"In the third year of Wanjing's reign, Concubine Shu gave birth to a third son, who is now your Majesty's third younger brother."

"In the 22nd year of Wanjing, the third prince left the palace, was transferred back to the Ningzhou vassal, and was granted the title of Prince Ning... This is how the old emperor wanted to pave the way for the present His Majesty."

Zhao Sheng sighed like this while looking through the files.

The third prince had a reputation as a virtuous man in the palace at that time, but it was a pity that he was not a legitimate son and could not be crowned prince.

In order to ensure the stability of the government, the old emperor must send this prince who can seize the legitimate title out of the palace.

Forget about leaving the palace, he was sent directly back to the vassal territory, which meant that he had no chance of becoming the emperor.

Zhao Sheng continued to read the files.

"In the twenty-fourth year of Wanjing's reign, the former emperor visited the sky and King Ning guarded the border. He was not allowed to return."

"In the third year of Tianguang, it was the emperor's birthday. King Ning refused to congratulate him. The emperor reprimanded him and cut off his salary for three years... This is not something to be afraid of. The vassal kings collected taxes from the vassal land themselves.

It’s just that anyone with a discerning eye can see that the emperor doesn’t like Prince Ning.”

He can already guess what will be written at the bottom of the file.

"In the tenth year of Tianguang, Ningzhou officials reported that King Ning was extravagant and ostracizing the people. The emperor was furious and summoned King Ning to the capital to denounce him."

"In the twelfth year of Tianguang, the wolves from the north invaded. King Ning led his army to quell the rebellion and captured three cities. The emperor was afraid that there were spies in the city, so he sent Jin Yi guards to garrison... After quelling the chaos, the emperor took the opportunity to be a thorn in his side, tsk tsk."

"In the fifteenth year of Tianguang, the wolf clan in the north invaded Jiubian. King Ning petitioned the court to send troops for support, but the Ministry of War rejected it.

The emperor ordered Ningzhou Jinyiwei to investigate and reported to King Ning that there was no such thing. The emperor was furious and confiscated Ningzhou's taxes for three years... This is to drain the bottom of the cauldron."

"In the eighteenth year of Tianguang, King Ning dispersed funds and raised troops, and led the generals to defend the northern border. The Jinyi guards reported back, and King Ning wanted to rebel.

The emperor is furious...Why is this emperor so angry all the time? He may not live long."

Zhao Sheng closed the files and sighed.

In fact, he knew what happened next without looking at him.

In the spring of the eighteenth year of Tianguang, King Ning rebelled. In autumn, he was defeated and captured. He Qiansui personally led the factory guards and took him back to Beijing, where he is now imprisoned in the Zongren Mansion.

After the trial in the clan's palace is completed, the emperor will be deprived of the throne, and then removed from the clan, he will be imprisoned in the heavenly prison, and will be executed by the Queen of Autumn.

But is the reason really that simple?

After all, Zhao Sheng traveled from modern times on earth and has seen many such things in history books.

"Prince Ning may not have thought about rebellion, but in the eyes of the emperor, he is going to rebel. This is called trying to impose a crime, so why bother."

But all this has nothing to do with Zhao Sheng.

Whether Prince Ning intends to rebel or not is a matter for the top brass.

And for a little person like him, it is very difficult to survive the battle between the chief eunuch.

What he has to consider is how to survive this storm.

"It's written in the file that Prince Ning is arrogant and overbearing. Someone has already interrogated him before. If I interrogate him this time, I'm afraid it won't be so easy for him to answer honestly."

Zhao Sheng rubbed his eyebrows, flipped through the file, and turned to the last page.

It records the family members of Prince Ning’s residence.

King Ning was sent to Ningzhou to guard the border in the 23rd year of Wanjing. He always took the lead and took care of the children of generals who died in battle.

Among the dependents of Prince Ning's Mansion, there were many children of these generals who were adopted by him as adopted sons and daughters and enrolled in the Prince's private schools.

And even though his own son was sent to the military camp for training, he would never deliberately make him suffer.

If the records are true, it means that King Ning is a person who values ​​friendship and loyalty.

Zhao Sheng let out a long sigh and already had a calculation in his mind.

