In late May, Zhiying returned to Yanzhou Mansion, Xiao Cui Xian hadn't seen her mother for almost half a year, and before Zhiying got off the carriage, she broke free from Xiaoqiu's embrace, flew over, and shouted sweetly: "Mother~"

Zhiying picked up her daughter, and her heart was full of joy: "Does Xian'er miss her mother?" ”

Xiao Cui Xian kissed her on the face, everyone laughed, Xiao Qiu was so excited that she burst into tears: "Madame is back, Miss is shouting for her mother every day, if Madame doesn't come back, the slave is really helpless." ”

"Thank you for your hard work, Xiaoqiu," Zhiying stroked her daughter's pigtails and hugged her tightly in her arms, "Fortunately, I have you, otherwise I really can't rest assured, this time it is difficult to return to the capital, and I and the prince will almost not be able to come back." ”

Xiaoqiu immediately puffed: "Amitabha Buddha Amitabha, the princess and his wife have their own heavenly appearance, and the slaves and maids pray day and night, I only hope that God will bless the princess and his wife to turn evil into good fortune and be safe for all eternity, Mrs. can't say such unlucky words!" ”

Bailizan also smiled: "After the prince and his wife left, Miss Xiaoqiu wore three incense sticks in the morning, noon and evening, and it didn't fall every day, and whoever went to the door had to be pulled in by her to kowtow to the Bodhisattva a few times, otherwise she wouldn't let people go." ”

Cui Xiang was helped down from another carriage with a disgraceful face, Xiao Qiu immediately went to command someone to help him into the palace to rest, Bai Lizan glanced back, lowered his voice and said: "With all due respect, Prince Jing's biological mother is from the Ye family, bring him back, I am afraid that Xiao Wall will be troubled in the future." ”

The mother of the filial piety queen, that is, Zhong Luhuan's grandmother, is the Ye family, as soon as she heard this, she immediately showed a displeased look: "How can Mr. speak, what's wrong with the Ye family, the prince's maternal grandmother is the Ye family, and the prince himself was raised by the Ye family, what does Mr. mean by this, will the Ye family still harm the prince?" ”

Bailizan learned about Zhong Luhuan's coming in the letter, but he didn't want her to be so good-mouthed, so he had to arch his hand apologetically, and said with a smile: "What Miss Zhong said is reasonable, but I lost my words, and I hope the girl will forgive me." ”

Zhong Luhuan snorted unhappily, but Zhiying understood, so she said: "My sister has just arrived, there are many things I will explain to you later, Mr. is also thinking about the prince, and he does not mean to be disrespectful to the Ye family and Mrs. Ye, so my sister should not be angry with Mr." - By the way, what about General Yang? But on patrol of the city? ”

"Oh, during the days when General Cao was away, General Yang often went to the fields to do farm work, and the rape planted in the spring was ripe, and most of them were still in the field at this time," Bailizan came down the steps, "Do you want to send someone to call him?" ”

Zhiying thought about it, but decided to forget it: "No, I'm not in a hurry today, Sister Zhong is tired from the journey, and she should rest and rest." ”

Bailizan's eyes rolled, and he already understood what she meant, so he smiled and said, "Yes, that lady and Miss Zhong have a good rest, there are still a lot of things in the mansion, so I will go back first." ”

After Bailizan left, Zhong Luhuan was still a little unhappy, and said to Zhiying: "Sister, that gentleman just now is the prince's advisor?" The prince and King Jing have a deep brotherly relationship, how can he say such words to sow discord? ”

"Sir is not sowing discord," Zhiying took her hand helplessly and walked into the gate of the palace together, "You are in Jiangzhou, do you know anything about what has happened in the past two years?" ”

Zhong Luhuan shook her head and said hesitantly, "No...... I know too well that when I heard my father and uncle chatting in the hall last year, I said that the prince married the daughter of the Xie family as a concubine, and then the princess seemed to be dead. Isn't the princess's biological mother also the niece of her grandmother's family? ”

Zhiying said with a smile: "It is precisely because of this that Mr. is worried, and it is not hidden, the Ye family has an in-law relationship with the Zhong family and the Xie family, but in the battle for the throne, the Ye family is on the side of the Xie family, when the Xie family supports the prince, the Ye family also supports the prince, and now the Xie family has defected to the emperor, and the Ye family ...... Alas! Then he said what Lang Yue said before, and the Ye family asked Concubine Duan to help betray Cui Yi.

