A few days passed like this. During these few days, Prince Hongyu invited Zhao Hongrun and his family to have dinner at the Prince's Mansion in the city almost every day.
The guests accompanying the banquet also changed every day. They were either Cui Yong, the prodigal son of the Cui family of Suanzao, Shi Rong, the head of the Chenliu Shi family, or outstanding figures from other nobles of the Yong Wang Party.
Although the banquet was enjoyable, Zhao Hongrun still didn't get much actual results after several times - he never got the chance to talk privately with the prince Hongyu. When he arrived at the prince's mansion every day, he was dragged to drink until midnight.
Either Prince Hongyu drank so much that he fell unconscious, or Zhao Hongrun himself was poured wine by those people and became extremely drunk.
Gradually, Zhao Hongrun also noticed that on the one hand, Prince Hongyu wanted to continue to win over him, but on the other hand, he was worried that he would cause a dispute between the two of them if he mentioned the Smelting Bureau and the Bingzhu Bureau, so he worked hard to run this kind of wine shop.
Zhao Hongrun had no chance to talk to him in private - after all, it was not easy for Zhao Hongrun to ask Prince Hongyu about the Smelting Bureau and the Weapon Casting Bureau in public.
In addition to these wine bureaus, Prince Hongyu also frequently sent people to deliver gifts to Prince Su's Mansion.
These gifts are not all expensive, but they are quite meaningful.
For example, Prince Hongyu made a new robe and felt that the robe felt good, so he ordered someone to sew another one and send it to Prince Su's Mansion; or Prince Hongyu got a novel toy and never forgot Zhao Hongrun.
Tou then ordered some of them to be sent to Prince Su's Mansion; even dishes that Prince Hongyu thought were delicious would sometimes be sent to Prince Su's Mansion.
It has to be said that Zhao Hongrun was quite touched by this kindness, but while being touched, it also made him feel an inexplicable burden.
Today, the Crown Prince Hongyu ordered one of his clan guards to deliver a box of jewelry, saying that it was given by Crown Princess Cui to the two daughters Mi Jiang and Queer. Zhao Hongrun declined several times, but in the end he could not resist the other party's kindness.
I reluctantly accepted it.
Taking this wooden box to the female family's dormitory, Zhao Hongrun handed the wooden box in his hand to Que'er.
"Is it from the Prince's Mansion again?" At this time, Mi Jiang was sitting on the side of the couch, breastfeeding her son Zhao Wei. She glanced at the exquisite wooden box in Zhao Hongrun's hand and asked curiously.
Zhao Hongrun nodded and said, "It was given to you two by Crown Princess Cui."
Mi Jiang frowned and said expressionlessly as always: "Let Wei Jiao and the others return it later. I always feel bad about accepting other people's things one after another..."
At this time, Que'er took the wooden box and put it on the table. She took out the lid and took a look at some jewelry inside. Although the few jewelry inside the wooden box might make many young women in Wei become obsessed with it, there was something on her face.
No expression at all.
Think about it, after all, before marrying into Prince Su's palace, Zhao Que and her sister Zhao Ying were the adopted daughters of King Yi Zhao Yuanli, and they had arranged nightingales for the latter. They had also seen them before, so how could they lose their composure because of these gadgets?
No, she randomly picked a few large sauvignons from the wooden box and let the little guy grab them and play with them. The beads, which looked like morning glow, made the little guy giggle.
"It's just a few small ornaments. Madam doesn't need to be so taboo, but..." After pinching the little guy's face affectionately, Que'er turned to Zhao Hongrun and said, "I see that the relationship between His Highness and the Crown Prince is not that good.
It’s so good according to rumors…”
Zhao Hongrun was stunned when he heard this, and asked in confusion: "Why do you say that?"
After looking at each other with Mi Jiang, Que'er whispered: "I feel that the prince seems to be very cautious in maintaining the friendship with His Highness, and the same is true for His Highness..."
Hearing this, Mi Jiang also nodded. It seemed that she had a similar feeling.
"..." Zhao Hongrun opened his mouth, then excused himself to say goodbye to the two girls and returned to the study.
After returning to the study, Zhao Hongrun couldn't help but think carefully about Que'er's words.
Indeed, as Que'er said, Prince Hongyu was very careful to maintain his friendship with him, and even used the trick of "small favors" - I think back then, when Zhao Hongyu was still King Yong, even if he didn't invite him every now and then.
Zhao Hongrun arrived at that time
When they attended the banquet at Prince Yong's Mansion, they did not give anything valuable as gifts, and the relationship between them was still close. But now, although Prince Hongyu invited Zhao Hongrun to have a drink and have fun with him the next day, Zhao Hongrun felt that the relationship between them was no longer as close as before.
.
This is a feeling that cannot be described in words.
"...Is it because we are already on guard against each other?"
Zhao Hongrun held his forehead with his hands, sitting at his desk and thinking deeply.
At the same time, in the East City of Daliang City, Zongwei Gao Kuo and Mu Qing dressed up as local rangers, and were wandering around surrounded by several Green Crows also dressed as rangers.
Gao Kuo and Mu Qing were not just idle and hanging around, they were just waiting for the eunuchs to be hired as eunuchs - eunuchs who were responsible for purchasing vegetables, fruits, meats and all other uses in the palace.
In fact, two days ago, Gao Kuo had already ordered one of the leaders of the Green Crows, "Crow Five", to find a way to get in touch with the eunuch of the inner chamberlain. After all, when Crow Five was still in Daliang, the Blue Crows actually
I frequently met with the eunuch who served as the chamberlain's supervisor.
