At this time, Ciyuan Hall seemed extremely silent, and only Queen Cao was sitting alone in the hall.
The lights in the palace dispelled the darkness, but they could not light up the hope in Queen Cao's heart.
At this time, Empress Cao was still thinking about the news that the imperial doctor had told her. It turned out that Zhao Zhen's body was already bone marrow sick.
Now it seems that he is recovering well, but he has already returned to his former glory. Even according to the most optimistic estimates, Zhao Zhen may not be able to delay it for a month.
Of course, only the imperial physician and Empress Cao know this news for the time being. Empress Cao found a way to hide it even from Zhao Zhen, let alone the outside world. This is why Empress Cao suddenly changed the imperial physician.
Thinking that she was about to lose her husband of thirty years, Queen Cao felt not only grief but also the confusion of losing her goal.
Just as Empress Cao was caught in this complex emotion, an eunuch reported back outside the palace gate: "Empress, Cao Tiju is waiting outside the palace and wants to see the empress."
After hearing this, Empress Cao came back to her senses and said, "Okay, you go and let him in, and then you just leave. There is no need for anyone to wait on you outside the palace."
The eunuch agreed and then went down to receive the person.
Soon Cao Jingxiu came in. Seeing Queen Cao's current state, Cao Jingxiu was shocked.
Because compared with the past, Empress Cao today looks extremely decadent, completely without the spirit of the past, and the whole person looks much older.
She couldn't help but asked with concern: "Sister, what's wrong with you? Did something happen in the palace?"
Empress Cao sighed and said, "The imperial doctor examined Guan Jia today and said that Guan Jia's health can no longer survive, and he only has one month at most."
Hearing this, Cao Jingxiu's eyes narrowed and he was shocked.
Cao Jingxiu had no doubts about the authenticity of the news, because Cao Jingxiu knew that since his sister dared to tell him, it must have been verified several times.
After coming back to his senses, Cao Jingxiu quickly asked: "Sister, who else knows this news."
Empress Cao explained: "The diagnosis in the past few days has been made by Dr. Song alone, and I have explained it to him in advance.
No matter what the illness is, in front of the officials, they only report the good news and not the bad news. They explain the situation to me first, and then I will find a suitable time to talk about it.
Imperial Physician Song is a sensible person. He would never dare to tell outsiders this kind of news. Moreover, he lives in the palace now and has people watching over him, so the news will definitely not be spread.
So only the three of us should know this news now. "
After making sure that the news would not be spread, Cao Jingxiu let out a long sigh of relief.
After all, this way, they would have more room to operate.
Just as Cao Jingxiu was thinking about how to deal with the following matter, he suddenly looked up and saw Queen Cao. He realized that her expression was not right now, and he immediately became alert.
Knowing that his sister must be sad about Zhao Zhen, Cao Jingxiu was a little worried that she would lose her fighting spirit because of this.
Now is the time when she needs to exert her strength, but she can't let things slip from here. She has to think of an idea quickly to wake her up.
While he was thinking, a name suddenly popped into Cao Jingxiu's head.
….
He immediately said: "Sister, the outcome of this matter can only be determined within one month. This matter is related to the future of the little prince. We must not take it lightly."
Upon hearing this, Queen Cao immediately woke up.
Yes, I still have to pave the way for Zhao Zonghan, and I must let him earn everything he should earn, inherit the official throne, and inherit the official family's incense.
Thinking of this, Queen Cao immediately cheered up, and it seemed that she was trying to cheer herself up and find a legitimate reason for herself.
So he said: "A few days ago, I tested the official's intention, and he still wanted to appoint Zhao Zongquan as the prince and inherit the throne.
Officials hope that the country will have a long-term monarch, which is for the sake of the world. This is definitely not wrong.
But Zhao Zongquan was so ambitious that if he were to succeed to the throne, I would be afraid that the official
The family is harmful but not beneficial, so I have to do things for the government and the family. "
Cao Jingxiu naturally understood his sister, and immediately agreed: "Yes, officials care about the world, and everything they do is for the stability of the world, but they ignore the matters behind their own lives.
As the wife of an official, my sister should think about the official's family, so she should naturally think about it.
Zhao Zongquan was greedy for profit, and he had hooked up with the Prime Minister early on. He was afraid that he would do many cheating things in the future.
On the contrary, the little prince is gentle and respectful, and has a filial and loving heart under the guidance of his sister. He will definitely set an example for the world in the future.
