Chapter 532 Brother, Sleep with Me
The Xi family has a close relationship with the Liang family. Liang Guangyi supported Xi Weifang to become the Minister of War. Naturally, he understands the Xi family's weaknesses better than anyone else.
Moreover, sending the letter could also indirectly tell Liang Guangyi that he only wanted to clear the name of the He family and had no intention of wiping out all the major families.
This would not only reassure Liang Guangyi and facilitate the subsequent "bleeding compensation" from the noble families, but also reduce their vigilance.
Xiao Yan looked at Cang Lang and said, "Send someone to the Liang family and hand over Xi Weifang's confession to Liang Guangyi."
Canglang stuffed a piece of dessert into his mouth and nodded quickly: "Yes."
Xiao Yan: "Have someone monitor the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple and try the case as soon as possible."
Canglang hesitated: "What about Emperor An..."
"Emperor An's side will be under the supervision of the Crown Prince and Feng Lai. He won't regain consciousness soon. Liu Tongen is currently guarding him closely. If he attacks again, he might become desperate. We don't need to worry about the Imperial Dragon Terrace for the time being."
When Emperor An was in a coma, he had Doctor Sun and others. Even if he woke up, he still had Feng Lai, his "loyal" personal eunuch.
Liu Tong'en was afraid that Emperor An would recruit someone to plot against him, so he stayed by his side, which made it easier for him to deal with other things.
Xiao Yan thought for a moment and said, "Tomorrow, have someone announce the Crown Prince's edict of apology to the world. Then have people copy it in large quantities and distribute it to all prefectures and counties..."
Tang Ning spoke up, "Although there are many scholars in the capital, I'm afraid not many would dare to copy this. Moreover, since this concerns the royal family and the crown prince, it would be better to send a copy to Dean Shi and his colleagues and ask the students in the academy to help write enough imperial edicts and distribute them to all regions as soon as possible, so that those princes won't take advantage of the situation and cause chaos by not knowing the details of the capital."
Xiao Yan nodded: "You have a point. I will have someone take him to the academy tomorrow morning."
The three of them discussed matters, talking about the situation in the capital and the next arrangements.
The pigeon soup on the table had become warm. Xiao Yan reached out to test the temperature of the bowl before pushing the bowl in front of Tang Ning and placing the spoon towards her.
When Tang Ning looked up at him, Xiao Yan seemed to be doing it casually, and his face remained calm as he gave instructions to Cang Lang.
"The capital has been in turmoil these past few days. Tell the people below to keep an eye out. Also, send people to monitor all roads leading out of the capital. Don't let any carrier pigeons, messengers, caravans, or spies go unnoticed. Also, have Di Tao gather the four battalions as quickly as possible and, if he has the chance, show them before the Crown Prince."
"Prince?" Canglang asked in confusion.
Xiao Yan said calmly, "The Crown Prince is exactly like Emperor An. He has no skills, is conceited, and is suspicious. Now that the Tiger Tally is in my hands, power has fallen into someone else's hands. His position as Crown Prince is not legitimate."
"It's fine that he has to rely on me now, but once the crisis is over and he feels that he has secured the position of Crown Prince, he will become dissatisfied with me."
"Di Tao is young and has a face that is easy to fool. Let him go and calm the Crown Prince so that he won't have time to cause trouble."
Once the He family is cleared of wrongdoing and his identity is "established," he can legitimately assume power. Not only will he have to purge the court quickly, holding examinations in advance to replenish fresh blood and place new officials, he'll also have to negotiate with the aristocratic families to borrow money from them to fill the treasury. He'll also have to find a way to suppress the local vassal kings, capture Lu Jiuan, and then prepare for war...
Each of these matters is urgent. He has too many things to do and doesn't have much time to deal with the prince.
In his eyes, the prince is a "mascot" who temporarily balances the court. Di Tao's young and "innocent" face, and the Di family with 180,000 Zhen'an troops behind him, can make the prince feel at ease.
