Fake concubine, real queen

The chariots and horses were so vast, and it was almost the evening of the second day when they approached the capital. Although Pei Zhaoheng walked with He Gu for a while, Yun Zhui and Zhu Yue were intimate, and his identity was too conspicuous, so He Gu didn't want to. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, His Highness the Third Highness showed close ties with him, so he drove him back halfway.

Of course, there is another reason.

After a lot of tossing last night, although He Gu was willing at that time, but under the confusion of emotions, he naturally didn't feel any shame. At that time, he was only thinking about how to make the other party happy, not He thought too much, but then he went back to his tent, and when he lay down, he saw the scene in Wang Cai's tent just now, and the voice of His Highness the Third Highness stroking his hair and calling him "Zihuan" hoarsely.

Master He Xiaohou's shame came a little late, and it went slowly. Even if he saw Pei Zhaoheng today, he couldn't deal with it calmly. Although He Gu couldn't see it himself, the burning feeling on his cheeks was indeed The real deal.

And the more he saw the refreshed look of this man today, and the smile in his eyes, the more ashamed and ashamed He Gu felt, even the feeling that his throat was blocked by a foreign object yesterday. , now he can still recall clearly...

Not to mention the previous life, it is the life after rebirth. Before last night, He Gu had never thought that one day he would...

cough.

Fortunately, the Xishan Grassland was not far from the capital, and it didn't take long for He Xiaohou to become angry and feel ashamed. A group of mighty chariots and horses soon approached the capital, and He Gu's attention was also attracted.

It's not because of anything else, but as soon as he approached the capital, He Gu found many people who looked strange on the road——

After all, he had commanded the Twelve Guards of Xuanji in his previous life, and he knew how this group of people hide their whereabouts, how they dress on weekdays, and many subtle habits, so he only saw a look from a distance in the crowd, or They lowered their lids slightly but still showed a straw hat with a tight jaw, so He Gu could recognize them.

Along the way, there were quite a few of these people. After He Gu found a few, he paid attention to them on purpose, and counted them carefully in his heart. He found that he hadn't arrived in the capital yet. The imperial guards were mobilized, except for the emperor himself, I am afraid that no one can move them.

Although He Gu couldn't see through what the emperor was thinking, he could vaguely smell a little bit of the wind that was about to come.

What he thought was indeed right. If he continued on his way, the closer he got to the capital, the more people there would be. The emperor's actions have been sorted out in detail——

This sorting out, the first thing that He Gu thought of was a point that was very different from the previous life, or a person.

The leader of the mysterious twelve guards, Li Qiushan.

In the previous life, the Xuanji Twelve Guards had always been subordinate to the Yamen of the Imperial Army of the Fifth Division of Gyeonggi, and the commander of the twelve guards also served under the command of the Imperial Army of the Fifth Division of Gyeonggi. He said he wanted to purge the twelve guards, so he took the twelve guards out of the Yamen of the Fifth Division of Gyeonggi, and appointed a new commander, that is, Commander Li Qiushan.

From then on, the commanders of the Xuanji Twelve Guards directly obeyed the orders of the Emperor, and were no longer under the control of the Fifth Division of Gyeonggi. Many, but the position of the commander of the twelve guards may not necessarily be a head shorter than the commander of the imperial army——

On the contrary, because they are all in Gyeonggi, and the affairs under their jurisdiction are similar, they bow their heads all day long and don't look up to see them.

Many of these things were also mentioned by He Gu in this horse bow meeting. He thought about this, and suddenly he was blessed with a thought, and secretly thought that His Majesty would not be in...

Guard against the prince, right?

The Twelve Guards are no longer constrained by others, and directly obey the emperor's orders, and the Gyeonggi area is worthy of the emperor's use of the Twelve Guards for defense. Besides the Gyeonggi Five Divisions, what other forces can there be?

To say that the emperor was guarding against the Fifth Division of Gyeonggi and Ji Hong, would be more like——

Guard against the prince.

He Gu grabbed the reins of the horse and was stunned for a moment. For some reason, he suddenly felt that His Majesty seemed a little impatient in his recent actions.

