At this point, Mrs. Lu and Mrs. Lu Wu have completely lost power in the family. Mrs. Li was finally able to take care of various things at home without being constrained.
The letters Lu Bingxi sent back every half month made everyone in the Lu family feel at ease, and everything at home was slowly getting on track. Mrs. Li suddenly realized that she had not received a letter from her son for almost a month.
Li sensed some dangerous information from it, but her son was thousands of miles away with the mission, so she could only console herself desperately. This was due to the inconvenience of communicating over long distances.
But the bad premonition was confirmed.
On this day, Lu Qi stepped into the door of the Lu family with an anxious face. This time, it was rare that he did not go directly to the main courtyard to see his wife, but hurried straight to Yuanshan Hall.
"Father, did you arrange this?" Lu Qi was referring to the fact that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's personal expedition team was robbed and killed by King Beidi on the way. They were currently fighting in a stalemate, causing shock to the government and the public.
Lu Zhi was not in a hurry, and even had the time to tease the two parrots under the eaves, "Why did Qi'er say that?" His tone was calm, and he didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with instructing his grandson to rob and kill the current prince. .
Lu Zhi even said in a persuasive way, "This is not very good. Let the King of Beidi have a legitimate reason to meet the current prince, be impressed by him, and then be willing to submit to me and the dynasty. What else can be better than this?" It made His Highness the Crown Prince famous."
"Father, are you trying to build momentum for His Royal Highness?"
Lu Zhi smiled and said, "What else? That Mr. Wen of the Wen family has even used all the connections in the family for the future of His Highness the Crown Prince. If I don't do my best for His Highness the Crown Prince, I'm afraid I won't wait until the Crown Prince ascends the throne. , then only the prince’s mother’s family will be prosperous, and there will be no prince’s wife’s family.”
Lu Zhi felt a little disgusted when he thought of His Highness Prince Yu's arrogant and wanton face. He never disliked his allies for being vicious, but he disliked Concubine Gu and her son for being so stupid. Not long ago, the scandal of riding a horse to hurt someone in a busy city was revealed. His Highness Prince Yu almost pushed the Lord of Rongde County into the water on the Dragon Boat Festival Leyouyuan.
After all, this Lord of Rongde County is also the daughter of the eldest princess of Ruyang, and can be regarded as his cousin. Unlike His Highness the Crown Prince, he will not really hinder His Highness the way of Prince Yu. He is just eager to follow His Highness Prince Yu to the Baojing Tower. Greetings.
As a result, His Highness Prince Yu pushed her directly into the pool and almost killed her. The directness of his actions and the publicity of his voice were simply telling everyone that he did it. Even this cannot be tolerated. If His Royal Highness Prince Yu becomes emperor one day, wouldn't it mean that the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty will not be able to give advice?
At present, the powerful families in the capital are all shaking their heads secretly when they see His Highness Prince Yu being so arrogant, and they all warn their juniors not to have anything to do with His Highness Prince Yu. It was just these two idiots who were strutting around the capital without realizing it.
That is to say, Princess Ruyang's popularity in Beijing was so bad that she was so angry that no one told her the truth about Rongde County Lord falling into the water. Otherwise, given Princess Ruyang's nature of protecting the calf, she would have to go to the palace and cry to His Majesty.
At that time, His Highness Prince Yu will have to be reprimanded, and coupled with the incident of riding a horse and injuring people in the busy city that has not yet passed, His Highness Prince Yu's reputation will be regarded as over.
"However, if the balance is not properly grasped, I am afraid that His Highness the Crown Prince will really enmity with the Queen of Beidi and her son. Whether His Highness the Crown Prince hurts the King of Beidi, or the King of Beidi hurts the Crown Prince, this will not be a good thing for our Fan Yanglu family." Lu Qi was a little worried.
"This matter is dangerous, and of course my father is well aware of it. But the change of power between the two emperors is the most dangerous thing in the world. We, the Fan Yanglu family, have already boarded this ship. If we dare to retreat, then His Highness the Prince, None of the forces including His Royal Highness Prince Yu, Your Majesty and even Queen Wen will let us go. They will only regard us as traitors.
Qi'er, if you are familiar with history books, you should know the fate of the slaves with the three surnames. Nowadays, in addition to focusing on building momentum for the prince, do you think that our Fan Yanglu family has other options? "
At the end, Lu Zhi's tone was cold and sarcastic, as if he was mocking his son's innocence.
Lu Qi sat down in her seat and thought, "When did my father start planning all this? Did it come out when the news of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's personal expedition came out? Or when his daughter A Rui was given the marriage as the future crown princess? And? Or maybe after his father saw His Majesty's decline, he began to secretly plan all this?
How many of these people are pawns controlled by him? "
He has always known that his daughter A Rui's willingness to marry into the East Palace was partly coaxed by her grandfather. In this great drama of competing for the power of serving the dragon, it is in his hands that His Royal Highness, Queen Wen's family, and even the present Majesty are all in his hands. A doll that you play around with?
Looking at the familiar father in front of him, Lu Qi felt very strange again. Now he can't help but wonder about any changes around him, is this also due to his father's handiwork?
After Lu Qi resigned hastily, he returned to the main courtyard silently.
Li Shi had long known about the fact that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's personal expedition team was intercepted and killed by King Beidi from the rumors in the streets. The couple was silent, the most worried about their daughter.
