103 Chapter 103 Broken Axe

"Ask the messenger to bring this to brother. Jing Shao frowned, could it be that something happened in Prince Rui's Mansion again?

"No," Mu Hanzhang unfolded the letter and read it carefully. Jingchen's words were filled with caution. It seemed that it was not just a matter of Prince Rui's house. "I wrote back to my brother and said that we still have the half of the package here, and the rest." Don’t say much.”

Jing Shao nodded. Although he didn't know what happened, he was always right to listen to his princess. He didn't remember anything about medicinal powder in his last life, of course because he was still stuck on the battlefield in the southwest at that time, and he didn't have time to pay attention to these small things such as fires in the backyard.

The letter was sent to the capital, but there was no reply. By the next ten days, Jingchen's letter had not been delivered either.

"Something must have happened in the capital," Gu Huaiqing, who came on time every ten days to read the letter, couldn't sit still. "My people didn't send any more news."

Hearing this, Mu Hanzhang had some bad premonitions in his heart. During this period, Jihou and the fourth prince were too calm, and Prince Rui was in the limelight for a while. This was very dangerous. I believe that with Jingchen's caution, it will be inevitable. If you don't do something that attracts people's attention, then it's just someone deliberately flattering you.

"No, I want to go back to Beijing." Jing Shao stood up. If something happened to his brother, everything he was doing now would be meaningless.

"Your Majesty, there is a group of people outside the city that broke into Pingjiang City." The guard rushed in to report. The group of people looked very tough and had a royal token. The gatekeeper did not dare to stop them.

"You bastard, you can't even guard the door." Jing Shao kicked off the table at his feet, picked up his gun and walked out. There was a large army stationed in Pingjiang City. Who would be so bold as to break through?

"Hey~" As soon as he walked to the gate, he heard the sound of neat horse hooves. He suddenly reined in the horse in front of the Ruoshuiyuan gate. The horse raised its hooves and made a clear neighing sound.

The leader was dressed in dark yellow attire, with a stern face, not angry but powerful. He was very similar to Jing Shao, but his eyes were like a torch and he was very calm. Who else could he be if he wasn't Jing Chen?

"Brother!" Jing Shao exclaimed.

Mu Hanzhang and Gu Huaiqing heard the noise and ran out. They saw Jingchen sitting on the horse, followed by a dozen big men in black, breathing long and imposing.

When Jingchen saw his younger brother, he couldn't help but relax. Suddenly, his vision went dark and he fell off his horse.

"Brother!" Jing Shao saw this and was about to pick him up. Someone was faster than him, so he saw Gu Huaiqing jump up and snatch the person into his arms accurately.

"My subordinate Mo Yun's Eighteen Riders, on the order of the Emperor, escort His Royal Highness Prince Rui to Pingjiang." The men in black dismounted their horses and saluted Jing Shao.

Mo Yun's Eighteen Riders? Jing Shao couldn't help but glance at them. He knew these eighteen people. They were the top masters of the royal guards and only obeyed the orders of his father.

"He's injured!" Gu Huaiqing exclaimed when she smelled a faint smell of blood on the person in her arms.

"Come to the house quickly." Mu Hanzhang immediately sent someone to ask for a doctor, and then asked someone to take the eighteen people down to rest. Jing Shao quickly followed in.

Jingchen woke up as soon as he was put on the bed, fended off Gu Huaiqing who was getting too close, and sat up on his own.

"Brother, where are you injured?" Jing Shao pushed Gu Huaiqing back, who was in the way, and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I'm a little tired from the long journey, so it's okay." Jingchen shook his head. Seeing that the two people beside the bed didn't believe it at all, he had to pull open a sleeve and let them look at the forearm wrapped in white cloth. "On the way Encountered an ambush, just a minor injury."

Jing Shao looked up and down and made sure there were no other injuries before giving up.

Mu Hanzhang dismissed a bunch of his servants and walked in with tea: "Mo Yun's Eighteen Cavalry has been placed in the guest courtyard. They insisted on coming to guard it, but I persuaded them to go back."

Jingchen nodded, took the tea and drank a cup.

"What happened in Jingzhong?" Jing Shao took out a sapphire vial and bandaged his brother's wound again.

"Someone in the court is accusing you of being passive and sabotaging your work. My father asked me to be the supervisor." Jingchen's eyes were deep, and the matter was obviously not that simple.

"It's too slow for me to take over two cities in two years. If you have the ability, let Jing Yu come and attack!" Jing Shao was very angry when he heard this. In his last life, when he attacked Huainan, those people also said the same thing. Later, the eldest prince, The four princes took turns, and no one was beaten so badly that he had to clean up the mess in the end.

"That's what they say on the surface. In fact, my father asked me to come and get the half bottle of powder in person." Jingchen said and looked at Mu Hanzhang.

Mu Hanzhang was shocked. He did not go to get the powder. Instead, he walked a few steps to the bed and stood behind Jing Shao: "What does your father want this powder for?" The matter of the powder was originally a matter for the inner chamber of Prince Rui's Mansion. How could it happen? Emperor Hongzheng is involved?

