Peach Blossom.

After standing there in a trance for a while, Chen Ji felt exhausted, so he told Cai Ling: "Pay attention. If Tao Ye wakes up, come and tell me immediately. Also, send a few more people to serve, and there must be no mistakes."

Cai Ling obeyed the order.

Chen Ji then slowly walked down a few steps and returned to the main hall.

Zhuo Jin hurried to follow.

"Is there nothing happening in the palace today?" Chen Ji asked casually.

Zhuo Jin replied, "Four generals of Chen came here."

Chen Ji guessed and asked, "Are you talking about... Chen Chong? Chen Mi? Chen Wei? Chen Xin?"

Zhuo Jin quickly praised: "Your Majesty is truly a god, he guessed it right at the first try."

"What are you doing here?"

"All officials went to the Taiji Hall to attend court, but did not see the emperor, so they came to ask for an audience."

"Oh... going to court?" Chen Ji sat down and breathed a sigh of relief. "I actually forgot. Next time if I go out, go to Taiji Hall and give the order, so as not to keep them waiting for a long time."

"Your Majesty means... that I will be the head official of the palace from now on?" Zhuo Jin diligently poured a cup of tea for Chen Ji, and couldn't help feeling a little delighted.

Zhuo Jin was also one of Chen Ji's spies planted in the palace in his early years. For many years, he did inconspicuous odd jobs in Leyou Garden, because it was easier to pass on information without being conspicuous. He also did a lot for Chen Ji, and now he finally made it.

"Well... you will be the head official of the palace. The Weiwei Mansion will be renamed the Imperial Guard Department, and Fang Xiang will be the chief of the imperial guards..." Chen Ji thought while drinking tea that it would be inappropriate to use old people in the palace, and the positions of officials in the court also needed to be reorganized.

After drinking a cup of tea, Chen Ji felt a little sleepy because he had insomnia last night and had been running around for most of the day. Unconsciously, his head began to sink uncontrollably.

Seeing this, Zhuo Jin advised: "Your Majesty, why don't you lie down and take a nap? It's easy to catch a cold."

Chen Ji forced his eyelids open and was hesitating whether to go to sleep for a while, but he vaguely saw a figure swaying outside the door.

He asked, "Who's outside?"

"Your humble servant Liu Yan."

Chen Ji was startled and suddenly sobered up, "Where's Chen Liang? Didn't Chen Liang come back?"

Zhuo Jin quickly opened the door and invited Liu Yan in.

Liu Yan entered the room and bowed to Chen Ji: "Your Majesty, Governor Chen was shot by Madam Bai and fell into a coma on the way back. He has been taken back to the palace for treatment and cannot come to see Your Majesty."

"Chen Liang? Shot by Madam Bai?" Chen Ji seemed a little unbelievable. "Are there a lot of people on the other side? Can't you defeat them?"

Liu Yan said embarrassedly: "Only Mrs. Bai came from the other side..."

"Ah?" Chen Ji was speechless.

Liu Yan lowered his head in shame.

Chen Ji ordered Zhuo Jin to bring the horse immediately, and asked Liu Yan to lead the way, and he went to visit Chen Liang in person to see his injuries.

Chen Liangcai had just bandaged his wound. When he heard that Chen Ji was coming, he struggled to get up, got out of bed and knelt down, and his wound hurt so much.

Chen Ji quickly helped Chen Liang up and ordered Chen Liang to return to bed.

Chen Liang covered his wound with one hand and his face with the other. "I have fought for many years, but today I was shot by a woman. I can no longer hold my head up. If the emperor condescends to look at my wounds again, I will be even more ashamed."

"We have to plan all night long, and my uncle is not in a good mental state. How can he defend against hidden arrows?" Chen Ji pulled down Chen Liang's hand that was covering his face, and helped Chen Liang to the bed.

A servant brought a chair and placed it opposite the bed, and Chen Ji sat down to ask for details.

Chen Liang will recount the process of tracking Si Xiu's carriage, encountering gangsters many times along the way, the appearance of ten carriages, being stung by poisonous bees, and finally seeing Shen Hui and Bai Yu.

"It is indeed Shen Hui... This woman is the most cunning. My uncle has always been upright, so it is inevitable that he would fall into her trap." Chen Ji laughed coldly, and then thought of the fact that Xie Cheng delivered the letter to Tao Ye in time, which must have been intentional by Shen Hui.

