turmoil

The beginning of the 23rd year of Taiping is really dangerous like never seen before. At the great court meeting on the tenth day of February, the old emperor who had always shown himself as "benevolent and friendly" did not know what kind of wind he had. Throwing them into the big prison, especially Kuai Zhengliang, the governor of Shandong Province, gave him special attention-all his families were sent to prison, all those over the age of [-] were beheaded, and the female family members of the mansion were sent to northern Xinjiang to serve as slaves to armored men.

It's all for the others, but the Shandong chief envoy is a direct descendant of King Ping, and his own sister even entered Prince Ping's mansion and became the most favored side concubine.Now Emperor Taiping came down with the momentum of thunder, making it clear that he would not show face to his elder son. The court heard the wind and moved, and they all thought it was a signal that Emperor Taiping disliked the eldest prince.

However, Emperor Taiping's attitude is very intriguing. Although he suppressed King Ping's faction, he did not make any move to Pingwang. Instead, he kept all the memorials of impeachment.At the same time, Prince Liu Yanzhao personally went to the shuffle, bluntly saying that Prince Ping is of royal blood, and there is no possibility of turning his elbows out.

The old emperor watched the crown prince's visit, and sat alone in the palace for a long time, and then ordered someone to call the prince into the palace. The father and son closed the palace door, talked privately for most of the day, and had dinner together.

At this point, whether King Ping's faction still has the strength to return to heaven, the princes of the court dare not make a judgment for the time being, but they can clearly see that in this battle for the heir apparent, Liu Yanzhao, the crown prince born by the empress, has actually gained the upper hand.

"No matter how unbelievable King Ping is, he is still his own son today. Which father would sit back and watch his son die?" In private, Zhang Jingche said casually to Xu Qian, "No matter how angry and hated he is today, he will not let things go. To do so, the officials of the DPRK and China are aggressive, will only arouse the current dissatisfaction, and eventually backfire."

Xu Qian thought so.

The turmoil in the middle of the court was turbulent, but Yang Fan, who was idle at home, sat firmly on the Diaoyutai. Since he handed over his commander-in-chief seal, he was at ease as a wealthy idler. Eight out of ten days were spent in the drunken red building.

If it was normal, the officials would have rushed forward and pecked the unclean and self-conscious Dingbianhou all over his head.But right now, Prince Ping has caused a lot of trouble, and the crown prince is also uncharacteristically keeping a low profile. The calm is brewing with an undercurrent, and no one dares to make a fool of himself at this time.

Yang Fan didn't ask how the crown prince and King Ping confronted each other, and just cared about drinking and having fun.This night, a group of cronies and friends booked a venue in Zuihonglou, clamoring to give the Marquis a clean-up.

Yang Fan never refuses anyone who comes, and there is a girl like a flower and a jade on the left and right. He hugs the left and the right, and the woman in the pink gauze on the right opens her cherry lips lightly, with a glistening grape in her tongue. To Yang Fan's mouth.

Hou Dingbian laughed loudly and opened his mouth to accept.

This is the way of playing in Jingzhong Hualou, called "skin cup". The melodious pipa sound came from behind the gauze curtain on the second floor. Beile, it's quite the limelight! But it's freezing cold in that ghostly place in northern Xinjiang, you can do whatever you want, isn't it happier than Beijing, right?"

Yang Fan gave a "bah" mouthful: "You know, you still poked me sorely? Did you see my face? Alas, back then, Ben Hou was also a romantic man riding a horse leaning on a leaning bridge. When he went to the north, he was tanned. Fortunately, I came with you, if I come alone, I'm afraid I will be kicked out!"

Marquis Dingbian was a straightforward man, and he was used to joking, so he made a lot of wine and meat friends.Just like the young prince who spoke earlier, his surname is Jian, his name is Jian Anshi, he is the son of Jian Sihui, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, the two did not have much friendship at first, but this Jian Sihui has a daughter who is beautiful and intelligent, and her name spreads far and wide. , was spotted by the empress at a glance, and appointed as the main concubine of the Eastern Palace.

Jian Anshi and Yang Fan, one is the prince's future brother-in-law, and the other is the East Palace Party with strong roots, so it's only natural that they get close in private.

Yang Fan was oppressed by a group of dudes, and drank a lot of wine, he was really drunk.He had a tight chest, so he hid under the pretext of blowing the wind, looked for a deserted street corner, and vomited out all the meat and wine in his stomach.After vomiting, this well-born Dingbianhou gangster wiped his mouth generously, and then went back to continue his drunken life and dreams.

However, the moment he turned around, there was a flash of white shadow at the entrance of the alley, as if a figure had sprinted past without a sound.

Yang Fan's eyes, which were still in a daze just now, instantly condensed, but he hesitated for a moment, and he quickly followed up.

Marquis Dingbian is not a meddlesome person, the reason why he made unnecessary actions is entirely because the man looks familiar, as if he has seen him somewhere.He walked briskly, the man didn't notice it at all, and turned around the corner of the alley on his own, with the side face reflecting the moonlight, revealing the clear outline of eyebrows and eyes.