As for the issue of elders and children, the official family was only a young man who succeeded to the throne, and then Empress Zhang Xianmingsu listened behind the curtain and supported her all the way to where she is today.
If the young prince succeeds to the throne, the elder sister can also follow the old practice of hearing behind the curtain in the Daqing Palace and support the young prince until he personally takes charge. "
These words really touched Empress Cao's heart. At this moment, Empress Cao wanted to push Zhao Zonghan up.
On the one hand, it was indeed because Zhao Zonghan had always been by her side, and she really regarded him as her son for a long time, so naturally she wanted to plan something for him.
On the other hand, it was also because of Zhao Zongquan's series of actions after entering Beijing that Queen Cao felt that he was not the loyal person she had previously thought.
Empress Cao was really worried that after Zhao Zongquan succeeded to the throne, he would do anything to ruin Zhao Zhen's reputation for future generations.
Of course, the most important point is that Queen Cao is a little overconfident in her own strength and thinks that she is definitely no worse than Liu E.
Since Liu E was able to assist Zuo Zhao Zhen and create a prosperous era, he must be able to do it too.
After making up their minds, the two began to discuss the specific details.
First of all, it is clear that the news that Zhao Zhen has only one month left to live must not be spread anymore, and even Zhao Zhen himself cannot tell it.
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Otherwise, once the news leaks out, whether Zhao Zhen himself knows it or outside ministers know it, the matter of appointing the crown prince will inevitably proceed immediately.
At this time, Zhao Zhen would most likely choose Zhao Zongquan.
So we can only hide it from everyone until Zhao Zhen's final time comes.
By that time, Empress Cao could not write whatever she wanted in the edict.
….
At this point, the main work was in the palace, and we had to start from the source. We could only ask Imperial Physician Song not to let the words out while he was in the palace.
Otherwise, as long as the news is slightly leaked, it will be impossible to think about it.
In addition, you have to think ahead when dealing with Zhao Zhen. After all, Zhao Zhen can directly feel the health of his body, so how to deal with him is also very important.
All these matters in the palace need to be arranged properly by Queen Cao.
After confirming the affairs inside the palace, Empress Cao then began to care about matters outside the palace, and the one that needed to be focused on was Li Hao.
Queen Cao asked: "Has Zhao Ceying been running to Li Hao's house frequently recently?"
Cao Jingxiu replied: "Well, now I still go there every two or three days, and each time I stay for more than half an hour before leaving.
But I don’t know what exactly they talked about during the half hour.
Originally, I planned to arrange for people to sneak into Li Hao's house, but they are currently using old people who have been serving for a long time. They have not recruited people for a long time, so there is no way to arrange for people of my own. "
Regarding this, Queen Cao expressed her understanding. If Li Hao was really so easy to deal with, he would have solved it at the beginning and it would not have been delayed until now.
But Empress Cao still wanted to ask Cao Jingxiu what he thought of this matter: "Based on what you have seen, do you think Li Hao has taken refuge with Zhao Zongquan?"
After thinking for a while, Cao Jingxiu replied: "I think there shouldn't be, otherwise Zhao Ceying wouldn't have to run so diligently.
And the Third Division has been very busy lately,
Li Hao has also been involved. Mr. Han is still tormenting Li Hao even now. This doesn't seem to support him anymore. "
Cao Jingxiu's answer was exactly what Queen Cao thought, so Queen Cao didn't say anything.
But Queen Cao asked about the news about Han Qi, Ouyang Xiu and Zhao Zongquan, and the answer she received was that everything was normal.
Among these people, Ouyang Xiu has been staying away from home recently, only going back and forth between his own house and the yamen, and there is nothing unusual about it.
On the contrary, Han Qi and Zhao Zongquan had two private meetings, but the content of the conversations was unknown.
However, neither company took any other actions after that, so they also stepped up surveillance, but no useful information was obtained.
After understanding this, Empress Cao explained: "The next month will be the last critical moment, and you need to work harder.
In addition to the current four people, I also sent people to keep an eye on some other people who are close to these four people, such as Ningyuan Houfu, Lingguo Gongfu, Zhongjing Houfu, etc., so as not to be secretly plotted against Chen Cang. It's too late to regret it. "
Cao Jingxiu had no objection to this request. Anyway, as Queen Cao said, it's the last month, so just hold on a little longer.
