Chapter 519: Best friend!
After listening to Murong Yuliang's analysis, Murong Hui sat in the chair for a long time without saying anything. After a long while, he spoke again:
"According to what my second uncle said, this Governor Ye is not the choice of our family..."
Murong Yuliang sighed, nodded and said:
"That's right. If Ye Mingsheng can unify the world, then my family will never have the glory we have now!"
After hearing this, Murong Hui shook his head and said:
"When we were still in Sichuan, my father asked me to express the goodwill of the Murong family to Governor Ye, but now it seems that there is no need for that!"
Seeing Murong Hui's disappointed look, Murong Yuliang advised:
"Don't make a decision so easily. If we want to keep our family going forever, we need to always stand on the side of the winner. No matter how tempting the loser's offer is, we can't stand on their side!"
When Murong Yuliang said this, his eyes became very complicated. The more he understood the Fengwu Army, the more conflicted he felt. He could feel the vitality of the Fengwu Army as a new political power, as well as its unstoppable momentum. This was why he stayed in the Fengwu Army. He firmly believed that the future of the Fengwu Army was limitless.
But at the same time, as a member of the aristocratic family, he also clearly realized that if the Fengwu Army Group led by Ye Mingsheng really came to power as he expected, then as long as nothing happened to Ye Mingsheng, the decline of the aristocratic family would be inevitable.
Such a contradiction made Murong Yuliang feel very conflicted. Deep down in his heart, he didn’t know whether he should hope that Fengwu Army would succeed in taking power...
After restraining his emotions, Murong Yuliang spoke again:
"Don't make a rash decision. Stay in Liaoyang for a few days and observe the local conditions and customs. Since Governor Ye introduced those reforms, Liaoyang has undergone earth-shaking changes. It is very different from other places in the Great Zhou. Take a look and then I will introduce you to Governor Ye. It won't be too late to make a decision after you meet him!"
After listening to Murong Yuliang's proposal, Murong Hui also became curious and wanted to see what was different between Liaoyang and other places in Da Zhou. After thinking for a while, he nodded and said:
"Then listen to Second Uncle!"
Just as Murong Hui and Murong Yuliang were spying in the study, in the women's quarters not far from them, Murong Qingwu, who had changed back into women's attire in a white skirt, was sitting quietly by the window reading a book. On the slightly yellowed book were clearly printed the four large characters "The Cave of Confucian Classics".
“To establish a mind for heaven and earth, to establish a destiny for the people, to establish unique knowledge for the ancient sages, and to bring peace to the world for all eternity, Mr. Zihou is truly courageous…”
Looking at the book in her hand, Murong Qingwu couldn't help but murmured in a low voice:
Just as Murong Qingwu was searching for the thoughts of Neo-Confucianism, she suddenly heard footsteps beside her. The footsteps interrupted her and made her frown slightly. Just as Murong Qingwu was about to say something, Ying'er, her personal maid, handed her a note with a look of fear on her face, saying:
"Miss, I just found this under the tree in our yard. Come and have a look!"
Murong Qingwu was a little surprised when he heard this. He took the note and looked at it. After just a glance, Murong Qingwu's face changed. Then he looked at Ying'er and said:
"How did you find this note?"
Facing Murong Qingwu's question, Ying Er said without hesitation:
"I was just about to go out to get some incense and candles from the storeroom, when I saw this note pressed by a stone under the big tree in the middle of the yard. I was curious for a moment, so I walked over, picked up the stone, and saw this note..."
Murong Qingwu heard this and asked seriously:
"Have you told anyone else what the note contained? Did anyone else see you taking the note?"
Ying Er shook her head firmly and said:
"This is a matter of great importance. I gave it to you immediately after I saw the note. I didn't tell anyone else, and there didn't seem to be anyone else around at the time!"
"Ying'er, are you sure no one else has seen this note?" Murong Qingwu asked:
Ying Er hesitated for a moment, but still nodded and said:
"I am sure!"
