Troubled times: Start practicing spiritual practice by taking care of your sister-in-law.

Chapter 600: Queen Mother, something bad has happened
Chongzhou, Chongzhou City.

Chongwangfu.

In the study, officials of all ranks in the state stood on the left and right, discussing the affairs of Chongzhou.

Ever since the Song Dynasty fell into chaos, Xu Guozhong came to power, the imperial power was lost, and the court's control over the local areas became increasingly weak. The princes in various places no longer obeyed orders, firmly controlled their own fiefdoms, and held military and political power in their hands.

From that time on, King Chong stipulated that all county magistrates in Chongzhou must come to Chongzhou City every six months to report to him in person.

And today is the last time this year.

Prince Chong Chu Yan was listening, but his mind was not on the affairs of Chongzhou at all. His eyes were fixed outside the study, waiting for the battle report from Huaizhou.

It's already October, and the war in Huaizhou should have a result.

He also read Gongsun Yan's memorial. Lu Sheng sent Luo Qingyang to Huaizhou and sent an additional 10,000 elite soldiers. He also stated in the letter that he guaranteed to defeat the main force of the Chen army and issued a military order.

You know, a military order cannot be issued casually.

Being thirty years old shows that the person who issued the military order is very confident. If so, as a leader, it would be like taking a reassurance pill and feel at ease.

Therefore, King Chong was very much looking forward to the outcome of the Huaizhou war.

"Your Majesty, there's a letter from Huaizhou."

Less than half an hour had passed since the affairs of Chongzhou were discussed when the housekeeper of the mansion walked in with a piece of cloth not even as big as a palm in his hands and a smile on his face.

As a servant in the mansion, the housekeeper had no right to read the letter, and he didn't dare to read it. However, he knew that Gongsun Yan had issued a military order, and he thought that the letter from Huaizhou must mean that Gongsun Yan had won a great victory.

As the butler finished speaking, the study was already in uproar.

Behind the desk, Prince Chong smiled, but his hands clenched tighter under his sleeves. Although his guess was the same as the butler's, he was still a little worried.

After the butler handed it to Prince Chong for inspection, he smiled and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty. Congratulations, Your Majesty. General Gongsun has won a great victory. We can recapture Huaizhou and control the main road to Jiangnan..."

Before the butler could finish his words, a roar accompanied by a dragon's roar burst out from King Chong's mouth. The butler, who was closest to him, had his eardrums shattered immediately, and blood flowed from all seven orifices. Then he fell to the ground with a thud and fainted.

The officials in the study were all warriors, and their strength was not too weak. But even so, their ears were buzzing and they were somewhat unsteady on their feet.

After a moment, the officials shook their heads and looked towards King Chong.

Prince Chong has stood up, supporting himself on the desk in front of him with both hands, his face gloomy, and one can see that the five fingers of the hands that are supporting the desk are exerting great strength.

After a while, there was a "crack" sound, and the desk broke into pieces, and the memorials submitted by the officials on the desk fell to the ground.

The piece of cloth that the butler let go of also spread out and fell to the ground.

Some sharp-eyed officials immediately glanced at the content above.

The battle with Chen Mo was lost.

General Gongsun was killed in battle and the head of the Liang family was captured.

When the coalition forces retreated to Yanzhou, they were stabbed in the back by King Anping. The entire army was trapped and no one escaped.

After reading the content, the officials turned pale and felt a strong panic in their hearts.

Such a big thing happened in Huaizhou, it cannot be concealed.

Before long, more and more news about the coalition forces' defeat reached Chongzhou City.

And the news is becoming more and more detailed.

What happened? Gongsun Yan and Chen Mo met and were shot dead by Chen Mo.

The head of the Luo family was also shot to death along with Gongsun Yan.

Even the old master Liang was captured by Chen's army.

In addition to these, Prince Anping also sided with Chen Mo.

The Shu government sent troops to attack the rebel Prince Huai.

The coalition forces were completely annihilated, etc.

And everything has a basis.

After the news spread, Chongzhou City was in chaos.

After all, Xiaobai knew that the coalition forces were defeated, and Chen’s army would definitely take advantage of the victory and pursue them south from Huaizhou.

Now even King Anping has sided with Chen Mo.

This means that Chen Jun was able to fight his way to Chongzhou unimpeded.

The most crucial thing is that in this great defeat, King Chong’s elite troops were probably almost completely destroyed, especially Gongsun Yan who was killed in battle and Liang Mu who was captured. People in the city didn’t know how King Chong would resist the Chen army.

Although the officers and soldiers blocked Chongzhou City as soon as possible, they were unable to stop the noble families in the city from escaping.

