……

……

Li Ru'an's memory is very good, although because of the rush of time, when he peeked at the secret box, he only read it quickly, and did not pay attention to the wording, hints and other details, but he still remembered all the general contents, and also wrote all these contents on the letter to tell Zhu Hejian.

With Zhu Hejian's intelligence, he can naturally guess what kind of psychological changes have occurred after Emperor Deqing read the secret letter of the crown prince Zhu Heyu.

In short, Emperor Deqing must have thought that the loyalty and filial piety of the crown prince Zhu Heyu moved the heavens and the earth, and he would also think that Zhu Heyu had finally grown into what he expected, but Emperor Deqing's plan to abolish the prince was now ready to be launched, so he had to endure the pain and continue to promote the dethronement, but he already felt guilty in his heart.

This also means that even if the crown prince Zhu and Yu are deposed in the future, there will be a possibility of a comeback in the future! Even if Zhu Hejian successfully ascended to the position of prince, his status would not be as stable as Mount Tai, and the fault tolerance rate would be greatly reduced!

Therefore, after Zhu Hejian read the content of Li Ru'an's secret letter, his expression suddenly changed, and he instantly figured out a lot of things.

No wonder Emperor Deqing's attitude has been so strange during this time! No wonder Emperor Deqing has not held a court meeting in recent days! No wonder Emperor Deqing hasn't continued to attack Zhu Heyu's reputation these days! …… It's no wonder that Emperor Deqing didn't do his best to defend Zhu Hejian this morning!

Especially in the matter of this morning, Zhu Hejian originally thought that his performance and response at that time were very appropriate and decent, although he could not be said to be firm and proactive, but it also reflected his loyalty and filial piety, responsibility, and self-control, and no one could find fault with him.

However, a person's performance does not only depend on himself, but also needs to be compared with others, compared to Zhu Heyu's willingness to sacrifice his position as the prince to solve problems for Emperor Deqing, Zhu Heyu's performance in the court this morning is too tactful and cunning.

Therefore, it is no wonder that after Emperor Deqing saw Zhu Hejian's statement in the court this morning, his expression was only satisfied, but there was no joy and relief, but it turned out that there was Zhu Heyu's pearl and jade in front, and in comparison, Zhu Hejian's performance was only barely passing, and it was even possible that Zhu Hejian lost points in the heart of Emperor Deqing!

Zhu Hejian was originally seriously thinking about how he should deal with Zhou Shangjing, but after he read the content of Li Ru'an's secret letter, he couldn't care about Zhou Shangjing's matter anymore.

Under the current circumstances, it is imperative to recover his lost performance in the heart of Emperor Deqing as soon as possible, compared to Emperor Deqing's vacillating attitude, Zhou Shangjing's hostility is only a matter of waiting.

So, Zhu Hejian did not hesitate and immediately stated that he wanted to enter the palace to meet Emperor Deqing.

*

Seeing Zhu Hejian's performance, Jia Lun hesitated slightly, thinking that Zhu Hejian had other important things to do at the moment and could not be distracted, so he still didn't tell Li Ru'an's abnormal performance today, and planned to wait until Zhu Hejian met Emperor Deqing.

In this way, Zhu Hejian hurriedly left the Seven Princes' Mansion and rushed to the palace in a sedan chair.

After Zhu Hejian arrived in the palace, he soon received news that Emperor Deqing was now in the bedroom of the imperial concubine Wan.

Hearing this news, Zhu Hejian's heart sank again.

Imperial Concubine Wan is the biological mother of Zhu Heyu and Zhu Hejian, but her intimate attitude towards her two sons is completely different.

After the imperial concubine Wan gave birth to Zhu Heyu that year, her mother was soon promoted to the position of concubine by virtue of her son, so Wan always believed that the birth of Zhu Heyu was a gift from God, and she poured great expectations and preferences into Zhu Heyu from the beginning.

But Zhu Hejian is completely different, because Wan was pregnant with Zhu Hejian again not long after giving birth to Zhu Heyu, and he has not yet recovered his physical vitality, and the time of childbirth is not only extremely painful, but also dangerous, so Wan did not like Zhu Hejian from the beginning - although Zhu Hejian is actually more similar to her personality.

It is precisely because of this that when Emperor Deqing had the idea of abolishing the prince, Wan has always been strongly opposed - even the seventh prince who succeeded Zhu Heyu as the prince is also her biological son - when Wan's attitude was the most intense, he even resorted to the means of crying, making trouble and hanging himself, and was once reprimanded by Emperor Deqing as a "shrew".

In this way, the Wan family gradually lost its favor in the harem, and Emperor Deqing rarely went to Wan's dormitory for the night in the past half a year.

Now that Emperor Deqing took the initiative to go to the palace of the imperial concubine Wan's bedroom, this incident itself means that Emperor Deqing's attitude has undergone a subtle change.

Zhu Hejian is a person who does great things, and when he noticed this, his mood became more and more anxious, but his mind became more and more calm.

After thinking for a while, Zhu Hejian did not immediately enter Wan Guifei's bedroom to meet Emperor Deqing, but waited silently outside the dormitory.

