That year, that cicada, that sword

Chapter 208 Two Brothers and Sisters in the Princess Mansion

Imperial Capital, Xiaoyu, Princess Qiyang's Mansion.

There is a big lake in the back house of the princess mansion. Although it is not comparable to the large lakes in the other courtyards in the south of the Yangtze River that occupy an area of ​​more than ten acres, this is an imperial capital where every inch of land is expensive. Even ordinary third-rank officials may not be able to bring water into the mansion. His handwriting, let alone building an entire lake directly in the mansion, looking at the big and small dignitaries all over the city, only the mansions of princes, clans, and first-rank officials can have lakes in the back houses.

There is a wooden pavilion near the lake, which is warm in winter and cool in summer. The entire wall facing the lake is made of a sliding door. If it is summer, when the door is opened, a stream of lake color and cool air will pour into the pavilion. Have fun.

At this moment, the door of the wooden pavilion facing the lake was wide open, and Xiao Zhinan was the only one in the pavilion. She took off her shoes and socks, and knelt barefoot on the dust-free wooden floor, concentrating on playing with a lavender daisy bonsai. There are also two plain white chrysanthemums, which are elegant and light, like celebrities among flowers.

Just when she was about to finish handling the first pot of daisies, there was a sound of footsteps from the corridor outside the pavilion, and then Silver Candle opened the door facing the corridor on the other side, and said softly: "Princess, His Royal Highness King Qi has arrived."

The next moment, a man walked out from behind Yinzhu. Although he was only dressed in casual clothes, he couldn't hide his arrogance. His appearance inherited the handsomeness of Emperor Xiao and Empress Xu, but he was not like Mu Tang. So feminine, with a faint smile on his face, when he looked at Xiao Zhinan, there was undisguised pampering in his eyes.

Xiao Zhinan still focused on the bonsai in front of him, without raising his head, he said, "Today is already the seventh day of July, you should be in Jiangnan now, or on your way to Jiangnan."

"It doesn't matter." Xiao Bai smiled and shook his head and said, "I have anticipated the flood in July, and I have already asked the people in the palace to buy and stockpile food in advance, and I will definitely not miss the important event of the father."

Xiao Zhinan looked up at him, and said slowly: "Brother, there are some things that I shouldn't say, but I have to say, they all say that the heart of heaven is unpredictable, and on weekdays we have to respectfully call father the emperor, the father is the model, the emperor is the foundation, In the final analysis, the emperor is the emperor first, and then the father. Are you a little too careless to act like this? If you are sued by someone with a heart, what will your father think of you? Since you have the time to buy food in advance, why not To reinforce the river embankment? If someone wants to label you as a scheming plotter, how can you justify it?"

Xiao Bai shook his head and said: "Reinforcing the embankment is the work of the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Industry is also affiliated to the cabinet. It is not up to me, the feudal lord, to intervene. , how can you be suspicious of me because of such trivial things?"

Xiao Zhinan said helplessly, "The embankment of a thousand miles was destroyed by ant nests."

"Let's not talk about that for now." Xiao Bai changed the subject and said, "After I went to Feishuang Hall to visit my mother yesterday, she brought up the matter of my uncle back then, and wanted me to check it out when I went to Jiangnan. What do you think?"

Xiao Zhinan shook his head and said: "Others don't know about my uncle, but my father must have known about it. Even if I didn't know it at the time, after so many years, Wei Wuji should have found out about it, but my father never told my mother about it." However, this has already shown your attitude, it is better not to interfere too much."

Xiao Bai whispered to himself: "The sick tiger Zhang Wuji, the human cat Wei Wuji, one yang and one yin, one bright and one dark, I have a hunch that these two people will be crucial in the future situation."

Xiao Bai has had an innate talent since he was sensible. Lan Yu called it the cicada's foresight before the autumn wind moved. It is easy to count others but difficult to count yourself, but Xiao Bai's talent is just the opposite, he can only perceive people or things related to him.

This matter is an important secret within the royal family, and only a few people know about it, but the Xiao family also has a precedent. If it is said that the one who has reached the pinnacle in this way is none other than Wei Wang Xiao Jin.

