C3

In the Great Gan Imperial City, Phoenix Nest Palace. This was the queen's sleeping quarters, the place where the motherly ceremony took place and the six palaces were governed.

Inside the palace of the Phoenix Maiden Palace, the Qian Huang Yu Yuan Xu and the Empress Lu Xin were sitting facing each other.

Empress Lu Xin, dressed in a red, broad-sleeved gown embroidered with a double phoenix-like pattern in gold thread, with a layer of clouds underneath." There was a butterfly dancing golden hairpin in between the woman's hair. She wore it in a simple bun with a slim and charming appearance. Although he was not wearing a phoenix coronet suit, he was still in a very dignified manner.

"This concubine didn't know that his Majesty was here and didn't have the time to describe it. I hope that Your Majesty will forgive me." Lu Xin smiled and bowed slightly.

"It's nothing. I was delayed by some trivial matters and arrived a bit late, so I didn't have the time to inform you." Yu Yuan waved his hand carelessly.

"What has His Majesty to worry about this festive season?" Lu Xin felt curious.

"It's like this, the mountain Yin Army Commander Zhou Zhishu has already agreed to send a letter to the elders. The commander of the Sky Fire Army, Ning Dairong, has been in office for six years and should be moved according to the ancestral rules. I have already proposed to give him the title of Marquis of War and to transfer him to the Shadow Mountain Troops. As for the Skyfire Commander-in-Chief, he had no idea how the news had leaked out. The prime ministers of the two pavilions had all entered the palace, and the military and the three prefectures had joined in as well. Each had their own choice of person, each had their own argument, and was making a ruckus. "Then, Zhen will throw them in the Han Yuan Palace and continue arguing, hiding at the empress's place for the night."

"Seems like chenqie is going to punish this palace city." Lu Xin's eyes narrowed as she spoke.

Yu Yuan looked at Lu Xin and smiled. He didn't nod or refuse. This was also one of the reasons why their wedding was still harmonious with the empress. Although the empress Lu Xin was born a commoner, she knew the general picture, knew the limits of what she should be, and understood the path of advancement and retreat. She, who had a deep relationship with the Skyfire Army, did not ask who took over the position. Instead, she thought about who had spread the news to the palace. He was obviously dissatisfied with those courtiers and officials who had their eyes fixed on the palace.

"Alright, it's the new year. Let's not talk about those unhappy ones." Yu Yuan Xu picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip. As soon as the cup of tea was placed in his mouth, his eyes couldn't help but light up. "Qin'er, this should be the Six Paths Green Tea that comes from deep within the mountains of the Southern Wilderness. This tea is not common, I wonder where you got it from?"

Seeing that the four-legged emperor in front of her actually had a child's joyful expression on his face, Lu Xin couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh lightly. On one hand, it was because of the emperor's mischievous expression. On the other hand, it was to hide the displeasure in his heart.

Twelve years ago, his eldest brother Lu Chun and his sister-in-law Yu Chuqing had returned to their hometown with their son, who had just turned two years old, to offer sacrifices to their ancestors. However, on the way back, he was intercepted by unknown people and lost track of his whereabouts in Mountain Shadow County. From then on, it was unknown whether he was dead or alive. The next person to take over the position of commander in chief of the Sky Fire Army was his big brother, the Marquis, Wei Jiu.

Six years ago, Wei Jiu was promoted to the position of commander in chief of Imperial guards, and was succeeded by his elder brother's former deputy general, Ning Dahong. Even though his brother Lu Chun had been missing for twelve years, the Skyfire Army still had his name branded on it. With so many people popping out after the commander in chief had adjusted his position, even though the empress dowager didn't ask about the affairs of the country, Lu Xin was still a little displeased in her heart.

After calming herself down, Lu Xin finally opened her mouth and said, "It was a few days ago during the new year celebration. The noble ladies of each palace entered the palace and Marquis Wu An asked his wife to send a few taels of silver in."

"Marquis Wu An, Bai Yi?" Yu Yuan thought about it for a while and continued, "He will lead the Duskgold army to guard the south, but he might be able to get hold of this thing. "However, with such a precious treasure in the mountains, instead of offering it to the sovereign, it actually came to curry favor with the empress. It is simply like having no father in the world, greedy for officials, and deceitful for officials." Yu Yuan Xu pretended to be angry as he said.

In fact, although he had good tea and the six rhymes green tea were also rare, he wouldn't take these small matters to heart. He said those words purposely to make the empress happy, how could he not know the relationship between the Sky Fire Army and the empress?

Moreover, the person who served the tea was Marquis Wu An, Bai Yi, so he wouldn't think too much about it. Who did he trust the most out of all the current ministers? Wu An and Bai Yi, who were the commanders of the Dragonfall Army, and Shen Zhang, who was the commander of the Pan Shi Army, were among the top five. They were his close friends who grew up with him, so how could he not understand their temperament and character?

