When dealing with the government, Zhu Houzhao initially chose to believe Zhang Yuan unconditionally, which was an almost blind trust, without any reason, but he began to doubt over time.

With Liu Jin's past of power, Zhu Houzhao was always on guard against the fact that Silijian was dominant in the court. Of course, if even the slaves and eunuchs dared to threaten the stability of the throne, Zhu Houzhao would not be at ease with anyone. This is also the fundamental reason why Zhu Houzhao remained silent when Zhang Yuan attacked Chen Xi several times in the previous days.

The biggest impact of Liu Jin on Zhu Houzhao was that his suspicion worsened. In this way, not only Zhang Yuan was deeply affected, but even Chen Xi was not spared.

Zhu Houzhao supported several forces, such as Xiao Tiaozi or Qian Ning, who secretly helped him do things.

Zhu Houzhao asked Qian Ning to go out to find out the news, but Qian Ning was very cunning. Although he was not in line with Zhang Yuan, he did not dare to act blatantly. So he simply questioned Zhu Houzhao with a perfunctory attitude and told Emperor Zhengde about some basic situations he heard outside. Most of them were consistent with Zhang Yuan's report. As for sensitive issues such as the specific time of Chen Xi's dispatch of troops, Qian Ning was confused by the excuse that he had never heard of it.

This obviously cannot satisfy Zhu Houzhao.

May 23, afternoon.

Zhu Houzhao got up very early and summoned Zhang Yuan first. After listening to the report, he did not get any useful information. He called Qian Ning to ask, but still found nothing. Zhu Houzhao's face suddenly became less beautiful.

Only when Zhu Houzhao is tired of playing and is not so concerned about alcohol and sex, will she sit down and think carefully about how to fight the next battle.

"...Your Majesty, it's almost dark. Do you need me to accompany me?" Concubine Li appeared in front of Zhu Houzhao in a charming manner. Although her feathers looked tight, there were many hollowed-out grids between the textures. With a slight movement, a little skin was exposed, which was extremely attractive.

Zhu Houzhao was indeed attracted after seeing this, so she pulled Concubine Li to her side and asked, "Concubine Li, you are so strange. Is there any explanation?"

"Is it strange? I don't think so!"

Even if Concubine Li was concerned about the affairs of the court, she would not dare to speak casually in front of Zhu Houzhao. Now the young emperor is full of doubts, and it may cause trouble. Concubine Li sat on Zhu Houzhao's leg and let him be frivolous. Although she was disgusted, she pretended to be happy and said in a sweet voice, "It's the clothes that I sewed one by one stitch and one thread on my body. Maybe it doesn't fit well. When I walk, I always feel something is wrong."

Zhu Houzhao laughed: "It's not that you are wrong, but that you are leaking... I really want to find needles and thread to sew all the gaps."

Concubine Li looked innocent: "Will I go back and find a needle and thread to sew it?"

Zhu Houzhao laughed again: "No, this is actually pretty good. It's much cooler to wear it in hot weather... Li Fei, what program did you arrange tonight?"

Concubine Li said: "The program is indeed arranged, I'm afraid that Your Majesty will not like it."

Zhu Houzhao smiled so hard that her eyes bent into a crack, making Concubine Li look so frivolous. When the beauty in her arms was red and could not resist, he suddenly stopped and shook his head and said, "It's not too late yet. I'll talk about any program later. In short, it's Concubine Li, you arranged it yourself. No matter what, I'm satisfied..."

Concubine Li thought to herself: "What a lucky person. Why are you satisfied? Now you are playing with women in different ways every day. How can you have time to take care of my feelings?"

Zhu Houzhao suddenly sighed: "I have troubles now and don't know how to solve it."

Concubine Li looked at the little knot next to her who was bowing her head and waiting for the order. She probably understood what was going on. She lowered her head and said, "I am willing to help Your Majesty share the burden. Please tell me just that. Even if I am stupid, I am willing to share your worries..."

Zhu Houzhao said: "I want you to help me find out what I want. Why hasn't there been any news after the Chen Qing family sent troops to do so now..."

Zhu Houzhao described the situation he learned from Zhang Yuan and Qian Ning in detail, including some of his own opinions: "...I think it's strange, why did the news stop after the Chen Qing family sent troops? Eunuch Zhang said that the Chen Qing family surrendered to the enemy, and the people said that they might have suffered a defeat... This is not allowed Qian Ning to inquire. It turns out that there are already a lot of discussions in the market, and there are also a lot of rumors in the army..."

Concubine Li pretended to be attentive, as if she was empathetic to Zhu Houzhao's anxiety, but in fact she felt disdainful.

