Drunk Bamboo

In order to take care of Xie Yuzhu, Hua Qinfeng slept in the ear room. That night, Xie Yuzhu slept soundly.

At the hour of Yin, Hua Qinfeng woke up naturally, put on his clothes, and went into the main room to see Xie Yuzhu. She was sleeping soundly, and her face was not as pale as yesterday, so he quietly left the room.

"Your Highness, how is the princess's condition? Baiguo will come over to take care of the princess after he helps Nanny get up." Chaoyang always gets up earlier than Hua Qinfeng and is already waiting outside Changfeng Courtyard.

"It looks much better. Ask Lao Liu to come to the training ground. I have something to ask him." Hua Qinfeng said to Chaoyang.

"Yes." Chaoyang replied.

Hua Qinfeng first went to the martial arts training ground to warm up, and then began to practice boxing. After a while, Chaoyang and Lao Liu came.

Hua Qinfeng wiped his sweat and asked, "Lao Liu, what have you found out about the matter that Madam asked you to investigate?"

Lao Liu bent his back with a smile on his face. After hearing Hua Qinfeng's question, he paused and his eyes flickered slightly. Usually, the prince never took the initiative to ask about these things, but today he asked in person, which was a bit unexpected.

Although he was surprised, his face remained calm and he answered truthfully:

"Those who were discussing the affairs of the palace in Anhe Restaurant were just ordinary businessmen and common people. After questioning, they were found to have been to Taohua Tower recently. The saying 'the news came from the suburbs' was misleading by the person who actually spread the news. It killed two birds with one stone, not only luring the prince to the suburban villa, but also misleading the direction of our investigation. In fact, the source of the news came from Taohua Tower. There are many people in Taohua Tower, and it is a bit troublesome to investigate. Please rest assured, the Liu Gang has already planted people in Taohua Tower, and we will definitely find out the real mastermind behind it."

Chaoyang frowned unconsciously: "Even Changfeng Tower is a troublesome place, how come I haven't heard of Taohua Tower before? What is Taohua Tower?"

Changfeng Tower is not a real building, but an organization that collects intelligence. It was founded more than 20 years ago when Bai Yue, the princess of Bai Kingdom, was traveling to Rao Kingdom. After Bai Kingdom and Rao Kingdom formed an alliance, Bai Yue, the princess of Bai Kingdom, became the future Consort. After giving birth to the third prince Hua Qinfeng, she devoted herself to taking care of the child and no longer managed Changfeng Tower. Ten years ago, Consort Shu died of illness and handed Changfeng Tower to Hua Qinfeng, but it was not really put into use. It was not until three years ago, after the New Year's Eve incident, that it began to operate again.

The Liu Gang belongs to the Changfeng Tower. Originally, they were just some poor people working as movers and shakers at the docks. Later, they developed into the largest water transport gang in Rao Country. They traveled across the entire country from west to east, transporting things and delivering messages.

Hua Qinfeng was nominally the owner of Changfeng Tower, but it was Nanny Bai and Lao Liu who managed Changfeng Tower. Later, Hua Qinfeng was worried about Nanny's hard work, so he handed it over to Chaoyang. Chaoyang followed Hua Qinfeng to the western frontier, and was out of reach, so now it was almost entirely Lao Liu who managed it.

Lao Liu replied: "Taohualou is a brothel."

Hua Qinfeng was puzzled: "Brothel?"

Lao Liu smiled and said, "Your Highness rarely returns to Zhongdu, and he never goes to brothels. Taohua Tower was built in recent years, so it's normal that he doesn't know about it."

Chaoyang pondered for a while and said admiringly: "From high-ranking officials to ordinary people, no man can escape the gentle land of beautiful women and good wine. It is a good place to collect intelligence. The owner of Taohua Tower should investigate it carefully."

Lao Liu felt the same way: "We have already sent someone to investigate."

