Jiuxi

Chapter 169 Chapter 168 [The entanglement of fate]

Heluo Xicheng, Zhuoyuan.

In the afternoon, Qingyu Huaijin woke up from a nap. A pair of shallow pear dimples appeared on her cheeks as white and tender as jade, and her eyebrows carried a somewhat lazy breath like the spring breeze.

After entrusting the matter of dealing with the Seven Star Gang to Wang Shidao and Li Shouzhen, she returned to Heluo two days ago and met with some more important people, including envoys from several Green Forest gangs in Beidi.

Although the Seven Star Gang is the leader of the Green Forest Gang, the strength of other gangs such as the Yunfu Village and the Jinsha Gang cannot be underestimated. Of course, she cannot just focus on one place. She must coordinate the efforts of all parties and try to eliminate the opposition forces in the Yan Dynasty as soon as possible. , laying a solid foundation for Jing Chao's next plan.

Qingyu Huaijin quickly stood up, washed his hands and face, and then changed his clothes while the maids waited on him.

She likes to wear men's clothing when walking outside. It's not that she deliberately pretends to be a man. She just thinks that men's clothing is simple. She doesn't even have to modify her makeup, so that others can tell her identity as a woman at a glance.

After a while, she put on a palace dress with silver silk, ink, snow and jasmine, with a double-breasted waist and a carved jade hairpin inserted diagonally on her temples. She moved her lotus steps lightly as she moved, creating a natural and charming charm.

After coming to the corridor and playing with the mocking parrot for a while, Qingyu Huaijin walked towards the waterside pavilion in the northeast corner of the garden with a smile.

She sat next to the railing and raised her slender hand, and a maid respectfully presented the celadon covered bowl.

"This Jingting Green Snow tastes good. Go tell the people in the palace and ask them to prepare more."

Qingyu Huaijin took a brief taste and then handed the bowl back.

The maid took it with both hands and said softly: "Yes, Your Highness, I will take care of it later."

Of course she knew that the "palace" mentioned by the princess meant the Imperial Palace of the Yan Dynasty, and this tea called Jingting Green Snow was a tribute from the Yan Dynasty court.

Qingyu Huaijin used two more snacks and fed the fish in the pond for a while, then turned to look at the man waiting outside the pavilion and said calmly: "Come closer and talk."

The man was in his thirties, his name was Xiao Jun, and he was the leader of a secret force around her.

Qing Yu Huaijin's power is roughly divided into several aspects. One is the several armies sent by the Jing Dynasty in the territory of Yan. The commanders are all generals led by Qing Yu Gong. Naturally, they are respectful to the princess. Plus, she is willing to obey her orders as long as it does not harm Jing Chao's interests.

The second is the Procuratorate, which is ostensibly commanded by Wang Shidao. In the past ten years, Jing Chao has been adding sand to it. The identities of some people have been discovered by Wang Shidao, and some are hidden deeply. These people have been there for a few years. Before that, he was handed over to Qing Yu Huaijin by Qing Yu Gong.

The third one is the Jianghu Caomang, including the Ninth Chapter of Wu Bang, who can play a very good role in checking and balancing various civil forces.

The fourth is the core guard composed of Jinglian clan masters, part of which is led by Xiao Jun.

Xiao Jun, a tall man with a resolute face, came to the pavilion and saluted meticulously.

Qingyu Huaijin asked: "Is there anything unusual in Heluo City during this period?"

Xiao Jun bowed his head and replied: "Back to your highness, everything in the court is as usual, and there is no disturbance in the public. According to the reports from our informants placed in the Political Hall and the Privy Council, after the previous large-scale adjustments, the Yan Kingdom's court successfully entered During the stable period, all that is needed is for the person chosen by the prince to take control of the power step by step."

"There is no need to act too hastily on the part of Yu Yuchen. We have to leave some dignity to these older generations. Let him continue to stay in the position of right servant, which can also appease people's hearts."

Qingyu Huaijin said leisurely, and then his eyes narrowed slightly: "Will Chen Jingtang still be at peace after resigning?"

Xiao Jun said: "He has never shown any resentment or dissatisfaction to the outside world. He just indulges himself in romantic places. Most of the children of the Chen family are quite content."

Qingyu Huaijin showed a hint of sarcasm: "That's all. This large-scale adjustment will definitely cause panic in the Yan court. As the former deputy privy envoy, Chen Jingtang is nothing if he just buys drunken brothels. It's up to him. Just go. During the next period of time, my focus will be on the Green Forest gangs in the north. As long as there are no abnormalities such as private connections in Heluo City, you can handle ordinary minor matters on your own."

Xiao Jun agreed, but hesitated a little.

When Qingyu Huaijin saw this, he asked, "What else can I do?"

Xiao Jun reported: "Your Highness, there is news from the south that Lu Chen, the captain of Ruishi Camp in Huaizhou, Southern Qi, has disappeared."

"Disappear?" Qingyu Huaijin frowned slightly.

Xiao Jun said: "Yes. Since this person was awarded the title of Captain of Ruishi Camp last year, he has been training soldiers in the camp outside Lai'an Fucheng. However, this person has not appeared again since nearly a month ago. . Our people originally thought that he was hiding in seclusion due to the cold, but after repeated inquiries, we found that this person was indeed missing."

Qingyu Huaijin remained silent, pressing his white fingers on the wooden frame of the railing.

Although she didn't want to admit it, she also knew that the young man named Lu Chen was growing into Da Jing's enemy.

