Chapter 1044 Secret Passage

Two days later, the fire in the former Zhang family mansion was completely extinguished. The Wang Mansion was filled with coke and dust from afar, but the soldiers guarding outside did not leave and still took turns standing outside the mansion to guard it.

At night, Zhulan asked in confusion: "Since the fire has been put out, why haven't the soldiers outside the palace left yet?"

The hot topic these past two days has been speculation about why the former Zhang mansion had to be guarded.

Zhou Shuren had already guessed it in his mind, "I think the emperor wants to find something. It would be better to find it if it is destroyed, right? There is no one to stop him now."

Zhu Lan thought of a possibility, "Are you saying that all the Zhang family members were wiped out?"

Zhou Shuren: "I don't know about that."

Zhulan's thoughts were just guesses. Forget it. She decided not to think about it anymore. She might as well think about her sons. "I don't know where Changzhi has gone."

Zhou Shuren looked away from the book. "They traveled light, so they are probably halfway there now."

Zhulan, "I want to go back and take a look."

"When it's not dangerous, we'll go back and take a look."

As for his retirement, he should be too busy to do anything.

Zhulan nodded, and then talked about the children at home. The two have been like an old couple since they met. After so many years of worrying about the whole family, even though they are young, their mentality has become old. They now live the life of an old couple, and most of the time they talk about their children.

They arrived at a mountain village in the northeast at night. Chang Zhi and his party hurried to the village and found a family. After the negotiation was completed and the maids and old women had tidied the house, Chang Zhi helped his wife get off the carriage.

Chang Zhi said, "Be careful, the road is slippery."

Su Xuan looked down at her feet in the light of the lantern. "I left early, but I miscalculated. The snow on the road melted too quickly. There is snow and water everywhere. This road is really difficult to walk on."

Changzhi was also depressed, "We are almost halfway there now, just bear with it and we will get there."

Su Xuan hummed and went into the house. This was the first time in her life that she had to travel in the open air. Although she was not spoiled, she felt a little overwhelmed. She sat on the mat, feeling a little listless.

At this time, a woman came in from outside and said, "We are having dinner. My mother-in-law asked me to ask if you need mutton, freshly killed today."

Su Xuan's listless eyes brightened up a little, "Yes, we want all the mutton you have."

Zhang Sanni was delighted, "Okay, please follow me."

The old woman followed with her purse in hand and asked, "Do you have any fresh wild vegetables? We want them all. Yes, I heard chickens crowing just now. Are you selling the chickens you raise at home?"

Zhang Sanni paused, "I want to ask my mother-in-law."

The sheep we killed today were bitten by wolves that ran down the mountain yesterday. We killed them during the day because we saw that they could not be kept alive. Otherwise, our family would not have killed them. We had planned to take them to the county to sell them, but it was getting dark and when we were ready to go tomorrow, a guest came to stay at our house.

An hour later, Su Xuan and the others had dinner. The stewed mutton and chicken soup finally filled their hungry stomachs.

The next morning, Su Xuan and the others prepared to set off. Before leaving, they bought some meat and food.

Jiang Sheng came out first and saw the dolls standing under the eaves. The big one was holding the small one and looking at them curiously. He smiled and turned back into the house to get some snacks.

Changzhi followed him out, "Brother-in-law."

Jiang Sheng had already distributed snacks to several children and said with a smile, "Changzhi, I am a bit like Jiang Du and the others. This is the first time I have been away from them for such a long time."

Changzhi also wanted to see his son and daughter, so he walked over cautiously and said, "Fourth Master, the carriage is ready, we should set off now."

Chang Zhi nodded, turned around and helped his wife get on the carriage. He turned around and glanced at the woman standing under the eaves. He felt that she looked familiar, but then he couldn't remember her and got on the carriage.

Zhang Sanni was brought some snacks by the lady, so she came out to thank her. Unexpectedly, she met an acquaintance, Zhou Changzhi, the fourth son of the Zhou family. She thought she had forgotten him over the years, but she still remembered him. She had never been back to her hometown, and now she had a son and a daughter, and everything was fine.

I was just a little dazed. It turned out to be the Zhou family. There was a team of carriages and eight or nine guards alone.

The boy held his mother's hand and asked, "Mom, what are you thinking about?"

Zhang Sanni smiled and said, "Mom is thinking that Dongzi should study hard in the future."

The boy nodded, "Yeah."

In the capital, Zhulan was riding in a carriage on the way to Ninghou Mansion. Passing by the burned-down mansion, the gate had been taken down long ago. There were still many soldiers standing guard outside the courtyard, and there were also many soldiers inside the courtyard, divided into many teams to explore the courtyard.

Zhulan arrived at Ninghou Mansion, and Rongchuan was also there today.

Xue Han took her mother's arm and said to Rong Chuan, "You go and do your thing. I'll stay with mom."

Rong Chuan greeted him, "Mom, I'll get busy now."

Zhulan waited for Rongchuan to leave before asking the girl, "What is Rongchuan busy with today?"

Xue Han did not hide it either, "Rongchuan will be accompanying the prince on an errand today."

Xue Han signaled the maids who followed behind her to stop following, and when they were a little further away, she continued in a low voice, "Mother, I heard from my father-in-law and Rongchuan that the emperor wants to investigate the secret passage."

Zhulan turned her head to look at the lady, "Were you eavesdropping?"

Xue Han shook her head, "No, I was there when my father-in-law was chatting with Rong Chuan. They didn't avoid me, so I thought my father-in-law wanted to use me to pass on a message to our family."

Zhulan thought that the fact that the emperor was so thorough in his investigation must have irritated the emperor, so she patted her hand and said, "I understand."

Xue Han continued, "Rongchuan secretly told me that the prince has a map of the entire capital city in his hand. In the next few days, soldiers from the Beijing Guard will patrol and search the capital city. He asked me to buy more food because the city might be closed in two days."

Zhulan's mouth twitched. The emperor and the prince really trusted Rongchuan, and they were their own son and brother. But Rongchuan's heart was with the Zhou family. He secretly told Xuehan, hoping that the Zhou family would know that this was not a son-in-law, but a son!

Xue Han continued, "Mom, you should buy some more food too."

Zhu Lan shook her head, "No, you Ninghou Mansion can buy more, but the Zhou family can't, it will cause a chain reaction."

She just needs to know it in advance and have an idea in mind, there is no need to do too much.

Xue Han thought about it and agreed, "It's good that mom knows what's going on."

"Don't worry, there's enough food at home."

Xue Han burst out laughing. She almost forgot that her mother liked to hoard things. Now that she thought about it this way, she no longer had anything to worry about.

Zhu Lan continued, "Besides, the capital cannot be in chaos. The food supply will be guaranteed, so you don't have to worry too much."

Xue Han nodded, "Yeah."

In the palace, Zhou Shuren and others came out of the Zheng Hall and met Lord Yao who entered the palace. Zhou Shuren looked at Yao Wenqi, who already had some white hair. Upon careful calculation, Yao Wenqi was not as old as him and seemed to be a few years younger. Then again, how old was Yao Zheyu?

But now it seems that Yao Wenqi looks almost the same as him. I wonder how the emperor will torture Yao Wenqi this time.

Li Zhao pushed Zhou Shuren speechlessly and said, "Let's go."