Traveling through ancient times, the empress insisted on having a child with me

In the imperial study in the palace, Lu Xi looked at Cao Huanchun in front of him with a gloomy face: "Do you know who the assassin is?"

Cao Huanchun knelt on the ground: "I am incompetent and cannot tell the other party's origins, but he was hit by my palm. Even if he doesn't die, it will be difficult for him to recover."

Lu Xi glared at him and said, "What I want to know is the person behind him."

"Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Lu Xi frowned and waved his hand: "Forget it."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Cho Hwan-soon."

"The slave is here."

"Do you still remember who rescued you from the rebels three years ago?"

"Your Majesty, I will always remember your grace in giving me a new life." Cao Huanchun was about to stand up, but upon hearing these words, he knelt down again.

"Just remember it. I have something for you to do now."

"Please give your Majesty's orders."

"My whereabouts have always been kept secret, but I was followed to three alleys. Someone must be watching me all the time. I want to know who is behind this."

"Old slave obeys the order."

Lu Xi nodded and said, "I will give you another task. Secretly recruit people in San Tiao Lane to investigate this matter. The 30% of Yunfuji's shares will be used as funds for your work. If this matter is handled well, I will allow you to restart the East Factory."

Cao Huanchun was shocked, and then he kowtowed heavily: "I will repay your majesty's grace with my life."

Lu Xi looked at the red spot on his head, nodded and continued: "In addition, you are also responsible for Lingchuan's safety. This person is quite strategic. If you can win him over, I will also remember your achievement."

A strange look flashed across Cao Huanchun's face, but he still nodded solemnly: "I understand."

The East Factory was a secret agency privately set up by the previous emperor. Its original name was the Jishisi. Because its office was originally the Shangyi Factory to the east of the palace, it was also called the East Factory. Cao Huanchun was the eunuch in charge of the Jishisi, and was referred to as the Governor of the East Factory.

When the Eastern Depot was at its most powerful, even the Imperial Guards, who were in charge of the defense of the imperial city, had to be dispatched by it. Although Cao Huanchun was not extremely powerful at the time, not everyone dared to offend him.

During the Rebellion of the Four Kings, the entire East Factory was purged by the rebels, and Cao Huanchun was captured. When Lu Xi found him, he was already dying. Fortunately, he was loyal and did not reveal any information even under torture. Then he recuperated in the house in San Tiao Lane and has stayed there until now.

After Lu Xi ascended the throne, he wanted to reopen the East Factory, but was opposed by all officials. So the East Factory is now in name only, with only a few empty rooms there, and even the eunuchs and maids in the palace don't clean them on weekdays.

Lao Cao had been waiting for Lu Xi to re-employ him, and today he finally got his chance. However, he was a little confused by what Lu Xi said about winning over Ling Chuan.

After pondering it over and over again all night, Lao Cao had a guess. Could it be that the restart of the East Factory was mainly for Lingchuan?

Once this idea came to mind, I could no longer stop it. Considering the disaster relief plan proposed by Lingchuan and his close relationship with His Majesty, this possibility is not impossible.

He still remembered that His Majesty had said that Ling Chuan would be dealt with after the matter was accomplished, but in just over a month, His Majesty's attitude had changed drastically.

If this continues, Ling Chuan will not only not be punished, but may even be reused.

Then, should I hold on to Ling Chuan's thigh?

If Lingchuan really enters the palace in the future, he will have a great backer.

……

In the woodshed at the backyard of Prince Ning's mansion, a man in black was dying, and a man who looked like a butler was tending to his wounds.

"Your Majesty, I followed His Majesty to Yunfuji in San Tiaoxiang today. From a distance, I saw His Majesty and that young man having a secret conversation in the courtyard. I wanted to get closer to get the news, but was discovered by the secret guards around His Majesty. Ahem..."

The man in black coughed up a mouthful of blood as he spoke. King Ning frowned and turned away in disgust: "What else did you find out?"

The man in black coughed for a long time before he spoke: "I also found out that the shopkeeper is Cao Huanchun. Although he looks twenty years older, his kung fu and physique are correct."

King Ning frowned and asked again: "Did anyone notice you coming to my place?"

The man in black did not answer. King Ning was about to get angry when the butler looked up and said, "He's dead."

"Waste." King Ning cursed angrily.

The housekeeper asked again: "My Lord, do you want to send someone to investigate again?"

"This piece of trash has been exposed, why bother investigating?" King Ning cursed him again, then turned and left, but turned back at the door and said, "Deal with this piece of trash. Pay more attention to the area in the next few days to see if there are any suspicious people. If someone tracks them here, my plan of many years will be ruined."

……

The next morning, Ling Chuan was awakened by the pain. The knife wound was quite serious for Ling Chuan. At that time, he was just holding on in front of Lu Xi.

When he came to the shop in the front hall with a grin on his face, he found that the shop was closed and he became furious.

"It's already so late, why aren't you open for business? Where's Lao Cao?"

Ling Chuan had established a little prestige in front of everyone. When he got angry, no one dared to speak. Only Xiao Taohong said timidly: "It was Manager Cao who ordered us to close the store for the next few days. Manager Cao went out and said he was going to find some helpers."

"Never mind him, open for business."

Ling Chuan waved his hand and the guys quickly opened the shop door.

Aunt Rong asked, "Are you going to send someone out to get some free tastings today?"

Ling Chuan looked at the people coming and going at the door, nodded and said, "Just send one person to stand at the door, and the others should hurry up and make snacks. Xiao Taohong, you can also help here."

Xiao Taohong was surprised: "I still have to cook, otherwise what will everyone eat at noon."

"There are several restaurants on this street. Pick any one and ask them to send a table over. That will be the reward I gave you yesterday."

Everyone cheered immediately. The restaurants and hotels in San Tiao Lane were high-end places. A table of food would cost at least three or five taels of silver, which was not something that ordinary people could afford.

"Xia Miao, follow me to the back."

Everyone started to get busy, and Lingchuan led a worker to the courtyard to make sugar.

The fermentation tank could only hold 50 kilograms of brown sugar at a time. After letting Xia Miao mix the brown sugar and yellow mud evenly, Ling Chuan realized that the development of the shop was restricted by production efficiency.

So he glanced around the courtyard. There was a pond in the middle of the courtyard, and the area around it was quite spacious. As long as all the flowers and plants were removed, it would be no problem to rebuild a workshop. Next it would depend on whether Lao Cao could recruit people.

Cao Huanchun was out for the whole day and did not come back until it was almost dark, bringing back three men and two women.

Both women were in their thirties or forties, well-mannered and polite, and looked similar in temperament to Aunt Rong.

But the three men made Ling Chuan frown. One of them was missing an arm, one was missing half a leg, and the other was mute.

Not only are they disabled, but most importantly, they exude a sense of hostility all the time. According to Ling Chuan's personality, he would avoid such people. Their ferocious faces make it seem like they will kill someone if they disagree with something.