Although Princess Yongfu's descent ceremony was very smooth and grand, Qiu Yilan felt depressed after attending it. Jiang Yashuang didn't know whether she was in love with the scene and was afraid of declining due to prosperity, or because she was worried that Chu Chunxiao might not be able to get married on time, so she decided to do it in person. I went to the two houses and told her happily after I came back: "Chunxiao's wedding will not be delayed. The Puyang Palace is already preparing for the wedding. However, due to Xiao Su's illness, it will definitely not be too grand, but it will not be too grand. Losing Chunxiao’s face!”
"Really?" Qiu Yilan breathed a sigh of relief, "When I sent someone to check it out two days ago, I said that the palace had no intention of holding a happy event. How could it be arranged in just a few days?"
"This is what Xiao Su said personally." Jiang Yashuang sighed, "Originally Concubine Chu and Xiao Mu planned to discuss with Third Sister to postpone the date. However, Xiao Su woke up two days ago and asked about Xiao Mu's marriage. He patted the sick bed and asked him to get married quickly... I guess it was because he was in poor health and was eager to let his younger brother continue the Xiao family's bloodline!"
He was unsure when he came to the door. If Xiao Su's health was really dying, he couldn't force Xiao Mu to marry regardless of his brother's condition, right? That would not be hurting my niece but harming her.
As a result, when I entered the door, I saw the palace was busy with lanterns and colorful decorations. When I asked, it was Xiao Su who solved the problem for him...
The couple felt sorry for the young and troubled prince for a while, and then the topic gradually shifted back to Xijiang: "I wonder how Wangcheng is doing?"
At this moment, thousands of miles away in Wangcheng, it was clearly the April wind, but it was bitter when blowing through the yellow sand.
On the city wall covered with marks from swords, arrows and bloodstains, Qiu Jinglan stood in armor, leaning on her sword, squinting at the Western Barbarian camp in the distance.
If you look carefully, you can see that his left shoulder is slightly higher than his right shoulder. He accidentally hit an arrow when he went out to fight in the city the day before yesterday. There is medicine under the shoulder armor, so it is naturally a little higher.
Ou Qinglan originally advised him not to go to the city until he recovered from his injury, but Han Jishan had already tied himself up in the capital and naturally handed over the army to him before leaving. It was impossible for him to leave such a big task as patrolling the city to others just because he was so injured. .
Thinking of his wife, Qiu Jinglan's eyes darkened. This time, the Zhenxi Army suffered a misfortune: the family members outside Shazhou City were basically unable to be gathered; when Shazhou City was destroyed, another group of old and weak women and children were lost in the chaos of war... Fortunately, Ou Qinglan was not an ordinary woman. Even though she was pregnant, she still got on her horse and followed the team, so that she could arrive at Wangcheng with him. Otherwise, the consequences would be disastrous!
"But the child..."
Although the doctor who had gone through so much trouble to find him from the rebel army said he would try his best, Qiu Jinglan understood that Ou Qinglan's pregnancy might not be saved.
The descendants of the Xihe Prince's Palace have never been prosperous.
Even though his biological uncle Qiu Mengmin had three sons, only one Qiu Yin is alive now.
Qiu Jinglan didn't like this uncle's family who had wronged her mother and sister, and she never regarded Qiu Yinzhi as a cousin. After years of being full of affection for Qiu Yilan, you can imagine how he felt when he finally had his own heir!
Now he is about to lose it because of the defeat. Even with his and Ou Qinglan's age and physical fitness, they have no worries about having children in the future. Just thinking about this matter makes my heart aching!
"General!" A sudden voice from behind interrupted Qiu Jinglan's thoughts.
He turned around and saw Ren Ziyong in scribe's uniform walking towards him quickly. He couldn't help but took a few steps to greet him: "But the confession was asked?"
After the baggage was burned, he caught a group of spies - except for the people from the Jiang family who were inadvertently tricked into the situation and threw out their identities to beg for mercy, the masterminds were all hard-core. They were besieged from Shazhou to retreating to Wangcheng. , it has been two or three months, and the most professional executioner in "Tianya" came to the rescue, but he only asked a few words!
