The hall soon became quiet.
After being made such a fuss by De Concubine, the Queen temporarily lost her sleep, and there was a hint of deep thought and confusion in her eyebrows: "The Shuozhou case actually involved Prince Yu and the Duke of Zhenguo in the first place?"
"We are not sure yet whether it is caused by the Shuozhou case." Chu Yunfei thought for a while, "But now Rong Cang is not in court, and Prince Chen is under house arrest. Even if he wants to do something, he can't do it, so the Shuozhou case has caused my father to Anger is most likely.”
The queen hummed and frowned: "Counting the days, it's time for Rong Cang to send some news back, but..."
Just what?
The Queen's unfinished words may be what Chu Yunfei is worried about.
She didn't think there was any danger in Rong Cang going to Shuozhou to investigate the case before, but now she suddenly realized that Rong Cang was going to the Gu family's territory.
The Gu family is extremely powerful in Jizhou and Shuozhou. Even if the head of the Gu family suddenly dies and the whole group is leaderless, their family power is still everywhere.
This investigation is not an ordinary conflict of interests, but a life and death matter that could accidentally wipe out the whole family. Therefore, the Gu family will spare no effort to deal with Rong Cang, and even kill people to silence him.
Rong Cang is capable of leading troops in battles, but he does not lead thousands of troops. Will he be in danger if he goes to someone else's territory?
Due to Concubine De's sudden arrival tonight, Chu Yunfei couldn't help but feel worried.
"Shuozhou may be a dragon's pond and a tiger's den." Her voice was calm, revealing a little uneasiness. "If Prince Yu and the Protector's Palace are imprisoned, it is really Rong Cang's handiwork. He may be a little helpless at the moment."
The queen smiled and said: "You are a fan of the authorities and are too worried about Rong Cang, so you can't help but talk nonsense. Don't forget what Rong Cang is best at."
Chu Yunfei raised his eyes.
"Soldiers' tricks are used on the battlefield, but they can still be used in battles of wits with big families." The Queen sat in front of her and took her hand, "Don't worry, the Gu family is not that stupid. The King of War and the others are The people sent by the emperor to investigate the case are known to everyone in the civil and military circles of the court. Once something happens to Rong Cang or Qi Jin or Xie Lin in Shuozhou, it will be the same as the Gu family's provocation against the emperor. They are not that stupid."
Chu Yunfei was still worried: "But a dog will jump over the wall in a hurry."
The Queen shook her head: "It's not time to jump over the wall. Isn't the fact that Prince Yu's Mansion and Lord Protector were confiscated is the best proof?"
Chu Yunfei was stunned for a moment, then understood what she meant: "What does the Queen Mother mean, that Rong Cang has reached a cooperative relationship with the Gu family?"
"Maybe there is no other choice." The Queen smiled faintly, "Anyway, their men are handling the case. We can only make guesses while sitting here. As for whether the answer is what we guessed, it's hard to say yet."
Chu Yunfei hummed and said nothing more.
She was just a little worried about Rong Cang's safety. As for the rest, it didn't matter whether she could handle the case well or whether she could deal with the Gu family.
I just hope that they can all return safely.
…
The night is dark, and many people are destined to be unable to sleep tonight.
At the same time, in a courtyard in Shuozhou.
Night shrouded the entire courtyard, and only the lights in the main courtyard made the night look like day.
Rong Cang stood in front of the window with his hands behind his hands. Qing Jun's cold and hard face was glowing with a layer of indifference. His brows and eyes were calm, and it was impossible to tell what was in his heart.
Kneeling not far behind were two stunningly beautiful women. They were "filial piety" sent by the Chief Minister Chen personally after dinner, saying that His Highness the War King must enjoy themselves.
Rong Cang was used to such "filial piety" and was indifferent.
After all, this was the third batch of beauties sent to Shuozhou after he came to Shuozhou, each time becoming more beautiful and docile.
Suddenly there was a sound of footsteps outside the courtyard.
Rong Cang raised his eyes and looked up.
Qi Jin and Uncle Xie Xiaoguo came together. Under the lights of the night, the two of them had outstanding appearances, tall and straight postures, and the nobility flowing out of them could not be ignored.
