The Concubine's Survival Manual

Chapter 141

The room suddenly fell silent.

Xu Fengjia raised an eyebrow, looked at Qin Niangzi quietly, and there was a vague smile on her lips.

"Why not?" His voice was silky and mellow, full of indescribable satisfaction, soft and shallow, revealing unspeakable emotions.

Qin Niangzi bit her lips and gave him a white look, then knelt up and called out, "Li Xia come in."

Not long after, Lixia brought Qiqiao and Zhongyuan in to wash Qin Niangzi with fresh water, Xu Fengjia also had to get out of bed and sit down, and a few maids changed the blood-stained quilt.This delay was another cup of tea time. After the two returned to the bed, they lay down in the quilt exuding the fragrance of the sun and the scent of roses. It was already past the third watch.

Qin Niangzi had already figured out countless reasons why Xu Fengjia had to stay in Beijing.

"Shiro and Goro are two years old this year." She whispered softly, "It's almost the age to remember... Even for Shiro and Goro's sake, you can't be away from home as an adult anymore."

Xu Fengjia hummed thoughtfully.

"How are the two children doing?" He was concerned.

It's just that in this concern, it's somewhat indifferent. It's been a day since Xu Fengjia came back, and he hasn't met Shiro and Goro before, so he can know that he doesn't have much self-consciousness as a father to these twin sons.

Yeah, no wonder he did.

Seventh Lady sighed inwardly.

I am only in the weak year, and I haven't played enough, so I have to put on armor and fight everywhere. Once I go home, I have another pair of beautiful children, and then the news of my wife's death. How much joy can I have for the arrival of this pair of sons... ...Seven Lady is conceivable.

Besides, Daqin is also different from modern times. It is a woman's business to care for husband and raise children. If it is because the son needs to be raised, it is necessary to leave.It is a bit naive to expect his son to hold back Xu Fengjia's footsteps and let him take the initiative to refuse this job.

"It's okay," she whispered softly, "it's just that no matter how good a stepmother, grandparents, or maternal grandparents are, they can't compare to their own father. Shi... Xu... Shizi must know that life is hard enough for a child without a mother." , if father is not around..."

"Sheng Luan." Xu Fengjia obviously also noticed her helplessness. "I have passed the ceremony of the Duke of Zhou, and you still call me the son?"

Qin Niangzi turned her eyes away and mumbled after a long time, "Sheng Luan is Sheng Luan... Did you hear what I said?"

"Yes, child..." Xu Fengjia's tone also had a little playfulness, "But I think Fourth Aunt married you into Xu's family so that the two children can grow up smoothly. Just children are not enough to keep mine."

How could this man be having fun in circles with others one moment, and confess cruelly the next moment?
Qin Niangzi took a deep breath and had to admit that he was right.A child may be a reason, but it will never be the whole reason. A man who wants to become a first-class prince, whether internally or externally, must not be held back by his children's personal affairs.

"Why did you go to Guangzhou this time?" She changed the subject again, deciding to deal with "Xu Fengjia's business trip incident" later, "Can we talk about it now? How did you make yourself so scarred?"

Xu Fengjia was silent for a while, he turned over, propped himself up with his left hand, combed the broken hair with his right hand, and combed the long hair behind his head.

"You can't reveal anything to the Yang family about this matter," his tone became cold, and unconsciously, it was filled with an invisible force. "In the entire imperial court, there are no more than fifteen people who have heard about it, and even the Fifth Brother may have only vaguely guessed something. If it wasn't for you, Yang Qi, or someone else, I wouldn't have said it...you understand me mean?"

Qin Niangzi really didn't want to understand, but she did understand what Xu Fengjia meant: not everyone has the right to participate in a political game.If it were any of the Yang family sisters, they might not be qualified to hear about this matter.If there is such a secret in this matter, Xu Fengjia would be risking it if he told it to himself.

She lowered her eyes and responded softly, "Yes."

"The king of Lu is probably not dead." Xu Fengjia's next words made Seventh Lady sit up straight suddenly.

Qin Niangzi certainly still remembers the turbulent political situation in the last years of Zhaoming.Although this incident happened thousands of miles away, it is closely related to the Yang family, the world, and every scholar-bureaucrat who is qualified to participate in the struggle for succession. How could she forget it in such a short period of time?

Although she didn't discuss the inside story after the incident with the elder, Qin Niangzi also had her own guesses about King Lu's rebellion in private.After all, this big drama is too exciting, too ups and downs, and too dramatic.The king of Lu, the prince, and the emperor all played ambiguous roles in this play, and left countless mysteries to the world.It's a pity that this is not really a play, and these questions cannot be answered.

"In the final analysis, only a limited number of households participated in the treason drama a few years ago. The real inside story has long been kept secret." Xu Fengjia's voice was very soft, like a tired sigh. "When the emperor was seriously ill, he ordered the prince out of the cabinet, which gave the East Palace a chance to intervene in political affairs. His illness was so serious that even King Lu never thought that Quan Ziyin would be able to recover the emperor from serious illness. That time , made Quan Ziyin, but completely destroyed the last trace of friendship between the late emperor and the present."

