Since being reminded last time, Mu Sheng has gone to Tai Chi Palace to listen to the government for several days, and he no longer dares to express his opinions casually. As long as the emperor does not take the initiative to name him, he will pretend to be an ostrich on the side, for fear that what he said is wrong and offends The emperor.
The next day, in the Changping Lord's palace, Mu Sheng looked at Xixue, who was sleeping beside him, and just got up when he heard the rapid footsteps of the eunuch reporting the situation outside the door.
Mu Sheng stood up, put on his clothes and asked impatiently, "What's going on, you're so flustered?"
The eunuch came forward and said, "Reporting to your Majesty, the palace sent someone to inform you early in the morning that Young Master Kang Yu had gone last night."
After saying this, the eunuch handed him the sealed obituary.
Mu Sheng took the obituary and read it carefully. His heart skipped a beat. Kang Yu, the third prince's son, passed away last night.
When Mu Sheng thought of the poor, fat, stupid young master he had seen at the ceremony, he couldn't help but feel a little sad. According to the obituary, the funeral of Young Master Kang would be held seven days later.
Mu Sheng looked at the letter in his hand, and after thinking about it, he couldn't help but feel pity. It was better for him to do his best in death. After all, he was a descendant of the clan and his brother in name only.
Although he, Lord Changping, had little interaction with the Kang family, he was too young and had no memory of them when they were fighting for power. If Yun'er, the god of gossip, hadn't been there, he wouldn't have known what happened back then.
A few days later, Mu Sheng drove to Gongzi Kang's house to express his condolences. He saw that although Gongzi Kang's funeral was of high standard and the white silk in front of the house made the whole house look quite solemn, there were only a few people coming to express condolences that day. There were even fewer court officials.
Seeing this, Mu Sheng couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Also, all the supporters of Gongzi Kang's faction in the struggle for crown prince were basically wiped out. As a loser in the power game, and he is also crazy, there will be a few people who are behind him. Will you still visit him after his death?
Mu Sheng, dressed in plain clothes, got off the carriage and went to the front door of the mansion to respectfully hand over a greeting card. Young Master Kang greeted the guests in front of the gate and the servants sang "The Lord Changping has arrived."
A young man in mourning clothes in front of the door paid his respects to Mu Sheng and said, "Thank you, Mr. Changping, for coming to express my condolences. Please follow me to the mourning hall."
Arriving in front of the mourning hall, Mu Sheng bowed three times to the huge coffin and the memorial tablets. Young Master Kang's family members knelt on both sides of the coffin and bowed to him once in return.
A middle-aged woman in the family said with a sad look on her face, "I am very grateful to you, Mr. Changping, for coming here to see my husband off on his final journey."
Mu Sheng looked at the deserted mourning hall and could probably tell that the woman in front of him was probably Gongzi Kang's eldest wife, Mrs. Gao.
Mu Sheng hurriedly returned the courtesy and said, "What are you talking about, Third Sister-in-law? Third Brother is from my clan in the Jin Dynasty. Third Brother and I are connected by blood. It is reasonable to come here to pay homage today. This person has passed away. Third Sister-in-law, please express my condolences." "
The woman nodded gratefully, turned to a young man in his early twenties next to her, and said to the girl kneeling in mourning clothes next to the young woman, "Qi'er, Ye'er, go and present your gifts to Lord Changping."
With a look of sadness on his face, the man led the girl over, saluted Mu Sheng and said, "Mu Qi pays homage to Lord Changping."
Mu Sheng hurriedly bowed and comforted them with a few words. After they stood up, he turned around and exited the mourning hall.
The man who was older than Mu Sheng just now was the youngest son of Master Kang. Back then, Master Kang went crazy and hacked his eldest son to death. Now only this younger son and the girl born from his concubine are still alive.
Mu Sheng thought that because of the fight for the throne more than ten years ago, Prince Kang had fallen into this situation, and he felt the same. He knew very well in his heart that he was just a tool borrowed by the emperor to suppress the prince, and he did not know that his father, the emperor, was When the old man has finished using himself, will he be given a way out, or will he end up like Mr. Kang? Hey...