Of course, these eunuchs who serve as internal eunuchs refer to the eunuch Tong Xian's family, commonly known as the "Eastern Eunuchs". In the past, they were mainly responsible for meeting the needs of the palace and serving as the eyes of Emperor Wei. In short, they were to assist Emperor Wei.
The eunuch Qi Gui who had a conflict with Ya Wu in Dunqiu County was deployed by the great eunuch Feng Lu, commonly known as the "Western Eunuch". He was mainly responsible for assisting the queen in managing the harem and rarely appeared outside the palace.
Unless there is a special mission.
What he didn't expect was that Ya Wu searched the city for several days. Although he met a group of procurement eunuchs from the inner chamber, they did not recognize each other and felt very unfamiliar. In desperation, Gao Kuo had to go out on his own. After all, he
The connections in Daliang are not comparable to those of Ya Wu.
And when Gao Kuo was nibbling a piece of fruit in the street, suddenly a man dressed as an ordinary person came over and whispered: "Master Gao, we found it. It's over there at Li Tu's shop."
After hearing this, Gao Kuo finished the fruit in his hand in several mouthfuls, threw the shell away, wiped his hands with his sleeves, and said in a low voice: "Let's go!"
After a while, Gao Kuo, Mu Qing and others arrived at Li Tu's shop.
The so-called Li Tu, in layman's terms, is a pig butcher named Li. However, later this guy's business became big, and he spent money to establish a relationship with the eunuch, specializing in supplying meat to the palace, and he himself became one of the people in the area.
Li Zheng is quite famous among the folks in Dongshi Township.
At least Sun Luo, who was born as a ranger, did not dare to provoke the opponent in the first place.
When Gao Kuo and Mu Qing arrived in front of Li Tu's butcher shop, they saw a strong man with a round waist and thick arms, wearing bright clothes, talking to a eunuch with a feminine face.
"...Eunuch Liu, if there is something lacking in the palace, you only need to send someone to give the order, why do you need to go there yourself?"
However, the eunuch named Liu Eunuch looked a little unhappy and said slowly: "Li Tu, we are not talking about you. The meat you have sent to the palace recently is of better quality."
It’s getting worse…”
"How could it be?" The strong man lowered his eyebrows and said submissively: "The meat sent to the palace by the villain is all carefully selected, and I would never dare to pass it off as inferior quality..."
"You mean our family is tricking you?" Eunuch Liu said with a gloomy face.
"How dare you, little man?" The strong man wiped his forehead with his sleeve, then took out something like a gift sheet from his arms, and stuffed it into the hands of Eunuch Liu quietly.
Seeing this, Eunuch Liu's face softened a little, and he scolded Li Tu a few more words without any pain. Then he turned around and watched Li Tu's men loading the meat onto the trailer.
And just when he turned around, he suddenly saw a man dressed as a ranger standing at the entrance of an alley beside the road, and this man was quite familiar to him.
"Why is he here?"
After waiting for the figure in the alley, a look of struggle flashed across Eunuch Liu's face, but in the end, after taking a look at the guards who were maintaining order around him, he deliberately rubbed his hands and said, "This wind is still blowing."
It’s really cold. Hey, wait until it’s ready to be shipped, and we’ll go over there to take shelter from the wind.”
After that, he calmly came to the entrance of the alley and stood with his back to the alley.
Not long after, Eunuch Liu felt someone approaching from behind, and then someone whispered: "Eunuch Liu, you are well."
"Is it Mr. Gao Kuo?" Eunuch Liu asked in a low voice.
As soon as he finished speaking, the person behind him said: "It's Gao... Mr. Liu, could you please take a step to speak?"
Eunuch Liu glanced at the guards in the distance and said in a low voice: "No." After that, he was afraid that Gao Kuo would be angry, so he explained in a low voice: "Master Gao, it's not that I don't give face to you, but in fact I accept the punishment of those guards."
Surveillance, talking to the master like a slave, is also a huge risk..."
Behind Eunuch Liu, Zongwei Gao Kuo frowned and lowered his voice and said: "Eunuch Liu, can you think of a way to let some of Gao's brothers sneak into the palace?"
When Eunuch Liu heard this, his expression suddenly changed and he quickly refused.
Seeing this, Gao Kuo's eyes turned cold and he lowered his voice and said calmly: "Eunuch Liu, why don't you help me with this small favor?"
Eunuch Liu was forced to have no choice but to say: "It can only be done by one person. I will think of a way."
After hearing this, Gao Kuo showed a satisfied smile on his face and lowered his voice and said: "One day, there will be good rewards!"
After saying this, Gao Kuo left quietly.
After realizing that Gao Kuo had left, Eunuch Liu pretended to tidy up his clothes as if nothing had happened.
About an hour later, after the group of imperial guards escorted a cart full of meat back to the palace, one of the leaders of the Green Crows, Crow Five, dressed as a young eunuch, followed Eunuch Liu.
A side door of the palace sneaked into the palace.
When they came to a deserted place, Eunuch Liu pulled Ya Wu to a corner and nervously warned: "Don't cause trouble and cause trouble for me..."
Seeing that there was no one around, Yaowu smiled and patted Eunuch Liu on the arm, saying: "Don't worry, even if something happens, I take you away from the palace, I can still guarantee that you will be prosperous and wealthy for the rest of your life, and have no worries about food and clothing.
"
Eunuch Liu thought about it carefully and felt that it really made sense, so he nodded helplessly.
Seeing this, Yaowu straightened his expression and lowered his voice and said: "Okay, now tell me, where is the Manna Palace?"
Eunuch Liu then pointed in a direction and told Crow Five what he knew about the change of guards in the palace.