Space-time SWAT

After the twelfth lunar month, it is the Chinese New Year.

On New Year's Eve, Su Dongchen didn't come back, but stayed in the barracks. He had a New Year's dinner with the officers and soldiers. By the way, he fought and competed during the New Year's Eve, which increased the centripetal force and cohesion of the barracks, and made tens of thousands of officers and soldiers more loyal to him.

On the first day of the first lunar month, all ministers of the fifth rank and above had to go to the palace to pay homage, so Su Dongchen returned to the capital.

In the severe cold of March [-]th, soldiers still had to train, and they had to ask for winter clothes from the Ministry of Households, and equipment from the Ministry of War. All kinds of arguing, fighting wits and courage, even with Fu Minghan's full help, he was still very tired.

Sitting in the warm hall where the earth dragon was burning, Su Dongchen saw the petite beauty Xi Concubine accompanying the emperor.

According to the rules, all concubines and concubines above the concubine should come out and sit opposite the courtiers with the prince and princess, on the other side of the hall.All the royal clan princes and county kings who were still alive in Beijing sat with their concubines and their children and grandchildren, and several eldest princesses, eldest princesses, horses and descendants also came.Except for a few clan princes and eldest princesses who were too old and in poor health to ask for leave, this was the New Year's Day when the clan came together the most.

When the emperor came out, the empress followed, as it should, but to the surprise of all the officials, there was a woman on the other side of the emperor. She was young and beautiful, and her eyes were flowing, as if a spring flower had just bloomed, or a peach had just ripened. very tempting.The emperor had been weak and weak for the past two years, as if his life was not long, but today his face was rosy and energetic, as if he was more than ten years younger.He sat in the middle, ordered the people who knelt down and saluted to stand up and sit down, and then sat down with the young woman.The queen's complexion was a little ugly, but she still tried her best to maintain a dignified and noble demeanor, and sat gracefully on the phoenix seat beside the emperor.

Many ministers and clans knew that the woman who was so favored by the emperor and didn't even give the empress any face was the concubine Xi. Some thought she was a fairy flower that made the emperor look good, and some thought she was a demon that harmed the country. Ji, let the emperor have a tendency to mess up the outline.However, it was the beginning of the new year, and no one would displease the emperor at this time, so they didn't mention the arrogance of the concubine sitting next to the dragon seat, and they all sang holy words and prayed, and the hall was full of joy.

Su Dongchen was sitting with the people from Anguo Gong's mansion. On the table in front of him were two steaming copper hot pots, surrounded by sliced ​​mutton, beef, chicken, fish fillets, white radish, carrot, cabbage, green vegetables, and tofu. , bean tendon, winter bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, etc., can be eaten hot and eaten, dipped in sesame sauce or spicy sauce, it is extremely delicious.

This is the way to eat the New Year's palace banquet set by the Taizu. It is said that the first New Year's banquet after the founding of the country was still like the previous dynasty. The big fish and meat made by the imperial dining room were a little cold when they were delivered, and they were cold after a while. Unable to eat, in the end all the monarchs and ministers could only drink, and all these dishes were thrown away, which was very wasteful.Taizu lamented that from then on, it was decided that all the New Year's palace banquets will be served with hot pot, which is convenient, economical, and lively. Everyone can eat from beginning to end without wasting a bit.

The side dishes on the table of the emperor and the empress are specially made, in addition to home-cooked dishes, there are also bear paws, deer tendons, fish lips, skirts, sea cucumbers, mullet, etc. Bird's nest, shark's fin, duck breast, forest frog.The soup is stewed with pheasant cubs, which is very delicious. Those who eat vegetarian food all the year round will replace it with soup stewed with wild mushrooms to ensure everyone's satisfaction.

Everyone ate happily, and they were in a good mood, and there was no rhetoric, cynicism or sarcastic remarks.Some Jiaofang Secretary presented singing and dancing banquets to cheer up the monarch and ministers. During the banquet, voiceless sounds and fragrances flew together, lingering endlessly, making people intoxicated.

Xi Concubine leaned on the emperor's body and said coquettishly, "This pot is good. It will keep you warm in winter. Your Majesty, we will eat it more often in the future."

In her words, she seemed to be an ordinary couple with the emperor, newlyweds. The emperor was very happy when he heard it, and put his arms around her, and said with a smile: "Okay, you can eat whatever you want in the future. The skill of making pots in the imperial dining room is not bad. , I also have a big appetite."

Concubine Xi took a slice of hot mullet, dipped it in sesame sauce, and put it in a small celadon porcelain bowl in front of the emperor, "Your Majesty, I think this fish fillet is very fresh, please try it."

The emperor put the fish fillet into his mouth with a smile and nodded, "It's not bad."

The queen on the other side glanced at Xi Concubine, with a hint of disdain in her eyes, then picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of tofu, dipped it in sesame sauce, and put it in her mouth gracefully.

She is over 40 years old, and she has long stopped competing with young concubines.No matter how much Concubine Xi flirted with the emperor in front of her, she turned a blind eye and was not angry at all.

The emperor and the concubine Xi conjured each other on top of Danchi almost as if no one else was there, leaving all the officials speechless.The three princes turned a blind eye, stood up with the princess with a smile, and toasted everywhere. The elders of the clan, noble families, and important officials of the court were comprehensive, especially showing their demeanor and respect and value to those clear-cut neutral royalists.

