The best ring

Hou Zhong covered his nose and strolled in the courtyard.

At this time, the courtyard was in a mess after a battle. There were corpses everywhere, the ground was stained with blood, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood.

Hou Zhong walked to a corpse and kicked it. The corpse turned over and lay on its back. The owner of the corpse had several horrible wounds on his chest, and blood kept flowing out of it.

The owner of the corpse was obviously dead, but his eyes were not closed. In his eyes, there was not the fear of facing death, but a touch of indifference and relief.

The owner of this corpse was Wen Huan!

The battle that just happened in this yard ended with Hou Zhong's victory, and Wen Huan and others were wiped out.

After the battle began, Wen Huan was sure that Hou Zhong did not lie to him. When he was fighting with the people around Hou Zhong, many people came in from outside the courtyard wall. These people were naturally Hou Zhong's people. After they came in, they joined the attack on Wen Huan and others. The whole courtyard was indeed completely surrounded as Hou Zhong said.

Knowing that he had no hope of escaping, Wen Huan ignored Hou Zhong's repeated persuasion to surrender, but fought desperately.

Under Wen Huan's leadership, the Shuiyue Kingdom spies in the courtyard fought back and vowed to never surrender.

For this stubborn spy, Hou Zhong did not hold back at all.

And the result was no suspense. Although Wen Huan and others were very brave, Wen Huan brought too many people, and in the end, everyone, including Wen Huan, died tragically.

"Throw their bodies into the wild to feed the wild beasts." Hou Zhong ordered coldly: "When transporting the bodies, make some noise for me, keep an eye on the place where the bodies are thrown. If anyone dares to collect their bodies, kill them directly!"

"Yes!"

Afterwards, Hou Zhong never looked at the bodies again and left the bloody courtyard.

When Hou Zhong returned to his house, there was already a distinguished guest waiting here.

"Minister Yuan, when did you come?" Hou Zhong looked at the guest and asked.

The visitor was Yuan Ji, the Minister of Personnel.

"Just arrived not long ago." Yuan Ji said: "Did Lord Hou go out to do business?"

"Go in and talk."

Hou Zhong led Yuan Ji into his study. Although he was a military general, Hou Zhong had his own study. There were even many books in the study, which looked quite like the style of a scholar.

But in fact, Hou Zhong had never touched these books. They were just decorations in the room. Hou Zhong only held swords in his hands and did not touch books.

"Sit down." Hou Zhong said to Yuan Ji, "I just went out to deal with those spies from Shuiyue Kingdom. The series of events that happened in our Yanyang City recently are all caused by those spies. Those guys are getting more and more rampant. I have wanted to deal with them for a long time. However, I was able to catch them this time because they were too eager, which is somewhat inconsistent with their style. Perhaps, our marriage with Tianji Kingdom has indeed made Shuiyue Kingdom restless."

Originally, Hou Zhong did not need to tell Yuan Ji about these things, and he would not tell them. He was only responsible for the old emperor, but now the old emperor was seriously ill and he could not see the old emperor at all. For his own future considerations, Hou Zhong has been very close to Yuan Ji recently, and it seems that they are allies.

Therefore, Hou Zhong did not hide these more private matters from Yuan Ji.

Yuanji looked at Hou Zhong and said, "It seems that Lord Hou has caught a big fish this time."

"Yes." Hou Zhong nodded: "A big fish I have been eyeing for several years!"

"Then I have to congratulate Lord Hou." Yuanji said: "It's a pity that His Majesty is seriously ill now and will not see anyone, otherwise, Lord Hou will definitely be rewarded greatly."

"Minister Yuan is too kind, this is my job." Hou Zhong waved his hand and said: "However, His Majesty's health..."

Hou Zhong showed a complicated expression, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

"What does Lord Hou want to say?" Yuanji asked.

"Nothing." Hou Zhong said, "I know that this matter is a little strange."

"Strange?"

"Yes! Strange!" Hou Zhong said, "Your Majesty has been in poor health for a long time. In the past, when he was seriously ill, he never saw anyone like now. Although he would recuperate, he would not put aside the affairs of the court and would not see anyone. But this time, His Majesty not only had no intention of asking about the affairs of the court, but even refused to see me. This is too unreasonable."

Hou Zhong has followed the old emperor for many years and still understands the old emperor.

The old emperor is very diligent. He often takes care of the affairs of the court. This may be the reason why he often gets sick.

In the past, even if he was sick and bedridden, he would ask his ministers to come to his bedside to report the big and small things in the court.

As for him, Hou Zhong, because of his special status, he can often see the old emperor.

But this time is different. The old emperor's behavior this time is completely different from the past. Even he can't see the old emperor. This is really a bit strange and abnormal.

"Does Lord Hou think so?" Yuan Ji said.

"Also?"

"Yes, I also think that this incident is somewhat unusual, which is why I came to see Lord Hou today." Yuan Ji looked at Hou Zhong and said, "Lord Hou, we have to think about our own way out."

Hou Zhong's heart skipped a beat and asked, "What does Minister Yuan mean by this?"

"His Majesty is either testing the princes and taking the opportunity to choose the crown prince, or he is too ill and unable to handle the affairs of the court. No matter what the situation is, we need to consider the way out." Yuan Jixuan Xu said.

Hou Zhong looked at Yuan Ji and did not speak in a hurry. Regarding the meaning of Yuan Ji's words, Hou Zhong understood that he could follow the old emperor for many years, so he was certainly not a fool.

"What do you think, Yuan Shangshu?" After a long time, Hou Zhong spoke again.

"Second Prince, Zhao Ke!" Yuan Ji said calmly.

"Second prince?" Hou Zhong frowned slightly: "I know that Yuan Shangshu and the second prince have been walking around quite frequently these days. Does Yuan Shangshu think so highly of the second prince? You know, the eldest prince is now in charge of political affairs in the court."

"The eldest prince? Haha." Yuan Ji was not surprised that Hou Zhong found out about his secret visit to Zhao Ke's house. Hou Zhong's ability was already reflected in this aspect. If he couldn't find it, then there would be a problem.

"Why, Yuan Shangshu doesn't like the eldest prince?" Hou Zhong asked.

"I can only say that the eldest prince is not a suitable candidate. Even if we choose him, he will not completely trust us. In comparison, I am more optimistic about the second prince." Yuanji said.

Choosing a side is a matter of life and a matter of many years of development of his family. Naturally, Yuanji cannot be careless. Yuanji thought about the candidate for a long time before choosing the second prince.