Rong Cang's eyes darkened.
During this investigation, his father's decision-making strategy was obviously wrong, and Rong Cang also regretted his acquiescence.
Although he knew that young people always have the courage of newborn calves who are not afraid of tigers, Rong Cang also wanted to let Xie Lin and Qi Jin stand out in the court.
But the two of them had valuable status, he knew it, and the Gu family also knew it.
A prince, the only son of Marquis Zhongyi, and the legitimate son of the Xie family.
If they upload all the evidence of Shuozhou's crimes to Tianting, they will undoubtedly put the Gu family to death, which means that all the Gu family will soon be wiped out, leaving no one alive.
With their faces broken and desperate, the Gu family will do whatever it takes to prevent the three of them from returning to the capital.
Rong Cang frowned slightly, so he needed to change his strategy now.
Just as he was thinking about it, the two of them had already entered the house.
"Your Highness." Qi Jin spoke first, "I went out for a walk today and discovered something even more terrifying."
Rong Cang turned around and walked to the big carved chair and sat down. The other two people took their seats one after another, turning a blind eye to the two beauties kneeling in the room, as if they had become accustomed to such a scene in recent days.
"There is a large force stationed in Shuozhou." Rong Cang said calmly, "This army should be controlled by the Gu family."
Qi Jin was surprised: "His Highness already knew this?"
"It's not early, I only found out today." Rong Cang said indifferently, "When the Gu family wanted to use this opportunity to deal with Prince Yu and the Protectorate, and put all the blame on Commander Xu, I had expected this result. "
The commander is in charge of the soldiers and horses in Shuozhou City. If he is thrown into prison, the soldiers and horses here will lose the right to dispatch, which will be detrimental to the Gu family. The only explanation is that there are other soldiers and horses here, and they are far behind. Above Shuozhou soldiers and horses.
Uncle Xie Xiaoguo spoke unhurriedly: "Just now Caichen went out to inquire about it. Mr. Chen lied about the disaster for three consecutive years. In addition to exempting the court from paying taxes, he also defrauded disaster relief funds. He has made more than 10 million taels in these years. He All the money was sent to the Gu family in a special way, and the Gu family used the money to secretly recruit troops and train an army that only listened to the orders of the Gu family."
"Their purpose should be to support King Chen to ascend the throne, so they took such a big risk." Qi Jin sneered, "They have lied about the disaster for three consecutive years. Even if the incident comes to light and the court sends people to investigate the case, they will still be trapped here. , and even those with lower status were directly silenced, so that the court could not even find the real culprit."
This is the consequence of an aristocratic family dominating one side, even ignoring the laws and regulations of the court, and acting like a local emperor.
Uncle Xie Xiaoguo seemed to be unhurried at all times, and his tone was gentle and calm: "It is impossible to mobilize troops here. For the time being, we can only agree to the Gu family's request for cooperation."
They brought a lot of people to Shuozhou this time.
They were originally dressed up in disguise, but what they didn't expect was that the Gu family's spies were everywhere in Shuozhou. As soon as they stepped into Shuozhou City, the unfamiliar but savvy demeanor of the three aroused the suspicion of the spies.
Uncle Xie Xiaoguo also had to admit that the Gu family, as a century-old family, still had some strength. Even if the head of the family died suddenly, it could not make them fall into chaos, but instead increased their vigilance.
"The Gu family wants to support King Chen to ascend the throne, but the premise is that they are all alive, and the Gu family's power and troops must be there, otherwise all the plans will be in vain." Qi Jin thought about it, with a bit of certainty in his tone, "And if they want to live, then Don't touch a single hair of His Highness the King of War, otherwise without mentioning the Emperor, the soldiers and horses under the King of War will raze the Gu family in Jizhou to the ground, leaving them without a blade of grass."
Therefore, if the Gu family wants to live, the King of War must be safe and sound, but the prerequisite for the King of War to be safe and sound is that the Gu family must be alive.
The people who originally came to investigate the case now seem to be forced to be tied to the same boat as the criminals.
