As the old saying goes, a new emperor appoints his own ministers. The chair in the Fengtian Hall changed hands, and the eunuch who held the seal of the Silijian was also replaced. Zhao Tong became the chief eunuch of the inner court, and the Silijian and the Beizhenfusi naturally fell into his hands.

Li Hu and Zhao Tong also had a good relationship, but not as good as Dai Quan, who was unable to obtain intelligence from the Imperial Household Department and the Northern Pacification Office.

After reading the information Ni Er had transferred from various places, Li Hu shook his head. The records of the nine gates of the capital in the past few days were all here. As usual, nothing special had happened.

After thinking about it, Li Hu picked out all the records of the past two days and looked through them carefully one by one.

Soon, one page of records caught Li Hu’s attention.

“On October 17th, the seventh year of Yongchang, at the time of Si, 18 guards from the Prince of Nan’an’s mansion escorted the Prince of Nan’an out of Guang’an Gate at the beginning of the time of Shen, with 17 guards.”

Li Hu’s eyes flashed. He had heard that the Prince of Nan’an County was going to pick up the so-called supernatural being. But, why was there one less guard when he went to pick someone up? In the carriage?

He shook his head. This was an era with strict hierarchy. She was a guard, not a beautiful maid.

The guard must have stayed outside the city. What was he doing outside the city?
Thinking of this, a flash of inspiration came to Li Hu’s mind. Not all the people sent by the Prince of Nan’an entered the city! The Prince of Nan’an left the guard behind to arrange those people.

Southern Xinjiang Army, yes, how could I forget about them? Southern Xinjiang Army is also a border army!
The Jiangxi General was a disciple of the Prince of Nan’an’s Mansion.

It is possible that the assassin from Xishan was sent by Prince Nan’an.

Just as he was thinking about it, the voice of a personal soldier came from outside the study: “Marshal, Xue Ke is here.”

“Come in.” Li Hu collected all the things on the table.

Xue Ke walked in quickly, knelt down and kowtowed: “Greetings, Duke. May you be healthy and have good luck!”

Li Hu smiled and said, “Get up and talk.”

Xue Ke bowed his head again and stood up.

Li Hu smiled and looked at him, saying, “I haven’t seen you for more than a year. You’ve grown taller and look a lot stronger. Well, you’re just a little darker than before. You must have suffered a lot, right?”

Xue Ke listened and bowed and replied: “It is the greatest honor of Xue Ke’s life to work for the Duke. It is not hard at all.”

Li Hu nodded. “I read the summary you sent me yesterday carefully after I came back. It’s a good idea. However, the maritime trade has always been monopolized by the Wu family, the general of Guangdong, and the Jiangnan family. For so many years, except for the official ships of the court and the ships of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, I have never heard of any ship that went out to sea and came back. There is no need to conflict with the Wu family for a little money.”

Xue Ke nodded somewhat disappointedly.

Li Hu changed the subject: “I asked you to come here because I have something to tell you.”

Xue Ke looked at Li Hu.

Li Hu: “I have arranged for someone to take over the caravan. You don’t need to worry about things over there anymore.”

Xue Ke was shocked.

Li Hu: “Your mother is not in good health and Baoqin is still young, so you should stay in the capital from now on. I have arranged a new job for you.” As he said that, he took out a piece of paper from the case file and handed it to Xue Ke.

When Xue Ke took it and looked at it, his eyes widened!
Li Hu smiled and said, “Don’t complain about the low position. Civil servants in the army are all appointed by the court. This sixth-rank official position was promised to me by the Empress and the Empress Dowager.”

Xue Ke fell to his knees, kowtowed repeatedly, and said in a trembling voice: “Thank you, Duke of Guo, for your grace!”

Li Hu nodded with satisfaction: “You should have heard about your cousin’s story. We are now considered family, so we don’t need to repeat these empty formalities in the future. Get up and talk.”