"In a few days, it will be the best day of the previous Chinese New Year. After the Festival, we will copy it and start our dynasty. By then, Marquis Wu An will probably return to the Southern Territory. Since His Majesty has said that he is a greedy and deceitful subject, why don't we take advantage of Marquis Wu An's presence in the capital and recruit him into the palace so that we can slap him a few times to vent our anger? " How could Lu Xin, who had known her husband for more than twenty years, not know that he was joking? She followed his words and continued.

Those who didn't know that she was doing it on purpose would think that the benevolent and kind esteemed empress really wanted to send a decree to recruit Marquis Wu An into the palace and give him a beating.

Yu Yuan's right hand holding the teacup paused for a moment. Seeing Lu Xin's stiff face just a moment ago and her smile that was like a flower, Yu Yuan laughed out loud.

"Oh you, he just gave you something good, and you sold him out. If Bai Yi knew about this, he would probably call you in his heart again."

"I'll say it in my heart, but this concubine can't hear it. Let him say what he wants." While speaking, Lu Qin picked up a small pot and poured the tea for the Emperor.

"Alright, when I leave tomorrow, load three taels of silver. I'll bring them to Extreme Violet Palace …" Before he could finish his sentence, he saw the gaze of the empress Lu Xin looking at him leisurely, and hurriedly changed his words, "Two taels, no, one tael, one tael seems a bit less, or rather …"

"Chenqie obeys the decree!" Lu Xin hurriedly spoke without waiting for the Emperor to speak again.

"Eh ~" The corner of Yu Yuan's mouth twitched. He picked up the teacup and drank it in one gulp before saying, "How about one tael? If you want to conserve a bit, you can use half a month." "When I return later, I will make an order for Bai Yi to pay the tribute of five catties of six rhymes green tea per year."

"Ten catties?" The Six Cloud Tea Tree is already very rare, and it is very rare every year. It is already rare for the Marquis of Wuan to find two of them. How could he possibly pay ten catties per year? "

"I am the exalted Emperor. I've already given my orders. As for what we're going to do about it, what does it have to do with me?" Yu Yuan Xu carelessly said as he picked up the teapot, poured another cup of tea and carefully savored the tea.

Seeing the Emperor in such a state, Lu Xin shook her head in amusement. He changed the topic and said, "Yesterday, I heard that the sister concubine of the Jing Cui Palace isn't feeling well. I wonder if Your Majesty has seen her?"

"I went to check it out during the day, but it was just that I got a little cold while admiring the plum in the imperial garden the day before yesterday. The Imperial Hospital has already opened a prescription and fried it a few times. It will be fine in just three or five days."

"After the Consort's sister gave birth to Princess Fragrance, she had never been in good health. Since she's now ill, His Majesty should accompany her more."

"Qin'er, you and I have known each other for more than twenty years. We should know that you are the only one in my heart. If it weren't for the sudden disappearance of my royal sister and Marquis Ping, we wouldn't have brought them into the palace in order to stabilize the court." Emperor Yu Yuan Xu seriously looked at the Empress Lu Xin.

Seeing her husband's serious look, Lu Xin was moved, but she still opened her mouth and said, "My Great Gan Empire's emperors have never flourished, and the emperors of Gao and Shi Zong have never conceded to anyone except the empress. Even Wen Zong, Wu Zong, Ming Zong, and Xuan Zong have never held more than twenty concubines, and only about a hundred were concubines under the previous emperor. Compared to the previous seventy-two concubines of the Three Palaces and Six Academies, the palaces that were filled with thousands upon thousands of beautiful women were rather deserted and desolate. I don't know whether or not the historical books of the future will give us empress dowager generations, using the name of a jealous woman. "

Looking at Lu Xin's slightly bitter face, Yu Yuan knew that she must have been under a lot of pressure. It has to be said that even though he was near death's door, he only had two women and one son. For an emperor, this could only be described as having very few children. No matter if it was the imperial court or the court, they would always play a few songs every year, inviting the elder-in-waiting to fill the harem. They were all used by him as excuses for violating the ancestor's rules. One must know that the emperor who founded the country was the empress. She had never been married in her entire life. Currently, there were rumors of people living with Emperor Gao Zong who was not a founding ancestor. Therefore, what was the Great Gan Ancestral System? That was, if the emperor wanted to take in concubines, then he wanted to take in as much as he wanted. However, if the emperor didn't want to, then no matter what others said, it would be of no use.

Seeing the empress's expression, Yu Yuan Xu hurriedly changed the topic. "That's right, Qin'er, why haven't we seen that little girl Tian Xiang in the past few days?"

