Hello Chang’an

Chapter 419 Increased suspicion

The emperor ordered Zhongshu Sheng to prepare an edict to express his great joy to the Holy Heart. He sent cloth, jade and other rewards to Tuyuhun, and named the new prince of Tuyuhun who was just born and has the blood of the Ming Dynasty, the name Murong Shou. flat.

"Princess Gu'an lived up to my expectations and gave birth to a prince with my Dasheng bloodline for Tuyuhun." In the study room of Ganlu Hall, the Holy Book Emperor said with a slight smile.

Most of the officials who were left to discuss the matter had already retired, and only Zhongshu Lingma Xingzhou was left.

Ma Xingzhou raised his hand and saluted: "This is a happy event, and I should also congratulate Your Majesty."

The smile on the Emperor's face deepened a little, and he asked casually: "Speaking of it, the Crown Princess Rong and Li Lu have been married for more than a year. I wonder if there is any good news now?"

Ma Xingzhou raised his eyebrows slightly, bowed and replied, "Not yet, Your Majesty."

For more than a year, Ma Wan has not been able to get pregnant, but for the Ma family, this is not a bad thing.

Ma Wan's marriage was carried out with the emperor's expectations, but Ma Wan failed to satisfy the emperor... In more than a year in Prince Rong's Mansion, she had never found out that she could be called worthy in the eyes of the emperor. Useful news.

In Ma Xingzhou's view, this was probably because Prince Rong's palace had long been wary of his Ma family's granddaughter. Although the emperor had never criticized anyone for this, under such current circumstances, it was difficult for Ma Xingzhou not to worry that the emperor would treat the Ma family because of this. A rift arose, and they even suspected that the Ma family might secretly defect to Prince Rong's palace...

And if Ma Wan is pregnant, the interests of the Ma family and the royal family will be more directly linked, which will inevitably further aggravate the emperor's suspicion.

Therefore, Ma Xingzhou, who was loyal to the Holy Emperor, had vaguely reminded his granddaughter of this matter in a letter a long time ago, and reluctantly handed over a prescription along with it.

"Li Lu's health has never been very good..." The Holy Book Emperor sighed lightly, raised his hand, and stepped back.

This means talking alone.

Ma Xingzhou didn't dare to be careless and acted solemnly and listened respectfully.

"Ma Xiangzhi knows that now King Rong's reputation has been revealed..." There seemed to be a hint of ridicule in the majestic tone of the Holy Emperor: "He seems to have done nothing, but countless knowledgeable people have turned to him. He is..." He has become powerful in his passiveness, but neither I nor the people in the world can find any faults in him that are worth mentioning. "

Mentioning this, Ma Xingzhou's expression was not optimistic.

To put it bluntly, even if King Rong himself has no different intentions, in the long run, the overall situation of the world and the people's hearts will push him to the center of the whirlpool... At that time, will he refuse?

The next moment, the emperor said with an almost sure voice: "Not only that, there may be an informant beside me who has been secretly loyal to him for many years, hiding very secretly."

Ma Xingzhou raised his head slightly: "I don't know what your Majesty is referring to..."

The emperor turned his head slightly and looked at the empty space on the right side of the dragon case.

Ma Xingzhou was slightly startled: "The saint is suspicious of Yu Changshi?"

"Yu Zeng was my son's confidant during his lifetime, and he was very loyal and nostalgic. This is one of the reasons why I chose to reuse him." The Emperor of the Holy Book said slowly: "And everyone in his family is under my control, so , I have conducted thorough investigations and purges several times before, but I have not been able to really suspect him..."

Ma Xingzhou couldn't help but ask: "Then why did the saint suspect that Yu Changshi was involved with Prince Rong's Mansion this time?"

"I have sent people to find out that Yu Zeng, who was still a child many years ago, was trafficked into the capital by a man before entering the palace. And among the three children that the man sold in the same batch, two They happened to be sent to serve as servants in the palace of Prince Rong at that time... Only Yu Zeng was sent to the palace. "

Ma Xingzhou looked thoughtful. So, before Yu Zeng entered the palace when he was young, two of the children who were sold in the same batch as him went to work in Prince Rong's palace?

