There is one thing that is different about the princes of this dynasty, and that is that although the six princes and royal highnesses who are still alive are all treated as princes, none of them has been officially given a title or a title.
The reason probably fell on the deceased Crown Prince. He died too early, and at that time, his princes and brothers had not yet bowed.
The emperor didn't know if he was stimulated by the death of his eldest son, so that when the subsequent princes came of age, the kings and titles they should have were suppressed by the emperor for various reasons.
However, although there is no title, the status of the prince is still noble. After many years of management, each of them can be regarded as a real prince. The Fourth Highness calls himself the king. Although it is suspected of putting money on his face, no one will do it. To care.
"I wonder how the Qiao family responded?" His Royal Highness asked expectantly.
"I disappoint His Highness," Xi Qiu shook his head and said, "The person from the Qiao family is Qiao Cunsi. He is young and should be the third son of the Qiao family. He has been ordered to join the Imperial Guard. I asked him about his ambitions and he only said I want to be a lonely minister for the rest of my life."
"This...sigh."
Although His Highness the Fourth Highness did not have high expectations, when he heard this answer, he still couldn't help but let out a sigh. He looked lonely and said: "I treat Brother Qiao sincerely, and we have known each other for several years. I never thought that... He is actually the person left behind by my eldest brother."
Xi Qiu said calmly: "Your Highness, don't worry about it. You know people, know faces, but don't know hearts. Qiao Shifang is a well-rounded person. Such behavior is already expected."
"It's my fault that I was stubborn and refused to listen to the girl's kind words." His Royal Highness said, looking at Xi Qiu with his eyes full of meaning, and said: "I implore the girl to find a chance to see that Qiao Cunsi again and tell him that this king I am not angry that his elder brother betrayed the Lord. Everyone has his own ambitions. As long as he is willing to abandon the dark side and turn to the bright side, I will not begrudge you any demands."
"Your Highness, please be at ease. I have written it down." Xi Qiu said.
"There is one more thing I want to tell the girl," His Highness the Fourth Highness said with a heavy expression: "Before the Jinyi Guards went to Jiangnan, Brother Qiao arranged for me to meet with Lu Zhenfu, but he broke the appointment at the last minute. Could he have joined that side too? Bar?"
"Lu Hanjiang is Meng Yuan's confidant. Unless the commander expresses his position, he should not make the decision without permission. Although His Highness Na Yu has a great reputation, he is ultimately weak. Even if he has ideas, Master Meng will not be so anxious. "
Xi Qiu thought about it and said, "Well, since His Highness cares, then I will handle this matter."
"Sister... the girl wants to take action in the capital?" His Highness the Fourth Prince said with some embarrassment: "There are hidden sentries of Jin Yiwei everywhere in the city. This matter may be too risky."
"Your Highness has misunderstood. It's not me who wants to take action. Lu Hanjiang is a humble person. He has been sitting in the position of governor for so many years. I'm afraid there are many experts protecting him. It's too difficult to succeed by force."
"It's not a girl, could it be...it's the Qiao family?" the fourth prince tentatively guessed.
"Exactly."
Xi Qiu's eyes were shallow, as calm as a mirror lake, and she said softly: "Qiao Cunsi has mastered the martial arts left by Qiao Shifang, and will become a master sooner or later. Besides, he has joined the Jinyi Guards and can use his skills better than outsiders." simpler."
"Just how to convince him..." The fourth prince said, suddenly an idea flashed and he said: "How about pushing Brother Qiao's death to Lu Zhenfu?"
"...Follow His Highness's orders."
...
On the other side, Lu Hanjiang made a rare visit to the Jinyiwei Yamen at night. He first called Jiang Xian and asked, "How is Qiao Cunsi?"
"Everything has been arranged according to the Lord's instructions. A small flag has been given a seat. All the documents proving it are here." Jiang Xian took out a document on the desk and handed it to Lu Hanjiang.
After reading it, Lu Hanjiang nodded and said, "Remember, it's good to eat and drink, don't miss anything."
"Sir," Jiang Xian's voice suddenly dropped a bit, and he said, "This person is no longer useful, why not kill him directly to avoid future troubles."
"There's no rush," Lu Hanjiang waved his hand and said, "Just keep him open his mouth to eat, maybe he will need it in the future."
"My subordinate understands."
Lu Hanjiang hummed and asked again: "Also, are the manpower I asked you to prepare ready?"
