Pawn Crossing the River

Pei Xiaolou's appearance in Jiangling Mansion is certainly not a coincidence. He was not here to escort Zhang Yuelu or Qi Xuansu, but had other important matters.

Although Pei Xiaolou really wanted to imitate his fellow Quanzhen Taoist disciple Ji Taoist and become a leisurely person in name only without any actual duties, his background determined that he could not do this. He is where he is today because of his family, so he naturally wants to give back to the family. Especially at the critical moment when his brother Donghua Zhenren is competing for the position of Grand Master, he cannot be restricted.

As for where Pei Xiaolou went, it is not difficult to guess.

County Prince's Mansion.

In recent years, the Yuan family has claimed to be the equal of Jiangling Prefecture in terms of civility and military power. This is indeed a bit of a compliment to the Yuan family, or to add another sentence, they are strong warriors and talented literati.

Warriors naturally refer to the princes and counties who have served as generals for generations, while literati refer to local wealthy families like the Yuan family. Since the founding of the Daxuan Kingdom, the status of Jiangling County Prince's Palace has never changed. Although it is not a vassal king, its management for more than two hundred years cannot be underestimated.

Although the Yuan family has a long heritage and can even be traced back to the previous dynasty, it does not take long to stand out from the gentry. In other words, it only took a few decades for the Yuan family to transform from ordinary gentry to great gentry.

In terms of influence, the Yuan family is far inferior to the prince's family.

It's just that the county prince's palace has always been low-key and rarely shows its influence. Moreover, its focus is no longer on Jiangling Mansion, but more on the temple in the Imperial Capital. Just rushing to enter the pavilion.

It is a custom passed down from the reign of Emperor Gaozu that nobles should have at least one seat in the cabinet. Compared with the civil servants who represent Confucianism, the nobles are His Majesty's own people. Even if they cannot form a balance, they must form a check and cannot allow the civil servants to dominate. If the Confucian civil servants want to monopolize power, the royal family will not agree, and the Taoist sect will not agree either.

Although the Taoist sect relaxed its control over the Confucian sect, it did not completely let go of its wariness against the Confucian sect. On this point, the positions of Daomen and nobles are consistent.

Therefore, there is also a Prince's Mansion in Dijing. Before the old Prince became an official, the whole family lived in the Prince's Mansion in Dijing. This old house in Jiangling Mansion did not have a serious owner.

When Pei Xiaolou arrived at the Prince's Mansion, there were guards in front of the door, lined up one after another, wearing armor and carrying weapons.

However, seeing that Pei Xiaolou was wearing a Taoist priest's crane cloak, he did not dare to stop him forcefully. A sentry officer took the initiative to greet him, clasped his fists and asked, "May I ask what you do for this Taoist priest?"

As a second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest, Pei Xiaolou felt a little inferior when he presented the ultimatum. He just said: "Excuse me, please tell me that Pei Xiaolou, the assistant manager of Wanshou Chongyang Palace, is here to visit."

Being able to serve as a sentry officer in the county prince's palace, he naturally has good eyesight and is not lacking in knowledge. The sentry officer looked solemn and said: "It turns out to be Master Pei. Please forgive me for being rude. Please wait a moment. I will go to report it now. "

Pei Xiaolou was not a person who liked to put on airs, so he cupped his hands and said, "Thank you."

The sentry officer turned around and entered the Prince's Mansion. Not long after, the Prince's Mansion opened the middle door, and an old man in azure uniforms strode out.

Pei Xiaolou knew in his heart that half of the middle doors today were opened for his brother.

He took the initiative to greet him: "It's polite, it's polite, Pei is flattered."

The old man is the old prince Qin Gongfu and the father of Qin Wubing.

Strictly speaking, there are no old and young princes or large or small princes. There is only one prince of Jiangling, Duke Qin. Qin Wubing is actually the prince's son, equivalent to the Duke of the country.

Qin Gongfu has gray hair, a serious smile, and a tall figure. He still retains many of the habits of men in black. He has a straight waist, a dragon and a tiger's stride. Every move seems to be carved out of a mold and remains unchanged.

This is not without reason. The old man spent his entire youth and most of his middle age in the military, and this is the key moment for a person's habits and concepts to be finalized. Therefore, the old county prince can tell people at a glance that he is a military man. The old man in black. In fact, this is indeed the case. The old prince is not only a pillar among the nobles, but also has a deep influence among the men in black. Therefore, it is indeed an exaggeration to say that the Yuan family is compared with the county prince's palace.

Qin Gongfu stretched out his hand sideways and said with a slight smile: "This is the courtesy, Mr. Pei invites you."

The two of them entered the prince's palace and came to the main hall. They sat down separately for host and guest, and their own servants served tea.

