Chapter 26 The Unchanging Year Name
Meng E stared at the emperor for a while, "You want me to betray the queen mother?"
"Only by becoming a real emperor can I give you the reward you expect, but unless I know more about the queen mother, I will never become a real emperor. I am asking you to do me a favor. In this way, you The desired return will be more secure."
"My brother is right, you are as treacherous as them."
Han Ruzi wanted to refute, but suddenly changed his mind when he said something, "That's right, and I'm more treacherous than them, only in this way can I win back the throne of emperor."
Meng E lowered her eyes and thought for a while, then suddenly smiled, it was the first time she smiled in front of the emperor, it was very shallow, but the corners of her mouth moved twice, "What am I doing? You are just a child, I actually believe that You can do great things. Forget it, don't mention it again, and pretend I never found you."
Han Ruzi was taken aback for a moment, he didn't expect that the attempt to win over Meng E would fail like this, and couldn't help but ask, "Where did I go wrong?"
"If you want to be a treacherous person, don't show your kind side at the beginning. Your treachery is just childish."
Han Ruzi smiled shyly, "I'm still studying, sometimes... please don't worry about it, you really don't want my reward?"
Meng E thought for a while, "You are the emperor, maybe you should be treacherous, but I am from the rivers and lakes, and I pay attention to what I say, and it is hard to follow. I would rather die than fulfill the promise I made."
"If you say something, it's hard to chase. I have an emperor who keeps his promises. Is it a tie?"
"I'm also at a loss... Well, I don't know what happened to the injury on the queen mother's hand. My brother and I were brought into the palace as maids of honor. We had nothing to do for more than three years until the night when the former emperor died. It was only when she was summoned to the side of the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager that she already had injuries on her hands."
"New injury?"
"Don't ask me too many things, our brother and sister are following the Queen Mother, you are just...just..."
"I'm just a backup, just in case. Well, I would do the same if I were."
"You're self-aware."
The door opened again, and it was the real waiter who came back, bringing over the late lunch. Whenever there were outsiders, Meng E would not speak anymore, and stood aside as a display.
Before the meal was finished, the King of the East China Sea was sent back. He was expressionless and impolite. He sat across from the emperor and ate together.
The waiters neatly packed up the dishes and left. There were quite a few people serving the emperor and the king of the East China Sea, but none of them stayed.
Meng E stayed, she was a guard, not a waiter.
The king of the East China Sea sat up abruptly, staring at the emperor, "You lied, didn't you?"
"What lie?" Han Ruzi sipped his tea slowly.
"Don't pretend to be confused, the story you told in Qinzheng Palace was all fabricated by you, right?"
"Duke Jing and Prime Minister Yin have testified for me."
"Ha, the two of them wanted to please the queen mother, so they cooperated with you in making up stories. Are you brave enough, or did someone remind you? Yang Feng, it must be Yang Feng. It must be right that he asked you to do this."
"You are wrong." Han Ruzi shook his head, "What I said at the time was the truth in my heart. When Emperor Wu summoned his children and grandchildren, you must have participated, right?"
"Of course." Donghai King stood up, as if he was about to get angry, then sat down again, and said in confusion: "I know there is such a thing, but I don't remember anything, you are only a few days older than me, How could you remember it so clearly?"
"That was not only the first time I saw Emperor Wu, but also the first time I left home. How could I not have a deep impression?" Han Ruzi said frankly, finding that it was much easier to lie to the King of the East China Sea than to Meng E.
In front of Meng E, he always thinks about whether to use tricks, and his flaws will be seen as soon as he thinks about it, but he doesn't feel guilty at all when facing the King of the East China Sea, so he doesn't need to hide it. Han Ruzi finally began to understand the meaning of Yang Feng's words: being entangled in benevolence and justice and scheming will only open his door wide.
The king of the East China Sea was dubious, saw the emperor's contemplative expression, and felt that he had been fooled, "Anyway, you are a liar, but you can only lie for a while, the queen mother has seen through your tricks, and now you are still useful. You will be useless when your uncle returns to court, when the time comes, hum."
Han Ruzi laughed, "Will the Qi rebellion be put down?"
"You are a liar, and the ministers are not good people. Everyone has their own selfishness. After being told nonsense by you, they are finally willing to do their best. Before the court discussion was over, they gathered another 200,000 troops. Later, another news came , Although the king of Qi won the battle, he suffered a lot of losses. He stopped when he reached Luoyang, and he was still far away from Hangu Pass and the capital. Everyone said that the king of Qi wanted... why am I telling you this?"
"The king of Qi wants to take advantage of the situation to contact the princes and heroes of the world, and to advance westward." Han Ruzi finished speaking for the king of the East China Sea.
The King of the East China Sea stared at the emperor, stood up after a while, "You will die a miserable death in the future." After saying that, he walked into the Eastern Nuan Pavilion.
It was getting dark soon, and there were some snacks for dinner. The king of the East China Sea refused to come out and ordered the waiter to bring them to his room. Forgot to have an unfinished conversation with the Emperor.
The Compassionate Ning Palace has two entrances, the empress dowager lives in the front yard, and the emperor and the King of the East China Sea live in the back yard. There are plenty of rooms, but for the sake of protection, the two still share the two warm pavilions in the main room.
