handled by ourselves...""The old man is wrong. Ever since you suspected these villagers of murder and robbery, this matter is no longer your family's concern. There are so many people here today. If...For common people, the Lunar New Year celebrations end on the fifth day.

The palace will be lavish and lively for some time.

But after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the red silk flowers were taken down from everywhere, the palace lanterns were retrieved, and the New Year's flavor dissipated.

Two little eunuchs huddled behind a pillar painted vermilion, tucking their sleeves into their robes to shield themselves from the wind. They whispered idly to each other in low voices.

"How could I have seen Lord Xin Ting enter the palace again"

"I saw it too, maybe something urgent came up, after all, he just came back this morning!"

"I hope it's not the barbarians from Jiangbei causing trouble again, and let us have a peaceful time for a while."

"What are you afraid of We serve the Emperor. No matter how many barbarians come, they can't harm us."

"That's true too!"

The two were chatting animatedly, but suddenly heard a loud crash from the study.

Both of them instinctively knelt down, their knees going weak.

The icy ground made them react quickly, they awkwardly glanced at each other and were about to get up.

Feng Gonggong had already rushed out to call people, and they, following the remaining few eunuchs, entered the room with their heads bowed and eyes downcast, quickly tidying up the mess.

The loud noise just now was the Emperor breaking a plum vase.

What happened to make the Emperor so furious Wasn't Marquis Xinting highly favored by the Emperor How dare he provoke the Emperor like this!

Everyone kept their thoughts to themselves, but no one dared to ask any further questions. They tidied up and quickly left.

The room fell silent, with only the Emperor, Xinting Hou, and Yi the Steward present.

The emperor drank two cups of tea in one breath, finally suppressing the anger in his heart. He spoke in a low voice: "Brother, we can't wait any longer. Even if we can't find out who is behind this, leaving this hidden danger will only allow us to find opportunities to eliminate it later."

"Right now, the Yaochi must be immediately sealed off, and all those involved must be strictly investigated. Otherwise, if we allow the Fu Rong Paste to spread, the consequences will be unimaginable!

"

"This matter, entrusted to others, I am not at ease. After all, too many people are involved. If the person in charge has ulterior motives, there will be another major upheaval."

"Tian Wu's power is waning, and although the bumper harvest has offered some relief recently, it simply cannot withstand another upheaval…"

Xin Ting Hou knelt down and replied, “Your Majesty, please rest assured. I will definitely act cautiously and not let a guilty person go free. I will also make sure that no innocent person is wrongly accused.”

The emperor personally helped him up and handed him a gold medal, instructing: "Assemble all available manpower from the Northern Expeditionary Army. Make sure not a single fish slips through the net and escapes Yaochi."

"I await your good news!"

The Marquis took the gold medal and quickly calculated in his heart, saying: "Your Majesty, the dark guards have found out three secret passages leading out of Yaochi, but there are probably still loopholes. I intend to mobilize one thousand Northern Expedition troops into the city and blockade the five-mile radius around Yaochi."

"Furthermore, the entire Long Princess's mansion should be searched and its inhabitants imprisoned. We must question them about the list of victims. Of course, we must also investigate whether anyone else secretly helped spread the Rose Paste. Your Majesty, please grant permission!"

"Alright!" The Emperor said in a deep voice: "Cousin, go ahead and do whatever you need to do. If anyone dares to obstruct you, just arrest them and throw them in prison. I will take responsibility for everything!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I would also trouble Your Majesty to act in a play with me..."

Xinting Hou spoke in a low voice for a long time, and the Emperor nodded repeatedly.

Then, the two little eunuchs who had just returned to the corridor didn't even have time to gossip about what had just happened before they heard the emperor's furious scolding coming from the imperial study again.

Soon, Marquis Xinting walked out with a somber expression. Even when Feng Gong wanted to speak, he waved him off and strode out of the palace.

Xin Ting Hou, has he fallen out of favor!

Everyone wished they could shout out and gossip, but not a single word dared to be spoken.

