The prince is more stable

Chapter 295 As expected
Niaoniao comes from the Liao Kingdom.

She didn't know who her parents were. As far as she could remember, she had lived in a remote house in Liao State. Like many children of her age, she received rigorous training every day.

The training content was very complicated, including martial arts, assassinations, torture, as well as Song Dynasty articles, poems, songs and dances.

This is how Niao Niao has lived her life since she was a child. She has no friends, no relatives, only a vicious coach and a cold-hearted group.

She is not friends with other children of the same age, but rather they are in competition with each other, like poisonous insects trapped in a clay jar, fighting each other like a breeding insect, and the owner only needs the last one to survive.

Niaoniao survived in the end. Her beauty, her talent, and her calm and steady temperament ultimately determined that she was the final survivor.

Then she was sent to the Song Dynasty.

In the Song Dynasty, someone had already prepared her household registration and relatives, and her entire background could be traced. Later, as expected, her relatives were arranged to die, her family was arranged to fall into poverty, and she was also arranged to sell herself into a brothel and become a top courtesan.

The Imperial City Bureau could not find any doubts about her background because she was dead and there was no evidence, and there were clear traces of her life from childhood to adulthood.

And since she entered the brothel, it meant that she had officially become a chess piece.

Jiang Miaoxian of Zuihuayin had just been redeemed by Zhao Xiaoqian, and the position of the most beautiful courtesan had just been vacated, so Niao Niao immediately filled it.

Zhao Xiaoqian and Niao Niao met in a brothel. By coincidence, Niao Niao suddenly twisted her foot and bumped into Zhao Xiaoqian. The two knew each other from then on.

Niao Niao appeared in Zhao Xiaoqian's life just after he invited the Liao envoys to an autumn hunt outside the city. At that time, the Song Dynasty's flintlock rifles appeared openly in the sight of the Liao envoys, and the Liao court was shocked.

There is no such coincidence in the world.

Too many coincidences often indicate human intervention. This is one of the reasons why Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly became suspicious of Niao Niao.

Suspicion is different from love. It cannot arise without reason.

At this moment, Niao Niao's back was burning with pain, and there were countless whip marks on her back. Niao Niao just gritted her teeth and endured it silently.

She has been accustomed to this kind of corporal punishment since she was a child.

In fact, Niao Niao was not familiar with the young man in front of her. She only knew that she had to listen to him. The spies of the Liao Kingdom in the Song Dynasty were like a net, and she was just one of the threads in this net.

"Within one month, you must obtain the secrets of Song's firearms, no matter what means necessary."

The man ordered in a cold voice, "The Emperor of Song has appointed Zhao Xiaoqian as the Governor of Zhending Prefecture. Perhaps Zhao Xiaoqian will leave the capital to take up his new post soon. This is not good news for the Liao Dynasty."

"We must obtain the secrets of firearms before Zhao Xiaoqian leaves the capital. Only then will the Liao Dynasty have the confidence to compete with the Song Dynasty on the border."

"If we can't do it within a month, Niaoniao, neither you nor I will survive, do you understand?" the man shouted sternly.

Niao Niao pursed her lips, lowered her head and said, "I understand."

The man hummed, then looked around, flashed into the dense woods and disappeared.

Niao Niao was still standing there, her beautiful eyes, which were as charming as peaches and plums, were now icy cold, staring at the direction where the man disappeared.

After a long time, Niao Niao sighed and disappeared in another direction.

…………

Zhao Xiaoqian has been very busy these days.

Every day, Su Shi dragged him around to look for delicious food in the streets and alleys of Bianjing City.

Initially, Zhao Xiaoqian positioned Su Shi as an idol, a literary giant, and a poet, the kind of person who looked down upon the people of the world with arrogance and coldness.

After becoming familiar with Su Shi, Zhao Xiaoqian decisively changed his label.

This idol is simply a foodie, a crowd pleaser, and a funny old man.

He dragged Zhao Xiaoqian around to look for delicious food all day long. He was particularly concerned about food and his appetite was simply insane.

In just a few days, Su Shi forced Zhao Xiaoqian to travel all over the city, and he did not miss any slightly famous delicacy.

But this guy is not picky about food. He will try every means to find out about any restaurant with a good reputation, and then decisively drag Zhao Xiaoqian into the store to try the food.

Zhao Xiaoqian was on the verge of collapse. Although he was also particular about food, he would never go to such an outrageous extent. Especially running around in the streets and alleys, he was almost exhausted. In his two lifetimes, he had never been so tired even when accompanying women shopping. But after all, he was Su Shi, so Zhao Xiaoqian could only endure it.

