As soon as the twelfth lunar month entered, the weather became extremely cold. The snow that fell a few days ago had not yet melted, and a new heavy snow fell again.
However, although the weather was cold, Songfengyuan was full of joy. In less than ten days, Qin Wan was going to get married.
When Qin Wan got married, he naturally had to bring a lot of dowry. The Banxias were specially prepared by the Hu family for Qin Wan's maidservants. They were going to follow Qin Wan to Prince Rui's mansion, but Qin Wan changed his mind. Point out the servants of the Hou's mansion to Ban Xia and several people, and let them stay in the Hou's mansion.
Ban Xia and the others were a little panicked, but Qin Wan didn't care about so many. This time she got married, she brought very few servants with her. The reason was that Prince Rui's residence had just had a funeral, and Yan Chi didn't know whether she would stay in Beijing in the future, so Keep everything simple, everyone knows that Yan Chi is a major general of the Shuoxi Army, brave and good at fighting, it is really uncertain whether he will leave the capital to go to the battlefield in the future, and simply give Ban Xia a few young men who are married to the Hou family. A young and practical person with a lot of face, Ban Xia and others will not worry about the second half of their lives.
After these trivial matters were settled, the Hu family also sent a nanny to discuss with Qin Wan about the dowry and the etiquette of the day, but Qin Wan didn't want to make arrangements, so he kept everything simple.
Although Qin Shu stayed behind closed doors for the past few days, they still attached great importance to Qin Wan's marriage. They ordered their servants to make all arrangements, and the servants were also very dedicated, but Mrs. Hu didn't show up often because of deep worries. , Mrs. Hu has fallen ill—
And on this day, a dark letter flew to the desk of the emperor in Chongzheng Palace, and a civil uprising occurred in Cangzhou in the north.
Cangzhou is the first city in the north to go south, and it is also the largest city in the north. Cangzhou is adjacent to the north, and it can be regarded as the largest supply place for the army in the north. After the incident with the queen and the prince, the emperor ordered to go south, While going north, going south is to mobilize the Jinzhou army, and going north is to stabilize the north.
But only five or six days had passed since the emperor, and before the envoys sent by the emperor reached the north, civil uprisings had already occurred in Cangzhou.
It was not so much a civil uprising as a mutiny. It was a secret letter to the emperor that bandits from the northwest of Cangzhou had invaded Cangzhou City. Now the entire military and political power in Cangzhou had fallen into the hands of those bandits. Execution, all the people were restrained in Cangzhou City.
He Li was the commander-in-chief personally appointed by the emperor five years ago. He not only cooperated with the Northern Army of the Zhao family, but also checked and restrained the emperor on behalf of the emperor. The method is usually accepted by everyone, because no one really wants to rebel, but now that He Li is dead, and the military and political power in Cangzhou City has fallen, this is a signal to the emperor. There are already signs of treason.
Seeing that there were not many people who were hiding, the emperor issued three important orders in a row, ordering the city gates to be closed tightly, and the entire capital should be searched more closely, and the missing prince and queen must be found. At the same time, the emperor urgently sent Ge Yang, Minister of the Ministry of War who had just returned to Beijing, went north.
When this series of actions appeared, everyone knew that something big was about to happen.
Qin Wan got the news from Prince Rui's residence, and Yan Chi had his own way to know the most secret things about Chongzheng Palace.
"Cangzhou is the most important town in the north. Although it is a bit northerly, there are 30,000 troops stationed there. Not to mention the entire Cangzhou, even the surrounding Hezhou and other places are also within his direct jurisdiction. Walking from Cangzhou, a few years ago, Cangzhou was almost the rear granary of the Beifu army, and the officers and generals in Cangzhou were all from the Beifu army. Later, the emperor found out that something was wrong, so he sent He Li to take over the Cangzhou general army, but he The commander-in-chief did not go well, he was almost emptied out. The lieutenants under him seemed to follow his orders, but in fact they were all members of the Beifu army. Cangzhou went southwest to Chongzhou and Mengzhou. Zhou, are all from the Beifu army."
Qin Wan hurriedly said, "Zhang Qide is also—"
Yan Chi nodded, "That's right, Zhang Qide is the old general's protégé, and later he came out of the Beifu Army and took over the military power of Dingxi Road. Although he is still a member of the prince's lineage, his mentality must be different from before, that's why he was involved in corruption. In the corruption case."
Qin Wan squinted his eyes. Qin Wan knew the reputation of General Fu Guo Zhao You. The commander of the Beifu army, therefore, the time the Zhao family controlled the Beifu army was much longer than that of Prince Rui's mansion controlling Shuoxi, but the Zhao family didn't have royal blood, so it didn't look too conspicuous, and the Zhao family's two generations of Fuguo The generals are all handsome talents who are extremely dedicated to their duties. The Zhao family can have today's glory, and it is all in exchange for the bloodshed and sacrifice of generations of the Zhao family. Now it is very easy for the Beifu army to control a Cangzhou.
