049. Jealousy

"Rong Se insisted that I go with him," Rong Jing frowned worriedly, "Could it be that he noticed something?"

Cao Lun had just returned from Linghui Pavilion. Seeing the intimate behavior between the Prince Regent and the Marquis of Dingbei, his face was not very good at the moment. He said sullenly, "I think he is afraid that something might happen in the capital during the few days he is out of the city. However, with the Jinbei Army escorting him, it is not certain that he can accomplish anything. Your Majesty, why not wait a little longer and make plans during the winter solstice to worship the ancestors and the heavens."

Why isn’t it late? Rong Jing is getting so anxious.

No one knew how Rong Se had bewitched Marquis Dingbei, causing Liang Shenyu to revolve around him every day. Rong Jing felt sour and aggrieved.

For the sake of being Marquis Dingbei, he had never married or taken concubines until his age, but Liang Shenyu turned a blind eye to it. Why?

"But uncle, my mother is still in Rong Se's hands." Rong Jing pretended to be embarrassed and frowned, saying, "The imperial mausoleum is full of Rong Se's people. It's impossible to find a chance to see how my mother is doing. I'm really worried."

Cao Lun believed it to be true, and thought that he was really worried about Empress Dowager Cao. This emperor was good for nothing, but he was still filial. He thought about it and sighed, "Well, let's take a chance. Dingbei Marquis is not trustworthy now. The military power is out of our hands, which is not good for us."

Rong Jing lowered his eyes and sneered, "Who can Rong Se, that venomous snake, tolerate? Uncle, don't forget that Liang Shenyu also ruined his big plan. With his vengeful nature, he will get back at us sooner or later. We just need to wait for Dingbei Hou to suffer a loss, and he will naturally know whose side to stand on."

Cao Lun wanted to say something but stopped.

He also thought that Rong Se was a cold and heartless person, whose methods were fierce and ruthless, but Rong Se had changed his previous style of doing things recently, and it could be seen from the government that he had acted much more gently, especially in this Jizhou unjust case, which not only made the Governor of the Imperial Guards become his subordinate, but also made him famous in the people of Jizhou.

Moreover, Marquis Dingbei holds the military power of northern Jin and has close relations with the Tang family of Yizhou. He would not dig his own grave by offending such an important figure.

After a while, Cao Lun suddenly said, "The Regent Prince would not be stupid enough to take action against Liang Shenyu before the overall situation is settled. He must have other conditions that moved the Regent Prince. During this period, the Regent Prince has not had any dealings with the Qiu family."

Even the fact that Qiu Zihan had been lying down for the past two months might have been caused by the Regent.

Rong Jing didn't know the inside story, "So what?"

Cao Lun said, "The Jin Dynasty had been entangled with the Xiongnu for so many years, and there were wars every year. The Ministry of Revenue was poor, the Ministry of War was empty, and even the armory of the Weiwei Temple was not fully supplied." He paused for a moment before continuing, "The situation on the front line was tense. Liang Hanzhang sent urgent reports three times, not asking for reinforcements, but only for food and weapons. Qiu Sinan, who had been in office for less than a year, didn't know why he couldn't produce weapons, so he sent a pile of old things to the front line. That year, Guzhuling was defeated, several cities in Qiangzhou fell, and Liang Hanzhang and his sons died in battle."

Rong Jing asked: "So Rong Se used the father and son of the Qiu family to please Liang Shenyu? But what does this have to do with Qiu Sinan? It wasn't him who killed the old marquis. What else can the court do if it can't afford it?"

He asked so confidently that Cao Lun was silent for a moment, his expression slightly changed, and he said, "I have only heard that Qiu Sinan sold several batches of weapons and pocketed the money. Qiu Sinan obeyed Rong Se's orders, so maybe he has some leverage over Rong Se, maybe this is it."

Cao Lun made a rough guess, but Rong Jing became excited, "If we help Dingbei Hou deal with the Qiu family, wouldn't we be able to bring him back?"

Cao Lun hesitated for a moment and said, "Maybe it's feasible."

Rong Jing was so focused on his happiness that he didn't notice Cao Lun's complicated and gloomy expression at all.

.

After Rong Se returned home, he went to the kitchen to prepare lunch. When Yun Chu informed Qiu Zi Han that he had brought gifts, he did not stop cutting vegetables and only said, "Let him take his things back home. Have you told Yu Qingzhou everything that needs to be said?"

"Master Yu already knows about this." Yun Chu nodded, "He has already started investigating Zhong Yichuan. This person has been writing for Qiu Zihan for several years. Most of Qiu Zihan's popular poems and essays were written by this person. This is related to the cheating in the imperial examination last year. Qiu Zihan will be humiliated, but he will be punished."

"That's fine." Rong Se said, "Let Yu Qingzhou do it."

During the imperial examination last year, Rong Xu was already so exhausted that he often fell asleep during the morning court session. As a result, he did nothing during the examination and directly nominated Qiu Zihan, the top scorer in the written examination, as the new number one scholar.

This allowed Qiu Zi Han to take advantage of this opportunity.

According to the original plot, the father and son should have been killed for the crimes of murdering Liang Hanzhang and having secret dealings with the Huns. The leverage Rong Se had over the Qiu father and son was precisely this cheating in the imperial examination.

The original owner designed this game from the beginning to the end just to get the Qiu family father and son involved so that he could use them for his own purposes.

But the original owner didn't know that Qiu Sinan was related to the death of the three people of the Liang family. Rong Se knew that since Liang Shenyu returned to Beijing, he would not let the father and son go, so he was not in a hurry to deal with the Qiu family. Who would have thought that after Yu Qingzhou survived, Qiu Zihan not only did not abandon Yu Qingmei, but instead proposed to her, so he had to take action first to ruin the marriage.

