Lord Prime Minister

"Hmph! I wanted to use that trash to pull the second prince off the horse, but I didn't expect to let him enter the East Palace." The palm of the hand slapped hard on the armrest, full of anger, and the sturdy pear blossom wooden chair couldn't bear it. crack.

Concubine Lan's eyes did not look happy, but her complexion was much better than that of the eldest prince. "You are too impatient. I made you a stumbling block at the beginning, and it was too much trouble. If it is found out, you dare to take the charge of assassinating the emperor?"

"Mother, don't worry, the only one who knows about this is you and me. The others have already gone underground, and all the traces have been cleaned up. Even if they search, they won't be able to find me here." The eldest prince comforted him, and then he was a little dissatisfied. "It's just that Huangfu Yunhua took advantage of it, and let him enter the East Palace first."

Seeing that he was angry, Concubine Lan picked up a cup of herbal tea and handed it over. "Don't worry, it's only these few days. Sooner or later, they will be kicked out. No matter how much they help him clear his name, according to the emperor's temperament, he will end up in jail, and they won't be able to escape for a few days. "

"Mother and concubine said it." The eldest prince laughed after hearing this, his brows and eyes carved out of the same mold as Concubine Lan were smiling, and his pair of red phoenix eyes narrowed, as if he had seen the tragic end of the second prince and his party.

Looking at Concubine Lan Gui, the other party also smiled. In her mind, the queen was kneeling at her feet, begging for forgiveness with tears.

knock knock knock.

Just as the two were thinking, someone knocked on the closed door.

Concubine Lan and the First Prince were silent at the same time, and the First Prince was still holding a cup in his hand, listening slightly. "who is it?"

"Brother, it's me."

The eldest prince knew who it was as soon as he heard the voice, and he put his heart down slightly. "Ask May? Come in."

"Yes, brother." Wenmei replied meekly, and then there was the creaking sound of the door being carefully pushed open.

Wenmei lowered her head and walked in submissively.When I looked up, I saw Concubine Lan, who was sitting in the upper seat, and hurriedly said, "See Mother Concubine."

Concubine Lan looked at her impatiently, took the tea and drank it, and stopped looking at her.

"Qianmei, what's the matter?" Seeing Wenmei lowered his head, the eldest prince hurriedly asked her.

Wenmei raised her head and glanced at Concubine Lan, only to see that she was concentrating on drinking tea and secretly heaved a sigh of relief. "I just went to the foreign court and met the foreign envoy Stanford. He said that he had something to ask the emperor."

The eldest prince raised his eyebrows slightly, and stared slightly forward at Huangfu Wenmei. "A foreign envoy? Where is he now? What do you want me for?"

Wenmei shook her head, if it wasn't for the envoy from the foreign country to ask, she would not have made this trip. "I don't know. After telling me, I went back."

"I see." The eldest prince leaned back on the back of the chair, and asked Mei: "In the future, you don't have to talk to him, and don't talk about today's matter. If it is known that you, a lady of a big family, talk to outsiders privately, It will inevitably cause people to gossip. Who else saw you walking with you?"

Wenmei pursed her lips, then lowered her head again. "There is only one personal servant girl, and no one else saw it."

The First Prince nodded, "Let her control her mouth."

"Yes." Wenmei quickly agreed.

"You go back first." Seeing Wenmei's weak look again, the First Prince couldn't help feeling a little impatient, and waved her to leave.

"Then Wenmei will leave first." After blessing the two of them one by one, Wenmei left, not forgetting to close the door again, calling for the personal maid who was waiting outside the courtyard, and only after walking a long way did she breathe a sigh of relief , almost unstable under his feet.

"Princess, be careful." Chunping, the close maid, hurriedly supported her, her eyebrows furrowed. "The princess is so scared every time she comes out from His Highness."

Wenmei stood still, rubbed her chest and closed her eyes to rest, then opened them again after hearing Chunping's words. "Talk too much, but don't let the emperor listen. Also, if you met someone in the outer court today, don't say it."

"Which one is the princess talking about?" Chunping tilted her head slightly, and said, "Is it that handsome young man, or the foreign envoy?"

"You're not allowed to say anything." Wenmei held her back, with a little eagerness in her eyes.

