The Eight Winds of Rebirth

Before the coronation ceremony, Zhao Mian went to Fengxia Palace to pay a visit to the queen.

Sitting behind the screen, the queen taught the prince a lot in front of a group of people, telling him that he should know how to weigh the situation and judge the situation when he became an adult, and assist the emperor to share his worries.

The prince agreed one by one.

Then, the queen let everyone go out first, leaving only the two of them to talk.

However, when the prince walked around the screen, he saw two people beside and in front of the queen.

Sitting is a woman of cardamom age, her cheeks are dyed, her ears are clouded and her temples are soaked in ink, her temperament is as quiet as water, and she is a lively beauty, but when the prince saw her, he only glanced at her, and did not pay much attention to her, but turned to observe her. The boy standing on the other side came.

That young man is tall and tall, seventeen or eighteen years old, no matter how you look at him, he looks familiar.

The prince thought for a while, then suddenly opened his eyes wide: "Oh, it's you, why are you here? What's your name..."

The young man paused and said: "Chen Yanfang, please greet the prince." Yanfang was appointed a first-class bodyguard by the emperor, and he has a rank, so his self-proclaimed name for the prince has also changed.

The prince was still waiting to ask again, but the queen interrupted him: "This palace asked him to come." After finishing speaking, he shook his head helplessly: "You never know what kind of people have come and gone in your own palace. I don't know."

The prince was scolded as soon as he arrived, and in front of a servant and an unpopular woman, the prince suddenly became unhappy.

The queen also felt that this should not be mentioned today, so she thought about it and said nothing more, she just turned her head and said to Yan Fang: "On weekdays, it is rare for me to see you in this palace, and it just so happened that you followed the spirit Buddha into the palace, so I am looking for you Come and ask some questions."

Yanfang said: "Your Majesty, just ask."

The queen said: "Can I still get used to it in Sumeru Palace?"

Yan Fang nodded.

"Is Lingfo used to it?"

"Lingfo doesn't go out very much, and most of the time he only meditates in the Buddhist hall."

"You don't see many customers?"

"Not much. I was ill last month. General Hou brought the sixth and seventh sons here once, once with Mr. Xue. The third son wanted to visit, but Lingfo didn't see him either."

The crown prince almost understood that Yan Fang was sent by his mother as a secret agent, but he was still surprised: "Father and emperor have already asked Xiao Luzi about these words in a few days." He was very clear about Lingfo's movements .

But the queen raised her head and glared at him: "You believe what he says? The last time Zhao Yuan performed such good kung fu, do you know when he learned it?"

The prince was taken aback.

The queen said again: "Outsiders say that it was a great kindness for the emperor to send him a master to follow him out of Beijing, but you know the origin and ability of that master, and you were separated from him when you went to Beixiang. Who taught Yuan's kung fu? Who taught him to debate scriptures with the Zen master of Shimen Temple before? Have you thought about it?"

"This... there is no one else except Hou Bingchen and Cao Qin."

The queen nodded: "But General Shenwu and General Yuguo are far away at the border, so it's inconvenient to communicate with Luli or Beixiang, but has your father ever gotten any news over the years? Have you intercepted a letter? If it wasn't for Zhao Yuan came back by himself, how much do you, Ben Gong, and the emperor know about him?"

The prince has nothing to say.

The queen sighed: "Now [-]% of the troops in Beijing are in the hands of your third uncle, and [-]% of the troops outside Beijing are in the hands of your great uncle's descendants. Tell me, who else can you rely on? , do you still think about the matter of the late emperor and Lingfo again? You must know that you will not have the good fortune of your father to be chosen by him to sit in this high position. "

The prince was read wearily: "I know."

In fact, Emperor Zongzheng often said these things to him, but if Zhao Mian could hear these things in his heart, he would not be Zhao Mian.

But when it comes to Gu Xiangtan's attitude, Zhao Mian is still very confident: "The only one who is close to the Lingfo is Zhao Ze, and Zhao Jie gives him hand-copied Buddhist scriptures every now and then, but it doesn't seem to have any effect." Of course, he himself Most of the treasures sent to Lingfo were also returned, but they were still better than Zhao Yuan. In Zhao Mian's opinion, Gu Xiangtan didn't like Zhao Yuan the least, and he didn't like Zhao Jie.

"Zhao Yuan has helped him twice before and after, but I don't think Lingfo has even given him a good face, and he can't say a few words. If we don't know about Zhao Yuan's work in Luli, let's treat it as a The two of them have met before, but it must not be much better, who can bear Zhao Yuan's temper."

The queen is right when she thinks about it, even if Zhao Yuan can hide things with deep thoughts, but Lingfo can't, Gu Xiangtan looks like a careless child who grew up in Buddhism, although he is smart but not deeply involved in the world, he wants to act It's also incomplete, let alone cooperating with Zhao Yuan to deceive them, which not only violates the Buddhist precepts, but also can't find a reason.

Thinking of this, the queen has relaxed a little bit, but she still needs to be cautious. After all, the three kings are in a hurry, at most they will die, but Lingfo is the only hope for them and the prince.

After Zhao Mian left, the empress still frowned, and at this moment the woman beside her finally spoke.