Xue Ke kowtowed again, then stood up, his cheeks flushed, obviously very excited. Li Hu: “When you go to the Yongwei Camp, you have to keep an eye on it for me and record the army’s food, weapons, clothing and other supplies. If conditions permit, record the actions of the top three and top three martial arts champions in the camp. I’ll find you some helpers in a few days.”

Xue Ke bowed and replied, “Yes.”

Li Hu suddenly remembered: “Hey, I heard that Xue Pan and Miss Xia’s marriage has been finalized.”

Xue Ke smiled and replied, “Yes. The auspicious day is set in the twelfth month, which is the day chosen by the Duke.”

Li Hu: “Oh? So anxious?”

Xue Ke: “I heard it was what big sister wanted.”

Li Hu nodded. Xue Baochai was also a very shrewd person, so it was normal for her to see anything from the conversation between him and Lin Daiyu.

Thinking about it, Li Hu asked again: “What about you? When do you plan to get married? Do you have a favorite girl?”

Xue Ke’s face flushed, and he stammered, “My mother is seriously ill, so I don’t have the time to think about these things. And Qin’er, even though all the people in the Mei family have died, it caused a lot of uproar at the time, and I don’t know what to do in the future.”

Li Hu smiled and said, “I have asked the chief physician of the Imperial Hospital to diagnose your mother’s illness. He said that if she takes good care of herself, she will get better. As for Baoqin, she is still young, so there is no rush. Look at the girls in the Jia family. They haven’t arranged marriages yet.”

Xue Ke smiled bitterly. How can this be the same? What is the status of the Jia family girl? What is Baoqin’s status? The daughters of the marquis’ mansions will never have trouble finding a husband!

Hey, how about introducing Xing Xiuyan to him?

Li Hulue thought about it and then shook his head slightly. It was not certain that Mrs. Xing would look down upon Xue Ke now.

“Marshal.” Wang Daniu’s voice brought him back from his thoughts.

Li Hu: “Come in.”

The door curtain was raised, and Wang Daniu strode in. He nodded to Xue Ke and said to Li Hu, “Just received news that He Shen was imprisoned in the Northern Pacification Division.”

Li Hu’s face changed: “What’s going on?”

Wang Daniu: “I’m not sure. I only heard that the rest of the Jurchen envoys were arrested and taken to the Imperial Guards Prison in accordance with the emperor’s order.”

What kind of madness is this emperor having?! In recent years, the relationship between Dashun and the Jurchens has been up and down, but they have never captured the other side’s envoys! Does this mean they are not going to leave any room for maneuver?
Li Hu stood up and walked back and forth, thinking in his heart: I must think of a way to drag Zhao Tong into the water. Now I am in the dark and have no idea what is happening around the emperor. It is too dangerous!
As he was walking, Li Hu stopped and looked at Wang Daniu and Xue Ke: “What do you think? Should I go to the palace to inquire about the news now?”

Xue Ke turned his gaze to Wang Daniu.

Wang Daniu thought for a moment and said, “For the emperor to order the arrest of someone, and it was the Northern Pacification Prison, something must have happened. Everyone in the court knows that the Marshal and Heshen are doing business in Liaodong. It’s better to wait for news at home to avoid the emperor’s suspicion.”

Li Hu nodded and turned his gaze to Xue Ke.

While Wang Daniu was talking, Xue Ke thought of what to say: “I heard about the situation in the capital from Qin’er yesterday. General Wang’s concerns are not unreasonable. However, I think the Marshal should go to the palace to meet the emperor.

Why? First, the whole court knows about the Marshal’s affair with Heshen. If he doesn’t show up at this time, people will say that the Marshal is ‘guilty’; second, the emperor must have encountered a big problem and needs his ministers to help him solve the problem. The cabinet and the six ministries and nine officials all went, but the Marshal didn’t go. What would the emperor think? “

After a pause, he said, “This matter may ease the relationship between the Marshal and the Emperor.”

Li Hu nodded approvingly and said to Wang Daniu, “Prepare the carriage. I want to go to the palace.” (End of this chapter)