Chapter 1412 Concubine Pei’s counterattack!

"Sir, the second thing is the investigation you asked me to do about Madam Hongyun being followed!"

Wang Xuecheng became even more excited when he heard about this matter. Hong Yun was not only his lover but also one of his white gloves. She held many properties on behalf of him, the director of the Coordination Office.

If Hong Yun's premonition is true and she is really being followed, not only will her own safety be threatened, but also Wang Xuecheng's wealth. Therefore, for the safety of his own wealth, Wang Xuecheng is also very concerned about this matter.

"Ge Xiong, what is going on with this matter?"

"After you told me about this matter, I immediately arranged for people to conduct surveillance and investigation. I didn't find any problems at first, but after a careful investigation, I found that someone in our Coordination Office was following Madam Hongyun!"

"You mean there's a mole?"

"My Lord, I think so!"

After getting the answer from Ge Xiong, Wang Xuecheng's expression became very serious, and Ge Xiong continued:
"Yesterday, I found out that the person who followed Madam Hongyun was a small leader named Wang Kewen from the Coordination Office. Just when I was about to follow the clues, Wang Kewen did not come to work at the headquarters today. I sent someone to his home to look for him, and his family said that he did not come home last night!"

"If I'm not mistaken, someone around me might have leaked the news, so someone dealt with Wang Kewen in advance!"

After hearing this, Wang Xuecheng did not continue to ask questions, but changed the subject and asked:

"Where is Liu Baichuan?"

"Liu Baichuan is a very cautious guy, and his whereabouts are very secretive along the way. However, through an informant, I learned that Liu Baichuan should have arrived in Jiyu now. Sir, should we send someone to kill him?"

Wang Xuecheng nodded slightly when he heard this and then ordered:

"It's hard to guard against thieves in your own home no matter how hard you try. You should investigate those people secretly to see who is betraying your own people..."

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The next night, the palace

In the pavilion in Murong Qingwu's courtyard, the two sisters Murong Qingwu and Murong Xinyun were drinking tea and admiring the moon. Looking at the full moon in the sky, Murong Xinyun's homesickness also surged in her heart, and she couldn't help but recite;
"The bright moon rises from Tianshan Mountain,"

"In the vast sea of ​​clouds."

"The wind blows for tens of thousands of miles,"

"Blowing through Yumen Pass."

At the end, a hint of melancholy emerged in the girl's eyes. Murong Qingwu felt a little pity when she saw this. She was also like this when she first married Ye Mingsheng. She missed home and her relatives, but unfortunately, she had no relatives in Yijing at that time and had to rely on herself for everything!
Thinking of this, in order to prevent her sister from continuing to feel sad, Murong Qingwu also said with a smile:

"Xinyun, I asked someone to find a few more good books from outside, one of which is your favorite Spring Rain Collection!"

Hearing the name of Chunyu Ji, Murong Xinyun's eyes lit up and he immediately said:
"Thank you sister!"

"That's fine! I was originally planning to give it to you as a birthday present on your birthday in November, but since you like this Spring Rain Collection so much, it would be really hard for you if I let you wait for two months!"

In response to her sister's teasing, Murong Xinyun said shyly:
“This Spring Rain Collection is indeed very well written. It is the best novel I have ever read…”

Murong Qingwu smiled upon hearing this, and then said meaningfully:
"No matter how wonderfully this Spring Rain Collection is written, it is just a novel. How can it be as wonderful as the scenes in the palace right now?"

Feeling the deep meaning in her sister's words, Murong Xinyun hesitated and said:
"Sister, are you talking about Concubine Pei's incident?"

Murong Qingwu did not answer immediately after hearing this, but picked up the teacup and took a sip, then replied with some emotion:

"Our queen is even more clever!"

Murong Xinyun was a little puzzled when he heard this:
"Sister, Concubine Pei is still fine now, why should we talk about being smart?"

"And I really can't understand why the Queen could have used the crime of harboring a criminal to punish Concubine Pei, but in the end she took the initiative to give it up!"

"The only explanation that makes sense is that His Majesty intervened, and the Queen was forced to compromise because of her failure!"

Murong Qingwu smiled and said:
"Sister, let me tell you that our queen has never had any success or failure or compromise. She never thought of using the crime of harboring a criminal to punish Concubine Pei from the beginning!"