The general trend of the world has completely turned to Chen Mo.

Prince Huai's Mansion.

Under the pavilion, a woman kept throwing fish food into the pond in front of her.

The woman was dressed simply and elegantly, and although she was not young, her face was extraordinarily pretty, and she still vaguely revealed the charm of her former self.

But the woman's eyes were dull, as if she had been oppressed for too long and had lost the ability to resist and hope in life.

Her eyes had been staring at the pond for half an hour without moving away, and the fish in the pond had long been fed, but the woman was still feeding them tirelessly, like a machine.

The maidservant next to her didn't dare to ask any more questions. She could only wait until the fish food in the woman's bowl was gone and then keep adding more.

If you look closely at the corners of the woman's mouth, you will find that although she has put on heavy makeup, the scars at the corners of her mouth are difficult to completely cover up.

The woman was Madam Hui Li.

The scar at the corner of his mouth was caused by Prince Huai.

On the day Prince Huai left, he beat Madam Hui.

The reason was that before Prince Huai left, he told Madam Hui that when he came back, he would bring the head of her adulterer.

As a result, Madam Hui did not refute what Prince Huai said.

So the Prince of Huai beat Madam Hui and said that his guess was correct.

The reason why Mrs. Hui did not explain.

Because she had explained it so many times before that she was a little numb to it, there was nothing between her and Chen Mo.

But Prince Huai didn't believe it at all.

So Madam Hui simply didn't explain. She couldn't bear the beating from Prince Huai any more, so she just gave up and said some words that no man could stand.

But the fact is, there is really nothing going on between her and Chen Mo, they are both innocent.

But Prince Huai hit him even harder.

He even threatened that he would come back to give her a ride after dealing with Chen Mo.

The reason why I don’t kill her now.

It is to let her know the news of Chen Mo's death while she is still alive.

I saw Chen Mo’s head with my own eyes.

In order to prevent Madam Hui from escaping, Prince Huai specially left 500 guards to guard her and Madam Gan.

But what really made Madam Hui heartbroken was.

It’s my son Chu Shou.

The son she tried so hard to protect didn't even believe her in the end.

She also said some high-sounding words, like "Next time father comes back, you will admit your mistake to him, and I will plead for him to spare his life."

In fact, after Prince Huai left, the five hundred guards who were guarding her actually took orders from Chu Shou.

But Chu Shou not only did not show mercy to her mother, but watched her even more closely.

"Da da da"

At this moment, a burst of hurried footsteps sounded. The maids looked back and saw Madam Hui's beloved son running over in a hurry, looking anxious.

"Prince." The maids saluted.

That's right, with the departure of Xiao Yunxi and Madam Xiao, Prince Huai abolished Madam Gan's son's title of Crown Prince, and Chu Shou, the eldest and obedient son, became the new Crown Prince.

Mrs. Hui was indifferent to this.

Chu Shou came to Madam Hui and said, "Mother, it's bad. Something terrible has happened. The coalition forces of my uncle and father have been defeated. General Gongsun and Luo Qingyang, who was sent by the court, have all died at the hands of Chen Mo. Even Liang Mu was captured by Chen Mo. Now that the Prince of Anping has sided with Chen Mo, the Chen army may reach Chongzhou at any time."

But Madam Hui still didn't react.

Chu Shou continued, "Father's situation is not optimistic either. I heard that Yang Xian from Shu Prefecture sent troops to attack Father in the name of attacking Father. I'm afraid Father won't be able to come back."

Madam Hui still didn't speak.

Chu Shou was anxious: "Mom, please say something. Father can't come back. Aren't you worried at all?"

"He deserves it." Madam Hui finally spoke, but without looking at Chu Shou, her eyes still lifeless.

Chu Shou was startled, then he remembered something, his face was overjoyed, he quickly squatted in front of Madam Hui, held her hand and said:

"Yes, mother. Father has no escape route, but we do. Mother, if you want to save me, I will take you away from Chongzhou and we will go to Anguogong. With your relationship with Anguogong, he will definitely not kill me. He may even adopt me as his godson. Xiao's son will become Anguogong's godson... Mother, please speak."

Seeing that his mother stopped talking and just stared at him blankly, Chu Shou couldn't help but raise his hand and wave it in front of his mother's eyes.

However, what Chu Shou got in response was a loud slap in the face.

Madam Hui slapped Chu Shou on the face, then pointed at him with a trembling finger, her body trembling slightly: "Rebellious son."

"Mom." Chu Shou looked at Madam Hui in disbelief. From childhood to adulthood, Madam Hui had never hit him. Today was the first time.

"You rebellious son, how dare you say such things? I have raised you for so many years in vain." Madam Hui coughed in anger and once again stated that she and Chen Mo were innocent.

