The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 993: Empress Changsun's Request

Listening to Zhangsun Wuji's complaints, Zhangsun Wugui's originally aggressive attitude also softened. She also knew that a strong clan was one of the foundations for her to be the queen in the palace. In this era when aristocratic families were rampant, without the support of her family, her position as queen would not be stable.

It is even more impossible for his own children to be the first echelon among the princes.

The fighting in the harem was as bloody and cruel as that in the outer court. Every year, there were concubines who died unexpectedly due to poisoning or frame-up. She had lived peacefully for so many years, not because of the emperor's protection, but because of the strength of her family and the careful protection of her brother.

If I didn't have a powerful family, I would have been in trouble long ago in this harem full of intrigue and scheming, right?
What is the imperial palace? It is the place where all the power in the world gathers.

Among all the concubines who were able to occupy a place in the harem, which one did not have a powerful family and power behind her? Behind Concubine Wei was the Jingzhao Wei family; behind Concubine Yang were the former ministers of the Sui Dynasty; a woman without any background at all could not enter the harem at all?

A few years ago, Zheng Liwan, the daughter of Zheng Renji, a doctor in Luoyang Cangbu, caught the eye of Li Shimin by chance. Li Shimin admired her talent and wanted to take her into the harem, but in the end, the plan fell through because Zheng's family was too weak and she had no aristocratic background.

Li Shimin did not force it because he knew that without the strong influence of the maternal family, even if he reluctantly recruited her into the harem, she would not be able to gain a foothold.

It can be seen that even the emperor cannot do whatever he wants.

Thinking of this, Zhangsun Wugou felt heavy in her heart. In the past twenty years as queen, she wanted to be a virtuous queen and had never sought benefits for her family members. However, those people loved her as always and always stood firmly behind her.

What does he rely on? It's his brother who is in charge.

There is no such thing as a peaceful life. Behind every virtuous queen like herself, it is her brother who is carrying the heavy burden forward.

I have never said thank you, and I often ask my brother for help with the children's affairs. My brother never says no and does everything he can to help. After the matter is done, he is still criticized by me, sandwiched between me and the family, and suffers from both sides.

Sometimes he has to give way to others for his own sake, and my brother endures it silently, carefully reconciling the conflicts between both sides and trying his best to make everyone satisfied.

Fundamentally speaking, they are of the same blood, and they prosper and suffer together.

Thinking of this, looking at his brother who was once as handsome as Li Erlang, but now has gray hair and wrinkles on his face, Changsun Wugou's heart softened, his eyes filled with guilt, tears silently slid down, and he whispered, "Brother, thank you!"

"If you hadn't been protecting me all these years, my sister would have died of fear long ago."

"Why are you saying this?"

"An elder brother is like a father. As the elder brother, I should provide a safe place for my younger sister. Look at you, you are so old, why are you still crying?"

Seeing his sister's expression relax, her tone soften, and her attitude become more friendly, Changsun Wuji knew that he had touched his sister's heart, and he felt relieved. He quickly said, "You are not a child, but the queen who rules the country. Don't cry in public. It will affect your prestige."

"Humph"

Zhangsun Wugou pretended to be arrogant and said: "No matter how old I am or what my status is, in front of my brother, I will always be the sister with pigtails and holding the hem of my brother's clothes."

"hehe!"

Changsun Wuji stroked his beard and chuckled, and a hint of reminiscence appeared on his old face.

He thought back to the past when, after his father died, he and his mother and sister were driven out of the house by his half-brother Sun Anye. Later, their family was taken in by their uncle Gao Shilian, and they and his siblings lived in his uncle's home.

At that time, the brother and sister went through a period that was painful at the time but now makes people miss it very much when they think back on it.

It was also in that difficult environment that the brother and sister shared life and death, hardships, and developed the will to endure hardships and perseverance. The relationship of dependence and intimacy is deeper than the relationship between brothers and sisters in ordinary families.

Zhang Sun Wuji looked at his sister's haggard and exhausted face, and said distressedly: "Sister, it's all my fault. I didn't think carefully and made you worry. Now, I will listen to you and won't support Zhinu anymore. I will listen to you."

"Whoever you ask me to protect, I will protect him."

Zhangsun Wugou, who was immersed in the love between brother and sister, suddenly rolled her eyes. She was quite moved by the first sentence, but the latter part exposed the other party's true intention.

Everyone in the court knows that after yesterday's court meeting, Prince Jin has completely lost his chance of becoming the crown prince, and his brother is clearly trying to save his own brother.

According to the current situation in the court, if Li Shimin does not strongly oppose it, Li Xiang has the greatest chance. His brother has been somewhat estranged from the Eastern Palace in the past two years, and he wants to use his sampan to cross the river and step onto the Eastern Palace's boat again.

With a slight sigh, they were all family, and Changsun Wugou did not hold it against Changsun Wuji. At this time, they really couldn't make any mistakes, right?

Changsun Wugou thought of Li Shimin's attitude before, and asked with some worry: "Brother, although His Majesty has relented, he is still a little angry with Hou Junji, and he can't bear to support Xiang'er. At most, he just stays out and doesn't interfere."

