Prince Duan's Mansion was supposed to thank visitors behind closed doors. However, when Xia Muzhou heard that the visitor was Taoist Zhan Ming from Zhenwu Temple, he did not dare to exclude the guests without permission and hurried to his father's room to inform him.
"Zhan Ming? Why did he come to me?" King Duan was a little confused.
He had had a rift with Qingxuan for many years, and they hated each other. Since then, he had not wanted to see Zhan Wei and Zhan Ming. Neither of them had ever been to Prince Duan's mansion.
"Father, do you want to see him?" Xia Muzhou asked.
Xia Muzhou is the second son of King Duan, who is nearly forty years old. He still remembered that when he was young, Qingxuan was his father's best friend and a guest at Prince Duan's palace. Later, for unknown reasons, the two suddenly broke off contact, and this break lasted for nearly thirty years, until Qingxuan came to the door last month.
"If it's nothing important, Zhan Ming won't come to me... Is there any news about Qingxuan?... Zhan Wei? Or the Emperor?" King Duan paced while holding his staff. After thinking for a while, he couldn't determine his purpose, so he told Xia Muzhou, "Tell him to go to the study!"
With that said, he walked forward to the study with his stick.
Last night, a few soldiers from the city defense camp suddenly came to the temple, saying that Zhan Wei had sent them to get two medicinal materials.
When they started asking for medicinal materials, Zhan Ming felt that something was fishy: "There is no medicine in the palace, so why would you come to the temple to get it? Even if you really want to get it, why doesn't Zhan come in person?"
The pawn then told him the two medicines he wanted to take, and Zhan Ming became even more suspicious.
"Dendrobium Huoshan and Ganoderma lucidum are both wonderful nourishing medicines. However, as they have strong properties, they are definitely not suitable for people who are just recovering from a serious illness. Junior brother is well versed in medical science, why don't you understand this? And junior brother also said last time when I reviewed, The Emperor's serious illness is difficult to recover from, and I'm afraid he won't be able to survive for long."
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Zhan Wei had deliberately let himself know that he could not leave the palace by asking a few pawns to come to the temple to get the medicine. Given Zhan Wei's position in the palace, if he couldn't even get out of the palace gate, something had happened in the palace.
Zhan Ming calmly took Dendrobium Huoshan and Ganoderma lucidum to the pawns, but afterward he thought about it all night long——
"There's an accident in the palace, who should I go to?"
After thinking about it all night, he couldn't find anyone more suitable than King Duan. Early in the morning, when the genius was bright, he went down the mountain and went straight to Prince Duan's Mansion.
"His Royal Highness Duan Wang!" Seeing that Duan Wang was already waiting there, Zhan Ming held his hand and said politely.
"Sit!" Prince Duan didn't say much. He pointed to the chair beside him and said in a deep voice, "You came to Prince Duan's Mansion, but what's the urgent matter?"
Zhan Ming sat down as he was told, and finished explaining last night's events in detail, and then said: "Based on my understanding of Zhan as a junior brother, he must have tricked people from the city defense camp to go to the Zhenwu Temple because he couldn't get out of the palace. Taking medicine is actually a message."
King Duan listened to what he said, but his expression did not change much. After a long time, he said: "According to the Dahua Palace's defense, once the emperor is critically ill, the palace defense minister can indeed seal off the palace. The original intention is to prevent someone from taking the opportunity to steal the throne. Hu Xiu'an There is nothing inappropriate in doing so." Zhan Ming was surprised when he heard him say coldly, "It's just that I, the regent, are still here, and he dared to seal the palace without consulting me. Hmph, he is really brave!"
After listening to the report from the Jiyan Division, he was convinced that the person behind the plot was King Yun Xia Muyan. However, the Yonghua Emperor's reign was in jeopardy, and the situation in Dahua was extremely difficult. In terms of etiquette, law, and power, Xia Muyan was the most suitable successor among the princes.
