Late at night, in Kunning Palace, the queen and the emperor sat opposite each other. The palace was cold and depressing. All the maids and eunuchs were driven outside. The two were silent for a long time before the queen said, "Why is your majesty here late at night?"
Zhu Youxiao said: "The queen knows why I came here. I ask you, where did you hide the eldest princess and the assassin?"
The queen said: "My concubine was kidnapped by an assassin with a knife pressed against her neck. Thousands of guards in the palace saw it with their own eyes. How can we hide them? The emperor may have listened to some people's slander again."
Zhu Youxiao snorted coldly and said: "Do you think you can hide this little trick from me? Let's see how you end it when I get him back. If I find out that your Xu family and Liu Ziguang have any conspiracy, don't blame me.
I don’t miss the relationship between husband and wife these past few years.”
Queen Xu Yuanhui was also known as a unruly young lady back then. She has restrained herself a bit over the years but still has a fiery temper. She immediately said: "The love between husband and wife, huh, it's a good thing that the emperor still knows that we are husband and wife. You haven't set foot in the house for two whole years."
What the hell does it mean to have passed through Kunning Palace? The emperor has been married for five years and still has no heirs, and outsiders will put this crime on his concubine."
When talking about the issue of heirs, it seemed to poke Zhu Youxiao's weakness. He jumped up and shouted: "I am diligent in state affairs and never indulge in sensuality. Is there anything wrong with that? Is this the reason for you to betray me? What do you expect?
Can you attract my attention by harboring imperial prisoners? Let me tell you, you made the wrong calculation!"
After saying this, Zhu Youxiao walked away with a flourish. When he reached the entrance of the palace, the eunuchs and maids were frightened when they saw the emperor's furious look. They all knelt down and said to the emperor, calm down. Zhu Youxiao ignored them and sat on the chariot.
The queen was left sobbing in the palace.
Zhu Youxiao returned to Qianqing Palace, and Wei Zhongxian came just in time and said worriedly: "I have reported to the emperor that the Qin Secret Service has searched the child's new grave. After being identified by neighbors, it is indeed not the son of the eldest princess, but a very similar one."
Impostor."
Zhu Youxiao was so angry that his hands were trembling: "What a Sun Gang, he actually dared to deceive me. Xiao Weizi, immediately sent people to seal off the South Factory, put Sun Gang in the sky prison, ransacked his house and exterminated his family."
Wei Zhongxian and Nanchang had always had a grudge, and he was overjoyed when he heard this. He thought, brothers in Dongchang, I can finally help you take revenge. But Huang Zongxi, who was watching with cold eyes, suddenly interjected: "This matter may not be done by Admiral Sun. I'm afraid it's the work of Zhenguo."
Your Majesty has already prepared a substitute. You must know that this is not how the bitter meat scheme works. Admiral Sun was stabbed in the heart and all the blood in his body was almost gone. He must have been deceived as well. Now is the time to employ people, the Emperor must not do it.
Acting hastily will hurt the minister's desire to serve."
Zhu Youxiao listened to Huang Zongxi's words the most, nodded in agreement, and said: "In this case, Xiao Weizi, don't rush to close down the South Factory. Take some ginseng and give it to Sun Gang, even if I reward him for his loyalty to the country."
Wei Zhongxian felt unhappy and secretly hated Huang Zongxi, but what Huang Zongxi said next made him extremely happy.
Huang Zongxi said: "The industries of the Zhenguo Palace are spread all over the country, and they are making money every day. Now that Liu Ziguang has collapsed, these industries should be returned to the state. However, the efficiency of the household department is too low. I suggest that the emperor set up a special yamen to manage these industries."
The property and income will be put into the internal funds for His Majesty's use. As for the supervisors stationed in various places, it is better for Eunuch Wei to select some eunuchs with good conduct to serve as them, so as to ensure their loyalty to Your Majesty."
This was equivalent to stuffing a mountain of gold into Wei Zhongxian's arms. At that time, Eunuch Wei's face blossomed with chrysanthemums and he said: "This servant is really without virtue and incompetence, so it is difficult for him to take on such a big responsibility."
Zhu Youxiao was convinced of this. Liu Ziguang's family wealth was unparalleled, especially the enterprises, mines, plantations, etc. he had opened across the country. If these industries were put under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Household Affairs, they would not be able to use them efficiently.
, the best way was to send eunuchs to manage these enterprises and collect all the profits as internal funds, so that the emperor could use the money more conveniently. He immediately agreed to Huang Zongxi's proposal and ordered Wei Zhongxian to take charge of the matter.
Wei Zhongxian reciprocated the favor and suggested to the emperor that Huang Zongxi should be reused and given a formal title to manage the government. Zhu Youxiao had already had this intention, and was about to appoint Huang Zongxi as a bachelor and assistant minister, but Huang Zongxi refused and only wanted to
He makes suggestions behind the scenes and says that he can only talk but cannot do practical things. Being a staff member is fine, but being an auxiliary minister is difficult.
Both Zhu Youxiao and Wei Zhongxian were deeply moved by Huang Zongxi's spirit. They believed that he was indeed a loyal minister, so they no longer forced him. They just promoted the three Huang brothers recommended by Huang Zongxi to official ranks as a show of favor.
Since Liu Kangang was not dead, the Secret Service of the Qin Dynasty had a job to do. He immediately went out with reconnaissance cavalry to search for the eldest princess, Liu Kangang, Liu Xiaomao and others all over the country. In order not to cause commotion among the people, he sent sea arrests to various government offices.
The documents avoided mentioning the names and identities of the wanted criminals, and only said that women traveling with children would be detained.
