Xie and Tianxia

Buy on the black market. "

"It is the guilty courtiers who make mistakes, these servants are still innocent!"

The two chatted and walked, and accidentally came to a large-scale shop.

Mu Yongning said: "The size of this shop is comparable to some famous restaurants and teahouses in the capital."

"That's true." Hou Guogong glanced around, and said again: "There are guards all around. Those who can have this kind of ostentation in the black market should be the richest. Let's go in and have a look!"

After the two went in, they realized that it was a shop selling calligraphy, painting and jewelry.After seeing Mu Yongning and Hou Guogong coming in, the waiter in the shop hurriedly said, "Bosses, what do you want to buy?"

"Take out the treasures of your town store and have a look!" Mu Yongning said.

When the shop waiter heard "The Treasure of the Town Shop", he was overjoyed all of a sudden, and hurriedly said, "This way, please."

After the waiter finished speaking, he led the two of them into the inner room, pointed to the painting on the wall and said, "Please look, boss, this is the treasure of our shop. The portrait was originally treasured in the Yiguo Palace, but it came to our store after several twists and turns."

"This was originally something from the palace of the Yi Kingdom, but it suddenly appeared in the Yue Kingdom. I don't believe you when you say that." Mu Yongning crossed his arms and said.

"If this little boss doesn't believe it, he can step up and take a closer look."

At this time, Hou Guogong stepped forward to look at the painting carefully.The shop clerk added: "Anyone who has seen Master Zhang's paintings will know that the characteristics of Master Zhang's figure paintings cannot be imitated by ordinary painters."

"It's a real painting!" Hou Guogong asked the waiter in the shop again: "Xiaoer, why does this painting still have a fragrance?"

"This boss doesn't know something. There are so many skilled craftsmen in Yiguo. They can produce ink with fragrance. Isn't the artist of this picture from Yiguo? Naturally, he will draw with this kind of ink."

"grandfather!"

"Eh?" Duke Hou responded, "What's wrong?"

"I don't want calligraphy and painting anymore, I am very interested in this ink, please buy me a bottle of this ink!"

"No problem, grandpa will buy you whatever grandson wants?" Hou Guogong turned to the waiter in the shop and said, "Xiaoer, do you sell this kind of ink here?"

Upon hearing this, the waiter in the shop hurriedly said: "The boss is asking the right person. In the entire black market, we are the only one selling this kind of ink. You should go to other stores to ask. They probably don't know that there is this kind of ink! You first Go out and wait, I will get the goods."

☆, Dilemma

After a while, the shop clerk took down a wooden box from the second floor, opened the bottle of ink inside, and could smell a faint fragrance through the wall of the bottle.

"Xiao Er, how much does this box of ink cost?"

"In the past, we only sold this ink by the bottle. After all, this box is too expensive, but the two bosses asked about the treasure of the store as soon as they came, and they must be rich and powerful people."

Hearing what Xiaoer said, Mu Yongning became interested. "I wonder how much this bottle of ink sells for?"

Xiao Er didn't speak, just spread his palms towards Mu Yongning.

"5000 taels of silver?"

Xiao Er smiled and shook his head.

"5 million taels?"

"No." Xiao Er said with a smile.

"It can't be 50 taels of silver!" Mu Yongning frowned.

"Hey, by the way, it's 50 taels a bottle. This box of 1000 bottles is [-] million taels in total."

Hou Guogong pointed to the painting on the wall of the inner room and said, "Then Xiaoer, how much does this painting sell for?"

"Oh, that painting sold for 1000 million taels of gold."

gold?Mu Yongning said in his heart: This black market actually asks for such a high price.

"Then before we come, does anyone want to buy this painting?" Mu Yongning asked.

"Yes, why not. Many bosses came here to pay deposits before, but there are so many people, and there is only one painting, so our shopkeeper plans to invite those bosses who have paid deposits in a few days, and then put the paintings It's up for auction!"

"It's unbelievable how much money these rich people in Yue have." Mu Yongning said next to Hou Guogong.

"Then has anyone bought this ink by the box?" Hou Guogong asked.

"That's not true. Although this ink is rare and there are many people who like it, basically I just buy a few bottles and go home to write and play. By the way, two bosses, do you want to paint now or ink? Do you want to paint? Please pay 1 taels of gold as a deposit first, and the painting will start shooting tomorrow; if you want ink, you are the first to buy it by the box, and I can give you a cheaper price."

