dreamed that Chu Yan ruled the world with Wentao and Wulue, and the world was peaceful, but he would still stand up for him for little things.

After waking up, Chu Rui didn't dare to think about the last dream, but another voice in his heart kept telling him: Someone is protecting you, so you don't have to think about anything, isn't that good?

When he was young, he didn't like to learn essays and gait, and he would cry after practicing handwriting. The queen mother said that he had to do these things if he wanted to please his father. He bit the bullet and thought about why he had to suffer Father would like him?

Now there is finally a chance to be neither bitter nor tired, isn't this what he has been looking forward to since childhood?

What's more, the dissertation discusses martial arts and mentality. He who has studied for more than ten years is not even as good as the elder brother who has only recovered for a year. Can he really make the country as prosperous as in his dream?

These thoughts have always been entangled in Chu Rui's mind. After thinking about it for a while, he immediately figured out the whole story. He couldn't help but whispered: "Actually, you are more suitable than me..."

I didn't say what was suitable, but Chu Yan understood.

The two of them did not continue the muttering in tacit understanding. Chu Rui knelt down silently for a while, and then asked, "Brother, what are you doing in Liangzhou?"

"Do some business."

"Just fool me." This time he heard that he was fooling.

Chu Yan smiled: "It's really a business."

Chu Rui didn't ask: "When are you coming back?"

Chu Yan: "Next year's New Year's Eve."

Chu Rui wiped away the tears, stood up, and there seemed to be some deep meaning hidden in his words: "I'll wait for you to come back."

He bowed: "Little brother has gone back to pack his bags, brother has a good rest, go take care now."

Chu Yan nodded to him: "You also take care."

When opening the door, Liu Qi pretended to lean on the railing to look around the scenery, Chu Rui greeted him, and went straight back to his room.

Liu Qi approached the house, closed the door, and saw Chu Yan raising his eyebrows at him with a smile that was not a smile, but he didn't know that he had been discovered.

He didn't put on any pretense, and asked directly: "His voice is too low to hear clearly, what did he say?"

Chu Yan didn't avoid him at all, and repeated the conversation completely.

Liu Qi stroked his chin and asked: "He said you are more suitable than him, what does he mean? Is he planning to give up?"

Chu Yan shook his head: "Not necessarily. It's not surprising that he feels guilty for a while, coupled with self-doubt, but we can't expect him to keep thinking like this forever."

After thinking for a while, he said again: "But after he returns to Beijing, Emperor Father will probably pour him another basin of cold water."

Ten days later, Jin Su and Chu Rui arrived in Beijing.

Jin Su was immediately summoned by the emperor alone, and handed over the evidence and the personal letter that Chu Yan had written in advance to the emperor.

Chu Rui was invited by several ministers, but he asked Yungui to refuse, and locked himself in Qingju Palace without seeing anyone.

The next day in the court hall, all civil and military officials lined up, and Emperor Chengxing ordered Chu He to be escorted to the hall and kneel behind the screen.

Liang Ye was about to proclaim, "Let's play if there is something to do, and leave the court if there is nothing to do", Emperor Chengxing raised his hand to stop him, and directly called Jin He's name.

Jin He stood up and presented the notebook: "I sued Duke Cheng Zhu Ting for four major crimes."

Emperor Chengxing said: "Speak."

Jin He stepped forward, but turned to the courtiers, not the emperor: "First, Zhu Ting bought the maids, intending to murder the queen and the third prince with poisonous tactics. His Majesty sent Commander Zhou to conduct a secret search, and finally he was caught and bribed." The court lady, after interrogation, she found out the truth..."

This matter has to start from the day when Emperor Chengxing's secret agent came back from Liangzhou. At that time, he just learned that there was a Southern Jin spies instigating behind Prince Pingcheng, and that Prince Rui's conspiracy was also related to this spies, so he became suspicious for a while. , so he called Chu Yan for questioning. At that time, Chu Yan hinted that his poison might not have been given by Prince Rui, so Emperor Chengxing found out that Chu Yan should have poisoned him in the palace.

The first thing to check was of course the side hall of the Ciyi Palace where Chu Yan lived at the beginning. Knowing that the queen would often send someone to deliver something to Chu Yan, sometimes it was spring tea, and sometimes spring tea could not be separated from the queen, so he sent a small In the kitchen, a third-class court lady named Yue Ya, who was good at making pastries, went to deliver them. The maid and eunuch in charge of cleaning in the Ciyi Palace said that this Yue Ya would not only come to deliver things, but sometimes she would also go to the side hall when she was not delivering anything. Seeing that the eldest prince is pitiful, I want to see what he lacks.

The palace maid and eunuch only thought of her as kind-hearted, but she didn't think there was anything wrong.

Commander Zhou immediately became suspicious. Following Emperor Chengxing's instructions, he secretly put a pack of medicine similar to that poison under the maid's pillow. Sure enough, the maid thought it was the poison behind the scenes. The master sent someone to release it.

Everyone knows that Chu Yan was poisoned by Prince Rui's poison, but the person who actually poisoned him will immediately think of the poison he put. No one came to contact her, and she was worried at first, but after a while, no one came to her, so she felt relieved.

