Chapter 75
Changning recognized that it was Fan Changyu who was crying, and was about to go in with his short legs, but Gongsun Yin grabbed him by the collar.
She looked up in confusion and saw Gongsun Yin making a "huh" gesture at her.
Gongsun Yin led her a few steps away, then half-knelt down and said to her, "Let your sister talk to your brother-in-law for a while."
Chang Ning nodded obediently, the baby fat on her face was reduced a lot, and her eyes looked bigger. She said very little in front of people she didn't know well, and Gongsun Yin was obviously still in the category of "unfamiliar".
Gongsun Yin remembered Xie Zheng's plan and asked her, "Little girl, do you still remember how your brother-in-law rescued you?"
Chang Ning's face turned pale when she thought of the fight on that rainy night. It was dark at the time and she was so frightened that her memory was all messed up. After thinking hard, she answered, "The bad guys wanted to kill Ning Niang, and my brother-in-law beat the bad guys..."
Gongsun Qianqian sighed. Such a young child was taken to the battlefield. She was not scared into a lunatic. She was very strong-willed. How could she remember the details of the battlefield? He touched Changning's head and said, "Don't be afraid. It's all over. The bad guys were also caught by your brother-in-law."
Chang Ning's expression eased a little, and he nodded vigorously, saying "hmm". Then he raised his head again, grasping the corner of his clothes and asked Gong Sun Yin nervously: "Will my brother-in-law die?"
Gongsun Yin laughed and said, "Little girl, do you know what it means to cause harm for a thousand years?"
Changning shook her head.
Gongsun Yin hid his fan behind his mouth and smiled: "Your brother-in-law is probably a nuisance in the eyes of others. He has a tough life and it is not that easy for him to die."
Chang Ning felt relieved knowing that Xie Zheng would not die. He turned his head and stared at the curtains.
Gongsun Yin took the opportunity to ask, "Your sister and your brother-in-law have a good relationship, right?"
Changning thought about it and nodded.
Gongsun Yin did not feel ashamed to ask a child a question, and continued to ask, "How good is it?"
Chang Ning stared with his big eyes, which were clearly black and white, and said, "Now that my parents are gone, my mother would cry in front of my elder sister when she was wronged, but my elder sister only cried in front of my brother-in-law."
These words made Gongsun Yin stunned.
Chang Ning counted on his fingers: "When thugs came to our house to make trouble, my brother-in-law broke their legs and drove them away. My sister killed pigs and sold the meat to make money, so she bought new clothes and hairbands for my brother-in-law. My brother-in-law was afraid of the bitter medicine he had to take, so my sister bought him candy..."
Gongsun Yin's expression became very strange. It turned out that what the old man he met in Lucheng said was true. Xie Jiuheng really became someone's son-in-law and was even living off him!
He wanted to ask something else, but suddenly he felt a chill on his back through the thick curtain.
Gongsun Yin decisively said to Changning, "Child, stay here and wait for your sister to come out. I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."
Yan Jue stood up and was about to leave.
Inside the account.
After Fan Changyu vented the emotions accumulated during this period of time through crying, he stood up, wiped his eyes and said, "I seem to hear Changning's voice."
Xie Zheng had heard the noise outside the tent a long time ago. He withdrew his cold gaze from the door and said, "She is outside. I didn't have time to tell you that she was in the army. When you went to the Huotou Camp, I asked someone to bring her here."
Fan Changyu was stunned. Without asking any more questions, he quickly opened the curtain and looked out. As expected, he saw Changning squatting on the ground not far away with his hands on his chin, looking at this side, and Gongsun Yin, who had just taken a few steps forward with a guilty conscience.
Fan Changyu exclaimed in surprise: "Ning Niang!"
When Chang Ning saw Fan Changyu, his eyes instantly sparkled. He ran over and threw himself into her arms, holding her waist tightly with both hands, and called her in a deep voice, "Sister..."
As soon as she shouted these two words, the tears that had accumulated in her big eyes could not be stopped and kept falling down.
Fan Changyu asked her, "Why are you here?"
However, his eyes involuntarily glanced at Gongsun Yin who was trying to leave stealthily a few steps away.
Since they were all seen, Gongsun Yin couldn't pretend to walk away as if nothing had happened. He took back his half-stepped foot and waved his fan, looking dashing again with his feather fan and scarf: "This girl fell into the hands of the enemy by mistake. After being rescued, she was temporarily taken in by the army. I heard that she was my brother's wife and sister, so I brought her here."
Fan Changyu thanked her quickly and squatted down to wipe Changning's tears. Looking at her thinner face, she said distressedly, "I'm sorry that I couldn't find you earlier and made you suffer."
Changning shook her head and cried on her shoulder until she hiccuped.
Fan Changyu held Changning in his arms and invited Gongsun Yin to come into the tent and sit for a while. Gongsun Yin thought to himself that Xie Zheng knew he was outside, and it would not be appropriate for him to leave now, so he followed him in under the pretext of visiting the sick.