Just listening to his faint narration, Seventh Lady shuddered.

"The first emperor was a man who cherished his life." Xu Fengjia's tone was still very calm. "The crown prince was still young, and he was exhausted physically and mentally from dealing with the ministers. All the affairs in the harem were entrusted to the queen. Quan Ziyin asked others several times. Even if the emperor is worried about this matter, Concubine Hui is also aware of it. After he recovers, the crown prince's status has really fallen into an unprecedented crisis."

"If my father and son hadn't used troops in the northwest at that time, and all the soldiers and horses in the world were in my hands, the prince might not even have a chance to turn around, and he would have lost the emperor's favor. Fortunately, the war was really tight at that time, and the emperor was also the emperor after all. Your majesty, in your heart, is still thinking about the world... The prince tried his best to draw a line with the queen, and finally got the emperor's understanding. And our Xu family's victory in the northwest also made the prince's foothold more stable by three points."

"But this is just a mirror image. If the emperor's body and bones continue to be healthy, he will naturally be able to control the government in five years. When the King of Lu rises again, I am afraid it will not be a dream."

Even though it was just a review of the past, Qin Niangzi still noticed the murderous intentions of the capital at that time.

Xu Fengjia's tone was still extremely calm.

"The emperor is already making arrangements for the rise of King Lu. Fortunately, Concubine Hui has been in poor health for many years and passed away that year. King Lu's most important chess piece in the palace passed away. This gave the East Palace a chance to deceive King Lu, and then In addition, Quan Ziyin has secretly defected to the East Palace. The life and death of the emperor has actually been controlled by the East Palace. We were supposed to make the emperor die before everything happened...but Quan Ziyin refused to follow, Donggong had no choice but to make another plan."

"Actually, the emperor's health is not very good. Quan Ziyin said that the emperor will not live for more than two years. What we mean is to ask the East Palace to keep a low profile. After the emperor passes away, everything will come to fruition... But the East Palace is not very human. He has an idea. He took the whole world as his situation, and first ate Jiangnan. The food was greedy and ugly, which made King Lu think that the emperor's bones had weakened again. His mouth conveyed news, implying that King Lu might be about to pass away. All kinds of pretensions are just to make King Lu think that the emperor is about to die, and his chance is fleeting.

"There are many details here, even I don't know much about them, but you witnessed the scene that Liao Qianhu and I did." There was a little irony in Xu Fengjia's words.

"Liao Qianhu is one of your people?" Seventh Lady couldn't help raising her voice slightly.

It took a long time before she let out a chill.

The complexity and ingenuity of the game with the world as a chessboard are beyond her imagination.

"Liao Qianhu is a pawn that Eunuch Lian personally arranged for the prince to join the King of Lu's camp many years ago." Xu Fengjia's reply was even deeper. "His own daughter is the granddaughter of Eunuch Lian."

"All the bright and dark lines of King Lu in the south of the Yangtze River have been removed by you. A lot of information can only be provided by Liao Qianhu, which gives you the opportunity to play tricks." Seventh Lady quickly followed the reasoning, her palms were already soaked in cold sweat up. "But the scene in Baifang Garden, wasn't it too contrived..."

"not at all."

The red candle outside the tent burned to the end, making a slight crackling sound, and then the room fell into absolute darkness.

Xu Fengjia's voice was like the weakest candle, revealing a touch of sarcasm and unmistakable exhaustion, "The Yang family always thought that the general soldiers had a close relationship with the Quan family, and they were probably the eldest prince's pawn in the south of the Yangtze River... …Actually, the Zhu families don’t rely on both sides at all, they are only loyal to the emperor. The person who contacted King Lu in private and wanted to get closer to King Lu was Li Wenqing.”

Qin Niangzi's heart rose to her throat.

How could it be the Li family? !
Li Wenqing was picked up by the old man with one hand, and he has always followed in the footsteps of the old man. Over the years, he has obeyed his words, obedient like the old man's dog!

"The most obedient dog is the most painful when it bites people." Xu Fengjia's tone was slightly ironic, "However, Li Wenqing is a shrewd man, he didn't completely surrender to the King of Lu, he just showed his goodwill to both sides in private, and he straddled the wall on both sides... ...That's why, although the fourth uncle hinted several times to the emperor that the position of governor of Jiangnan can be handed over to the Li family, the emperor has no intention of responding, but he does not intend to touch the Li family, so as not to hurt the face of the fourth uncle."

Qin Niangzi has straightened out most of the logical relationships.

"Although King Lu is suspicious by nature, what else can he say to such a confidant who is full of scars, who is willing to assassinate the imperial court official in public for revenge, was defeated and captured, and refuses to speak after severe punishment? Liao Qian Hu just hinted that Mrs. Quan gave you a pair of mutton fat jade bracelets and told the first prince truthfully, combined with a few trivial matters that we have arranged, is it unclear what conclusion King Lu will draw?"

