Chapter 745 Peaceful Evolution!

Governor's Palace, backyard
At 1:00 pm, An Miaoyi slowly woke up from her nap, and at this moment Qiqige came to her and whispered:

"Madam, Ma and Wang want to see you!"

Hearing this, An Miaoyi's eyes narrowed slightly, and after thinking for a moment, he said:
"The daughter-in-law of Ye An and Ye Changgui?"

Qiqige nodded and said:
"It's them two! They just came back from the old lady's place!"

An Miaoyi's eyes flashed with a cold light, and then he opened his mouth and ordered:

"Just say I'm not feeling well today and can't see you!"

Qiqige was a little surprised to hear this. As Ye Mingsheng's legal wife, An Miaoyi always attached great importance to uniting the clan's strength. Normally, if there were any weddings or funerals in the Ye clan, An Miaoyi would send a token of her love. And today, Ma and Wang's husbands, Ye An and Ye Changgui, who came to ask for a meeting, were both very influential figures in the Ye clan, and were nephews and nieces that the old lady valued very much!
According to Madam's usual style, when faced with requests from Ma and Wang, she should have met with people who are close to them, right?
Why is today so out of character?
Although she was a little confused, since An Miaoyi had already given the order, Qiqige nodded and said:

"I'll go tell them right now!"

Picking up the tea brought by the maid, An Miaoyi savoured it carefully. Although she lived in a secluded place, she was well-informed. In the past, she took good care of these Ye clansmen for the sake of Ye Cui's face. But now it is different. Some people will have to pay the price for crossing the line...

To be honest, if it wasn't for Ye Cui's face, An Miaoyi wouldn't want to let Ma and Wang enter the Governor's Mansion!

At this time, hearing Qiqige's introduction outside the courtyard, the two women, Ma and Wang, frowned in surprise. They came to visit because they heard that An Miaoyi was still dealing with affairs in the mansion in the morning. How come An Miaoyi fell ill in just a few hours?
Although they had doubts in their hearts, they naturally did not dare to act wildly in front of An Miaoyi's door. Only after she left did they dare to whisper to each other.

"Sister, you said that this couldn't be true, right?"

"Didn't you just hear the old lady say that it's not happening? The Marshal is a filial man. Even if there is something wrong, with the old lady coming forward, we will be fine!"

"That's what you mean! But why doesn't An Miaoyi want to see us?"

"I heard that Madam An Miaoyi has been ill since she gave birth to Prince Jingren and can no longer have children. She even needs her maids to serve the Marshal. So when she said she was unwell, maybe she really was unwell! We don't need to worry about it!"

"Sister, what you said makes sense! Then let's go visit Madam Murong next! Although Madam Murong is only a concubine, the Murong family has a strong background, and her father and brother are both powerful in our Fengwu Army. If she is a child now, the Marshal and the old lady will like her very much, and Madam Murong may be able to replace An Miaoyi in the future!"!
"Well! Then let's go visit this Madam Murong!"

After a cup of tea, Murong Qingwu, who was eating pine nuts in the room, also received the news. A sneer appeared on Murong Qingwu's lips and he instructed Ying'er:
"I'm not feeling well today, so please ask them to go back..."

This group of Ye clan members usually hang around Ye Cui. They used to be very close to An Miaoyi. Recently, seeing that she and Ye Cui were very close, they gradually came over to visit. It would be fine if they met at normal times.

But now even An Miaoyi doesn't want to see them, which is enough to show how serious the situation is. If you continue to interact with them at this time, you will only be asking for trouble!

After saying this, Murong Qingwu seemed to have thought of something and instructed Ying Er:
"After you send those two people away, check when Pei Zhixiu will return home so that you can go check on her. She has been feeling increasingly tired these past few days!"

As soon as these words came out, Ying Er advised:
"Madam, you are pregnant now and you should have a good rest. I will go and invite Madam Pei to the courtyard!"

Murong Qingwu waved her hand and said:

"I want to go find her in person! Pei Zhixiu is a soft-hearted person who is strong inside. She is soft-hearted and does not take hardship. Shen Yutong saw this and plotted against her. Therefore, I have to go in person to show my sincerity. In the future, I will need Sister Pei to take care of us in this mansion!"

