Gu Jinke held the note in her hand with a frown on her face. She looked at the handwriting again and it was indeed from Xin Shuang. But what on earth had happened in the capital that required the use of the army?
The Second Princess usually only has eyes for her own family and would never get involved in state affairs if possible.
The fourth princess spends her days in literary pursuits, but she has no real power, is indecisive, and cannot stir up any waves.
The third princess is already in the imperial mausoleum.
Gu Jinke was silent for a moment. When no one was sure of the motive, bringing troops into the capital was not a trivial matter. If there was no legitimate reason or the empress's edict, it could be regarded as rebellion.
It's not that she didn't trust Xin Shuang, but she was also afraid that Xin Shuang had fallen into a trap, because it was too coincidental. She had just defeated the Barbarian Kingdom and was on her way back to the capital with all her achievements. In addition, the Queen was always wary of her and favored other people. Gu Jinke was also worried that this was a test from the sick Queen.
You know, in the original book, Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess was imprisoned in the imperial mausoleum because of the charge of rebellion. Gu Jinke was afraid of repeating the same mistakes and his fate returning to its original trajectory.
She is now standing at a crossroads of fate, and Gu Jinke doesn't know which direction to take.
Without an imperial edict, if there was an incident in the capital, she would lead her troops back to the capital and save the people of the capital and the empress. If it was a fake incident in the capital, as long as she brought her men into the city, she would be beaten to death for rebellion and would have no chance of defending herself.
Josh also frowned: "I haven't received any news, how about we wait a little longer?"
He also has people left in the capital. If his men also send a letter, they can lead the troops with confidence.
Li Yuxin nodded when he heard the news. He spent a lot of time in the capital, and after getting to know Gu Jinke, he roughly understood her situation. It would not be excessive to handle such matters with caution.
Gu Jinke did not say anything. If someone really started a rebellion, they would have no time to wait. Any longer they delayed would increase the risk and pose more threats to the Queen's safety.
Finally, she glanced at Li Yuxin, and then called Xun Ji to make arrangements.
That night, the team reorganized and set out on the journey back to Beijing under the stars.
The capital city is indeed in chaos, and several major events have occurred in recent days.
First, Lord Qiao from the Minister of War's family and Gong Zhongxing, the young master of the Gong Zhong family, crashed their carriages in a downtown area. Then a large amount of gold, silver, treasures, and a minor official rolled out of Lord Qiao's carriage. Lord Qiao was caught accepting bribes with the minor official in public. The Queen was furious and had Lord Qiao taken away to the Dali Temple for investigation.
Gong Zhongxing, who discovered the incident, was also injured and returned home to recuperate. However, after Lord Qiao had been in the Dali Temple for only two days, rumors spread that Lord Xue of the Dali Temple had taken revenge on Lord Qiao for personal reasons, causing Lord Qiao to be severely tortured in prison and left dying.
As for the reason for holding the emperor hostage, it was because Lord Xue's son was the Queen Mother, but Lord Qiao's son was shameless and climbed onto the prince's bed first. Lord Xue felt sorry for his son, so he took revenge on Lord Qiao.
Along with this conclusion, there was also the statement that Lord Qiao was wronged and framed, which put the Xue family at the center of a whirlpool of public opinion. They were pointed at every day, and Xue Luan became the target of public criticism.
Such a conclusion was not only widely spread in the capital, but also reached the ears of the emperor and the empress. Under pressure and the memorial from the Censorate, Xue Cang was temporarily given leave and sent home, and the case was taken over by someone else.
At this juncture, Prime Minister Gongzhong fell ill for unknown reasons, and several important court positions in the court were temporarily vacant.
After the storm calmed down a little, the noble lady in the harem questioned the empress's condition. Then when the imperial physician tested the medicine, he found that other medicinal ingredients had been added, which led to the empress's long-term illness. Following the clues, the evidence vaguely pointed to the king and the queen.
The Queen may plot to murder the Empress.