"Then is it convenient for Xiaoer to tell us who will be there tomorrow?" Mu Yongning asked.

"Hey, this little guy doesn't know anymore. They left a deposit, and we will give the auction token, and we will have nothing to do with it after that. This little guy doesn't know what the last names of these big and famous people are!"

"No, the deposit they paid in advance must be recorded in the account book, and their names must be on the account book." Mu Yongning said.

"Boss, do you think the young one looks like a literate person? The shopkeeper personally handles the accounts. I have worked here for so many years, but I have never seen what the account books look like!"

"Then is it convenient for your shopkeeper to show us the account book?"

"Little boss, according to the rules of the black market, outsiders are not allowed to see the books of black market shops."

"Does that mean that people in the black market can see this ledger?" Hou Guogong, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said.

"It also depends on his status in the black market."

"Hou Guogong. Xiao Er, do you think this identity is enough to see the status of the ledger?"

"Enough, enough!" The waiter hurriedly nodded and bowed, and raised his hand to invite the two of them to the second floor.

On the second floor, the shop waiter took them to an elegant room, which was incensed, and the tea was still "gurgling" from the small stove on the table.

"My lord, sit down first. This elegant room is reserved for VIPs. Our shopkeeper is not in the store yet. I'll invite the shopkeeper to come back. Please wait a moment."

After Hou Guogong took Mu Yongning to sit down, Mu Yongning said: "The waiter seems to attach great importance to Guogong."

After speaking, he poured a cup of tea and handed it to Hou Guogong.

After Hou Guogong took the tea, he said thoughtfully: "Your Highness, I don't know. Back then, the eldest son of the Patriarch of the Mo family wanted to open a black market, but the Patriarch Mo refused, so he asked the old man to borrow money to open this black market. After the operation of the black market, we reached a consensus that all the books of the store will be managed by the Mo family, and the profits will be shared with Hou Guogong's mansion. The old man is also half of the founder of the black market, and the shopkeepers will still respect me as an old man of!"

"So the people in charge of the black market are now in the hands of the Mo family. The queen mother has lived in the deep palace for a long time, so she doesn't care about the black market; Mo Yuan used to accompany the emperor's uncle outside the customs, so he must have no time to take care of it. Now the black market..."

"Well, the right to operate the black market is now in the hands of Mo Huai." Hou Guogong said first.

"If the shopkeeper knows that we are going to check the books, he will definitely be suspicious, and he will probably tell Mo Huai."

"At this moment, Mo Huai is not worried about us, but worried about whether the good things he has done these years will be found out by us." As soon as Hou Guogong finished speaking, the waiter led the shopkeeper in.

"Meet Hou Guogong." The shopkeeper bowed and saluted.

"Did you bring the ledger?" Hou Guogong said.

"I have it, of course I have it." After the shopkeeper finished speaking, he signaled the waiter with his eyes to hand over the box.

"All the ledgers are locked in this box. I have the key, and I will open it for you."

The shopkeeper stepped forward to open the box and handed the ledger to Hou Guogong.

After receiving the ledger, Hou Guogong casually glanced at it and handed it over to Mu Yongning, saying, "Do you see the names on it familiar?"

Mu Yongning took the ledger and frowned when he saw the names of the people who traded on it.

"Some of these are court officials. There are also some names that are unfamiliar to me, so they should be wealthy businessmen. It's not unusual for this rich businessman to be rich, but this court official doesn't have so much money for a year's salary plus rewards!"

"Then these officials must be doing shady business in the black market, otherwise it would be impossible to have so much money. Think about it, Your Highness, what is the most profitable thing to sell on the black market?"

"Famous calligraphy and paintings, slaves and weapons?"

Hou Guogong shook his head and said: "Your Highness didn't mention the point. Selling private salt on the black market is the most profitable. Some local officials like to wantonly raise the price of official salt so that the people have no money to buy it. They have to go to the black market to buy private salt. This private salt Although it is cheap, the sales volume is high, and the money comes in quickly.”

"The imperial court does not allow officials to raise the price of official salt without permission."

