Chapter 419 Suspicion Increases
The Holy Ce Emperor ordered the Secretariat to draft an imperial edict to show his great pleasure, and sent gifts such as cloth and jade to Tuyuhun. He also named the new Tuyuhun prince, who was born not long ago and had the blood of the Great Shengming family, Murong Shouping.
"Princess Gu'an lived up to my expectations and gave birth to a prince of my Dasheng bloodline for Tuyuhun." In the study room of Ganlu Palace, Emperor Shengce said with a slight smile.
Most of the officials who were left behind to discuss the matter had already left, and now only the Minister of the Central Secretariat Ma Xingzhou was left.
Ma Xingzhou raised his hand and saluted: "This is a happy event, and I should also congratulate Your Majesty."
The Emperor of the Holy Ce smiled even more deeply, and asked casually, "Speaking of which, it has been more than a year since the marriage of Prince Rong and Li Lu. I wonder if there is any good news now?"
Ma Xingzhou was slightly worried, and he bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, not yet."
Over the past year, Ma Wan has not been able to get pregnant, but for the Ma family, this may be a blessing.
Ma Wan's marriage was carried out with the emperor's expectations, but Ma Wan failed to satisfy the emperor... During the more than one year in Prince Rong's Mansion, she had not found any information that could be considered useful in the eyes of the emperor.
In Ma Xingzhou's opinion, this was probably because the Rong Palace had long been wary of his Ma family's granddaughter. Although the emperor had never directly criticized anyone for this, under such circumstances, it was hard for Ma Xingzhou not to worry that the emperor would develop a grudge against the Ma family and even suspect that the Ma family might secretly defect to the Rong Palace...
And if Ma Wan is pregnant, there will be a more direct interest bond between the Ma family and the Rong Palace, which will inevitably further increase the emperor's suspicion.
Therefore, Ma Xingzhou, who was loyal to the Emperor of the Holy Ce, had reminded his granddaughter of this matter in a letter long ago, and reluctantly handed over a prescription along with it.
“Li Lu’s health has never been very good…” The Emperor of the Holy Ce sighed lightly, then raised his hand and dismissed his attendants.
This is a private conversation.
Ma Xingzhou did not dare to be careless and listened attentively with a solemn expression.
"Ma Xiang knows that now Prince Rong has become famous..." The Emperor of the Holy Ce spoke in a dignified tone with a hint of sarcasm: "He seems to have done nothing, but countless knowledgeable people have joined him. He is growing stronger in 'passivity', and neither I nor the people of the world can find any faults worth mentioning in him."
When mentioning this, Ma Xingzhou's expression was not optimistic.
Even if Prince Rong himself has no ulterior motives, in the long run, the overall situation of the world and people's hearts will push him to the center of the vortex... Will he refuse then?
The next moment, the emperor said in an almost certain voice: "Not only that, there may be a spy around me who has been loyal to him for many years and is hiding very secretly."
Ma Xingzhou raised his head slightly: "I don't know what your majesty means..."
The emperor turned his head slightly and looked at the right side of the dragon table, which was now empty.
Ma Xingzhou was slightly surprised: "Does the sage suspect Yu Changshi?"
"Yu Zeng was my son's confidant when he was alive. He is very loyal and nostalgic. This is one of the reasons why I chose to use him." The Emperor of the Holy Ce said slowly: "And his family members are all under my control. Therefore, after several thorough investigations and purges, I have not been able to truly suspect him..."
Ma Xingzhou couldn't help but ask: "Then why did the Saint suspect that Yu Changshi was involved with Prince Rong's Mansion this time?"
"I have someone investigate and found out that Yu Zeng, who was still a child many years ago, was sold to the capital by a servant before entering the palace. Of the three children sold by the servant, two happened to be sent to the mansion of the then prince of Prince Rong as servants... Only Yu Zeng was sent to the palace."
