bookcurios Chapter 266: Dark Night
Chapter 266: Dark Night
When Zhao Fangyu got up the next day, Zhou Qinghe had not returned yet. While she was dressing up, she heard Chunshao say that Zhou Qinghe went out on the snow last night and had not returned yet.
"Is the cliff following you?"
Chunshao responded, "Xuanbi followed, and the two horses went out of the door together."
Zhao Fangyu continued to put on makeup after hearing this.
Until the afternoon, Zhou Qinghe had not returned yet. He just sent someone to bring a message saying that he would spend the night outside.
Zhao Fangyu asked someone to investigate Wang Ge Lao's family, and is now looking at the information sent to him. These are not top secret things and can be found out by asking around on the street.
Zhao Fangyu read most of the things about Lord Wang's family, and he would have to wait for Zhou Qinghe to find out the rest.
After all, the truly private matters are best kept by the officials, and they all know everything about them. Especially the Censorate, which is even more omnipresent!
The palace was going to purchase things in the spring, and servants came in waves. Zhao Fangyu watched them make some changes to the things on the palace's roof, and then the servants left like the tide.
Zhou Qinghe hurried back the next night.
"Lord Wang, please wait a moment. Something happened in Jiangnan."
Zhao Fangyu had already fallen asleep, but was awakened by the noise of Zhou Qinghe returning. Just as he was about to get up, Zhou Qinghe pushed him back through the quilt.
"You were attacked that day. I found out there was something wrong with those arrows."
As Zhou Qinghe spoke, there was still a frosty smell on his body. After Zhao Fangyu lay back in the quilt, Zhou Qinghe changed his clothes.
"If you're not in a hurry, drink the hot soup first."
There was not much noise when Zhou Qinghe returned, and only the people in the main courtyard knew about it. Chunshao and others boiled water to prepare for the bath. Zhou Qinghe had been blowing snow all night, and his cheeks were numb from the cold.
I picked up the chicken soup on the table and took two sips, and my body felt a little warmer.
"Don't sleep yet, wait for me for a moment."
Zhou Qinghe quickly took a hot bath, and when the lights were out, he slowly said to Zhao Fangyu on the bed: "The arrow that assassinated you that day was made of iron with a great origin."
"Ordinary blacksmith shops are strictly prohibited from forging arrows privately. The arrows used to assassinate you are not only made with the same arrowhead style as the ones used in the army, but also have a different amount of iron."
Zhao Fangyu was keenly aware of the hidden turmoil in Zhou Qinghe's words, and all sleepiness disappeared in an instant.
The third prince... is planning something big?
Different amounts of iron mean different proportions of iron. Due to the ancient iron smelting technology, the iron content is generally not stable at a certain absolute value, but will fluctuate up and down.
Ironware with different contents has different styles, and some talented people can find extremely subtle differences between them.
The arrows used by nobles for hunting and fun on a daily basis are naturally different from the arrows used to pierce armor and kill people on the battlefield.
Most of the arrows used by the dignitaries in the capital for hunting and entertainment were for their own fun, and the number was not large. If the number exceeded a certain level, it had to be reported to the Zongzheng Temple.
The quality is even more uneven. After all, they are hunted by ourselves, so it’s good as long as they can be used for hunting.
The man who assassinated her cast a large number of arrows privately, using military molds. The court has not been able to find out the source of the iron for a long time, and it is most likely that the place is hidden in a remote area.
The Third Prince was as steady as an old dog in the Prince's Mansion. He must have been certain that the location and personnel of the arrow casting were hidden extremely secretly, and that no one could find out about him, so he was at peace.
Zhao Fangyu's hand was held by Zhou Qinghe, and his ears were filled with the faint scent of soapberry coming from Zhou Qinghe's words.
"The location of the iron mine has been revealed."
In the dark night, Zhao Fangyu's eyes suddenly brightened!
Zhou Qinghe also felt the force in his hands suddenly tightening, and he smiled as he spoke: "My people in Jiangnan recently discovered that a group of guests who were said to be transporting stone materials came from southern Sichuan, and they wanted to deliver a large amount of stone materials to a certain farm in Huaizhou."
"The group acted suspiciously, so they secretly opened the box in the middle of the night to check. Unexpectedly, the arrows inside were exactly the same as those found at the assassination site."
"About thirty boxes."
what is this?
This is like searching for something everywhere but still failing to find it, yet finally finding it without any effort!
Zhou Qinghe leaned close to Zhao Fangyu's ear and said, "We have sent people to southern Sichuan to check where these people came from. I'm afraid we will have news in a few days."
If there is evidence that the third prince secretly forged iron arrows, even if the emperor likes this son very much, he will eventually give up on him.
Iron arrows were cast in private and transported secretly to the capital, which was a strategy of using courtesy before force.
While Zhao Fangyu was still thinking, his body was suddenly embraced by Zhou Qinghe.
The man's body was still moist, and the scent of her flower soap continued to fill his nose. Zhou Qinghe hugged her so tightly that he almost wanted to embed her into his bones and blood.
After a long while, Zhou Qinghe said, "If one day I fail to come back, don't worry about me. Go to the dock outside the capital and take a boat south."
"I know that you have the ability and are well prepared, but if the day comes, don't worry about me and go back to Longxi by yourself."
The Third Prince's ambition is obvious. Zhou Qinghe has no military power, and he cannot guarantee whether his plan will work. After all, the Third Prince still has Yang Gushan in his hands.
No matter how stupid the Third Prince is, when the critical moment comes, Yang Gushan will definitely help his son-in-law. Even if he appears to be neutral or fair at this time, he will always think of the Third Prince at the critical moment.
Zhou Qinghe does not have a Yue family like Yang Gushan, so it is not yet certain how much help the Li family can provide to him.
Now the Li family is not completely tied to him. After all, the Li family is a noble family, and no matter which emperor ascends the throne, the noble family will not be expelled from the court. But if you stand on the wrong side... that may not be the case.
Zhou Qinghe didn't really want to take advantage of the Li family. Instinctively, he didn't want to drag Zhao Fangyu into it.
"We have to put the matter of Lord Wang aside for now. I'm afraid we'll have to start when spring comes."
The court was not at peace. The censor had already known about Zhao Fangyu's previous visit to Jingzhao Yin to beat the drum to appeal for justice. Yang Gushan's people suppressed this and reported Zhou Qinghe and Zhao Fangyu.
At present, these memorials are kept in the palace and not sent out, and it is still unclear what the emperor’s attitude is.
However, judging from the emperor's usual attitude towards Zhou Qinghe, this is probably not a good sign.
Zhao Fangyu immediately said, "Will I visit my cousin tomorrow?"
Zhou Qinghe shook his head, his eyes were like stars in the darkness: "No need, now the people of Yang Gushan are staring at you and the Zhao family everywhere."
Even though the Zhao family now only has Zhao Zhihuai working as a Hanlin in the Hanlin Academy, Yang Gushan still does not relax his surveillance on the Zhao family.
Zhao Fangyu reacted immediately and spat at Yang Gushan in his heart for no reason.
Even a woman who was beaten by her husband had to sing a different tune when she was beating the drum to protest. It's true that like bastard father, like bastard child is born. Yang Xiaofei is most likely a scoundrel who inherited Yang Gushan's rogue nature!