"Some people, in order to sell them at a high price, will send better-looking children to the mansions of powerful people or palaces..." Ma Xingzhou said objectively: "Based on this alone, it seems that it cannot be concluded that Yu Changshi is related to Prince Rong's palace. "

And if this speculation is true, doesn't it mean that as early as more than 20 years ago, the young Prince Rong had already begun to install spies in the palace? In the eyes of the world, King Rong is indifferent and uncontested... Could it be that he has been acting for more than 20 years?

"This seemingly insignificant coincidence alone is indeed not enough to confirm anything." The Holy Book Emperor said: "Besides this, I have indeed not found other evidence... If not, I would not have done this until now. Yu Zeng became suspicious."

She is not a dim person. On the contrary, she admits that she is suspicious, and from now on, she will have to continue to be suspicious-

If an informant who could easily be detected had stayed by her side for many years without her noticing, then this imperial city would have changed its owner long ago.

"I still remember that Cui Jing was assassinated twice, both while acting on my secret orders. Among the officials and servants who may have known about it, I have purged them several times, but after re-examination, I have not yet found out the person. Hidden thorn..." The Holy Book Emperor said: "Among the people I can think of now, he is the only one left."

"If it were someone else who was concerned about the country, I would not be afraid of killing someone by mistake." The emperor's majestic brows showed a trace of sigh: "But now, there are only a few trustworthy people around me. Yu Zeng has helped me a lot in these years. Si Gongtai is my second pair of eyes, and I don’t want to wrong him.”

After hearing this, Ma Xingzhou was filled with emotions, waiting for the emperor to continue speaking.

"So, I need Ma Qing to help me verify the truth of this matter."

Ma Xingzhou, who had already had a premonition, knew it in his heart. He knew that it was time for him to show his loyalty.

He bowed and saluted: "But according to the instructions of the saint -"

"I need Ma Qing to send a family letter to Yizhou. I revealed in the letter that I have become suspicious of Yu Zeng, and asked the Crown Princess Rong to secretly find out whether there is any evidence of communication between Prince Rong's palace and Yu Zeng..."

Ma Xingzhou hesitated and said, "I'm afraid Wan'er alone won't be able to find anything..."

"There is no need for her to really find out anything." The Holy Book Emperor said: "We only need to let Prince Rong's Palace notice that she is investigating this matter. In other words, I need to use the hands of Princess Rong to let Prince Rong's Palace You know, I'm waiting for Yu Zeng to become suspicious."

If her suspicion is true and Yu Zeng has been lurking for so many years, then he must have many secrets of Prince Rong's palace in his hands.

At this juncture, no matter how useful this chess piece was, Prince Rong's Palace would never dare to take the risk of letting Yu Zeng return to the capital alive, lest she use Yu's family to blackmail Yu Zeng into revealing the secrets of Prince Rong's Palace -

Ma Xingzhou felt awe-struck.

Therefore, the emperor used the excuse of supervising the army to transfer Yu Changshi out of the capital. Firstly, he was on guard during the investigation, and secondly, he was prepared to confirm the emperor's suspicions to Prince Rong's palace...

He couldn't help but say: "If everything is really as your Majesty guessed, and Prince Rong's Mansion is trying to kill people and silence them..."

"He is still useful, and I will do my best to protect him." The tone of the Holy Book Emperor could not hear any fluctuation: "If it is really impossible to protect him, it will be his rightful destination."

Spies are meant to be removed. Whether she removes them with her own hands or with the help of someone behind her, the result will always be the same.

She has sent an order to Jiangdu, asking the imperial envoy of the Supervisory Army and his party to wait in Jiangdu for the return of the anti-Japanese army and the governor Chang. Years ago, Yu Zenghui stayed in Jiangdu.

