Chapter 55 Bamboo Horse

Last time Gong Xiangxiao suddenly appeared and killed Xinqing as a warning. Although it has been a headless case until now, it is generally believed that Yue Jieyu is the culprit. However, after all, the incident happened in the deep palace. Empress Ji made a thorough investigation Check, the palace is more heavily guarded than before.

...Perhaps for this reason, Gong Xiangxiao did not dare to act arbitrarily this time, but changed into a servant's attire, stood behind a collapsed palace wall with his sleeves rolled up, and watched Yun Fenghuang approach with an expressionless face.

"Thank you so much, Your Majesty!" Yun Fenghuang smiled and greeted him with a happy face. "When Xijing Xile arrived at Huzhu Palace, Xijing was arrogant and domineering, but Xile was considerate and gentle, and I was kind and gentle." I thought that although they both came from the Yanfu Palace, they had different temperaments, but I didn’t expect that Xile only wanted to save the prince’s face... If she hadn’t explained it today, I would have thought that I was lucky to have met a sensible servant if I had not benefited from it today!”

Gong Xiangxiao said calmly: "I thought that as soon as you met me, you would accuse me of lying to you."

"Are I such an unreasonable person?" Yun Fenghuang stroked his hair and said with a sweet smile, "I originally wanted a smart and capable person to help me, and this Xile has fulfilled my wishes in every aspect. Request, I am too late to thank the Crown Prince... Besides, I have always thought that within the three palaces and six courtyards, the Queen is the one who should be respected the most, but the Crown Prince can reach out to Yanfu Palace, which shows the power of means, concubine I'm really glad that I accidentally stumbled into the small square pot and got to meet the Crown Prince. Otherwise, where would I have found a supporter like the Crown Prince with his hands and eyes as bright as the sky?"

"You are thinking too much." Gong Xiangxiao said coldly, "The reason why I was able to let Xile go to you this time was purely because Empress Ji didn't want the Ji family to know what she was doing in private, and the manpower available was limited. There is an opportunity to take advantage of it. If under normal circumstances, Ji's loopholes were so easy to exploit, how could they have been able to dominate the government and the public all these years?"

He paused and said in a deep voice, "Actually, the queen has begun to suspect that there is a connection between you and me!"

Yun Fenghuang suddenly stopped his smile and frowned: "Is Xinqing's death a cause for trouble? I said, kill everyone, what are you doing from Yanlan Palace and Chengyue Palace to make such a big deal, the Empress Dowager? Everyone knows it over there, so how can they refrain from vigorous investigation? She was just a palace maid. She just found a secluded corner or a dry well and threw it away. No one noticed it for ten days and a half. Isn't this thing over? Now Okay, tell me what to do!"

"What should we do?" Gong Xiangxiao looked at her sarcastically, "Don't you think of a countermeasure yourself? What use does the queen's suspicion have to this prince? She has no evidence. Even if there is evidence, the regent's palace will not fall for a day. Even if you stand up and testify against me, what will happen?"

"So the prince will be fine?" Yun Fenghuang was not angry when he heard this. Instead, he showed a relieved expression, "Then I feel relieved. Anyway, the queen has great plans, and she doesn't care so much about your majesty's face. So. Even if it is confirmed that I have something to do with the Crown Prince, as long as the Crown Prince does not fall, the Queen will probably still be willing to keep her to see if she can be used in key places... Speaking of which, I really want to thank the Crown Prince, I have been a bit quiet recently. I am eager to move, but I am afraid that if I go too far, I will make the Queen unhappy, but since I know that I still have such a use, why are I still hesitating?"

Gong Xiangxiao knew that she was very articulate, so he sneered a few times and showed no intention of continuing the quarrel. He only said: "Two things: first, what do you want to do when you persuade Yue Jieyu to have a ride with Wei Changkong? Second, father, the king I have recently planned to recommend several people to serve as officials, and one of them is a descendant of a wealthy family who has come from afar... It seems that he has an old relationship with the nobleman, I wonder if I would like my son to arrange for you to reminisce about old times?"