Soon, the news spread, and everyone knew the reason.

The palace walls were like a sieve, and any whispers would be known outside within an hour.

Xin Ting Hou angered the Emperor because of the military pay for the Northern Expedition, and as soon as he returned to Xin Du, he was sent back to the dock!

Some gloated, some watched with cold eyes, some remained indifferent...

In the Princess's mansion, the Princess listened to her servant's report. Hearing that Concubine Kangle had indeed returned to Suijintan and even Hou Xin Ting had returned to the wharf, she finally felt relieved.

She glared fiercely at her granddaughter and snarled, "You useless thing! If you dare to act recklessly again, I'll skin you alive!"

Bao Lei let out a sigh of relief in her heart and defended herself: “Grandmother, this time it was my granddaughter who acted rashly.

"

The granddaughter thought that if she could bring down the white clouds between heaven and earth, the third princess and the empress behind her, then "the white cloud between heaven and earth" would belong to them. And with the third princess and the empress in their grasp, wouldn't they be carefree forever!

"Therefore, in a moment of impatience, my granddaughter acted rashly and wanted to hear praise from her grandmother. Please forgive her transgression."

As she spoke, she knelt down.

The Princess had to use this granddaughter to lure in more "treasure chests," so she could only grit her teeth and say, “Get up. Remember from now on, you must be extremely careful. If you are found out, none of us will survive.”

"And that girl from the Li family, don't provoke her easily. I always feel she has some sinister energy!"

Bao Lei quickly obediently agreed and then changed the subject, saying that several noble ladies had taken a dip in the water today. This soon made the Princess happy again...

As night fell deep, on the east city gate of Xin Du, soldiers held their cold spears, standing on the wall.

They rubbed their hands together and shivered as they spoke, hoping that the shift would end soon so they could return to the city tower, warm themselves by the fire, gamble, and drink tea.

At this time, a soldier was really desperate to urinate and wanted to find somewhere to relieve himself.

And then, as he urinated, suddenly he realized that a group of people were already running close by.

He was so scared that his half-soaked urine dripped onto his face, "Someone, someone downstairs!"

He strained his neck and let out a single shout, but the men were already downstairs. The leader roared, "Silence! I am Lord Xin Ting, with a secret decree in hand!"

When the soldier's terrified shout was heard, the rest of the soldiers nearly lost their minds. Hearing this, they quickly went to find the officer on duty.

It is a coincidence that the general on duty today is Pang Fei, who is sworn brothers with Chen Chuan.

Chen Chuanshang was a general of the Taiping Army.

A so-called "peaceful general" is someone who has never been on the battlefield, or has only been there a few times and hasn't experienced much bloodshed.

Chen Chuan-chiu is the latter.

And these rare one or two times he took the field, he fought alongside Pang Fei. He even saved Pang Fei's life once, so the two got along extremely well, almost like real brothers.

Prior to his capture, Chen Chuan had been forced to do hard labor at Suijin Beach.

Pang Fei has been running around trying to help, hoping to clear the connections and get Chen Chuan back.

Unfortunately, the Chen family's matter is not just about offending the Li family. It also involves the Fuhong ointment. Under no circumstances can Chen Chuan and his family be let go.

During the Chinese New Year, Pang Fei specially went to the hut on Ruijin Beach and gave Chen Chuan and his family some food.

Seeing this, the people from Xincun and Ercun were impressed by his righteousness and did not stop him.

But Pang Fei was still uncomfortable in his heart, thinking that his brother had been persecuted by the Li family and the Marquis of Xinting.

Unexpectedly, tonight the Marquis of Xinting has fallen into his hands.

Things change.

He lay on the wall and looked down, a sea of black people stretching as far as he could see, numbering in the thousands.

He then said, “My Lord Marquis, it is so late. Bringing so many men and horses into the city, is there something important”r Niu has really bad luck to run into such parents. It's best for her to keep some options open for herself!""Little Cui'er seemed to be a diligent and honest girl. If the old couple from the Wei fami...