Chongzhen Sunset Song

?one

Wen Tiren made up his mind to fight Wang Chengen, but Wang Chengen did not expect that a small trick he used on Wen Tiren's side could develop to such a serious degree without a sound.He was just determined to wait for the chief assistant to send someone to blame him, to show his face a few times, and then to say a few unhurried words, to extinguish the first assistant's arrogance, and teach him not to act so unscrupulously in the future.But he didn't know that since Wen Tiren had done such a reckless thing, his heart was already so high that he was so reckless, so how could he allow him to blatantly stand in front of him.On the one hand, he is covering the sky with one hand in the court, and has long forgotten what humility is, and on the other hand, he is controlling power in the palace, and he has long become a habit of being domineering...

Once these two people are in conflict, one of them will be completely defeated.Wang Cong stopped writing and thought to himself.Dormant for many years, just for this day.As the saying goes, there is no feast that never ends, and things in the world cannot escape the long-term unity, although deep down in my heart, I do not want to see this day come after all.

Supervisor of rituals.

As the weather got warmer, the starlings raised in the prison of ceremonies gradually became active.Wang Chengen fed the mynah, teased it with a stick, and taught the bird to talk with great interest:

"Gong Xi Fa Cai, let me say, Gong, Xi, Fa, Cai."

"Father-in-law, I put the newly arranged documents on the case for you." Li Quan said holding a stack of memorials.

Wang Chengen didn't look back, he waved his hand and said, "Our family is not feeling well today, Zhou Xi, you can send our family to the Hall of Martial Arts."

"Yes, father-in-law." Zhou Xi's eyes lit up, he put down what he was doing, received the memorial from Li Quan, and ran out of the Supervisor of Rituals.

Li Quan looked at Zhou Xi's leaving back, then at Wang Chengen, who was having fun with the bird, narrowed his eyes, thought for a while, and asked tentatively, "What's wrong with your father-in-law today? Can you invite the doctor to take a look? "

Wang Chengen turned his head and glanced at Li Quan, threw down the stick, brushed off the grain crumbs from his hands, and straightened his sleeves calmly. "I'm not feeling well." As he spoke, he walked back to the table and took a sip of tea.

"The father-in-law is...?" Li Quan also sat down, subconsciously looking at the door where Zhou Xi had just gone out.

"What?" Wang Chengen joked, "You blame our family for being biased, and you only teach this brat to show his face in front of the emperor, and you are not asked?"

"Oh, what is this father-in-law talking about?" Li Quan quickly defended with a smile, "Eunuch also knows that the villain has no intention of doing this. Eunuch is the number one in the family, so it is inevitable that the villain will benefit from following the father-in-law. How can earning your life compare to such ease."

"I know that you are just a wild crane in your bones, indifferent to fame and fortune, or else our family would love to have you by my side." Wang Chengen listened to Li Quan's words and praised Li Quan with a smile.

"My father-in-law is too flattering to a villain." Li Quan bowed respectfully, and then turned to look puzzled: "But the villain doesn't know. I don't know why my father-in-law promoted Zhou Xi in such a way recently. I don't know what he likes in him? Although Zhou Xi is smart, But the few clever boys in the past have never seen my father-in-law value it so much."

"Let's just guess." Wang Chengen didn't answer, but only provoked a sly smile.Li Quan was taken aback, thought for a while, shook his head, still didn't understand why.

"Think about it carefully. You brought him from the Zhidian Supervisor. Do you still remember who he was at the same time as?" Wang Chengen seemed to be in a good mood today, and he deliberately teased Li Quan half-heartedly.

Li Quan thought about it for a while, and suddenly realized it. "Could it be that the father-in-law... intends this person?" Li Quan dipped his finger in the tea, folded and folded on the table, and wrote a word.

Wang Chengen glanced at Li Quan's writing, smiled and said nothing.Seeing Wang Chengen's reaction, Li Quan knew that he had guessed right, so he flicked the tea in his hand, smiled, and said, "I haven't seen my father-in-law mention it very much recently, so I never thought of going there. It turns out that my father-in-law is still taboo about this." Human."

