I dare not

It was already noon after leaving the palace, and it was almost time to go to the teacher's house for dinner.

Ouyang Chigong lived on Zhuque Street outside Taisheng Gate.

On Suzaku Street in the capital, people live in either the rich or the expensive.The high and low courtyards are lined up along the flat and wide streets. This place is not like the row of small vendors lined up in front of Gu Qiao’s house. On the spacious streets, there are only imperial guards patrolling back and forth. Occasionally, people pass by with their heads bowed and walking quickly. , dare not stay.

Gu Qiao walked to the door of the teacher's house. The porter saw him and shouted happily: "Mr. Gu Qiao is back!"

Ouyang Zhiwen came out first, "Qiao Er, why did you come back, the year is almost over."

"Brother Zhiwen," Gu Qiao cupped his hands and said, "Then I will pay my respects to my old age."

"Fuck you," Ouyang Zhiwen hugged his shoulders affectionately and walked in, "My mother heard that you are back, and she cooked a big table and waited for you to come for dinner. I will take you to a place this afternoon. Good place."

Gu Qiao smiled, "Okay."

"You little bastard has been out of shape all day, don't bring Qiao Er with you," Mrs. Lu said with a smile, "Qiao Er, come quickly, and let my wife see."

Gu Qiao said obediently: "Master."

Mrs. Lu took his hand and looked left and right, and said distressedly: "I heard that you were captured by bandits in Lianzhou, and you were almost worried to death! Your teacher said it was nothing, you have lost so much weight! Hurry up! Come to eat, I made your favorite glutinous rice ribs, as well as spiced beef and lotus root balls."

Gu Qiao hid the scar on her left hand, and said with a smile, "Master, you're telling me I'm hungry."

Let Mrs. Lu hold hands and enter the hall, Ouyang Chigong sat upright, walked over and bowed upright, "Teacher, Happy New Year."

Before Ouyang Chigong could speak, Mrs. Lu laughed from ear to ear, and took out a pouch from his sleeve and stuffed it into his hand, "Okay, grab the red envelope, let's eat quickly!"

The Ouyang family's heirs are not prosperous, only Ouyang Zhiwen is the only son, the baby of the family, he has been spoiled to no end since he was a child, and he doesn't listen to anyone, except he has a good relationship with Gu Qiao.Mistress also likes that Gu Qiao is sensible, obedient and knowledgeable, who loves her just like her own son.

The four sat down, and Gu Qiao took the jug from the handmaid's hand and poured wine for Ouyang Chigong, "Teacher, let me toast you for the people of Lianzhou. Thanks to you, the matter in Lianzhou was resolved so smoothly. .”

Ouyang Chigong picked up the wine glass, showing no emotion on his face, "The Lianzhou incident is intricate, and that incident is just an episode."

Hearing what he said, Gu Qiao meant that there was a bigger conspiracy behind it, so she was puzzled and said, "Please tell the teacher clearly."

Ouyang Chigong pondered for a moment, "Do you know who the boy you rescued was poisoned with snail fruit?"

"Teacher, have you found it?" Gu Qiao's eyes lit up, "Who is he?"

Ouyang Chigong looked at him bitterly, "Who is worth the effort to get poison from the capital to Lianzhou?"

"Yeah, Du Yuwen and Huang Qi want to control the third child..."

Before Gu Qiao finished speaking, Ouyang Chigong interrupted, "Is he the third child? Did he say it himself?"

"Well...he didn't say it, Du Yuwen and the others called him that, and he himself said that he seemed to have two older brothers."

Ouyang Chigong put down his cup and laughed loudly, "As expected, he is really the third child, so it makes sense."

Gu Qiao didn't understand why, so Ouyang Chigong said: "I often remind you to pay attention to the situation in the palace. All the movements in the court are a reflection of the situation in the palace."

After hearing this, Gu Qiao felt a little guilty. He had never put much thought into the palace, so he nodded obediently, for fear that the teacher would ask questions.Ouyang Chigong knew his virtues, and didn't test his complicated relationship, but directly said: "Nowadays, His Majesty only favors Concubine He, so He Fangzhi is naturally the leader of all the ministers."

After closing the door, the room was full of trustworthy people, Ouyang Chigong spoke a little boldly.

"The political affairs hall of Dahao Kingdom has long been He Fangzhi's one-spoken hall. If the second prince takes the position of the crown prince again, He Fangzhi's position will be unshakable, and the real power will be overwhelming the world."

"He is now under one person and above ten thousand people." Gu Qiao muttered softly.

Ouyang Chigong glanced at him and said meaningfully, "This is not what the emperor would like to see."

"So now His Majesty recalled the third prince to check and balance the second prince," Gu Qiao nodded, "I can figure it out."

"It's not just to check and balance the second prince, but also to suppress He Fangzhi. A king may favor a courtier, but if that courtier intends to support someone to replace him, that's another matter."

Gu Qiao didn't expect this level, "Then His Majesty wants to establish the third prince?"

Ouyang Chigong sighed, "Your Majesty is old, and the court has been arguing about the appointment of the crown prince since the year before last. The eldest prince is the son of the empress Shangguan, the eldest son, intelligent and precocious, if not for his disability, he He is the most suitable candidate; although the second prince is the son of the most beloved imperial concubine, he is not the son of the eldest son after all, and he has a close relationship with He Fang, which violates His Majesty's taboo; , in the palace, it is even more powerful than the second prince. But your Majesty is afraid of the Shangguan family, this is a well-known fact in the court, and the third prince has been training with General Shangguan in the frontier for many years, and his feelings are naturally extraordinary. If the third prince is established, His Majesty will not be able to sleep well."

