"The Seventh Princess of Ancient Shu?" Feng Yuheng was sitting in the yard eating fruit. Opposite her were Xuan Tianming and Xuan Tianhua. "I've thought of it a long time ago. Who else can bring the poisonous insects from Southern Xinjiang except the Seventh Princess? It seems that the Lu family and Ancient Shu also have a close connection, otherwise, why would the Seventh Princess give the poisonous insects to Lu Yao?" She took a bite of the apple, thought about it again, and shook her head to deny it. "Not necessarily. If Lu Yao said that she wanted to use the insects to harm me, maybe the princess of Ancient Shu would really give it to her."
Xuan Tianming said helplessly after hearing this: "It seems that the whole world is your enemy! However, even if the Lu family has no direct connection with Ancient Shu, they must have a close relationship with Old Eight. I think the only remaining daughter in their family is left for Old Eight."
"Of course." Xuan Tian also followed up and said, "The Lu family has been in close contact with Concubine Yuan Shu in the palace recently. If they hadn't set their sights on Old Eight, they would never have taken this path. However, let them toss around. Old Eight will make a scene sooner or later. I just don't know how big his plate is and how much energy we have to put in to deal with it. As for the Seventh Princess of Ancient Shu, Dashun will probably not deal with her directly. She will most likely be secretly sent back to Ancient Shu. Then the person who is escorting her..."
"I'll go." Xuan Tianming said coldly, "I'll go to the south to explore the way."
"Are you going to the Southern Realm so early?" Feng Yuheng was stunned. Finally, she could no longer leisurely lean back on the chair and eat fruit. She leaned forward and asked Xuan Tianming anxiously, "Didn't you say you would leave after the New Year? Why did you suddenly change your mind? So anxious?"
Xuan Tianming reached out to rub her head, "It's not that I won't come back, I'm just escorting the Seventh Princess of Ancient Shu back, and I'll be back by the end of the year at the latest. You saw the Moonlit Palace Banquet this time, too. None of the people in the south were quiet. In their eyes, there was no court, no emperor. So many people came to the capital this time, just to see with their own eyes what the situation is like in the capital now, but Ah Heng made a good decision this time, and the Feng and Yao families' commotion must have fooled them. At least after returning, there will be a lot of reports about Princess Ji'an."
"I'm quite famous in their small group?" Feng Yuheng rubbed his nose and argued for himself again, "Since we are not going to fight, but just escorting a prisoner, then why don't you take me with you?"
Xuan Tianming shook his head, "You've made such a big mess in the capital, and then you just left without saying anything. Aren't you afraid of malicious provocation from someone with ulterior motives? How can people believe you just by saying something? A few tests are inevitable. If you leave, out of sight, out of mind, but the effect is far different from watching with one's eyes but not doing anything. It's not easy to set up such a plan, don't let it lose its effect. Be good, I will come back as soon as possible, believe me."
What else could Feng Yuheng say? He sat back in his chair angrily and continued to eat the fruit.
As expected, the next day, the court announced that the Seventh Princess of Ancient Shu was immediately sent back to the country, escorted by the Ninth Prince Xuan Tianming. Because of Lu Yao's crime, Lu Song was fined three years' salary as a punishment. Lu Song accepted this.
Xuan Tianming was about to go to the South Boundary, which made many officials in the South Boundary speculate. They didn't understand why the Ninth Prince had to be dispatched to escort the Ancient Shu Princess. Some people even asked around to find out whether Xuan Tianming's troops had been mobilized, but the news they got was that they were not moving and had no intention of assembling any troops. But no one knew that one night before Xuan Tianming was about to leave, he secretly met with General Pingnan, who gave him a precious jade as a token to mobilize the old troops who were still in the South Boundary.
The next day, Xuan Tianming went out, and Feng Yuheng accompanied him all the way to the South City Gate.
The Seventh Princess of Ancient Shu sat in a carriage. The carriage was not luxurious, but comfortable. After all, she was a princess of a country. Dashun did not blame her, but did not treat her too well. At this moment, Feng Yuheng and Xuan Tianming walked side by side at the front of the team. Bai Ze led the horse and stopped outside the South City Gate. He heard the Princess of Ancient Shu called out from behind: "Princess Ji'an!"
Feng Yuheng turned around and replied with a faint smile: "Princess, please speak."
The ancient Shu princess asked the carriage driver to move forward a few steps, and then she sat beside the carriage, raised her exotic face and said to Guan Fengyuheng: "Let your future husband take me back to the country, aren't you afraid that I will eat him halfway?" Exotic women are all unrestrained and outgoing. While speaking, her big eyes were full of teasing. She said to Fengyuheng, but her eyes were looking at Xuan Tianming.
Unfortunately, Xuan Tianming was often not smart. For example, when it came to women, apart from Feng Yuheng, the only people he could look at more than once could be counted on two fingers. They were none other than Yun Fei and Xuan Tiange. The Seventh Princess's bold teasing was no different from looking at a man, which made the Seventh Princess feel very bored.
Feng Yuheng laughed so hard that her stomach hurt. She asked the Seventh Princess, "Don't you think you should consider the safety of the whole journey? Seventh Princess, don't blame me for not reminding you. My fiancé is moody. When he is happy, he may take you on a peaceful walk back to the South Realm. But if he is unhappy, he may burn the carriage you are sitting in, or throw you off the cliff, or even more likely, whip your face with his whip. Seventh Princess, I am not scaring you, this is true."
