Since the founding of the Dayin Dynasty, a banquet has been held in the palace on the last day of every year. It is a night of delicious food, singing, dancing and performances. It can be said to be the most lively night of the year.

High-ranking ministers in Beijing would bring their families to the palace for banquets, and would not leave the palace until they had spent the New Year's Eve with the emperor.

However, Emperor Jiayou's health has become worse than before in recent years. He has long canceled the New Year's Eve palace banquet and only held a family banquet.

On New Year's Eve, Gu Changjin got up early in the morning, was served by his chamberlain, put on a purple tiara, and entered the palace before dawn.

At this time, the courtiers were waiting outside the Jinluan Hall in the wind and snow.

Gu Changjin followed Emperor Jiayou into the palace.

"The Emperor has arrived!"

the eunuchs' shrill voices sounded in the hall.

The courtiers came forward and shouted long live, congratulating the prosperous and peaceful world in unison, and wishing Emperor Jiayou good health and long life.

Emperor Jiayou was very pleased with his appearance, and bestowed upon all the ministers a Yunlong note with the word "blessing", Tusugong wine, Jimi and silk silks.

Thank you, all ministers.

When the ministers knelt down to thank the emperor for his kindness, Gu Changjin stood beside Emperor Jiayou and accepted the obeisances of the ministers together with Emperor Jiayou.

This kind of favor can only be compared to Prince Qiyuan, who was favored by Emperor Jiande at that time.

The eldest prince Xiao Yi, who has been canonized as King Shun, has dim eyes. He has a dull temper and has not been an eloquent person since he was a child.

In private, his grandfather often lamented that he was too meek, and his mother-in-law even scolded him for not being bold enough and unable to compare with his second brother Xiao Yu, who was always proud of his talents.

The only person who never disliked him was his father.

Before the prince recognized his ancestors and returned to the clan, his father always treated him and Xiao Yu equally, and there was never any favoritism between them.

Xiao Yi originally thought that it was because of his father's quiet temperament that he did not reveal any preference.

It wasn't until the prince returned to the court that he knew this was not the case.

The father's love for the prince cannot be expressed in words, but can also be seen from some clues.

Xiao Yi is not unenvious.

After the New Year's gifts were distributed, Emperor Jiayou sat on the dragon throne and said to his ministers who were kneeling on the ground: "Go back and spend time with your family to get rid of the old and welcome the new, and have a good New Year."

Although he looked sick, he still His voice was always calm and gentle, and there was no trace of the dejection of a chronically ill person.

When the ministers withdrew, Xiao Yi knew that Emperor Jiayou would go back to Qianqing Palace to rest for an hour after retiring from the court. The family banquet would not begin until noon, so he prepared to leave together. Unexpectedly, Emperor Jiayou called him, He said: "Come back to Qianqing Palace with me." He

waved to Gu Changjin and said: "The prince will go to Kunning Palace first, and tomorrow he will go to the Ancestral Temple to worship the ancestors of the Xiao family. Your mother must have something to entrust you with."

Gu Changjin responded "yes".

Xiao Yi was a little surprised. Did his father leave him alone?

He glanced at Gu Changjin, and Gu Changjin also looked up, nodded gently to him, and quickly left the Jinluan Hall, with no trace of displeasure on his face.

Emperor Jiayou stood up. Guizhong and Wang Dehai who were standing aside were about to step forward to help him, but he smiled and waved his hand.

"Go and prepare for the banishment. I'll talk to Yi'er." After saying that, he stretched out his hand to Xiao Yi.

Xiao Yi was flattered and stepped forward to support Emperor Jiayou and said: "Father, please pay attention to your feet."

Xiao Yi touched Emperor Jiayou's arm and realized that Emperor Jiayou was very thin, and the tip of his nose suddenly became sore.

In his heart, his father was a man of great talent and intelligence. Even though he was a sick man, he was also powerful and could not be underestimated, as if he was a giant who would never fall.

Xiao Yi has wanted to be like his father since he was a child, but he knows that he has mediocre qualifications and a dull personality, so he will never be able to become like his father even if he spends his whole life.

