Author: My heart is still the same

Looking at Su Ruochen who bowed down, Xu Chong was not too surprised.

You can survive a natural disaster at the age of twelve and walk thousands of miles. How can you be so simple-minded?

Apart from anything else, that scent of tea could never hide from Su Ruochen.

"No need to be polite."

Xu Chong nodded, "How do you feel now?"

"Well……"

Su Ruochen straightened up, looking slightly embarrassed, "At least it won't endanger lives, and there are no longer any restrictions on the path of martial arts... But after so many years, it has become a habit."

"That's good."

Xu Chong suddenly smiled wickedly and said, "Come, talk to me carefully."

"say what?"

Su Ruochen suddenly became alert.

"What else can there be, Jian Zheng."

Xu Chong lowered his voice, "What does that portrait look like specifically?"

"this……"

Su Ruochen struggled for a moment, and suddenly his eyebrows were dancing: "He looks about 20 years old, and his appearance can only be called correct, but his figure, tsk, tsk, tsk, oh, and also, in the arms of that woman..."

Before she could finish speaking, Su Ruochen's mouth was suddenly closed with a strong force, and she could only make a whining sound.

"This... Lord Jianzheng?"

Xu Chong felt a chill on his back and looked around.

"If Deputy Superintendent Xu wants to see it, go back to the Star Observation Tower and I'll show it to you. Why bother listening to this big mouth here?"

The ethereal sound condensed into a line and poured directly into Xu Chong's ears.

"Okay, I'll be here shortly."

Xu Chong cupped his hands in the direction of Qintian Prison, patted Su Ruochen on the shoulder, and walked away.

"Woooooooooo..."

Su Ruochen wanted to cry but had no tears.

Not long after, Xu Chong climbed to the top of the stargazing tower.

Yuan Shouyi still stood with his hands behind his hands, watching the sea of ​​clouds quietly.

The tea set on the table disappeared and was replaced by an unfolded picture scroll.

Xu Chong didn't feel embarrassed at all, so he leaned over and took a closer look.

His facial features are ordinary, just like what Su Ruochen said.

But in terms of figure... there's nothing eye-catching about it at all. It's obvious that Su Ruochen added fuel to the fire.

In terms of age, just looking at the portrait, Xu Chong felt that he was older than Su Ruochen said, probably closer to thirty.

In addition, the woman also held a swaddle in her arms, but the face of the swaddled baby was blank and no facial features were painted on it.

"This is my sister-in-law who shares the same mother as me."

Yuan Shouyi said calmly, "It's not what Su Ruochen randomly guessed."

"Well……"

Xu Chong's eyebrows twitched.

As for my sister, it seems to be more extreme, right?

"My late mother was originally the maid of a young lady from a noble family. The young lady from a noble family entered the palace and became a concubine, and she also entered the palace and became a maid."

Yuan Shouyi continued, "Fortunately, the late emperor's concubine had a pure nature, and within a few years, she married her late mother to a seventh-rank imperial official."

"And then there was me."

"When I was four years old, my sister-in-law was born."

"In the same year, the late emperor's concubine gave birth to a prince."

"By a stroke of luck, my late mother became the prince's wet nurse, and I became his companion."

"Time passes like this year after year."

"The prince became the prince, and the concubine became the queen."

"I naturally have a prosperous official career... If I hadn't been indifferent and leisurely by nature, it would not be difficult for me to enter the cabinet."

At this point, Yuan Shouyi paused and spoke in a slightly lower tone: "I received a letter from my sister-in-law who married far away, saying that she had given birth to Lin'er. I hope that my uncle, the supervisor, can go over and give the child a name and blessing."

"What happened?"

Xu Chong lowered his head and looked at the baby with no facial features in the portrait.

It was obvious that there must have been an accident.

"The place where my sister-in-law married is in Bingzhou."

Yuan Shouyi answered.

"Bingzhou...drought?"

Xu Chong's eyebrows twitched and he suddenly remembered Dou Tianyuan's words.

Yuan Shouyi had a falling out with His Majesty, who was still the Crown Prince, twenty-eight years ago!

Calculating the time, it happened to be the 42nd year of Wenchang that the drought broke out in Bingzhou!

"It's a drought."

Yuan Shouyi nodded, "I haven't been able to see them. The appearance of my sister-in-law can be drawn based on her age. Even if there is a deviation, at least it is still similar. But this child... I have never even seen his father.

"

"But……"

Xu Chong hesitated for a moment and then asked: "What does this have to do with His Majesty today?"

"Because of the royal family festival."

Yuan Shouyi answered.

"The Royal Festival?"

Xu Chong was stunned.

"The royal family's grand ceremony is held once every ten years, and the preparation work alone is extremely cumbersome."

Yuan Shouyi did not choose to answer directly, "First, we need to check the royal roster, second, we need to divine the auspicious day and time, and third, we need to prepare for the ceremony."

"These three matters are handled by the Zong Ren Mansion, Qin Tian Jian, and the Ministry of Rites. It will take several months to complete them."

"According to the usual practice, the event is announced to the world in June, officially held in September, and lasts until the end of the year."

"Originally, this matter has nothing to do with the disaster, and it has nothing to do with me."

Yuan Shouyi's tone was low and his expression was incomprehensible, "But that year, the time of the big sacrifice was advanced to June."

"June?"

A sudden realization appeared on Xu Chong's face, "We have already passed the initial stage of the disaster, so you couldn't... But I still don't understand how this has anything to do with His Majesty today."

"Because, I received a letter from my roommate at the end of February."

Yuan Shouyi turned around and looked deeply at Xu Chong, "The prince wrote a letter in early March, proposing to advance the ceremony."

"What!!!"

Xu Chong exclaimed in shock, a turmoil arose in his heart, and even the calming rules could not have any effect.

The prince wrote a letter proposing to advance the grand ceremony.

It doesn't seem like there's anything worth saying.

But the problem is...

When studying Jiang Zhihong, Xu Chong already had a detailed understanding of the drought in Wenchang forty-two years.

He clearly remembered that the drought broke out at the end of April!

If the prince wrote a letter to let Yuan Shouyi stay in the capital and not go to Bingzhou, what does that mean?

This shows that the prince, or the late emperor, knew the location of the disaster in advance!!!

And at least two months in advance!

"By the time I learned that there was a drought in Bingzhou, the whole country had already been informed about the great sacrifice, and preparations began in full swing. There was no way it could be interrupted...at least not by me."

Yuan Shouyi turned to Yunhai, "And by the time the festival ends, it's already September. If I rush to Bingzhou, I can't find my sister's family at all."
To be continued...