Chapter 136 The second prince takes advantage of wine to drown his sorrows
"Your Highness!" The butler took off the coat from the second prince and handed him a cup of steaming hot tea.
"Yes!" The second prince took a sip of the hot tea and felt that the coldness in his body was gone. "Has anything happened in the capital recently?"
"Back to Your Highness, no major events have happened in the court recently. However, something happened in Miaochun Pavilion a while ago."
The butler's face changed slightly when he heard the second prince's question. He had been serving the second prince for many years, so he was naturally immersed in it, and he knew something about what the second prince was planning.
"Huh?" The second prince raised his eyebrows, his eyes a little gloomy, "What happened to Miaochun Pavilion?" Not only that, his eyelids began to twitch at this time, jumping left and right repeatedly, as if Ji Tai was sleeping, You are simply too beautiful.
The housekeeper glanced at the second prince cautiously, thought about his words in his mind, and then said: "Back to Your Highness, there is no Miaochun Pavilion in the capital now. It was destroyed by others."
Hearing the news, the second prince was shocked. Now he only had one thought: Could it be that Miaochun Pavilion was exposed? Could it be that he accidentally showed his flaws and was discovered by his father? So he was noticed by his father and found out his intentions?
Suppressing the panic and doubts in his heart, he looked at the housekeeper and said urgently, "Tell me everything you know clearly to the prince. The truth is, the clearer the better."
"Yes, Your Highness!" the butler agreed repeatedly.
"Your Highness, you don't know. On the night of the accident, there was a loud noise, and almost everyone in the capital heard it."
"I didn't know until the next day that something happened in Miaochun Pavilion. I quickly sent people to find out the news, but I didn't expect that whether it was through asking people to find connections or using coercion and inducement, as long as the matter was mentioned, those ministers would Their expressions suddenly changed, they stopped talking, and started to fight with me. Just when I was at my wits end, luckily..."
"Wait a minute!" The second prince interrupted the butler's report, "Are you saying that all the ministers' expressions changed drastically? They kept silent about this matter?"
"Yes." The butler thought carefully and nodded affirmatively.
The second prince's face instantly turned pale, with no trace of blood visible. Even his hands were trembling slightly because of panic and fear. Now I am more and more sure of my guess.
"Go on." The second prince picked up the hot tea, regardless of whether it was hot or not, and stuffed it into his stomach. As the scalding hot tea entered his stomach, he started to beat wildly due to panic and fear. His heart became a little calmer, and his face became a little brighter.
"Please forgive me, Your Highness! I didn't mean it!" The housekeeper was so frightened when he saw the second prince's attitude that he quickly kowtowed and begged for mercy.
He has worked in the second prince's house for many years, and this is the first time he has seen the second prince in such a posture. He had never seen the second prince, who was always murderous, showing a fearful expression. He couldn't say he was afraid, but to be precise, he was afraid of something.
It seemed that he looked frightened because of what he had just said, but he didn't seem to say anything! Everything you say is true! Those ministers really avoided it one by one, fearing that they would be implicated.
"It's okay! I don't blame you!" The second prince rubbed his brows and waved his hand, "Go on."
The housekeeper raised his head and saw the color on the second prince's face, and then said cautiously: "Fortunately, I met Mr. Han. Seeing that I was anxious, Mr. Han was considerate of me and told me about Miao Chun that day. What happened in the pavilion?"
"It turns out that King Qi did all this."
"Huh?!" The second prince was stunned when he heard what the butler said, "You mean Han Wuyong told you?" The second prince interrupted the butler again, "How did Han Wuyong know? Why did this matter come to light? Is it related to King Qi?"
"Back to Your Highness, according to Mr. Han, the third prince held a banquet in Miaochun Pavilion that day to entertain King Qi. Mr. Han was also in Miaochun Pavilion that day, and the third prince also invited him. Fortunately, he had a stomachache at the time and went Conveniently, I managed to escape.”
"Ha!" The second prince couldn't help but sneered, "Hongmen Banquet!"
"Yes!" The housekeeper nodded, "Mr. Han said the same thing, but the imperial concubine saw through the third prince's intentions and came to the rescue, blowing up the Miaochun Pavilion with a thunderbolt."
Miaochun Pavilion was bombed! The second prince fell into a deep shock, with only this sentence in his mind. At first, he thought it was destroyed by fire, but now the housekeeper told him that Miaochun Pavilion was destroyed by bombing! How could this not shock him.
"What else did Han Wuyong say? What happened next?" The second prince eagerly wanted to know the follow-up, "How are King Qi and the third prince?"
