love palace

"Your Majesty the Tenth Prince?" Ke Weiqing took off his hand covering his mouth, turned around, and it was indeed the Tenth Prince Yonglin.

"I haven't seen you for a long time, and you've grown taller again." Yong Lin gestured with a smile, "If you go on, I can't call you smaller."

"Your Highness, how did you get out?" Compared to this, Ke Weiqing was even more surprised that Yonglin would be here. Today is different than usual, but all entry and exit of the palace must be approved by the imperial army, so as not to endanger the royal family.

"What's so difficult about this?" Yonglin took out a gold-plated wooden plaque from his white sleeve, with a tiger's head on the front and the words "Deputy Deployment" engraved on the back.

"Ah! The scepter of the imperial army! Did you steal it?" Ke Weiqing recognized this tiger talisman, and there was one for the front and the other. As long as it was revealed, he could leave the palace by himself.

But at ordinary times, the main and deputy deployments carry the Tiger Talisman with them, and they will never lend it to others.

"Shhh, don't be so loud, what are you stealing? I just borrowed it, and I'll return it later." Yonglin put the tiger card back into his sleeve, and then grabbed Ke Weiqing's wrist, "Okay, let's go!"

"Wait, Your Highness. I still have something to do...!" Although Ke Weiqing struggled endlessly, he was still no match for Yonglin's brute force, and he was dragged out of the city.

The emperor's birthday is not only lively in the palace, but also in the villages and towns outside the city.What came from the beginning was the sound of crackling firecrackers. Some businessmen chose to open their businesses today, and the non-stop ringing of bamboo flutes and drums was the performance of stalls set up by Jianghu entertainers.

Children in colorful cloth clothes carried bamboo cages containing crickets and played and chased them. However, there were also beggars who came out to beg for food while there were so many people, most of whom had fled from the floods in the north.

Looking at this diametrically opposite picture, Ke Weiqing couldn't help being touched. The prince once said that he wished that there would be no hungry people under the feet of the emperor. Now it seems that there is still a long way to go.

"Little one! Why are you standing there? Come and watch the monkey show!" Yong Lin grabbed Ke Weiqing's hand tightly.The road is crowded and noisy, and if you are not careful, you will have to get separated.

In the open space in front of the teahouse, there are red-lacquered wooden boxes, black dogs, bamboo poles and other household items.An old man beat the gongs and drums and yelled loudly, and the two brown-haired monkeys in his hands were busy.First, learn how to unpack and dress, and also apply makeup and powder.It caused everyone to laugh.

Next, climb up on the dog's back, pick up the bamboo sticks, ride the "horse" and raise the whip, one monkey and one dog walk around the field, and the other monkey is holding the gong, please watch the officials and give a reward.

All of a sudden, there was the sound of throwing money all over the body, the old man opened his eyes and smiled, and shouted a password that no one could understand. , hanging high in the air, attracted unanimous applause from the audience!

"This is really interesting." Ke Weiqing couldn't take his eyes off the show. There were also stage acrobatics in the palace, but monkey shows were rare, and they were all well-regulated performances.

"Hey, what's more interesting is yet to come." Yonglin led Ke Weiqing again, pushed aside the crowd, and watched the martial arts performance on the other side.A shirtless, brawny man in shorts, with a big knife in his hand, slashed at the neck, but there were only red marks but no bleeding.

To prove the truth, he also asked tourists to take a brick and slap him on the head hard!The mud brick cracked in two, but the head was not damaged at all!

This is really invulnerable and invulnerable. Ke Weiqing was dumbfounded and terrified. Just as he was about to speak, a sweet candied cherry was stuffed into his mouth.

"It's so sweet." Ke Weiqing savored it carefully, and still couldn't get enough of it.

"Is it delicious? I bought a lot, take it quickly, there are auspicious fruits, butter corners, horseshoe cake, what else do you want to eat?" Yonglin was like a conjurer, holding several oil paper bags in his hand, fragrant Sweet, spicy, crispy, there's really nothing missing.

