The gambling god's wife in the Duke's Mansion is getting divorced again

Xiao Ji took the initiative to go to the palace and found a reason to ask for a delay in the marriage.

It just so happened that Yan Qianzhi also didn't like Xiao Ji, and Yan Yun had feelings for Sang Wan. The Yan family also made it clear and hinted to the Queen not to respond, and the marriage was shelved.

Sang Wan received the news and wrote a letter to Qiu Chaoge.

The matter of the ghost town has come to an end. Yan Hong misses her brother very much. Sang Wan asks Xiao Shun to take her to the northwest. Before leaving, she repeatedly reminds him not to mention Li Jiu's name when he sees her.

Yanhong wanted to ask why, but Xiaoshun pulled her sleeve and almost said that she was tactless.

Sang Wan forced a smile and pretended not to see it:

"Whether you stay with your brother, return to the capital, or go somewhere else in the future, it is all up to you to decide."

"Thank you, my master." Yan Hong's eyes were filled with tears. She knelt down and bowed to her respectfully.

Uncle Li took out a bag of silver and stuffed it into her hand:

"This is what the princess gave you. Don't be reluctant to eat or drink on the way. It's cold in the northwest. Do you have enough clothes?"

"Thank you, Uncle Li. Shun has arranged everything. That's enough."

Yanhong seldom cries. She believes that tears are for cowards, but she is a heroine.

But today, the tip of my nose always felt sour and it took me several sniffs to get the mist back.

"Go ahead." Sang Wan waved, and the servant carried a box of things. "I bought these yesterday while shopping at the market. Your brother was kind to me back in Jiangnan, so this is just my way of thanking him."

Yan Hong couldn't help but ask curiously, "What is it?"

Sang Wan: "I can't remember. I just bought it casually, maybe some knee pads, a jacket, or something like that. It wasn't worth much money. I just bought it randomly. Go ahead. Don't waste time."

Xiaoshun loaded the things into the carriage and the two drove away.

Uncle Li felt that these boxes looked familiar. It seemed that the princess had been preparing the things inside before the New Year.

Speaking of kneepads, it seems that the embroiderer Li from the mansion was making kneepads a few days ago. Why did she buy them outside again?

Just as he was about to ask, Sang Wan had disappeared.

Uncle Li raised his eyebrows, feeling that something was wrong.

*

In the study, Xiao Ji read Qiu Chaoge's letters one by one, feeling extremely confused.

Over the past few months, he wrote several letters and sent them to Lingnan, but they fell into the sea and there was no reply.

Qiu Chaoge also changed his habit of writing letters and talking too much, and he never wrote another letter after he returned.

Could it be that he really has a boyfriend in the military?

When Sang Wan stepped into the study, she saw him banging his head in frustration and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"If you want to see her, there is always a way."

"The prince is not allowed to leave the capital without an imperial edict. How can this be easy?"

Xiao Ji had been unable to sleep or eat well for days and looked a little tired.

"Yesterday I was playing dominoes with the daughter of the Minister of War. I heard that General Qiu was very brave in suppressing the bandits, so I'm sure there will be news of victory soon.

Brother, please ask for an imperial decree to reward the Zhennan Army. That would be a great excuse."

Xiao Ji's eyes lit up, his frown relaxed, and he instantly saw hope. But then he felt a little embarrassed:

"I just want to explain things to her. I can't just leave without saying anything. After all, there has to be an explanation for this matter. She..."

"Okay, okay, brother, you can talk about these things with Sister Chaoge when the time comes. There's no need to explain to me. It's okay as long as my sister-in-law doesn't mind." Sang Wan covered her mouth and laughed.

"You're just being ridiculous. By the way, how's that going?"

Xiao Ji finally started asking about the real business.

Sang Wan blinked. "It's pretty much what I guessed. Xiao Shun and I counted it, and it's about 10 million taels. Jilong Mountain is in the capital after all, so there's no guarantee someone in the palace will get a glimpse of it and go looking for it. The most urgent thing is to divide this money up and ship it out separately."

"I don't think the methods you mentioned last time about Wang Dana are appropriate. Master Wu is an old hand, and he will definitely keep a close eye on these methods.

Go find someone in Anxi. Your father has been kind to him in the past, and now it’s time for him to repay the palace.”

Xiao Ji pondered for a moment and wrote a name on the paper.

"Ahham?" Sang Wan frowned slightly. "Is he from the Western Regions?"

"Yes. When my father was on his way to the war with the king, he encountered his caravan from the Western Regions being robbed by bandits and rescued him. After the founding of the Great Xia Dynasty, he relied on his friendship with my father to obtain the qualification for trade and has been traveling between the Western Regions and Great Xia for many years. His caravan can provide cover for our transportation of silver." Xiao Ji said.

Sang Wan paced back and forth, his mind full of thoughts.

Such a huge silver vault, if transported out rashly, would certainly not escape the eyes of these people.

"The quantity is too large, and relying on caravans is still not enough. Also, where can we transport so much money properly? The slightest mistake will cause an uproar. But we can't delay any longer. Knowing Wang Dana well, they will definitely find Jilong Mountain."

Xiao Ji nodded, and his relaxed brows furrowed again.

"Spend it as soon as possible to buy fields and land, and exchange them for shops and food." Sang Wan looked at the map of mountains and rivers in the study and set his sights on the northwest.

"Liangzhou is remote and sparsely populated, but it is the throat connecting the Western Regions and Daxia, and is a must-pass place in the Hexi Corridor. It can be used for both attack and defense in the future. If we need a stronghold, Liangzhou is more suitable than Lingnan."

