Fake concubine, real queen

Once again, He Gu was surrounded by the faint sandalwood scent from His Highness the Third Highness.

In recent years, extravagance and extravagance have prevailed in Bianjing, and peach blossoms and powdered incense are also popular among men. The scent of sandalwood is clear and faint, as if there is nothing there.

He Gu remembered that Lan Shu said that the red sandalwood incense used in Qingyu Palace was originally a tribute incense that was offered every year in the southern region. Although it is not expensive, it has the effect of regulating Qi and stomach. It was the "Eldest Princess" in disguise, and it was also because when his sister died when he was seven or eight years old, he fell into a serious illness. The third highness, who was still a little young, was left with a problem of disharmony of spleen and stomach and loss of appetite. Only in middle age will this incense be used for many years.

The sandalwood scent was nothing special, and naturally it had no aphrodisiac effect.

But at this moment, it smells in He Gu's nasal cavity——

This smell is like mellow wine warmed by a small fire. It floats in the air and surrounds all of He Gu's sense of smell. It is Pei Zhaoheng's unique smell, representing the existence and temperature of this person, and there is something that is not enough for outsiders. The hidden implication of the words, unless one can be like He Gu at this moment, so close to him with lips and teeth, ear to ear, ordinary people will definitely not be able to peek into it.

He Gu was stunned for a moment, then quickly hypnotized by the smell and seduced by the kiss. He seemed to have entered some kind of indescribable chaos, and could not help but immerse himself in it, unable to resist, and seemed to be drowning in the gentleness. Deeper and deeper.

The garden of the princess mansion is very large.

No one will notice that at this moment in the corner of an empty corridor in the garden, two slender figures are entwined and embracing each other.

Outside the porch, it was dark and windy, and the plum branches were covered with cold snow.

Lord He Xiaohou in the corridor could no longer deceive himself.

He Gu's hand trembled only by his side, and he didn't hesitate or restrain himself anymore. He raised his hand and grabbed the fabric of Pei Zhaoheng's waist. Rubbing and jumping around the tight waist, he found his slightly curved and hard spine, followed the spine all the way up, and finally embraced the young man's broad shoulders.

This kiss was indeed started by Pei Zhaoheng, but soon He Gu broke away from the completely passive state. He raised his head almost calmly and undisguisedly, and greeted the third highness's kiss, which was originally just a taste, and started Frantically snatching the other party's temperature and breath.

He Gu's reaction was really unexpected.He accepted and adapted so quickly, he didn't even seem to be frightened by this sudden kiss, his calmness was unreasonable, and he even wanted to turn his back on the customer.

Of course Pei Zhaoheng discovered his attempt.

A young man who has not yet grown up has a unique recklessness and childishness. He wants to launch an offensive, want to turn against the enemy, and wants to conquer the city, but unexpectedly, the third highness is not easy to get along with. He seems to have an almost natural His sharp and keen insight did not allow He Gu to realize his small plan smoothly, so he quickly changed his strategy and began to use offense as defense——

This shallow kiss, which was originally just a test, completely changed in this way, and became a contest between two young men, neither of which would give in, but it was always mixed with a bit of repression that had been suppressed for a long time and could no longer be concealed. The almost greedy love and attachment—

Until Pei Zhaoheng felt a burst of warm dampness coming from the fabric around his shoulders, he pulled He Gu away and raised his head, only to find that the sockets of He Gu's eyes were already flushed. He was tear-stained, but stared at him without saying a word, his eyes were right for a moment, as if he was longing for something, but mixed with a bit of silent depression...

The hearts of those who watched were tightened.

He Gu sniffed, and after a while he said in a muffled voice, "Your Highness...don't be like this."

Pei Zhaoheng raised his hand, his knuckles rubbed against the boy's teary cheek, and said in a low voice, "...why?"

"Just now... didn't Zihuan like it very much?"

"Why are you crying again?"

He used the word "you" very well, He Gu couldn't help being stunned when he heard this, and suddenly came back to his senses, only to realize that in just a short period of time, he had cried for more than one day in front of the Third Highness Back, if you count the time when "Sister Yu'er" was there, the number of times he has cried in front of the Third Highness in this life is more than in his last life...

...Why did he suddenly look like this?

This question from His Highness the Third Highness made He Gu feel ashamed and embarrassed, and he didn't know how to answer when Zheng Ye's voice came from a distance.

Seeing the two of them here, Zhengye waved to them from a distance, and shouted cheerfully, "Master, Third Highness, you are here!"

