Linzhi

People are swordsmen, I am fish and meat. Although Lu Qing and the others think they have backers and don't need to be afraid of the government, they refer to officials like Yu Feng who are facing King An, especially King An who has soldiers in hand and is eager to sharpen his sword. , They were still a little scared from the bottom of their hearts.

When they were in Zhou's house, the crowd was very imposing and raging. Zhou Shu's son, Zhou Zhi, was rich in gold and jade since he was a child. Naturally, he didn't take An Wang seriously, and couldn't correctly assess the serious consequences of this incident. Even Zhou Shu seemed to be influenced by his son, thinking that Yuanshui could really save Jinhuo.

In contrast, Lu Qing and Fan Xuan were a little more sober. In other words, they felt that the capital would not necessarily offend King An for them. So when Lin Miao stopped the carriage and drew his sword out of its sheath, the two of them instantly Cowardly, he followed Lin Miao to the school grounds in despair.

I don't know if it was his own illusion, but Fan Xuan felt that today's weather was extremely cloudy and hot. He had already smelled a bloody smell when he first entered the school grounds. Fan Xuan's feet softened, and he grabbed Lu Qing's sleeves.

Lu Qing glanced at him, saw that his face was pale, lowered his voice, hated him and said: "You are so frightened before you see the Lord, you have completely embarrassed us!"

"You, have you, smelled, the smell of blood?" Fan Xuan tried his best to sound calm.

They were at Zhou's house just now, but they clearly heard a servant come to report that King An had killed many people in the school grounds.

After he said this, Lu Qing's face also turned ugly.

Lin Miao strode forward and led the way. Seeing the two of them dawdling, she couldn't help turning her head and said, "Can you two gentlemen walk faster!"

It sounded more like the voice of Hades urging him to die. Fan Xuan's feet took root directly on the ground, and he didn't want to leave.

He showed an ugly smile: "Here, this official, can you tell me what is His Royal Highness Wang An looking for us?"

He still hadn't forgotten the instinct of a businessman. Fan Xuan took out a heavy money bag and was about to stuff it into Lin Miao's hand.

But Lin Miao didn't pay any attention to it, and raised his hands, so that the left and right went forward to set up Fan Xuan.

"Hurry up, Your Highness is still waiting!"

Fan Xuan couldn't help himself, he had to leave now, and soon disappeared.

Lin Miao looked at the dumbfounded Lu Qing again, and said gloomyly, "You can't walk anymore?"

"No, no, no! I can walk, I can walk!" Lu Qing trotted forward hurriedly, chasing after Fan Xuan, and almost staggered and fell because he was too anxious.

When Fan and Lu were brought to He Rong's place, the latter had already killed many people.

Several heads were freshly baked on the sand, and the place where it meets the neck seems to be still steaming. The eyes of the owner of the head are wide open, and the face always stays at the moment of fear or consternation.

The blood seeped into the sand, twisting into a stream, the color gradually darkened, it hurt Fan Xuan's eyes, and made him almost cry.

Not to mention Fan Xuan and Lu Qing, even those soldiers were mostly scared to death.

No one thought that He Rong would be so ruthless when he really made a move.

After half a year, when Wang An came back to the barracks for the first time, he used such means to frighten and silence everyone.

But he didn't kill anyone on sight, Lu Qingzhuang boldly glanced at the heads of those who had fallen to the ground, and some of them looked familiar, and they all had something to do with the reselling of military pay.

Most of the low-level soldiers have no money to fish on weekdays, but they are deducted from time to time, and the payment of military pay is delayed. When they see such scenes, they are afraid and shocked, but they also feel a little happy to vent their anger.

King An was not killing innocent people indiscriminately to stir up mutiny in the army, he came prepared and hibernated for half a year just for today - Lu Qing suddenly realized this clearly.

"You two are here."

Wang An looked at them with a smile, but Fan Xuan's handsome face made Fan Xuan tremble, as if seeing Shura.

"Someone just now testified that a few of you were involved in reselling military salaries, so I ordered the two of you to come and confront them, but there are still a few more people to be killed here, you wait for now, wait until I finish killing them."

This tone is like saying that I want to eat an extra bowl of rice today.