So when Yue Ya saw this bag of "poison" again, she just thought it meant that she was about to poison again, and didn't think much about it at all. Then, when she was poisoning, she was caught by Commander Zhou.

The poison was naturally given to the queen and Chu Rui, and it had lasted for nearly half a year. She didn't do it all the time, but there was an interval, so that even if the queen and Chu Rui occasionally felt unwell, they would not realize that they were poisoned. Poison, and will not be found out by the imperial doctor.

And the Ciyi Palace is where she took the poison. Chu Yan is a place where no one cares about, and no one will pay attention to what she does. On the contrary, Fengyi Palace is crowded with people, and it may be exposed if it is a little careless.Therefore, the maid beside Chu Yan gets the medicine from the master behind the scenes, and every time Yue Ya needs medicine, she takes a little from the maid of Ciyi Palace, and uses it up immediately on the same day, so that there is no need to worry that the medicine will be found by her side .

Jin He didn't go into so much detail, but what he outlined in a few words had already shocked everyone in the audience. Chu Rui, who was also hearing about it for the first time, was even more stunned on the spot.

Everyone knows that the matter of Duke Cheng's arrangement for the assassination must be mentioned today, and Duke Cheng's lineage has prepared rebuttals. Who would have thought that Jin He would not start with the assassination, but brought up a poisoning case that no one knew about. !And it was His Majesty who sent someone to find out without saying a word!A sure thing!

Soon someone thought, Cheng Guogong is an outsider and can't enter the harem, how could he bribe the maids?Their eyes fell on the screen involuntarily, but they couldn't see the person behind the screen, only Chu Rui could catch a glimpse of it from the angle of standing - Chu He behind that was obviously trembling.

Jin He said again: "Secondly, Zhu Ting formed a party for private interests, united with many courtiers, falsely accused important officials of the court, forged evidence, and persecuted Zhongliang."

Even if someone thought of the right minister, the uninformed people wondered, wasn't the right minister all sentenced?Where did this statement come from?Was it also ordered by His Majesty?

Those who knew the matter felt a "thud" in their hearts. If Jin He said this first, they could still argue, but Jin He first talked about the certainty of poisoning. They can never speak for a sinner, and among the "multiple courtiers", there may be themselves among them.

Only Lu Mingzhi, Minister of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, was puzzled: "Your Majesty trusted me, and ordered the old minister to investigate this matter with the Dali Temple Minister. I caught Li Pingrui's disciple Li Chongyi. This person confessed that he was indeed a spy of the Southern Jin Dynasty, and I did indeed Li Pingrui's personal letter was found from the contact point he provided."

Jin He nodded: "Master Lu is honest and rigorous, so Li Chongyi is indeed a spy, but I don't know that the other evidence you found is fake."

He suddenly looked at the left minister who had been calm all the time, and said, "Master Lu must still remember that during the autumn hunting, His Majesty left the left minister to oversee the administration, and within five days, your majesty got Li Xiang's collusion with the Southern Jin Dynasty in the palace." information."

Someone slandered in their hearts: so what, just because Prime Minister Zuo just sued Li Pingrui at this time, and Prime Minister Cheng is in the same party as Duke Cheng, can it be said that Duke Cheng framed Li Pingrui?

Some people faintly thought of a certain possibility, and were shocked by their own thoughts.

At this moment, the emperor said: "Let him come up."

Liang Ye nodded, and went out to summon him personally. The ministers turned their heads to watch, and after a while, they saw a person walking steadily in plain clothes and a simple crown.

All the courtiers present looked like they had seen a ghost.

Doesn't it mean that he has been tortured beyond human appearance?Doesn't it mean that it has already been judged?Apart from the bad complexion on his face, how does this person look like someone who has been tortured?

Some people couldn't help looking at Lu Mingzhi. Lu Mingzhi saw Li Xiang being tortured with his own eyes, but now he also looks extremely shocked.

Only Jin He greeted him with a smile: "Xiang Li is suffering."

With his support, Li Bingrui knelt down and finished the salute slowly, then said: "It's not hard work to find work for His Majesty."

Emperor Chengxing said: "Li Qing is free, do you have something to say?"

Li Pingrui nodded, and opened his mouth: "I want to sue one person today, and that is myself. I want to sue myself for negligence."

Emperor Cheng Xing waved his hand: "I have already pardoned your crime, it was that ungrateful bastard who was restless and kind, not to mention that you were the one who reminded me of Prince Rui's treason, so it was paid off."

This short conversation has already caused a thunderstorm in everyone's heart. Even a cunning person can't guess when and which move this game of chess started.

Thousands of miles away, in the carriage in the middle of the team that had already set off to Liang, Chu Yan lay on a soft cushion, covered with a blanket, and said casually: "I didn't know everything at first, because I wasn't sure that the emperor would like to Let me know how much, so I didn't ask, but before I left, I asked to see Prime Minister Li, and my father agreed."

Xinqing asked, "Did Li Xiang tell you everything?"

