While Wei Maolin was reading the first letter, Manager Xu was talking about what happened in the capital before departure.
Upon learning that Concubine Xian was punished by the Emperor and confined to Yongfu Palace, the Wei family members couldn't help but show a hint of worry between their brows.
"Quickly take a look at what the queen said in the letter." Gao gently pushed Wei Maolin's arm.
Wei Maolin hurriedly opened the second letter.
The content of this letter came from the mouth of Concubine Xian, and was written by the wife of the Crown Prince of the Duke's Mansion after she left the palace.
The letter mentioned that Princess Changning had suffered two miscarriages in recent years and her health was deteriorating. It also explained the dilemma that Concubine Xian was in now, worrying about Princess Changning's safety but unable to get any news from her.
Wei Maolin has always been close to Duke Xu's Mansion, and Wei Yunlan and Wei Mingxuan are also close to the younger generations in the Duke's Mansion. Although Princess Changning, who is now married to the Northern Barbarians, cannot easily leave the palace, she can always see the Empress when she goes to the palace to pay respects during festivals. In addition, they are the same age, so it is not an exaggeration to say that she grew up with Wei Yunlan.
Wei Yunlan still remembers how Princess Changning looked the last time he saw her before she got married.
Her thin body pretended to be strong in front of others, but her eyes were red behind others. She said with despair on her face, "I am afraid I will never have the chance to return to the imperial city again. I will never be able to enjoy the love of mother again in this life. I will have to trouble you to take care of me in the future."
After two miscarriages, her health continued to deteriorate.
With just a few sentences, it is not difficult to guess Changning's situation in Beiman.
Thinking about what Madam Bai had just told him about what happened to the women of Dayong after being sent to the Northern Barbarians, Wei Yunlan felt as if his heart was being tightened.
"Her Majesty wants us to help find out about Changning's situation in the Northern Barbarians?" While asking this question, Wei Yunlan had already begun to think about how to find out about the situation of the Huyan tribe.
Wei Maolin nodded and handed the letter over directly.
Wei Yunlan looked down.
In the letter, Concubine Xian did ask them to, if convenient, inquire about the news of Princess Changning of Dayong in the Northern Barbarians through the merchant caravans from abroad or the captured Northern Barbarian soldiers.
If she couldn't find out, there was no need to force it. She also knew that the Wei family had a hard time at the border and it would not be easy for them to attract attention.
"The Duke means that it is better not to let my cousin get involved in this matter, so as not to give people a chance to talk. Just let me stay in Beiguan for a few days to see if there is any way to find out the situation of the Northern Barbarians." Manager Xu said.
The palms and backs of the hands are all made of flesh and blood. For Duke Xu, he is naturally closer to his biological daughter, Concubine Xian, but he also treats his nephew Wei Maolin sincerely.
He did not want to put Wei Maolin in a difficult position because of Concubine Xian's request, but he also did not want Concubine Xian, who was sick with longing for her daughter, to have her hopes dashed. That's why he specially sent his steward Xu to come to Beiguan in person.
"Now that we know about it, there is no reason to sit back and do nothing." Wei Maolin shook his head. "Manager Xu, you can stay at home for the next few days. I will first find a way to ask someone to go to the Western Suburbs Camp to ask about Changning's matter and see if we can get something out of those prisoners of war."
"My cousin..."
Just as Manager Xu was about to speak, Wei Maolin continued, "I have made some acquaintances with some colleagues in the City Affairs Office recently. I am just asking around. It won't cause any trouble."
After hearing this, Manager Xu stopped trying to persuade them and just stayed in the small courtyard in Jingping Lane for the time being.
The night is hazy.
Zou Yun arrived a little later than usual and climbed into the house through the back window.
"Sorry, something delayed me for a while."
"Miss Wei, today I will teach you a new hidden weapon."
As Zou Yun spoke, he took out a bamboo tube from his sleeve.
Wei Yunlan took it, opened it and saw that it was full of silver needles.
Compared with the one that Doctor Yu used when giving acupuncture to Miss Bai Si, it is slightly thicker and longer.
If you look closely, you will see that the pointed end of the silver needle is not smooth, but has a cross engraved on it.
"This is where the poison is hidden." Zou Yun introduced, "This set of silver needles was specially made by the Tianshu Pavilion's craftsman department. It was designed this way to prevent people from accidentally getting contaminated with the deadly poison when using it."
“I see.” No wonder it looks ordinary at first glance, but is full of mysteries upon closer inspection.
After learning how to use hidden weapons from Zou Yun for more than a month and practicing hard every day in private, Wei Yunlan has made a lot of progress compared to more than a month ago.
At least now, the flying knives and coins she threw could accurately hit an apple thrown up from three meters away.
"Silver needles are more powerful and easier to carry. Miss Wei, you can try it first to see if it works well."
After briefly teaching how to use the silver needles, Zou Yun picked up a fruit on the table and gently threw it into the air.
Wei Yunlan picked up a silver needle and threw it at the fruit.
At such a close distance, the silver needle failed to pierce the center of the fruit as she had expected, but only flew past the skin.
"The silver needles are lighter and require higher wrist dexterity." Zou Yun demonstrated to Wei Yunlan several times how to exert force correctly.
After trying dozens of times, Wei Yunlan was finally able to make the silver needle hit the center of the fruit.
Afterwards, Zou Yun asked Wei Yunlan to try to attack a moving person with silver needles.
The room was not big, and Wei Yunlan was a little worried, "Will he hurt you?"
"No." Zou Yun shook his head and said, "Miss Wei, just go ahead and practice. Although my body movements are not as good as those of the top Yu Department members, they are much better than those of the ordinary people."
"Okay, be careful." Wei Yunlan flicked his wrist and threw out a flying needle.
Zou Yun dodged them nimbly, and when some were difficult to dodge, he caught them with his sleeves or fingers.
Worried that Wei Yunlan would be discouraged, Zou Yun said, "I was able to dodge it completely because I was prepared in advance. If you are careful and unintentional, these flying needles are difficult to defend against."
"Miss Wei, go on."
Wei Yunlan took a deep breath, tried his best to put aside the distracting thoughts in his mind, turned his wrist again, pinched the silver needle and threw it in the direction of Zou Yun.
At the corner, Zou Yun, who should have dodged the silver needle, lost his concentration for a moment and was nearly stabbed in the back by the silver needle. He barely managed to move to the side at the last moment. Although he was not stabbed by the silver needle, a bloody mark was scratched on his arm.
“…How are you!”
"Ningshuang, go get the medicine for wounds." Wei Yunlan hurriedly ordered Ningshuang who was guarding the door.
Then he stepped forward and looked at Zou Yun with concern.
Her intuition told her that Zou Yun was not in a good condition today.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Wei Yunlan asked while applying medicine on Zou Yun's arm.
Zou Yun was silent for a moment, then looked up at Wei Yunlan, with unrelieved sorrow in his eyes, and whispered, "Something happened."
"The Pavilion is unable to contact Yu Qi and his men who infiltrated the Northern Barbarians!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