This matter was of great importance, so it was left to Ren Ziyong. Now that Ren Ziyong is looking for him without waiting for him to finish patrolling the city, it is very likely that there is progress!
Thinking of this, Qiu Jinglan couldn't help but feel refreshed!
But when Ren Ziyong arrived in front of him and saluted in accordance with military regulations, he stood up and shook his head: "Still nothing!"
"Then sir, are you coming to see me now?" Qiu Jinglan couldn't help but be very disappointed.
Ren Ziyong first ordered the nearby soldiers to retreat to a distance, and then said: "Uncle Zhenbei's secret envoy has come and brought a message from Uncle Zhenbei. I can't make the decision, so I'm here to report!"
"A verbal message?" Qiu Jinglan pondered, "So it's something that can't be written down? What is it?"
"Uncle Zhenbei suspects that the burning of the Zhenxi Army's baggage this time is most likely caused by remnants of the Gu family."
"Didn't they already recruit this? It's just that most of the Gu family and their party members have been executed. The only important person of the Gu family who is known to be alive is Deng Yi - he has also been under the surveillance of Qi Nie and Mei Xue. Not only has he not When interacting with any remnants of the Gu family, they almost actively avoid their old friends... The real culprit behind instigating them to burn the baggage this time has never been revealed? "
Qiu Jinglan pondered, "I have absolutely no clue!"
"Uncle Zhenbei believes that the person behind the scenes of the remnants of the Gu family may be... Your Majesty!" Ren Ziyong's calm words made Qiu Jinglan's face suddenly change color: "Although the Duke of Qin has been ill for three or two years, the Empress Dowager Jiang Tianao Jiang Tian Qi Jiang Tiancheng and Jiang Yashuang... How can these people be so useless?"
If the Jiang family has never doubted the emperor because they are confident that they have always monitored the emperor well, and they also believe that the emperor can be a puppet with peace of mind - then Qiu Jinglan has never doubted the emperor because of her trust in the Jiang family. .
The Jiang family, which has experienced the struggle between the two empresses, has rich experience in using the emperor to control the world.
Not to mention the four highest-status people in the palace today: the Queen Mother, the Emperor, the Empress, and the Imperial Concubine. Among them, the Empress Dowager and the imperial concubine are both named Jiang. The Empress is also the niece of the Jiang family who was personally selected by the Empress Dowager. She is simply surrounded by airtight... Qiu Jinglan almost wanted to vomit blood for letting the emperor secretly do such a big thing!
"This is just the conjecture of Uncle Zhenbei." Ren Ziyong also looked very unhappy. As Dezong's adviser when he deposed the crown prince, he was the former helmsman of "Tianya", a guest of the Kuang family and his son, and the current military advisor of the Zhenxi Army. ... He thought that even if he was not the smartest person in the world, his IQ was certainly among the first. However, he was also confused by the Jiang family's control over the emperor, and made countless guesses about the burning of the baggage. I never thought about the emperor who worked hard to be obedient and filial in front of Empress Dowager Jiang!
Could it be that I am getting old? Or did you relax after cleaning up Kuang and his son and seeing that Qiu Jinglan was on the right track of development
Ren Ziyong finally suppressed countless distracting thoughts and said to Qiu Jinglan: "So Uncle Zhenbei plans to test it out... If it is really that person, this matter will be difficult."
Qiu Jinglan walked back and forth for a few steps, then stopped and asked, "What kind of test?"