The servants in Young Master Kang's Mansion led Mu Sheng to the side room to rest. At this moment, the waiter in front of Young Master Kang's Mansion sang loudly, "His Royal Highness has arrived."
When Mu Sheng heard this, his heart moved, and he saw His Highness the Crown Prince, also dressed in plain clothes, with a sad look on his face, leading all the civil and military officials to come to express condolences to Young Master Kang.
As soon as the prince came, it was much more "lively" than before. When the prince entered the mourning hall and held the coffin, he cried bitterly and repeatedly said that the third brother died young...
Mrs. Gao just kowtowed to His Highness the Crown Prince with a cold expression and said nothing during the whole process. She also did not allow her two children to greet His Highness the Crown Prince.
Mu Sheng was somewhat silent when he saw this. The grudges and resentments caused by the fight for the throne will continue.
After the prince paid homage, all the ministers behind him also came forward to pay homage. Seeing that he had nothing to do, Mu Sheng followed the servants to the side room to rest.
At this moment, a mysterious man wearing mourning clothes and kneeling in the back row of the mourning hall was staring at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in front of him. His hands showed blue veins and he was holding the sword at his waist tightly with a look of resentment in his eyes.
The prince seemed to have felt something. He turned slightly and glanced at the mourning hall. The mysterious man had indeed disappeared...
In the inner room of the side room, Mu Sheng ate some of the breakfast that was served. Some officials from the side room came here to rest one after another. Seeing Lord Changping here, they all came forward to greet him.
Regardless of whether he knew him or not, Mu Sheng responded appropriately. His Royal Highness returned to the East Palace directly after paying his condolences.
At this time, Mu Sheng actually saw Young Master Xiu, who had not been seen for a long time. He was also dressed in plain clothes. It seemed that he had come to the side room to rest after paying condolences in the lobby.
Young Master Xiu also exchanged greetings with everyone who came to express condolences. He turned his head and saw that Young Master Sheng was also present. He ignored other people's gazes and came straight over to sit opposite him and said, "Mr. Changping, I didn't expect you to be here."
Mu Sheng raised his eyebrows and asked, "Brother Ninth, how is your health doing?"
Young Master Xiudao: "It's not bad. Thanks to the tonic you sent me, I recovered much faster than expected."
Young Master Xiu looked at the officials around him, lowered his voice with a sarcastic look on his face, and said in a joking tone, "If our dear fourth brother, the prince, hadn't come to express his condolences in person, I'd be afraid that none of these guys who act according to the circumstances would be able to see a ghost." .”
Mu Sheng was somewhat silent when he heard the words. He thought to himself that if he were one of these officials, he would probably act based on the looks of his superiors and would not be much better than them. Even if he felt some sympathy in his heart, he would not dare to really come to express his condolences to the prince's former political rivals. When the prince succeeds to the throne in the future, will he still be able to mess around? You cannot bet your political future on the tolerance and generosity of your leadership. There are some things you can avoid if you can.
Young Master Xiu sighed, "I seemed to have seen a familiar person in the house just now, but I'm not sure if it was him."
Mu Shengqi asked, "Oh? Who is he?"
"Our fifth brother, Young Master Su."
Mu Sheng was shocked when he heard this and lowered his voice, "Brother Ninth, are you sure you read it correctly? Wasn't Brother Five demoted to a commoner and sent to the army? How could he run back to Qingyang?"
Young Master Xiu shook his head with confusion and said, "I don't know, maybe he was dazzled for a moment and saw it wrong. It's not necessarily that the fifth brother, Young Master Su, and the third brother were the same mother. The two brothers had a very good relationship, and now one of them has grown up." He has ascended to immortality, but the other one is still guarding the border. Hey! I heard that over at Taiji Palace, my father didn’t even send an edict when he heard about the death of his third brother..."
Mu Sheng was speechless when he heard this. In this big family, if there are many children, there are differences between relatives. Some children may not be considered biological, but their fathers are not close to each other and their mothers do not love them. It is not like our time, where there were few children, one for each family. , gathered thousands of favors, raised them all as big treasures, and treated them all like princes.
Young Master Xiu looked at Mu Sheng with a complicated expression: "Speaking of my father, I quite envy you. You can always be by your side. I can only see my father during the imperial gathering."