"This concubine was about to speak of this matter to Your Majesty." When Lu Xin heard the Emperor mention her daughter, she immediately looked up and said, "After the New Year, Tianxiang left a message saying that he was going out on a tour. Ten days have passed, and there still hasn't been any news. Your Majesty, any news from the Three Guards?"

He comforted her, "Tian Xiang has the three elite guards protecting her from the shadows, so there shouldn't be any danger. One must know that with the heavy snow these days, the news must have traveled a little too slowly, so Qin'er doesn't need to worry, I'll send someone to investigate Tian Xiang's whereabouts."

Although Yu Yuan Xu was also a little worried, he didn't pay much attention to it. From the very beginning, every prince and princess would have twelve elite shadow guards, secret guards, and secret guards protecting them in the dark. Those were all Qi Resisting Realm experts who were proficient in concealment, sneak attacks, assassination, poison, and other methods. To be able to injure the princess under the protection of these thirty-six people, it was impossible for them to not dispatch a thousand-man army.

"Your Majesty, in a few more days it will be the first day of the Chinese New Year, it would be better to send someone to retrieve the heavenly incense." Lu Xin thought about what the Emperor had said and felt that it made sense, but she couldn't stop herself from saying it.

At this moment, the head steward, Wang Zeng, pushed open the door and bowed deeply. "Greetings, Your Majesty. Esteemed Empress."

When Yu Yuanxiu saw Wang Zan, she couldn't help but frown. "Wang Zian, didn't I give you half a month to rest your son, allowing you to take advantage of the new year to leave the palace to visit your relatives? "Why are you back so early?"

"Thank you for your kindness, just that..." Saying that, Wang Zan stopped and looked around, only to find that there were no maids waiting in the hall, obviously they had already been dismissed by the Emperor Queen, and continued, "It was Prince Zhongyang who found this old servant, and had me secretly bring him to the palace."

"Yuanpu? It's such a cold day, why did he come here instead of staying in the mansion? Furthermore, he is a prince, not without his palace entrance jade tablet, why would he ask you to bring him into the palace? " Yu Yuan Xu was somewhat curious.

"This ~ ~" Wang Zan's face twitched. He did not know why Prince Zhongyang would use his carriage to enter the palace.

"Your Majesty." At this time, the empress Lu Xin opened her mouth and said, "Prince Zhongyang is in charge of military affairs and martial law. There must be a reason behind his actions. Why don't you come in and ask him?"

"Uh ~ His Majesty, Empress ~" Saying this, Wang Zhe bowed even lower, cautiously saying … "Prince Zhongyang invites Your Majesty to move to the Extreme Violet Palace."

"Hey!" This kid actually wants me to meet him? " Yu Yuanxiu glanced at the steward with a faint smile on his face, causing his slightly straightened back to bend again.

"Alright, let's start then." Yu Yuan Shi said after thinking for a while.

"This old servant obeys the decree." Wang Zang heaved a sigh of relief and quickly agreed.

"Queen, I'll come back tomorrow. Don't worry about the heavenly incense, I'll send someone to investigate." After speaking, Yu Yuan Xu lifted his foot and walked out of the hall.

"Chenqie, respectfully send you off, Your Majesty."

Inside the Extreme Violet Palace, the Zhongyang King, Yu Yuan Pu, was pacing around a huge jade sculpture that was thirty feet long and wide. From time to time, he would glance at the jade sculpture.

The jade carving was a map of the whole city of Dagong, with mountains, oceans, rivers, lakes, woodlands, pastures, swamps, fields, roads, islands, sculptured scenes; the hundred and eight counties of Dagong, 1024 counties, and countless villages, ports, ferries, and passes were also clearly visible. Thirteen years ago, the Qiangan Emperor used several hundred craftsmen to complete this jade carving, and it took several years to complete it. The entire jade carving was a mini version of the Great Gan Empire.

Not long after, the doors to the palace were pushed open from the outside. Yu Yuan Xu walked in, but the steward, Wang Zeng, did not follow him in. Instead, he closed the doors from the outside.

"Yuan Pu, what happened?" Seeing that Prince Zhongyang was about to step forward to pay his respects, Yu Yuan Cheng quickly waved his hand to interrupt him.

The Prince of Zhongyang, Yu Yuanpu, was silent for a while before he took out a dark brown thing from his bosom.

This is a bow?" Yu Yuan Xu took a glance at it, and could easily tell that this was the remains of a bow, probably the part where the bow had been fastened to its end. It seemed like it had been chopped off by a sharp blade. However, when he turned over this fragment, his eyes couldn't help but narrow. On the other side of the fragment, he saw a golden pearl, and on it was clearly carved a male eagle.

