Bai Yueguang, the stand-in for Prince Sick Jiao

On the day Cai Wenbin left the capital, an autumn rain fell.

The cool wind blows through the long streets and alleys with the drizzle of rain. There are no people on the street. A gray carriage staggers through the city. The pain of parting.

In the carriage, three-year-old brother Rui hugged Cai Wenbin's neck, blinked his big black eyes, and asked, "Daddy, are we going to find mother?"

The child was young and didn't know the meaning of life and death. He didn't see his mother for a long time at the beginning, and he always cried at night.Later, Cai Wenbin told him that his mother had gone to a faraway place and would take a long time to come back. Gradually, he also cried less.

It's just that sometimes I think of my mother's warm embrace, and I'm still very sad.

Cai Wenbin looked at his son's clear and ignorant eyes, and there was a bit of bitterness in the corner of his mouth: "Yes, the place we are going to is the place where my mother grew up."

"Will the mother come back with us?"

"Well, we'll probably live there forever."

"Why didn't grandfather go with us? And aunt, Rui'er hasn't seen aunt for a long time, will she come to see Rui'er?"

A bit of pain appeared in Cai Wenbin's eyes, and he said unnaturally: "Yes, grandfather and aunt love Rui'er very much, and they will come back."

The sound of the rain outside gradually became louder, and the horseshoes splashed a piece of mud. After leaving the city, they walked all the way south and never looked back.

At the same time, Tianxiang Pavilion.

Looking up at the boundless rain curtain, Ling Qingyan felt a sense of sadness for no reason: "I don't know when this rain will stop. I didn't bring an umbrella when I went out today."

Shen Xuhuai sat on one side, sipped his tea with his head down, and said, "I'm afraid this rain won't stop for a while, if you're in a hurry to go back, you can borrow an umbrella from the store."

"Aren't you the one who should be worried?"

Shen Xuhuai didn't understand what he said.

Ling Qingyan said: "The case between Song Yinian and Zhao Guanglin has been concluded, how do you plan to deal with that Miss Zhao? According to His Majesty, you intend to spare her life, so what's next?"

As he said that, he walked up to Shen Xuhuai and sat down: "Miss Zhao has no relatives and no reason. Although she escaped death by chance, how will she live in the future? Shen Chao, you brought him back to the capital. If you let go of him, I'm afraid she will die in a few days."

There was a bit of schadenfreude in these words, who would have thought that Shen Chao, who never liked to meddle in other people's business, would save a girl and come back one day?
But Ling Qingyan was happy to see him like this, after all Ling Youyao was married, so she couldn't watch him die alone.

Shen Xuhuai's face darkened, and he pretended to ignore his joke.

"I saved her because I needed it. As for what she should do in the future, it has nothing to do with me."

"Tsk, just be stubborn!" Ling Qingyan looked as if he had seen through everything, "If you just wanted to get the key, why did you bring her back to Beijing? Why not just separate in Tongzhou?"

Shen Xuhuai didn't speak anymore, and he didn't know what he was thinking at the time, maybe out of good intentions, he couldn't bear to see Zhao Zhiyue die in the barren mountains and wild forests, so he brought her back to the capital.

Along the way, he was used to looking back from time to time to see if she had followed, and every time he turned around, she was behind him.

Seeing him like this, Ling Qingyan smiled and hooked his shoulders: "Shen Chao, Shen Chao, just admit it! If you can untie your knot, I'm more than happy. This life is still long, and I should go over this mountain to see See a different view."

Shen Xuhuai tore off his hand, and his voice was as calm as water: "The mountain in front of you and me has not been climbed yet, so why talk about other things?"

"You..." Ling Qingyan curled her lips boredly, "I don't understand the style!"

Shen Xuhuai did not continue this topic, saying: "The things that Cai Wenbin found are just superficial pains for the Cai family. He left the capital in such a hurry, presumably because Cai Yuan noticed the clues, and it would be even more difficult to investigate further. In addition, there is one more thing worthy of attention—"

"What's the matter?"

"Not long ago, the second prince of Beidi, who had been missing for several months, suddenly returned to Beidi. Although Yuan Yutang is now in charge of Beidi, after Yuan Yuxuan returned, there are still many people who support him, including the king of Beidi."

Ling Qingyan was a little surprised: "Yuan Yuxuan was defeated and escaped from Beidi, and disappeared for so long. I didn't expect that when I go back now, there are still people who will support him?"

"It's nothing surprising. Although Yuan Yuxuan is not as good as Yuan Yutang, he at least has a healthy body. I guess King Beidi did this to see which of them is more capable of inheriting the throne."

Yuan Yutang is clever and strategic, but he is a sick child, while Yuan Yuxuan is full of force and has a much more simple mind.

If such two people can work together, Beidi will definitely go to prosperity.It's a pity that there is only one throne, and no one is willing to be a minister.

Shen Xuhuai's eyes fell on the quiet long street, and he suddenly asked: "Qingyan, do you still remember the letter that Cai Wenbin sent you?"

Ling Qingyan thought for a while, then nodded: "I remember, what's wrong?"

Cai Wenbin once said that a person left the capital in the dark, but he has not yet found out who that person was.

Shen Xuhuai: "The date of Yuan Yuxuan's return to Beidi coincides with the date Cai Wenbin said that the person left Beijing. Assuming that person is Yuan Yuxuan, many things can be explained."

The cold rain blew in through the window lattice, Ling Qingyan raised his hand to feel the wetness, and murmured: "Is the Cai family actually connected with Beidi?"

Once the chief assistant, but has a close relationship with Prince Beidi, when did this huge conspiracy start?

Ling Qingyan thought carefully about everything that happened, from Lushan's extermination, to the empress' death, and Fu Mingjue's confinement. It's not difficult to guess their intentions.

When Shen Xuhuai was in Tongzhou, he guessed this layer, but it was only a guess. It was not until he returned to Beijing that he became more and more sure of the guess in his heart.

"The confinement of Fu Mingjue is only their first move. I think they may move in the north next."

"what do you mean--"

Shen Xuhuai said: "If Cai Yuan really colludes with Beidi and intends to rebel, then the troubles in the capital are solved, and it is time to open the gate and welcome Beidi to enter."

Ling Qingyan's heart was shocked: "The northern border is guarded by King Jing'an's [-] troops. Even if he has the ability to surpass the sky, is it possible that he can defeat the [-] troops by himself?!"

"Have you forgotten the weapons and gunpowder hidden under the Ghost Cliff Valley? Tongzhou borders the border pass in the north, and the capital is three hundred miles south. If the enemy breaks through the pass, they will be able to point their sword at the capital within two days. "

Ling Qingyan broke into a cold sweat from these words.

Shen Xuhuai said in a deep voice: "Cai Yuan has been immersed in the court for many years, and his thoughtfulness is beyond your imagination. He sent the eldest daughter to the palace, the second daughter married to the second son of the Northwest General, and the third daughter was betrothed to Xu Duangong's eldest grandson. Whether it is a general with a large army or a noble with prestige, they are all drawn by him, and he has already set up a good plan for the day when the Beidi Iron Cavalry steps into Dayan."

The noisy rain was getting louder and disturbing, but his voice was particularly clear in the drizzle:
"And all we have to do is break his game."