It's normal for a subordinate to have such thoughts, and He Jiuniang understands his thinking. However, she has other plans, so she still said, "Keeping him around is still useful."

If the Third Prince is dealt with now, wouldn't the Crown Prince have one less opponent?

How can such infighting within the Eastern Court be exciting?

Her subordinates were still young, so she didn't bother with him, hehe.

"yes."

The subordinates felt that what the lady said was correct, so they naturally didn't say anything more and stood aside to listen to He Jiu Niang's arrangements.

He Jiuniang thought for a moment and said, "When you go back, imitate Xun Wang's handwriting to reply to him and refuse him. Tell him in Xun Wang's tone that Xun Wang has been exposed and is being watched by the court. He is too busy to help himself and cannot help the Third Prince for the time being. Once things are completely stable on his side, then take the initiative to contact the Third Prince."

This was a scheme to keep the Third Prince hanging, making him think he always had a backup plan, when in reality his backup plan was already in place.

The main selling point is the contrast, the kind of heart-wrenching pain.

"hiss……"

He Jiuniang gasped, realizing she had been a little too harsh.

However, this only lasted for a moment. After all, compared to what the Third Prince had done before, his own methods were nothing.

His subordinates didn't quite understand, but they still did as he said.

The Third Prince had originally thought that the Prince would agree, but he was surprised when the Prince refused, which made him somewhat angry.

If I hadn't helped him all these years, he wouldn't have been able to live such a stable life and grow up so quickly.

Now that he's fallen on hard times, he's being betrayed by the king after he's been helped. What kind of good deal is that?

Seeing how angry he was, Xinran told him what she had found out: "Master, it is very likely that Xun Wang is too busy to take care of himself. On the day the new emperor of Beiyan ascended the throne, Princess Xiteng was kidnapped. It seems that they were the ones who did it. Princess Xiteng was rescued, but Xun Wang suffered a terrible defeat and has been keeping a low profile lately."

The Third Prince narrowed his eyes and asked, "Does He Jiu Niang know that Prince Xun is her biological father?"

"It seems she knows, but doesn't intend to acknowledge her, and Princess Xiteng was the one she rescued."

This is no secret; Princess Xiteng used to visit the Lu family every day under the guise of repaying a debt of gratitude.

"He Jiuniang is so heartless. No wonder they are father and daughter."

The Third Prince sneered, a hint of self-mockery on his face.

He had previously tried to use the search for the king to restrain He Jiuniang, but he was too young back then.

Xinran remained silent. If it weren't for the circumstances, her investigation would inevitably be linked to He Jiuniang, and she didn't want to hear the name He Jiuniang at all.

She still can't forget the beating He Jiuniang gave her in Jingzhou, and the long, dark time she spent in prison afterwards.

By now, she had accepted her fate. If she wanted to live, she shouldn't go against He Jiuniang, or she would suffer a bad end.

"Since he's in such a precarious situation, let's just forget about it and go back to Dongting first."

The Third Prince had a vague feeling that Xun Wang wouldn't have a good ending. After all, given He Jiu Niang's personality, if she didn't care about the father-daughter relationship at first, she would definitely not be lenient afterward.

If I want to protect myself, it's best to keep my distance. At most, I can only use Xun Wang as a fallback plan, and ask him to lend a hand when I'm really desperate.

"yes."

He readily agreed and withdrew.

In the following days, Lu Baichuan kept taking leave and did not attend court. He sent a batch of weapons to the military camp, but he himself did not appear.

There was a lot of talk outside, saying that Lu Baichuan was getting arrogant and really thought that just because he had a high position and had done a few decent things, everyone would respect him.

For a time, the imperial court was filled with memorials impeaching Lu Baichuan.

The emperor was very troubled. What was wrong with these court officials? They were watching Lu Baichuan all day long, even more strictly than his parents. Didn't they get tired?

"Alright, General Lu has been busy for so long, he deserves a good rest. Stop focusing on him and finding fault with him! I have granted him leave, do you intend to disobey my will?"

The emperor was so focused on the new weapons that he was eager to reward Lu Baichuan that he couldn't bear to punish him.

Furthermore, I took leave a few days ago and brought him back so many nice things, what can I bring back this time?

He's already starting to look forward to it!

The court officials below were heartbroken to see him so unreasonably protecting Lu Baichuan. They felt that the emperor had placed too much trust in the Lu family, and if they had any intention of turning against him, it would be like raising a tiger to cause trouble.

Before he could say anything more, the emperor impatiently said, "If you ministers have nothing better to do, then worry more about how to strengthen the border defenses after opening up trade. Also, the Crown Prince and the Third Prince are still in the capital, so keep an eye on them and make sure they don't cause any trouble. Or, think about how to help the people increase their income and help farmers increase their income; that's more reliable than anything else."

After speaking, he glanced at the eunuch beside him, who immediately shouted, "Court adjourned!"

The emperor couldn't wait for the eunuch to finish his announcement and left in a hurry, which made the court officials very frustrated.

In the end, everyone looked at each other, sighed, and left.

Unbeknownst to them, Lu Baichuan, in order to prevent the people of Dongting from knowing that the people seeking the king had come to the capital, had led his men to ambush outside the city in advance. He planned to deal with the matter outside the city and then secretly bring the people back, so as not to alarm the people of Dongting and cause them to be wary and delay their original plans.

He Jiuniang and Lu Baichuan were preparing to have a second child, so they naturally didn't want to waste their time like this. They were willing to bear the blame to use the excuse of taking leave to do their errands.

"General, they have arrived."

The location given in the letter "Searching for the King" is a manor outside the capital city. This manor was recently purchased and is currently under He Jiu Niang's name, but it is well hidden and cannot be found without careful investigation.

Moreover, Chang Tianhao and the others trusted Xun Wang a lot, so they naturally wouldn't bother to check this information and were completely unprepared.

On the other side, Chang Tianhao and his two half-brothers arrived at the gate of the manor with a group of their stewards. The manor looked quite impressive, which pleased them greatly. They thought that their father must have done well in the capital to be able to set up such a large manor outside the city for their meeting.

The guards at the gate had changed their appearances and were familiar faces to Chang Tianhao and the others. Upon seeing them arrive, they stepped forward to bow and offered to help lead their horses to rest. They also said very considerately, "Young Master, Second Young Master, Third Young Master, and all the lords, our lord has been waiting for you for many days. We are so glad you have finally arrived!"

Chang Tianhao was very happy, thinking that his father must be worried about his safety.

"You've all worked hard serving our lord, here's a reward for you!"

As he spoke, he pulled out the money pouch from his waist and tossed it generously to the guards, telling them to buy wine.

"Thank you, young master!"

The guard seemed very pleased, giving the money bag a big kiss and looking at Chang Tianhao with even more affection.

This guy's rich, we'll definitely have to rip him off later!

The other two young masters were instantly displeased to see him fawning over Chang Tianhao. They glared at him but remained silent.