Since it concerns the health of a country's monarch, everyone treats it seriously. The queen could not produce anything to prove her innocence, and after arguing with the virtuous and noble monarch, she had to close the palace doors, resign from her harem duties, and accept investigation.
Because of Xian Guijun's discovery, he was brought to the Queen's side and served with medicine.
After several incidents happened one after another, all the people involved were related to the princess. Many people's thoughts changed, and they recalled the princess's previous bad reputation. Then, rumors of birds of a feather and collusion spread. If anyone refuted the princess's recent achievement of conquering the barbarian country, the credit would be attributed to thousands of soldiers.
In addition, the capital city suffered less from the war, and many people did not know the inside story. Gu Jinke had not returned to the capital yet, and no more detailed news had been received, so the public's voice was quickly mislead.
Xue Cang temporarily resigned from her post and stayed at home because it was inconvenient for her to show up due to Lord Qiao's matter. Xue Luan was suddenly under such pressure and also implicated her mother, making her even more depressed. Xue Cangqing is a self-righteous person, but he couldn't bear to see his child so depressed, so he asked Xue Luan to go to a farm outside the city to soak in the hot springs and relax.
Xue Luan also knew that his mood was a little off after a series of unexpected events, so he quickly accepted the proposal, then took his people out of the capital and stayed for a while at a farm outside the city, but he also had other plans.
Because there were rumors outside that Gong Zhongxing was sick, in order to help Prime Minister Gong Zhong recuperate, he took him to another villa to recuperate.
Xue Luan planned to visit Gong Zhongxing and ask him about the details of the carriage collision that day to see if he could find any other clues to clear his mother of the wronged accusation of personal revenge.
The two hot spring villas are not far from each other. After all, this area is full of villas owned by dignitaries. Xue Luan quickly paid a visit and met Gong Zhongxing.
It's just that Gong Zhongxing's condition seemed a little off. When the servant led him into the courtyard, Gong Zhongxing was lying weakly on the bed with a pale face. When he saw Xue Luan, the smile on his face made Xue Luan instinctively feel uncomfortable. The servant who brought the guests in had a stern look on his face, and actually spoke to Gong Zhongxing in a tone that hinted at reminders and forced commands: "My Lord, let Master and Master Xue tell us in detail all the circumstances of what happened that day."
Gong Zhongxing smiled, but he glanced at the servant. There was resentment and unwillingness in his eyes, but in the end it turned into a quiet smile. He actually agreed obediently: "Okay."
After he finished speaking, the waiter left. Only he and Xue Luan were left in the room. Xue Luan was a little surprised, and also vaguely felt that something was wrong.
He had not had much contact with Gong Zhongxing before, as they were mostly acquaintances in the capital. However, after he became engaged to Gu Jinke, he got to know this young master Gong Zhong. There seemed to be some conflicts between him and His Highness, and he even had a conflict with His Highness on the day he returned to the capital this time.
However, it was not appropriate for Xue Luan to intervene in the conflict between the two. He still remembered the purpose of his visit, so he sat down and asked Gong Zhongxing in a gentle voice: "Mr. Gong Zhong, could you please tell me what happened that day again?"
Although Gong Zhongxing's face was pale, there was a hint of arrogance in his brows. His gaze fell on Xue Luan. Xue Luan's face was really young, and he was not extremely handsome or good-looking. There was a hint of innocence in his expression.
Gong Zhongxing looked at him left and right, but could not see what was particularly outstanding about him. He also did not know how he could have gotten the empress to decree that he be married to the crown prince. He immediately felt a fire of evil in his heart, burning his reason inexplicably. He did not answer Xue Luan's question, but instead said sarcastically: "So this is what the crown prince's future prince looks like. There is nothing outstanding about him, but he is a perfect match for the crown prince."
Xue Luan's face suddenly darkened. If Gong Zhongxing had only ridiculed him, it would have been fine. After all, he did not think he was that outstanding. However, it was wrong to put Gu Jinke down. He touched the copper coin in his hand and said firmly, "Your Highness is very good!"