"Enough is enough, I can't finish all of these." Ke Weiqing said quickly.

"Don't be polite to me, I brought out a bag of silver today, and I can buy anything." Yonglin smiled, his eyebrows and eyes curved, handsome and gentle.

"Your Highness, I really can't eat that much!" Ke Weiqing smiled coquettishly while holding the food full in both hands.

"Okay then." Only then did Yonglin stare at Ke Weiqing's face contentedly. Although his complexion was still fair, he was a little thinner.

I don't know what Brother Nine thinks, it's been three years, and Xiao Budian still hasn't been transferred back to the East Palace. Is he planning to let Xiao Budian do the hard work of drying medicine and standing guard?

He is obviously the guard with the sword of His Royal Highness, but he is guarding the limousine at the gate of the city. Instead of making people look down on the little guy, it is better to transfer him to Fuyue Palace as an errand. A mouthful of hot rice.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Ke Weiqing bowed.

"Thank you, let's go. I'll take you to watch a big show. You can see it clearly from the second floor of the tavern. Drink a bowl of wine and rest your feet."

Without waiting for Ke Weiqing to express his opinion, Yonglin pushed his shoulders and walked forward, and together with those jugglers who were walking on stilts, dressed as gods, singing and dancing, mixed into the crowded market.

※※※

when.With the sound of the Jiaofang Division’s tripod bell, the sound of singing, singing, bamboo and drum music, in this festive music, nearly a thousand people who had previously entered the palace to celebrate the birthday, sat down one by one to enjoy the imperial banquet bestowed by the emperor.

Eight hundred mahogany long tables are set up in layers inside the Yonghe Hall, and even the outside is full. The red palace lanterns hang high in the air, and there are musicians playing performances everywhere.

Colorful chicken shreds, eight-treasure duck, steamed sea bass and other 62 delicacies are divided into five rounds and placed on the table continuously, with snacks and fruits interspersed in between.Everyone was smiling, invited dishes to toast, and was very happy.

However, at the time when the cups were mixed and the singing and dancing were peaceful, there was a presumptuous laughter, abruptly interspersed with the elegant music.

Chunyu Wen, who was giving wine to Empress Sun, felt dissatisfied. He followed the reputation and found a red sandalwood table under the jade steps, which was larger than the other tables and contained more fine wine and dishes.

But the person who sat at the table was a middle-aged man with a fat head and big ears. He was not accompanied by ministers, but two beautiful court dancers.

The man was obviously drunk, he kissed and touched the dancer while hugging the dancer, the gauze skirt was already piled up on his lap, it was really unsightly.

"Who is this person?" Chunyu Wen's eyes were blurred, and he didn't recognize who it was after squinting for a long time.

"Your Majesty, this is your eldest son, Yao Zu." Empress Sun whispered with a smile.

"What? How can he sit in the hall, he should go outside." Chunyu Wen frowned, very unhappy.

"Forget it, it's good that the queen mother likes it when she looks at it. Didn't you say that she is old and should give way more." Queen Sun secretly glanced at the queen mother who was sitting at the other end, her face was not very good, Holding a bowl of wine but not drinking, I am afraid that Yaozu's behavior is too unrestrained.

"Haha, come on, beauty, let the king speak in person, don't hide." Due to the Queen Mother's verbal order to treat Yaozu with courtesy, no one dared to come out to dissuade him.

"How dare he call himself the king? Isn't he taking my imperial decree as a fart?" Chunyu Wen was furious. One must know that there are envoys from other countries in this palace. If it gets out, what is the authority of Emperor Dayan?

"Come here!" Chunyu Wen was about to call the guards to drive away the messy things, but the queen mother coughed twice and glared at the emperor angrily.

Seeing that a battle in his own house was about to take place, Zhao Guowei, who sat under the square throne with his wife, son-in-law, and daughter, raised his wine cup and went out to sing.

"Your Majesty, it is a great honor for me to be able to attend this banquet. I wish you a long life and eternal youth!" Zhao Guowei said, then he raised his head and gulped it down.