After receiving a positive answer, Murong Qingwu's serious expression eased for a moment, and then he explained to Ying'er:
'Ying'er, you should know the seriousness of this matter. You can't tell anyone else about this without my order!'
"Miss, I understand!" Ying'er nodded obediently.
After instructing Ying'er to leave, Murong Qingwu reopened the note, and there were a few big words on it.
"There is a spy in your family who wants to harm you!"
The note only had eleven short words but it made Murong Qingwu feel uneasy, even though the handwriting was very sloppy and awkward, as if it was written by a child who had just learned to write.
However, as a world-famous talented woman, Murong Qingwu also has a high level of attainment in calligraphy. She could vaguely tell that the other party wrote it like this deliberately. The person who wrote this note to her should be a left-handed person, but in order to hide his identity, he deliberately used his right hand to write, so these eleven words looked so sloppy and awkward...
There are only two possibilities for someone to be able to put the note into his own yard. The first possibility is that the person's martial arts skills are very advanced, and he was able to put the note into his own yard without alerting the guards who were guarding the mansion, and then float away.
The second possibility is that someone in the mansion did this!
Compared to the former, Murong Qingwu is more inclined to the latter. After all, she is very clear about the strength of the family generals in the mansion. Those people are either experienced veterans who retired from the army, or bodyguards and knights recruited from the rivers and lakes by their Murong family. In short, they are all people with high martial arts skills. These people patrol the mansion day and night to protect the safety of the mansion.
Being able to disappear without a trace under the protection of such a group of people, and leaving the note in one's own yard without anyone noticing, this kind of plot may only be written in martial arts novels in the market.
Talking about the content of the note, the first half of the sentence "There is a spy in your family", in fact, without this note reminding her, Murong Qingwu knew that there were spies in her family, and there was more than one. Among them were those from the General Coordination Office, the Cui family, the Yun family, the Gongsun family, and possibly even the Supervisory Department. For Murong Qingwu, who was born in an environment of a noble family, this kind of situation is no surprise. After all, even if you clean out a group of them, the other party will still persevere and secretly put people in your house. After all, that aristocratic family has hundreds or even thousands of servants, how could there not be a few spies mixed in with so many people? Only the completely declining families have no one to send spies..."
Therefore, what Murong Qingwu cared about most was the second half of the sentence "want to harm you". As she savored this sentence carefully, the figure of the woman in white that she saw on the mountain of Mingru Temple that day emerged in her mind.
This woman with great martial arts skills and a mysterious background also reminded herself to be careful, saying that An Miaoyi wanted to harm her and asked her not to go out again.
It was precisely because of this warning that Murong Qingwu had stayed in the mansion for such a long time. She thought she had avoided the limelight, but if this note was really given to her by the white woman, and what she said was true, then An Miaoyi was probably completely determined to kill her. She didn't want to let her go even if she hid at home, and would fight her to the death!
Thinking of this, Murong Qingwu couldn't help but have a hint of doubt in her eyes. She and An Miaoyi had lived in the circle of power and nobility in Luoan since they were young. The two could be described as "close friends". Therefore, Murong Qingwu also knew a lot about An Miaoyi. In her impression, although An Miaoyi was strong-willed and stubborn, she would never give up easily once she had made up her mind. She was scheming and was not a particularly generous and kind woman.
But An Miaoyi is not so petty. If you say that An Miaoyi was suppressed by herself and has resentment because of the open and secret struggles between them in Luoan in the past, and now she has become the governor's wife, she wants to show off in front of her and humiliate herself to vent her anger, Murong Qingwu would believe it. But if you say that she is willing to kill herself because of this matter, Murong Qingwu really thinks it is a bit exaggerated and it is not something An Miaoyi can do.
If it was really An Miaoyi who wanted to harm me, it was only because I had touched An Miaoyi's taboo!
But I haven't seen her for several years, so how could I have violated her taboo?