Canglang grinned and burst out laughing. So, the Governor was saying, "Die Tao is just dumb." He wanted him to "get close" to the Crown Prince, so that he would feel confident that he could recruit the Di family and avoid causing trouble for the Governor.
Canglang was so happy while chewing on the snacks: "Okay, I'll go find General Di later."
Most of the snacks on the table were gone, and it was already getting light outside.
Xiao Yan asked, "Has the whereabouts of Emperor An's private army been discovered?"
Canglang shook his head. "No, Liu Tong'en hasn't left the capital recently. The people he brought into the capital tonight, apart from the Royal Secret Guards, were all the guards previously stationed at the Imperial Mausoleum. He has been very cautious since he became the Governor, and rarely even communicates with the outside world."
Xiao Yan frowned. "Keep watching. Whether they are from the Liu family or Liu Tongen's confidants, anyone entering or leaving the Liu family residence or around Liu Tongen must be thoroughly investigated."
He said in a deep voice: "No matter what they do, even if they are just delivering food, cooking, or picking night fragrance, they must not be let off."
That private army is a serious threat to us, and we will not be able to rest easy until we find out about it.
Emperor An would not give up so easily. He had to find the location of the private army as soon as possible. Otherwise, if he waited until the war broke out in the north before taking action, they would be attacked from both sides.
Cang Lang naturally understood the importance of this and nodded seriously, "Don't worry, Governor. Not even a fly can escape from Liu Tong'en."
…
It was already early morning when Canglang left Heli Hall. During this time, Jinyun, Tianqing and others came in to report. Later, Di Tao, Wenxinhou and others also came. Even Fu Yue, the deputy general of Longting Guard, came to Xiao Mansion.
Xiao Yan did not avoid Tang Ning when discussing matters with others. Although those people were surprised to see her beside them, they did not say much.
Tang Ning rarely spoke after that. She just sat quietly by the side, refilling tea for the visitors from time to time. She listened to Xiao Yan and the others discussing military and court affairs, talking about the ministers in the court and the subsequent responses, as well as various arrangements.
She gradually memorized the things that she didn't quite understand before, and also wrote down what Xiao Yan mentioned when talking to those people.
It wasn't until dawn that she couldn't help yawning.
After Xiao Yan sent Fu Yue and the others away and turned back, he saw Tang Ning leaning on the small couch and sleeping with his eyes closed.
Most of the girl's cloak had fallen down, and her sleeves had fallen on the table, stained with some ink. She tilted her head and leaned on her arm, breathing lightly.
As soon as Xiao Yan approached, Tang Ning opened her eyes with her eyelashes trembling.
"Brother..."
Tang Ning's voice was sleepy, and there was mist in his eyes: "General Fu is gone?"
"Leave."
Xiao Yan picked her up and took her to a side room. When they lay on the bed with their clothes on, Tang Ning's small body nestled in his arms.
He took off the lotus hairpins that were holding her hair up, and her black hair fell down. Her fair face leaned against his chest, and Xiao Yan just put his arms around her, with his big hands on her waist almost covering half of her waist.
Patting her back lightly, Xiao Yan coaxed her, "Go to sleep."
Tang Ning murmured: "Brother, stay with me."
Xiao Yan looked at her hand gently grasping the corner of his clothes and couldn't help but raise his lips: "Okay, I'll accompany you."
As if sensing a reassuring presence beside him, Tang Ning fell asleep after pinching the corner of his clothes for a short while.
Xiao Yan bent down and kissed the corner of her eyes, adjusted his posture so that she could sleep more comfortably, and looked out the window at the empty place.
"If there's anything outside, call me anytime."
A shadow fell over there: "Yes, Lord Governor."
A breeze came in slowly from the window. After Xiao Yan pointed at the wind and the window frame closed, he covered Tang Ning with the quilt, hugged her, closed his eyes and fell asleep.
…
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