In Zixiao Palace, the clouds and smoke are swirling, the old emperor is dressed in brocade and fairy robes, and the palace maids and eunuchs serving around him are all dressed as immortals and fairies in the Heavenly Palace, which is a ridiculous scene.

Cao Yuan, the great eunuch of the palm print, was dressed in a serious palace costume and walked in the palace with a fairy aura, which looked a little out of place.

"Your Majesty."

Cao Yuan came to the emperor and bowed, his hanging head was close to the ground and did not dare to raise it, he was afraid of facing the emperor's eyes, and His Majesty's murderous intent has become heavier recently.

The emperor on the high seat is old, and as time passes, his body is getting older and older, and he doesn't want to meet with courtiers more and more, he doesn't want people to know that he is old.

"What?" The old emperor slowly opened his eyes, his lips closed, and the whole hall was silent, only his question echoed.

The old emperor held a jade whisk in his hand, but he did not have the sense of detachment of a Taoist master like Qi Yunzi, but because of this brocade and jade robe, he had a bit more worldly atmosphere.

Cao Yuan still lowered his head, he spoke in a low voice, to ensure that only His Majesty could hear his words, even if the palace people serving around him were all his own people, he said: "The commander made Lu Hanjiang present a recital, saying that because Her Royal Highness the princess is unstable, he begged to postpone the time to return to Beijing." ”

Hearing this, the old emperor's old and cloudy eyes did not have the slightest wave, and he said lightly: "Yes." ”

"Yes, the slave will go back to him." Cao Yuan kowtowed and retired, and before leaving the palace, he was stopped by the old emperor again.

"Where is Meng Yuan now?" The old emperor's calm but majestic tone made Cao Yuan's body tremble subconsciously.

The old eunuch who had served the emperor for many years paused slightly, and immediately turned around and kowtowed in response: "Your Majesty forgive me, the slave maid did send someone from Dongchang to investigate the whereabouts of Master Meng without authorization, but she only gave instructions within the scope of Dongchang's duties, and there was no transgression." ”

"Alright."

The old emperor impatiently interrupted the other party's explanation, and he bluntly asked again: "Where is Meng Yuan now?" ”

Cao Yuan immediately replied: "According to the news obtained by the slave maid, Lord Meng should have arrived in the Miaojiang area today, and the specific location of the slave and maid cannot be found. ”

"Miao Jiang? He will pick a place," the old emperor laughed, and looked at Cao Yuan's gaze more and more profound: "The matter of Meng Yuan's fake death was agreed by me Jinkou Yuyan, and you sent the people from Dongchang to follow behind under the banner of me, but it seems that the amount of energy is narrow." ”

"Slaves deserve to die."

Cao Yuan broke out in a cold sweat, and he kowtowed again and again to ask for guilt: "The slave only thinks about the responsibilities of Dongchang, if His Majesty needs it one day, I am afraid that I will not be able to find someone for a while and miss a big thing, so I am good at making claims. Your Majesty, please condemn you. ”

After Meng Yuan faked his death, his whereabouts have been erratic, and if he wants to find out where the other party is, he can only rely on chasing Qiu Qingyun, the middleman who is still floating on the water.

And if you want to chase Qiu Qingyun's whereabouts, you can only start from Jinyiwei, today's Jinyiwei is ironclad, water can't be poured into the needle, and there is only one way for Cao Yuan to get the right whereabouts without the people who have been placed in advance.

Through the servant Wu Qiming Lord Wu, although this person was a subordinate promoted by Meng Yuan, he was transferred from the army to Jinyiwei, but it was authorized by His Majesty.

Although it is suspected of instigating Jinyiwei and His Majesty to forcibly divide each other, Cao Yuan did get some information from Wu Qiming, and he relied on the means to ambiguously imply that this was His Majesty's intention.

Because Cao Yuan is the great eunuch of the palm seal in the palace, he has served the emperor for many years and has never moved his position, so in the eyes of outsiders, everything he does is instructed by His Majesty.

But in fact, the emperor did not hint at such a thing as secretly tracking Meng Yuan's whereabouts, and it was all done by Cao Yuan for his own selfishness.

It's just that although this matter is excessive, the old emperor did not explicitly punish him after asking him clearly.

"Let's go down." The old emperor suddenly waved the dust in his hand with great interest, and Cao Yuanru was pardoned, and immediately bowed down and withdrew from the palace.

After a while, the sound of silk and bamboo sounded in the palace, the fairy spirit swayed, and the emperor sitting on the high seat seemed to be in the clouds, distant and sacred.

Cao Yuan, who turned around and saw this scene, quickly turned his head, and he quickly left here with a speed of pace, leaving Zixiao Palace hundreds of meters away, and he suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

At this time, he looked back at the main hall behind him, and felt that the main hall stood alone on a plain, and the surrounding area was empty, not even tall trees, and the flat ground was usually left with only a dead air.

This hall looks like Qionglou Yuyu up close, and from a distance it looks like a wasteland and a lonely tomb, desolate and full of lonely sadness, Cao Yuan took a few deep breaths, and quickly expelled this disrespectful thought from his mind.

After coming back to his senses, before he took a few steps, a person around the corner shouted Cao Yuan.

"Godfather." The eunuch in red and high hat eagerly stepped forward and bent down to salute Cao Yuan.

"Why are you here?" Cao Yuan was a little surprised to see him, but he didn't say anything, and beckoned the other party to come forward and speak.

This person's name is Xia Zhang, who is the second-in-command of the palace celebrant and the second in command, who leads the East Factory, and Zou Ji, the former governor of the West Factory, is the godson of Cao Yuan, the great eunuch of the palm print.

"My son heard that His Majesty had summoned his godfather into the palace today, so he waited here." Xia Zhang said with some flattery.

"You've got a heart."

Cao Yuan glanced at him, nodded slightly, and then asked, "You are waiting for me here, there must be news, right?" ”

"Yes," Xia Zhang nodded: "It's a trivial matter for the princess to be pregnant, but His Majesty summoned Lord Lu back to Beijing with great fanfare, and many people think that His Majesty is planning to use the topic to play, and recently several ladies in the inner palace have also made small moves." ”

Xia Zhang glanced up at Cao Yuan, and when he saw that the other party was not happy, he paused, and then continued: "Except for Meng Guifei, the sons of the other mother's palace have been arranged, and the godfather doesn't have to worry." ”

Cao Yuan bowed slightly: "Well done, Your Majesty is obsessed with asking for immortals and asks, there are fewer troubles in the harem, you are right not to install people in Meng Guifei's palace, the position of Guifei Niangniang is not all because of Meng Yuan's power, but also because of His Majesty's favor, it is not appropriate for you to do anything again." ”

The first queen died early, and there was only one concubine in the palace, which can be said to cover the sky with one hand, but the noble concubine Meng was able to maintain her dignity today, and Meng Yuan's existence was one reason, and more because of His Majesty's favor.

Your Majesty and the concubine are different in age, although the two are not childhood sweethearts, but the emperor also watched the little girl grow up since childhood, and the relationship is different, and even before His Majesty tied the knot with the former queen, the concubine had already met His Majesty.

As a slave who has served His Majesty for many years, Cao Yuan knows very well in his heart that even if Meng Yuan is gone one day, His Majesty will not snub the concubine, the favor of the concubine and the power of the Meng family are two different things, but Your Majesty has never been thoughtful, so outsiders can't see it.

Therefore, no matter how Cao Yuan and Meng Yuan fought openly and secretly, he would never involve the concubine for no reason, and Xia Zhang's sensible measures made him very satisfied.

(End of chapter)