"No matter what that person does, his ultimate goal at the moment must be to seize power!" Ren Ziyong relayed the words of the secret envoy, "If you think about it at this point, although his actions were hidden from the Jiang family in Beijing, they were still hidden from the Jiang family. There are traces to be found - if he wants to seize power and take charge of the government, he will definitely get rid of the Jiang family! "
"It's just that the Jiang family is so powerful now that he doesn't dare to deal with it directly, so why should he attack me, an in-law of the Jiang family?" A cold light flashed in Qiu Jinglan's eyes, "What is Jiang Tianchi going to do? Let me pretend that I can't handle the situation. Let's see. Will he arrange for someone to come out to seize military power? The risk is too great. After all, our situation is not very good now. Although Han Jishan pointed me to take over the army on his behalf, the people below him are because of my age. How much you underestimated me... I really gave others a chance, but I have no chance of taking it back!"
Ren Ziyong said: "If Uncle Zhenbei said that, then he should be the first one we suspect. What Uncle Zhenbei means is that the capital has not doubted that person until now. It can be seen that he also knows that he is now rashly If you want to seize power, you are just trying to strike a stone with an egg! I am afraid that while pretending that it has nothing to do with you in Beijing, you are trying to use the defeat of the Western Suppression Army to involve the situation in Northern Xinjiang and fundamentally shake the foundation of the Jiang family!"
"So who must want us to lose again? After all, although the baggage is currently affecting Northern Xinjiang, the imperial court has raised enough food and grass for after the autumn harvest and is on the way to deliver it, so there is no need to appropriate Northern Xinjiang's share Alright... With Jiang Tianchi's methods, this level of influence can be easily overcome! Only if we continue to be defeated can we drag down the Zhenbei Army!" Qiu Jinglan frowned, "If we lose sight of the city, we can say that the army is in danger. Xiangzhou! Is that man crazy enough to even gamble on his ancestors’ tombs?”
Not only the tombs of ancestors, but most importantly, the Chu family’s mausoleum in Xiangzhou is considered to be an important reason or even the main reason for the founding of the Chu family’s country and dynasty! To put it bluntly, a normal Chu emperor would rather be passive at the imperial mausoleum than be disturbed here!
"It's really impossible to lose Shazhou. Even the Duke of Qin can't explain it!" Ren Ziyong whispered a few words in his ear. Qiu Jinglan listened with her eyebrows raised and nodded slightly: "Although it is a bit difficult to do this, it is still considered. Safe…”
When he said this, his eyes turned cold, "It's just that such a big thing was kept hidden in Beijing, which is very unusual! This shows that either the Jiang family has been careless, or that one person is far smarter than everyone expected. ! Either way, it’s not a good thing—it will take some time before I can go back from my patrol in the city. I also asked my husband to send a message to A Xing, and asked her to quickly write a letter and send it to my sister and the others in Beijing! "
Who would have thought that Ren Ziyong looked at him and asked: "Do you really want to tell the capital? Uncle Zhenbei's biological father, stepmother, biological son, and grandson... are all in the capital, and that one is still pretending to be obedient. Why is Zhenbei Bo's biological father, stepmother, biological son, and grandson... all in the capital?" Uncle Bei didn't go to remind the Jiang family in Beijing, but instead sent a secret envoy to find us? "
"..." Qiu Jinglan understood the meaning of his words and was speechless for a long time. After a while, she said, "This matter... is too big!"
"But the arrow is still on the string!" Ren Ziyong said calmly, "Who would be willing to give someone a handle unless they had to? We didn't pay much attention to Uncle Zhenbei in the past, but now it seems that this person's forbearance can be said to be unfathomable... I think we might as well go with the flow on this matter!”
Knowing the reason for his hesitation, "The princess is the legitimate daughter-in-law of Uncle Zhenbei, and the biological mother of Uncle Zhenbei's legitimate grandson and granddaughter. In the matter that Uncle Zhenbei sent to discuss this time, although there was no mention of each other's presence in Beijing, His relatives, but how could he not try to preserve them? After all, only the concubine’s family is around, and the others are all in the capital!”
"..." Qiu Jinglan pondered, "I'll think about it again... After all, agreeing too quickly won't be conducive to setting a price, right?"
Ren Ziyong breathed a sigh of relief: "Then it will simply take a few days. Anyway, it will take some time for the donated food and grass to arrive!"