Ma Xingzhou looked thoughtful. So, before Yu Zeng entered the palace as a child, two of the children who were sold together with him went to work in Prince Rong's Mansion?
"Some people, in order to sell them at a high price, would send good-looking children to the mansions of the rich and powerful or the palace..." Ma Xingzhou said objectively: "Based on this alone, it seems that we cannot conclude that Yu Changshi is related to the Rongwang Mansion."
If this speculation is true, doesn't it mean that as early as more than 20 years ago, when he was still a teenager, Prince Rong had already begun to plant spies in the palace? Could it be that Prince Rong, who is indifferent to disputes in the eyes of the world, has been acting for more than 20 years? "This seemingly insignificant coincidence alone is indeed not enough to prove anything." The Emperor of the Holy Ce said, "Besides this, I have not found any other evidence... If not, I would not have become suspicious of Yu Zeng until today."
She was not a foolish person. On the contrary, she admitted that she was suspicious, and from now on, she would have to continue to be suspicious.
If a spy whose flaws could be easily discovered had been by her side for many years without her noticing it, then this imperial city would have probably already had a new owner.
"I still remember that Cui Jing was assassinated twice, both times while on his way to act according to my secret orders. I have purged officials and eunuchs who might have known about this several times, but after retrial, I still haven't found the assassin..." The Holy Ce Emperor said, "Among the people I can think of now, he is the only one left."
"If it were someone else, I would not be afraid of wrongly killing him for the sake of the country." The emperor's majestic brows revealed a sigh: "But now, there are few people around me who can be trusted. Yu Zeng has helped me a lot over the years. The Palace Office is my second pair of eyes. I don't want to wrongly kill him."
Hearing this, Ma Xingzhou was filled with emotions and just waited for the emperor to continue speaking.
"Therefore, I need Ma Qing to help me verify the truth of this matter."
Ma Xingzhou, who had a premonition, understood in his heart that it was time for him to show his loyalty.
He bowed and saluted: "But I will ask the saint to guide me--"
"I need Ma Qing to deliver a letter to Yizhou, revealing in the letter that I have become suspicious of Yu Zeng, and ask the Crown Princess of Prince Rong to secretly monitor and find out if there is any evidence of contact between the Prince Rong's Mansion and Yu Zeng..."
Ma Xingzhou hesitated and said, "Wan'er alone may not be able to find out anything..."
"I don't need her to find out anything." The Holy Ce Emperor said, "I just need to let the Rong Palace know that she is investigating this matter. In other words, I need to use the Rong Prince's Consort to let the Rong Palace know that I have become suspicious of Yu Zeng."
If her suspicion was true, and Yu Zeng had really been lurking for so many years, then he must have a lot of secrets of the Rong Palace in his hands.
At this juncture, no matter how useful this chess piece is, the Rong Palace will never dare to take the risk of letting Yu Zeng return to the capital alive, in case she uses Yu's family to threaten Yu Zeng to reveal the secrets of the Rong Palace.
Ma Xingzhou felt a chill in his heart.
Therefore, the emperor used the excuse of military supervision to transfer Yu Changshi out of the capital, firstly to be cautious during the investigation, and secondly to confirm the emperor's suspicion to the Rongwang Mansion...
He couldn't help but say, "If everything is really as Your Majesty guessed, and Prince Rong's Mansion tried to kill people to silence them..."
"He is still useful, I will do my best to protect him." The Holy Ceremonial Emperor's tone was unchangeable: "If I really can't protect him, that is his due fate."
Spies are meant to be eliminated. Whether she eliminates them herself or uses someone behind the scenes to eliminate them, the result will always be the same.
She had sent orders to Jiangdu, asking the military supervisor and the imperial envoy to wait in Jiangdu for the return of the anti-Japanese army and Governor Chang. Before the New Year, Yu Zengdu would have stayed in Jiangdu.
If Yu Zeng is really the man of King Rong, then this trip can be regarded as a chance for him and Ah Shang to meet each other for the last time. If Ah Shang is willing to recognize him, perhaps King Rong will soon know of Ah Shang's existence...
