Zhu Houzhao said: "Did Mr. Chen say who it is? Or did you find a rough clue?"

Xiao Tiaozi looked at the letter carefully, then shook his head: "No."

Zhu Houzhao frowned: "This matter is not small. Mr. Chen never talks randomly without clues. It may be because he finds it inconvenient, or it may involve middle and senior officials of the court. Otherwise, when he met me before, he would explain the situation and would not need to write another letter to me... This move reminded me of the blood letter that killed Liu Jin."

Because it was not the first time Chen Xi wrote a letter to Zhu Houzhao, it was like a secret copy from the Qing Dynasty, which was a separate report between the ministers and the emperor, and did not need to go through the court.

Xiao Guozi asked, "Your Majesty, have you sent someone to ask Master Shen clearly? Now someone is planning a rebellion. If you don't investigate it quickly, who will guarantee your Majesty's safety... Otherwise, Your Majesty will go back to the palace to live?"

Zhu Houzhao said angrily: "Are I afraid of a few clowns? I am the 95th master, and I am blessed by gods. Besides, even in the leopard room, the guards here are enough to protect my integrity... I will ask Jiang Bin to be more vigilant!"

Originally, the emperor's security was mainly responsible for the guards Shangzhi Army, including the Jinyiwei, Jinwuwei, Yulinwei, Manwei, Hubenwei and other twenty-two guards. In addition, the twelve battalions in the five military camps, the Weizishou camp, the various departments in the three thousand camps, and the five thousand camps, etc., were also of the guards, and they were responsible for the guards of the emperor's chariot and the palace.

However, since the incident of no one protecting the tiger outside Zhangjiakou Fort, Zhu Houzhao has lost confidence in these palace guards. Now all security work is directly assigned to Jiang Bin, who has made great contributions in saving the car.

"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother sent someone to ask about His Majesty's situation..."

Xiao Twist was a little embarrassed and spoke hesitantly.

Zhu Houzhao said: "There will be no danger when the palace is high-walled and courtyard. My mother stays in the Yongshou Palace in the inner garden for a long time, so I don't need to worry about it... As for my safety, do you need to wait until you see me before reporting to the empress dowager? Just tell the empress dowager directly that it's okay?"

"I also reported this way before." Xiao Tiaozi lowered his head and said.

Zhu Houzhao was a little anxious: "Now everyone is reminding me that there is danger. It seems that after I pacify the grassland and establish unparalleled achievements, someone wants to be unfavorable to me. Is it still wrong to be a wise monarch for all ages?"

Xiao Tiaozi looked up at Zhu Houzhao, his eyes full of surprise, as if saying, Who gave you the courage to make you feel that you are the wise king of the ages?

Zhu Houzhao said again: "Since Mr. Chen found that someone was not good for me, he had to be responsible to the end... Xiao Zhuozi, go to Chen Mansion and tell Mr. Chen that I give him enough authority to investigate the case. If there is anything, you don't have to submit a memorial and pass it directly to me. If he has evidence, he can even take action first and then report it!"

"Your Majesty, this...the power to kill first and then report is probably over..." Xiao Zhuozi asked hesitantly.

"I think it's fine!"

Then Zhu Houzhao touched her body and said, "I don't have any tokens to hand it over to Mr. Chen, just this..." As he said that, he took out his hand seal and handed it to Xiao Tiaozi: "Transfer this to Secretary Chen."

"Your Majesty, this is your treasure." Xiao Zhuozi was extremely shocked. This was the first time he had heard of this.

Zhu Houzhao said: "What are you worried about? Can Mr. Chen still be unfavorable to me? Mr. Chen is dedicated to helping me maintain the country and country. Those royal relatives are the ones who threaten my safety. Civil officials cannot do anything to deceive the king. After all, no one is willing to bear the eternal infamy!"

...

...

Xiao Guozi didn't know why Zhu Houzhao was so confident.

But one thing he agrees with is that Chen Xi cannot plot against rebellion. This is not a rational judgment of Xiao Tiaozi, but more like a sensory cognition. He feels that there is no need for Chen Xi to plot against rebellion at all.

Taking the seal and following Zhu Houzhao's oral order, Xiao Tiaozi hurried to meet Chen Xi.

He also thought about asking Concubine Li before this, but because Concubine Li needed to accompany the emperor that night, she could not meet, so he could only go to see Chen Xi as soon as possible.

When I arrived at the Shen family, Xiao Twist entered easily, but no one obstructed me.

After seeing Chen Xi in the study, Xiao Guozi took out Zhu Houzhao's seal and handed it to Chen Xi: "Mr. Shen, this is your Majesty's gift. From now on, you will be responsible for thorough investigation of the rebellion case. If the evidence is conclusive, report to Your Majesty immediately. If necessary, you can even take action first and then report."

The little twisted piece basically conveys Zhu Houzhao's meaning clearly.

Chen Xi took the seal and carefully looked at the patterns on it to confirm that the small twisted piece was not a fake.

Chen Xi put the seal in his arms and asked, "Do you have any other explanation?"

