On the 1.2-foot-high steps of Prince Qin's Mansion, a man was standing there.
Many people know this person, but many people only know part of him.
Of course, everyone knows him as "handsome" and "extraordinary".
"Your Highness." A line of guards came to the door, and the leader of the guards kowtowed.
Qi Dan waved his hand: "No courtesy. Can the emperor be in the palace today?"
The guard commander nodded and immediately led Qi Dan to the door.
The Prince of Qin's Mansion is not even the slightest bit grander than the Prince of Zhao's Mansion. The only place in the world that is more magnificent than this is Wugan City.
Qi Dan didn't care whether it was luxurious or not, because his original Prince Zhao's mansion was not bad, but it was still not as comfortable as his own small courtyard where he couldn't stretch his legs.
When it comes to generosity, is there any place in the world that can compare to the City of Five Senses?
In fact, Qi Dan also envied these royal brothers of his.
Envy and compassion, longing and disgust.
He knew that all brothers were hurdles that he had to cross, and the first path He Nan pointed out to him was the Three Emperors.
Why Qin Wang Qi Jun? Qi Dan had also thought about this issue - if the biggest threat to the crown prince's position was considered, it was Qi Jun.
Establish elders, establish direct descendants, establish virtuous people, and establish love. Qi Jun seemed to have everything except for the first one - he was the Queen's legitimate second son in terms of blood, he made countless private treasury income in a year in terms of talent, and he was also highly favored by Qi Changgeng.
Assuming that the current prince falls in rank, it will most likely be Qi Jun's turn to be the prince.
Qi Changgeng is indeed a very complicated person, but this complexity is somewhat out of place among the princes - he vigorously cultivates all the legitimate sons born to the queen, and there is no such thing as favoring one and favoring others; although he does not allow the bastards born to concubines to interfere with the government affairs , but also promises everything except power.
It seems fair, but in fact it also creates many disasters.
For example, the relationship between the prince and the King of Qin has never been good - there was a time when the prince, the three brothers, the King of Qin and the King of Yan, lived and ate in the same palace, and there was no difference in etiquette between them. This situation is actually normal in ordinary people's homes, but it is not the case in the emperor's home. Some courtiers commented on this, saying that there should be a distinction in status between the prince and the feudal prince, and this is why the feudal princes moved out of the palace one after another.
In fact, the situation at that time was extremely delicate.
Because it was the prince who made the first "concession", he took the initiative to ask his father and brothers, "Don't hurt the feelings between relatives because of these comments, and the etiquette between princes should not be different." As the same saying goes, it is normal in common people's homes, but it is completely different in emperors' homes. No one knows what the prince's feelings were when he said these words, but there is no doubt that he put all his brothers on the fire.
At that time, King Qi Zhi of Chu did not live up to his name. He just sneered, rolled up his sleeves and left - the affairs of your three legitimate brothers have nothing to do with me, a concubine. If I don't live in the same room with you, I will live in the same house. As for food, the second one is different from you, and the third one's name is not even the same radical - what kind of fun am I here to join in the fun?
At this point, I have to add a digression. The names of Qi Changgeng's legitimate sons all have "horse" as the radical, while the names given to the concubines and daughters are not so particular - Qi Zhi and Li Guifei, both sons of Pu Guifei. The resulting Qi Dan and Qi Fu, when juxtaposing their names, you can find that there seems to be no other pattern except that the font structure becomes more and more complex.
Of course, the reason why Qi Zhi doesn't want to see these three brothers is far more than that - three of Qi Changgeng's first four sons were born to the queen. Is it a coincidence? of course not. The Queen is the head of the harem, so she naturally knows which concubine His Majesty has blessed. Once she discovers that a concubine shows signs of pregnancy, she will immediately send someone to give a warning without mercy. If Pu Guifei's first child had not been poisoned and she was on guard, and Qi Zhi himself had a tough life, he might have been stillborn long ago, so Qi Zhi did not like to see the three brothers and the queen. It's also normal.
After Qi Zhi walked away, the second person to leave was King Qin Qi Jun. He bowed deeply to his father and brother and then moved out of Wuguan City, never to return to the palace on his own initiative. The remaining younger Qi Hua also moved into the palace after reaching adulthood.
As for the complete order? At that time he was still playing in the mud.
This incident indeed created a rift in the hearts of these brothers, which could even be said to be an irreparable rift.
The reason why He Nan pointed the blade in Qi Shan's hand at Qi Jun was also very simple, and the specific method of implementation was also very simple - sowing discord and killing people with a borrowed knife.
If you want to fight, let the prince and the King of Qin fight first.
…………
When Qi Dan saw his Third Emperor Brother, the Third Emperor Brother was having a lively conversation with a blond, blue-eyed, pale-skinned foreigner. They were talking and gesticulating. They were chatting happily, but Qi Dan couldn't understand a word he said.
In fact, Qin Wang Qi Jun is different from what many people imagined. If you put him in a crowd, of course he will stand out, but most people will not think of him as a prince or aristocrat, but more like a businessman, a businessman who got rich overnight. No matter where he goes, he looks so... He is ostentatious, but he always smiles at you.