Yun Fenghuang narrowed his eyes and said with a smile: "First of all, I don't have any good intentions towards Yue Jieyu, nor towards Wei Changkong. Although there is no grudge against me, this person is about to become the mentor of the prince's younger brother. , is naturally my enemy! I am very grateful for the Crown Prince’s help, so I plan to use Yue Jieyu’s hand to drag this person down... Isn’t the Crown Prince happy?”

"As for the second item..."

The corner of her mouth curled up slightly, and her smile became thicker, "If the prince is talking about Qi Jiulu, then there is no need to arrange to reminisce with me. I have nothing to say to him... The prince compared Xinqing's original example. !”

"The noble man is really cruel." This answer obviously made Gong Xiangxiao not satisfied. He frowned and said, "I heard that the man and the noble man were childhood sweethearts, and their relationship is not as deep as that between His Majesty and the Yuan family...even if they are separated for some reason. , Your Excellency, you don’t miss your old feelings at all?”

Yun Fenghuang thought deeply: "Maybe it's because I am pure and pure and don't want to do what Qin Muchu did?"

Gong Xiangxiao was too lazy to pay attention to her nonsense: "Qi Xinyun said that he had something important to tell me, about your sister's death... Oh, Xinyun is Qi Jiulu's name."

"The prince has said so himself. Even if I am impatient to see that person named Qi, how can I not give face to the prince?" Yun Fenghuang immediately said with a smile, "When will it be convenient for the prince? Your Majesty has been sent to the Empress for the past two days. Each palace takes turns to invite new people, and in a few days, they may come to Huzhu Palace often again, so what do you think, Your Majesty?"

Gong Xiangxiao sneered: "Quiet words! This prince will make arrangements as soon as possible. If there is any news, Xile will tell you."

He knew that Yun Fenghuang was going to see Mr. Xie this time. Delaying for too long would be suspicious, so after saying this, he planned to leave... Before leaving, he remembered, "My prince just asked someone to send the new wife to him." Qing's body was thrown into Chengyue Palace. The Cui family had always claimed to be aloof and clean, but Concubine Xin acted decisively and dragged Yanlan Palace into the water quietly. If Concubine Zheng hadn't been alert, she would have called Concubine Xin. Witnessing Chi Piao's tragic situation, are you afraid that the fetal image will be unstable? It is said that you and Concubine Xin searched the palace together before? If you have anything to do with her in the future, be careful! Otherwise, it doesn't matter if you die or become disabled, don't It’s a drag on my eldest son!”

Yun Fenghuang, who was about to leave, was slightly startled: "What? Concubine Xin brought Xinqing to Yanlan Palace? Where did she get this ability?!"

"How does this prince know?" Gong Xiangxiao sneered and walked away.

He quietly returned to the Taichu Palace of his former dynasty, changed into the crown prince's clothes, took Dou Su, the young man who stayed here, out of the palace and returned to his home.

The Regent's Mansion is a splendid place, with gates like a market day and night, and carriages and horses flowing like water. Because Wei Changkong now lives in the guest house, many people from the scholarly community came to visit, and it became even more lively.

Seeing the prince's carriage returning, they all gave way and stared at the carriage with a lot of envy and awe.

But Gong Xiangxiao noticed it and laughed at himself.

But he remembered that when Gong Xiangji was ushered from Fuyang County to the imperial capital and enthroned, how ostentatious the guards of honor were along the way. At that time, he was led by his father to the suburbs to greet him. The group set out before dawn and waited in the pavilion for several hours before a detective came to report that the emperor's guard of honor would arrive in about an hour.

So a group of important ministers and clan members arranged their appearance and lined up outside the pavilion to wait. Seeing flags fluttering and hoof dust in the distance, they hurriedly knelt on the ground to welcome the emperor... At that time, he was ignorant, but he had instinctive feelings in his heart. Not convinced.

Therefore, although he also knelt down behind his father, he was unwilling to prostrate himself to the ground and touch his forehead to the ground where the emperor's wheels rolled as he followed the etiquette. When the imperial driver came closer, he saw the so-called emperor inside through the swaying bead curtain at a glance. Gong Xiangji was fifteen years old at the time, with green eyes and an expression of panic that could not be concealed even by trying to calm down.

