"This matter has little to do with our family, and we don't have to be at the forefront. Your father rushed to the Western Suburbs Camp just to tell General Shi about this as soon as possible."
Gao said: "General Shi has been a soldier all his life, loyal to his emperor and patriotic. No matter who is behind Guard Lu and the Liang family, he will never let them go if they do something that threatens the safety of the border."
Wei Yunlan nodded.
There is no doubt about General Shi's loyalty.
In the previous life, when the Northern Barbarian Cavalry rushed into the capital, countless people sighed that if General Shi were still alive, Dayong might not have fallen into such a miserable state.
Now that General Shi is safe, Wei Yunlan is not worried that he will tolerate the "evildoers" who dare to steal the border defense map.
What puzzled her was another matter.
Why did the Liang family get involved with Lu Shoubei, and what roles did the Empress Dowager and the Second Prince play in this?
Is Guard Lu the Second Prince’s man?
Many memories flashed through my mind like a passing scene.
Wei Yunlan recalled that in his previous life, the nobles and ministers in the capital all believed that the Empress Dowager loved the Crown Prince, who had lost his mother since childhood, more and preferred that the Crown Prince succeed to the throne. After all, the Crown Prince was personally raised by the late Emperor when he was young.
The Empress Dowager and the late emperor were deeply in love. The late emperor spent nearly half of his life fighting wars outside to expand the territory of Dayong. He never approached women and only loved the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager had been bedridden many times due to excessive worry over the late emperor's military expeditions. After the late emperor passed away, she often shed tears. It was only after she began to study Buddhism that her situation improved a lot.
Everyone in the capital knew that the Empress Dowager doted on the Crown Prince, and everything she prepared for him was one-of-a-kind. Even if all the other princes were tied together, they could not compare to the importance of the Crown Prince in the Empress Dowager's heart.
But this is normal. After all, the prince is the legitimate son of Empress Yuan and was raised by the late emperor himself. The Queen Mother treats him well, as the saying goes, love the person and love his dog.
Wei Yunlan once thought so too.
If she hadn't heard the conversation between Xue Linglong and Chen Feng, she would probably have been kept in the dark.
Who could have imagined that the Empress Dowager, who had always appeared to be close to the Crown Prince, had actually already switched sides to the side of Concubine Ling and the Second Prince in private?
And the Liang family, at the instruction of the Queen Mother, cooperated with the Jinyang Marquis' Mansion, borrowed the "space" in Xue Linglong's hands, and secretly transferred military equipment in the capital to the border.
This is no wonder, as the prince died so early in his previous life.
After all, compared to the Second Prince, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is isolated and helpless. Even his grandmother, whom he respected and trusted, did not love him as much as she appeared to do.
What's worse, the sudden death of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince may be closely related to the Empress Dowager.
Thinking in this way, it is a blessing for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to be far away from the capital and the palace in this life.
Wei Yunlan was talking to Gao when they heard some noise outside the door.
Wei Maolin, who had rushed to the Western Suburbs Camp, had returned. The one who sent him back to the city was General Shi’s confidant in the Western Suburbs Camp, Lieutenant General Lin. Previously, Wei Yunlan and others went to the prisoner-of-war camp to extort information, which was also arranged by this Deputy General Lin.
In addition to sending Wei Maolin back, Lieutenant General Lin had a more important mission when he entered the city this time.
Arrest the Liang family and the family of Lu Shoubei.
"Captain Lu has been detained by General Shi, and the copy of the blueprint is not with him. Fortunately, it was discovered in time, and they only had time to work on the part of the border defense map collected by the City Affairs Office. The copy in General Shi's hand was safe and sound, and no one had ever spied on it."
Wei Maolin, who had been running around for half a day and had no time to have lunch or dinner, muttered to himself as he ate the porridge handed to him by Gao.
"I should have gone half a day earlier, so that Lan'er wouldn't have to deal with the daughter of Lu Shoubei right after returning home and before she had time to rest."
"That's fine. Miss Lu didn't embarrass her daughter." Wei Yunlan asked, "Did they get any information from the interrogation at the Western Suburbs Camp?"
Wei Maolin shook his head and said, "I hadn't heard about it when I came back."
When Wei Maolin came back, Guard Lin had just been captured by General Shi's men. It would probably take some time to get the result of the interrogation.
I don't know how tight-lipped Captain Lu is, and how much useful information can be extracted from him.
"My daughter, remember, the young ladies today said that Lu Shoubei was transferred from the capital last year. Logically speaking... this kind of official position should not be appointed directly from the capital. I wonder which person in the capital Lu Shoubei used to get this job?"
Wei Maolin looked thoughtful, and after a moment he said, "This is not difficult to find out. It will take a few days to find out."
In fact, it won’t take more than a few days.
There was no need to even send anyone back to the capital to inquire about the news. On the evening of the second day, Wei Yunlan learned the latest news from Wei Maolin, who had just returned from his duty.
The concubine daughter of Guard Lu, Miss Lu's illegitimate sister, was a concubine in the house of Concubine Ling's brother. In the middle of last year, she gave birth to a big fat boy for Concubine Ling's brother.
Originally, Guard Lu was just an insignificant centurion in the camp outside the capital. His status rose because of his daughter, and he was promoted successively. Finally, because his daughter gave birth to a child for the Ling family, he was able to come to Beiguan and take up the post of garrison.
These are the facial features of the fifth grade!
From a small centurion to a fifth-rank border guard at the Northern Gate.
It took less than five years in total.
Such a speed of promotion is simply unimaginable without the support of military merit.
From this, we can see how favored Concubine Ling is and how powerful the Ling family is now.
"The Ling family..."
Gao heard this and said with emotion: "So, the people behind this Lu Shoubei are Concubine Ling and the Second Prince?"
"And the Liang family..." Gao's expression was stern. "If the Liang family is involved in this matter, it's either a misunderstanding or a dispute between the first and second houses. Doesn't that mean that the Empress Dowager is also involved with Concubine Ling..."
The seriousness of this matter is no less than the theft of the border defense map.
"Lan'er, you have to inform the people in Tianshu Pavilion about this and let them report it to the prince. Otherwise, if it is true, the prince will be too passive." Gao said cautiously.
Wei Yunlan nodded, "Don't worry, mother. I have already informed Zou Yun about this matter. I think Mr. Xiao will receive the letter in two days."
Gao heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this.
Wei Yunlan frowned slightly.
She felt that things might not be that simple.
No matter whether Guard Lu was the Second Prince's man or the Queen Mother's man, there was no need for him to steal the North Gate border defense map and do something that would endanger the safety of Dayong's border.
After all, those two were the prince and queen mother of Dayong.
The relationship between us and Dayong is one of mutual prosperity and mutual loss. Why would you want to endanger the safety of Dayong?
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