Fan Xuan couldn't take it any longer, and hurriedly said in a trembling voice: "Your Highness, Your Highness, God has the virtue of being good at life, please, please raise your hand..."

He didn't know it before, but today he suddenly found himself a little dizzy.

He Rong had been standing for a long time, and his injured leg was aching, but he didn't want to sit down, so he walked towards Fan Xuan step by step with a bamboo stick to relieve his physical fatigue.

But Fan Xuan had no time to pay attention to the other party's bad behavior. He just felt that He Rong was like a monster who came to take his life. He couldn't help but want to back up, but accidentally tripped and sat down on the ground.

The other party seemed a little surprised, and personally reached out to help him, and said kindly, "Why are you so careless?"

That hand was fair and slender, and it seemed that it could not be tanned no matter how much it was exposed to the sun. The nails were neatly trimmed. Looking at it from such a close distance, Fan Xuan could almost see the glint of the nails under the sunlight.

But he didn't dare to pick it up, got up in a hurry, forced a smile and said: "Your Highness, I can get up by myself!"

He Rong smiled and withdrew his hand.

"All the people I killed have conclusive and irrefutable evidence. Without these black apples, soldiers can fight, protect Lingzhou, and keep you safe. Don't you two think so?"

His gaze shifted from Fan Xuan to Lu Qing, who couldn't help but took out his handkerchief to wipe the sweat off his forehead, and said repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes!"

But Lu Qing didn't expect that the next moment, the smile on Wang An's face suddenly faded away, replaced by a stern expression.

"Now that you know, why do you still stretch your hands to the treasury and sell military salaries with these people! Do you think your life is too long, or do you think your neck is harder than theirs, and you think I can't cut it off?!"

Lu Qing opened his mouth, suppressed his fear, and struggled to death: "Without evidence, His Highness can't wrong good people..."

"I've heard for a long time that as long as a businessman has money to make, even if there is a deep pit in front of him, he will jump into it without hesitation. It seems that the two of you are no exception. You will not cry when you see the coffin!"

He Rong smiled, cold and emotionless, he made a gesture, and Zhang Ze, who had already hugged a stack of account books beside him, his hands sore, walked over immediately and smashed all the account books on Lu Qing's head.

"This is the account book in Deng Xiu's hands, which clearly records the exchanges between you in the past few years. In addition to the military salary, there is also food stored in official warehouses, all of which are accepted by you, and then resold. The profits, Deng Xiu [-]%, the governor [-]%, you [-]%, and the remaining [-]%, [-]% will be distributed to the big and small officials who participated in this matter, and [-]% will be sent to the capital to honor your family. This is a good deal, no capital, just a white wolf, you can get it Huge gains."

Lu Qing took a deep breath, and instead of looking through those account books, he said, "His Royal Highness, we are really wronged. We stole and sold military and official food. Those were the masterminds of previous governors and judges. They insisted on selling food to us. We don't know where the food comes from, and it's impossible not to collect it!"

Zhang Ze sneered: "You really pushed yourself to the ground, but it's a pity that Judge Deng has already sold you, and the court will naturally hold them accountable, and none of you can escape! "

He usually plays around and has no good shape. When he has nothing to do, he gets together with Xue Tan to discuss which girl in the music workshop in Lingzhou is more beautiful. The face is scary, and at first glance it really looks like that. After all, the tiger father has no dogs. After all, Zhang Ze's uncle is also Zhang Tao, the once famous Marquis of Wuwei.

Before Lu Qing could react, Zhang Ze said again: "His Highness will give you a chance now, as long as you are willing to spend money to eliminate the disaster and spit out all the money embezzled before, His Highness is also willing to give you a way out."

He stared at Lu Qing and Fan Xuan, and said sadly: "Otherwise..."

Zhang Ze didn't say any more, and said directly to Lin Miao, "Do it!"

The hand raised the knife and fell, and several heads fell to the ground.

Fan Xuan and Lu Qing were forced to watch the execution scene once, and the bloody scene caught off guard, and Fan Xuan even felt a few drops of hot blood splashed on his face.