"Your Highness, King Qi is safe and sound. The third prince only had one of his legs broken and fell into a coma. He has now woken up. The messenger said that the third prince had set out for Hanfeng Temple today, but was assassinated on the way. However, he There was a master beside him who drove away the assassin, leaving the third prince unscathed."
"Master?!" The second prince was stunned, "What does that person look like?"
"He always wore a bamboo hat and a scarf on his face. The person who delivered the message didn't see his face."
"It's him!" The second prince knew who he was as soon as the butler said what the master was wearing. Unexpectedly, his father would ask him to leave the palace to protect the third prince Zhou Quan. It seemed that the situation was becoming more and more confusing.
"Did something happen to Yu Yao'er?" Compared with the news about King Qi and the third prince, he was now more concerned about whether Yu Yao'er made any mistakes.
"Back to Your Highness, Yu Yao'er is dead." The butler replied with difficulty. He knew that the second prince would go to Miaochun Pavilion every few days, and he would only ask Yu Yao'er to accompany him every time.
The Second Prince is feeling gloomy in your heart at this time. None of the two opponents, the Third Prince and King Qi, died in the explosion. On the contrary, Yu Yaoer, who was useful to him, was killed!
The housekeeper looked at the second prince's face, swallowed his saliva, and continued with a look of embarrassment: "I heard that Yuyao'er died with only a burnt head. And it is said that King Qi did not receive any favor from the emperor. The punishment was just that the imperial concubine enforced the family law, and she couldn't get out of bed for a long time."
"You go down first!" Seeing that the butler had finished explaining the matter, the second prince waved away the butler.
I returned to the study alone, full of irritability. One is because of the news of Yu Yao'er's death. After all, Yu Yao'er is also the person in charge of the White Lotus Sect in the capital. Her death will inevitably not delay her own important events.
The second reason is that the word "explosion" has been lingering in his mind. He has been in the army since he was a child and has experienced many wars, large and small. Naturally, he knows the meaning of the word "explosion". The only thing in the armory is "explosion". Thunder can explode. (Artillery was only available during the Ming Dynasty.)
Even on the battlefield, those thunderbolts were strictly guarded. Even if he wanted to use them on the battlefield, he had to register. Not only do you have to register the quantity, but you also have to register your name, and when you take the thunder, the emperor's supervisors will be watching. Anyone who dares to take more than one will cause unnecessary trouble.
But now I didn't expect that the imperial concubine would actually get the thunder.
Did the father do this intentionally? Knowing that there is something fishy about Miaochun Pavilion, why did the imperial concubine take advantage of the third prince's Hongmen Banquet to eradicate this unsightly place?
Or is it that my father found out that the owner behind Miaochun Pavilion is actually someone else? Although it is a private consumption industry on the surface, the boss behind the scenes is himself, and Miaochun Pavilion is also a place used by himself and the White Lotus Sect to spy on intelligence. Now that Miaochun Pavilion is gone, it’s like losing an arm.
Damn it, the second prince scratched his head irritably. None of the people in Miaochun Pavilion were his subordinates. They didn't tell him any news when they were bombed. Otherwise, he could have known in advance and made some countermeasures, and he wouldn't be in the same situation now. Only then did he realize that he was passive everywhere and could only guess what the emperor's intentions were.
It seems that the White Lotus Sect must be urged to re-establish Miaochun Pavilion as soon as possible. And after I finish offering the incense tomorrow, I have to go to Shen Jianqiang, the Minister of Household Affairs.
"Dang, Dang, Dang!" There was a rapid knock on the door, "It's me, Your Highness!"
"Come in!" The second prince retracted his thoughts, let Ji Taimei come in, and asked Ji Taimei: "If you don't have a good rest at home at night, what's the matter with coming to this prince's place?"
"Your Highness, my eldest brother just sent me a piece of news. Please read it." Ji Taimei respectfully presented Ji Wuli's news.
"Hey! Looking at you in such a hurry, I guess it's not good news." The second prince reached out and took the paper, "Why is there all bad news today? Can't there be some good news to make this prince feel better?"
When he saw the information on the note, he was stunned, "Prince Xue Ruyueben remembers..."
"Yes." Ji Taimei nodded, "That's what your highness thinks. This Xue Ruyue is from Jinling's Xue family, and she is also the woman Tao Pengju wants to marry."
"Ha!" The second prince chuckled, "It seems that this Xue Ruyue is not a good girl! She is so dissolute, and she is very good at playing hard to get. If Tao Pengju knew that she was flirting with the King of Qi in the capital, we would be in love with each other. , I’m afraid I already have the intention to kill King Qi.”
"Your Highness, I don't care what happens to Tao Pengju. The target point we should focus on now is why Xue Ruyue is here!" Ji Taimei did not expect that the second prince's focus would be here, so he quickly reminded him. Could it be that the Second Prince forgot so quickly that you are also being given a hat by King Qi now?