"Do you think that under this circumstance, Xiang'er can be successfully appointed as the crown prince?" Seeing that the practical stage had begun, Changsun Wuji was completely relieved. At this critical moment, his sister did not seek help from Fang Xuanling but asked him for advice. After all, she was still his own person and she still cared about him.

A warm current flowed through his heart, and Changsun Wuji frowned and thought. Although he had not seen the emperor, his sister's words still revealed very important information, which was the emperor's true attitude. This was Tianxin!
It seems that the emperor's judgment is consistent with his own. The already weak Prince of Jin has suffered such a great setback and has lost his prestige. Even a god cannot help him up.

If this is the case, it proves that it was correct for me to turn around in time.

"Empress, do you know why Cen Wenben just acted like a loyal minister and insisted on apologizing to the Emperor?" When talking about business, Zhangsun Wuji changed the address subtly, turning the conversation between brother and sister into a dialogue between the emperor and his ministers.

Zhangsun Wugou was stunned and said casually, "What else can he think of? Isn't it just to ask for forgiveness and personally meet the emperor to speak on behalf of the King of Wu? After the court meeting yesterday, everyone knew that he ostensibly joined the King of Wei, but in fact he was planning for the King of Wu."

"The Queen is indeed smart, but she is sincere in meeting the Emperor, but she may not speak for the King of Wu."

Changsun Wugou raised her beautiful eyebrows and looked at Changsun Wuji in surprise. She said nothing, waiting for the other party to explain in detail.

"Haha, the King of Wu is a concubine's son and is weak. Cen Wenben is a very smart man. How can he expect to persuade His Majesty with just his eloquence?"

Zhangsun Wugou gently stroked his beard with his right hand, and said thoughtfully: "Don't forget, Cen Wenben was asking for forgiveness, and the Empress had clearly conveyed the Emperor's attitude. It was all normal admonition, and there was no forcing the emperor to abdicate. Everyone is innocent."

"But Cen Wenben refused to give in. Why?"

A faint light flashed in Changsun Wuji's eyes, and he used the mentality of a villain to guess another villain: "Don't think that he is a noble and upright person pretending to be a loyal minister? In fact, this old man has extremely sinister intentions. He is like Xiang Zhuang dancing with a sword, aiming at Pei Gong."

"Your Majesty, think about it, if you plead guilty, then you are guilty; if you are guilty, you must be punished; if you are punished, you cannot avoid Hou Junji."

"If Hou Junji is killed, Li Xiang will be out of the game."

"At yesterday's court meeting, two princes were eliminated. One was Li Tai, the Prince of Wei, and the other was Li Zhi, the Prince of Jin. The remaining two people who might compete for the throne are Li Ke, the Prince of Wu, and Li Xiang, the eldest grandson. The rest are not worth worrying about!"

"I saw it clearly yesterday. Cen Wenben fanned the flames at the critical moment and mobilized the ministers of the Wu and Wei lineages to jointly support the proposal, which pushed the situation to the point of forcing the emperor."

"In fact, if only the officials from the Eastern Palace stepped in, they would have been able to stop the emperor from making the Prince of Jin the crown prince. The officials from the Prince of Wu and the Prince of Wei were only adding fuel to the fire and making things worse."

"He wants the Eastern Palace to completely offend the Emperor, so that both he and the Emperor will suffer and perish together. Then there is no choice for the rest, and the only one left is King Wu."

"Originally, Cen Wenben thought that after yesterday's incident, the emperor would hate Hou Junji even more, and then he would vent his anger on Changsun, and naturally would not give Changsun a chance. But just now, the queen said in front of all the ministers that Changsun could participate in the competition for the throne."

"If Li Xiang enters the game, the advantage will be unmatched by the King of Wu. That's why he is willing to sacrifice his own reputation and drag his eldest grandson into the game to remove obstacles for the King of Wu to ascend to the throne!"

Zhang Sun Wu Gou's face changed. Thinking about what had just happened, he instantly became extremely angry: "What a Cen Wenben! I thought he just wanted to say something good for the King of Wu, but I didn't expect that he was aiming to stir up trouble."

"You want to completely mess up the situation. What a vicious intention!"

"But fortunately, Her Majesty made a prompt decision and rejected his intention, thus eliminating the danger in the bud."

Zhang Sun Wuji was also frightened, with a hint of admiration in his fear: "This man is extremely intelligent and scheming, and he must be the best of his time. His heart is in Wei Ying and his heart is in Wu. Even I didn't realize that he actually joined the game and was willing to sacrifice his lifelong reputation to do such a desperate thing."

"He hid it from everyone and almost succeeded. What a remarkable man!"

"If the Empress can win over this man, and Li Xiang has him as his assistant, it will be like Emperor Zhaolie of the Han Dynasty getting the Crouching Dragon and the Phoenix Child."

Changsun Wugou was also a kind-hearted person. When she heard this, the anger on her face subsided a little, and a thoughtful look appeared in her eyes.

After a long moment, he nodded silently.

Then she said, "By the way, brother, I want to ask you for help with something?"

"My Queen, please don't embarrass me."

Changsun Wuji immediately stood up, clasped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, please give me your orders. I will go through fire and water and do anything for you without any hesitation!"

Zhang Sun Wu Gou's dignified face showed endless concern and worry. She said, "I really need your help, brother. Listen to me."

(End of this chapter)