"Got it." Chunping smiled and nodded, blinking her glasses. "Don't worry, princess."

Wenmei closed her eyes and rested for a while before slowly saying, "Let's go."

Dragon Mansion is located in the southwest of the capital, a little far away from the bustling streets, but in comparison, it is closer to the chaotic East Third Street.It was originally the mansion of an official, but after it was built, it was discovered that it was involved in corruption and imprisoned, so it remained empty until Long Xiu moved in.

The high walls are covered with glazed tiles to separate the sky, and the buildings inside cannot be seen.There is a plaque hanging high on the black gate, with the word "Dragon Mansion" written on it, the brushwork is vigorous and powerful, Mu Zihuai is very familiar with it, probably it was written by Long Xiu himself.

Knocked on the door and stood waiting outside. After a while, the heavy door opened from the inside. The person who opened the door was not the boy guarding the door just now, but a green young man.He was wearing a moonlight gown, with a hollow waist, and his wide cuffs were tied around his wrists with cloth strips. There were still beads of sweat on his face, and he jumped up happily when he saw Mu Zihuai outside the door.

"Brother Zihuai, you're here. I've been waiting for you for a while to practice martial arts." Long Lei pushed the door open, jumped out and stretched out his hand to grab Mu Zihuai.

Mu Zihuai let him drag him towards the door, and couldn't help being happy when he saw Long Lei. "I wasted some time before going out."

As soon as he entered, Mu Zihuai looked around.

This was the second time he came to Longxiu's mansion, and he followed Long Lei through a small courtyard without seeing a few servants, it was empty, but it was managed in an orderly manner.

"I already told my brother this morning that as long as you enter the outer court, he will take you there." Long Lei picked up the teapot and poured a cup of herbal tea to Mu Zihuai, then poured another cup and drank it himself , just sat down and said.

"I'm sorry to trouble you." Mu Zihuai picked up the teacup and took a sip, then put down the teacup after hearing what he said, and thanked him a little seriously.

Long Lei put down his teacup, pretending to be unhappy. "Brother Zihuai hasn't come to see me for so long, and finally came, and the words are rusty." We nodded together, thought about it and felt really sad, and then complained again: "Brother Zihuai didn't come out even after entering the palace, and brother Zihuai didn't see me anymore. It's not like before to me, the more I live, the more boring I feel, it's better to go back to the Prince's Mansion, at least I can see Brother Zihuai every day."

Mu Zihuai felt a little funny when he heard him at first, but the more he heard it, the more worried he became. "Since you have gone out, what are you doing back?"

"There is brother Zihuai, the housekeeper, and the old man who grows flowers. There is nothing here, and my brother won't come back. What's so good about it?" Long Lei said seriously, turning his head away from Mu Zihuai, feeling a little sad .

Mu Zihuai became a little anxious when he heard that, he frowned and said quickly: "You want to see me, I come here often, what are you doing back at the Prince's Mansion, the Dragon Mansion is fine, so you want to run there."

Long Lei has been bored in the mansion for the past few days, and finally Mu Zihuai came, and there was someone who spoke, but he was scolded before he said a few words, and he felt a little blocked. "Last time you also said that you would come often, but you never came once. If you couldn't find my brother, why would you come to me?"

Mu Zihuai opened his mouth and closed it again, knowing that it was his fault, so he couldn't help lowering his voice. "It's my fault. During this period of time, the work is heavy. I will come to you in a few days."

Long Lei was still a little unhappy, so he kept silent.

Mu Zihuai smiled slightly, picked up the teapot and filled Long Lei's teacup, and coaxed him: "It's my fault, don't be angry, come, put the fire away."

Long Lei took the teacup rudely and drank it down in one gulp, but he still held his breath and didn't speak.

Mu Zihuai said again: "If you don't speak again, I will leave."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Mu Zihuai really stood up, Long Lei was anxious, stood up and shouted: "Brother Zihuai!"

Mu Zihuai walked to the door before turning back and asked him, "What's wrong?"

"I'm talking." Long Lei blushed, took two steps forward and stopped. "You don't go."

Mu Zihuai laughed, and there was a hint of cunning in his bright black eyes. "I'm not leaving. The teapot is empty. I'll ask someone to change it."

