It's easy to be a villain, but hard to be a princess

Chu Ruihong pushed back the eunuchs and maids behind him, and strolled in the imperial garden with Han Zixiao.

"As long as the regent is still in the court, I will not be able to sit on the throne for a day. He is my confidant, if I don't get rid of him first, then I will suffer in the future."

Han Zixiao followed behind him and asked, "Then what is the emperor's plan?"

"I want your help."

"The emperor just opens his mouth, and the humble minister will die without hesitation."

Chu Ruihong stopped, turned to look at him, and said: "There is no need for mountains of swords and seas of fire. The regent has placed many eyeliners by my side, and my every move is under his control, but what he does outside the palace I don’t know about it at all. Now he is still close to you considering Prime Minister Han’s kindness, so I want you to take this opportunity to get close to him.”

The Emperor's implication was obviously that he wanted him to be an eyeliner, this task is not difficult, Han Zixiao said: "This humble minister takes orders."

Chu Ruihong was overjoyed, "I knew it, you would definitely agree."

Step forward and continue to move forward, and there is a clear pond, in which lotus flowers are planted. It is early summer at this time, and there are occasionally a few pale pink flower buds among the green leaves.

Chu Ruihong pointed to the opposite side of the clear pond, "Zixiao, do you still remember what is that place over there?"

Han Zixiao looked at the other side, although it had been eight years, but at least he had lived there for three years, so he naturally knew that it was Chu Ruihong's residence when he was the prince.

Back then, Han Zixiao was only nine years old, while Chu Ruihong was seven years old.Han Zixiao was picked up by Han Mingde from Suzhou to the capital, and entered the palace as the companion of the eldest prince Chu Ruihong.For three years, the two slept and lived together, accompanied day and night, and were as close as brothers.

Han Zixiao was naughty at that time, and knocked down a noble concubine who was pregnant with a dragon heir in the imperial garden. Fortunately, the noble concubine was in good health and the dragon fetus was saved, so there was no danger.

Han Zixiao’s death crime can be avoided, and the emperor wanted to drive him out of the palace in a fit of rage. Chu Ruihong, who was only eight years old at the time, begged for a long time in front of the emperor. During this period, Chu Ruihong was also punished with him.

The two have been through thick and thin together.

Han Zixiao will probably never forget that incident for the rest of his life, and every time he thinks about it later, he feels very thrilling. If the noble concubine had had a miscarriage, there would probably be no more Han Zixiao in this world.

Since he wanted to get close to the Prince Regent, of course he had to find a way to win the distance.The weather in early summer was fine, and Han Zixiao went to the Prince Regent's Mansion with a box of high-quality Wuyi Mountain Dahongpao.

"Since entering the court, I have received a lot of care from the prince, and I can't thank you. This Dahongpao is produced on the steep wall of Wuyi Mountain. It is made through eight processes. The tea color is excellent and the tea is rich. It is well-deserved as the 'king of tea', Please accept it with a smile, my lord."

Chu Muqing took a sip of the teacup on the side, and said, "I remember that when I taught you the way of being an official, I mentioned that in the officialdom, one must not be flattering or flattering. I don't know what Master Han said at the time Listen to it and keep it in mind."

The sarcasm and insidious stabs at Han Zixiao in these words can still be heard, it seems that the trick of flattering Han Zixiao will not work.Han Zixiao let out a dry laugh, "How dare I forget my lord's instruction, this tea was brought over by my father in Suzhou, the tea is good tea, I have a box hidden in my house, enough to drink for a year and a half, and there is another box Then I planned to donate it to others, and the lower official thought that the prince had the kindness to teach the lower official, so he thought about bringing tea to the prince."

Chu Muqing listened casually to him talking a lot, and said slowly, "Exaggerated words."

Apparently, using this kind of trick to play against the regent is almost like throwing a brick at his own foot, Han Zixiao smiled ugly, "The prince has sharp eyes, and I know my mistake. This time, I will not come as an official."

Just about to take away the lid of the tea box on the high table, Chu Muqing said: "Since the tea has been delivered, there is no reason to take it back."

Han Zixiao couldn't figure out what the regent was thinking, so he put the tea back silently.

Chu Muqing was holding the teacup, "The most important thing about being an official is to do things for the court. If you do a lot of things and do them well, you will naturally be appreciated."

"My lord taught me that."

Chu Muqing put down the teacup, "Speaking of which, my lord is going to entrust you with something."

"My lord, please speak."

"The taxes paid to the imperial court in Yunzhou have dropped sharply for three consecutive years. The magistrate of Yunzhou wrote a letter saying that the harvest has been poor in recent years, but the king sent people to inquire, and there is no such thing as a poor harvest."

Han Zixiao probably understood the meaning of his words, "Your lord suspects that the magistrate of Yunzhou is enriching himself?"

Chu Muqing looked at Han Zixiao idly, "It's up to you to find out if it's enriching yourself."

Han Zixiao groaned in his heart. From the capital to Yunzhou, it would take 20 days if not a month, and back and forth, the lotus by the East Lake in the capital should be thankful.

"Why, you don't want to go?"

Han Zixiao came back to his senses, "How could it be, how dare I refuse to obey the prince's instructions."

"I remember that your ancestral home is Suzhou, and you still need to pass through Suzhou to go to Yunzhou. You can also go back to your hometown to visit your parents during business breaks. You will not lose money this time."

Han Zixiao smiled, "My lord's words are a reminder to my subordinates that it's really time to go back and have a look after you've been in Beijing for a year."

