I made a fortune by marrying a sickly woman!

Song Jin was having dinner.

I don’t know what kind of shock and fear Qin Chi saw in Old Man Hong’s eyes when he showed the portrait to him.

"Isn't this possible?"

Old Man Hong murmured, "Maybe it's a little bit similar."

Qin Chi knew who he was thinking of, but he didn't ask. He just waited quietly for Old Man Hong to come back to his senses.

Old Man Hong said carefully: "This portrait reminds me of the former crown prince, but what I remember most is the banquet of his staff members in Jiangnan. Among many literati and scholars who like folding fans, he is the one who holds a feather fan. The feather fan is made of white crane feathers and is called a white feather fan. I heard that he especially admired Zhuge Kongming of the Shu Han period."

"Former prince?"

Qin Chi was very shocked. "The current emperor has only appointed one crown prince. And now he lives in the East Palace!"

There is no such thing as a former crown prince!

Old Man Hong explained, "He was the previous crown prince. He was not the crown prince before Your Majesty ascended the throne."

Qin Chi knew about this.

Perhaps all the scholars in the world know this.

Rumor has it that a coup took place in the palace on the night of the late emperor's death.

According to historical records, the former crown prince poisoned the previous emperor and attempted to usurp the throne. Emperor Mingcheng and Prince Rui, who were only princes at the time, joined forces to rescue the emperor and shot the former crown prince to death in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Counting the time, thirty years have passed since the palace coup.

Qin Chi had read this history in the Hanlin Academy.

But history books are only written by the victors, and it is very difficult to discern the truth.

Qin Chi looked at Old Man Hong and waited for him to speak.

Old Man Hong was very secretive about the palace coup that year. "Some things are not easy to let out of my mouth. If you want to know, you can ask the prince in person when you see him in the future."

He was always beside Prince Rui back then.

I can't say I know all the truth, but I know about 70% to 80% of it. However, there are some secrets that cannot be told.

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Qin Chi didn't insist on knowing.

Old Man Hong said solemnly: "I will have someone investigate again, but the tea shop that Madam mentioned, there is a secret passage in Fengning Hutong that seems to lead to West Street."

He thought of something and took out a roll of paper from the secret compartment.

"This is a map of the underground tunnel we are investigating."

Old Man Hong spread out the rolled-up paper. The route on it was like a spider web. Taking the entrance of the secret passage in Fengning Hutong as the base point, the secret passage map he drew was also connected in all directions. "We can't alert the enemy for the time being, so we are exploring a little slowly."

Actually it’s not that slow.

In just a few days, several exits were found.

There is indeed a path leading to a tea shop.

Qin Chi stared at the secret passage map with a fierce look in his eyes, "Could they be the ones who plotted against my wife last time?"

Old Man Hong didn't say anything.

This is obvious.

"Uncle Hong, could it be that the former prince is not dead?" Qin Chi asked, staring at the portrait.

Old Man Hong shook his head. "I was also present when the former crown prince was shot to death. Emperor Ming Cheng not only arranged for someone to verify his identity, but also ordered someone to chop off the former crown prince's head to eliminate the possibility of fake death."

There were so many people there.

Emperor Mingcheng was cautious.

Not just one or two people are needed to verify the identity.

During the transition of imperial power, there were many cases of fighting among brothers and killing each other. The winner became king and the loser died. Old Man Hong did not comment on this, and it was difficult to say who was right or wrong.

After Emperor Cheng of the Ming Dynasty ascended the throne, he had been suppressing the former crown prince's subordinates.

At this moment, it was not only Old Man Hong who was thinking a lot.

Qin Chi thought more.

Qin Chi was almost certain that the Yang, Liu and Liu families were secretly plotting a rebellion.

Earlier, Qin Chi couldn't understand why the three families chose this path of no return. Now it seems that their real master behind the scenes is likely to be the former crown prince's people.

It all made sense again.

Qin Chi sent Old Man Hong away and started grinding ink to write a letter.

It was written to my uncle who was still recuperating in Huangshan.

After the letter was written and sealed, he called a secret guard and instructed, "Send the letter to my uncle in person. If you encounter any trouble along the way, destroy the letter and don't let it fall into the hands of others."

"Subordinates take orders."

The secret guard took the letter with both hands.

He immediately turned around and walked out.

Wait for Qin Chi to go back to the dormitory.

Song Jin was wearing a shirt and wiping the wet tips of his hair with a piece of clean cotton cloth.

Qin Chi went over to take the cotton cloth and gently wiped her. He was so close that he could smell the fragrance around her. "Madam, do you know who is in the portrait?"

"Please speak, sir." Song Jin said with a smile.

Qin Chi kept it a secret, "He is someone we cannot afford to offend."

Unexpectedly, Song Jin disagreed and asked, "Since we came to the capital, who can we afford to offend?"

Qin Chi's hand, which was wiping his wet hair, paused.

Although this is true, don't say it next time.

However, Qin Chi still told Song Jin about the grudges that happened thirty years ago, as well as his speculation about the former prince's power.

Song Jin's heart also sank.

The more powerful the other party is, the less likely she is to find her family. No wonder she searched for more than ten years in her previous life but got no news.

Song Jin lowered his eyes and asked, "Who did Yang Ge Lao find to smooth things over for the Liu family? I heard that he went to the palace and the problem was solved when he came out."

"It's Admiral Feng from the Imperial Household Department."

Qin Chi said directly, "If it weren't for the dispute between my wife's medicine shop and the Liu family, we wouldn't have known that Admiral Feng was actually Yang Gelao's man, or the former crown prince's old man."

The eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department was in charge of supervising all ceremonials, criminal law, and the management of official duties and hearings within the imperial city.

He has considerable power in the inner court.

If such a person is from the former prince's faction, then there are many areas where they can operate.

Song Jin said solemnly, "The palace has probably become a sieve by now. I can't imagine how far a force that has been lurking for thirty years has developed."

Thinking of this, I felt a chill in my heart.

"Husband, do you want to talk to your grandfather?" Song Jin subconsciously thought of seeking external help.

Qin Chi put the cotton cloth on the screen, then picked up the wooden comb to comb Song Jin's hair, one by one, carefully and patiently. As he did so, he said, "With my grandfather's wisdom, I'm afraid he would have noticed it a long time ago. But I've already sent a letter to my uncle."

No need to inquire further.

Qin Chi sensed that a storm was about to come.

Just a corner of the opponent's body can cause chaos in the world in an instant if left unattended.

He's not exaggerating.

This is a fact!

His grandfather was like distant water that could not put out a nearby fire.

But it also has a deterrent effect. The other party has not raised an army in recent years. It is very likely that they are afraid of the army in the northwest. However, no matter how cautious they are, after such a long time of planning, it should be about time.

Often this time.

Those who are targeted may not even have time to respond.

Even though Prince Rui's Mansion was in the midst of this turmoil, ever since he helped Emperor Mingcheng ascend the throne, he had been in opposition to the former crown prince.

Qin Chi was deeply worried, but he didn't show it.

Qin Chi didn't want Song Jin to think too much, so he said, "I will discuss this matter with my uncle, so your people should stay out of it."

If you get too involved, it will be difficult to get out.