Ying Er wanted to say something more after hearing this, but Murong Qingwu smiled and said:

"You're only five months old, how can you be so delicate? Didn't my husband also say that proper exercise is good for me?"

Hearing Murong Qingwu say this, Ying'er nodded reluctantly and walked out of the room.

A moment later, when they heard that Murong Qingwu didn’t see them either, a trace of panic suddenly rose in Ma and Wang’s eyes. They finally realized that the rumors were true and they were about to be in big trouble...
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Palace capital, Ryugyong

The royal city of Gongdu is located in the center of Liujing, and in the Qingtan District on the east side of the royal city are the dignitaries of Gongdu. If you want to live here, you must be rich, but having money alone is not enough, you must also have the corresponding power!

In Qingtan District, a place where every inch of land is valuable, in the central area stands a mansion that is out of tune with the surrounding mansions. On the plaque of the mansion are five large characters written in the language of the Great Zhou - Palace Capital General's Mansion!
This mansion is the residence of Tong Dazhi, the general soldier of the Fengwu Army of the Great Zhou Dynasty stationed in the palace. However, at this time, Tong Dazhi, the general soldier of the palace, was in his study, looking at the middle-aged scholar in front of him with great respect.

"Director Wang, I really didn't expect you to come to the palace. I am sorry for not being able to welcome you from afar! Sorry! Please forgive me!"

Wang Xuecheng didn't care much about Tong Dazhi's apology. He just waved his hand and asked:
"What is the current situation in Liujing City?"

Listening to Wang Xuecheng's words, Tong Dazhi quickly introduced:

"There are undercurrents in Ryugyong City at the moment. It was a bit chaotic at first, but it has become much more stable since the city-wide martial law was declared. Now many people know that Lee Hyun-min is terminally ill, and some even know that Lee Hyun-min was poisoned!"

"There are a lot of rumors in the city right now. Some say that Li Xuanmin was poisoned by people sent by Li Xuanchang, some say it was the Japanese, and some slanderously say it was us. In short, there are many different opinions, and there are all kinds of things..."

"The person in charge of the defense of Ryugyong is Seoyang Jun Lee Jae-dong. He is Lee Hyun-min's uncle and is very trusted by Lee Hyun-min. However, most of the 30,000 palace troops currently guarding Ryugyong are subordinates of General Kim Jong-yong, and many of them are former subordinates of Kim Jong-yong who have followed him for more than ten years!"

"So once things change, it's hard to say whether the 30,000 Gongdu troops will listen to Lee Jae-dong or Kim Jong-yong!" "However, Lee Jae-dong and Kim Jong-yong have a pretty good relationship. A few months ago, the wife of Lee Jae-dong's son Lee Hyun-in died of dystocia. So it is said that the two are interested in marrying their children to each other, and let Lee Hyun-chang marry Kim Jong-yong's youngest daughter. I just don't know what the situation is between the two families now."

Wang Xuecheng frowned slightly when he heard this. The situation in Gongdu was even more difficult and complicated than he had imagined!

As the deputy director of the Coordination Office, Wang Xuecheng, at the instruction of Ye Mingsheng, has been in charge of the intelligence affairs of the Fengwu Army in the palace capital. The strategy of using Li Xuanmin and Li Xuanchang to strike a balance and expand the influence of the Fengwu Army in the palace capital was also his idea!
Therefore, now that problems have occurred in the palace, it is his responsibility to rush here secretly to put out the fire!

After thinking for a while, Wang Xuecheng asked Tong Dazhi:
"How many troops are there in our army?"

When Tong Dazhi heard Wang Xuecheng ask this, he immediately looked embarrassed and said:

“Reporting to Director Wang, our army has only one battalion of 3,000 people in Gongdu. Among them, Deputy General Ye Zhen leads two sentries of 1,300 people stationed in Wanfeng Prefecture, and there is another sentry of 700 people stationed in the Luochuan Road granary. Therefore, there are only 1,000 of our troops in Liujing City at present…”

Wang Xuecheng was immediately disappointed when he heard this. Although he was in charge of the affairs of the palace capital, they were mainly intelligence matters, and the garrison affairs were the responsibility of the Fengwu Army General Staff. Therefore, he also knew that the 3,000 Fengwu Army troops stationed in the palace capital were actually so scattered!

