Do you know that it starts with Meng Tong?

And Zhao Zhen is now even more convinced of this. After all, it is too outrageous to have only daughters and no sons for the rest of his life. Zhao Zhen will inevitably associate it with the theory of ghosts and gods.

Previously, during the Zhengdan Sacrifice Ceremony, the wind broke the flags and disturbed the Holy Driver, which made Zhao Zhen even more confused. He thought this was a warning from God to him, and he couldn't sleep well at night.

Now suddenly, such an auspicious sign comes from the heavenly book, praising Zhao Zhen for his "Zeren and pure harmony", and that Dazhou can also be "blessed and prosperous". Of course, Zhao Zhen is overjoyed, and his eyes are soft when he looks at King Yong. A lot.

At this moment, he seemed to really regard King Yong as his biological son. The father and son were harmonious and happy.

This signal was already very obvious to the courtiers.

The hall was full of music and joy, and it looked peaceful and festive. However, there was never anything that everyone was happy with in this world. When some people were happy, naturally some people were unhappy.

King Yan kept forcing a smile on his face, saying nothing, and kept his head down and drinking wine.

King Yan is really depressed. Since the beginning of the year, King Yan has been losing ground in the competition for the throne, and has been left behind by King Yong. Now that King Yong has come up with such an auspicious sign, King Yan is even more difficult to match.

"This damn bastard actually used such despicable means to please the old man!"

Looking at King Yong not far away with Zhao Zhen, a loving father and a filial son, King Yan couldn't help but feel sour and jealous, and felt even more regretful in his heart.

He clearly knew that Zhao Zhen was following this trick, so why didn't he think of it before, and instead let King Yong beat him to it?

After a while, he suddenly shivered all over again, and he felt infinite fear in his heart.

As King Yong's old rival, King Yan can be regarded as one of the people who knows King Yong best.

King Yan understood that even though King Yong appeared to be kind, loyal, and harmless to humans and animals, he was actually a kind-faced and evil-hearted person who turned his back on others and refused to recognize others.

I have been fighting with King Yong for so long, and I have always been a thorn in King Yong's side. If King Yong ascends to the throne, with his ruthless character, there is no way for me to survive. I am afraid that I will even be a freeloader. The death of Prince Xiaoyao is all a luxury!

Realizing that he had one foot on the edge of the cliff, King Yan became more and more frightened as he thought about it. He felt fear spread all over his body, and the back of his clothes was gradually soaked with sweat.

After the banquet was over, King Yan returned to the palace in despair. He shunned all the servants and sat alone in the front hall. A strong sense of unwillingness suddenly emerged in his desperate heart.

His eyes gradually turned from dull to vicious, and his face also showed a strange and ferocious distortion.

Since death is everywhere, why not try to save yourself and find a way out of the desperate situation?

A scorching flame rose up in King Yan's chest, gradually becoming a prairie fire and getting out of hand. There was already a crazy murderous intention in his eyes, like a gambler who bet his fortune and life on it.

Chapter 295

Bianjing City was still scorching hot late at night. A shower in the evening did not lower the temperature. Instead, the added warm moisture made the summer night even more muggy.

Today it's Rulan's turn to go to bed.

Ru Lan discussed with her sister to arrange the affairs at home, and then went to take a bath. After more than half an hour, she returned to the house.

Ru Lan asked the two female envoys to stay outside, while she walked into the dark inner room holding a candlestick. When she entered the room, she happened to see her husband Wei Chen sitting at the table.

There was no light in the room, only a dim light. Through the green screen window, the silver moonlight shone directly in, shining directly on Wei Chen's face.There was a deep shadow between Wei Chen's eyebrows, as if he was thinking about something.

Knowing that her husband was thinking about something, Ru Lan walked in quietly and covered the lighted candle with a gauze cover. The swaying candlelight suddenly became softer after passing through the white gauze cover.

After placing the candlestick, Ru Lan walked quietly to Wei Chen, poured him a cup of warm tea, sat down and asked softly: "But what happened in the court?"

"Ah."

Wei Chen nodded.

The matter of meteorites falling from the sky has long been known to everyone in Bianjing City. Now that the book of auspiciousness has been deciphered by Xu Mu, the contents will soon spread.

Wei Chen had no intention of hiding anything from Ru Lan, so he told Ru Lan everything about what happened in Ziguang Pavilion today.

"So, the official family has already belonged to King Yiyong?" Ru Lan gently covered her mouth with her hand and asked in surprise.

