My father Zhao Kuangyin

The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is the Qixi Festival.

Don't be fooled by the fact that on such a festive day, when emotions are so intense, the auspicious time chosen by the Ministry of Rites is actually unsuitable for dusk.

Therefore, it was postponed for three days, set for the Jiawu day, which is the tenth day of the month, leaving only three days.

Now, the six rites have already gone through the stages of betrothal, asking the name, accepting auspicious gifts, presenting betrothal gifts, and setting the wedding date; only the final step of welcoming the bride is left.

Although Zhao Erlang did not have the title of king, he was the eldest son of the emperor, so the betrothal gifts were arranged according to the standards for a king.

At midday, when the autumn sun was shining brightly, Zhao Dezhao, who had just returned home from Yingchun Garden, was disturbed again by a regular visitor.

When Wei Liang entered the hall, he said eagerly, "My lord, the Prime Minister's personal attendant has arrived."

"Did my husband invite me to lunch?"

Zhao Dezhao picked up a piece of sliced ​​white meat from the plate, dipped it in soy sauce and vinegar, seemingly not caring much.

With only three days left until dusk, for some reason, his thoughts were not mostly on the young Grand Tutor Wang, but rather on Granny Chen, whom he had hardly ever met.

"Auntie" was a nickname Wang Zhaoyun used for her; the two were only three months apart in age...

Then, thinking of the many concubines on the other side of the Yangtze River, he felt a surge of ambition to become a military leader.

It's such a pity. The Great Zhou Dynasty passed away early, and there was still Lady Huarui. If I had been born a few years earlier, I might have been able to catch the last train.

The splendor of the Five Dynasties is now gone.

Lost in thought, Zhao Dezhao spat at himself inwardly, cleared his mind of distractions, and focused on eating.

Although these thoughts are somewhat sordid, they are nothing serious; after all, they are just the nature of a young man.

Moreover, a gentleman judges by actions, not intentions, because no one in the world is perfect when it comes to intentions.

Soon, Hu Zan saw that Zhao Erlang inside was still eating slowly, unaware of the seriousness of the situation. He became anxious and stretched out his leg to step in.

Xu Jiebao blocked the way with his arm and laughed, "Master Hu, please wait a little longer."

"What are you waiting for? My husband has urgent business to attend to!"

Seeing how slow and lax the master and his servants were, Hu Zan was even more furious.

This is clearly being concealed by someone's facade; the calm and tranquility is all an act!

"What is it?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Dezhao personally went outside and welcomed Hu Zan in.

As soon as the latter entered, he looked around and whispered something in a very cryptic manner.

"This matter cannot be discussed in a few words, my lord, you should come with me to the Prime Minister's residence..."

Zhao Dezhao was not entirely unconcerned. The two opposing factions in the court were none other than Prime Minister Zhao and his third uncle.

Honestly, he was already mentally exhausted.

Why?

Zhao Pu owes too much to the people of the world. The hidden dangers he has left behind are not just a few isolated incidents. No sooner has one wave of trouble passed than another arises with any rectification efforts.

In situations like this, it's truly better to consider retreating and using retreat as a strategic advance.

But Zhao Dezhao spoke so lightly; how could Prime Minister Zhao possibly bear to part with it?

In order for his third uncle to be able to restore the monarchy and enter the central government after his succession, he even prepared the Golden Chest Agreement to endorse the new emperor.

If this is the case, then this gentleman was also one of the accomplices in harming his three brothers and uncles.

Of course, Zhao Dezhao wasn't that petty; he just lamented how difficult it was to govern this chief minister. While others might have only a single east-facing window in their doorway, this half-Zhao family member had a palace-like residence with rows upon rows of windows...

The reason why Zhao Dezhao did not go to the Prime Minister's residence immediately was because his father disliked him getting too close to Zha Zhaopu, at least not openly.

Going to the Prime Minister's residence in broad daylight, their intentions are all too obvious.

Therefore, he immediately dismissed his attendants and led Hu Zan to the study in the backyard.

"Please choose the briefest answer."

Hu Zan hurriedly followed him inside, and after closing the door, he frowned and asked, "Does my brother know that I have dealings with Wang Dong?"

