bluestone

The man didn't speak, just quietly watched Qing Ming's every move, the childish face deep in his memory finally overlapped with the man in front of him.

Qing Ming was not annoyed, he got up and walked to the round table in the middle to sit down, took a teacup, and poured a glass of water.

"Drink a glass of water, sit down and chat?" Qing Ming was still gentle.

The man waited for a while, then walked over, his face was also exposed under the light, it was Han Tuo.

He sat expressionlessly on the chair farthest from him, without touching the glass of water on the table.

For a while, the room was quiet again.

"Why don't you speak?" Han Tuo's blunt voice sounded.

"You came here on your own initiative, didn't you just want to ask me a question? I'm waiting for your question." Qing Ming replied a little funny, calling himself "I", just like before returning to the Imperial Capital.

Han Tuo remained silent for a moment before asking, "Why did you lie to me?"

Qingming thought for a while and said, "I didn't lie to you. My name is Ji Yuehuang, and my nickname is Qingming. It's just that not many people know about it."

Han Tuo changed the word and asked again, "Why did you hide it from me?...your identity." He paused, and finally added.

"Isn't this obvious? My identity cannot be easily revealed to others, and because of what happened ten years ago, you seem to have a big opinion on me."

"What happened ten years ago?"

"Didn't you already know it from Mr. Han?"

"I want to hear it from your own mouth."

"Father needs an excuse to drive me out of the imperial capital and go to study with the teacher. The one who should have been pushed into the water that night should have been Yun Shu, but that night," Qing Ming looked at him, "You came first."

"Did I say something that made you angry?"

"Why do you ask."

"Then why did you kick me into the lake regardless of the plan?"

"..." As soon as Qing Ming heard it, he knew that he didn't fully remember what happened back then, but guessed roughly based on his vague memory, "You didn't say anything, it was just because I found it troublesome and wanted to play a prank, so I just did it I didn't expect that you couldn't swim, and you almost lost your life, it was indeed my negligence."

Han Tuo frowned, subconsciously feeling that he was hiding something.

"You knew who I was from the very beginning?"

"I didn't know it at first, but I guessed it later in the restaurant. Besides, you didn't want to hide it deliberately, did you?"

Han Tuo's hands on his knees suddenly tightened silently, and his voice was low, "You still have friends with me even though you know my identity, the reason is to change my opinion of you, and at the same time, it is to use me to help you in court. Are you standing firm?"

Qingming was dumbfounded, he didn't expect Han Tuo to think in that direction.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, and lost his smile, "Do you think that I only meet you to take advantage of you?"

"Isn't that so? You don't have any friendship with me. On the contrary, there are grievances. You, a high-ranking prince, besides wanting to use my status as a general for you, what else could it be for?" Han Tuo didn't think , instead roared confidently.

"Hehehe~" Qingming laughed back angrily, "Unexpectedly, after a year of acquaintance, this prince is in your heart, and it turns out to be this kind of person!"

This is the first time Qingming used the title "Prince Ben" to him.

As early as Han Tuo blurted out those words, he already regretted it in his heart.

After being called a brother for a year, how could he fail to see that Qing Ming was sincerely making friends with him, but for some reason, he felt restless in his heart, and he couldn't help but blurt out those hurtful words.

"Qingming, I..."

"Needless to say, it was indeed the prince's fault to conceal your identity from you at the beginning, and the prince really hoped to change your opinion through that year's relationship. You should be angry about the concealment; as for using it, the prince doesn't even bother to use it." So use that method to ascend to the throne." Qing Ming stood up, walked aside, and turned his back to him.

"There is nothing else to ask, just go, the prince is going to rest."

Han Tuo wanted to explain, but he didn't know how to speak. Looking at his back that refused to be seen thousands of miles away, he felt helpless, his black eyes darkened, and he turned and left the Prince's Hall.

After a long time, a low murmur sounded in the room.

"How did it become like this?"

morning of the second day

As soon as he came to court, Emperor Wu announced that from today onwards, the crown prince will oversee the country and handle government affairs. He will formally ascend the throne in three months, and appoint Qin Tianjian to choose a good day to hold the enthronement ceremony.

The officials were in an uproar, and some courtiers immediately stopped them, but they were all dismissed by Emperor Wu.

This situation is exactly the same as when Qing Ming was expelled from the imperial capital back then. Back then, the officials couldn't stop it, and now they can't stop it either.

After all, several important ministers in the court, Old General Han, Prime Minister Lu and Uncle Zhu Guo all agreed.

This incident sparked a lot of discussion from the ruling and opposition parties, but it won the support of the people after it was released. After all, what the Crown Prince did on the first day was quite popular.

"Yesterday, I received the prince's memorial. Jing Zhaoyin accepted bribes and fished the people; Zhu Qianqiang, the son of the uncle, robbed the people's daughters, indulged in murder, and colluded with Jing Zhaoyin to protect each other. The people were miserable. We hereby take them into prison. , Since the crown prince is in charge, the crown prince will preside over the trial, and the third division will assist, what do you think?" Then, Emperor Wu brought up the matter of yesterday again.

"Your Majesty, my son was wronged~" Uncle Zhu Guo immediately jumped out and shouted for innocence.

"Uncle Guo, don't worry, the prince is fair. If there is no evidence, he will not wrong a good person. After finding out, if it is really wronged, I will make the decision and let the prince give you justice." Emperor Wu said his words in a few words blocked back.

"Does anyone else have objections to this matter?" Emperor Wu asked again.

"My minister has objections." Han Tuo walked out from the group of ministers.

"Oh? What does Young General Han think about this matter? You might as well just say it."