Xiao Tiaozi thought for a while, then shook his head: "Your Majesty just said that you would ask the Lord to investigate the case. The villain is not very clear about how to do it. However, since you have found some clues, you should explain it to Your Majesty. If you don't write it clearly in the letter, your Majesty will definitely have some doubts... Once Your Majesty is suspicious, it will be bad for anyone, what do you think?"

Chen Xidao: "Why can you talk nonsense without evidence? Moreover, this incident may be related to high-ranking officials and nobles in the court. If you are not careful, you may lead to a traitor's rush to jump over the wall."

Xiao Guozi asked tentatively: "Who is it? Could it be... a relative of the foreigner?"

Chen Xi narrowed his eyes and asked, "Where did you start with me, Master Tiao? I have never said anything."

Xiao Guozi looked nervous and looked around first. After confirming that there was no one at the door, he closed the door. Then he came back and said, "The villain recently heard from the eunuchs in the palace who often went out to buy. The two uncles were doing some shameful things at home, especially the Marquis of Jianchang, who seemed to have a connection with the thief."

Chen Xi shook his head and said, "How can you talk nonsense about such things that are catching wind and shadow?"

Xiao Zhuozi sighed: "It's not considered catching the wind and shadows. There are already shadows. The rumors are quite good. Didn't you find any clues?"

Chen Xi shook his head, saying that he was powerless in this matter.

Xiao Guozi suddenly remembered something and said, "Mr. Shen, before seeing Your Majesty, Your Majesty met Zhang Yuan and Qian Ning, and seemed to tell them to do something. They knelt down and kowtowed. Your Majesty was still a little angry at that time. He didn't hear what the specific one said clearly."

Chen Xidao: "Since you have learned some news from my father-in-law, will Your Majesty keep your eyes closed? There will always be someone reporting to Your Majesty... Qian Ning was ordered to investigate the case before, so he should have obtained some clues."

Xiao Tiaozi thought about it, nodded, but couldn't tell what was going on.

Chen Xi coughed lightly: "Maybe Your Majesty wants to have double insurance. While asking Zhang Yuan and Qian Ning to investigate, I asked me to investigate the case. Perhaps for the specific powerful people in the court, there must be information obtained through different channels to confirm each other in order to convict him! Your Majesty is really far-sighted!"

...

...

The next morning, after serving Zhu Houzhao, Xiao Guozi went to see Concubine Li and explained the situation that since Liao Han was still there in the room, Xiao Guozi obscured the seal given to Chen Xi by the emperor and said that he could be executed first and then report.

Although Xiao Taozi didn't trust Li Fei, when he was isolated and helpless, only Li Fei could give him advice. Moreover, this was an opportunity for him to ask for advice after spending money. If he was not sure, it would be a waste.

Concubine Li said: "The case of rebellion has not been found out? This is strange. Why did the rebellion case suddenly turn into a Japanese pirate case? Is Shen Zhihou so negligent in his work?"

Xiao Zhuozi leaned forward: "Empress, I only got the news this morning, and did not tell anyone that I learned that there were Japanese people coming to the capital before, and it seemed that they were going to sneak into the leopard room to be unfavorable to Your Majesty. The case was discovered by the Jinyiwei, and Qian Ning reported it to Your Majesty at that time..."

Concubine Li nodded and understood: "No wonder, you said that Qian Ning broke into the forbidden palace and offended His Majesty and made some disrespectful actions. Afterwards, His Majesty not only did not blame him, but also appointed him to investigate the case."

"Yes, yes, that's the case." Xiao Guozi responded hurriedly.

Concubine Li smiled and said, "That's all right... Because Qian Ning is the commander of the Jinyiwei, what he wants to report is probably related to what the Jinyiwei is investigating. However, because Dali Temple detained many officials who disobeyed His Majesty at that time, people couldn't help but associate the two things together and ignore the others, so Qian Ning took the lead... Jiang Bin didn't seem to have found anything?"

Xiao Guozi said in embarrassment: "This is also what I worry about. Not only did Jiang Bin lose control, but Qian Ning seemed to only follow Zhang Yuan's instructions."

Concubine Li said: "Since you can't control it, why are you still worried about these things? It's more important to care about Shen Zhihou now. In my opinion, the people you mentioned may be dispatched by Shen Zhihou behind the scenes. Zhang Yuan is back this time, can't you notice the abnormality?"

Xiao Twist frowned and thought, but didn't reply for a long time.

After a while, Concubine Li said, "Let me say that, the things in the court seem to be irrelevant, but if Shen Zhihou is added, everything can be connected... From the beginning, I said that this is probably a matter carefully arranged by Shen Zhihou."

"Empress, you should make it clearer. I don't understand very well." Xiao Zhuozi's face was full of worry.

Concubine Li sneered: "Shen Zhihou wants to eliminate the relatives of the foreigners, so let's talk about the incident of the enemy's connection with the Japanese pirates. If it is just a connection, it will not be convicted of the relatives. But if the relatives of the foreigners want to murder His Majesty... no matter how much the Empress Dowager protects him, he will not be able to sit idly by any means."

