Mr. Xie looked around.
Xie was obviously dissatisfied. "Second brother, don't you trust me? I've already said that my yard is as solid as an iron road. No one dares to say a word."
Master Xie smiled and said, "It's better to be cautious about such a big thing. Can you trust those maids and servants?"
Xie snorted and said nothing.
Master Xie smiled awkwardly, "Please forgive me; this is about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so I have to be careful. My eldest brother asked me to contact the General of the Western Expedition, Marquis of Lu Pei Ren."
Xie's face changed drastically when she heard this. "What a joke. How can a woman like me contact the Marquis of Lu?" If my husband knew about this, wouldn't my second brother know what the consequences would be? You and my eldest brother clearly want to harm me."
The Western Expedition Army was stationed just a hundred miles away, and Lu Hou Pei Ren lived in the military camp all year round.
However, there was also a general's mansion in Jinzhou, and Lu Hou Pei Ren would occasionally stay in the general's mansion for a few days to handle some official business.
Master Xie said hurriedly, "Sister, you have misunderstood. How could my elder brother and I harm you? Sister, you may not know that the family of Marquis Lu is in the military camp right now."
"How is that possible?" Xie didn't believe it.
Second Master Xie lowered his voice and said, "The palace intended to arrange a marriage for the daughter of Marquis Lu, but Miss Pei suddenly became seriously ill and could not be married. In fact, in order to avoid marriage, Miss Pei disguised herself as a man and quietly left the capital with Pei's eldest son and came to the military camp. She has been living in the northwest for three or four months."
Xie was horrified. "How could my second brother know such a secret?"
"These are all what my elder brother said. The crown prince has planted spies in the Marquis of Lu's mansion, so he knows a little bit of the inside story."
Xie frowned, thinking that the crown prince not only had spies in Marquis Lu's mansion but also had spies around Marquis Lu, so he knew everything so clearly.
Xie asked, "Why did the crown prince want to contact the Marquis of Lu?"
Master Xie whispered, "Since the death of the Duke of Zhen Guo, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has lost his support in the army. In addition, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince values civil officials over military officials, and the military generals are secretly rebelling against him. Now the Queen is seriously ill. If anything happens, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will be in danger. Therefore, we must now gather a group of soldiers to help His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. In case of any changes in the capital, we can survive the desperate situation. "
The Duke of Zhen Guo is the prince's uncle and the emperor's trusted military commander.
It was thanks to the strong advocacy of the Duke of Zhen Guo that the legitimate prince, Liu Xian, was successfully enthroned as the crown prince.
In those years, no matter how big a mistake the crown prince made or how much he disliked the emperor, the Duke of Zhen Guo always found a way to turn the tide and keep the crown prince from falling.
However, ever since the death of the Duke of Zhen Guo eight years ago, the crown prince's situation has begun to deteriorate.
If the Queen also passed away, one can imagine how dangerous the Crown Prince's situation would be.
There is no telling how many people in the capital are gearing up to kill the prince.
Xie's face turned pale. "The prince is going to rebel?"
"Hush! Sister, don't talk nonsense. The prince just needs a military force to help him deter villains at a critical moment. He has no other intentions."
Master Xie was extremely nervous. After he finished speaking, he ran to the window to look and only breathed a sigh of relief after making sure that no one was eavesdropping.
Xie slumped in the chair. "Big brother wants me to win over Marquis Lu. Humph, it's really embarrassing. If I remember correctly, Marquis Lu has no relationship with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Why did you think of winning over Marquis Lu?"
Second Master Xie whispered, "The Marquis of Lu is the most utilitarian, unlike other generals who rebel against the crown prince. As long as there are enough benefits, he will definitely be moved."
Xie smiled coldly. "Did Big Brother say all this?"
Master Xie nodded. "Don't worry, sister. Big brother won't make things difficult for you. Rather than saying it's about winning over Marquis Lu, it's better to say it's about becoming a relative of Marquis Lu."
Xie was puzzled.
Second Master Xie said quickly: "The legitimate children of Marquis Lu are still unmarried. While we are in the northwest, my sister should first establish a relationship with the general's mansion and then find a way to arrange a marriage for the children of the two families."