At the same time, Zhu Hejian asked Jia Lun to secretly contact Wu Xinquan, the eunuch of the palm print of the celebrant and send a message.

In this way, after Zhu Hejian waited outside the dormitory for nearly an hour, the celebrant suddenly reported to Emperor Deqing, saying that the rectification of officialdom in Shaanxi and Gansu had achieved the first stage of results.

In the past six months, because of the glorious victory of the Shaanxi-Gansu War, Zhao Junchen's military and political influence on the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu has been in full swing, and this situation has always made Emperor Deqing very uncomfortable, so after the end of the Hetao War, Emperor Deqing immediately sent a large number of factory guards to the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu, and united Liang Fuchen to clean up the Shaanxi and Gansu officialdom, wanting to sweep away Zhao Junchen's influence in the local area in one fell swoop.

Therefore, this matter can be said to be one of the most important things in the heart of Emperor Deqing recently.

But this matter itself is not particularly urgent, and there is no need for Emperor Deqing to make a decision immediately, the celebrant originally planned to wait until the next day to report to Emperor Deqing, but at this time he suddenly changed his mind and reported to Emperor Deqing in advance, obviously out of Zhu Hejian's instructions.

After Emperor Deqing came to the palace of the imperial concubine Wan on this day, he has been comforting Wan and trying to ease relations with Wan, but it is a pity that Wan has always remembered Zhu Heyu's affairs in his heart, and the meaning of the words is still to hope that Emperor Deqing will change his holy will and continue to support Zhu Heyu as the crown prince.

And just when Emperor Deqing gradually felt impatient, he suddenly received a report from the celebrant supervisor, and Emperor Deqing himself really attached great importance to this matter, so he took advantage of the body to leave the imperial concubine Wan's bedroom.

*

When Emperor Deqing left the imperial concubine Wan's bedroom, it was already evening, but at a glance, he saw Zhu Hejian waiting outside the dormitory in the cold wind of early spring.

Zhu Hejian was originally in poor health, but now he has been waiting for nearly an hour under the cold wind of early spring, his image is quite pitiful, and his face is pale.

Seeing such a situation, Emperor Deqing was shocked, and hurriedly said, "Old Seven, what are you doing standing here?" Waiting for me all along? How long did you wait? Why don't you enter your mother's palace and meet me? ”

Zhu Hejian's cheeks were frozen, and he smiled reluctantly: "Erchen just waited for a while, and it won't get in the way." ”

When Emperor Deqing saw Zhu Hejian like this, where would he believe Zhu Hejian's statement, he turned his eyes to Jia Lun behind Zhu Hejian, and said, "How long have the Seven Princes been standing here?" ”

Jia Lun hesitated, but in the end he was "forced" by the majesty of Emperor Deqing to "dare not lie", and replied softly: "His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince has been waiting here for more than an hour. ”

Emperor Deqing frowned, looked at Zhu Hejian and said again: "Why would you rather wait here than send someone to inform me and ask for a meeting?" ”

After Zhu Hejian was silent for a moment, he smiled bitterly: "In the past half a year, you and your mother have had a lot of discord, and now that your son sees your father, you take the initiative to see your mother, obviously to repair the relationship, and the son is happy, so naturally he doesn't dare to show up and disturb, and ...... The mother concubine didn't like his sons very much, but in the past six months, because of the abolition of the prince, he has an indifferent attitude, and often scolds his sons for having no conscience...... Therefore, Erchen went to see his mother at this time, which would only make everyone feel embarrassed. ”

After hearing Zhu Hejian's explanation, Emperor Deqing couldn't help but sigh.

He had long known that the imperial concubine Wan was extremely partial to Zhu Heyu, but Emperor Deqing originally didn't think there was anything wrong with this situation, after all, Zhu Heyu was the identity of the prince, and it was natural to be favored, who would have thought that Zhu Hejian was about to replace Zhu Heyu as the new prince, Wan's attitude not only did not change, but became more and more extreme.

In the eyes of Emperor Deqing, Zhu Hejian was completely pushed to today's position by himself, Zhu Hejian and Zhu Heyu have always been examples of brotherhood, and they originally did not want to take away their brother's position as prince, so Zhu Hejian is now estranged from Zhu Heyu, and the relationship with Wan Guifei is also getting worse, all because of himself.

Therefore, when Emperor Deqing saw Zhu Hejian's pitiful appearance that he would rather wait for a long time in the cold wind than dare to meet Concubine Wan Guifei, and then thought that Zhu Hejian still insisted on entering the palace every morning to ask his father and mother for peace under such circumstances, Emperor Deqing couldn't help but feel compassion, and only felt that he owed not only Zhu Heyu, but also Zhu Hejian.

Thinking of this, Emperor Deqing ordered someone to quickly take a fox fur and put it on Zhu Hejian's body with his own hands, then patted Zhu Hejian's shoulder, and sighed: "I am not a good father, I always do things too quickly, and I owe you a debt, you ...... Wronged. ”

Zhu Hejian hurriedly replied: "As long as you can share your father's worries, your sons will not feel wronged no matter what they go through." ”

Emperor Deqing shook his head and said, "There must be something wrong with you coming to the palace to see me, and I am just going to the imperial study to deal with court affairs, so you can follow along, and if there is anything to talk about in the imperial study." ”

After speaking, Emperor Deqing ordered people to prepare two chariots and took Zhu Hejian to the imperial study.