"You..." Long Lei's breath was stagnant, he took two steps back and sat back on the chair.

Mu Zihuai called the servant girl and asked her to change another pot of herbal tea, and then came back to sit down again. Seeing Long Lei staring at the floor tiles angrily, he knew that he was very angry. "Aren't you talking to me again?"

Long Lei held back for a while, and finally let out a soft snort, stubborn as if he wanted to see through the ground.

"I'll take you out in a few days, what do you think?" Mu Zihuai tentatively opened his mouth, coaxing the child-like Long Lei.

Long Lei blinked and finally turned around. "Where are you going?"

Mu Zihuai saw that he was interested, blinked his eyes, and whispered: "You will know when the time comes, you will definitely like it."

Long Lei didn't ask any more questions, but said it again a little bit worried. "Then you must not forget again."

"I will never forget it." Mu Zihuai promised.The servant girl came over with a pot of herbal tea just now, and when she left, Mu Zihuai asked again: "You went to find Long Xiu today, what did he say?"

"Brother said that the person you are looking for also lives in Waichao. He has met him a few times before. If you go directly to him tomorrow, he will take you to him." Long Lei relayed the words, remembering the first time today. Gong Xing laughed again unconsciously.

Mu Zihuai didn't know what he was laughing at, but he was relieved to hear that Long Xiu knew each other before, and asked him some other things, he also answered with a smile on his face, as if his heart was not here.He stayed for a while longer, until he had dinner and was dragged by Long Lei to promise to take him out to play in the future, and then he came out of Long Mansion.

On the second day, Mu Zihuai went to the Hanlin Academy first, and according to Shen Li's instructions yesterday, he took some classics and went to the palace.His trip is to go to the palace to check with the father-in-law who is in charge of internal affairs.Of course, going straight takes a short time, and when I left the palace, I stayed outside for a while.

Asked the guards at the door to run, Long Xiu came out and saw Mu Zihuai in an official robe, standing outside the door with his hands behind his back, the sun left a halo on his face, looking warm.

"Waiting for a long time?" Long Xiu went up to meet him, grinning.

"No." Mu Zihuai shook his head, looking up slightly to meet Long Xiu's eyes. "As soon as you stand still, you come out."

Long Xiu looked at him for a while, until Mu Zihuai felt a little uncomfortable, and then led him away from the gate of Nanyuan. "The person you're looking for lives on the other side and can be reached in less than a quarter of an hour."

Mu Zihuai breathed a sigh of relief, nodded, and slightly quickened his pace, but felt that Long Xiu was walking slowly, so he had to walk slowly to match his pace.

Long Xiu turned his head to look at Mu Zihuai, remembering that a long time ago, he had to look up to see his face, but now he only saw the top of his head when he looked down.Suddenly feeling that there was a stone pressing down on his heart, Long Xiu moved his steps slightly, and moved a little to the side, widening the distance between him and Mu Zihuai.

"What's wrong?" Feeling Long Xiu walking away suddenly, Mu Zi asked him suspiciously.

"It's okay." Long Xiu shook his head with a smile, tilting his head just enough to see Mu Zihuai's graceful side face, the fluff on his temples exudes warmth in the sun, and the short hair around his neck draws an arc obediently , There are a few mischievous ones fluttering up and down, fluttering up and down in the breeze.

Mu Zihuai was still a little strange, but he thought about what he should say when he saw that person later, so he didn't ask any more, but fell into deep thought.

Long Xiu tilted his head and refused to move away. Seeing that Mu Zihuai lowered his eyes slightly, he didn't know what he was thinking, so he asked, "What are you looking for with that person? Do you want to revise the history books?"

Mu Zihuai suddenly came back to his senses, turned his head and saw Long Xiuxing staring at him, he couldn't help being taken aback. "Ah... no, there are some other things."

Long Xiu led him for a while, and came to a building with high walls and glazed tiles, a tall gate and a wide courtyard. "This is the Siyi Pavilion, where the envoy Stanford lives."

Mu Zihuai raised his head and read the words "Siyi Hall" on the plaque, and saw two guards at the door, turned to Long Xiu and said, "Thank you this time, you should go back first."