If Yu Zeng really belongs to King Rong, then this trip can be considered as a chance for him and Ashang to meet each other for the last time. If Ashang wants to recognize him, maybe King Rong will soon do so. Will learn about Ashang's existence...

If Yu Zeng is a traitor, she no longer has to worry about Ashang turning against King Rong.

Ah Shang was most afraid of betrayal. Once he knew that Yu Zeng was King Rong's spy who had been planted beside Ah Shang early in the morning, Ah Shang would no longer have the same affection for King Rong as before.

And now that King Rong has turned against him, he cannot tolerate the current Ashang since he is unwilling to choose him.

By then, Ashang will know that the best choice is to return to her.

Therefore, in a sense, she really hoped that Yu Zeng was the traitor at this time. If Yu Zeng could prevent Ashang and King Rong from joining forces, it would undoubtedly be cost-effective.

As always, the Holy Emperor carefully planned the gains and losses.

Ma Xingzhou hesitated for a moment, then tried: "But has your Majesty ever thought about it, whether Yu Zeng is a spy of Prince Rong's palace, Prince Rong might be the one to take action?"

"Is it a mistake to kill Yu Zeng to cover up the real spy?" Emperor Shengzhi said: "Don't worry, Mr. Ma, I have my own thoughts on this." She did not intend to rely solely on King Rong's "family words" to prove this. There were many old things that she couldn't find out, but if Ashang, the old master, was suspicious, he would have a way to verify it when he met Yu Zeng face to face.

If Ashang gets the result, the increase in metaphor can be handled by Ashang.

If he was really wronged, Ashang was so smart that he would not let King Rong kill Yu Zeng just because he was wrong...

So this time, she wanted to verify Yu Zeng's authenticity with Ashang.

It's just that she doesn't have to and can't explain this to Ma.

The emperor does not have to explain everything clearly.

When Ma Xingzhou left Ganlu Hall, it was already dark.

When he returns home, he will write a "letter home" to Wan'er.

The mission of this family letter is to "expose the holy will", and along with it, Wan'er's position is exposed.

Yes, the Ma family's position has never been a secret. Regardless of whether this happened or not, Prince Rong's palace will not be less wary of Wan'er... But there is always a difference between some window paper, whether it is pierced frontally or not.

Especially in the current situation, a single move can affect the whole body. If the Prince Rong's palace is angered by a slight mistake, Wan'er's life will be in danger. It only depends on those people's thoughts...

Thinking of his granddaughter's repeated mention of Prince Rong's kind words in the letter, Ma Xingzhou sighed deeply in his heart.

Kindness and kindness are important, but what is more important than it is the current stance on the overall situation. If the stance is different, there will be a life-or-death confrontation.

From the moment he decided to let his granddaughter marry to Prince Rong's Mansion, he should have expected today...

But he still hadn't imagined that the situation would evolve so quickly in just a short period of time...

Perhaps all this had already begun to be rehearsed. Driven by incidents and frequent natural disasters, the dissatisfaction and suffering of individual people finally evolved into a disaster for the entire country.

As a close minister of the emperor, he had no choice.

In the cold wind, as a grandfather, Ma Xingzhou suppressed the trace of unbearable color in his eyes.

This new year is destined to be spent in the hearts of more than just the family in Ma Xiang's house.

Tan Li's parents were also thinking about their son who was traveling on a mission.

"An envoy from one country goes on a mission to a foreign country... This is an errand that honors the ancestors. Others can't get it even if they are struggling."

"But it's also very dangerous..." Mother Tan worriedly said: "I originally thought that I would just be a civil servant, rather than risking my life like a military general... But why are you so worried now?"

"Don't even look at what the world is like now..." Tan's father couldn't help but sigh: "Military officers, civil servants and ordinary people are all boiling in the same pot, how can few of them sleep peacefully?"

"It's still warm after it's boiling in the pot." Mother Tan rubbed the needle on her temples and mended the clothes in her hands while saying, "It's such a cold weather, how can I bear it if I go to the northeast... I heard You can’t touch your ears outside, they will fall off if you touch them.”

