The night fog is heavy, and the cold moon is like a hook.

In the mountains and forests, a fast horse galloped in the wind, and the sound of the sonorous and rapid horse's hooves resounded through the mountains, which was particularly harsh and powerful in this empty and quiet mountain forest.

Suddenly, however, a sharp arrow flew out of the forest unsuspectingly, piercing the body of the man on the horse with great speed.

The man wailed in pain and fell heavily from his horse, leaving only the frightened horse to run forward.

Immediately afterwards, a black figure sprang out of a shadow in the bushes, walked quickly to the dying wounded, leaned down and retrieved a letter from his bosom, and quickly disappeared into the thick night.

Far away in the Lishan Palace on the outskirts of the capital, the prince stared at the letter in his hand, and frowned grimly, especially when his eyes came into contact with the word "Nanchu" on it, his face became more and more ugly.

It wasn't until he saw Empress Zhao, who was dressed in civilian clothes and sneaked out of the palace without telling Emperor Zhou, that his anxious and heavy complexion gradually improved.

Facing his mother, who has not seen him for a long time and has loved him since he was a child, no matter how arrogant and ruthless the prince is, at this moment there is also a little emotion and softness in his heart.

It's just that the joy of reuniting mother and son after a long absence, after a short period of greetings, was quickly diluted by the restless words in the letter.

Because this letter was not written by someone else, it was an urgent secret letter that Cheng Jinzhi hurriedly wrote to Gao Heng in the northwest after looking at the few pieces of scraps of paper in Cheng Yan's study.

"Why did Cheng Jinzhi suddenly think of asking Gao Heng to be careful about Nan Chu?

Empress Zhao secretly left the palace this time, and she came in a hurry, so naturally she couldn't stay here longer.

Before he sat down to take a breath and take a sip of tea, he suddenly saw the letter in the prince's hand, and his expression, which was still relaxed and stretched, was immediately covered with a thick haze.

Since Cheng Jinzhi walked through the Ghost Gate Pass and recovered from a serious illness, Empress Zhao, who was in the deep palace, had not heard from her for a long time.

thought that she would finally know how to restrain herself after this catastrophe and would calm things down in the future, but she never thought that she would start to "meddle in things" again.

"No, it won't. There are only a handful of people who know about this, and those who are in the middle of the matter must keep their interests and destiny tight-lipped, and even if they are just a few words, they will not be rashly revealed to others. ”

The crown prince suddenly increased the strength of the words, and although his tone was categorical, a trace of suspicion flashed in his eyes.

Obviously, for him, these words were just a self-consolation to cover up the doubts that he did not want to reveal in the depths of his heart.

For the few people he said, he didn't trust them 100 percent.

"Chen'er, in fact, we don't have to worry so much about this matter. ”

Seeing that the prince was in a state of uneasiness, Empress Zhao stepped forward and comforted her softly.

But after catching a glimpse of the hidden hesitation in his eyes, his eyes trembled in a daze, and he was stunned for a moment before he continued to speak.

"Fortunately, you were thoughtful and thought of stopping the letter sent by Cheng Jinzhi to the northwest. As long as Gao Heng hasn't seen this, things will definitely develop as we planned. Even if Cheng Jinzhi sent the letter and was robbed, after all, the northwest mountains are high and the road is far away, even if she writes a letter again, it will take time to come and go, and she can't change the overall situation. ”

"But the queen mother, what kind of character Cheng Jinzhi is that woman, you don't know. ”

However, the crown prince was not moved by Empress Zhao's words, and the whole person was still in an excited and nervous mood.

"We don't know how much she knows about it, and where she knows it. Even if my third brother can't see this letter, if Cheng Jinzhi has already informed others of this matter in advance, it will be very disadvantageous to us. ”

Looking at the prince who was different from usual, and even a little timid, Empress Zhao tightened her pupils with a worried expression, and walked up to him with a serious and solemn face.

"Chen'er, what's wrong with you? Whoever does great things can't look ahead and backward, and must be decisive in killing. But why does the queen mother feel that your attitude today seems to be much more shaken than before? Are you willing to continue to stay here like this, guarding a group of dead people who have long been buried in the ground, allowing Gao Heng to make achievements outside, calling for wind and rain, and finally returning triumphantly, so that your father, Emperor Longyan Dayue, will override you and take your throne from now on?"

"Of course Erchen doesn't want to!"

Hearing Empress Zhao's words, the crown prince flicked his sleeves angrily and shouted out almost through gritted teeth.

"Erchen is the dignity of the prince of a country, and the reason why he has fallen to this point today is because of him! Erchen is dreaming, and he also wants to break him and Cheng Jinzhi into ten thousand pieces, so that the entire Yanwang Mansion will be burned!"

"Since that's the case, you can't hesitate at this time, if that Cheng Jinzhi is really so in the way, anyway, Gao Heng is not in the capital at the moment, we can ....."

Empress Zhao said sharply, secretly raised her hand and made a blade movement, and a fierce glint appeared in her eyes.

"Queen Mother, what you said, why don't you understand it......?"

The prince's face tensed, he looked at Empress Zhao meaningfully, moved his lips and stopped talking, as if there was something unspeakable.

And Empress Zhao noticed that he was wrong today, and she had already vaguely guessed a few points in her heart, and now seeing his strange embarrassment, she took a deep breath and asked.

"Chen'er, are you, do you have something to say?"

"Erchen ......"

Hearing this, the prince's eyes darkened, and he pursed the corners of his lips and glanced at Empress Zhao hesitantly. After a moment of silence, as if he had finally made up his mind, he asked with a stern expression.

"Are the rumors out there really just rumors?"

Since the beginning of that rumor, although the prince has repeatedly comforted himself that these must be nonsense concocted by Gao Heng in order to slander himself, there is still a sense of specious hesitation in his heart, which makes him feel uncomfortable.

Once upon a time, after the accident in Jiuyoutai, because he heard some rumors in the palace, he also secretly sent someone to investigate the relationship between Jing Concubine and his mother.

Even if he didn't get any valuable clues in the end, the sentence that the investigator told when he came back to recover - "Concubine Jing probably knew a big secret of the queen's mother, so she was killed" has been haunting his heart.

And although she had expected the prince to ask this question, when she really heard him say this in person, Empress Zhao's heart still trembled heavily, and even the rate of breathing changed in an instant.

And all this, even if it is only a very slight change, is still seen by the prince staring at him.