Now this His Majesty, although everyone praises him as a benevolent monarch who treats his subordinates with kindness and is diligent and self-disciplined, but back then he was only four brothers, with three older brothers at the top and two younger brothers at the bottom. There were also four brothers who competed with him for the throne. The emperor was not from a high family background, but in the end he was able to stand out among the brothers and was selected by the late emperor. After seeing his two brothers who became kings after leaving Beijing, they became disobedient brothers. How could such a variety of things be done with the word "benevolence"?

This majesty is best at boiling frogs in warm water. He was caught off guard by a ruthless blow in silence, but now he is as dull as He Gu, and he even senses some sense of unrest that is approaching the eve of a major event. How could this be so?

But He Gu thought about it carefully, after all, he lived once, and to a certain extent, he had opened his eyes. He could detect it, but it didn't mean others could detect it.

All of this may be due to his overthinking.

But what happened next after returning to Beijing proved that He Gu didn't care too much.

The two censors, Taichung Cheng, went to Jiangluo personally under the order, and together with a group of supervisors from the Supervisory Department, they arrested Song Yinian, the governor of Jiangluo. In the dark room, a total of more than seven million taels of silver, more than [-] taels of gold, and countless treasures of jade were paid in total.

Song Yinian's father, Song Hang, happened to be the governor of Jiangluo who took office. Song Yinian was also regarded as his son in succession to his father. The two governors, the father and the son, are both big officials from the same place. The Song family has been thriving in Jiangluo these years. The Jiangluo governors add up to live for 100 years without eating or drinking, and they may not be able to make up one-third of the Song family's property today.

It is clear that Qingtian's parents are officials, but the family is rich in gold and silver. It's just that so much money is piled up, it's all the people's anointing, and even there are floods and disasters, and they have to take a sum of money from the disaster relief money to fill their own pockets. The emperor After learning about it, Lei Ting was furious, broke his hand at the court meeting, and angrily accused Song Hang, Song Yinian and his son of harming the country, and ordered the Supervisory Department to continue to investigate carefully, and must investigate this matter thoroughly.

As soon as this incident happened, the government and the public were shaken. Jiangqing has been rich since ancient times, and Luoling is the land where the ancestors of the Pei family prospered. The annual tax revenue of these two prefectures can be equivalent to that of eight or nine other prefectures. These officials all know, but they don't think that the Song family can get so much. Such a large amount of money is thanks to them daring to go home. Moving, and moving, and still being able to sleep peacefully, can be regarded as a person.

It's just that the Song family has collapsed. Some people are happy while others are worried. There are not a few people in Jingzhong who have some friendship with the two of them and have a good acquaintance. Or the father and son of Song Hang Song Yinian deliberately tried to drag people into their backs when they were tortured, and when they pulled out the carrots and brought out the mud, they couldn't run away even if they wanted to.

If this matter is investigated for one more day, they will not be able to sleep well.

Coincidentally, this group of people is more or less related to the crown prince, or in other words, they were originally loyal to the crown prince in private, just like the Song family father and son.

Everyone was like ants on a hot pot, running around in a hurry. In the end, they had to go to see His Highness the Crown Prince, but they didn't want to be left behind.

Now everyone is really helpless, under the urgent medical treatment, thinking about the benefits of the emperor in the past, thinking that he is also a kind and benevolent emperor who is willing to listen to advice, how many of them don't know if they are stupid or bad , actually wrote a letter for the Song family at the court meeting, begging the emperor not to kill the Song family, and even raised the matter that Song Yinian took office a few years ago, and the selection of officials was also done by the prince, saying that if the Song family is too extreme , I'm afraid it will hurt the reputation of His Highness the Crown Prince.

This is great, the emperor may have only six points of anger at first, but he was abruptly provoked by nine points, and in front of the civil and military officials, he scolded those foolish bastards and asked: "I am the Son of Heaven, and I am ordered by the emperor." God is responsible for the country, but my reputation is far less than the sufferings of the common people. The Song family's father and son are greedy and plunder the people's fat. How many people died in the flood last year, and all the ministers have bad eyes. Or can't they see it? Could it be that in your hearts, the reputation of the prince is even higher than my bow?"

