Golden Branch

"Have you checked the people around Ah Cheng?"

The saint quickly brought the topic back to his eldest grandson.

The child was fine, but something happened as soon as he left the palace.

First there was the assassination, then the fall from a horse. The saint already had a lot of conspiracy theories.

He glanced at the East Palace. He had always trusted the prince very much.

Not only do I trust the prince's integrity and filial piety, I also believe in his ability.

The Crown Prince is extremely capable. Not to mention his own backyard, even the complicated state affairs can be handled by the Crown Prince in an orderly manner.

The saint never expected that the Eastern Palace would make mistakes one after another.

Hearing the sage's words, the prince's eyes flashed with shame. He whispered, "I was careless. I thought it was impenetrable, but I didn't know it had already been infiltrated!"

"Yeah, don't worry, my son has already sent someone to check it out!"

"This traitor poisoned the Crown Princess first and then murdered Ah Cheng. I have no ties with them and will never let them go!"

When the prince finished speaking, he couldn't help but look at the saint.

The second half of his sentence not only expressed his own attitude, but also wanted to see his father's attitude.

It is very likely that the Li family did it.

And the Li family is really not an ordinary in-law.

They are too deeply involved with the Yang royal family.

The prince believed that his father would give justice to the princess and her son.

However, I still can't help but feel a little worried -

What if?

What if the father is soft-hearted and can’t bear to severely punish the real culprit?

After all, the Crown Princess was not dead yet, and A Cheng only had a broken leg.

As long as no one was killed, the situation seemed to be "turning around".

The prince did not want to gloss over the situation.

The Li family has crossed the line!

They touched the prince's bottom line.

To be frank, if they dare to murder the Crown Princess and the little grandson of the Emperor today, they will dare to murder him, the Crown Prince, tomorrow, and kill the Emperor the day after tomorrow!

We cannot allow such reckless and ruthless people to continue to exist in the capital.

Of course, the prince did not want to uproot the Li family. He just wanted to punish the murderer of this incident and give the Li family a proper wake-up call.

How could a wise saint fail to see the prince's almost explicit test?

A hint of helplessness flashed in the saint's eyes, and he whispered, "Is Dalang going to alienate Yeye? Even if he has an idea, he won't tell me directly?"

There is no need for any explicit or implicit communication between them as father and son.

When the prince heard the saint affectionately call himself "Ye Ye" instead of "Zhen" or "Wu", his heart warmed, and a childlike admiration appeared on his already mature face.

His lips moved and he murmured, "Yeah! Er, Er——"

"Da Lang, just let go and do it!"

"Ye Ye doesn't want to make a big deal out of this. He just doesn't want to alarm your mother. He definitely doesn't want to let the real culprit go."

The Li family can be kept, but the lunatic with bad intentions cannot be kept!

Touched eyes flashed in the prince's eyes, and he nodded slowly, "Thank you, I know what to do!"

Li Liangdi, you’re dead!

Her son, Kogoro, will no longer have the possibility of inheriting the throne.

Even if something happened to Yang Cheng and he lost his qualification as the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince would rather have another child with the Crown Princess than let Li's son be the heir.

But the fact is, the prince does not need to give birth to another legitimate son. If Yang Cheng really cannot inherit the throne, he still has his second legitimate son Yang Ye.

In addition to the mother and son, all the people in the Li family who were involved in this matter will also be severely punished.

After this incident, the Li family could not say that they were seriously injured, but they would definitely suffer heavy losses. In the end, they understood their own status and began to behave themselves.

……

The lights in the East Palace were on all night.

The imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau and the servants inside and outside the palace were busy coming in and out, making the scene very lively.

The Saint and the Crown Prince intended to conceal it, but the commotion in the Eastern Palace was so loud that some of it was leaked out.

As the mistress of the harem, Queen Li was indeed gentle, tolerant, loving and dignified, but she also had very strong leadership abilities.

I dare not say that my spies are everywhere in Taiji Palace, but I do have certain channels of information.

"..."

Queen Li, who was supposed to sleep in bed, sat up from the bed in the middle of the night.

She leaned weakly against the yinnang and listened to the report from her trusted palace maid.

Halfway through her listening, her hand couldn't help but touch her chest.

My heart seemed to be squeezed tightly by something, and it almost stopped beating.

She couldn't breathe, she was about to suffocate!

How dare!

How dare they!

That’s the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince.

They are of high status and the matter is of great importance. How dare you take action against them?

Or do you not take the lives of your entire clan seriously?

Queen Li's face, which was already pale to begin with, became even paler.

She opened her mouth weakly and gasped for breath.

In addition to suffocation, there is also deep despair and dull heartache.

The Crown Princess and her son are her relatives.

Especially Acheng, who is Queen Li’s favorite and most valued eldest grandson.

Although Empress Li seemed to favor Xiao Sanlang Yang Ye more on weekdays, she was able to distinguish between love and favor.

Xiao Dalang Yang Cheng is the heir to the family business and the most important eldest grandson.

Xiao Sanlang Yang Ye is the darling of the whole family. He can be pampered and allowed to be free, but he cannot compete with Yang Cheng.

This is the difference between the eldest grandson and the "beloved grandson".

Just like when the sage wanted to start a rebellion, Queen Li arranged a "back-up plan" in advance.