Although King Duan also suspected that he was involved in the death of the three kings, the people sent to investigate the case still had no news. Even though he was the regent, he could not convict him easily.
Xia Chengxuan came to visit yesterday. Although he promised not to let Xia Muyan do whatever he wanted, all he wanted to do was try his best to protect the widows and orphans of the three kings from the persecution of Prince Yun's palace.
If it were to prevent him from ascending the throne, King Duan never thought about it.
"His Royal Highness Duan Wang, Hu Xiu'an sealed the palace without authorization, which is inconsistent with etiquette and law. He should be allowed to unblock the palace." Zhan Ming said sternly.
He had no intention of participating in political disputes, he just wanted Zhan Wei to be able to leave the palace and leave this dangerous place once the palace ban was lifted.
"Well..." King Duan took a deep breath, his expression very gloomy.
He had recovered from his illness but pretended to be ill at home because he no longer wanted to participate in the succession. There are rumors in the capital that he and Xia Jingyu conspired to usurp the throne and make his son Xia Muzhou the new king. At this time, if he stood up and asked for the release of the palace ban, wouldn't it be just a mouthful?
"Everyone has said that you, King Duan, want to promote your son as the new king. Hu Xiu'an did not discuss with you, and sealing the palace gate without authorization is not considered trespassing, but more like avoiding suspicion. Is it right for you to stand up at this time to lift the palace ban? Do you want to take advantage of the emperor's critical illness and falsely pass on the imperial edict in an attempt to usurp the throne?"
"King Yun is the eldest son of the emperor, and he is a direct descendant, so he is the logical successor. Hu Xiu'an is the chief defense officer of the palace. He ordered the palace to be sealed off just because he didn't want to cause trouble. The Hu family is the natal family of King Yun. Please keep an eye on him at this time. It is also a reasonable thing, even if it is overstepped in the exercise of power, it is not a big mistake."
"Well..." Prince Duan shook his head slightly and murmured, "Prince Duan's palace cannot get involved in this matter." Seeing Zhan Ming's anxious expression, he comforted him, "Prince Yun and Hu Xiu'an are not reckless people. , Taoist Master Zhan will be fine, don’t worry.”
Zhan Ming was a little disappointed when he heard that King Duan had no intention of interfering, and then said: "Your Highness, King Duan, since the palace ban cannot be lifted, can Zhan Wei be allowed to leave the palace? He can't come out of the palace. I always feel weird and feel uneasy."
"Zhan Wei has been recuperating the emperor's body for many years. If he were to be released suddenly at this critical moment, some interested people would make a fuss about it." King Duan thought for a while, then shook his head slightly and replied, "If You are worried about what King Yun will do to Zhan, but you are overly worried."
King Duan's attitude was obvious. He didn't want to get involved in the affairs of the palace. Zhan Ming could not convince him, so he had to return with anxiety and disappointment.
After Zhan Ming left, King Duan calmed down again and thought carefully, "Hu Xiu'an locked the palace... It has been two days since I fell ill. The news must have spread throughout the capital. Ju Zheng is an internal official. It’s impossible for the leader not to know. Since he knew that I was seriously ill, he didn’t think he hadn’t come to see me for two days. Mu Zhou said that the palace was closed just yesterday morning, but what about the day before? Could it be that the palace was really closed? What's wrong with it?"
The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. Finally, he called Xia Muzhou and asked, "Are there any of our people in the city defense camp sent by Hu Xiu'an to guard the palace gate?"
Although King Duan did not seek the throne, he believed that it was his duty to defend the country, and many of his own people were placed in each yamen and camp in advance.
Xia Muzhou nodded and said: "I have checked. There are more than ten of our people in the palace defense army at the moment, and one of them is a centurion."
"Well, let's go see him to see how Ju Zheng is doing." King Duan stroked his beard and frowned, and said in a low voice, "If Lu Hua's funeral is imminent, there is no reason for Ju Zheng to be so quiet."
