northernbook Chapter 388: Zhu Heng's side? The situation is chaotic
Chapter 388: Zhu Heng's side? The situation is chaotic
Outside Zhu Mansion.
The black carriage stopped at the corner of the street, the curtains were opened, and Baili Moqing swept his indifferent eyes over the soldiers.
At this moment, a face that deserved a beating came over, and a pair of upturned peach blossom eyes were full of excitement.
"Do you think they will fight?"
Baili Moqing resisted the urge to kick him down again and stepped back.
"The Grand Tutor's Mansion has no soldiers!"
Jiang Dongping nodded, a hint of disappointment in his eyes, "That's true."
"Then why did the Princess and the Fourth Prince send their personal guards?"
To scare people?
It's impossible that they really raided the Grand Tutor's Mansion, right?
This is the home of a first-rank official!
Baili Moqing gathered his sleeves and said calmly, "Aunt and the Fourth Brother have lost so much money, they naturally need to recoup some of their costs! Sending troops. First, it's a show of force, and second, it's naturally to force Grand Tutor Zhu to choose a side!"
Jiang Dongping looked at him and analyzed the matter. "I can understand the need to show some power. After all, so many treasures were stolen, and the loss was huge. They had to teach the Zhu family a lesson."
"But, choosing a camp? That's impossible, right?"
"Now that Baili Moyan has been involved in the live pornographic incident, it's probably impossible for him to compete for that position. The only ones left in the court are you and the Fourth Brother."
"And you, because of the Second Brother's incident, have no hope in the eyes of those ministers. The Fourth Brother is in a good position now, so he just needs to wait and see. Why is he so impatient to provoke Zhu Heng? Isn't he afraid of making things worse?"
Baili Moqing chuckled, "Old Four, you're just too smart. You think you see through a lot of things."
"How to say?"
Baili Moqing did not answer directly, but asked a question.
"Concubine Qing has gone crazy, have you heard?"
Jiang Dongping frowned and nodded. "News is flying everywhere this morning. There should be no one in Kyoto who doesn't know about it, right?"
Baili Moqing asked again, "Then do you know who leaked the news?"
"Who? Lao Jiu?" Only Baili Moyan would do such a thing, right?
He now hopes that the situation in Kyoto will become more chaotic, so that his deeds may be forgotten.
Baili Moqing shook his head, "Xiao Jiu was involved in that incident back then, but he doesn't dare."
Jiang Dongping frowned and thought for a moment, "Then the fourth brother was also involved in that incident. According to what you said, he wouldn't dare to do it. Who else could it be?"
"Who else in Kyoto is restless except you, Old Four, and Old Nine?"
Baili Moqing looked at him with an unfathomable gaze, as if reminding him of something.
Suddenly, a light flashed in his mind, "It's Lao Ba!"
Seeing that he had guessed it, Baili Moqing withdrew his gaze and leaned against the carriage to take a nap.
Jiang Dongping couldn't believe it. "This old man actually dared to wade into this muddy water?"
In the past, this Old Eight had always been quiet and unknown. No matter how Kyoto argued or fought, he never said a word. Why did he dare to show up now?
"These days are different."
Among his brothers, except for the eldest and second oldest, none of them are simple.
Sadly, the simple ones are dead.
Jiang Dongping still couldn't figure it out, "But I still don't understand, what does the Eighth Brother's release of this news have to do with the Fourth Brother's encirclement of the Zhu Mansion?"
"Now, the power in the court is complicated. If Lao Ba wants to join the melee, he needs a guide."
"When my second brother was still alive, Zhu Heng admired him very much."
Jiang Dongping seemed to understand. "You mean, Eighth Brother wants to use Zhu Heng to fight for the throne? But can Zhu Heng surrender just based on the news that Concubine Qing has gone mad?"
"Isn't this unrealistic?" Or a very unrealistic one!
