Chapter 79 Father and Son
"Your Majesty, please come in." In front of the study room of the Prince Regent's Mansion, the bookboy lowered his head slightly and opened the door for the young man in gorgeous clothes in front of him.
Gong Xiangxiao took a deep breath calmly before striding forward.
This study is the place where the regent usually handles official business and discusses matters with his close advisers, so it is very spacious.
Upon entering, there is a flower hall, equipped with tables, chairs, tea sets, and potted plants for occasional rest. Lift up the bead curtain behind the flower hall and go in to find the real study.
The regent had a reputation for being studious since he was a child, and his status was noble. This study room was filled to the brim with huanghuali-engraved curly grass-patterned bookshelves on all four walls, and a dazzling array of classics and historical books.
Slightly behind, there is a 20-fold screen with pictures of ladies on spring outing. Behind the screen, behind the writing desk, the man sitting upright like a clock, wearing a brocade robe and a jade crown, is the regent.
The regent, whose name is Gong Xiangmao, is nearly forty years old. He is in the prime of life. He is tall and tall, with thick hair and a thick beard. His eyes are bright and full of energy.
Gong Xiangxiao had already discussed it with Qi Jiulu repeatedly before he came, but at this moment, he still couldn't help but subconsciously avoid his direct gaze and bowed and saluted: "Father."
"Sit down." Due to his early experience in the military, the regent behaved in a manner similar to that of others in the military. He was the most decisive and did not like red tape. At this moment, he raised his chin towards the chair not far away and watched the prince sit down respectfully. Then he asked directly, "Why are you so close to Qi Jiulu, and why do you bring him into the palace to meet the saint?"
Gong Xiangxiao lowered his eyes and said: "Brother Xinjun is about the same age as the child. He is cheerful and generous, and has the demeanor of a Northland athlete. The child likes to get along with him. The reason why he is brought to the palace to meet the saint today , all because I lost to the kid who shot me last time..."
The regent interrupted him: "Just tell the people outside. I want to hear the truth."
"...My child wants to go to the North." Gong Xiangxiao was silent for a moment and said, "Brother Xinyun is from the North and has been praised by his father. My child wants to see if he can help me."
"What are you doing in the Northland?" the regent said lukewarmly, "Shooting is just a trivial game, and you are probably at the bottom. What's the use of going to the Northland with your little skills? Or are you? Do you expect to go there to show off your power in the name of Gu?"
Gong Xiangxiao clenched his fists: "If the father allows the child to go to the North, the child will never dare to use the reputation of the father to show off in the market! Furthermore, it is precisely because he has been doing nothing in the imperial capital these years that the child wants to imitate the father. Go to the north and hone your skills! In the future, you can also serve as your father..."
The regent said calmly: "Your filial piety has made me aware. I only have two children, you and Zhen'er. How can I let you stay away? Especially when your mother and concubine left, you repeatedly told me to take good care of you. If Ruoguo knew that you went to Bei How can we not feel distressed in a place as bitter and cold as the earth, under the nine springs? There is no need to discuss this matter again, and we should not bring Qi Jiulu into the palace again in the future, and just go back to the courtyard to reflect for a few days."
Gong Xiangxiao suddenly raised his head and looked at him. He wanted to ask, since you still remember your first wife, why did you let the Lu family exclude you to this point? ?
But he looked at the regent for a while, finally stood up silently, bowed and left without saying a word.
As I walked out, I seemed to hear a faint sigh coming from behind me.
However, Gong Xiangxiao didn't bother to understand the meaning of this sigh. He strode back to the courtyard where he lived. He saw Qi Jiulu already waiting here and pouring tea happily. He snatched the tea bowl from his hand and drank it down in one breath. Blushing, he said in a cold voice: "He really didn't agree again!!!"
"Your Majesty, maybe the prince sincerely cares for you." Qi Jiulu persuaded him slowly, "After all, Qingpinghou has suspected that he is involved in the big families in the north. If you go there, if something goes wrong, the prince will do it for the sake of the overall situation and for the sake of your younger brother." , I’m afraid it won’t be easy to break up with Mr. Lu, so the best choice is to take you under my wings and avoid any accidents.”