"This is … a golden jeweled bow?" "How could this be? How could this be?" Yu Yuan Xu absent-mindedly looked at the piece of golden jewelry bow in his hand and immediately became furious, "Who did this?" Who did it? "Who dares to hurt my princess?" Twenty some years had passed with the universe in hand. The domineering aura of life and death, mixed with boundless killing intent, instantly filled the entire Extreme Violet Palace. That aura shook the entire Extreme Violet Palace to the point that it hummed.

The Golden Jewel Bow was obtained when Marquis Wu Ping, Lu Chun, invaded the Qingyang Kingdom. Legend has it that Bu Lu, the heroine who united the northern plains with her father and brother, was given to the Empress, Lu Xin. When Princess Tian Xiang reached the age of sixteen, she was given a gift by the empress.

"Royal brother, please calm your anger. It's not appropriate for people to know about this matter." Yu Yuan Pu of the Zhongyang King hurriedly said in a low voice as he was caught off guard and forced two steps back.

"Little brother, sit down." Yu Yuan looked at his younger brother in front of him for a while before suppressing his anger. He walked to the side and sat down, leaning against a pillar. Tell me what you know. "

"Royal brother …" Yu Yuanpu organized his words and said, "I, your brother, am in charge of military affairs and military law. A year ago, his royal brother told him that he wanted Marquis Ning to become the commander of the Shadow Mountain Troops. One must know that Marquis Ning is close to his eldest sister and Marquis Ping, and we took great care of each other back then. The imperial brother also knew that Ning Hou had a rough disposition. Chendi was afraid that when he took over the Shadow Mountain Troops, he would be restricted by the underlings. "Therefore, those who are well-prepared in advance, want to —" Before Yu Yuan Pu could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by two clapping sounds.

"Get to the point." Yu Yuan Xu stared at his younger brother.

"Ah, yes." He secretly wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead and continued, "The person my younger brother sent was called Min Wentai. He was Marquis Wen Sheng's youngest brother, and was once serving in the Ministry of Justice."

"Min Wentai?" Yu Yuan Shi pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "You're quite a meticulous and meticulous person."

"What royal brother said is that Min Wentai came from Beijing on the third day of the first month, and from Shanyin County on the seventh day of the first month. After checking, he found that there were 125 corpses buried under the snow, and 16 of them should be from the Three Guards. The remaining 109 corpses didn't have any clues on them, and their clothes, shoes, and socks were all from Shanyin County. However, looking at its appearance and the food in its stomach, it should be the people of the prairie outside of the borders. "

"And Min Wen Tai, he has a tracking master with him this time." He continued, "Min Wentai wrote a letter to mobilize the Military Law Division of the Mountain Shadow Army and continued to trace the traces of the trail. Until my younger brother received the message, the thirty-three experts of the thirty-six guards have been found, and the corpses of the rest of the bandits are approximately four hundred or more."

"Continue." Yu Yuanxu clenched his fists tightly. After a long while, he discovered that Yu Yuan Pu was silently standing there, with a slightly conflicted look on his face as he said in a displeased manner.

"Royal brother, the last few corpses were found three Zhang away from the forest at the outer edge of the mountain. The remaining clues have all been cut off."

Hearing these words, Yu Yuan's hands tightened even tighter. Even his knuckles had turned a little white, and veins could be seen on the back of his hands. After thinking for a while, he said with a slightly trembling voice.

"Have you found any Heaven's Incense?"

"Not yet, but I found a golden hairpin outside of the mountain. I guess Tian Xiang must have entered the mountain." After Yu Yuanpu finished speaking, he took out a golden hairpin from his sleeve. His heart was filled with grief as well. The Eldest Princess Yu Tianxiang was exactly like Eldest Sister Yu Chuqing all those years ago. He doted on her even more than his own children. Right now, the grief and anger in his heart was no less than that of the Emperor.

"Peng!" A fist ruthlessly smashed against the pillar. A crack visible to the naked eye spread upwards with the fist as the center.

After a long while, Yu Yuan finally calmed himself down.

"Yuan Pu, this matter is against my Great Qian Family. The big sister, Tian Xiang today, how similar things ended up. "Even though it's winter and there are many leather traders in the north, I do not believe that there is not a single trace left behind. Let's go investigate."

"Yes."

"Also, Tian Xiang had only left the palace for a few days, and the opposite party has already deployed so many men to set up a trap. How is he going to conceal himself, how is he going to contact them, who is the messenger and who is the mastermind?" He had to find out everything. Although there are external reasons for this, the root of the problem is still within my heart. "

"Chendi obeys."

Watching Prince Zhongyang bid his farewell and leave, Yu Yuan Xu slowly walked to the front of the jade carving and stared at the mountain of no return, lost in thought.