She fell out after crying at the wrong grave

At the beginning of mid-winter, the epidemic that had lasted for half a month finally disappeared completely in Kezhou as the river source froze.

Everything happened just as Hengzhi had expected. An urgent military report soon came from Louguan, saying that only four days after the snow melted, the Youbei army stationed outside Louguan had made a move.

Hengzhi set off in a hurry and rushed away overnight.

At that time, the sky was hazy, a dull blue color. Ah'ao stood on the city gate, watching him riding his horse until he gradually disappeared from her sight.

In their past, it seemed that the night and the dawn ran through it all.

Ah'ao lowered her eyes and couldn't help but sigh.

Yunli, who was standing behind him, took a few steps forward and also sighed, "Master, once you leave, I don't know when you will return. We finally met, but now we have to part ways. It's all because of the current situation."

After a few mumblings, Ah'ao felt better.

The cold touch of the stone bricks slowly extended under her palms, and Ah'an became more and more unrestrained until Yunli was dumbfounded and looked at her in horror.

"Yes, it's all because of the current situation." Ah's words were calm. "If it weren't for the emperor's incompetence, his indulgence in pleasure, and his inability to govern the country, there would never be peace on the border of Dachong. Isn't it because he was suspicious and withheld military pay?"

The voices gradually faded away in the cold wind. After a long period of silence, Ah'ao felt bored and stopped criticizing her damned uncle.

But she was very sure of one thing at this moment.

If one day there really is a reason and opportunity to pull Shen Zhuo down from the throne, A'an would be happy to do such a thing.

Although she had no parental love since childhood and had been in foster care for half her life, at least she had a home in name, which was a comfort to A'an.

And all that was left was lost due to Shen Zhuo's selfish desires.

After everyone recovered from their illness, Shui Changdong's business returned to normal. However, due to the damage caused by the epidemic, the streets were still deserted.

There have been a lot of funerals recently, and the shop always looks gloomy and sad.

Except for things like coffins that require money, paper money and gold ingots, everything else that can be avoided should be waived.

Doing business requires sincerity, and as time went by, Shui Changdong's reputation became even better.

A'ao was busy for several days, and picked a rainy day to reach the gate of the military mansion.

Previously, when Chu Hui contacted Bei Tang for her, the other party refused on the grounds that it was inconvenient for people in the underworld to involve the royal family. He only gave a way to communicate and promised to exchange information.

Ah'ao didn't want to get involved too much with it. She thought that she just wanted information, so she didn't take it seriously.

However, just one day before the epidemic broke out in Kezhou, the communication from that place was cut off.

Now it seems that I'm being completely manipulated by others.

During the time when Chu Qingfang's mother was holding a funeral, Kezhou had been raining continuously. The white walls and green tiles of the military mansion were all cold and solemn.

Based on what Chu Qingfang told her about his parents' past, Ah'ao concluded that Mrs. Jiang must have a very important place in his heart.

So Ah-yi has been waiting for a rainy day like today for a long time.

The paper umbrella was folded and handed over to the servant to be placed under the eaves.

A'ao deliberately wore plain white clothes and stood in front of the door, tidying herself up for a while before pushing the door open and going in.

As expected, Chu Hui looked haggard. He sat behind the desk, staring at the portrait on the table in a daze.

The window was wide open, and the cold, damp rain blew in from time to time, making people shiver.

Ah-yi said sarcastically, "You are just pretending."

Chu Qingfang had gone back to Wuling with Gong Sheng and Gong Yangliang a few days ago. Gong Sheng always believed in going out when there was chaos, and he was very arrogant. He was politely declined when he was invited to dinner, as if there was really a reason to go to the mountains.

Chu Hui had no idea of ​​her daughter's coming and going.

He had been bedridden for the past few days, and due to excessive worry, he looked thin and gaunt, and seemed to have aged ten years.

Chu Hui paused, adjusted himself, and replied, "Your Highness is only here because of the poisoning, so there is no need to stab me."

Ah'ao just found a place to sit down, and someone brought her tea in a few moments. She felt a little more relaxed as she smelled the hot tea.

"That's wrong." Ah-yi took a sip, "There is something more important that I need to tell the army officer first. The medicine you drank a few days ago was prepared by Qing Fang and sent to you. You didn't enter my house, which shows how much she hates you."

In the past, Ah'ao was unwilling to achieve her goals by exposing other people's scars, but facing a man like Chu Hui who killed his wife and then remained deeply in love with her, it was really not a moral issue.

Chu Hui slowly raised her cloudy eyes.

Ah'ao stared at him, taking in the entire scene.

After calmly fiddling with the tea lid twice, Ah-yi continued, "That's right. Why would you want to see a man who could kill his wife and daughter? As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. That's why you were easily deceived by Bei Tang."

Chu Hui was unable to utter a word. She felt as if her heart was being stabbed by a thousand needles, which were endless.

"You can't go out, so you can't see it. Because the river source is polluted, countless people who could have lived a peaceful life have been hit hard. The elderly and the young, pregnant women, and even whole families have all been killed. Funerals are held day after day, and the wood for making coffins fills the door of the coffin shop. Do you know why all this happened?"

Ah-yi spoke coldly, "It's because Beitang is still colluding with Youbei. Once the epidemic here is over, the war in Louguan will start again."

During these years in Kezhou, although Chu Hui had no feelings for this place, he was well aware of the consequences if the north was conquered.

