National Beauty

During the Dragon Boat Festival, the people all went to watch the dragon boat race on the Danshui River outside the city, but the emperor in the palace was going to Jinming Lake to review the navy.

In this way, Emperor Xuande not only asked the civil and military officials to share with him, but also gave seats to several favored concubines in the harem, and the four princesses Feng Zheng and Song Jianing also gained face. So on the morning of the fifth day of the lunar month, after Song Jianing repeatedly told the nurse to take good care of Zhao Zhao, he took Liu Xi into the palace.

Empress Li rarely put on the queen's crown dress, graceful and luxurious. The emperor's eldest brother Sun Sheng stood obediently next to her. Seeing his biological mother Feng Zheng, Sheng's eyes could not move. He looked at his mother happily, but then Nor did he ran over as he pleased. The eldest son was getting more and more sensible at a young age, and Feng Zheng was relieved and sad.

When Song Jianing watched the promotion of her brother for a while, her attention gradually fell to Princess Duanhui next to Concubine Shu. Her mother revealed to her that her stepfather had decided to let Guo Xiao marry Princess Duanhui, but she didn't know when to propose the marriage. Song Jianing felt uncomfortable thinking about the delay of this pair of cousins ​​in his previous life for so long.

"Niang Niang, the emperor has sent someone to invite." The little **** bent over and walked in and replied.

Everyone's spirits were shocked, and they all showed joy. Empress Li nodded calmly, and then led Brother Sheng to take the lead. The four princesses are sorted by eldest and youngest. Feng Zheng and Princess Rui are side by side, and Song Jianing and Li Mulan walk next to each other. Song Jianing looked at Li Mulan, and saw that the hero of the female middle school was full of vigor, and he was obviously looking forward to the navy drill, just like an ordinary lady happily admiring the flowers.

Song Jianing had never seen such an event in his life, and he was curious and looking forward to it.

The imperial concubine set off early in the morning, Luan drove slowly, and the three long rows of cars stopped at the shore of Jinming Lake. The huge Jinming Lake has long been surrounded by the Forbidden Army regiments, and the warships on the water are lined up. One of the magnificent two-story painting boats is for the nobles in the palace. The concubines followed the emperor Xuande on the painting boat, and then went to the water center hall in the middle of the lake, where the emperor Xuande inspected the navy.

Several daughters-in-law of Song Jianing and Queen Li and other concubines sat in the Accord on the second floor. The elders admired the scenery and admired the warship on the lake. Li Mulan deliberately took Song Jianing to the position next to the window, pointed outside, and excitedly introduced Song Jianing. "Have you seen those ships with wheels? They are called carts and ships. Soldiers use their feet to press the wheels to turn them. With the oars of their hands, the warships can fly in a hurry."

Song Jianing looked at the big small ship about twenty or thirty feet long, and was speechless in shock. Not only she, but the Queen Li and others who heard Li Mulan talk not far away were also shocked. These women who have lived in the inner house for a long time have only heard of the fighting between the two armies. Now that they have witnessed the power of the warship with their own eyes, they can more or less imagine the tragic battle of the warship.

"On the ship is a cannon cart used to throw boulders and fireballs onto the enemy warship."

"That is a Li Tou dart. The iron dart shot weighs more than two catties, and it can shoot through the board of an enemy ship..."

Painting the boat slowly, Li Mulan explained the whole way endlessly, Song Jianing was stunned, awed by those murderous warships, and admired Li Mulan's knowledge. Concubine Hui, Prince Gong’s biological mother, was sitting next to Queen Li, and seeing these female relatives staring at her daughter-in-law in amazement, Concubine Hui thought for the first time that her daughter-in-law had given her a face, so she secretly decided to wait for her fourth son to come back. The wife said something nice.

When the painting boat docked, Emperor Xuande wanted to talk to the generals of the navy army, and the family members went to sit in the water pavilion first. Song Jianing walked beside Li Mulan and suddenly felt that someone was looking at her. She turned her head slightly, and at a glance she saw Guo Xiao standing in the military attache, dressed in the uniform of the army waiting for Ma Jun, cold and majestic. Song Jianing immediately retracted his gaze without squinting.

Guo Xiao looked at the figure that made him think about it day and night, until the female relatives walked into the water pavilion and couldn't see it anymore, he took his gaze back.

The water pavilion was covered by screens on three sides, and on the opposite side was the misty Jinming Lake. On the lake, large and small warships were lined up, making it easier to see. Song Jianing quickly forgot the discomfort caused by Guo Xiao, and watched as much as he wanted, but it was a pity for his prince. The prince pretended to be the generals pretending to be soldiers of the Great Zhou. If he could see such a magnificent navy, Surely you will be pleased?