Jingchen shook his head, lowered his eyes and said, "My father asked me to leave in a hurry. I was not even allowed to return to Prince Rui's Mansion, and he directly asked Mo Yun's Eighteen Cavalry to follow me out of the city."

Hearing this, Jing Shao and his princess looked at each other, with some surprise and uncertainty in each other's eyes. It's not like sending him on an errand like this, it's more like escorting him!

Jingchen was silent for a long time, then slowly and briefly explained what happened recently.

Jingchen went to investigate Mo Bei's matter at that time. She was very close to the wives of many princes and princes in Beijing. Because Jing Shao felt that there was something wrong, he went to investigate more closely and found out that she was the last one. Among the people who often came into contact with Mo Bei was Mrs. Mao Guogong. However, when the matter was investigated, there was nothing else. Until a few days ago, a concubine of Maoguo's family suddenly suffered a hemorrhage while giving birth to a baby. Both mother and baby could not be saved. Some people said that this situation was very similar to that of the Yuan Dynasty.

This matter seemed to be just a casual talk, but Jingchen felt that it was not that simple, so he asked Concubine Shu to tell the matter to Emperor Hongzheng as a gossip. Unexpectedly, Emperor Hongzheng suddenly changed his face and immediately asked Jingchen to investigate the incense ash. However, he could not find this thing in the capital.

After Jingchen finished speaking, several people frowned even more tightly. At this point, this matter became even more confusing and confusing.

"Don't think about it for now. Jingchen must be exhausted from traveling day and night. Let's talk about it tomorrow." Seeing the fatigue on Jingchen's face, Gu Huaiqing asked Cheng Wangfufu to go out, but he had no intention of going out at all.

Jingchen glanced at him: "You go out too."

Gu Huaiqing laughed awkwardly and was dragged away by Jing Shao who was gloating.

No one knew what happened in the capital. There was no decree. It was said that Jingchen was to be the military supervisor, but it was not said when he would be in office. However, since we are here, we should make the best of it. Jing Chen did not seem to be worried. He walked around Pingjiang City and even went to Luzhou. He carefully read the trade regulations revised by Mu Hanzhang and raised many points that Mu Hanzhang had not thought of.

Gu Huaiqing left the battlefield and volunteered to be a servant to accompany him. Jing Shao was bored, so he left his generals to fight on the battlefield and stayed at home to raise tigers to accompany the princess.

"Those who attacked my brother on the road were killed by the eighteen riders of Mo Yun." Mu Hanzhang glanced at the eighteen people practicing martial arts not far away. These people were completely at the service of the emperor. Being sent to protect King Rui showed that Emperor Hongzheng had no intention of punishing Jing Chen.

"You don't have to think about who sent it." Jing Shao wiped the sword in his hand. Although his father seemed to be protecting his brother, he was worried about Jing Chen going back alone after the strange situation before leaving the capital.

"I think..." Mu Hanzhang looked at the eighteen powerful masters, and then at the sword in Jing Shao's hand, thinking.

"Hmm?" Jing Shao sheathed his sword and looked up at his princess.

"Perhaps the emperor asked my brother to come to you so that you can protect him." Mu Hanzhang pursed his lips. Although it was a bit unbelievable to say this, it was easy to protect Jing Chen with the power of the emperor. Why go through so much trouble?

"Ah?" Jing Shao opened his mouth in surprise, and then sneered disdainfully. When would his father consider these things? If he could still think of protecting his son, he would not have been taken out of the cell at will and forced to die on the cliff of Fengyue Mountain.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, it's not good!" The soldiers guarding the gate stumbled in, "The people from the capital came to announce the imperial decree with a prisoner's cart!"

"What?" Mu Hanzhang stood up immediately. Prisoner's cart! Why bring a prisoner's cart? Could it be that their affair with the King of Huainan was exposed? He couldn't help but clench Jing Shao's hand.

Jing Shao shook his hand back in a soothing tone: "Where are we?"

"I've already reached the door, and bumped into His Royal Highness Prince Rui!" This was exactly why he was flustered. When the man saw Prince Rui, he didn't enter the door, but just spread the paper directly, which was obviously not a good intention.

"Let's go and take a look." At this time, Jing Shao calmed down, holding the sword in one hand and holding his own princess in the other hand, and said in a deep voice.

When the two of them walked to the door, they saw Gu Huaiqing draw the sword from his waist to block Jing Chen. On the opposite side, there were more than 20 people in military uniforms following an official who announced the imperial edict, and there was also a wooden prison cart behind them. Two people with shackles were about to step forward, but were forced back a few steps by Gu Huaiqing's sword. The atmosphere was very tense.

"Is His Royal Highness Prince Rui going to disobey the imperial edict?" The official looked unfamiliar, and he should not be a senior official of the court above the third rank.