Yang Fan was stunned—is the surname Zhang?Why is he here?

Zhang Jingche seemed to be waiting for someone, with half of his body immersed in the shadows, motionless like a statue.Yang Fan was curious, so he couldn't help waiting with him for a while. After a while, he heard the sound of footsteps. Two men in black flashed into the alley with a bulging sack on their shoulders. When they landed, they fell to their knees: "Boss!"

Yang Fan raised his eyebrows slightly, and recognized that the two people were dressed as the people in Youyun.

When Zhang Jingche raised his hand, his expression was rarely anxious: "Did someone bring it?"

You Yunwei nodded, untied the knot of the sack, and pulled out a young girl.The girl seemed to have been drugged, and she had been in a coma. Although her eyes were closed, she could still see that she was a beautiful embryo.

Yang Fan's eyes widened in an instant: When did the dignified leader of Youyunwei and Jinyiwei congregate from the third rank, engage in human trafficking?

But soon, Yang Zhen realized that he had lost his mind. Zhang Jingche took out a small porcelain bottle from his arms, lifted the lid, and shook it under the girl's nose.After a while, the girl let out a "squeak" and slowly opened her eyes. At first she was flustered for some unknown reason, but after she had seen the person in front of her clearly, she showed a look of surprise and surprise: "...Brother, why are you here?"

Yang Fan: "..."

The person who dared to abduct and sell was not someone else, but his own sister.

Dingbian Hou was indeed drinking too much, his brain was not functioning well, and it took him a while to realize that "trafficking" is not the point, the point is that this Zhang with the surname actually has a girl.What's even more amazing is that brothers and sisters can be upright when they meet, but he insists on using some dirty tricks to hide in this deserted alley, as if he is shameful.

Yang Fan had countless questions hidden in his heart, so he couldn't help shrinking aside, secretly listening to the corner.Hearing that Zhang Jingche neither greeted nor exchanged pleasantries, he came up and said in a deep voice: "You know about the prince's wedding, right?"

The girl was a little dazed, she thought she was in a dream for a moment: "Know, know..."

"The big wedding is scheduled for next month. I'm running out of time. I'll send you out of the city right now," Zhang Jingche said quickly, "Don't worry, I've already made arrangements. You just follow along. When you arrive in the south of the Yangtze River, find a small village with beautiful mountains and rivers to settle down in." Come down, when things are over here, I will naturally go to you..."

As he spoke, he took out a bag of money from his sleeve and stuffed it into the girl's hand: "You don't need to worry about the expenses on the road, you take this money for self-defense, just in case..."

Before he finished speaking, the girl had already stuffed the purse back, took two steps back in fear, and waved her hands again and again: "No... I won't go!"

Zhang Jingche frowned slightly, only thinking that the incident happened suddenly, she hadn't recovered yet, and comforted her patiently: "Don't worry, I will take care of everything in Beijing, your trip out of Beijing is only for sightseeing, wait After a year or so, the wind will pass, and you will be able to go wherever you want..."

The girl still shook her head, and she probably finally realized that this was not a dream, but a real reality, and she couldn't help showing a dazed and resisting expression: "Why should I leave? Brother... didn't you just return to Beijing two days ago? I heard The empress said, is it a good thing for you to be a royal guard? By the way, the empress also said that she wants me to marry the crown prince, even though she is only a side concubine... But, it is also an honor that ordinary people dare not even imagine!"

Zhang Jingche looked slightly cold: "Glory?"

The girl nodded, and wanted to say something, but her expression was a little awkward.Zhang Jingche is also someone who has experienced it. Seeing her expression, how could he not understand: "You...you like the prince?"

The girl lowered her eyes, rubbed her fingers at the front of her skirt, and finally gave a vague "hmm" after a long time.

Zhang Jingche's mask-like eight winds could not hold on, and he rarely showed shock and anger: "Do you know what it means to marry the prince? With your status, even if you become a side concubine, your foundation is shallow and you are lonely! What's more, the prince is peaceful." The king is trying to win the heir. If the East Palace loses, even the crown princess will not end well! If you win...you will enter the palace as a concubine, and you will be trapped in that shameful place for the rest of your life. A man who doesn't have a few faces, fights with other women to the death!"

"A day like this... Did you think about it?"

The girl buried her head and remained silent for a while.

Zhang Jingche took a deep breath: "Si Ji is the son of heaven, not as good as the Lu family with Mochou... The days of marrying into the Tian family are not as comfortable as you think, and the prince is definitely not a good man! Instead of being trapped for half his life and not being free, I would rather Why don't you find a wealthy family with a simple population, and in the future, you will raise your eyebrows and have your children and grandchildren around your knees, isn't it much better than you alone guarding the empty boudoir?"

The girl finally raised her head, her eyes were full of tears, but her expression was particularly persistent: "Brother... I know what you said, but I still don't want to leave!"

Zhang Jingche was about to persuade him again, but the internal injury in his chest that hadn't healed broke out at this moment. He was suffocated and couldn't speak immediately.But after a little delay, the girl has rushed to say: "Brother, do you know that when I first saw the prince, he was so noble and beautiful, but he smiled at me so softly! At that time, I thought, so superior I dare not even think about it, if I can serve him as a slave in this life, I will be satisfied..."