Could it be that·················
As if she realized something, Murong Qingwu's eyes flashed with a gleam of light, and then she fell into deep thought. After an incense stick of time, she finally made up her mind, walked to the desk, picked up a piece of letter paper and quickly wrote. After she finished writing, she gently blew on the ink that had not yet dried on the letter paper, and then stuffed the letter paper into the envelope. Then she called Ying'er into the room, handed the letter to Ying'er and earnestly instructed:
"Go to the Governor's Mansion now and personally hand this to the Governor's wife!"
After hearing this, Ying Er was somewhat surprised and asked tentatively:
"Leave it to An Miaoyi?"
"Ok!"
Murong Qingwu smiled and touched Ying'er's head and said:
"Don't be afraid, just give it to her. If she asks you anything, just say you don't know. She won't do anything to you!"
Ying Er mustered up the courage to say:
"I'm not afraid of that bad woman!"
Murong Qingwu laughed a little when she heard this, and then earnestly warned:
"She is the wife of the military governor and the mistress of the Fengwu Army. You can't tell anyone about this!"
"Ying Er knows!"
"Okay, go and come back soon. When you come back, I'll ask the kitchen to make you some cakes!" Murong Qingwu said with a smile:
"Yes! I'll go now, Miss is the best!"
Looking at Ying'er's departing back, Murong Qingwu gradually restrained her smile. Since this mysterious woman in white had given warnings one after another, she would just stay with An Miaoyi for a while. She wanted to see if An Miaoyi had made any progress after so many years of separation...
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Ye Mingsheng, who was unaware that a storm was quietly brewing in his "pond", was currently presiding over a new round of combat meetings for the Fengwu Army in Yijing.
At Ye Mingsheng's instruction, during the time when Ye Mingsheng returned to Dongning, Yuan Song, the acting commander-in-chief of the front line, stood up and spoke first:
"Since you returned to Dongning, my lord, our army has launched attacks in Youyan. We have already conquered Yanmen, Daixian, Fanyang and other 17 prefectures and counties. We have actually controlled Xinle, Shunping and the northern Youyan area. Currently, our first, third and sixth divisions are stationed around Yijing, and the second division is stationed in Guangzong County!"
Listening to Yuan Song's words, Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly and said:
"You have done a great job. Thank you for your hard work, soldiers on the front line!"
After comforting General Yuan Song and others, Ye Mingsheng looked at Wang Xuecheng who was sitting in the back row and asked:
"How is your work at the Coordination Office going recently?"
Facing Ye Mingsheng's question, Wang Xuecheng felt a little pressure and immediately stood up to report:
"The Coordination Office has recently uncovered thirteen cases of Yan army inciting rebellion and uprising, assisted the military in annihilating six small Yan army units that attempted to harass our army, arrested 519 reactionaries who were secretly in contact with the Yan army, and traced back 270,000 taels of dirty silver..."
Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly and said calmly:
“You guys did a great job!”
Wang Xuecheng, who was originally very confident about the report card he reported, looked at Ye Mingsheng's slightly indifferent face, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat and he became very nervous.
After learning about Yi Jing's situation after he left, Ye Mingsheng turned his gaze to the first person on his left, He Jingyun, Chief of the General Staff of the Fengwu Army, who had just rushed over from Dongning not long ago.
After receiving Ye Mingsheng's signal, He Jingyun stood up and said:
"In the past few days, I have been going deep into the grassroots with the staff of the General Staff to understand the situation in various departments. In view of the current situation, the General Staff believes that our army has achieved great results in the first phase of the battle, which is very gratifying. However, because Zhao Fuqu gave up the counterattack, our army's second phase of the battle has also changed from responding to Zhao Fuqu's counterattack to a strategic stalemate with the Yan army."
“Due to some difficulties in logistics and the need to appease various places, our army cannot launch a large-scale war in a short period of time. Therefore, the General Staff believes that our army should change the form of battle, from large-scale offensive to step-by-step nibbling, step by step compressing the strategic space of the Yan army, and not giving the Yan army any chance to breathe…”
(End of this chapter)