Waving his hand, Hua Qinfeng didn't care about the Peach Blossom Tower and asked, "There's no rush for these. There are only those few people behind the scenes. It won't be surprising if we find out who they are. Among the palace maids sent by the palace before, there was one named Yunling, the maid who followed Xie Yuzhu. Has her identity been found out?"

Lao Liu: "The people around the princess were the first to investigate. Yunling's family background is clean. Three generations of her ancestors lived in Zhongdu. Her father was the accountant of a medicine store, and her mother took care of the housework at home. She had no worries about food and clothing and lived a happy life. However, ten years ago, her parents died of illness, and she entered the palace."

When talking about ten years ago, Lao Liu's tone softened.

Chaoyang's eyes widened immediately: "Ten years ago, could it be that terrible..."

He immediately shut up and looked at Hua Qinfeng in horror. That was the prince's pain and a disaster for the entire Rao Kingdom.

Hua Qinfeng's face was gloomy and he remained silent.

Lao Liu spoke up to break the silence: "Yun Ling has been transferred to many palaces since she entered the palace, doing odd jobs. This time she was sent to Nanmi to serve the princess because this job was hard and thankless, so she was given the job."

Chaoyang sighed, "It turns out that her life story is so tragic. Why did the prince ask about her for no reason?"

Hua Qinfeng did not answer. The shadow on his face had disappeared and he changed the subject.

"Old Liu, check where in Zhongdu I can find good cloaks. Ask the Liu Gang to ask around on the river. It doesn't matter what the price is, as long as the leather is good."

Lao Liu changed the subject and asked with a smile, "Does the prince want the cloak as a gift for the princess?"

Chaoyang was puzzled: "Didn't the Queen just give me a white fox cloak of the finest quality from the Bai Kingdom? Where can I find something better than this?"

Hua Qinfeng smiled and said, "No matter how good it is, it's not as good as the ones we buy ourselves."

"Your Highness is right. I would also like to ask, if those young masters from aristocratic families come to invite Your Highness again this afternoon, will Your Highness go out?" Lao Liu looked kind.

"I won't go out these few days. I will have to go to court after my rest in a few days. I'd better stay in the mansion. Besides, Xie Yuzhu is sick again, and I can't go out with peace of mind. Just tell them that the princess is sick and I need to take care of her, and ask them not to come to see me recently."

"Yes."

Lao Liu received the task and left.

Chaoyang accompanied Hua Qinfeng in sword practice. While swinging the sword in his hand, he expressed his doubts today: "Don't you hate the noble sons of Zhongdu the most? Relying on the merits of their ancestors and inheriting the enjoyment of life, they are neither good at literature nor martial arts. Why are you willing to join them this time?"

The sword in Hua Qinfeng's hand was as agile as a snake, and his moves were fast and accurate: "They are different. They have the ideal of serving the country in their hearts, but they are restricted by their families, who don't want them to serve as soldiers on the front line."

The young masters of noble families they were talking about were the people who surrounded Hua Qinfeng on the wedding night.

"Although Lao Liu has checked that they are all idle young men who have nothing to do with party affairs, it is really strange that they appeared beside the prince inexplicably and worshiped the prince so much."

"I showed off my halberd in front of them and they were stunned. I was born with supernatural powers, so it's no wonder they worship me. Chaoyang, you just think too much."

With a worried look on his face, he said, "But they made the prince drink a lot of wine on the night of the wedding banquet."

Hua Qinfeng defended them: "I was so happy that I drank too much that night, so you can't blame them. I've been with them these past few days, and nothing has happened. Lao Liu can't find any problems with them, so don't worry."

Chaoyang said cautiously: "Your Majesty should be more careful."

Accustomed to it, Hua Qinfeng stopped explaining to Chaoyang, put away his sword, sighed slightly, and said: "Oh, I know. I'm going to the palace later, so don't follow me."

Chaoyang was surprised: "Entering the palace again?"

"Weren't you just wondering why I asked about Yunling?"

"The prince is coming to the palace to ask for someone!"