As an officer of the Jin Yiwei, Meng Yeluo naturally knows how powerful this organization is. Outbound investigation is not their strong point, but they are experts at domestic surveillance, tracking and assassination.
Although the emperor was only in his early fifties and was still in his prime, he had to plan for a rainy day. The person who would ascend the throne after the emperor's reign was related to the prosperity and wealth of millions of people. Now the eldest son of the emperor is still the prince of the East Palace, but
This position is not secure and may be squeezed out by the three younger brothers at any time. Behind each prince is a group of people. Even a character like the third prince is supported by people. The battle for the right to inherit the heir is very cruel, with gods fighting,
When mortals suffer, the emperor may not punish his own son, but he is still cruel enough to the people below him.
Under such circumstances, Yuan Feng actually came to the capital in person to wade through the muddy waters, either seeking death or something.
"If they knew you were the King of Xiliang and you didn't even have a chance to escape, why did you take the risk yourself?" Meng Yeluo asked relentlessly with something shiny in his eyes.
There is a reason why Meng Yeluo is so excited. He is the Sizheng of the Jinyiwei Shaanxi branch. Since the Jinyiwei Gansu branch was all killed for no apparent reason, the entire northwest reconnaissance work fell on his shoulders. Shangfeng
He was instructed to find out the details of Yuan Feng, which made him quite conflicted. On the one hand, he was a boss who was kind to him, and on the other hand, he was a brother who lived and died together. He felt torn about where to go, but in the end he chose his brother.
"Thirteenth Lang, you know that I am an orphan. I have had no parents since I was a child. I was raised by my uncle. I live anonymously in Shibalibao. I don't know my origin, my birthday, or even my real name.
.Yes, I am now the overlord of one party, but that cannot change the fact that I am an orphan. One day, a person told me that the mystery of my life experience can be solved in the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty, so I came and I want to solve it myself.
Isn’t it okay to reveal this secret?”
Meng Yeluo was speechless. Yuanfeng's reasons were very strong, too strong to be refuted. The northwest area has always been a place where hard laborers were exiled to serve their sentences and a hiding place for those who escaped pursuit. Yuanfeng's uncle and nephew escaped from the Central Plains.
, and it is very likely that he is burdened with a blood feud, and his whole family was killed. This kind of deep hatred must be avenged, otherwise he is still a human being.
After a moment of silence, Meng Yeluo said: "Okay, give me the clues and I will use my authority to help you investigate."
Yuan Feng smiled lightly: "This matter is more difficult and will cause trouble for you."
"Don't say this if you are a brother. It would be fine if I were just an official of Yushitai, but I am still a member of Jin Yiwei. There is nothing difficult in this world."
"Let's do it this way. I will speak up when necessary. If I use you now, I will scare the snake. Don't mention this matter again. Let's talk about your Highness the King of Qin. I heard that he arrived in Beijing today." Yuan Feng really didn't want to give Meng Yeluo any trouble.
To add to the ideological burden, after all, it is the royal family of the Zhou Dynasty that needs to be investigated, and Meng Yeluo is a minister of the Zhou Dynasty. Doing so is tantamount to rebellion.
Seeing that Yuan Feng did have something unspeakable, Meng Yeluo stopped asking. He just assumed that the opponent was a powerful figure like Mr. Hu or Eunuch Cao. Yuan Feng didn't want to cause trouble for himself, so he said: "
I returned to the capital with the prince. The prince guarded Chang'an for a year and made outstanding achievements. He punished corrupt officials, eradicated the separatist regime, and pushed back the Xiliang army. He will definitely be praised by the emperor when he returns to the capital."
"I have been in contact with both the prince and the prince of Anguo. Their character and ability are far inferior to those of King Qin. There are rumors in the court and outside that the emperor wants to depose the prince and establish a new heir apparent. King Qin has a good chance of winning." Yuan Feng continued.
"I hope so." Meng Yeluo sneered, "Actually, I'm not a member of the Prince of Qin's Palace. I'm just a spy sent by the Jin Yiwei to monitor the King of Qin. The Jin Yiwei has placed personnel around each prince, so I don't know anyone is aware of it. On the one hand, it is for surveillance, and on the other hand, it is also an emotional investment. Who knows which prince is the real emperor? Eunuch Cao has to be absolutely foolproof before he can rest assured. No matter who becomes the emperor, the authority of the Jin Yiwei must be guaranteed, right?"
Jin Yiwei is the emperor's spy, how could he get involved with the prince? Since Yuan Feng already knows his identity, there is nothing to hide. They are all brothers, so there is no need to worry about leaking the secret.
…
When King Qin returned to the palace, he first went to Qianqing Palace to pay homage to his father. He hadn't seen him for a year. His father's temples were a little whiter, but he was still as energetic and unsmiling as before. When his son came back from a long way, he didn't even show his father. With a smile, King Qin waited for him to finish his obeisance before saying, "I'll give you a seat."
Zhang Chengping felt excited. His father was extremely strict with his four sons. Before he was crowned king, he had no chance to sit in front of the emperor. He could only stand and listen to the instructions. Now he can finally sit down in front of his father. This means that my father begins to treat himself as an adult.
After sitting down with a nervous and excited mood, the emperor asked some questions about Shaanxi and Gansu seemingly casually. They seemed simple, but in fact they hid mysteries. Fortunately, Zhang Chengping had a lot of things to do on weekdays, so these answers were clear to him, and he answered them fluently. .
