At the Empress Dowager's birthday ceremony, Zhao Ji sang a filial piety show, which won the Empress Dowager's true happiness. In terms of acting skills, he has overwhelmed all the heroes, making the civil and military officials such as King Mu, King Chu pale.

Master Lechen is highly respected and has been an old friend of the Empress Dowager for decades. He affirmed that Zhao Ji's filial piety comes from sincerity. The Empress Dowager naturally believed it and was even more moved. She had originally had a good impression of Zhao Ji for a while, but now she treats him as a parent-child legitimate child. She no longer treats Prince Mu, King Chu and other princes equally, but instead turns her heart towards King Duan Zhao Ji.

The Empress Dowager and Master Le Chen left the birthday ceremony scene, but only called Duan Zhao Ji away. The civil and military officials at the scene knew it well, but they didn't dare to talk to each other.

Looking at the other party's back as he was leaving, the King of Chu and King Mu stood together. The King of Chu said, "I didn't expect that King Duan was so cunning. You and I were all wrong!"

King Mu's face looked ugly. He was the eldest son of the princes. He was the oldest and the most scheming. However, he never thought of taking Zhao Ji away. He couldn't help but snorted coldly and said jealously: "It's just a trick of me, even if I please the Queen Mother, what if I please the Queen Mother, can the Queen Mother still interfere in the government affairs?"

The King of Chu sneered: "Although the Empress Dowager has long stated that he will not interfere in the government affairs, the Empress Dowager is fully qualified to interfere in the issue of crown prince! In the past, none of our princes were given by the Empress Dowager, so we don't care about the Empress Dowager's opinion, but now it's different. King Duan played a card of family affection and filial piety, and the Empress Dowager will definitely be partial to him!"

At this moment, Zhang Dun also came over and interrupted, "What the King of Chu said is very much! The two princes will know just by looking at the expressions of these ministers!"

The King of Chu and King Mu then noticed that the expressions of the civil and military officials around him were very strange, and asked in confusion: "What does Lord Zhang mean?"

Zhang Dun sighed and said, "The Empress Dowager has considerable influence. Most of these civil and military officials will follow the Empress Dowager's opinions. In the past, the Empress Dowager treated all the princes equally, so they did not consider the Empress Dowager's attitude. But after today, the Empress Dowager will inevitably favor King Duan, so these ministers are thinking about something in their hearts!"

King Mu blurted out: "They are wondering whether they support King Duan?"

Zhang Dun said nothing, just nodded slightly.

The King of Chu also darkened his face and cursed coldly: "These ungrateful wolves who are not well-raised!"

At this moment, the King of Chu and King Mu seemed to turn swords into jade and silk, stood on the same front, and asked Zhang Dun in unison: "Does Lord Zhang have any countermeasures?"

Zhang Dun was still quite confident and said, "The two princes should not be impatient. It is not that there is no turning point, but that King Duan can no longer be taken first. The two princes will respect the queen mother more from now on and try their best to strive for it."

At this time, Pan Shi deliberately walked over and said, "Don't you want to know who planned this drama?"

Pan Shigui was the Grand Tutor, and Zhang Dun hurriedly saluted him. Even King Mu and King Chu did not dare to neglect them. They went out to see him and asked, "Is it not that King Duan's idea, but that there is another expert to give me some advice?"

Pan Shi stroked his beard and smiled and said, "That's right! There was a young priest named Yang Fan recently. The person behind the scenes of this drama. Otherwise, you would think that King Duan only knows how to visit the prostitute house and immerse himself in calligraphy and painting. How could he have such a cunning and clever plan?"

The King of Chu and King Mu looked at each other. They were a little curious when they heard Yang Fan's name for the first time. On the contrary, Zhang Dun's face was gloomy and clear. He knew too much about Yang Fan and suddenly felt that something was wrong.

Pan Shi glanced at Zhang Dun and smiled, "I heard that Lord Zhang's nephew had fallen into trouble at this person, and lost all his money and even got a toe. Is there anything wrong?"

Zhang Dun's face twitched and said with a wry smile: "Good things don't go out, bad things spread thousands of miles, which makes the Grand Master laugh!"

Pan Shi smiled and said meaningfully: "Then you have to be careful. Don't let your nephew implicate you. I heard that Yang Fan is quite famous!"

Zhang Dun was stunned and wanted to ask what was going on, but Pan Shi had already walked away.

