East Palace Qinzheng Palace.

Just after the early dynasty, all the ministers had dispersed, and the prince held his head in his hand, sat on the couch chair with his eyes closed, and thought for a long time.

The season turns into early winter, and the temperature plummets.

Gao Jin, the chief attendant, stepped forward and put a small blanket on the crown prince's lap and knee.

"Gao Jin, can there be a report from Northern Xinjiang and Guo Dashuai?" Yuan Zhi asked with his eyes half-opened.

"Not yet, it should be on the way, Your Highness, don't worry."

Early in the morning, the crown prince asked twice about the situation of the war in northern Xinjiang.

It seems that the crown prince is very concerned about the direction of this war, which is related to the success or failure of his imprisonment and governance.

Gao Jin's eyes rolled, he thought about it, and changed the topic to a happy one, "Your Highness, I heard from Ma Feihai that the open-pit coal mine newly excavated by the Ministry of Industry in Jindi has shipped a large amount, and they have dispatched a batch of coal into Beijing according to your order. ”

"Well, that's good news."

Yuan Zhi suddenly came to his senses, "Inform the palace internal affairs department that as soon as the coal arrives, we will start to renovate the heating project in the palace, according to the previously planned drawings, oh... Let's start with the East Palace as a pilot. ”

"Yes." Gao Jin retreated.

At this time, Ji Hong hurriedly walked in.

"Your Highness, Cao Yanchun returned to Cao Mansion last night, and since he returned from Guazhou, he has been active in Beidaying for the past few days."

Yuan Zhi didn't seem to hear it.

He opened his eyes and picked up the pure gold teacup on the table, gently blew away the foam, put his lips on the edge of the teacup, took a sip lightly, suddenly put it down gently, raised his eyes and said sharply:

"Did the secret guard find out what his purpose was when he secretly marched to Guazhou? In addition, who did he meet during his trip in Guazhou? ”

Ji Hong was so nervous when he heard this, and a cold sweat broke out all of a sudden.

"Back to His Royal Highness, I probably learned something, he has seen Cao Zhiping, a younger brother who has just taken up the post of General of the Anxi Protectorate, and also secretly met with the envoy of the Western Turk Helu Keji, the specific content of the conversation, and the purpose of his trip to Guazhou, Shang... It was not ascertained, and the slave and maid were derelict in their duties. ”

Guazhou has always been the sphere of influence of Cao Fu, and the Bloody Hand Gate is stationed there, with a lot of minions, and it is difficult for the secret guards to penetrate into the core area.

Of course, Ji Hong didn't dare to use these difficulties as a reason to blatantly put them out, because the prince never asked about them, he only wanted results.

"Have you done analytical reasoning?"

"The stakes are high, and the slave doesn't dare to speculate." Ji Hong lowered his head and said respectfully.

What kind of logic is this called!

Yuan Zhi's eyebrows were tightly locked, his forehead was straightened, and he was about to make a move, but he still endured it in a blink of an eye.

He endured a sigh, glanced at Ji Hong standing in front of him, and pretended to be relaxed:

"It's okay, the shadow network of Guazhou still needs to be strengthened, and it is necessary to infiltrate at all costs and means, Dunhuang is the transit point of the empire's military supplies in the western Xinjiang, an important town on the Silk Road, and its strategic position is very important from military and economic aspects."

"Since I know that it is important, the candidates for the general of the Hexi Dao camp, the Guazhou Thorn History, the Dunhuang Taishou, etc., must be the people who can be trusted by the prince, and it is of course not appropriate to remove them now, but in the spring and summer of next year, you can consider replacing them, so the secret guard should focus on collecting the factual basis for the corruption of Ye Yinting and others, the general of the camp, so that they can be used at that time."

"The slave and the maid understand, and the slave and the slave obey." Ji Hong's face was full of horror, and he took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat on his face and neck.

Yuan Zhi continued to bow his head and drink tea, the water temperature was more suitable at this time, he drank a few more sips of hot tea, his body was warm, and his mood was much better.

