My wife has a secret

Chapter 183 News
As soon as Lianhuajun opened her mouth, Queen Mother Xu noticed that she was very different from before.

The other person has been by his side for many years and has experienced many ups and downs.

Even when he was plotting to murder the late emperor and was trying to seize power... Lord Lianhua was not as flustered and unmannerly as he is today.

This proves that something important must have happened outside, which caused Lord Lianhua to become so panic-stricken and out of control.

"What's the matter?"

Lianhua Jun took small steps into the hall, his heart filled with anxiety and fear, and he had no idea how to start.

Because the news sent by the inner guards has touched the saint's reverse scale, no matter what he says or does... the saint will be furious.

Queen Mother Xu did not look directly at Lord Lianhua, but sighed and asked, "Did the Liao Kingdom run out of annual cloth and gift silver and try to ask for money at my coronation ceremony?"

Having been in charge of government affairs for many years, Empress Dowager Xu was well aware of the habits of neighboring countries. The Liao Kingdom was currently at war with the Jin Kingdom, and its treasury was empty, unable to sustain years of war.

The other party will definitely seize the opportunity and take advantage of any opportunity to ask Qi for money and food.

Qi was the weakest among the Three Kingdoms and the Mongolian tribes. If it wanted to stay in the south and survive, it could only satisfy the greedy Liao and use it as a fortress against foreign enemies.

Lianhua Jun nodded in response, confirming Empress Dowager Xu's guess.

The document from the Liao Kingdom has been delivered to the Honglu Temple through envoys, and will appear in the congratulatory message for the grand ceremony tomorrow.

She dared not to report this matter, so she dealt with it simply and hastily.

"The Liao emperor's appetite is growing... I heard that they captured the families of Jin's high-ranking officials in the war a few days ago, and successively took back the four cities that were previously captured."

"It is true. According to Chengxuanfang's spies in Liao, the current Liao emperor is enjoying peace and prosperity in the palace, with more than a hundred monks reciting his great achievements."

Queen Mother Xu sneered, slowly closed her beautiful eyes and said nothing.

Through the contacts in recent years, she has realized that the Liao Kingdom is now strong on the outside but weak on the inside and is vulnerable to any attack. If it were not for the strong support from Qi in recent years, the other side would probably have been disintegrated and divided by the Mongols and the Jurchens.

The current Liao emperor was an ambitious, ignorant and foolish man.

Seeing that after a few words, she hadn't gotten to the point yet, and her forehead was sweating with anxiety, she said with a trembling voice: "Queen Mother, Lord Lianhua's late night visit is not because of state affairs."

"What on earth is it that makes you so nervous?"

Seeing that Lord Lianhua was still hesitating, Empress Dowager Xu asked in confusion, "If it's not a matter of state, then what is it?"

"According to the news from Chengxuanfang, the tremor just now originated from the Qinling Imperial Mausoleum."

"The Imperial Tomb?"

Queen Dowager Xu looked calm, and did not appear overly surprised by the White Lotus invasion of the mausoleum. After all, she was only the Queen of Qi in name only, and did not have any deep feelings for the country.

"Yes, the White Lotus Sect is rioting here. After sensing the danger, Xu Qing, the Marquis of Guangping, offered to sneak into the Qinling Valley and call for the Imperial Guards to help."

Queen Mother Xu smiled slightly, very satisfied with her nephew's performance.

In fact, the security of the coronation ceremony was taken care of by the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guards and the director of the Five Cities Military Department, so he didn't have to do anything.

But my nephew obviously doesn't trust outsiders. Just from the work logs he submitted in the past two days, it seems that he has given his all and worked hard.

"Thank you for your hard work, Qing'er."

Queen Mother Xu originally wanted to talk about some rewards for her nephew, but suddenly realized that since this was a happy event, Lord Lianhua didn't need to bother her in the middle of the night.

She frowned slightly and asked with a questioning tone: "Lianhua, what else happened?"

"Chengxuanfang reported that the White Lotus Sect had a secret explosive in its possession, which had the terrifying power to collapse mountains and crack the ground... Guangping Hou cared about the world, so he took the initiative to go to the tomb to investigate the other party's strengths and weaknesses."

"absurd!"

As soon as Lianhua-Jun finished speaking, Empress Dowager Xu, realizing what was happening, cried out.

Her chest rose and fell slightly, causing waves and continuous white snow.

"Could it be that the noise just now was caused by something happening in Qinling Mountains?"

"Yes, saint."

Lord Lianhua continued, "There was no movement after Marquis Guangping was buried until the White Lotus sect thieves detonated a thunder bomb, which collapsed the entire Hengdi Mausoleum... When the imperial guards arrived, the entrance and exit had become a ruin, and the inside of the mountain had also collapsed. The people in Chengxuanfang speculated that Marquis Guangping must have been buried in the tomb."