Holding a small box in his hands, Zheng Ye ran over in a small step, He Gu secretly heaved a sigh of relief, thinking that this guy finally came in time, and asked him: "What's the matter?"

Zhengye ran closer, seeing the tears still hanging on He Gu's face and the red eyes, he was immediately stunned, and after a while he was shocked: "Master...what's the matter?"

He Gu just now realized his appearance, which is really hard to explain, but now Zhengye has seen it clearly, and it was too late for him to cover up, so he just raised his hand and wiped it, saying: "It's nothing... just a small matter .”

Zhengye looked to the side who said nothing, for some reason, today he vaguely felt the third highness exuding coldness, and then looked at his own Lord Marquis, he was very sharp for a very rare time, and smelled something unusual , this time he was winking and didn't break the casserole to ask the end, he just hugged the box and said: "Miss Yan's new manuscript has been edited, please let me pass it to the master to have a look, is it okay this time?"

He Gu was startled.

Yan Zhiya's manuscript?Aren't all her manuscripts taken directly to the bookstore and sold with Lan Xiao's handprints?How could you tell him to watch...?

...Ah, He Gu remembered, Yan Zhiya had such a story book, it was the story book of the general and the emperor at the earliest time, the subject matter was a bit unsavory, he originally told Yan Zhiya to just give up this book, who Knowing that "Mr. Yi Gu" is very stubborn, she insists that this is her favorite work, she can always improve it, and she will definitely change it. He Gu, the owner of the bookstore, can't tell if he is here, and then I will find Lan Xiao again. , printed and sold as usual.

He Gu took the notebook, called the Third Highness, and went to the teahouse with Zheng Ye.

Just now he was with His Highness the Third Highness... This book of Longyang dialect is really hard to read in front of His Highness, so he just pressed it down, intending to look back, and asked his servants to serve tea, and greeted Pei Zhaoheng to drink tea. There were servants guarding the hall, and the atmosphere between the two returned to normal, no longer as ambiguous as when they were alone.

Although He Gu obviously felt that His Highness the Third Highness didn't seem to want to give up, but as soon as he had any signs of continuing the atmosphere and topic in the corridor just now, He Gu would immediately talk about him with erratic eyes, or just stop talking. When he met his eyes, he was so obvious, Pei Zhaoheng could see it naturally.

Pei Zhaoheng: "..."

It is indeed not so easy to wake up a person who pretends to be asleep.

He Gu deliberately wanted to hide, even if he tried to force him, it would be useless.

"It's a long way north to Zongshan. It's cold and snowy. Pack your bags before you go."

He Gu was startled when he heard the words, but when he turned his head, he happened to meet the deep eyes of His Highness the Third Highness, before he could hide, he heard him suddenly say: "...I'm not in a hurry, Zihuan."

"I'll wait for you to come back."

-------------------

The palace, the palace of government.

"This is the record of Heng'er's trip to Jiangluo to preside over the repair of the river embankment and the allocation of relief funds. A few days ago, I didn't have time to take care of it because of the cumbersome chores. It just so happens that Mr. Wang is here today, why don't you take it and read it too?" Look, look at what he wrote, and how did he write it?"

Wang Tinghe sat on the seat given to him by His Majesty the Emperor, took the booklet carefully held by the inner officer, opened it and read it intently for a while, before saying: "Return to Your Majesty, the old minister has finished reading it."

The emperor said: "How?"

Wang Ting said: "The most important thing is to be practical and have something to say."

The emperor said: "That's right, I also feel the same way. Although this kid is not as sharp-sighted as Wang Lao, who can spot those pests at a glance, but other than that, he is still dedicated to other errands, barely passable, and hastened to finish his work The last embankment in Gunan County, Jiangqing, came back to Beijing overnight, but the New Year’s Eve banquet still didn’t make it in time.”

Wang Tinghe said: "The Third Highness is young, so it is rare to be able to do this. Jiangluo's side... is already a tree with deep roots and intertwined roots. Although the Third Highness is sensitive, he still goes alone. If someone intentionally It's not his fault that His Highness didn't realize that it was concealed from His Highness."

The emperor was silent for a while, and said lightly: "This tree is too big, and its roots are too deep. It's almost growing to the side of my throne. It's time to repair it."

Wang Tinghe's eyelids twitched, and a layer of cold sweat immediately formed on his palms.

