"In reply to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, I indeed did not see anyone coming to Song Yushu's yard." After mobilizing a large number of troops to chase for a long time, they actually caught a night cat. Xia Xingde was too embarrassed to talk about such an embarrassing thing.
Lu Yanzhou sighed softly, "It seems I've misunderstood Little Songzi this time. Have you discussed with your advisors who will be sent to the northern border?"
"I have discussed with the counselors in the palace, and there are three candidates: the first is the General of the Guards, the second is the Left Marquis, and the third is King Jing."
The first two were Lu Yanzhou's trusted aides, promoted from low-ranking generals in the past two years. They were also among the few generals in their faction, so the selection of these two was not surprising, but King Jing...
"Prince Jing?" Lu Yanzhou frowned. "A blind man? An abandoned child of the Lin family?"
Xia Xinde glanced at Lu Yanzhou and saw that he didn't immediately reject the suggestion. He took a deep breath and said, "Precisely because he's the Lin family's abandoned son, he's the most suitable candidate. He's fought for years, and the people of Yan tremble at the mere mention of his name. Furthermore, the newly appointed General Zhenbei has a grudge against him."
"Oh? There's this matter?" Lu Yanzhou suddenly became interested and motioned Xia Xingde to continue.
"I only learned about this by chance." Xia Xingde immediately stepped forward, his face smug. "When King Jing recaptured the northern border, he ordered this man to guard a fortress. Unexpectedly, he deserted the battlefield, abandoning the entire city's inhabitants. Fortunately, King Jing arrived in time and prevented the Yan army from massacring the city. King Jing almost chopped off this man's head afterwards."
"Then why did you become the General Zhenbei today?" Lu Yanzhou also despised this man. How could a man who deserted from the battlefield become the General Zhenbei?
According to this statement, if he is guarding the northern border, doesn't that mean he could abandon the northern border and escape at any time?
"According to my humble information, this person is from the Lin family. The uncle of the emperor protected him and suppressed the news! He even promoted him to the position of General Zhenbei!" Xia Xingde snorted. "The Lin family is becoming more and more arrogant. How could such a person be placed in such a position? Your Highness, this news will greatly help us transfer the General Zhenbei back to Kyoto!"
"That's great!" Lu Yanzhou had been suppressed by the Lin family recently, and he was already feeling a nameless anger in his heart. Now there was such good news, it was simply a blessing from heaven! However, "Is this news reliable?"
Xia Xingde's eyes flickered. He swallowed hard, gritting his teeth and saying, "This information has been verified by me. It's absolutely reliable! I also have a confession from a soldier who served in the Northern Territory back then."
He had indeed confirmed that General Zhenbei was indeed of Lin's bloodline, but he had no evidence to prove that he had deserted the battlefield. Fortunately, a counselor gave him a confession, but he could not verify whether the confession was true or not.
Lu Yanzhou was overjoyed. "Alright! Tomorrow morning, I'll report this to my father! This way, Prince Jing is indeed the best person to send to the Northern Territory. Once he's in the Northern Territory, he won't be afraid of the Lin family's power and dare not force anyone back to Kyoto!"
"Your Highness the Crown Prince is wise!" Xia Xingde quickly agreed.
"Xingde, you've worked hard. You're my most capable person." Lu Yanzhou looked at Xia Xingde with a smile. "It just so happens that the emperor has given me some gifts. You can go to the warehouse and get them."
"I thank His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" Xia Xingde bowed happily. It had been a long time since Song Yushu and Lu Yanzhou had received his praise due to their increasingly serious suspicion.
Lu Yanzhou looked at Xia Xingde with satisfaction and waved his hand. "It's late, Xingde, go back and get some rest."
"Yes, Your Highness."
After Xia Xingde left Lu Yanzhou's bedroom, he came to where the advisers lived in the Prince's Mansion, found a man, patted him on the shoulder and praised him with a smile.
"Wen Pu, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has accepted your advice. The young are truly formidable!"
Jiang Wenpu shook his head naively. "Master Xia, what are you talking about? How could I possibly offer any advice? I was merely handing you my father's suicide note. I truly feel unworthy of this position!"
Seeing that Jiang Wenpu didn't take credit for it, Xia Xingde's eyes were full of satisfaction. "Such an important token is also thanks to you for preserving it well. His Royal Highness is very satisfied. So, I found a small courtyard in the mansion. You can take your mother to live there. It's spacious and suitable for recuperation."
"I thank Lord Xia!" Jiang Wenpu bowed solemnly to Xia Xingde with tears in his eyes.
"Okay, you go back and take care of your mother first. I'll send someone to help you move there tomorrow morning." Xia Xinde waved his hand, and his back revealed pride as he left.
Jiang Wenpu saluted Xia Xingde respectfully, then stood up and looked at Xia Xingde's back with a hint of contempt in his eyes.
He turned and went back to the house. His old mother was still awake, mending his clothes by candlelight. When she saw him coming back, her cloudy eyes sparkled with a glimmer of light. "Are you done?"
Jiang Wenpu nodded, walked to his old mother, picked up a book, and the mother and son spent the most important moment in their lives quietly together.
The next day, Jiang Wenpu was waiting at the door early. When he saw Xia Xingde leaving the palace with the prince, he nodded to him excitedly.
This kid is a scholar. His father died because General Zhenbei deserted the battlefield, so he came to the Prince's Mansion. He is an honest man with outstanding talents. Xia Xingde was very satisfied to have such an advisor. He nodded to Jiang Wenpu from a distance.
Every day when the prince left the palace, he would be seen off by his advisers. They all wanted to make a name for themselves. If they could win the prince's favor, they would be able to rise to prominence. Such scenes appeared every day without attracting anyone's attention.
Jiang Wenpu watched the prince's carriage leave and stood at the door for a full quarter of an hour before he slowly walked towards the mansion. Passing by the courtyard where the old imperial physician Fan was, he walked in calmly.
Because his mother was ill, he came here every day. Old Doctor Fan admired his maternal love and was willing to prescribe medicine for him.
While Doctor Fan was getting the medicine, Jiang Wenpu gave Maidong, who was cutting the medicine, a bag of exquisite pastries. "Maidong, this is the Dingsheng cake I bought outside the mansion. Let's share it with you and your friend."
Mai Dong happily took it and looked at Jiang Wenpu with a puzzled look, "My friend?"
"Yes, it's better to eat cakes with friends. You should give gifts to those who treat you best, so that you can play together for a long time." Jiang Wenpu smiled, looking very trustworthy.
"Who treats me best..." Mai Dong tilted his head and thought for a moment, then slapped his forehead, "Brother Song is the best! I'm going to find him!"
After saying that, Maidong ran out. Just then, Doctor Fan came out with medicine in hand. He looked at Jiang Wenpu thoughtfully and said, "Your medicine."
"I would like to thank Doctor Fan." Jiang Wenpu bowed to Doctor Fan with gratitude.
"You, be careful." Old Doctor Fan said this inexplicably and turned away.
Jiang Wenpu pursed his lips and bowed to Doctor Fan again, then left the yard filled with the fragrance of medicine with the medicine in his hand.
And another courtyard filled with the smell of medicine also welcomed the person it wanted to welcome.
"Brother Song!"
Hearing this voice, Song Yushu's eyes lit up. He turned his head to the door and looked at Maidong who came in. He had a bag of pastries in his hand.
Dingsheng Cake...
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