If Yu Zeng was a traitor, she wouldn't have to worry about Ah Shang turning against Prince Rong.
A Shang hates betrayal the most. Once he knows that Yu Zeng is the spy planted by Prince Rong next to A Shang, A Shang will no longer have the same affection for Prince Rong as before.
But now that Prince Rong has rebelled, and since A'shang is unwilling to choose him, he will not tolerate the current A'shang.
By then, A Shang will know that the best choice is to return to her.
So, in a sense, she actually hoped that Yu Zeng was the traitor. If Yu Zeng could prevent Ashang and Prince Rong from joining forces, it would undoubtedly be a good deal.
As always, the Emperor of the Holy Ceme carefully calculated the gains and losses.
Ma Xingzhou hesitated for a moment and tried to ask, "But has your majesty ever thought that whether Yu Zeng is a spy from Prince Rong's mansion or not, Prince Rong might have taken action against him?"
"Killing Yu Zeng to protect the real spy?" The Holy Ce Emperor said, "Don't worry, Minister Ma. I have considered this."
She did not intend to verify the matter based solely on Prince Rong's "one-sided opinion". She had no way of investigating many old events, but if her old master A Shang became suspicious, she would be able to verify it face to face with Yu Zeng.
If Ashang gets the result, then Yu Zhangda can be dealt with by Ashang.
If he was really wronged, Ah Shang is so smart that he would not let Prince Rong "make the best of a mistake" and kill Yu Zeng...
So this time, she wanted to verify the truthfulness of Yu Zeng with A Shang.
However, she didn't need to and couldn't tell Ma Xiang about these thoughts.
The emperor does not need to make everything clear.
When Ma Xingzhou left Ganlu Temple, it was already dark.
When he returned home, he would write a "family letter" to Wan'er.
The mission of this family letter is to "expose the emperor's intentions," and what is exposed along with it is Wan'er's position.
Yes, the Ma family's position has never been a secret. Regardless of whether this incident happened or not, Prince Rong's Mansion would not be less wary of Wan'er... But there is always a difference between some window papers, whether they are broken directly or not.
Especially in the current situation, if one move affects the whole body, if one is not careful and angers Prince Rong's Mansion, whether Wan'er's life will be in danger depends on the thoughts of those people...
Thinking of his granddaughter's repeated mentions of Prince Rong's kindness in her letters, Ma Xingzhou sighed deeply in his heart.
Kindness and goodness are important, but what is more important is the current position of the overall situation. If the positions are different, there will inevitably be a life-and-death confrontation.
He should have expected this day from the moment he decided to let his granddaughter marry into the Rong Palace...
But he still didn't expect that the situation would evolve so quickly in just over a year...
Perhaps all of this had already begun to be rehearsed. Driven by a series of events and frequent natural disasters, the personal dissatisfaction and suffering of the people finally evolved into a disaster for the entire dynasty.
As a close minister of the emperor, he had no choice.
In the cold wind, Ma Xingzhou, as a grandfather, suppressed the trace of pity in his eyes.
This year's end, it's not just the Ma family that is destined to be worried.
Tan Li's parents at home were also thinking about their son who was going on a diplomatic mission far away.
"Being an envoy of a country on a diplomatic mission to a foreign country... this is an assignment that brings honor to the family. Others would fight tooth and nail to get this."
"But it's also very dangerous..." Mother Tan said worriedly, "I originally thought that being a civil servant would be better than risking your life like a military commander... But why is it so worrying now?"
"Don't you see what kind of world we are in now..." Father Tan couldn't help but sigh, "Military officers, civil officials, and common people are all cooked in the same pot. How many of them can sleep peacefully?"
"It's still warm from the pot." Mother Tan rubbed her hair with a needle while mending the clothes in her hands, saying, "It's so cold, how can you bear it in the Northeast... I heard that you can't touch your ears outside there, or they will fall off."
