Chapter 18: The Emperor and His Ministers Have Met with the Time (18)

Shen Minghuan looked at the word "stupid" formed by the black chess pieces on the chessboard with satisfaction, and opened his folding fan with a "swish" sound, "I saw him build a tall building, I saw him entertain guests, and I saw his building collapse."

He paused and said slowly: "Knowing the law and breaking it is a heavier crime, Prime Minister who trespassed into a private house?"

"I'm very curious," Qu Zhengcheng half-crouched on the top of the wall, still wearing the familiar nightgown, "I saw his building collapse... You want to destroy the second prince, but you won General Zhuo for him?"

Qu Zhengcheng jumped down casually, "No matter how you think about this, the second prince still benefits, right?"

People who are rational enough can see the surging crisis from Luo Xiuqi's current situation, but on the other hand, Luo Xiuqi in the past was not even qualified to be involved in the vortex of disputes.

In Yanling, people who are too mediocre will even despise his existence in danger.

"Who told you that General Zhuo is the second prince's man?" Shen Minghuan looked proud, but his tone was full of reserved calmness, just like a child who was pretending to brag about himself and waiting for adults' surprise and praise.

He snorted lightly, raised his head slightly, and said proudly: "General Zhuo is my man."

Qu Zhengcheng had expected it, so he was not too surprised. He looked at Shen Minghuan's flying eyebrows and couldn't help but feel a little funny.

So he laughed out loud.

He had seen all kinds of masks in the officialdom for so many years, and even he himself had two faces.

But Shen Minghuan could be so real, so real that he envied him.

"What are you laughing at?" Shen Minghuan looked at Qu Zhengcheng inexplicably. It couldn't be that he was laughing at him, right?

Qu Zhengcheng stopped laughing, but still couldn't stop smiling, "Because I'm happy. What's the point of the Xianzhen Camp? Gu Chenglin can't help much, but--"

Qu Zhengcheng sneered: "It's just mutual restraint. I really can't understand how someone would be so stupid as to try to control military power by creating internal confrontation in the army?"

Yes, this can indeed ensure that Luo Xiuyuan can't get the support of the Xianzhen Camp because of Gu Chenglin, but what good will this do to the emperor and Yu Daqi?

The determination to enter the Xianzhen Camp is to die or not to live.

The Xianzhen Camp, which was brave enough to go forward and die, is now like an eagle with its wings cut off, timid and hesitant.

If this continues, how can we protect our families and our country? It's just another court full of intrigues.

Qu Zhengcheng collected his thoughts and said with a little excitement: "Xiuyuan has the support of the Zhenbei Army, so this is a great chance."

After all, Luo Xiuyuan has no lack of popular support, ability and prestige, but only an opportunity to send him to the throne.

Ming Huan was speechless, puzzled, and emphasized again: "Zhuo Feichen is my man, mine!"

"I know, your man is Xiuyuan's man, supporting you is supporting Xiu... Wait, what do you mean?" Qu Zhengcheng was originally imagining the future with a smile, but his face changed drastically after he reacted.

Shen Minghuan explained to him patiently: "You are wishful thinking, I have never admitted that I will support Luo Xiuyuan."

Qu Zhengcheng asked solemnly: "The third prince is dull, the fourth prince is disabled, and the fifth prince is devoted to carpentry. You ruined the second prince, but you don't support the eldest prince... What are you going to do?"

Shen Minghuan had been correcting Li Chengzhuo and Zhuo Feichen before, saying that he had no intention of the throne. Now he thinks this is a good excuse. He said casually: "It's just a plot to usurp the throne, what's the fuss?"

Qu Zhengcheng's face was livid.

He was able to become friends with Zhuo Feichen and say one thing to the emperor in front of him and another behind his back. Of course, he was not a blindly loyal person. But in his eyes, the throne belonged to his apprentice Luo Xiuyuan, how could he let others get involved?

Shen Changqing and Zhuo Feichen, did they know Shen Minghuan's intentions? Most likely they knew. Shen Minghuan wanted the throne and could not do without their support, but they didn't tell him a word!

Not only that, Shen Changqing also lied to him, making him mistakenly believe that Shen Minghuan supported Xiuyuan... He trusted and respected Shen Changqing so much!

"Shen Che, do you want to be infamous for eternity?" Qu Zhengcheng shouted loudly, trying to dispel Shen Minghuan's idea, otherwise... he had no chance of winning.

"Strange." Shen Mingze said blankly: "Why is it that I am infamous for eternity when I am the emperor, and Luo Xiuyuan is just following the will of heaven?"

He thought about it, "Why not do this, I let Shen Duo rebel, let him be the founding emperor who is infamous for eternity, and I am the kind-hearted crown prince, and then Yingtian will inherit the throne from others, and from then on, my name will be recorded in history and my reputation will last forever! How about it?"

He seemed very satisfied with his idea and looked at Qu Zhengcheng expectantly.

It actually made a lot of sense!

Qu Zhengcheng shouted: "Not very good."

He hurriedly climbed over the wall and left, and it seemed that he was going to find someone to discuss countermeasures.

Shen Minghuan watched his back disappear over the wall and yawned in boredom.

What happened to him today? Why is he so popular?

"Father, if you want to listen, just come and listen openly. I won't kick you out as your son."

Shen Duo pushed open the gate with a complicated expression.

It was not his intention to eavesdrop, but he came at an unfortunate time and happened to hear the roar of "Infamy for all eternity".