Gong Xiangxiao sneered: "Then my safety, honor and disgrace all depend on his thoughts?!"
If only when he was still young and had a close relationship with the regent and his son, he could still firmly believe that the regent would never harm him.
But with the entry of the Lu family and the birth of Gong Xiangzhen... Gong Xiangxiao could no longer believe in his status in the eyes of his father.
He needs his own manpower and power to ensure his sense of security.
The problem is that this is where the Regent limits him.
But how old is his half-brother Gong Xiangzhen? I became a disciple of Mr. Lingshan. The treatment he received from the beginning was not comparable to that of Gong Xiangxiao. When he was admitted to the Enlightenment, he was just an ordinary scholar. Later, he became a companion in the palace. He and the emperor were considered brothers in the same discipline. He could be the emperor. Of course, the teachers' knowledge and talents are not bad, but what they pay most attention to is the emperor, and Gong Xiangxiao and others are just foils.
Over the years, Emperor Chunjia, who has attracted the most attention, is still studying knowledge honestly. How can Gong Xiangxiao and others achieve anything? It's just a matter of being a wealthy and idle person under the guise of a seemingly noble status.
Gong Xiangxiao could not help but suspect that because of the Qingping Hou Mansion, the regent did not want to have an outstanding heir apparent.
Thinking at the best, his father still loved him, but now he needed the support of Lu's natal family, so he had to compromise, so he suppressed the prince to avoid suspicion on the Lu family; thinking at the worst, the regent loved him dearly. After all, love is no longer what it used to be. He doesn't want his two children to fight against each other in the future, so he firmly holds the initiative in his own hands.
The second son, Gong Xiangzhen, was still young, so it was fine.
If the grown-up prince has full wings, his father's words may not be so effective... So why should Gong Xiangxiao follow his example and go to the army to hone his skills? Back then, Emperor Xiaozong desperately wanted to pass the throne to the regent even after his death without an heir. What was his purpose? Don't you just think that this younger brother has rich experience and talents, and will not let the power of the royal family fall aside after he takes the throne?
Gong Xiangmao himself was the beneficiary of joining the army, so when he wanted to control his son, he naturally would not give him a chance.
No matter which one it is, it means that Gong Xiangxiao cannot control his own destiny.
This was intolerable to him.
Even if the person trying to control his life, death, honor and disgrace is his biological father.
"That's why we want to test the prince." Qi Jiulu took the empty tea bowl from his hand, filled it and handed it back, and said calmly, "The prince's foundation is shallow now. There is really not much that can be done with Dou's small number of people. . And this is with the tacit consent of the prince. If the prince is alert, it is unknown whether these people can continue to serve the prince."
Gong Xiangxiao breathed out slowly, clenched his fists, and nodded heavily: "My prince...understands."
He said this through gritted teeth.
Qi Jiulu then advised: "The prince does not want the prince to achieve success, so the prince can be a little more reckless in his next actions. It is okay to occasionally reveal his dissatisfaction with the prince's actions. However, please bear in mind that the prince just feels that he is As a noble man, since he is old, it is his duty to share the prince's worries and solve problems, and to set an example for his younger brother. He has no other intention! After all, the prince still admires the prince and loves the young prince. At most, because he has been estranged from the prince these years, and Because I don’t see the young prince often, I’m not good at expressing myself!”
"...My prince knows." Gong Xiangxiao sighed sadly and said, "My prince is not qualified to go against my father now."
So no matter what you think in your heart, you still need to fulfill your duty as a prince on the scene, so that even if you do something wrong, even if you are caught by the Lu family, you can still get by relying on the love of flesh and blood.
He was silent for a while and suddenly asked, "Xinyun, you left home to come to the Imperial Capital for... and allowed the family to cultivate your younger brother. But you are worried that one day, you will gain nothing in the Imperial Capital, and there will be a new eldest son like your younger brother in the family, and you will have nowhere to go. ?”
