In the Hengxiao courtyard, the third prince sat at the front seat and asked about He Lian Yao's health with great concern.
He Lian Yao's expression was cold. He was neither grateful for the prince's personal visit to the house nor disrespectful to the third prince: "It doesn't make any difference to worry about His Highness."
The third prince sighed heavily: "Whenever something happened to Marquis Wu'an, the roosters and dog robbers in the court jumped up and down. The day before yesterday, my father agreed to reduce the military pay of the Jizhou Army."
Luo Qinyu took over the conversation: "Lin Huasheng, the Minister of War, has been trying to deduct the military pay of Jizhou Army and Yongzhou Army since you fell off the horse, and the food and grass have been delayed several times. I, Xu Shangshu, Lord Chen, Lord Zhao, etc. I argued with him several times in the court, but Your Majesty... starting from next month, military pay and food will no longer be given according to the amount set by the Marquis when you were here."
He Lian Yao's face was cold and stern. How much trouble could a minister of the Ministry of War stir up? The ones who really stared at the military pay and food were the seemingly unrelated people in the court who had their sleeves wrapped up.
Ever since He Lian Yao took over the Jizhou Army and Yongzhou Army and chopped off the heads of many people, those people held their noses and accepted the anger. They have not dared to reach out to the Jizhou Army and Yongzhou Army these years.
But now that he was disabled and no longer the commander in charge of hundreds of thousands of troops, and away from the court, those people couldn't hold back their temper.
He Lianyao said to Luo Qinyu: "The situation in Kyoto is a foregone conclusion. Let's maintain the status quo for the time being. Send a message to Jizhou and Yongzhou to ask Xue Xinyi and Lu Zheng to take more precautions to prevent the aristocratic families in the two states from resurrecting, and the families in Kyoto. Get involved and put the blame on them."
"Marquis Wu'an, you haven't reached this level yet, right?" the third prince said.
He Lian Yao said: "Only by preparing for a rainy day can there be no risk. Now the commanders of the Jizhou Army and Yongzhou Army have not yet been decided, and some people will take action."
"But Jizhou and Yongzhou are our gateways to Dai Viet, and there must be no room for failure. Once Qi and Donglai are allowed to enter Dai Viet from Jizhou and Yongzhou, they will form a pincer attack on Dai Viet, and most of the northern states will be quickly occupied by them. Encroachment.”
There was a map spread on the table next to He Lian Yao. He Lian Yao's finger drew a line on it. The third prince felt a chill in his heart, and then he said sarcastically: "There are heavy troops stationed in Jizhou and Yongzhou. How can they be attacked like this?" , Marquis Wuan can rest assured and cultivate himself, General Luo and I are responsible for the affairs of the court."
The territory of Dai Viet is like an ellipse with one end wide and one narrow, with the north at the wider end and the south at the smaller end.
Jizhou and Yongzhou, which are adjacent to Qi State and Donglai State, are in the north. Each has two or three natural moats. But except for these two or three natural moats, the entire north is a plain. Once Jizhou and Yongzhou are lost, the entire Dai Viet will be without Once the gateway is established, the two countries can move south in one fell swoop and occupy most of the northern state capitals.
Luo Qinyu nodded solemnly: "My subordinates understand and will definitely ask them to take strict precautions."
"Ahem..." After saying these words, He Lian Yao couldn't bear it any longer. He clenched his hand into a half fist and put it against his lips. After a while, he calmed down and said to the third prince, "Now is a troubled time. For Your Highness, For the sake of this, Your Highness will try to visit you as little as possible in the future, and if you have anything to do, just discuss it with General Luo."
"I know, but I'm just too concerned about Marquis Wu'an's injury today and can't help but come here," the third prince looked at him and said, "I'll take the first step. Marquis Wu'an must take care of himself."
"Thank you, Your Highness." He Lianyao leaned on the back of the chair, watching his figure disappear completely behind the Hengxiao Courtyard, then turned to Luo Qinyu and said, "Don't walk with the third prince in the future, let alone deal with him. .”
"Understood... The Holy Lord is becoming more and more suspicious now, and it is more dangerous than before to have a deep relationship with the prince in the palace."
