The Child Emperor

"'I want to eat meat', what does this mean?" The King of the East China Sea was at a loss. He looked at the people in the room one by one, and finally looked at the emperor. Content, anger instantly kicked caution out of my heart, rushed over, and shouted loudly: "How dare you play me!"

Although Jing Yao is old, his hands and feet are very agile. He hurriedly hugged the King of Donghai by the waist, and sternly reprimanded: "The King of Donghai respects himself, this is the imperial palace!"

The king of Donghai was startled, knowing that he had made a big mistake, his attitude softened immediately, "I'm sorry, I'm temporarily... Please forgive me..."

Han Ruzi nodded slightly, expressing his indifference.

"Is this really that note?" Jing Yao was still puzzled.

"Your Majesty left a lot of ink treasures yesterday, and you can tell the authenticity by just a pair of handwriting." Yang Feng carefully put away the note. The Queen Mother has already believed that other people's opinions are not important.

"How did you get here?"

"Master Yuan gave it to me on his own initiative." Yang Feng said calmly.

The Book of the Ministry of Rites was "smarter" than expected, Jing Yao was ashamed but did not dare to become angry, blushing and said: "The fast will end soon, and your majesty will have more days to eat meat, why bother to tell the foreign ministers about such a trivial matter ?”

"It's hard for me to find someone to talk to in the palace." Han Ruzi walked back to the bed.

Jing Yao and Zuo Ji looked at each other, they didn't know how to respond to this sentence, they each muttered a few words, and then retreated in unison. The King of Donghai stared at the emperor until he heard Jing Yao's urging, and then he left abruptly.

Yang Feng stayed where he was, and the three people who had already retreated to the door stopped again, not wanting to leave the emperor alone with the treacherous Zhongchang attendant.

"According to the Queen Mother's order, from today onwards, I will serve Your Majesty." Yang Feng said.

The three of them left in a hurry without staying any longer.

Yang Feng walked to the bed, "You are very smart, you didn't really write any secret edicts, and you are also very lucky. The Queen Mother is magnanimous. She thinks this is just a child's nonsense, and she doesn't want to pursue it too much."

Han Ruzi raised his head and asked, "I almost killed many people, didn't I?"

"Your Majesty is worrying too much. Everyone inside and outside the imperial palace and in the courtroom has a way to protect themselves. Those who need His Majesty's protection are not worthy of protection."

Han Ruzi thought of the two eunuchs who were beaten. Their way of protecting themselves was to scream.

After finally meeting Yang Feng, he wanted to ask some questions: "What are the benefits of being an emperor? You don't agree with the king of Donghai who wants to be an emperor so much. I have never thought of this before, but you insist on pushing me up. Listen It is said that when my grandfather Emperor Wudi was in power, he was so angry that he bled for thousands of miles, and when it came to me, he didn’t even dare to admit his biological mother.”

Yang Feng took a step forward, some words should not have been said, but some characteristics of the emperor moved him, Yang Feng was willing to take a risk, "Do you want to know what an emperor is?"

Han Ruzi nodded hesitantly.

"Emperor Wu bleeds for thousands of miles in anger, but there are still thousands of miles away. The army of Great Chu has never been able to exhaust the world, and Emperor Wu also has troubles around him. He changed the prince three times, punished the ministers seven times, and the inner palace favored countless. At least five times in danger, three times on the way to Weifu, one time in the court, and one time in the palace."

Han Ruzi's eyes brightened, "Mother has never...I have never heard of these stories."

"This is not a bedtime story." Yang Feng's tone became severe, "I'm telling you a truth."

"No matter how powerful the emperor is, there are times when things don't go his way?" Han Ruzi guessed.

Yang Feng said coldly: "I'm telling you what the real emperor looks like, the most authentic look, not what the so-called educated scholars claim."

Han Ruzi thought for a while, then murmured: "Thousands of miles away, the emperor has nothing to do with it. Within ten steps, the emperor is no different from ordinary people, so the emperor's power is only ten steps away, within a thousand miles... and I, Trapped within ten steps."

