Drive a RV and go farming in ancient times.

Recently, no one knows what happened to the Japanese pirates, and there has been no movement for the time being. The imperial court had fought several battles in a row before, with some wins and some losses, and heavy casualties. It was really not appropriate to take the initiative to attack. In addition, the Prince of Chu and Li Yunzhao had problems again, and the Jinyiwei were busy in and out arresting people for questioning. All kinds of speculations were flying around in the military camp, and people's hearts were in turmoil. After a discussion, several generals decided to cease fire.

Let’s resolve the internal conflicts first.

As a result, the war in the south entered a stalemate.

As the weather was getting colder, it snowed in Jeju for the first time. The damp and cold feeling was like wearing a cotton-padded jacket soaked in water all day. It was cold while wearing it, and it was also cold when taking it off. I wished I could stay around the stove all day.

In this way, no one had the heart to fight, and the times became peaceful and quiet.

But the atmosphere in the capital was noisy and tense, like a storm was about to come, making people feel depressed.

Those who don't understand are just watching the fun, but those who understand are walking on thin ice, fearing that they will be affected.

Especially after Li Yunzhao's body was sent back to the capital, it seemed that even the air they breathed was heavy. The weather was not good that day, as if it was a bad omen. It was gloomy at first, and then after the Jinyiwei's convoy entered the city gate, it suddenly started snowing, fluttering down, and wherever they looked, it was all white.

It was not until they arrived at the Dingyuan Marquis' Mansion that they heard sharp and shrill cries. However, the cries stopped abruptly after a short while. It was said that the marquis' wife had fainted.

After that, the door of the Marquis' Mansion was tightly closed, and no sound could be heard. Even the funeral was held in a low-key manner. The death of the prince, who was once very famous in the capital, came to an end quietly in this way.

Everyone who learned about this sighed and lamented that the death was too sudden, too aggrieved, and too undignified. However, to be honest, he died at a timely moment. Otherwise, if he had returned to Beijing alive, who knows how he would have been tortured. Imprisonment and interrogation would have been the routine operations. If he couldn't hold on, the entire mansion might have been dragged down with him.

And the third prince might also be implicated.

Now that he's dead, all is over, so the sadness in the Marquis' Mansion is limited, and they should be more secretly grateful.

But there was not much to be thankful for. After Li Yunzhao was buried, the emperor removed the position of deputy commander of the imperial guard from Dingyuan Marquis. This time, he was not confined to his house or flogged. Instead, his power was completely taken away. This was a disaster for the Marquisate. Without power, what was the use of a title? It would not be long before the things the Marquisate had now would be eaten away bit by bit, and in the end, it would be nothing but an empty shell.

It is said that the third prince knelt on the ground to plead for the marquis's mansion, but the enraged emperor hit him on the head with a ruler. When he was carried away, his face was covered in blood.

This was a warning to others, and others became silent upon seeing this.

The people from the Third Prince's faction have become more obedient.

The people from the Chu Palace did not dare to say anything for the time being.

Those who did not take sides became mute.

Emperor Jianxing's warning worked, and the court entered a rare and strange state of harmony.

The only ones who felt somewhat happy about this incident were the Second Prince and the Fourth Prince. After all, while the snipe and the clam quarrel, the fisherman benefits. They took the opportunity to win over many people, especially the civil and military officials who had been optimistic about the Third Prince. Seeing that the Third Prince was about to be defeated, they hesitated for a few days and then switched their support.

However, they were deeply wary of the Chu Palace. Even though Li Yunzhao was taking the blame and the Empress Dowager was manipulating it, they did not think that the Chu Palace was innocent.

As a descendant of the royal family, ambition is an innate quality. It all depends on who is capable of really sitting on that chair. The winner is the king, and the loser... will only have one way to go, and that is death. So who wouldn't want to fight for it?

Before, they had overlooked it. After all, their lineage had already had two generations of emperors. Who could have thought that the Prince of Chu's Mansion would still have such evil intentions?

As a result, there was one more opponent in the battle for the throne, and the struggle became more complicated and fierce.

Of course, these are high-end games. For ordinary people, they are completely unrelated to them. At most, they are just hearsay and a topic of conversation after dinner.

Gu Huanxi sorted out all the information and told Xu Huaiyi in detail when they met at night. What happened in the capital might also affect the war in the south. She was not very sensitive to politics, but men usually have a talent for this.

After hearing this, Xu Huaiyi frowned and pondered for a while, then asked, "Is Marquis Dingyuan now idle at home? Hasn't he thought of a way to take care of himself?"

