Xiao Yizheng sent a message to Zhao Xin before leaving Sujiang, ordering him to rush to Chen Yuan immediately, ordering him to listen to Qingxi's dispatch, and then rush all the way to Shangdu City.

Along the way, he thought about it repeatedly, but finally did not make any arrangements just in case.

As soon as he entered the gate of Shangdu, he saw Zeng Qidao.

From the moment he saw Zeng Qidao, the corners of his lips hooked slightly, and his heart was determined.

Xiao Yihe did not move Zeng Qidao, so there was no tension between them.

"His Royal Highness." Zeng Qidao saluted respectfully.

Xiao Yizheng turned over and dismounted, looked at Zeng Qidao's official uniform Zhou Zheng, and then looked at the guards standing behind him, and said with a smile: "Lord Zeng, don't come unharmed." ”

Zeng Qidao raised his eyes, looking at his dusty face with a light smile, and the royal elegance was still full.

Xiao Yizheng was also staring at him, his eyes were meaningful, and he nodded slightly.

Zeng Qidao's eyes paused, focused slightly, and then he also bowed his head slightly, and said: "The minister has been waiting for His Highness here for a long time, His Highness has been working hard, and the minister respectfully sends you back to the house to rest." ”

Xiao Yizheng smiled unabated, and asked: "Lord Zeng's current prime minister's patrol battalion affairs must be very busy, and when he encounters quite tricky things, I don't know what the adult's attitude will be?" ”

Zeng Qidao was silent.

He continued: "I remember that when I was in Beisu, I discussed the art of war with adults. The principle of dealing with political affairs is sometimes the same as marching and fighting war. ”

After speaking, he stretched his arms and said heartily: "Let's go, I'm tired all the way, go home!" ”

Along the way, Xiao Yizheng rode in front, Zeng Qidao led the troops behind, and the two did not have any communication.

After Xiao Yizheng entered the palace, Zeng Qidao retired, but left the elite of the patrol battalion to guard outside the palace gate.

Everyone in the palace was surprised to see Xiao Yizheng returning, and Uncle Zhong hurriedly waited for Xiao Yizheng to return to Chaolan Garden.

"How did Your Highness come back? What about the princess? He asked while waiting for Xiao Yizheng to change his clothes.

After Xiao Yizheng changed his clothes, he briefly told Uncle Zhong about the situation and asked, "How are everyone in the palace doing recently?" ”

"Nothing special." Zhongbo shook his head and said: "There is some news in the palace, the saint has not been in the court for many days, and there seems to be a lot more defense outside the palace gate. ”

Xiao Yizheng nodded.

"Is there any change in the Ling Mansion?"

"Lord Ling went to the Yafu to handle official business as usual, and Mrs. Ling seems to have not shown up for many days, but on the surface, everything in the Ling Mansion is as usual."

"Okay."

"Your Highness, ...... patrol battalion at this gate?" Zhongbo asked with a frown.

"Ignore it. Yuanyi left these people behind to monitor the palace's every move, but in fact, he had good intentions, and it was also for my safety. ”

Xiao Yizheng sat down at the table, had a simple meal, and instructed the Zhongbo Mansion to arrange as usual, and then went back to bed and lay down.

In fact, he couldn't sleep at all, worried about his father's illness, worried about the situation in Beijing, and worried about Qingxi in the Sujiang River.

The fatigue of his body shouted that he needed to rest, but the chaos in his mind made him extremely alert.

He asked Zhongbo to ignore the patrol camp outside the mansion, mostly to comfort Zhongbo's heart, and didn't want him to worry about it needlessly.

He is well aware that he is now under house arrest.

And the first thing he needs to do is to see his father.

He had a deadline in his heart, if Xiao Yihe did not send news to let him enter the palace tomorrow, then he would have to take action.

By nightfall, what he was going to do had already passed in his mind three times.

Suddenly, his ears moved, and he sat up alertly.

At the door of the house, he remembered the sound of a gentle knock on the door, and his mind was clear and his heart was relieved.

He walked to the door without hurry, opened the door slightly, and said in a low voice, "I've been waiting for you for a long time." ”

He sent all the people who served in Chaolan Yuan tonight to wait for him.

The person who came was Zeng Qidao, who was dressed in night clothes, he flashed into the house flexibly, exhaled slightly, and was about to kneel down and salute, but was stopped by Xiao Yizheng raising his hand.

Today, at the city gate, he understood Xiao Yizheng's words.

The two fought side by side when they were in Beisu and defeated Danta. At that time, Xiao Yizheng had worked with

He said that the soldiers were dangerous, and then he attacked the Danda officers and soldiers of Guiping at night, forcing the Guiping Kingdom to completely draw a line with Danda.

Now, Xiao Yizheng specifically mentioned this matter, which was a hint, so he came at night.

"Time is pressing, and there is no need to be polite in the far wings." Xiao Yizheng pulled Zeng Qidao to sit down: "Are you safe to come?" ”

There was no light in the room, but the clear eyes of the two were obvious, and they could read each other's moods.

Zeng Qidao replied: "Your Highness, rest assured, the patrol battalion outside the palace was personally arranged by me, I know where the blind spots are, and it is not difficult for me to enter the palace." ”

"Is there anyone watching you?" Xiao Yizheng asked again.