Concubine Li thought to herself: "No matter how pitiful you say, isn't all this caused by you? If you can let Governor Wang Shouren of Xuanda and Governor of Xuanfu Hu Lian come to see each other often, instead of just listening to Zhang Yuan's advice, why is the news blocked now? Perhaps Shen Zhihou hides the news because he knows that it will be tampered with, so it's better to just keep silent and let you guess yourself."

Zhu Houzhao finally asked: "...Concubine Li, how do you think I should solve the trouble in front of me?"

Concubine Li raised her head and found that Zhu Houzhao looked at her as innocent as a child. This sincerity from the heart made Concubine Li feel that it was hard to come by, and a hint of confusion arose in her heart:

"Why does Your Majesty always doubt the ministers, but trust the eunuchs around you or the irrelevant women like me? Is this the so-called nepotism?"

Concubine Li smiled bitterly and said, "I don't understand the military affairs very well. Your Majesty wants to know the exact news about Shangshu Chen, so why don't you ask the minister who led the troops?"

Zhu Houzhao frowned: "Concubine Li said that I should ask Wang, Hu and the two Qing families? Oh... this is useless, right? I saw them once before. I thought they would say something constructive, but then I bit Zhang Yuan as soon as I came. This one said she concealed the report and that she falsely accused her. I was upset when I heard it!

Although Concubine Li knew Zhu Houzhao's temper, she was still surprised when she heard his explanation of her previous behavior of protecting Zhang Yuan.

Concubine Li thought to herself: "I thought Your Majesty was protecting his family slaves, so she turned a blind eye to Zhang Yuan's behavior of deceived superiors and subordinates. Who would have thought that he would be too lazy to listen and think just because he was in a bad mood? Isn't this too irresponsible?"

Concubine Li said: "No matter how annoyed Your Majesty, you should listen to what those ministers said."

"Forget it, if I have to listen to the ministers in everything, will I be useless as an emperor?" Zhu Houzhao not only had news, but also had a stubborn opinion and waved his hand vigorously, "Let's do this, Concubine Li, have you always wanted to send someone to have fun for me? Now I give you power. You can find out the movements of the Chen Qing family and come back to report to me."

Concubine Li was stunned: "Your Majesty, where is my ability? You should contact Eunuch Zhang or Eunuch Dai. Eunuch Gao and others are the right thing to do."

Concubine Li deliberately did not mention Xiao Guozi's name because she knew that Zhu Houzhao was not at ease with Dai Yi, Gao Feng and others, otherwise she would have entrusted important tasks long ago. Now she was asked to go. As far as she was concerned, she was willing to take on this job, but she had to be humble to make it seem that she was "forced" to accept it, rather than actively fighting for it.

Zhu Houzhao sighed: "Silijian was run by Zhang Yuan as a solid piece. Who is the same? I believe you... Concubine Li, I will be relieved if you are responsible for the investigation, because you have no interests in the court!"

When saying this, Zhu Houzhao glanced at Xiao Tuozi intentionally or unintentionally, her eyes full of disdain, as if she was a little dissatisfied with Xiao Tuozi's previous complaint against Zhang Yuan. In the eyes of Li Fei, Emperor Zhengde was not so relieved about Xiao Tuozi, thinking that there was a conflict of interest between him and Zhang Yuan and could not be objective and fair.

Concubine Li hesitated and did not immediately agree. Zhu Houzhao saw this and said, "Concubine Li, don't worry. The whole thing is going on in secret. Even if you investigate anything, I will not tell others that you just let go of it... If you need manpower, I will allocate some of you, or you can call it directly from the army. I always feel that these Jinyiwei around me can protect my safety in normal times. Once they are allowed to do practical things, they will not be able to let them down. I have repeatedly let them down my expectations!"

Concubine Li asked, "Your Majesty, can't you send someone else?"

"What, Concubine Li, don't you want to share my worries?" Zhu Houzhao looked straight.

Seeing this attitude, Li Fei knew that if she pretended, Zhu Houzhao would definitely get angry. The result was counterproductive. She immediately said, "Since Your Majesty insists, I would rather obey my orders than respect. I can only try my best to find a way to investigate the movements of Lord Shen's troops, but this may take a certain amount of time... and I am afraid that the news I get is mostly heard and may not be accepted."

Zhu Houzhao thought for a while and nodded slightly: "One more channel can also make me more clear about the situation outside. The blockage of information is the cause of the disaster. No matter whether the information you investigated is true, I will not blame you!"

Although Zhu Hou said it nicely, Concubine Li still felt it was not so appropriate and thought to herself: "Just let me tell you this... All the jokes are lying, especially the emperor in front of her. She usually speaks like farts. I don't know how many times she said in my ear that she would arrange for me to enter the palace, what would be the result?"

