Chapter 97: take a closer look
Next day.
Wen Chi was awakened by Ruo Tao.
I haven't seen her for more than two years. If Tao is still the same, it seems that she has grown a little taller.
When Wen Chi finished dressing and washing up, when he came to the main hall, he found that Ruotao had grown a little taller. Ruo Tao had just touched Wen Chi's chin, but now it has reached the tip of his nose.
The new Bamboo Flute Residence has changed a lot, not only many more rooms and the forecourt scenery of the bridge and flowing water, but also many eunuchs and palace maids who feel fresh in Wenchi come and go.
I just haven't seen Ping An.
On the way back, Wen Chi planned to find an excuse to send Ping An after he came back, so after he finished his breakfast, he asked Ruotao to call Ping Ping.
Wen Chi was surprised: "Not? Which is not?" Is it not in the East Palace or in this world? Wen Chi's intuition is biased towards the latter...
Sure enough, just after he thought about it, Ruotao verified his conjecture: "Two or three years ago, shortly after the son left for Jinzhou, Ping An was enslaved when he stole those golden melon seeds. When they were caught, the slaves informed Eunuch Zhu of the incident, and two days later, Eunuch Zhu sent someone to pull Ping An and beat him to death."
Wen Chi fell silent.
He glanced at Ruotao silently, and then silently retracted his gaze, although he guessed in his heart that Ruotao was instructed by others to intentionally put her to death, but the ending is good, and he will no longer Ask more.
After resting for a while, Wen Chi saw that it was getting late, so he left the Bamboo Flute Residence.
Because of Wen Chi's special status, he could have gone to see the emperor directly, but since he was working under Lord Yin in Jinzhou, he should not ignore the middle Lord Yin.
After Wen Chi and Lord Yin gathered outside the palace gate, they walked together to the Qiankun Palace where the emperor lived.
If in the past, the emperor would summon them in the study, no matter how close the relationship between the monarch and the ministers, it would be inappropriate for the ministers to step into the monarch's Qiankun Palace.
Walking into the Qiankun Palace, a new **** led the way.
Wen Chi didn't dare to watch or listen too much, just kept his head down and followed behind.
I don't know how long it took, but the **** who was leading the way finally slowed down and stopped quickly.
The **** who led the way quickly stepped forward, whispered a few words with the **** who was guarding outside the palace, and then walked back quickly and said, "Master Yin, Young Master Wen, I'm afraid you will have to wait for a while."
Wen Chi heard the words and immediately understood that someone must have met the emperor inside.
Sir Yin said politely: "There is father-in-law."
The **** lowered his waist and disappeared from their sight after a while.
Although it is also snowing in the capital, the snow here is much milder than the snow in Jinzhou. In addition, Wenchi is dressed in heavy clothes and a warm fur coat. feel hard.
And they didn't wait long when they heard footsteps in front of them, from far to near.
Wen Chi raised his head when he heard the sound, and saw two figures walking out of the palace slowly.
When the two figures approached, he realized that they were actually the Fourth Prince and General Lin.
Obviously, the Fourth Prince and General Lin also saw them, paused, and then walked straight towards them.
Wen Chi looked at Shi Jin and Lin Zhe, and always felt that something was wrong.
While thinking so, Shi Jin and Lin Zhe had already walked up to them.
Wen Chi quickly retracted his thoughts and greeted Shi Jin with Lord Yin.
Shi Jin waved his hand, indicating that they don't need to be more polite: "Father and the emperor are waiting for the two inside, go ahead."
Sir Yin said a few words of courtesy, and then led Wen Chi inside.
After walking for a while, Wen Chi couldn't help but turn his head, and saw Shi Jin and Lin Zhe also walking out. They seemed to be talking, so they were very close, almost sleeve to sleeve.
Wen Chi stared at the two figures for a while, and finally understood the source of what he felt wrong - Shi Jin did not reject Lin Zhe!
He remembered that when they were still in Jinzhou, Lin Zhe took the stone he picked up from Wenliang with him. Unfortunately, Shi Jin rejected the stone very much. Every time he saw Lin Zhe, he wanted to Hide far away, why is it different now...
Or the effect of that stone on Shijin disappeared?
Wen Chi couldn't understand, of course he didn't have so much time to understand this problem at the moment.
Not long after, Wen Chi followed Sir Yin to the emperor's dragon bed.
However, when Wen Chi walked in, he smelled a strong medicinal odor, as well as other messy odors, which merged into one piece and mixed in the air, which was very unpleasant.
Wen Chi didn't change his face, he knelt down in front of the dragon bed like Sir Yin.
Master Yin said in a deep voice: "Wei Chen sees the emperor."