"Returning to the emperor, I think that although the prince will perform the performance at this time, after all, the prince is related to the uncle of the country, and whether it is public or private, it will hinder the reputation of the prince. It would be better if the third division presided over the trial and the prince supervised it. It won't be unfair." Han Tuo said sincerely.

Qingming smiled slightly stiffly.

Emperor Wu thought about it carefully for a while, and said: "Young General Han is thoughtful, so that's fine, as he said, the third division will preside over the trial, and the crown prince will supervise it."

"No one objected this time, right?"

"The emperor is wise!" Everyone responded.

In addition, Emperor Wu announced that the successor Jing Zhaoyin was an upright official who was promoted from the local area. He was very popular in the local area and had an excellent reputation.

After retreating, everyone left the hall.

"Han Tuo!" Qing Ming took the first step and called to stop Han Tuo who was about to leave.

"What orders does His Royal Highness have?" Han Tuo asked respectfully as he turned his head when he heard the sound.

Qing Ming's faint smile turned bitter, "Do you really want to talk to the prince like this?"

"You are the prince, and Han Tuo is a subject, as it should be." Han Tuo said with a businesslike attitude, "I don't know why His Royal Highness called the minister to stay?"

"You should know that the Crown Prince will never shield Zhu Gan for personal gain. Why did you make the suggestion just now?"

"Weichen didn't think His Highness the Crown Prince would protect Zhu Gan, but this matter is too sensitive, His Highness the Crown Prince should avoid suspicion."

"..."

"If there is nothing else, Wei Chen will leave first." From the beginning of the conversation, Han Tuo kept his head down, never looked up at Qing Ming, as if he was avoiding something.

"Han Tuo, do you... still consider me a confidant?" Qing Ming asked him unusually calmly.

Hearing this, Han Tuo's heart was shocked, he clenched his hands into fists, and his voice was a little hoarse: "His Royal Highness is too flattering to a lowly minister. Your Highness is a person who wants to do great things. How can he be called brother and brother with his ministers, let alone a confidant!" There was a strong tone in his tone ridicule.

"Heh~ It's the crown prince who forced it." Qing Ming laughed at himself, and walked away without looking at him.

Han Tuo originally forced himself not to look at him, but when he heard his soft tone, he couldn't help raising his head, but the man had already left, and all he saw was his resolute back.

The clenched fist was released weakly, Han Tuo smiled, shook his head, and left with a sullen handsome face.

That night, a reception banquet was held for the prince in the main hall of the palace, and the officials congratulated him.

When the music was full of singing and dancing, and the wine was hot, all the ministers and princes got up one after another and went to the prince's table, greeting him warmly.

Qingming is dressed in white silk brocade, embroidered with silver and dragon patterns, which is low-key but luxurious, and the waist is tied with white dragon and white jade, which shows his nobility; with a light smile, he is as warm as jade, like the high sun in the clouds, and the gentleman's style is natural, which can be seen from a distance. Not inbreeding, gentle with alienation, clear with sharpness, definitely not a thing in the pool.

Qing Ming didn't like this kind of occasion in his heart, but he was still able to deal with it with ease, and his advances and retreats were well-founded. He would neither make people feel too friendly, nor make people feel too scared and alienated. In addition, with Lu Yunshu's assistance, the communication was very smooth. smooth.

Those who are shrewd found that the whole night, Young General Han Tuo and the prince who had returned to the imperial capital did not speak a word or even look at each other.

Someone remembered that Han Tuo blatantly refuted the prince's face in the early court, and there was suspicion of the prince in his speech; after retreating from the court, the two communicated in private, and the prince was so angry that he walked away without knowing what; Ten years ago, the prince pushed General Han into a pond and almost drowned, so the prince was demoted from Beijing for ten years.

As if they had discovered some important secret, because of the incident ten years ago, the prince and General Han had deep conflicts, got along badly, and rumors spread that they even harbored resentment towards each other.

Soon, this rumor spread among all the ministers in the DPRK and China, and even similar remarks appeared among the people.

The reason for such a situation is of course not only because of the performance of the two at the morning court and dinner that day. There were also several times in the morning court after that when the two confronted each other. Although it did not delay the business, it also made Emperor Wu Quite puzzled.

One day, in the imperial study room after the court, there were only Emperor Wu and Qingming father and son.

"What's going on with you and Han Tuo?" Emperor Wu frowned and asked angrily.

"..."

"Don't tell me it's because of what happened back then. That should have been made clear. Han Tuo said earlier that he doesn't mind. It's not punishment for you to be relegated from Beijing. It's an arrangement. No one else knows the truth. I thought there was nothing you could do about it because of that matter, but I know the truth, so what is the reason for your quarrel now? You must tell me clearly today." Emperor Wu ordered, with a stern tone.

Qing Ming still didn't say a word.

"Why is this again? When I asked you why you kicked him off the pond, you didn't say it; now you ask why you had an affair with him, but you didn't say it, you said why you got into a fight with him, obviously you have nothing to do with other things. He was very measured, but when he met him, he lost all reason!"

Qingming knelt on the ground, as if he didn't hear what he said, quietly staring at a certain place in a daze.

"Ji Yuehuang, did you hear what I said?" Emperor Wu sternly shouted.

Only then did Qingming look up at Emperor Wu, "Father, I will handle this matter well, please don't ask any more questions."

The two looked at each other for a while, and Emperor Wu took a step back, "Okay, I won't ask, but you'd better deal with the matter between you and Han Tuo, so as not to delay the business."

"My son understands."

"Go down." Emperor Wu waved his hand.

"My son retire."