The soul seemed to be pulled away from the body in an instant. Fan Xuan wanted to say something, but found that his throat was stuck, and his mouth could not be controlled by himself. This was the result of excessive fright. He knew it well, but his hands and feet were so weak that he couldn't react. Come.

Lu Qing beside him was panting heavily, panting so loudly that even Fan Xuan could hear it.

When He Rong saw that they were silent, he smiled lightly: "You two are really strong and loyal. They have come to this point, and they even helped Judge Deng to the end. I admire you very much. But since you don't want to pay, then There is no other way..."

"Hand over! I pay! I pay! Don't kill me!"

Fan Xuan heard Lu Qingru growl, the voice sounded like eighteen dogs chasing after him.

"I'll pay it too, please Your Highness!" Fan Xuan was afraid it was too late.

He Rong raised his chin slightly, and Zhang Ze immediately patted the two papers in front of them, brought over the inkpad, grabbed their thumbs and pressed them, and soon there were two red fingerprints on the paper.

Fan Xuan took a closer look, and saw that 12 yuan was written on the paper.

He suspected that King An had made a mistake, and when he looked at Lu Qing's picture, it was the same amount.

"Your Highness, I'm afraid you made a mistake. We only owe 12 yuan in total. Why...?"

He Rong said coldly: "You go to the bank to borrow money, and you need to pay interest, right? Don't you want to get out of your life by embezzling the imperial army's rations?"

This is life money.Fan Xuan understood, his whole body was exhausted and he collapsed on the ground.

Fan Xuan didn't even remember how he got home in the end, and sat there for a long time when he got home, until he heard his wife and children crying in his ears, he slowly woke up.

"Husband, what's the matter? I almost sent someone to hire a witch!" Fan Xuan's wife wiped her tears.

"Don't talk about asking a witch, it's useless to ask a god now..." Fan Xuan said wearily, raising his hand weakly, "Go, take an inventory of the belongings in the house, and take out 12 yuan."

Fan's wife was shocked: "Where will the family get so much cash in a short while?"

Fan Xuan: "This is my life money for King An. If you don't give it, your life will be gone."

Fan's wife didn't know what to do, and said angrily: "Isn't this blackmailing! He is the prince, so he can't be so lawless! How about you write to the capital..."

Fan Xuan: "If you don't have cash, you can get the equivalent of grain or gold and silver. If you don't want me to die, don't grind it!"

In the end, he almost roared: "Quick!"

Fan's wife was taken aback, she didn't dare to disobey her husband anymore, and hurriedly ordered the housekeeper to prepare.

The Zhou family soon learned that Fan Xuan and Lu Qing handed over 12 yuan each in the school grounds.

Zhou Shu sneered: "Sure enough, I guessed right. With King An's appetite, [-] yuan per person, how can he be satisfied? If we seize the opportunity, why don't we take a layer of skin from us?"

"Father, the letter has already been delivered, hurry up and it should arrive within three to five days." Zhou Zhi said.

Zhou Shu hummed.

Although Zhou Zhi was so arrogant in front of outsiders, he was inevitably a little uneasy in private, and couldn't help but asked: "The Lu family and the Fan family have settled down, so we are left alone, isn't it more eye-catching? King An won't be right What shall we do?"

Zhou Shu shook his head: "You are still too young. If he wanted to attack us, he should have taken me to the school grounds like he did to Fan Xuan and the others. .Our Yixing Zhou family has gone through three dynasties, five prime ministers and six ministers, and He Rong can't do anything he wants."

Hearing what his father said, Zhou Zhi felt relieved, and said with a smile: "King An is really crazy about money, and Lu Qing and Fan Xuan are also really cowardly. After being frightened, they actually obeyed."

Zhou Shu smiled lightly.

From Zhou Zhi's point of view, his father is the one who is in charge of the family. He is several blocks away from the Lu family's Fan family. No wonder the three families are headed by their Zhou family.

……

Changan.

The servant came out from the Zichen Palace, and smiled wryly at the prince who had been standing outside for half an hour.

The prince knew that his emperor's anger had not subsided.

"Tong Changshi, please tell Your Majesty that I really have something to report." The prince said to Tong Xian.