"impossible!"

After patiently listening to the entire report, Queen Mother Xu could no longer control her emotions.

She is usually dignified and majestic, and she rarely shows her joy even when it comes to state affairs.

Today, after facing the news that Xu Qing's whereabouts were unknown and his life or death was uncertain, this woman who held great power lost all color, and the expression in the bronze mirror was bloodless.

"Qing'er, something happened..."

She was slightly speechless and stood there in a daze for a long while.

When she came to her senses, she suddenly stood up from the ground, revealing her voluptuous and proud figure.

"Summon all civil and military officials to the palace to see the emperor immediately, and dispatch all personnel near the capital to the Qinling Mountains... I want to see Qing'er alive or dead. If we don't find Qing'er's whereabouts, no one will be able to rest in peace!"

"Yes!"

Lianhua Jun knew that the Queen Mother was angry, so he quickly nodded his head and agreed.

Queen Mother Xu was so furious that no one dared to offend her.

……

Capital city, Nie Mansion.

Lu Wanhe, with a slightly pale complexion and face, sat in the house, racking his brains over the chessboard in front of him, thinking of various ways to break the deadlock.

Even though this graceful, soft-spoken, intellectual woman tried every possible way, she could not change the defeat of the white pieces on the chessboard. She had to give up the victory and admit defeat.

Opposite Lu Wanhe, there sat quietly a beautiful woman who was dressed in gorgeous and exquisite clothes, with a flowing skirt, and looked like a poem and a painting.

The other person's hair was combed neatly, and her hair accessories were adorned with pearls and jade. Her figure was graceful, like a lotus in the water. Her appearance was even better than Lu Wanhe's, and she was like a fairy who had fallen from heaven to the mortal world.

"Accepted."

Shen Shuangxu was not at all surprised at the victory. After all, the third branch of the Lu family was not good at this, and she had played against many chess players in the capital when she was young and rarely lost.

Even if you give up five pieces, you can still win by a crushing margin.

"Be convinced."

Lu Wanhe, who grew up in Suzhou, naturally didn't know Shen Shuangxu's reputation. She just felt that his chess skills were unfathomable. Even though she could tell from his expression that he wasn't serious, she still couldn't put any pressure on him. Of course, she called him over not for fun, but because of the rude threat from the Xu cousin.

Originally, Lu Wanhe went to the Xu Mansion, and it was Qin from the fourth house who opened the door and took charge of the matter.

But after careful consideration, the other party sent someone to visit the eldest wife, Shen, and used the relationship between his wife and concubine to summon her to the guest room of Nie's mansion.

Shen Shuangxu's bodyguard Mingzhu had been standing by the door. The light shone on his towering muscles, revealing a bright luster, like carefully polished metal, containing infinite power.

"There's some movement outside."

Mingzhu, who had been holding her breath and paying attention to the movements outside the house, spoke up to alert the two ladies who were playing chess.

Shen Shuangxu also noticed the voices and gong sounds coming from outside the house. He frowned slightly, looking a little puzzled.

No matter how arrogant the thief who covets the third house is, he probably wouldn't dare to do something like making a fuss about beating drums. But now the capital is under curfew in preparation for tomorrow's coronation ceremony. Why would anyone go out on the streets in the middle of the night?
"Open the window."

Hearing Shen Shuangxu's order, Mingzhu pulled down the window bolt and opened the paper window.

Taixuefu Street was suddenly bustling late at night, and all the streets became noisy and busy, with vehicles and pedestrians passing by.

The streets, which should have been quiet, were now bustling with people. Almost every official in every household was awakened from their sleep, rushed to wash and dress, and put on the prepared official robes and formal wear.

"The coronation ceremony is about to begin...he doesn't dare to come?"

Seeing the lively scene outside, Lu Wanhe breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the man only dared to talk but didn't dare to do anything bad to her.

But Shen Shuangxu noticed something strange and unusual.

"No, there is no need to prepare so early for the coronation ceremony. And look at the people walking on the street. They are obviously seventh-rank Imperial Academy reviewers and Imperial Academy doctors... According to the conventions of the coronation ceremonies in previous years, these people do not need to enter the palace and are not qualified to see the emperor."

With just a glance, Shen Shuangxu could tell the direction this group of people was heading.

"The Imperial Academy is located in the east, and the Hanlin Academy is located in the west, but they have been arranged, and the carriages that departed are all heading due north... This means that the palace is urgently summoning all officials to see the emperor."

If Shen Shuangxu still stayed in the mansion, he could learn the specific reasons from his father.