"Hahaha, I just relied on my beauty to get close to the King of Qi, thinking that I would be the golden turtle son-in-law. I could use the name of the King of Qi to help my family tide over the difficulties." The second prince laughed.
"But there are rumors in Hanfeng Temple that King Qi wants to break in and lust after Xue Ruyue. As a result, Xue Ruyue resisted desperately and King Qi did not succeed. How could His Highness say that Xue Ruyue is the king of Qi on the list? ?!”
"Didn't I say that just now? Play hard to get!" The second prince threw down the blank paper, looked at Ji Taimei and said, "Brother Ji is not married yet, is he?"
"Yes!" Ji Taimei nodded, "A man should still put his career first, so I don't want to get married. What's more, I don't have any thoughts about it now."
"Haha!" The second prince stood up and patted Ji Taimei's shoulder, "If you have time, you should find a girl you like!"
"What does your Highness mean by this?" Ji Tai was puzzled, "Aren't we talking about Xue Ruyue and King Qi? Why would Your Highness persuade me to get married now?"
"Haha, after Brother Ji finds the girl he likes, he will understand Xue Ruyue's intention."
"I still don't understand." Ji Taimei bowed and clasped his fists in salute, "Your Highness, please make it clear."
"Haha!" The second prince smiled, "I just wanted to talk to someone, so you came over. Why don't you take this opportunity to have a drink?"
Ji Taimei wanted to refuse, but the second prince did not give him a chance to refuse, "Hey! Brother Ji, don't refuse in a hurry. Let's drink while listening to His Highness tell you in detail."
"This... okay!" Ji Taimei really wanted to know why the second prince said this, and had no choice but to agree with the second prince's decision.
"Come here, bring some wine. Your Highness will have a drink with Brother Ji." The second prince ordered the servants outside.
After a while, the servant came in with a wine jug and a plate of peanuts. After filling them one by one, he bowed and left.
"Come on, let's drink this first." The second prince drank it all in one gulp without waiting for Ji Taimei's consent.
"Your Highness!" Ji Taimei had no choice but to follow the instructions and drank it all in one gulp.
"Cough cough cough!" Ji Taimei coughed up tears due to the heat of the wine, "Your Highness, your wine is too strong!"
"Hahaha!" The second prince laughed loudly when he saw Ji Taimei's tears. "I want to drink to relieve my sorrow, so of course I need strong liquor!"
"What are you worried about, Your Highness?" Ji Taimei painfully grabbed a handful of peanuts and ate them, while also filling the second prince's wine glass.
"First, let me explain to you Xue Ruyue's intention of doing that, and then I'll tell you what's bothering His Highness."
The second prince picked up the wine glass and drank it down in one gulp. "Brother Ji, you have been fighting with His Highness these years. Do you know how to explain play hard to get in the art of war?"
"This is natural." Ji Taimei nodded and took a sip of strong wine, "The sixteenth strategy of the Thirty-Six Strategies of Playing Hard to Capture. The Art of War says, "If you push, you will turn back, and if you move, you will lose momentum. Follow closely without force, which will tire out their strength and dampen their fighting spirit. If they are scattered and captured later, the soldiers will be killed without a bloody blow. "The explanation is that if you force the enemy to have no way to go, it will counterattack; letting it escape can weaken the enemy's momentum. When pursuing, follow the enemy and do not force it too much to consume its physical strength and undermine its fighting spirit. Wait until the enemy's morale Frustrated, routed, and captured, bloodshed can be avoided.”
"That's right!" The second prince nodded, "Brother Ji, do you know the popular meaning of playing hard to get?"
"The meaning of playing hard to get is to deliberately relax a step first in order to better control the other party."
"That's right!" The second prince nodded again, "As I said just now, that Xue Ruyue relied on her beauty to get close to King Qi, and wanted to use King Qi's name or power to help her family escape being captured. Risk of annexation.”
Drinking another glass of strong wine, "Brother Ji, do you know that in order to prevent the man she loves from getting tired of her, a woman in love will keep an appropriate distance. This will help to add a sense of mystery, thus brewing the other person's admiration and obsession."
"Now Xue Ruyue has played a hard-to-get trick to arouse King Qi's obsession. All her thoughts are on herself, so that she can better control King Qi and let him help her. family to weather the storm."
Ji Taimei suddenly realized, "Your Highness, are you saying that Xue Ruyue did this on purpose? It just made King Qi more obsessed with her?!"
"Of course!" The second prince saw that Ji Tai was so sleepy that he had not touched the wine glass, and he shook his head helplessly, "Since Brother Ji, you can't enjoy this fine wine, then I, your highness, can drink it yourself!" After saying that, he took it directly. He picked up the jug and started drinking.
