manynovel Chapter 405: Making trouble, taking advantage of his illness to kill him
Chapter 405: Making trouble, taking advantage of his illness to kill him
"Brother Huai'an has been staying in the capital for quite some time this time. When did he come back?"
Jiang Youzhen invited Tong Huaian to the outer study room and then brought out the chessboard. Tong Huaian smiled when he saw this. This kid is really obsessed with chess.
"I just got back yesterday. It was too late, so I didn't come to disturb you." Tong Huaian sat down and took the black chess box.
"Your chess skills have improved so quickly, I won't let you win this time!"
"Go ahead!" Jiang Youzhen smiled. She was now very confident in playing chess.
There was silence in the study room afterwards, and the two of them concentrated on playing chess.
"Brother Huai'an will be eliminated next year, and he should return to Beijing to settle down, right?" Jiang Youzhen thought that Tong Huai'an was from Beijing, and suddenly realized that he had forgotten to ask the other party's true identity.
"It would be unreasonable not to go home after returning to the capital." Tong Huaian nodded, and then praised: "Your progress is so fast!"
The last time he played chess with Jiang Youzhen, he didn't get into trouble so quickly.
"Which home are you going back to?" Jiang Youzhen asked casually after putting down a piece.
Tong Huaian immediately looked up at Jiang Youzhen, and smiled after a moment.
"Marquis Dingbei Mansion!" Tong Huaian said with a self-deprecating smile, "I thought you already knew, but I didn't expect that you didn't care about me at all! Then I'm going to be sad. Don't you know my identity yet?"
"I naturally became friends with Brother Huai'an because of you, not because of your family background. What does family background have to do with a gentleman's friendship?"
Jiang Youzhen didn't feel embarrassed. In fact, she had already included Tong Huaian into the Fourth Prince's faction. It made no difference whether she knew about his family background earlier or later.
"You are just born with a clever tongue, and you are good at coaxing people."
Tong Huaian felt much more comfortable now. What Jiang Youzhen said made sense!
Looking at the chessboard in front of him, he was shocked to find that he had actually walked into a dilemma. Now no matter which piece he placed, it could not be saved, and the next step would be to lose troops and generals.
He racked his brains, frowned, and after a long time, he finally made a move.
"The move you made has no effect on the game!" Jiang Youzhen ruthlessly poked Tong Huaian's wound. This is a useless effort!
"That's better than losing troops, right? Besides, I'm here, so you have to think twice before making any move, right?" Tong Huaian was waiting for how Jiang Youzhen would break the impasse.
As soon as Tong Huaian finished speaking, Jiang Youzhen made a move and his eyes lit up.
"You really don't take this road..." He said halfway and suddenly stopped his hand that was about to drop a piece.
"Hey? What's the harm in losing to you?" Jiang Youzhen made a gesture of invitation, then sighed and shook his head.
"If I were to make this move, the game would definitely come alive again." As he spoke, he still placed his pieces in the original position, taking two of Jiang Youzhen's pieces in a row, and smiled bitterly.
"This is called breaking down before building up. You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a lamb! When things are stagnant, you need to have the courage to break the current situation."
Tong Huaian looked at his chess piece being eaten up, then raised his head to look at Jiang Youzhen. Was there something else he was saying?
"The capital has been silent for too long!" Jiang Youzhen said suddenly.
Tong Huai'an suddenly became excited. Jiang Youzhen was preparing to make trouble! He believed that Jiang Youzhen had the ability to do so.
"That's right! His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was punished to reflect on his mistakes in front of the wall in his mansion. The other princes also acted low-key, doing their duties every day, and were very law-abiding." Tong Huaian said tentatively.
"The last time a border guard ate military pay, many people were implicated. Some officials had their homes confiscated and were exiled. What about their descendants?"
Tong Huaian no longer had the heart to play chess. He asked in confusion, "The men in their families were exiled together, and the women were made slaves of the government."
“The border is too far away. How can we supervise it?”
"There are border officials supervising us, what's wrong with that?" Tong Huaian was confused, "Do you mean being taken care of?"
He picked up the chess piece beside him and said, "If you pay a little money and suffer less, we won't pursue it. After all, the officials over there also want money, and if the water is too clear, there will be no fish."
Jiang Youzhen was speechless. "I remember that the money from the military pay case was not all recovered. Doesn't the Fourth Prince want to completely put an end to this matter? Maybe he can even make a great contribution!"
"What do you mean?" Tong Huaian sat up straight when he heard that. Could it be that Jiang Youzhen had some information?
"What's the use of so much silver? It's bound to make people have bad associations."
Jiang Youzhen was speaking in a riddle, but Tong Huaian finally understood.
"So what news do you have? His Highness will definitely not treat you unfairly."
In fact, although Tong Huaian said so, he couldn't quite believe that Jiang Youzhen really had any news. After all, he was just a farmer's son and didn't have any power. Where could he go to get information?
"That depends on what you offer in exchange. I promise that you will not be disappointed. It may even lead to a major change in the government."
Tong Huaian was shocked and suspicious at the same time.
"You didn't frame me?" He still didn't believe it, but then he thought of the second prince. Could it be that Jiang Youzhen got some information from the second prince?
"Do I look like such a free person?" Jiang Youzhen rolled his eyes. Why doesn't he trust me?
"Then what do you want?" Tong Huaian's heart was pounding. If what Jiang Youzhen said was true, then it was indeed worth exchanging.
"One condition, I'll owe it to you first so as not to make things difficult for His Highness. He will know after it's done." Jiang Youzhen's pupils were deep, which made Tong Huaian's heart tremble.
At this time, the lights in the outer study were already on. Qing Lang and Qing Yan were guarding not far from the study, and outsiders were not allowed to approach.
"If it is true, it will definitely cause turmoil in the court." Tong Huaian was very excited when he heard the news about Jiang Youzhen.
"Whether it's true or not, you can verify it. But you have to act quickly. Other factions are eyeing us now. If someone gets there first, don't blame me for the delay in providing the information."
Jiang Youzhen was just saying this casually. She didn't know if there were other people watching her, but she said this just to make the most of the rare commodity.
Tong Huaian is now on pins and needles. He wants to go back quickly and send a pigeon to tell the Fourth Prince the secret.
"But..." He calmed down and suddenly thought of something.
"The Emperor has long ago ordered that this matter be brought to an end and not mentioned again. Even if Your Highness finds evidence, if the Emperor keeps it secret, wouldn't that be in vain?"
Tong Huaian was very worried. If this was true, it would be a thankless task.
"As an emperor, I absolutely cannot tolerate such a big thing. If this matter is not a big deal to him, then what about colluding with foreign vassals? Is this something he should tolerate? I don't think the emperor will be so tolerant of him, otherwise he wouldn't have been asked to face the wall and reflect on his mistakes for the past two years."
Tong Huaian was shocked and clenched his fists.
"Is this true?"
Jiang Youzhen smiled, "What does it matter if you take it seriously or not? Since we have decided to do it, we must prevent future troubles. Wildfires cannot be extinguished, and spring breezes will bring them back to life. Why give him a chance to start over? Of course, we should kill him while he is still sick!"
Tong Huaian looked at Jiang Youzhen, whose smile was still somewhat cute, and suddenly a chill ran up his body from his feet.
It turns out that the Fourth Prince was right, Jiang Youzhen is a born politician, and she wants to kill him completely!
Tong Huaian swallowed and remained silent for a long time.