Chu Shou smiled and said, "Mother, I understand."

Madam Hui seemed to understand nothing about him.

After a long time, he sighed, and he finally knew that he was his own son. He said, "Go, your sister is with him, she will take care of you."

Chu Shou was startled: "Mom, you're not leaving?"

"Rebellious son." Madam Hui was so angry that she scolded Chu Shou again and said, "Do you really want to seek glory?"

"Mom, that's not what I meant, please don't misunderstand."

"Forget it. Go away." Mrs. Hui continued to feed the fish.

"Mom, you really don't want to leave?" Chu Shou said.

Madam Hui ignored him.

"If she doesn't leave, I will."

Just then, a voice was heard. It was Mrs. Gan who had been eavesdropping for a long time.

She originally came to chat with Madam Hui to relieve her boredom, but she didn't expect to hear these.

Chu Shou is truly a filial son.

"Sanniang." Chu Shou bowed to Madam Gan.

Madam Gan said earnestly, "Sir, take me and your brother with you. I will help you put in a good word in front of the Duke of Anguo."

Chu Shou's eyes lit up, but he still subconsciously glanced at Madam Hui.

Madam Hui stared at the pond with lifeless eyes and ignored the two of them.

In the end, Chu Shou gritted his teeth and left Chongzhou City with Madam Gan and the guards of the mansion.

……

Luonan.

Compared to the chaos in Chongzhou City, Luonan was still calm.

It’s not that the events in Huaizhou haven’t spread to Luonan yet.

The news has come out, but only a few people know about it so far.

Compared with Chongzhou, Luonan is relatively far away from Huaizhou.

The speed of spreading news was not so fast. Except for those who were specially sent to Huaizhou to inquire in advance, ordinary people who wanted to know about Huaizhou would have to wait at least another month.

Lu Sheng was naturally one of those few people.

When he heard the news, he stood there in a daze, not coming to his senses for a long time.

This result is too hard to accept.

Lu Sheng's face was gloomy, his hands were clenched tightly together, and he felt a chill in his heart.

"click"

He used too much force with his fingers and pierced the paper of the urgent document.

The sound of heavy breathing rose and fell in the study of the Prime Minister's Mansion. Every breath made the staff and generals inside silent and afraid to look up.

After a long while, Lu Sheng had a stern face and did not show any expression. He placed the urgent document on the desk in front of him and said word by word: "Send out all the spies. I want to know the details of what happened in Songjiapo that day."

Lu Sheng found it hard to believe that Luo Qingyang, who had practiced the Lingran Xuan Gong, would be shot to death by Chen Mo.

How much stronger than Luo Qingyang must Chen Mo be to be able to do this?
So Lu Sheng would rather believe that there was a flaw in the information.

Liang Ji is one of these few.

Ever since Prince Chong and Lu Sheng formed an alliance, Liang Ji's living environment has improved a lot.

She has her own free space and can enter and leave the palace normally. As long as she doesn't leave Luonan City, she can go anywhere in the city.

Even though she was still trapped, Liang Ji's mood was much better.

In the Queen Mother's bedroom.

Liang Ji was painting in the cool room.

The person on the drawing paper is a man.

The man was wearing Ming Guang armor, holding a horizontal sword, sitting upright on a tall horse with a cold look in his eyes.

This is a portrait of Chen Mo that Liang Ji drew based on the characteristics of Chen Mo that were rumored outside.

The reason why I thought of drawing Chen Mo.

It was completely a spur of the moment because I've heard too much about Chen Mo recently.

She had heard the name so many times that she couldn't forget it even if she wanted to.

But if there were someone who had seen Chen Mo around, they would find that the person in Liang Ji's painting was completely different from Chen Mo except for the clothing style.

Just when Liang Ji was about to add darker ink.

A palace maid ran in anxiously: "Queen Mother, this is not good."

"What's wrong?" Liang Ji said without raising her head.

"Reporting to the Queen Mother, there has been a defeat at the front." This palace maid was bribed by the Liang family. The information she received also came from the Liang family's information channels. She told Liang Ji all the information she learned.

"Clap."

Liang Ji dropped the paintbrush in her hand to the ground. Her face turned pale. She stood up and said agitatedly, "What did you say?"

"The news said that the old master Liang was captured by Chen's army." The palace maid said it again.

Hearing this, Liang Ji's delicate body began to shake suddenly. She raised her hand to touch her forehead, feeling dizzy and her heart aching.

Unlike Liang Xuan, Liang Mu is her biological father.

Liang Mu, as the "invading" party, was captured by Chen's army. How could Liang Ji not be worried?

(End of this chapter)