But Qi Dan knew that behind the smiling face of his Third Emperor brother was an extremely rational and cold heart.
"Lao Wu is here?" Qi Jun's eyes changed slightly when he saw Qi Dan, but his smile became even brighter: "What kind of wind brought you to me today?"
Qi Dan also joked: "I can't stretch my legs in my small yard, so I go to your big house to stretch my legs."
Qi Jun nodded and introduced the foreigner who was playing sign language with him to Qi Dan: "This is Samuel, my friend. He is a traveler from a foreign country. He is teaching me their skills recently. Language." Then he introduced his brother to the foreigner Samuel.
Just when Qi Dan was hesitating about how to communicate with this weirdo, Samuel took the initiative to put a hand in front of his chest, bent forward slightly and squatted down, and said respectfully: "See His Highness the Fifth Prince." He still used Sheng Sheng. Mandarin.
This moment made Qi Dan a little confused. He knew that these foreigners who came to Shengguo must understand some of Shengguo's language, otherwise it would be very difficult to communicate with others, but why did they come up with this weird posture?
It really looked like an assassination.
Of course, Qi Jun also noticed the emperor's brother's discomfort and the tenseness of his body at that moment, and immediately explained with a smile: "This is the unique etiquette of the Samur country."
Qi Dan nodded slightly as a return gift.
Samuel said something to Qi Jun again in a foreign language, and then left, leaving the two brothers alone in the lobby.
"Third brother...are you still the same?" Qi Dan asked.
Qi Jun smiled softly: "It depends on what you are talking about."
"I remember that Third Brother, your birthday is coming soon... You still don't plan to hold it in the capital this year?" Qi Dan asked tentatively. Although he said "the capital", he actually meant Wugan City. Since Qi Jun moved out of Wuguan City, he only showed up in the palace with his wife and children during annual sacrificial ceremonies and parents' birthdays, and then left in a hurry. Qi Changgeng and the Queen also mentioned more than once that they should let him stay in the palace longer. He would accompany his mother on a daily basis, but Qi Jun always politely declined, and even his own birthday was never arranged in the palace.
"If there is anything else to do, I might as well be busy with my own affairs during this time." Qi Jun smiled helplessly, "Wuguan City... is not as good as Prince Qin's Mansion."
This sentence is quite meaningful.
I don’t know if it’s the prince? Or to my father?
But Qi Dan didn't care about that much. Anyway, both the prince and the father were the same in his heart. He was eager to go back to the palace and said, "I went back to the palace a few days ago."
"Huh?" Qi Jun raised his eyebrows, seeming to be very interested in this matter. Qi Jun knew that his fifth brother rarely returned to the palace, so it was unprecedentedly rare for him to take the initiative to return to the palace. "Why?"
Qi Dan's face was full of joy: "Discuss my engagement with my father."
Hearing that Qi Dan returned to the palace for the engagement, Qi Jun's expression became even more playful: "Which family's girl? Is it your own choice or does your father want to arrange it for you?"
It seems like a normal greeting from an elder brother to his younger brother, but there is a lot going on behind the scenes - there is a big difference between the prince choosing a wife and marrying him or the emperor taking the initiative to grant the marriage.
"I proposed to my father that I want to marry a girl from the Zhu family, the Minister of Household Affairs, and my father agreed." Qi Dan still looked like he was talking about it.
"Zhu family, Zhu family..." Qi Jun looked at the sky and began to recall in his mind: "That little girl you have had a good relationship with since childhood?"
"Yeah." Qi Dan nodded.
"Has the wedding date been set? Third brother will definitely come back by then." Qi Jun patted Qi Dan on the shoulder.
At this moment, Qi Dan's heart felt like it was being squeezed tightly - when the prince accepted the concubine, Qi Jun seemed to be more polite than the other person.
"It hasn't been decided yet, but it will be a matter of next year." Qi Jun...has he always regarded me as his younger brother? Qi Dan's heart was a little shaken, and his answer was a little absent-minded.
"Hurry up and settle it, otherwise third brother and I will wander all over the world." Qi Jun smiled and patted Qi Dan on the shoulder.
"By the way, I met eldest brother last time I returned to the palace..." No matter how shaken he is, Qi Dan is still Qi Dan. He can't change his intention to come because of this small tenderness. Even if it is regarded as a test, he will always It's better than the one who was one move away from the last chess piece: "My eldest brother also told me that everyone should go back to the palace to get together during the Chinese New Year this year. It seems that our brothers have never had a complete reunion year?"
This is nonsense. The last time Qi Dan entered the palace late at night, he had never seen the prince. He was just using the name of the prince to test Qi Jun's attitude as the new year was approaching.
After listening to Qi Dan's words, Qi Jun turned his back and walked around for a few steps, then suddenly turned back, his eyes catching Qi Dan's expression like a spider web, but he didn't see anything unusual: "So you came today... Are you here to invite me to your wedding, or are you here to act as a lobbyist for your eldest brother?"
Qi Jun did not use such warm words as "delivering a message for eldest brother" because he was also testing Qi Dan's position at the same time.
"Of course they are all." Qi Dan smiled knowingly.