Let's talk about Peng Jingwei. After escaping from Nanjing, she drove a carriage and ran all the way. She was originally a rich lady. She always went out with a lot of entourage. She had no experience of traveling alone, but the situation forced her to grit her teeth.
To escape for her life, she didn't care where she was in front of her, she just rode fast. The water network in the south of the Yangtze River was dense and roads were extending in all directions. She didn't know how many detours she took before she reached the vicinity of Changzhou Prefecture.
When the sky got dark, Peng Jingwei saw that there were few cars and horses on the road, so she found an open space on the roadside and stopped. She suddenly relaxed and felt that her whole body ached and she was hungry. She climbed into the back compartment and found that she had prepared dry food and water.
There were silver weapons, clothing and other items. Peng Jingwei found a set of men's clothes and put them on, and they actually fit her perfectly. She thought that this was deliberately arranged by Sun Gang. Looking at the dry food, they were clearly her favorite beef jerky and osmanthus cakes, etc. She couldn't help but
There were tears in his eyes. Sun Gang was a good man. Why did he rebel when he said he would?
Liu Kangyang, who was thinking a lot and had been lying down and sleeping, woke up. He opened his eyes and cried loudly. This kind of crying reminded adults that he was hungry. Peng Jingwei panicked. How could she, a big girl, know how to feed a child?
Ah, I clumsily opened a can of condensed milk from Meilin Cannery, mixed it with water and fed it to Liu Kangyang from a milk bottle. I also crushed the sweet-scented osmanthus cake and fed it little by little with a spoon. Liu Kangyang ate a full meal and peed.
Then she went to sleep again. Peng Jingwei took the food but couldn't eat it anymore. This change was too sudden. Suddenly, there was no place for her in the capital. Miss Peng Er, who was once famous in the Zhenguo Palace, now became a fugitive on the run.
, this change was difficult for her to accept, and she couldn't help but cry bitterly as she thought about it.
Just after she cried twice, a shrill howl of wolves came from the mountains in the distance. She was so scared that Peng Jingwei did not dare to cry anymore for fear of attracting the wolf. There was no one in the dark on the official road. The moon was bright and the stars were blown by the cold wind.
The falling will-o'-the-wisps and the howling of wolves were really terrifying. Peng Jingwei quickly drove the carriage forward. She didn't know how long she had been walking in the dark when she suddenly heard the horses neighing and kicking. Peng Jingwei took a look
Ahead, I was so scared that I saw countless green eyes glowing in the darkness.
The wolves came, and they were hungry wolves that had gone through a cold winter. Fortunately, their purpose was just to pull the carriage horses, and they could not care about the people on the carriage for the time being. Peng Jingwei retracted her body back into the carriage and hurriedly went to get the musket. I heard the screams of horses and howls of wolves outside, and two horses were being attacked by wolves.
Peng Jingwei stretched out the fire cannon from the window, aimed at the green eyes and fired. The loud sound and dazzling muzzle flame of the fire cannon scared the hungry wolves, but they couldn't care less about their hunger, and became even more worried. It rushed towards the carriage like crazy. Fortunately, this carriage was a four-wheel arrow-proof carriage specially made by Nanchang. The wooden boards were lined with thin iron sheets. As long as the door was closed, the wolf's teeth and claws would not be able to break through it. However, Listening to the screams of horses being mauled by wolves, Peng Jingwei was so frightened that she was covered in cold sweat and her teeth were chattering.
The hungry wolves were not satisfied after eating two horses. They climbed on top of the carriage and scratched it. Some even reached under the carriage and tried to bite open the bottom board. Some even put their claws into the small window and scratched. Liu Kanghong was also affected by these. The rampant beast woke up with a start and howled loudly. When he cried like this, the wild wolves became even more excited. It turned out that there were still fresh and tender children to eat here, so they scratched the carriage even more vigorously.
Peng Jingwei's spirit was pushed to the critical point, and she suddenly broke out, and her hysterical screams pierced the sky. The decibels were higher than the howls of a hundred hungry wolves. The wolves were stunned, and then they were attacked wildly. They fired fire cannons and fired hard at the outside. In a moment, several wild wolves were shot in the head. The remaining wolves did not bother to attack the carriage. They first dragged the corpses of their companions aside to feast on them. They also fought with each other to remove the wolf corpses. The people being dragged back and forth gradually moved away from the carriage. Peng Jingwei got excited and opened the car door and threw a grenade into the wolves, killing more than a dozen wild wolves on the spot.
But what I never expected was that there was a wolf hiding on the roof of the carriage at this time. Taking advantage of the moment Peng Jingwei opened the door, it pounced on it. Peng Jingwei didn't even look back when she heard the wind. She turned her hand and stabbed Mrs. Orange, a tribute from the Japanese country, deeply. It stabbed into the wolf's belly, but the hungry wolf was so big that it relied on its inertia and still threw Peng Jingwei to the ground.
Now Peng Jingwei is no longer dead as the pretty girl from the Liguo Iron Works a few years ago. In fact, her level of martial arts is very high. A 16-year-old girl spends her days dancing with guns and sticks, fighting in groups, and raising a yard of ferocious beasts. , just play with tigers and leopards when they have nothing to do. What can I say about a mere wild wolf? Besides, this wolf has not eaten much all winter. At this time, his body is weak and his fighting power is not as good as before. He was stabbed randomly by Peng Jingwei and died on the spot. Peng Jingwei also He didn't give up, howling and chopping the wolf into pieces. His crazy posture scared the remaining hungry wolves so much that they didn't dare to come close. They quietly picked up some wolf meat that had been blown up by the grenade and left the terrifying madwoman.