Qi Jiulu said calmly: "You can't have your cake and eat it too, it's been like this since ancient times."
Seeing his calm look, Gong Xiangxiao suddenly felt envious of Yun Fenghuang. It wasn't that he had any fetish for Qi Jiulu. The main thing was that he had never had anyone in his life who was so desperate and asking for nothing.
When he was young, the scene of a harmonious family of three, where his father doted on his mother and his mother loved him, seemed far away like an illusion. After...after...even if Mr. Dou was on his side now, Gong Xiangxiao knew clearly in his heart that the bond of blood was only one, and in the end... The main thing is for power and status.
"That Concubine Yun is so cruel." The young Crown Prince secretly expressed the same emotion as Qi Jiulu before, "Facing such a loyal old lover like Brother Xinyun, she can still try to cut off the involvement again and again... It's no good. Do you know what she thinks?"
Yun Fenghuang, who was in the deep palace, didn't know that Gong Xiangxiao was trying to guess her thoughts. At this moment, she was facing the crying palace maid in front of her with a confused face: "Save you? You are a palace maid of Yanlan Palace, If you can't ask your concubine to make the decision, why come to Huzhu Palace and cry with me?"
"Your Majesty the Imperial Concubine... Your Imperial Concubine the Imperial Concubine..." The palace maid was out of breath from crying. She choked with sobs several times before she could explain clearly, "The Imperial Concubine the Imperial Concubine is pregnant now, and no one in the Yanlan Palace is allowed to disturb her! This maidservant is despicable and has been dismissed. After coming out, you are not allowed to go near the main hall at all. Furthermore, it was the imperial concubine who sent someone to send the maid to Huzhu Palace today... I beg Yun Concubine to have mercy and save the maid! I will work hard as a cow and a horse, and never forget it in all my life. You are so kind!"
No wonder she was in such a hurry: Yuan Yuniang was a famous "concubine killer" in the country. She could not even remember how many lives she had taken under her control.
And this palace maid was originally from Yanlan Palace to pinch the shoulders and beat the legs of the imperial concubine. Didn't Emperor Chunjia just say that when he left Yanfu Palace, he was going to visit the imperial concubine? While talking, the emperor casually mentioned that she had some shoulder and back pain after practicing riding and shooting just now, and the imperial concubine called her out to give the emperor a squeeze.
Xu Shi's technique was thoughtful, and the emperor praised it a few times.
Then the imperial concubine gave the person to the emperor.
But Emperor Chunjia refused to take it, saying that he had people to serve him in Taichu Palace, and the concubine had a hard time getting pregnant, so she needed the service of the palace maids.
Seeing that Concubine Zheng was very insistent, the emperor said some considerate words, probably concubine, you have worked really hard for me to conceive an heir. Although I am a man, I have heard that it is not easy for pregnant women, so it is rare for someone like you to be able to serve. Yeah, don't be polite to me, just keep it for yourself...etc.
The imperial concubine then did not say anything more about this matter.
The emperor probably thought that everything was fine, so he said goodbye happily, and Shi Shiran returned to his Taichu Palace.
As a result, the imperial concubine turned around and sent her to Huzhu Palace, saying that from the emperor's tenderness and consideration, it was not easy for her to infer Yue Jieyu who was also pregnant!
Moreover, the people around Yue Jieyu were cleared out some time ago because of the "conspiracy to murder the new concubine Yun Fenghuang", and now they are probably incomplete.
In order to make Yuan Yuniang's pregnancy more comfortable, in order for her to give birth to the emperor's heir in a better manner, in order to... In short, Concubine Zheng made a generous decision to give Yue Jieyu this palace maid who was certified by the emperor himself as being able to serve!
Let's not say whether the imperial concubine did this to anger Yuan Yuniang or for some other reason. In short, the palace maid was almost frightened to death after hearing the news. No, she was sent to Huzhu Palace, just in time to catch Yuan Yuniang from taking a nap, Ning Ning. The people from Bidian arranged a room for her to wait. She was on pins and needles for a while, and finally had the courage to sneak out and come to Ziquan Palace for help?