Cheng Ning was silent.
She did have preconceived ideas, but she was a little dissatisfied when Wei Yanzhou said them directly.
I didn’t know how to argue for a while.
She has no qualifications to interfere in political affairs.
It's getting late in winter, the sun is going down now, and the market is getting more lively.
There is a tradition of offering sacrifices to the New Year, and someone was setting off firecrackers not far away.
The smell came over, and Cheng Ning's eyes widened slightly. This smell——
She took an orange from the attendant and smelled it again. It smelled of gunpowder, yes, it smelled of gunpowder!
"What's wrong?"
Wei Yanzhou actually understood what she meant, because the smell of gunpowder did not surprise him.
As Cheng Ning said, he was indeed not just hanging out in the palace.
He did come for Li Lianbei.
It's just that the truth is one thing, but it's another thing to be told by Cheng Ning herself.
Cheng Ning could always see through him easily, but being exposed by her was like a despicable clown.
In fact, he probably has everything under control, and he only came out of the palace to look for clues.
But someone as sensitive as Cheng Ning actually discovered such a dark clue.
He didn't want Cheng Ning to interfere, so he could only pretend to be stupid.
Cheng Ning looked a little excited and wrote on the palm of his hand: Firecrackers and candles are all government-owned, and they travel on official ships. These oranges were brought by merchant ships and smell of gunpowder. Don't you know what they mean? ?
She was really keen and immediately thought of this level.
Wei Yanzhou looked calm: "Maybe there was a mistake. It's not necessarily that the orange was leaked by an official ship."
This reason was far-fetched, and Cheng Ning's face darkened after hearing this.
When transported by official ships, will fruits and gunpowder be transported on the same ship?
The contents of the official ship will most likely be sent to the palace as tribute. Such an obvious smell of gunpowder is mixed with oranges, unless the people of the Shipping Department don't want to live anymore.
Such a mistake can only be made intentionally by someone, put it on a merchant ship, and circulated among the people. Even if someone notices it, it won't be a big deal.
At most, the fruits are not easy to sell.
Cheng Ning looked at Wei Yanzhou with disappointment, feeling that he did not dare to offend Li Lianbei.
Could he really not see such obvious gunpowder smuggling?
Wei Yanzhou couldn't stand such looks. He didn't care about other people's misunderstandings, but if it was Cheng Ning, he would only be angry.
So he also turned cold: "So what do you mean now, you want me to punish you for a small smuggling incident?"
Smuggling is not a serious crime. Even if the evidence is conclusive, the most likely outcome is dismissal and investigation.
If the crime is not punished, will Li Lianbei still be allowed to celebrate the New Year?
Cheng Ning didn't understand. If this line were dug deeper, Li Lianbei would definitely not be able to escape.
Why the firecrackers made by private gun houses were abandoned by the court was mostly because of substandard quality.
If these smuggled goods are used among the people, what should we do if something goes wrong?
Cheng Ning calmed down a little and asked Wei Yanzhou: How are you going to deal with it?
Wei Yanzhou avoided her eyes: "I have my own idea."
Cheng Ning didn't know what his idea was, but according to his style of tax reform, this man definitely didn't have a good idea.
He was too tough, which was why Cheng Ning always said that he was not suitable to be emperor.
But she couldn't scold him, because even if she was a little cruel, as he said, tyranny can achieve its goal faster.
Cheng Ning didn't know how he wanted to deal with the gunpowder smuggling this time.
But she always felt that it would be another bloody storm.
Speaking of Li Lianbei, Cheng Ning remembered something special. Li Lianbei also had a daughter who was about the same age as Xie Nianyao, and Cheng Ning had met her before.
Unlike her father, who was cunning and cunning, Li Piao was quiet and steady, and was a rare talented woman.
She is actually more suitable to be the head of the first palace than Xie Nianyao, and her father also comes from a noble family.
Why did Wei Yanzhou choose Xie Nianyao?
Cheng Ning's questions were written in his eyes, and Wei Yanzhou understood them clearly.