……

On the eighth day, Zhao Sheng walked out of the practice room, straightened his clothes and straightened his black hat.

He looked up and saw a golden sun rising from the palace wall, casting a golden glow on the glazed tiles, which was magnificent and moving.

This is the imperial palace, the most prosperous and prosperous place in the world.

It's just that in a place like this, there are still people like Zhao Sheng who are insignificant and don't know life or death.

"One day, I will stand at the top of the palace and no longer let anyone control my life and death!"

Zhao Sheng's eyes sparkled, and after taking a long breath, he walked down the steps.

Xiao Guizi is waiting for him below.

"Thank you, sir."

Zhao Sheng bent over and bowed.

He is just a handyman, and someone needs to take him to the prison of the Clan Mansion before he can enter.

"Are you ready?"

Xiao Guizi asked softly.

"You are ready, please lead the way."

Zhao Sheng smiled warmly and walked to Xiao Guizi.

Xiao Guizi nodded and led him towards the prison of Zongren Mansion.

Outside the main hall of the General Office, General Hai looked down at the two people.

"Neither humble nor arrogant, and he knows etiquette. He is a good young man."

Mr. Hai secretly nodded and praised.

In the palace, if you are too humble, you will only be bullied to death.

But if you are too conceited, you will die without knowing how.

Only Zhao Sheng with such a temper can go far and live a long time.

"It's a pity. If this happens, if we can get through it safely this time, let's give him a place to live."

Mr. Hai shook his head, turned around and walked into the main hall.

The clan mansion was very large, divided into left and right clan courtyards, as well as a history department, a record library, and a prison.

Zhao Sheng and Xiao Guizi walked around the palace and walked several palace roads, and finally arrived at the prison of the Zongren Mansion.

The reputation of Dalao in Zongren Mansion is not as great as Tianlao, but it is worse than its grandeur.

After all, the clan is imprisoned. Even if you are in jail, you have to be more generous than outside so as not to lose the royal dignity.

There is a pair of feral beasts placed outside the prison door, like tigers, with a majestic and solemn air.

Several well-equipped imperial guards guarded the gate, while eunuchs served as jailers inside.

The jailers here are completely different from those in the prison outside.

Outside the prison, most of the jailers are hereditary, and they are rich in salary and salary, and they are positions that cannot be exchanged for a lot of money.

The jailers in the Zongren Mansion are all eunuchs. Where do the descendants come from to pass on the throne? Moreover, the people imprisoned here are all relatives of the emperor, and they may be released at any time.

I really can't offend, but I still have to be beaten and scolded, which is worse than a handyman.

Xiao Guizi glanced at the warrant given by General Hai to the Imperial Army, glanced at Zhao Sheng, nodded and said: "Go in."

Zhao Sheng nodded in thanks and walked in quickly.

It was Zhao Sheng who interrogated Prince Ning, so Xiao Guizi could only wait outside the prison door.

Some imperial guards took Zhao Sheng into the prison and threw him to a eunuch inside the door who was responsible for recording entry and exit records.

Zhao Sheng thanked him again, took out a few pieces of silver from his arms, and gave them to the imperial guards and eunuchs respectively.

This is what Mr. Hai asked Xiao Guizi to teach him.

Money can make all the difference, so it’s always good to take care of things from time to time.

General Manager Hai is usually dignified and says little, but perhaps because he felt guilty for getting Zhao Sheng involved in the turmoil, he finally tried his best on Zhao Sheng's interrogation of Prince Ning.

After receiving the money, the imperial guards and eunuchs smiled happily and their attitude towards Zhao Sheng became better.

After the imperial army left, the eunuch took Zhao Sheng into the depths of the prison.

"This Prince Ning is very violent, little brother, you have to be careful..."

The eunuch reminded Zhao Sheng with a smile.

Zhao Sheng thanked: "Thank you, father-in-law, for reminding me."

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter...here we are."

The eunuch took Zhao Sheng to a dark alley, frowning.

"Our family is getting older, so we don't dare to leave anymore. Little brother, please be careful."

Zhao Sheng bent down to bow and walked into the dark alley alone.

There were only two or three sparse oil lamps hanging on the wall, struggling to emit a weak light.
To be continued...