His brows became colder, his innocence faded, and he looked at Gong Zhongxing calmly: "I just want to ask about the incident of the carriage crash that day. If you are willing to talk, I, Xue Luan, will sit down and listen. If you are not willing to talk, I will take my leave."
He was neither angry nor frustrated, but rather became calmer and more determined. Under the stimulation of Gong Zhongxing, he showed a different and charming side and firmly defended Gu Jinke. This made Gong Zhongxing feel surprised, and then even angrier. Maybe Gu Jinke liked this side of the young master?
But what’s so good about Gu Jinke? Surprisingly, everyone was defending her, including Xue Luan and his grandmother.
Contrary to the rumors outside, in fact, it was Prime Minister Gongzhong who discovered something was wrong and forcibly brought Gongzhongxing to the manor to make him reflect.
It was just too much of a coincidence. As one of the six ministers, how could Lord Qiao be so careless as to accept bribes in the carriage and be caught by Gong Zhongxing? Moreover, Lord Qiao was always cautious.
What followed was Lord Xue's personal revenge.
As officials in the same court, Prime Minister Gongzhong trusted Xue Cang's character. He believed that she kept her official business and private affairs separate, and he would never believe that she would take revenge for personal gain.
Therefore, as prime minister, she also participated in the investigation. However, as the investigation deepened, she found traces of Gong Zhongxing's involvement, but she did not get any concrete evidence. However, this made Prime Minister Gong Zhong so angry that he fell ill. After she fell ill, in order to make Gong Zhongxing tell the truth, she ignored the fact that Gong Zhongxing was injured and resolutely used family rules. She even sent Gong Zhongxing to the manor to reflect on himself, let him realize his mistakes, and then it would be best if he turned himself in.
This is also the reason why Xue Luan was allowed to enter Zhuangzi. Prime Minister Gong Zhong hoped that Gong Zhongxing would turn back, but Gong Zhongxing himself did not think so. He just felt angry. He was angry that he could not see Gu Jinke's true face, especially when he saw Xue Luan so firmly defending Gu Jinke.
He laughed: "You defend Gu Jinke like this, how do you know she will take you to heart? Isn't she having a hot relationship with Qiao Xi, the son of Mr. Qiao, and you are still helping her, it's ridiculous!"
But Xue Luan frowned when he saw his expression. To Gong Zhongxing, this expression was anger, but to him, it was jealousy. Hidden beneath the anger was deep jealousy, jealousy towards him and also towards Qiao Xi.
What is there to be jealous of?
There was only one possibility, Xue Luan blurted out instinctively: "Do you like His Highness?"
After the words fell, the room was silent. Both of them were stunned, but soon Gong Zhongxing burst into laughter: "How is it possible? How could I like her? I hate her so much!"
Gu Jinke harmed his younger uncle. Although Prime Minister Gongzhong explained it, he didn't believe it. If everything was fake, why didn't Gu Jinke refute him? Why would his younger uncle live in peace in a corner and give up his wealth and glory?
He doesn't believe it!
But when asked by Xue Luan, Gong Zhongxing felt inexplicably nervous again. He stopped laughing. Xue Luan stood opposite him, looking at him coldly and quietly.
Gong Zhongxing couldn't laugh anymore. He didn't know whether it was because of his inexplicable panic or because of Xue Luan's unclear eyes.
But when he glanced at the sky, his mood inexplicably improved.
"It doesn't matter. You all defend her, but she will soon show her true colors. You guys will also soon show your true colors."
He said with a smile.
Xue Luan looked at him and frowned: "What do you mean?"
Gong Zhongxing raised his eyebrows and said, "You'll know when the night comes."
Xue Luan felt uneasy, and Gong Zhongxing seemed crazy and would not say anything to him, so he did not plan to stay and prepared to leave: "Since Master Gong Zhong is unwilling to say anything, Xue Luan will take his leave."
Gong Zhongxing shook his head: "No, since you are here, why not take a look at the ideal princess in your mind."
"She rebelled!"
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