At another grand court meeting, the court officials were nervous and tense, fearing that the emperor was determined to dig a canal. If so, their opposition would be useless and they could only obey.
But on this day, the emperor seemed to have completely forgotten about this matter and put the water and land transportation reform, which had been in the works for several years, on the agenda.
The military generals who had never had much presence in the court suddenly became excited and wanted to get a piece of the pie.
"This matter will not have any results in the short term, but military generals do not have as many twists and turns as civil officials. Even if it is a game of gamblers, it will not take as long as it took to establish the seventh department."
Hua Zhi had never asked about the affairs of the court before, as she could not intervene so much. But now that Chen Qing came to report every day, she just listened. She knew that this was Yan Xi's intention, and Yan Xi wanted her to see the overall situation more clearly.
Chen Qing raised his eyes and talked about another matter with a not very pleasant expression, "You calculated it correctly, the three people in Prince Ling's Mansion have all rebelled."
Hua Zhi was not surprised at all. Prince Ling and Princess Ling were not married blindly. Prince Ling fell in love with her first and tried every means to marry her. This marriage was based on love and would not affect the birth of children. From the existence of Shaoyao, it can be seen that Princess Ling was not a jealous person. The couple had lived in harmony for many years. However, that woman could make Prince Ling lose all affection for the princess and kill his eldest son in such a cruel way. How could such a person not even know that there were spies in the mansion
"I remember Yan Xi once said that the woman had no status?"
"Yes, Prince Ling once wrote to the emperor for permission, but the emperor refused. The queen mother also made it clear that she would not recognize him. She has not been summoned for so many years. Even the young master was not included in the royal family tree before he was ten years old. The palace calls them Madam Xiao and the young master."
"What is the origin of that Madam Xiao?"
“After… that incident happened, the Emperor had people investigate it. Later, when the Crown Prince took charge of the Seven Stars Division, he personally investigated it again. The results were the same. She was just an ordinary person from a family in Yangzhou whose generations had run an escort agency. Prince Ling’s fiefdom was in Yangzhou, and there was no deliberate element in their meeting with her. Prince Ling was a person who valued flowers, and he brought more than just Xiao home, but no one could threaten the status of the princess until he met Xiao. Even though the Xiao family ran an escort agency, Xiao had a watery personality. Prince Ling seemed to… have taken a love potion, and was willing to do anything for Xiao.”
Chen Qing still felt hard to let go when he talked about these old things. He had no idea who his parents were since he could remember, and he endured day after day as a beggar in Yangzhou City. One time, he accidentally bumped into someone and was beaten and kicked by the guards. He thought he was going to die when the princess saved him, brought him back to the palace, gave him clean clothes, fed him hot meals, taught him the rules, and then let him follow the prince.
He still couldn't figure out how Prince Ling could have the heart to kill such a good person as the princess.
That Xiao, she is not even as good as the princess!
"Is there any problem with your origin?"
"Yes." Chen Qing came back to his senses. "The Xiao family has lived there for generations. The prince even had someone draw a portrait and took it to the people around to identify it. They all recognized it as the Xiao family. Later, they took official action, and the elders of the clan also guaranteed that it was the Xiao family. So the prince had to believe that it was not deliberately arranged by anyone. This is just two ruthless people meeting each other."
Hua Zhi rubbed her brows. Perhaps she was too afraid of the Chaoli tribe and was paranoid. Whenever she saw something slightly wrong, she thought it might be the remnants of the Chaoli tribe.
"Did you alert the enemy when you investigated those three people?"
"No, don't worry, I'm very careful."
"Then you guys just pretend you don't know about this for now. Just keep the same as before and see if you can arrange for someone to go in." After a pause, Hua Zhi continued, "Safety comes first. The Xiao family is definitely not someone you can easily deal with."
"Yes, I understand." Chen Qing bowed, "There is one more thing. Before you leave, the prince asked me to investigate Noble Lady Yue and Noble Concubine Xu, and let me inform you of the results."
"What did you find out?"
"I used the connections of the Seven Stars Division to find out that soon after Noble Lady Yue entered the palace, she was bullied by Concubine Xu. The two had always had a bad relationship. Later, Noble Lady Yue became more and more favored. I don't know whether it was for revenge or to show off. She often went to Concubine Xu to pay her respects. Although Concubine Xu had many tricks, Noble Lady Yue was not someone who could be easily bullied. The two fought fiercely, but Noble Lady Yue kept it secret. The emperor didn't know about it. Concubine Xu once exposed Noble Lady Yue's true face, which made the emperor dislike her and punished her."
Hua Zhi raised her eyebrows, "You mean, Concubine Xu lost?"
"It's not like we lost, we were evenly matched."
"How could Haoyue be able to fight against Concubine Xu, who had been in the palace for many years and was once the most favored concubine in the harem?"
"This is what I found out."
Hua Zhi stood up and walked around holding the hot water bottle. It was not that she underestimated Haoyue. In palace fighting, being smart was not enough. Concubine Xu had suffered so much to get to where she was today. Could Haoyue suppress her with just her intelligence
She didn't believe that the experience and knowledge that comes with age couldn't be gained through intelligence.
"What do you think, young lady? Just give me your orders."
Hua Zhi thought about it and still shook her head. Without any evidence, she couldn't act on her intuition.
"With Yan Xi not here, you all need to be quieter and not attract other people's attention."
"Yes." Seeing that the eldest girl had no other instructions, Chen Qing took his leave and left.
Hua Zhi walked around the room thoughtfully. Haoyue's target before was Yan Xi, so she was well-behaved and harmless in front of Yan Xi. After she entered the palace, her hopes were dashed, and later she found out about her and Yan Xi, so she targeted her everywhere.
If Haoyue is really reborn as expected, what will she do first after she regains her sanity
Check Huazhi!
I was not here in my previous life, which means that Hua Zhi was not like this in Haoyue's previous life. If she was really smart, she should have suspected me long ago. Even if it was later, she should have taken action after the incident in the palace.
Hua Zhi covered her face with the hot water bottle and suddenly froze. She remembered the result she had predicted when she gave the three princes of Haoyue their true and false birth dates: the fourth prince would have a doomed death with no solution, the fifth prince would have a bloody disaster, and the sixth prince would die young!
This might be the ending of the three princes in their previous life. Xiaoliu... might not have been able to escape that incident at Yunlai Restaurant!
But now Xiaoliu is still alive, and Haoyue is pregnant, if she has some plans...
Hua Zhi walked out quickly, forgetting even to put on her cloak. Liu Xiang hurriedly took it off and chased after her.
"Is Mr. Wang here?"
In just a few breaths, Wang Rong came in from outside the courtyard. Without waiting for him to say anything, Hua Zhi said, "Go tell Chen Qing that Xiao Liu might be in danger, and send someone to help immediately."
"yes."
PS: Kong Kong is a mortal, and is entangled with trivial matters. I will start posting three updates a day tomorrow.