They are from the south, and Tan Li is the most afraid of the cold.
"Really?" When Mr. Tan heard this for the first time, he was immediately very worried: "Then when our son comes back, will he still be able to keep his ears? He can't stand the cold! Without ears, can he still be allowed to be an official?"
"How should I know..."
Minister Zhan was also worried about Tan Li.
There were five Jinshi scholars in total who were sent on this diplomatic mission to Dongluo, including Song Xian and Tan Li.
At first, Minister Zhan was glad that it was not him who took care of Miaomiao this time, but Minister Wei from the Ministry of Personnel.
However, this group of seedlings have made great progress and are much easier to lead than before.
More than half a year is not a long time. In the past, newly-appointed officials had only just figured out the ins and outs of officialdom and had not yet been assigned important positions.
But this group of scholars was different. They had opportunities that their predecessors had never had, and they also had to bear the hardships that came with these opportunities. The precarious national situation forced them to quickly shed their literati innocence.
At this moment, Minister Zhan suddenly understood how his teacher felt when he led Song Xian and others to Luoyang for disaster relief and told him to "bring back all the seedlings intact."
Speaking of the teacher, it has been cold recently and the sage has exempted the teacher from the morning court. He has not seen the teacher for a few days.
I haven't been scolded by the teacher for a while, and my head is itching...
Alas, there is probably no hope for the capital's officials to get their annual leave this year. Fortunately, it is still early to get off work today, so Minister Zhan, who is itching to get off work, decided to ask the sedan bearers to change the route and go to Minister Chu's residence.
When he got there, he found out that he was not the only one who had an itchy head, Qiao Jijiu was also there.
Oh, counting the days, the Imperial College has already started its New Year holidays... Teaching is so easy, Minister Zhan couldn't help but feel a little jealous.
Qiao Jijiu had nothing to do on vacation. Ice fishing in winter is certainly interesting, but it can only be done once every three days. Any more than that would be a pain.
In the remaining free time, you might as well come and play chess with the Grand Tutor, and you can also use the charcoal basin - for some reason, the Grand Tutor's charcoal basin this year is very luxurious, the charcoal is the best silver charcoal, there is not even a trace of smoke, and there are two basins at a time.
There is a basin next to the chess table, and his son Awu can have it all to himself.
Minister Zhan saw the yellow and white dog sleeping soundly beside the charcoal basin covered with a copper wire fumigation cage. He was surprised to see that the dog was wearing a floral jacket, so he leaned forward and teased it twice.
Ah Wu opened his eyes and groaned twice. Perhaps it was because he was roasted too hot, so he turned over and lay on his back, revealing his fat belly.
Looking at the dog's face, Minister Zhan hissed softly: "At first glance, this dog looks a bit like a human..."
Master Chu, who was playing chess, responded nonchalantly. He was not only human in nature, but if you looked more closely, he also had some monkish qualities. On the first day when he asked his servants to prepare dog food, he couldn't help asking, "Dog eats vegetarian food or something else?"
I don't know where Qiao Yang found a dog that looks so much like the one who passed away in Dayun Temple earlier. I'm afraid that even if that person returns to secular life, he won't be able to give birth to a dog that looks so similar in his next life.
Minister Zhan played with the dog for a while, then walked over to watch the chess game, praising him: "Teacher, these two moves are really brilliant..."
Master Chu said unhappily, "Just watch the chess game without saying anything. Go drink your tea."
Minister Zhan replied “yes” with a smile, only to feel that he was scolded by the teacher and his whole body was clear.
It's not that he was born with a bad temper, but the situation made him exhausted. Occasionally, he could get some free time, sit in front of the teacher, have a cup of hot tea, and listen to the teacher's usual scolding. He would feel less tense.
The existence of a teacher is like Mount Tai, which makes people look up to him and also makes people feel at ease.
2024.1.23 Revised the original text of this chapter (end of this chapter)
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