"Think about it carefully, Your Highness, who owns the power of salt and iron?"

"You mean to say that it was Shang Hua's instigation that officials raised the price of official salt and sold it on the black market?"

Hou Guogong nodded and said: "Shang Hua is your younger brother, whether you will tell this matter or not depends on what you want, Your Highness."

After Hou Guogong finished speaking, he handed over the account book in Mu Yongning's hand to the shopkeeper, and asked the shopkeeper and the waiter to go out.

"Master Guo, if I want to tell this matter to the public, Shang Hua will definitely break with me completely. If he reveals my identity in a hurry, it's okay if something happens to me, but it may affect the Queen Mother and the Duke; But if I don’t speak out and let this kind of behavior continue, it will be ordinary people who will suffer.”

"So what is your Highness going to do?"

Mu Yongning got up, went to the bed, saw the bustling crowd outside the window, and suddenly said: "Create chaos, take advantage of the black market security problem, first close the black market. This will prevent them from selling illegal salt, and secondly, it will be good." Give Shang Hua a blow."

"Alright." Hou Guogong got up after drinking the tea in the cup and said, "It's getting late, let's go back!"

"Well, let's go."

After Mu Yongning and Hou Guogong left the black market, Mo Huai received news from the shopkeeper.

"Mo Huai, what's wrong?" Mu Shanghua asked.

"Hou Guogong took Mu Yongning to the black market, and checked the account books. They probably guessed that you acquiesced in the sale of private salt by officials."

Upon hearing this, Mu Shanghua sat up from the reclining chair and said, "What?"

"But rest assured, Your Highness, without thorough evidence, an account book can only show that the officials who sell private salt are rich, but it cannot show that their money is obtained from selling private salt. Moreover, Mu Yongning is also afraid of making trouble with you If you break it, you will reveal his secret."

"Nevertheless, Baobuqi is going to use this against me that day, and we have to do it as soon as possible."

"There will be a spring hunt in March next year." Mo Huai pulled out his small knife and pierced through the apples on the fruit plate on the table, and said, "If anything happens during the spring hunt, I can't blame it." on the head."

"Since this is the case, then I wish Mo Huai's opportunity to be implemented smoothly. If I can successfully ascend the throne, I will definitely thank you very much."

Mo Huai looked at Mu Shanghua, smiled lightly and said, "Since Your Highness wants to thank me, why don't you come up with something substantial now?"

After Mo Huai finished speaking, he walked up to Mu Shanghua and looked down at Mu Shanghua who was sitting on the recliner.

Mu Shanghua nervously said, "You, what do you want to do?"

Mo Huai suddenly pushed Mu Shanghua onto the reclining chair, pressed on Mu Shanghua's body and leaned into his ear and said, "You will know later."

Early the next morning, Mu Yukun was called to the study by Mu Yongning.

"The emperor's uncle is here!" Mu Yongning heard the door opening, looked up at Mu Yukun, and said, "Come and have breakfast!"

"Where did you go yesterday?" Mu Yukun asked a little unhappy.

"Didn't they talk to the emperor's uncle? I went to talk to Hou Guogong." Mu Yongning ate a mouthful of porridge, and said: "I talked about something about the emperor's uncle."

When Mu Yukun saw the rice grains on the corner of Mu Yongning's mouth, he couldn't help but stepped forward to wipe the corner of Mu Yongning's mouth.After cleaning his mouth, he sat down and said, "What did Hou Guogong tell you?"

"Secret!" Mu Yongning leaned close to Mu Yukun and said.

Mu Yukun raised his hand to fill a bowl of porridge and shook his head with a smile, thinking: This kid deliberately teased me with the topic, but he didn't tell me.

"Uncle Emperor." Mu Yongning said suddenly.

"what happened?"

"Counting the days, I have been in the palace for a year."

Mu Yukun followed Mu Yongning's eyes, looked outside, and found that snowflakes were already floating outside.

"Yeah, it's been a year. I still remember that you were not very talkative at the beginning. You liked to hide everything you did, and you were always uncertain when you were reviewing memorials."

"Indeed." Mu Yongning smiled at Mu Yukun after speaking.

"You child, you have experienced a lot this year, and you have grown a lot!"