"If you want to talk about taboos, there are not many taboos. This person is indeed the same as Liang Yi back then. He doesn't make troubles or make waves, but he doesn't hinder our family." Wang Chengen leaned back lazily on the back of the chair, his eyes half-closed. Open, "I just look at the enthusiasm between him and the emperor, and I really vomit, but he is such a person, our family is too lazy to bother with him, why don't we raise that kid, when the time comes, he will do it himself without our orders." I'll take care of things for our family."

"But they entered the palace at the same time, and they had a very close relationship in the early years. Father-in-law is sure that he will be able to do this?" Li Quan frowned slightly, but his doubts did not diminish.

"I was close in the early years, but now I'm not close." Wang Chengen opened his eyes slightly, and squinted at Li Quandao, "It's useless to talk more, just wait and see."

While the two were talking, suddenly a person hurried in from the door and came straight to Wang Chengen.The conversation between the two was interrupted, Qi Qi turned around and saw that it was Feng Dachuan, Wang Chengen's close servant.

"What's the hurry?" Wang Chengen asked, slightly displeased with Feng Dachuan's abruptness.

"To Eunuch." Feng Dachuan was walking quickly, while offering a letter with both hands, "Someone came to deliver the letter just now, saying that there is an urgent matter, so I must teach the villain to hand over this letter to Eunuch."

"Is it urgent?" Wang Chengen took the letter, but looking at it anyway, there was no signature on the envelope. "Do you know who it is?"

"It seems to be..." Feng Dachuan lowered his body, took a step closer, and whispered in Wang Chengen's ear.Wang Chengen's face moved slightly, and he nodded immediately: "Well, I see, you can go to the door and wait."

"Yes." Feng Dachuan bowed obediently, saluted and left.

"Elder-in-law, this is..." Li Quan asked from the side, but Wang Chengen didn't answer right away, he tore open the envelope in his hand, took out a piece of thin paper, shook it, and looked intently.There were only a few short lines on the letter paper, and before Li Quan could ask any more questions, Wang Chengen's expression changed suddenly, and he suddenly grabbed the letter paper and slammed it on the table, anger almost gushing from his eyes.

"Wen Tiren!!"

Just now he was still leisurely and idle, but in a blink of an eye he was in this gnashing of teeth look. Seeing Wang Chengen's state, Li Quan hurriedly picked up the crumpled letter paper from the table, looked it up and down, and was immediately surprised.

"We're still leisurely thinking about Zhang Dexiu, who doesn't hurt or itch, but they already want to kill us!" Wang Chengen said bitterly.

"Shoufu is really daring, and dared to frame the father-in-law for taking Qian Qianyi's 4 taels of silver!" Li Quan calmed down, and said, "Was this letter sent by Wang Cong?"

"Look at the lower left corner of the letter." Wang Chengen suppressed his anger, his eyes were fierce and he didn't know where to stare.

Li Quan unfolded the letter paper to look again, only to see a small Cong character written on the inconspicuous lower left corner of the letter paper.

"At the beginning, thanks to listening to your words, I was careful and arranged for someone to be by his side, but now it really comes in handy!" Wang Cheng'en said.

"Fortunately, the letter was reported in time, and the first assistant's paper has not been handed in, otherwise I'm afraid he will really let him do it this time." Li Quan said, folded the letter flat, and put it back in the envelope, " After a long time of no contact, Wang Cong finally remembers who he should play for."

Wang Chengen didn't disagree, just sat sullenly, and the more he thought about it, the more angry he was, he hammered the armrest of the armchair, and his outbursts of anger turned into curses: "Wen Tiren, that ungrateful bastard! How many party members and ranks have our family helped him in the past few years?" How many obstacles, he has forgotten all of them! The impeachment certificate like a hill did not fall into the eyes of the emperor in the end, he thought who blocked it for him! He really thought he was capable! He actually wanted to trick our family ! It seems that he has had enough of being the first assistant, and he is tired of living in this world!"