Sang Wan specifically mentioned Lingnan simply because she hoped Xiao Ji would not misunderstand her purpose.

How could Xiao Ji not understand: "Of course, Lingnan is close to the sea and can only be attacked, not defended. Your judgment is correct."

"General Pingxi and the Jiangdong Army have never had any friendship with our Nan'an Palace. Although Prince Duan of Shu is currently on our side, they want to protect themselves. There is no guarantee that they will not part ways due to interests in the future.

But the northwest is different. Even though Zheng Chenghui is entrenched in the northwest, he adheres to the style of the Marquis of Pingyuan, focusing on guarding the border and not interfering in local affairs, so he will not affect our operations."

She has been very busy during this period. She has made inquiries from many sources, checked a lot of information, and made all the necessary preparations.

Xiao Ji was worried about Zheng Jinzhi:

"Wen Ruo is in the northwest, and he's not easy to fool."

"Don't worry. His target is Beijing, and he will never make deep inroads into the northwest." Sang Wan also thought of it.

Xiao Ji frowned and asked, "Why are you so sure?"

"The missing woman was sent to the palace to make an elixir, but Baili Xi, as the Imperial Guard Commander, couldn't find the elixir furnace or the Taoist priest. The only possibility is that the alchemy room is deep inside the inner palace, a place that even he, the Imperial Guard Commander, can't enter. This is one possibility."

"Secondly, a few days ago, Imperial Noble Concubine Rong went to the Empress Dowager's palace to cry and complain. The Empress Dowager reprimanded Zheng Yunlan and gave her a potion that would make her childless. His Majesty arrived just in time to stop the incident. His Majesty had all the maids who served that day beaten to death, imprisoned Imperial Noble Concubine Rong, and sealed off Qianfu Palace."

Sang Wan looked at Xiao Ji, "Brother, His Majesty has changed his mind. He wants Zheng Yunlan to give birth to a child. You must understand what this means."

This means that the crown prince may not necessarily be the eldest prince.

So what if it’s nine beads!

If the crown prince could be deposed, what about a prince?

"I don't even know these things. Where did you get them from?" Xiao Ji looked at her with admiration.

Sang Wan smiled slyly, "I can even see the daily records. Your Majesty is always vigorous and energetic, a bridegroom every night. Can you guess why?"

Xiao Ji suddenly realized: "That pill is taken by His Majesty!"

"I have consulted Bai Shi. There is a mysterious Taoist technique that uses virgin menstrual blood and cinnabar, realgar, rhinoceros horn and other ingredients to refine it into an elixir. It can restore a man's virility and make him as hard as iron.

However, this thing is extremely ferocious. If you don't control yourself, your body will be hollowed out. It may look shiny and rosy on the outside, but it is actually just an empty sac inside, and sudden death is imminent.

Considering the location of the alchemy room, I am certain that the person behind the alchemy is Zheng Yunlan."

Sang Wan put all these things together and came to an obvious conclusion: "Zheng Yunlan controls the inner palace, but the former dynasty still needs a knife."

"That knife belongs to Zheng Jinzhi." Xiao Ji's eyes turned cold.

Zheng Yunlan sent him to the northwest to gain military merit, which was to sharpen his sword; when the sword was sharpened, there would be a bloody storm in the capital.

"King Yun can't hide in a ghost town forever."

Sang Wan met his gaze, more resolute than ever before: "Brother, the Nan'an Palace must not sit idly by. Our future must be in our own hands."

She didn't say anything extra, it wasn't the right time yet.

Xiao Ji also wanted to break free from the shackles, but Qiu Chaoge's incident made him taste the pain of separation.

His desire to marry Qiu Chaoge grew stronger day by day, and the longing for her became a torment that penetrated his bones. He had to make plans as soon as possible to achieve this unattainable goal.

Sang Wan's words hit him hard.

He asked, "Awan, how do we do this?"

Sang Wan said, "I'm going to find Aiham. I have to take some money to Liangzhou to make preparations first. I don't trust anyone with this matter. It will take at least a month to go back and forth. Brother, you have to think of a way to cover it up for me."

"Where are the manpower? Who should we bring?"

Xiao Ji had an idea in mind.

Sang Wan's eyes flickered, very mischievously:

"Give me the shadow guards left by my father."

Xiao Ji smiled knowingly: "I thought the same thing."

"How did you know?" he was very curious. "Even Xiao Yue didn't know about this team."

"She can't climb walls or fly over rooftops, so naturally she doesn't know."

Sang Wan smiled. She was very good at light work. She could see shadows flash by several times when she climbed onto the beams. Those people's footwork was better than hers.

She was just guessing, but it was probably pretty close.

Xiao Ji took out a jade talisman from the secret compartment. The jade body was carved with a Chihu, which looked lifelike.

"This is the military token my father used when he was in charge of the army, called the Tiger Armor Army. After the late emperor ascended the throne, he handed over the military power, and the Tiger Armor Army was disbanded and divided among the various armies. I kept this token as a souvenir.

My father once said that the Tiger Master is mighty, upright, and loyal. A single talisman brings back a hundred soldiers. Seeing this talisman is like seeing the King of Nan'an. I hand it over to you today. The Shadow Guards will be at your disposal from this very day."

As Xiao Ji finished speaking, a dark figure jumped down from the beam, his mask revealing only a pair of eyes.

"The shadow guards will obey the princess's orders."