The population and acres of land in Shaanxi and Gansu, the number of troops and horses in the army, the case detection rate in prefectures and counties, the people's sentiments and customs, taxes and corvee were all the contents of the emperor's examination. Seeing that his youngest son answered well, the emperor's serious face finally appeared. He smiled, nodded approvingly and said, "Okay, let's go to Cining Palace and kowtow to the Queen Mother."
King Qin was so excited that he bowed out respectfully, and first went to Cining Palace to pay homage to the Queen Mother. When the old lady saw her long-lost grandson, she shed a few tears, hugged her sweetheart and shouted for a while, and then let him go. Meet the Queen.
The Queen is the Lord of the Sixth Palace. Even if she is not Zhang Chengping's biological mother, she still has to pay her respects first. When she comes to Kunning Palace, she kowtows to the Queen. The Queen holds her dearly and talks a lot, and gives him some gifts, which is just right. It was almost time for the meal to be handed over, and the queen would leave King Qin to have dinner in Kunning Palace.
"The queen is enjoying the meal, and the sons and ministers are supposed to accompany her, but the Changchun Palace hasn't gone to kowtow yet..." King Qin declined politely.
The queen giggled: "I am only thinking about myself. The child has not gone to see his mother yet, so I won't keep you. Go quickly."
Going west out of Kunning Palace, there is Changchun Palace, which is the palace where the fourth prince’s biological mother, Concubine Shu, lives. When he comes to the entrance of the palace, Zhang Chengping hesitates and doesn’t want to go in. Concubine Shu is his biological mother, as well as the second prince and An Le. The biological mother of the princess, but she only loved the second prince. When she and her second brother fought, her mother always blamed herself and would beat or scold her. This situation did not change until she was sixteen years old. It can be said that Zhang Chengping has been around since he was a child. I have never enjoyed maternal love.
No matter what, Concubine Shu was always his mother. King Qin bravely walked into the Changchun Palace, but it was deserted inside. The female official told him that the empress had gone to burn incense in the Buddhist hall in the Forbidden City.
Zhang Chengping was a little confused, didn't his mother and concubine know that he was coming today? Just when he was about to ask, there was a crisp sound at the palace door: "Fourth brother." It turned out to be Princess Anle.
Chuxiu Palace is next to Changchun Palace. Princess Anle couldn't wait for a long time. When the maid in this palace said that King Qin had arrived, she ran over to take a look.
The joy of the brother and sister reunion was beyond words. The age gap between Zhang Chengping and Zhang Waner was very small. I don’t know why, but Empress Shu Fei didn’t like this little daughter very much. Her attitude towards her was the same as towards Zhang Chengping, so the little brother and sister
We have been sympathetic to each other since we were little, and we are very cordial.
"Don't you know I'm here today?" Zhang Chengping asked his sister.
"I know, but the second brother is coming soon. In order to pray for the safety of the second brother, my mother made a wish in front of the Bodhisattva. Today I heard that the second brother will return safely, so she went to fulfill the wish." Zhang Waner explained.
"Oh, I see, then I'll wait here for a while." Zhang Chengping said.
"No need to wait, the concubine has been burning incense for a long time, and she won't be back until dinner time. Besides, the concubine is a vegetarian. Why don't you go to the Chuxiu Palace and sit down, and I will ask the imperial kitchen to make mutton steamed buns for you to eat.
Let’s see if it’s your Chang’an flavor.”
Zhang Chengping hesitated for a while but agreed. If he had not dared to do this before, being so rude, he would have been scolded by his mother and concubine, and he might have even sued his father. Now he is the prince guarding one side.
Now that you are an adult, you no longer need to be cautious to avoid offending your mother.
The two went away chatting and laughing. Unexpectedly, Concubine Shu came back a moment later. When the female official said that the Fourth Prince had gone to the Chuxiu Palace without waiting for her, a trace of indistinct anger appeared on the face of this lady in her forties.
.
…
In the Chuxiu Palace, Princess Anle had prepared a table of so-called northwest-style meals, which were actually made from northwest ingredients and made in the south of the Yangtze River. However, Zhang Chengping still ate them with gusto. He had only lived in Chang'an for a year, but he had lived in this palace for more than a year.
After nineteen years, everything here gave him the warm feeling of going home, not to mention being with his dearest sister.
"The war in Yanyun has not yet been decided. What will the second brother do when he comes back?" Zhang Chengping suddenly asked.
"Fourth brother, you don't know yet. The second brother won the battle, lured the enemy deep, and annihilated more than 10,000 elite cavalry from the Northern Yuan Dynasty who went south to the grass valley. He also rushed forward with light cavalry and went straight to the royal court of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. He beat them to the ground and fled far away into the desert.
North, it will be impossible to go south for a while, so my father called my second brother back."
Princess Anle actually came in and out of the imperial study. She knew a lot about military affairs. I thought that the fourth brother would be happy because of the second brother's achievements, but he was stunned.
"Battle reports always arrive in the capital first, and then report to other places. It's normal for Fourth Brother that you don't know." Zhang Waner comforted her when she saw that Fourth Brother was distracted.
Zhang Chengping suddenly woke up and said with a forced smile: "I was distracted. When will the second brother arrive?"