As soon as these words came out, the officials turned pale, and it wasn't the ones who played, they also knelt down and screamed, and even scolded those people in their hearts.

When the prince heard about this, he was even more angry, but he didn't dare to delay. The court was over that day, so he hurried to the Lanzheng Hall to see his father, but the emperor was obviously in a bad mood, so he even found a The pretext was that the Eucharist was never ill, and only Wang Zhonglu sent a message saying that His Majesty has no intention of seeing you, please go back.

The more the emperor was like this, the more the prince dared not go back, so he knelt at the gate of the Lanzheng Hall until midnight that day. Although it was midsummer, it was still a bit cold at night, not to mention the prince was still like this Kneeling on the ground, it was even colder, seeing his knees suffering so much, Zhai'er couldn't bear to see it, and almost wanted to go to the hall to intercede for him, but was stopped by his master Wang Zhonglu.

Although Wang Gonggong didn't say anything, he looked at the little apprentice with cold eyes, as if he was saying: "Take care of your head when you do things too carefully."

So Zhai'er didn't dare to be troublesome, just shrank his head, and followed into the inner hall to serve the emperor.

But father and son are father and son after all, the emperor was also busy this day, dealing with government affairs until the end of the son's time, and asked if the prince was still kneeling outside, Wang Zhonglu answered yes, the emperor was silent for a while, and finally declared him go in.

Wang Zhonglu sent the crown prince into the hall, then he closed the door and came out quickly, not wondering what the father and son said inside, it was not until half an hour later that the crown prince left the Lanzheng Hall with a dazed expression and pale lips , went back to the East Palace.

When Yue Huaimin entered the palace on the second day and saw the prince's appearance, he was also taken aback and said, "Your Highness, this is..."

The crown prince dismissed all the palace servants until he and Yue Huaimin were the only ones left in the inner hall, and then he said angrily: "How could Gu not be like this? What happened to them at the court meeting yesterday? Isn’t the current situation of Sui Gu not bad enough? Is Sui Gu’s life too comfortable now?”

Seeing this, Yue Huaimin glanced at the crown prince, poured him a cup of tea, and comforted him: "Your lords are desperate and have no choice, so they came up with this foolish trick. Now it's all done, no matter how angry your highness is...it's useless, yesterday Has Your Highness gone to see the Emperor?"

Pei Zhaoyuan breathed a sigh of relief, closed his eyes, and said, "See you."

Yue Huaimin said: "What did the emperor say? Are you still angry?"

Pei Zhaoyuan was silent for a while, and said: "Father... seems to be talking lonely."

Yue Huaimin asked suspiciously, "Stupid words?"

Pei Zhaoyuan said: "The meaning of the father's words seems to know that there are more than seven million taels confiscated by the Supervisory Academy, but he doesn't say it clearly. Instead, he came to ask Gu if he knows what Song Yinian has done these years I don't know how much Song Yinian ate..."

Yue Huaimin was stunned for a moment, and said, "Then...how does His Highness answer?"

Pei Zhaoyuan said: "I called you here today for this purpose, what's Fengying's idea?"

Yue Huaimin pondered for a while, and said: "To be honest, Elder Song has always acted steadily, and the Song family has been keeping a low profile over the years. This time, the incident happened suddenly. I still think it's because Mr. Song went too far during the flood last year. I want to come to him He did not listen to his father, which attracted His Majesty's attention, but the person who investigated carefully was..."

After a pause, he said, "Is it King Ke?"

Pei Zhaoyuan said: "When he went to deal with the disaster, Ji Hong kept people watching secretly. It wasn't him, and the little things that the third child knew were just superficial. I'm afraid there is someone else behind this time. .”

Yue Huaimin sighed, and said: "At this point, no matter who it is, His Highness has to pass the emperor's test first, or His Highness still... Let's tell the emperor the amount truthfully, the fire can't be contained in the paper, Even if we fool the emperor now, if it happens again in the future, it will be a crime of deceiving the emperor..."

Pei Zhaoyuan was silent for a while, his eyes became colder, and he said, "I want to say it, but I can't say it all."

Yue Huaimin said, "Ah? You mean..."