"Uncle Huang, after this year I will be an adult!" Mu Yongning said angrily.

aldult?Mu Yukun looked at the thin and small Mu Yongning, and couldn't help laughing: "I'm sorry, Your Highness, I thought you were still young when you look at you!"

"Hmph, uncle, wait, I will definitely grow taller and stronger!" Mu Yongning filled a bowl of porridge and drank it after finishing speaking.

☆, deep in it

Until a few years ago, Mu Yukun lived in the East Palace, and no matter how busy Mu Yongning was, he would always eat with Mu Yukun and chat with Mu Yukun on time.Mu Yukun also gradually opened up the knot in his heart, and the relationship between the two also returned to the past.

On this day, Mu Yongning didn't ask anyone to invite Mu Yukun to have breakfast, and Mu Yukun felt a little uncomfortable, so he went to Mu Yongning's bedroom to find him in person.

Arriving at Mu Yongning's bedroom, there was no one around, and the bedroom was very quiet. This is why Mu Yukun couldn't help becoming nervous, thinking: Nothing will happen, right?

So Mu Yukunli searched back and forth in the bedroom again, but he still couldn't see Mu Yongning.Mu Yukun became anxious all of a sudden, and ran out of the palace, only to see a few maids cleaning in the garden.

Mu Yukun stopped the maids and asked, "Where is His Highness the Crown Prince? Why are you the only ones? Where are the other court ladies and eunuchs in the palace?"

"Back to His Royal Highness King Qin, the servants don't know what's going on. This early in the morning, His Royal Highness called more than half of the court ladies and eunuchs, leaving us to clean the palace. As for where the Crown Prince is going, What to do, the slaves don’t know.”

have no idea?What is Yongning going to do again?Bringing so many people should be out of the palace, won't you go to Hou Guogong again?

Immediately Mu Yukun left the palace and went straight to Duke Hou's mansion.

After finding Duke Hou, Mu Yukun panted and asked, "Has Yongning come here yet?"

Hou Guogong looked at the embarrassed Mu Yukun, poured a cup of tea for Mu Yukun, and said: "Take a sip of tea and rest, you look like I kidnapped His Highness the Crown Prince."

Mu Yukun took the tea and drank it down, then asked, "Where's Yongning?"

"Your Highness has come all the way and you haven't had breakfast yet!" Hou Guogong pointed at Mu Yukun's stomach that was growling with hunger and said, "This stomach is growling with hunger, why didn't His Highness take care of the food?"

"Duke, do you mean that Yongning didn't come to the mansion?"

"No, the crown prince of Duke Hou's mansion is the most familiar with the old man. If he comes to the mansion of Duke Guo, the servant will definitely come over to pass on the message. His Royal Highness Qin, did something happen to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

"I don't know. When I came together, I saw that there was no one in the East Palace, and Yong Ning was not in the palace. I wondered if he came to see you. Now it seems that he didn't leave the palace!"

"He must be out of the palace! He's not out of the palace to handle business. What is he doing with so many court ladies and eunuchs in the palace? It must be useful to bring so many people to their place."

"Then please ask the Duke to mention something."

As soon as Mu Yukun said this, Hou Guogong was confused, and asked: "What can I remind you?"

"Oh, I want to ask Hou Guogong to help me guess where Yongning will go back?"

Hou Guogong looked at Mu Yukun and asked, "Why do you care so much about His Highness the Crown Prince? Can't His Highness have some privacy!"

"I……"

"Okay!" Hou Guogong patted Mu Yukun's shoulder and said, "Today Zhijun comes to see her grandmother in the mansion, let's go to the front hall to have breakfast together!"

"There's no need for breakfast."

"Eh? Why don't you need it? The old man knows that you don't like Zhijun now, but you haven't seen Zhijun for so long. Now that you are in the mansion, you should see her too! Besides, you are not here When the palace lived in, Mr. Zhi managed the palace in an orderly manner, so you should thank him and have a meal with him."

Hearing what Hou Guogong said, Mu Yukun had no reason to refuse, so he followed Hou Guogong to the front hall.

In the front hall, the Hou family members were already seated.Madam Hou said to the maid: "Where is the Duke?"

"I have already sent someone to invite, and it will be here soon."

As soon as the maid finished speaking, Hou Guogong's voice came from outside the hall: "Madam, please order someone to add another pair of bowls and chopsticks. There are distinguished guests coming to the house!"

