After her rebirth, the empress received a tragic and beautiful script.

Chapter 238 Doubt

On the sixth day of February, at Jinxiufang, Huisheng Pawnshop.

The pawn shop closed exceptionally early today. Just at noon, a closing sign was hung outside the door, refusing entry to customers.

At three quarters after noon, in an unnoticed alley in Jinxiufang, a thin guard in a grey cloth shirt and a tall guest wearing a cloak and a black hood quickly entered through the side door of Huisheng Pawnshop.

The two men entered the backyard of Huisheng Pawnshop one after the other and went straight to the second floor.

When he reached a tightly closed door, the thin guard stopped, turned around and bowed to the guest in black, then opened the door for the guest and waited outside the door.

The man in black raised his eyes from under his hood and looked into the room. The light in the room was not bright. A man was sitting in the guest seat on the left, and the host's seat was empty.

The light coming in from the window cut a line of light and shadow on his cheek. His eyebrows and eyes were hidden in the dark shadows, and the sharp edges of his jaw and the thick mustache on his lips exuded a charming and dangerous aura in the afternoon sun.

When the man saw the person coming, he immediately stood up from his seat and saluted the other person.

The man in black didn't say anything, but stretched out his hands and took off his hood. The moment the hood was taken off, the little guard guarding the door quietly closed the door behind her.

"Long time no see, Commander Tao." Ye Qinghuai said as he took off his cloak and walked straight to the main seat next to Tao Yuan and sat down.

Tao Yuan followed and sat down.

The way he sat was a little stiff, not as light and agile as Ye Qinghuai remembered.

Ye Qinghuai looked Tao Yuan up and down and found that the trouser leg on his left calf seemed to be wider than that on his right leg, and there seemed to be some bandage and splint wrapped inside.

"You are hurt?"

Tao Yuan followed Ye Qinghuai's gaze and looked at his left leg. He smiled nonchalantly and said, "I had a little conflict with the secret guards of the Gu Mansion a few days ago. It's nothing serious."

He said it lightly, but Ye Qinghuai felt tense in his heart.

He had seen Tao Yuan's skills before, and it was definitely not an ordinary person who could injure him. Not to mention that he was the leader of the Eagle Guards and had so many men protecting him.

Ye Qinghuai had previously seen in the report brought by Shen Guidi that the Eagle Guard had suffered frequent casualties in the past month, but those were just numbers on paper after all. Now that she saw Tao Yuan's leg injury, she really felt the pressure.

"What's the situation with Gu Shihai's secret guards now?"

Tao Yuan's eyes darkened, and he said, "They have been working in the capital for many years, and their secret agents are well hidden. I was careless at the beginning, and I made a few mistakes. But now it's good. After the Jinyiwei's intelligence network was destroyed by us, they are in a very passive position, and we should be able to catch many of them later. Your Majesty, rest assured, within a year, I will make sure that there is no one left in the Gu Mansion."

Although his tone was calm when he said the last sentence, there was a sinister flash in his eyes.

Ye Qinghuai has been with Tao Yuan for more than half a year and has some understanding of his personality.

He was not interested in power or money, and he always looked careless and out of the way, but he was very loyal and protective of the Eagle Guards he brought out. He lost a lot of people in the fight with the secret guards of Gu Mansion. Ye Qinghuai knew that he was really angry this time and wanted to fight to the death with Gu Shihai's people.

Ye Qinghuai nodded and said, "Once Xu Youxing's situation is sorted out, you can arrange your people into the Jinyiwei, and you will have the final say over there in the future." Tao Yuan bowed his head and thanked him.

Ye Qinghuai glanced at his calf again and said, "If you take it slow, you will succeed. Commander Tao, I want to get rid of Gu Shihai's secret guards just like you do, but I don't want to see you sacrifice yourself for this. I still have a lot of things I need you to do."

She paused for a moment and got to the point: "Yesterday, Yingzhou reported that Lu Yanchen had rebelled."

Tao Yuan had obviously just learned the news. He looked at Ye Qinghuai in surprise and didn't say anything for a while.

"Don't you have anyone watching Lu Yanchen now?"

"There is another person with him, but a letter came a few days ago saying that Lu Yanchen had temporarily left the military camp and he was not with him." Tao Yuan replied.

Ye Qinghuai frowned and said, "Send a capable person to Yingzhou Qing County. I want to know what happened to Lu Yanchen as soon as possible. If you can get away, go there in person. I feel that the situation in Yingzhou is not simple."

"Qing County..." Tao Yuan thought, "It would take at least one day and one night to get from Shengjing to Qing County. When will Your Majesty want a reply?"

Ye Qinghuai sighed.

After the Ministry of War exposed the Yingzhou rebellion last night, the Cabinet no longer kept it secret, and this morning's court meeting was almost entirely devoted to the debate over the matter.

The court officials almost unanimously suggested that the rebellion be quelled quickly, as if delaying the matter for another day would cause irreparable damage to Dajing's national strength. Although Ye Qinghuai insisted on the Yingzhou army not to act rashly and to deal with the rebellion mainly through peace talks despite the pressure from all the officials, Ye Qinghuai was so thirsty from arguing with the scholars throughout the morning court that he felt like he was confronting the entire court.

It was the first time she saw the Chen Party and the Gu Party so united on one thing, which was really a headache.

If the situation continues like this, Ye Qinghuai feels that he won’t be able to hold on for much longer.

"Five days. After five days, tell me what the current situation in Qing County is, and I will slowly investigate other matters. Lu Yanchen and I have not been in communication for more than ten days. I am afraid that his condition is not good. Please send a few more people."

Tao Yuan nodded, and then asked: "What if he really rebels?"

Ye Qinghuai's breath was choked.

Ever since she saw the military report about Lu Yanchen's rebellion, Ye Qinghuai had thought of countless possibilities. She suspected that this was a trap set by Gu Shihai, and she also thought that perhaps Lu Yanchen had offended the local governor in Yingzhou. She even speculated that Lu Yanchen had been arrested and that was why he had not written to her for a long time.

But she never thought that maybe all this was as simple as it seemed on the surface - Lu Yanchen was really rebelling.

The thinking habits and political acumen she had developed in the court over the past year made her subconsciously conclude that Lu Yanchen was a victim in this sudden rebellion when she noticed the unusual behavior of the cabinet.

Of course, there is another very important point - Ye Qinghuai did not realize it until this moment - that is, his trust in Lu Yanchen was so deep.

Ye Qinghuai looked up at Tao Yuan, as if she wanted to read some information from his eyes. But Tao Yuan just looked back at her calmly, as if he had just asked a question that was taken for granted.

Ye Qinghuai withdrew his gaze, pondered for a while, and said: "If he rebels, I want to see him alive."