"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty." Qi Surong raised the imperial edict and saluted King Jing.
"Don't be too busy thanking me yet." King Jing stood with his hands behind his back, "I have already completed one thing for you as you requested before. As for the second thing..."
Qi Surong raised his head suddenly and looked at King Jing with expectant and cautious eyes.
"When I sent people to investigate, we found the bodies of several guards from the Gu family in the wild. From the murderer's killing method, we can roughly determine who did it." King Jing looked at Qi Surong and said slowly, "The murderer and that person Mr. Gu has nothing to do with him, but he has a grudge against you. Can you guess a thing?"
"Do you have a grudge against me?" Qi Surong was slightly startled. Before she married Gu Jinyun, the only people who had grudges against her were a few boudoir women, but they were not so grudges that they could be quickly eliminated, right? If there is really murderous intention, then the only person Qi Surong can suspect is Luo Yanyi. Her father is the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment and has secretly trained many dead soldiers. Now that King Jing has ascended the throne, the Eighth Prince has fled with Luo Yanyi, while Luo Yanyi's father is being held in a prison, waiting to be dealt with. I wonder where those dead soldiers are going
Although Qi Surong knew something in his heart, he couldn't express it clearly. King Jing may be open-minded, but as a superior, he is very taboo about his subjects having too much unknown information.
She thought for a moment and replied: "A common woman can't guess it, so please let the emperor make it clear."
King Jing stared at her for a long time and then said with a smile: "If you say you can't guess it, then you can't guess it. The methods of those murderers are the same as those of the Luo family's dead men, but the people who use these dead men... But she is not a daughter of the Luo family, but Feng Zhan’s wife, Mrs. Liu.”
Liu Qian'er? A trace of surprise flashed in Qi Surong's eyes: "Why did she do this?"
"I don't know about this." King Jing continued, "Those dead soldiers are all mute. If one of them doesn't have some knowledge of writing, I probably won't be able to ask anything."
"Then, has the emperor asked about the whereabouts of my husband?"
King Jing looked at her with a half-smile but not a smile: "Seeing that you have been calm and composed since you entered the palace, I thought you were like this in nature. Now that I ask about your husband's whereabouts, you have revealed your true nature."
"The emperor is laughing." Qi Surong lowered his head, feeling depressed secretly. He knew that others were impatient, but he still deliberately titillated people and looked away at him. Isn't it funny
"The dead soldier did explain something." King Jing said, "Their target was originally you, but after stopping the carriage, they only found your husband. There was a conflict between the two parties, and your husband took advantage of the chaos to escape, and his whereabouts are unknown since then. . I sent people to investigate along the way and finally found this."
As he spoke, he took out a jade pendant from his sleeve.
Qi Surong took it with both hands, her expression a little excited. This jade pendant was the jade that Gu Jinyun carried with him. The pattern engraved on it was the pattern of the Gu family business.
"Your Majesty, where did you find this jade pendant?"
"A pawn shop." Before she could ask, King Jing added, "The people who pawned it were villagers from Ruoshui Village. Your husband was rescued by them, but he only stayed for a few days and then left."
"Left?" Qi Surong was stunned, "Where did you go?" Why didn't you go home? And there has been no news for two years.
"I'm afraid it was not his intention to leave." King Jing walked to the side and sat down on the carved chair. "According to the villagers, your husband was not only seriously injured at the time, but also poisoned and unconscious."
"Then how did he leave?"
"He was taken away by a passing group of businessmen from the Western Regions." After King Jing finished speaking, he found that the originally eager Qi Surong had calmed down. He felt strange and asked, "Aren't you worried about the safety of your husband? Aren't you afraid of those groups from the Western Regions? Is the businessman up to something evil?"
Qi Surong smiled and said: "Who would plot evil against a man who is in danger of life and death? On the contrary, the woman is very lucky that it was not someone else who took him away, but a person from the Western Region."
"Why?"
"Because my husband is poisoned by a strange poison from the Western Regions, and only people from the Western Regions can cure it."
"Then how did you know that among those Western Region merchants there happens to be someone who can cure this strange poison?"
"If not, my husband would have been buried in Ruoshui Village by now instead of being taken away by them."
"Haha." A hint of appreciation flashed in King Jing's eyes. The woman in front of him did not disappoint him. She was thoughtful, calm and composed, and always maintained clear judgment. Can a few years of experience make a weak woman grow up to this point
"Next, are you planning to go to the Western Regions to look for people?" King Jing asked.
"Yes." Jin Yun has not contacted his family for two years, so he doesn't know what happened. Qi Surong believed that he was still alive, but it was difficult to say that the poison in his body would not cause damage to his health.
"In that case, I also have something to entrust to you." King Jing calmed down and looked serious.
"What are your orders, Your Majesty?"
"I recently received news that several tribes in the Western Region are eyeing our border, but I am not sure which tribes are plotting secretly. So I hope to use your Gu family's business connections to go to the various tribes in the Western Region to inquire."
It turned out that this was the purpose of King Jing's secret summons to her today. No wonder he specifically allowed her to come to see the saint dressed in men's clothing. There are forty or fifty tribes in the Western Regions, most of which are good neighbors and friendly with Wei State. However, for hundreds of years, conflicts caused by the borders of the Western Regions are not uncommon.