Gu Huanxi shook his head. "On the surface, he closed the door and refused to see visitors. In fact, no one knows whether he has a trick to turn things around. I only heard that the third prince pleaded for him and was beaten bloody by the emperor. Now many people think there is no hope for him."

Xu Huaiyi sneered, "What a bunch of short-sighted people who flatter the powerful and look down on the weak.

Hearing this, Gu Huanxi raised his eyebrows, "Do you think the Third Prince still has a chance? Isn't his greatest support his uncle, Marquis Dingyuan? Without the position of deputy commander, he will soon be forgotten. By then, who would be willing to entrust their future and life to the Third Prince?"

Xu Huaiyi reminded meaningfully, "Don't worry, the Third Prince won't die for a while. Emperor Jianxing still counts on him to balance the court. The First Prince is not doing well, and the Fourth Prince is relatively weak. If the Third Prince also falls, who can restrain the Second Prince? Not to mention, there is now another King of Chu. The Emperor will not easily abandon any of them. The more princes who die, the muddier the water, and the more secure his position will be. The emperor is very good at the art of balance."

Gu Huanxi understood immediately, "You are thinking this way because you think Emperor Jianxing has not given the Third Prince any substantial punishment, right?"

Xu Huaiyi nodded, "I guess so. Otherwise, for what Li Yunzhao did, could Dingyuan Hou be merely dismissed from his post? Confiscating his property is enough. Even if the Third Prince didn't participate, he probably knew about it. After all, Li Yunzhao did those things for the Third Prince, and he was the beneficiary. If the matter is exposed, how can he not pay a price? Just being hit by a ruler is too light. You know, colluding with the King of Fujian and the Japanese pirates is a crime that even a prince cannot bear. He may be demoted to a commoner or imprisoned."

Hearing this, Gu Huanxi asked curiously, "Did the Jinyiwei find evidence?"

Xu Huaiyi sighed depressedly, "The arrested people did open their mouths. They did have contact with the Japanese pirates, but they did not admit to collaborating with the enemy. They only said that they traded some goods privately for money. As for the Prince of Min's Mansion, they went through all kinds of twists and turns to get involved with a steward, who also confessed readily. But it was just a personal act. He took advantage of the power of the Prince of Min's Mansion to raise some idle men under him, who took money to do things and help people solve problems. Anyway, it has nothing to do with the Prince of Min."

"So, we still haven't found any evidence that can really hit the target. It seems that the Chu Palace and the Min Palace are very cautious and careful in doing things. They have handled their tails very cleanly. It's really not easy to catch them."

Xu Huaiyi said vaguely, "It's not that difficult..."

"Ok?"

Xu Huaiyi whispered, "When the royal family does things, especially when it comes to forming cliques for personal gain and trying to interfere with the imperial power, sometimes they don't need solid evidence, just a little sign is enough. The emperor's suspicion is the most important thing. If it's hard to deal with it openly, they will also do it behind the scenes. This is called preparing for a rainy day and eliminating disasters in advance. They would rather kill someone by mistake than let him go. The royal family will never be soft-hearted in such matters..."

After a pause, he continued, "Just wait and see. The Chu Palace and the Min Palace seem to have cleared themselves of all charges, but in fact, the cleaner they behave, the more fearful the emperor will be. He will definitely suppress and punish them later."

"And we have the great support of the Empress Dowager."

"The Empress Dowager is really old..."

"Emperor Jianxing is not young either."

"So, he would be more wary of forming cliques for personal gain. Even collusion with Japanese pirates is not as serious as the crime of trying to interfere with the imperial power. The Prince of Chu has been pretending for so many years, and finally revealed his true colors. Emperor Jianxing must feel fooled and ashamed. Even if the Empress Dowager protects him, he will still act secretly. Marquis Dingyuan lost a prince, I wonder what price the Prince of Chu will pay."

"The Royal Guards went to arrest people, and they haven't come back yet. If we try to pry open their mouths again..."

"That won't completely bring down the Chu Palace. Besides, I guess it won't work. They will probably look for a scapegoat or take the blame all by themselves. That way, at least the family can be saved."

"Will he be silenced again on the way?"

"It's too fake to do the same thing twice. If the King of Chu wants to ascend to the throne in the future, he can't be too hypocritical. After all, everyone in the court is an old fox and it's not easy to fool them."

Gu Huanxi was dubious.

After waiting for a few days, Xu Huaiyi's prediction turned out to be correct. This time, the King of Chu did not have anyone kill them on the way. All the people involved in the account books were brought back to the capital safely and thrown into the prison of the Ministry of Justice, awaiting interrogation and sentencing.