Murong Xinyun's expression became even more puzzled. Seeing this, Murong Qingwu patiently explained:
"It's not that An Miaoyi doesn't want to punish Concubine Pei for harboring someone, but she knows very well that she can't do it!"

"Because of your majesty's protection?"

"Yes! The Queen Mother has always disliked Concubine Pei. If it weren't for your Majesty's protection, the Queen Mother would have taken action without An Miaoyi having to do anything..."

"Sheltering a palace maid suspected of adultery is a serious crime in the palace, enough to send a concubine to the cold palace or execute her. So if the queen insists on holding Pei Zhixiu responsible for this crime, then your majesty will definitely intervene, and the queen will be in a difficult situation at that time!"

"If she chooses to confront him head-on, she will not be able to defeat His Majesty, and if she chooses to compromise, her prestige in the palace will be ruined!"

"So for the Queen, the wisest choice is to take the initiative to say that Liu Ying is just making random accusations!"

Murong Xinyun was a little confused when he heard this, and said in confusion:
"If that's the case, why did she ask the Inner Court to coerce Liu Ying into identifying Concubine Pei?"

"This is exactly what makes the Queen so smart!"

"Her purpose in doing this was to prove that Concubine Pei was guilty of shielding someone. This way, it would appear that she was sensible and took sisterly feelings into consideration when she took the initiative to defend Concubine Pei and said that Liu Ying was desperate and was just biting at random."

"With her actions, it doesn't matter whether Concubine Pei knew about it or not. In everyone's eyes, Concubine Pei has already been the one who protected the person suspected of having an affair with the palace maid. Now, no matter how Concubine Pei defends herself, it's hard for anyone to believe her!"

Listening to her sister's explanation, Murong Xinyun was also a little shocked. At this time, Murong Qingwu continued to say:
"Originally, this move was enough to make Concubine Pei very uncomfortable, but the queen still felt it was not enough. She not only wanted to kill people but also destroy their hearts..." "After using Liu Ying, she released Liu Ying back, saying that Liu Ying was a maid beside Concubine Pei, so Concubine Pei had to deal with it herself.

But in fact, the Queen was forcing Concubine Pei to kill Liu Ying with her own hands!

If Concubine Pei did not kill Liu Ying, the suspicion of harboring a criminal would undoubtedly be completely confirmed. However, if she killed Liu Ying, Concubine Pei's image of being kind and benevolent in the palace would inevitably be affected. Although Concubine Pei knew this, she had to follow the Queen's wishes and beat Liu Ying to death!
At this point, the Queen can be said to have killed two birds with one stone, and completely destroyed the rising momentum of Concubine Pei and Jingxuan mother and son due to the previous Baishou research!

Murong Qingwu finished speaking, and Murong Xinyun suddenly realized, and murmured:
"That's it! That's it!"

"From this perspective, the Queen is indeed very powerful. Concubine Pei was plotted against even though she had His Majesty's protection. No wonder you said she was very clever!"

Murong Qingwu's sermon:
"Empress Pei has fallen this time. I'm afraid the next one will be your sister!"

Murong Xinyun was a little worried when he heard this:
"So what should we do, sister?"

"When an enemy comes, we will fight him with our generals; when water comes, we will block it with earth. We will counter it with our own moves!" Murong Qingwu replied with a smile:
Murong Xinyun hesitated for a moment and said:
"Sister, I heard that Concubine Pei has the power to assist in managing the affairs of the palace. Do you think she will use this to fight back?"

When Murong Qingwu heard the words "assist in managing the affairs of the palace", a strange look flashed in her eyes. This was the power she wanted most back then...

Murong Qingwu always believed that there was something wrong with the treasury accounts, and An Miaoyi must have done some tricks. If she could investigate the problem clearly, she would be able to make An Miaoyi pay the price, and even shake An Miaoyi's foundation!
Murong Qingwu made a lot of efforts to obtain this authority, but unfortunately Ye Mingsheng never agreed and instead gave this authority to Pei Zhixiu.