Qi Surong knew the general situation of King Jing's worries without having to look it up. Because in the previous life, King Jing took advantage of the turmoil on the border to disperse military power and finally succeeded in seizing the throne. In this life, because of her influence, this matter was advanced by more than two years.
This border turmoil involved 11 tribes and about 35,000 people. They occupied five border cities at extremely fast speed and took only three months to capture nearly 100,000 Weiguo people. But after all, they were just nomadic people, good at attacking but not good at defending. In addition, their number was too small, so they were driven back to the grasslands of the Western Regions in just half a year. Only two or three of the eleven tribes were left to survive until they were annexed by other tribes. .
Although the rule of Wei State was not shaken, many people of Wei State died in this turmoil. It would be a blessing if it could be prevented in advance.
Qi Surong accepted this task cautiously. Ever since he found out that Jin Yun might have gone to the Western Regions, the emperor had planned to entrust the matter to her. Firstly, what she had done before had earned King Jing's trust; secondly, she had nothing to do with the court on the surface and was just a businessman with some connections; thirdly, the Gu family had business dealings with merchants from the Western Regions, so it would not arouse suspicion.
Qi Surong's eyes turned to the imperial edict in her hand, and she finally understood why King Jing chose to hand over the edict to her instead of sending someone directly to Gu Qi's family to read it publicly. Before she came back from the Western Region, this imperial edict could only be temporarily suppressed.
"Okay, I will send ten guards to escort you along the way." King Jing sighed, "It will attract attention. I can only help you so much, and you have to rely on your own adaptability for the rest."
"Yes, civilian women should do their best."
"Don't call yourself a commoner's wife again. In my heart, your status is no less than that of any royal wife."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your compliments."
"Yes." King Jing looked at the imperial edict in her hand and said, "After you go back, this edict..."
"Keep it secret." Qi Surong only said four words.
King Jing smiled.
After returning home, Qi Surong handed the imperial edict to Gu Chang and asked him to keep it safe and not disclose it to the public for the time being, and then told him about his upcoming trip to the Western Regions. She did not tell Gu Chang the news about Jin Yun, fearing that if she could not find the person, the Gu family would suffer another blow. After more than two years, Gu Chang and Gu Yufeng had almost given up, and Qi Surong didn't want to break their peace at this time.
Gu Chang naturally disapproved of Qi Surong's decision to go to the Western Regions, but since the emperor personally appointed him, he could only accept it.
"Sister-in-law, shall I go with you?" Gu Yufeng has long wanted to go out and have a try, and now is a great time.
"If you leave, who will manage the Gu family's business?" In the past two years, Gu Yufeng has grown a lot, and has gradually become familiar with the Gu family's business processes. Qi Surong thought that maybe in a few years, she would be able to retreat behind the scenes.
Gu Yufeng was immediately discouraged, his face full of frustration. Why was Qi Surong, a woman, able to travel thousands of miles, but he had to stay at home
After arranging everything for the Gu family, Qi Surong sent another letter to his family. He did not tell his specific whereabouts, but said that he would be away for several months. She regards herself as "Zhuofan" to the outside world, and it is not convenient for her to return to her parents' home, so she can only communicate through letters. Fortunately, the Qi family is now receiving a lot of care, overtly and covertly, and there will basically be no trouble.
Later, Qi Surong personally went to Yunwu Mountain to say goodbye to Yunyouzi.
Yun Youzi nodded, handed her a small porcelain bottle, and said, "Here is this for you. When you meet that kid, let him take one pill every day. No matter whether he is sick or not, he can keep fit."
Qi Surong was overjoyed and quickly thanked him.
Then she looked around and asked, "Where is Brother Feng? Have you gone home?"
"No, he's cutting firewood in the back mountain." Yun Youzi smiled, "He's a lot better at doing work than you are. Look at how tidy the house is."
Qi Surong secretly sympathized, and if he fell into the hands of his master, Feng Zhan might have suffered a lot. It is said that in the first few months, Feng Zhan escaped dozens of times, but was easily caught by his master. I want to use force to solve it, but I am no match for the master, so I can only admit defeat in the end.
Yunyouzi didn't trap him in the mountain, and would let him go back every other month. His position did not require him to go to court every day, and the Feng family was affected by the Luo family. His father's position was temporarily dismissed. Although it did not affect the descendants, most of them were idle. Therefore, Feng Zhan spent most of his time on the mountain. Yunyouzi's training.
In two years, Qi Surong could see all his changes. He is a little less aggressive and a little more calm. Although his personality is a bit weird, at least he is still in the category of a normal person.
It didn't matter that she didn't see Feng Zhan this time. She just learned that the murderer who hurt Jin Yun was actually Liu Qian'er. She really didn't know how to feel when facing him. This couple has really brought them too much trouble. It would be a lie to say that I don't hate them. But after more than two years of precipitation, nothing was as important as Jin Yun.
In a sense, Feng Zhan and Liu Qian'er are a perfect match.
Three days later, Qi Surong took the Gu family caravan on a journey to the Western Regions.
Jinyun, Surong is here, how are you