Xiao Zhuozi asked in surprise: "Empress, don't you mean that Lord Shen is actually the mastermind behind the scenes. Is it planned by Lord Shen about the assassination of Your Majesty?"

Concubine Li said: "I dare not make such an assertion. If there is no evidence, it is better not to talk nonsense, but if you can think of this level, maybe you can look back at all the problems and it seems that you can solve them."

"It is impossible. As far as I know, the person who wants to try to get into the leopard room is not my race, so how can it be..." Xiao Zhuozi seemed incredible.

Concubine Li continued to sneer: "You don't think it's too unimaginable, right? This is the case with me. People who are not my race want to sneak into the leopard room for assassination. Isn't this obvious intention to be discovered? Even if someone didn't make a deliberate arrangement, they were still being used. They may not know where the leopard room is!"

Concubine Li’s prejudice against Shen Xi is deeply rooted.

She always thinks of Shen Xi at the worst, but behind her hypocritical behavior, she does the dirtiest things in the world, as if all the conspiracies were led by Shen Xi.

This is also a side effect of some fear caused by her and Shen Xi's grudges, but she is always at a disadvantage in the confrontation. In other words, Shen Xi is indeed such a person in her narrow consciousness, and she firmly believes in this.

But Xiao Taozi found it difficult to believe what Li Fei said, because he always felt that Shen Xi was not like a traitor and evil person. At least what he had done before was to benefit the country and the people. As for the contendment in the officialdom, it was not what Xiao Taozi should have thought about, and Shen Xi never took the initiative to harm anyone.

After seeing Concubine Li, Xiao Guozi felt even more nervous.

"Maybe I shouldn't have gone to see Concubine Li and told her about such an important thing... This does not mean that she will be boycotted by her in the future whenever Mr. Shen does it? I seem to betray Mr. Shen."

Xiao Guozi was afraid that something would go wrong, but he could no longer make up for it. What he did next was not to discuss with Shen Xi, nor did he go back to find Zang Xiansan to take care of it, but went directly to see Zhang Yong.

After Zhang Yong entered the Sili Prison, he became much more busy. Although he did not get the position of eunuch whom he had always dreamed of, he became eunuch Bingbi and also gained the power of admiral Dongchang, which made Zhang Yong the second only to Zhang Yuan in the inner palace eunuch system.

Even if Zhang Yong did not get the title of Chief Bingbi eunuch, others would take the initiative to treat him as Chief Bingbi, because Gao Feng's ability is relatively average and cannot be appreciated by Zhu Houzhao, and Li Xing's qualifications are far below him.

"...Duang Daughter, you are so brave. You dare to tell Your Majesty such a thing?" Zhang Yong said in shock after hearing Xiao Zhuozi's story.

Xiao Guozi did not inform Zhang Yong of his meeting with Shen Xi and Concubine Li. It seemed that he came to listen to the opinions of the third party and deliberately asked Zhang Yong for advice from the experience of meeting the saint yesterday.

Xiao Tiaozi said, "Do you only speak sarcastic? Our family wants to ask you what to do!"

Compared to seeing Shen Xi and Concubine Li, Xiao Guozi was much tougher when getting along with Zhang Yong. After all, Zhang Yong was pushed to the top, and Zhang Yong had no resources in front of Zhu Houzhao, so he could only gain the upper hand in getting along with Zhang Yong.

Zhang Yong sighed: "Your Majesty may have suspected that the two uncles are coming, but he is too bad to investigate directly... Did Your Majesty make no arrangements, who will investigate the case? And, how did you mention it to Your Majesty?"

Obviously, Zhang Yong did not believe that this incident was exposed by Xiao Guozi to the emperor, because Xiao Guozi retained a lot of what Zhang Yong said, and did not even say that Chen Xi wrote a letter to the emperor to warn him.

Xiao Tiaozi said, "Your Majesty is just asking someone to investigate now, but you didn't say how to investigate. Your Eunuch Zhang is now admiring the East Factory. Should you do something practical? Otherwise, if you go to the Sili Supervisor and don't show your fists properly, others will not look at you directly!"

Zhang Yong hesitated a little: "Is this your Majesty's order?"

"No, it's our order. Just say it's okay?" Xiao Zhuozi said impatiently.

"Of course it's OK. Daddy, you are my reborn parents. I will definitely help you do your best to get what you asked."

Zhang Yong disregarded Xiao Tuozi's almost threatening words, but instead showed great joy, as if Xiao Tuozi pointed out a "bright way" to him, and if he did it, he could make contributions in front of the emperor.

...

...

At this time, Chen Xi did not immediately investigate the connection between the Zhang brothers and the Japanese pirates.

In fact, he had already understood some situations, and he was pushing behind the scenes of some illegal and irregular things between the Zhang brothers, but Zhang Yanling was unaware of them.

However, Chen Xi still did not expect that in some cases, the leak of gun drawings and some of Jiang Liwei's actions...

Because Chen Xi was leading troops in the northwest at that time, he could not take into account the affairs of the capital, so many things were unpredictable.
To be continued...