Originally in his plan, three thousand people were neither too many nor too few, and if used properly, they could completely influence the development of the situation. But now there are only one thousand people, let alone influencing the development of the situation, it might not even be enough to protect themselves!

Feeling Wang Xuecheng's disappointed expression, Tong Dazhi hesitated and said:
"Sir, there are many Great Zhou merchants doing business in Liujing City. Because the situation in the palace has been unstable recently, these merchants have hired escorts. The escorts of these merchants, big and small, add up to 700 to 800 people! I believe that as long as we ask, these merchants will lend us their escorts!"

"In addition, you have more than 5,000 new recruits in the palace who are still receiving our training. We will command all of them!"

Upon hearing that there were 5,000 new recruits from Gongdu, Wang Xuecheng was surprised and immediately asked:

"This is how the same thing?"

Tong Dazhi organized his words and said:

“Director Wang, this is what happened. Li Xuanchang is very good at winning people’s hearts. About a year ago, Li Xuanmin found out that many generals in the palace army had secretly defected to Li Xuanchang’s side. Li Xuanmin was very angry about this. Even after purging the army, he still didn’t trust the generals of the palace army, fearing that these people would betray him again…”

"For this purpose, he has handed over more than 5,000 new recruits from Gongdu to us for training. These recruits are currently receiving training in Xinsha Village, 30 miles outside the city! These recruits have been trained for five months. According to Li Xuanmin's request, we will return the recruits to them next month, but the command of these recruits is still in our hands!"

After hearing this, although Wang Xuecheng appeared calm on the surface, he was actually very excited in his heart. With these 5,000 people plus the 1,000 Fengwu troops in the city, the 700 to 800 escorts, and the members of the Coordination Office action team under his control, he had more than 7,000 people to mobilize. This was already a considerable force in Liujing at the moment!
The most urgent task now is how to transfer these people into the city!
Just when Wang Xuecheng was trying to find a solution, Tong Dazhi's guard came to report outside the study.

"Master, Jin Zhengyong sent a visiting card and wanted to see you!"

Hearing the name Jin Zhengyong, Wang Xuecheng and Tong Dazhi in the study room both looked nervous. The next second, Wang Xuecheng took the visiting card, glanced at the content on it, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and then he asked the guard:

"Where is Kim Jong-yong now?"

Although the guard did not know Wang Xuecheng, he answered honestly when Wang Xuecheng asked:

"He's just outside the house!"

Wang Xuecheng directly ordered:

"Bring him here!"

The guard listened to Wang Xuecheng's order, but did not respond immediately. Instead, he looked at Tong Dazhi who was standing beside him. Tong Dazhi nodded. Seeing this, the guard turned around and prepared to execute the order. When the guard left the room, Tong Dazhi asked Wang Xuecheng:

“Director Wang, what is Jin Zhengyong doing…”

Wang Xuecheng said calmly:

"This old fellow Jin Zhengyong is indeed the tumbler of the imperial court. He is very well-informed! He already knows that I am coming!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Tong Dazhi's expression changed for a moment and then returned to normal. About an incense stick later, an old man with white hair and beard, but in very good complexion, walked into the study.

He glanced at Tong Dazhi in the study, then locked onto Wang Xuecheng, who was dressed as a scholar, and then bowed and said with a smile:

"I guess this must be Director Wang of the Fengwu Military Coordination Office, the famous director?"

Facing Jin Zhengyong's gaze, Wang Xuecheng said calmly:
"General Jin, you came here in person. Is there something important?"

Jin Zhengyong was not angry at all for Wang Xuecheng going straight to the point without any preparation. Instead, he said to Wang Xuecheng seriously:

"Director Wang is a man of few words, so I won't hide anything!"

“At present, the king is terminally ill and there is no cure, so we hope that power will evolve peacefully. As long as the Fengwu Army is willing to continue to support us, we will recognize and continue to implement all agreements between our Palace Capital and the Fengwu Army. The Fengwu Army will continue to enjoy a special status in the Palace Capital…”

(End of this chapter)