Ouyang Zhiwen said, "It's not right to make this one, and it's not good to make that one. It seems that it's not easy to be an emperor!"

"Your Majesty is really distressed." Ouyang Chigong picked up his glass and took a sip. "He wanted them to be full-fledged, but he didn't want any of them to be able to compete with him, so he intentionally let them restrain each other to balance the situation. But Someone is trying to tip the balance."

Gu Qiao picked up the jug to refill the teacher, "Whether it's the Second Highness or the Third Highness, they all want to break the balance. But the Third Highness is at the border all the year round, and he doesn't have any contacts with civil servants in the court except military generals. He will be more anxious ?”

Ouyang Chigong watched the crystal nectar flow into the glass cup from the exquisite jug, and said with a chuckle, "Whoever has the winning ticket is in a hurry."

"Teacher, you mean the second prince..." Gu Qiao put down the jug, "What will he do to break the balance?"

Ouyang Chi Gong smiled with deep meaning, "For example, poison the third child when he is inspecting floods in Lianzhou."

"What?!" Gu Qiao's surprise was really serious, she didn't care to overturn the wine pot and spilled all over herself when she stood up, "You mean that the third son is the third prince?"

"Surprised? You'll understand after a little thought."

Indeed, if the third child is His Highness the Third Highness, and Du Yuwen and Huang Qi belong to His Highness the Second Highness, then all the previous questions can be answered.

Why Huang Zhengxian knelt and licked Du Yuwen, why the forbidden army was looking for someone in Lianzhou, why Du and Huang used that method to control him, Gu Qiao figured this out, and said in surprise: "They want to control the military power by controlling the third prince! "

The Shangguan family holds a heavy army, and whoever wins over the Shangguan is equivalent to winning over the military power.The third prince is the most beloved grandson of the old general Shangguan, if he waits a few more years for him to establish a firm foundation in the court, the second prince will be very dangerous, no wonder he is so eager, even using such an unapproachable method.

Ouyang Chigong looked at Gu Qiao's shocked and horrified expression with satisfaction, and said easily: "This is just my guess. The Third Highness has not returned to Beijing since he went to Lianzhou, and the person you mentioned in your letter has been with the Third Highness. Quite similar, I just thought it was a coincidence at first, until His Majesty urgently summoned you to Beijing."

"Yes, everything is connected in this way. I had a face-to-face meeting in the palace this morning, and His Majesty also focused on asking about my third child." Gu Qiao was a little puzzled when he thought of the emperor's reaction, "But His Majesty also listened to it. Didn't say anything."

"The emperor's mind, the thoughts in his heart will definitely not let you see the clues."

Gu Qiao asked anxiously, "Then is he in danger now?"

Ouyang Chigong sneered: "Do you really think he is a fool? He has the blood of the Shangguan family on his body, how could he be slaughtered?"

Gu Qiao was taken aback for a moment, yes, since that man is the prince, how could he get to worry about him, a little official of the sixth rank?

No wonder there was no news after so long, it turned out to be the third prince.

"The Lantern Festival will be in a few days. You will come to the palace with me for the banquet, and the princes will also be there. Then you will know whether the third prince is your third child."

When Gu Qiao heard the words "your third child", she felt it was extremely harsh. Since that is the high-ranking prince, how could he still be the third child at the beginning?

Ouyang Chigong looked at Gu Qiao in a daze, wishing to knock him on the head, "Don't you understand yet?"

"Understand what?" Gu Qiao was in a daze.

"If the person you rescued was the Third Prince, then you, Gu Qiao, are the first civil servant to stand in line with the Third Prince. Don't you understand what that means?"

Gu Qiao was full of thoughts that the third child was actually the third prince, and the third prince was actually the third child. He didn't even think that he would stand in line. Ouyang Zhiwen came to his senses at this moment and patted him on the shoulder in surprise: "If the third prince is established, then you There is the power of the dragon!"

Ouyang Chigong didn't correct his son's inappropriate words, took a sip of wine, and said meaningfully: "You should strike while the iron is hot and get closer to the third prince. After the incident in Lianzhou, this little wolf should also show his strengths." Clawed, it is still unknown who will win in the end."

"I don't want to." Gu Qiao said.

"What do you not want?" Ouyang Chigong frowned.

"I don't want to have any meritorious deeds from the dragon," Gu Qiao stood there, with a thin and sad figure, "I don't want to stand in line with the third prince, I don't want to participate in any faction struggle in the court, I can't just be a good person officer?"

"Simply being a good official?" Ouyang Chigong sneered, "You Lan Tailang is a good official. You dare to speak out without fear of power. If I hadn't sold my old face to intercede for you, you would have died without a place to die!"

"I..." Gu Qiao wanted to refute, but couldn't find the words, and was speechless for a while.

Seeing that her husband was angry, Mrs. Lu persuaded, "Oh, it's just a guess now, why did you quarrel? What if that person is not?"

Gu Qiao suddenly understood in her heart, if that person wasn't the third child, whose carriage would it be in the palace this morning?

Ouyang Chigong pointed at his nose and said angrily: "It's not your turn to think about it, you are already in line now! You, Gu Qiao, are already the second prince's thorn in the side!"

Gu Qiao didn't answer, turned around and left the dining table, opened the door and went out.