Zhong Luhuan was shocked when she heard this: "How can this be! When the sister-in-law was alive, she treated the concubine like a sister, if it wasn't for the sister-in-law, how could the first emperor look down on the concubine, the Ye family was so ungrateful! ”

Zhiying said indifferently: "Whether they are ungrateful, or whether they see the wind and make the rudder, they are all their freedom, and Mr.'s worries are not unreasonable, after all, Huaiyou was born to the concubine, and he has the blood of the Ye family in his bones, so he is naturally more worthy of their allegiance than the prince." ”

Zhong Luwan shook her head in disbelief, and then said, "There has been such a thing...... In this way, I was indiscriminate just now, so Mr. won't be angry, right? ”

It shouldn't be angry anymore, Zhiying thought to herself, Bailizan's mind is definitely not so narrow-minded, and she can't even listen to the words of a little girl who fights for her family, so she said: "See you later, you can accompany Mr. Yes, Mr. is not a person who holds grudges." ”

Zhong Luhuan nodded inchedly, and then the housekeeper came to ask how to arrange Cui Xiang's food and clothing, and she didn't dare to judge it anymore.

Zhiying arranged Cui Xiang in the courtyard where Xie Yuchan lived in the past, with two maids and two maids, and he was given whatever he ate in the main courtyard, but he was not allowed to go with him when he traveled, and he was never allowed to meet anyone alone.

"Madame's thoughts coincide with mine." The next day, when Bailizan came to Fuzhong to report on the situation in the past six months, he agreed with the arrangement of holding profits.

He said: "It is a good thing that the prince and King Jing have a deep brotherhood, but if you take it lightly because they are brothers, and the fire in the backyard is really worth the loss, Madame's approach is the best, which not only takes into account the last wishes of the concubine, but also exempts King Jing from the possibility of betraying the prince with the outside world, we can't afford to lose." ”

Zhong Luhuan took the opportunity to bow down and apologize: "Yesterday, I didn't know the reason, and I rashly blamed Mr., and I hope Mr. won't be surprised." ”

Bailizan arched his hand and said with a smile: "Don't dare, those who don't know are not guilty, Miss Zhong don't take it to heart." ”

Zhong Luhuan smiled shyly, sat back in the chair, and looked at the other person standing next to Bailizan with a fluttering look - the body is long, the face is handsome, and the simple samurai robe can hardly hide the jade-like light, although he is a military general, he will not give people a sense of oppression at all, it is Yang Qiong.

It's just that although there is a smile on the corner of his mouth, there is a cloud of sorrow lingering between his eyebrows, as if he is worried about something, Zhong Luhuan only glanced at it, and then lowered his head embarrassedly.

Yang Qiong still didn't notice it, and after Bailizan finished explaining, he also stepped forward and briefly talked about the things in the military camp in the past few months, there were almost no major events, most of the soldiers kept to themselves, half a day of training and half a day of labor, and there was a reward system formulated by the company, not only everyone rushed to do the farm work in the field, but the houses of the people in the city were also renovated, and there would be no more heavy rain outside the house and light rain inside the house.

"The first crop of rapeseed has been harvested, and it has been handed over to the oil mill for refining, and the rapeseed has also been sorted out and dried according to the instructions of the vegetable farmers, and it can be planted in the next season." Yang Qiong is usually not arrogant or impatient, and he speaks calmly, with a calm tone, Zhong Luhuan guessed that he was the young military general that Zhiying said in his mouth, and he didn't dare to stare at people blatantly, so he could only peek at it from time to time, and the more he looked, the more he liked it.

They reported all good things, Zhiying was deeply gratified, during the period when Cui Yi and himself were away, the Beidi rangers had harassed the herdsmen outside the pass, but they did not cause any large-scale conflicts, the plan of the year lies in the spring, this spring in Yanzhou ended in prosperity, if there is no accident, this year will be a bumper year.

