Zhao Kuo shook the folding fan in his hand and said with a smile: "You should keep a tightrope when doing things so that we can meet each other easily in the future. We are all doing business in the capital, so why make it so ugly? I did it wrong. I wanted to make a fortune with the Hou Mansion, but I didn’t expect things to get serious, and my Zhao family is also wise to protect themselves.”
Qi Chengxu said to Ji Shu: "Brother Zhao has said so, so don't worry about it."
He lowered his voice: "Zhao Kuo promised me that he would give me an official position in the court, or I could work in the Department of Cleaning and Officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs!"
"You two sit down and talk, I'll ask my servants to make tea."
Ji Shu led the people out of Baoxiali, called for someone to bring tea inside, and then returned to the backyard.
Xitao: "The Zhao family is here to show their courtesy. Is it because of the general who governs the country?"
Qi Ye won the battle, but this time he still defeated more with less. He entered the capital of Wala and won beautifully. The Zhao family was the leader among the civil servants, but there was no high-ranking helper among the military attachés. They wanted to take the opportunity to win over the Wuding Hou Mansion. It's not impossible.
Ji Shu shook his head, "It won't be that simple."
royal palace
The double-eaves roof of glazed tiles and the red paint and vermilion walls form a majestic palace.
Behind the hollow window of the pavilion, sitting on the kang in the warm pavilion, was an exquisitely dressed empress. She closed her eyes and took a nap. She had a beautiful appearance, but there was a pampered and cunning look in the corners of her eyes and eyebrows, which made her very difficult to mess with.
The warm curtain was lifted, and a palace maid walked in, knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, Mr. Zhao is here to pay his respects to Your Majesty."
Concubine Zhao opened her eyes and said, "Brother, what are you doing here? Please invite him in."
After a while, Concubine Zhao's brother walked into the Nuan Pavilion, followed by a man in a cloak, who was completely covered up and down, looking mysterious.
"Greetings to your Majesty."
"Brother, there is no need to be polite. Who is this?"
The Zhao brother glanced at the other people in Nuan Pavilion, and Concubine Zhao raised her hand to send them away.
When no one was around, the man in the cloak took off his hood, revealing a face covered with frostbite and rotten flesh, and cried: "Mother Concubine!"
"Shan, Shan'er? Is it you!"
Concubine Zhao was so frightened that she lifted the brocade quilt from her legs and climbed to the edge of the warm bed. Xie Shangshan knelt on the footrest and grabbed Concubine Zhao's hand.
"Concubine! It's me! I almost never see you again!"
"My son! How, how did you become like this! Where are the people following you?!"
"Mother and concubine, they are all dead, only me is left... Wuwuwu!"
The mother and daughter held each other's hands and cried, and the Zhao family brother sighed: "The princess was chased all the way and mixed with beggars before she entered the capital and came to the Zhao family for help."
Concubine Zhao: "Shan'er, please tell me what happened! Who harmed you?!"
"It's Qi Ye! It must be him!"
Concubine Zhao pulled Xie Shangshan onto the heated kang, wrapped her in a brocade quilt, and handed her tea.
Xie Shangshan held the tea bowl and recalled the past few months, feeling both fear and hatred. She told the story:
"I was afraid that the eldest prince of Wala would be caught and confess Zhao Li, and I would be implicated if I stayed, so I quickly took the people and ran away. Who knew that not far after leaving Yan'an Mansion, the pursuers came! They were all the way They chased me outside the capital and released a pack of wolves to bite me. Fortunately, I pushed the maid out, otherwise I would have been killed by the wolves!"
Brother Zhao: "The princess has wounds all over her body. She was bitten by a wolf on her leg and was not treated in time...it also left sequelae."
Xie Shangshan hugged the imperial concubine and cried bitterly, "Mom! You have to find someone to treat my injury. I don't want to be lame, I don't want to be lame!"
Concubine Zhao slapped the small table with her palm, trembling with anger.
"Damn Qi Ye! Shan'er, don't worry, my mother-in-law will definitely ask your brother to avenge you!"
Stealing the military merits of the third prince, stealing distant relatives of the Zhao family, and hunting down Xie Shangshan, all these things, Qi Ye should not even think about doing good!
"And that Lin Sui! I want to kill her first! If it weren't for her, Qi Ye wouldn't have done this to me!"
Brother Zhao: "Don't worry, Madam, I have already gone to check this person's identity."
Concubine Zhao patted Xie Shangshan's back to comfort her, and first called her personal aunt to come in and take Xie Shangshan away.
"Brother sent Shan'er back, why do you need to do this?"
"It is not appropriate for the emperor to know that the princess has been to Yan'an Mansion."
"Why?"
"Qi Ye returns to the capital safely and will definitely pursue the matter of reinforcements. In order to appease his resentment, the emperor will not let any officials on the grain transportation line escape. The Zhao family must get out of here first, otherwise if Zhao Li's things are added to it, it will be To anger the emperor."
Concubine Zhao: "This Qi Ye is really in trouble."
When the Zhao family wanted to win over him, he ignored them and didn't understand the situation at all.
"It's also a good opportunity for him to return to Beijing. He used to be in Yan'an, and the sky is high and the emperor is far away. Now maybe we can take the opportunity to get rid of him."
Brother Zhao said: "Zhao Kuo from the second uncle's family has already contacted Qi Erye from the Wuding Marquis Mansion. This Qi Chengxu is stupid and easy to fool. I just heard that he married a shrewd wife and sent him to the Marquis House in the past few days. All invitations to the government have been withdrawn."
"I have heard something. Is she a girl from the Ji family?"
"good."
"Her father is an old Confucian scholar who often goes against dad."
"In the court, there are no permanent enemies or permanent friends, only eternal interests."
Brother Zhao said calmly: "It doesn't matter if your Majesty doesn't understand. All you need to do is take good care of yourself and the Emperor in the palace."
