Song Dynasty female artist

Chapter 993 Bait
"Mother, I know exactly what I am doing."

It's not that I haven't thought about giving up on her.

But after all these years, he still couldn't let go.

I had already thought about it when I made this decision.

A few years ago, when the wife was not yet pregnant, he was thinking of adopting the eldest son born to the concubine under his own name.

However, based on his observations of this child in recent years, he feels that he is not particularly suitable. He will wait until the wife's child grows up a little before making a decision.

Anyway, he is still young and has plenty of time to observe and find a suitable person.

Cao Yuyan looked at the child she had raised, and finally said helplessly: "You make your own decision. It doesn't have to be your child who can rule the country, but you have to choose the one that is most suitable."

Zhao Rui was slightly surprised.

"Why, do you think the Queen Mother will disagree?"

"Yes."

He thought his mother would not agree. It was not like she was incapable of having children. It would be great if he could have a child to inherit the lineage.

Most people would think so.

"I'm old now, and I've let go of some things. If you think doing this will make you happy, then go ahead and do it."

When she was young, she didn't want to be trapped in this cage.

Now her son wanted to escape, what reason did she have to stop him? The supreme position seemed glorious, but it was actually lonely.

Therefore, when other concubines came to the Qingshou Palace to ask for favors later, Empress Dowager Cao ignored them all.

Soon, the only people left in the entire harem were Concubine Li from Yufu Palace, Concubine Liu from Liuyun Palace, and Concubine Ye from Huilan Palace.

Now I have to call her Ye Jieyu.

The remaining two were difficult to deal with. No matter what Ye Jieyu did, she did not fall into the trap and was extremely cautious.

Funing Hall

Concubine Ye cried, "Your Majesty, I have tried my best, but Concubine Li and Concubine Liu seem to know something. No matter how I provoke them, they won't take the bait. I really have no other choice!"

"Then let it go for now."

He is now busy dealing with the matter of the White Bone God, and will talk about it after this matter is finished.

Many of the spies in Tubo had lost contact for unknown reasons, and the news that came back from a few well-hidden ones was not about the White Bone God, but about what was happening in the Tubo court.

The Tubo King was not in good health, and his five sons were fighting fiercely.

Among them, the eldest and the third were born to the Queen of Tubo, the second was born to Concubine Xi, and the fourth and the fifth were born to Concubine Meng Shu.

The eldest prince has always had the upper hand.

The second prince and the third prince are equally matched, and the fourth and fifth princes are not willing to lag behind.

But recently, the third prince has been rising very fast and has suppressed the momentum of the eldest and second oldest. The fourth and fifth oldest princes are even showing signs of submitting to the third oldest prince.

This news indicates that things are about to change in Tubo.

The whereabouts of the White Bone God are unknown, and the investigation has been ongoing but with no progress. Xiao Yingsu, a spy buried in Kyoto by the Liao Dynasty for forty or fifty years, has the latest clue.

The White Bone God appeared in the Daxiangguo Temple, attempting to disrupt the affairs of the Song Dynasty. A spy secretly passed this news to the Liao Dynasty.

As soon as he set out, he was targeted by the Dragon Guards.

The spy was unaware and continued his activities after passing the news on and contacted his superior, who turned out to be the owner of a famous restaurant.

Long Wei did not close the net and continued to wait and track.

Finally, after two months of following, a man of suspicious identity came to the restaurant. Why was this man of suspicious identity? Because he had changed his appearance.

It was quite a coincidence that the Dragon Guards would change their guards every day, and the Dragon Guard who was on guard today happened to be well versed in the art of disguise. With just one glance, he discovered that the man who entered the hotel was actually a woman.

This man went straight to the third floor of the restaurant.

The third floor is the private room, where the restaurant owner's room is also located. The man entered the private room next to the owner's room.

During this time, no waiter came in, and the person stayed in the private room for almost half an hour, the time for a meal. When she came out, she came out in her true appearance and changed her clothes, except for her shoes.

Shoes are a common problem for many disguised people.

Because clothes are easy to find, but shoes that fit are hard to find, especially when women dress up as men or men dress up as women, it is even more difficult to find suitable shoes because of the differences between men and women.

Long Wei had suffered several losses, so he was extra careful during the tracking this time.

Every time they walked a certain distance, a new person would follow them. This time, they followed them all the way to a very inconspicuous house in Kyoto, and the person entered through the back door.

Long Wei quickly told Commander Fang the news.

After so long, we finally got a clue. I hope we can find Xiao Yingsu.

Commander Fang, however, ordered his men to evacuate first.

The dragon guards who had withdrawn were very puzzled: "Commander Fang, since we have already found out where they are staying, we should go in and arrest them, interrogate them, and then everything will be clear, right?"

Commander Fang: "If he didn't have some skills, how could he have lurked in Kyoto for so many years?"

The structure of the house was unclear, and by the time they broke in, the people might have already slipped away.

If we want to catch him again, we don’t know when it will happen.

Having a spy lurking so deeply and not pulling him out is like having a thorn stuck in the throat, and the fatal crisis will always be there.

Such an important thing.

He had to summon a few trusted ministers to discuss what to do.

Han Shumi: "That courtyard is most likely just one of the resting places. Commander Fang was right not to let the Dragon Guards go in to arrest the person. If you want to confirm whether the person is there, I think we still need some important intelligence to lure them out."

Zhao Rui: "My dear minister, what you mean is that a cunning rabbit has three burrows. Use this piece of information to find all of Xiao Yingsu's hiding places, leaving him with nowhere to hide."

"Exactly."

"Prince Jin?"

Gu Qingjue: "I think this method is feasible."

Zhao Rui said: "Then what kind of information do you think can expose Xiao Yingsu?"

It’s hard to say.

Xiao Yingsu can be said to be the Liao Dynasty's trump card in the Song Dynasty. How could he be exposed so easily? General intelligence must be passed on to the people below, just like the news about the White Bone God.

"Military deployment map."

In the quiet inner hall, Gu Qingjue's voice suddenly rang out.

"Military deployment map? This is too important. It cannot be taken lightly. If Xiao Yingsu really sends it out, the Song Dynasty will be in danger. This matter is not a joke."

“That way people will be convinced.”

Gu Qingjue said, "More than 30 years ago, a spy from Western Xia stole our defense map. It was Prince Xuan who chased them for thousands of miles, took back the defense map, and dug out the spies from Western Xia hiding in the Song Dynasty."

Fu Bi: "In order to find Xiao Yingsu, using the military deployment map as bait is too risky. I think it is better to be safe. Since we already know one of the locations, we should wait there. We will eventually wait for him. It is just a matter of time."

Zhao Rui clasped his hands together and kept making circles with his left and right thumbs alternately. It was obvious that his mind was working at high speed.

After a while, Zhao Rui said, "Do as Gu Shumi says."