"Cao Yanchun is the young patriarch of the Cao family, second only to Cao Qichang himself, in the family and even within the traitorous party group, the status of the rivers and lakes is very important, he went to Guazhou this time, he definitely has a big move and big layout, trying to win in this border incident, forcing his father to take back the power of the lonely prison country, and prepare for the next step of deposing."

"Is it that serious?" Ji Hong was stunned when he heard this.

Yuan Zhi put down the teacup, smiled and said indifferently:

"What do you think? Cao Qichang knew very well in his heart that if they were defeated again this time, then their forces in the north and the Western Regions would be completely eliminated, and the remaining Central Plains and Jiangnan would be far more complicated than those in the north, and it would be difficult for them to completely control them. ”

"Since then, the power comparison between Cao Fu and Gu has been reversed, he will either compromise with Gu and give up fighting for the reserve, in addition, there is only a rebellion, this is the work of destroying the Nine Clans, he will not make up his mind easily."

"Your Highness sees that the slave and maid are like an initiation, and the mouth suddenly opens... In addition, the slave also... There's one more thing to do. Ji Hong was complimented at first, but then he became slurred.

"Speak!" The prince was impatient.

Cao Kesheng arrived in the capital at five o'clock this morning, but there was some accident, he was attacked by a gang of gangsters on the outskirts of Beijing, Cao Kesheng survived, only suffered a little skin injury, but his wife in order to block the knife, but was seriously injured and dying, the eldest son was injured but his life was worry-free. At this time, the secret guard was investigating, and only caught a few killers, what he knew at present was to buy a murderer, and more clues had been erased, and it was difficult to find out. ”

Yuan Zhi's face changed when he heard this, he slammed the tea cup on the table, and said sharply:

"How can the secret guard be so passive recently? have all become an afterthought for others? To reflect on it, Duke Du, the bloody hand gate of Cao Mansion has kept pace with the times and has come ahead of you. ”

Seeing the prince's thunder, Ji Hong hurriedly knelt down, kowtowed, and said: "The slave and maid are not effective, and the crime deserves death!" ”

"Quickly send the imperial doctor over for diagnosis and treatment, and let Cao Kesheng come to the west study in the afternoon to see Lonely, get out!" Yuan Zhi waved his hand angrily, and then held his head and closed his eyes again.

"The slave obeys."

Ji Hong was covered with cold sweat, glad that the prince did not punish him, he smeared oil on the soles of his feet, and hurriedly retired.

The mood had just improved a little, and I was doused by this frustrating news.

It seems that Cao Qichang is ready to make a big move, and he also started to fight his half-brother.

Is this necessary?

Ji Hong left, Yuan Zhi sat in the Qinzheng Hall for a while, thought about it and drove to the Xianglan Palace.

"Greetings to Your Highness."

Since the imperial doctor confirmed that she was pregnant, Cao Feilan was in a good mood, and these days, including Funing Palace, many royal relatives and family members of the humerus minister also came to congratulate.

When I learned that my parents and brother, who had been separated for six years, were on the way back to Beijing, I was really happy and in a very good mood.

Her smile when she saw the prince was full of gratitude and happiness.

"Hurry up and be free of Concubine Lan, you will be lonely during your pregnancy, and everything will be free of vulgarity." Yuan Zhi said warmly.

Cao Feilan's face was slightly red, and she said in a coquettish voice:

"Your Highness, it's okay, the courtesy of the monarch and the minister is not exempt from vulgarity, and the concubines should pay attention. I heard that my father and my brother were about to arrive in the capital, and the concubines were very happy. ”

"Uh-huh..."Yuan Zhi snorted when he heard this, looking quite embarrassed.

It was the first time he felt speechless.

