Seeing Ji Huaizhang's submissive look, Ji Wanying was furious. She didn't care that he was her elder, and angrily scolded him: "My uncle is deeply favored by the emperor, but he doesn't want to be loyal to the country. He wantonly murders the imperial officials and traps him."
The Ji family is in danger, and now the emperor's brother has already laid a dragnet. If my uncle doesn't repent, sooner or later he will push our Ji family into an abyss of eternal destruction."
After he finished speaking, he looked at Ji Huaizhang with eyes as sharp as blades, and advised him solemnly: "Please leave for uncle to return to Beijing immediately. Don't let the Queen's sister-in-law be embarrassed by this matter, let alone let your grandparents and relatives stay in Beijing for your uncle."
worry."
As soon as this statement came out, there was an uproar in the hall.
Ji Huaizhang's already uneasy heart became even more uneasy.
After watching the officials for a moment, he knelt down again with his already stiff knees and replied sincerely:
"I hope the empress will learn from it. Although my subordinates dare not claim to be honest, upright, and knowledgeable, they have been diligent in their work over the years. They dare not slack off for a day, let alone murder the imperial officials, such as Lu Huan and Xia Yuanzhi.
The deceased minister has already ordered people to vigorously investigate, but there is no progress. As for the deceased minister of Lord Tingwei, he is even more distressed. It is only because of his negligence that he did not come to greet him in person, so that Lord Tingwei suffered an unreasonable disaster in the post house. "
"Yes, Queen, you also know that my northwest region has been dry and rainless since the winter, and Lord Tingwei did not notify the government agencies at all levels when he stayed at the inn."
Sun You also echoed and replied: "When the official learned of Lord Tingwei's death, he went to the scene as soon as possible and ordered people to investigate thoroughly. Lord Tingwei drank too much in the hotel and accidentally knocked over the candle.
, causing the fire to spread inside the house, which led to the tragedy."
"When it comes to this matter, it's just that Fang Qingyue is careless."
Chu Nanzhi pretended not to notice and scolded Jufang Qingyue, and then said: "I am only here to escort Princess Sangqi and the Tataraka delegation back to the tribe during this trip to the west, and by the way, I will observe the Qing Dynasty for Your Majesty.
Due to the public sentiment in various places, since my uncle has already intended to request an order to return to Beijing, I and Your Majesty will naturally not believe the rumors and hope that my uncle will return to Beijing with General Rong Heng as soon as possible."
After that, he added with a smile: "Your Majesty and our ancestors have always valued the Ji family, and they will definitely not be suspicious of my uncle. Previously, he was just instigated by others. Our ancestors also said that Qinghe Xun is a member of the noble family.
It is the support of the imperial court. Even if there are some political differences at the moment, it will not lead to a military confrontation."
"Yes, uncle."
Ji Rongheng looked at Ji Huaizhang and said sincerely: "Your Majesty is extremely kind and trustful to our Ji family. Otherwise, he would not have allowed the Queen to come to Tanzhou in person."
Ji Huaizhang's eyes paused slightly, and he looked at each other with the officials. When he learned that the queen was traveling west to escort Sang Qi back to the tribe, he immediately relaxed his vigilance and said with a smile:
"I have long heard that the queen has a deep relationship with the prince of the Tataraka tribe. The six tribes of Tataraka have made an immortal contribution to helping our country quell the chaos in Qinghe. The queen's move must be spread as a good story and help
Our two countries will always have an alliance. Please be at ease, Queen. I will definitely come to Beijing as soon as possible to apologize to Your Majesty."
"Very good."
Chu Nanzhi looked at Ji Rongheng with a smile and said: "General Rongheng, since the cause of Fang Qingyue's death has been found out, you only need to go to Tanzhou this time to help your uncle find out the cause of death of Lu Huan and Xia Yuan as soon as possible, and break those rumors by the way.
, so that you two uncles can set off back to Beijing as soon as possible."
"Yes, I will do my best to live up to the Queen's trust."
Ji Rongheng clasped his fists confidently.
But Chu Nanzhi's decision made Ji Wanying's heart tremble.
I thought she was just trying to deceive others, but I never thought that she was really just escorting Sang Qi to the west.
At this point, she couldn't say much, so she could only say with a bitter smile: "Since my uncle has decided to return to Beijing, I am relieved."
After he finished speaking, he looked at Chu Nanzhi with a smile and begged: "Then I don't have to go to Tanzhou anymore. I will continue westward with my sister-in-law."
"That's not necessary."
Chu Nanzhi guessed that she must be trying to prevaricate her words. If she really took her west, wouldn't it make both of them uncomfortable? He casually advised: "Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. The little princess and her uncle have not been together much in recent years, so they can stay here."
Let's spend the New Year's reunion with your brother and uncle in Tanzhou, and when Rong Heng finds out the case, we can return to Beijing with him."
Unexpectedly, as soon as the words came out of her mouth, Ji Wanying nodded and agreed: "That's fine, my sister-in-law and Princess Sangqi probably have a thousand things to talk about. If my presence here actually hinders you, then I will wait in Beijing for my sister-in-law to return."
"good."
Chu Nanzhi smiled and looked meaningfully at Ji Huaizhang and Sun You and his son: "Natural disasters are not terrible, but the instability of people's hearts is the most terrible thing. If the people were not at the end of their rope, how could they choose to go out to escape, uncle?
We still have to put in more effort, and in addition to vigorously providing relief to the victims, we must also give them more ways to survive. There is no reason to block people at home."
"I must remember the Queen's teachings and stabilize the situation in the state as soon as possible."
Ji Huaizhang replied in a serious voice.
Only then did Chu Nanzhi feel at ease, and led Li Ce and his guards to continue westward with Sangqi's Tataraka mission.
The wheels rolled over the thick snow, making clear chirping sounds from time to time, and the carriage jolted and swayed.
In the carriage, the corners of Ma Laifu's thick lips were raised high, and he was very puzzled by Chu Nan Zhi's words and deeds today: "Since Sister Zhi has noticed that there is something fishy in Tanzhou, why did she change her route to the west instead of going directly to Tanzhou?"
State, continue to let Sun You, Sun Li and his son go free?"
"What else?"
Chu Nanzhi smiled bitterly and said: "We have not yet arrived in Tanzhou, but Sun You, Sun Li and his son have performed a trick for us to make living people disappear out of thin air. If we enter Tanzhou openly like this, we will be surrounded by a group of old oilmen all day long.
They are scheming under their noses, let alone wanting to find out something, and they might fall into someone else's trap one day without even knowing it."
"What does Sister Zhi mean?"
Ma Laifu looked up at her impatiently.
Chu Nanzhi just smiled indifferently, then turned to Sang Qi and said, "Sang Qi, when you enter Mengzhou, you and your envoy will continue westward back to the tribe. I can no longer escort you."
Sang Qi looked stunned: "Does the master want to go to Tanzhou alone?"
"Right now, I still have many doubts. Sun You, Sun Li and his son are so arrogant and domineering, and there are widespread rumors in the capital that Tanzhou nobles are occupying land and raising tribes. Whether it was under Ji Huaizhang's instructions, or whether he was also deceived, we all need to know
Check them one by one."
Chu Nanzhi said hesitantly.
She urgently needs to find out whether Fang Qingyue's death was just due to the fire or whether someone deliberately committed the murder.
Furthermore, she also needs to find out how the nobles concealed their fields and how large the number of tribes they raised was, so that she could have a countermeasure.
However, if we inquire about these issues from the open side, we may not be able to get any conclusions. Only by conducting private interviews undercover and going deep into the people can we obtain useful information.