The stand-in didn't take it seriously for three years, and the minister was furious when they b

Jiang was even more miserable. She was pierced to death by a wooden stick in the woodshed. She was not wearing any clothes and died with her eyes open. Some people speculated that she might have been tortured, while others speculated that she might have been treated inhumanely. In short, these things happened at least two days ago.

If the person next door hadn't smelled the stench and climbed over the wall to see the scattered clothes, gold jewelry and suspected bloodstains in the yard and reported the case, no one would have discovered it until now.

Because the northwest wind has been blowing mostly these days, Mu Lianzhi didn't smell any odor.

Hearing this, she couldn't help but sigh, and then she remembered something and asked another question:

"Sir, where is the young master from the Marquis' Mansion? Is he okay now?"

"Young Master? What young master? I didn't see him. Apart from a few masters, I didn't see any other figures or bodies."

Then he remembered something and slapped his forehead again:

"Madam, you are asking about the baby, right? We did find a crib in the room, but the child must have been taken away by someone. What a pity for the once glorious Pingyong Marquis Mansion."

After sighing, he remembered that Mu Lianzhi was once the daughter-in-law of the Marquis's mansion. The yamen runner was frightened and quickly clasped his fists to admit his mistake:

"Madam, please forgive me. I have no ill intentions. The baby must have been taken away by someone. The person who took notes just sent a message saying that someone saw someone carrying a child out before dawn and getting on a carriage. The person seemed to be taking good care of the child. It is possible that the child was sent away in advance."

Suddenly I remembered that Sang Xi's child was actually the housekeeper's.

Ling Yuchi was arrested, Ling Shaocong died. Apart from these female masters, the housekeeper is the most powerful person in the Marquis' Mansion. If Sang Xi was really poisoned to death, it was most likely done by Jiang. The housekeeper couldn't have been unaware of it. It's understandable that Jiang ended up like that and her child disappeared.

Perhaps all this was the housekeeper's attempt to avenge her and protect his child.

Without asking any more questions, Mu Lianzhi thanked the yamen runners and asked someone to pay some silver to treat them to tea before leaving.

……

In a blink of an eye, it was August 15th. This Mid-Autumn Festival, Mu Lianzhi spent it with his parents and their family, and Mu Lianzhi and the old lady in Beitang Mansion. They were all happy and the atmosphere was very good.

When he returned to his room at night and came out after washing up, he saw Beitang Yi sitting in a daze behind the desk in the side hall. When he moved closer, she saw a memorial in front of him. She didn't know whether it was a message for him or for his approval.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"No."

"Uh?"

After putting the memorial away, Beitang Yi pulled her over and held her on his lap, then he sighed softly:

"One piece of good news, one piece of bad news, which one do you want to hear?"

"good news."

"The family home of the concubine of Pingyong Marquis was confiscated in the south. The brocade they provided to the palace this year was all substandard. It tore when it was washed. I don't know what inferior material they used. The palace was furious and confiscated all their property. I don't know if they are dead or alive, but I guess their situation is not good."

Mu Lianzhi stuck out her tongue and said nothing.

It is said that the emperor is far away and the sky is high. She almost forgot what she had done. It was she who asked Manager Qin to use her connections with her friends to tamper with a batch of weaving threads. She originally thought of creating an accident to make the court pay attention to this person, conduct a thorough investigation, cut off the finances of the Marquis' Mansion, and then deal with the Marquis' Mansion. She didn't expect that a case of treason by the prince would destroy most of the Marquis' Mansion. It was a bit of putting the cart before the horse.

However, the results are good.

"What about the bad news?"

"The Third Prince is going back to the capital. Although the poison incident is over, it seems that His Majesty has given up the idea of ​​using poison to control people again. However, His Majesty's desire for immortality should not be gone. There is no guarantee that the past incident will not happen again one day."

Otherwise, he would not have allowed the fake, puppet Third Prince, whom he created, to return to the capital and enter the court.

The crown prince has been deposed. If there were no third prince, it would be common sense for Prince Rui to appoint the crown prince. However, the third prince returned to the capital, and since they were all born out of wedlock and there was an order of seniority, the third prince should be the next crown prince.

The emperor asked him to return to the capital, which clearly showed that he did not want to appoint another crown prince. He certainly had not given up the secret of Mu Dongzhu. Since the emperor had this intention, Beitang Yi knew that he was walking on the edge of a knife in his position.

"Does this have anything to do with us?"

Mu Lianzhi was puzzled. Why was he worried about this?

Facing her big, quirky eyes, Beitang Yi didn't know where to start. He smiled and changed his approach:

"You are too successful to be your master, Zhizhi. I am afraid that my current and future situation will be like this. If things go wrong, the tragedy of Beitang Mansion many years ago may happen again one day. If it were you, would you choose to find a way to retire or... change the dynasty?"

Mu Lianzhi understood the last four words from his lip movements, even though Beitang Yi quickly pursed his lips to stop talking.

After a moment of shock, Mu Lianzhi placed her fingertips on his lips:

"I don't choose either, so why should I go to extremes and not choose the golden mean?"