Wait for a while before a painful coughing sound came from the dragon bed. Seeing this, the **** standing by the side hurriedly stepped forward and gently stroked the emperor, but unfortunately this did not work at all, the emperor seemed to be To cough up the lungs.
After finally coughing, the emperor took a breath and said in a rough and hoarse voice: "No gift."
Master Yin got up lightly.
Wen Chi also quickly got up and stood behind Mr. Yin silently.
Although Wen Chi couldn't see the emperor's appearance, he could sense that the emperor was seriously ill, and every word he uttered was extremely difficult... If he didn't get timely treatment, I'm afraid he wouldn't last long.
But then again...
Does he remember that the blood of the Hua family has the ability to bring people back to life? Why didn't the emperor think of this?
Although it was difficult for the emperor to speak, but he said it word by word, it was enough for Lord Yin and Wen Chi to hear clearly, and it was mostly Lord Yin who reported the situation in Jinzhou to the emperor, what the emperor wanted to say not much.
Soon, half an hour passed.
The emperor felt tired and asked Lord Yin to retire first.
In fact, Mr. Yin entered the palace and reported the situation in Jinzhou to the emperor was not the main purpose. He wanted to see the emperor, and he wanted to say a few words for Wen Chi, so After finishing this conversation, he hesitated for a while, and suddenly knelt down: "Your Majesty, this minister is bold... to make a merciless request to the Emperor."
The emperor's voice came from the curtain: "Speak."
Master Yin kowtowed to the ground, and then said what he had already considered: "Wen Chi, the son of the Wen family, followed Wei Chen in a remote area like Jinzhou for two or three years, and now he Returning to the capital, it has long been a matter of human beings. Although Wen Chi and His Royal Highness the Prince are married, the days of Wen Chi's stay in the East Palace are not long... Wei Chen dared to ask the emperor to look at Wei Chen's face, and in Wen Chi's place. In the past two or three years, I have served the country, with no credit or hard work, but Wen Chi has a free body!"
Master Yin spoke earnestly and in a cadenced tone. After speaking, he kowtowed to the ground again.
The emperor suddenly fell silent.
Master Yin lay on the ground and did not get up, Wen Chi also carefully slowed down his breathing, quietly waiting for the emperor's answer, he even wondered if the emperor fell asleep.
Suddenly, the emperor said: "Wenchi."
Wen Chi responded quickly.
The emperor asked: "I want to hear your thoughts."
Wen Chi also knelt down, he took a deep breath, opened his lips and said: "Back to the emperor, the villain once made a big mistake when he was confused for a while. Politics, ask the emperor to fulfill."
The emperor was silent for a long time again, and said hoarsely: "Yin Qing, you go down."
The implication is to leave Wenchi alone.
Master Yin naturally heard the meaning of the emperor's words, and suddenly hesitant, but he did not dare to resist, after hesitation, he could only answer yes, so he got up from the ground and looked After warming his eyes, he left silently.
For a time, only Wenchi was left in front of the dragon bed.
Wen Chi didn't know what the emperor meant, he knelt on the ground alone and became nervous all of a sudden.
At this moment, the emperor's voice sounded again: "Wen Chi, come here."
Wen Chi was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously looked up at the **** who was serving on the side of the dragon bed, the **** saw Wen Chi's blank expression, and hurriedly winked and beckoned to Wen Chi.
Wen Chi understood, got up with hands and feet, and walked carefully to the side of the dragon bed.
The emperor said again: "Come here again."
Wen Chi moved forward by another two centimeters...the equivalent of walking in place.
The emperor seemed to be irritated by Wen Chi's cowardice. !"
The **** next to him was suddenly startled.
Wen Chi was also taken aback by surprise, he took a big step forward reflexively, and stuck it directly beside the dragon bed.
This time, Wen Chi can finally see the emperor's appearance clearly - it's light to describe it as withered, but I didn't expect that it's only been more than two years, the emperor is so thin, his eyes are sunken, Her cheeks were sunken, her lips had turned an abnormal blue-purple color, and just looking at her face, it seemed like a layer of skin rested on top of her skull, and her body under the quilt would not be much better...
Wen Chi almost couldn't recognize the person in front of him, was the person in front of him still the handsome and elegant middle-aged man he had seen before?
Being so close, Wen Chi seemed to smell the dead aura wafting from the emperor.
Wen Chi was horrified inside, but fortunately he managed to suppress these emotions, and his face was only slightly stunned.
The emperor didn't care about Wen Chi's reaction, he stared at Wen Chi with those cloudy eyes: "Do you really want to leave?"
Wen Chi nodded: "Yes."
The emperor shook his head lightly: "Unfortunately, you can't leave yet."
Wen Chi had expected this answer from the emperor for a long time, and he was not surprised. He said that it is difficult to enter the palace, and it is more difficult to leave the palace than to enter the palace. If you want to avoid being criticized, the answer from the emperor is within reason.