Chen Liang analyzed, "I think I acted carefully. I didn't bring many soldiers with me, and they were all my most trusted people. It seems that Queen Shen got the news from the Duke of Qiao County. The Shen family is a close relative of Princess Si Rong, so it is very easy for them to enter and leave the Duke of Qiao County. The Duke of Qiao County and the palace have the most people interacting with each other, so I'm afraid there is no news that cannot be leaked."

"Ma Da once went to the Duke of Qiao's Mansion to look for Fang Xiang. Maybe they accidentally leaked the news..." Chen Ji speculated uncertainly.

"Today I failed to track down the hiding place of the Thirteenth Army, and instead let King Jiangling go. It is ultimately my fault. I hope Your Majesty will punish me." Chen Liang bowed and nodded on the bed.

"There are many people who failed in their duties today. How can we punish them all?" Chen Ji smiled bitterly and shook his head, feeling mixed emotions. "Forget it. I have already ascended the throne. There is no reason to keep Prince Jiangling in custody. Sooner or later, I will let him go. No matter when we let him go, sending people to track him down will be risky.

If we send too many people, the news will leak out easily, and the result will be that Madam Bai will come alone to risk her life. My throne is not stable yet, and I cannot really kill them. If we send too few people, they will most likely be wiped out by the Thirteenth Army, and it will be difficult to track their whereabouts. "

Chen Liang shook his head, looking worried: "Of course there are risks, but we chose the worst one - sending too few people and leaking the news."

"It is indeed my fault this time. I was too eager to execute Wang Jing, so I released Prince Jiangling from the city in a hurry. I had clearly guessed yesterday that someone might have informed Madam Bai, but I made a rash decision without checking it out..." Chen Ji's voice was very low, and he was obviously in a low mood.

Chen Liang sighed, his smile stiff, "If I say something unpleasant, please forgive me, Your Majesty. If you are eager to execute Marquis Anfeng for revenge for your son, I understand. But if you are so anxious because of Miss Tao... I have to ask, if Marquis Anfeng dies, will Miss Tao marry you? You are already the king of a country, do you have the audacity to forcibly occupy her?"

Chen Ji smiled slightly, but his smile was a little bitter.

For a long while, Chen Liang remained silent.

"It will be hard for my uncle to rest while I am here. I'd better go back to the palace. You are not allowed to stand up and salute again."

After hearing this, Chen Liang had no choice but to continue lying down.

Not far from Chen Liang's room, Chen Ji walked in the yard and saw from afar Secretary Chen dismounting his horse with his entourage and gifts.

Secretary Chen also saw Chen Ji, and hurried over and knelt down to worship him.

"Why are you here too?" Chen Ji was curious. In his impression, Chen Liang was not familiar with these fellow clansmen who had lived in the capital for a long time and they usually did not have private interactions with each other.

Secretary Chen looked up and smiled, "I heard that the old general was injured, so I came to visit him."

"You are very well-informed. You know what I just learned." Chen Ji looked at Secretary Chen and smiled meaningfully.

Secretary Chen acted pious: "We are of the same clan, so we should care for each other. Besides, the emperor calls the old general "uncle", how can I not be attentive? Once I am attentive, there is no news that I am not aware of. This is the only thing I can do."

Chen Ji found it interesting and nodded: "Get up."

Secretary Chen hurriedly thanked him and stood up.

"I really have something here that requires your little ability."

"Your Majesty, please give your orders."

Chen Ji motioned Secretary Chen to come closer.

As Chen Ji approached, he asked in a low voice, "How familiar is your lover from Meixiangxie with Boss Shen?"

Secretary Chen smiled and replied, "That's quite familiar. If the emperor needs her service, it will be her blessing."

"Maybe she found out about Boss Shen's early years?"

"How early?"

"For example... before Boss Shen got married?"

Secretary Chen was stunned. More than ten years ago... that was too early. His lover Lan Yue was only in her teens. "I'm afraid she can't do this. But I may be able to do it."

"Can you find out what happened to the Shen family more than ten years ago?" Chen Ji was surprised.

Secretary Chen smiled and said, "Didn't I just say that if you pay attention... you will be well-informed."

Chen Ji was very satisfied after hearing this. "Then I will wait for your news. You should go to see Chen Liang. It is time for me to return to the palace."