Tong Xian smiled wryly: "The villain has already said it, but His Majesty just won't let go. The villain really has nothing to do, why don't you come back tomorrow?"

The prince took a deep breath, didn't bother to say a word, turned around and left.

After a month, the turmoil of the prince's death gradually subsided, but the rift between the emperor and the prince did not seem to weaken at all.

Emperor Jiayou, who was usually angry for only three days, was full of anger for a month this time. He usually went to the court to discuss matters, but he was still on business, and he did not reject the prince's suggestion, but in private, when the prince wanted to see him, he always got rejected .

That day, when the East Palace was discussing matters, one of them said something, implying that the death of the first prince was considered a good thing for the East Palace, but Emperor Jiayou heard about it, and the crown prince quickly pleaded guilty, and Emperor Jiayou wanted to punish that person. Being protected by the prince, the father and son had a rift because of this. Without Queen Pei to mediate, and He Rong, He Zhan and others were in other places, the prince could only go to face the saint again and again. Who would have thought that Emperor Jiayou was angry this time? It's getting a little ruthless, because I don't want to see him.

The prince was actually a little aggrieved.

Everyone didn't have so many scruples when speaking in private, and that person didn't point directly at the prince at that time, strictly speaking, it can't be regarded as disrespectful, not to mention that it didn't come from the mouth of the prince himself. Emperor Jiayou's outburst really made the prince I feel a little wronged.

When he returned to the East Palace, the Crown Princess Song just came back from Empress Pei.

"I didn't see the queen. Sushuang said that the queen just took a rest after taking the medicine, so I don't want to disturb her, so she came back."

In the past few days, Mrs. Song often went to Queen Pei's place, wanting to ask the queen to come forward to mediate, but she didn't see her once.

In all fairness, Empress Pei lost her beloved son, and she was able to tell Emperor Jiayou to make the big things smaller and not to pursue it. Asking her to stand up was really embarrassing, so Song didn't dare to say more, so she could only come back and talk to her husband.

"However, I heard that Princess Ji went to see the queen yesterday, and the queen met her." Song Shi said.

The prince's heart moved: "Is this really true?"

Song Shi nodded: "Yesterday I asked the servant on duty outside the Queen's Palace. He saw it with his own eyes, so it should be true."

The prince frowned, having some bad associations in his mind.

Could it be that Empress Pei felt that the death of the first prince had something to do with him and wanted to join hands with Prince Ji?

Thinking about his father's attitude towards him recently, the prince couldn't help but think so.

"Let them continue to stir up trouble like this, the queen will really think that I am a murderer!" The prince was really annoyed.

"The Qing is self-clearing. Empress Pei is not an ignorant person. If she doubted you, she would have complained in front of His Majesty." Song comforted.

In the Great East Palace, there are no other women except the maids. In the eyes of Emperor Jiayou and others, the prince may have many shortcomings, but in the eyes of Song, there is no better husband than He Mu in the world.

The husband and wife sat snuggled up in the dormitory, just like in that small room in Zhushan County.

The crown prince shook his head: "Three people make a tiger, and one mouth makes a fortune. You don't understand the doorway here. Erlang stands behind Li Kuan. I can't let it go. It's a pity that Liu Zhong's qualifications are too young to be prime minister, otherwise How can I be alone in the court!"

Song tried to give him an idea: "What about Zhang Xiang? Zhang Xiang is upright, didn't he speak for you?"

The prince laughed at himself: "That's true, but do you expect him to work hard? The noble family never condescended to form a party with the prince. They formed their own party and put on a lofty air. Even the royal family had to be courteous." You can't count on him."

Mrs. Song wanted to say something, but when she saw the attendant enter, she said that it was Zhongsheren Jiang Yue and others, and wanted to ask the prince to move forward to discuss the matter.

Seeing that the sun was about to set, it must be something to look for at this time.

The prince patted Song's arm, took a long leg, and immediately went to Jiang Yue's side.

Jiang Yue brought him news from Lingzhou.

Because of the lack of air force pay, King An killed dozens of people in a row, including small military leaders, Lingzhou officials, and even a treasurer.

It is said that he reached out to the merchants in Lingzhou to get back the money they resold for the military pay. The merchants were panicked and sent people to Beijing overnight to file a complaint.