After entering the tent, Chang Ning saw Xie Zheng half-lying on the military bed with a bloody gauze wrapped around his chest. He pursed his lips and called out, "Brother-in-law."
Then, wiping away tears, she said to Fan Changyu, "My brother-in-law was beaten by a bad guy while trying to save Ning Niang."
Fan Changyu tilted his head to look at Xie Zheng, obviously confused: "Did you get hurt while saving Ning Niang?"
Xie Zheng was not yet ready to tell Fan Changyu everything at this moment. He pursed his lips slightly, not knowing how to answer.
Gongsun Yin, who was always eloquent, knew that this lie was not easy to make up. He was having a headache when he heard Chang Ning sobbing, "Ning Niang was taken away by a bad guy as the daughter of a high-ranking official. The bad guy also put Ning Niang on the back of a horse to kill people. It was pitch black, raining heavily, and thundering. Ning Niang was very scared. Later, she heard her brother-in-law's voice and called him. When her brother-in-law came to rescue her, the bad guy threw her into the sky. In order to catch Ning Niang, her brother-in-law was stabbed by the bad guy and had a big bloody wound..."
She was obviously still very scared when she talked about these things. Her face turned pale and her hands tightly grasped Fan Changyu's clothes, as if she had found something to rely on to resist the fear that night brought her.
Fan Changyu originally guessed that he followed Yuan Qing to kidnap Changning, probably to seek revenge on her privately, but she didn't expect Changning to have experienced so much. Just listening to Changning say these, she wanted to cut the bad guy in Changning's mouth into pieces.
She patted her sister's back lovingly and soothed her, "Don't be afraid, Ning Niang. It's all over."
But in her heart, she felt a little strange as to how Chang Ning could be suddenly mistaken for the daughter of some high-ranking official.
Chang Ning felt relieved when he saw Fan Changyu. He remembered that when he was taken away, Yu Baoer grabbed her clothes and refused to let go in order to protect her. When he was dragged by the maids, several nails on his hands were torn off. He couldn't help but tear up, "Baoer is also there, sister, can you save Baoer and his mother?"
Fan Changyu was confused and asked, "Are you talking about Manager Yu and Bao'er?"
Changning nodded.
Fan Changyu asked: "Didn't Manager Yu and Bao'er go to Jiangnan? Where did you see them?"
Chang Ning sobbed and answered, "Bao Er and his mother were imprisoned there by those bad guys just like Ning Niang."
Gongsun Yin didn't know who Yu Qianqian and her son were, and his face was confused. However, Xie Zheng knew that Changning was in Sui Yuanqing's hands during the time she was kidnapped, and his expression was slightly serious.
Is that female storekeeper related to the Changxin Palace?
Fan Changyu was very straightforward and asked in confusion, "Could it be that Manager Yu and Bao'er were also mistaken for the family members of some high-ranking official?"
She looked at Gongsun Yin and asked, "Sir, may I ask how my sister was captured and mistaken for the daughter of a high official?"
Gongsun Yin glanced at Xie Zheng and began to practice Tai Chi: "After the disaster in Qingping County, the inn that was temporarily used to house the victims in Jizhou Prefecture was a government post station that only received visiting officials from the imperial court. I think the rebels had wrong information and kidnapped your sister by mistake."
This reply sounded reasonable, but when Fan Changyu thought of the painting that was missing from his home, he still felt a little strange.
Gongsun Yin said at the right time: "The soldiers are all rough men, not good at taking care of children. We have arranged a place for Miss Fan to live next door. Miss Fan can take her younger sister there to settle down first."
Fan Changyu had just found her sister, so she naturally had many questions to ask. She glanced at Xie Zheng lying on the bed and said, "Then you should have a good rest first. I'll take Ning Niang downstairs to wash up."
After Changning's fever subsided, she was kept with Gongsun Yin. The conditions in the mountains were harsh, and the personal soldiers were a bunch of rough men, none of whom were good at taking care of children. They just tried their best to coax Changning to eat at every meal. Changning could still do things like washing her face by herself, but as for tying her hair, the bun on her head had completely become a mess.
As soon as Fan Changyu left, Xie Zheng said to Gongsun Yin, "Use the Saker Falcon to send a message to Yanzhou and ask them to check for the mother and son surnamed Yu who are trapped in the Changxin Palace."
Gongsun Yin was puzzled and asked, "Do the mother and son with the surname Yu have any background?"
Xie Zheng said: "When I first saw that child, I felt that he looked a bit like the one sitting on the dragon chair today."
Gongsun Yin was startled, then frowned and asked, "Do you suspect it is a dragon seed?"
The one sitting on the dragon throne today is the youngest son of the late emperor. He was only eight years old when he ascended the throne. His biological mother was a lowly palace maid, and he had no influence from any external relatives.
