Dingjiangshan

Capital, National Teacher's Mansion.

Jing Zhan stood with his hands behind his back on the stargazing platform, looking at the sky full of stars, wondering what he was thinking.

The weather in Beijing these days is mediocre, dark clouds obstruct the moon, and the stars are hidden. Strictly speaking, it is not a good time for stargazing, but Jing Zhan is thinking about the front line, and it is not good to make an exception for divination, so he can only go to the stargazing platform every night, chatting to comfort.

The observatory is on the top floor of the National Teacher's Mansion, and no one else is allowed to go up it on weekdays. The two servants serving Jing Zhan can only wait on the lower floor, drowsy by the tea stove.

The stars in the sky change day by day, Jing Zhan stays here every day, just wanting to see where the Ziwei star falls, but he can't do it, the place seems to be covered by mist and miasma, and he can always see it vaguely. Not sure.

Ning Yan's battle on the front line has been fought for more than a year, and there is still no conclusion. There are some courtiers in Ruan Yin's party who are active in their minds and start to become more restless.Fortunately, Ruan Yin is still trapped in the imperial temple and cannot get out, otherwise the court might not be as clear as it is now.

In recent days, the news from the front line has become more and more urgent. Almost every day, new military newspapers are sent to the cabinet, and even the frequency of dispatching food and grass has more than doubled compared to before.

Although Jing Zhan didn't care about general affairs, he also understood that this might be a harbinger of the coming rain.

He sighed inwardly, feeling quite uncomfortable.

"Why are you sighing—"

Jing Zhan was taken aback for a moment, then turned around following the sound, only to find that Yan Qing had come over at some time.

Although Jing Zhan bears the name of the National Teacher, the current Lord of Kunlun is still Yan Qing, so whether Yan Qing enters the palace or comes to the National Teacher's Mansion, there is no need to notify him separately.

"Master." Jing Zhan hurriedly walked a few steps, trying to reach out to help him: "Why are you here?"

Yan Qing waved his hand to signal that he didn't need it. After climbing the steps, he patted the dust on his clothes and asked, "What's on your mind?"

"I'm thinking about His Majesty." Jing Zhan said honestly: "The astrology is not good, and the frontline situation is unclear. I am worried that something will happen."

Hearing this, Yan Qing took a few steps forward, stood where Jing Zhan had just watched the stars, and looked up to the sky with his hands behind his back.

Jing Zhan also walked over and stood beside him.

"A Ling is coming soon." Yan Qing asked suddenly.

"According to the days, it should have arrived. The little girl's footsteps are fast, no more slow than those post carriages." Jing Zhan said: "The battlefield is so dangerous, and my father can let her go."

"What can't be done." Yan Qing glanced at his little apprentice, and said leisurely: "She's going by herself, which means she's already thought about it. If that's the case, then why stop her?"

"That being said..." Jing Zhan muttered in a low voice.

"Your father always only wanted your sister to live a chic and comfortable life, don't need to care about other people's opinions, and do everything according to her heart." Yan Qing said: "As for other ceremonies and reputation, your father doesn't care, so why should A Ling care about it?" .”

Regarding this point, Jing Zhan has always admired Jiang Xiaohan.He is obviously from a family of civil servants and Qingliu, and he should be the most disciplined, but his adoptive father doesn't know whether he has been "wronged" by Yan Qing for so many years, or it is simply his nature, and he has lived longer than his national teacher. Be more free and easy.

Jiang Xiaohan contributed a lot to Jiang Ling's development of this character.

"What Master said is true." Jing Zhan put his hands in his sleeves and smiled.

"I know what you're worried about." Yan Qing said, looking away, and turned to look at Miyagi not far away.

Now it was late at night, and there were only a few sporadic lights burning in the palace city, and it looked a little deserted.

"Everything in this world has a final conclusion. God's will and man-made are indispensable. You don't have to worry too much about it, and you don't have to worry too much." Yan Qing said, "Since you already have confidence in your heart, you don't have to worry about the impermanence of the world."

"Yes." Jing Zhan said.

"Okay, the night is cool, let's go back after a while." Yan Qing said, patted Jing Zhan's head, and said with a smile, "I'm leaving too."

Yan Qing turned around after speaking, and walked towards the stairs going downstairs.

Jing Zhan took a few steps to see him off, and asked casually, "Where is Master going this late at night?"

"Go and pick up your father, he is still reading papers in the cabinet." Yan Qing walked to the stairs, suddenly seemed to remember something, paused, and said lightly: "About Ning Yan, you don't have to worry about it all the time, he There are at least 30 to [-] years left for the Universiade, and the danger can be saved.”

Jing Zhan was taken aback, and subconsciously asked, "Master, why do you—"

He wanted to ask Yan Qing how he knew, but Yan Qing turned slightly sideways and made a silent gesture to him.

"Rules are rules. Even though sometimes it doesn't make sense, you still have to abide by it." Yan Qing pointedly said: "Ah Zhan, there are only three things."

Jing Zhan: "..."

"Understood." Jing Zhan whispered.

Most of the rooms in the cabinet have also been turned off and locked, leaving only a large room in the innermost room with candles lit.

Jiang Xiaohan held an urgent report in his hand, and couldn't help rubbing the center of his brows, wishing he hadn't received this letter.

Whether he was watching Shu Qinghui secretly, or paying attention to King Yong'an's movements behind his back, Jiang Xiaohan was not surprised at all. The longer Ning Yan was outside, the easier it was for dirty things to breed in the court. He needed his help. It's perfectly normal to deal with one or two things openly and secretly.