"You want to say why I didn't choose the Li family in the first place?" Wei Yanzhou asked for her.
"..." Can this person read minds?
"No reason." Wei Yanzhou's expression did not distinguish between happiness and anger: "It depends on my mood."
Actually no, it was because Wei Yanzhou knew that Cheng Ning and Li Piao knew each other and praised her talent.
If Li Piao enters the main palace, how can he use the 'Queen's' hands to do many things that are inconvenient for him to do.
In the final analysis, it's just about which one is easier to use.
Cheng Ning sighed, it really fits Wei Yanzhou's character depending on his mood.
Suddenly, the temple fair seemed to have begun.
A large number of people dressed in festive clothes and paraded through the streets carrying lanterns.
During this period, there was also a fire dragon burning, and large clusters of flames rushed upward, causing children to laugh.
Burning the fire dragon is a sign of luck in the coming year. The stronger the fire, the smoother the next year will be.
There is no better happiness for the people than this.
"Cheng Ning, don't always think about the people and the world. Just be good and I will settle everything."
In the light of the fire, Wei Yanzhou turned his face sideways and said to Cheng Ning.
Cheng Ning didn't understand what he meant at the time, and she didn't understand it until much later.
They watched the fire dragon for a long time. The two of them stood there without being disturbed. They seemed to be an ordinary couple among the chaotic crowds around them.
Until someone called Cheng Ning's name.
"Aning?"
The voice was hesitant and hesitant.
Cheng Ning turned around and saw Fu Youting's face, which he hadn't seen for a long time.
Fu Youting obviously didn't believe that the person in front of him was the Cheng Ning he knew, so his eyes looked strange.
Until Cheng Ning turned around.
Even if this face was not wearing armor, Fu Youting would not recognize it as wrong.
He was instantly angry.
It is said that Cheng Ning was sent to prison, tortured and then placed in the harem. He had already changed drastically.
Fu Youting didn't believe it at first.
That was Cheng Ning, who had never been embarrassed even when he was in a dangerous situation and faced enemies from both sides.
How could she change so much?
Where will she go?
But now, just by looking at it, Fu Youting felt his blood surge.
——Is this Cheng Ning? !
Being so thin, there is no light in my eyes.
Wearing a skirt and a head full of pearls, is this person Cheng Ning?
He felt that Cheng Ning in his heart had been overturned, shattered, and transformed into another person.
Yesterday's anger surged back.
Fu Youting saw that Wei Yanzhou had disappeared and walked over quickly, wanting to get close to Cheng Ning.
Not only that, he seemed to want to snatch Cheng Ning away.
But before he even got close, he was stopped by the shadow guard who was secretly watching.
"Stop! Back off!"
Even though he is General Fu, the emperor and Concubine Xi are both here today, so there must be no danger at all.
"You want to fight, right? Come on!"
Fu Youting handed over the shadow guard's gun with his bare hands. He was wearing regular clothes today and his movements were even more agile.
He comes from a fighting background, and he fights all day long. The thing he is least afraid of is fighting.
Seeing this, the Shadow Guards deployed more manpower to protect Wei Yanzhou and Cheng Ning.
The swords clashed wildly, attacking Fu Youting's weak spot with every move.
don't want.
Cheng Ning shouted, but she couldn't make a sound.
She clutched Wei Yanzhou's sleeve, trying to get him to stop.
But Wei Yanzhou just twisted her wrist and watched coldly.
"Don't, don't fight."
When Cheng Ning saw that he was indifferent, he screamed at the top of his lungs.
But I couldn't utter it at all, and my throat became hoarse due to the strain.
She was very powerless. This powerlessness was the same as when she faced her brother and sister-in-law in prison.
It is too powerless to be unable to protect the person you want to protect.
"Fu... Youting! Stop fighting!"
But no one could hear her voice except Wei Yanzhou.
Seeing her trying her best to call Fu Youting, Wei Yanzhou couldn't help but look a little darker.
