Proud Feather

Chapter 66 East Palace
Chu Ling slowly flipped through the booklet left by Gao Mian.

In her previous life, when she was able, it had been so long ago that there was no place to check. But it turned out that Gao Mian had made preparations long ago and wrote them down.

She couldn't help but wonder why Gao Mian had been demoted in his previous life. Was he truly implicated in a corruption case? Or was there another reason?
There is no answer to this question, but it doesn’t matter. She is back, and this booklet will definitely come in handy in this life!
She closed the book, turned around and asked, "Qiu Niang, is my sister-in-law in the East Palace? She hasn't gone out, has she?"

Zheng Qiu reported, "The Crown Princess sent someone to deliver the herbs yesterday. I went to thank her this morning. She is in the East Palace."

"I'm going to go see Jin'er and have some tea with my sister-in-law."

"Yes."

……

A moment later, Chu Ling arrived at the East Palace and happened to meet Lu Chan playing with the children.

A shuttlecock flew in front of her, and she lifted her foot, sending it flying high. Then she kicked it forward and backward, doing somersaults and somersaults in various patterns, causing the little grandson of the emperor and the palace maids to scream.

Finally, after playing enough, she put away the shuttlecock, walked over with a smile, and showed off to her nephew: "Auntie, am I good at kicking shuttlecock?"

"Amazing! Amazing!" The little grandson Chu Jin clapped his hands until they were broken, looking at her admiringly, "Aunt, can you teach me?"

"Of course!" So Chu Ling began to teach him.

Chu Jin was only three years old. Although he was in good health, he was still too young. He ran around like a chubby ball and didn't kick the shuttlecock much the whole time. But this didn't stop him from having fun. Chu Ling laughed out loud at the sight, and Lu Chan couldn't stop laughing beside him either.

After playing for a long time, both of them were sweating. Lu Chan cleaned up the child and handed him to the wet nurse to rest for a while. Then she took Chu Ling to the tea room.

"Sister-in-law, have you changed Jin'er's wet nurse? She looks a little unfamiliar."

Lu Chan replied, "You mentioned this earlier. I was worried and sent someone to investigate. They found that the wet nurse's home was a little unclean, so they replaced her. This one was sent by my mother's family. She was originally my mother's personal maid."

Chu Ling felt relieved. It would be fine if she changed. In her previous life, Jin'er died young, which had a lot to do with the people around her not caring enough.

What reassured her even more was that her eldest sister-in-law was on guard. The Lu family was a large clan, and her eldest sister-in-law was a smart person. With her on guard, it would be difficult for others to take action.

"Jin'er looks very happy. Hasn't made any trouble lately?" She sat down at the tea table.

Lu Chan gestured for the palace maid to fetch the tea set and replied, "Sometimes I think of him in the middle of the night and ask where he is, but I just coax him into falling asleep."

"He's a well-behaved child." Chu Ling felt sad, but she still had a smile on her face because she was afraid of making Lu Chan sad.

Lu Chan knew her intentions and smiled, "I'm more obedient than you. When your eldest brother and I first got married, you were already so old, yet you still insisted on sleeping with us."

Mentioning the embarrassing things that happened in his childhood, Chu Ling felt a little embarrassed: "I wasn't that old, wasn't I just ten years old?"

"Yes, she's already ten years old!" Lu Chan embarrassed her.

The two of them laughed and joked for a while, and the tea was ready. Lu Chan asked everyone to leave, and they were the only ones left in the room.

"Do you have something to say today?" she asked while pouring tea herself.

"How did you know, sister-in-law?" "You were always looking around, especially at the palace maids, as if you wanted to say something but didn't want others to hear you."

The eldest sister-in-law was indeed perceptive. Chu Ling nodded in agreement and asked directly, "Is it safe here?"

After all, the prince was poisoned, so it is hard to say that there is no problem in the Eastern Palace.

Lu Chan calmly replied, "Guess what I've been doing this past month? I've already sorted out the people around me several times. I can't say for sure whether it's safe or not, but I've done my best."

Chu Ling believed in her sister-in-law's ability. If she said it was okay, then it was okay.

So, she took out the booklet from her sleeve, placed it on the table, and said solemnly: "Sister-in-law, I have something here that I need you to verify."

Lu Chan opened the booklet, and the more she looked at it, the more surprised she looked.

After a long time, she put down the booklet and remained silent.

Chu Ling waited for her to finish thinking, then asked again: "Can you tell me?"

Lu Chan nodded and said, "I don't know who found this, but it should be pretty close."

Chu Ling flipped the booklet to the front and said softly, "This booklet mentions the things that Big Brother did during his lifetime. There are mainly the following: One is river repair, two is tax collection in the southeast, and three is the reform of the border army. Each of these is a major event that can shake the court and involves a wide range of interests. It's not surprising that someone wants to harm Big Brother."

Lü Chan was no harem maiden ignorant of state affairs. She came from a prominent family, her father and grandfather both high-ranking officials, and through their influence, she developed her own unique perspectives on government. After marrying into the Eastern Palace, the couple enjoyed a close relationship, and Crown Prince Chu Yi would sometimes discuss military strategy with her.

Lu Chan remembered everything in the booklet and immediately listed them one by one: "The tax revenue in the southeast is of great importance, but it is mainly under the personal supervision of the emperor. Your eldest brother's suggestions are just routine matters. Even if some people are dissatisfied, they will not target him."

Then he talked about river repair: "Your eldest brother was killed while patrolling the river. This was the most important job he had in his life. The river changed its course year after year, and the people suffered. This time, he was determined to find the key, so that the people could at least have a few decades of peace and security."

Lu Chan paused. "Xiuhe has investigated many old cases and punished many people. Your eldest brother is also deeply involved. There is indeed a possibility that something might go wrong."

Chu Ling asked again: "Why didn't sister-in-law mention the border army reform?"

Lu Chan frowned. "This... I'm a little hard to say. The military and political issues themselves have been controversial for a long time. Whether to open trade, whether to reform the horse policy, whether military officials can be promoted to the core... These involve the foundation of the country. The opposition between civil and military affairs cannot be changed by killing one person. But you know, when it comes to those military officials, or even the enemy country, who knows what will happen."

Chu Ling nodded silently. Speaking of military affairs, she thought of someone.

King Xiao Zhen of Xining, the Xiao family knows the most about the border troops.

However, Xiao Zhen probably didn't have real power yet, did he? The Xiao family's army was currently led by his uncle, Xiao Huan. In her previous life, when she was meditating at the Three Pure Ones Monastery, the Xiao family was in turmoil, and Xiao Huan was killed. Only then did Xiao Zhen regain the military power that rightfully belonged to King Xining.

Later, Xiao Zhen submitted a letter of apology, accusing Northern Hu spies of instigating the rebellion and Xiao Huan of having died suppressing it. However, rumors circulated that he had murdered his uncle, who had raised him, in order to seize power, thus spreading his reputation for murderousness and tyranny. This was also the reason she had refused the marriage. It seemed her father was using her as a tool to appease Xiao Zhen.

— She could send someone to contact the Xiao family first to prepare for the future fight against the Northern Hu. For now, it was more important to investigate the river repair issue.

"Sister-in-law, are all my brother's ministers here? Can the things written in the book be verified?"

Lu Chan nodded. "I kept Zhu Shan here just for this purpose. Since you've investigated this far, I'll definitely find the person with the problem!"