This seems to be a threatening deal: If you help me deal with Lao Liu, I will not expose this matter completely and protect the face of the royal family.
Zhou Chong's slightly pale eyebrows trembled.
He didn't say anything, but his usually kind eyes now showed a bit of indifference.
Coincidentally, at this time, Xiao Huangmen outside the door said: "Your Majesty, the time for the court meeting is coming."
The emperor nodded: "Please retreat first."
"yes!"
Zhou Mingyi leaned over and left happily.
Seeing him leaving, Zhou Chongfang asked: "Your Majesty, what's going on? It's not that the sixth prince has a hold on the fifth prince, but... why is it the other way around?"
"I don't know either!" The Emperor shook his head slowly, as if mocking himself: "It seems that my ears are no longer sensitive. Am I getting old?"
"Your Majesty is joking!" Zhou Chong sighed: "What do you think about this matter?"
The emperor said "Hey", patted the back of Zhou Chong's hand and said with a smile: "You are in charge of clan affairs. You have the final say in everything, so you don't need to ask me again."
Zhou Chong was thoughtful, and finally clasped his fists: "I'm leaving."
After everyone left, the emperor's face turned cold: "Is there an error in the news?"
"Absolutely impossible!" The eunuch shook his head.
For such a big matter, Ning Que couldn't make any mistakes.
The reason why the emperor has turned a blind eye to Hedong these days is because the situation in Hedong is too complicated, and the people below are not sure about it and dare not report it easily.
If the shocking news like 'Zhou Jiao is Zhou Che' is false, then all the spies from him to the lowest level will have no chance of surviving!
"It's just... I don't understand why the sixth prince sent a letter to the fifth prince..." The eunuch was also confused.
The emperor sat down and seemed to close his eyes to rest.
After a long time, he opened his eyes: "Two reasons. First, Lao Liu thought he had hid it from everyone, including me, and because he had a lot of troops, his conspiracy went far beyond the brothers."
When the eunuch heard this, his color suddenly changed with fear and his whole body was trembling.
"Go and tell Yang Da that all the commanders of the Forbidden Army have canceled their hibernation and entered martial law."
"Instructions to investigate city defense and arsenal matters."
"Inform the Eighth Route Army Commander that as soon as the information is obtained, troops will be dispatched immediately without any delay."
"Yes! Yes!" The eunuch nodded repeatedly and said tremblingly: "I think the Sixth Prince will not..."
"Yes, probably not." The emperor nodded and said with a smile: "But this kid has been crazy since the last incident. I'd better be more careful."
The eunuch nodded and suddenly realized: "The two reasons you mentioned?"
"Secondly, he knew that telling the truth would harm the royal family's face, but he didn't want to let Lao Wu go, so he set up such a trap."
"As for what the end of this situation is, I don't know."
The emperor kept shaking his head, but the smile on his face grew thicker: "If this is the case, if you have merit but not arrogance, if you have hatred but don't express it, you should keep an eye on the overall situation and eliminate stubborn enemies... this is good."
Later, during the court meeting, Zhou Ming once again displayed the letter of surrender in public, stating that Zhou Jiao accepted his recruitment.
The court was shaken, and after expressing congratulations to Zhou Ming, everyone knew clearly: A storm is coming!
——Lu Huang Mansion——
Since the previous incident, Lu Huang has been living at home.
Therefore, he still doesn't know what happened in the court today.
As soon as the meeting ended, a carriage stopped outside Lu Huang's gate.
"The prince invites Da Sinong to go to Sikong Mansion to discuss matters."
The visitor is Sikong Prefect Shi, who is not of high rank, but 'Prefect Shi' is equivalent to the 'Cheng' of officials at all levels, and is the chief official's confidant and deputy.
The chief minister Shi came to invite us, and the standards were extremely high.
Lu Huang was very happy when he heard this and grabbed the visitor's wrist: "But is there something going on today?"
He believes that it has lifted the seal on himself.
Chang Shi said with a warm smile: "We will know when Mr. Lu arrives."
The carriage drove into Sikong Mansion, and Chang Shi led Lu Huang to a desk room.
The so-called prince, one of the current three princes, Sikong Wangchen, is already here.
Wang Chen is nearly seventy years old, with kind eyebrows and kind eyes. He is a veteran of two dynasties and has a high prestige among officials.
Lu Huang said politely: "Lu Huang has met the prince."
"There is no need to be formal between you and me."
Wang Chen walked over with a smile and put his hand on his wrist: "You are a hard-working person. You are afraid of being idle at home for the past two days, right?"
Lu Huang is also a magnanimous person: "That's true."
"I knew you earlier!" Wang Chen burst into laughter: "I knew you were restless, so I asked you to come to my place for help."
Lu Huang was slightly startled, then continued: "The prince is joking, I have to go to Da Sinong Temple for work, how can I work in Sikong Mansion?"
Although he is a dignified Jiuqing, he is a subordinate of Wang Chen, but he is a high official in the imperial court and not his personal official.
It is obviously unreasonable to work here... Lu Huang realized something was wrong and moved towards the door.
"Hey! Why are you in a hurry!" Wang Chen reached out to stop him and shook his head gently: "You don't have to go to Sinong Temple. You can stay here with peace of mind."
Lu Huang's expression changed greatly: "My lord, what do you mean by this?"
Wang Chen shook his head and walked outward: "It's safe to stay here, don't ask about other things."
Seeing that things had changed, Lu Huang ignored the etiquette and grabbed the opponent's sleeve: "My lord, although you are the esteemed one of the three princes, you cannot restrain the nine ministers without permission!"
Wang Chen paused and looked back at him: "Abstaining Jiu Qing without permission? I didn't do it. It's just that there are many doubts about the matters you handled. As Sikong, I have to investigate."
"Also, I'm afraid you won't be able to hold your position as the Nine Ministers for a few more days."
Lu Huang was shocked and said: "What do you mean, prince? You might as well make it clear!"
"Then let me tell you!" Wang Chen shook out his sleeves, and a cold light appeared on his seemingly kind face: "At the court meeting today, the fifth prince took out Zhou Jiao's letter of surrender."
"The victory has its destination, so the Sixth Prince should bear the blame for the defeat."
"As for you...hey!"
Speaking of this, Wang Chen couldn't help but shake his head and sighed: "I think you, Lu Huang, can be considered a Qingming official, and you will be expected to be a good official in the future. Why do you choose sides at this time?"
Lu Huang was stunned.
After calming down for a while, he said: "Your Majesty, although I support the Sixth Prince's expedition to Hedong, everything must be done in accordance with the law!"
"And you imprisoned me today in accordance with the dignity of the Three Lords, just to stand in line and do whatever it takes. Aren't you afraid of the liquidation in the future!?"
"You will be liquidated only if you are in the wrong team, like you."
Wang Chen turned around and left, and then ordered: "Have a good time serving Lu Sinong, let him sort out the files here."
"yes!"
With a reply, the door was closed.
Lu Huang banged the door angrily:
"Raja!"
"Sikong!"
"Wang Chen!"
"Although you are a superior official, you have banned Jiuqing arbitrarily. I will go to His Majesty to visit you!"