"Haha, you are so young forever, I and Ai Qing are both old men!" Chunyu Wen then changed the subject.Seeing the emperor talking happily with the general who protects the country, Yaozu was a little sober, hiccupped and looked at the seat for the crown prince on the left side above the throne.

Originally, this seat was supposed to be his, but now it was replaced by Huang Ye!The more I think about it, the more I hate it.

Then look at Huang Ye who was sitting on top - dressed in a light yellow dragon robe, wearing a gold crown with oriental pearls on his head, with a handsome face and a dignified appearance.Let all the women present here, whether they are princesses or maids in the palace, all look sideways at him to show their concern.

The more attention he attracted, the more Yaozu gritted his teeth. Even the dancer in his arms was a bit volatile, often turning his face to the left side of the throne, hoping to get the prince's favor.

Of course, he is a prince, and once he is by his side, he can become a prince concubine, but even a lowly dancer has such thoughts, and it is really annoying to see people as inferior!

"Get out!" Yaozu pushed the dancers to the ground, grabbed their hair, and slapped them twice.

Just a moment ago they were still screaming at the beauties, but now they turned their faces and refused to admit it. The two beauties were so shocked that their faces turned pale, and they were in a panic.

In the end, the Empress Dowager motioned to the two eunuchs to drag out the two dancers who had lost all manners, and everything returned to calm.

However, Yaozu, who was dissatisfied, became even more lawless when he saw the Queen Mother "taking care" of him.

He looked around, and unexpectedly saw the handsome soldier he had seen at the gate of the city in the morning, and he didn't ask his name at that time.At this moment, the little soldier was standing under the jade steps on the left side of the throne, guarding the royal family for meals.

Could it be the prince's bodyguard?But wasn't he wearing the uniform of the Imperial Forest Army in the morning?Although he was a bit confused, under the encouragement of the alcohol, Yaozu picked up a jug of wine, staggered towards the soldier.

Ke Weiqing monitored all movements in the hall, especially under the throne.At this time, the banquet was halfway through, and from time to time, princes and officials would get up to have a urinate, so when they saw the fat and bloated eldest prince walking on tiptoe between the tables and chairs, he didn't think it was strange, but this prince pushed the eunuch's hand away. Armed, walked straight to him.

"Little soldier, what's your name? Where are you from?"

Ke Weiqing was taken aback by the sudden question from the drunken eldest prince.

"Speak, are you dumb?" Yaozu pushed the jug to Ke Weiqing's chest, and the spilled wine immediately wet his clothes.

"My lord, please go back to the banquet and drink." Ke Weiqing gently pushed the flagon away and said.

"What? Call me my lord, do you know who I am? Come, have a drink with me, I guarantee that you will be well-fed in the future!" Yaozu sucked his nose.Drunken and having fun all day long, he has long since lost the prestige he had when he was the first prince, and instead looked like a country bully.

"Damn big brother." Yong Lin noticed the movement here and frowned secretly.In fact, he has been watching Ke Weiqing, and his seat is also close to the throne.

Just when Yonglin felt annoyed and got up to stop this farce, a sharp sword flashed in front of Yaozu's neck.

The point of the sword was only a tiny bit away from his throat, and it could kill him at any time!

"Ah!" Yaozu was startled and almost bit his own tongue.Ke Weiqing was also very surprised, looking at His Royal Highness who suddenly stood up.

Huang Ye stood on the jade steps, holding the Longming Sword.The shiny blade gave off a shuddering cold light under the palace lamp.

In an instant, the lively hall with all the music and laughter became silent.Everyone, including foreign envoys, stared at the conflict between the crown prince, the eldest prince, and a guard on the throne.

Everyone knew that the crown prince hated the eldest prince, and also knew that the eldest prince still hadn't given up on the position of crown prince. In their view, this guard was just a fuse that caused disputes between the two of them.