The Zhao family wanted to keep this honor, and wanted to stand at the head of the general family for a long time, but this time the queen's decision was tantamount to putting the Zhao family on the edge of a cliff, with the abyss on one side and the splendor and wealth on the other. Those who don't understand will only think that she has gone mad because of her ambition.
"But it has been many days, and there is still no trace of the queen." Qin Wan sighed softly, "And after this, what will happen to the Hou Mansion?"
Yan Chi frowned at this question, "The Hou family will definitely be implicated."
The corners of Qin Wan's lips were pursed tightly, and he didn't know what to say for a while, did Qin Chaoyu think of this when he came to this step
Seeing Qin Wan's frowning, Yan Chi couldn't help pulling her into his arms, "If I'm not mistaken, Qin Chaoyu will definitely send someone back to the Marquis' Mansion in the next few days."
Qin Wan frowned, Yan Chi said again, "Perhaps this is why the emperor sent Qin Shu and his son back to the mansion."
Qin Wan's heart skipped a beat when he heard that, the emperor released Qin Shu and his son from the mansion just to catch the bait? !
"So... the Hou Mansion will be under surveillance these few days?"
Yan Chi nodded, "It's very possible, the empress and the crown prince are well hidden. In contrast, Qin Chaoyu is very likely to contact the Hou's residence."
Qin Wan took a deep breath, "Then I..."
Yan Chi looked at Qin Wan firmly, "So you don't have to worry about them. Qin Chaoyu is the concubine of the crown prince, and the queen has 100,000 Beifu troops. The current queen and prince have not yet reached the point of losing their families. Now that Qin Chaoyu has left One step, I think I thought of the Hou Mansion."
Qin Wan didn't completely regard herself as a member of the Qin family, but it would be a lie to say that she wasn't worried at all.
Qin Wan nodded, Yan Chi held her hand and said, "Don't worry, you just need to remember that we are going to get married soon, and I will arrange the rest."
Seeing Yan Chi, Qin Wan would naturally feel at ease, but when she thought about the affairs in the palace, she couldn't be at ease, "Feng Guifei seems to know about the emperor's affairs, she is very strangely ill, people in Changxin Palace and King Cheng even thought that She was bewitched by an evil spirit, and she even asked a sorcerer from Qin Tianjian to do it, but she began to get sick from the day when the fifth princess was married. On that day, both the queen and the prince were released for marriage. The queen must have already done it by then. Maybe it was something she said to Concubine Feng."
Yan Chi's phoenix eyes darkened slightly, but she shook her head, "This move by the empress has left uncertainties in the harem. As for what happens next, it all depends on Feng Lingsu."
Qin Wan thought for a while and said, "I still remember Aunt Qian said that when King Jin had an accident, the queen wanted to save King Jin. This time, the queen wanted to save Feng Lingsu once? It is impossible for the emperor to let King Cheng compete for the throne. The current King Cheng, it is best to find a fief and be an idle prince who knows nothing, he should not think about anything else."
Yan Chi didn't answer for a while, but at this moment, the queen's move is really intriguing.
…
…
In Changxin Palace, the sorcerer had already left, but the smell of ashes from the burnt talisman paper still lingered in the air.
Feng Lingsu lay on the bed with a pale face, raised her hand, and pointed at Baodie tremblingly, "Who...who told you to call Warlock, you...you go and call Cheng Wang...I want to see you King Cheng... hurry up!"
Baodie was about to cry, "Mother, don't talk anymore, the magician just performed a ritual, saying that your illness needs to rest, and that you may have caused some bad luck, it's not a serious illness, don't worry, His Royal Highness Chengwang I am accompanying the emperor to discuss matters in the Chongzheng Hall, so I can't call you now."
When Feng Lingsu heard this, his eyes widened, and there was a hoo hoo sound in his throat, as if he was about to be overwhelmed with anger.
Baodie was so frightened that she quickly stroked Feng Lingsu's heart, "Mother, you must take good care of your jade body. The current situation in the court and China is very good for King Cheng. Just believe in His Royal Highness, and His Highness will definitely take care of me." This time, you don’t know it yet, but Zhezi came from the north, saying that the Beifu army is going to rebel.”
Baodie lowered her voice and said, "I don't know what kind of slaves are, but it was Lu Xiao who was next to His Royal Highness Cheng Wang who came to say that, just to let you feel at ease, His Highness will find a way to make the emperor calm down the chaos in the next few days Leave it to your highness, and when your highness has made meritorious service, the emperor will definitely make your highness the crown prince."