Long Xiu didn't speak, but frowned.

"You go back first." Mu Zihuai saw that Long Xiu was unhappy, but he repeated it.

Long Xiu looked at him for a long time before exhaling. "Okay, just come to me if you need anything in the future,"

Only then did Mu Zihuai laugh, "I know, you take care of yourself too."

When Long Xiu walked away, Mu Zihuai went up to the guard at the door and cupped his hands.

"Mu Zihuai, the official historian, is here to visit the envoy. Please inform me." Seeing the guard frowning at him, Mu Zihuai took out another letter from his pocket. "This, please also send it to the envoy."

The guard took it over and saw the words "Master Stanford personally" written on the outside of the envelope, looked at Mu Zihuai again, and finally said: "My lord is waiting here, and the villain will report it."

Mu Zihuai nodded. "Thank you." After speaking, he took a step sideways and waited quietly.

After waiting for a long time, Mu Zihuai stood steadily, and his thoughts flew back to the night two days ago.

"Guess what I found?" Ren Danfeng turned around, holding the string of bells in his hand, his face was full of joy.

Mu Zihuai squeezed the silk handkerchief in his sleeve, could his guess be wrong? "what have you found?"

Ren Danfeng didn't speak for a while, Er Chi took out a small dagger, pried open Mian Ziling one by one, and took out the small balls inside.

Mu Zihuai looked puzzled as he found the inkstone, added water to grind it, and put a small ball into it.He carefully took it out with a clip, and rolled the ink-covered beads on the white paper on the table.

A ball of balls rolled on the pure white rice paper, leaving an ink stain. Mu Zihuai took a closer look and felt that there were small white lines between the ink stains.

"what is this?"

Ren Danfeng turned the rice paper half a circle, facing Mu Zihuai.

"This is..." Mu Zihuai moved closer, squinted his eyes slightly, drank Su Ye's decoction, and felt more and more that his vision was gradually recovering, but he still couldn't see some fine things clearly.

Mu Zihuai's face was almost pasted on the rice paper, and he stared at the lines, connecting them stroke by stroke in his heart. "make?"

"That's right!" Ren Danfeng said with a smile, "I haven't noticed it before. Every bead is engraved with a small character. It wasn't until today when I went to the Princess Mansion and saw the nuclei carved by the third princess that I suddenly remembered it. Now It appears that it is."

Mu Zihuai looked up at him with surprise and joy on his face. "What is engraved on the other beads?"

Ren Danfeng took out several other beads, dipped them in ink one by one, and printed them on rice paper.

There are a total of twelve beads, and each one has a word on it, but it can also be connected into a sentence.

"Mi Xia's whereabouts, collusion with envoys, Sipa is the evidence." Mu Zihuai wrote down the words one by one, and read aloud.

"At the end of Xia?" Ren Danfeng took the paper and analyzed it. "It's only the beginning of summer."

"Could it be the beginning of last summer?" Mu Zihuai was still holding a brush in his hand, guessing, "Isn't the beginning of last summer the time when the Sixth Prince was poisoned?"

"So, this envoy should refer to the foreign envoy Stanford who just paid tribute at that time, and this Sipa..."

Mu Zihuai finally took out the silk handkerchief that had been in his sleeve and handed it to Ren Danfeng. "The silk handkerchief that wraps Mian Ziling is something from the Jinxiu Pavilion. It is made of the cloth that the foreign country paid tribute to. I went there today. The owner of the Jinxiu Pavilion seems to know the eldest prince..." He said Halfway through, Mu Zihuai stopped abruptly and smiled slightly. "I seem to have guessed what the prince is going to tell us."

Ren Danfeng lit the rice paper in his hand with a candle to burn him up, and then turned to look at Mu Zihuai.

"I guessed it too."

Withdrawing his thoughts from two days ago, Mu Zihuai blinked, and the blurred vision gradually became clear.All I saw was the guard who had gone to report just now came back, behind him was not the envoy Stanford, but a little maid.

The little servant girl went out and greeted Mu Zi with blessings, and said with a smile: "Lord Mu, Lord Shi ordered this servant to take you in."

Mu Zihuai nodded, flicked the hem of his clothes, lifted his feet and collapsed in.

"Thank you."