This is not surprising. Gong Xiangxiao, who was only ten years old at the time, thought indifferently. This clan brother was just the concubine of a vassal king. He had no children because of his aunt, so he had to rely on him to support him in old age. After painstaking planning, he had a prince. The title has been kept in a small place like Fuyang County, how much knowledge can it have?

Could he not be frightened or overwhelmed by such a scene?

Gong Xiangxiao even maliciously hoped that he would roll off the carriage due to being too nervous and make a big fool of himself in front of many ministers and clans, just to see what kind of face the Ji family had to insist on appointing this inexplicable person. Not his father? !

...Thinking about it later, rather than saying that he was full of hostility towards Gong Xiangji at that time, it would be better to say that he was full of jealousy.

He was jealous that his cousin, who had never even thought about it before, had the blessing of ascending to a great position; he was jealous that Gong Xiangji, who originally had a far lower status than himself, suddenly rose to the top, and he had to bend down and kowtow, shouting "Long Live the Mountain" He resented his father's efforts in planning and planning but missed out on the position, but by mistake, he chose Gong Xiangji, who was far away in Fuyang and had nothing to do with the turbulent waves in the court...

This resentment has basically disappeared in recent years.

Because the step-concubine gave birth to a son, he was the legitimate son of the regent Yuan Fei. He was originally the natural heir to the palace, but his position in the palace became more and more embarrassing and he became more and more like an outsider... At this time, he was even a little lucky that after Emperor Xiaozong left, the new king It was Gong Xiangji, not his father.

What would be his situation?

Can he still live to his current age?

Gong Xiangxiao closed his eyes and forcibly interrupted his thoughts.

After entering the palace, as usual, he went to the study to greet the regent. As usual, the regent also asked the boy to come out and tell him that there was no need to be polite. He also asked if there was any trouble in the palace or other things that needed to be reported. When he heard that everything was as usual, he just Let him rest.

This conversation was basically between the regent's scholar and Dou Su, and the father and son never met.

Not to mention talking.

After leaving the study, Gong Xiangxiao happened to meet his step-concubine who was carrying the food box on his way back to the courtyard where he lived.

"The prince is back?" Mrs. Lu smiled when she saw him, as gentle and virtuous as when she came in at the beginning of the year. She smiled and said, "Looks like he has lost a little weight. Could it be that the weather is hot and he has lost his appetite? Wait a moment. Ask the little kitchen to stew you some soup to nourish you... the people around you should also be more considerate..."

She was chattering like a mother. Even when she was talking and she glanced at Dou Su with annoyance, she was soft and didn't seem to take it seriously. As if it was just a casual remark, Dou Su subconsciously shrank his head and admitted his mistake with a trembling voice: "Little Convicted!"

"Thank you, concubine." Gong Xiangxiao frowned slightly and stood sideways to block the book boy. He said lukewarmly, "I think the child has grown taller, so it looks like he has lost weight. Concubine, please take care of yourself... I will go see my brother later." , I wonder if it’s convenient?”

Mentioning her biological son, Mrs. Lu smiled slightly and chuckled: "I'm afraid it won't work. Zhen'er's body is weak and he just fell asleep after taking medicine."

This answer was not what Gong Xiangxiao had expected. Mr. Lu had always disliked him having too much contact with Gong Xiangzhen. The reason every time was that Gong Xiangzhen was not in good health. But in fact, Gong Xiangxiao occasionally saw that person. Brother, what's wrong with being so full of energy?

If I had some complicated feelings towards this younger brother before, now I am completely too lazy to get close to him.

I am just saying this now to prevent Mr. Lu from following the stick and doing something to Dou Su... Mr. Lu has often used this excuse to eliminate the men left by his mother Dou.

"...You go to Cuiyuan and invite Master Qi to come over." After saying goodbye to Mr. Lu, Gong Xiangxiao returned to his residence in three steps and two steps at a time. He washed up briefly, changed into his daily robes, and ordered Dou Su. , "Be smart when you come and go, and don't let irrelevant people find out."

Dou Su took the order and left. After about half a stick of incense, he walked in wearing a green shirt.