After confirming with Queen Cao that there were no other problems, Cao Jingxiu quickly made arrangements for leaving the palace.
On the other side, Li Hao's investigation has also made progress. With the help of Ningyuan Houfu, Gu Tingye really found something fishy during this investigation.
So after meeting Yang Wenyuan, the two came to Li Hao's house again, and they happened to run into Zhao Ceying who was about to leave.
….
However, because of what happened in the past, although Zhao Ceying was able to be calm and composed when facing Li Hao.
But Gu Tingye still felt a little unhappy, so after greeting each other, they only exchanged a few words and then separated.
After the two of them entered the house, Li Hao met and asked, "It's a coincidence that you are here. Zhao Ceying also left just now."
Gu Tingye replied: "We know, when we just came here, we happened to meet him outside the door.
By the way, he seems to have come to see you a little too frequently recently. Is there something big going on? "
Li Hao also agreed with Gu Tingye's statement. It is true that this guy has been here too many times recently.
And it just so happened that this guy didn't have anything serious to do when he came here. He spent most of his time chatting.
So he complained: "If something was really going to happen, he wouldn't come and tell me."
Then he changed the subject and said, "By the way, why did you two come to see me?"
After hearing this, Gu Tingye replied: "This is not something you asked me to go to the western suburbs camp to investigate. I already have some clues."
Li Hao said: "That's right, then please tell me in detail."
After hearing this, Gu Tingye said: "This time I focused on those princes' families, but after a thorough investigation, I never found any problems.
Originally, I was planning to give up, but at this moment, one of my father's former subordinates provided me with an important clue.
He said that some time ago, middle and lower-level generals from the western suburbs camp often went to Bianjing together.
Originally, this was normal. After all, it was understandable for the generals to go shopping in Bianjing City during their breaks.
The strange thing is that these people come in groups every time, and their team members don't seem to change after several rounds.
This aroused the man's suspicion, but he was busy with something at the time, so he didn't look into it in detail.
This time I heard that I was coming, so I thought of telling me, and then I went to check it out. Guess what I found. "
Just as he was about to get to the exciting part, Gu Tingye suddenly asked a rhetorical question, and then he slowly picked up the tea cup.
This made Li Hao so angry that he kicked him over and said, "Stop being so pretentious and tell me what's going on."
When Gu Tingye saw this, he quickly said: "I found out about this, so I screened
A few people were selected and people were sent to watch their every move.
After staring for a few days, I made a new discovery. It turned out that these people would eventually gather in a house. It seemed that someone had integrated them together. "
Hearing this, Li Hao couldn't help but said: "It's amazing. Speaking individually, these people can really control very few of them.
But if added together, it would be a huge force in the western suburbs camp.
It's just that not everyone can do it if they have the ability to conquer so many people at once. "
By this time, Li Hao already had a guess in his mind that this incident was probably the work of Zhao Zongquan.
But this is just a guess, and Gu Tingye needs to confirm it.
So Li Hao said, "Whose house does that belong to? Have you found out?"
….
Gu Tingye replied: "It was found out that the owner of the house belongs to a businessman, but it is obviously impossible for a businessman to do this.
Then I knew that this businessman was just a cover, and there must be someone hiding behind it.
Afterwards, I checked the businessman’s personal connections, but found no one among them who could do this.
Since I can't find it from here, I can only use stupid methods, find more people to follow the people coming out of that house one by one, and find the mastermind behind it.
So I transferred a group of people from Caobang to follow everyone who came out of that house.
Don't tell me, this is really effective, although the people behind the scenes are as shrewd as ghosts, and they even found two houses as a transit point.
But in the end, I discovered that most of the people who came out of that house gathered in the three houses.
And these three mansions are Zhao Zongquan's prince's throne, Zhao Ceying's mansion and Han Qi's mansion. "
After hearing Gu Tingye reveal the answer to the mystery, Li Hao also confirmed his thoughts.
However, this did not make Li Hao happy. After all, in the original plan, this time there might be some movement in the palace at most.
But now it seems that the risk of chaos in the western suburbs camp is not low, which exceeds Li Hao's expectations.
Moreover, this chaos was different from last time. During the first palace change, Li Hao directly captured the top generals.
All the troops were mobilized, and the organization and supervision were guaranteed. But even so, there were still people who took the opportunity to cause chaos.
Learn from knowledge to power
