Chapter 588 Mother and Child Connected (Second Update)
Xiao Heng listened attentively, not in a hurry to express his own opinion. Princess Xinyang was teaching him how to make a living among the six kingdoms, like an experienced gyrfalcon patiently instructing its fledgling eagle.
He will humbly learn and accept.
Princess Xinyang said calmly, "I originally planned to lead the army to wipe them out, but then I thought about it and realized that the cost would be too high. Every soldier's life is precious."
Xiao Heng said, "You changed your mind after seeing Jiao Jiao, didn't you?"
Princess Xinyang glared at him with a dark expression. "Do you think you're all thorns and ready to spring up if you don't expose your mother every day?"
Xiao Heng smiled and said, "I also think that subduing the enemy without fighting is the best strategy."
Princess Xinyang nodded: "War is necessary, but we must not send our people to fight. After all, those Dragon Shadow Guards are not to be trifled with. If we were to fight a hundred of them, we would lose at least a thousand."
This price was magnified to the extreme after seeing Gu Jiao return from the brink of death.
Not everyone is born with the responsibility of protecting all living beings. She may be a princess, but her awareness of this responsibility is not that high.
It was indeed Gu Jiao who changed her mind.
Gu Jiao must have fought just as hard to defend the city on the frontier, right?
She was like that, and so were the soldiers of Zhao Kingdom.
...No more people can die.
"Leave the Yan people to me, as for Grand Tutor Zhuang..." Princess Xinyang paused, looking at him with a half-smile, "...to you?"
Xiao Heng smiled gently: "Okay."
Princess Xinyang paused for a moment and then said, "By the way, let me remind you of something. The people of Yan should have reached some kind of cooperation with Grand Tutor Zhuang. When Jiang Ping left, he said to General Nangong, 'General Nangong, thank you.'"
In fact, Princess Xinyang possessed far more information than this, but she refused to tell Xiao Heng, hoping that he could figure it out himself.
She couldn't protect him forever; one day he would have to soar alone and fly to a wider sky. She hoped he would be capable enough to handle anything.
After Xiao Heng came out of the study, Yu Jin walked in. She had been guarding the door and heard everything.
She said worriedly, "Princess, Grand Tutor Zhuang is cunning and treacherous. Wouldn't it be too dangerous to send the young marquis to deal with him?"
Princess Xinyang said earnestly, "The Nangong family, Yu Jin, the person who wants his life comes from the Nangong family. Do you understand how powerful the Nangong family is? The Nangong family has over a thousand members and two hundred thousand soldiers. The Zhuang family is powerful, but it's nothing compared to the Nangong family. If he can't even bring down Grand Tutor Zhuang, how will he compete with the Nangong family in the future? If he truly doesn't have that ability, I'd rather he live in anonymity for the rest of his life and never enter the world again!"
Gu Jiao had just gone through a battle, and Xiao Heng didn't want her to suffer so much, so he let her stay with Princess Xinyang to recuperate while he went back to Bishui Hutong to deal with the matter of Grand Tutor Zhuang.
On the carriage ride back, he tried to piece together a complete truth based on the clues he had.
Jiang Ping said, "General Nangong, thank you very much."
This statement does indeed sound like a deal has been struck between them.
Xiao Heng then remembered something else: when Gu Jiao and Gu Chengfeng were following Qin Fengyan, they overheard Qin Fengyan talking to people from the Yan Kingdom.
Qin Fengyan said, "It seems there's nothing more we can talk about."
The man said, "If you want your things back, you'd better do as we say."
Qin Fengyan then said, "Why go through all this trouble? Why don't I kill him for you?"
The man said, "If you can really kill him, then bring his head over and we'll give you the stuff."
Judging from their conversation, Qin Fengyan had something fall into the hands of the Yan people.
When Princess Xinyang raided Qin Fengyan's stronghold, she found the money and account books left to Qin Fengyan by Consort Jing. It is worth mentioning that Qin Fengyan had not seen those Yan people since that conversation.
In other words, Qin Fengyan's belongings are still in the hands of that group of Yan people.
They had checked Qin Fengyan's luggage from the border region and found nothing of value.
That thing was left to Qin Fengyan by Consort Jing.
The things left behind by Consort Jing are all extraordinary. Could this matter be related to those things?
Xiao Heng returned to Bishui Hutong and went to the neighbor's house first.
Prince An has been staying here for the time being. His position in the cabinet has fallen through. In order to force him to back down, Grand Tutor Zhuang has almost cut off all his escape routes. Neither his colleagues, superiors, nor even his former classmates dare to talk to him.