Mrs. Xie stared at Mr. Xie Er, "Is that all?"
Second Master Xie nodded, "Just this matter. As for other matters, the eldest brother will make his own arrangements, so you don't need to worry about it."
Xie snorted coldly, "It's easy to say that we will marry into the Lu Hou Mansion."
Master Xie chuckled, "All ideas are invented by people. Once the matter is settled, there is no need to worry about not being able to become in-laws."
"Second brother, do you want to harm Yue'er? Yue'er is your niece." Xie was extremely dissatisfied.
Second Master Xie smiled and said, "My sister has misunderstood. Besides Yue'er, there is also Gu Cheng. It is not unfair to let Gu Cheng marry Miss Pei."
Xie frowned in thought.
Master Xie continued to persuade her, "Sister, this is a rare opportunity. Do you really want to give up? As long as you are determined, someone will secretly help you and make your wish come true."
Mrs. Xie looked at Mr. Xie Er with a half-smile. "Help me secretly?"
Master Xie nodded repeatedly.
Xie snorted, "This is about Liu Lang's lifelong event. Second brother, do you think I can make a decision casually? Second brother, you should give me some time to think about it."
"Sister, please take your time to think about it. I will stay in your house for now."
Mrs. Xie said, "My husband has no contact with the Marquis of Lu. It is not easy to establish contact with the Marquis of Lu and then let the children interact with each other."
Master Xie laughed. He could tell that his sister was moved.
The Marquis of Lu helped the Crown Prince ascend the throne, so he was a meritorious official of the New Dynasty.
It is definitely a good deal to marry the daughter of Marquis Lu.
Given my sister's calculating personality, she will definitely not sit back and let the opportunity slip away.
Second Master Xie gave Xie some advice: "I heard that the wife of the prefect and the Marquis of Lu are distant relatives. My sister is in a good relationship with the wife of the prefect, so she can try to get in touch with the Marquis of Lu through the relationship of the wife of the prefect."
Xie frowned slightly. "If I help my elder brother, what good will it do me?"
"Gu Cheng married Miss Pei. This is such a great benefit. Don't you think it's not enough?"
Mrs. Xie laughed sarcastically, "Of course it's not enough. As my children grow up, there are more and more places to spend money. Just preparing the betrothal gift for Liu Lang would cost at least 20,000 to 30,000 taels. If my brothers don't help, I won't dare marry the daughter of Marquis Lu."
Mr. Xie Er suddenly felt a headache. He knew that his sister was a shrewd and capable person, and it was impossible to impress her without sufficient benefits.
"Twenty or thirty thousand taels, so much?"
Xie smiled, "Brother, don't tell me that you can't even take out 20,000 or 30,000 taels. Over the years, Brother has made a lot of fortunes with the support of the East Palace."
Master Xie gritted his teeth and said, "Twenty thousand taels!"
Xie smiled faintly, picked up the teacup, and prepared to see the guest off.
Master Xie's expression was distorted. "Twenty-five thousand taels, no more. Add the five thousand taels I gave you before, and it will be a total of thirty thousand taels, enough to prepare a betrothal gift for Gu Cheng."
Mrs. Xie put down the teacup and smiled, her smile as beautiful as a flower.
"Thank you for your generosity, second brother. When Liu Lang gets married, second brother must come to the wedding."
Second Master Xie looked unhappy. Twenty-five thousand tickets would cost him nothing.
Mrs. Xie continued, "Besides that, there is one more thing that needs your help."
"Sister, please speak."
Mrs. Xie snorted, her eyes full of resentment, "Even after Su's death, she still cannot rest in peace. She left behind a pair of children who are like thorns in my eyes. Especially Gu Jiu."
Master Xie smiled and said, "She is just a little girl; just send her away. Sister, there is no need to be angry."
Xie laughed, "Just as my second brother said, if I send her away early, I can live a peaceful life for a few days. But it's not easy to find a family of equal status and make my husband happy."
"What do you want to do, sister?"
Mrs. Xie pursed her lips and smiled, "I think Xie Xian is a good kid; why not let Xie Xian marry Gu Jiu? It will be a good opportunity to strengthen the relationship. With the family background of the Xie family, I think my husband will not object. Is the second brother willing?"