Zhao Dezhao nodded.

"Ah Lang, you should know that Wang Dong and Lei Dexiang and Lei Shanxing passed the imperial examination in the same year, and therefore have a long-standing friendship."

"Who is Lei Dexiang?"

"The former judge of the Court of Judicial Review, in the third year of the Kaibao era, was convicted of disobeying the emperor in front of the emperor. He was first dismissed from the capital and then exiled to Lingwu for offending the emperor with dissenting words."

Seeing Hu Zan's eyes darting around, Zhao Dezhao sighed softly and said, "My husband and I are in the same boat, so you don't need to hide anything. Tell me the truth."

Hu Zan was somewhat embarrassed, but seeing Erlang's tired and helpless expression, he knew that Erlang had already noticed something. After considering it for a moment, he decided to tell him the truth.

"Lei Dexiang has always been upright and honest, and he is no different from that Secretary Lu Duoxun. If that man dares to disobey the Emperor, how could he possibly show the slightest disregard for the Prime Minister?"

After speaking, Hu Zan confessed and explained how Lei Dexiang, relying on Wei Zheng's influence, had spoken ill of Zhao Pu in front of the emperor.

"Is he telling the truth?"

Hu Zan paused for a moment, neither responding nor rejecting.

Zhao Dezhao understood immediately and said with a wry smile, "He has the ambition of Wei Zheng, but lacks Wei Zheng's talent. Otherwise, how could Father bear to let such a talented person wander in the north?"

"Ah Lang is right."

"What business does Wang Dong have now?"

"I just told Ah Lang that the two of them are very close, which is why Wang Lang has been very kind to De Xiang's only son, You Lin..."

"Does my husband know?"

"Of course I know," Hu Zan said. "Actually, my lord is not a heartless person. He knows that Lei Dexiang is just trying to gain fame and reputation, and often argues for the sake of arguing. It is not a serious crime. Therefore, he was exiled for three years and is still safe and sound. His only son is even more so, just getting by."

Knowing that his husband still had some conscience, Zhao Dezhao changed the subject and asked, "What has Lei Youlin done?"

"It's not that he committed a crime, it should be... that he was held hostage by Prefect Zhao."

Now it was Zhao Dezhao's turn to be stunned.

"Is Uncle trying to emulate Ma Shi's story?"

"It should be...yes."

Zhao Dezhao said irritably, "Whether it's a yes or a no, what's this about 'should'?"

"Ah Lang, you don't know, but Wang Lang treats him like a nephew, often entrusting him with household affairs, big and small. He has also provided much support for the imperial examinations over the years, which I can't bear to see him suffer like this."

"Womanly compassion."

Zhao Dezhao's eyebrows shot up, and he immediately noticed something amiss.

After the Li-Ma case, he no longer had much of an obsession with the true nature of right and wrong, and became somewhat results-oriented.

The hidden consequence of this incident is that, regardless of whether Lei Youlin was held hostage by his third uncle or served him, Wang Dong, a close aide to the Prime Minister, knew too many "secrets".

As the saying goes, "If the water is too clear, there will be no fish," and an official must blend in with the world. Wang Dong supported Lei Youlin for three years, so how could this not reveal some "secrets"?

Judging from Hu Zan's panicked appearance, he probably has some illegal information in his hands... He's in big trouble!

"Does he know your secret, sir?"

"If we were to report our private affairs to the emperor, you would surely be accused of protecting us..." Hu Zan stammered.

Where is Lei Youlin now?

"At home," Hu Zan said. "The day before yesterday, Wang Lang noticed something was wrong and ordered his servants to keep watch. Last night, no one was home, and he was nowhere to be found. During the day, he was perfectly fine on his bed."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Dezhao's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

His third uncle is "good," not stupid. Even if he were to send assassins to kill him now, it would be useless. Most of the evidence has already been backed up and is firmly in his hands. Killing him rashly would only escalate the situation and serve no other purpose.

It's true that a dead man can be silenced forever, but don't forget the secretary. In the past, when the Dali Temple investigated from the outside in, Zhao Pu had a way of dealing with it, protecting his core officials and not making things difficult. But now, the investigation is going from the inside out...

I'm worried.