Except for Xiao Liulang, whom he once regarded as a thorn in his side.
And of course, there's also Huo Jijiu.
Then there was Empress Dowager Zhuang.
Prince An had recovered from the shock of "the Empress Dowager actually dressed up as an old lady and hid here to play cards" and "Chancellor Huo actually served the Empress Dowager tea, water, chores, and even paid her his private stash of money."
Why worry so much?
He still hasn't secured his rent.
Gu Yan hired him to shovel chicken droppings every day. He earned two copper coins for shoveling the droppings, two copper coins for feeding the chickens, two copper coins for walking the chickens, and four copper coins for praising Gu Yan in various ways. In total, he could earn ten copper coins a day.
But after a month, I only get three hundred copper coins, not even enough for a night's rent.
Knock knock knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
Prince An rubbed his sore shoulders and said, "Come in."
Xiao Heng pushed open the door and entered.
Prince An asked, "Why are you back in broad daylight? Don't you have your duties to perform?"
Gu Jiao's family was unaware of her injury, and Prince An was naturally also unaware, believing that Gu Jiao was being cared for by Princess Xinyang.
"I need to talk to you."
"Please sit down."
Xiao Heng sat down opposite Prince An.
Seeing that his expression was off, Prince An asked, "What's wrong? Why do you look so serious? You're not going to raise the rent, are you?"
Xiao Heng: "Do I look like someone who's going to raise your rent? Raise it next month."
Prince An: I shouldn't have brought that up!
Xiao Heng said seriously, "I have something important to discuss with you. You can choose not to answer."
Prince An's expression changed: "Is it related to my grandfather?"
He's not stupid.
Now that things were out in the open, Xiao Heng simply said, "Yes, I recently discovered that your grandfather was colluding with the people of Yan."
"People from Yan? How is that possible?" It wasn't that Prince An was being self-deprecating, but Yan was a superior state; they didn't even have the opportunity to come into contact with people from Yan. How could there be any collusion?
Prince An stared intently and said, "I know you dislike my grandfather, but you can't make baseless accusations."
Xiao Heng said, "A force from the Yan Kingdom has infiltrated the Zhao Kingdom. I cannot reveal their purpose to you for the time being. Does your grandfather have an advisor named Jiang Ping?"
Prince An frowned: "How did you know?"
Xiao Heng replied truthfully, "He was the one who went to make contact with the Yan people that day. Besides your grandfather, Jiang Ping wouldn't have another person he'd be loyal to, would he?"
A hint of disappointment flashed in Prince An's eyes: "Jiang Ping is not only my grandfather's advisor, but also my grandfather's adopted son. The only person who can order him around is my grandfather."
Xiao Heng looked at him and said, "I'm not here to convince you of this. Based on what I know now, the Yan people have given your grandfather something very important. This thing is very likely a trump card left by Consort Jing for Qin Fengyan, but unfortunately it fell into the hands of the Yan people by some twist of fate. You must know that Consort Jing is a remnant of the previous dynasty, and her goal is to restore the previous dynasty. Therefore, the trump card she left for Qin Fengyan must be something that can overthrow the Zhao Kingdom's imperial power. If this thing really fell into your grandfather's hands, given his personality, you should not have difficulty guessing what he will do."
Prince An remained silent.
Xiao Heng continued, "I came here today to ask you where your grandfather usually hides important items. Of course, as I said, you don't have to answer. No matter what happens in the future, it won't affect you."
Grand Tutor Zhuang was, after all, the grandfather of Prince An.
Even if he had fallen out with Grand Tutor Zhuang, it didn't mean that Prince An could betray Grand Tutor Zhuang with a clear conscience.
Xiao Heng understood this, so he didn't force him.
A struggle flashed across Prince An's eyes. After a long while, he clenched his fists and said in a low voice, "My grandfather is a very cautious man. If you plan to look for something in his study or his courtyard, you may have miscalculated."
"Where will he put it?" Xiao Heng asked.
Prince An said, "That depends on what it is, and also on his mood. He once said that if you can't even sense the pattern yourself, others won't be able to figure you out."
He was telling the absolute truth; his grandfather's mind was as deep as the sea.
Xiao Heng clicked his tongue: "He really is an old fox."
Prince An added, "The estate is bigger than the Marshal's mansion; you'll never find it if you search aimlessly."
Xiao Heng stood up: "We have to look for it even if we can't find it."
He'll have Long Yi go find it tonight.
“Xiao Liulang.” Prince An called out to him.
Xiao Heng turned around: "What's wrong?"
Prince An's Adam's apple bobbed, and he said with a complicated expression, "I'll go find it."
(End of this chapter)
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