Cypress Boat Floating

On this day, due to Ye Honghai's death, Lu Zhixing rarely came to court, and took a day off. Then he went out of the city and secretly built a tomb for him. He did not dare to let others know. Now Ye Honghai still bears the crime, and a guilty person cannot have a tomb built, so Lu Zhixing could only build one quietly.

Lu Ci Qiu went to court alone. While doing so, he looked at the empty seat in front of him, as if thinking about something.

Yesterday he saw that Lu Zhixing was not in a good condition and wanted to accompany him more, but was rejected. It was expected that he did not come to court today, but as a younger brother, he was still extremely worried about Lu Zhixing's health.

There was still nothing big happening today. Before everything was settled, no one dared to say much about Ye Honghai. Someone from the military department wanted to say a few good words for Ye Honghai, but was stopped by the people next to him before he could open his mouth.

As the emperor left, everyone was slowly walking out of the palace gate. Lu Ci Qiu walked at the end, and not far ahead was Qian Hongzhen. Qian Hongzhen's face was not very good today, and he had a gloomy face whenever anyone spoke to him. Lu Ci Qiu looked at him and felt quite nervous. He originally wanted to go up to Qian Hongzhen and communicate with him today, but seeing the other party's current state, he was afraid that he would be slapped away as soon as he went up to him.

Seeing Qian Hongzhen about to get on the carriage and leave the palace gate, Lu Ci Qiu stepped forward without thinking and stopped him: "General Qian, can you please talk to me for a moment?"

Qian Hongzhen looked at him puzzledly and put his raised foot back: "Eighth Prince, do you have anything to tell me?"

Obviously, he didn't want to go with Lu Ci Qiu, nor did he want to say anything more to Lu Ci Qiu. His refusal was very consistent with his personality: "If you have anything to say, just say it directly."

Lu Ci Qiu looked around, curled his lips, pointed at the people around who were secretly watching them and said to Qian Hongzhen: "Does General Qian want others to know what we talked about?"

"I don't have much contact with the prince, so I don't think there is anything that shouldn't be known to others." Qian Hongzhen's attitude was very firm, and he looked indifferent.

"This is a matter concerning Beiguan and General Ye. I think it would be better to have a private discussion with General Qian about this matter." Lu Ci Qiu was not angry. He spoke in a low voice with a smile on his face.

Not sure if it was Beiguan or Ye Honghai who touched him, he glanced at Lu Ciqiu and replied quietly, "In that case, let's meet at the Four Seasons Restaurant later."

After saying that, Qian Hongzhen bowed to Lu Ci Qiu, got on the carriage alone and left.

Others could not hear the last two whispered words between them. They only saw Qian Hongzhen leave after rejecting Lu Ci Qiu. Several people whispered behind Qian Hongzhen's back that he was ungrateful. You know, now in the court only the Second Prince can fight with the Crown Prince, and Lu Ci Qiu, as the Second Prince's younger brother, is a favorite of the Second Prince. Not to mention others, even those who stand on the side of the Second Prince will be more respectful to the Eighth Prince.

What's more, since the Eighth Prince succeeded in controlling the flood in Nancheng, he has an additional achievement that can support him in his old age. As long as he doesn't go too far and doesn't do anything stupid, he can live well before the Crown Prince takes the throne. Maybe the Emperor will make arrangements for him before he abdicates and won't let the Crown Prince kill him.

Others tried to say a few more words to the Eighth Prince but they didn't even have the chance. As for Qian Hongzhen, the Eighth Prince even came to him in person but he still refused. What a fool he is.

On the other side, Lu Ci Qiu was completely unaware of the discussions of others behind him. He was silently happy that he had actually been able to make an appointment with Qian Hongzhen. Now that he had made an appointment with him, he should think about how to negotiate with him. What should he say to make the other party agree to go to Beiguan?

Thinking of this, he restrained his expression, hurriedly got on the carriage and went back home to find Ye Jianqing.

In the private room No. 1 of the Four Seasons Restaurant.

Ever since he was stopped by Lu Ci Qiu at the palace gate, Qian Hongzhen has been feeling uneasy after getting on the carriage. He knew that he was a person imprisoned in the capital by the emperor, and the other princes also knew it. Perhaps someone had contacted him and wanted him to assist a certain prince, but he refused every time.

After a while, everyone realized that Qian Hongzhen was a powerless person and there was no point in having him.

But now, the newly appointed Eighth Prince actually came to find him on his own initiative, and even mentioned Beiguan and General Ye Honghai. For a moment, he didn't know what Lu Ci Qiu wanted to say to him. No matter how he thought about it, he had nothing to do with these two words.

