Knowing the reason, Shen Qingwan made a new plan in her mind. Xiao Shushen saved the emperor's life. Given the emperor's temperament, he would never forget this life-saving grace. Therefore, it might be difficult for Fu Yuheng to get justice for the matter concerning the queen.
Since the Queen had hired someone to assassinate her and framed Concubine De, she must have felt that they were in the way and could not spare their lives. Thinking of this, Shen Qingwan's eyes could not help but turn cold. Although she did not have such a strong desire for power and status, and did not want to fight for it, if someone in a higher position could not bear to see her alive, she would not let them bully her.
The Queen has already made things public, and the Emperor has also made his position so hastily. If she wants to survive the Queen's tactics and defeat her, she will have to think carefully about it.
On the other side, Fu Huaiyu put aside the less urgent matters around him, said a few words to Mo Zilian, and went to Jiangnan alone. Although traveling alone is more dangerous, there are fewer things to worry about. Besides, Fu Huaiyu often goes south, and he knows this route much better than most people. Naturally, he avoids accident-prone areas and walks in prosperous areas. It didn't take long for him to reach a yard he bought in Jiangnan.
The courtyard was not registered in his name, but was assigned to the property of a subordinate he trusted. He knocked on the door three times as usual, waited for a moment, and then knocked twice more quickly. This was the secret signal he and his subordinate Jiang Li had agreed on. If an outsider did not knock on the door according to this rule, the person who came out to meet the guest would not be the elite he trained but the butler he arranged.
After a while, the door was opened quietly.
"Long time no see, Jiang Li." Fu Huaiyu smiled as he looked at the swordsman in black. Jiang Li was a swordsman trained by him. He had a steady personality and superb martial arts skills. He was also a good leader in military training. He arranged all the secret guards he trained here and let him lead them.
"Your Highness, you are here." Jiang Li clasped his hands together and bowed. He was not surprised to see Fu Huaiyu coming. He just calmly welcomed him in, then stuck his head out to look around, and closed the yard door to make sure there was no one around.
"Your Highness, please come in. I have just asked everyone to wait for Your Highness in the reception room." Jiang Li spoke with the toughness of a martial artist, but because of his handsome appearance, there was inexplicably a hint of scholarly air in his voice, which was unexpectedly nice to hear.
Fu Huaiyu followed him into the reception room in the yard, and saw more than 20 men, all wearing black tights, standing in the room in a unified posture. They all had firm eyes and fierce looks, and it was obvious that they were not to be trifled with.
Fu Huaiyu nodded with satisfaction and asked Jiang Li: "How is their training going recently?"
"Your Highness, the training is proceeding in an orderly manner as planned. Each of these people is an elite who has been carefully selected. The training effect will only be better than expected, not less." Jiang Li said.
"Well," Fu Huaiyu was very satisfied and patted Jiang Li's shoulder with relief. "I have been too busy recently. You are the only one managing this place. Thank you for your hard work."
"I feel honored to work for the prince, and I don't find it hard." Jiang Li said firmly. It was Fu Huaiyu who saved him from the dire situation, provided him with food and shelter, taught him martial arts, and let him lead the secret guards. Everything he has today was given by Fu Huaiyu, and he would not hesitate to go through fire and water for him.
Fu Huaiyu knew the swordsman's temperament very well, so he didn't say much to him. He just smiled at him and said to everyone, "You all should do what you need to do. Jiang Li stay and report the situation to me."
The other twenty or so people clasped their fists and saluted, then disappeared from the room in a flash. Their movements were so clean and neat that Fu Huaiyu couldn't help but look up to them even more.
"Jiang Li, what's the situation here recently? Are there any spies coming here to inquire?"
"Your Highness, our subordinates have arranged people to stay in several houses around here. From what we have observed, no one has come to inquire." Jiang Li replied.
"Okay. Keep up the disguise and don't reveal your whereabouts. What about the 100,000 elite soldiers who were secretly trained?"
"In good condition, I can go to the battlefield. The place provided by the prince is also hidden enough and no one will disturb me."
Fu Huaiyu was very satisfied and said several good things in a row. He then said, "I will stay here for a few days this time. You can make arrangements. I want to review the training results."
"yes."
At the same time, several of General Shen's subordinates came to the place where senior military officials were recuperating to visit General Shen. The team leader was Mu Chang, who was loyal to General Shen and had a steady personality, and was deeply appreciated by General Shen.
"This is a military stronghold. No outsiders are allowed to enter." The two guards at the door raised their swords to block them.
"We are General Shen's subordinates. General Shen was poisoned before, and we had no time to spare because the war was undecided. Now that we have finally had some peace, we have come to visit General Shen. Please inform him and make things convenient for us." Mu Chang stopped several others who were about to step forward to argue, and spoke to the two guards in a friendly manner.
The two guards looked at each other and put down their swords together. One of them said, "There is an order from above that anyone from General Shen's army who comes to visit General Shen will be allowed to pass as long as they can produce something to prove their identity."
Mu Chang smiled at them gratefully, motioned for the others to take out their military badges, and handed them to the guards along with his own. After the two men carefully identified the authenticity of the badges, they let them in and considerately led the way to General Shen's residence.
After thanking the person who led the way, a few people knocked on the door, and after hearing the response from inside, they walked in together.
Seeing General Shen, who was so majestic on the battlefield before, now bedridden due to illness, several people couldn't help but shed tears.
"General." Several people shouted.
"Hey, you guys are here to see me. I'm not able to move around very easily, so I won't stand up. You guys can sit wherever you want." General Shen was very happy to see them.
General Shen exchanged a few pleasantries with a few people and asked about the current situation in their army. After understanding the situation briefly, he nodded and said nothing more.
The other people understood what was going on and retreated outside to wait, leaving the place to Mu Chang and General Shen.
General Shen sat up a little higher, raised his hand with great effort and put it on the shoulder of Mu Chang who was sitting next to him, and said: "Mu Chang, why are you thinner again? It's not good for soldiers to be too thin. They have no strength. Oh, it's also my fault. So many matters of the army are placed on you. I guess you must be very tired."
"General, as a soldier, it is your duty to share military affairs. It cannot be said to be tiring. What's more, what the subordinates do is not as much as what General Shen does in the army. The general does not complain of being tired, so we will not be tired either. But General, the military camp is incomplete without you. The soldiers are waiting for you, waiting for you to go back and continue to be our general." Mu Chang held General Shen's hand and looked at him firmly and reluctantly.
General Shen was very moved, but he just sighed and did not respond to his words for a while.