Chapter 110: A fishy fish
The towering ancient trees and green shade are as majestic as the Disheng Palace.
Zhuang Shao stepped over the threshold and finally met his long-missed brother Gu Mengzhen.
In my imagination, my brother was wearing the uniform of a general, standing in the main hall, holding a tablet in his hand, reporting important matters of the court to the emperor in a meticulous, gentle, yet authoritative manner.
Back to reality, Gu Mengzhen was wearing a bright yellow dragon robe with golden dragon patterns, shining brightly, shockingly showing the supreme imperial power and glory.
It was even more shocking to see it with your own eyes.
After searching for many years, he never imagined that his brother had already changed his mind and betrayed the Yan clan who had treated him so well!
Zhuang Shao walked to the center of the main hall and bowed simply.
"I pay my respects to His Majesty."
Gu Mengzhen had already listened to the witnesses' testimony and had a general grasp of the situation.
He had already half believed it, and now that he had seen Zhuang Shao in person, he was even more certain of his identity, so a hint of pity could not help but show in his tone.
"Get up quickly."
"Let me ask you, what is your name?"
Zhuang Shao expressed his inner feelings very naturally, lowering his eyes slightly, with a hint of heartache in his respect.
"My name is not important. What is important is, are you willing to recognize me, brother?"
"You and I have different fathers from different mothers. We have not been able to recognize each other since we were young. To the outside world, we can only get along as close friends."
"When I was a kid, my elder brother taught me to address each other as Brother Gu or Brother Xian. This way, I could maintain the brotherhood and conceal my identity from others, so as not to bring shame to my mother."
"During the Five Kings Rebellion, the Zhuang family was convicted and exiled. Brother Gu told me to protect myself and that you would serve as an official to assist me, redress the injustice for my family, and personally welcome me back to the capital."
"The past is still fresh in my mind, but my brother has recognized someone else. What does that mean? Has Brother Gu already forgotten his old friends and abandoned the deep love between brothers?"
At some point, Gu Mengzhen, who was sitting on the dragon throne, had already had his clothes soaked with tears.
"I have never abandoned the love between brothers."
"The first thing I did when I ascended the throne was to redress the injustice of the Zhuang family, but I recognized the wrong person and mistook him for you."
"This is all a conspiracy by Fang Renshu and his brother. I will explain it to you in detail later."
At this point, Ansong, who had been waiting for a long time, spoke up a reminder.
"Your Majesty, just in case, please allow me to examine this person's scars."
Gu Mengzhen responded in a deep voice.
"check."
After saying that, she turned her head to look at Zhuang Shao and smiled gently, with tears still in the corners of her eyes.
"When I saw you, I felt like I had seen you before. In fact, I didn't need to look closely to know that you were my brother. But your current status as the Earl of Hongshun is very important, and I must give an explanation to the court officials."
"You got hurt when you were playing around as a kid, and a scar should have formed by now."
"The scar is a little private, but you don't have to be shy. I have already dismissed the witnesses and palace maids."
"This is the head of the Imperial Hospital, Ansong."
"Just let him take a quick look."
Zhuang Shao bowed his head.
"Yes."
Mu Rong turned her back and smiled secretly with satisfaction.
Ansong began to check.
After completing the inspection, Ansong walked to the side of the dragon throne and whispered a few words into Gu Mengzhen's ear.
Zhuang Shao put on his clothes and waited there.
After Gu Mengzhen heard what was said, his pupils were startled at first, and then returned to normal.
"Mu Rong, you can turn around now."
Mu Rong turned around and responded as she was told.
"Yes."
The pity in Gu Mengzhen's dragon eyes had long disappeared. He stared at her solemnly, and his words were intertwined with the gleam of swords and sabers.
"Do you know what crime one should be punished for if he plotted against the emperor?"
Mu Rong knelt down in panic.
"Your Majesty is wise, I would never dare to do that!"
Zhuang Shao also knelt down, glanced at Mu Rong, and acted like a panic-stricken person.
"I would never dare to do that."
"I remember all the names of my ancestors, including those of the Zhuang clan, as well as their titles and official titles. Can you use them to prove your identity?"
Gu Mengzhen used up his last bit of patience.
"back."
Zhuang Shao recited it all in detail.