The throne fell upon him only because Wei Yan chose him to be the puppet emperor. But now that the puppet young emperor has grown up and has the support of the imperial tutor Li Taifu and his party, it is inevitable that he wants to overthrow Wei Yan, take back the imperial power, and revive the court.
However, anyone with a discerning eye could see that even if the emperor used Li Taifu's power to overthrow Wei Yan, the Li Party in the court would simply become the next Wei Party.
The imperial power of Dayin had long been hollowed out by the aristocratic families. Although the imperial examination system was implemented, the position of the poor families in the court was too low.
Furthermore, the man sitting on the dragon throne does not look like a ruler of a country. He is cowardly in front of powerful officials and irritable in front of palace ladies. He is not capable of shouldering the heavy responsibility.
Xie Zheng said, "Shang Jiayan, surnamed Zhao, worked for the grandson of the emperor who died in the Eastern Palace. When I was in Qingping County, I found that he had a house near the home of the female manager surnamed Yu. If the grandson of the emperor really existed, perhaps we could find out something through the mother and son surnamed Yu."
Gongsun Yin immediately said, "I will go and deliver the message right away."
If the mother and son surnamed Yu were the emperor's grandson's people and were trapped in Prince Changxin's mansion, maybe Prince Changxin captured them to threaten the emperor's grandson?
He was almost out of the tent when he turned back to look at Xie Zheng: "Jiuheng, if the emperor's grandson is really still alive, are you... going to establish the bloodline of Prince Chengde?"
After learning that Xie Zheng and Wei Yan had fallen out, the man on the dragon throne wanted to marry a princess to Xie Zheng, but Xie Zheng was still in the northwest, so the capital didn't want to make a big fuss about it.
But the emperor's mind has always been difficult to guess.
Even though the man on the throne had already hinted to Xie Zheng that after overthrowing Wei Yan, Wei Yan's position would be his, but when the time really came, who could tell whether Xie Zheng would be the next person he wanted to get rid of?
Moreover, the Emperor already had Li Taifu firmly in the position of the top official.
In terms of legitimacy, Prince Chengde's bloodline is more qualified than anyone else in the current royal family to sit on the dragon throne.
Even if we take a step back, just based on the Battle of Jinzhou that year, Xie Zheng and Huang Sun had a common enemy, which made it more suitable for them to form an alliance.
There was silence for a long time before Xie Zheng's cold voice was heard: "What do you think of the emperor's treatment of Wei Yan?"
Just one sentence made Gongsun Yin realize the key point. Wei Yan single-handedly supported the one sitting on the throne. Although he wanted to make him a puppet emperor at first, Wei Yan was indeed the biggest backer of the one sitting on the throne at one time.
If Xie Zheng supported the grandson of the emperor, his contribution to the throne would be no less than the kindness Wei Yan showed to the man sitting on the throne.
But he already holds military power. If the emperor's grandson ascends the throne, what can he reward him with?
Without rewards, suspicion and vigilance will grow day by day.
Gongsun Yin put himself in Xie Zheng's shoes and thought about it. Suddenly, he frowned and said, "I have discovered that in your current situation, no matter who sits on the throne, they will try their best to pull you before the event is accomplished. But once the dust settles, you will be the first to be hidden by the bird."
Xie Zheng said nothing.
Gongsun Yin walked back a few steps in a huff, sat down opposite Xie Zheng, and said, "Just tell me what you are thinking. If you haven't thought of a way out for yourself, I'll find a new employer first, so that I won't be implicated by you later."
It was already dusk. Xie Zheng looked at the flickering light in the tent and said, "The northwest is in chaos. Nine out of ten houses are empty. Good men are buried in the sand. Today's Dayin is not yet at the stage of restoring the country. It would be fine if we fought against the northern people, but we are going to war with our own people just for our own selfish desires..."
He sneered, "I'm sorry for those soldiers who deserved to die outside the pass."
It was obvious that he looked down upon Prince Changxin's behavior.
Gongsun Yin raised his eyebrows: "You want to be a loyal minister?"
Xie Zheng raised his eyes nonchalantly: "Don't you think that someone like me should be called a powerful official?"
Gongsun Yin choked and then said, "Power or not, you should think about how to get out of this predicament first!"
Xie Zheng asked, "How long will the food and grass we brought up the mountain today last?"
Gongsun Yin said: "If you eat until you are full, it will be enough for half a month. If you mix it with wild vegetables and cook porridge, it will last for a month."
Xie Zheng thought for a moment and said, "Sui Yuanqing is still in our hands. The terrain on the mountain is complicated. Prince Changxin is besieging us without attacking. He just wants to trap us to death on the mountain. If they run out of food and grass, they won't be able to keep going."
Gongsun Yin was shocked: "Are you planning to take the grain and grass of the King of Changxin?"
The author has something to say:
This chapter also gives out 100 red envelopes to the long-awaited treasures, and there will be more in the evening~
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