Song Jianing decided to go back and write a letter to the family, and he would send it to the prince tomorrow, not waiting for the end of the month.

Looking at it, a warship suddenly came here. Song Jianing stared at the ship. When the ship stopped aside, Song Jianing tilted his head and looked at it. Then he realized that Emperor Xuande himself was asked to beat the drums and order the exercise to begin. coming. Song Jianing, like the other female family members, stretched her neck and looked around, and watched Emperor Xuande stepping on the boat board alone, but when Emperor Xuande walked to the center of the boat board, a head suddenly emerged from one side of the water, raising his hand as if What to do!

There were riots on the ship and on the shore at the same time, and Song Jianing covered her mouth in horror.

When it was said that it was too late, the great **** Wang En, who was following Emperor Xuande, suddenly rushed over and hugged Emperor Xuande, and then when Wang En tried to protect Emperor Xuande away, a sharp arrow shot over and hit the center. His arm. Wang En shouted his escort, the people in the water wanted to shoot a second concealed weapon and blow arrows, but the guards who jumped into the water scrambled to subdue him.

But no one knew if there were other assassins lurking in the water. Emperor Xuande was frightened and angry, and everyone was staring at him for his life. How could he be in the mood to review the navy and immediately ordered his return to Beijing.

The emperor was almost assassinated, and the concubines in the water pavilion turned pale. Song Jianing also had lingering fears, and the thrills of the first time appeared in his mind. He followed Li Mulan out in a panic. She was muddled along the way. The ground shuddered. Someone wants to murder the emperor, who is so bold?

~

Someone conspired, and Emperor Xuande was furious and ordered the city gates to be sealed off. No one was allowed in or out unless he held the imperial decree. Then he ordered the Privy Council to interrogate the assassins captured alive. The emperor was assassinated, and the people stayed at home honestly, not daring to make a lot of noise, the civil and military officials were silent, all staring at the Privy Council.

The Privy Council went to the Chongzheng Hall for a long time at dusk. At dusk, the Privy Envoy Cao Yu returned to Chongzheng Hall with a statement. After Xuande saw it, he raised his head with a sullen face, his gaze swept over the deputy prime minister Xu Wei next to Prime Minister Zhao Pu, and then slowly fell on his younger brother Qin Wang, and said coldly: "Assassin confessed, King Qin, deputy prime minister Xu Wei Conspiracy to assassinate, with the intent of rebellion, is there such a thing?"

As soon as this statement came out, the several important ministers in the hall were shocked. The deputy chief Xu Wei was so shocked that he couldn't speak, and only felt like a dream. King Qin had been hanging on his heart since the death of his nephew, Junwang Wu'an. Now that he was wronged and conspired by others, King Qin was the first to react and threw himself on his knees, anxious. The red face swears: "Brother emperor, the courtiers are loyal to you and will never dare to have any rebellious intentions. This is because someone deliberately framed it. Please also ask the emperor to observe!"

"Boom" there was a knock.

"The emperor, the minister has been wronged!" The deputy minister Xu Wei finally reacted, knelt on the ground with soft hands and feet, showing his loyalty and swearing, and resolutely pleaded not guilty.

As soon as Emperor Xuande was about to speak, the eldest prince Chu King also stood up, walked to the side of Emperor Qin, stared and angrily said: "Father, the emperor knows the best for people and children. He will never murder his father, son. The minister is willing to use his life as a guarantee!" Tiger eyes stared at his father. In fact, King Chu was mad at the murderer who planned this incident, and mad at the other party who dared to frame his good uncle!

Emperor Xuande looked at his eldest son, his hands under the table clenched unconsciously.

The prime minister Zhao Pu stepped forward without a hassle and looked directly at the king of Chu and said: "His Royal Highness, the Emperor was assassinated today. It is related to the Jiangshan Sheji of the Zhou Dynasty. Since the assassin confessed to the King of Qin and the deputy minister, he should ask the Emperor to thoroughly investigate it. All rely on evidence. Convict, not emotional."

King Chu was someone who even dared to stand up against his own father, Emperor Xuande. Now he was reprimanded face to face by an old miscellaneous Mao who hid the queen dowager’s edict and indirectly killed his cousin for “use of affection.” Chu King’s hot temper suddenly came up: " you……"

Unexpectedly, Zhao Pu didn’t even look at him. He turned his head and said to Emperor Xuande: “The emperor, the minister knows that the emperor and the king of Qin are in love with each other. "The elders of the two dynasties who are over sixty years old, although their temples have turned pale, but the voice is full of anger. It is not so much admonishing the emperor, but more like the elders reminding the younger generations not to do wrong, and there is no cowardice and respect in the words. .

