In the Qianqing Palace, when Empress Dowager Zhang thought of the information that Qian Ning had brought just now, her face turned pale. It's not easy for her to live these few months, if it weren't for Xu Xun's secret fold newspaper that would always be attached to Zhu Houzhao's handwritten letter, her only son was chattering about what he had seen and heard outside, and he would always shush her at the end, and when she felt that her son was becoming more and more sensible, she finally strengthened her mind, she was afraid that she would not be able to hold on.

At this moment, looking at the queen who was kneeling on the ground, she only felt angry, and immediately patted the handrail and said in a deep voice: "You still stopped me from transferring troops to Qian Ning's edict, just because I listened to you, and now such a thing has happened!" The court is already panicking because of the emperor's illness, if you let the news spread again, if something happens, you can afford the consequences? ”

Zhou Qiniang's lips pursed. But thinking of Xu Xun's secret letter that arrived in her hands one step earlier, she couldn't say that Zhu Houzhao and Xu Xun's group were now safe and sound, otherwise Empress Dowager Zhang's heart would definitely be deeper. Moreover, it is not a letter from the emperor, and the Empress Dowager Zhang may not believe it. So, she could only bow her head and say nothing, silently bearing these criticisms, but she quickly thought about the hidden situation behind Qian Ning's transfer of troops. Finally, just after Empress Dowager Zhang lost her temper again, Rong Shangyi's voice came from outside.

"The Queen Mother, the Queen Mother, and Father-in-law Xiao asked to see him, saying that there was something important."

"Xuan."

Empress Dowager Zhang opened her mouth and motioned for Zhou Qiniang to stand up, and she sorted out her expression. By the time Xiao Jing came in, she was already as complex. But Xiao Jing only opened her mouth to say the first sentence, and her calmness, which was so easy to maintain, disappeared.

"Pingbei Hou has an urgent secret letter of 800 miles delivered, and the West Factory was handed to the slave maid, and the slave didn't dare to hesitate, so it was sent immediately."

"Show me!"

Empress Dowager Zhang almost snatched the letter, and was about to tear open the seal, but the oil paper seal was unusually strong, and she tore it twice but did not move. Or Zhou Qiniang saw the opportunity quickly. Immediately went to the side and got a paper cutter. He stepped forward again to help unseal it. When Empress Dowager Zhang fished out the thick pile of paper, she immediately trembled and flipped through one by one, and found Zhu Houzhao's familiar handwriting in a moment.

"Queen Mother Wan'an. Everything is fine with Erchen. The rebellion of the Ningfan in Jiangxi has been pacified, and Erchen will return to Beijing in the near future, and the details will be reported later. Behind these few lines of simple handwriting, which shocked her, were a few lines of even more scribbled.

Liu Jin gave up his life to assassinate King Ning, and his sons only felt disturbed. This trip to Beijing made the queen mother and queen frightened, and the sons were at fault, but if it wasn't for this trip to Beijing. Erchen will not know that everyone is peaceful and prosperous, but as the Son of Heaven, he only whitewashes the peace. ”

Did King Ning really rebel? Liu Jin sacrificed his life to assassinate King Ning?

Empress Dowager Zhang handed Zhu Houzhao's letterhead to Zhou Qiniang almost in a daze, and then came to her senses, and hurriedly took out Xu Xun's letterhead and looked at it carefully from beginning to end. Thanks to Xu Xun's account, it was like writing a novel, the ups and downs were thrilling, and she couldn't help but stand up when she saw the most nervous, and breathed a long sigh of relief when the dust finally settled. When I saw what Xu Xun said, it was Qian Ning who went to Nanchang Mansion and had a banquet with King Ning. The intersection is deep. Thinking that Qian Ning had just come to transfer troops, she immediately exclaimed.

"What about Channing? Chase them back! ”

Xu Xun had already seen Xiao Jing when he left Beijing before, so even if this old eunuch who was over seventy years old had never seen this tightly sealed emergency report, he could guess a few things. Seeing Empress Dowager Zhang's repeated calls, he saw that Rong Shangyi was in a hurry to leave, and immediately glanced at Zhou Qiniang, and saw that the young queen immediately stood up and took Rong Shangyi out, so he stepped forward and said respectfully: "The Queen Mother may let the slave maid take a look at the report of the Marquis of Pingbei?" ”

Seeing that Empress Dowager Zhang Mu Ran handed over something. Xiao Jing only picked the important thing and hurriedly swept it for a while, and after roughly grasping the whole story, he said softly: "The Queen Mother wants to chase Qian Ning back, but what is important to explain to him?" ”

Empress Dowager Zhang only knew that Qian Ning was also a courtier who was deeply trusted by Zhu Houzhao, so she gave an edict after being instigated by three or two people, and reprimanded the queen fiercely. But at this moment, knowing the whole story, she couldn't help but regret it very much. After Xiao Jing returned to the palace. She summoned a few times, and she needed the oldest eunuch in the palace to suppress the internal official, and after thinking about it again, she confided to Xiao Jing that Zhu Houzhao was not in the palace. At this time, she struggled for a while, then told her about it, and said that she had ordered Liu Yu, Cao Yuan, and Zhang Cai to go with Qian Ning. thought that Xiao Jing would inevitably be shocked, but unexpectedly, the other party comforted her softly.

"Don't worry about the queen mother, the slave maid heard that there is already a system in the left and right official halls, and the transfer of troops must be stamped with the emperor's small seal, or the emperor's own handwriting, otherwise the transfer will never be allowed. After the danger of last year, Jingyang Bo Shenying will definitely not be fooled by Qian Ning! ”

"But Liu Yu, Cao Yuan, and Zhang Cai, the two elders, went over, and they also brought my edict ......"