Bai Ze laughed when he heard it, "Princess, that's too horrific. Our prince is not that cruel. At most, he would feed the poisonous insect to the Seventh Princess again. Prince, am I right?"
Xuan Tianming sneered, "It depends on my mood."
The Seventh Princess of Ancient Shu suddenly shivered. It was the first time she felt cold in the Mid-Autumn Festival. "You two have been talking about love all the way. Are you going to stop? Hurry up and leave. I want to go back to Ancient Shu." After she finished speaking, she lowered the curtain and went back into the carriage. She didn't want to say another word.
But Xuan Tianming said loudly: "Why are you in such a hurry? We Dashun had no say in your coming to the capital, so it is not up to you to leave the capital now." Then, he ignored the carriage and just took Feng Yuheng's hand and walked forward a few more words, gently hugging her, like a couple saying goodbye, but no one knew that Xuan Tianming was saying to Feng Yuheng: "The Lu family's business chain is the primary link for them to communicate with the south. Cut off their business and their lives."
Feng Yuheng chuckled, "Don't worry, everything will be done before you come back. I'll be waiting for you in the capital, come back soon."
Finally, Xuantian's team gradually walked away, and Wangchuan and Huangquan accompanied Feng Yuheng back to the palace. Since then, officials from other provinces have also left Beijing one after another, including the family of the Lanzhou governor, and the magistrate Luo Tian and his party.
In the Imperial Palace, Cunshan Palace
Concubine Yuan Shu was holding a handwritten letter, and her maid Yuexiu was bringing her a bowl of bird's nest. "Your Majesty, drink it first while it's still warm, and read the letter later."
Concubine Yuan Shu smiled and threw the handwritten letter aside. She took the bird's nest and ate it mouthful by mouthful. She also told Yuexiu: "I have finished reading it. The Lanzhou prefect Ji Lingtian not only left this handwritten letter expressing the Ji family's intentions, but also sent a banknote of a very large denomination, saying that he would wholeheartedly support and assist the Eighth Prince. This sincerity is worth seeing, at least it is much better than the empty words of the Lu family."
Yue Xiu didn't show any extra expression on her face, she just asked her: "Lanzhou is the last prefecture in the southern border, they have no other choice but to rely on the Eighth Prince. Your Majesty believes what he said, will you support the Eighth Prince wholeheartedly? I think those officials are all cunning and difficult to control."
"That's right." Concubine Yuan Shu sneered, "It's easy to say 'wholeheartedly', but it's hard to do. They regard the South Territory as their home, and Mo'er has become powerful there, so they have naturally tasted the sweetness and have some friendship. But if we really talk about loyalty, in my opinion, there is not much. Didn't Lao Jiu also go to the South? My eyelids have been twitching these days. I always feel that Lao Jiu has done nothing good in his past, and he might cause a lot of trouble for Mo'er. As for the officials in the South Territory, once they see that there is a prince who is more capable than Mo'er and also holds military power, if they go one step further and let Lao Jiu gain a foothold in the desert in the south, do you think they will defect?"
Yuexiu thought about it and nodded, "Your Majesty is right, it is indeed possible, but we can't just sit there and wait for His Majesty the Ninth Prince to go south to get a piece of the pie, we have to make some preparations."
"Yes!" Concubine Yuan Shu sighed, "But how do we prepare?"
"Your Highness." Yuexiu took two steps forward, bent down, and lowered her voice to say, "Your Highness has not yet married a wife, and he doesn't even have a proper concubine or a concubine. I heard that there are only a few maids in the mansion, who are not presentable. The Lu family intends to marry their legitimate daughter to the Eighth Prince, but that will be a matter for when they return to the capital. Now in the south, why don't you tell Your Highness that if you can't have a wife, it's also good to marry a few concubines. For example, the family of the Lanzhou governor and the family of the Luotian governor must have a few concubines, right? It's not a bad way for a concubine to marry a prince as a concubine."
Concubine Yuan Shu nodded, "It's indeed a good idea. Mo'er hasn't married a wife in these years, and he hasn't mentioned this matter. I'll take this opportunity to ask him what he really thinks. And about Fu Ya outside the palace, Yuexiu, you should immediately ask someone to find the best painter. I'll invite Miss Fu Ya to the palace in a few days, and ask the painter to paint a portrait of her. Then send them to Mo'er and let him know what he thinks."
"I heard that Princess Ji'an broke off relations with Madam Yao, the Yao family, and the Feng family."
"Who knows?" Concubine Yuan Shu frowned and thought for a while, "Let's test it out in a few days, maybe they really broke up. We should also adjust our direction and stop doing those useless things."
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the weather became increasingly cold, and Feng Yuheng and his relatives also became increasingly cold-hearted, especially the Yao family, who were separated by only a wall and had never interacted with them. Some people even saw the Yao family's servants secretly throwing dirty water at the door of the Princess's Mansion.
For a time, Princess Ji'an broke with her family, and this matter was confirmed.
At the same time, the Yao family could not get over the fact that Lu Yao had dragged the Xu family into this trap, and a crazy revenge campaign against the Lu family was quietly launched by Yao Xian and Yao Jingjun...
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