Jin Xin was not very clear about their relationship. Although Jin Xin intended to win over Gu Zhao, Gu Zhao was too cooperative, which made her uneasy.
Later I learned that Gu Zhao and Jiang Quwu were rare confidants. They had a good relationship and often met for drinks.
After Jin Xin was frightened by Gu Zhao last time, she felt that Gu Zhao was a bit dangerous, and wanted to win over him. It was a pity to abandon him, but she was worried when she approached him. After knowing that Jiang Quwu was taking care of her, Jin Xin felt at ease.
"Brother, you go ahead and say it." Jin Xin said, and asked someone to serve tea to them.
"You asked me to pay attention to the Liu family before. I arranged the manpower and found that the Liu family has been accumulating good reputation in the west this year, arranging activities such as giving out porridge and rice every day. Now the people really appreciate the Liu family very much."
"So, the Liu family is looking for a way out. They are afraid that one day the emperor will touch the Liu family. They are accumulating good deeds in the west with the intention of gaining the support of the people and making the emperor afraid?" Jin Xin asked.
She didn't know much about this, and she could only make a rough guess.
"It seems that the Liu family is now in the Chamber of Commerce holding a gold medal gifted by the emperor, and they are quite proud."
So to put it this way, the Liu family is not far from collapse.
Once a person starts to relax and drift away, he will pass the things he does. If he starts to be arrogant and touches the emperor's restricted area, he will naturally be punished.
Now the world is gradually becoming more peaceful. Although some places are still experiencing famine, it is not as difficult as it was when he first ascended the throne.
If the Liu family restrained themselves at this time, the emperor might not move, suppress them, let their wealth shrink, and let others rise. Private merchants would check and balance each other, and pay taxes to the court, and there would be balance.
But if the Liu family starts to feel that they dominate the business world and uses gold plaques randomly, the Liu family will really be doomed.
"Thank you, brother, I will continue to keep an eye on you. If possible, arrange some people, preferably those who can talk, to continue to expand Master Liu's ambitions." Jin Xin said with a smile.
Let him swell up, and naturally you won't need to take action yourself.
If Fang Guiren is still restless, then she will have no choice but to be more ruthless.
"General Gu, what are you thinking about?" Jin Xin looked at Gu Zhao, who was standing far away in the corner.
When Gu Zhao heard him being called, he immediately stepped forward and bowed, "I'm here to tell you that Xiao Ding of the Xiao family in Lanling intends to let his eldest daughter into the palace as his queen. This was promised to the Xiao family by the late emperor. Now, There is no one to succeed, I’m afraid they want the emperor to fulfill this promise.”
Jin Xin's hand holding the tea cup tightened suddenly, and she was a little surprised, "The Lanling Xiao family has experienced hundreds of years of hardships and several dynasties, and has produced many literary and military generals. They are indeed of high origin and so noble. They are willing to enter the palace. It’s really rare, but the emperor never mentioned this to me.”
"This matter was brought up by the Xiao family after the queen passed away, but the emperor has not yet made a clear statement, but if she enters the palace, she will definitely be a queen. A daughter of the Xiao family will not be a concubine, so the empress must be careful."
That was more than a month ago. No wonder the emperor didn't take the initiative to promise himself to be the imperial concubine. It turned out that the Xiao family saw the right time and made the late emperor's promise.
Jin Xin laughed, "It's too late."
"What's so late?" they both asked at the same time.
"It's nothing, I just feel that this matter is not that important, and the emperor may not be willing to agree to this promise." Jin Xin said with a relaxed expression.
He can't do it now. Even if he allows this Xiao girl to enter the palace and she can't have any children, the emperor probably doesn't want to add to the trouble. He can't tell others that he can't do it anymore and don't want to have children with him, right?
If you want to marry a queen, can you not have children with her? The emperor has a hard time saying, how can he be willing to cause these troubles again.
Jinxin knew the emperor to a certain extent, and he still had this bit of self-respect. Now only he knew about his affairs. From now on, Jinxin would have to bear all the things that happened to him, including the infamy. How could the emperor be willing to accept another one? trouble.
"Now that the queen knows what's going on, we can feel at ease." Jiang Quwu nodded and said.
Gu Zhao took out a hand crossbow and put it on the table.
"Your Majesty, this hand crossbow is exquisite and compact. You can keep it for self-defense."
Jin Xin took a look and saw that it was very delicate and not too heavy to pick up. She smiled and said, "I'm afraid I won't need it."
"I originally thought it would be for my wife to hunt rabbits in the hunting area, but I can also keep it for self-defense."
"In the harem, there is no need for this thing. General, please take it back." Jin Xin pushed it back.
"Mother, before you return to the palace, it's best for you to hold this thing. If anything goes wrong at night, this is also a life-saving thing." Gu Zhao's attitude was a little firm.
He was worried that the seventh princess was messing around. Although he was watching her, he was still worried.
Jiang Quwu looked at Gu Zhaofei and frowned immediately.
There were troubles in the wild, and the assassination of the concubine was not unsolved when the late emperor was still there. It was even more chaotic. Keeping it was also a guarantee.
"Yes, Madam, please leave it alone. General Gu is right. When the emperor asked, he said that I gave it to him." Jiang Quwu also said.
Only then did Jin Xin agree.
When going out, Jiang Quwu grabbed Gu Zhao's collar and pressed him against a tree when he walked to a deserted place, "Do you have any thoughts about the imperial concubine?"
"No!" Gu Zhao quickly denied.
"No? You are so worried about her, you are not like a minister. If you dare to think wrong again, believe it or not, I will kill you!" Jiang Quwu said and pressed his neck with force again, gritting his teeth.
"Don't worry, I won't get close to her anymore, and I will protect you all. I'm just worried that someone will do her harm, so I gave her a crossbow to protect myself. I haven't set off to return to Beijing yet, so I'd better be careful." Gu Zhao explained.
"Don't hurt her or us, or I'll be the first to chop off your head." Jiang Quwu warned again.
"I know. I just want to support her behind her. I have not thought about anything else. I will never see her alone again, let alone reveal any clues." Gu Zhao promised.
In this way, Jiang Quwu let him go.
The hunting has come to an end.
Prince Lie presided over the matter of determining the rankings on the field, and Gu Zhao assisted him.
Because the emperor was ill, that is, after the ranking was determined, it was presented to the emperor and asked the emperor to determine the reward.
The emperor could not go to the scene in person, so he went through the process according to the originally planned reward.
In fact, this first hunting, overall, was very successful, and the emperor was also satisfied. But this time, he suddenly fell ill. At the end, he was not able to go to the scene to give instructions in person. He was a little regretful, and everyone was also a little regretful. , but the overall experience is not bad.
There is a dinner party tonight, and we will drive back to Luang tomorrow.
These days, the emperor no longer allows other concubines to serve him, and only lets Jin Xin accompany him. He has also issued an explicit decree to confer the title of imperial concubine on Concubine De.
But tonight's dinner had a temporary arrangement of singing and dancing. Jin Xin and the emperor looked at each other and saw surprise in each other's eyes. Obviously, the other party didn't know about it.
At this time, silk gauze was set up on the stage, the beautiful music of the piano sounded, and the beauty inside, dressed in red, danced slowly.
"Brother, I know that the emperor loves beauties, so I specially arranged this dancer to perform. She is not an ordinary dancer." The seventh princess hinted.
Looking at the graceful woman, she attracted the attention of countless people.
When Jin Xin heard this, she looked at the emperor with amusement in her heart. Now that he was mentally ill, how could he regain his glory?
Jin Xin guessed that she was Xiao's daughter.
