Lu Zheng followed Rong Zhen unwillingly as they walked in the back hill of Fengguo Temple. He had never expected that he would run into this master just when he came to burn incense. He also didn't know what he was doing there. Thinking that Ye Wenguan lived in the palace, he came to see Chen again.

Lu Zheng's heart tightened, and he couldn't help asking, "Uncle Nineteen, what brings you to Fengguo Temple?"

"You didn't call me wrong this time." Rong Zhen looked at Lu Zheng's face with regret, and scared Lu Zheng so much that he quickly covered his face. He laughed out loud, "At the beginning of every year, His Majesty comes to Fengguo Temple to burn incense, so I naturally have to come in advance to greet Master Le Chen." Seeing that Lu Zheng was still a little nervous, he deliberately asked, "Why? Is there anything else I want to do?"

"No." Lu Zheng answered quickly, and realized that he spoke too quickly, so he quickly made up for it, "Is that Mr. Ye your friend?"

"Which eye of yours saw that he was willing to be my friend?"

"..."

"By the way, I heard that you have a good relationship with the new leader of the Red Armor Guard?"

"Jian Yu?" Lu Zheng just remembered that he promised Jian Yu to help him find out about his biological father, but recently the affairs of the Lu family occupied all his mind. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Jian Yu.

Rong Zhen glanced at him: "Why do you look like a treacherous man who gives up after starting something?"

"..."

Lu Zheng felt that it was really difficult to communicate with this prince, so he simply shut up and walked forward vigorously, but he heard the voice of the King of Chu from behind.

"Okay, I won't tease you anymore."

Rong Zhen had long legs and big steps. He seemed to be neither hurried nor slow, but he didn't fall behind the fast-paced Lu Zheng. Seeing that Lu Zheng's forehead was sweating, he couldn't help shaking his head: "The Duke of Ying is a family of military generals after all, how come you don't have any martial arts skills at all?"

Speaking of this, Lu Zheng was also a little depressed. Although his eldest brother was born as a civil official, he also practiced martial arts since he was a child. Even his eldest sister-in-law had a set of whip techniques passed down from the family. Only he was too weak when he was young, and he couldn't bear the hardship when he was older. In addition, his mother and grandmother spoiled him, so now he can't even do some fancy boxing and kicking.

Seeing his depression, Rong Zhen stopped talking and talked about the recent major events in Yanjing, and inadvertently mentioned the Lu family's case.

Lu Zheng didn't think too much about it and just expressed his own speculation.

"The murderer in these two cases should be the same person, a woman. She is meticulous, bold, and good at disguise. She should have knowledge of medicine. She committed two crimes in such a short period of time and used the same poison, which shows that she is very confident that she can manipulate everyone. She is very conceited about her plan..."

At this point, Lu Zheng realized that his inference was wrong. If the other party was really such a conceited murderer, she must be very obsessed with her killing method, just like the many murderers in history who regarded killing as an art. However, judging from the scene, apart from being poisoned by the same poison, the killing method was completely different, and the murderer did not leave any identical marks.

Rong Zhen was originally listening to Lu Zheng's analysis, but found that he suddenly stopped, so he couldn't help but ask: "Why don't you continue?"

Lu Zheng frowned and said unconsciously: "Something is wrong... There must be something wrong."

Rong Zhen grabbed Lu Zheng, who was almost hitting a tree, and said with a smile: "Even if you want to think about the problem, you have to at least look at the road."

Lu Zheng was a little confused, and the original inspiration in his mind was scared away.

Rong Zhen had been at the border for many years and had always looked down upon those spoiled young masters in Yanjing. However, when he saw Lu Zheng's silly look, he did not feel disgusted as he had imagined. Instead, he showed his rare patience and asked, "As you said, the murderer was able to enter the ancestral hall and poison the hair oil of the eldest lady in the mansion. His identity must be not low, right?"

Lu Zheng nodded.

"There won't be many women who can meet this requirement. In this case, we can just torture them one by one and we will find out."

Lu Zheng looked at Rong Zhen in shock and blurted out, "Isn't this torture? This is simply... simply taking human life lightly!"

Rong Zhen narrowed his eyes, and the coldness emanating from his body at that moment made Lu Zheng's hair stand on end, and he took a step back unconsciously.

As if realizing that this was not the Northern Frontier and that the other party was not his subordinate, Rong Zhen softened his expression, looked at Lu Zheng who was still afraid, and smiled: "My dear nephew, remember to think before you speak next time." Lu Zheng

stared blankly at Rong Zhen as he passed him, and smelled a faint pine fragrance at the tip of his nose. He suddenly realized that this was not the modern era of freedom of speech, but... the ancient times of taking human life lightly.

He thought he had accepted his new identity and could survive in this era, but Rong Zhen told him that he still had a lot to learn.

Because of the stall incident, Lu Zheng was a little depressed in the second half of the trip, and Rong Zhen didn't really plan to go to the mountains and enjoy the scenery with him, so he took a quick turn and let him go.

