Chapter 48: Troop Replacement
Ji Linyou was dumbfounded: "This... what do you mean, cousin?"
Ling Tianshui said, "According to the people in the capital's garrison, they were short of manpower after the rebellion, so for the past six months, your Imperial Guards have been patrolling alongside them to enforce the curfew. Coincidentally, you were the one leading the patrol the night Screaming Vulture sneaked into the princess's mansion."
Ji Linyou scratched his head and pretended to be dumb: "Really? Prince Mingjiu actually sneaked into the princess's mansion, what a courage..."
Unfortunately, his feigned ignorance was useless, and Ling Tianshui didn't bother to beat around the bush. "Based on Mingjiu's confession, the Dali Temple reconstructed his whereabouts that day and discovered that they coincided with those of the patrol. I've already verified with the patrolmen that day that you discovered Mingjiu's suspicious movements that night. You told the others to continue their patrols as usual while you followed him alone, leaving him a long time before returning."
"These bastards can't control their mouths!" Ji Linyou was very depressed.
"Combined with what Mingjiu said, he had a very smooth journey after entering the Princess Gao's residence. Even when he got lost, someone showed him the way. I think it's self-evident who helped him at that time, right?"
At this point, Ji Linyou had nothing to hide and said directly: "That guy is so stupid, he's just running around like a headless fly with a horse head in his hand, but he can't find the place. It made me so anxious that I couldn't help but show him a clear way and help him get rid of a few ignorant guards."
"You were the one who put the incense?"
"No, I was leading a patrol. How could I possibly carry something like that? When I got there, they were already fast asleep. I don't know if it was the Princess's doing or something. I have to say Mingjiu has some luck. He's doing things so smoothly!"
Cui Fufeng frowned slightly: "So, the strange situation in the princess's mansion that night was not caused by you?"
Ji Linyou said angrily, "I did want to, but unfortunately someone got there first."
Seeing his appearance, which obviously did not seem to be fake, Qian Deng fell silent.
So, the person who stole Meng Lanxi's "dream of deep sleep" was not Ming Jiu or Ji Linyou, but someone else in the backyard of this palace.
She was frowning in thought when she heard Cui Fufeng say, "It's a pity. Even though you all dislike Princess Gao, even though she has passed away, Your Majesty's remembrance of your aunt has made the political initiatives she initiated during her lifetime go more smoothly."
Upon hearing this, Ji Linyou became even more depressed. "That's not right... Hey, Mr. Cui, that doctor in the Ministry of War who strongly advocated for the transfer of generals—that's the same Zheng Raoan who curried favor with Princess Gao to ascend to power. I heard he's going to be promoted to Vice Minister. His first order of business will be to oversee the transfer of generals and soldiers?"
Cui Fufeng was well aware of all this: "It is true."
"Tsk, some people really die too late." Ji Linyou said angrily.
Qian Deng was silent for a moment, then asked, "How many of my ancestors' old subordinates are still here?"
Ji Linyou said without hesitation: "A total of 862 people and 650 horses."
Qiandeng sighed lightly, feeling endless sadness in his heart.
During the heyday of the dynasty, my grandfather had nearly 60,000 soldiers under his command. But now, over the years, the Bai family soldiers under my father and grandfather's command have aged, died, split up and left, and in the end, there are less than a thousand left.
"Don't worry, Princess. We will definitely protect the prince's last few soldiers and hold up the Changhua flag." Ji Linyou had obviously thought of this as well. He looked at Qiandeng with a slightly dim look in his eyes, but his tone was firm. "No matter what, they are all soldiers trained by the prince and the crown prince personally. We will never give up on them!"
Looking at his firm and sincere eyes, Qiandeng was moved and nodded silently.
After the four of them drank two cups of tea in silence, Ling Tianshui asked, "Mingjiu was rude to the county lady last night. I wasn't there at the time. I wonder if Captain Ji noticed anyone approaching Mingjiu?"
"We all rushed forward, no one would spare him, so naturally we all got close!" Ji Linyou recalled the scene last night and was still furious. "That bastard barbarian actually dared... dared to treat the county lady like that. Even now when I think about it, I still want to tear him apart and feed him to the eagles!"
"So you all had physical contact with him at that time?"
Ji Linyou argued confidently: "Of course, even Cui Shaoqing couldn't help it, let alone us?"
Cui Fufeng lowered his eyes and sipped tea without saying a word.
After seeing Ling Tianshui and Ji Linyou off, Qiandeng saw that it was still early, so he asked Cui Fufeng, "I want to go to the palace. What do you think?"
"Is it about your grandfather's old subordinates?" Cui Fufeng naturally knew what she was thinking. "If the county lady goes to the Eastern Palace to look for the crown prince, I'm going back to the Dali Temple and can accompany you."
"No..." Qiandeng hesitated as she thought about what the prince said to her in front of Princess Gao's spirit yesterday.
Although she and the prince have always been as close as siblings, he has his future princess consort and she has a bunch of potential husbands. The two of them really shouldn't have too much contact with each other.
Therefore, she directly instructed Shang Nanliu to fetch the prince's handwritten letter yesterday, so as to minimize the encounter with the prince.
But she naturally found it difficult to express these concerns, and ultimately said, "Recent events have always been related to Princess Gao and Princess Changyi. The Crown Prince is inevitably embarrassed to be in the middle of it. I'd better submit a petition to the Queen."
Cui Fufeng advised, "Princess Gao has just passed away, and His Majesty is grateful for their past friendship. This is a sensitive period. If the County Lady wants to protect herself, it would be best to avoid conflicting with her faction. Otherwise, she might suffer the consequences."
"I know. But the Ji family were brothers who shared life and death with my ancestors. The soldiers also fought alongside them in bloody battles. Now, at this critical moment of life and death, if I abandon them, wouldn't I be disregarding my ancestors' wishes and personally wiping out the last ray of glory of my Bai family?"
Seeing her determined expression, Cui Fufeng said, "In that case, the County Lady and Her Majesty the Queen should have a detailed discussion. As long as the approach is appropriate, I think this matter will not be difficult."
He was the one who had the clearest understanding of the direction of the court situation. Hearing him speak, Qian Deng's initially anxious heart seemed to find some peace of mind. "I wonder what angle, Master Cui, thinks, would be the most appropriate for me to approach this from?"
Cui Fufeng thought for a moment and said, "We can start with the old case involving the Crown Prince."
Qian Deng nodded. Indeed, in this respect, the Queen shared the same stance as herself, having both been harmed by Princess Gao. This approach would indeed provide her with the most favorable foundation.
However, just as she changed her clothes and prepared to leave, Aunt Xuanji came to inform her that Zhang Huoshan, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, had arrived.
The Minister is actually in charge of a department's affairs. Now that he has come in person, Qiandeng knows that something big must have happened.
Aunt Xuanji looked uneasy and whispered, "He came with a group of yamen runners and asked the county lady to bring relevant people from the mansion with him."
The assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice personally went to the door and took away the Princess of Lingling County, the Uighur Prince and other relevant people, but he did not take them to the Ministry of Justice, but took them all the way to the Daming Palace.
After entering the palace gate and walking all the way to Taiye Lake, just when passing by Penglai Palace, the female official beside the queen suddenly came over and took Qiandeng to meet the queen first.
Qiandeng, who was asking to see the queen, quickened his pace and followed into the hall.
In the solemn and magnificent hall, the queen was sitting in front of the window, holding a silver phoenix hairpin in her hand. She was turning it slowly and examining the details of the hairpin.
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