Jian Yang thought for a moment and said, "First, we need to find out who submitted the memorial, and then investigate what their purpose is. I have a feeling that this whole thing is closely related to the previous war."

Jian Hong smiled and asked, "How do you know?"

Jian Yang said with a serious expression, "These people don't submit their memorials earlier or later, but they wait until you win the battle to submit your memorials. It's hard not to suspect that they are angry and embarrassed."

It seems that Jian Hong threatened their interests and ruined their plans, which led them to frantically start smearing him.

Jian Hong smiled calmly and said, "Ayang has indeed grown up. She is so intelligent. She must have taken after her mother."

Jian Yang smiled somewhat embarrassedly. Judging from her brother's words, he must have known about the conspiracy of those ministers in the court for a long time.

At the same time, the emperor was attending court with his civil and military officials.

"Your Majesty, General Jian Hong, the General Who Guards the North, has abandoned his post without being summoned and his whereabouts are unknown. I believe that he must have gone to the Liang Kingdom, attempting to collude with treacherous individuals from another country to carry out a rebellion!"

The speaker was named Lü Xian, an official in the Censorate.

Liang was a neighboring country bordering the northern border.

These words caused an uproar throughout the court.

The first to stand up and refute was naturally Prime Minister Jian.

"You old man, Lü Xian, you're talking nonsense!" Prime Minister Jian, who usually presented himself as a refined gentleman, was fiercely protective of his son and cursed in public, "If it weren't for my son guarding the northern border, your old man's grave would have been dug up by those Liang people!"

Lu Xian was over sixty years old. He was suddenly scolded by Prime Minister Jian, and his heart could not take it. He immediately clutched his chest, and pointed his index finger at him tremblingly.

"This is utterly disgraceful!"

Prime Minister Jian retorted without backing down, "Where was your civility when you were slandering my son?"

Enraged, Lü Xian bowed to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, everything I have said is true. The General of the Northern Garrison is not currently in the military camp. You may send someone to check at any time."

The Emperor said calmly, "I went back, but I'm a little curious as to why Minister Lü insisted that General Zhenbei was plotting a rebellion?"

Lu Xian said, "Since Empress Wende passed away, General Zhenbei has been harboring resentment and has been looking for an opportunity to take revenge on the Emperor. Now that the opportunity is right in front of him, he will never let it go."

The emperor curled his lips into a smile: "It seems that Minister Lü knows the General of the North quite well, even knowing exactly what he's thinking. Prime Minister Jian, tell me, do you understand your son's thoughts?"

Prime Minister Jian raised his voice and said, "Your Majesty, I do not understand."

The emperor then smiled and looked at Lü Xian, "Minister Lü, even General Zhenbei's own father doesn't know what he's thinking all day, but you seem to know it all. It seems you've put a lot of effort into getting General Zhenbei under your thumb."

Lu Xian's face grew paler and paler.

The emperor continued, "Or is it that the reason you understand General Zhenbei's thoughts is because you have a very close personal relationship, and he told you all this in private?"

The subtext is that if Jian Hong is a traitor, then Lü Xian is in cahoots with him.

Lü Xian understood the implication in those words and immediately knelt down in fright. “Your Majesty, I have no personal relationship with the General Zhenbei. I beg you to see the truth!”

Now, not only him, but also other people in the court who were eager to make a move could see that the emperor was determined to protect the General of the North.

If they were to stand up and support Lü Xian at this point, they would definitely anger the Emperor.

Self-preservation is the best policy, and everyone shut up.

However, some stubborn and tactless ministers kept arguing, "Your Majesty, this concerns the fate of the nation. It's better to believe it's true than not to believe it's not!"

The emperor had a real headache dealing with these kinds of ministers who didn't have any ill intentions.

Just then, Zhou Jing'an, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly stepped forward and said loudly, "Your Majesty, I am willing to share your worries."

Everyone stared at him with curiosity.

After the fall of the Prince of Dingbian, this second prince became almost invisible in the court.

He was always present at the morning court session, but he never spoke or expressed any opinions.

Seeing that he was so well-behaved, the emperor let him be.

Unexpectedly, he would step forward at this time.

The emperor looked at him expressionlessly, "Brother, how do you intend to share my burdens?"

Zhou Jing'an said, "Your subject is willing to go to the northern border in person to verify whether the General Who Guards the North is stationed in the military camp."

The emperor scrutinized him for a long time with deep eyes, then nodded, "Alright, then I'll leave this matter to my elder brother."

After the court session ended, the emperor summoned Zhao Ziyi.

"Any news about Jian Hong lately?"

Zhao Ziyi said, "Your Majesty, according to reports from our spies in the army, General Jian escorted the Empress to the south."

Thinking of Jian Yang, the emperor paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "Send people to keep a close watch on the Second Prince's every move. I want to see what he's planning this time."

"But what if the Second Prince goes to the northern border and finds that General Jian is not in the military camp?"

The emperor laughed and said, "Ziyi, you underestimate my elder brother."

Sure enough, three days later, Zhou Jing'an set off from the capital. After passing Juyong Pass, he suddenly turned his horse around and ordered a change of route to water, heading south.

The news quickly reached the emperor's ears.

The emperor sneered, "I thought he had given up on the throne, but it seems I underestimated him."

Standing nearby, Eunuch Zhang asked anxiously, "Your Majesty, now that the Second Prince knows General Jian's whereabouts, does that mean he also knows that the Empress is still alive?"

The emperor pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No, he doesn't know. If he did, he certainly wouldn't have traveled all the way to the south to win over Jian Hong."

At the same moment, Zhou Jing'an was standing at the bow of the boat, looking at the vast river with a deep gaze.

“Wei Cong,” Zhou Jing’an suddenly spoke up, “Ever since we changed our route and headed south, I’ve noticed you’ve been looking rather downcast. Is something bothering you?”

Wei Cong is a newly recruited strategist by Zhou Jing'an. He is resourceful, decisive, and extremely intelligent. Zhou Jing'an is very satisfied with him and takes him with him wherever he goes.

“Your Highness,” Wei Cong said with a furrowed brow, “I have a feeling that the reason why the General of the North abandoned his post is not so simple.”

According to the intelligence they received, Jian Hong's reason for heading south was to escort his beloved woman back to her hometown.

The rumors that he never forgot to bring women with him when he went to war had already spread far and wide and were widely talked about.

Zhou Jing'an volunteered this time in order to go south and win him over.

He believed that after Jian Yang's death, Jian Hong and the emperor would inevitably become estranged.

Previously, Jian Hong was in the military camp and could not get close to him, but now that he has gone to the south alone, it is the best time for Zhou Jing'an to persuade him.

Zhou Jing'an smiled and said, "So what's your opinion?"

Wei Cong said, "I think the woman beside the General of Zhenbei is quite suspicious. I heard rumors that she looks quite similar to the late Empress Wende."