The beloved baby has a space

Chapter 783 First, expose the traitor.
Emperor Minghua was still young, and on the surface he had four children: three princes and one princess.

The princess was born to the empress—even though everyone knew she wasn't a real princess, no one bothered to expose her because she was just a harmless princess.

The eldest prince, the second prince, and the third prince were all born to concubines in the harem. They were all around the same age, around sixteen or seventeen.

When Emperor Minghua was still a prince, some advisors said that he had no children, or that the late emperor disliked him, and advised him to have children soon.

At that time, Emperor Minghua had not yet taken any concubines, only a concubine given to him by the late emperor, and the current Empress Qin.

Empress Qin was still young, and Emperor Minghua couldn't bear to let her give birth too early, so he kept delaying it.

However, Empress Qin saw the situation clearly and insisted on taking the then Crown Prince to find a noble lady, and also arranged for him to become a concubine and several maids.

Emperor Minghua was also angry. After welcoming the women into the palace, they all became pregnant one after another.

Some of them used underhanded tactics against Emperor Minghua and were directly executed by him.

Later, those concubines who gave birth were promoted in rank for their meritorious service in childbirth, but Emperor Minghua never got close to them again.

After ascending the throne, the harem was entirely managed by Empress Qin. Seeing that Emperor Minghua had no affection for her, the concubines gave up their plans and instead focused on pleasing Empress Qin.

Only they themselves know how much of it is genuine.

The emperor and empress developed a rift because of these events, and they were unable to reconcile for a long time.

Emperor Minghua had been brooding for too long, and Empress Qin felt that he was too attached to his love affairs and was not the kind of wise ruler he should be, so she treated him coldly.

By the time Emperor Minghua realized what was happening and wanted to get closer to Empress Qin, the two had nothing left to say to each other. Even if he changed his mind, he couldn't coax her back.

Therefore, he believed that it was the concubines in the harem and his three princes who had delayed their relationship.

And his two twin sons, whom he thought were dead, became a thorn in Empress Qin's side.

Emperor Minghua didn't love anyone, but he valued Empress Qin the most. Knowing that Empress Qin cared about Qin Huai, the child who had "come back to life," he was happy to help him.

It can be said that as long as Qin Huai is good enough and has the ability to be the ruler of a country, he will relinquish the throne.

So that he could have time to spend with his empress.

Therefore, after the Third Prince rebelled, he felt no sadness whatsoever, and even felt a little amused.

That prince, raised by the concubines in the harem and the powerful families behind them, was truly no good.

Despite having so many scholars and Confucian masters in the Imperial Academy and the Imperial Study, they still couldn't teach him to be a qualified prince.

"His death is not a pity." Emperor Minghua learned of the Third Prince's death ten days later when the urgent letter arrived, but he didn't even lift his eyelids.

Under imperial power, even if he didn't want the princes to fight each other, others did.

This is inevitable.

Empress Qin pondered even more deeply: "The remnants of the Eastern Desert Kingdom have not yet been completely eliminated. A message came from the Qin family in Jiangnan, saying that a group of forces has also gathered in Jiangnan and is colluding with the small countries in the north. The Qin family has already instructed the local prefect to investigate, and we should have news soon."

Emperor Minghua's expression was stern: "If the internal strife escalates to the Great Chang, I will not tolerate it! They can fight openly and privately, and I will turn a blind eye and let them make trouble. If they shake the foundation of the country and harm the people, even the execution of their entire family would not be too much."

"Hmm." Empress Qin's thoughts drifted away, thinking of Qin Huai and A Yu. These two children had gone on the expedition with General Hua, so naturally nothing serious would happen to them. But the Third Prince's rebellion was truly suspicious and must be guarded against.

She used to be too stubborn, and she hasn't completely let go of things yet, nor can she convince herself to let go completely. But in the end, she puts the safety and happiness of her child first.

Empress Qin looked at Emperor Minghua, her gaze carrying a subtle, probing quality.

Her emperor husband seemed to have similar ideas to her own in the past.

He wanted to push Qin Huai to the throne, which was the only way he, as a father, could think of to do the best for him.

Empress Qin lowered her eyes, unexpectedly thinking of the people in the harem. They were all pitiful people; she felt neither jealousy nor pity.

But Ayu, who was by Qin Huai's side, was different from these people, and even more different from him.

She is a person destined to shine brightly. If she were placed in the harem, she would be given the position of empress, but her true nature would be stifled.

On a larger scale, this is a loss for Dachang.

"What are you thinking about?" Emperor Minghua had been talking to himself for a while when he noticed that Empress Qin had actually drifted off into thought. A sense of grievance rose in his heart, and he unconsciously turned his head to look at Empress Qin. "Hmm?"

Empress Qin shook her head: "It's nothing. Although the Third Prince is now a commoner, he is still a prince. This matter can be big or small. Before it gets out of hand, Your Majesty should make a decision as soon as possible."

Emperor Minghua instantly wilted like boiled vegetables: "Oh."

Fengming City, the Prefect's Office.

General Hua and Ayu sat on either side of the main seat, while Qin Huai sat in the next rank.

On the surface, General Hua is the commander and also a third-rank general.

Ayu was a newly appointed nobleman bestowed by the emperor, and also a military governor.

They were all a little taller than the prefect.

Only Qin Huailing, a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, had a rank that was barely equivalent to that of a prefect when he accompanied the army.

The prefect subtly wiped the cold sweat from his brow and whispered, "Commander Hua, Inspector Wang, the matter of the Third Prince... no, the sudden death of the rebel has been submitted to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Justice. The next step is..."

Since the news of the Third Prince's sudden death spread, rumors have been rampant among the people. The prefect ordered his men to suppress them time and time again, but with little effect.

This is a premeditated spread of rumors, and of course it won't be eliminated so quickly.

General Hua was a rough and unrefined man who disliked such roundabout ways, so he often let Ayu speak.

The prefect initially thought Ayu was just a little girl and didn't take her seriously at all. However, after talking with her a few times, he realized that this military inspector sent by the court was quite capable, and he stopped underestimating her.

He's no wonder he rose to the position of border governor; he's not some good-for-nothing.

After recognizing the situation, he did not hesitate to show goodwill to Ayu.

As for Qin Huai, he was suspected to be a prince, a fact the prefect had heard of.

But he didn't try to curry favor with Qin Huai, for fear that someone with ulterior motives might use it against him later.

Anyway, he had observed that as long as he treated Inspector Wang well, Qin Huai would be much more amiable towards him.

Ayu dislikes these messy relationships. She knows that war is not something she can use to practice on, so she will ask Tuanzi for help whenever possible.

Tuanzi had already given her a map of the area within a ten-mile radius, and she also knew which forces were hiding there and what their respective factions were.

Therefore, Ayu said directly, "Prefect, let's stop beating around the bush. There are still many spies inside and outside Fengming City, and there are also many enemies on the other side. In my opinion, let's first root out these bad apples before we talk about anything else."

The governor was dumbfounded: "Huh?"

Just arrest them directly? Who should you arrest?
Did he skip any steps?

He turned his head toward General Hua and Qin Huai, who both nodded at the same time.

"Just do it."

Rumors are not that important, but the bad guys must be caught first.

Especially spies, everyone has the right to kill them.