The three courts jointly investigated the case and mobilized a lot of people. Under the heavy pressure, those people did not hold out for long and gave in. However, they all denied that they were followers of the Chu Palace. They gave Yao Changjun a lot of money, but that was for the purpose of making friends with the princes. What they valued was the princes' abilities and future, and they were willing to be driven by them, just to become his loyal subjects in the future.

As for the Chu Palace, they had never considered it.

Yes, it was the princes. These people were divided into two groups. One group said they supported the eldest prince, and the other group said they wanted to please the second prince. They were all deceived by the Yao family.

What they said was full of conviction, and their words showed respect and recognition for the two princes, and they looked like loyal followers.

This is the power of the Chu Palace.

Not only can it make them change their tune and blame others, but it can also make them blame others with solid reasons.

After all, the Yao family is related to the eldest prince and the second prince, and now Yao Changjun has been dead for a long time, so it is difficult to say who he belongs to.

The case involved the eldest prince and the second prince, so it was beyond the capacity of the Three Courts to try it. So it was reported to the emperor. It was best for the royal family to resolve their affairs behind closed doors.

Soon, the eldest prince who was guarding the mausoleum was summoned back to the capital. Together with the second prince, they tremblingly entered the palace to apologize. It was really unfair for both of them. They were left alone when disaster struck and they became scapegoats for no reason.

Faced with the emperor's questioning, the two men naturally tried their best to clarify and swore to heaven that they had nothing to do with Yao Changjun, and those people were not their own followers, they were framed.

It was not known whether Emperor Jianxing believed it or not. Anyway, there was no substantial punishment. He just made them kneel for a long time and then sent them out of the palace.

The eldest prince even had an "unexpected surprise", he no longer had to go back to guard the mausoleum.

Just when everyone was wondering what the emperor meant by this arrangement, news came that the eldest prince's wife was dying, and everyone suddenly realized what was going on.

At night, Xu Huaiyi said, "It has nothing to do with the eldest prince's wife. That woman has long been disliked by the royal family. Otherwise, how could it have come to this? The two of them didn't have much affection to begin with, so why would he let the eldest prince stay to accompany her? It's just that Emperor Jianxing re-evaluated the eldest prince's importance and treated him as a chess piece, placing him on the table. The more chess pieces there are, the more fierce the fight, and he can sit on the Diaoyutai. It's really a good plan."

Gu Huanxi also thought of this and sighed, "The royal family has always been ruthless. It's true that they can even plot against their own son. It's so disheartening. I don't know if the eldest prince can figure it out. Don't be blinded by him and fall for it. His strength..."

If you don't fight, you can still pick up some loopholes. If you get involved, the consequences are hard to predict. What if history is rewritten, where will Xiaoyu go?

Xu Huaiyi pondered, "He might actually give it a try, but I don't know how to start. As for external forces, the Meng family will support him on the surface. Once the eldest prince's wife dies, the concubine Meng will be promoted to the principal concubine. In this way, his relationship with the Meng family will be even closer."

"Will Meng Yao agree? She has arranged a backup plan for the King of Chu, and has already been torn apart with them. If she dares to break up now, will the King of Chu forgive her?"

"That's true. If you look at it this way, the eldest prince will only be a stepping stone for her. Then Concubine Meng...it's best not to make her the first wife. The Prince of Chu's Mansion should think so too."

The two looked at each other and said in unison, "The Chu Palace is about to take action again."

Not long after, gossip about the eldest prince's mansion spread in the capital. It was said that the eldest prince's wife was terminally ill, and was tortured by the pain and unable to sleep at night, which caused her temperament to change drastically. She would yell and scream at every turn, and smash plates and bowls. Her hysterical appearance had long lost the dignity of a lady. She was like a lunatic, and people around her did not dare to come forward to serve her.

There are also reports that during the time when the eldest prince was away from home guarding the mausoleum, Concubine Meng controlled the harem, withheld food from the eldest prince's wife, and abused the son born to her. There were even rumors that she had an ambiguous relationship with the guards.

Faced with these rumors, the eldest prince remained indifferent, but Concubine Meng was devastated and hit her head against the wall in an attempt to prove her innocence.

Of course, with the maids and old women holding her tightly, she wasn't hit very hard. She only had a little skin scraped off her forehead and a few drops of blood.

But she cried so hard that her heart was broken and she looked like she was going to commit suicide until she fainted.

The eldest prince watched her performance coldly, but what was in his mind was the news he heard in the imperial mausoleum some time ago. There was a scandal between Su Zhe and Gu in the capital, and the words were very unbearable. However, Gu's reaction was beyond everyone's expectations. Not only did she not commit suicide, she also fought back beautifully, making the person who slandered her behind her face a heavy blow.

The gap between people is really huge!