Chapter 167 Princess Chen may not be a daughter of the He family

After more than ten days, Ruan Qinghuan and Chu Li became more and more worried. The people they sent out to inquire about the news came back and said that there were indeed traces of fighting along the Linjiang River, but other than that, no other useful information was found.

Chu Li was restless and paced back and forth in the room: "Sister-in-law, where do you think they went? Could they have been defeated by King Chen and captured?"

"If they really lost, how could Jiangnan be so peaceful?"

That’s true. But it’s impossible for more than 20,000 soldiers to disappear overnight.

"Madam He, Miss Chu, our old man wants to see you."

"knew."

After everyone left, Ruan Qinghuan comforted Chu Li: "You know Ji Lingchuan's ability. Although he is lazy and careless on weekdays, he is a smart and intelligent general on the battlefield. What's more, He An is with him, so he will be fine."

Having said that, in fact, Ruan Qinghuan was also worried.

But she was in Jiangnan and didn't know the situation on the front line, so she couldn't panic.

**

Old Master Zhou invited them here because of He Hongzhi's imprisonment: "Qinghuan, does He Hongzhi still have a chance to be the governor of Jiangnan again?"

"Why did Grandfather suddenly ask this?"

The old man said: "The reason why I am in a hurry to arrange Shuang'er's marriage is that I am afraid that the He family will cause trouble. But getting married is a major event in life. If the He family can't cause trouble again, then we don't have to rush to arrange the confinement in these ten days. The time is too tight and it is difficult to be thorough."

It turned out to be because of this matter: "At present, it seems that the connection between the He family and Prince Chen is already set in stone. It is absolutely impossible for him to return to the position of governor of Jiangnan."

Old Man Zhou took this reassurance and breathed a sigh of relief.

The eldest aunt beside him also wiped away tears: "Thank God, the plague god of the He family has finally been eliminated."

Ruan Qinghuan recalled that He An's interrogation of He Hongzhi a few days ago was not smooth, so he asked casually: "Grandfather, have you heard about the He family? How could He Hongzhi, a son born out of wedlock, be able to take the position of a legitimate son?"

Speaking of this, even though He Hongzhi has been imprisoned, Grandpa Zhou is still upset: "The reason why I don't think highly of this marriage with the He family is not because Shuang'er will be the continuation of the marriage, but because of her character."

Chu Li: "Are you saying that He Hongzhi has bad character?"

Although it was obvious at first glance that he was not a good person, Chu Li was still very curious about what He Hongzhi had done to make Old Man Zhou so disgusted.

Old Master Zhou seemed to be thinking about where to start, and after a moment he opened the conversation: "He Hongzhi is the illegitimate son of the He family's eldest branch, and was not favored. Later, the noble concubine issued an order to make the He family's eldest branch's legitimate daughter the Princess of Chen, but the He family's legitimate daughter already had a lover, so she refused to obey."

"But for some reason, three days later, the girl came to Beijing as scheduled." After arriving in Beijing and becoming the Princess of Chen, the legitimate daughter of the He family seemed to have changed into a different person. She became increasingly cold towards her brothers from the same mother, and became closer to the illegitimate He Hongzhi.

"In the following years, the He family's first wife did not rise to prominence because of the birth of a princess. Instead, everything went wrong. Later, during a banquet, a fire broke out in the first wife's house. The two legitimate sons drank too much and were unable to escape in time, and died in the fire."

"Since then, the legitimate son has died, and Ho Hong-chi, the illegitimate son, has become the mainstay of the Ho family's main branch."

Ruan Qinghuan seemed to be thinking about something.

Chu Li couldn't believe it: "I can't believe that Princess Chen is so cruel. She turned against her parents and brother just because she was forced to marry."

Ruan Qinghuan: "Grandfather, what is the current situation of the Zhou family's eldest branch?"

"That was the situation. After losing two sons, the wife went crazy and ended up living on the streets.

Ho Hung-chi took his mother to work in Jiangnan. Apart from these rumors, I don’t know much about the details.”

Ruan Qinghuan thought for a moment and said, "If I remember correctly, the He family lived in Lincheng, that's right."

Old Grandfather Zhou nodded and said, "Before the accident, the He family was the most prosperous family in Lincheng. But now that they have moved to a new place, I heard that they have fallen into decline."

"Qing Huan, why are you asking these questions?"

Ruan Qinghuan shook her head: "I'm just curious."

**

Leaving the main hall and returning to the room, Chu Li immediately came forward and said, "Sister-in-law suddenly asked about the He family, but did you find anything?"

"I just wonder, the legitimate daughter of the He family became the princess, but why did the legitimate line of the first house have a harder time? Even if Princess Chen had resentment about getting married, under normal circumstances, she would have just stopped associating with him. Why did her relationship with her illegitimate brother suddenly change?"

Chu Li frowned: "The main thing is, I have dealt with Princess Chen a lot, and no matter how I look at it, she seems to be devoted to Prince Chen, extremely gentle and flattering, and doesn't seem to have any resentment at all, right?"

"That's the problem. One anomaly may be just a coincidence, but if too many anomalies are connected together, then there is a problem." Ruan Qinghuan collected his thoughts: "Chu Li, would you like to go to Lincheng with me?"

"Of course, once we get to Lincheng, it will be easier to find out about the situation near the Linjiang River." Chu Li put away his excitement: "But sister-in-law, can you please stop keeping me in suspense? Tell me what you have discovered, so that I don't feel itchy inside."

Ruan Qinghuan shook his head and expressed his guess: "I guess that Princess Chen may not be the daughter of the He family."

"What?"

**

Two hundred miles outside Linjiang City is the Linjiang River. Before the battle, the county government received a secret order from the prime minister to lock the city gates during the battle to prevent the rebels from entering.

The little county magistrate had never encountered such a thing before. The battle lasted for seven days and he didn't sleep a wink for seven days.

Although the war has stopped and the army has retreated, he is still worried, fearing that if the war breaks out again, he, a small county magistrate, will suffer.

He didn't feel relieved until the deputy general of the Jiangnan garrison returned to guard the city of Linjiang.

In the county yamen, County Magistrate Liu bowed and smiled, "I've heard that the Jiangnan garrison has a new deputy commander. I didn't expect him to be so young and capable, and so impressive."

"County Magistrate Liu, are you aware of the fact that a group of spies have emerged among the Jiangnan garrison?"

County Magistrate Liu was immediately frightened and broke out in a cold sweat: "Lieutenant General Ruan, don't dare to joke like this. This matter has nothing to do with me. It was He Zhen, a doctor from the Ministry of Revenue who came to Jiangnan a few days ago, who mentioned that he had a relative in the army, but I don't know whether they met or not."

"He Zhen?" The position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was vacant a few days ago, and Prince Chen had recommended this man to the Emperor.

"Where is he now?"

"I don't know either." Although County Magistrate Liu didn't know what had happened exactly, he knew it must be a matter of life and death since a war had broken out.

Seeing that he was trembling with fear, Ruan Qingzhou frowned and said, "Don't be nervous, sir. I am just doing my job."

"Yes, yes, yes. Lieutenant General Ruan, please ask me whatever you want to know. I will tell you everything I know." County Magistrate Liu suddenly raised his head and said, "By the way, not long after the Ministry of Revenue doctor arrived, the Prime Minister ordered the city gates to be closed. Maybe he is still in the city now."