"Master Marquis," Luo Qinyu had been holding on to his dignity as a second-grade general when the third prince was there just now. Now, just like the two of them were still in Jizhou and Yongzhou, he stood upright in front of Helian Yao like a soldier. "It's your subordinates who have caused trouble for you, they deserve to die!"
He Lian Yao looked at him: "I said, there is no need to mention this matter again."
"But--"
"There is nothing wrong with what has happened. What you have to do now is to stabilize the situation and contain Qi and Donglai."
Luo Qinyu nodded heavily: "I understand!"
He Lianyao's expression showed uncontrollable fatigue. Luo Qinyu did not dare to delay his rest. After bowing to him, he left Hengxiao Courtyard with gentle steps.
He glanced back at the main room, punched his chest several times, endured the discomfort in his heart, and walked towards the courtyard door. However, he did not expect that the third prince who had left before him had not left yet, and was being beaten by a man. The servant led him to another courtyard gate.
"Where are the Third Prince going?" he asked the boy guarding the courtyard gate next to him.
The boy said: "Back to the general, His Highness said that he finally came to the Marquis Mansion to visit the old Marquis and his wife."
Luo Qinyu's eyes darkened. In the past, every time he and the Marquis returned to Beijing, they would visit the old Marquis and his wife, because he was highly valued by the Marquis, and the old Marquis and his wife also liked him very much.
It's just that... the Marquis was so seriously injured in order to save him that he no longer had the nerve to disturb them.
Luo Qinyu withdrew his gaze and quickly left the Hou Mansion.
——
Chu Hanxiu, who was heading to Songhe Garden, did not expect to bump into the third prince he had just met. He took Xia Lan and Ping An and stepped aside, "Greetings to His Highness."
Zhou Chuqi's eyes lit up and he looked at him with a very noble attitude: "Hanxiu came to visit relatives in the Marquis Mansion? Kyoto is prosperous, you have to go out and have a good look."
Xia Lan frowned hard because of his address without a surname, but just lowered her head so that no one could see it.
Chu Hanxiu's gaze was blocked by her eyelashes, and she said respectfully: "Back to Your Highness, yes, it's just that although Kyoto is prosperous, Pingyang also has its wild charm."
"I think His Highness must be busy here. I don't dare to miss His Highness, so I will send you off respectfully."
Zhou Yuqi didn't expect that Chu Hanyun, his younger brother, could be so interesting. In the past, when he talked to any girl, he was flattered and praised highly, but Chu Hanxiu in front of him didn't even look at him.
He took two steps closer to Chu Hanxiu: "Gu and Wu'an Hou have a deep friendship and are as close as brothers. Hanxiu is the younger brother of Wu'an Hou's husband, and he is Gu's younger brother. What can be more busy than my brother's affairs."
With such a flat face in front of her eyes and saying these words, Chu Hanxiu was almost pissed off.
He took a step and stepped aside: "Your Highness, the common people don't dare to try. The common people suddenly feel unwell, so take the first step."
A cannon fodder who died before the troubled times, returned to Kyoto in two or three months, and left the Chu family to go elsewhere. Chu Hanxiu was not afraid of offending him in a small way, and faced the third prince without fault in etiquette. He saluted and then walked to Songhe Garden where Mrs. Hou lived.
However, Chu Hanxiu did not expect that the third prince would follow him, and said with a smile: "It turns out that Hanxiu's brother also lives here, and he happened to be alone to visit Madam Hou, so we can go together."
Chu Hanxiu: "......"
unlucky!
What bad luck!
Chu Hanxiu turned around and walked to the aisle opposite to Songhe Garden: "Your Highness, the common people are just guests of the Hou Mansion. How can they live in the main courtyard? I send you off to Your Highness respectfully."
This time Chu Hanxiu didn't take a nap at all, and strode towards the corridor. Let's go to Mrs. Hou's place after he leaves. Then she saw the oil king who was so oily that he could cook with three kilograms of oil. , he was afraid that he couldn't help but find a place to put his sack.