But now that I am in Nie Mansion, I can only wait for the letter from Chengxuanfang.

It's too late, but it's soon.

Just as Shen Shuangxu was thinking for a moment, a carrier pigeon fell from the open window and stood right in front of the table.

The timing of the carrier pigeon's arrival was so coincidental that a look of surprise appeared on Shen Shuangxu's cold face.

"It's strange. How could the pigeons of Chengxuanfang look for the young lady? I remember that after the young lady was dismissed, the natal pigeon of Dan Yongpei looked for the young lady, right?"

Due to its special characteristics, the natal homing pigeon is very easy to distinguish among the types of homing pigeons.

But the pigeon that fell from the window obviously belonged to Chengxuanfang, not Shan Yongpei's personal pigeon.

Shen Shuangxu also found it incredible, but she still untied the rope tied to the pigeon's legs and read the note sent by the pigeon.

"The Saint was furious and summoned all officials to the palace to see him immediately."

After seeing these words, Shen Shuangxu understood why the minor officials in the capital on Xuefu Street were rushing towards the imperial city.

Throughout the history of the Great Qi Dynasty, and even throughout all dynasties, whenever such incidents occurred, it was basically when unimaginable events occurred.

Even if there was an earthquake, famine, or foreign invasion, only one or two special officials would enter the palace immediately.

It was so important that it affected all six ministries. One can imagine how angry the Queen Mother was.

"The Qinling Imperial Mausoleum was bombed."

Shen Shuangxu read the message on the carrier pigeon in a calm voice, frowned, thought for a moment, and gave his own guess.

"It seems that Xu Qing's previous judgment was correct. The White Lotus Sect's actions in the capital and surrounding areas were all deceptions. Their real goal is the dragon vein there."

"Sister Shen."

When Lu Wanhe heard Shen Shuangxu mention her husband's name, she asked apprehensively, "Isn't the White Lotus Sect active in Suzhou? Why did they suddenly come to the capital to cause trouble?"

Staying in seclusion, she seldom heard what was happening outside and was basically only interested in news about her husband.

But even so, she didn't quite understand Xu Qing's heroic deeds at the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven. She only knew that he had made great contributions and was conferred the title of marquis by the empress dowager.

Even though her husband was already a marquis and had been rewarded with a large mansion in the capital, Lu Wanhe did not think there was anything wrong with her husband coming to the Nie Mansion to take her back home in the future.

My husband is a man of his own standing. He must be busy with something very important. All I can do is try not to cause him any trouble.

So when faced with the harassment from Xu's cousin, Lu Wanhe's first thought was to keep the peace.

"The White Lotus Sect has been active in various places, so it's not surprising that it appears in the capital."

Shen Shuangxu responded calmly, "I didn't tell you before, and I didn't take you back to Guangping Marquis Mansion. This is to protect you... After all, the newly promoted Marquis is at loggerheads with the White Lotus Sect, and there's no guarantee that the other party will attack the people in the Marquis Mansion. The servants in the Nie Mansion have followed Master Nie for many years. They are loyal servants who are trustworthy, so there's no need to be too wary."

Hearing this, Lu Wanhe nodded.

Although I was thinking about my husband in my heart before, I could still hear some rumors.

For example, her husband was partial and left the house to the fourth room to manage. He didn't want to take her back home, so he left her in the Nie Mansion to fend for herself.

Naturally, she would not easily believe Yaoyan, but if such things were spread too much, it would still cause ripples in her heart.

Now that she heard her husband do this all for her safety, her face turned slightly red, and she was moved beyond words.

She first married Xu Qing because she mistakenly thought that the boy she knew when she was young was Xu Qing himself. But later, when Xu's cousin showed up, Lu Wanhe realized that she had recognized the wrong person.

In the end, she actually married an uneducated, dissolute young man from a wealthy family because of her parents' orders and the matchmaker's words.

Now that I think about it, the reason why the other party insisted on lingering in brothels and refused to meet me was not because he forgot the agreement we made when we were young, but because the two parties had no contact at all and it was all wishful thinking on my part.

In this way, it is common for the other party to resist my self-conceitedness.

But after her husband lost his memory, the two who had no contact with each other got in touch, and became close because of things happening in their own mansion. Lu Wanhe finally gradually realized that this husband was not only different from the rumors, but also an unexpected good match.

This care hidden in the dark is the best proof.

"By the way, where is my husband?"

Lu Wanhe felt sweet in her heart, but she didn't hear any message from her husband in the letter delivered by pigeon, so she took the initiative to ask.

Shen Shuangxu shook his head, indicating that the contents of the note only went up to this point and there was no other news.

(End of this chapter)