Mu Sheng sighed and said, "I don't believe that Ninth Brother can't see my current situation with your intelligence? Maybe I may follow in the footsteps of Young Master Kang in the future!"
Young Master Xiu took a few mouthfuls of food with his chopsticks and said silently for a long time, "No! You are different. The advantage you have over Young Master Kang is that you are the only heir of Mrs. Zhao and his father. His father will not really treat you as an abandoned person." Ziyong, don’t worry! When my father really ascends to heaven one day, he will definitely give you an explanation and leave a way out for you. Even if the fourth brother ascends the throne in the future, he will not embarrass you too much."
Mu Sheng sighed, "I hope so! Even if my father doesn't embarrass me, one day my father will really pass away and become a god to protect me? Even if he leaves behind some secret edict or some edict to avoid death, Ninth Brother, you How effective do you think you are in front of Xin Jun’s golden words?”
Young Master Xiu was speechless when asked by Mu Sheng, "Yes!" Then it depends on the emperor's mood, right? Young Master Xiu seemed to have something to say out loud, but he looked at the talkative people around him and then held back...
Mu Sheng looked at the mourning hall in the distance through the window and said, "Actually, I have already planned it. When the prince ascends the throne, I will take my wife and escape to the mountains and forests and never ask about the affairs of the court again. I don't want my own wealth and life." It’s between one person and one thought…”
Young Master Xiu asked, "Where can you escape to? In this world, is it the land of the king? On the shore of the land, is it the ministers of the king? Do you want to defect to the barbarians?"
Mu Sheng raised his eyebrows and said, "Forgive me for telling the truth. To be honest, it's okay even if I defect to the barbarians. I am a cultivator. I don't want to leave you here. I have my own place to stay. The world is so big, why do you have to stay here?" What about in the Central Plains?"
Young Master Xiu sighed and said, "That's right. With your skills, it's really not difficult to make a living as long as you can carefully hide your identity."
Mu Sheng said to himself, "This may be one of the reasons why Father insisted on carrying me out..."
After chatting with Gongzi Xiu, he said goodbye and planned to go back home. When Mu Sheng passed by the mourning hall, he subconsciously looked back at Gongzi Kang's spiritual tablet and coffin, and for a moment he felt mixed emotions.
Mu Sheng returned to the mansion and sat in the courtyard in a daze. Until Yun'er ran to him, Mu Sheng didn't even notice.
Seeing Mu Sheng in a daze in the courtyard, Yun'er asked, "Sir, what's on your mind?"
Mu Sheng looked back at Yun'er, a little dazed, and said, "Oh! I was thinking about Young Master Kang."
Yun'er comforted her softly, "I have also heard about Young Master Kang. Please forgive me, Young Master."
"It's okay, it doesn't matter."
Mu Sheng suddenly stared into Yun'er's eyes and asked, "Yun'er, do you really like His Highness the Crown Prince?"
Yun'er was suddenly stopped by the question. Yun'er felt a little nervous and at a loss. After a while, she finally said, "I like it! But...but...it's not the kind of love that the young master thought."
Mu Sheng asked doubtfully, "What does that mean? Is there any other kind of liking?"
Yun'er stamped her feet and said, "Oh, why are you men so stubborn? In fact, I just admire His Highness the Crown Prince, and there is no love between men and women. Young Master, you have misunderstood, because almost everyone who met the Crown Prince in the palace was The ladies-in-waiting are all discussing the prince in private, so I am not immune to this."
oh! Mu Sheng finally understood and said with relief, "That's fine! I won't send you to the fire pit..."
Mu Sheng always felt that the prince was not as simple as he seemed on the surface. Once he entered the Hou family, he was as deep as the sea. He didn't know if this simple girl could handle it.
Yun'er asked with some confusion, "Master, what do you mean? What a fire pit."
Since Yun'er was one of his own, Mu Sheng told her about his plans to marry her to the prince as his concubine.
Unexpectedly, Yun'er suppressed her blush, and a ball of pink fist hit him directly. Mu Sheng didn't avoid it. He was wondering why Yun'er was so disgusted with getting married?