Zhou Yuqi stood there, eyes shining as he watched his leaving figure, and said to the personal eunuch behind him: "I didn't expect that the Chu family is still a nest of beauties. First there was Chu Hanyun, and then there was Chu Hanxiu, tsk tsk."
The eunuch said softly: "This Chu Hanxiu will not eat the fine wine for the toast. Your Highness, please..."
"Alas," Zhou Yuqi raised his hand, "This is not Gu's mansion, nor is it a street in Kyoto. There are also the old Marquis and Marquis Wu'an. Gu still needs them. It's not appropriate to cause trouble in the Marquis's mansion."
"Besides, Chu Hanyun is still playing around first."
The eunuch said: "Yes, Mr. Chu has such a temperament. If he knew that His Highness was interested in his younger brother, he would definitely start trouble with you. He would also try his best to harm that Chu Hanxiu."
With a smile of unknown meaning on his face, Zhou Yuqi did not continue to say this, but whispered to the eunuch, "I will send a message to Chu Hanyun later. I want to see him tonight in Tonghua Lane."
"yes."
Of course, Chu Hanxiu couldn't notice these things that were still hidden in the dark.
After taking a circuit back to Cunxi Hall, he sat on the lounge chair in the corridor and asked Xia Lan to bring him a cup of almond cheese with smoothie to drive away the greasy smell from his body.
Xia Lan said angrily: "The third prince's brain——"
"Isn't it abnormal? You said those words in front of everyone in Hengxiao Courtyard. It was even more outrageous just now. I can't even hide my dirty thoughts!"
"Don't even look at what you look like. Your face is longer than a horse, and your belly is bigger than a toad, yet you still have the nerve to say that." Chu Hanxiu took his words very skillfully and took the almond sweet cheese from Xia Lan's hand. The cool cup made him feel better.
Xia Lan: "Master, how do you know what I want to say?"
Chu Hanxiu scooped a spoonful of almond sweet cheese into her mouth and looked at him: "You used these descriptions for Mr. Li, Mr. Chen, Mr. Zhao, and Mr. Su before. Today's prince of the royal family should be very different. not bad."
Xia Lan: "…………"
"They are not good anyway! Master, you won't like them either!"
"Well, you're right, let's take a bite to cool off the heat." Chu Hanxiu picked up a clean spare spoon, scooped out a spoonful and handed it to Xia Lan, "We'll have to go there later after he leaves. Where is Songhe Garden?"
Ping An, who had been silent since he came to serve Chu Hanxiu, suddenly said: "The third prince is a noble man from Tianhuang. Why doesn't Young Master Hanxiu like him?"
Chu Hanxiu concentrated on eating the almond sweet cheese, "In addition to the third prince, there are also the prince, the second prince, the fourth prince and the fifth prince, these royal children. If it is because of their status as nobles, I have to like them all?"
Etc., etc! ! !
An idea flashed through Chu Hanxiu's mind, and she thought about Ping'an's words. Why didn't she like the third prince because of his noble status?
Why would a slave like Ping An suddenly ask such a question?
Is it possible that someone I know in peace abandons someone and chooses someone else because of his noble status?
But since Ping An came to serve him, Ping An has never left Cun Xitang or his side.
Moreover, everything on Ping An's body was distributed uniformly by the government, but it is impossible for a person with a family not to bring something with traces of his family.
Especially in ancient times when there were no sewing machines and mechanized production, clothes, shoes and socks, hairbands, and purses that were worn all had traces of being made by family members.
When Chu Hanxiu found out before, he thought Ping An was alone and sold himself into slavery, but now Chu Hanxiu's mind suddenly became very clear.
Ping An came from Luoyunxuan and was someone Chu Hanyun and Nanny Zhao trusted. So if he was alone, without family, and had always been in contact with people in Luoyunxuan, who could make him ask this question.
Bang!
The spoon in Chu Hanxiu's hand stopped.
He had been puzzled before. According to his advantageous father and legitimate father Jiang, as well as Chu Hanyun's character of yearning for power and regarding power as his lifeblood, how could he abandon the Marquis of Jingguo and He Lian Yao, who was the Marquis of Wu'an.
But what if they climbed up to a person who was more noble than the Marquis in the eyes of most people?