Xiao Zhinan was also one of the insiders, he paid a lot of attention to his brother's premonition, thought for a moment, and said, "Wei Wuji is not trustworthy, Zhang Wubing might as well make friends, but now he is the commander of the Northwest Army at the border, and you He is the king of Qi who ranks first among the kings, and the scale must be grasped well, so as not to fall into the limelight."

"I know this well." Xiao Bai nodded and said, "Then I will put aside the uncle's matter for now, and talk to the queen mother when you enter the palace. Don't let her think that I am a son. Unwilling to contribute."

"Understood, don't worry." Xiao Zhinan nodded with a smile.

The Xiao Clan's relatives are not too many, and if we only count the first-class people with real power, there are about [-] people, and almost all of them are crowned kings, which are the so-called Xiao Clan kings.Among the many princes, there are three powerful vassals guarding one side, namely Wei Wang Xiaojin, Yan Wang Xiaoli, and Qi Wang Xiaobai.

In Daqi, a vassal king must be a prince, but a prince may not be called a vassal king.

First of all, not all the kings are from the clan, there are also kings with different surnames, such as Liao King Mutangzhi, and the well-known Grassland Khan King Lin Han.Secondly, although some clans have the title of prince, they have lived in the imperial capital for a long time and have no corresponding fiefdoms or states, let alone military power, so they cannot be regarded as vassal princes.

Generally speaking, the founding kings will hold military power in their hands. After the world is stable, the emperor will try to reduce the military power of the kings. This is the so-called "cutting the vassal". This shows how powerful the vassal king is.

Regardless of the direct lineage or the offspring lineage, the two lineages combined can have nearly twenty princes. When twenty princes go to court together, the top three must be the three vassal princes, and Wei Wang Xiaojin, as the present The emperor's uncle should be ranked first, but since the Queen Mother Lin Yinping banned Xiao Jin from entering the capital in the first year of Taiping, the Wei king has not been able to set foot in the imperial capital for more than [-] years. Received the title of King of Qi, so the title of King of Qi has always been known as Qianlong, so the first place in the lineup of the kings naturally became King of Qi Xiao Bai.

Now the position of the crown prince is vacant, King Qi, as the number one king among the kings, is no different from the real crown prince in terms of power and status, except that he still lacks the final title.

As for why Emperor Xiao didn't establish a crown prince, the dignitaries of the imperial capital had different opinions in private. Some said it was because His Majesty the Emperor was afraid that the crown prince would become a target if he was appointed too early. It is also said that it is because His Majesty is afraid that setting up a prince too early will cause father and son to kill each other.

Only Xiao Zhinan knew that the reason why his father did not make Xiao Bai the crown prince was because his father felt that Xiao Bai was too sharp and he needed to sharpen it and hide it in a sheath. After all, the prince of a country is very different from the prince of a place. However, sitting in the world is very different from fighting the world. When will Xiao Bai completely conform to his father's wishes, and when will he be able to take a step forward and truly become the crown prince of a country under one person and above ten thousand people.

This time the father sent Xiao Bai to the south of the Yangtze River to raise funds and adjust food, maybe he had a test in mind, if his brother can seize this opportunity, the future will be smooth.

It's just that the place in the south of the Yangtze River is no different than that in the north of the Yangtze River. It is the territory of many old-fashioned families. Various forces are intertwined, and they are almost everywhere. If you are not careful, even if you are the king of Qi, you will inevitably be disgraced.

This is the feeling Xiao Zhi got after his trip to the south of the Yangtze River.

Finally, before getting up to leave, Xiao Bai suddenly asked: "Do you want me to meet the young man you like, after all, he may become my brother-in-law in the future. If he looks pleasing to the eye, I don't mind helping him out." Bundle."

"No." Xiao Zhinan shook his head and said, "This is my business, you don't want to intervene, just let nature take its course."

Xiao Bai said with great interest: "The more you say that, the more I want to meet him, and I want to see what kind of character he is, who can make my younger sister, who has a high heart since childhood, look favorably on him. "

Xiao Zhinan said calmly: "Xiao Bai, if you dare to do superfluous things, I will go to my mother and tell her all the shameful things you have done these years. When the time comes, my mother will tell her Punish you to kneel in the Feishuang Palace, don't say it was unexpected."

"Okay, okay." Xiao Bai said with a helpless smile, "I'm afraid of you, so I won't provoke him."

(End of this chapter)