After Madam Hou heard the words, she immediately ordered someone to prepare the bowls and chopsticks, walked to Hou Guogong and said, "What kind of distinguished guest is this?"

At this time Mu Yukun came in from outside the hall and said, "I'm sorry to bother you this morning."

When Madam Hou saw Mu Yukun coming, she turned her head to look at Zhijun, and said, "That's really great! There is just one more seat next to Zhijun, how about..."

Mu Yukun glanced at Hou Guogong, but did not speak.Hou Guogong said: "Ma'am, His Royal Highness King Qin is from the royal family, so he must be seated here in the Duke's Mansion! This Jun Zhi is a young man, so if he sits down, it would be unreasonable for His Royal Highness King Qin to sit down. "

"How can this be unreasonable? Although His Highness is from the royal family, he is also the son-in-law of my Hou family. It is not natural for him to sit with his wife!"

Mrs. Hou's words stunned Hou Guogong, and he didn't know what to say for a while.

Mu Yukun said: "Hou Guogong, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is not here, and some government affairs in the court need to be handled by someone, so I won't accompany you any longer." After finishing speaking, he wanted to go out.

Hou Guogong grabbed Mu Yukun, and said: "It's already here, why don't you go after a meal, anyway, you will move back to the palace tomorrow, and then you will continue to live, and even if Zhijun did it before I did something stupid, but after such a long time, I should let it go."

Mu Yukun thought for a while, then walked into the front hall and sat beside Hou Zhijun.

After breakfast, Mu Yukun left early, Mrs. Hou still wanted to stay with Mu Yukun for a while, but Mu Yukun insisted on leaving, Mrs. Hou had no choice.

After Mu Yukun left, the rest of the Hou family also left one after another, and finally only Mrs. Hou and Hou Zhijun were left.

"Why didn't I see you talking to him when His Highness King Qin was sitting next to you?" Mrs. Hou said.

"Grandma, I, I don't know what to say."

"You idiot! His Highness King Qin has always assisted His Highness the Crown Prince in dealing with government affairs. Of course, he is interested in state affairs. Although it is said that a woman who has no talent is a virtue, and a woman is not allowed to participate in politics, which one of the dynasties has passed down that women are not talented? What do you think? If you want to see Mrs. Yi a hundred years ago, she almost became the emperor, Grandma said this to tell you that if you want to regain His Highness's favor, you must first be His Highness's virtuous helper, and help His Highness solve problems."

"But can I?"

"Of course! Grandma told you that grandma recently discovered a secret from your grandpa."

"What secret?"

"It's just that your grandfather is investigating some official salt smuggling case recently. It seems to involve the officials of the current dynasty. It should be a big case. Besides, your grandfather is still investigating secretly. His Highness King Qin probably doesn't know about it. You tell His Highness King Qin about it. When the time comes, don't tell His Highness that you knew about it from your grandfather."

"The granddaughter understands what grandma means, but the prince doesn't necessarily believe me!"

"Your Highness cares about the common people, and will not ignore this kind of thing. If this kind of thing really happens, then the biggest contributor to this is you. His Highness will also change his attitude towards you."

"The granddaughter understands and knows what to say."

Mrs. Hou patted Hou Zhijun's hand with a smile, and said, "Zhijun, grandma is waiting for her grandson! Don't let grandma down."

"Ok!"

After Mu Yukun returned to the palace, he still didn't see Mu Yongning. He came to the study to help Mu Yongning approve the memorial, but found that today's memorial had already been processed.

Mu Yukun had absolutely nothing to do now, so he went back to his bedroom to pack his things, and prepared to move back to his residence tomorrow.

It was already evening after bringing the food and clothing back to the residence, Mu Yukun thought about it and decided to go to the East Palace to have a look.After all, it was already dark, and it was time for Yongning to come back.

After rushing to the East Palace, he pushed open the door of the study, but Mu Yongning was still nowhere to be seen.Mu Yukun slowly closed the door, thinking: Where did Yongning go?

"Uncle, you are here!"

When Mu Yukun heard someone calling him "Uncle Emperor", he suddenly turned around and found Mu Yongning standing behind him.

Mu Yukun grabbed Mu Yongning's shoulder and said angrily, "Where have you been all day?"