Qin Gongfu was once the Minister of the Ministry of War and had an encounter with Donghua Zhenren. At this time, it was natural to talk about Donghua Zhenren first, and then turn to the main topic.

"To be honest, Your Highness, Pei came to Jiangling Mansion this time on an errand for the Wanshou Chongyang Palace. This visit to His Highness was also because of this errand, and I wanted to ask for something from Your Highness." Pei Xiaolou did not hide the purpose of his visit. It can be said to be straight to the point, "After all, the imperial court and Taoism are all integrated into one."

This made it difficult for Qin Gongfu, who didn't want to wade into troubled waters, to refuse directly, so he had to say: "Master Pei, please speak."

Pei Xiaolou said: "I wonder if Your Highness still remembers the Jiangnan Case?"

"This case involves a lot, of course I remember it." Qin Gongfu nodded slightly.

Pei Xiaolou said: "It's just that case... Due to various reasons, the truth was not revealed in the end. Recently, there are clues involved in this case, related to the local Yanqing Chamber of Commerce, so..."

There is no need to say everything, Qin Gongfu already understands. It's just that he understands that he really doesn't want to get involved in the internal fighting of the Taoist sect, let alone take sides rashly. If the Zhengyi Tao and the Quanzhen Tao were victorious, they would naturally miss him. However, if the Taiping Tao were victorious, the Li family would not give up because of their unyielding nature.

It is true that he has the habit of a man in black, but after all, he has been away from the army for many years and is no longer a man in black, but the king of Jiangling County.

When officials become big, there will be no scholars, no Taoist priests, and no men in black.

Qin Gongfu's reaction was as expected by Pei Xiaolou, and he added: "After all, this case involves the Taoist sect. Your Highness should not intervene rashly, and Pei will not force Your Highness to deal with those Taoist priests who do not abide by the law. After all, it is against the rules. But now there is a large family who is willing to be an accomplice, embezzling Taoist money, and colluding with the local government. The relationship is intricate. If we touch him rashly, I am afraid there will be chaos. After thinking about it, only the old county prince can calm down the situation. ”

Qin Gongfu asked: "I wonder who this big family is?"

Pei Xiaolou said in a deep voice: "The Yuan family."

As the biggest local gangster in Jiangling Mansion, it cannot be said that the Prince's Mansion knows everything about the entire Jiangling Mansion. It can only be said that the Prince's Mansion cannot conceal any troubles. Qin Gongfu certainly knows the details of the Yanqing Chamber of Commerce.

Not directly involving the Taoist sect, not even taking action against the Yanqing Chamber of Commerce, but just targeting a Yuan family, it is indeed not a big deal.

Qin Gongfu said thoughtfully: "It turns out to be the Yuan family. I wonder if Master Pei has any evidence?"

Pei Xiaolou said: "Of course there is evidence."

Qin Gongfu did not ask what the evidence was, and said: "In that case, I will go see the local governor and the chief military officer. It's just that the Confucian sect needs real people to come forward."

Pei Xiaolou stood up, clasped his fists again and said, "This is natural, thanks to the old prince."

…

Yuan Chongzong sat alone in his study, saying nothing.

Someone knocked lightly on the door.

Yuan Chongzong said: "Come in."

A person opened the door and came in. It was the housekeeper of Yuan House.

"How is the matter?" Yuan Chongzong asked in a deep voice. Although Yuan Chongzong didn't have much expression on his face, he could not hide his impatience in his tone.

The butler's expression was very stiff, showing a bit of panic, and he said bravely: "Young Master... Young Master... he is gone."

Yuan Chongzong's eyelids twitched slightly and he said nothing.

The butler grew more alarmed.

The old man was indifferent to the fact that his grandson was gone. Was he wrong? The old man still didn't hear clearly.

So the butler repeated it again with a trembling voice.

Yuan Chongzong finally spoke: "I understand, there is no need to say it a second time."

The housekeeper held his breath and did not dare to say another word.

After a moment, Yuan Chongzong asked: "Where is the master?"

The steward said: "Go back to the old man, he is still leading people to hunt down Master Zhang."

Yuan Chongzong's expression softened slightly: "Is there anything wrong?"

"Nothing went wrong. The master didn't have any skin injuries. It's just that Master Zhang was too slippery and didn't hold back. He hasn't succeeded yet, but it will be a matter of time." The housekeeper hurriedly replied.

"The grandson is gone, but he can still be born again. As long as the Yuan family is still there, it doesn't matter." Yuan Chongzong breathed a sigh of relief.

…

The heavenly man who injured Qi Xuansu stood with his hands behind his back, looking indifferent.

There were many Jianghu people standing behind him, all of them silent.

Two corpses lay side by side at his feet.

Yuan Shangdao, Yuan Fengchan.