$490: Disposal of Concubine Li

"It's not just because of this. We will have a war with the Tatars sooner or later. The Zhu family members who followed the caravan out also have a mission. He is our forward sentinel. Do you understand?" Su Xinyi said slowly.

During the national mourning period, the Tatars were ready to move at the border. Zhangping Prefecture sent the memorial to the capital in an urgent manner. Why did the caravan leave the capital again not long after returning to the capital?

That's because if His Majesty wants to go to war with the Tatars, he must seize the initiative first.

Therefore, adding the Zhu family members with combat experience to the caravan at this time is definitely the best choice, and it can also appease the queen mother. Why not?

When Yan Junchu discussed this with her, Su Xinyi agreed.

Zhu Chanyi's heart was beating. No matter how good her personal relationship with Xinyi was, she never asked her for help or to seek anything in the court affairs. They were friends, and she didn't want this friendship to deteriorate.

But now Xinyi has given such a good opportunity to the Zhu family. So many people are staring at the caravan, who would have thought that such a big pie would be given to her?

"Xinyi..." Zhu Chanyi stood up suddenly, "Don't worry, I will ask my grandfather to pick out the best people in the clan to travel with the caravan."

"Of course I trust you." Su Xinyi smiled, "Originally, my two cousins ​​came back this time, and I planned to leave one person behind, but now there is an emergency, and they have to continue to go with us. It just so happens that they are experienced, and with your family, this trip will surely be very fruitful."

Although Su Deng and Su Li are also from military families, they have not had the opportunity to hone their skills on the battlefield in order to avoid suspicion in recent years. The Zhu family is different. With Duke Zheng, whenever there is a war, the sons of the Zhu family have the opportunity to hone their skills.

So this time, the two brothers Su Deng have figured out the route outside the pass, and with the rich combat experience of the Zhu family's children, they may really bring them a surprise.

Su Xinyi herself has repeatedly read the caravan's revised maps, and Shang Junyan has discussed it with her several times, but it is not advisable to talk about war on paper, so this time the caravan sets out again, and the task on its shoulders is heavier than ever before.

Zhu Chanyi suppressed her excitement and left the palace, returning to Prince Rong's mansion. Unexpectedly, she ran into Prince Rong who had returned, and hurriedly pulled him into the study to talk.

Prince Rong was stunned at first after hearing what Zhu Chanyi said, and then said, "This is a big deal. Su Xinyi is so generous this time that she actually gave the opportunity to the Zhu family?"

Zhu Chanyi didn't know whether to laugh or cry after hearing what Prince Rong said, "What do you mean by so generous? The Queen is very good."

Prince Rong curled his lips, obviously disagreeing. When their Queen rolled up her sleeves to fight, she was also quite fierce.

"This is a serious matter. So, you should go back to your parents' home first, and I will go there later."

"Your Highness will go there too?"

"Of course." Prince Rong nodded. "The Zhu family has never traveled with the caravan, so they don't know much about what's going on. I'll talk to them in detail, so that they can cooperate with Su Deng and the others."

Zhu Chanyi understood and smiled at her husband, "Okay, I'll listen to you."

Prince Rong was very proud of his wife's words. Look at how powerful his husband is. He is not like his elder brother who is henpecked!

The court is still arguing about the selection of concubines next spring. What's the point of selecting a concubine? Aren't they afraid that their daughters will enter the palace and become a target for Su Xinyi one by one?

"By the way, I'll call Mu Xing as well." Prince Rong suddenly said another sentence.

"Lord Mu? Isn't he on duty in the Three Thousand Camp?" Zhu Chanyi naturally knew Mu Xing. He was a famous figure in the army. After all, he was once a famous killer in the martial arts world. In the end, he abandoned the dark and joined the light. Not only did he succeed in joining the army with his merits, but he has now become a centurion.

"What's wrong with being on duty? I can just say hello to Qin Guansheng." Prince Rong didn't take it seriously. "Mu Xing is someone the queen trusts. This kid is tight-lipped and thoughtful. Let him go and talk to the Zhu family about the caravan. He knows more than I do. But this kid has a strange temper. You should say hello to your family first and pay attention."

Zhu Chanyi said, "Lord Mu's temper is also famous. I heard that someone ridiculed him for being a killer. He ended up competing with someone with a sword and should have knocked him down."

Speaking of this, Prince Rong was proud. "That's not right. Those grandsons don't even look at who brought up Mu Xing. How can Su Xinyi, that tigress, bring up a cat? Isn't this asking for a slap in the face? It's what they deserve!"

Zhu Chanyi:...

