Xue Lian, the second son of Marquis Wuding, was appointed as the inspector of Xingzhou and led 100 soldiers from the Shenshu Camp out of the capital.
On that day, the wife of Duke Xu and the wife of the Crown Prince submitted a sign to the palace.
The virtuous concubine received the two in Yongfu Palace. After dismissing the palace maids, she asked, "Is everything going well? I heard that His Majesty has pardoned my cousin's punishment."
"It went smoothly." Lady Xu said, "Maolin's memorial came at the perfect time. A day earlier or later would not have been as good as the perfect timing. His contribution is not small. Your Majesty not only exempted him from punishment, but also exempted the Wei family from the suffering of corvée at Beiguan. As long as they do not leave Beiguan, Your Majesty will allow them to move freely."
"That's great." Concubine Xian showed a relieved smile on her face. A few days ago, I heard from Concubine Ling that her cousin from her natal family had escaped from the exile team without permission and was about to die. She was terrified.
She repeated what Concubine Ling said that day to the wife of Duke Xu and the wife of the Crown Prince, and they were also shocked.
Lady Xu patted her chest in fear and said, "It was a close call. If this memorial had not been sent at the right time, it would have been too late by the time His Majesty really issued the decree to deal with Mao Lin."
After all, the emperor never jokes. Once His Majesty orders severe punishment, this order cannot be taken back.
"As for Maolin, as long as we can reach Beiguan safely, there is nothing to worry about for the time being." Lady Xu was more worried about her daughter than her nephew. "Are you doing well in the palace? I see that you seem to have lost a lot of weight recently."
The virtuous concubine raised her hand and touched her cheek. She seemed to have lost some weight. Even the palace maid said when she was dressing up this morning, "Your Majesty has not looked well these days."
"What happened in the palace?" Lady Xu Guogong asked in a low voice, "But what did that person in Qionghua Palace do to you?"
The queen in charge of Qionghua Palace is Concubine Ling, who has been favored by the emperor for many years.
Although she was not crowned as queen, she had the final say in Emperor Xiaoming's harem and was even more powerful than the former empress.
"It's not her." Concubine Xian shook her head, her voice was very soft and revealed a sense of weakness.
Seeing this, the wife of the Duke of Xu asked worriedly, "Did any news come back from Changning?"
The virtuous concubine's face turned pale, and her lips, which looked a little purple due to the loss of blood, trembled slightly.
Even if he didn't answer, the Crown Prince's wife and Duke Xu's wife could tell that he had guessed it right.
Lady Xu asked anxiously, "What happened to Changning?"
Concubine Xian held the armrests of the chair tightly with both hands, closed her eyes for a moment, and then sighed and said in despair, "Changning lost a child."
"What?"
The wife of Duke Xu and the wife of the Crown Prince were both surprised, and then the surprise turned into full of pity.
The eldest princess, Changning, born to Concubine Xian, was sent to the Northern Barbarians as a marriage alliance by Emperor Xiaoming four years ago.
Changning had just reached the age of 15 at that time, and Emperor Xiaoming married her to the leader of the northern barbarians who was nearly 40 years old. At that time, the eldest child of the Northern Barbarian leader was much older than Changning.
Less than half a year later, news of Changning's pregnancy spread back to the capital.
When Emperor Xiao Ming was drunk, he once joked in the harem that he would support Chang Ning's child to ascend to the throne in the future and firmly control the Northern Barbarians in Dayong's hands.
It was a pity that the child died unexpectedly when he was less than three months old in Changning's womb.
The letter that came back said that the child fell because he slipped and fell accidentally.
Emperor Xiaoming said, "It's unlucky."
Concubine Ling said sarcastically, "You can't even protect a child."
Only Concubine Xian felt that the child might not have been lost accidentally.
Now, three and a half years later, news that is almost identical to that year has been reported back. Concubine Xian is becoming more and more suspicious that this is not an accident at all.
"The child was deliberately taken away by the Northern Barbarians."
Concubine Xian gritted her teeth and spoke out her guess, "The Northern Barbarians don't want Changning to give birth to a child with the blood of the Great Yong."
If this is the case, the so-called marriage is not sincere at all.
It was just a temporary peace that Emperor Xiaoming bought with his daughter and a large amount of treasure.
Once this "stability" is broken again, the first to bear the brunt will not be the people of Beiguan, but Changning who lives in the tents of the Northern Barbarians!
…
Xue Lian had already changed into his official uniform, and, taking his men with him, he left the Marquis Wuding's Mansion and headed straight for the north city gate.
Also inside Xuanwu Gate, people in the Jinyang Marquis Mansion, which was only separated from the Wuding Marquis Mansion by a wall, were also discussing the matter.
The wife of Marquis Jinyang, Qin, said rather indignantly: "Why was this task given to the second son of Marquis Wuding? How is our Feng'er worse than that boy? If Feng'er were allowed to go, he would definitely be able to do the job beautifully and get a position when he returns..."
"Alright, stop talking." Marquis Jinyang interrupted impatiently, "This is not an easy job. Why do you think those old foxes in the court pushed this matter to Xue Lian? It's because he is from the lineage of the former crown prince, and they want him to die!"
"Hiss..." Qin took a breath, "In that case, it's a good thing that our Feng'er was not chosen."
"Isn't it? Do you think it's so easy to go to the bitter cold land in the north?" Marquis Jinyang stroked his beard and shook his head. "Our Feng'er is not from Wei Maolin's family. Why should we suffer this?"
Just one courtyard away, in Qifeng Courtyard, Chen Feng was also thinking about what he had just heard from his father.
This was the first time he heard news about the Wei family after nearly a month.
Xue Linglong was flipping through the account book in her hand. After a long while, she still hadn't heard Chen Feng respond to her question. She couldn't help but feel a little annoyed, "Are you listening to me?"
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