But the one in the middle——

Holding the letter paper, Jiang Xiaohan really wanted to ask Ning Yan face-to-face what it meant, "No matter what happens or what news comes from the front line, please don't panic, teacher."

There are three copies of Ning Yan's urgent report, and the last one is sealed with wax.At the end of the second letter, Ning Yanming said that the last letter should not be opened unless it is absolutely necessary. Jiang Xiaohan put the envelope in front of the candle and looked at it, and found that there was only a thin sheet of letter paper inside, which was folded three times. You can't see the writing on the inside from the outside.

——But it’s not a good thing to think about it, otherwise why would you have to wait until it’s a “last resort” to watch it.

People say that knowing a son is better than a father, and Jiang Xiaohan has been Ning Yan's teacher for ten years, so he knows him quite well. Just by looking at this remark, he knows that the front line may not be stable.

The candlelight danced to outline his shadow. Jiang Xiaohan sat alone in the empty cabinet, rubbing the letter-opening paper knife in his hand, thinking about the current situation.

Shu Qinghui has been living fairly peacefully these days, why did Ning Yan single out him and Ning Zongze to watch over them strictly at this juncture of inconsistency.

Based on Jiang Xiaohan's understanding of Ning Yan, making such a decision when the front line is unclear, it only shows one thing.

——It means that Ning Yan is about to start collecting the net.

The battle on the front line is coming to an end, either explicitly or secretly, and Ning Yan is about to end the mess at hand soon, and start to "settle accounts after autumn".

So before that, in order to prevent the grasshopper after autumn from hearing the wind, Jiang Xiaohan was needed to help.

Jiang Xiaohan folded the third letter in half with a calm expression, put it in his arms properly, and tore the remaining two secret letters in half, burned one half with a candle, and put the other half under his desk In a locked box.

The burning flames illuminated Jiang Xiaohan's eyebrows. He twisted the two pieces of paper to confirm that the flames had swallowed up the ink on them, and then he let go, letting the burning embers fall into the brush wash.

——I hope Your Majesty will not calculate too much, Jiang Xiaohan thought.

In Anqing Mansion, Changle Prince's Mansion Yamen, Ning Yan was sitting cross-legged on the thick hay, and was randomly arranging small stones on the ground with his left hand.

The injury on his right hand was visited by a doctor on the second day after he arrived in Anqing Mansion, and the arrow shaft was pulled out and the medicine was given—but the treatment of "prisoner" is limited to this, and the doctor was only deceived. He brought him with blindfolded eyes, hastily bandaged him, and was taken away. Since then, he has disappeared, and never came again.

Ning Yan was afraid that someone from Ning Zheng would come to see him at some point, and it would be difficult for Qin Liu to take care of him, so the injury healed rather slowly, and after a few days passed, he still felt nothing but pain.

Ning Zheng probably hasn't come back to Anqing Mansion yet, except for the servants who deliver meals every day, no one else has approached the firewood room where Ning Yan was imprisoned.Ning Yan didn't know whether Ning Zheng's patience had improved after not seeing him for so many years, or something temporarily held him back so that he couldn't come back to show off his power in the first place.

Ning Yan looked down at the few small stones in front of him, and after a while, he disrupted them, and casually tucked his head back under the hay.

A moment later, there was a soft rustling sound from the beam above Ning Yan's head, and Qin Liushu slid down from the hidden hole that had been reserved in a familiar way, walked up to Ning Yan, and half-knelt down to salute.

Ning Yan hummed, and asked, "Have you figured out the situation in the palace?"

"I figured it out." Qin Liu said, "Maybe it's because Ning Zheng is not here. There are not many nurses in this mansion. Most of them are from the military, and there are no experts in them."

As Qin Liu spoke, he took out a small medicine bottle from his bosom, counted out two pills from it, and handed it to Ning Yan.

For Ning Yan, pills are better than bitter medicine soup. He frowned at the two pills for a while, and swallowed them dryly.

"In addition, Princess Changle is also in the mansion. She seems to know that His Majesty is locked here, but she is too timid to go out." Qin Liu said: "Her youngest son is also by her side every day. Recently, even the wet nurse doesn't believe it anymore, and insists on taking the baby by herself."

"Shen Tinghe has never been out of Anqing Mansion, nor has she seen anything in the world. Ning Chengyi's death frightened her, so she must take good care of her child so as not to be harmed by others." Ning Yanpan Starting with the two remaining gravels in his hand, he casually asked, "Where's Ning Zheng?"

"Ning Zheng is still in Luzhou Mansion." Qin Liu said.

"This is really strange." Ning Yan said with a smile: "Third brother is so sure, won't I run out of his palace?"

"Besides that—" Qin Liu said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, Fan Wu has come to Anqing Mansion."

"Fan Wu?" Ning Yan was taken aback: "What is he doing here? Didn't I tell him to look after the uncle?"

"Fan Wu seems to be sending news for the lord." Qin Liu said, "I saw him enter Huaiyu's pawnshop."

Ning Yan felt a little uncomfortable.

At this point, Ning Huaijin must have nowhere to go, even using such information outlets that have been mixed up among the people.

"My subordinate guesses that he is here this time to start with Huaiyu's pawn shop and inquire about His Majesty's news." Qin Liu said, "Does Your Majesty want to stop him?"

Ning Yan wanted to nod, but before he could move, his heart softened.He was poisoned by Ruan Yin in the palace at that time, Ning Huaijin still remembered it so clearly, this time the incident was only slightly bigger than last time, I am afraid that even if Ning Huaijin knew that he did it on purpose, it would be difficult on the other side.

"...Forget it." Ning Yan said: "Secretly tell Huaiyu's pawn shop some information, and then report to Uncle Huang that he is safe."