Seeing that Prince Rong finally cheered up in complaining about the queen, unlike the frightening depression he had in the past few days, Zhu Chanyi was silent for a moment, and then said, "Let's go now, the sooner the better."

Prince Rong said, "Okay, you go back first, I'll go to the Three Thousand Camp."

This means he will personally lead people, Zhu Chanyi understood, and the couple acted separately.

At this time, Su Xinyi met her cousins ​​Su Deng and Su Li in the palace. It is really not easy to meet them now. The caravan encountered the death of the previous emperor when they returned this time. Su Xinyi was busy with the funeral and naturally had no time to meet them. Now she couldn't help but sigh when she saw them.

Looking at the shallow scar on Su Deng's face, Su Xinyi was silent for a long time.

Su Deng smiled when he saw it, "Don't be sad, madam, these are minor injuries. The scars won't be noticeable in a year or two."

Su Xinyi felt even more sad. Others only saw the glory of the caravan, but didn't know the risks involved.

Thinking of what Yan Junchu had said to her, Su Xinyi felt closer to her two cousins. However, her mother hadn't mentioned it yet, and she didn't know if she was willing, so she had to put it aside for the time being.

Su Xinyi explained the details of this trip in detail, "Your Majesty means to focus on planning the marching route. The Zhu family will join the caravan this time. The Zhu family's children have been following Zheng Guogong to fight on the battlefield. He is very experienced in these matters, and the two cousins ​​will definitely benefit a lot from communicating with him more. "

"Zheng Guogong's Mansion?" Su Li said in surprise.

Su Xinyi nodded, "Yes, cousin Li, what do you think?"

Su Li shook his head, "That's not true. I have always heard that Zheng Guogong manages a family as well as an army. He has been a famous name for a long time. I am very happy to have the opportunity to learn from each other this time."

Su Xinyi could tell from Su Li's words that although he respected Zheng Guogong, he did not feel that his family was weaker than the Zhu family. Su Xinyi liked this kind of confidence and arrogance, and naturally his family could not lose the prestige of his own family.

Su Deng looked at Su Xinyi and said, "What do you mean, Your Majesty asked us to be the vanguard to fight against the Tatars?"

"Of course we won't start a war at the moment, but that day won't be too far away. The Tatars have been provoking Southern Qi, and now the late emperor is on the march. When you come back from outside the customs this time, the day when you will send troops is not far away." Su Xinyi said solemnly.

Su Den's expression became solemn. This was a great opportunity for the Su family. He thought about it and said, "Madam, I think it's better to ask Su Qi to go with us this time."

Now that the Su family has a queen and a prince, as a maternal family, they cannot continue to hide their power and bide their time. They have to support the queen and the young prince. This battle with the Tatars is just the time for the Su family to regain its prestige. great opportunity.

Su Xinyi didn't expect Su Deng to say this, and she understood what he meant in a flash. After thinking about it, she said, "I will report this to Your Majesty, and we will discuss it later."

Suden nodded and didn't try to persuade her any more. His cousin was a very thoughtful person, so all he had to do was mention it.

It was rare to see family members. Yan Junchu also came during lunch and had a family banquet. During the banquet, the matter of leaving seclusion was inevitably mentioned again.

Su Xinyi said to Yan Junchu: "I have already said hello to the seventh brother and sister of the Zhu family, and someone will be selected in the next two days."

Yan Junchu was really too busy, so he left these things to Xin Yi, and said with a smile: "This is the best. Zheng Guogong is a measured person and will definitely choose the right candidate." After saying this, he looked at Su Deng and Su Li said, "The Zhu family has quite a lot of experience in marching and deploying troops. This trip is a good opportunity to learn from him."

Su Deng and Su Li naturally nodded in agreement, wondering what His Majesty meant. After thinking about it, they still felt that the Zhu family could not be the only one in the court. It was the best for the Su family to stand up and fight against the Zhu family. good result.

After Su Deng and Su Li left, Su Xinyi and Yan Junchu also returned to the dormitory to take a nap. Su Xinyi looked at him and said softly: "I'm afraid some people in the court will be dissatisfied if you revive the Su family so quickly."

Yan Junchu sneered, "Ayuan, you are my wife, and it is natural for me to support the Yue family. Besides, the Su family was once a great contributor to the Southern Qi Dynasty, and now they compete with the Zhu family in the court. This is also something that civil servants like to see. Mr. Zheng Guo is an old man. Jing, you will understand what I mean.”

Su Xinyi understood. This was to ask the Su family and the Zhu family to adopt a posture of not giving in to each other, so that the civil servants would feel that they had a balancing force.

She was happy when she thought of this, "It seems to work."