"Visiting relatives is a small matter, but investigating a case is a major matter, so we must be careful when the time comes."

"I understand." Han Zixiao asked again: "I don't know, is the prince going to investigate secretly or visit openly?"

"This matter is just my king's guess, so naturally I can't make an open visit."

That's right, he, Han Zixiao, now belongs to Yushitai, and he specializes in monitoring officials. If he visits publicly, his purpose will inevitably be exposed.Once the purpose is exposed, the big corrupt officials can also pretend to be relaxed.

Han Zixiao reported to the emperor that he was going to Yunzhou to investigate the case, the emperor was furious, and slapped the imperial case next to him, "It's unreasonable, he sent you out without asking what I mean, in his eyes, But there is still me, the emperor!"

Han Zixiao hurriedly cupped his hands, "The emperor calm down."

"How did you let me swallow this breath?" Chu Ruihong's chest heaved, "He will always tell me about the big and small things in the court if he insists on going his own way, but now it's good, he doesn't even need to tell me! In a few days, he is going to shake me off the dragon chair in front of civil and military officials?"

Chu Ruihong looked at Han Zixiao, "Zixiao, you don't have to go to Yunzhou this time, I am the Son of Heaven, I have the final say."

Chu Ruihong's move was clearly aimed at confronting the regent.Han Zixiao bowed and said: "Your Majesty, please listen to my minister's words. If you can't bear it, there will be chaos. Now is not the time to turn against the regent head-on. Otherwise, it will just give him an excuse to rebel."

Han Zixiao looked at Chu Ruihong's face, and continued: "What the emperor has to do now is to recharge his energy, accumulate energy, and wait until the time is right to fight with him."

Chu Ruihong thought for a while, and let out a heavy breath, he really couldn't confront the regent now, otherwise he would be vulnerable if the regent, who held the military power, forced the palace.Chu Ruihong went around and sat down behind the imperial case, and thoughtfully said: "Zi Xiao, you are right, with my current ability, I really can't confront him head-on."

"So, it's better for the minister to please him first, and then he will become a confidant around him. The minister and the emperor will echo both inside and outside, and he will definitely be able to suppress him."

After hearing this, Chu Ruihong felt that it made sense, so he nodded in response.

Han Zixiao's trip to Yunzhou had to be kept secret, so he had to take a leave of absence from the superior.When he returned to Yushitai, he was about to ask Liu Chengqing, the doctor of the censor, to ask for leave. Unexpectedly, the doctor of the censor knew that he was going to ask for leave early in the morning, so he agreed without thinking.It seems that the regent sent someone over to say hello earlier.

As soon as he came out of Liu Chengqing's study, he heard some colleagues talking about his marriage.Han Zixiao reckoned that it was still early, and he didn't want to go back home to be idle, so he went over to join in the fun.

"Which adult are you talking about?" Han Zixiao asked.

Master Wu saw that it was Han Zixiao, so he hurriedly said: "My lord, have you heard of Mr. Qin, the household servant?"

The last time I negotiated with him when I went to the household department, Han Zixiao remembered that he was a very honest person, "Oh? He is going to get married?"

"Exactly, the wine was set up on the eighth day of next month, and the invitation was handed over to Mr. Liu early this morning."

"I don't know which family's daughter you are marrying?"

Another chief bookkeeper said: "Master Han, Mr. Qin from the household department did not marry a woman."

Hearing this, Han Zixiao suddenly felt amused, "Could it be a young master?"

"Exactly. I heard that the young master knew him when he urinated, and he has been with him for more than ten years. Now they are married. It can be regarded as a lover's marriage."

"That's really gratifying." Han Zixiao said.

After the founding of Daqi, men and men can also get married. It is normal for kings, grandsons, nobles, officials and wealthy families to have one or two male wives.But in order to continue the incense, if you marry a male wife, you need to add a female wife.Some of them have to have it before they can get the consent of their parents to marry a man and wife.

Master Wu opened another topic, "Master Han is already a weak crown, I wonder if the family has found a girl for you?"

Han Zixiao originally wanted to gossip about people, but he didn't expect that the gossip would come to him, so he smiled dryly, "Not yet."

Master Wu smiled like the sun in the sky, "Hey, it just so happens that my daughter is seventeen years old and is still waiting in her boudoir. If Mr. Han is free someday, he will definitely go to the official residence."

Han Zixiao smiled copingly, "Definitely."

Han Zixiao returned to the mansion and asked Zhang Bo to take care of the matter of going to Yunzhou in the future. The emperor specially arranged for two guards with strong martial arts to accompany him in order to protect him.

On the day of departure, Han Zixiao took a carriage to the ferry in the capital early in the morning.There are boats from the capital to Jiangnan at the ferry. Most of the boats are merchants. The merchants carry the goods from Jiangnan to the capital for sale, and then use the money they earn to buy some goods back to Jiangnan for resale.

Han Zixiao, dressed in casual clothes, arrived at the ferry and was queuing up to get on the boat, when suddenly a young man in blue walked up beside him, cupped his hands and said, "Master Han, the lord is here to invite you."

"Which prince?" As far as he knew, there was only one prince in the capital, and the others were princes in their jurisdiction.

The young man in blue said: "The Regent."

What is the regent looking for him at this time?Han Zixiao looked at the team in front of him, and there were only five people left. Why is it at this juncture?As a courtier, Han Zixiao couldn't say anything, so he asked, "Where is the prince?"

"Master Han, please follow the humble official."