The emperor and the empress dowager were also quite shocked by this sudden situation. The two brothers were at war, or at the emperor's birthday banquet, did they want to rebel against the dynasty?

"You, what do you think? Dare to kill me?" Yaozu reprimanded while shaking his fat body, pretending to be fearless.

"You have been demoted to a commoner, but you want to be punished by the imperial staff by teasing His Highness's guards with swords in public?"

The punishment of the court staff was to spank the buttocks in front of the officials by two guards holding up a wooden plank in turn. This was a symbol of shame, and it was also a torture that would make life worse than death.

"Who said I teased him? I, I just..."

"It's just that he was so drunk that he couldn't even tell whether he was a man or a woman?" Huang Ye stared at him coldly.

"Yes, that's it!" Yaozu hastily confessed in order to get rid of the crime.There were titters during the banquet, what kind of drama is this foolish prince doing?

The Empress Dowager was so angry that her chest was blocked. Yaozu was so dissolute that even the guards in the palace dared to be contemptuous, and he was willing to get drunk as an excuse to get away with it. He was so daring and unmanly!

His actions are tantamount to smearing her, the queen mother, so before Huang Ye could withdraw her sword, the queen mother said, "Drag out, the court staff is twenty!"

"Grandmother! Imperial Grandmother! Please be merciful! My grandson is wrong!" Yaozu cried and begged for mercy with tears and snot in his nose. .

She acted stern and selfless, but her heart was bleeding. This grandson was brought up by her alone, and her feelings were naturally inferior to those of other emperors and grandchildren.

Huang Ye took back the Longming Sword, told Ke Weiqing to go back and change clothes, and sat back on the table.

The drums were played again, and gradually the voices of the people returned to turmoil. The Empress Dowager's face turned livid, and she glanced at the prince resentfully, thinking, "This is a trick to kill people with a knife, he used it really ruthlessly, he actually forced me to personally order Yaozu to be punished!"

And when the officials saw that even the queen mother no longer protected the eldest prince, no one would expect Yaozu's return.

Who would support a drunk prince who made a big fool of himself at the emperor's birthday banquet?

The queen mother clenched her fists tightly, she was old, but her mind was not confused, Huang Ye was much stronger than she imagined.What should I do to save the situation?Looks like I'll have to think carefully in the future.

While the queen mother was pondering the tricks, the prince accepted the toasts from the envoys and officials in turn. His generosity and compassion for his subordinates were deeply loved by them.

Zhao Guowei was unwilling to be lonely, and proposed a tug-of-war to add to the fun, and Chunyu Wen readily agreed.Therefore, the civil and military officials were divided into two rows, hey hey hey, scrambling for the first place, the noise was so loud that the roof was almost toppled over.

The envoys of the eight countries also sent their strong soldiers to participate in it. This is like a duel of "arm strength", whichever side is stronger will win.

At first it was just for fun, but then it was Zhao Guowei who was alone. He was already in his fifties, his temples were mixed with gray hair, but he was able to pull out the mountains.One person grabbed one end, roared, and pulled all the twenty or so young and middle-aged men on the other end to the ground!

"Brave general! A truly brave general." Zhao Guowei was unanimously praised by the envoys, as if this was a commendation banquet for him, rather than a birthday celebration for the emperor.

Huang Ye didn't take part in it, but he saw all this very clearly. In fact, compared to the old queen mother, the incompetent elder brother, Zhao Guowei, who is full of power, is the object he has been wary of.

"Report!" A soldier in military uniform suddenly appeared under the throne, saying that he had something to report.

"Today everyone had a great time drinking and enjoying the game. No matter how urgent it is, we can wait until tomorrow to discuss it." The emperor said with a smile, but gave the prince a wink.

Huang Ye understood, taking advantage of everyone's tug-of-war, he summoned the soldier to the side hall for questioning.

"It's the father's birthday banquet, if it is stopped suddenly, it will definitely arouse the suspicion of the courtiers. If there is anything urgent, you can explain it here."