"Grandpa calm down, don't get angry." Li Quan hurriedly put down the envelope, and gently persuaded, "Now we have the news in advance, and he wants to play tricks, but he can't get up. After so many years, he didn't find Wang Cong belongs to the father-in-law, and he is not avoided in such confidential matters. Compared with him, the father-in-law is obviously superior. As long as the father-in-law has prepared early, seized the opportunity, and broke his situation head-on, how can he be hurt? Father-in-law?"

"Hmm..." Wang Chengen vented, his anger calmed down, and he nodded thoughtfully after hearing Li Quanzhi's words.

"The key to this matter is whose words the emperor believes." Li Quan paused for a moment, then continued to speak slowly, "Eunuch is the No. Without thinking about it, if there is no father-in-law, how could his hands, feet, ears, eyes and eyes get close to the emperor. Mr. Wen's move is tantamount to hitting a stone with an egg and digging his own grave. Since he wants to dig this grave, his father-in-law might as well... just let him go Let's go." After Li Quan finished speaking, he seemed to have a plan in mind, raised the corners of his mouth, lowered his eyebrows, and calmly took a sip of green tea.

"Hmph... hum..." Wang Chengen was silent for a moment after hearing Li Quan's words, his shoulders shook, and he suddenly sneered.I saw that his anger had receded at some point, replaced by a sullen look on his face: "Okay, okay, since this is the case, our family is happy to fulfill him. He wants to act first, so let's let him see. Wen's mansion or our supervisor of ceremonies, which one is closer to the emperor! Li Quan."

"exist."

"Go to Dongchang, ask Wang Zhixin to inform him about this in advance, and teach him to find out Wen Tiren's movements for our family, and don't leak the news. Our family is going to meet the emperor right now!"

"As ordered."

As soon as the words fell, the two left the Supervisor of Ceremonies one after another, leaving only two teacups with half a cup of tea left on the table. Leave.

two

"emperor--!"

From the Hall of Martial Arts, a shrill cry came from outside the Nuan Pavilion, shocking Chongzhen and Xizhao.I saw Wang Chengen stumbled into the Nuan Pavilion, knelt down on the ground with a plop, and kowtowed deeply.

"Your Majesty! You must be the master of your servants!"

"What are you doing? Get up and talk." Chongzhen was very surprised, and hurriedly put down his pen and said.

"Yes..." Wang Chengen got up, but still lowered his head, looking heartbroken.

"What happened?" Chongzhen asked with a slight frown.

"Please, Your Majesty... screen back to the left and right..."

"Back the left and right...?" This abnormal request made Chongzhen more and more puzzled. After thinking about it, he still complied with Wang Chengen, waved his hand, and signaled everyone in the room to back down.The maids and eunuchs followed the order and left from the door one by one. After Xizhao saluted, they also left after following the crowd. "Hey, you're fine." Chongzhen said.So Xizhao stopped again, and returned to Chongzhen's side to stand still.A trace of displeasure flashed in Wang Chengen's eyes, but when the emperor spoke, he naturally couldn't say anything, so he raised his head slightly, glared at Zhao Xizhao, and took it back in time before Chongzhen noticed it.

"What's the matter, tell me." Chongzhen didn't pay attention to other things, and only asked again.

"Back to the emperor." Wang Chengen regained his composure, and returned to the emotion that had been aroused by the cries just now, "I don't know if the emperor has heard of it. Recently, there have been a lot of rumors about Qian Qianyi's case. It is said that the servant girl took 4 taels of silver from Qian Qianyi, interfered with the emperor's hearing, prevented the emperor from convicting him, and... also promised him that he would be released from prison. Yes. But, but there are no servants at all!" Wang Chengen became anxious, raised his head, and raised his voice again, "The emperor knows that whether it is the master who punishes severely or lightly, the slaves and servants of which side are not sent equally. Had a look with the emperor, how to deal with this case, how can I have more words? There should be someone to catch wind and shadows, but these rumors are groundless and non-existent! It must be spread by someone maliciously, wanting to trap slaves and maidservants into injustice ah!"

"Well... I ordered a retrial that has nothing to do with you." Chongzhen frowned, smiled and comforted Wang Chengen, "Look at you making such a big show, I thought it was something, since it's rumored by the government, I don't need to pay attention to it. I will make my own judgment on this matter.”