Pei Zhaoyuan said: "Even if it is more than 700 million taels, these things are all done by Song Yinian, and have nothing to do with other people in Beijing. They used to be able to turn a blind eye and close their eyes and not care about them when they were fishing for money. Song Yinian didn't let it go, and now his father is aware of it, it's his own fault, if that's the case, Gu will protect him too."

Yue Huaimin's heart sank, and after a long silence, he managed to force a smile of understanding on his face, and said, "Your Highness... What Your Highness said is true, and... and now Your Highness can't keep them anymore, if it's because of them. The adults in the court...and the uncle of the country, this is indeed more worth the loss."

Pei Zhaoheng gave a "hmm" and said, "Although Fengying is young, she knows more about the general situation than them."

Yue Huaimin smiled, but the smile was shallow and didn't reach the bottom of his eyes, and said: "Then... what about those adjutants? I also heard that a few days ago, all the adults wanted to see His Highness, but they ate it. Shut the door, Your Highness should still see them and appease them once or twice, otherwise, if this goes on, maybe one day they will be confused again, dragging His Highness into the water for nothing."

The prince snorted in his nasal cavity, and said: "Don't worry about those pig brains who are playing. Such people can hardly sleep in the lonely night in the middle of the court. The emperor's handling is just right. As for the other adults..."

After a pause, he said: "You can arrange it. When I go to see my father tomorrow, I will set up a banquet in Huizhen Building. Remember to hide it and not attract people's attention."

Yue Huaimin said yes, and then he didn't say anything.

-----

These days, the situation in Beijing and China has obviously changed. There are sudden storms and undercurrents in the court hall, and people's hearts are fluctuating in panic, but they are all more vigilant and diligent by coincidence. At this juncture, he didn't dare to rely on the old to sell the old anymore, outside the gate of Taihe every day before dawn, there would be a dense array of chariots and horses from the ministers' families, waiting for the palace gate to open.

On the other hand, He Gu, after all, doesn't have any duties now. If the transfer order from the Ministry of War is not available, he is still an idler. It has nothing to do with him for the time being. He only practices knives and writing every day. Waiting for the documents from the Ministry of War to come down.

It's a pity that we waited and waited, but nothing came. In the past, the horse-bow meeting, the holy driver returned to Luan at the end of July, and the paperwork could come down at the beginning of August. But this year, I don't know what happened. August is over, and there is still no news.

He Gu was bored all day long, so he always went to bookstores and silk shops to see if he could give them a helping hand.

It's just that when I came back from this trip, I met Lan Xiao. Lan Xiao was very excited when she knew that He Gu might be going to the Northland. It turned out that she had long intended to expand the business of the silk and satin shop in Beijing and opened it to the Northland. It's the month, and it's about to be the best time for winter clothes business. The weather in the north is cold, and there are many dignitaries and generals who are not short of money. The biggest hidden danger in the north is that there are many horse bandits. If the business grows I'm afraid of being watched by others, but if I can go with my son-in-law...to be in the same place, wouldn't that be an extra layer of protection?

Lan Xiao told He Gu about this, and He Gu thought about it, and quickly agreed.

Not counting those not-so-valuable country villages, Miss Yan originally left a few shops in central Beijing for He Gu and He Rong's two brothers and sisters. Among them, Wensheng Bookstore, Xing'an Silk and Satin Shop, and Zhenkelou have a good location and good business. , even the employed shopkeepers, bookkeepers, front shops, and people who make a living add up to about 10,000+ taels of silver in pure conversion, and the annual surplus is about [-]. part.

But since Lan Xiao took over the bookstore and the silk and satin shop last year, the income of the entire Wensheng Bookstore, after deducting the cost, was more than 10 taels. Including the silk and satin shop, the two shops reached nearly [-] taels. The building is still the same, one is because there is a Huizhen building in the middle of the capital after all, and its reputation spreads far and wide, and it is always on the head of the Zhenke building. Naturally, the Zhenke building can't get ahead; It is reasonable for people who live in this area to do everything in less than a year. They only care about bookstores and silk shops, but they can't care about Zhenkelou.