Jiang Xian dug out another document, which contained information about the life of a member of the Imperial Guard named Ji Ning: "Sir, this is the man who was plotted against by thieves the month before last and his appearance was disfigured. His subordinates have already reached an agreement with him. , he is willing to give up his position in a hundred households, just for a lifetime of wealth."
For things like impersonation, not only people from outside want to come in, there are also many people inside who want to get out.
Just like the Qiao brothers, if it hadn't been for the accident of the Xiaoyao sect, if they were willing to spend money to open up the relationship, it wouldn't be impossible to send someone in with the surname Qiao.
It's just that this kind of thing can only be a special case and cannot be stated openly.
Jiang Xian was actually a little confused. Based on Lu Hanjiang's identity and strength, wouldn't it be more convenient to kill Ji Ning without anyone noticing? Why go to such trouble? It would be easy for someone to blame him if he was not careful.
However, he probably couldn't guess what Lu Hanjiang was thinking. In fact, it was very simple. It was a reminder given to him by his good friend Qiao Shifang. It is true that you can't hide everything, and you should also leak some to others, so as to make people feel at ease. .
But as long as he knew this kind of thing, he didn't need to say it out loud. He put away the documents and certificates of the hundreds of households, and said to Jiang Xian: "One more thing, I have asked the commander to take credit for you and Bian Guang. News of his promotion to Deputy Senhu will come soon."
"Thank you for your cultivation!" Jiang Xian knelt down and said respectfully with his head lowered.
"Go down."
"My subordinates resign."
After Jiang Xian withdrew, Lu Hanjiang's body slid down a little, and he couldn't tell the slightest bit of the majesty of a soothing envoy as he slumped on the chair.
"Come out." He said to the empty hall. Quietly, a masked man walked out from the corridor.
"I've met my lord." The voice turned out to be Huangfu Xiaoyuan who had died long ago.
Lu Hanjiang threw Baihu's token over and said: "From now on, you will be Beizhen Fusi and Baihu Ji Ning. Remember, walls have ears, so you should hide them when you are outside."
"Ji Ning understands." When Huangfu Xiaoyuan spoke again, her voice had changed drastically, and it was deep and scary. This ability to change her voice was really amazing.
"Back off."
Huangfu Xiaoyuan took two steps back, then paused, turned around and asked, "What was the food you asked me to eat that day?"
That day, when Lu Hanjiang sneaked into Huangfu's house and injured her with one palm, he threw a medicine bottle to her and said only two words to her - take it.
There was only one pill in the medicine bottle. Huangfu Xiaoyuan had already made up her mind at that time and swallowed the medicine on the day of the decisive battle. Unexpectedly, she immediately felt a surge of energy and blood, and then fell into a coma.
When she woke up again, she heard dirty things that she never wanted to look back on in her life. She lay in the coffin and refused to open her eyes, wishing she could die like this.
To this day, the conversation that night still echoes in her mind like a magical sound that hits her ears, causing her to have some slight discomfort when exercising.
Huangfu Xiaoyuan didn't want to believe that she was such a fragile woman, so she could only attribute the reason to the medicine Lu Hanjiang gave her.
However, Lu Hanjiang was in a daze when she asked this question. Xiuxi Pill is a magic medicine that makes people fake death. Apart from being weak for a while after waking up, it has no sequelae.
It's just that the other party brought such a good opportunity to his door, so Lu Hanjiang was naturally not polite. He sat up straight and said with a half-smile: "You ask about the pill? It's okay to tell you. The name of the pill is Sanzhi Naoshen. In addition to making people fake death, pills can also implant an extremely domineering poisonous insect into people's brains. If there is no antidote, within a year, the person who takes the medicine will look like a ghost and a demon, and will not see other people. Just bite it and eat it.”
"...Why?" Huangfu Xiaoyuan's voice sounded like a doll without warmth.
"You and I are neither relatives nor friends, so it's natural to be on guard?" Lu Hanjiang shrugged, as if he was talking about something insignificant.
This was half true and half false. He did intend to take precautions, but the one he was guarding against was not Huangfu Xiaoyuan. She was so crazy that she could even betray her close relatives. No matter what price Lu Hanjiang offered, when something unexpected happened, The designation will still come out.
Huangfu Xiaoyuan was not a person who cherished her life, so Lu Hanjiang would never bet his hope on her.
It's just that although she doesn't care about her own life, there are people who are willing to save her life. For example, her good brother, she just doesn't know what price that good brother is willing to pay for her sister's life this time.
Lu Hanjiang stared at Huangfu Xiaoyuan's retreating figure, unable to contain his joy.