They are from the South, and Tan Li is the most afraid of the cold.

"Really?" When Father Tan heard about it for the first time, he immediately felt very uneasy: "Then when our son comes back, can he still keep his ears? He doesn't withstand freezing! If he doesn't have ears, is he still allowed to be an official?"

"How do I know..."

Also worried about Tan Li was Minister Zhan.

There were five Jinshi from the same batch, including Song Xian Tanli, who were sent as envoys to Dongluo this time.

At first, Shilang Zhan was glad that it was not him who was taking care of Miaomiao this time, but Shilang Wei from his subordinate province.

However, this batch of Miao Miao has made great progress and is much easier to take care of than before.

Half a year is not a long time. In the past, officials who had just joined the officialdom had just figured out their way into the officialdom and had not yet been assigned important positions.

But this group of Jinshi is different. They have opportunities that their predecessors have never had, and they also bear the hardships that this opportunity brings. The critical national situation forced them to quickly shed their literati innocence.

At this moment, Shilang Zhan suddenly understood how he felt when the teacher told him to "bring all these seedlings back with them tail to tail" when he took Song Xian and others to Luoyang for disaster relief.

Speaking of the teacher, the weather has been cold recently, and the saint has exempted the teacher from the morning pilgrimage. He has not seen the teacher for a few days.

I haven't been scolded by the teacher for a while, and my head is a little itchy...

Alas, there is probably no hope for the officials in the capital to seal the annual leave this year. Fortunately, it is still early today. The itchy Shilang Zhan made a plan and asked the bearer to change the route and go to Chu Shangshu's house.

Only when he went there did he realize that he was not the only one with an itchy head, Qiao Jijiu was also there.

Oh, counting the days, the Imperial College has begun to take annual holidays... Teaching is easy, and Minister Zhan can't help but feel jealous.

On vacation, Qiao Jijiu had nothing to do. Ice fishing in winter was certainly interesting, but just once every three days would be too much trouble.

In the rest of your free time, why not come and play chess with Taifu, and rub the charcoal basin - for some reason, Taifu's charcoal basin burned very richly this year. The charcoal is the best silver charcoal, without a trace of smoke, and it is all the same. The arrangement is two pots.

There was a basin placed next to the chess table, and his family, Ah Wu, had one basin all to himself.

Shilang Zhan saw the yellow-and-white dog sleeping soundly next to the charcoal basin covered with a copper wire smoke cage. Seeing that it was still wearing a floral jacket, he couldn't help but feel strange. He bent forward and purred twice.

Ah Wu opened his eyes and groaned twice. It must have been too hot, and he rolled over, with his feet in the air, exposing his plump belly.

Looking at the dog's face, Mr. Zhan hissed: "At first glance, this dog is so popular..."

Master Chu, who was playing chess, responded casually. Not only was he popular among people, but if he looked more closely, he was also angry among monks. When he asked his servants to prepare dog food on the first day, he couldn't help but ask, Is this dog a vegetarian or something else?

I don't know where Qiao Yang found a dog that looked so similar to the one who passed away in Dayun Temple earlier. I'm afraid that even if the dog returned to secular life, he wouldn't be able to produce a dog that looked so similar.

Mr. Zhan played with the dog for a while, stepped forward to watch the chess, and couldn't help but praise: "Teacher, these two moves are really brilliant..."

Taifu Chu said angrily: "Watch the chess without saying a word, and go drink your tea."

Shilang Zhan responded "Yes" with a smile, only to feel that the teacher choked him, and his whole body was permeated.

It’s not that he was born with a bad temper, but the situation was really exhausting. Occasionally he could escape for a moment, sit in front of the teacher, have a cup of hot tea, and listen to the teacher’s usual lectures, and then he felt less so. Tight.

The existence of a teacher is like Mount Tai, which makes people look up to and makes them feel at ease.

The original text of this chapter was revised on 2024.1.23

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(End of chapter)