To be honest, He Gu himself led the army, and 10 taels of silver was thrown away to raise troops, which means that it was gone in the blink of an eye. This number is actually not enough, but Lan Xiao was originally just a maid who waited on grooming, and now she can To do this, he can be called a genius in the sky, and He Gu doesn't plan to be too demanding. After all, there is also the dowry of the "Eldest Princess". Together, it should be enough to raise a small elite for a year or two.

However, He Gu is not demanding, but Lan Xiao is still not happy, and has been thinking about opening a branch. Now that he has the opportunity, he immediately opened up with He Gu.

He Gu said: "Yes, it is possible, but you and I went to Beidi, and the shops in the middle of the capital are afraid that no one will take care of them..."

Lan Xiao sighed while arranging the newly printed books, and said: "What Hou Ye said is... I also had a fever yesterday, and I went back to think about it carefully at night. I will definitely not be able to leave the capital. , but I don’t have to go in person to open a branch, I’ll choose a few smart people to go with Lord Hou, and I’ll teach them what to do, so, does Lord Hou think it’s okay?”

He Gu said: "Since you can trust it, I can trust it too, so do as you think."

He Gu knew that he was not suitable for doing business, and perhaps because he had served as a soldier, he had always believed in the principle that employers should not be suspicious, and Lan Xiao had never disappointed He Gu in the past year. Therefore, He Gu only trusted her wholeheartedly.

It was Lan Xiao herself, knowing that He Gu was still willing to continue to entrust most of his wealth to him for safekeeping, she was quite grateful, and brought her parents and younger brother who were far away from her hometown to Beijing, and found He Gu again, saying yes Ask him to take care of him for a while, and put the house in a small yard not two steps away from the Princess Mansion.

He Gu immediately understood what Lan Xiao meant. Lan Xiao was afraid that he would suspect that she would have a different heart in the future, so she took the initiative to send her family to He Gu's eyes, so that he could feel at ease.

He Gu didn't think it was necessary at first, and wanted to tell Lan Xiao not to do this, but the Third Highness knew about it, shook his head with him, and said, "Since she took the initiative, you don't have to refuse."

After returning to Beijing these days, Pei Zhaoheng has to take care of the errands of the Ministry of Criminal Justice and the Ministry of Industry, and has been busy all the time. After taking a rest for a day, he came to the Princess Mansion to take a look at He Gu. Shady, the scenery in the small courtyard is elegant and unique, looking out through the window of the octagonal sandalwood pavilion in the study, it is full of greenery.

He Gu said: "Since I have used Lan Xiao, I should trust her. If I still hold her parents and younger brother in my hands, then what am I? Isn't this coercing Lan Xiao?"

Pei Zhaoheng shook his head and said, "No."

He Gudao: "What do you mean by His Highness's words?"

Pei Zhaoheng said: "If Zihuan wants to reassure Lan Xiao, she should leave her parents behind so that she can take care of her. If there is no bondage, it will be bad for you and her."

Although He Gu didn't understand it very well, it was still a bit puzzling after thinking about it, but since the Third Highness personally spoke up to persuade him...

He Gu was silent for a while, then said: "Okay...then I'll think about it again."

Pei Zhaoheng said: "The documents from the Ministry of War are coming soon."

He Gu was taken aback, put down the little wolf hair in his hand, and said, "Ah? Really?"

After a pause, he sighed and said, "It's already September..."

Pei Zhaoheng said: "Yesterday's court meeting has already been discussed. The Ministry of War is in charge of the elder brother. These days the elder brother is very diligent, and the document will probably be issued within two days."

He Gu regained his comprehension, and said after a while: "...Then I'm leaving soon, too."

After finishing speaking, he suddenly found that Pei Zhaoheng, who was originally sitting by the tea table, had walked behind him at some point, and his breath was very close to him. Pei Zhaoheng was looking down at the words written by He Gufang. After reading for a while, Only then nodded and said: "In just one year, Zihuan's calligraphy has improved a lot."

Ever since the night before Xishan's return to Beijing, Pei Zhaoheng has been busy with errands in the Criminal Department of the Ministry of Industry, and He Gu has been in a hurry to meet him, let alone get close to him.