Chu Yan nodded: "Actually, Father let me know by default. We have to start with the Sixth Uncle's matter. Before the Sixth Uncle's rebellion was exposed, Li Xiang received an anonymous letter reminding him that Prince Rui had a rebellion. Li Xiang immediately reported it to his father, and assisted his father in setting up a trap to lure Prince Rui to expose him."

Xinqing was taken aback: "It happened so early?"

Liu Qidao: "I heard from my father that Prince Rui's treason was exposed because Emperor Father received a memorial to report."

Chu Yan said: "It's Li Xiang's memorial, but it's not anonymous. The reason why I say this is that I don't want anyone to track down the person who made the report, because my father and Li Xiang both want to investigate the source of the anonymous letter secretly. May the fanfare be great."

"Have you found it?"

"No." Chu Yan said, "The source of that letter is still unknown. Li compared the handwriting of all the officials in the court, including those who had resigned and those who were dismissed. I have seen the handwriting of all officials and examinees who have left their handwriting outside, but none of them match."

Liu Qi suddenly thought of something: "Why did you send it to Xiang Li?"

Chu Yan secretly sighed, although his princess is usually unwilling to think about things, she is actually very keen.

"Li Xiang also thought of this. It is true that he is the favorite minister of the father, but there are many people around the father. Why did he choose him? Of course, this may be just a coincidence, but Li Xiang can't help but think about it. Things around him became more vigilant and careful, so he found out that his favorite student Li Chongyi was weird."

Xinqing thought about it for a while: "Li Chongyi is the Southern Jin spy, so it wasn't the right minister who instructed him, and the right minister didn't even know that he was a spy?"

"That's right." Chu Yan said, "At that time, Li Xiang just thought he was weird, but he didn't have any real evidence, so he didn't report to the father. Although the father also wanted to know the origin of the letter, he didn't really care. Because of the Sixth Uncle's matter, he wanted to take back the military power of all parties. He was the first to take back the soldiers from his father-in-law, not because he didn't trust his father-in-law, but because he knew his father-in-law was loyal and would definitely cooperate with him."

Liu Qi nodded: "This father also told us that at that time, he said that His Majesty didn't mean to be afraid of our family, but asked him to come out and set an example."

The Marquis of Renting, who has made many military exploits, decisively handed over the military power, let alone some aristocratic families who have been sitting in the capital all year round and relying on their family heritage?

The most powerful family in the capital, the most domineering, and the most feared by the emperor, is his Cheng Guogong's mansion!What Emperor Chengxing wanted to take back the most was actually the military power of Duke Cheng.

Above the court hall in the capital, Li Pingrui faced the questioning eyes from all around, and said calmly: "You guys haven't forgotten about the kidnapping of the sixth princess, right? The false news that the King of Pingcheng got was from Beijing Let me tell you all, this false news was handed out from my Li residence, so the Prince of Pingcheng firmly believes it."

After the emperor got the news from the spy, he summoned Li Pingrui alone and asked him what was going on. Unseen people and more.

Normally, Li Pingrui would never care about his loving care for him like a parent and child, but once he became suspicious, he would feel like a stick in his throat.

Emperor Chengxing naturally believed in Li Pingrui, otherwise Li Pingrui would have just not handed in the anonymous letter, why bother to go around in such a twists and turns, so when Commander Zhou was investigating the poisoning case in the palace , Li Pingrui was also looking into the matter of Li Chongyi, and sure enough, he found out about Li Chongyi's delivery of a letter outside the capital. Counting the time, the letter was just a provocative speech sent to Liangzhou!

"I'm afraid you can't think of it." Li Pingrui smiled half a smile, "Just near the courtyard where Li Chongyi and others were found by Mr. Lu, in the same alley, there lived a family. It happened to be Cheng Guogong's. Nurse's family."

The wet nurse's family may not explain anything, but it is enough to make people pay attention to such a coincidence. After several times of probing, Li Pingrui was convinced that the Duke of Cheng knew about the existence of this spy all along!

A courtier sent by the Second Prince couldn't help asking: "You mean, Duke Cheng colluded with that spy?"

Li Pingrui said calmly: "I didn't say that. What is Master Fang doing in such a hurry? Maybe Zhu Ting's wet nurse accidentally found out that Li Chongyi was colluding with others, so she reported it to Zhu Ting, and Zhu Ting ordered her family He was watching secretly, but no matter what the reason was, Zhu Ting clearly knew that Li Chongyi was acting sneaky, but he didn't tell His Majesty, don't you adults feel strange?"

The corner of the courtier's mouth twitched: "I don't know when Li Xiang became a person full of speculation."

Li Pingrui couldn't help laughing: "Master Fang, don't talk about it, it's just this speculation that led to the matter behind it. Your Majesty, His Highness Wang An has contributed a lot to this matter."

Everyone in the hall was stunned again: What Your Highness?His Royal Highness King An?Are you right?What's the matter with King An!

Only Emperor Chengxing sighed and said: "The combined civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty are not as good as Yan'er alone who can share my worries."

The author has something to say: I still haven't finished writing the truth... T^T why! !

This chapter is connected with yesterday's update~

Happy New Year's Day, I still send out red envelopes to make up for yesterday's update. I was late for such a long time~