I am happy to be a mother in a famine year, I have a system to farm the land

"How did you know?"

"It was the Eighth Prince's concubine who told me."

The emperor was silent for a while.

Only then did he understand Sima Lian's true purpose of supporting Xuanyuan Jin.

He had always known that Sima Lian's first wife was a pain in his heart.

But I never expected that these two people would have a child.

But thinking about what happened back then, the emperor's expression was a little complicated.

"Lord Sima, I have something that is not worth saying."

Sima Lian looked at the emperor in confusion, wondering why the emperor said this.

"Your Majesty, if you have anything to say, just say it."

The emperor sighed.

"Back then, the foreigners entered the Central Plains and trampled the mountains and rivers of the Great Zhou Dynasty. I had no choice but to raise troops to recover these mountains and rivers."

"When I first entered Beijing, I didn't see any foreigners."

"But I heard from General Wang that someone took some children and fled the capital first."

When Sima Lian heard this, he couldn't help but frowned, not understanding what the emperor meant by this.

But when he heard the emperor say that the Fanbang people had not entered the capital, Sima Lian raised his head in shock.

If what the emperor said is true, then what Rong Jiao said before about his son being saved by a foreigner, wouldn't it be...

"Although I don't know why Rong Jiao told you like this, I am not the only one who knows what happened back then. General Wang also knows about it, and the Queen Mother also knows about it."

"Your Majesty, where have those people gone?"

Sima Lian asked anxiously.

He knew that the emperor would not lie to him on this matter.

As for Rong Jiao, since she dared to lie to her, don't blame him for being rude.

But now Sima Lian doesn't have that much time to worry about Rong Jiao. He urgently wants to know where his child is.

Sima Lian carefully recalled the situation that day. Although the Fanbang people were fierce, the capital was in chaos at that time, and those people might not be able to get close.

Thinking of this, Sima Lian couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, but then he became worried again.

He was relieved because the people who took away his child were from Dazhou, not Fanbang.

Having been in the Great Zhou Dynasty for so long, he had many opportunities to interact with the Fanbang people. And as the prime minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty, how could he not know the nature of the Fanbang people?

Such a group of barbaric and ferocious people, if it were really possible, he would not want his children to fall into the hands of the foreigners.

Sima Lian himself also knew what kind of virtue those people in Fanbang had.

The emperor looked at Sima Lian's anxious look and couldn't help but sigh.

"I just heard that someone took away the children from the capital, but the person who took them away was not a kind person."

The emperor's words caused Sima Lian to slump to the ground, his eyes looking a little distracted.

Seeing Sima Lian like this, the emperor felt bad.

He couldn't bear that this old minister he had trusted for many years was now like this.

But he had to take Sima Lian's matter seriously. After all, there were people from Fanbang behind Sima Lian and Rong Jiao, and no one knew what they had done.

"Your Majesty, who are they?"

Sima Lian was silent for a long time, and finally he had some sense, and then he asked.

The emperor recalled something and said, "I heard from General Wang that those people might be a group of human traffickers, and those children might have been sold to them."

Sima Lian didn't know whether to be happy or worried for a moment.

Girls who fall into the hands of human traffickers may not have a good outcome.

But that's not necessarily the case for boys. If you meet a kind-hearted family or a family without a son, you might buy the child back.

This is also the best destination for those children.

Sima Lian didn't know that he had a child at first, and it was indeed Rong Jiao who told him about it.

He had been away from the capital for nearly a year at that time. Although his wife and he were getting along comfortably again, there was no news later.

It was also in that year that his wife became pregnant and his son was born.

But thinking that Rong Jiao could lie to him about the child made Sima Lian feel uncertain again.

Looking at Sima Lian's expression, the emperor also guessed what he was thinking.

After all, for Sima Lian today, that 'child' is probably his only heir.

"Ai Qing is worried about that child?"

In today's world, Sima Lian no longer has the need to hide anything.

"Your Majesty, I don't know if my wife was pregnant at the time."

"I will send someone to inquire about this matter. After all, not all the dignitaries in the capital have been dealt with."

Sima Lian looked up in shock.

"Your Majesty, you..."

Sima Lian never expected that after he had done so many things to help Xuanyuan Jin, the emperor would forgive him.

"I know you did it out of necessity, and you didn't help Xuanyuan Jin do anything substantially harmful."

When Sima Lian heard this, he was also quite moved.

He had always known that the emperor valued him, and because of this, he did not have a team behind any prince, including the prince.

But later he chose Xuanyuan Jin because of a child.

For a moment, Sima Lian felt ashamed of the emperor.

After Sima Lian knelt down again, he completely prostrated himself on the ground.

"Your Majesty, I am ashamed."

Sima Lian is a rare talented person, and the emperor is not willing to watch such a talent be drowned.

What's more, if the prince ascends the throne in the future, it will be a time when talents are needed.

And Sima Lian is the head of the hundred officials, so his role cannot be replaced by anyone.

Moreover, he had already cut down many of the civil servants in the capital. If there was no Sima Lian to help the prince in the future, it would be difficult for the prince to have a good future.

"My dear, please get up. I will let the secret guards investigate this matter. As for the matter of the human trafficker back then, I will also send people to investigate."

Sima Lian kowtowed again.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Okay, if you really want to thank me, why not do something for me."

Sima Lian looked calm. As a minister, it was natural for him to do things for the emperor.

What's more, the emperor did him such a big favor and didn't even care about the past grudges.

Sima Lian himself had no reason to refuse.

"Only by His Majesty's orders."

The emperor was very satisfied when he saw Sima Lian like this.

It's easy to kill someone, but it's not that easy to conquer someone.

"This Rong Jiao is extremely ambitious, but behind her is not Prince Rong, but the Li family who was just wiped out."

Sima Lian understood the emperor's intention just after hearing the emperor's words.

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will definitely keep an eye on Rong Jiao."

The emperor was relieved after hearing this.

"Then I'll thank you for your hard work."

Now that Rong Jiao had Xuanyuan Jin's child, the emperor did not want to take action against Rong Jiao at this time.