After arriving at the imperial study, Emperor Deqing first looked at the recital sent by Shaanxi and Gansu, and soon smiled and nodded slightly, and was very satisfied with the results of Liang Fuchen and the factory guards in purging Shaanxi and Gansu officialdom.

Then, Emperor Deqing turned his gaze to Zhu Hejian again, but said, "Say, you rushed to see me, what is the matter?" ”

Zhu Hejian immediately replied: "Enlighten the father, the son is still for the sake of the court this morning!" After the end of the early dynasty, Erchen returned to the mansion to think about it, but gradually felt that what Zhou Shoufu said made some sense, and it was best for the imperial court to investigate the violations of discipline and disorder in various clans, and it was best to hand it over to the members of the royal family to be responsible, and this candidate was indeed the most suitable for Erchen!

If the foreign ministers are put in charge of this matter, it will not only tie their hands and feet, but also it will be difficult to convince all parties...... Father, you have now handed over this matter to Wang Youlun, and you have deliberately promoted Wang Youlun to the rank of Zuodu Yushi, but his prestige and qualifications are a little lacking after all, and he may not be able to handle this matter properly......

Therefore, after thinking about it carefully, Erchen still felt that he couldn't hide behind, and he should take the initiative to take responsibility, even if it was just to serve as the deputy envoy of the Qin Mission to help Lord Wang sit in charge, and hope that his father would be Mingjian! ”

Hearing Zhu Hejian's words, Emperor Deqing suddenly smiled, and his expression was quite relieved.

Zhu Hejian's previous guess was not wrong, Emperor Deqing was not particularly satisfied with Zhu Hejian's statement in the court this morning, and Zhu Hejian's positive attitude at this time, coupled with the pitiful appearance he deliberately showed just now as a foreshadowing, finally redeemed the loss of points in Emperor Deqing's heart.

Then, Emperor Deqing shook his head again—of course he wouldn't let Zhu Hejian get involved in the quagmire of the clan—and said with a smile: "Of course, there are some responsibilities that you need to bear, but there are also some responsibilities that you must hide away from, at least until you completely gain a foothold, some things are better not to touch!" Zhou Shangjing's words are certainly reasonable, but they also dug a pit for you, and it took me a long time to fill this pit, so why do you need to dig a pit again and take the initiative to jump in? ”

A hint of joy flashed in Zhu Hejian's eyes, knowing that his pretense had been calculated, and when he saw Emperor Deqing mention Zhou Shangjing's digging of a pit for himself, he couldn't help but move in his heart, and took the opportunity to say: "Erchen also saw that Zhou Shoufu deliberately wanted to suppress Erchen this morning, but Erchen couldn't understand that Erchen and Zhou Shoufu have always had no grudges, why did he do it?" …… What's more, in the impression of Erchen, Zhou Shoufu is still an old minister who knows how to advance and retreat and do his duty, and he will never interfere in royal affairs, and his performance today is really a little surprising to Erchen. ”

Zhu Hejian's words were obviously giving Emperor Deqing eye medicine, implying that Zhou Shangjing wanted to meddle in the abolition of the prince, and had already transgressed his duty as a courtier, and Emperor Deqing naturally heard it, but Emperor Deqing did not feel that there was anything wrong with Zhu Hejian's statement.

For Zhou Shangjing's transgression today, Emperor Deqing was also very unhappy!

So, Emperor Deqing's expression was slightly cold, and he said slowly: "I can't understand Zhou Shangjing's thoughts, he is just afraid that he is already old and confused, and he has completely forgotten his duty...... Naturally, I won't let him go easily, old seven, you can rest assured, when I summoned Wang Youlun alone today, I had already explained some things to him, just to avenge Zhou Shangjing's trespass today...... Oh, Zhou Shangjing wants to use the affairs of the clan to make things difficult for me, then I can also use the affairs of the clan to make him fall on his heels! Zhou Shangjing has been entrenched in the government and the opposition for too long, and it is time to completely change the situation in the temple! ”

Hearing Emperor Deqing's statement, how could Zhu Hejian not hear what Emperor Deqing meant? Obviously, Emperor Deqing thought of it with him, and they all planned to implicate Zhou Shangjing in the crimes of the clan.

So, Zhu Hejian was suddenly overjoyed in his heart, but on the surface, he just said: "Father Emperor Shengming!" ”

*

Next, Zhu Hejian chatted with Emperor Deqing for a few more words, and seeing that his goal had been achieved and the sky was getting dark, he quickly retired and left.

After leaving the palace, Zhu Hejian returned to the Seven Princes' Mansion in a sedan chair, but he still remembered the secret letter of the crown prince Zhu Heyu in his heart, which was still regarded as a hidden danger.

"After the third brother was deposed...... I'm afraid I can't keep ......."

……

……