The prince couldn't make up his mind for a moment. He just looked up to the sky and sighed, stamping his feet and slapping his forehead, as if he had accepted his fate.
"No matter what, you have to give me an explanation!" The soldiers gritted their teeth in anxiety.
The prince frowned and said, "In that case, let's not even think about going out. Let's just leave everything to fate and never do such a dangerous thing."
The confidant who had just come up with the idea was not listening to the prince's words at all. Instead, while he was speaking, he kept looking around, thinking of a way to escape. Suddenly he came up with a plan, so he took the prince's hand and knelt down to admonish him: "Your Highness must not go back like this. I'm sorry to say that if you go back to the palace, you will definitely die."
"Then... what do you think we should do?" the prince asked him in a pleading manner.
"How about your Highness being more aggrieved and pretending to be a guilty soldier, and being taken to Dali Temple for trial. It was dark at night, and it was raining heavily. The defenders couldn't see clearly, and seeing that you behaved in a lowly manner, they must have let you go. There is no doubt about it. Heart."
"Your Highness has a high status and is the future emperor. How can he be subjected to such a shame and humiliation!" The people around him stared at him and accused him, and some even drew their swords at him.
"That's all, that's all, he is also loyal," the prince waved his hand feebly, "Now that we are in crisis, what else do we care about! I have never cared about such vanity."
The confidant was so moved that he swallowed back the tears in his eyes, stood up and said, "Your Highness, I'm going to call the defenders right now!" After that, he quickly walked to the gate downstairs, slapped the door and shouted: "The people on the city ! We have caught a spy and need to be sent to Dali Temple for questioning urgently. Please go downstairs and lock the door!"
When the defender heard the shouting that broke through the rain, he shined the lantern in his hand downwards: "What spy? What's his name? Let us take a look."
The confidant asked someone to bring the prince over, and he raised his head and said, "He was hesitant and never said his name. But the brothers searched him for a secret letter and asked if he had been tricked. If Yuan's bribe is received, he will be escorted out."
"Suspect, is that so?" the defender asked again.
"I……"
The prince was about to speak, but his confidant panicked. In desperation, he slapped the prince on the head: "What nonsense are you talking about! Let's go!"
Seeing that he was beating him so hard, the defenders must have told the truth, so one of them took out the key, walked down the door, opened the lock on the door, turned around and said, "Brother, go back quickly!"
The confidant hugged him with a fist, hurriedly took the prince, bowed his head and left.
A group of people came to the staff department and asked the book office where Mr. Chen was. They were happy to learn that he had not returned from the night shift, and hurriedly asked someone to lead them to their colleague's study.
There was no one around, so the soldiers breathed a sigh of relief. They helped the prince take off his armor, then opened the curtain inside and faced Tongpao Chen who was facing the lamp.
"Chen Libu!" The prince stepped forward and called him affectionately, "You have to save me!"
Chen Tongpao immediately stood up, with a serious expression showing a little surprise: "What happened to Your Highness?"
The prince sighed several times and couldn't help but feel sad. His eyes filled with tears and he sobbed unspeakably.
When the comrades saw it, they quickly winked at the soldiers and told them to go out.
"As a foreign minister, Chen Gong must not know about my recent sufferings," Tai Tuan said through tears. "Since the incident of Lan Yuan, His Majesty has gradually become suspicious of me, and King Yi peeked into the reserve and did not hesitate to add fuel to the fire, making His Majesty furious. Even worse. Yesterday, my father came to tell me that he wanted to let Yi thieves live in Xiyuan, and asked me to purchase materials and preside over the campaign. I thought, if King Yi really enters the palace, wouldn't Yi Chu become a sure thing? So I am worried. I am uneasy, so I came here at night to inform you, hoping that you can advocate justice and prevent King Yi from succeeding."
Tongpao Chen stroked his beard, pondered for a long time, and looked at him hesitantly: "Your Highness, you know who is behind all this... right?"
The prince nodded: "I know very well that it is Ye Yongjia."
"In this case, you should know that this matter involves taking great risks."
"To retreat now is to die, and to advance is also death... It's better to fight to the death, maybe there will be a chance." The prince said in a helpless tone.
"Okay," Tongpao Chen agreed calmly, "With His Highness's words as a guarantee, we can let go. Please come back, and I will bring you good news tomorrow."
The prince was overjoyed when he heard this, thanked him for his kindness, and then led everyone to say goodbye and returned to the East Palace. That night, he calmed down from the fright and slept peacefully for the night.
At dawn the next day, the prince went to bed and had dinner. When he was talking to Concubine Geng, he suddenly mentioned what happened yesterday. He suddenly thought of the slap he had received, and his face suddenly became gloomy. Although it was not stated clearly, after sending away Concubine Geng, he asked for the list of soldiers who came to the palace, checked them one by one, and found out the name of the confidant. Although this person really gave him advice, and he was really grateful at the time, but now that he has escaped from the tiger's mouth, he feels much more relaxed, and looking back on it, he feels ashamed. So he found a small thing and ordered the man to be beaten with forty military sticks. Instead, he rewarded the rest of the people, especially the one who drew his sword to refute, and received the largest silver reward.
Chen Tongpao had been tired all night and was lying on a chair, taking a nap with his eyes closed. Before he fell asleep, he heard a creaking sound outside the door. He glanced briefly and saw that it was the minister from Dali Temple, Guoxiang.
"Sorry for disturbing your rest, would you like to sleep a little longer?" Guoxiang asked in a low voice.
"No," Chen Tongpao yawned and pressed his temples, "I asked you to come because I have something important to discuss. Time is precious and we can't wait too long... Just sit down."
Xiangren looked like his student. He bowed deeply to him, sat aside and listened attentively.
Chen Tongpao immediately said: "Prince Yi is in trouble. The prince is panicking and comes to ask me for help. I have to give your highness face, and I must take action today. Take a look, what should I do?"
The people from Guoxiang analyzed it carefully and said: "We have Master Ge sitting in the Yushitai. If we want to attack, it will be easy. But the problem is, who is this spear going to attack? King Yi is your Majesty's son and the most beloved. There is no need to argue; Lan Yuan is being suspected by His Majesty, and you said before that you cannot start from this matter; only the Ye thieves are in a clique, and they should be questioned the most. If you want to enter this game and fight with them, like this What a perfect excuse.”
Tongpao Chen took off the sheets from his body and laughed: "Sixing is still too young."
When the Xiang people heard what he said, they felt as if they had been corrected for their mistakes. They had no temper at all and were full of shame: "It seems that I am still junior and think simple. I hope Mr. Chen can teach me."
Tongpao Chen replied slowly: "Your first sentence is completely wrong. According to the current situation, the Yushitai cannot be easily used. The best strategy is to take steps step by step."
