Chapter 697: Praying Mantis Catching Cicadas Again(1/3)
Public opinion in Beijing has also reached a critical point in the past few days.
As the pressure of public opinion becomes increasingly uncontrollable, all targets are directed at the Jokhang Court and the emperor today!
In the morning, officials were quarreling among themselves, pointing fingers and blaming each other.
Coupled with Prime Minister Su's illness in the past few days, the situation in the court has almost reached an uncontrollable level.
As the emperor of Zhaozhao, Zhao Jing seemed to have lost his authority over the court. Jiangnan fell, Nanzhou was in civil war, and Beizhou lost control, and the ministers in the court were divided into several factions.
Except for the ministers who were still loyal to Zhao Jing when Zhao Jing ascended the throne, the rest of the court had already been doing its own thing.
Li Beifeng was not surprised when he learned the news.
All this is expected.
The original agreement plan between him and Zhao Jing was just to stabilize Beizhou and give Dazhao a chance to breathe. But even so, Dazhao could not gain much advantage in the face of the rebels of Prince Zhaonan.
Once the breath is gone, it is no longer easy to turn over again.
More importantly, Li Beifeng had no intention of giving Zhao Jing a chance to stand up.
At the same time, his plan with Emperor Zhao and Zhao Ying was also in full swing.
…
Another day, in the evening.
A royal carriage drove slowly through the capital and arrived at the palace gate.
The imperial guards at the palace gate allowed the carriage to enter the palace without much investigation.
The carriage moved through the silent palace until it reached the main hall.
"arrive!"
Then the eunuch's voice sounded in front of the carriage, the curtain opened, and Li Beifeng jumped out of the carriage.
"Your Majesty has been waiting for you in the Royal Garden for a long time!"
The eunuch on the side looked at Li Beifeng cautiously and felt that the person in front of him looked familiar, but he couldn't tell.
Li Beifeng, wearing a silk mask, has now lost his original appearance.
Li Beifeng waved his hand, then took steps towards the Imperial Garden.
Today, Zhao Jing suddenly asked him to drink!
For Li Beifeng, this is not good news.
He and Zhao Jing could no longer be considered friends. Their status meant that they would no longer be able to sit down and drink in peace.
Even if there is cooperation between the two people, even if there is a short-term interest implication, something is still wrong!
Which one did Zhao Jing play?
Hongmen Banquet?!
Could it be that a dragnet has been set up in the palace to wait for him?
When he came outside the Imperial Garden, Li Beifeng stopped and glanced at the nearby area, which was empty.
Near the Imperial Garden, there were not even any master guards in the palace.
With his current martial arts skills, he is sensitive to everything around him.
However, I didn't notice anything wrong.
There were no ambush masters or swordsmen around.
This made Li Beifeng frown even more.
Could it be that Zhao Jing was just looking for him to drink and reminisce about old times?
Thinking of this, Li Beifeng sneered in his heart.
impossible!
However, he still came to the appointment.
As the crown prince of Northern Qi, Li Beifeng now represents not only himself, but also Northern Qi.
Since Zhao Jing made an appointment and the two of them have not broken up yet, Li Beifeng will naturally go to the appointment.
More importantly, Wan'er is still in the palace now, and he has no intention of breaking up with Zhao Jing.
At this moment, in the evening, the sky is getting dark.
Behind him is a dark, cloudless night.
The weather is nice tonight, the sky is full of stars!
Li Beifeng paused for a moment, then stepped into the imperial garden.
In the imperial garden, there are small bridges and flowing water, flowers blooming, birds singing and flowers fragrant!
There is a pavilion by the lake not far away.
There are several figures in the pavilion.
Looking from a distance, Li Beifeng saw Zhao Jing sitting in the pavilion and He Jing standing behind Zhao Jing.
"Brother Li!"
Seeing Li Beifeng appear, a smile appeared on Zhao Jing's face and he spoke cheerfully.
A hint of coldness flashed in He Jing's eyes behind him, but he quickly recovered and remained silent.
Li Beifeng walked slowly to the pavilion, half-smiling but not smiling: "Zhao Jing has an appointment with me today. What's the important matter?"
"I have nothing to do today, but I suddenly thought of Brother Li, so I wanted to make an appointment with him. Do you want to disturb Brother Li?"
Zhao Jing's face was filled with a hearty smile, as if he were an old friend he hadn't seen for a long time, especially cordial.
Li Beifeng also had a smile on his face: "That's not true. Zhao Jing invites you, so I will definitely go to the appointment!"
"Come on, come on, Brother Li, please sit down!"
Zhao Jing waved his hand and took care of him enthusiastically, then glanced at He Jing behind him: "Pour some wine for Brother Li!"
He Jing remained silent, walked forward and poured Li Beifeng a glass of wine.
"This is fine wine shipped from Nanzhou. Brother Li, would you like to try it?" Zhao Jing greeted.
Li Beifeng had a smile on his face and looked at Zhao Jing and He Jing quietly without speaking or moving.
There seemed to be a hint of meaning in Zhao Jing's eyes: "Could it be that Brother Li is worried that I have been poisoned?"
"That's not true!"
Li Beifeng shook his head slightly and glanced at He Jing again: "I'm worried that he poisoned me."
"you……"
He Jing saw Li Beifeng pointing the finger at him, and his eyes immediately stared at him.
"Shut up!"
Zhao Jing spoke coldly.
Only then did He Jing realize that he had lost his temper and turned around and said, "Your Majesty, I am wrong!"
Zhao Jing glanced at him coldly: "Brother Li is my confidant, don't be rude!"
He Jing lowered his head: "I know this."
Then, Zhao Jing looked back at Li Beifeng and said with a smile: "Brother Li did have some conflicts and grievances with him before, but he didn't have the guts to poison you, Brother Li. Brother Li, you can rest assured!"
Li Beifeng said with a smile: "Don't worry, of course I am, he doesn't have the guts to poison me!"
As he said that, Li Beifeng glanced at He Jing again.
As soon as these words came out, the surrounding atmosphere became a little colder.
Everyone present is not a fool, so why can’t they understand the meaning of these words?
He Jing's face changed slightly, looking a little ugly.
They said they were worried about him poisoning, but they said he didn't have the guts to poison him!
On the surface, this refers to him, but doesn’t it actually refer to His Majesty?
"Haha, Brother Li is joking!"
After a brief silence, Zhao Jing laughed twice more: "Brother Li is right to be wary, so I won't force it."
Li Beifeng also had a smile on his face again and had a humorous conversation with Zhao Jing.
It was as if the tense atmosphere just now had completely disappeared.
Everything ceases to exist.
"correct!"
At this moment, Zhao Jing seemed to have thought of something, and glanced at Li Beifeng again, "I have played a few games of chess with He Jing recently, and I feel that I have made great progress. I happen to be free today, how about playing two games of chess with me, Brother Li?"
To be continued...