Red makeup against the world

Chapter 344 The Tilt of the Balance
The prince did not expect that his whim would make him a big enemy.

For Wu Zhengxiang, among the members of the royal family, he was only loyal to Emperor Qinglong.Between the crown prince and King Qi, he was originally a neutral position.Neither of them had any special meaning to him.

Just like what he said to Xu Wanzhen, we will watch it in a few years.He will support whoever is more suitable and more in line with the interests of the Duke of Zhongguo.Or, he followed his elder brother Wu Sheng's choice.

However, the prince really made a move on Xu Wan and completely pushed him to King Qi's side.

As the "shadow" in charge of the world's dark guards, Quan Gaomang is the only number one expert who has opened up the two veins of Ren and Du. His decision tilted the originally evenly matched balance between the prince and King Qi.

The crown prince and King Qi didn't know all this, but his influence would gradually appear in the next few years.

……

The next morning, the sky turned pale.Clouds piled up in the sky, indicating that it might be bad weather.

The prince walked out of Wang Miaoyan's small courtyard in high spirits.

Last night's Wang Miaoyan, even though she was still hurt, did not dare to resist his pitiful appearance, which greatly pleased him.Looking at the trembling delicate body under his palm, and the pleasure of lashing her wantonly made him taste the essence.

Going straight to the martial arts arena in the front yard, the prince took off his coat, pulled out a long sword from the weapon rack, and practiced.

His work and rest are almost self-disciplined.Take martial arts training as an example, since he practiced martial arts since he was a child, he has practiced for an hour every morning, rain or shine.

Emperor Qinglong was at the peak of his spring and Autumn period, but he had not yet been allowed to participate in political affairs as the prince.Otherwise, at this moment, he should be in the early morning and follow the court.This is also one of the sources of his uneasiness.

After practicing all the weapons on the martial arts arena, he wiped off his sweat and walked to the study.

Master Du had already been waiting here, and when he saw him coming in, he cupped his hands and said, "I have been monitoring the Xu family for the past few days, and only saw Xu Changzong and Xu Wenmin's father and son coming in and out, but no trace of Xu Wanzhen."

It's common for a young lady raised in a deep boudoir not to go out for a month or two, but this alone doesn't explain anything.Master Du continued: "Ask the woman from Xu's family who came out to do the shopping, and she said that she got sick the day she went to the silk fan workshop and was recuperating in the workshop."

Since she was recuperating, Xu Wanzhen was still alive. The prince was not surprised by this result.Ye Ying has been missing for a few days, so it should be more or less ominous.

Ye Ying is the top expert recruited by the prince. The prince is quite clear about his skills.What he couldn't figure out was, how could Xu Wanzhen be alive when Ye Ying disappeared?

Seeing the Prince's hesitation, Master Du cautiously suggested: "Your Highness, don't take her into consideration for an insignificant merchant woman. I suspect that the Duke of Anguo's mansion has arranged expert guards beside her."

"An Guo Gongfu?" The prince tapped his finger on the table, it is not impossible.An Guogong has such a righteous daughter for no reason, no matter what he thinks, if there is anything wrong with this new adopted daughter, it will affect the reputation of An Guogong's mansion.

It's just that there are such brilliant guards in An Guogong's mansion?Can actually destroy Ye Ying?
Seeing his hesitation, Master Du said: "The government of An Guogong may not care about this prostitute, but they can't allow her to have an accident. Just now, something happened with great fanfare, and an accident happened again, which made An Guogong's face. There should be several guards, bright and dark. The current situation is not clear, Your Highness. My opinion is to push this girl away."

It was only yesterday that King Chu's secret was confirmed, and he got the beauty Wang Miaoyan again. The prince was in a good mood at the moment, nodded and said, "I'll listen to you."

Master Du breathed a sigh of relief.That day the prince was angry and wanted to vent his anger on Xu Wanzhen, but he failed to dissuade him.

Judging from the current situation, the person sent by the crown prince is missing, and Xu Wanzhen is still alive and well.This gave Master Du a warning sign, and made him feel that Xu Wanzhen was not just a merchant woman.

Although he didn't know who the crown prince sent, but judging from the crown prince's reaction, he must be someone with high skills.Such a person failed to take Xu Wanzhen's life. Regardless of whether the person behind her was the An Guo Gongfu or not, Master Du didn't want to mess with it again.

……

In Zeshanfang, Sun Zhitao woke up early.

After he finished washing, he was dressed in a green robe and Confucian shirt, and a square scarf on his head, which was the attire of a typical scholar.With a handsome face and a slender figure, he was originally a handsome young man in troubled times, but the melancholy look on his brows made him a bit more mysterious.

Sun Zhitao has a reputation as a scholar, so he is going here today to visit Mr. Tu Shan as a junior.

The accumulation of dark clouds in the sky seemed to indicate that his trip was not going well.

Looking at the gloomy sky, he let out a long sigh, feeling even more melancholy in his heart.Get on the horse, go out of Anxi Gate, and head towards the northern suburbs.

When he arrived at the gate of Songxi Academy, he got off his horse and handed the reins to Mo Zhu, and walked over respectfully with a greeting card in his hand.

Menzi checked his greeting post and asked, "The second young master of the Sun family?"

Ping Daolang from the academy had an old relationship with the Sun family, and before he arrived in the capital, he wrote a letter, mentioning that he would visit immediately after he arrived in Beijing.

Ping Daolang calculated his schedule and told Menzi about it.Therefore, after the door confirmed it, he directly led him in.

Entering the academy, one can see the deep green shade, bursting pines, and the high and low sound of reading echoes in it, as if the entire academy is soaked in the fragrance of books.

Infected by such an atmosphere, Sun Zhitao took a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly, the depression in his chest dissipated a little.

Ping Daolang is in the lecture hall, writing handouts.As the successor of the academy appointed by Tu Shanchang, he no longer teaches except for a few proud disciples.

More time is spent on writing the lecture notes of the academy, researching and sorting out the classics and meanings of Tu Shan's long history in the Four Books and Five Classics, and compiling these valuable experiences into a book.

Sun Zhitao stepped inside, bowed and saluted: "Sun Zhitao is late, I have met Ping Daolang."

Ping Daolang put down the pen in his hand, and smiled cheerfully on his round face, looking extraordinarily friendly.He said: "Is Zhitao here? A few days ago, your uncle sent a letter, entrusting me to take care of you."

Sun Zhitao's uncle, Sun Leyu, served as the Minister of Justice, and was a fourth-rank Beijing official. He and Ping Daolang were both classmates and the same year, and the two had a very close relationship.

As a potential scholar of the Sun family, he went to Songxi Academy to study. Naturally, Sun Leyu entrusted his good friend Ping Daolang to take care of him.

"Since you're here, stay here with peace of mind. I have a few handouts here, take them back for reference. Even if you're the son of an old friend, you can't break the rules of the academy. Prepare well for the autumn entrance exam. If you don't understand something, even ask me."

Sun Zhitao respectfully responded, and said: "Ping Shibo, I have a merciless request for a backward person. I want to ask Shibo for an introduction, and visit Tu Shanzhang."

(End of this chapter)