Tianliangyuan

Chapter 300 Thunder

Because of the ceremonial arrangements, coupled with his illness and pickiness along the way, Prince Qing's journey took half a month, but they had only covered less than half of the entire distance.

This is absolutely not okay.

Cui Chong was both a prince consort and a court official, but he chose the path of a civil official.

In Daxing, the distinction between civil and military officials was not always so clear.

For example, Marquis Xinning, Cui Xuanzheng, was both a civil official and a military general. He was highly valued by Emperor Yong'an in both aspects; otherwise, Emperor Yong'an would not have betrothed his daughter, Princess Ning Shuo, to his son, Cui Chong.

Although Cui Chong was not very old, he had two subordinates with him, both of whom had worked under Cui Xuanzheng.

"My lord, this is not a good sign. Prince Qing is probably deliberately delaying his return to the capital. We should make plans as soon as possible."

Something is definitely not right.

Cui Chong arranged for a personal guard to ride directly to the capital at full speed, and at the same time, he began to reduce the proportions allocated to Prince Qing.

Prince Qing naturally disagreed.

"I am a prince, Cui Chong. Even if you are the prince consort, you still have to call me uncle. How dare you disrespect your elders and a prince!"

"Your Highness, I am also acting on imperial orders, please understand. If you delay any further, then don't blame me for being impolite."

Cui Chong's official position was indeed insignificant, but he came on the emperor's orders.

That alone is enough to shut Prince Qing up!

There was nothing Prince Qing could do but grit his teeth and accept it.

What neither Prince Qing nor Cui Chong knew was that the Emperor had not sent Cui Chong alone.

Cui Chong was worried that Prince Qing had other plans, so he was only thinking about returning to the capital as soon as possible to report back.

Prince Qing was thinking that he must not rush things and must give his subordinates enough time to destroy the evidence.

However, the two of them clearly did not understand the emperor's mind.

Long before Cui Chong led his men into Prince Qing's mansion, Cui Shu had already secretly led his men to infiltrate several hills under Prince Qing's name. Of course, Xu Junfeng and Fang Liang were also working with him.

This time, His Majesty intentionally used only junior officers, wanting to see just how capable they were.

Unbeknownst to Prince Qing, the mine had already been surrounded, and all the weapon forging sites hidden deep in the mountains had been discovered. None of the people involved escaped to report the crime.

It was also because Xu Junfeng and Fang Liang acted meticulously, making arrangements not only around the mountain but also at the foot of the mountain, that they were all captured.

No one sent a message to Prince Qing's residence, and Prince Qing, who was being forced to go to the capital by Cui Chong, naturally had no idea.

As for Prince Qing's mansion, it had already been completely surrounded by local troops mobilized by Fang Dazhuang.

Not even a fly could get out of here, let alone a messenger.

Therefore, whether Cui Chong is in a hurry or not is actually not that important anymore.

However, this arrangement was made by a secret decree of Emperor Yong'an, so no one would think to inform Cui Chong, as that would be disobeying the imperial decree and punishable by death.

Before Prince Qing even entered the capital, Emperor Yong'an received an urgent secret report from Cui Shu and Fang Dazhuang.

Good heavens, this Prince Qing is really richer than he imagined!

The Prince Qing's mansion is currently only besieged, and the city gates are heavily guarded, so the stewards under the Prince Qing's mansion are helpless.

As for the advisors of Prince Qing's mansion, every single one of them was imprisoned.

This is the true method of an emperor.

Thunder!

Xu Zhaozhao and Xie Zheng naturally didn't know either, but they each had some sources of information.

Especially since Xu Junfeng is Xu Zhaozhao's second brother.

Xu Junfeng has been ordered to leave Beijing, so there must be something important going on.

Currently, there is no war at the border, and Xu Han has just conducted a thorough investigation of the Jia family.

Now, it's easy to guess where Xu Junfeng is.

"Are you sure there are no problems with your fourth uncle?"

“He’s not stupid! I’ve already made myself perfectly clear. If I say anything more, I’ll be accused of spying on His will and I’ll be punished.”

"Hehe, how could you be so timid? My second brother left the capital in secret. Just because I received the news doesn't mean others did. For example, my eldest and third brothers didn't know."

"Ugh!"

Xie Zheng understood what she meant. After pondering for a moment, he decided to go and confirm with Xie Xiaowei again.

This concerns the lives of countless people.

It cannot be faked.

"Your Majesty has ordered Prince Qing to come to the capital, right, Fourth Uncle?"

Xie Xiaowei nodded: "Yes, Cui Chong has been gone for a few days now. What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

"Fourth Uncle, His Majesty is always meticulous in his actions. Do you think he considered what would happen if Prince Qing disobeyed the decree? And did he consider whether Cui Chong would be made things difficult after arriving at Prince Qing's residence?"

Xie Xiaowei was taken aback. Cui Chong was His Majesty's son-in-law; he wouldn't really let his son-in-law do something too dangerous.

"Sanlang, I'm not very bright, just tell me directly."

Xie Zheng said expressionlessly, "General Fang and his son have both left the capital. Fourth Uncle, the relationship between the Jia family and the Prince Qing's mansion is now clear. I didn't say much when Fourth Aunt came to cause trouble for my wife earlier, but given Fourth Aunt's attitude, are you sure the Lin family is really clean?"

Xie Xiaowei's expression changed; it was really hard to say.

"My father-in-law shouldn't be like that, right?"

"I don't know about that. Anyway, given the current situation, if we can make a severance, we should do so as soon as possible. Once Prince Qing enters the capital, I'm afraid it will be too late."

These words startled Xie Xiaowei, who wanted to say, "It can't be that bad!"

However, when he met Xie Zheng's cold yet somewhat intimidating gaze, he couldn't bring himself to say anything to question it.

"I'll go again now."

"Be careful not to let the news leak out again. I've heard that some of the civil officials who are affiliated with the Prince of An's mansion have already given up some of their properties two days ago."

Isn't that obvious enough?

Xie Xiaowei rushed out the door.

Xie Zheng raised an eyebrow slightly. As for the little things happening in the Prince An's mansion, he had indeed found out, but he couldn't be sure if they were related to the Prince Qing's mansion.

This is not urgent.

In any case, as long as Prince Qing enters the capital, or if news comes back from Xu Junfeng, there will probably be a major purge in the capital.

His Majesty is benevolent, but his benevolence comes with conditions.

What those in power cannot tolerate most is the disloyalty of their subjects.

You can be greedy, and you can do nothing, but you cannot be disloyal!

Once your loyalty is questioned by the emperor, you will inevitably face his wrath.

Moreover, His Majesty has never been one to show mercy or be soft-heartedness.

He could kill his own elder brother back then, so why would he really care about the life of a half-brother now?

It all boils down to nothing more than self-interest.

Xie Xiaowei rushed to the Lin family. After a private conversation, several of the Lin family's stewards were summoned for questioning.

Xie Xiaowei didn't stay there to listen; he went back to his residence first.

He had done all he could, and as for the outcome, there was nothing more he could do.