"Uncle, come with me."

After speaking, he broke free from Mu Yukun's hand on his shoulder, grabbed Mu Yukun's hand with his backhand and pulled him out.

"Where are you taking me?" Mu Yukun said while trying to break away from Mu Yongning's hand.But Mu Yongning didn't give him a chance to break free at all, and clasped Mu Yukun's hand tightly with his fingers, preventing him from breaking free.

Mu Yongning took Mu Yukun into the carriage waiting outside the palace, and said, "Don't worry, uncle, you will know when you get there."

The carriage drove all the way to the foot of the city wall.

After arriving, Mu Yongning took Mu Yukun up the city wall.On the tall city wall, the night view of the entire capital can be seen clearly.

"What are you taking me to the city wall for?"

"Don't worry, uncle, look at the moat!" Mu Yongning pointed to the moat.

Mu Yukun curiously walked to the edge of the city wall and looked down.I saw all kinds of river lights floating in the moat.

"This, this is..."

Mu Yongning walked to Mu Yukun's side and said, "This is a river lantern. People always like to write their blessings on the river lantern, and then put them into the river to entrust their best wishes."

"The day you disappeared, didn't you just want to show me the river lantern?"

Mu Yongning smiled and said: "The river lantern I want to show the emperor is different from the one floating in the moat. Emperor uncle, look at the river lantern inside!"

Mu Yukun looked in the direction of Mu Yongning's finger, and saw that the river lanterns floating along the river had been carefully arranged.Therefore, the river lanterns are strung together in characters, and the candlelight flickers, which is extraordinarily bright and clear in the dark night.

Happy birthday?Mu Yukun said silently in his heart: How did Yongning know?

"I heard Hou Guogong say that your birthday is on this day, and I also heard that you have never celebrated your birthday, so I wanted to celebrate it for the uncle." Mu Yongning looked at Mu Yukun after speaking.

"No wonder why I didn't see you in the morning, it turned out to be—"

"Last night, I dealt with the memorial that was going to be approved today, so I have time to bring the maids and eunuchs to help me make river lanterns and let them out today!"

"Such a grand occasion must have taken a lot of effort, right? It's just a small birthday, and I don't usually care about it."

"Actually, it didn't take a lot of effort to do it, it just took a little more time. And the emperor's birthday is not over, so don't scold me for being extravagant once." Mu Yongning said aggrievedly.

"In the end, I want to thank you very much." Mu Yukun looked at the listless Mu Yongning, and couldn't help rubbing his head.

"By the way, Uncle Huang, there is another surprise!" Mu Yongning said suddenly, "Uncle Huang, come with me again!"

Mu Yongning took Mu Yukun down the city wall and came to a noodle restaurant.

"Uncle Huang, I want to eat longevity noodles on my birthday. Although I don't know how to cook it myself, I asked many court ladies and eunuchs. They all said that the noodles in this noodle shop are delicious. Uncle Huang must try them!"

"You see, I've come here with you, it would be unreasonable not to try it." After Mu Yukun finished speaking, he walked into the noodle shop and asked the waiter to order two bowls of noodles.

The noodles were quickly placed and served.Mu Yongning said: "Uncle Huang, eat quickly! After eating this bowl of noodles, you will be a year older!"

Mu Yukun looked at the noodles, and his nose suddenly became sour. When the first queen was still alive, Mu Yukun would go to the cold palace to ask the first queen for longevity noodles on his birthday, but every time he was kicked out by the first queen. He has never eaten noodles on his birthday, and this should be the first bowl of longevity noodles in his life.

"Why doesn't Uncle Huang eat it? Is it not delicious?" Mu Yongning propped his chin and asked.

"I'll eat it now!" After Mu Yukun finished speaking, he started to eat the noodles.

☆, plan revealed

The noodle bowl gradually bottomed out, and Mu Yukun was full, so he put down his chopsticks and wanted to thank Mu Yongning.

It was only when he looked up that he realized that Mu Yongning had fallen asleep with his chin propped up. Under the warm and soft light of the noodle shop, Mu Yongning's fleshy face had a slight blush, making him look like a child.

Mu Yukun cautiously approached Mu Yongning, put his hand on his face, and said with a smile: "I said before that I'm not a child, don't you see that sleeping face now, isn't it the same as a child?"

