Chapter 29 (Revised)
A team of soldiers in armor and sharp weapons were guarding a private house near the Victorian government office. Their aura was so awe-inspiring that no one dared to trespass there, and not even a small flying insect could get in.
Soon, the door of the house slowly opened, and a noble girl wearing a long veiled hat walked out first, followed by four maids.
Seeing Wei Yan coming out, the soldier guarding the gate immediately stepped forward to block her path, bowed respectfully and said, "If you have any important matters, please let me handle them. Why bother doing this yourself?"
Wei Yan didn't argue with them, but simply said coldly, "Do you think you are worthy enough to speak to this princess?"
His arrogant attitude attracted the attention of other soldiers.
Wei Yan didn't care at all and just uttered two words softly: "Back off."
However, the soldier still stood in front of her, motionless.
"Why, don't I even have the freedom to walk around freely in this Victoria City?"
Just as the situation was at a standoff, a middle-aged man who looked like a housekeeper hurried out of the house. He winked at the guards and said with a smile, "My princess, your words are too kind. After all, your status is noble. This general is just worried about your safety and is afraid that you might bump into someone who is not careful enough on the road."
Upon hearing this, Wei Xi just said "hmm" softly and walked away. The other four maids followed quickly.
As Wei Yan and her maids disappeared into the alley, the soldier who had stopped her complained to the housekeeper, "These people from the capital are so arrogant, they're not afraid of hurting themselves."
"Well, she's a princess after all, and her father is favored, so we have to give her some face." The housekeeper looked worried. "Let's not interfere too much. We'll just do whatever Lord Cai tells us to do."
Ever since Wei Zhen showed up at the provincial government office, her personal freedom had been restricted. On the surface, the reason was that the princess, a precious and elegant lady, couldn't suffer in Weizhou. So, they found her a large house near the government office and assigned a large staff to serve her. In reality, it was all to monitor her every move.
After understanding this, Wei Yan felt a heavy heart. He hadn't expected the local government to have such a close relationship with Cai Shan. It seemed that Cai Shan had used much of the benefits he had received over the years to bribe these people.
She was restricted in every way, and was basically out of touch with Cheng Zi. Fortunately, they had agreed on the frequency and location of their meetings before they separated. It didn't matter if they couldn't meet the first time; as long as they arranged to meet every few days and at the same place, they would definitely be able to contact each other.
As for the four maids who came with her, it was not difficult to get rid of them.
There was a big market going on today, and the streets were bustling with people. After turning out of the alley and merging into the crowd on the main street, in a matter of moments, the four maids had lost sight of Wei Zhen.
At this time, Wei Zhen was standing at a street corner not far away, watching the four maids talking anxiously and looking around constantly.
Wei Yan raised her lips and turned to leave. She took off her veil, walked into a prosperous hotel, and asked the waiter to book a private room on the second floor.
Soon, there was a knock on the door of the private room. Wei Yan opened the door and saw Cheng Zi.
Perhaps it was because life in hiding in the pirate camp was difficult, Cheng Zi seemed thinner than before they parted. The bright and lively look between his eyebrows had disappeared, replaced by a hint of gloom and haggardness.
Cheng Zi's eyes lit up when he saw Wei Yan. Especially when he saw that her appearance hadn't changed at all, the gloom in Cheng Zi's eyes almost disappeared.
"I came here several times before and didn't see you. I was worried that you had met with something unforeseen at the provincial government office. Now that I see that everything is fine with you, I am relieved."
Wei Yan nodded. "They only restricted my movements and didn't dare to do anything to me. However, I couldn't get any useful information from the government because of this." She sighed and asked, "How's the situation over there? Any breakthroughs?"
Speaking of this, Cheng Zi hurriedly pulled out a stack of letters from his pocket and handed them to Wei Yan. "These are the letters I stole from the pirate leader, showing his secret correspondence with Cai Shan. Cai Shan instigated them to harass the civilians, splitting the loot equally between the two, and even sending them sophisticated equipment from time to time. He also sent his men to train these pirates. I think he's trying to cultivate a private navy for himself."
While listening to Cheng Zi narrate the news he had recently received, Wei Lu quickly browsed through all the letters, and a bold idea gradually emerged in his mind.
"This man has been hiding the letters he exchanged with Cai Shan, which suggests they may not be close," Wei Yan analyzed. "Since there's a rift between them, why not widen it?"
Cheng Zi was stunned: "What do you think?"
Wei Yan smiled, beckoned Cheng Zi to come closer, and whispered softly in Cheng Zi's ear: "I think..."