King Ning is calm and prudent, King Respect is modest and sophisticated, and King Duan is enthusiastic and pure and kind, each has its own advantages, as if they all have the appearance of a wise king.In the few months since he returned to Beijing, Su Dongchen had no close contact with the three princes at all. At this moment, it seems that the princes are very good. No matter who they are, as long as they work hard, they can become wise kings after they ascend the throne.It's a pity that there is only one emperor, and the three princes are bound to fight fiercely.

At present, it seems that the three princes are evenly matched, and the most regrettable thing is that none of them have a son.Especially King Ning and King Jing, who have been established in recent years, there are concubines, concubines, concubines, and concubines in the mansion. I don't know whether it is man-made or God's will. All the concubines and concubines they gave birth to died, only the daughter survived. One day, a concubine of King Ning gave birth to a son, who was brought up by the concubine and did not know if he would grow up.King Duan was young and had no heirs yet, so he was even weaker in this respect, which just offset his advantage of being half a legitimate son.

After the death of the crown prince, the emperor never showed preference for any of the princes. Instead, he treated them indifferently. Although he also intervened in their studies and marriage, he was impartial.If he still has no special affection for the three princes, and the three princes have not made any obvious mistakes, then the final criterion for selecting the crown prince will most likely be based on their heirs.Therefore, whoever can give birth to an outstanding son and grow up to be over ten years old will have the opportunity to ascend to the highest position, and if he has a legitimate son, the hope is even greater.

The three prince's mansions all have eyeliners planted by hostile forces. From the maids and servants to the concubines, the deaths of those concubines and concubines seem to be due to illness. In fact, there are many strange things, but I don't know. Is it a woman's pure jealousy or someone's calculation.In short, it is a difficult task to give birth to a son safely, raise him up, and let him perform well.

The three princes came to toast one after another, An Guogong and Su Dongchen got up politely, and they both drank three cups.The father and son were respectful and humble, bold and polite, neither humble nor overbearing, and freely swayed, which made the three princes want to win them over even more.

Mrs. An Guogong's attitude towards the princess was slightly flattering, and she was quite flattering towards Princess Ning, a little out of proportion.An Guogong only frowned slightly, but didn't say anything.Everyone knows that after Su Dongchen returned to Beijing, he took away most of Mrs. An Guogong's authority and could not control the overall situation at all, so her attitude could not explain the problem.

This New Year's palace banquet allowed Su Dongchen to see a lot of things, and Luo Li also made further adjustments to the analysis model of the task nodes to make the child of luck and the task nodes more accurate.

From the first day to the seventh day, there are various customs and customs. Su Dongchen needs to stay in the mansion to preside over the overall situation, receive visiting people from all sides, and at the same time take time to go to each mansion to pay New Year's greetings, visit relatives and friends, and be busy .

On the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, many people went out to watch the lantern festival. Su Dongchen also took his younger siblings and two sons out to watch the lanterns in a pre-booked restaurant.

This restaurant is also the contact point of the Anbu of Jinyiwei. Now it is controlled by Yan Fei. He can easily arrange a secret meeting between Zheng Cheng and Su Dongchen without letting anyone know.

In a small room without windows, Zheng Cheng was subtly lured here, and as soon as he entered the door, he saw Su Dongchen drinking tea.

He was a little puzzled, but not afraid.It is impossible for Su Dongchen to assassinate him, it is meaningless.

As soon as Su Dongchen saw him, he stood up and cupped his fists respectfully, "I'm sorry, Mr. Zheng Ge, I will tell you something very important at the end, and it's very dangerous, so we can't let others know about our meeting. That's why I can't visit the house, and I can't invite you in person."

Zheng Cheng looked at the closed door behind him, walked to the table and sat down, looked at him calmly, and made a gesture of listening.

Su Dongchen poured him a cup of tea, and said straight to the point: "13 years ago, the emperor went north to hunt in autumn, and the prince stayed in Beijing to supervise the country. In one night, the East Palace caught fire, and the prince, princess, and everyone in the East Palace were all buried in the flames. Because of an accidental leak of water, there is still no conclusion yet. At the same time as I got the news of the prince’s death, I received a secret letter from the prince, and immediately went north quietly, and found four confidantes of the prince near Huzhou. They brought a newborn The baby is the grandson of the Crown Princess."

Zheng Cheng turned pale with shock, and stood up abruptly, "What did you say?"

"The crown prince is a secret letter written in a hurry before he died. There is a secret seal on it. Only His Highness and I know it. Others can't forge it." Su Dongchen looked at him with a firm face and burning eyes. The two nannies are Mama Sun and Mama Wei. Mama Sun is the daughter of the concubine's nanny. At that time, she just gave birth to a son who was not yet full moon. At a critical juncture, she replaced her grandson with her own child. Mama Wei is also the concubine The steward in front of me has a strong personality. Both husbands are the prince's confidant guards, protecting the grandson day and night, hiding in Tibet, luckily not being discovered by the enemy."

Zheng Cheng's hands were trembling slightly. At this moment, he felt weak all over and had to sit in the chair. His usually wise eyes were extremely excited at this moment, and he kept staring at Su Dongchen.