Zeng Qidao shook his head: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince seems to trust the minister very much. ”

"That's good" His face relaxed slightly, leaned forward, lowered his voice and asked, "How about my father, how much do you know?" ”

"A few days ago, the news was still unclear. However, in recent days, there have been more and more sayings, and the Holy One is probably not very good. Early this morning, the Zhongshu Order and the six important ministers have all entered the Heart Cultivation Palace, and they have not left the palace so far. ”

Xiao Yizheng's heart sank, his fingers clenched, and he gritted his teeth and said, "In this way, he won't let me see my father immediately!" ”

For as long as he can remember, he has never had the slightest disrespect and resentment towards the prince. Even if he knew that the prince was suspicious of him, even if he put himself under house arrest in this mansion. However, at this moment, the resentment in my heart seems to have suddenly reached its peak.

"Your Highness, what are you going to do?" Zeng Qidao asked.

Xiao Yizheng exhaled deeply, stabilized his heartbeat, and said in a dumb voice: "Yuanyi, I won't let you get involved in this matter......"

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Zeng Qidao anxiously: "Your Highness should know that Yuanyi is a person, I don't ...... it"

Xiao Yizheng shook his hand and stopped his words: "I know, just because I know, I have to protect you even more." You and the Zeng family are the pillars of our dynasty, loyal and patriotic, and should not be compromised by the struggle for royal power. Today, I want to see you, and the most important thing is to give this explanation. You have to promise me not to show your attitude recklessly; And no matter what the future holds, you just have to keep your duty. ”

Zeng Qidao was very surprised: "Didn't Your Highness tell me to do something?" ”

"That's the first thing I tell you to do. The second thing is that I will enter the palace early tomorrow morning, and I will enter the palace in a bright and bright way. Your patrol battalion can stop me as he pleases, without releasing water. After I enter the palace, you only need to do one thing: if Princess Anping leaves the palace, you can ensure that she arrives safely at the Shangdu branch of the Changfeng Dart Bureau. ”

"That's it?" Zeng Qidao repeated the confirmation.

Xiao Yizheng nodded.

"If Your Highness enters the palace, if the prince takes action, how can your safety be guaranteed?"

"Don't worry, the prince won't kill me. If he doesn't touch you, it means that he is not a person who will do anything to fight for power and profit. He paused and sighed, "In his heart there is awe." Now, it's just that I'm too jealous, and it's an extraordinary time, so I lose my former demeanor. Besides, after all these years, I don't believe that this friendship is completely fake. He is my third brother after all, don't worry. He smiled reassuringly.

At this point, Zeng Qidao felt that he couldn't say anything more.

"I know, Your Highness rest assured."

Xiao Yizheng nodded, looked at the moonlight in front of the window, reflecting the mottled shadows of the trees, and said softly: "Today is Ah Heng's birthday." ”

Zeng Qi paused, and the corners of his lips immediately rose to a soft color: "Yes." ”

"How did she spend her birthday in the past?" Xiao Yizheng asked. He blamed himself a little, he had never asked Qingxi this question.

Zeng Qidao lowered his eyes slightly, instinctively to hide the soft light in his eyes, but in the dark, in fact, Xiao Yizheng would not notice the change in his expression.

"The princess can't be idle, and she often spends her time on outings." He said.

"Well, she was born at a time of infinite spring, so naturally she had to go to heaven and earth to enjoy this day. Today, I don't know if she went to Magnolia Valley. ”

Worry, longing, guilt, nervousness...... These expressions were all complicated on his face, and in this dark night, it seemed that he was so difficult at this moment.

Two men, sitting in a dark room, speechless for a moment,

All thinking about the same person, the same thing.

After Zeng Qidao left, Xiao Yizheng walked to the courtyard, looked up at Mingyue, stood alone for a long time, and said softly: "Ah Heng, happy birthday." ”

And Qingxi in the Sujiang Chen Garden did not go to Yulan Valley on this day. Everyone in Chen Yuan knew that this day was her birthday, but this birthday was only the time for her to have a bowl of longevity noodles made by her grandmother.

She kept writing letters in Chen's study, looking at the replies and arranging various matters.

Zhao Xin arrived at Chen Yuan shortly after Xiao Yizheng left Sujiang, and Jiang Lian arrived with him.

After Chen Ji said about the jade pendant, she knew that Jiang Lian might also be one of her grandfather's mouths.

So when she saw Jiang Lian, she wasn't surprised.

Zhao Xin knelt on the ground and pleaded: "My subordinates are not doing well, and after receiving an order from His Highness, I should have returned immediately alone." However, his subordinates followed Boss Jiang for several days and found that he had some contact with the mansion of the powerful Shangdu, and they also knew that Shangdu had moved. It was his subordinates who made the decision without authorization, and brought Boss Jiang to Su Jiang together, hoping to help His Highness act. ”

When Zhao Xin said this, he was very worried in his heart. He made his own decisions for fear of causing trouble with a wrong judgment.

Jiang Lian, who was standing behind him, was worried about the wind and dust all over his body, and said with a smile: "Brother Zhao's words are wrong, how do you know that I didn't want to come." ”

He raised his eyes to look at Qingxi, and his smile became more and more flattering: "Princess, we meet again, I don't know if the secret recipe is effective?" ”

Qingxi nodded calmly: "Zhao Xin, you get up." Boss Jiang already knew our identity. ”

Chen Ji walked out of the backyard at this time. Jiang Lian immediately smiled and saluted respectfully: "I've seen Mr. Chen." ”

The arrival of Jiang Lian gave Qingxi a deeper understanding of the situation in Shangdu.