Cao Feilan was quick-witted, she saw that the prince's face was a little abnormal, she chuckled in her heart, and hurriedly asked, "Your Highness, what's wrong with you, what happened?" ”

Yuan Zhi was afraid that Cao Feilan would be in a hurry, so he hurriedly comforted:

"It's not a big deal, it's just that your parents and brother arrived on the outskirts of the city early this morning, but they were confronted by robbers... Your mother and brother are both slightly injured. ”

Cao Feilan's face turned pale when she heard this, and she grabbed Yuan Zhi's arms with both hands and said loudly

Road:

"Are they badly injured? Where he lives now, the concubine will visit. ”

"Concubine Lan, don't get excited, you are pregnant with a child, it is inconvenient to bump, the injury is not serious, Gu has already sent the Tai Hospital to send the Tai Doctor to treat it."

Yuan Zhi swallowed his saliva and said with further relief:

"You can relax, Gu has asked your father to come to the palace in the afternoon, and your father and daughter can meet, as for your mother, you can go out of the palace with your father, and it is safe to see him."

Cao Feilan's eyes were slightly red, and when she heard the prince's arrangement, she was relieved, and hurriedly said, "Concubine Xie Your Highness Longen." ”

"Hey... It's all a family, don't always talk about the word thank you, your main task now is to raise the fetus with peace of mind, and give birth to the first child of the orphan, which is the greatest kindness to the orphan. ”

Cao Feilan nodded yes, and her tense nerves finally relaxed.

……

In the afternoon, Yuan Zhi met Cao Kesheng in the west study.

He is forty-three years old, burly, dignified, a little like Cao Qichang, and a little similar to Cao Feilan between his eyebrows. The Cao family has excellent genes, and the women are all like fairies, with thick eyebrows and big eyes and elegant temperament.

"Weichen Cao Kesheng, knock on His Royal Highness the Prince!"

"Aiqing is exempt from courtesy, give me a seat."

At a closer look, Cao Kesheng's right arm was bandaged, his face was pale, and he said with concern:

"Encountered robbers in the early hours of the morning?"

Yuan Zhi deliberately emphasized that the rivers and lakes were robbers, lest Cao Kesheng know the truth, and in his anger, he muddied the water in the capital and disrupted his layout plan.

Cao Kesheng bowed slightly and said: "I did encounter bandits, fortunately, Mrs. blocked a knife for me, otherwise... Weichen is fine, His Royal Highness Xie cares. ”

"Madame Venerable... Lone arranged for the doctor to do his best to treat him. ”

When Yuan Zhi said this, he paused, and changed the topic with a slow breath, "Those robbers in the rivers and lakes, Lone has killed them all for you." ”

In the latter sentence, the prince looked fierce and gritted his teeth, as if these people also had hatred for him.

The nerves at the corners of Cao Kesheng's eyes twitched slightly, and he felt that the legendary prince in front of him had a killing aura hidden all over his body, which was extraordinary.

"Weichen, thank you, Your Highness."

Cao Kesheng said respectfully while thinking about it.

Yuan Zhi waved his hand, and said lightly:

"You are the father of the side concubine of the East Palace, although the national law and etiquette system is clear: a non-wife is not considered an in-law, but there is only one concubine Lan in the East Palace, and Lan'er is also very loved by Lonely, her mother's family, of course, Lone will treat her differently."

A year ago, Cao Feilan married into the East Palace as a side concubine, which was decided by the patriarch Cao Qichang Qiankun, and only afterwards did he send someone to send this information to Cao Kesheng, who was two thousand miles away.

Cao Kesheng and his wife were unwilling to marry their only daughter into the East Palace.

It's not that she dislikes the position of the side concubine of the East Palace, but it's actually a top match.

It's just that he understands in his heart that the Cao family supports the eighth prince Yuan Xuan as the prince, and the life of the crown prince will not be long in the future.

Lan'er married in the past, isn't she a widow at a young age?

But he was powerless to change reality.

In the Cao family, the patriarch is like an emperor, and he is full of words.

In fact, Cao Qichang married his niece and entered the East Palace, and there was his unknown conspiracy, Cao Kesheng, who was far away, of course did not know.

He hasn't been back to Beijing for six years, an insignificant small county, who informed him?

However, when he saw the prince of the prison country for the first time today, he felt extraordinary, and his heart began to feel a slight wave.