But he never showed the slightest bit on his face, he just bowed his head and said: "No matter how luxuriant the branches and leaves of the big tree are, they were born on the king's land after all. Your Majesty's destiny is in charge of life and death. How to prune the branches and leaves is naturally up to Your Majesty." Decide."

The emperor took the tea in the hands of the inner officer, took a sip, and there was a moment of silence in the hall, before the emperor said: "Let's not talk about this, the son-in-law set off yesterday, and went to Zongshan to help the "Eldest Princess" to help the spirit, what Wang Lao said was true. Xu, this child is really pure and innocent, alas... but I can't help him."

Wang Tinghe was silent for a while after hearing the words.

He knew that what His Majesty said today was mostly just a talk. After all, if he really felt sorry for the son-in-law, he could tell the matter to the son-in-law. When the son-in-law knew the true identity of the eldest princess, he would not be so sad , is mourning for her, and will not marry for life.

... But if you really want to look into it carefully, His Majesty chose Zihuan to be the "son-in-law" from the very beginning, and I'm afraid he had already expected this day to come. In the business of buying and soliciting, Zihuan is devoted to the "deceased eldest princess" and never forgets the "dead wife". Naturally, she will love "her" brother Aiwujiwu, treat her as a brother and sister, and willingly help the third highness.This kind of true love can stand the test of adversity. Wouldn't it be better than using money, material, and power to lure and coerce a hundred times?

Your Majesty has already figured it out clearly, is there any need for him to talk too much?

Wang Tinghe bowed his head and lowered his eyebrows and said: "Your Majesty didn't mean to do this, don't blame yourself, even if everyone knows about it in the future, they will certainly understand His Majesty's difficulties."

The emperor just smiled, noncommittal.

After a pause, he continued: "By the way, I sent a guard privately, and asked them to follow the son-in-law to Zongshan and accompany them as guards. When they got there, they would check by the way, who were the bandits who slaughtered the temple that day? Yuan'er asked someone to check the origin, but found nothing, they had already run away, but I felt that a gang of horse bandits may not have such a great ability, they can run so clean, it can be a little bit No trace left, right?"

Wang Ting said: "This...I'm afraid we will have to wait for the son-in-law to return to Beijing to find out."

The emperor was silent for a while, sighed, and suddenly said: "I always control people with magnanimity, and always show compassion when things happen, and always give me a chance. Did I do something wrong?"

Hearing this, Wang Tinghe stood up suddenly, bowed tremblingly and said, "How could Your Majesty hurt himself so much? Your Majesty's kindness is a blessing to the country. It's their fault that they didn't know how to cherish the opportunity His Majesty gave. It has nothing to do with His Majesty, and I hope His Majesty will not feel sad and sad because of this, and affect the Eucharist."

The emperor sighed, but did not answer.

……

He Gu walked gracefully, but he didn't know that as soon as he left, the back foot became lively. More than a dozen civil servants and censor officials jointly signed the performance, and the second prince of Qi Shen was ordered to control the twelve guards of Xuanji and organize the New Year's Eve palace banquet , responsible for patrolling the palace, but was negligent, which caused the queen to be frightened and seriously ill.

It is also said that the Wen family was originally a foreign relative, and Wen Xiuming, as the elder brother of Concubine Wen and the uncle of the second prince, holds two talisman guards guarding the camp. It is very important that His Majesty placed the Twelve Guards and the Talisman of the Great Battalion in the hands of the Second Prince and his uncle, it was really inappropriate. Now it seems that the Second Prince is young and does not have the conditions to rule the Twelve Guards, so he asked the Emperor to temporarily dismiss him. The second prince was on an errand, and the twelve guards were handed over to other credible generals with martial virtues.

The impeachment of Wen's family's arrogance, the second prince's unfilial piety, and his aunt's empress' son also flew to the emperor's court case like snowflakes, but the emperor never responded to the letter or said a word.

Only a few days later, an imperial edict was issued.

Pei Zhaolin, the second son of the emperor, was canonized as the king of Zhongjun, and Pei Zhaoheng, the third son of the emperor, was made the king of Kejun. The canonization ceremony was held on an auspicious day for each mansion, and all affairs were handed over to the second division of internal affairs and inner court.

This can be regarded as a drop of water falling into the boiling oil, and a stone stirred up a thousand waves, and the government and the public immediately exploded.

The emperor obviously didn't listen to the remonstrance and impeachment of the ministers, and took it into his heart. Not only that, he was also very stubborn, and he wanted to confront the ministers at this time.

It is natural that there is nothing wrong with the prince becoming king, it is only a matter of course.