When Emperor Xuande heard the words, he looked at his younger brother Qin who was kneeling there, his face was extremely embarrassing and painful, but in the end he closed his eyes and sighed as King Qin begged and the eager gaze of King Chu: "Come here. , To temporarily press King Qin and Xu Wei into the prison."

The voice fell, and the four guards led in.

Xu Wei's face was like ashes.

As early as the old fox Zhao Pu spoke, he had vaguely expected what was going on in this frame-up. The emperor had won the throne from the emperor Gaozu, but he was reluctant to pass the dragon chair to his younger brother, so the emperor had to exclude King Qin. As for Zhao Pu, Zhao Pu was overthrown by him. Zhao Pu's sister-in-law was also demoted to a poor country to die in a foreign country, so Zhao Pu seized the opportunity to return to Beijing and used a will to correct the emperor's name and exchange for Emperor Xuande. Abandon his chess piece.

So the emperor and Zhao Pu jointly designed this assassination, to get rid of him and King Qin in one fell swoop, and each got what he needed.

It is just wanting to add crimes, so why not have any problems?

The emperor wants him to die, can he still live? Xu Wei couldn't see any vitality.

King Qin also guessed the approximate truth. The brother was so cruel, and regardless of the brotherhood of the two people, King Qin was cold all over, but he didn't want to die, and didn't want to bear the unwarranted accusation. It would be useless to ask your brother... King Qin's eyes After a turn, it fell on the clothes of his nephew, Chu Wang!

Before being taken by the guards, King Qin stared at his nephew, like a drowning man looking at the straw.

Watching the respected emperor uncle being taken away by the guards, the king of Chu was heartbroken and angry. He clenched his fists and shouted at the man on the dragon chair: "Father, that's your brother, don't you even believe it!"

Emperor Xuande knew the boss’s temper. Although he didn’t like the eldest son, he valued King Qin, but he was not too angry. When he glanced at the ministers in the hall, Emperor Xuande looked solemnly and said: "I believe it is precisely because I believe in King Qin that I want more. Send someone to verify, and return your uncle's innocence. You are safe and not arrogant, and I will not wrong anyone."

It turned out that the emperor father believed in the emperor uncle, and the king of Chu breathed a sigh of relief. After staying in the palace until it was dark, the Privy Council did not find the result for the time being. The emperor told him to return to the palace first. The king of Chu thought about the princess who must have been frightened for a day at home, and then he strode out of the palace.

In the Chu Palace, Brother Cheng had been hugged by the nurse, Feng Zheng was sitting in the main room alone, silently turning the Buddhist beads in his hand. The right eyelid kept beating, Feng Zheng couldn't help being flustered, she herself couldn't figure out why she was flustered. The assassination of the emperor was definitely not done by the prince, nor by the king of Qin. What is she worried about?

After a shift, Feng Zheng almost trot out to greet him when his prince came back.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Father is okay." The red light couldn't conceal the worry on her face. King Chu walked a few steps and hugged his timid princess, and whispered.

A man is tall and burly, with a broad chest that is most reassuring, so Feng Zheng calmed down. Looking up and seeing him frowning deeply, Feng Zheng raised his heart again and asked in a low voice, "Why is the prince frowning?"

King Chu was stunned, and he subconsciously touched his brows, unable to tell whether he was wrinkled or not, but thinking of the imperial uncle who was being held in the jail at this time, the King Chu was no longer in the mood to comfort the princess, and he walked in with her hand. King Chu didn't use dinner, and Feng Zheng was useless. Neither of the couple had any desire to eat, so they went directly to the inner room to rest.

When he got to the bed, King Chu embraced his wife, suppressing his anger and said, "The emperor asked the Privy Council to interrogate the assassin. The assassin didn't know who was instructed to frame the emperor and Xu Wei for rebellion! Wait, don't let me catch the man behind the scenes. , Otherwise I will tell him that life is better than death, and see if he dares to spit blood."

Feng Zheng froze in her husband's arms.

Assassin, frame the emperor uncle? The crime of conspiracy actually involves the emperor?

A ghostly messenger, Feng Zheng heard what Empress Li said that day behind her. Empress Li said that the emperor would not bear to hand over the throne to King Qin. In March, the queen mother's edict came out and King Qin became the prince recognized by the people. Now that King Qin is in trouble, is there any relationship with the emperor?

Queen Li also said that the prince is destined to have a catastrophe. This time King Qin is framed, will it be the tribulation of the prince?

Feng Zheng hugged his man tightly.

She hugged too tightly, as if she was afraid of something. Misunderstood that his wife was also worried about the emperor. King Chu patted her on the shoulder, pretending to be relaxed and said: "Don't worry, the emperor made it clear that he was wronged. After checking it out in two days, the emperor will be fine."

