Zi'an went into the kitchen and started preparing food.
In the past two days, Xiao Tuo and Su Qing went out frequently, and the three of them discussed things in the room. Although she did not hear everything, by connecting the scattered pieces of information together, she could know that the situation in Beijing is now tense.
Yesterday, she heard Xiao Tuo say that the deployment had already begun. Zi'an didn't know what they were deploying, but it must be dangerous. Murong Jie's injuries have not healed yet, and as a doctor, he would definitely not agree to go back and take the risk. However, she had no reason or power to stop him.
Xiao Tuo went to get the wine, and Su Qing came in to help Zi'an kill the fish.
Zi'an asked, "General Su, I heard from you that Prince Nan Huai has returned to the capital. Isn't Prince Nan Huai your biological brother? Why do you seem to... dislike him?"
Su Qing scraped the fish scales and said, "It's like Prime Minister Xia is your father. Do you like him?"
Zi'an stopped talking. Yes, some people are relatives in name only and have the same blood, but if their hearts are not together, they are not relatives.
In Xia Huaijun's heart, his wealth and glory, and his official career are more important than anything else, so he can use or even sacrifice any of his relatives.
He loves Xia Wan'er, but doesn't he still want to use Xia Wan'er to win over the prince
Thinking of Xia Lin, her heart couldn't help but feel a pang of pain.
Su Qing had lost her guard against her, so she continued, "Everyone in the capital now thinks that the prince is dead, and all parties are trying to seize the position of ruler. Prince Nan Huai returned to the capital this time for this reason."
"What a big show." Zi'an said.
Su Qing shrugged, "Well, everyone should stop hiding it. Your father is now in close contact with the Grand Tutor. It seems that your sister is destined to be the Crown Princess."
Zi'an did not comment.
According to what she knew about the situation now, the marriage between Crown Prince Murong Qiao and Xia Wan'er would definitely be put on the agenda. Even if the Queen was very reluctant, she could not miss the opportunity to win over the Prime Minister at this time.
Su Qing continued, "You, a little girl, can't understand the situation in the capital, but since you are going to marry into the palace, I will tell you about the situation in the palace. Do you want to listen? If you want to listen, you can keep some of the osmanthus wine for me tonight."
Zi'an sharpened the thin blade without looking up, "Deal."
Su Qing lowered her voice and said, "Don't let Xiao Tuo know about the hidden things, he will drink secretly."
"Okay." Zi'an sharpened the knife quickly. She would cut the sashimi later. However, there was no possibility that Su Qing would continue to talk too much, so she had to cut Su Qing first.
After hearing her agreement, Su Qing said, "You know that the prince does not have a principal wife, but he has a concubine, Concubine Sun. This Concubine Sun is someone with a background. She is the niece of Mrs. Liang, the wife of the Grand Tutor. Grand Tutor Liang has been on guard against our prince for a long time. So, even with your not-so-smart head, you should be able to guess the status of Concubine Sun in the mansion. She is here to be an insider to gather information. Our prince has never even looked at her."
"If you don't like her, why don't you send her away?" Zi'an didn't mind the existence of Concubine Sun, but he felt that with Murong Jie's temperament, if he really disliked someone, he might not tolerate her in his mansion.
"So you don't understand this, right? Concubine Sun is here to be the insider. It would be so boring to send her away. You have to let her take some news out occasionally."
Zi'an understood when he heard this. Keeping an insider around was to prevent him from being used against him one day.
This Murong Jie really makes full use of everything and is an environmentalist.
"What is the relationship between the prince and the noble concubine?" Zi'an was more curious about this because she had some doubts in her heart.
The scene that the Noble Concubine showed in the palace was very different from what she did in the General's Mansion and even the Prince's Mansion, which made her feel that the Noble Concubine did not want Murong Jie to recover.
In the society she lived in before, it was rare for a mother not to save her son. However, in this era, after experiencing the battle of the prime minister's residence, she felt that people were more likely to accept this abnormal parent-child relationship. Was it because they were close to the center of power? Therefore, everything, including family affection, was weakened by power.
Su Qing also thought seriously about Zi'an's question, and then said only one sentence, "The noble concubine is the prince's mother."
Zian rinsed the knife and said, "Of course, everyone knows this."
Su Qing didn't say anything else, as if he couldn't find anything to say.
Zi'an then asked, "What is the relationship between Prince Nan Huai and the prince?"
"A little worse than your relationship with Xia Wan'er." Su Qing said lightly.
"Is there a reason? Brothers wouldn't fall out for no reason, right?"
Su Qing put the fish on the chopping board and said, "Prince Nan Huai has been very smart since he was a child. A smart person definitely doesn't like someone who is smarter than himself."
This statement may seem vague, but it can lead to many things, and Zian already understands it.
Finally, Su Qing added, "It should be Miss Rou'er who intensified the conflict. Prince Nan Huai was obsessed with Miss Rou'er, but Miss Rou'er liked to play with the prince."
Woman? Zi'an sighed softly. Even a hero cannot resist the temptation of beauty. This Miss Rou'er, is she the one that both brothers like
Zi'an didn't know why he felt a little sad in his heart.
"Who is this Miss Rou'er?" Zi'an knew that he shouldn't ask too many questions about things that had nothing to do with him, but he asked anyway.
"Miss Rou'er is Princess Rouyao, the prince's cousin."
County Lady Rouyao? Zi'an racked his brains to think about it, but there was no information about this County Lady Rouyao in his mind, which showed that the original owner had never heard of this person.
However, the original owner had been staying in the prime minister's residence, rarely going out, and was unaware of many things happening in the outside world.
Everything happened just as Zi'an expected. Xia Wan'er's marriage with the prince was finally brought up.
On the seventh day after the Regent disappeared and the second day after Prince Nan Huai returned to Beijing, Taifu Liang formally met with Prime Minister Xia.
The purpose of Grand Tutor Liang was very simple, which was to discuss the Crown Prince's administration, because tomorrow an envoy from the Northern Desert would be arriving in the capital, and the Empress Dowager would definitely host a banquet to receive him.
This was a good opportunity to force the Queen Mother to let the Crown Prince serve as regent in front of the envoys.
However, Prime Minister Xia seemed to be here for a chat today, saying that the prince had been staying in the Prime Minister's residence recently.
"Sometimes when I see the two of them, I always think of the time when I was with Cui Yu. Those were such carefree years." Prime Minister Xia said with a smile.
When Taifu Liang heard this, he realized that this old fox wanted to use this opportunity to threaten the prince to marry Xia Wan'er.
He was very unhappy, but at the moment he could only perfunctorily answer, "The Prime Minister is still young, not like me. Speaking of which, the Crown Prince should get married soon. I have to go to the palace today and talk to the Queen about this matter."
Prime Minister Xia raised the corner of his lips, "The Grand Tutor has really worked hard for the Crown Prince. When the Crown Prince ascends the throne in the future, he really can't forget the Grand Tutor's contribution."
When Taifu Liang heard this, he knew that he had agreed. Of course, the prerequisite was that an imperial decree would be issued to grant the marriage between the prince and Xia Wan'er.
(End of this chapter)