"Empress, don't worry, Your Highness has great blessings and is blessed by the Buddha."

The queen patted the woman's hand: "Yi Ling, in fact, I have never cared about the throne. I only hope that Mian'er can live in peace and stability." But in the imperial city, if you want to live, you may not be able to live. Success, live a good life, only by climbing to the top can you decide your own fate.

"Mian'er's temperament is dry, you have been conscientious since you were a child, and I need you to take care of me in the future."

Seeing that Gong Yiling nodded meekly, the queen laughed, and then went to tell Yanfang: "Look more at Lingfo, here, this token is given to you by the palace, and everyone from Chengfeng Palace can come here in the future." Go freely, once something happens, you don’t need to inform, you can make up your own mind, and you can tell me later.” The crown prince has too many messes, the empress thought it would be better to have more guarantees, but Yanfang is his favorite. She was personally selected from the young slaves who entered the palace a few years ago, and was brought up to adulthood, so she won the queen's trust.

Yan Fang nodded in agreement, and took the token respectfully.

……

When the crown ceremony was halfway through, Gu Xiangtan listened to Su Xi behind him and asked softly, "Where have you been?"

Then came Yanfang's voice: "Arrange the ritual vessels in front."

"Tsk, you are not working in Chengfeng Palace now, why are they still messing around with people, really."

Gu Xiangtan looked back at Yan Fang, Yan Fang raised his eyes and looked back, Gu Xiangtan seemed to be smiling but not smiling.

On the other side, after waiting for a long time, the ceremony was finally completed.

The prince needs concierges, and in the palace, only Emperor Zongzheng and Gu Xiangtan can accept his toast, but Gu Xiangtan does not drink, so Zhao Mian uses tea instead of wine to express his heart, as for the rest of the princes, brothers, officials and ministers. I want to toast Zhao Mian to show my congratulations.

Just when Zhao Mian was standing in front of him holding the wine glass, and Zhao Yuan and Zhao Ze raised their hands to drink it up, suddenly a hand came out from behind and knocked off the wine glass in Zhao Ze's hand, and Zhao Yuan was also caught by someone. Hit hard.

This action was extremely fast and insane, and Zhao Ze was almost photographed lying on the table, with the wine in his hand spilled all over his body.

Everyone was a little shocked for a while, but Zhao Ze was the first to react, and turned around and shouted: "Who can beat me!"

The little eunuch He Xiyin next to the prince was facing them and naturally saw that moment clearly, and immediately pointed at the little guard behind Hou Bingchen and cursed: "Bold, how dare you be rude at the crowning ceremony of His Highness the Prince? Clash with the prince!? Are you tired of living?"

When Zhao Ze saw that it was the third brother's man, he thought for a while and shut up.

But the little guard was not afraid at all. Instead, he looked straight at Zhao Ze, and then glared at Zhao Mian and He Xi: "Where am I being rude, you are the ones who are bold. During the Crown Prince's crown ceremony, you give the guests a drink." Poisoned wine?!"

As soon as these words came out, the hall suddenly became noisy after a moment of silence.

"Poisoned wine? What poisoned wine?"

"Where did the poisoned wine come from..."

Emperor Zongzheng and the three kings also looked over, but they heard the little guard say in a serious voice: "It's these two cups, if you don't believe me, you can check it yourself and you will know."

"Things without rules, if you talk nonsense, you will have good fruit to eat." This time it was Qu Guang who jumped up, and the crown ceremony was naturally handled by the Ministry of Rites. If something went wrong, they must be the first to be unlucky .

However, after looking at the little guard, Hou Bingchen suddenly went out and clapped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, let's find someone to check it out. If it is true, it will not be too late to ask about the crime."

Originally, a bunch of people would jump out and accuse the little guard of talking nonsense, but when Hou Bingchen spoke, naturally no one dared to comment, and his people naturally had his meaning.

Emperor Zongzheng frowned tightly, looked at the crown prince, then at Zhao Ze and Zhao Yuan, and finally turned his eyes to Zhao Dian and Zhao Jie, and gave some instructions to Eunuch Sun.

Immediately, Eunuch Sun sent someone to find a silver needle for poison testing, and personally tested it on the liquor on the ground.

During this period, the little guard stood straight and straight in front of all the attention, without any look of fear or anxiety on his face, as if he had a well-thought-out plan.

Hou Bingchen was also very calm.

After a while, Eunuch Sun picked up the silver needle and looked at it, and then his complexion changed drastically.

"Your Majesty, this wine...is indeed poisonous!"

Emperor Zongzheng was startled, and stood up abruptly amidst the horror and clamor in the hall.

"Who?! How dare you put poison on the Crown Prince's Crown Ceremony!"

Zhao Ze, who was not far away, looked at the little guard in amazement, as if he couldn't believe it, while the three kings Zhao Dian and Zhao Jie who were sitting opposite each other had deep meaning and thoughtfulness.

For a while, there were people in the hall who were afraid, panicked, suspicious, and watching the show. Their emotions were mixed and chaotic, and everyone was thinking about it.

As for Zhao Yuan, what he looked at was Gu Xiangtan who did not know when he was standing next to him, because when he was drinking just now, it was not the little guard who hit him, but Gu Xiangtan.