This child is very smart, if the situation is a little better, Yang Feng is sure to train him to be a wise king, but the current situation only allows him to talk on paper.

"How can we break the predicament?" Han Ruzi raised his head and asked.

Yang Feng shook his head, "There is no way, the time and the situation. There are so many heroes in the past and present, but because they were born at the wrong time, they remained unknown all their lives. Your Majesty should rest in peace."

When Yang Feng stepped down, he didn't need to serve the emperor at night, let alone teach the emperor everything.

Han Ruzi was lying on the bed, someone entered the room, blew out the lights, and fell down on the couch by the window.

"Ten steps away, within a thousand miles." Han Ruzi pondered Yang Feng's words, wondering if his "time situation" would arrive and when it would arrive. Everyone is an ordinary person, why can't I do something within ten steps?

He looked sideways at the blurred figure on the couch, and found that he had only been looking at the queen mother and the officials these days, ignoring too many details around him, "cough...what's your name?"

There was silence in the darkness. The new attendant seemed to have learned the lesson of the first two eunuchs and was unwilling to talk to the emperor. After a while, a woman finally asked, "My name is Meng'e, what's the matter?"

This voice was cold, neither calling himself "servant" nor "Your Majesty", it was even more rude than Jing Yao and Zuo Ji who came to Xingshi to inquire about his crimes.

Han Ruzi encountered a tough opponent in his first attempt "within ten steps". He tried hard to recall the appearance of this court lady, but he couldn't remember at all. There are too many people coming and going these days, and They all have the same look, it's hard to tell them apart.

"What happened to those two people?"

"Which two people?"

"The two people who were beaten because of me."

Meng E in the dark was silent for a while, "They deserve what they deserve."

"If I'm guilty, I'm more guilty."

"There is a difference between high and low, and there is a difference between high and low. Since masters and servants are separated, there will be no same crime."

Han Ruzi wanted to win the favor of the court lady beside him, but was rendered speechless by the other party's words. Meng E remained motionless, as if falling asleep immediately.

Early the next morning, Han Ruzi finally saw Meng Mo's true face. She looked about twenty years old, not much taller than the thirteen-year-old emperor, not ugly, and definitely not beautiful. There is no difference between her and the others, Han Ruzi doesn't even remember when she started serving him.

The young emperor was not frustrated by this defeat. Instead, he made up his mind to pay attention to everyone "within ten steps", but he must avoid mistakes in writing the "Secret Edict" and never implicate others again.

Soon he discovered that the eunuchs and maids around him were not the same, behind the dull expressions, everyone's care was hidden: the old eunuch holding the crown peeked at the court lady holding the clothes from time to time, and the maid holding the clothes quietly paid attention The companion holding the jewelry box... Meng E is also in this chain of mutual surveillance, but her status is slightly higher, and no one dares to look at her.

Yang Feng didn't participate in these small games, he waited outside the door without looking at anyone, and when the time came, he escorted the emperor to visit the queen mother and attend the ceremony, almost never leaving.

At first, Han Ruzi thought that these people had many conflicts with each other. On the way to meet the officials of the Ministry of Rites, he suddenly realized that the eunuchs and court ladies are actually their own masters and are afraid of each other.

Minister of Rites did not come today, and a servant took his place. He kept a distance from the emperor at all times, and tried not to speak if he could.

Fasting in the afternoon was normal, Yang Feng didn't kneel at the door, he stayed outside the door according to the rules, and never came in to disturb the emperor and the king of the East China Sea.

The king of Donghai was very surprised by this, and waited for more than an hour before speaking, "It's really strange that no one is watching us."

Han Ruzi didn't say anything, and didn't look back.

The King of the East China Sea coughed twice, and finally couldn't help but say what was in his heart, "It wasn't me who told the secret, it was you who were too careless and showed your feet. But your trick is bad enough, 'I want to eat meat', You want to test whether the Minister of Rites is trustworthy, right? Well, it’s really cautious, a little too cautious.”