"Uh?"

What does it mean? This time, it was Beitang Yi who didn't understand.

"People change, and things change at different times. Why not just let things take their own course instead of worrying about what will happen next?"

"I know you don't want to cause great suffering to the people, but if we really retreat, can we really be safe? Once great suffering has occurred, we will be at the mercy of others and there will be no room for maneuver."

The most miserable and difficult people in the world are always the common people at the bottom of society, like her in the past, who was not even able to fight against the Pingyong Marquis Mansion.

"Ayi, I'm not afraid to go through fire and water with you, but I'm also a selfish person. I want us and the people we care about to live well. Why should we deserve to be someone else's stepping stone?"

"We can choose not to move, but if that day comes, we must have the ability to move. We cannot put our lives in the hands of others. What if the time, place and people are right?"

People always have to rely on themselves.

She knew that she should put the interests of the country first, but if the emperor was a selfish and incompetent one, what harm would it cause to overthrow him?

Understanding that she wanted to adapt to the situation, Beitang Yi's confusion instantly dissipated. Yes, who could have thought that the previous poison would be resolved in this way?

The emperor's persistence now does not mean he will be persistent one day in the future. Let's take it one step at a time.

After figuring it out, Beitang Yi stopped struggling and leaned over to give Mu Lianzhi a kiss on her lips:

"Today is the fifteenth day of the lunar year. Grandmother and mother-in-law both hope that we can bring some happiness to Beitang Mansion. Madam, start working hard."

Uh?

How come I keep thinking of this?

Before Mu Lianzhi could come to her senses, she was picked up and carried to the inner room.

……

Near the end of the year, on a snowy morning, Mu Lianzhi followed Beitang Yi into the palace for a banquet. In the imperial garden, she saw the legendary Third Prince for the first time.

A nobleman with a tall and thin figure, handsome appearance and hoarse voice, he was well-mannered, and had good manners and temperament. It was said that he was born weak and was rumored to have died young. When he was buried, it was found that he was still alive. After being rescued, he was raised outside the palace.

This time he came back because of the Mid-Autumn Festival reunion night. The prince was not at home and the emperor was old, so he was remembered and arranged to bring him back.

Because he was not familiar with the palace, he set up a separate courtyard when he returned, where he rested on weekdays and helped the emperor deal with matters as appropriate, and he did not have much contact with the palace.

Although they had only met once, Mu Lianzhi had a good impression of him.

……

In the blink of an eye, it was the end of the year, and Mu Lianzhi also found out the good news that she was pregnant. On the day before New Year's Eve, the third prince brought people to discuss official business with Beitang Yi. They had dinner in Beitang Mansion, discussed matters in the study, and stayed overnight.

In the evening, Mu Lianzhi specially sent some fruits. When she left, she realized that she had forgotten to take the pillow. When she turned back, she accidentally bumped into the two of them holding hands and hugging each other. The third prince's call of "brother" almost made her drop her jaw.

elder brother?

Could it be that the Third Prince is his younger brother, Beitang Ye, who went to the battlefield to rescue him and died on the battlefield a few years ago?

He came back with a different face?

What about his parents? Are some of the people who disappeared and whose bodies were never found still alive in some corner of this world? It would be great if that were the case.

No wonder he reacted like that when he heard that the emperor was going to bring the third prince back to the palace.

He must be struggling with whether to let his own brother return in this way!

The emperor was afraid of him so he chose his own brother as his puppet?

It's still a circle after all the twists and turns.

Seeing the two of them sitting on either side of the coffee table, whispering to each other, with genuine smiles on their faces that could not be concealed, Mu Lianzhi slowly stepped back and left.

On the eighth day of the eighth month of the following year, Mu Lianzhi gave birth to twin boys, a double blessing.

Three years later, three months after the emperor took the last bit of powder from a Mudong Pearl, he fell ill with a cold. After three months of no improvement, he finally appointed the fourth prince as the crown prince.

When they received this news, Beitang Yi and Mu Lianzhi were both happy.

Half a year later, the emperor fell into a coma and never woke up. The fourth prince succeeded to the throne. The third prince stayed in the capital and was given the title of Prince of Chen. Beitang Yi took over as the Minister of Dali Temple and still commanded Yutian Pavilion and served the royal family. However, Yutian Pavilion returned to its original duty of only collecting information and assisting in handling secret cases.

In the same year, Mu Lianzhi gave birth to a girl.

The full moon banquet was held on a grand scale for the first time in history at Beitang Mansion.

The emperor sent someone to deliver gifts, the third prince was also present, the old lady and all the members of the Mu family gathered together, and on this day, an old couple with a limp and a hunchback, who were both walking on crutches, also came. They presented a pair of gold bracelets, asked for a glass of wedding wine, and then left quietly.

The family gathered together across the distance.

Whether in the deep valleys of the northern border forests, the imperial palace, or the bustling capital, everyone carries their own mission and works hard for the people they want to protect. (The whole book is finished)