The Emperor was ill and had not seen anyone for several days. This attracted a lot of attention and speculation, and made some people very nervous. Among them were the ministers, the Crown Prince, and the other princes. They all wanted to know what was going on with the Emperor. Even if the Emperor was not feeling well, it was unlikely that he would not see the princes and ministers! When the princes went to pay respects, what was wrong with seeing them? Why did he refuse to see them? This made people's imaginations run wild.
It was said that the Son of Heaven was different from ordinary people, and this was true. If the Son of Heaven sneezed, the people below would take it seriously, just like if the Dragon King sneezed, a heavy rain would fall.
Because of the steward's warning, Yang Guozhong thought that the Emperor had some hidden illness and hurried to the Madam of Guo's residence. But halfway there, he felt that something was wrong. A hidden illness wouldn't be written on the face. What did this have to do with the Emperor seeing the princes and ministers? Could it be that seeing the ministers and princes would reveal his illness? How could that be?
But since he was already halfway there, there was no need to turn back. What if the Emperor really was in a bad mood because of his illness and didn't want to see anyone? Everything was possible. In any case, he wouldn't lose anything by going. There were many beauties in the residence, but Yang Yurou also had a different kind of charm. He missed her coquettish charm.
In a side courtyard of the Imperial Palace, Crown Prince Li Heng was also very nervous. He couldn't understand. Since his father wasn't seriously ill, why didn't he want to see anyone? Could it be that some illness had caused a problem with his face and made it inconvenient for him to see people? But what kind of illness could cause a problem with a person's face?
Seeing the Crown Prince anxiously pacing back and forth, Li Fuguo stepped forward and lowered his head. "Your Highness Crown Prince, if you have any worries, you might as well tell this old servant. This old servant is loyal and devoted to you."
The Crown Prince was fretting. Seeing Li Fuguo appear, he frowned and asked, "Father is unwell, but he won't even see me or the ministers. Just what is going on?"
"Your Highness Crown Prince, this old servant thinks that His Majesty is fine. I'm afraid that he's just testing everyone."
Li Fuguo said.
"How do you know?"
The Crown Prince frowned.
Li Fuguo lightly raised a finger and said, "Your Highness Crown Prince, first, the barracks in the capital have not moved. The officers are still the same, and the soldiers are doing what they should be doing........... If His Majesty is seriously ill, the army...
...................... this old................................................... His............................. be........................
When the Crown Prince heard this, he was suddenly enlightened. He felt that Li Fuguo's words made sense. Wasn't this just a test?
Li Fuguo raised a third finger and continued, "Thirdly, the Emperor is not seeing anyone. This clearly does not make sense. If the Emperor is truly ill, he should be summoning important officials to entrust important matters. Why is he not seeing anyone?"
The Crown Prince frowned and patted Li Fuguo's shoulder. He praised, "Li Fuguo, you're right. It seems like this is the situation. Imperial Father is testing our loyalty. After so many years, could it be that Imperial Father is still worried? What is there to be worried about? Could it be that we can escape from his grasp?"
"Your Highness Crown Prince, old people are always suspicious. His Majesty is old. What he is most worried about is that someone has bad intentions. This is understandable. Since ancient times, it's hard to predict the affairs of the royal family. Your Highness Crown Prince should understand."
Li Fuguo said with a smile.
The Crown Prince and Li Fuguo looked at each other and smiled. He said, "Yes! Who can predict the affairs of the royal family? You were sent by Father to spy on me, but you betrayed him. However, it seems that Father doesn't trust you anymore. Otherwise, why would he send a stranger here? "
"Your Highness Crown Prince is right. However, His Majesty should know that he will pass the throne to you sooner or later. It's reasonable for me to be loyal to you."
Li Fuguo replied with a smile.
In fact, he did not see the so-called unfamiliar face at all. It was just a lie he made up in order to make the Crown Prince believe that the Emperor was testing him, so that he would be more careful. As for why he knew so clearly, it was because he had been in the palace for a long time and had become very experienced. Adding an unfamiliar face would make the Crown Prince believe what he said more.
As for why he chose to support the Crown Prince wholeheartedly, it was because the Crown Prince was the most likely to inherit the throne. As long as the Crown Prince became the Emperor, his contributions would be great. At that time, he would be rewarded with all kinds of glory and wealth. He would become the next Gao Lishi who had the power to overturn the imperial court and become a powerful figure in the Tang dynasty.
In the eyes of the current Emperor, he was just a dispensable eunuch. His position among the eunuchs was not worth mentioning. Even many high-ranking officials in the imperial court might not have heard of his name. The common people did not even know of his existence. For an ambitious person, this was unbearable. The only person who could change his fate was the current Crown Prince. Therefore, he had to hold on tightly to the Crown Prince's thigh and do his best to help the Crown Prince ascend to the throne. Then, he could realize his life's dream.
Although he was a eunuch and a person with a handicapped body, this did not prevent him from being ambitious. A person with a handicapped body may have a defect in his heart, but this did not affect a person's ambition at all. Since ancient times, there had been too many ambitious eunuchs.
The more physically handicapped a person was, the more he yearned for power. After all, the meaning of life was happiness and comfort. When a person could not obtain satisfaction in a certain aspect, he would choose to obtain pleasure in other aspects.
For example, a person with poor academic performance would not like to compete with others. He would choose to compete with others in fighting. As long as he beat the student with good academic performance, he would feel much better. What was the use of having good academic performance? He would still be beaten.
In other words, people always liked to compete with what they were good at, so that they could feel proud and happy and live more meaningfully.