Zhang Jingche had twitching veins on his forehead, pressed his chest with one hand, and hissed: "No one is born to be a slave... Your mother gave birth to you with all her might, and she worked so hard to bring you and me together. You, why are you like this?" Don't spare yourself!"

The girl said stubbornly: "I just like him... Is it wrong to like someone?"

"Do you know how happy I was when Your Majesty asked me to marry His Royal Highness? I never dreamed that such a noble person would be my husband... Just think of every day in the future, he will smile at me gently, I Wake up with a smile in your dreams!"

Every girl of the right age will have the dream of "Lang riding a bamboo horse", but unfortunately they are too young to know what they want for a while, and often have to pay the price with the rest of their lives.

Zhang Jingche's cheeks were tense, and he said through his teeth: "Do you know where the imperial palace is? You can only see the square sky, and it looks bright and beautiful. To put it bluntly, you cannibalize people, you..."

Before he finished speaking, seeing the girl shrank slightly, but still stubbornly tugging at his sleeve, he knew that all his earnest words were like playing the piano to the bull.

At this moment, hurried footsteps came from the alley, which sounded uniform, probably from the Jinwu Guards patrolling at night.Zhang Jingche looked terrified, and was about to lead people to dodge, but a lazy voice rang out first: "What's going on, making such a big commotion? I startled Benhou."

Zhang Jingche raised his head suddenly and recognized the owner of the voice.

Immediately, someone spoke respectfully, probably the leader of the Jinwu team: "It turned out to be the Marquis of Dingbian... I don't know that the Marquis is here, but the lowly position has caused a lot of trouble, and I hope you will forgive me. It's just...it's the middle of the night, how could the Marquis do that?" here?"

Yang Fan dragged his tone lazily: "This Marquis has an appointment with a friend tonight, and accidentally drank too much, so he came out to get some air...Why, you have to report this to the Governor of Shuntian?"

The leader of Jinwu was taken aback, and hurriedly said: "Master Hou speaks seriously, I don't dare to be humble..."

While pleading guilty repeatedly, he led the people back. After the sound of footsteps disappeared, Yang Fan stretched his waist and leaned against the low wall like a boneless body. He waited silently for a while, and it turned out that Zhang Jingche was there.

The one surnamed Zhang was indeed the master who had been lurking in Beile. Knowing that Yang Fan had eavesdropped on the conversation just now, he still acted nonchalantly: "It's getting dark, I didn't expect to meet Yang Hou here, it's really rude."

Yang Fan smiled: "This Marquis has already handed in his seal of command, and he is now the first-class wealthy idler in Beijing. It is not surprising to appear anywhere, but Zhang Tongzhi..."

He paused slightly, and pointedly said: "Although you are in charge of Youyunwei, and now you have become a celebrity in Jinyiwei, the crime of abducting the palace is still not small. What's more, this palace will marry soon Donggong...if he didn't see you rashly, even Zhang Tongzhi wouldn't be able to afford it, right?"

Zhang Jingche put the mask back on his face, and changed back into the immovable "Youyun Chief": "What Hou Ye said is true."

His tone was natural and his attitude was casual, as if the rebellious conversation just now was completely wishful thinking of Ding Bianhou.

Yang Fan only mentioned one point to the end, this matter involved Zhaoyang Palace and East Palace, it was inconvenient for him to intervene, so he went back to Zuihonglou without knowing it.The next day, there was no news of the city being closed to search for people, and the palace was peaceful. He vaguely guessed that Zhang Jingche probably wanted to understand the stakes and sent him back to the palace intact.

Yang Fan kept his expression on the face, but he had some thoughts in his heart: he thought that this person surnamed Zhang was a first-class "inner favorite" and "Ningxing", but he had a little more sense of family and country justice than ordinary "favorite ministers", but he listened to him. What he said that night seemed to have not taken the royal favor into his heart at all, and standing there facing the wind in the jade tree was a "rebellion" that stood upright.

"This person surnamed Zhang actually has a sister, and this girl is the female official who is valued by the empress." Yang Fan thought about it, "People who heard that they are going to marry the Tian family will wish to send their sister to the door, even if it is a side Concubine, the prosperity and wealth of a lifetime can be regarded as settled. He is good, avoiding it for fear of being too late, and even wants to secretly send his sister out of Beijing... Isn't he afraid that something will happen in the future, and he will be questioned by Zhaoyang Palace and East Palace?"

This man surnamed Zhang is very weird, with overlapping faces, and I don’t know how many layers of masks he has put on—submissiveness is a disguise, being cautious is a disguise, being cruel and treacherous is a disguise, and being loyal to the emperor and serving the country is also a disguise...Only that night, he and the girl The panic, anger and panic revealed during the conversation can be regarded as revealing a little of the true face under the mask.

"Interesting," thought Marquis Dingbian, "with such a lord, I'm afraid we'll have fun watching it in the capital from now on."