At this moment, Queen Zhou came over with more than a dozen maids. Because of the disappearance of the prince Zhu Cihong, Queen Zhou cried every day and looked very haggard.
Although Empress Zhou was hostile to her from the beginning, it was because she threatened Zhu Cixiang's status, which was understandable.
Moreover, Empress Zhou had a good reputation in history, and she was diligent and thrifty in managing her family. If the old lady Cixi in later generations was half as virtuous as her, the Qing Dynasty would not have perished so quickly.
"Your Majesty, Commander Lin Fanlin is back?"
Queen Zhou came over, looked at Chongzhen and asked.
"My lord, Lin Fan, has met the queen."
Lin Fan didn't wait for Chongzhen to speak, then bowed and saluted.
"Hmph! Lin Fan! Do you still have the nerve to come back?
Do you know that you have committed a huge crime! Where is my son?
You went with a hundred thousand troops, why didn't my son come back?"
Queen Zhou looked at Lin Fan and yelled angrily.
Chongzhen said: "Queen, after Lin Fan entered Xi'an City, he went to save the prince as quickly as possible, but it was still a step too late. The prince has disappeared."
"Your Majesty, at this time, do you still want to protect Lin Fan?
Humph! This son has a vicious heart. He must be worried that the prince will steal his commanding position, so he secretly kills him!"
Queen Zhou said coldly.
Lin Fan said in a deep voice: "Queen, the prince's affairs are not my fault, right?
Your Majesty's intention is for him to wait for the arrival of Wu Sangui's 100,000 troops before entering Xi'an City."
"However, Wu Sangui did not respect the imperial edict and came to the capital secretly with a hundred thousand troops. It was I who got rid of Wu Sangui and commanded a hundred thousand troops to go to the rescue!"
"However, the prince was so happy that he had achieved great success. He ignored Luo Yangxing's dissuasion and led 50,000 Jin Yiwei into Xi'an City, causing the Jin Yiwei to lose 40,000 people!"
"I will not hold the prince responsible for the deaths of these 40,000 people."
kindness!
Queen Zhou's eyes widened when she heard what Lin Fan said. She didn't expect that Lin Fan didn't panic in the face of her rebuke. Instead, he slapped a hat on the prince's head.
"You! Are you saying that the prince deserves to die?"
Queen Zhou said angrily.
"Back to the queen, the prince certainly shouldn't die. However, his current whereabouts are unknown, and no one else can blame him. Luo Yangxing was the last person to be with him. If the queen wants to know the prince's whereabouts, it would be more convenient to ask Luo Yangxing!"
"However, Luo Yangxing was seriously injured and cannot walk on the ground at this time."
Lin Fan said neither humble nor overbearing.
Queen Zhou trembled with anger and looked at Emperor Chongzhen and said: "Your Majesty! This man is so arrogant. If you don't punish him, how will you convince all the officials!"
"I also heard that this man raised the price of grain wantonly and sold it to the imperial court five times more than he bought. How can such a person continue to be employed?"
kindness!
Lin Fan looked coldly at Queen Zhou. She was in the harem and selling food had just happened. She actually knew about it. It seemed that some of these officials were moving very quickly!
Emperor Chongzhen was also aware of this matter, but if Empress Zhou had no ability to command the harem, he himself would not believe it.
"Queen, I have investigated this matter. Besides, Lin Fan has made great achievements by capturing Xi'an City. Please don't mention this matter again!"
Chongzhen said coldly.
"Your Majesty! If you don't mention this, I will. If Lin Fan doesn't get my prince back, I will never give up!"
Queen Zhou said coldly.
After saying that, Queen Zhou turned around and left. Lin Fan said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I have also resigned. I will be stationed in the city for the next few days. I will leave when Li Shangshu recruits enough soldiers."
After saying that, Lin Fan turned and left. Of course, the Hubao Cavalry then emptied the treasury, and all the money in the White Tiger Division's Yamen was also attributed to the Hubao Cavalry.
At this time, the officials in the city were full of complaints against Lin Fan. However, there were also some smart ones who noticed the fishiness in this matter.
"Hey! There's definitely something fishy about this!"
Qian Long, the head of the Household Department, said while stroking his beard.
"Master Qian, what's so fishy? Why don't I understand what you mean?"
Zhao Bujin, the Zuo Lang of the Ministry of War, asked in a deep voice.
"Hey! Haven't you come to your senses yet?
Then don’t you think it’s strange that Lin Fan rose from a prodigal son to become the commander of the Royal Guards?”
"Moreover, as an official of the Ministry of Household Affairs, I have never seen the taxes paid by the Lin family, so I have verified that Lin Fan does not have any property in his name. Where did he get so much money?"
"And that Luo Yangxing, who is he?
His Majesty just let an eighteen-year-old boy take over his position as commander, and he accepted his fate?"
"I'm afraid there's something hidden in this matter!"
As Qian Long spoke, he fell into deep thought.
Fei Shihong, the chief secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, said in a deep voice: "This matter is indeed strange. The grain that Lin Fan brought back was increased five times and sold to us!"
"It is a bit far-fetched to say that His Majesty did not attack because of his merits and because of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. After all, the army was at the gate of the palace and so many ministers were there. His Majesty actually supported Lin Fan. This
Very abnormal!”
this……
Zhao Bujin also realized the key point of the matter: "There is also the matter of the prince's disappearance. If someone else fails to save the prince, what do you think your majesty will do?"
"Haha! Of course it's a beheading. Then Luo Yangxing is seriously injured. Otherwise, His Majesty would have asked the Sanfa Si and the people from Dali Temple to interrogate him!"
Qian Long said with a sneer.
"So, the relationship between Lin Fan and His Majesty..."
Fei Shihong was about to speak but stopped.
"My guess is that he is a close friend. Before His Majesty ascended the throne, he was also a popular figure in our Ming Dynasty. Lin Fan can't tell, it's just..."
"This can also well explain why the Lin family has no property, but he can always waste money and still have money."
Qian Long said in a deep voice, but did not dare to mention Lin Fan as a prince.
Zhao Bujin said in a deep voice: "If this is the case, then we must not go against Lin Fan. Now, he is at the peak of his power, and the prince has disappeared again. The third prince Zhu Cican is only twelve years old, and the fifth prince Zhu Cihuan is only twelve years old.
Five years old, this..."
When Zhao Buquan said this, Qian Long made a silence gesture to him and said: "It's enough for us brothers to know about this matter. In short, if Lin Fan wants money from now on, we will give it to him if we have it. It's worth tens of millions."
Don’t do anything wrong with him!”
"Well! We must keep this in mind!"
Fei Shihong said in a deep voice.
The three people pondered this matter, and many officials in the DPRK also had some ideas. For a time, the situation in the capital changed subtly again.