What made Murong Qingwu even more disappointed was that after Pei Zhixiu obtained this power, instead of restraining An Miaoyi as she had hoped, she reached some kind of tacit understanding with An Miaoyi, that is, the two of them would not interfere with each other and would keep out of each other's way!
Seeing that Pei Zhixiu could not be relied upon, Murong Qingwu knew that she could only rely on herself to control An Miaoyi. She had thought of using the birth of her son Ye Jingyan to gain this authority.

But unfortunately, even though she gave birth to a prince, Ye Mingsheng only rewarded her with some wealth, but never gave Murong Qingwu what she wanted.

Even though Murong Qingwu hinted that there was a problem with Ye Mingsheng's treasury accounts, Ye Mingsheng remained unmoved. This made Murong Qingwu realize that Ye Mingsheng was aware of the problem with the treasury accounts. Therefore, the reason why Ye Mingsheng did not give her the authority to investigate was that he did not want him to investigate at all!
After realizing Ye Mingsheng's thoughts, Murong Qingwu felt puzzled and complicated. In her eyes, Ye Mingsheng, even if he was not an image of someone who hated evil and upheld justice, was also an image of someone who tried his best to uphold fairness and justice!
So Murong Qingwu didn’t understand why Ye Mingsheng would protect An Miaoyi so much?

Murong Qingwu was not sure what the answer to this question would be, but since she had realized Ye Mingsheng’s thoughts, she did not try to investigate. After all, under Ye Mingsheng’s protection, even if she investigated, there would be no results...

This is also a big regret in Murong Qingwu's heart!

Just when Murong Qingwu was lost in thought, Ying'er came to the pavilion and reported to her seriously:

"Your Majesty, I just received news that Concubine Pei has apologized to Your Majesty for not governing this incident strictly, and has resigned from the position of Concubine!"

Upon hearing this, the Murong sisters were a little surprised. After a long while, Murong Qingwu continued to ask:

"Has your majesty agreed?"

"Your Majesty did not agree, but ordered Concubine Pei to reflect on her mistakes for three months, and removed Concubine Pei's authority to assist in managing the affairs of the harem!"

Murong Qingwu thought carefully after hearing this, and seemed to realize something, with a strange look flashing in her eyes.

At this time, Murong Xinyun also said with some emotion:

"Since Concubine Pei took the initiative to plead guilty, it seems that she has chosen to admit defeat. Concubine Pei has really been hurt badly this time!"

"Xinyun, what did you ask me just now?"

"Empress Pei, admit defeat!"

"One more sentence!"

Although she didn't know what her sister meant, Murong Xinyun thought for a moment and said:
"Sister, I just asked you whether Concubine Pei would use her authority to assist in managing the affairs of the palace to fight back!"

Murong Qingwu smiled and said:

"Concubine Pei's counterattack has arrived..."

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Jiyu, Chisong Town, 30 miles south of Yecheng
In the evening, a middle-aged man on horseback and in casual clothes walked slowly into the small town. If you only looked at his clothes, he was just an ordinary passerby. No one would have thought that he was the notorious Liu Baichuan, a captain of the General Coordination Office.

Because Chisong Town is only thirty miles away from Yecheng, there are often pedestrians going to Yecheng passing through Chisong Town on weekdays, so the people in the town are not surprised to see strangers appear in the town.

After asking around in the village, Liu Baichuan came to a house at the south end of the town. In the house, a young village woman was playing with a young child. When she saw a stranger appear at her door, she immediately held her daughter's hand and became alert.

Feeling the village woman's vigilance towards him, Liu Baichuan smiled indifferently and asked:
"Is this Zhang Zide's home?"

"no!"

Liu Baichuan seemed a little surprised to hear the village woman's straightforward answer. He hesitated for a moment and said:
"May I ask what your husband's name is?"

The village woman hesitated when she heard this. Seeing this, Liu Baichuan continued to smile and said:

"Don't be afraid! I'm not a bad person. Does your husband have a scar on his right wrist?"

Hearing this person say this, the young village woman nodded and said:
"My husband's name is Zhang Erniu! We ran out of oil at home, so he went to buy some!"

"Very good! Your husband and I are old friends. If you don't mind, I'll wait for him at the door!"

"Ok!"

Liu Baichuan did not have to wait too long. A young man with a medium build and a simple face appeared at the door. When he saw Liu Baichuan at the door, a look of surprise immediately appeared on his face, and he immediately shouted:
“Lord Liu! You are here…”