"That's probably the case." Wei Chen leaned on the back of the chair, staring at the beams, and said softly: "If it was just smoke and mirrors before, and it was not clear, then after today, the situation is very clear."

Seeing that her husband looked a little melancholy, Ru Lan took his hand and comforted him softly: "No matter who becomes the official, it has nothing to do with our family, we can just close the door and live our own little life. "

Wei Chen couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. Ru Lan's words sounded a little heartless at first, but if you think about it carefully, it makes some sense.

"What Ru'er said is that if the sky falls, there will naturally be tall people to hold it up. It won't be my little Hanlin's turn to worry about it."

Wei Chen smiled and took Ru Lan's soft and delicate body into his arms, letting her sit on his lap, face to face with him, and then pinched her straight nose, his eyes full of doting.

The couple were tender for a long time, and Wei Chen suddenly said: "Ru'er, I thought about it and found that our family's bodyguards are still too weak. I have made an agreement with Zhong Huai to ask him to help find a dozen smart and capable people. Veterans, when these veterans arrive, we will hire some people ourselves and let them take them to practice..."

"Intensify the security at home?"

Ru Lan was still a little confused at first, but after thinking about it for a moment, she immediately realized the intention of Wei Chen's move, and her face turned pale: "Brother Chen, are you saying... that something might happen in Bianjing City?"

Wei Chen smiled gently, patted Ru Lan on the shoulder and comforted: "Who can say for sure about this kind of thing? I'm just preparing for a rainy day and making some preparations in advance. Even if nothing happens, take care of yourself more Guarding against thieves and thefts is always a good idea.”

Wei Chen explained patiently and patiently.

He knew that Rulan and Minglan had always been unfaithful in their decision-making.

Conditional trust, so Wei Chen didn't want them to worry about it even more.

According to Wei Chen, even if King Yan rebelled, the number of troops he could mobilize would only be a few thousand.

With such a small amount of troops, it is a bit difficult to take over the imperial city. There is no manpower to control the huge Bianjing city. At most, they can only send a small group of troops to create some disturbances in the city.

】

Compared with the pitifully small rebel army, what was more threatening to the people in the city were the bandits who took advantage of the chaos in the city to fish in the muddy waters and plunder wantonly.

It was these people that Wei Chen was guarding against.

Most of these people are street gangsters with little fighting power. As long as Gu Tingye has the manpower in place and forms a guard team of dozens of people with the Wei family's servants, they will guard the door together, patrol more, and rely on the tall and thick As for the outer wall, the Wei family will be able to protect themselves.

Rulan snuggled into Wei Chen's arms, listening to Wei Chen's gentle words of comfort, nodding gently, and the worries in her heart gradually dissipated.

Although she did not expect King Yan's rebellion, she was convinced by Wei Chen's explanation.

It is natural for a wealthy family to have more guards. It is because Wei Chen took over the house not long ago and the public security near Laoya Lane has always been good, so they have not considered this aspect. Now Wei Chen has made up for this. It is also the proper meaning.

Speaking of which, this was Ru Lan's dereliction of duty. She and Ming Lan were in charge of guarding the family. They should have discovered the weakness of the family's defense force early and reminded her husband to recruit guards.

Thinking of this, Ru Lan couldn't help but feel a little ashamed, and said with a slight blush: "My sister and I did not do well, and I let Brother Chen worry about you again."

Wei Chen didn't want his wife to blame herself too much, so he put his hands into his clothes and rubbed her delicate belly to divert her attention.

"Speaking of which, if Zhong Huai is asked to help recruit guards this time, he also has conditions."

Feeling the heat coming from her body, Ru Lan glared at Wei Chen angrily, but couldn't help but asked curiously: "What are the conditions?"

Wei Chen laughed and said: "Zhong Huai said that the people he found for me were all veterans who had stayed with the old Marquis of the Gu family for the rest of their lives. Although they were a little older, they could all be worth ten. Give these people My own flesh aches, and he will only let me go unless I agree to marry him."

"Ah? Hasn't the second uncle of the Gu family not yet discussed the marriage? Where did the child come from? Could it be Sister Rong's child?"

Rulan suddenly raised his eyebrows and pinched Wei Chen hard, his expression very unhappy.

Although she and her sister Minglan, who was born as a concubine, were close enough to sleep in the same bed, this did not mean that she was willing to let Sister Rong, who was also a concubine, marry the son of the Wei family.

"Of course not." Wei Chen knew that Ru Lan had misunderstood and hurriedly explained: "Zhong Huai fell in love with the legitimate daughter of the Shen family in Yuzhou."