Feng Lingsu's eyes widened and his mouth opened wide, unable to speak for a long while.
Seeing her like this, Baodie quickly said, "Mother, don't get excited, the matter is still far away, we have to wait for the incident in the north to come to an end, but this time the crown prince has completely taken a deadly move, so our Highness can still hold his breath." , just rest assured..."
"You... go... call... King Cheng..."
Feng Lingsu's neck is straight, her face is pale and her eyes are blue, and she looks more than ten years older than half a month ago. Her appearance is a bit scary, and Baodie said helplessly, "Mother, you didn't hear that slave If so? His Royal Highness Cheng Wang can't come now, what are you worried about?"
"Go! Call! King Cheng..."
Feng Lingsu suddenly supported the bed with one hand and raised his body, his voice was extremely shrill!
Baodie has been by Feng Lingsu's side for many years, so she is naturally loyal. Seeing the master's stern voice, she knew that it would be impossible not to call Yan Qi, so Baodie said, "Master, don't worry, you should lie down first, you But don’t get angry, this servant will go and call His Royal Highness Cheng Wang over here!”
Feng Lingsu was clearly out of rice, and she didn't know where the strength came from. Hearing Baodie's words, she was immediately discouraged, and lay back down with a "bang".
Baodie didn't dare to be careless, so she quickly ordered two little palace servants to take care of Feng Lingsu, while she sent someone to look for Yanqi.
Sooner or later, the matter in the north was going to go out. Although the emperor had not informed all the ministers after receiving the paper, he still selected a few ministers to discuss it. Among them was Yan Qi, which was unprecedented in the past. Feeling excited, with the crown prince in front of him, he is very inconspicuous, but without the crown prince, the emperor has only one choice. At this time, the case of King Jin and Xuan Qi's suspicions made him no longer want to deal with it. You know, the prince and the queen chose the method of killing each other to realize their ambitions. Not only will their names be condemned by the historian, but at the moment, he will never give them a chance to stand up!
The Beifu army is in chaos, so it is natural that the army is needed to suppress it. Jinzhou's garrison is still on the way, but who will lead the army is a problem. Yan Qi can't compete for the position of commander, but he will never give up any opportunity to come out of Chongzheng Hall , Yan Qi winked at Yang Han, Minister of the Household Department, who came out together...
Yang Han understood, nodded slightly and took a step first, Yan Qi was slowing down, but the people from Changxin Palace came.
After hearing what the palace man said, Yan Qi raised her eyebrows slightly, "Why haven't you seen each other yet?"
How did the palace man who sent the message know, Yan Qi sighed impatiently and had no choice but to go to Changxin Palace.
Arriving at Changxin Palace, Yan Qi felt helpless when he saw Feng Lingsu's appearance, and couldn't help shouting, "What's the matter?! Didn't you ask you to invite the imperial doctor?! The warlocks have also been invited, why is the mother concubine still It's not getting any better!"
Feng Lingsu coughed twice, raised his hand towards Yan Qi, Yan Qi sighed, went to the window and held Feng Lingsu, "Mother, concubine, you can rest easy and recuperate, don't worry about anything else."
Feng Lingsu's eyes were reddish and she looked frightened, "Last time... I told you..."
She lacked strength, and she couldn't make a sentence when she spoke intermittently. These few words seemed to take all her strength, but before she could finish speaking, Yan Qi let go of her hand and stood up, "Concubine Mu, what's the matter?" You don’t need to say any more. After you said it last time, I went back and thought about it. After thinking about it, I realized that this matter cannot be made so simply. It’s fine. Why should I give up this hard-won opportunity? It’s gone now The crown prince puts the word '严' in front, why can't I fight?"
Feng Ling wanted to stand up anxiously, "Qi'er...listen...listen to concubine mother..."
Yan Qi stepped forward, couldn't help but push Feng Lingsu on the bed, and then said sternly, "Mother Concubine, the child has grown up, you are not the queen, and the child is not the prince, let the child make up his own mind on this matter." Well, you will still be your imperial concubine, maybe after a while, you will be living in Kunning Palace?"
The empresses of all dynasties in the Great Zhou Dynasty lived in the Kunning Palace. The meaning of Yan Qi's words is very obvious. In the past, Feng Lingsu would have fantasized about it without Yan Qi. But now everything is different. Feng Lingsu listened to Yan Qi. With these words, I felt that Yan Qi was falling into a bottomless swamp, and she couldn't hold it back no matter what, she became frightened, with tears in her eyes, "Qi'er...you..."
Yan Qi straightened up abruptly, "Concubine Mother, take good care of your illness, my son will call the imperial physician for you."
After saying this, Yan Qi walked out without looking back.