"That's natural. It will be fine for at least five years." Yan Junchu also smiled.

Su Xinyi sighed, "Yes, it will be fine in the short term, but what happens in the long term depends on your own choices."

The higher the power, the easier it is for people to lose their minds. It remains to be seen how it will last in the long run.

Su Xinyi naturally hopes that both the Su family and the Zhu family will be well, but as a queen, she will definitely not be able to grow out of the palace in the future, so she dare not say anything about the future of the two families.

The two lay down side by side. Yan Junchu took Xin Yi into his arms and said, "Let's sleep for a while."

Su Xinyi nodded slightly, "Okay."

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard Yan Junchu's long and gentle breathing, and fell asleep in the blink of an eye. Su Xinyi knew that he had been having a hard time, so he closed his eyes.

The caravan leaving the capital did not alarm anyone, but there were many informants in the capital, and the news that the Zhu family was involved in the caravan spread like wildfire.

The Duke of Zheng's mansion is still the same, even if someone comes to inquire about the information, the Zhu family has a very strict reputation. They only say that they are acting under orders and say nothing else, and there is nothing others can do.

After the caravan left Beijing, only the Zhu family had a bite of this piece of meat, but considering the Queen Mother and Prince Rong in the palace, it seemed to make sense, so they could only wait for the next opportunity.

Since they were unable to get involved in the caravan's affairs, everyone became more active in the spring draft. Seeing that winter had not yet entered, people here began to talk about the draft.

Su Xinyi just laughed when she got the news in the palace. She knew that Yan Junchu had his own ideas.

Sure enough, when the courtiers brought up the matter of the draft, Yan Junchu not only refused to answer the question, but instead brought up the matter of Concubine Li's murder of the prince that he had been suppressing.

Because of the late emperor's great deeds, this matter was shelved. Now His Majesty is finally going to deal with it. There is also a bloody storm in the court, and the courtiers related to the Li family can't help but panic for a while.

The former Concubine Li has now been demoted to a talented person, living in a cramped palace, and all the people serving around her have been replaced, and they are not very respectful to her.

Li Cairen heard the footsteps and raised his head, and saw the Queen Mother walking in slowly. She didn't move, she was still sitting there.

The Queen Mother did not mean to blame her. She looked down at Mrs. Li, who was dressed in plain clothes, and then said slowly: "Li Cairen, your Majesty is going to reiterate the smallpox case today. Do you know?"

Li Shi froze, but she had been fighting with the Queen Mother for many years and refused to bow her head at this time, so she kept silent.

The Queen Mother chuckled lightly, "You have been fighting with the Ai family all your life, and your current ending is something you didn't expect, right?"

Mrs. Li sneered, "The cunning rabbit is dead and the lackey is cooked. Do you really think the Queen Mother will be filial to you?"

"You don't need to sow discord. What happens between the Ai family and the Queen is something you can no longer interfere with." The Queen Mother was not fooled and looked down at Li, "How do you think Your Majesty will deal with the Li family and Prince Xiang? "

Mrs. Li's heart tightened. She didn't want to make the Queen Mother proud, so she kept silent.

The Queen Mother didn't seem to care whether she spoke or not, and said to herself: "Master Li has been a veteran of three dynasties, but it's a pity that the Li family was wiped out in the evening. He actually came up with the vicious method of using smallpox to kill the prince. Your Majesty only has such a son. Do you think he can spare the Li family lightly? If the late emperor was here, he might have had some respect, but now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, the last bit of dignity the Li family has lost. "

"What are you going to say?" Li had a bad premonition.

The Queen Mother laughed loudly, "Oh, by the way, you are trapped in this small palace now. How can you know the news outside? The Ai family will kindly tell you that just today, Taishi Li was seriously ill and fell into a coma, and the imperial doctor has not arrived yet. People are gone.”

Li was startled for a moment, then turned pale, "Impossible, impossible, you must have lied to me!"

"How could the Aijia lie to you about this kind of thing? It really can't be true anymore. Li Cairen, Taishi Li is gone, and your biggest supporter has fallen. How do you think His Majesty will deal with you and Prince Xiang?"

"Prince Xiang is the late emperor's son, your Majesty cannot deal with him!"

"Princes who break the law are guilty of the same crimes as the common people."

"Prince Xiang and Ben didn't know anything about this, he is innocent!"

"What if you, a biological mother like you, are innocent? No egg will be left intact after the nest is overturned."

"You can't do this!"

"The Ai family is going to do this. Do you think I want to keep Prince Xiang behind? Mr. Li, after all these years, we finally have a winner between you and me."