"Yuzhou, Shen family?"

Ru Lan couldn't help but frown slightly when she heard this.

Of course she knew Yuzhou, which was the place where Wei Chen had been the magistrate of the state for three years.

But the Shen family seems to be just a local wealthy family. Compared with the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion, they are just a rich country man. Isn't there something wrong with the family?

Ru Lan was confused and asked: "Can Mr. Gu agree to this marriage?"

"Zhong Huai also had a quarrel with his family for a long time over this matter before he asked Mr. Gu to let go."

Wei Chen sighed and said, "Zhong Huai is very different now from before. Not only did he pass the exam and become a Jinshi, but he also joined the Ministry of War as an official. The hope of revitalizing the Gu family lies with him alone.

No matter how tyrannical Mr. Gu is, he still has to consider his son's ideas. Besides, Zhonghuai is still such an independent person, so Mr. Gu doesn't dare to just force him to come. "

Ru Lan was also quite emotional when she heard this.

She has also heard some things about the Gu family. In the past, Gu Tingye was always the one who was marginalized and framed in the Gu family, but now he has suddenly become the pillar of the Gu family. Even the always strong Mr. Gu has to give in to him. It's really sad to think about it.

Ru Lan was thinking about things when she suddenly felt something was wrong with her. When she reacted, she realized that it was Wei Chen's big hands that were causing trouble.

"uh-huh--"

The strokes of her fingertips made Ru Lan pay no attention to anything else, and the breathing she tried to suppress gradually became heavier.

Seeing this, Wei Chen couldn't help but pursed his lips and chuckled, leaned over and murmured in his wife's ear: "I have already promised, Ru'er, you should give me a baby as soon as possible, so as not to let people say that I don't say anything." letter……"

Chapter 296 Lake Heart Pavilion

Prince Yan's Mansion, back garden.

There is a vast artificial lake in the garden. There are pavilions and water pavilions in the center of the lake. The layout is exquisite and elegant, full of charm and poetry.

Recently, every day at dusk, King Yan would gather some people to the pavilion in the middle of the lake, arrange wine and food, and hang up candlesticks. A group of people would talk loudly in the pavilion, imitating the legacy of the madmen of the Wei and Jin Dynasties. They would often stay up all night until the guests and hosts were gone. Happy and dispersed.

The fact that King Yan convened friends to gather at the palace was not concealed. Many of the palace officials and even the informants of the Imperial City Secretary were all watching.

Zhao Zhen heard the report from the Imperial City Division and was quite pleased with King Yan's knowledge.

He had made up his mind to establish King Yong as his crown prince, but he had not yet issued an edict.

However, Zhao Zhen had always had a headache as to how to arrange King Yan after King Yong succeeded to the throne.

Now King Yan's idle behavior shows that he is admitting defeat to King Yong.

In Zhao Zhen's view, this was because King Yan knew that there was no hope for the throne, and was depressed. He was ready to give up his desire to seize the throne and be a peaceful and happy prince.

Zhao Zhen is naturally happy to see the results.

He didn't want to see King Yong and King Yan fighting to the death, so he specially summoned the two of them into the palace to persuade them with their brotherly love.

First, King Yan was asked to swear that he would not rebel for the rest of his life, and then King Yong was asked to swear that he would never treat King Yan harshly and ensure that he would be prosperous and wealthy throughout his life.

Witnessed by Zhao Zhen, King Yan and King Yong made an oath one after another, then held each other's hands and cried, choked with sobs, and never mentioned the past things that were against each other again.

Zhao Zhen was very happy to see the harmonious appearance of the two brothers. Little did he know that after King Yan returned to the palace that day, he broke many tea bowls in succession.

The content of the oath that Zhao Zhen asked King Yong and King Yan to make actually explained his choice: he wanted to make King Yong the crown prince.

This also means that King Yan was completely forced to a dead end. King Yan would not believe that King Yong would treat him as kindly as he promised in front of Zhao Zhen. With King Yong's hatred for him, he would wait until King Yong ascended the throne. , it’s good if you don’t break yourself to pieces.

After that day, the last glimmer of hope in King Yan's heart was completely shattered. Correspondingly, King Yan invited people to the Huxin Pavilion in the back garden to talk about the past and the present more and more frequently.

It looked like they were talking about ancient and modern times, reciting poems and composing poems in the pavilion in the middle of the lake. In fact, they deliberately spread their voices so that the secret agents could hear them.

Most of the time, King Yan and others were whispering and planning treacherous things.