He was startled for a moment, and his hand that was about to push the door stopped. When he reacted, it was his son's rebellious words.

*

Luo Xiuyuan, who was on his way back to Beijing, received three letters from Qu Zhengcheng urging him to speed up. The key is that these three letters were received on the same day, and the interval between each was no more than two hours.

It can be seen that the person who sent the letter was really anxious.

Luo Xiuyuan couldn't help but worry. Although his teacher was a little weird, he was definitely not a person who made a fuss. What happened that made him a little confused?

Fortunately, he was not far away from Yanling, so he galloped back to Yanling before sunset.

The day after the grand dinner, the emperor specially sent a palace servant to summon Luo Xiuyuan back to Beijing.

He chose to do it after the banquet and did not issue an order in a big way, but he didn't want him to take the glory that belonged to Luo Xiuqi.

The road to Jiangnan is long, and even though the emperor's order cannot be delayed, Luo Xiuyuan still spent nearly a week.

A week can change a lot of things.

Luo Xiuyuan's "evil ways" came first, and Luo Xiuqi's "rebellion" came later. The emperor, who was no longer as young and strong as he was in the past, suddenly felt exhausted.

This made him unable to even spare the attention to deal with this child he didn't like or care about.

So after learning that Luo Xiuyuan had returned, the emperor just tiredly said, "No need to enter the palace, no need to pay homage, just go back home by yourself."

Luo Xiuyuan was also happy to be free.

He returned to Yanling in a very low-key manner, and moved back to the Lingwang Mansion in a very low-key manner.

The ministers who were worried about state affairs were prudent and protected themselves, and the villains and the aristocratic families were particularly active.

When everyone was crowding forward to flatter the second prince, no one cared that the eldest prince, who had once enjoyed such treatment, had seen their faces of currying favor with the powerful.

Yanling was a pot of boiling hot oil, just waiting for a spark.

Although Luo Xiuyuan felt that no one would pay attention to him, he waited until nightfall to go to the secret room from the tunnel for the sake of safety.

Qu Zhengcheng, who had never known the taste of love, felt for the first time in his life what it meant to live a day like a year.

During the time he was waiting for Luo Xiuyuan, he had been pacing back and forth in the secret room for a long time, frowning, and people who didn't know him would think he was in a trance.

"Sir, what is the matter that you are in a hurry to find me for?" Luo Xiuyuan turned the mechanism to open the stone door and asked calmly.

Although he was far away in Jiangnan, he had been paying attention to the news of Yanling. He was confident that if the situation was critical enough, he would not be completely unaware. What's more, he had been back to Yanling for half a day, which was enough for him to sort out all the things that had happened in recent days.

His current situation was not good, but it should not be so serious?

Qu Zhengcheng took a deep breath, and looked at Luo Xiuyuan, with obvious guilt in his eyes, "Your Highness, I trusted the wrong person."

The last time he came to this secret room, he told Luo Xiuyuan and Gu Chenglin in a mysterious way that they didn't need to worry, and he was evasive in his words, watching Gu Chenglin scratching his head anxiously, enjoying the pleasure of being sober while everyone else was drunk.

However, he didn't dare to act like a demon anymore.

Qu Zhengcheng honestly told the whole story from beginning to end, tracing back to the time when he and Shen Changqing became friends, and he didn't dare to miss a word.

"But I didn't expect that Shen Changqing actually lied to me. Shen Minghuan really didn't really support the second prince, but..." Qu Zhengcheng gritted his teeth.

"He wants to be the emperor!"

"What? He wants to be the emperor?" Luo Xiuyuan repeated in surprise, and the ending tone unconsciously rose.

Qu Zhengcheng's indignant expression paused, and he asked suspiciously: "Your Highness, you were not happy just now, were you?"

"How, how could it be?" Luo Xiuyuan coughed lightly.

——How could he not be happy?

Luo Xiuyuan had no intention of the throne, and if this piece of land could be handed over to Shen Minghuan, he would be relieved.

"Your Highness, don't worry, it's not the last moment yet, we won't lose." Seeing his strange expression, as if he was holding back something, Qu Zhengcheng hurriedly comforted him.

Luo Xiuyuan's expression became even more distorted and strange, and he stammered, "Actually, that... or we..." Forget it?

"We should fight back!" Qu Zhengcheng was unsure, but seeing Luo Xiuyuan was so "fearful", he still spoke forcefully and made a confident look. "So what if Shen Minghuan has the Zhenbei Army? As long as He Zhang can be dealt with, isn't Gu Chenglin the only one who has the final say in the Xianzhen Camp?"

"Sir." Luo Xiuyuan disagreed, "General He is innocent, don't plot against him."

Qu Zhengcheng looked at the other party's serious eyebrows and was helpless for a moment, "My Highness, how can there be innocence when two armies are fighting against each other?"

"When two armies fight against each other, they should be fair and square." Luo Xiuyuan was very stubborn.

If he needs to get his hands covered in blood to get what he wants, no matter how good the thing is, he would rather not have it.

Qu Zhengcheng had a headache, but to be honest, the reason why he chose Luo Xiuyuan and devoted himself to him was because he valued this innocent heart, wasn't it?

There are not many clean people in this world, and losing one is a great loss.

"Okay." He said, "We will take a long-term view."

As he said this, Qu Zhengcheng felt much more relaxed.

Being a good person is always easier than being a bad person.

But it was a long time before he realized that there are some things in this world that only bad people can do.

There are always good people who become bad people, carrying all the sins, and moving forward in pain and struggle.