..,!
After Zhao Xun left the lakeside, he walked straight towards the mountain gate.
It wasn't that he didn't want to stay longer in the academy, it was actually that the senior brothers and sisters in the academy were overly enthusiastic, and their enthusiasm made it difficult for him to accept it for a while. .
Besides, the mountain chief has taken in a total of seventy-two disciples.
Apart from Zhao Xun and those traveling abroad, there were dozens of people.
If each of them came to Zhao Xun to reminisce and talk, Zhao Xun would not be able to bear it.
After Zhao Xun successfully left the academy, he went down Zhongnan Mountain and returned to Chang'an City.
After returning to the Duke's Mansion, I saw the little Loli rushing towards me.
"Brother Xun, where have you been? You disappeared while I was sleeping. I miss you so much."
Zhao Xun knew that it would be difficult to explain it clearly to her in just a few words, so he said softly: "I just went out to do some official business, and now it's okay. If you want to play, I will accompany you."
But the little Loli said with a straight face: "Brother Xun, are you really not lying?"
"Oh, my little ancestor, when did I lie to you?"
"That's true."
"Well, I'll punish you by telling me a story. Just tell me the story about Journey to the West last time."
The little loli said with a proud look on her face.
Zhao Xun had no choice but to bite the bullet and speak.
He has told this story to the little Loli dozens of times, but the Little Loli doesn't seem to be bothered by it at all.
Forget it, who said this was his own girl? What else could he do if he didn't pamper her?
...
...
But Zhao Xun told the story to the little Loli for half an hour, and finally coaxed the little Loli to fall asleep. Then he saw the housekeeper coming to report: "Young Master, someone is coming from the palace."
Zhao Xun's heart suddenly thumped.
Is there someone in the palace?
This is not good news.
You must know that Zhao Xun had just entered the palace to meet the emperor, so Emperor Xianlong probably didn't want to see him.
What the hell is this dog emperor doing?
Zhao Xun, who looked confused, responded softly, then carefully covered the girl with a quilt, then slowly left the house and tiptoed towards the flower hall.
When Zhao Xun came to the flower hall, he saw that Eunuch Cui, who was familiar with him, was sitting in the hall. He thought that Emperor Xianlong must have summoned him, so he slowly stepped forward to him, cupped his hands and said, "Oh, Eunuch Cui, What kind of wind has brought you here? You come to the Three Treasures Hall for nothing."
Eunuch Cui was drinking tea. When he heard this, he stood up quickly and said with a smile: "Oh, Mr. Zhao, what are you talking about? This servant is just an eunuch who does errands for the royal family. How can I be worthy of your praise?"
He took a deep breath and then continued: "To be honest, His Royal Highness wants to invite you to the East Palace."
Prince?
This answer was really beyond Zhao Xun's expectation.
In Zhao Xun's impression, there seemed to be no intersection between him and the Prince of the East Palace.
And shouldn't this Eunuch Cui be the eunuch of Emperor Xianlong? Even if the prince wants to send someone to deliver a message, he shouldn't need Eunuch Cui.
Chaos, the royal court circle is really chaotic.
Seeing that Zhao Xun did not express his position for a long time, Eunuch Cui became a little anxious.
"Hey, Mr. Zhao, please say a word. His Royal Highness is still waiting in the East Palace."
Zhao Xun smiled and said: "His Royal Highness, are you summoning me or inviting me to the East Palace?"
Eunuch Cui was stunned for a moment.
"Does it make any difference?"
Zhao Xun talked eloquently: "Of course there is a difference. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is the Crown Prince, and His Highness's decree is an edict. If the Crown Prince issues an edict, the ministers will naturally go to the East Palace to see the Crown Prince without hesitation. But if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince simply You invited me to the East Palace in a private capacity, and since I am a humble minister, do you have the right not to go?"
Zhao Xun's words could be said to have completely deceived Eunuch Cui.
Is there such an understanding?
He was worthy of being the crown prince of Duke Cheng Guo who was famous all over Chang'an, but he was just different from ordinary people.
But Eunuch Cui was also a little confused. No matter how popular Zhao Xun is, no matter how favored he is, he is still a minister.
The prince is a half-king, a master.
What kind of thing is it for a minister to refuse his master's summons?
"Young Master Zhao, please stop going around in circles with our family here. Please give our family an accurate answer as to whether you will go to the East Palace or not."
Even though Zhao Xun was smiling on his face, he was actually having a fierce ideological struggle in his heart.
Because he knew that going to the East Palace was not as simple as it seemed.
Now he is very close to King Qi, and he has many contacts with both Li Jianye and Li Taiping.
It can be said that in the eyes of everyone, Zhao Xun is undoubtedly a member of King Qi's party.
Of course there would be no problem for him to enter the palace to meet the saint, but it would be a completely different matter if he went to the East Palace.
What would King Qi think if he knew that he went to the East Palace to meet the prince? What would Li Jianye and Li Taiping think?
Besides, the prince had no intention of wooing him at first, but now he saw that Zhao Xun had fallen to King Qi's faction, so he panicked and started to try to woo him, which was a bit unreliable no matter how you look at it.
Zhao Xun felt that even if the prince wanted to cut off his beard, his method would be a bit poor.
So from the bottom of his heart, he didn't want to go to the East Palace to see the prince.
But in the final analysis, the prince is also the heir apparent, regardless of how Zhao Xun was trying to play tricks with eunuch Cui just now. If he really doesn't go, the prince will definitely be embarrassed, and his highness the prince will definitely have a big prejudice against Zhao Xun.
Let alone wooing Zhao Xun, it would be a good thing not to target Zhao Xun.
Difficult, really difficult.
Zhao Xun knew very well that as a noble son, the consequences of taking the wrong side would be disastrous.
Even if the Zhao family is a top-notch family, if they are on the wrong team with the wrong person, the outcome will not be much better.
Zhao Xun's decision affects not only himself, but also the entire family.
That's why he wanted to delay it.
But the problem is that Eunuch Cui obviously saw through his mind and had no intention of delaying him.
"I'm afraid it's not possible to go to the East Palace. But if His Highness the Crown Prince wants to go to the East Market for a banquet, I will be happy to host it."
Zhao Xun gave a plan that he could accept.
If he went to the East Palace, it wouldn't take half a day for the entire elite circle in Chang'an City to know about it.
But if the prince leaves the palace incognito and has a simple meal with Zhao Xun in Dongshi, not many people will know about it.
There is a big difference in the publicity between the two, but they are actually the same to the prince.
The person the prince wants to meet is Zhao Xun, and the person he wants to win over is also Zhao Xun.
"this..."
Eunuch Cui obviously didn't expect that Zhao Xun would say this, and he was a little stupid for a moment.
"Why does Young Master Zhao bother our family? Our family just spreads a message..."
Eunuch Cui's face turned pale and he looked sad.
He thought it would be simple to send a message, but that was His Highness the Crown Prince. Countless people wanted to see him but they couldn't see him. Zhao Xun was probably a little too confident.
"Eunuch Cui, what are you talking about? Just tell His Highness the Crown Prince according to what I just said."
Zhao Xun said calmly.
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...
