The emperor listened, but had no intention of letting him go. He took the lantern from the attendant's hand and shined a light on the prince's face: "Then what's the matter with the blood on your head?"
The prince was stunned for a moment, and quickly wiped his forehead with his hand, and a bright red suddenly appeared on his finger. He was so frightened that he didn't dare to look up, knowing that he had just kowtowed to break it.
"Son, my minister... I really don't know," the prince couldn't help but stutter, "Maybe he fell asleep on the table while reading the documents just now."
"I said that you haven't been out these days. It turns out that you are working on state affairs. I am very pleased." The emperor gestured to his entourage to close his umbrella and said, "In this case, I am here to discuss something with you, the prince who oversees the country. Let's go. Go inside and talk in detail."
Seeing that the emperor was not angry at all, the prince immediately breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly invited him into the palace. He personally moved the chair, served tea and stood beside him.
"Prince Yi came to see me yesterday."
When the prince heard this, his heart suddenly tightened and he smiled reluctantly: "King Yi is indeed a benevolent and filial man. As an elder brother, I am ashamed of myself."
The emperor also smiled and said: "Although your brothers have different mothers, they are so dear to each other without fighting. I have you two sons. This life can be said to be a happy one. I am moved in my heart and plan to build a house in Xiyuan. I ask King Yi to live in the palace so that we can be reunited from time to time. What do you think?"
The prince's smile froze, and he slowly leaned down: "How dare you, my son, to make arbitrary decisions? Everything is subject to your father's decision."
The emperor dusted his sleeves and leaned back: "But you have been in charge of the country for so long, and major matters have long been left to you. I won't interfere, you can do it."
The prince did not dare to look into his eyes and stood there like a sculpture. Waiting for the words to fall, he hurriedly said: "As a royal family member, King Yi should be separated from outsiders. Living in the palace is an act of respecting the royal family. I then ordered the Ministry of Industry to purchase wood, draw plans for construction, and prepare everything in advance. But now that the rebel case has occurred, people are in a rage. I am afraid that there are still eyes and ears of Lan Yuan and Cun Zhao in the court, who will take the opportunity to sow discord and deliberately destroy. Excuse them. It is better to wait until the day when the traitors are eliminated before starting work."
"How can two mere traitors sway my decision?" The emperor knocked on the armrest of his chair, feeling dissatisfied. "If we are so scared that we shrink back and are restricted by criminals everywhere, won't the national government be even more corrupted!"
He immediately stood up and said, "Prince, I still need to review the case in person in the next two days. I will leave this matter to you, so please don't delay."
"My son...heed your order!" The prince could only bow and kowtow three times, and watched his father leave the hall.
After the emperor returned to the palace, he asked Shen Jing to issue an imperial edict, instructing the Ministry of Works to "submit all documents to the East Palace, and to ask for instructions in person if there were any unresolved issues." This forced the prince to spend all day approving documents and meeting with officials, and had no time to go out. , completely eliminating the possibility of him planning a conspiracy.
The prince naturally understood his father's intention. He thought that once King Yi entered the palace, it would not only be easier for him to collude with the Ye Party, but he would also be able to take the opportunity to win over the ministers, so that his title of "supervising the country" would gradually become more and more shaky. Storage spaces.
Faced with a decision that was almost equal to life and death, he could no longer obey the emperor's orders cowardly. He had to do something, even if he risked a narrow escape.
Fortunately, there was no official interference during the night, so he could use it, so the prince put aside the matter of drinking and sex, summoned a few close soldiers, and discussed it secretly with him.
After hearing his worries, the soldiers comforted each other and said, "Master Chen from the Ministry of Civil Affairs is always very wise. He will definitely help. Your Highness, please don't worry too much."
The prince sat on the chair, shook his head and sighed: "Since the case of Lan Shidu, Chen Tongpao has been silent. Even the Dali Temple under his control has not helped him. He is obviously afraid and unwilling to do his best to be loyal. . Alas, I don’t count on him anymore.”
"Your Highness, you can't think like that," a sergeant advised. "Master Chen is an outsider and doesn't know the whole story. How can he help? Even if he helps, it will only become more and more chaotic. If the prince can explain to him the whole story, , ask him to join the fight, I bet Mr. Chen will not deny you face."
After hearing this, the prince relaxed his eyebrows a little and lit a candle: "Then what can you do to negotiate with Chen Gongzhou?"
The sergeant hesitated for a moment, swallowed his saliva, laughed awkwardly and said, "We people are stupid and not as smart as Lan Shidu. How can we have any plan..."
The prince sighed dullly and choked up when he spoke: "Without Lan Shidu, there would be no one in this huge East Palace to share my worries?" After saying that, he heard the sound of rain outside the door, and the howling sound of the people was heard. The wind blew loudly, making the paper windows rattle.
Another sergeant raised his head and saw the rain streaks on the window. Suddenly, a plan came to his mind and he cupped his fists and said, "That's true, but it can only be done if His Highness personally takes the risk and takes great risks."
The prince wiped the tears from his eyes, waved his hands and said, "If you want to keep my position, I have no choice but to risk my life... You can just say it."
The sergeant said: "It's dark now, and it's raining heavily, so it's hard to recognize faces close by. The prince can change into our military uniforms, sneak out of the palace secretly, and go to the official department to see Chen Tongpao. If you can't find him, When you arrive, go to Dali Temple. The temple minister has a heavy responsibility from Hunan, so he must be on duty there all night."
"Okay," the prince agreed without hesitation and immediately blew out the candles that had just burned. "Go get your military uniforms and prepare your rain gear. I'll go there together!"
"What if someone comes to report something during this period?" someone asked.
"Don't be afraid. Just wait and retreat. I'll go out and give you orders."
The prince straightened his clothes, calmed down his sadness a little, strode out of the door, summoned the guard who was guarding the door, and said: "I am tired from reviewing documents today, so I am going to sleep. You can leave quickly. If you have something to do tomorrow, Say it again."
The guards looked at each other and said quickly: "The imperial court has been undergoing many changes recently, and we have to be more careful. How can we leave the palace lightly?"
The prince pointed to the few confidants behind him: "You have worked too hard. Those few people are energetic and will just keep watch for you all night." After saying this, he gave them five taels of silver each. All the soldiers were happy, so Disperse.
Seeing that the plot had succeeded, the prince ordered his confidant to take off his armor and told him to say that he had 'lost his armor'. Using this as an excuse, he went to the armory to get another pair and gave it to the prince to put on. Unfortunately, no rain gear was found, so the few people had to brave the wind and rain and walked out of the palace.
The prince followed them and ran to the gate. When he saw that the gate was closed tightly, not a crack was exposed, and he was shocked.
"It seems that we can only ask for the key from the defenders on the city..." A soldier panted and looked at the prince with dull eyes.