At that time, the Youbei cavalry would march straight in, and if Pingzhou was captured again, they would attack the capital directly, and the country would change hands. The dynasty could be changed by Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li, or Jiang, Shen, Han, or Yang, but it must not be the arrogant Youbei people.

Ah'ao came here specially today. Her words were sharp but to the point. For Chu Hui, this was enough.

"What do you mean, Your Highness?"

Ah Yi raised the corner of her mouth and said, "I said, either the entire Beitang submits to me, or I wipe it out in one fell swoop. You can decide for yourself whether to join the army."

It was not until her figure disappeared in the room and even the teacup became cold that Chu Hui came back to his senses.

However, Ah'ao was very satisfied with the result of her effort.

Within five days, someone delivered a thick envelope to the private residence.

When Ah'ao opened it, she found that it was a list and code carefully written by Chu Hui, and was handed to her along with a familiar woodcut used for mobilization.

After carefully putting these things away, I finally solved one more problem. Now I think about it, only the problem in Pingzhou remains unsolved.

Firstly, the Shuichangdong branch had not yet opened, and secondly, Chen Lan, the mastermind behind the poisoning, knew nothing about it.

Unknown things always make people feel uneasy, so it is better to figure them out as soon as possible.

When the Louguan crisis was resolved and Hengzhi returned to Kezhou, Shui Changdong's dividends this year also came.

Everything seemed to be moving in a better direction, but Ah'ao had not yet realized that after the farewell before dawn, it was actually a farewell.
-
In Pingzhou Prefecture, the wax remains in the late night.

Chen Lan spread out his robe and let the maid massage his shoulders and legs.

Since the death of Princess Pingchang, the new emperor stopped all treatment.

Since then, Chen Lan has been holding a grudge. He has been living a life of luxury since childhood, and cannot stand any discrimination or coldness from others. As time goes by, he has to sell his ancestral property to pay off his debts. Some of the city's high officials and nobles are no longer friendly to him, and Chen Lan has experienced the taste of being treated as an inferior.

He simply used the little money he had left to donate to buy an official position in the provincial capital so that he wouldn't be completely trampled underfoot by others.

He blamed all the misfortunes on the new emperor Shen Zhuo.

So Chen Lan soon got in touch with Bei Tang, and not long after, he got in touch with Wang Xuan, the Marquis of Shu, who also wanted to overthrow Da Chong.

Under Wang Xuan's instructions, Chen Lan attacked Kezhou, intending to break the city so that Wang Xuan could take the opportunity to seize the capital.

When Wang Xuan becomes emperor, I will surely be his close and trusted minister, enjoying everything from fine clothes to delicious food.
He had beautiful dreams, but he also treated others as fools, especially since Kezhou was not only home to a "dissolute" Marquis Zhao, but also to a Princess Xuancheng, whose existence he had no idea existed.

"Are you telling the truth?" Chen Lan was grinding his nails carelessly. He was worried that he would mess up and would have a hard time reporting to Wang Xuan, but unexpectedly, someone came up with a great achievement for him.

"It's absolutely true." The man kneeling on the ground did not look up, his voice trembling.

Chen Lan waved away the maid behind him and lazily picked up a knife for cutting pears from the side. He still had a smiling expression on his face, but the next moment he pressed it viciously against the kneeling man's head.

"I have a bad temper and I cannot stand seeing people lying. If what you said is false," he laughed sharply, "then I will use this knife to penetrate your head."

Wherever the tip of the knife pointed, there was coldness and numbness.

The man trembled even more, "I would never, never dare to deceive you, my Lord!"

“Okay, okay, okay!” Chen Lan laughed loudly and poured a pot of wine into his mouth. His eyes were soon filled with the fantasy of being in power. “God will not deny me a way. Grandmother, if you were still here, you would definitely be pleased with my achievements today, hahahahaha!”

He looked like a madman. "Pingzhou still has 30,000 soldiers. When I recruit more soldiers and pass the news back to the capital, the previous dynasty will be in chaos, and the new emperor will have to marry a princess and cede land to maintain peace. Then I can raise an army again, and it will be justified!"

Chen Lan's confidant took the messenger away, and when they passed the corner, a high-hanging lamp illuminated her appearance.

A hunched body and a face full of worry.

Kezhou, which had been peaceful for just a few days, was about to be thrown into a bloody storm because of her words.

Before night fell, a letter was sent out from Pingzhou on a galloping horse.

Outside the capital, it was divided into two copies, one of which was submitted to the Secretariat and presented to the new emperor.

The other letter was quietly delivered to a quiet house in Anpingfang.

Three days later, at the morning court, the new emperor was furious. He rebuked Zhao Hou Hengzhi for disrespecting the emperor and scolded his entire ancestors, saying that he had dared to secretly hide the fugitive Princess Xuancheng and almost delayed the important affairs of the court.

Under the cold gaze of the court officials, an imperial edict was issued, and a team of strict Jinwu Guards went straight to Kezhou to arrest the criminal.

It all happened so fast.

When the Jinwu Guards broke into the city, this time bringing with them a eunuch who had seen the princess before and who immediately recognized only A'ao, she was still rolling up her sleeves and carefully describing the yellow talismans used for rituals.

There were people everywhere, whispering, and all eyes were on Shui Changdong who was surrounded.

The Cui family they were familiar with rose from a small laundry lady to the position of wife of Zhaohou. She opened her own shop in the city and her business was growing bigger and bigger. She even distributed pesticides in the city a few days ago and did all kinds of good things.

But in the blink of an eye, she became the most precious princess of the royal family and had been wanted for a long time.

What is this happening?

(End of this chapter)