Mu Yukun's slightly cold hand touched Mu Yongning's warm face, and Mu Yongning shivered from the cold, but he didn't wake up, but avoided Mu Yukun's hand, lying on the table Continue to sleep.

Mu Yukun looked at the sleeping Mu Yongning, and his heart was full of distress. In order to have time to prepare a birthday gift for himself, he spent the whole night processing the memorial, and even worked a whole day.Mu Yukun carefully squatted in front of Mu Yongning, put Mu Yukun's hands on his shoulders, and then pushed Mu Yongning back up with force.

Mu Yukun came to the carriage with Mu Yongning on his back and wanted the coachman to take Mu Yongning back to the palace, but Mu Yongning hugged Mu Yukun's neck tightly and refused to get off.

"Yongning stop making trouble, go back and rest early."

Mu Yongning didn't answer, but hummed dissatisfied on Mu Yukun's body.

Mu Yukun said again: "Be obedient, you should go back early if you are so sleepy. If I carry you on my back like this, it's not easy to ride a carriage, and it's not easy to ride a horse."

"I remember this place is close to your house." Mu Yongning whispered next to Mu Yukun's ear, and his lips touched Mu Yukun's ear from time to time, making Mu Yukun's ear unconsciously red hot up.

Mu Yukun thought for a while and said, "Okay, I'll carry you on my back."

After a while, Mu Yukun returned to the palace with Mu Yongning on his back.

After entering the mansion, Mu Yukun ordered the housekeeper to prepare hot water and guest rooms.

Mu Yukun came to the bath with Mu Yongning on his back, put him on the recliner beside the bath, shook Mu Yongning, and said, "Get up first and take a bath before going to bed."

Mu Yongning, who sat on the recliner, did not fall down on the recliner, but took the opportunity to wrap his arms around Mu Yukun's neck and said, "Uncle Emperor, I'm so sleepy, so I won't wash it!"

Looking at Mu Yongning's blurred eyes, Mu Yukun sighed and said, "Then I'll take you to the guest room first."

After Mu Yukun finished speaking, he supported Mu Yongning's back with one hand, and inserted his hand through his leg to hug Mu Yongning horizontally.

After leaving the bath, Mu Yukun ordered people to prepare the guest room.

And all of this was seen by Hou Zhijun.

Hou Zhijun said to the maid beside him, "Why did the lord come out of the bath with His Highness the Crown Prince in his arms?"

"Returning to the princess, I heard that His Royal Highness spent a lot of energy celebrating the prince's birthday, so he must be sleepy now."

"My lord's birthday? I don't even know about it. How did the prince know?"

"But, maybe the prince himself said it."

"Really?" Hou Zhijun asked in frustration.

After Mu Yukun settled down Mu Yongning, he returned to the study.As soon as Mu Yukun entered with his front foot, Hou Zhijun entered with his back foot.

"It's so late, why don't you go to rest?" Mu Yukun sat down on his seat and asked with one hand on his forehead.

"My lord, my concubine has heart disease and can't sleep?"

"If you have a heart disease, you should see a doctor. If you tell me that you have a heart disease, I can't help you."

Hou Zhijun took another two steps forward and said: "The concubine has doubts in her heart. This doubt has been troubled for a long time, and it has become a heart disease."

"What doubts?" Mu Yukun looked up at Hou Zhijun who usually didn't leave the door.

"It's like this. Half a month ago, my concubine always heard people complaining that the price of official salt had risen without reason, and many people couldn't afford official salt."

"The price of official salt has increased?" Mu Yukun said to himself: "The imperial court planned to lower the sales price of official salt before, so how could it be possible to increase the price?"

"The prince doesn't believe it, and the concubine naturally doesn't believe it either. The concubine asked the housekeeper to go to the market to ask, and the price of official salt has increased. So the concubine guesses that there must be something hidden in it. I think about it every day, and I am happy." I'm sick."

After hearing this, Mu Yukun said solemnly: "You don't have to worry about this matter, this king will investigate clearly."

Hou Zhijun smiled sweetly, and said again: "Then the prince tonight..."

"Go back and rest first, I'm not sleepy yet."

After hearing this, Hou Zhijun turned around and left without saying anything.

