Forbidden City.
The smell of blood is still strong.
No one knows how many people died in this royal palace.
Among those who died tragically, there were many important officials in the court!
Such as Bao Zhao, such as Zhuo Jing, such as Fang Xiaoru...
Each one of them would have been a big shot in the Jianwen Dynasty!
Unfortunately, they were either cramped and skinned, or sentenced to death.
Li Jinglong bowed his head and followed the eunuch cautiously. Every step he took was extremely cautious and he didn't dare to say a word, as if one wrong step would be doomed!
The atmosphere is so depressing!
Li Jinglong entered the palace more than once or twice, but they were both in the Hongwu Dynasty and Jianwen Dynasty.
At that time, relying on the favor of Emperor Taizu Gao and Emperor Jianwen, Li Jinglong entered the palace whenever he wanted, and never felt anything wrong.
But now in the Yongle Dynasty, he felt a strong sense of suffocation for the first time, as if God had drained the air within the Forbidden City, making it impossible to breathe.
Li Jinglong even vaguely smelled the smell of red-hot iron put into the water.
That's not the smell of rust, but the smell of blood!
This kind of suffocation has never happened before.
Li Jinglong didn't dare to say anything. He walked more and more carefully, not daring to go beyond the rules.
It's a little timid, but at least it's safe.
After passing through the Qianbu Corridor, we came to the heart of the Ming Dynasty, the palace complex with Qianqing Palace as the center.
This central forbidden area represents the great empire. Every brick in the building and every bluestone on the floor seem to contain the weight of history and the oppression of power.
Li Jinglong kept his head lowered and followed the eunuch's footsteps closely.
Finally, the eunuch stopped and whispered: "Please come in, Duke Cao, the emperor is waiting for you in the palace!"
Li Jinglong raised his head slightly after hearing this, forced a smile, and expressed his gratitude to the eunuch.
He hesitated for a moment, scolding Li Hongbi in his heart, and finally forced himself to enter the hall.
There was only one person sitting in the entire hall.
This is a middle-aged man wearing a gold crown and a yellow dragon robe with a coiled collar and narrow sleeves.
He has a majestic expression, sharp edges on his face, upright and profound facial features, and his whole body is restrained. Just sitting upright on the dragon chair, his majestic body gives people the aura of Yuan Chun Yue Zhi, and his handsome face is not rippled, but it can The surrounding air suddenly becomes pressurized!
This imposing man is the Yongle Emperor Zhu Di!
Li Jinglong didn't hesitate, knelt down on the ground and bowed down.
"Your Majesty, Li Jinglong, comes to see the Emperor!"
Zhu Di responded, but did not speak in a hurry.
Because he was a little confused, or slightly confused.
What Li Jinglong did in recent days was naturally hidden from Zhu Di's eyes.
Deliberately dissolute and have sex with prostitutes for fun, thereby desecrating themselves.
Zhu Di could see through these little tricks at a glance.
But seeing through it, Zhu Di didn't care much.
Because this Li Jinglong is just a idiot, there is really nothing worthy of Zhu Di's attention!
To put it simply, the reason why Zhu Di placed Li Jinglong at the top of the list of officials was because of the reputation and prestige of Cao Guogong's palace.
Of course, it's not Li Jinglong, the idiot, but his father Li Wenzhong!
After all, the founder of the country has not yet completely died, and still has a lot of energy in the Jinling Emperor.
Therefore, in order to stabilize these founding heroes, Zhu Di ranked Li Jinglong as the first among the civil and military officials!
After the court was stabilized, and after using Li Jinglong to stabilize his noble heart, Zhu Di planned to reduce his rank and imprison him to completely eliminate future troubles.
Li Jinglong only had such a role for Zhu Di.
But what was strange today was that Li Jinglong actually asked to see him, which really surprised Zhu Di.
This idiot, who usually trembles in fear whenever he sees him, actually has the guts to come and ask for a meeting?
It's quite interesting.
A playful smile appeared at the corner of Zhu Di's mouth.
"Okay, dear, please get up quickly, no need to be polite!"
After the emperor asked him to speak, Li Jinglong dared to stand up.
However, he did not really straighten up, but kept bowing slightly, which was extremely humble.
"Ai Qing asked to see you late at night. What's the important matter?"
Zhu Di asked straight to the point. He didn't have the time or energy to play riddles with an idiot.
Li Jinglong's heart trembled, and he didn't dare to talk nonsense and directly stated his intention.
"Your Majesty, I am the leader of hundreds of officials, but my virtue is not worthy of my position. I beg your Majesty to show mercy and allow me to be disarmed and return to my field..."
Unexpectedly, Li Jinglong did not mention Mei Yin's matter to relieve his worries as Li Hongbi said, but instead asked to resign!
In fact, Li Jinglong still didn't quite believe Li Hongbi's analysis, so he deliberately asked to resign, hoping to test Zhu Di's reaction.
After all, Li Jinglong and Zhu Di were old acquaintances. They had fought together when they were children. Li Jinglong didn't want to believe that Zhu Di would be so ruthless and merciless to him!
However, Zhu Di's next words made him feel like he had fallen into an ice cave!
"What are you talking about, Aiqing?"
"Now that the new dynasty has established itself, the court is in the midst of employing people, and it needs pillars of the court like Aiqing to stabilize people's hearts!"
These words sounded very nice, but Li Jinglong felt chills all over his body!
Knew it!
That traitor really guessed it right!
Damn it, Zhu Di is really going to kill himself!
He has already asked to resign, but he still doesn't want to let him go!
For a moment, Li Jinglong felt inexplicably sad and angry, but he did not dare to show it at all.
What he didn't know was that the way Zhu Di looked at him at this moment had become extremely cold, as if he was looking at a dead person!
"My dear, don't worry too much. I regard you as the pillar of the country. Those rumors from the outside world are just rumors!"
Zhu Di opened his mouth with a smile, looking like a sage and wise king appeasing his ministers.
However, when his words fell into Li Jinglong's ears, they even chilled his bones.
Everything is exactly as my son predicted...
The Dog Emperor’s desire to kill me will never die!
The old Li family has no retreat for a long time!
When he thought of this, Li Jinglong completely made up his mind.
Even if he was going to die, he couldn't sit still and wait for death, at least he had to leave a way for his son to survive!
Li Jinglong immediately knelt down on the ground, pretending to be in tears of gratitude, and thanked Zhu Di for his great kindness!
After a lot of arrogance between the monarch and his ministers, Zhu Di became a little bored and signaled Li Jinglong to get out of here.
Li Jinglong also felt a little disgusted, but he did not forget the business.
"The emperor's kindness to me is as great as a mountain, but I have nothing to repay. I am willing to share the emperor's worries!"
"Ahem, I'm very happy that my beloved is interested..."
Zhu Di forced a smile and said with a slightly unnatural expression.
Well, endure it, you have to endure it, after all, it is the sign that you have helped up with your own hands.
"Your Majesty, I heard that Mei Yin has been entrenched in Huai'an and refused to be appeased by the imperial court!"
"In the past, I had an old relationship with Mei Yin, so I would like to go to Huai'an as an envoy to recruit this person for the emperor and solve the hidden dangers of our new dynasty!"
Li Jinglong spoke with "no shame" and actually asked to go and recruit Mei Yin to surrender.
After Zhu Di listened quietly, he had a strange look on his face and froze on the spot.
Li Jinglong, what kind of method is this?
Li Jinglong, a loyal person to the country?
