There have been several autumn rains in the Imperial Capital, and the chill is getting worse day by day. There are gradually fewer pedestrians on the streets than before.
On the other hand, the fire workers in the Zhongnan Mountains outside the city have been busy cutting firewood and burning charcoal. Taking advantage of the sunny weather in the past two days, they hurriedly hooked up the trucks and loaded the goods and sent them into the city.
They must count the days and deliver these gold charcoal and silver charcoal to keep out the cold in batches to the palace and noble houses before winter begins.
If those big shots were delayed in keeping warm, not only would they not be able to earn half a year's wages, but they might also have to be locked up in Jing Zhaoyin's cell for some repairs.
Xu Youchang also took advantage of the good weather today and ran to the guard post of the Forbidden Army's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to find Murong Xue.
After hearing Xu Youchang's explanation of the purpose of his visit, Murong Xue smiled and said, "Oh, I thought you had a conscience and came here to visit an old friend you haven't seen for a long time. We have been making trouble for a long time, but you want me to accompany you to meet your lover."
"Why do these nice words sound so unpleasant when they come out of your mouth?" Xu Youchang said depressedly: "What does it mean to be a lover? You just go to visit someone and show some concern."
Murong Xue shook her head: "If you want to go on your own, just go directly. Why do you have to come and get me? It's finally cleared up. I still have a lot of things to deal with."
"Nonsense!" Xu Youchang raised his buttocks and sat on Murong Xue's desk, snatching the pen from his hand: "The person responsible for looking after the Turkic princess now is your Forbidden Army Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. If I don't pull you, who will you pull?"
Murong Xue smiled when she heard this, then took out something from the box on the desk and handed it to Xu Youchang: "This way, brother, I will give you my pass token, and you can go see the beauty by yourself, okay? "
"What a hammer!" Xu Youchang pulled the sign away: "Don't talk nonsense with me, come with me quickly."
"Oh my, are you bothered?" Murong Xue smiled bitterly and said, "I'm telling you, there are too many things in the East Palace, and I can't even handle them. You, a majestic hussar captain, are just looking at you. If you want to be promoted to the rank of Lang-General of a Thousand Bulls, you have to flirt with a Turkic maid, and you have to hook up with me too..."
Xu Youchang interrupted Murong Xue seriously: "Don't talk nonsense. I see Anya being affectionate and righteous to her princess, and I admire her very much, so I thought of visiting her to see if she needs help."
Murong Xue knew very well that although his brother was a good man who was fearless, he was as shy as a little daughter-in-law in front of girls. Xu Youchang was really attracted to the Turkic maid named Anya, but he couldn't bear to tell her face to face, so if he didn't accompany him today, he might not be able to calm down and have a better life in the future.
Thinking of this, Murong Xue stood up helplessly: "Come on, come on, I'm blushing for you when I hear the nonsense you said. Just like it, what are you pretending to be? Let's go, go and come back quickly, maybe My son, the prince, will be looking for me later."
When Xu Youchang saw that his good brother agreed to accompany him to see Anya, his face suddenly blossomed with joy. As he walked out, he asked, "Hey, by the way, how are you doing recently? Is everything going well in the East Palace?"
Murong Xue rolled her eyes at him: "Thank you for your concern. You still have time to care about whether I am okay or not."
"Look what you said, how can I not care about you?" Xu Youchang smiled sheepishly: "Seriously, how about the East Palace?"
Since being transferred back to the Imperial Capital from the Zhenjiang Protectorate, Murong Xue was directly assigned to serve as a member of the Forbidden Army's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. However, this is only a nominal job relationship, but the actual position is in the East Palace.
That is to say, working for the Crown Prince Li Xuance.
After hearing Xu Youchang's inquiry, Murong Xue couldn't help but sigh softly. She looked around first, and when she saw that there was no one around, she lowered her voice and said, "The situation in the East Palace is not very good."
"Why is this? What happened?" Xu You grew up curious.
Murong Xue: "You are also from a noble family in the imperial capital. Do you really not know anything about it? Or are you deliberately pretending to be confused with me?"
Xu Youchang was a little confused as a monk: "I really don't know. We are like brothers. Why can you and I pretend to be confused?"
Murong Xue knew that Xu Youchang was straightforward. Since he said this, he must have not understood the inside story, so he whispered: "Recently, there are rumors that His Majesty plans to establish another crown prince."
"No way?" Xu Youchang was dumbfounded: "The current prince is the only heir of the late emperor. His status is protected by the holy covenant. How can your majesty openly violate the agreement?"
Murong Xue shook her head: "Nothing is absolute. The covenant of the Holy Cult is true, but Tutor Nian has passed away from illness, and Commander He Jingming has been on the bed for a long time. Almost all the veterans who participated in the covenant with His Majesty are now almost dead. If the emperor suddenly changes his holy will, who can stand up and say no?"
Xu Youchang waved his hands repeatedly: "It's impossible, impossible. The veterans are no longer here, but the holy disciples all over the world are still there. They will never sit idly by and ignore it. Besides, our military also has the responsibility to protect the covenant..."
"Military? Do you mean Xie Guang?" Murong Xue curled her lips disdainfully: "Your Shangzhu Kingdom is lucky that the Holy Tang didn't rebel. How can we expect him to protect the Holy Religion Covenant?"
Xu Youchang thought of his grandfather, but he did not say it out loud. Instead, he asked: "What was the prince's reaction? Will he believe this kind of gossip?"
