"Girl." Zhu Xiu came to the two siblings, bowed her head slightly and saluted: "Young Master."
Xu Mingyi nodded and asked, "Uncle Zhu, do you want to see me for something?"
Zhu Xiu nodded slightly but said nothing.
Xu Mingshi said promptly: "I still have something to do, so I'll go back first."
Zhu Xiu is the confidant left by Xu Mingyi's biological mother. As a younger brother, even though he cares about Xu Mingyi's affairs, he also understands that he should not have a hand in everything.
"These days, the little man has been secretly paying attention to Mr. Zhan's actions according to the girl's instructions."
Beside the stone wall in the front yard, there was no one around. Zhu Xiu, who was tall and burly, lowered his voice and said: "Mr. Zhan's family is mostly studying at home these days. He gets up before dawn and doesn't fall asleep until late at night. During the day,
He rarely goes out, and there doesn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary.”
Xu Ming thought for a moment.
Zhan Yunzhu already has the reputation of being a scholar, and this year he will take the exam for Qiu Wei. This person is very purposeful in his actions, and it is only natural that he would be so concerned about Qiu Wei——
"But is there really nothing strange at all? If there are other details, Zhu Shuqie will also tell me."
Of course, she also knew that the so-called surveillance could not be carried out without any omissions by Uncle Zhu alone.
"Young Master Zhan really didn't find anything, but Master Zhan did gain something, but I don't know if it will be of any use to the girl."
He didn't know the purpose of the girl asking him to spy on Mr. Zhan, but he was quite thoughtful, and he was not like Qin Wu, who would just work hard no matter what the master ordered -
While ensuring that Zhan Yunzhu would not go out, he spared some of his energy to pay attention to his father Zhan Qian.
"Uncle Zhu, please tell me."
"Zhan Qian, I have personally seen him instruct his confidants to send letters to Xia Mansion at night, as many as three times in half a month." Zhu Xiudao: "From this point of view, the Zhan family seems to have
He seems to be neutral and aloof, and does not form cliques with others, but secretly he seems to have the intention of clinging to Xia Tingzhen."
As for why it is said to be attachment, not effectiveness - how can Xia Tingzhen, the dignified chief minister of the cabinet, take a liking to a humble official?
Xu Mingyi heard the meaning behind his words, but did not agree.
Indeed, there are so many low-level officials like Zhan Qian who want to attach themselves to Xia Tingzhen. If they can get even a little bit of influence through someone in the middle, it would be a great honor for many people.
But Xia Tingzhen didn't take those people into his eyes, and there was only one reason - they had no use to him worth mentioning.
But potential is different.
The Zhan family was very close to the Duke of Zhenguo. Their son Zhan Yunzhu was her childhood sweetheart, and was even taken as a disciple by her second uncle since childhood.
An inconspicuous little chess piece can be of great use if placed in the right place——
She had thought before that if there was no behind-the-scenes driving force, simply occupying a mere family would not be enough to destroy the Zhenguo Palace...
In the previous life, after the collapse of the Zhenguo Palace, Zhan Yunzhu rose to prominence and married Xia Tingzhen's youngest daughter, Xia Xi, which was extremely glorious.
Now combined with what Uncle Zhu said just now, it can be seen that the exchanges between the Xia family and the Zhan family did not happen overnight.
And Zhan Yunzhu has been inquiring about the affairs of the town government through Liu Yi in the past few years...
Up to this point, she could almost conclude that Xia Tingzhen was closely related to the fall of the Duke's government in their previous life.
As for whether Xia Tingzhen did this to exclude dissidents, or whether it was someone's instruction or tacit approval, it is certainly not possible to verify at the moment——
However, judging from what she heard in the East Palace today, it seems that it is not difficult to guess.
A person who can attack his parents and children can speculate on the greatest malice in the world.
After Xu Mingyi told Zhu Xiu some words, he went straight to the Zhenguo Palace.
She should pretend that she had never heard the truth about the prince's murder, but that was only for the outside world——
She could hide this matter from anyone, but she couldn't hide it from her grandfather as well.
She also needs to use this to keep her grandfather alert at all times.
The Duke of Zhen was about to take a nap at this time. When he heard that his granddaughter was coming, he hurriedly went to the outer hall.
The Prince Jing who came to visit today talked too much. In order to make the other party stop talking, he had to persuade him to drink from time to time, so he drank a lot himself.
"Did the queen stay for dinner today?" Duke Zhenguo sat down in the chair and asked with a smile as he looked at the girl who was saluting.
Xu Mingyi nodded and said, "Grandpa, I have something important to tell you."
The Duke of Zhenguo's eyes sobered up a little, and he raised his hand to retreat to the servants waiting in the hall.
He also ordered Qin Wu to keep watch outside.
"Today, my granddaughter went to the East Palace with the Queen to visit His Highness the Crown Prince..."
After Xu Mingyi sat down, he explained the matter simply and concisely.
After hearing this, Duke Zhenguo's face changed slightly, and he asked seriously in a low voice: "Did the prince really say that?"
"My granddaughter will definitely not hear it wrong. Moreover, the prince's frightened state is definitely not similar, and there is no reason to lie."
The Duke of Zhen frowned and was silent for a moment.
Caidao said: "It was not that I had no suspicions before, but I gave up this suspicion after many considerations. The emperor seems to be kind and gentle in dealing with others, but judging from his many actions after he ascended the throne, he is not really a benevolent government.
Therefore, I never regarded him as a benevolent king in my heart..."
"The prince said vaguely that he believed that the emperor regarded Concubine Rong as a stumbling block to the unborn prince because of Concubine Rong's pregnancy." Xu Mingyi said: "But this is just a child who heard some rumors that are not true or false.
, the ideas generated cannot withstand careful scrutiny.”
The Duke of Zhen nodded.
"good."
It is indeed impossible for the emperor to kill the prince because of an unborn child who does not yet know whether he is a boy or a girl.
Even describing this as a precautionary measure seems too absurd.
"If it is true that the emperor planned all this, then his purpose can only be to respect the prince." Duke Zhenguo's eyes darkened slightly: "To be precise, it is to respect the prince."
Xu Mingyi nodded.
She had witnessed the tragedy in Prince Jing's Mansion with her own eyes in her previous life.
"But why did the emperor attack King Jing alone?" She asked in confusion: "The late emperor had four sons, the emperor was the eldest son, and the following three princes, only King Jing was the biological brother of one of his mothers."
She didn't think it was a coincidence.
Also coming to Beijing this time was the Crown Prince of Xiang.
As for King Yan——
Now everyone knows that King Yan has no children.
The Duke of Zhen Guo took two sips of tea and put the tea cup down steadily.
"Maybe it's because of King Yan."
Out of caution, he usually never talks about this with anyone, not even his biological son. But today, since he talked about it with his granddaughter, he wanted to take a closer look at the matter.
"King Yan?"
Xu Mingyi was a little surprised.
What does this have to do with King Yan?
After the incident at Prince Jing's Mansion in the previous life, there was no movement from Prince Yan who was stationed in the north - instead, their Zhenguo Duke's Mansion was involved.
She could only guess: "Grandfather means that the emperor intends to use this to scare and remind King Yan?"
"I'm afraid it's more than that..."
Perhaps thinking about old things, Duke Zhen's eyes gradually became distant.