But according to the old practice, even if you want to crown the prince king, you have to be meritorious to be promoted. Even if sometimes the prince has no real merit, but in order to make a face, the emperor will always find an errand for his son to do, so that it is justified. It's also the old rules by default.

His Highness the Third Highness has just returned from Jiangluo. This time, the Third Highness who returned to Beijing from Jinling impressed all the officials and workers. Jiang Luo's errands were handled very well. It will involve some things that shouldn't be involved, causing trouble for nothing, causing trouble to the upper body, but who knows that this young prince can handle the errands assigned by the emperor well, and when he returns to Beijing, he has never offended him. One person, officials from Jiangluo and Luozhou, were all full of praise.

It is only natural for him to be crowned king, and everyone expects it, but what about the Second Highness?

Not only was there no merit, but just now, when the officials impeached him, His Majesty not only did not punish him for a little punishment, but also chose to crown him king at this time, so he almost wrote his favor for the second prince and the Wen family on his face.

The two kings who were conferred together should have been distinguished according to the identity of their biological mothers. The second highness was born of Concubine Wen Gui, while the third highness was born by the empress. In terms of rank, they were all named county kings. For the merits of the disaster, although it is a little higher to be a prince, it is not too much. In normal times, if you give the third highness a prince, there may be someone who will play it, saying that the third highness is too young, so he is temporarily appointed high, but today is different from the past. , Your Majesty, this time, his heart is almost in the sky, and he wants to forcefully make the Second Highness and the Third Highness equal regardless of their backgrounds and merits and demerits?

Once civil servants get angry, it's not a joke. There are some high-level performances, joint signatures, dead remonstrances, and even the elders who entered the Lanzheng Hall under the pretense of giving orders, and just knelt there. Holding the courtyard pillars in the palace, Ladu could not be pulled away. The emperor must distinguish the titles of the two kings, so as not to corrupt Gangchang.

For a while, it was like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each showing their magical powers, and the excitement was outrageous. After several days of dancing, the emperor finally couldn't bear it, had nothing to do, and had no choice. His Royal Highness's title of county king has been promoted to prince.

Finally achieved the initial victory, the officials felt a little relieved, but they didn't dare to slack off, and wanted to take advantage of the victory to pursue, and began to force the emperor to go to the second prince's errand, who knew that maybe the rabbit was anxious and bit people, this time it was really a mess for the emperor I was so annoyed that I couldn't bear it, so I cut it across the board and simply gave up all the errands in the hands of the prince and even the prince, saying that they would redistribute them all directly.

The prince was sitting in the East Palace, the pot came from the sky, he did nothing wrong, but he was dragged away by Pei Zhaolin. It turned out that he was the most popular and important fat job in the Ministry of Political Affairs and Officials. He couldn't hold back his anger, he just patted the table and said angrily: "Gu Zao said, tell them to accept as soon as they are good, although the father is kind and generous, but he is not a lump of mud, let them make it round and flat Now it’s all right, do you really think that Father doesn’t know about your connection with Gu? If you anger Father, even Gu will be troubled by you!”

It's just that no matter how angry he is, the emperor's decree has been issued, after all, it's a done deal, and it's hard to change it.

It's just that I don't know how the emperor will allocate the errands to the three sons this time.

He Gu didn't notice the messy pot of porridge in the middle of the Beijing fight. He drove for a few days, and when he arrived at Zongshan, the heavy snow had just stopped. He ordered someone to plan the foot of Zongshan. The tomb made by the "Eldest Princess" was found, but nothing was found, only a clothes tomb.

In addition to Zheng Ye, there was also a team of guards sent by the emperor. Seeing this, they guessed that most of the eldest princess died without a whole body, or the death was too miserable, so they couldn't restrain themselves, and the previous team had to do it for her. After seeing this situation with their own eyes, they all sympathized with the little son-in-law who saw this situation with his own eyes, came to help the spirit, but couldn't restrain himself even with his wife's complete skeleton, and comforted him one after another.

As for the Lianhua Temple on Zongshan Mountain, no one dared to care about it after such a tragedy happened. This place is in the north again, and it is almost outside the pass. There is no one to clean and take care of it in winter. The snow was half buried, and nothing could be seen.

He Gu was silent for a while, and led the crowd to kowtow in front of the Lianhua Temple, and braved the heavy snow to repair the tombs of the aunts at the foot of Zongshan Mountain, and then went to the small town next door to invite people After coming to perform rituals, I took the tomb of the "Eldest Princess" and embarked on the journey back to Beijing.