All these pretensions are not only for the purpose of eating Jiangnan, but also for deceiving the eldest prince into believing that the emperor is dying—Seventh Lady is going to applaud the ingenuity and thoroughness of this plot.Suddenly, she felt that it was a matter of course for the prince to ascend the throne: how could such a man with means and scheming not get what he wanted?
"The king of Lu sent a letter to question Quan Zhongbai again. Using the mutton fat jade bracelet as a clue, he asked the news that the emperor was dying and the harem was actually completely controlled by the prince... If he doesn't want to fight, he is no longer the king of Lu. Defeat and capture are naturally counted in the East Palace. At this time, even if the emperor is reluctant to pass on the throne to him, he will not be able to find a second candidate."

"But the East Palace has calculated everything, and still missed the emperor's temperament." Xu Fengjia's voice was filled with strong sarcasm. "With the emperor's mind, why can't he understand the means of the East Palace? For the sake of the world, he can't abolish the establishment at will, so as to avoid political turmoil. But even if the crown prince is full-fledged, as long as the emperor is in power for one day, the crown prince will not be able to intervene in many things." Go in. How could he not retaliate?"

"King Lu...was he let go by the emperor himself?" Seventh Lady swallowed her saliva and asked with great difficulty.

Xu Fengjia fell silent again.

At some point, his hand had slipped to the side of Qiniangzi's face, stroking her blue hair thoughtfully.

"The emperor ordered the destruction of the fleet that the king of Lu was ordered to supervise, and the handlers who were ordered to kill the king of Lu were all executed afterwards. The accounts of the internal treasury are not right at all-I have told my father a long time ago, even I told the prince that the emperor is narrow-minded, and he will take revenge, if you want to manipulate him, the price you pay may be greater than the benefit...they just don't listen!"

There was anger in his words, but also a slight sense of relief: Qin Niangzi suddenly realized that this secret might have exhausted Xu Fengjia.

"You found out that King Lu went to Guangzhou." Seventh Lady said in a voice like a gnat, "Isn't it?"

"It's not that we tracked it down, it's that King Lu can only migrate to the south coast." Xu Fengjia smiled wryly. "I've been lingering in Guangzhou for a year, and I haven't found any fart. To be honest, I don't know whether he is alive or dead. Did the emperor let him go... The emperor couldn't eat or sleep well this year. If I just knew King Lu is alive, so that's all, but now he doesn't even know whether he is alive or dead, this trick of the late emperor—do you think it is good?"

"It's so wonderful that it makes people tremble from the bottom of their hearts." Seventh Lady replied sincerely. "Then you go to Guangzhou this time..."

"This time, I finally found his trace." Xu Fengjia's fingers around her blue hair suddenly tightened, "I also saw him with my own eyes. But he bought guns from Westerners, and we... our water The army cannot deal with him, but drive him from Middle-earth."

Seventh Lady almost groaned.

Even though she was lying in the warm bedding, she could still feel a burst of coldness radiating from the bottom of her spine upwards.

"He went to Nanyang, didn't he?" She heard her own voice trembling slightly.

Xu Fengjia nodded in the dark.

"I said a long time ago that I'm not a good husband." There was some self-mockery in his tone. "In the next few years, I will definitely be very busy... Look, I'm going to Nanyang again now?"

Qin Niangzi immediately understood what Xu Fengjia meant.

It is very likely that he must be the only one to handle this matter, so that the emperor can rest assured that there is no other possible candidate.As long as King Lu survives, Xu Fengjia will have to chase after this former Tianhuang nobleman for the rest of his life.

"Unless..." Xu Fengjia elongated her voice again. "If I really want to stay, it's not impossible. As long as I can convince the emperor and my father, I can stay in the capital. It's just that I need to take risks."

Qin Niangzi hates to admit it, but she also has to admit that her emotions are like the plasticine in Xu Fengjia's hands, rounding and flattening according to his words...

"What way?" Her voice revealed joy and hope again.

Xu Fengjia smiled softly, with a hint of joy, which used to make her very dissatisfied, but at this moment, under the possible long separation, everything is irrelevant.

"Answer me first, Yang Qi, do you want me to stay?"

His voice became hot again, as if for a split second, that domineering, lazy teenager returned to Xu Fengjia's body, replacing the seasoned and tired politician, and he was asking softly, slyly with a answer in exchange for another answer.

"I..." Seventh Lady was about to open her mouth to answer before she could think about it.

"I'm not talking about whether you should or not, but whether you want to." Xu Fengjia rushed in again and cut off her words. "I told you, it's one thing to choose what you can only do, but it's another thing to choose what you want."

His words are meaningful.

Seventh Lady stared at the ceiling in the darkness, an indescribable pain surged in her chest again.

Xu Fengjia just couldn't let her go, she just didn't want to let the ambiguity between the two of them flow away like this... He was too demanding!He can't just want and get everything he wants!
However, at this moment, she can only let him take whatever he wants, whether it is her own body or something deeper, she has no bargaining chip to refuse.

is it?

She gritted her teeth and opened her mouth.

"I……"

(End of this chapter)