"Forget it, this investigation is enough. Just say what you can say. If you can't say, let him investigate it yourself. Even Shen Zhihou dares not care about things. I have to kick it. I am not asking for trouble for myself. If you want to report the real situation, you will offend Zhang Yuan, Qian Ning and others. If you can't make any benefits, you will cause you a lot of sāo and it will not be worth the loss!"

Originally, Zhu Houzhao believed in Concubine Li unconditionally because he felt that Concubine Li had no conflict of interest with Zhang Yuan and others. Li didn't know that among the major forces around the emperor, the one with the biggest conflict with Zhang Yuan was Concubine Li. Concubine Li had to attack Zhang Yuan and not reveal any traces, and she had to stop at the right time. It really required a certain mind.

It is unknown who will win to death!

...

...

Concubine Li was ordered to handle the matter, which was not difficult for her, because she had gathered many subordinates and did not need to transfer people from the army.

However, since Zhu Houzhao spoke, Concubine Li felt that she should seize this opportunity, because the one who sent Zhu Houzhao to the Central Army to contact Hu Lian was Xiao Tuozi, so she had more opportunities to communicate with Xiao Tuozi.

"... Concubine Li, Your Majesty has arranged for you to inquire about external information, especially the information from Shangshu Shen's department. You have to take on the heavy responsibility! I am only ordered to assist you in doing things, but don't push everything on me. Now this situation is really worrying about killing people, maybe it will be better after sending troops..."

Xiao Tiaozi stepped back. He had been fighting with Zhang Yuan before. Who would have thought that Zhu Houzhao would openly protect Zhang Yuan when the evidence was confirmed and even scolded him. In this way, he would never dare to step beyond the line and would rather let Concubine Li take over.

Concubine Li said: "It is impossible for me to go out and show up in public, right? If Damess Treasure does not help, how will I deal with Your Majesty? I will not let Dames Treasure make you embarrassed. Just go and listen to what the two masters Hu said, and then come back to tell me that I will decide how to report to Your Majesty after deliberation. Please relax, I will never say that this matter is related to you."

Xiao Guozi was still very hesitant, and finally said helplessly: "Isn't it difficult for me to do anything?"

Concubine Li smiled kindly, "Why is it difficult for me to twist my father-in-law? What are the benefits for me to twist my father-in-law by His Majesty? Your Majesty could have asked Lord Hu and Lord Wang to ask questions, but did not do so, which shows that Your Majesty does not fully trust the news conveyed by the army. How could I take their words as truth? No matter how I report to Your Majesty in the end, at least we have unified the caliber, right?"

Xiao Taozi thought about it and felt that Concubine Li was right, so she nodded.

Concubine Li said again: "This matter is not suitable for me to participate too much. Now Your Majesty is full of doubts about the people around you. Even my palace must be cautious when speaking and doing things. We are working together now... In this matter, we must be stable and never make a rash move. Just don't worry, just don't worry!"

Xiao Tiaozi said bitterly: "This time I will obey the Queen's instructions." After that, he said goodbye and left.

Concubine Li is not stupid. She cannot pin all her hopes on Xiao Tiaozi. It is related to the emperor's trust, and no one will stand firmly on her side.

Concubine Li thought to herself: "These are always the first things that are good. If Shen Xi can support me wholeheartedly, why should I help these wastes? This time, there is something strange. Why didn't Shen Xi even send any news back after sending troops? Could it be that he also wanted to be on guard against me?"

Then Concubine Li called Liao Han.

At this time, Liao Han didn't know what happened. Before, Concubine Li didn't let her subordinates inquire about the situation in the army.

After Li Fei explained the situation roughly, Liao Han replied: "Godmother, have you investigated some news and told you before? You also said that you should not ask about the matter in Datong Town for the time being."

"It's time and time. Now I need to get information from Lord Shen's army. This is what Your Majesty is eager to understand. So you are not helping me investigate, but you are helping Your Majesty investigate. But remember not to leak the news, especially if you can't be told by Eunuch Zhang or Commander Qian... Do you know how to do it?" Concubine Li was a little worried about Liao Han, so she specifically asked for the key points.

Liao Han blinked: "What does godmother mean to investigate secretly?"

"Um."

Concubine Li nodded slightly, "That's probably what it means. Now that the official channels of the court are obviously blocked, you can ask past merchants, especially those who come from Datong Town, and pay more attention. Although these people are not allowed to go to the table, they are very useful. Don't use officials to scare them. Be kind of polite."

Although Liao Han didn't quite understand what it was for those low-ranking merchants to ask them, he was very obedient and nodded in agreement with Li Fei's words.
Chapter completed!