Murong Xue walked to the stable, got on the horse and said, "If it were you, how would you react?"
Xu Youchang also got on the horse and thought: "It's hard to say. This kind of thing not only involves the fate of the country, but also is closely related to the safety of personal life. Anyone else would be worried."
Murong Xue nodded slightly: "That's right. The prince has been obviously a lot anxious recently. He can't eat well and can't read books. As long as someone accidentally mentions the name of King Huai'an, he can't help but lose his temper. "
Xu Youchang couldn't help being stunned: "King of Huai'an? Does your Majesty want to establish King Huai'an?"
"That is indeed what the rumors say," Murong Xue said, riding his horse slowly: "Huai'an King Li Xuanye is the most favored son of the current emperor, and he is also very popular in the court. If we really want to establish a separate East Palace, he will naturally be the new crown prince. The best candidate.”
Xu Youchang frowned: "Just him? Bah! Does he deserve it? I know this King of Huai'an best. He is loyal on the surface but cunning on the inside. He has always done bad things like bullying men and dominating women. If such a person is allowed to become the Holy Emperor Tang, the world is in misery!"
Murong Xue shook her head helplessly: "What's the use of saying this? If the emperor really plans to pass the throne to his son Li Xuanye, can you still rebel? But when it comes to this matter, I really need your help."
"What's the matter? Just ask."
Murong Xue: "When you go home, ask the old man and your father and uncle for me what they think. Grandpa is a leading figure in the Shengtang military. It is impossible for the emperor to ignore his opinions; and although your father and your uncle are both civil servants, , but he also holds important positions in the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Personnel, which is equally important."
Xu Youchang readily agreed: "I'll take care of the little things. Although I don't go home very often, and they don't talk to me much about court matters on weekdays, but when I asked, at least grandpa wouldn't hide it from me. It’s alive.”
Murong Xue nodded gratefully, and then said: "By the way, have you heard from Li Jiangyao recently? Has he written to you?"
Xu Youchang controlled the horse lightly, accelerated past a charcoal delivery convoy driving on the muddy road, and then responded: "No. There has been no news about this kid since the last separation in Western Xinjiang. I am still worried about him. Are you angry with me because of the Turkic princess?"
"No, Li Jiangyao is not that kind of person." Murong Xue clamped her legs on the horse's belly and sped up to catch up with Xu Youchang: "Besides, it was Xie Guang and Di Xian who forcibly took away the Turkic princess from the Zhenjiang Army. They have nothing to do with you."
"Then why haven't you heard from me?" Xu Youchang sighed softly: "I wrote him two letters, but he didn't reply."
Murong Xue frowned: "I have a feeling that the problem in the Ghost Desert of Western Xinjiang has not really subsided. Maybe Li Jiangyao and the others have encountered some trouble again."
Xu Youchang: "No way. The most elite blood wolf army in the Turks has been beaten by us and fled. What trouble can there be? I think you are overthinking."
Murong Xue smiled bitterly: "I hope it's just my imagination. The day before yesterday, the Minister of War, Liu Weixing, came to pay a visit to the prince. I also took the opportunity to tell him privately about Li Jiangyao, hoping to transfer this kid away from the Zhenjiang Protectorate. That It’s a bitter place, not to mention the harsh environment, and the promotion is slow. Look, after I came out of the martial arts hall, I was already a Yulin Zhonglang general, and you are about to be promoted to a Qianniu Zhonglang general, but Li Jiangyao is still He's just a captain."
Xu Youchang agreed: "We thought of going together. When I went home a while ago, I specifically mentioned this matter to my grandfather. The old man said that Li Jiangyao is a pretty good kid, and he is the apprentice of Commander He. , if he was willing, he might as well go to the Qilin Army, so I immediately sent a letter to Li Jiangyao asking for his opinion."
Murong Xue rolled her eyes at Xu Youchang and said with a smile: "Are you asking for his opinion? Can he listen to you? This kind of thing must be dealt with first and then reported. Let's take care of everything for him. Just issue an order from above and that's it. Who cares if he agrees?" disagree?"
Xu Youchang nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, you can see clearly. Just transfer him back and save so much trouble. I will tell grandpa today."
The two of them walked and chatted, and soon they arrived at Xuanzhengfang in the east city of the imperial capital.
Xuanzhengfang is adjacent to the imperial city. There are more than a dozen families living in the square, most of them are distant branches of the Li family, and there are a lot of earls and barons. From the perspective of diplomatic etiquette, it is quite appropriate to temporarily place the captive princess of the enemy country here.
The soldiers standing guard at the gate of the square are all soldiers of the Jingzhao Yin Mansion as usual, and they usually do not check the pedestrians entering and leaving Xuanzheng Square. And walking through the square gate, in the third courtyard on the right, the person standing in front of the door was replaced by a tiger and leopard rider.
The Turkic princess Yinas was placed under house arrest here.
The two rode their horses to the small courtyard. Xu Youchang was about to get off the saddle, but Murong Xue suddenly grabbed his reins and whispered: "Don't get off the horse yet, follow me!"
After that, he pulled the confused Xu Youchang and turned straight into a nearby alley.
"What's wrong?" Xu Youchang asked in surprise.
Murong Xue stopped his horse, leaned forward and looked outside, and then said: "Didn't you see that sedan just now? It's right next to the little courtyard of the Turkic princess."
Xu Youchang: "I saw it, is there anything wrong?"
"Are you blind? There is a Pisces gold medal hanging on the sedan chair!" Murong Xue said with a serious expression.
