Conan's physique? The Crown Princess is involved in a murder case again

"I pay my respects to the Crown Princess."

As Old Madam Chen said this, she was about to stand up and salute. Xu Xingyin also reacted at this moment and held Old Madam Chen down angrily, her little mouth almost pouting to the sky.

"There are no outsiders around at this time, why does grandma have to hurt Jiaojiao's heart so much!"

Old Madam Chen sighed, "The Crown Princess shouldn't be here."

"But Jiaojiao misses her grandmother."

Xu Xingyin squatted down regardless, hugged Old Madam Chen's waist and acted like a spoiled child, "Jiaojiao missed you."

Since he was a child, Xu Xingyin would hug Old Madam Chen and act coquettishly whenever he made a mistake. Although Old Madam Chen knew Xu Xingyin's little thoughts, this trick always worked.

Seeing her little granddaughter lying on her lap, calling her "Grandma" sweetly, even the hardest heart would melt.

"You!"

Old Madam Chen reached out and brushed away the leaves on Xu Xingyin's clothes, and her tone softened.

"He climbed through the dog hole again, didn't he? He sneaked in without telling His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

"Yes, I wanted to avoid His Highness, but ended up being caught by His Highness."

Xu Xingyin nodded and couldn't help but complain to Old Madam Chen, "My uncle is still glaring at me!"

Old Madam Chen couldn't help but smile, "Your eldest uncle is most like your grandfather in temperament. He looks stern, but he actually loves you youngsters the most."

Xu Xingyin curled his lips in uncertainty and quickly changed the subject.

"Why are these the only jewels left in your dressing box?"

In the past, Old Madam Chen loved jade, and her box was full of expensive jade hair accessories. But now, there are only a few old-fashioned silver hairpins and two jade hairpins of poor quality in her makeup box.

Emperor Yan Ning had never issued an order to confiscate the family's property, so the Chen family should not have fallen to such a state.

"It's just some external things."

Old Madam Chen didn't care much about these things. She waved her hand and changed the subject.

"Your Highness, this is for your own good. Now that you are married, you must not act capriciously. Your every move not only represents yourself, but also the East Palace. Thousands of eyes are watching you."

Xu Xingyin pouted and said cunningly: "I came here quietly, no one else knows."

"If others didn't know, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wouldn't have made a secret visit to the General's Mansion today."

Having said that, Old Madam Chen reached out and stroked Xu Xingyin's hair and sighed.

"The clearer the relationship between the East Palace and the General's Mansion is, the better it will be for everyone. Next time, you must not be so reckless, do you understand?"

With just one sentence, Old Madam Chen refuted all of Xu Xingyin's excuses. It was indeed true.

The more distant the relationship between the Eastern Palace and the Zhennan General's Mansion is, the more favorable it will be for the Zhennan General's Mansion to overturn the case. Otherwise...

If Emperor Yan Ning suspected that Jing Zhichen's motive for overturning the case for the Zhennan General's Mansion was to consolidate the power of the Eastern Palace, then everything would only backfire.

Thinking of this, Xu Xingyin could only respond in a muffled voice: "I understand."

Old Madam Chen didn't dwell on it too much. She pulled Xu Xingyin up, and the two of them strolled and chatted in the yard as they did before. The garden was full of laughter, and even the pool of dry plants seemed a little more lively.

Near noon, Xu Xingyin reluctantly got on the carriage with Jing Zhichen for the trip back home. He was no longer as happy as before, and his face almost fell to the ground.

Jing Zhichen was unhappy when he saw it.

"Why? Don't you want to go back with me?"

"no!"

Knowing that he was guilty, Xu Xingyin denied it straightforwardly and changed the subject by taking the initiative.

"Your Highness, why are you in the General's Mansion today?"

"This case has been under investigation for quite some time. You haven't left the house since the chaos in Jiangning. It has been more than half a month in total. I think you should be getting impatient."

Jing Zhichen said, glancing at Xu Xingyin, "So, I will come to the General's Mansion to take you back."

"..."

Xu Xingyin was choked by Jing Zhichen. After a while, he curled his lips and whispered:

"Why bother you? If you were seen by others, it would be much more serious than if I were seen by others."

Jing Zhichen took over the conversation readily, "So, I summoned Lord Lu from the Imperial Guard to come here."

Xu Xingyin was stunned for a moment before he realized what Jing Zhichen meant.

Today he came here only to call Lu Xu. If this matter were to leak out, Lu Xu would be in trouble.

In other words, the Lu family still has some connections in Jiangnan.

If today's events were to get out, Jing Zhichen wouldn't have to do anything. Just for Lu Xu's sake, the Lu family would suppress the news.

Xu Xingyin tried very hard to hold back and not say the word "insidious".

Jing Zhichen seemed to be calm and continued, "It just so happens that I have something to discuss with my uncle."

"what's up?"

After asking, Xu Xingyin realized that something was wrong and quickly added, "Well, I just asked casually, Your Highness doesn't have to answer."

"It doesn't matter."

Jing Zhichen had never hidden anything in front of Xu Xingyin. He slowly opened his mouth and told Xu Xingyin what he had discussed with Chen Yunbo today.

After being busy for a period of time, Jing Zhichen had finally dealt with most of the officials involved in the case. All he had to do next was to do some finishing work.

The next step in the purge is to promote some useful people to fill the vacant positions first.

Jing Zhichen selected some people and came to ask Chen Yunbo about the character of these officials and whether they were worthy of his trust.

Jing Zhichen's move was really unexpected. Xu Xingyin didn't know how to respond for a moment and remained silent.

Jing Zhichen remembered another incident. "We should be back to Beijing in five days. Do you want to take the servants with you? If you like, you can keep them by your side."

"Chun Xiang is dull and doesn't follow the rules and etiquette. Bringing her back to Beijing would harm her. I thought, why not let her go home and take care of her father in peace? Giving her some silver would also be a token of our gratitude."

"That makes sense. I'll arrange for someone to do it."

"Sisters Mei Hanxuan and Mei Hanrui have also made contributions to this case. It is inconvenient for two weak women to travel outside. It just so happens that they are going home along the same route as returning to the capital, so they should accompany the team. When we reach their hometown, Your Highness will trouble you to send someone to see them off."

"Okay." Jing Zhichen nodded. "I'm back in the capital now. I don't know when I'll come to Jiangnan next time. If you have anything you like, just ask someone to buy it for you. But one thing, you are not allowed to enter the general's mansion again."

Xu Xingyin agreed gloomily.

Seeing that she was obedient, Jing Zhichen said no more and turned to business.

"In short, it's always a good idea to prepare early. Also, I have something else to tell you in advance."

"What's the matter?"

"I have something to do in Cangzhou, so it's inconvenient to go with a large group. We should split into two groups and go back to the capital. You lead the people from the Zhennan General's Mansion from Xuzhou, and I lead Zhang Zishi from Yuzhou. We will meet in the capital later."