Ji Taimei savored the words of the second prince carefully. In her deep thought, she heard that the second prince was about to drink. She breathed a sigh of relief. He was already overpowered by alcohol, but when he swallowed it, the wine was like fire, burning in his throat. combustion.
The second prince put down the empty wine bottle and sneered, "So what if that woman Xue Ruyue falls in love with Prince Qi? Does she really think that Prince Qi can help her? It's just a waste of water in a bamboo basket."
"Do you think this prince will be jealous of a person who is ignorant and only cares about playing with women?! What I am afraid of is nothing more than the imperial concubine behind him! If the imperial concubine hadn't been making suggestions for him behind the scenes, otherwise Do you think that just because of his virtue, he can cuckold this king and still live unharmed to this day?!"
As soon as the second prince mentioned Meng Ruoxi, he thought of the bastard Bi Yuntao who got there first and put Meng Ruoxi to sleep before him, and he felt uncomfortable in his heart.
Especially when this incident happened before the emperor was about to announce his marriage to Meng Ruoxi. This made him feel even more uncomfortable and wanted to kill someone to vent his anger. He was just one step away from being able to press that stinky woman on the bed and play with her wantonly.
It has been a year or two since I wanted to do this, but before that, every time I wanted to take a step forward with Meng Ruoxi, Meng Ruoxi was like a nimble kitten, always avoiding cleverly. He didn't let himself succeed, and he didn't even let himself pull his hand. He kept a subtle distance every time, which made him feel itchy, and he had to go to Miaochun Pavilion to find Yu Yao'er to vent.
"Your Highness?! Your Highness?!" Ji Taimei pushed the second prince. Unexpectedly, the second prince scolded him angrily and then stopped talking and fell asleep.
I saw anger appearing on the second prince's face for a while, and then it looked slightly vulgar. He shook his head in confusion, not knowing what he was thinking.
Reluctantly, he got up and called his servants to help the second prince change his clothes.
If a modern man like Bi Yuntao heard what the second prince said here, he would definitely despise him. Although he is an old virgin who is almost thirty years old and has not yet been married, he has also had a long-distance relationship. Doesn’t he know more than you? !
People! The biggest fear is that he has no self-awareness. How can he, a feudal man who has never experienced free love, know what love is?
Do you still have the nerve to say that Meng Ruoxi is self-righteous? ! Every time you want to take a step further with Meng Ruoxi, how could Meng Ruoxi not avoid her? Every time you meet her, you are always in her Zuo Xiang's Mansion. The left prime minister did not suddenly appear to interrupt you, which is enough to give you face!
You can't be like yourself and just let go of your attitude and become a licking dog, licking Meng Ruoxi like crazy.
There is a saying that goes well, you can wear a lot of clothes, but you can never wear flattery. When you see Meng Ruoxi, you don't want to flatter her. You only know how to dance with guns and sticks, or just recite poems to make things right. You just recite poems to make things right. Instead, you write some poems praising Meng Ruoxi. Talking about what happened on the battlefield shows your heroism and bravery, but it is of no use!
How could Meng Ruoxi, a girl, be willing to listen to this? The reason why she agreed to marry you before was partly because the Queen Mother acted as a matchmaker herself, and partly because she has spent the longest time with you among the people of the opposite sex who have no relationship. You have some good feelings.
There is a saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder!
Bi Yuntao and the second prince were compared. Although one had the attribute of being a dog licker, he could at least make girls happy; the other would not be like Bi Yuntao, who would lower his profile and be attentive to girls, and would not make girls happy. A happy one who only knows how to dance and stick; a knowledgeable one who knows a lot of things that Meng Ruoxi doesn’t know, who can take care of people, who can make Fat House Happy Water, and who is also frivolous...ahem! The other one can show off his literary talent and martial arts, but he knows nothing else. He can't take care of people, he can't make happy water for fat house...
In terms of mental strategy, Bi Yuntao and the second prince are comparable; when it comes to dealing with Meng Ruoxi, one will take care of others and always consider Meng Ruoxi; the other is a macho man who puts himself as the center.
Therefore, in Meng Ruoxi's heart, no matter how she compares, except in terms of reputation, she feels that Bi Yuntao is better than the second prince in every aspect.
But now when Meng Ruoxi thinks of the second prince, she is filled with disgust.
Of course, in addition to these, there is another meaning, that is, Bi Yuntao's weakness is more obvious than that of the second prince, which is lust. At the same time, he is also more susceptible to his own temptations. If he wants to take revenge in the future, he will have a higher success rate than lurking around the second prince.