The court hall was extremely noisy the next day.
There are veteran ministers who are asking for help, "please send more reinforcements to relieve the siege of Beidi." There are also political opponents of His Highness the Crown Prince who are weird and arrogant, "His Royal Highness is not in a good position to conquer in person, so he should be held accountable." Of course, there are also courtiers who have been bribed by Concubine Gu and her son to poke fun at them secretly. It is implied that "the position of crown prince should change hands".
His Majesty sat on the Panlong Golden Chair and couldn't help but press the center of his eyebrows. Finally, amid the growing quarrel, he said "We'll discuss this later" and got up and left the meeting hall. Regardless of the entreaties of the courtiers behind him to stay.
However, when he reached the boundary between the former dynasty and the harem, His Majesty looked at the rooms in the harem and thought of the queen who had become almost lifeless in recent days as a vegetarian to pray for His Highness the Crown Prince. He thought of Concubine Gu's half-covered Ask him to arrange a good marriage for His Royal Highness Prince Yu, preferably from an aristocratic family like His Highness the Crown Prince whose marriage has been passed down for hundreds of years.
Your Majesty felt extremely bored. Fu Hai, the eunuch chief beside him, immediately understood the emperor's intention. He pinched the bribes from the low-ranking concubines in his sleeves and said, "Your Majesty, I heard that the eleventh prince has made progress in his studies recently." , I eagerly want to recite it to you. You might as well fulfill your filial piety and go see him."
His Majesty also felt a little moved when he thought of the two young concubines who gave birth to princes for him and were only in the position of ninth concubine. "They have always served me very respectfully and raised the prince with care. After all, they are the prince's biological mother, so their status cannot be too low. If they pass on my will, they will all be promoted to Zhaorong."
When some palace attendants trotted to the two concubines' palace to congratulate them, Xu Zhaorong and Liu Zhaorong, who were freshly baked, were almost going crazy with joy. No one could have imagined that the two people who had given birth to a prince and were barely promoted to Xiuyuan Chongyi, the last of the Nine Concubines, would be able to achieve great fortune today.
That night, His Majesty rested in Xu Zhaorong Palace. His Majesty finally came here once, and Xu Zhaorong certainly couldn't please his Majesty by just letting his son endorse it. She had been planning for a long time, and spent most of her savings to get Fuhai to say this for her in front of His Majesty. How could she not seize the opportunity?
Xu Zhaorong is only in her early twenties this year, which is when she is at her most beautiful. She was not born tall, so it was because of her face that she gained His Majesty's favor and had the opportunity to give birth to a prince.
Tonight, Xu Zhaorong was attentively waiting for His Majesty to take a bath after dinner. The look in his eyes and clothes soaked with water made His Majesty feel for a moment that he was not an old man, but the beloved lover of the woman in front of him. So, His Majesty stretched out his hand and dragged Xu Zhaorong into the bath, which was ridiculous for a long time.
Enjoying the beauty's careful flattery and her young and beautiful figure, His Majesty even felt like he was back to his youth again. He suddenly couldn't understand that he had only doted on Concubine Gu for many years. No matter how coddled and capricious the bright beauty is, it's time for her flowers to wither.
He is the emperor and the lord of the world. What kind of woman does he not deserve? Why should we stick to one Gu Guifei? Especially today's imperial concubine, whose appearance is no longer young and beautiful, and her temperament is no longer cute and cute. Instead, there are more calculations between her eyebrows. She only knows how to fight for the interests of her son every day.
The majesty in front of him had obviously forgotten how he needed Concubine Gu's natal family to be his backing, so he doted on Concubine Gu in every possible way. He also forgot the difficult years when the queen and he had supported each other when they were young.
This incident seemed to open a floodgate. In the next half month, His Majesty blessed four low-ranking concubines in one breath. Xu Zhaorong, who was favored at first, even introduced beauties to His Majesty virtuously and diligently. Those beautiful singers knew better in bed than the ladies who were selected into the palace.
Suddenly, Xu Zhaorong was in full swing in the palace, and this flamboyant beauty could be seen everywhere. But what no one knows is that Xu Zhaorong is actually the empress's wife.
At three o'clock in the night, Xu Zhaorong was introduced into the palace by Xiuxin, the empress's confidant, without being seen by anyone. The empress, who was dressed in plain clothes, knelt down quietly at the head of the room. Xu Zhaorong knelt down to salute respectfully, without any of the ostentation in the palace during the day.
"My concubine, Mrs. Xu, I would like to pay my respects to the Queen. I wish the Queen good fortune and good health."
"Get up, I don't like to mess with these false etiquette."
Xu Zhaorong didn't dare to refuse and said "Yes" for the first time.
"How is your Majesty's health these days? I heard that Concubine Gu offered elixir to Your Majesty, and therefore won His Majesty's favor." The Queen mentioned it without seeming to care.
Xu Zhaorong was a little aggrieved, "I don't know what tricks she pulled. Recently, His Majesty went to her palace every day, which made her become domineering again. I heard that Concubine Gu almost had a singer beaten up a few days ago. die."
Queen Wen remained calm, as if she was used to Concubine Gu's domineering attitude. She just said lightly, "The elixir is a good thing. If Concubine Gu can use it to keep His Majesty, you can too."