"The Queen Mother is relieved. It is true that they are the elders of the pavilion, but it is also because of the emperor's trust that they have this status and power. But in the army, the three of them are not civilians! Now that the rebellion of the Ning Fan in Jiangxi has been pacified, and now the Empress Dowager is sitting in the capital on behalf of the emperor, although there have been discussions inside and outside the court in the past few months, it is generally peaceful. Now that the emperor has come to the news that Jiangxi has been pacified, it is appropriate to find out those ill-intentioned people in the capital. ”

Speaking of this, Xiao Jing struck while the iron was hot and said, "If you say a brave word, although the prince of Shouning Hou is now quite trusted by the emperor, Shouning Hou and Jianchang Hou have no duties. As a relative, I don't care about these things, but wouldn't it be better if I could make them more trusted by the emperor? As for the edict of the Queen Mother, you can ask people to bring another copy to Uncle Jingyang immediately. ”

As soon as these words came out, Empress Dowager Zhang's eyes suddenly lit up, and the uneasiness on her face turned into unconcealable joy. Her father is just a prisoner, and her two younger brothers are not outstanding figures, just because they occupy the light of their relatives, and Emperor Hongzhi is the only queen of her, so Aiwu and Wulian Zhang Changling are all marquises. Zhu Houzhao has always been mediocre with these two uncles, if it weren't for Xu Xun bringing Zhang Zong to say a hand, Zhu Houzhao wouldn't know what to do with the trouble of Shouning Marquis Zhang Heling before!

So, she immediately nodded heavily and said: "You really reminded me that Houzhao has always been lukewarm to his two uncles, if they can make great contributions, Houzhao will definitely look at it differently when they come back." ”

While speaking, Zhou Qiniang had already re-entered the room, and after saluting, she bowed down beside Empress Dowager Zhang and said, "Queen Mother, Rong Shangyi is waiting for you outside." ”

Empress Dowager Zhang had already changed her mind at this time, so naturally she would not blame Zhou Qiniang for stopping Rong Shangyi, and even said with a pleasant face: "Very good." In this way, you let Ding Banshan go to Xichang to give a word, and let the Xichang person who is in charge of a thousand households ......" She didn't remember the person's name for a while, so she simply vaguely passed, "Let people stare at Qian Ning's people, and report any news immediately." ”

Seeing that Zhou Qiniang was about to leave as soon as she agreed, she suddenly stopped her, looked at Xiao Jing and said, "Although your idea just now is good, even if Shou Ning Hou and Jian Chang Hou have the heart, this impromptu response is inevitably a little lacking." Besides, both of them are military attachés, and their prestige in the army is not enough, do you have any good candidates to recommend? ”

Xiao Jing glanced at Zhou Qiniang, and saw that the queen's eyelids were lowered and speechless, so he said respectfully: "Returning to the Empress Dowager, this time Pinggan won a complete victory, Pingbei Hou Xu Xun has meritorious, and the master of ceremonies and the master of ceremonies Liu Gonggong sacrificed his body to assassinate, which is also a lot of credit, even so, you might as well invite Pingbei Hou's father, Xing'an Hou Xu Liang to come forward." As for the civil servants......"

At the beginning, Xu Xun was the person he got from Jinling, and he originally wanted to have a good relationship with Zhu Houzhao, but now this goal has not only been achieved, but it is ten times better than he expected, so Xiao Jing got Xu Xun's request when he left, and at this time, he had to try his best to think about everything. At this moment, he had to hesitate, you must know that among the civil officials in the capital, in addition to the first assistant Li Dongyang, the most good at maneuvering is the current secretary Zhang Cai, as for Lin Jun and Zhang Fuhua, although they have a close relationship with Xu Xun, they can be too upright. But Li Dongyang is now in the center, the emaciated camel is bigger than the horse, and there are a group of protégés behind him; And Zhang Cai switched to Liu Jin's disciple, and if he was used, it would inevitably benefit from Liu Dang, not to mention, Qian Ning had specially added Zhang Cai in addition to Liu Yu and Cao Yuan, maybe there was another mystery.

At this moment, another voice came from outside: "The Queen Mother, the Queen Mother, and the Master of Ceremonies write Sun Bin to see." ”

Since Xiao Jing is back, he hasn't played any tricks. After all, it has been two or three years since he left the center, and he has to promote his original disciples and grandsons to do things, and Sun Bin, the godgrandson, has been appointed again. At this moment, he immediately explained the identity of the person to the Empress Dowager Zhang, and when Sun Bin entered the house, before he could ask, Sun Bin opened his mouth.

"The Queen Mother, the Queen Mother, Lord Qian took Liu Ge and Cao Ge out of the capital. And Zhang Shangshu, the official department, is rumored to suddenly faint in the hall, so the three of them left first. Speaking of this, he paused slightly, glanced at the faces of Empress Dowager Zhang, Empress Zhang and Xiao Jing, and then said softly, "I just don't know if someone deliberately spread the news, or if it was the voice that Cao Ge Lao shouted in front of the Qianqing Palace before, the five mansions and six ministries of the Imperial Procuratorate and so on are all spreading the news of the accident of Pingbei Hou and Gonggong Liu!" ”

Bang -

At this time, Empress Dowager Zhang didn't know that it was Qian Ning who was playing tricks, she gritted her teeth and slapped the handrail fiercely, and then said in a loud voice: "Pass the order, let Shouning Hou Jianchang Hou and Xing'an Hou lead the Imperial City Red Shop Forbidden Army together!" ”

Almost as soon as she finished speaking, another voice came from outside.

"The Queen Mother, the Queen Mother, the Ministry of Shangshu Zhang, presents the secret disclosure."