Before he walked out of the study, Mu Yukun suddenly said: "Thank you for telling me about this."

Hou Zhijun rubbed his eyes and said, "It's okay, sharing your worries is what a wife should do."

Early the next morning, Mu Yukun went to the guest room to wake Mu Yongning up, and by the way told Mu Yongning about the price increase of official salt.

As soon as the door was pushed open, there was no one in the room.At this moment, the butler came over and said, "My lord, this old slave saw His Highness the Crown Prince go out earlier, so he should have returned to the palace."

"Why don't you tell me when you go back to the palace." Mu Yukun muttered in a low voice.

"What did your lord just say?"

"Oh, it's nothing. By the way, let me recite it, I want to go out for a while." Mu Yukun said.

At noon, Mu Yongning was writing a memorial in his study, when suddenly the eunuch outside the door reported: "Your Highness, Duke Hou is here."

Mu Yongning thought to himself: Why is Duke Hou here?Nothing will happen, will it?Generally speaking, Duke Hou would not leave the mansion easily.

At this time, Hou Guogong had already walked in.

"What's the matter, Duke?" Mu Yongning asked.

"Your Highness, His Royal Highness King Qin joined hands with people from Shuntian Mansion to seal up the black market this morning."

"Seized?!" Mu Yongning exclaimed in surprise: "I remember I said before that I wanted to find an excuse to seal up the black market. It hasn't been implemented yet. How could it be blocked by the emperor?"

"The only possibility is that Mu Yukun knew that the merchants and officials who smuggled salt in the black market had raised the price of official salt."

"How would Uncle Huang know?" Mu Yongning asked puzzled.

"It should be Zhijun who said it. The old man complained to his wife about the private salt before. If he wants to tell the truth, it can only be Madam who told Zhijun about it." Hou Guogong sighed.

"Then Mo Huai and Shang Hua should already know by now."

"Not only His Royal Highness Han Wang and Mo Huai know about it, but in a few days the entire Yue Kingdom will know about the good things His Royal Highness Han Wang and Mo Huai have done secretly. They allow traders and officials to sell private salt, and if they are found out, at least they will be sentenced to exile. "

"Then what if Shang Hua is the only orthodox royal heir?"

"The prince breaks the law and common people are guilty of the same crime. If your identity is exposed and King Han makes a big mistake again, His Royal Highness King Qin will be the best heir to the throne. So no matter whether His Highness King Han will be punished for this matter, the one who will profit in the end It will not be him. If this matter is really about the crime of King Han, he may have a fight with you. The old man is here this time to tell you that if you want to continue to be the prince or emperor, don't hesitate , Han Wang and Mo Huai will never have a chance to speak before this case is found out."

"You don't want me to..." Mu Yongning asked in a low voice.

"Since ancient times, no emperor has a benevolent heart."

"But Shang Hua is my younger brother no matter what, the mother's biological son, I really can't do it."

"Hmph! Time is running out, Your Highness, please do it yourself!" Hou Guogong left after finishing speaking.

After Hou Guogong left, Chen Guifei also went to the East Palace.

"The queen mother's news is really well-informed!" Mu Yongning looked at Chen Shuang who was standing at the door of the study.

"I met Hou Guogong just now, I think you should know about the city."

"So what if I know? It's impossible for me to kill your own son!" Mu Yongning smiled wryly.

"Actually, the best result is that Shang Hua will be exiled and save his life, while you will continue to be the prince in the capital, and you will be crowned emperor in the next year."

Mu Yongning pondered for a while and said: "This is indeed the best result, but on the premise that my fake identity is not exposed."

Chen Shuang walked to Mu Yongning's side, squatted in front of Mu Yongning, and said softly: "You don't need to do anything, just let nature take its course."

Mu Yongning stood up from his seat and asked back: "What do you want to do? Shang Hua is your biological son!"

Chen Shuang also stood up and said, "Shang Hua is my own son, and I will not harm him."

Chen Shuang stroked Mu Yongning's face, and said: "You are also my son, and I will protect you."

☆, before exile

A few days later, Su Qingxuan, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, found out that officials in the DPRK were colluding with black market traders to sell private salt. Han Wang Mu Shanghua not only acquiesced in this vile behavior, but also sought violent profits from it.