Cai Shan was currently far away in Beijing, and it was inconvenient for her to remotely control Victoria from afar. So, she might as well take advantage of this opportunity and stir up some trouble in Victoria's troubled waters.
*
At this time, Cai Shan, trapped in the capital, was also thinking about how to escape. He hesitated for a long time on the matter of choosing a place to live, and finally decided to visit Prince Su.
There was a piece of breaking news in the palace today. If he went to express his goodwill to Prince Su now, he would not be easily rejected.
After Cai Shan delivered the message to the Prince Su's Mansion, he received news from the Prince Su's Mansion not long after, and made an appointment to meet in a teahouse in Anminfang.
Anminfang is located in the southwest corner of the imperial city and is a very quiet place. Prince Su chose this place to meet with the emperor, also to avoid being seen.
Sitting in the private room of the teahouse, quietly listening to the sound of the tea boiling, it seemed that this could calm his troubled heart.
Recently, a piece of news came from the palace that shocked and disturbed him.
The queen who had been infertile for many years was pregnant!
If this is true, then once the queen gives birth to a legitimate son, where will these heirs stand? I'm afraid there will be no place for them in the palace or the court.
Although the Crown Prince's situation was the most awkward compared to him and King Huai, he and King Huai had gone to test the Crown Prince's true attitude towards the matter, but they could not find out.
He had originally intended to stir up the Crown Prince's resentment towards the Sage, hoping to use him to quietly eliminate the "legitimate son" and thus eliminate two major threats in one fell swoop. However, the Crown Prince's attitude was unclear, and he was at a loss as to where to start.
Just when Prince Su was confused, Cai Shan appeared.
Although Prince Su still had reservations about Cai Shan's attitude, his defenses loosened a little under the other party's financial offensive.
At this moment, Cai Shan mentioned that the queen was pregnant, which hit the mark of Prince Su's thoughts.
"Your Highness, there is no need to worry too much about this matter. Even if the Empress gives birth to a legitimate son, it will only be a small child. Your Highness, why should you be afraid? If we talk about who is the most threatened by this matter, it must be His Highness the Crown Prince."
Prince Su frowned: "But the Crown Prince doesn't seem interested in this matter."
Cai Shan smiled: "Just because the prince is not interested doesn't mean others are not interested in this matter."
Prince Su's eyes shifted, and he immediately understood what Cai Shan meant. He raised the corner of his lips, and looked at Cai Shan with a bit less guarded eyes: "Master Cai, what you said makes sense."
*
"What! The Queen is pregnant?!"
Upon hearing this news, the Duke of Ye and his wife were astonished. The Duke of Ye was so excited that he stood up and knocked over his teacup, spilling the boiling hot tea all over him. He frantically tried to wipe the tea away, while his wife hurriedly wiped the water away with a silk handkerchief. However, no matter how hard they tried, the tea still soaked a large area.
"Oh, it's such a shame that such fine fabric is stained with tea. Change it quickly and ask someone to wash it." The wife of the Duke of Ye County looked distressed.
"You only care about the fabric! If you don't think of a solution, our family will never be able to afford such fine fabrics!" The Duke of Ye County scolded angrily, "If the Queen gives birth to a legitimate son, Azhen will lose his position as Crown Prince, and I'm afraid he won't even be able to keep his life. If we don't have Azhen, we won't be able to afford these fine things in the future!"
Pan Liangwen sat aside, thinking that although the Duke of Ye was greedy, he was not confused at all when it came to major issues.
The Duke of Ye immediately turned his gaze to Pan Liang, and asked anxiously, as if he had found a lifeline, "Sir, do you have any good ideas?"
Pan Liang said calmly, "The Empress is in the Forbidden City, and I am just a scoundrel. What brilliant plan can I come up with?"
The more Pan Liang spoke like this, the more anxious the Duke of Ye became: "Sir, your talent and wisdom are unparalleled in the world. If even you can't do anything about it, what should we do?"
"Oh my, my Lord, you really think too highly of me. I really can't live up to your expectations."
"Sir! This is an urgent situation. Could you please help us? If the Crown Prince were to meet with misfortune because the Queen gave birth to a legitimate son, both we and you would suffer heavy losses!"
Seeing that the Duke of Ye was truly extremely anxious, Pan Liang slowly said, "The Empress is pregnant. Shouldn't the Duke and his wife go visit her?"
Upon hearing this, the Duke of Ye was stunned.
Yes, the Queen is the mother of the country. When the Queen is pregnant, they should go and pay their respects to her.
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