Contract Prince

Chapter 18

In Duanwang's mansion, in the study.

A man in a dark green brocade robe hovered in front of the window, and he kept rubbing the white jade finger in his hand.His brows were covered by black clouds, and his expression was solemn, as if he was thinking about something.

What Xiao Yang was thinking about was naturally the case of witchcraft and the deposed prince.

Xiao Zhan possesses both ability and political integrity, and enjoyed high popularity in the ruling and opposition circles before, and many ministers only looked up to him.Xiao Zhan not only enjoys prestige in the government and the public, but also is praised by the people among the people.

In the 21st year of Tianyou, the flood in the south of the Yangtze River was serious. The prince asked Ying to lead the soldiers to fight the flood bravely, build embankments and bridges, and finally eliminated the flood.

In the 23rd year of Tianyou, the drought in the northwest was severe. The prince led the soldiers to dig roads to divert water and reclaim rivers, and finally relieved the drought.

The people of Xiao State raised funds spontaneously and carved a statue for the prince among the people.Xiao Guan was extremely annoyed when he heard this, and he knew that the crown prince's limelight was too strong, and he had to take measures to suppress it.

After the emperor became jealous, he used various reasons overtly and secretly to cut down the power of the prince and demoted the important officials around the prince.Therefore, Xiao Zhan gradually declined.

Today's Xiao Zhan is not as good as he used to be, but Xiao Yang feels that he is the son of the eldest son after all, and his father will not touch his position as the prince for the sake of the empress. All he can do is to neglect him and weaken him. his influence.

Who would have thought that the abolition of the prince came so suddenly?It seems that Xiao Cong can't wait to enter the East Palace.

Duan Wang Xiao Yang, like Zhao Wang Xiao Cong, has long coveted the position of crown prince.However, he doesn't want to see Xiao Zhan being abolished at the moment. There is no other reason. Xiao Yang is looking forward to the two imperial brothers fighting each other, and it is best to fight to the death.When the vitality of the two parties is seriously injured, he will appear on the stage in full bloom.

The sixth princess married Zhenyuan Hou Shizi, which undoubtedly found a big backer for the declining prince, which put a lot of pressure on Xiao Cong, who had the upper hand.With King Zhao's temperament, he will never be willing to be crushed by the prince, and will definitely rack his brains to find a way to fight Xiao Zhan.

At that time, King Zhao will fight the Prince, and Zhenyuan will be waiting to fight the Hussar General. One can imagine how exciting and fierce the battle between the two teams will be.

Now that Marquis Zhenyuan has not returned to the imperial court, the crown prince has been abolished, and Xiao Yang's wishful thinking has come to nothing.

Xiao Zhan was involved in the case of witchcraft, so the chance of being reinstated as the prince is very small.The fourth prince Xiao Lian is honest and responsible, he doesn't like Emperor Xiao very much, and he is definitely not the candidate to succeed the prince.Then the candidate for the crown prince will only come between him and Xiao Cong.

Now that the position of prince is vacant, Xiao Cong will definitely regard him as his number one opponent.The more Xiao Yang thought about it, the colder his heart became, what would he use to fight Xiao Cong?

No matter how weak Xiao Zhan was, he was born in the first place, and he still had the support of Li Chaochen and other important officials behind him, and he was also protected by a respectful mother.

Even so, Xiao Zhan was still pushed down by Xiao Cong.Now let alone the fifth son of a concubine, with few ministers to support him, and his mother and concubine passed away for many years, Xiao Yang couldn't even get a tenth of the bargaining chips in the fight with Xiao Cong.

The sudden change of the situation caught Xiao Yang by surprise.

King Duan is the youngest among the princes, but he is also the smartest and calmest.After trying to analyze and think about the situation, the eagle's eyes suddenly lit up.

At dusk, the setting sun gradually set on the mountain, and the afterglow stretched the shadow of the carriage for a long time.The coachman let out a "scream" and reined in the reins, and the carriage finally stopped in front of Zhenyuanhou's mansion.

The three got off the carriage and came to the main hall.It happened to be meal time, and after the meal, Gu Yunjing led the Xiao Zhan brothers and sisters to an elegant house in the bamboo garden.

Yashe is located in the quietest and most secluded part of Houfu, surrounded by bamboos, it is the place where Gu Yunjing usually studied.Although the Hou Mansion has a study room, it is still too noisy and lively compared to this elegant bamboo house. For example, Tao Ce would come to disturb her every now and then.

Gu Yunjing didn't like to be disturbed when he was studying.Therefore, let the servants build a house in the bamboo garden, which is the origin of Yashe.

Caiyue and Gu Zhong each carried a lantern and walked in front, followed by Gu Yunjing and the others.Just stepping into the bamboo garden, a burst of fragrance of bamboo leaves hits the nostrils, which makes people feel peaceful.Especially for a prince like Xiao Zhan who has lived in the deep courtyard of the palace for a long time, the effect of meditation and tranquility brought by the bamboo forest is particularly good.

This is why Gu Yunjing brought him to Yashe to talk.

There was silence all around, only the sound of the wind blowing through the bamboo forest.

"I didn't expect that Zhenyuan Hou's Mansion would have such a good place." Xiao Zhan sighed, "A sense of deep tranquility washes over the whole body, as if being in an ancient temple deep in the mountains."

"Your Highness is absurd." Gu Yunjing said with a smile, "How can a bamboo garden and a simple hut be compared with an ancient temple?"