Baili Zan said suddenly: "By the way, Fu Zhi came back from Xuanzhou with 10,000 stones of rice and more than 8,000 arrows. ”

Zhiying was surprised: "Eight thousand! ”

Yang Qiong thought she was too little, so she said: "Even if there are only eight thousand, it is enough to fill the vacancy of the lack of arrows in the camp, and it is not easy for Mr. Shan to buy so many with only one person." ”

Zhiying's eyes widened: "I didn't mean that, eight thousand arrows can be brought by him, which proves that Xuanzhou's armament far exceeds our expectations, and eight thousand is very likely to be just a drop in the bucket, and it is also privately made...... Did he say who supervised the arrows? ”

Bailizan smiled slyly, touched his beard and asked, "Madame, guess what?" ”

Zhiying's first reaction was to think of Xie Xiao, but the Xie family has been in business for generations, and even if some people are outstanding, they are all civil officials, and there is no one who can carry a gun and get on a horse, and it is useless to build so many ordnance. As soon as he said this, Bailizan really smiled and shook his head: "Madame, guess again?" ”

However, Zhong Luhuan said thoughtfully: "If the Ye family really has the heart to betray the prince and help King Jing ascend the throne, then most of these arrows are prepared for this." ”

Zhiying's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly: "Yes! Why didn't I expect that the Ye family and the Xie family would join the emperor in secret, and the marriage of one daughter to two families was just a trick to confuse the emperor, their real purpose was to make King Jing the emperor, the Xie family had a big business and rich financial resources, and the royal family of Dachu fought for many years, the treasury was empty, and Xuanzhou's money and grain could almost compete with it, if it really fought, it was difficult to say, and the distance from Xuanzhou to the capital was not far, as long as there were soldiers and food, maybe not waiting for the emperor to send troops back from other places to help, Zizhang City would fall first. ”

Bailizan smiled bitterly: "I thought that Mrs. was already very good, but I didn't expect that Miss Zhong was also very talented, and she could get through without clicking, I think it won't be long before Fu Zhi and I will abdicate and make way for Xian." ”

Zhong Luhuan heard him praise himself, his face turned red again, and he hurriedly humbled himself a few words, and while he was complacent, he couldn't help but secretly peek at Yang Qiong's expression, but when he saw that he didn't look at himself, his expression was as usual, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of loss in his heart.

Yang Qiong didn't feel a gaze entwining around her at all, and said to herself: "But Xuanzhou is not a frontier, there are not many soldiers, and King Jing is the last son of the first emperor, and he is not a descendant, and the division is unknown, how dare the Ye family be so big?" ”

In addition to Gyeonggi, Xuanzhou is still connected to the other three states, and now Yanzhou and Jiangzhou have formed a situation of encirclement, and they are obviously not allies of the Ye family when they attack Xuanzhou, so the only thing left is Ganzhou.

"Could it be that the Ye family or the Xie family have colluded with the Ganzhou herdsmen in the sea area?" Zhiying asked hesitantly.

Baili Zan smiled and said nothing, and his heart suddenly mentioned: "Could it be ...... Could it be ......?"

Zhong Yuanshan's indecisiveness, Zhong Luhuan's care for Cui Xiang in every way, and Cui Xiang's life and death will follow him to Yanzhou...... This kind of gathering together, and the conclusion reached even by Zhiying himself can't believe it: "Could it be that they are looking for it...... Is it the Zhong family? ”

Zhong Luhuan was shocked, and Zhiying had already set her eyes on her: "Sister Luhuan, before the prince and I went to Jiangzhou, did the Ye family send a humane Jiangzhou to meet the second uncle?" ”

"No, it can't be regarded as going to find Daddy, my grandmother is not feeling well, and the Ye family has just come to visit, four or five people have come, and they will go back after staying for a few days," Zhong Luhuan's eyes widened like a frightened deer, "Do you suspect that my father also helped the Ye family?" This—how is this possible! If that's the case, he won't allow me to follow you to Yanzhou, wouldn't that be tantamount to sending sheep into the tiger's mouth? ”

Bailizan smiled and said meaningfully: "There is a saying that is called reluctant children can't trap wolves, Miss Zhong has heard of it, right?" ”

Zhong Luhuan's face instantly turned as white as paper.