Han Ruzi's last bit of trust in the king of the East China Sea has long since disappeared, but this person is within ten steps. He didn't want to have a dispute, so he said, "Anyway, this matter can't be done anyway."

"If you were more courageous, maybe the Minister of Rites could take action yesterday, but you wrote a sentence 'I want to eat meat', of course the ministers would not take it seriously. Only those who dare to take risks will gain. Like you, you will never suffer Don't start."

"At first, I didn't want to 'get ahead', but now it's no worse than before."

"Now you will lose your head at any time!" The king of Donghai was incredulous at the emperor's calmness, but he was relieved when he thought that his earlier threats had no effect on the emperor's brother, "I understand what you mean. It's really... so miserable, without a king title, without a master, it's worse than ordinary clan children. Let me tell you, the Empress Dowager must hate your mother and son very much, she doesn't even want to see you."

"Have you seen the Queen Mother?"

"I've seen her before, she is not a simple person..." The King of East China Sea lowered his voice, "As long as she is there, Father will never look at anyone. It is said that she can - witchcraft."

When the word "witchcraft" was mentioned, Donghai King himself was frightened first, knelt down obediently, and murmured: "Maybe she can hear what we are talking here, or she will be deceived by my own witchcraft." I was hurt, so I hid and didn't dare to see anyone."

Han Ruzi didn't really believe in witchcraft, so he turned his side slightly, looked at the King of the East China Sea, and said puzzledly, "Why did the queen mother let you be my attendant and allow us to get along alone?"

"To humiliate me and the Cui family." Donghai King said angrily, making no secret of his anger towards the Queen Mother and his desire for the throne.

Han Ruzi didn't think so, and even suspected that the King of the East China Sea was pretending to be stupid. Anyway, if he was the King of the East China Sea, he would not be in a hurry at all. Since the Cui family is a rich family, they would never surrender to the Queen Mother lightly. The King of the East China Sea still has a chance.

"We still have to find a way to deal with the queen mother. This time, send a letter to our Cui family." The king of Donghai couldn't guess what the emperor was thinking, and enthusiastically put forward new suggestions.

"No." Han Ruzi refused flatly, "I don't want to deal with anyone, especially the Queen Mother. If I stay on the throne for a short time, it will be my fate."

Han Ruzi turned around, and the King of the East China Sea looked at him in surprise. After a while, he showed an expression of extreme resentment.

There was an extra dish for dinner, which smelled like meat. Han Ruzi was very surprised. He was still fasting, and he must not touch meat. After chewing a few mouthfuls, he found out that it was shiitake mushrooms. It seemed that his complaint was of some use.

After the meal, Han Ruzi took every opportunity to talk to the eunuchs or maids around him, but with little success. They were puzzled by the change of the emperor's personality, and quickly became vigilant, trying not to answer as much as possible. You have to think twice, those words don't seem to be addressed to the emperor, but they seem to be conveyed to someone who is not present.

What everyone felt from the emperor was not kindness, but pressure.

Yang Fengjin went in and out, heard some conversations, did not object, and did not take the opportunity to make suggestions. He was like a half-hearted herdsman who occasionally came to see if the cattle and sheep were still grazing where they were, and then went about his own affairs.

After a whole day, Han Ruzi was exhausted, all he got was a few answers, and within ten steps of him was still a desert.

Lying on the bed at night, Han Ruzi recalled the experience of the day, and realized that he had not gained nothing, at least he realized one thing: the Queen Mother was not the only one in the palace, there was an undercurrent raging around him.

But this didn't help the current emperor, he couldn't control within ten steps, let alone find the "time situation" that was beneficial to him, until when he was about to sleep at night, a small matter gave Han Ruzi some confidence.

At that time, he was about to fall asleep, when the voice of the palace maid Meng E suddenly came from under the window, "I asked, those two people were sent to recover from their wounds, and they couldn't die."

Han Ruzi's drowsiness disappeared all of a sudden. He cared about the life and death of the two eunuchs, but he didn't care about them all the time. He was happy because finally someone answered his question directly. Moved a bit.

(seeking collection and recommendation)