Before that, there were not many Southern Qi officials who were qualified to be regarded as enemies of the Jing Dynasty by her. The two chief governors of the border army were naturally included. Chen Lanyu, the former commander of the Zhenbei Army, was also included in this list. The same goes for the prime minister, but these people are all experienced and important ministers, while Lu Chen is just a young man of weak age.

It just so happened that this young man had a very hard life.There is no need to go into details about what happened in Guangling City. The secret agents of the Procuratorate suffered a great loss at the hands of this person, and the subsequent fighting on the battlefield failed to kill Lu Chen.

Qingyu Huaijin repeated: "Disappear...Has the Southern Qi border army made any moves recently?"

Xiao Jun replied: "The Jingzhou Governor's Mansion has been focusing on stabilizing the defense line recently, while the Huaizhou Governor's Mansion has shown signs of adjusting its military strength and subordinates. The focus is on increasing the garrison at Panlong Pass. However, it cannot be ruled out that this is Xiao Wangzhi's official position. Suspicious formation. Generally speaking, the Southern Qi frontier army has no obvious counterattack plan."

Qingyu Huaijin's eyes were indifferent, because she hated this kind of situation that was beyond her control.

The whereabouts of a mere Nan Qi captain was not something she would have cared about at first, but two masters from the Procuratorate failed to assassinate Lu Chen in the Nan Qi capital, and because of previous entanglements, her murderous intention towards Lu Chen had risen to second only to Xiao Wang. The level of Zhi and Li Tianrun.

Suddenly, she remembered the people she had met on the official road, as well as the more than twenty men who died mysteriously in the wilderness, and the murderer Dian Kuang said might be the Xiuzhong Qiankun Yu Chigui who had disappeared for many years.

For some reason, she always felt that these things were somehow related.

With this in mind, she calmly issued an order: "You should sort out and send over the records about Lu Chen archived within the Procuratorate. In addition, send someone to Huaizhou in Southern Qi to inquire about the situation of Lu Chen and the Lu family. Can you find out some new information?"

Xiao Jun responded: "Yes, Your Highness."

Qingyu Huaijin waved his hand, and Xiao Jun immediately retreated.

She slowly leaned against the railing, supported her smooth jade chin with her right hand, stared at the fish swimming in the pond, and murmured to herself: "It is not a good thing for a young man like you to live a long life."

……

Inside the ordinary-looking house in Nancheng.

Lu Chen was sitting in front of the big case in the study. There were several thick piles of information on the table, most of which had his marks on them.

The Weaving Department's work efficiency is quite efficient. Although they have not been able to penetrate into the core area of ​​Beiyan Chaotang so far, they have been quite effective in gathering intelligence.

What Lu Chen had to do was not easy. He had to sort out the essentials from the complex information and analyze the structure of the Northern Yan court, as well as the positions and connections of most of the important officials.

Yin Shangfu and Tan Zheng stood aside, waiting quietly.

After a long time, Lu Chen put down a document, pinched his eyebrows, and said to Yin Shangfu: "How many people do we have in Heluo City currently?"

Yin Shangfu replied without thinking: "There are 82 people in total, 13 of them have been lurking for a long time, and they have official status in the puppet Yan court. Although their official positions are not high, Lord Tiju has said that they cannot be contacted unless it is absolutely necessary. .”

Lu Chen nodded slightly. At this moment, he couldn't help but think of Gu Yong and Ning Li whom he had met in Huaizhou.

Wait, Ning Li...

Because Li Xuan'an died at the hands of Lin Xi, he escaped back to Beiyan by chance. It is said that he was not punished. Instead, he was reused by Wang Shidao and became an important official within the Procuratorate.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Chen said softly: "Help me check on an official from the Procuratorate named Ning Li. Be careful and give up if something cannot be done to avoid attracting the other party's attention."

Yin Shangfu nodded in agreement.

Lu Chen raised his hand and tapped the table lightly, his eyes resting on a certain name on the document, and said slowly: "Chen Jingtang must have resentment in his heart after being dismissed from office. The key is how to arouse the anger in his heart. At the same time, we try to avoid our people being implicated.”

Yin Shangfu said cautiously: "Captain, Chen Jingtang and the new deputy privy envoy of the puppet Yan State, Guo Yan, have always been at odds. Can you use this opportunity to start? Now that Jing Chao Qing Yugong has initially completed the adjustment of important official positions in the Yan State, but Guo Yan and others People can’t control everything in such a short period of time, so I think it’s better to instigate Chen Jingtang to stand up, and then use his connections in the puppet Yan army to trigger internal strife.”

"There is no problem with this general direction. The key lies in how to take the first step. Judging from Chen Jingtang's information and life, he is not the kind of character who dares to risk his life to survive. Otherwise, he would not indulge in romance during this period. land."

Lu Chen spoke unhurriedly. He looked at the name on the scroll, with a faint smile on his face, and said leisurely: "If a son is unfilial and his wife is unvirtuous, most men in the world will be limited by this."

Yin Shangfu and Tan Zheng looked at each other, and they understood the profound meaning of this sentence almost at the same time.

He said tentatively: "The captain's intention is to start from the people around Chen Jingtang?"

Lu Chen raised his hand and pressed it on the scroll, pointed his index finger at the name, and said with a smile: "Let us see how much this young man from a noble family in Heluo City weighs."

That name is Chen Qifu, and he is the second son of Chen Jingtang. It is said that he is not good at martial arts, but he is better than his master when it comes to looking for flowers and willows.

(End of this chapter)