Along the way, he got acquainted with these young sergeants who were sent by the emperor to accompany him. He Gu had been in the military camp in his previous life. Topic, when resting on the road, we set up a bonfire together in the snow-covered woods in the north, roasted a rabbit and game, drank some wine, chatted and laughed, and listened to them blowing about the customs of their hometown, which made us feel relaxed and cordial.

Right now is He Gu's most relaxed state, don't have to think so much, don't have to worry about whether the shop in Beijing is profitable or not, where is He Cheng's future wife, who is He Rong's future husband's family, and there is no need to indulge in love, Or scratch your bald head for someone's throne.

Just drink, warm up, let the horses go, and occasionally play a couple of tricks with these brothers--

Although no one can do it.

Happy days always go by very quickly, even though it took more than a month, when He Gu Fuling returned to Bianjing City, he felt that only a few days had passed.

Then I took the troops and the convoy to Luoling, presided over the funeral, and arranged for the burial in the tomb, which took another few months.

When everything was settled and He Gu returned to the capital, it was almost July.

As soon as he arrived in the capital, the emperor probably knew about it, and immediately sent Wang Zhonglu to the princess mansion to pass the decree, which probably meant that the emperor was very pleased and praised the son-in-law for his kindness and affection, and made an exception and allowed him to live in the princess for a long time, instead of taking back the mansion.

It is indeed a great grace to make an exception for him.

But the grace seems to be more than that.

In addition, the emperor actually ordered him to go to Xishan in the suburbs of Beijing in July to participate in the horse bow meeting in the imperial decree.

The Xishan Bow and Horse Competition is held every three years. During the reign of Taizu Gaozu, it was just an ordinary autumn hunting competition for the noble children of the Dai Viet Dynasty, but later because the royal family also began to participate, and the emperor would always choose the generation with outstanding martial arts at the meeting. , was selected as a battalion general, and later gradually developed into a disguised martial arts similar to the civil servants' imperial examinations, but it was more powerful, more lively and interesting, but it was not for the selection of officials because of the age. You can also join in the fun, win a lottery, and get acquainted in front of Tian's family.

When He Gu was under his age three years ago, he went to play around once.

It's just that this time His Majesty personally ordered him to go, which is basically equivalent to telling He Gu clearly that as long as he doesn't act too conspicuously, as long as he doesn't make any fools, he will definitely be given an official position. that's it.

He Gu kowtowed to accept the order, and sent off the Wang Neiguan, but he could not help but sigh in his heart.

In fact, he didn't really want to find an official job...it's really meaningless.

The place where the king's internal officials delivered the decree was at the main entrance of the outer courtyard of the Princess Mansion. He Gu was about to turn around and enter the door, but a servant's voice came from behind him.

"My son-in-law!"

He Gu turned his head and saw that the man calling him was a young man in green clothes. This young man had obviously been waiting here for a long time, and he didn't dare to disturb him when he saw the palace officials coming to pass the order, so he just waited by the side, He Gu Looking at his clothes, he didn't look like he belonged to the princess mansion, nor did he belong to the Marquis of Changyang's mansion. He was a little puzzled for a moment, and asked, "What's the matter, are you?"

"If you go back to the son-in-law, it's my prince. He heard that the son-in-law is back, so he asked me to send a message, saying that he wants to see you. I just don't know when the son-in-law will be free after traveling a long distance?"

He Gu asked suspiciously: "Your prince?"

The boy said: "That's right, so that I can teach my son-in-law to know that my prince is His Royal Highness King Ke. A few months ago, His Royal Highness was granted the title of king, and the palace also gave him a mansion, so the prince moved out from the princess mansion."

After the young man finished speaking, he remembered that the son-in-law had just returned from Beijing, and was very caring. He was afraid that he would not remember who King Ke was, and said again: "It is the former Third Prince, and now the Third Prince."

He Gu's face twitched for a moment, and suddenly he frowned very realistically. He held onto the door frame, clutched his stomach and cried out in pain, "Ouch..."

Zhengye was taken aback, and hurried to help him up, "What's the matter, sir?"

He Gu frowned and said, "Perhaps... Xu is at the welcome banquet, he ate his stomach badly..."

Turning his eyes to look at the boy again, he said: "I... I'm not feeling well, it's really inconvenient to receive guests, please tell your prince, let's wait another day..."

The servant who witnessed his rapid face change: "..."