Qiu Zihan came to Rongse's house to apologize, but he was kicked out without even seeing anyone. Naturally, he didn't want to leave, so he stayed in the living room.

"Master Yun." Qiu Zihan was unable to lower himself, his face stiff, "If the prince is busy with official business, I will wait for him here."

Yun Chu couldn't just throw him out. He thought for a moment and saw that lunch time was approaching. He thought Dingbei Hou would be back soon, so he nodded happily and said, "Then please wait for a moment, Mr. Qiu."

Judging from Bei Hou's feelings towards his master, if Qiu Zi Han ran into him, nothing good would happen.

Yun Chu used a trick to kill someone by borrowing his knife, and when the task was completed he left without a trace, hiding his merit and fame.

Qiu Zihan was waiting here. He had to pass through the reception hall on his way back home. Sure enough, Liang Shenyu came back soon. He was recuperating in the mansion, so naturally no one in the Regent's Mansion would stop him.

He happened to see Qiu Zihan waiting here, and then saw the big boxes and small boxes he brought, and his face darkened slightly.

Qiu Zihan was also stunned. Since the official title of Marquis Dingbei was higher than his own, he stood up, frowned, and greeted him, "Mr. Marquis."

Liang Shenyu looked at him silently for a moment, then his eyes moved to Hou Li, and then he remembered that this man had offended Rong Se with his bold words. His face remained calm and he said calmly, "Master Qiu, why are you here?"

His attitude is like that of the head of the family.

And it can also be called disrespectful.

Qiu Zihan has always been proud of himself. His fame and talent over the years have made him so proud that he doesn't even know how many words he has written. Seeing Liang Shenyu dare to take over the guest position, he didn't bother to be polite with him and said, "My Qiu family is loyal to the prince, so of course we are here to pay a visit."

"Oh." Liang Shenyu didn't give him a good look, "The prince has no time to see you, Mr. Qiu, please go back."

Qiu Zihan's face immediately turned ugly.

Yun Chu just said this once.

It’s just that he is the head of this palace and Rong Se’s confidant, but what right does Marquis Dingbei have to say this?

"Marquis Dingbei, this is not your Marquis Dingbei Mansion." Qiu Zihan said coldly, "Whether the prince sees me or not, your say has no say."

Liang Shenyu stood with his hands behind his back, smiling gently: "Since I can live in the palace, I naturally have some say. Mr. Qiu, please wait here and see if the prince is willing to see you. However--"

He paused for a moment deliberately, and said with a sneer, "Mr. Qiu was so bold and bold in Fu Sheng Tower that day. I wonder if you dare to say it again in front of the prince?"

Liang Shenyu's territorial consciousness is like that of an animal. From the day he developed feelings for Rong Se, he unconsciously wanted to make her his own.

He has an instinctive hatred and hostility towards anyone who covets Rongse.

After confirming one's own feelings, the desire for possession becomes even more justified.

Even if there was no old grudge, he was still unhappy with Qiu Zihan.

Qiu Zihan's face turned pale. He originally thought that Fushenglou was a small tavern. He was drunk that day and dared to act so recklessly. But what he said was in public and he had no way to make excuses.

"Why are you so arrogant?" Qiu Zihan managed to say this after a long while, and said shamelessly: "The prince is a beautiful woman, so what if I admire him? But you ruined the prince's plan, who do you think you are? Sooner or later, the prince will settle this account with you!"

Liang Shenyu's face suddenly darkened, and he clenched his fingertips slightly to resist the urge to break the man's neck. However, his eyes were as cold as a frost blade, as if he wanted to cut Qiu Zihan into pieces.

"That's also between us." Liang Shenyu said slowly, his smile faded a lot, revealing the arrogant temperament of a military commander. "Mr. Qiu looked down on the prince so much, but he took the initiative to come to your house today. I guess your father is worried. I heard that Mr. Qiu went to Lord Yu's house to propose marriage yesterday, but he asked someone to reject it."

When he said this, it was clear that he had already seen through Qiu's intention.

Qiu Zihan suddenly felt like he was being seen through, and a chill ran down his spine. He subconsciously looked away, not even daring to meet Liang Shenyu's gaze.

"Waste." Liang Shenyu's cold eyes pierced Qiu Zihan's face like a knife, and he sneered in a low voice, "With you, do you think you are worthy of him?"

Qiu Zihan finally heard something unusual in these words. After being surprised, he sneered and said, "What's the difference between you and me?"

"Of course there is." Liang Shenyu thought for a moment and said, "This marquis can live in the palace, and Mr. Qiu can't even see him."

He said this with some pride.

Qiu Zihan was angry but dared not speak, and even wanted to just leave. But he remembered his father's stern warning, and no matter how stupid he was, he knew the importance of this trip. He could not move forward or backward for a moment, so he could only stand there with a cold face and said calmly, "Not necessarily."

Rong Se's move to draw a clear line between herself and Qiu was too obvious, and people in the court had already smelled the wind. Moreover, according to Rong Se's habit, she would not treat guests coldly. If she wanted to see Qiu Zi Han, she would have invited him to Jinshanxuan long ago.

Liang Shenyu originally wanted to chase the man out, but changed his mind after a moment. He glanced at Qiu Zihan with contempt, "Then Mr. Qiu, just wait."

Qiu Zihan stared at Liang Shenyu as he walked past him and towards the courtyard with ease. He felt angry and embarrassed, and his face flushed.

Yun Chu, who had been watching outside for a while, nodded with satisfaction.

So this means that Marquis Dingbei is still somewhat useful.