My grandfather and mother-in-law always said that my father was going to die soon, but Xiao Yi never believed it.

It was only at this moment, when he realized how thin and weak his omnipotent father was, that he was shocked to realize that what his grandfather and mother-in-law said was true.

Father probably won't live long.

Emperor Jiayou was wearing a bright yellow crown and a thick fox fur. He seemed to be aware of his eldest son's depression. He smiled gently and said, "I will ask you to join the feudal clan in Taiyuan Mansion when spring begins." "What do you think?"

Xiao Yi was startled.

Taiyuan Mansion was the former vassal territory of my father, and it was also the place where he started his rebellion, which is of great significance.

Arranging his vassal appointment in Taiyuan Mansion was a sign of trust and preference.

Xiao Yi said: "My son is willing." His voice could not hide his excitement.

"Taiyuan Mansion is close to Shangjing. If you want to return to the palace to see your maternal grandfather and concubine in the future, you can do it easily." Emperor Jiayou smiled and said: "The prince is sensible and will not prevent you from coming back to visit the concubine and the Xing family."

The imperial concubine and Xingshoufu have not given up on the position of crown prince, but Xiao Yan knows that his eldest son has never had any intention of seizing the throne. He is a child with soft ears and a soft heart. He acts meekly and looks forward and backward. He is not the choice of a good king.

But that doesn't mean he's not a good kid.

"I will decree that your mother and concubine should stay in the harem, not because I want to keep your mother and concubine in Beijing as a hostage, but because I want to give you a free world so that you and the child of the Song family can live a comfortable life." Jia. Emperor You said with a smile: "As long as you manage Taiyuan Mansion, your life will not be easy, but I believe that you and your princess will be able to manage Taiyuan Mansion well for me, for Dayin, and for the people."

Xiao Yi's eyelashes were slightly wet, and he nodded heavily and said, "My son will definitely live up to his father's trust."

"You are the eldest son, but you will complain that I did not make you the prince?" Emperor Jiayou said again.

"My son and minister do not complain." Xiao Yi said sincerely: "My son and minister are no match for the prince. The prince, like his father, is a man of civility, military prowess, and a mind for the world. He will do better than my son."

In the past . When the prince was just Lord Gu, Xiao Yi had heard of his name. Even though his grandfather was as strict as his grandfather, he secretly ordered his subordinates to recruit Gu Changjin into the Xing family's camp.

On the day that Gu Changjin was recognized as his ancestor, his grandfather locked him in the study for a long time, his face was gloomy.

Before the Qi family fell, he had never been so frustrated.

But Xiao Yi didn't hate Gu Changjin. He knew very well that even if he could sit in that position, he might not be able to sit firmly on the dragon throne.

After listening to his words, Emperor Jiayou said: "In terms of running the country, you are indeed not as good as the prince. But in other aspects, the prince is also not as good as you. For example, the plot you designed, even the commander of the Shenji Camp... I'm full of praise, the prince can't make such a king."

Xiao Yi has loved carpentry since he was a child. Later he learned that Dayin's chickens were weaker than those of the Tatar countries, so he spent several years studying hard. At that time, his mother and concubine always scolded him for being a dead wood that cannot be carved into stone, but his father encouraged him to do whatever he liked.

The hard work paid off, and he finally designed a weapon that was no worse than the Tatar army.

"The prince has recommended this weapon of yours to me. In the near future, people from the Shenji Battalion will make the first batch of weapons according to your drawings and send them to the northern battlefield."

Xiao Yi was extremely surprised, and then Some were overjoyed.

It was as if his long-term efforts had been seen and affirmed, and this affirmation actually came from his most admired father.

Emperor Jiayou showed admiration, looked at him and said gently: "In the future, you and the prince will guard the ancestral inheritance of the Xiao family and work for the benefit of the country, the country and the people."

"My son, I obey!"

After a short journey, Xiao Yi's heart no longer felt depressed and obscure.

Wang Dehai looked at Xiao Yi's demeanor when he left and couldn't help but cursed: The eldest prince is still as easy to coax as ever.