"Sanlang is too ruthless." The prince put down the letter paper, knocked on the table, and sighed inwardly.

If you don't do it, it's enough. If you do it, dozens of heads will fall to the ground.

This involved not only court officials, but also the aristocratic family.

It is conceivable how lively the hall will be tomorrow, and how high the impeachment memorials of He Rong will be piled up in the imperial case.

Thinking of the sad look on his father's face, the prince felt a mischievous gloat in his heart, but then he secretly scolded himself for being unfilial.

He couldn't help but wonder, if this matter happened to him, would he have the courage to kill so many people in one go?

No, it has nothing to do with courage, the prince thought: Saburo is too reckless, offending the family, is there any good fruit to eat?

"I remember, King An has a light sword in his hand, which was bestowed by the late emperor," Jiang Yue said.

The prince said: "That's right, but strictly speaking, this sword does not have the authority to strike first and strike later. Although Lingzhou is now Sanlang's fiefdom, he must be involved in such a big incident."

Gongsun Liang asked: "If His Majesty asks you tomorrow, how do you plan to answer?"

The prince pondered and said: "This matter is indeed Sanlang's recklessness, but those people who dare to pay the air force are not considered good things. If His Majesty wants to punish Sanlang's crimes, I still have to intercede for him."

Gongsun Liang said: "Behind the Lu family is King Ji, and behind the Zhou family's Fan family is the aristocratic family. They will definitely not let it go. If you plead for King An, you are making enemies with other people. Is it worth it?"

The prince was taken aback for a moment, and then a voice sounded in his heart: Yes, is it worth it?

Although he is now at odds with King Ji, he has no intention of becoming an enemy of the family. If he intercedes for Saburo, he will suddenly have an enemy.

This enemy is still a powerful family that has been standing for hundreds of years.

The prince was a little hesitant.

He hates himself like this, he also wants to be like Saburo, who says he can do it, he also wants to be like Goro, the sky is high and the emperor is far away, he can do whatever he likes, but he is the prince, in this position, he has to consider all aspects power.

Right now, Emperor Jiayou is still angry with him, and Prince Ji is still holding back his legs. As a prince, he is really not safe.

Li Yun, who hadn't spoken all the time, suddenly said: "This matter may not be an opportunity for us."

……

Ji Wangfu.

As soon as Li Suian came back, he saw He Xiu sitting in the hall, who seemed to have been waiting for a long time.

"Princess has worked hard for helping me run errands these days." He Xiu said, offering a cup of tea with her own hands.

Li Suian was not polite, took the teacup, and said straight to the point: "Unfortunately, it's all in vain."

He Xiu was taken aback: "The queen won't see you?"

Li Suian nodded: "I met you yesterday, I didn't say anything, just exchanged a few words of greetings, and then I saw off the guests. I haven't seen you today. I heard that the Crown Princess has also gone, and the door was closed."

Li Suian, who was married as a wife, seemed to have a big change in her preferences overnight. She no longer wore bright red, but changed into plain dresses.

No matter what a beauty wears, she is still beautiful naturally, but her temperament seems to have settled down along with the change of her identity.

There were no quarrels as imagined, this couple with equally fiery temperament, after getting married, beyond everyone's expectations, they got along very harmoniously, and they were so harmonious that they respected each other as guests.

The two of them were equally polite in private, and He Xiu rarely rested in the concubine's room once a month, but Li Suian didn't care. The two of them seemed to have exhausted their enthusiasm before marriage, so after marriage, only the little girl was left. The current is long.

Li Suian was not dissatisfied with this kind of life, she still often went to various banquets, and occasionally helped He Xiu inquire about some news, the husband and wife lived in peace, more like political allies.

He Xiu frowned and fell silent.

Li Suian said: "The death of the first prince really broke the queen's heart. It is reasonable for her to see no one. But after returning to the palace, I stopped by my mother's house and listened to my father. Something happened in Lingzhou?"

Speaking of this matter, He Xiu became angry: "Every time Sanlang goes to a place, he won't let go unless he causes some troubles. This time it's all right, it's all about the Lu family!"