Tianliangyuan

Chapter 472 Urgent Report from Yuzhou

Xu Zhaozhao didn't want to think of human nature as too wicked, but having come from the apocalypse, she knew better than anyone that when facing life and death, there were very few people she could truly trust.

Some people are willing to risk their lives for you, while others will betray you without hesitation.

Some people will be grateful to you for saving them in a time of crisis, and will be willing to do anything for you for the rest of their lives.

Some people might resent you for rescuing them too late, thinking they deserve to be even more miserable and wretched than them.

Therefore, the human heart is invisible.

No one can truly understand another person's heart; even the most brilliant strategist can make mistakes.

Therefore, Xu Zhaozhao must act as soon as possible.

Now, while the young prince is still young, it is the time to establish his values ​​and worldview. We should gradually cultivate his values ​​and sense of kindness.

Moreover, no matter how confident Xu Zhaozhao was in her special abilities, she couldn't be sure that the young prince would stay close to her for life.

Therefore, brainwashing is the best method.

Xu Zhaozhao knew that there was already a rift between Li Guang and Empress Qu, but this rift was not enough to make Li Guang and the Qu family turn against each other, after all, they were his maternal grandparents' family.

Not urgent.

There's still plenty of time, take it slow.

Xu Zhaozhao and Li Guang stayed at the Hundred Fruit Garden for less than half a month when an urgent report from Yuzhou was sent to the capital.

Xu Zhaozhao and Xie Zheng were not surprised at all, because it was their arrangement.

The son of the current Prefect of Yuzhou was bullying men and women in the local area, which aroused public anger. So after being reprimanded by his superior, he harbored resentment and intended to contact his patron in the capital in order to suppress his superior.

The matter was exposed and discovered by the inspecting censor, who then quickly reported it to the authorities.

This investigation led to the Crown Prince's residence.

This is terrible!

The crown prince had only just been appointed and there hadn't even been a formal ceremony yet, so anyone who brought this news to the capital was relentlessly pursued and killed.

But in the end, it was still sent to the capital.

When Xie Zheng arrived at Baiguoyuan, he saw Xu Zhaozhao and Li Guang practicing calligraphy together in the study, one on the left and one on the right, with a distance of about two tables between them.

Li Guang was served by a young eunuch, while Xu Zhaozhao was served by Haitang.

Xu Zhaozhao merely glanced up and then ordered everyone else to leave, including the young prince.

"Sister?" Li Guang clearly didn't want to leave.

"Listen to me, you're still young, there are some things that are not suitable for you to know now."

"Ok."

Li Guang could tell that his brother-in-law's expression wasn't good; it probably wasn't anything nice.

"Is it news from Yuzhou?"

"Yes, you guessed right. The Prefect of Yuzhou was indeed colluding with the Crown Prince's residence. Now that this has come to light, His Majesty's intention is probably to save face for the Crown Prince."

“That’s normal. If I were His Majesty, I would also try to protect the Crown Prince and shift the blame to the people below, so that the Crown Prince wouldn’t bear a bad reputation.”

"Is this the main reason you want to send Li Shun to Yuzhou?"

"That's not all. Li Shun may not be able to do a good job as a local official, so we're letting him try being the chief secretary. If he's capable, we'll make other plans later. If he's not up to the task, then we'll have to think of other options."

"Are you sure Li Shun will get a position in Yuzhou?"

"I'm about 70% sure."

Xie Zheng was taken aback; a 70% chance of success was not low.

But he couldn't figure out how Xu Zhaozhao had managed to do it.

I didn't see him having any dealings with officials from the Ministry of Personnel.

Xie Zheng's eyes lit up: "The Qu family?"

"Although the Crown Prince has now been established, this incident is clearly unfavorable to him. This means that the Crown Prince's position is unstable, and both Empress Qu and Qu Shiji will inevitably try to arrange for a suitable person to go to Yuzhou."

However, since the matter involves the Crown Prince, officials from the Qu family cannot be used, and His Majesty would not agree to it. The Prince Zhong's residence will certainly not let such a good opportunity slip by easily; they will definitely try to send their own people to Yuzhou to investigate, desperately trying to uncover evidence of the Crown Prince's involvement.

His Majesty will protect the Crown Prince, but not too much. Therefore, for this trip to Yuzhou, His Majesty will likely arrange for someone recommended by the Prince of Zhong. But who should the Qu family recommend? It can't be someone from the enemy, nor someone from their own side; they can only look for someone from the middle.

Xie Zheng nodded, naturally having no objection to his wife's speculation.

"However, among the centrists, there are only a few families that are clearly on good terms with the Qu family. Moreover, we need to select people with certain status and power from among them, so that we won't be unable to control the people on the Loyal King's side after we get to Yuzhou."

"That's right. So if someone recommended Li Shun to Qu Shangshu at this time, do you think he would use him?"

"I don't understand why you notified Li Shun so far in advance. Aren't you afraid he'll leak the information?"

Xu Zhaozhao chuckled: "If he can't even control his own mouth, then there's no need for us to support him. Besides, this can also be considered a test. Ever since he learned of this news, he has been secretly gathering information about Yuzhou, and at the same time, he has been investigating some famous scholars and officials in Yuzhou."

Xie Zheng nodded: "Are you worried that he's not smart enough?"

Xu Zhaozhao smiled.

Xie Zheng took her hand and said, "Thank you for your trouble."

"What nonsense are you talking about! We're family. If the Xie family is in bad shape, do you think I can just stay out of it?"

Xie Zheng smiled and kissed her on the cheek: "Zhao Zhao, how fortunate I am to marry you."

"Good to know! Just don't bully me anymore."

"How dare I? Even if anyone is bullying me, it's you who's bullying me!"

As Xie Zheng finished speaking, a hint of ambiguity appeared in his eyes. He hadn't seen her for several days, so they naturally hadn't been close. Now that they were alone together, how could Xie Zheng possibly hold back?

"Wait a minute, what are you doing, getting all horny in broad daylight?"

"Zhaozhao, I want to!"

Xu Zhaozhao was stunned. In that instant, Xie Zheng had already picked her up and carried her horizontally.

"No! Xie Zheng, this is the study!"

"I'll carry you to the inner room, and there are my people all outside, so don't worry."

Xu Zhaozhao punched him with her fist. Was that what she meant?

But no matter how much she pounded on it, it was no use.

For some reason, Xie Zheng felt that he was becoming more and more inseparable from Xu Zhaozhao.

It wasn't just emotional, but also physical. He felt that Xu Zhaozhao was like a vixen, and whenever he was alone with her, he would always lose control of himself.

However, it is clear that Xu Zhaozhao was unaware of this.

Xie Zheng hadn't seen Xu Zhaozhao for several days, and once they hugged, he couldn't hold back.

Xu Zhaozhao didn't come out until it was time for dinner.

Fortunately, Xie Zheng had already instructed that Li Guang dine alone in his own courtyard; otherwise, Xu Zhaozhao would have lost face big time.

But in reality, it's not much better.

Since everyone in the entire orchard knew that the son-in-law had arrived, their master had not shown his face again.

That night, the servants wisely refrained from approaching the main house.