The emperor said a few words and asked him to assist the prince willingly.

As long as the eldest prince has no intention of taking the throne, no matter how unwilling the imperial concubine and the criminal chief assistant are, they can only stop fighting. After all, continuing to struggle is just a futile effort. Why bother?

Not everyone can be like the emperor back then, who had no intention of becoming emperor, but was still forced to reach that position.

Emperor Jiayou has always been clear about how many hardships he has to face, how much betrayal he encounters, and how much ugliness he sees in people's hearts while sitting in that position.

Letting a weak-minded person become the emperor would be a disaster for that person, as well as for Dayin and the people. It is the best arrangement to send King Shun to Taiyuan Mansion to join the feudal clan.

The news that the emperor stayed with King Shun to speak soon spread throughout the palace.

When the news reached Kunning Palace, Queen Qi only said a faint "hmm" with a calm expression.

When the messenger withdrew, she looked at Gu Changjin, who was sitting at the bottom, slowly picked up the tea cup and said: "People from Daci'en Temple will come to the palace today, and tomorrow they will worship their ancestors, and the Buddhist monks will come to the palace." Master Qing will also follow the emperor to the Ancestral Temple. Since there are people from Xiao Fu in Da Ci'en Temple, do you want the imperial guards to be on guard tomorrow? The emperor's body cannot survive an assassination."

Gu Changjin glanced at her. , respectfully said: "My aunt is very cautious. As soon as she notices something unusual, she will disappear immediately. At this time, the only way to catch her is to use her plan. Only by catching her, the queen mother will know what Gu said. Is it true or false?"

Queen Qi raised her eyes from the tea soup.

This person still refuses to say who the child is or where he is. He only said that as long as she cooperated with him, she would soon be able to find Xiao Fu and know all the truth.

Although Queen Qi was a little hesitant, she had to cooperate with him.

Probably because she wanted to find the child so much.

Sometimes she even wondered, did the prince want to use that child to blackmail her? Is that why you haven't told anyone about the child?

"Since Wenxi is not that child and she is taking orders from Xiao Fu, why do you still want me to make her the princess?"

This is what Queen Qi is most puzzled about.

When he said that Wenxi was not her daughter, she wanted to ask Sun Yuanshi to do another blood test, but he stopped him. Not only that, she was also required to continue to regard Wenxi as her and the emperor's daughter, so that the emperor could not see anything fishy.

Gu Changjin said slowly: "This is to protect her. Maybe Xiao Fu is not the only one who wants to kill her."

Hearing this, Queen Qi frowned.

The prince's words sounded like he was not only wary of Xiao Fu, but also wary of the people around him.

In the flash of lightning, an incredible thought suddenly came to her mind -

was the prince also wary of her? Afraid that she would do something to the child, so why did she delay telling the news about the child?

Queen Qi put down the tea cup and looked at Gu Changjin.

After a long time, she said: "Aunt Gui has already obtained the medicine. If you take the medicine, you can make people fake death for three days and have endless vitality. I was too busy to ask in detail. Where did the prince hear about this medicine? How can I be sure that I can find this medicine? "

This medicine is a long-lost secret medicine in Shu, called "Drunk Life, Dreams of Death". When the Qi family asked her to poison Emperor Jiayou, she was planning to use this medicine to conceal the truth.

Gu Changjin lowered his eyes slightly. The old doctor came from Shu and had mentioned this medicine to him.

When Emperor Jiayou came to power in Taiyuan, Empress Qi sent people to search for good medicine, saying that she wanted to treat Emperor Jiayou's serious illness. Among them, the most visited place was Shuzhong.

He asked Queen Qi to secretly search for the medicine, not only to get Nanny Zhu to take the bait, but also to test Queen Qi.

But Queen Qi actually had such a medicine in her hands.

This medicine is very precious and can even save lives at critical moments.

The glass of wine sent from Kunning Palace to Sishiyuan in the previous life was indeed made by Queen Qi.

At that time, Queen Qi should have already known Rong Shu's identity.

Queen Qi gave the glass of wine not to kill her, but to save her.