The Gilded Cage

The prince gave way, and the harem of the East Palace was truly empty.

The matter of re-selecting a concubine for the prince was finally brought up again. After daily political discussions, someone would say a word or two.

In the past, there were countless people who wanted to marry the prince’s girl to the prince, but now only a few veterans who have a deep friendship with the prince have expressed a little.

But their expressions seemed to be just for the sake of their past affection, not for their intention to marry.

Such a situation is both forced by the situation and by Xiao Yu deliberately, in order to make things in the Zhao family logical - no one can choose to choose Zhao Yu'e, who has a superior background but widowed in the family.

Seeing things grind day by day and it seemed that there was no one to choose from, Xiao Yu carefully mentioned Zhao Yu'e.

The Zhao family has military power. Even if the Qi family no longer looks down on generals, they have to be vigilant. Qi Mu almost stood up on the spot to retort, saying that Ms. Zhao was widowed and unworthy of being a prince.

Naturally, Xiao Yu had already prepared a speech, saying that he had already had a wife, and was forced to separate because of helplessness. He was not qualified to dislike Ms. Zhao's origin.

Wei Fujing also followed Xu Rong’s prior arrangement to speak for the Zhao family on the spot, bluntly saying that the prince was eager to order the princess to give birth to an heir as soon as possible, and Zhao Erniang married Cheng Jialangjun and raised a child during the period. Girl, Nai He, when she was six months old, she was caught in a torrential rain on her way to Bozhou. It was only then that she caught a cold and died in Bozhou.

In this way, it happened to block Qi Mu's words, and after a few days of arguing, the matter ended up in Xiao Ke's place.

As the emperor and the elder of the prince, it should be the final decision.

Whether Qi Mu or Xiao Yu, put hope on him.

He patiently listened to the people's arguments back and forth, and finally, under the gaze of dozens of pairs of eyes, he said lightly: "It's just to pass on the ancestry and continue the blood. Indeed, as Wei Shangshu said, Lady Zhao is very suitable. Since the prince is also willing, I will do this. If you are an uncle, you don’t object. If the Zhao family agrees, it might as well be settled like this."

"Your Majesty!" Qi Mu's eyes widened in surprise, he could hardly believe his ears.

Previously, he felt that although the young emperor was ostentatious, he knew how much he was at stake. Now he wants to condone the marriage between the prince and the Zhao family. Isn't this directly sending the military power to the East Palace?

Xiao Yu also felt incredible.

He originally thought that Xiao Kezhi would not agree easily. I was afraid that it would take a lot of twists and turns. He even thought about it. If it really didn't work, he would have to use some extraordinary means, but he didn't expect to get permission so easily.

Somehow, he always felt that all this went too smoothly. Except for Chu Ning's sudden departure from the established trajectory, everything else went smoothly, making him a little frightened.

But the arrow was on the string and he had to send it out. He had to press down on the strangeness in his heart and responded in public.

"Okay." Xiao Kezhi glanced at the people blankly, and when his eyes passed Qi Mu's expression of shock and dissatisfaction, he didn't stop for a moment, "Let's talk about it here today."

After all, stand up and leave the Tai Chi Hall first.

...

In the afternoon, when the servants sent the monthly expenses to the hospitals of Guizhen Temple, they also sent the tonic medicine prepared by Xiao Kezhi to Chu Ning's room.

"Lady, these are the orders of the sacred, let Fengyu personally select a few nourishing medicines, all prepared according to the old prescription. The lady can warm the meridians and dispel cold, invigorate the blood and reduce stasis in daily use."

Chu Ning took it personally with a smile, and let Cuihe make tea for the visitors, and let them rest for a while.

After waiting for people to leave, Cuihe came back again, took out the few medicines, looked at the prescription one by one, and said: "The saint is indeed good for the lady, and all these things are in my heart."

When the contraceptive pill came, Liu Kang said that the medicine was only used temporarily, and he would continue to think about it later. It was not a joke.

Chu Ning gave a faint "um", absently thinking of many details about getting along with Xiao Kezhi in the past six months.

Cuihe glanced at her, closed the door, and continued to whisper: "Lady, the servants and servants just now said that the marriage between Lady Zhao and the prince is almost set, and the Ministry of Rites and Zongzheng Temple will be held in a few days. The process is going on."

Having said that, I repeated the general situation again.

"Yes, the Zhao family will naturally agree. Presumably, within three months, the marriage will be completed." Chu Ning put the roasted tea into the tea mill and grind it carefully, "At that time..."

At that time, when everything was settled, Xiao Kezhi would take action and take down both Xiao Yu and Zhao Jia.

She didn't say the rest of the words, Cuihe took the sieve and handed it to her, and poured the ground tea powder on the sieve for her.

"When things are over, does the lady think about what will happen in the future?"

"Do you really want to spend half your life in the Daomen? The slave and maid thought that the sage treats the lady sincerely..."

Chu Ning paused while sieving the powdered tea, then sighed lightly, without answering.

She did have the idea of ​​spending the rest of her life in the Dao Sect. After all, being able to leave Xiao Yu was already beyond expectation. But thinking of Xiao Kezhi, she seemed really moved.

It's just that, about the future, he didn't mention it, and she didn't ask, what will happen, is still unknown.

...

In the Baifu Hall, the Empress Dowager Qi was so angry that she couldn't hold the Buddhist beads in her hand. She was sitting with her eyes closed, breathing deeply, and restraining her emotions.