"In the first year of Taizu, Zhuang Su, the Prime Minister of Tinghe, had three legitimate sons. The second legitimate son, Zhuang Yousheng, was appointed as the attendant of Tinghe. Zhuang Yousheng's eldest legitimate son, Zhuang Yin, was canonized as Marquis Cheng..."
Among them, only one person was carried on his back incorrectly.
Mu Rong naturally couldn't hear it.
Gu Mengzhen understood immediately after hearing it, and felt deeply teased, and his tone was angry.
"Did you know that you memorized a wrong name?"
Zhuang Shao pretended not to know.
"Who?"
Mu Rong gave an explanation.
"I, your humble servant, believe that it is normal to have only one person on your back, but it is suspicious if there are no mistakes at all."
"Everyone in the world respects their ancestors. Who can accurately remember the names of every ancestor?"
Gu Mengzhen's anger grew heavier with his breathing.
"But the name he recited wrong happened to be his father's name!"
"In honoring our ancestors, some people may even forget their grandfather's name, but who would forget their biological father's name?"
"And his scars are caused by drugs. If it weren't for Lord An's great medical skills, it would be almost impossible to tell if it was someone else."
"This is obviously a trick to pass off fake as real!"
"You want to use this fake Zhuang Shao to murder my brother, right?"
Mu Rong shook her head in panic.
"No, no, I am innocent."
"I have already told you everything about Fang Renshu and his brother's plan, and what they said is true."
"The brother that the emperor recognized was actually Fang Zhixuan."
"This person is the real Lord Zhuang!"
Having said that, he turned to Zhuang Shao for help.
"Uncle, please tell us more about your past to prove yourself."
Zhuang Shao had already put away his panic, smiled lightly, slowly stood up, and looked straight at the dragon throne.
"The plan to use medicine to take the blame for Emperor Dezong's death was not actually done by the eldest prince alone, but was planned by Lord Gu behind the scenes."
"Emperor Mu passed away. Has Lord Gu found out who the black-clad man who shot the late queen dead with an arrow was?"
"I'm here to say hello on behalf of my elder sister. Sir Gu, how are you?"
Mu Rong was so frightened that her face turned pale.
"Uncle, what nonsense are you talking about?"
Gu Mengzhen frowned solemnly.
"you are?"
"You are Fang Zhixuan!"
"Who is that man in black?"
"Is it Zhong Jian? Or is it someone else?"
"Since Fang Renshu knew my plan, he must have rescued Yun Boyu. Where did you hide him?"
"What is your intention in planning to enter the palace? Are you seeking revenge for your elder sister?"
Mu Rong was so anxious that her eyes became wet and she almost cried out loud.
"Your Majesty is very perceptive."
"He really is Lord Zhuang."
"My uncle recognized the thief as his friend and didn't want Fang Zhixuan to get into trouble, so he led me into the game and pretended to be Fang Zhixuan!"
Gu Mengzhen didn't believe it at all and scolded him angrily.
"My dear brother, how could you possibly consider a thief as your friend?"
"Fang Zhixuan will never tolerate my brother!"
"I have wiped out his entire clan. He must be eager to kill me. How dare you lie to me and tease me?"
Mu Rong shook her head repeatedly.
"I didn't lie."
"Fang Zhixuan became sworn brothers with Lord Bo and pretended to care deeply about Lord Bo, just to cause the brothers to turn against each other today."
"What the subject said is true..."
Gu Mengzhen still didn't believe it, his eyes were gnashing with anger, and he was beyond control.
"My dear brother, you have been smart since childhood, how could you be deceived by false feelings?"
"Even if it's as you said, then how could his scar be fake?"
Mu Rong was panicked, but she tried her best to stay calm and quickly figured out the reason.
"It's Ning Yunxi."
"Your Majesty knows Princess Yuexi's medical skills. She will definitely be able to do it."
When Gu Mengzhen raised his eyes, his long eyelashes pushed away a hint of murderous intent.
"Since you knew that this was a plan by the three Ning girls, why did you dare to bring Fang Zhixuan with you to impersonate Zhuang Shao and try to pass yourself off as the real one?"
"Mu Rong, who is the master you love?"
Zhuang Shao said slowly.
"Master Gu guessed correctly. Madam Ning is indeed devoted to Prince Dijin."
"In addition, Lord Ning, the governor of the state, is also involved. If Lord Gu doesn't believe it, you can go to the side hall and see that he is still there waiting for good news."