"Yes, I don't know how serious the old general's injury is. Will it delay his attendance at court tomorrow?" Secretary Chen said, and hurriedly presented a gift to Chen Ji.

Hearing the word "attend the court", Chen Ji suddenly remembered, "Oh, by the way, I heard that you and Chen Chong went to Xuanji Palace because I didn't attend the morning court today?"

Upon hearing this question, Secretary Chen quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I originally thought that since the State of Chen was newly established and the rules had not yet been established, it would not be a big deal to miss a morning court session. But the Minister of Five Armies insisted, "How can a new monarch not attend court on the first day of his accession to the throne?" Seeing that he was so angry, I had no choice but to accompany him."

Chen Ji was just asking casually, but he didn't expect Secretary Chen to answer like this and even bring up the topic of "forgiveness"?

This immediately aroused his interest. "Just because I didn't go to court? Chen Chong is so angry?"

Secretary Chen replied, "Your Majesty, because of the matter of your Majesty letting King Jiangling leave the city, the Minister of Five Armies questioned Zhuo, the chief steward of Xuanji Palace, saying that you did not discuss it with him..."

"Do I have to ask for his opinion before I do anything?" Chen Ji couldn't help but get angry and asked, "What else did he say?"

"This..." Secretary Chen seemed a little embarrassed and didn't dare to say it.

Chen Ji lost his patience when he got angry. "Just tell me what I'm asking you!"

"He said that when you came from Yongchang, you were alone and helpless. If you hadn't asked him for help, you might not have been able to walk out of Queen Mother Meng's birthday banquet alive. This time, you broke into the palace late at night mainly relying on his soldiers. He is the main contributor to your ascension to the throne. Seeing that you are so willful now, he is really disappointed..."

"Asshole!" Chen Ji couldn't help but curse out loud before Secretary Chen could finish his words.

Secretary Chen quickly shut up.

Chen Ji was in no mood to talk any more and rode back to the palace.

After returning to Xuanji Palace, Chen Ji went to the side hall to see Tao Ye first. Many items needed for winter had been placed inside and outside the side hall. A few maids were also sent to clean the black blood on Tao Ye's body, but Tao Ye was still in a coma.

Because Tao Ye had not woken up, Tian Le did not dare to leave, so Cai Ling asked someone to clean up a room next to Tao Ye's room for Tian Le to stay temporarily.

Seeing that everything was in order, Chen Ji went back to rest.

That night, Chen Ji questioned Zhuo Jin in detail, and Zhuo Jin indeed said that Chen Chong had questioned why Prince Jiangling was released from the capital, and that he was angry when he left Xuanji Palace.

This made Chen Ji unable to sleep at night. Although he was annoyed, he had to admit that whether it was the capture of Chen Xi in Hualinyuan or the recent forced abdication of Si Xiu, it was indeed Chen Chong who had the most soldiers.

This reminded Chen Ji that although they were all members of the Chen Family Army, they still had their own masters. Chen Chong was not the only one who had more soldiers than him. They could support him today, but they could certainly oppose him tomorrow.

Although these four General Chens are all his brothers of the same generation, in fact, only Chen Mi is of the same age as him. Chen Wei and Chen Xin are several years older than him, and Chen Chong is even older, only slightly younger than Chen Liang. The older he is, the greater his prestige naturally is.

Although Chen Liang, Huo Yu, Zhao Sheng, and Xun Yi were also older, they had been away from the court for many years and returned for him. Their influence was mostly on the new army in Jiaozhou.

But Chen Chong was not only older, but had also been in the court. She had been a subordinate of Chen Wen, the father of Chen Ji. After Chen Wen's death, she followed Chen Xi, and then betrayed Chen Xi to follow Chen Ji... The more Chen Ji thought about it, the more he felt that Chen Chong was unreliable.

Chen Ji also thought of another thing. When Chengzong ascended the throne, he was afraid of the Chen family's military strength, so he gave half of the military power under Chen Chong to Shang Yun. However, as soon as Chengzong died, these soldiers spontaneously turned to Chen Chong. What was the point of transferring military power in this way?

He felt that if he wanted to prevent someone from raising an army and establishing his own power in the future, it would be best to disperse all the soldiers under the generals who followed him... Just like shuffling a deck of cards, the cards in each person's hand change in each round, but when put together, they are still a complete set of cards...

Thinking of this, Chen Ji already had an idea in his mind.