But before Wen Chi could think about it, he heard the emperor say sternly: "When the prince successfully succeeds to my position, then, if he lets you go, it will not be too late for you to leave."
Wen Chi lowered his eyes to avoid the emperor's gaze, and whispered: "The villain doesn't understand..."
The emperor smiled lightly: "Although I don't know the reason, but I know that you are a special existence to the prince... In the past two years, the prince has often gone to Jinzhou. you deside."
Wen Chi said in surprise: "Back to the emperor, in the past two years, the villain has not seen His Royal Highness."
"It seems that he hides and does not dare to see you." A hint of helplessness flashed in the emperor's eyes. "Prince is like that. Everything is in my heart, and I can't do anything about him."
Wen Chi's eyes flickered, he opened his mouth, but couldn't squeeze a word out of his dry throat.
In the last two years in Jinzhou, he did not see Shi Ye again. He thought that Shi Ye had been staying in the capital honestly, or was trapped by something, but he didn't expect...
"So, you can't leave yet." The emperor seemed to have some strength, and even his words became coherent, "It is the task that I have assigned you, if the prince lets you go in the future, My people will find you and give you some compensation, so that you can live comfortably in the rest of your life."
Wen Chi was stunned, unable to speak for a long time.
After Wen Chi left, the **** next to him caressed the emperor while frowning worriedly and said, "Your Majesty, according to the servants, then Young Master Wen may not be able to stabilize His Royal Highness."
After the emperor coughed, his voice was weak: "Whether they can stabilize, it's up to them, I just did what I should do... I hope the prince can see my good intentions and let it go. His siblings..."
After speaking, the emperor had no more energy, so he simply closed his eyes and rested.
The **** looked at the dry face of the emperor, and sighed in his heart many times.
The ancestors used blood and sweat to seize this piece of land. I am afraid that even when they die, they will never think that their descendants will give up this piece of land one day.
Yes, over the past few decades, the Hua family's power has become more and more powerful, and their hands have become more and more extended. If the emperor insists on abolishing the prince and establishing other princes as princes, I am afraid that there will be a **** storm, and then it will also be I don't know if I can keep this country.
Although the emperor's decision seems cowardly and timid, it is also the safest way.
Wen Chi returned to the Bamboo Flute Residence, and then started the days of being a dead house again.
If the capital is better than Jinzhou, it is estimated that the weather in Beijing is better than the weather in Jinzhou. Even if it snows heavily, as long as you wear thicker clothes, your hands and feet will not tremble. Chi Duo was sitting by the charcoal fire in the house, so he couldn't feel the cold even more.
The snow continued to fall for half a month, and Wen Chi also stayed in the house for half a month.
Originally, Wen Chi wanted to meet Mr. Yin and thank Mr. Yin for speaking for him that day in front of the emperor, but now that he has recovered his identity, he has to avoid even writing a letter to Mr. Yin. If you meet, I'm afraid it will cause a fishy mess.
Over time, Wen Chi had no choice but to dispel this idea and stay in the bamboo flute curie peacefully.
Seeing that the new year is approaching, the palace should be lively, but now the disputes in the court involve the harem, so that everyone in the harem is in danger, and they are racking their brains to think of ways to protect themselves. The atmosphere in the palace was extremely tense.
Of course, Wen Chi stays at home, these things have nothing to do with him.
This afternoon, Wen Chi was sleepy on the reclining chair beside the charcoal fire, and suddenly heard a rush of footsteps, accompanied by Ruofang's shrill voice: "It's not good. ! Young Master, the big thing is bad!"
Ruotao was squatting on the ground, fiddling with the charcoal fire with a stick, turned her head when she heard the sound, frowned and said, "Ruofang, keep your voice down, the son is resting."
Only then did Ruofang realize that she was too loud, so she quickly covered her mouth in panic, looked around with her round eyes, and finally landed on Wen Chi: "Young Master..."
Seeing Ruofang's guilty conscience, Wen Chi just thought it was funny, he waved to Ruofang, and when Ruofang ran over, he asked, "What happened? "
Ruofang ran in a hurry just now, and she was still panting a little, her face flushed, and she stammered, "His Royal Highness, Prince, is sending a letter of divorce."
"Break your book?" Ruo Momoso got up, "What's your book break?"
It was the first time Ruofang saw Ruotao's cold eyes, she was frightened, her mind went blank for a moment, and she forgot what she was saying.
After a while, under Ruotao's urging, Ruofang found her voice: "What else can I leave?
Wen Chi also stood up from the reclining chair and said solemnly, "Who did he send a divorce letter? Why did he send a divorce letter?"
So Ruofang told the news from other palace maids not long ago.