"Your majesty is wise." Wang Cheng'en paused and said, "It's just that this matter is a small matter for the emperor, but it is a big matter for the slaves. If someone uses this to frame the slaves, the emperor will believe it again, and the slaves will be killed. Isn't that how it was explained!"

"Hey, you are worrying too much, how can I be so easy to listen to and believe." Chongzhen said.

"Yes, the emperor has always been fair and wise. This servant knows that, but I am afraid that if there are too many slanderous rumors in the future, although the emperor is wise, he will inevitably be shaken. The government affairs are already busy enough, but the matter will only increase the trouble of the emperor. Isn't it the slave's fault..." Wang Chengen couldn't finish his words, but he didn't say anything, and only looked carefully at Chongzhen.

"Then what do you think should be done?" Chongzhen asked impatiently.

Wang Chengen pretended to be thinking, then straightened his face, and finally spit out the words he had prepared: "I have thought about it, and in order to make the emperor less worried, I am willing to swear here that from now on, the case of Qian Qianyi No matter how the emperor judges this case, the slaves will never say a word to prove their innocence. If they intercede for him, the emperor can confirm that the 4 taels of bribes are true, dismiss the slaves and investigate them, and deal with them impartially! "

When Chongzhen heard the words, his expression changed. "I believe in you, so why do you make such an oath..." Chongzhen pondered for a while, and then said, "Forget it. I will take what you said just now to my heart, so don't worry."

"Thank you, Majesty Long En!" Wang Chengen knelt down to thank him, then got up and said, "I have one more thing to ask for the emperor's grace."

"You speak."

"Yes... hey..." Wang Chengen sighed, and said helplessly, "The servants have followed the emperor for many years, and they have never given up on them. They have to be favored by the emperor. There are many people who are jealous. What happened this time, It is a clear proof. Fortunately, the servant can still speak clearly about this matter, but if there are similar malicious slanders in the future, it is difficult for the servant to distinguish between right and wrong. So this time, I implore the emperor to keep silent, if someone Taking this as evidence to sue the slave, the emperor should not refute it face to face, in case others see the emperor protecting the slave, and become more jealous, and find more unwarranted charges on the slave. Days of anxiety and no peace."

"Yeah. I'll do whatever you want, if you don't say anything." Chongzhen nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Wang Chengen bowed deeply again.Everything went according to plan, and since everything had come true, Wang Chengen also bowed out and took his leave.

After Wang Chengen left, Chongzhen remained calm, picked up the pen, licked the inkstone, and prepared to continue reviewing the memorial.Before the pen fell off the paper, Chongzhen remembered something, stopped his hands, and turned his head to look at Xizhao, but saw Xizhao also looking at this direction with a half-smile, his eyes seemed to be silent.

"Huh? What do you want to say?" Chongzhen smiled slightly.

"No, dare not." Xi Zhao hurriedly bowed.

"What do you think about Wang Chengen's matter? But it's okay to say." Chongzhen put down the pen in his hand, turned around, and faced the sunset.

"The emperor's lesson." Xi Zhao smiled and said, "The villain said it, the emperor should not blame the villain for being suspicious."

"No wonder. Tell me."

"Yes... Maybe the villain is ignorant and the news is not good. In fact, the villain has never heard any rumors about Qian Qianyi and the prince in the palace. So at first the villain felt that the prince suddenly came to the emperor to complain about this matter. , Could it be that the villain filed a complaint first?" Xizhao stopped talking on purpose, and seeing Chongzhen listening patiently, with his usual expression on his face, he said again, "However, seeing the prince's situation, he is also very sincere and sincere, and I can't help but believe that the prince is indeed wronged, but from beginning to end , there is still a sense of strangeness that lingers."

"Well..." Chongzhen was noncommittal, just pursed his lips and smiled, looked at Xizhao meaningfully, and said after a long while: "If it's strange, it's just strange, and nothing else, his oath is not in vain, Qian Qianyi The case is ultimately up to me to decide, as long as he doesn't come to intervene, it's fine for you and me, then this little doubt can be dispelled, and you can rest assured to trust him this time."?