"Go and call the eighteen riders." Jing Shao whispered in Mu Hanzhang's ear.

Mu Hanzhang nodded and turned back to the courtyard.

"What's the decree? Show it to me?" Jing Shao reached out for the imperial edict, and the official handed him the yellow silk in his hand without fear. He looked down and saw that it was obviously not written by Emperor Hongzheng, but there was a seal of the imperial seal at the end, which did not seem to be forged.

"The emperor has ordered us to bring Prince Rui back to the capital as soon as possible. Your Highness Prince Cheng, please don't make things difficult for us," the official said with a fake smile, "Prince Rui intends to poison his father and rebel to seize the throne. This is an unforgivable crime. If Your Highness Prince Cheng obstructs, he should be punished with the same crime."

Jing Chen was struck by lightning when he heard this. His father asked him to investigate the powder. Could it be because his father himself took the powder?

Jing Shao snorted coldly and drew out his sword with a swipe.

"Jing Shao, don't be impulsive!" Jing Chen shouted, gently pushing away Gu Huaiqing's sword-holding hand, "I'll go back with them."

"No!" Gu Huaiqing blocked him again, and refused to let the man in shackles get close to Jing Chen.

"Plotting treason to seize the throne?" Jing Shao felt the blood in his body freeze when he heard these words. The biggest crime he had committed back then was plotting treason to seize the throne! Now, this crime was avoided by him, and it fell on his brother's head.

"Your Highness King Cheng, think it over, don't..." The official didn't finish his words, suddenly widened his eyes, looked at Jing Shao in disbelief, and then looked at his body, blood gushed out of his neck in an instant, and he died.

Jing Shao shook the sword in his hand, as if he had just cut a branch calmly, and the soldiers escorting the prisoner car suddenly became chaotic.

"The eighteen Moyun riders are here, who dares to touch King Rui!" A long roar with deep connotation came from the courtyard, and eighteen black-clad guards surrounded Jing Chen in the middle in an instant.

Jing Shao pointed the bloody tip of his sword at those people: "Don't leave any alive."

"Leave one alive!" Mu Hanzhang quickly replied.

The Eighteen Moyun Riders got Jing Chen's approval and drew their swords together, just like cutting melons and vegetables. In the blink of an eye, they killed those soldiers with their swords, leaving only the big man with shackles.

The man was already frightened to the point of weakness, trembling and kneeling on the ground, no longer as fierce and arrogant as before.

"Who are you?" Jing Shao put his sword against the big man's chin and said coldly.

"Reply, reply to the King Cheng, we are the jailers of the Ministry of Justice, and the one who delivered the decree is the head of the Ministry of Justice." The big man was so scared that he stuttered and told everything he knew honestly.

"Who asked you to come?" Mu Hanzhang stood beside Jing Shao.

"I don't know, the head said he would go to Jiangnan to deliver the imperial decree, so I followed him..." After the man finished speaking, he suddenly fell down, and was actually scared to faint, with a pool of yellow dirt under his body.

Jing Shao immediately hugged his own princess and retreated to the steps, and asked someone to lock up the big man first.

Back in the courtyard, Jing Chen took the imperial edict and looked at it carefully, gradually frowning: "This jade seal is real." The person who wrote the imperial edict does not have to be the emperor himself, but as long as the jade seal is stamped, it is a real imperial edict.

"Anyway, the person has been killed," Jing Shao said nonchalantly, "If my father asks, just say that he met the Huainan army on the road and was killed by the King of Huainan."

Gu Huaiqing's face darkened immediately after hearing this: "How much more black do you want to smear on me?"

"Anyway, you are already a traitor, this one doesn't matter." Jing Shao leaned on his own princess and bared his teeth at the King of Huainan. Xiao Huang climbed onto the soft couch and bared his teeth, but he was much more ferocious than Jing Shao.

Mu Hanzhang looked at the three guys who didn't know the disaster was coming with a headache, sighed, and had to look at Jingchen: "If this imperial edict is true, what should we do?"

Jingchen's eyes were deep, he rolled up the imperial edict in his hand and slowly clenched it: "Now there is no news, there are only two possibilities, one is that father really wants to take me back to be punished; the second is that father has been seized by Jingyu." And the Eighteen Moyun Riders are still here, and Emperor Hongzheng must have given some instructions before leaving, so the first possibility is not likely.

"There is another possibility," Mu Hanzhang slowly stroked the tiger's tail, "father is also testing who is the one who poisoned."

When these words came out, several people were stunned, and Jingchen pondered for a long time: "Yes." At the beginning, he was not allowed to return to the Ruiwang Mansion, and he must have been suspicious of him. With the means of Emperor Hongzheng, even if he was terminally ill, he would not be seized by Jingyu, who was useless.

"No matter what the situation is, you have to go back to Beijing to find out." Mu Hanzhang looked at Jing Shao.

Jing Shao's eyes were filled with coldness: "I will take 50,000 soldiers back. If all else fails, I will fight my way back to the Imperial City!"