Chapter 1874 Stop and fight 32
At this time, the Queen Mother's birthday was coming, and according to the rules, she had to enter the palace to celebrate.
Poor Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice, it seemed that he would not be able to enter the palace the next day. In fact, he originally wanted to squat at the door and wait until tomorrow when Prince Zhongyong and the Lord of Yong'an County would show up. At that time, he went up to capture the assassin and sent him to the prison of the Ministry of Punishment. He still had time to enter the palace to celebrate.
As soon as the Minister of Punishment was sent home, Marquis Zhongyong came running.
Xining went to the living room to receive guests, and when he saw Zhongyong Hou, he slightly saluted: "Master Hou."
Uncle He was on the side. It seemed that Marquis Zhongyong met Uncle He first. Just now, Uncle He sent someone to report that Marquis Zhongyong was here, and the implication was to ask her if he could see her. She thought for a while that it would be better to meet him. From the beginning, she always felt that Marquis Zhongyong knew something.
Marquis Zhongyong clasped his fists in return as a courtesy. Even if she is an elder, she has not yet passed the door and is still the head of Yong'an County.
"The dog has been troubled a lot by the county lord. This time, I would like to thank the county lord for saving the dog's life again." Marquis Zhongyong was sincerely grateful. It was really fate that he saved his son twice in a row. Both times were extremely dangerous: "Old man Before he arrived, the mastermind was so bold and dared to assassinate him in the capital."
Xining is not too polite. He just comes and goes. He is tired. Straightforward: "The assassin has confessed that the third prince did it. Does the Marquis think this is possible?"
Marquis Zhongyong was not surprised after hearing this. Uncle He must have explained the matter in general just now. After thinking for a while, he responded: "I dare not make any inferences about this matter."
The words of this nation need to be carefully scrutinized. It doesn’t mean saying no means no, but yes means yes. Even if I don't dare, it's possible, but it's just because of the identity of the third prince.
Marquis Zhongyong then briefly explained the affairs of the court. Your Majesty has just reached the age of forty and currently has five sons.
The eldest prince was born to a married woman when Your Majesty was still a prince. He died in childbirth. The eldest prince was recorded in the name of the original concubine, but within four years, the nominal mother also died, and he had to be raised by his side concubine, the current concubine Zheng Shu. Because her mother has not yet been rehabilitated, her status is low, and her talents are not high. The current adoptive mother has not been able to become a queen, and Concubine Zheng Shu also has a prince and a princess, so as the eldest son, it is difficult to inherit the throne.
The second son of the emperor was named queen after his wife died young.
The third son of the emperor was born to Concubine Zheng Shu.
The fourth and fifth sons of the emperor were both born to the currently popular Concubine Feng. Concubine Feng also had a princess, which shows how favored she is.
Xining did the math: "From this point of view, the third prince is the most suspicious."
Zhongyong Hou nodded silently, with a solemn look on his face.
If it was really the third prince, why did he do this? Naturally, he planned to force him into the palace.
I have seen the drama of forcing the emperor more than once. The first step is to enter the palace and force the emperor to write an abdication edict, or directly write a will. After writing, he will either die or become a vegetative state.
The second is to suppress the ministers and kill those who express doubts. If a feudal king rebels, he will be destroyed.
Concubine Zheng Shu's father was a northern military envoy, a frontier official who controlled most of the political and military power in the north. But it turned out that the second prince born to the queen was her adopted son, so there was no way he could pull off any tricks.
At present, only Zhongyonghou holds military power in the south. As long as Zhongyonghou's son is killed, Zhongyonghou will perish without a fight.
As it turns out, that's exactly what happened. After Mu Hanqing died in the previous plot, Zhongyong Hou vomited blood on the spot after receiving the news, and died after half a month. This caused His Majesty to be furious and ordered the third prince to lead an army of fifty thousand to suppress the bandits. When the bandits are successfully suppressed, the third prince can bring an army of 50,000 people back to the palace to force him.
At this time, Marquis Zhongyong died, and his own maternal grandfather supported him in the north. Who else in the court could restrain him?
Concubine Feng? Impossible. Concubine Feng had no background, she was just a little palace maid. She was spotted by the emperor by chance. From then on, she became the favorite in the harem and rose all the way up. After the fifth prince was born, he was appointed as a noble concubine, ranking above Concubine Zheng Shu who had been with His Majesty for more than ten years. Queen Wang would sometimes give her three points.
If Concubine Feng really had no support from her natal family, she could keep her position as queen. Otherwise, since the queen has "nothing to do", she should give up her position.
The current Queen Wang is the other concubine, who was married at the same time as Concubine Zheng Shu and the former Queen. Queen Wang was pregnant a long time ago and had an accidental miscarriage, and she has never been pregnant again. The second prince has already been fostered by Concubine Zheng Shu. Later, after entering the palace, the concubines behind her fought with each other, resulting in frequent miscarriages, and no prince could adopt him. Anyway, the Queen is the royal palace and the legitimate mother, so it doesn't matter whether she has an adopted daughter or not.
Now Guifei Feng is gaining momentum and her favor continues unabated. Could it be that Concubine Zheng Shu and the third prince couldn't help it and wanted to take action?
Xining sat there and thought carefully. After thinking about it for a while, he picked up the cold tea and took a sip, then motioned to the maid to take it down and add water.
He turned to Marquis Zhongyong and said, "From what I can see, I may not be sure that he is the third prince."
Marquis Zhongyong was a little surprised: "I would like to hear the details."
Xi Ning analyzed: "The Marquis made the disclosure frankly and the little girl has not been seen outside. If there is anything wrong with what I said, there are no outsiders here anyway. It's okay for the Marquis to have heard about it."
Marquis Zhongyong nodded, who could he be if he wasn't the third prince?
Xi Ning said slowly: "What the Marquis just said, if something happens to the prince, the Marquis will be furious. The officials will be furious and send troops to encircle and suppress him."
"If the person who is encircling and suppressing is the third prince, it is very likely that the third prince will lead the troops back to the capital after the encirclement and suppression. The reward will be false and actually detrimental to the official family."
"Is there such a possibility..." After many missions, she had seen more and had many other ideas. After all, sometimes the plot would develop in unpredictable directions, catching her off guard.
"When the third prince led his troops back to Beijing, someone first made the officials think that the third prince was suspected of treason."
When Marquis Zhongyong heard this, he was stunned. This operation was a bit powerful. After the emperor heard about it, whether he believed it or not, he first took away the military power of the third prince.
At this time, the third prince could either surrender and be interrogated, or he could lead his troops to the capital under the guise of being an escort and really rebel.
If the third prince chooses the former, and the people behind the scenes continue to work hard to convince the emperor that all this is done by the third prince, and that the third prince wants to use troops to rebel, then the third prince and Concubine Zheng Shu will be in trouble. And Concubine Zheng Shu's father, the Jiedushi Envoy, would naturally be implicated, and he would be demoted or even confiscated and exterminated.
Xining said slowly: "The best way to find someone to suspect is to see who benefits. Whoever benefits the most is the most likely to be the mastermind behind the scenes."
If it were this operation, the one who would benefit the most in the end would naturally be...Feng Guifei!
As for others, the current queen would spend so much time doing this unless she was depressed and mentally distorted for a long time. Otherwise, wouldn't it be nice for her to be a royal empress in peace? No matter which prince succeeds to the throne in the future, she will be the queen mother.
(End of chapter)