He admitted that he was moved by Lu Ci Qiu's words and wanted to know what he wanted to say to him, but it was not appropriate to discuss these things at the palace gate with all the officials present, so he asked people to come here.

He knew that this was different from the personality he showed to the outside world, and although he regretted it for a moment after saying it, he still came, just to find out what the eighth prince wanted to say to him.

However, his speed seemed a bit slow. Qian Hongzhen did not return home, but came here directly. He ordered a table of morning tea, which included tea and soft, sweet and fragrant pastries, a kind of morning tea unique to the south. The owner of the Four Seasons Restaurant was from the south. According to the owner, this so-called morning tea was very famous in the south, and people would eat this kind of tea when they invited guests to dinner.

Therefore, he retained it. This Four Seasons Restaurant not only has this morning tea, but also the excellent Huai cuisine. Dishes such as stewed crab meat and lion head, boiled shredded dried shrimp, three-piece duck, soft-shelled eel, crystal braised pork, squirrel mandarin fish, Liangxi crispy eel, etc. are all praised by everyone. What's more, the emperor even came out of the palace to dine in person, just for this delicious taste.

Just when Qian Hongzhen was about to finish the snacks on the table, Lu Ci Qiu and Ye Jianqing finally arrived.

Although Qian Hongzhen had never seen Ye Jianqing in person, he had heard of her. Everyone knew that there was always a woman following the Eighth Prince when he went out. The woman would sit and stand with the Eighth Prince, and the Eighth Prince would even listen to her.

Qian Hongzhen had always thought that this was just a rumor passed down by word of mouth, which had changed its meaning as it was passed around, but he did not expect that it was true when he saw her today, and he could clearly feel that this woman had a different temperament from others.

That is something that can only be felt on the battlefield, and that is a temperament that only people who have experienced life and death have.

When he was unaware of the other party, Qian Hongzhen was obviously very wary of Ye Jianqing.

As soon as she entered the room, Ye Jianqing naturally felt Qian Hongzhen's inquiring eyes on her. She did not pursue it, knowing in her heart that this was normal, but suddenly the inquiring eyes turned into wariness, which made her a little overwhelmed.

She hasn't done anything yet, why is Qian Hongzhen suddenly so wary of her?

Confused.

Lu Ci Qiu didn't know all of this. After he entered the room and greeted Qian Hongzhen, he sat down in the seat Qian Hongzhen had reserved for him, while Ye Jianqing stood behind him as usual.

"I wonder what business the prince has suddenly asked me to come here today?" Qian Hongzhen considered himself a rough man, and he could not handle the sarcasm and ambiguous words of the literati. He was always used to speaking directly, which was why he refused to see anyone afterwards. After all, trouble comes from the mouth.

"General Qian, do you know that General Ye passed away two days ago?" Lu Ci Qiu tried to test Qian Hongzhen's attitude first.

Qian Hongzhen nodded: "The news of General Ye's assassination has spread like wildfire. Everyone knows about it, so I naturally know about it too."

"So, General Qian, do you know who wants to kill General Ye and frame General Ye?" Lu Ci Qiu brought the cup of tea to his lips and took a sip, pretending to be calm. Although he was not so sure in his heart, he could act.

"Your Majesty knows?" Qian Hongzhen frowned.

"I don't know." Lu Ci Qiu shook his head: "But I know General Ye is innocent. The King of Qin has been looking for evidence for General Ye's treason, and although there is no result yet, the fact that the man killed General Ye in broad daylight shows that he is insecure. He is afraid that General Ye will successfully vindicate himself after arriving in the capital, so he wants to kill General Ye in advance to make him unable to defend himself."

"Now that General Ye is dead, what's the point of Your Majesty telling me all this?" Qian Hongzhen sighed. He believed in his heart that Ye Honghai was innocent, but without evidence there was no chance to explain.

"It's useful. General Ye is innocent. He has given so much to Da'an. If he is still misunderstood with a stigma, it will only be disheartening."

Lu Ci Qiu's face was heavy, and he put down the cup. "General Qian, you and I both know that once General Ye dies, Beiguan will be in chaos. Damo is watching closely and will definitely take the opportunity to attack Beiguan. If the news of General Ye's treason is widely spread, the army will be in chaos, and the people's trust in the army, Da'an, and the court will drop sharply. If Damo attacks at this time, can Beiguan still resist smoothly?"

The air froze in the room. Qian Hongzhen thought about what would happen after all this happened. He felt scared and even more disgusted with the people who were plotting behind the scenes.

"What does Your Majesty want me to do?"

"This king would like to ask the general to come out and lead the Flame Army to repel the desert and restore peace to the North Pass."