However, Zhao Xiaoqian decisively refused the banquet that Su Shi invited him to.

Su Zhe may have listened to the reminder last time, but Su Shi certainly did not take it seriously.

These days, Su Shi took Zhao Xiaoqian to look for delicious food during the day, and at night he still had parties and banquets with his old literary friends as usual, and he didn't care at all what others thought of him.

Perhaps in Su Shi's eyes, he was just a demoted official, and meeting and feasting with old friends was not a big deal.

Perhaps in his perception, the Song Dynasty still had a relaxed political environment. Even if he fell out with his political enemies in the court, he would only be exiled thousands of miles away, and his life would never be lost.

Unfortunately, Su Shi had not returned to Beijing for a long time, and his knowledge had become outdated.

In today's court, the New Party is in power, and the evil Zhang Dun dominates the temple. It is no longer the relaxed Song Dynasty court that emphasized gentlemanly politics.

After returning to Beijing, Su Shi frequently met with his old friends and eventually got into trouble.

That night, Wei Jie came to the Prince of Chu's mansion and reported something to Zhao Xiaoqian.

The Chief Censor Huang Lu, the Assistant Censor Lai Zhishao, and the Secretary of the Central Secretariat Lin Xi conspired to impeach Su Shi on charges of forming a clique for personal gain and slandering the emperor and deceiving his reputation.

The main function of the Imperial City Administration was to supervise all officials, especially those in the city of Bianliang. In theory, all powerful officials in the capital were on the Imperial City Administration's supervision list.

Therefore, Zhao Xiaoqian was not surprised that the Imperial City Bureau was able to obtain such secret information, nor was he surprised that the three people conspired to impeach Su Shi.

All of this was within expectations. Su Shi's actions after returning to Beijing were indeed somewhat high-profile.

However, Zhao Xiaoqian was somewhat surprised by the person who conspired to impeach Su Shi.

The Chief Censor is a very important position. It is said that this Chief Censor named Huang Lu was promoted by Zhang Dun himself.

The New Party was in power, Zhang Dun was appointed prime minister, and Zhao Xu wanted to replace the old party with the New Party. Many official positions in the court were left vacant, and Zhang Dun had the power to form a new cabinet.

Only Su Shi had the honor of being impeached personally by the head of the Censorate, and it was worthy of the head of the Censorate to take personal action.

It is conceivable that the Chief Censor personally submitted the memorial, which shows how important the memorial was.

Once the memorial was submitted, both the New Party members and officials who wanted to curry favor with the government would submit memorials in support.

Even if Su Shi had the halo of a literary leader to protect him, he would still be skinned alive this time.

The literary world and the government are two completely different worlds. The struggle between the new and old parties is a life-and-death struggle. If Zhang Dun really decided to kill Su Shi, it would be impossible for him to escape punishment easily given Su Shi's status and official position.

After listening to Wei Jie's report, Zhao Xiaoqian's expression gradually became solemn.

This hurdle is quite deep, and Su Shi might not find it easy to get over it.

After learning about the personal grudge between Zhang Dun and Su Shi, Zhao Xiaoqian had been wondering whether Zhang Dun would take action against Su Shi.

Now he finally got the answer.

The evil old Zhang finally took action and he would not let Su Shi go easily.

Perhaps the court's summons of Su Shi back to Beijing was the beginning of a conspiracy.

After being appointed as prime minister and taking power, Zhang Dun wanted to use his power to settle the grudges of the past. He would repay kindness with kindness and revenge with hatred.

"Is the news confirmed? Was it Zhang Dun's instruction?" Zhao Xiaoqian asked.

Wei Jie shook his head. "I'm not sure if it was Minister Zhang's order, but Huang Lu, Lai Zhishao, and Lin Xi were all promoted by Minister Zhang last year. I suspect it's Minister Zhang who's responsible."

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed and said, "This old fellow is so ruthless in his extermination of his old party. He really doesn't intend to leave himself any escape route. Isn't he afraid of dying inexplicably on the road when he retires and returns home?"

Wei Jie hesitated for a moment and said, "Does the Duke intend to intervene in this matter? These three hold considerable influence in the court, and with Minister Zhang behind them, if the Duke intervenes to save Su Shi, he might end up in trouble with Minister Zhang and perhaps even all the New Party officials."

(End of this chapter)