Qi Mu also sat aside with an angry face, while Qi Chenxiang stood beside the Queen Mother, still like a clay sculpture, motionless.

They already knew what had happened before, and the maid rushed to the Ganlu Temple to invite the emperor over.

"His Royal Highness, the saint has always acted unruly. I am afraid it will be the same as last time. He will not come at all." Qi Mu waited for a while, his anger was hard to dissipate, and he coldly speculated, "After all these years, no one taught him."

However, soon after the voice fell, the maid outside said: "Your Highness, the saint is here."

Qi Mu quietly stopped, stood up and greeted Xiao Kezhi, who was coming in, bowed and saluted.

"The Queen Mother ordered me over at this time, but do you have something to say?"

After Xiao Kezhi raised his hand slightly, he sat on the couch to one side, as if he didn't feel the rigidity of the atmosphere.

"Hmph, doesn't your majesty have anything to say to me?" Empress Dowager Qi was not very polite, opened her eyes and smiled coldly, and said, "Let the Zhao family and Donggong be mixed together, your majesty thinks the situation is too stable. Or don't you pay attention to the Bozhou Army?"

"Why, the queen mother has doubts about my will? If you say a word or two as an elder, it won't matter, but if you want to interfere with my decision, you don't have to."

He glanced at it lightly, the calm words implied a warning, but the empress Dowager Qi's uncontrollable anger finally broke out.

"Rokuro! Do you now think that your wings are getting stronger and you can leave others behind?" She patted the table hard, and the beads in her hand fell on the hard wood, and the thread was torn off for a while. After the sound, it fell all over the ground.

Qi Mu couldn't help standing up and warning with a calm face: "Your Majesty, don't forget, it was my Qi family who supported your Majesty to ascend to the throne. you come down!"

He had been holding back this word for a long time, and finally couldn't help but say it today. If this young emperor doesn't give some warnings, I'm afraid it will become more and more unconstrained.

"Okay, the grand prince speaks cautiously." The Queen Mother glanced at him. Even so, there was not the slightest unpleasant meaning in her tone, and she seemed to agree with him.

"Really?" Xiao Kezhi raised his eyebrows, seeming not to pay attention to their warnings at all, "I don't know how the Queen Mother and Qi Xianggong will get me down? With the Queen Mother's next will? Or let the courtiers impeach the emperor?"

Empress Dowager Qi was so indifferent that her chest could not help heaving, and the loose skin on her face became more and more drooping: "You don't believe it? My will may not be enough, and the impeachment of courtiers may still be not enough, but don't forget your throne. Whoever snatched it from, your eldest brother is in front, if someone accuses you of an improper throne name, and your words are not right, and it was snatched from your nephew, can you still sit still?"

Xiao Keyi didn't speak at all, and quietly looked at the two people in the room, his expression revealing a hint of surprise.

Qi Mu thought he looked like this. When he understood the power of it, he felt scared. He couldn't help feeling a little more comfortable. He slowed down his tone and said, "Your Majesty, it is not a good thing to indulge the East Palace like this. For your own sake, you can't. Sitting by the East Palace and marrying the Zhao family."

"Rokuro, you should be a sensible person. The prince is not your own bloodline, how can you be with you?" Queen Mother Qi also continued to persuade, "Since you are supported by my family, I will naturally stand on your side, but , You can't always let me down."

Xiao Kezhi pondered for a while before he said: "I understand what the queen mother meant, whether I want me to alienate the prince and get close to the Qi family. It is best to marry a girl from the Qi family and give birth to another prince to replace the current East Palace. ?"

Qi Chenxiang, who was always standing beside her silently, was caught off guard, her hands hanging on her side couldn't help tightening her skirt, subconsciously wanting to retort.

But before he could speak, Xiao Kezhi's expression suddenly changed, he stood up suddenly, stared at the two people coldly, and said sharply: "The queen mother and Qi Xianggong are using Daliang's throne as their own bargaining chip, and they will take me as a bargaining chip. Have you been the puppet in your hand? Unexpectedly, for half a year, you haven't seen and understood that I am not the first emperor, and I will not let you push it!

As he said, he strode to the door, opened the door, and shouted outside the hall: "Come here!"

After a while, there was a neat footstep outside the Baifu Hall, from far and near, accompanied by the clank of armor colliding with swords and guns, it was shocking to hear.

But for a while, Jin Jiang had arrived with hundreds of guards and guards of Qianniuwei, who had been sturdy and sturdy, and surrounded the entire Baifu Hall inside and out.

"You! What is this going to do!" Empress Dowager Qi looked at the dazzling swords and guns that could not be counted outside the hall, furious and terrified.

"The Queen Mother, don’t worry, I won’t do anything. But I want the Queen Mother and Qi Xianggong to take a look at the Qianniuwei in Tai Chi Palace, and even the entire Chang'an City defense army, and even the Jinwuwei in the market. Whose orders are they listening? .Has it been half a year, don’t you understand?"

Xiao Kezhi took the knife in Jin Jiang's hand unhurriedly, turned and walked towards the two of them step by step, stopped amidst their gradually hard breathing and horrified eyes, waved the knife casually, and slammed a fan next to him. The screen is split.

"Yes, when I was able to ascend to the throne, I did have the support of the queen mother and Qi Xianggong. But if the Qi family didn't support me, wouldn't I be able to do it?" He shook his head, his tone full of aura and confidence, " It's nothing more than to bleed more blood."