King Mu, King Chu and Zhang Dun looked at each other, and the three of them became interested in Yang Fan and asked someone to inquire about the information.

Yang Fan was not qualified enough to follow Zhao Ji into the palace, so he could only wait in the Duan Palace. The beauties of the royal palace served tea and water to serve him enthusiastically, which was very comfortable.

Zhao Ji took the time to come back later.

Zhao Ji was covered in spring breeze. Yang Fan guessed at first sight that he had successfully won the trust of the empress dowager, so he took the initiative to congratulate: "Congratulations to the prince, you are one step closer to the throne!"

Zhao Ji was very proud and smiled and said, "It's all thanks to Priest Yang's help!"

Yang Fan was humble and took a seat with Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji looked very happy today. Seeing that Yang Fan was dressed in ordinary clothes and had no precious jade pendants, he immediately ordered people to prepare a few high-quality Suzhou embroidery silk and asked Yang Fan to go back and make some clothes that suit his identity. At the same time, he also gave Yang Fan a beautifully crafted green jade pendant. It is said that it was the best jade from Michigan (Myanmar Laokeng) in Bagan, which was priceless.

Yang Fan politely refused such a valuable gift, but Zhao Ji insisted that Yang Fan did not want to make Zhao Ji unhappy. Anyway, Zhao Ji had enough money, so he didn't want it for nothing, so he thanked him and accepted it.

Then Zhao Ji held a banquet to entertain Yang Fan. At the banquet, Zhao Ji suddenly asked about Yang Fan’s life experience again. Yang Fan lied as before that he was taken away by a laity since childhood to practice.

However, Yang Fan observed his expression and saw that there was a strange look between Zhao Ji's eyebrows, so he asked: "Your Majesty has doubts, so why not just say it!"

Zhao Ji smiled slightly and said bluntly: "It's not that I don't believe you. It's because of one thing that happened too coincidental. I wonder if Priest Yang knew that a young man in Tianbo Mansion had an accident and disappeared in Hangzhou five years ago?"

Yang Fan was stunned. He had heard such words more than once, so he replied: "To be honest, when I was in Hangzhou, someone mentioned this to me. He said that my name and appearance were exactly the same as the missing young man in Tianbo Mansion, but I am really not Yang Fan, so please check it out!"

Zhao Ji obviously ordered someone to secretly investigate Yang Fan's life experience and background, but after finding Jingde Temple in Hangzhou, there was no clue. Instead, he found out that the young master of the Yang family, who was killed and disappeared in Jingde Temple five years ago, and then he contacted Yang Fan.

Seeing that Yang Fan's expression was very calm, unlike lying, but this matter was too incredible, he couldn't help but say curiously: "It's okay to have the same name and surname, but the same age, the same appearance, and it's all related to Jingde Temple, so I can't figure it out!"

This is clearly not to believe it. Yang Fan could only smile bitterly. This is his biggest flaw. The IQ of ancient people was not low. If there was no reasonable explanation, they would probably be annoyed.

Seeing Yang Fan's expression, Zhao Ji was not sure about it and continued: "What is your identity? I don't want to go into it in depth. After all, you are here to help me seize the throne. Your performance during this period satisfies me. But I have to tell you that in the Queen Mother's birthday, Pan, Yang and Lin families asked me about you about you, and I was also shocked. Whether it was the missing young master of the Yang family or not, I must be wary of Pan and Lin families, they may take your life!"

Yang Fan was shocked. He really didn't want to cause trouble, but he took the initiative to get on. From Zhao Ji's mouth, Yang Fan learned about the grievances of Pan, Yang and Lin families. He couldn't help but think of the attacks and murders of unknown men in black when he was in Hangzhou. It should be related to the Pan and Lin families.

Seeing Yang Fan's expression, Zhao Ji immediately comforted him and said, "Prince Yang, don't be too scared. You are my king now. Even if they have the courage, they will not dare to attack you openly. I have arranged for the great guards of the royal palace to protect you secretly. As long as I protect you, you will be safe and sound."

There is something in this sentence, and Zhao Ji's meaning is very obvious. As long as Yang Fan truly follows Zhao Ji, Zhao Ji will protect his vigor.

Yang Fan could understand and hurriedly expressed his loyalty to Zhao Ji: "Thank you for your kindness. Yang Fan cannot repay you. I am willing to do my best to serve the prince!"
Chapter completed!