Ye Wenguan was in a bad mood, so he went back first after throwing his sleeves. Therefore, only Song Zhiyi was waiting for him in the room, fanning himself in a coquettish manner.

"Hey, did you see the little squirrel?"

Rong Zhen glanced at him indifferently: "That's the third young master of the Duke of Ying's Mansion, don't shout."

"Only the governor is allowed to set fires, but the people are not allowed to light lamps. Why can't I shout when you shout?"

Rong Zhen was too lazy to pay attention to this guy who was afraid of chaos in the world. He sat on the chair and poured a cup of tea.

Seeing that he had no intention of speaking, Song Zhiyi became anxious and quickly sat opposite him and asked: "What do you think? Is this kid qualified?"

Rong Zhen did not comment.

"You..." Song Zhiyi begged for mercy, "Okay, okay, I get it. I won't call him little squirrel anymore. Tell me now."

Rong Zhen put down the teacup, shook his head and said, "It's still a little short of maturity."

"What do you mean?"

"He has some skills, but unfortunately he is too young and too reckless." Rong Zhen curled his lips, "After a few more years of experience, maybe he can be useful."

Song Zhiyi was immediately disappointed: "Alas... I was so optimistic about him before."

"It doesn't matter. I've waited for so many years. I can afford to wait a few more years."

"What you mean is..."

Rong Zhen sighed: "I was too arrogant before. The situation in Yanjing is chaotic now. It is not appropriate to cause any more trouble at this time."

Song Zhiyi was still a little unwilling, but he also knew his temper. He knew that he would never sit idly by and watch the country in chaos for his own selfish reasons. He could only helplessly say: "Yes, yes, I'll do whatever you say."

At this moment, there were two "knock knocks" from the door, followed by Nie Zhishu's low voice: "Master, there is news from the northern border."

Song Zhiyi went to open the door, and Nie Zhishu walked in with a letter, but his expression was not very good.

Rong Zhen took the letter and his expression gradually became serious.

Song Zhiyi looked at the two of them and couldn't help asking, "What happened?"

Rong Zhen put the letter on the table, and Song Zhiyi immediately picked it up and read it. After reading it, he immediately cursed: "This Jie people's Sixth Prince is too disgusting! He actually wants us, the Great Xia Dynasty, to help him seize the position of the Great Chanyu!"

Nie Zhishu also cursed: "Selling the country for glory!"

"Big guy! It's rare for the two of us to agree!"

Rong Zhen shook his head: "From another perspective, if we help the Sixth Prince, we can legitimately intervene in the Jie people's military and political affairs, which will be beneficial whether it is peace talks or war. However, it all depends on how Your Majesty decides."

"How can this be done!" Song Zhiyi said angrily, "We have fought the Jie people for so many years, and the two sides have long formed an irreconcilable hatred. If Your Majesty agrees, won't you be in a difficult situation in the end?"

Rong Zhen didn't say anything. Song Zhiyi seemed careless, but in fact he was very thoughtful. In fact, he also thought clearly that if the Sixth Prince really surrendered, the whole court would probably agree. Not to mention how much military expenditure could be saved, the peace in the Northern Frontier alone would be a great achievement for all ages.

Nie Zhishu also considered this point: "Yes, Master, if we really negotiate like this, how will you and the Northern Frontier Army deal with each other in the future?"

Song Zhiyi narrowed his eyes: "Why not just go all out and directly--" He made a killing gesture at his neck.

Nie Zhishu nodded: "This is a good idea. Now the Northern Frontier is almost under the control of General Su. As long as the master sends a message back, he will be killed quietly before he even gets close to the city wall."

Rong Zhen glanced at the two of them and immediately suppressed their excitement.

"We'll talk about this when we get back."

"But..."

Rong Zhen warned them again: "No one is allowed to make decisions on their own. If the Sixth Prince dies, no matter who did it, you two will both go back to the Northern Frontier."

Song Zhiyi knew that he always kept his word, so he could only agree honestly.

Rong Zhen had already stood up: "Let's go back to the palace first."

Song Zhiyi sighed, but after taking two steps, he saw Rong Zhen stopped where he was. His eyes lit up: "Have you changed your mind?"

Rong Zhen ignored him and said to Nie Zhishu: "I remember there was a palm-sized crossbow in the armory?"

Nie Zhishu nodded: "But didn't you say that thing is not of much use, so you just threw it into the warehouse."

"Find it out and send it to the Duke of Ying's Mansion."

Nie Zhishu didn't understand why the topic suddenly jumped to this, but he still responded dutifully.

Song Zhiyi smiled with an "I know" expression: "Why don't I

go and deliver it for you, Your Highness? You have to let the young master know whose intention it is." Rong Zhen looked at him coldly: "Okay, after delivering it, you can go to the northern border to accompany Su Dai."

Song Zhiyi was immediately shocked.

Nie Zhishu scratched his hair and suddenly felt as if he knew something extraordinary.