After that night, I felt ashamed, but after a long time, I couldn't touch it, or I couldn't see it, but He Gu inevitably began to miss the Third Highness again...

However, if you want to think about this matter, Lord He Xiaohou has to face a fact——

It seemed...should...could be him.

In less than two months, Lord He Xiaohou's mood has gone through mountains and mountains like this. After a process from scratch, he has changed little by little from "he really can't" to "he needs to think again." ", and then "Maybe it's not impossible to come once in a while..." Finally, "Forget it, what's there to be afraid of".

But when I think about it, I still dare not open my mouth...

And there is no chance.

until today.

With this situation, He Gu couldn't help but recall when the Third Highness was still the eldest princess, the two of them also practiced calligraphy here, and the Third Highness led him to write stroke by stroke, and he was never impatient.

... His Highness, it seems that he always treats him like this, so gentle and patient.

He Gu's Adam's apple rolled, and suddenly he said, "...But I don't think it's good enough."

Pei Zhaoheng turned to look at him and said, "What's wrong?"

When he looked at himself, He Gu couldn't help but start to feel hot behind his ears. However, his five fingers under his sleeves curled up, and he still closed his eyes and said: "His... Your Highness, will you teach me to write again? You What I taught last year, I... I almost forgot."

Pei Zhaoheng stared at him for a while, his eyes seemed to be very meaningful, but they seemed to be indifferent. In fact, they didn't mean anything at all. He Gu didn't know if he was being overwhelmed, but the silent air made him feel even more indifferent. Embarrassed and... a little mortified.

After a while, Pei Zhaoheng said: "Okay."

The two didn't say a word, just like sister Yu'er and He Gu back then, Pei Zhaoheng held his hand from behind and wrote.

It was getting dark outside the window.

Xu Shi and the two of them actually knew each other well, what words should they learn?It's just a gimmick. It didn't take long to write the words, and he dropped the pen. The kiss was hot and hot in front of the desk. He Gu's mind was in chaos. He almost forgot what year it was. He only felt Pei Zhaoheng. His fingertips felt slightly cold, and they moved up a little bit along his lower abdomen, and then touched an unspeakable place.

He Gu snorted, and wanted to turn his head to look at it, but at this moment, Pei Zhaoheng was leaning on his back on the desk, unable to turn his head away, and could only hear his slightly rapid breathing.

"...Has Zihuan made up his mind?"

Pei Zhaoheng asked in a low voice beside He Gu's ear.

He Gu took a breath and said, "I...I..."

Lord He Xiaohou was still intimidated, or in other words, today's Third Highness, who felt a little bit oppressive, made him feel a little scared for the first time.

He Gu didn't know what was wrong with him, the fear in his mind suddenly overcame his instinct, he turned around and pushed Pei Zhaoheng away, his chest heaved a few times before he said, "I... I... I'm sorry... Your Highness..."

After finishing his speech, he turned around and pulled up his shirt, and ran out of Zhifangzhai in a flash.

The night was already dark. Today was a clear day, and the night was also cloudless. The stars were shining brightly, and He Gu was blown by the night wind, and he suddenly regained his senses.

He... what's going on?

How did he run away...

Why did he leave His Highness the Third Prince there alone?

Haven't you thought it all over... Why do you still say you're cowardly?

He Gusha stood there in a daze for a while, the lights in the front yard flickered, and blurred figures appeared on the window screens, as if a few maidservants were fighting.

He Gu was stunned for a long time, and finally, after an unknown amount of time, he turned around in a strange way, and returned to Zhifangzhai the same way.

When he knocked on the door and saw Pei Zhaoheng who opened the door without saying a word and looked down at him, He Gu's Adam's apple rolled, and he wanted to speak but didn't say it. After a while, he managed to say: "Your Highness... yes... I'm sorry."

"I'm too useless..."

Pei Zhaoheng didn't speak, just pulled him into the room, closed the door and pushed He Gu against the back of the door, lowered his head and kissed him faintly.

He Guren was almost fooled by the kiss, his mind was in a mess, and he forgot everything he wanted to say.

After a while, it was easy to let go, and Master He Xiaohou had to take a breath, and then he heard His Highness whisper in his ear: "...I won't let you run away this time."