Of course, there were also some people who, after trying various ways to make themselves happy, gradually became tired of these ways and could no longer feel happy. For example, eating meat made people happy, but if they ate meat every day, they would soon get hurt. Then, they would no longer feel the joy of eating meat.
When a person lost interest in all the things he could get, his life would become very decadent. Eating meat and drinking wine were meaningless, playing games were meaningless, traveling and sightseeing were meaningless. Everything made a person feel meaningless. What was the point of living in such a meaningless world? Therefore, in order to make themselves feel meaningful, many people would do things that could stimulate themselves, such as eating poisonous things, stealing other people's spouses, and so on.
As a physically defective eunuch, he would definitely not be interested in the matters between men and women. After reaching adulthood, his desire for food would also be greatly reduced. Therefore, the thing that could arouse his interest the most was the desire for power. Only this could bring him great joy and make him feel that his life was valuable and exciting. Moreover, it was something that they could do. After all, eunuchs were people in the palace. If they could come into contact with the most powerful person in the empire, the possibility of becoming the confidant of the emperor of the empire would be greatly increased.
Li Fuguo was an ugly eunuch with a defective body. Other than having power, there was nothing that could make him feel satisfied. The prerequisite for having power was to tightly hug the thigh of Crown Prince Li Heng and help Li Heng ascend to the throne. Then, he would be able to obtain power and finally become a person who could call the wind and summon the rain step by step.
In history, Li Fuguo was truly such a person. After helping Li Heng ascend to the throne, he had practically monopolized the imperial power and gradually turned the emperor into a mere figurehead. He had even arrogantly told the emperor that the emperor should just enjoy himself and that he could help the emperor govern the world. This was simply treason. In the end, he had angered the emperor and died.
The Crown Prince believed Li Fuguo's words and did not take the emergency measure of summoning his confidant. Otherwise, it was extremely likely that it would arouse the suspicion of the emperor and affect his position as Crown Prince. After all, this emperor was not a kind person. He had personally killed three of his sons and stolen a daughter-in-law. To be the son of such a powerful emperor, one had to learn to conceal one's strength and bide one's time, learn to obediently submit. As long as one did not go against the emperor's wishes, the emperor would never depose him.
In the eyes of Emperor Li Longji, a filial and obedient prince would always be more satisfying than a capable prince. He would never need a Crown Prince who was too capable. He only needed an obedient and filial Crown Prince who could peacefully be the Crown Prince and never be in a hurry to become Emperor. This was enough to satisfy him.
The Crown Prince had the help of Li Fuguo. The other princes who coveted the position of Crown Prince naturally had their own confidants. They could even gain the support of some of the court officials. This was also the result of the emperor's lack of support for the Crown Prince. Some of the court officials did not think highly of the Crown Prince, so they chose to secretly rely on the princes with more potential. Some of the officials even became fence-sitters and placed bets. When they expressed their loyalty in front of the Crown Prince, they also expressed their loyalty to the other princes. In this way, no matter which prince obtained the throne in the end, they would be able to do well.
However, placing bets on several people was very risky. Once this kind of behavior was exposed, it would offend many parties. For example, some scumbags in the future would use the same method to coax several other girls after sweet-talking a girl. When many people gathered together, this kind of behavior would be exposed. Thus, this person's reputation would be ruined.
However, some officials expressed their goodwill to many parties but were not willing to be trusted by any party. In this way, they could do it with ease and did not have to worry about being punished by others.
Princes like Prince Tan, Prince Li Zong, and Prince Yong had made some small movements recently. For example, the frequency of them leaving the Residence of the Ten Lords had obviously increased. Some of them went on excursions, some went to temples to pray for their fathers, and some went to restaurants outside to eat. In short, the sudden increase in frequency of going out was very suspicious, and all their actions were under surveillance.
"Eighth sister, long time no see. Have you been busy recently?"
Yang Guozhong did not need to report his visit to Madam Guo's Mansion. He could directly go in. The servants in the mansion all knew him and would not stop him at all. Moreover, they would warmly greet him.
Yang Yurou had just returned from the workshop and was lying in a rocking chair to rest tiredly. When she heard her cousin's voice, she frowned slightly and ignored him.
"Ouch! Who dares to offend my little sister?! "
Yang Guozhong was a high-ranking official, but he did not lose his ability to flatter at all, especially when it came to pleasing women. He was absolutely handy and was an expert.
"Brother, you haven't come for so long. I thought you had forgotten us."
Yang Yurou did not get up. She rolled her eyes at Yang Guozhong contemptuously.
"Hahaha, how could that be? I've been too busy recently, so I didn't have time to see you. Now I'm here. "
Yang Guozhong saw that Yang Yurou was tired, so he hurried forward, squatted down, and massaged her calves. He moved his fingers upward little by little with a flattering expression.
"Aiyo, my two legs! It's almost not mine anymore. I'm so tired these past few days. "
Yang Yurou complained while enjoying it.
"Yes! What have you been busy with recently? You haven't been to the palace for several days. "
Yang Guozhong asked.
"It's about the perfume workshop. I thought it would be very simple, but I didn't expect there to be so many things. It's really tiring. My legs are about to break from exhaustion."
When Yang Yurou mentioned the perfume workshop, she could only say one word. It was too tiring.
"Just leave the matters of the workshop to your subordinates. You don't have to do everything by yourself. These are all trivial matters."
Yang Guozhong tried to persuade her.
"When the operation is mature in the future, I can naturally leave it to my subordinates. But now the construction has just begun. There are many things that my subordinates can't decide. The most annoying thing is that someone suddenly increased the price of the wood by 30%. How dare he blackmail me?"
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