"He's not just spreading this news, he's telling Zhu Heng that he has a second option!"
Hearing this, Jiang Dongping sneered, "Just him? A prince who does nothing and has nothing to do wants Zhu Heng to choose him? What are you dreaming about?"
"Why not?" Baili Moqing asked him with a mysterious smile on his face.
"Zhu Heng has never participated in party disputes. How could he suddenly choose sides? And choose Lao Ba? He must be crazy to do such a thing!"
Baili Moqing poured a cup of tea with a calm expression, no surprise, no astonishment, as if he had already expected everything.
Seeing his expression, Jiang Dongping narrowed his eyes and asked, "Did you do something?"
Baili Moqing curled his lips, "It's not what I did, it's what you did!"
"I?"
Jiang Dongping was confused. What did he do?
He just beat up the two sons of the Zhu family and took all the things they stole.
Special treasures could not be given to Zhang Zhirou, lest she get into trouble. Therefore, he only gave her silver notes and some unmarked items.
However, what does this have to do with Zhu Heng's stance?
Baili Moqing asked him, "Xu Min, the commander of the Brave Battalion, do you know who he is?"
"Xu Min? Who? I don't know."
Baili Moqing rolled his eyes at him. "He's the son-in-law of the Minister of War, Wang Sanlin. And Wang Sanlin is Concubine Qing's cousin from her mother's family. A year ago, Wang Sanlin reached some kind of deal with Old Eight."
"Last night, the Princess's Mansion and the Fourth Brother's Villa were robbed, and the two Zhu brothers were assaulted and robbed. The stolen goods were moved and disappeared, their whereabouts unknown. This news was received by all parties last night."
"And when the Eighth Brother spread the news that Concubine Qing had gone mad, he was telling Zhu Heng that he had joined the battle for the throne. He was also implicitly suggesting that the Second Brother's former loyal followers had all joined him!"
"So, the fourth brother also noticed the eighth brother's actions, and that's why he's trying to force Zhu Heng to take sides?"
Baili Moqing nodded, feeling slightly relieved, he finally understood!
Today's Lao Ba is no longer the Lao Ba of five years ago!
Jiang Dongping was almost shocked when he saw his reaction. "But you said that all the followers of the second brother followed the eighth brother?"
"How is this possible? On what basis does he do that?" Those people are the pillars of the country who truly serve the country and the people!
Those people don't even like the fourth brother, so how could they like the eighth brother?
Baili Moqing drank a cup of tea and asked seriously, "Why do you think that after the marriage between Xiaojiu and the Fifth Princess of Beidi was cancelled, the fate of the couple fell to an unknown Laoba?"
Jiang Dongping: "..."
Could it be that, "Old Eight has contacted Beidi?"
Baili Moqing said nothing. Although he had not found any evidence, Princess Zi Yan had personally gone to the palace to meet the emperor, and her words and actions had implicitly designated the Eighth Brother as the marriage partner. This matter was already very suspicious!
Even if he is not 100% sure about this matter, he is probably 80% to 90% sure.
"This old man is really not simple! He actually has such courage! However, he did it so subtly. Can Zhu Heng understand what he means?"
After hearing this, Baili Moqing rolled his eyes at him and said, "Do you really think Zhu Heng is a simple person?"
"He was able to rise from a book editor to a high-ranking official. His scheming and cunning are beyond your reach!"
Jiang Dongping: "..."
That's a bit of a personal attack!
"Then tell me, Zhu Heng, who will you choose?"
Baili Moqing smiled mysteriously.
"Your smile is so creepy!"
Jiang Dongping complained.
At this time, the door of Zhu Mansion opened. Zhu Heng was dressed in a gray long gown, and his every move exuded the air of a scholar. Even his gray hair and beard could not conceal his elegance. Moreover, the traces of time gave him a sense of oppression that was intimidating without him being angry.
"Eunuch Liu, General Xu, what do you two mean by this?"