Feng Zheng also hoped so. He hoped that the emperor could find out the real murderer behind the scenes, and that the emperor was not the real murderer behind the scenes.

Raising his head, Feng Zheng held her husband's hand and looked into his eyes pleadingly: "Master, I know that you have a deep relationship with your uncle, but today your father was almost killed. The shock you received is certainly not small. The father is you. The most worrying thing is that no matter what the emperor father decides in this case, the emperor must think about it for his father, okay?"

"This is natural." King Chu said without hesitation. Before the assassin framed the emperor, King Chu pretended to be his father, and wanted to find the real murderer to avenge his father.

He promised to be happy, but Feng Zheng couldn't rest assured, he closed his eyes and fell asleep at night.

King Chu couldn't sleep peacefully. He woke up half an hour earlier than usual, fisted for two quarters of an hour in the martial arts field to vent his depression, took a bath and changed into his robe, and then went into the palace. All the civil and military officials arrived, standing in two rows under the steps, the king of Chu walked to the front of the military attache and looked at the clerk Cao Yu, the king of Chu frowned and asked, "Is the real murderer found out?"

Cao Yu lowered his eyes and said, "The emperor has fate, and ministers and other officials must not disclose the secret, please forgive me."

King Chu gave a cold snort and glanced at King Rui, the second brother of the civil official. He stepped diagonally and stood in front of Cao Yu.

As soon as the morning hour arrived, Baiguan was led by the two princes up the steps and entered the hall one by one. When they stood there, there was no sound in the hall. After a cup of tea, Emperor Xuande walked from one side to the dragon chair, sat down, and asked Cao Yu straightforwardly: "Is there a result of King Qin's case?"

Cao Yu stepped out, walked to the center of the main hall, and said in a deep voice: "Return to the emperor. Yesterday the guards searched the palace of the King of Qin. They found a bright yellow dragon robe and three letters under the cage of the King of Qin's inner room. The letter was written by Xu Wei, one letter. The emperor accused the emperor of going his own way in the Northern Expedition in the past, one accused the death of the Wu'an Junwang related to the emperor, and the last one was written at the beginning of April this year. The words were rampant and cursed the emperor to return to heaven soon."

There was a sound of inhalation in the hall.

Cao Yu continued: "The three letters Xu Wei has admitted to being his book, and the guards also found a reply from King Qin in Xu Mansion. King Qin and King Qin replies, saying that he and Xu Wei have the same wish, and even threatened to treat him to the throne. Restore Xu Wei's post as Prime Minister."

The remarks were justified and well-founded, and the courtiers nodded. When the emperor went to the Northern Expedition, Xu Wei didn't say anything, but everyone could see that he was against it in his heart, and it was reasonable for him to complain. When Zhao Pu entered Beijing this year, Xu Wei's status as the veteran of the two dynasties forced Xu Wei to take the initiative to let him be the prime minister and lost the prime minister. Xu Wei therefore had to collude with King Qin and seek rebellion in order to regain the position of prime minister under the king.

In addition, the dragon robe was found in the palace of King Qin, which means that the evidence is complete, and the name of rebellion can no longer be washed away.

"I don't believe it, the letters in the dragon robe are all framed!" When the other courtiers silently convicted King Qin, King Chu suddenly jumped out, blushing and roaring roughly.

On the dragon chair, Emperor Xuande frowned, but did not rush to say anything.

The Secret Envoy Cao Yu said neither overbearing nor overbearing: "The court sentence is true, Xu Wei's confession, dragon robe, and letters are outside. Please review it by the emperor himself." Then he looked at Emperor Xuande.

Emperor Xuande nodded.

Cao Yu, who had been waiting outside the hall, heard the call, and came in with a tray with both hands. On the tray was a bright yellow dragon robe, with confession and letters on both sides. The **** Wang En walked down to take the tray, and then brought it to Emperor Xuande with a solemn expression. After seeing the Emperor Xuande, he was furious and threw the tray into the center of the hall, saying coldly: "Look at all of you, that's it. Not the handwriting of King Qin and Xu Wei!"

The emperor was furious, and no one dared to move at the moment.

The king of Chu was determined to clear his grievances for the emperor's uncle, and he was the first to bend down to pick up the letter that flew to his feet. Coincidentally, it was the reply letter that King Qin gave Xu Wei. Looking at the familiar writing on it, King Chu's hands trembled faintly, and his face flushed with anger turned white.

However, as other officials circulated the letters scattered on the ground, King Chu's eyes became firm again, and he turned to look at Emperor Xuande.

What about the handwriting? He just doesn't believe that the emperor will rebel!