Instead of sending Xiao Dalang away, she asked Concubine Jiang to take Xiao Sanlang away.

It’s not that Queen Li doesn’t love Xiao Dalang. On the contrary, Queen Li did this because she valued Xiao Dalang, her eldest grandson, too much.

As the second heir, how could I not be present when it comes to such important matters for the whole family?

Even if Yang Cheng did nothing, as long as he stayed by Queen Li's side, he would be the successor recognized by everyone.

Moreover, escaping from the capital may not be a smooth journey.

Sleeping in the open air, natural disasters and man-made disasters, as well as many robberies and assassinations... there are too many destabilizing factors.

The facts that followed also proved that Concubine Jiang and her entourage did encounter many dangers after leaving the capital.

Kosaburo experienced assassination and escape at a young age.

After three or four years, Xiao Sanlang would still occasionally have a nightmare.

He may have forgotten the specific danger, but he was still afraid deep down.

This is the "aftermath" of escape.

On the contrary, Xiao Dalang, who stayed in the capital, escaped unharmed.

Of course, these were not what Queen Li wanted, nor were they what she could control.

At most, in her heart, when she makes a choice, she still prefers the eldest grandson.

The closest relatives that Queen Li cherished so much were cruelly hurt by another group of her closest relatives.

"Whoo~"

Queen Li was breathing heavily. Seeing this, another trusted palace maid who served her closely hurriedly took out a small porcelain bottle from a cabinet on the side.

He quickly opened the bottle cap, poured out a soybean-sized pill, and fed it into Queen Li's mouth.

This is the "heart medicine" specially prepared by Li Mingtang for Empress Li, specifically used to treat and control Empress Li's heart disease.

Queen Li realized that she was ill and did not dare to hesitate. Even though she was in great pain, she still swallowed the pill with difficulty.

Soon, the pill took effect, and Queen Li slowly loosened her hands that were clutching her chest.

She took a deep breath and said slowly, "Since the Saint and the Crown Prince don't want me to know, then I won't know!"

As for how her husband and son would deal with the Li family, Queen Li would not care.

She treats her father, brother, niece and others as her relatives, but they may not care about her.

Knowing that she suffered from heart disease and could not stand any stimulation, he still did such a thing.

Queen Li didn't dare to think about it. If something really happened to Little Dalang, how would she face Dalang and how would she cope with it?!

No one in the Li family considered her at all, so she couldn't be blamed for being cruel.

……

Baifu Palace.

Concubine Jiang didn't sleep at all.

In the evening, she had tea and snacks with the saint.

Just as Concubine Jiang was talking about Jiulang's interesting stories, a eunuch with a strange look on his face asked the saint to leave.

Imperial Concubine Jiang didn't show it on her face, but she had already started to speculate in her heart:

Something happened in the palace?

Is there something going on in Daming Palace again?

Or has Queen Li's illness relapsed?

Or is it that something is wrong with the Crown Princess?

Countless speculations instantly flooded into Concubine Jiang's mind.

The saint's absence made Concubine Jiang even more certain:

event!

It must be a serious matter!

Is there another "palace coup"?

Concubine Jiang didn't dare to act rashly.

However, she had been running Yang Chong's backyard for many years, and after entering the palace, she also had her own network of relationships.

As a favorite concubine, Concubine Jiang was already extremely prestigious. She was also rich and very generous in giving rewards.

Therefore, soon, Concubine Jiang received the news——

The East Palace is brightly lit and people are coming and going!

Concubine Jiang frowned: It's the Eastern Palace! It seems she's not even the Crown Princess!

After all, the Crown Princess's serious illness was revealed last month, and the Imperial Hospital had already been in a state of turmoil over it.

Even if the Crown Princess's condition had changed, it shouldn't have caused such a big fuss.

Could it be the prince?

Do not!

The prince looks gentle, but he is actually very strong.

He is not only strong-willed and tough-minded, but also acts with impeccable integrity.

Moreover, the prince's status is noble. Besides himself, he is also secretly protected by the saint and Queen Li.

Even if something happens to the entire Eastern Palace, the prince will not be harmed.

He is not a prince, yet he can still be guarded by the saint——

"Little Dalang! The Crown Prince!"

Concubine Jiang's heart was suddenly lifted up. It had only been a short time, and there was going to be another disturbance in the palace.

"It's okay. It has nothing to do with me."

Concubine Jiang had never dreamed of that position. Without any delusions, she was able to maintain a normal mind.

However, in the harem, which is a circle of right and wrong, you cannot really live in peace and security just by not thinking about or fighting.

"Jiulang is still young, don't let him be taken advantage of!"

It would be unfair to be dragged into this for no reason.

"Ajiu went to Mount Li, otherwise -"

Worried about her son, Concubine Jiang thought of her daughter who ran away to Mount Li after her wedding.

Concubine Jiang looked in the direction of the Eastern Palace, then looked towards Mount Li, and quickly made a decision.

……

Early in the morning, as soon as the palace gate opened, Lou Yu hurried over.

He already knew what happened yesterday and had investigated it.

He also had a result on the Miao girl's matter, so he could report it to the prince.

There were many troubles, but Lou Yu was not afraid. He was even ready to volunteer...