It turned out that it was not His Royal Highness that was sending the letter of divorce, but Eunuch Zhu was sending the letter of divorce, which was naturally a letter of divorce to terminate the relationship, and let the little eunuchs carry the rewards and send those people away It was sent out to the East Palace in a clear and innocent manner - and Eunuch Zhu's meaning was naturally also the meaning of His Royal Highness.
In short, His Royal Highness is cleaning the backyard.
Speaking of this, Ruofang looked dazed and scratched her head irritably: "I also heard that since the emperor was seriously ill, the little actions of the concubines in the harem have not stopped, everyone thinks Paving the way for my future, but what does this have to do with His Royal Highness writing a letter of divorce? Could it be that His Royal Highness suddenly felt that there were too many women, so he wanted to clean up the backyard before he succeeded to the throne?"
Ruotao knocked on Ruofang's head: "His Royal Highness has his own plans to do this, and it's not our palace maids' turn to discuss it."
Ruofang felt aggrieved when she saw that Ruo Tao was still defending His Highness the Crown Prince, so pitifully covered her knocked head, and said angrily: "I'm not worried about our son, in case Eunuch Zhu sent that letter of divorce to our Bamboo Flute Residence..."
Before she finished speaking, it turned into a "uuuuu" sound.
Ruotao blankly blocked Ruofang's open mouth with her hands, she glared at Ruofang with a stern face: "Don't talk nonsense, Eunuch Zhu must not May send the leave letter here."
A farce ends soon.
Originally Ruofang was still worried, but after listening to Ruotao's words, she suddenly felt that Ruotao's words made some sense.
After all, their son is the only one in the backyard of the East Palace who has served His Royal Highness closely, even if His Royal Highness wants to dissolve the entire backyard, it should be their last turn.
Thinking about this, Ruofang felt relieved.
The two little girls didn't take this matter seriously at all. After whispering together for a while, they dispersed and went to work.
Only Wen Chi stood there for a long time before he seemed to slowly recover his thoughts. He turned and sat back on the chair and lay down again.
In the afternoon, when Ruofang cleaned up the house, she picked up an item, and she took it to find Wen Chi with great interest.
"Young Master, look!" Ruo Fang raised the mask in her hand, a happy smile on her face, "Guess where did the servant find this mask?"
Wen Chi sat up a little and stared at the mask for a while, only to realize that this mask was not the one he gave Ping An before?
After Ping An was beaten to death by the eunuchs, his clothes and softness were cleaned up by the eunuchs. It stands to reason that this mask should not be left behind.
Soon, Ruofang gave him the answer: "The servant found this mask in the warehouse, that peace really has no heart, the son treats him so well, and he stole the son's golden melon seeds. Not to mention, he also threw the things that the son gave him in the warehouse, mad at the slaves!"
The more she talked, the more angry she became, she raised her small fist and hammered the mask several times.
The mask is strong and durable, and Ruofang's strength is small, and the mask is not damaged in the slightest.
Wen Chi, who was said to be safe and very good, looked embarrassed and let out a few dry laughs.
At that time, he threw a lot of heavy work to Ping An, making Ping An tired every day. Ping An probably hated him to death. Only Ruofang, who had a thick filter for him, felt that he was very fond of Ping An. it is good.
Wen Chi looked at the mask, inexplicably a little guilty: "Throw it away, it's useless."
Ruofang touched the mask: "What a pity to throw it away, just as Ruotao said that she likes this mask, why don't this servant give it to Ruotao."
Wen Chi has no objection.
Ruofang got Wenchi's consent, turned around and happily ran out to find Ruotao.
As a result, just as she ran out the door, she suddenly bumped into a little **** who ran in from the outside in a hurry.
Someone's coming from outside!"
Ruofang held the door frame in time to avoid falling. Before she could regain her senses, she asked, "Who is here?"
The little **** kneeling on the ground trembled: "It's Eunuch Zhu, Eunuch Zhu is here,"
Ruo Fang was stunned for a moment, then turned back to look at Wen Chi subconsciously.
Wen Chi responded quickly and immediately called out Ruotao, who was still busy in the back room.
The current bamboo flute residence is much larger than the previous bamboo flute residence. It takes a short distance to walk from the main hall to the vestibule. Wen Chi walked fast, and soon saw Eunuch Zhu. A small team led by them is standing in front of the gate of Zhudiju.
Eunuch Zhu was holding the whisk, and the old **** was on the ground watching Wen Chi hurriedly approaching, he nodded and said: "Master Wen, this servant is here under the order of His Royal Highness Prince to bring you this—"
Speaking, Eunuch Zhu winked at the little **** beside him.
The little **** understood, immediately took out a letter, held it in both hands, hunched over, and carefully handed it to Wen Chi.
Wen Chi looked down, and saw two words written on the envelope—letter.