Prime Minister's Mansion.
Ji Tae lies on the bed.
The emperor sent an imperial doctor to check his pulse and give him medicine.
Of course, he didn't drink.
His eldest son Ji An guards Tai'an City, the southern gateway to Kyoto. News of the great court meeting in Kyoto has not yet spread, so Ji An does not know about it.
The second son, Ji Tuo, was thinking about his past in front of the Qianniu Guard in Beiya. He didn't know yet.
At this moment, the third son Ji Ling was in front of his bed, and the other was the second prince Ning Zhixing.
"Hold your father up."
"Father, you..."
"Don't let your father say it a second time in the future!"
Ji Ling quickly and carefully helped Ji Tai up. He leaned his back against the head of the bed, looked at the packet of medicine placed aside, and laughed: "This is all intentional!"
"Your Majesty... you have the idea of eradicating my Ji Mansion!"
"Father, the emperor has sent a royal doctor!"
Ji Tai smiled coldly: "It's just a show!"
"If the emperor still trusted his father, how could he ask that little thief who was the traitor at the court meeting in front of all the civil and military officials!"
"The Emperor is in collusion with that little thief!"
"Slapping my father in the face in front of the civil and military officials of the court... of course the purpose is to show it to the officials below!"
"Those bitches are all people who act according to the wind. Today, the little thief humiliated my father, but the emperor did not make the decision for my father... The calculations in the minds of those officials will be rattled!"
"Even if you still respect your father on the surface, you will definitely lose a lot of fear in your heart. There may even be some officials who take advantage of the situation and secretly throw themselves at Li Chenan and find another supporter!"
"What a great move! My father couldn't hold back at the time, but he succeeded in the end!"
"Your Highness..."
Ji Tai looked at Ning Zhixing.
"I shouldn't talk about the emperor behind his back. In fact, it is thanks to the emperor that I have suffered such a shame and humiliation today!"
Ning Zhixing nodded slightly, "Grandpa, your grandson knows the pain in your heart!"
"Then when Li Chenan came to Hanyuan Hall, the first thing he hit was his grandson in the face!"
"My father didn't stop him, let alone scold him. He even looked like he was gloating about his misfortune... It seems that my father really intends to pave the way for him. I'm afraid my grandson will soon receive the order to go to the fiefdom!"
"My grandson...is unwilling to accept it!"
"Well... the question now is, how to get rid of that little thief!"
"Grandpa, my father did not announce that he is the eldest son of the emperor!"
Ji Tai pointed to the teapot on the table, and Ji Ling quickly poured a cup of tea and handed it over.
"No need to announce!"
"...why?"
"The Imperial City Division was ordered to rebuild by the old thief Chang Sun twenty years ago. Although this order is the emperor's order, behind this order was the promotion of Queen Lu."
"There is a large-leaf banyan tree with a crooked neck in the Imperial City. It was planted by Queen Lu herself twenty years ago."
"So the old thief Changsun is holding on to the Imperial City Division to help Queen Lu's descendants guard it."
"He has been guarding until now... I'm afraid you don't know that three years ago, Concubine Li once tested the emperor's tone."
"Concubine Li said that the third prince Ning Zhiyuan was born in Xiwu. Should the third prince be sent to the Imperial City Division? After all, the eldest grandson Jinghong is already old. In the future, the third prince will control the Imperial City Division, which will be of great benefit to the Ningguo royal family."
"The emperor did not agree."
"Today, the emperor appointed that little thief Li Chen'an to be promoted to deputy deputy of the Imperial City Department... I thought this was a sudden move by the emperor, but you just said that Eunuch Chang gave Li Chen'an two sets of official robes...!"
"Since this official robe has been prepared, it is obvious that the emperor was going to give it to the little thief after careful consideration!"
"In the emperor's heart, that little thief is the future leader of the Imperial City Division."
"Then he must be Queen Lu's son. There is no need to deliberately announce it!"
The second prince Ning Zhixing suddenly realized it. He gritted his teeth and said, "If I had known this, I should have risked my life to kill him on the Mid-Autumn Festival night!"
Ji Tai waved his hand, "Don't talk about you, grandpa, I was also careless."
"This mistake cannot be made again!"
"Ji Ling,"
"The child is here!"
"You should prepare a letter for your father and give it to your elder brother. The preparations should be faster, but more careful and secretive...and don't let him return to Beijing...you must not go back to Beijing now!"
"Take time to go to the Huo Mansion in the afternoon and ask who in the Huo family... Huo Xi, ask him about the Jiangnan Autumn Grain Purchase. How is it now?"
"If the acquisition is completed, tell him that the grain will be secretly transported to Tai'an City via the vast canal."
"In addition...you go to the Duke of Yan's house for my father and ask him when the Red Flame Army can set off...tell Duke Yan that I hope to meet in Kyoto next spring!"
Ji Ling bowed and said, "My child obeys your orders!"
"You all go down."
"Your Highness, don't go out these days. That mad dog Li Chen'an has been promoted as the deputy of the Imperial City Department. If he gains the trust of Changsun Jinghong, Changsun Jinghong will also hand over Xuanjia Camp to him...Grandpa I’m worried that he will bite people randomly!”
After the two left, Kang Shiji, the chief steward of the Prime Minister's Mansion, walked in.
He stood in front of Jitai's bed, bowed, and whispered: "Master, Xi Wei has arrived and is waiting for you in the backyard!"
…
…
Two carriages stopped in front of a gate in the alley of Zaowang Temple.
Three people, a man and two women, got out of the carriage.
The man was as fat as a ball. He was Ning Zhiyi, the current crown prince of Ning Kingdom.
Another woman gave birth to Liuliang, just like a flower.
She is the fourth princess Ning Chuchu!
Behind Ning Chuchu stood a maid carrying a food box. She was Zhiyuan.
The brother and sister were now standing in front of the mottled door.
The two stone lions in front of the door were covered with dust and fallen leaves, and even the seven steps to the door were covered with moss.
Not to mention that wall.
The ivy on the wall has gradually withered, exposing dark roots that seem to have become moldy.
The plaque on this door is still there, but the writing on it needs to be read carefully——
Those are the four characters "Huaiguo Gongfu"!
The once-unparalleled Duke Huai's Mansion has fallen into decline this morning. Even in the autumn sunshine at noon, it is still dim and still exudes a musty smell.
Ning Zhiyi looked at the lintel of the door, sighed suddenly, walked over with some difficulty, and knocked on the door knocker.
After a long time.
Only a voice came from inside.
This is an old voice, a trembling voice:
"...Who is it?"
The door creaked open.
The person who opened the door was not the concierge, but Duke Huai himself!
He rubbed his dim eyes, and a smile suddenly appeared on his face full of grooves, "Why did you brothers and sisters end up in this wretched place?"
…
A small pavilion.
An old tea table.
Duke Huai Lao invited Ning Zhiyi and his sister to sit down. Without much greeting, he looked at Ning Zhiyi and went straight to the topic:
"Grandpa has heard the news about the Great Court Meeting."
"Li Chenan lit a fire!"
"But the fire will not reach the East Palace."
"Grandpa will give you a few words. You should still maintain the indifferent relationship with Li Chenan as before. There is no need to deliberately make friends with him. Of course, there is no need to speculate too much about him."
Duke Huai made tea but kept his mouth shut.
After a long time, Ning Zhiyi finally couldn't help but ask: "What's the second sentence?"
Duke Huai raised his eyes and said, "You are too fat!"