"My king is telling the truth." Xiao Zhan looked at Xiao Muxue, "Sister Xueer, the artistic conception here is not inferior to your Youxue Pavilion. It seems that the son-in-law has the same interests as you. This is a natural match. "

"In the coming year, I will give birth to a big fat boy, and the whole family will live here, listening to the wind and watching the moon, leaning on the bamboo and playing the flute, how happy and comfortable. Sister Xue'er, don't you think so?" Xiao Zhan is also deeply disgusted by the intrigue among the royal family, but There is no way, as a direct prince, he has a heavy burden on his shoulders, and he must not choose to hide from the world just because he is greedy for comfort.

Xiao Muxue was embarrassed for a while, she really didn't know how to answer Xiao Zhan's words, so she had to keep silent.At this time, it was Gu Yunjing who smoothed things over, and laughed aloud: "Your Highness is a prince, and the responsibility for inheriting the bloodline is much heavier than that of a princess. Your Highness should work harder."

After a little teasing, the few people walked to Yashe without knowing it.Pushing the door open, what you see in front of you is a pile of neat books, calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall.Pens, inks, papers and inkstones are placed on the table in an orderly manner, and a few branches of plum blossoms are placed obliquely in the vase.

Light the lamp, burn the sandalwood, and burn the stove. Gu Yunjing and the three sat next to the stove, while Gu Zhong and Caiyue were busy making tea.

"The queen mother said that the son-in-law has an elegant temperament, and it is true when I saw it today." Xiao Zhan smiled, and he unconsciously relaxed a lot.I remembered what Gu Yunjing said when I was in the prison

He asked, "The son-in-law once said, what does it mean to teach me to seek justice?"

Gu Yunjing rubbed his palms repeatedly, covering the palms and backs of his hands on the fire, then smiled lightly: "Don't worry, I want to learn how to play chess with His Highness, I wonder if I can show you some face?"

To be honest, Xiao Zhan didn't play chess leisurely, his mind was still on the witchcraft case.He didn't come to the waiting mansion to play chess, he just wanted to know the meaning of Gu Yunjing's words.Because he vaguely felt that Gu Yunjing seemed to know many inside stories about the case.

Gu Yunjing looked at Xiao Zhan's expression, and said: "There are many reasons. After watching the chess game, Your Highness, I believe you will understand it without me having to waste my words."

Xiao Zhan thought for a while and said, "Okay."

Gu Yunjing got up, took a set of chess from the top of the bookshelf, placed it on the front of the stove, sat down, and said softly: "Your Highness, come down and play."

"Playing chess?" Xiao Zhan asked puzzledly, with doubts between his brows.No wonder he was puzzled, because when relatives and friends get together, they usually play Go.

Speaking of which, there is also a historical origin.Go pieces are divided into black and white, the board is square, and the pieces are oval, which means "the sky is round and the place is round".Therefore, at that time, people in Xiao State generally believed that playing Go was like comprehending the world and looking up at the universe, and Go was very popular among literati.

The pieces of chess are arranged according to different ranks, and there are obvious class differences.Furthermore, chess is rampant and aggressive, and the spirit of killing is too heavy, and the moves are not as gentle and calm as Go.Therefore, playing chess is not the first choice among chess players.

Gu Yunjing smiled lightly and said nothing, Xiao Muxue's grandfather in the previous life was a chess enthusiast, and under his influence, Xiao Muxue was also a good chess player.She remembered what her grandfather said, "Go is suitable for those who maintain their health, and those who work in shopping malls should play chess. Class distinctions and cruel competition among children can teach businessmen a lot of truths."

Xiao Muxue's eyes revealed the light of wisdom, and she said with deep eyes: "The class struggle in chess is like the current situation in the court. The emperor should know more about the skills in chess, such as when to kill Qi, when to learn to hide the edge, wait for the opportunity to draw it slowly, until the enemy's army is overwhelmed."

"Speaking of which, this is a game of chess, but in fact it is not a game of Jiangshan chess?"

Xiao Zhan was stunned, raised his eyes to look deeply at Xiao Muxue, awakened the dreamer with a few words, and the other party even used chess to express the situation he was in right now.

Xiao Zhan was startled at the same time, based on his understanding of his sister, how could she see through the truth that she was so focused on being well versed in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, never caring about the situation in the court.

Looking at Xiao Muxue's eyes full of wisdom, Xiao Zhan felt a little familiar and a little strange.An indescribable smell lingers in my heart.

"Princess really has seen people." Gu Yunjing said calmly, she was not as surprised as Xiao Zhan, she knew Xiao Muxue was definitely not an idle girl on the night of the bridal chamber. Although she had a cold personality, she was sensible. Knowledge, women do not let men.

Another reason is that Gu Yunjing had no contact with Xiao Muxue before getting married, so she didn't know the difference between the sixth princess before and the sixth princess in front of her.

In a blink of an eye, Gu Yunjing had already arranged the table, she smiled slightly at Xiao Zhan and said, "Most of the time has passed, and your Highness is still not making the table?"

Xiao Zhan regained his composure, and pressed and placed the chess pieces on the chess record.

The border between Chu River and Han Dynasty is very clear.This is the beginning of a fight about the situation between North Korea and China!

Through each wooden chess piece, it seems to see the battlefield of swords, swords and horns, and the situation of the DPRK and China with turmoil and turmoil.