Shortly after nightfall, Meng E retreated. She was a member of the palace guards and had to take turns on time. She could not stay for a moment when she was not supposed to be there.
As soon as Meng E left, the Empress Dowager Shangguan came, bringing along two eunuchs and two court ladies, "From now on, they will serve His Majesty and the King of the East China Sea exclusively."
The attendants around the emperor have been changed before, but this time they seem to be fixed. The four of them are very young, especially the two young eunuchs, who are about the same age as the emperor, and the two maids are slightly older, not more than twenty years old. .
The king of Donghai didn't dare to be rude in front of the empress dowager, so he came out from Nuan Pavilion to meet him, pretending to be very happy, and asked, "What are your names? There are too many people changing these days, and I don't remember any of them."
"Slave Zhao Jinfeng."
"Slave Tong Qing'e."
"Slave Liang An."
"Slave Zhang Youcai."
The names in the palace are very simple, and the king of the East China Sea didn't take it seriously, and said to the imperial concubine with a smile: "The queen mother is really calm, and only the queen mother can restrain these ministers. If there is no queen mother, I don't know that the court will be in chaos. What is it like?"
The appearance of the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager are somewhat similar, but she often smiles and looks much softer, "But there are also many people who say that it is because of the Empress Dowager that the court is in such a mess."
"Who said that? Arrest him and put him in a prison, and impeach him for disrespect." The king of Donghai seemed really angry.
The Empress Dowager smiled even wider, and then sighed, "There are endless catches, and it's the time for employing people, so it's even more impossible to catch."
Han Ruzi did not participate in the conversation, but he had a feeling that the Empress Dowager came for him.
The king of the East China Sea rambled a lot, and finally talked about what he really cared about: "If you want to say who is a loyal minister in the court, it must be Taifu Cui Hong. It has nothing to do with him being my uncle. I have lived in my uncle's house for a long time. For a long time, seeing his uncle working hard for the country day and night, he often said: "Cui's relatives have gained wealth, if they are not loyal and responsible, what face will they have when they meet Emperor Wu and Empress Wu in the future?""
"We all know Taifu Cui's loyalty, otherwise, the Queen Mother would not entrust Taifu Cui with the heavy responsibility of pacifying Qi."
"What's so annoying is that those ministers actually slandered my uncle for collusion with the King of Qi. How is this possible? My uncle's official position ranges from the Taifu to the Marquis of Guyang, and all relatives are officials in the capital. If the King of Qi succeeds, the Cui family will be the first to suffer. .”
The imperial concubine smiled and nodded, "Even though the king of the East China Sea is young, he has a lot of knowledge, but those ministers are not as clear as a child like you."
"Ministers have their own concerns, maybe they want to seek refuge with King Qi to get promoted and get rich."
The imperial concubine didn't answer this sentence, and looked at the emperor who had been silent all this time, "Your Majesty's performance today is very good. I didn't expect His Majesty to remember things from so long ago."
The king of the East China Sea really wanted to shout "The emperor is a liar", but he didn't dare to say anything, so he had to step aside angrily. Although he shared the main room with the emperor, he was not qualified to sit in front of the empress dowager. Stand like eunuchs and court ladies.
"I don't understand other things, but the prince of Qi suspects that I am not the son of Emperor Huan, so he can't bear it." Han Ruzi replied, and glanced up at King Donghai, seeing his extremely contemptuous expression.
"I also have an impression of that gathering." The imperial concubine raised her head slightly, "It was the only time that Emperor Wu summoned all his children and grandchildren. I remember that morning, the queen mother and I sent your elder brother out of the mansion together. He was not yet the emperor at that time. Not even the emperor's grandson. He was very happy when he came back, saying that the emperor's grandfather liked him very much, and he held him in his arms and talked a lot."
The imperial concubine's voice was full of tenderness, but Han Ruzi and the king of the East China Sea did not dare to answer. Since entering the palace, this was the first time someone mentioned the emperor's brother to them.
The imperial concubine sighed, "By the way, the late emperor's posthumous title has been determined. Thinking of the emperor, moral purity is called thinking, great provinces and people are called thinking, external and internal thinking is called thinking, and regretting the past is called thinking, for me and the queen mother. , This is the thought of longing."
Han Ruzi and the King of the East China Sea were even more unable to respond.
"There is also your majesty's year name. The queen mother has an idea that your majesty is Sidi's younger brother, brother and brother, and is not considered an inheritance, but a successor. Therefore, there is no need to change the year name. The first year, the second year of success...how does your Majesty feel about using it all the time?"
Han Ruzi didn't even expect to ask for his own opinion on such a matter, so he nodded, "That's good."
The imperial concubine smiled, stood up and said, "Your Majesty, please rest. If you need anything, just tell the maid to let me know."
Han Ruzi nodded, not understanding the purpose of the imperial concubine's visit.
Two eunuchs and two maids sent the imperial concubine out, and the king of the East China Sea jumped up to the emperor and said in a very low voice, "Don't you understand the intentions of the empress dowager and the empress dowager?"
"What's the purpose?"
"The reign name 'Gongcheng' was taken from the Tao Te Ching, and it was used on the former emperor, which means 'Gongcheng is nothing to live on, and the husband only lives on, so I don't want to go'. It is used on you— —That is to tell you to 'retire after success', and the queen mother will punish you!"
(seeking collection and recommendation)