"Your subordinate understands, the emperor is wise." The soldier said solemnly, "Reporting to His Royal Highness, the Military Aircraft Department received a secret report saying that the Tianqi Kingdom has mobilized [-] soldiers and horses, intending to aggressively invade our country!"

"Where did you get the secret report?"

"It's the report from the spies placed by the Military Aircraft Department in the Tianqi Kingdom." Today, there are no spies from other countries in any country, and there are almost a thousand people sent by Dayan.

There are those who successfully undercover, but more often their identities are exposed and they are killed.Because spies not only need to spy on the enemy's military situation, but also to provoke and disrupt the enemy's political situation.Sometimes whether to accept a secret report depends not only on whether the spy is reliable, but also on the analysis of the source of the secret report.

And the secret report from Tianqi Kingdom is the twin brother of Qing Yun, the cavalry commander of the Royal Forest Army. His name is Qing Fou.

"Thank you, let's go down first." Huang Ye asked the soldiers to retreat. To show that there was nothing wrong, he returned to the banquet and drank with all the courtiers. It was not until late at night that the birthday banquet ended.

※※※

Star-studded, hanging high above the black sky, Ke Weiqing stood in the front garden of the East Palace, waiting for the prince's order.

Earlier, the crown prince ordered him to go back to the hall to change clothes, so he was led by the eunuch to the side hall of the East Palace and changed into a clean bodyguard uniform.

But the eunuch left, and Ke Weiqing was not summoned by the prince, so he could only stay in the quiet garden.

He is the prince's bodyguard, so even if he doesn't go back to the banquet, he can find a place to stay, or stay at the East Palace at night, or go back to the bodyguard camp to rest.

But Ke Weiqing hadn't been to the East Palace for a long time, and most of the people here didn't know him. The young masters who were selected as military guards at the same time had already been promoted and got more important errands.There are strange faces everywhere, which makes Ke Weiqing feel that he is superfluous here.

I really want to relieve the prince's worries, but Huang Ye rarely summons him. Is it because he is not qualified enough to be a bodyguard, or did he do something wrong?Ke Weiqing really couldn't figure it out, so he became even more frustrated.

Just when Ke Weiqing was feeling extremely depressed, an announcement came from the front hall, "His Royal Highness is here!"

Ke Weiqing hurriedly went to the palace gate to meet him. More than a dozen eunuchs and maids, holding red palace lanterns, appeared on both sides of the palace gate.

The green dragon chariot that the prince was riding on had already arrived in front of the hall. The blue chariot body, the scarlet hood, and the eight windows were engraved with golden dragon scales, which was very impressive.

"Slave welcomes His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." The eunuchs and court ladies knelt down one after another, and their shouts echoed in the night sky.

However, the person who came down was the cavalry commander Qing Yun.When he saw Ke Weiqing kneeling in front of the door, he was taken aback for a moment, then smiled, "Weiqing, it will be easy with you here."

"When?" Ke Weiqing asked hastily.

"The prince drank too much, I was worried, so I sent him back." Qing Yun shook his head and sighed, "You haven't seen those envoys and ministers, who took turns to invite His Highness to drink, and His Highness couldn't excuse it, so he drank it all. I can't even persuade you!"

"Also, drinking in a hurry hurts people. As I said before, Your Highness is not huge..."

"Have you said enough?" Huang Ye interrupted Qing Yun, leaning on the wall of the car, and walked down.

"Ah, Your Highness, watch out for the threshold."

"I know, you don't need to talk too much." Huang Ye's gait was a little shaky, but he still insisted on walking into the palace gate.The eunuchs lifted up the palace lanterns one after another to illuminate him.

Ke Weiqing was about to follow in, but Qing Yun grabbed him again, and reminded him in a low voice, "Don't look like the prince is fine, he vomited twice on the way back, and you still don't let me tell the imperial doctor... Anyway, be careful Looking after it, I always feel that something will happen at night.”

"Understood, I will watch carefully." Ke Weiqing nodded cautiously, then bid farewell to Qing Yun, and trotted in.