Opposite the entrance hall

It took several days in succession for Ji Si to review the yamen documents. He felt that he had lost a few pounds. He marked it with a cinnabar red pen, and he didn't bother to check it again. He handed it directly to the principal and sent it back Home.

Da Jin takes a bath once every six days. He doesn't have to go to the yamen of the household department to be on duty, and he doesn't have the mind to go out for a stroll. It just so happens that the weather has been cloudy for several days and it cleared up today. The bad smell on his body was dispelled, so he simply stayed in the mansion, wandered around the bedroom and storeroom, took out a personal key from his body, and went back to Master Ji's study on the way, using the excuse that the mansion needs to breathe , planning to do an accounting of his treasury, and feel better about it.

I don't think I don't know, but if I think about it, I'm really shocked.

It turns out that Mr. Ji has accumulated a lot of money in these years of being an official. Antique calligraphy and paintings, gold and silver utensils, jewelry and jade, and land deeds are all neatly stacked in the small secret room at the back of the study. blind.

Ji Si didn't call anyone, came in by himself, and looked at each place with his hands behind his back, he was a little surprised, there was even an authentic copy of Su Dongbai's "Winter Ode to Plum Blossoms", no wonder Qi Ran said Few of the money sent by the imperial court to distribute to the frontline soldiers every year got their hands, and the co-authors were all shared by these people for pleasure.

Most of the things inside are priceless, only a fan placed in the center of the brocade box looks ordinary. This fan is a common silk cloth style on the market. Although it looks a little more elegant, the material is not special. Here, every detail seems ordinary and can be bought for a few taels of silver, which is not as expensive as the box that contains him.

But Mr. Yuan Ji is very suspicious, he always carries important keys with him, maybe he has suffered a lot since he was a child and has never seen the world, and he is not afraid of attracting thieves, he has to put all good things where he can see them, so that he can feel at ease, Therefore, all the treasures of his heart are piled up in the house, and such a thing seems out of place here.

Ji Si became more and more curious, and went forward to take it out. He could still feel the rough workmanship of the fan handle. When he opened it slowly, he saw mountains painted in ink and wash on the white fan. Behind the mountains, there were white clouds. A red sun breaks through the clouds and rises, the colors are rich and clear, and there is a poem in the lower right corner, "The sun is slanting and the clouds are far away.

This poem is a private poem, but it is actually a love poem. Ji Si read it over and over again, but he didn't see why, but he knew that it was put here because it had a different meaning to Mr. Ji. Maybe it was a gift from an old friend, or a relative. The things that belonged to him, or the things that belonged to his favorite person, were carefully put back, looked at everything one by one, went out and closed the secret room, and put the key tightly in the coat.

As soon as he raised his foot and was about to leave the study, he caught a glimpse of a paper umbrella placed on the bookshelf from the corner of his eye. For some reason, it looked familiar, so he walked over.

It just so happened that at this moment, listening to Xue came up to serve tea, and seeing him like this, he put down the teacup and stood quietly aside.

Ji Si asked without turning his head when he heard the voice, "Is this umbrella always here?"

Hearing this, Tingxue looked up, then hurriedly lowered her head and replied: "I've been there since the maidservant entered the mansion, my lord used to stare at this umbrella in a daze."

Hearing her answer, Ji Si felt that Master Ji was more and more strange. Why did this well-clothed man keep a broken umbrella and broken fan? I didn't bother to think about it anymore, I went around the mansion to express condolences, and the day passed like this.

In the early morning of the next day, the rooster hadn’t crowed yet, the outside was quiet and silent, there was a bit of spring rain, the surrounding fog was filled, and the coolness hit people, only a few lights remained, and there was still a hint of warmth in the night.

Ji Si was in his sleep, and before the dream unfolded, he was awakened by a knock on the door, and was shaken awake from the bed in a daze. He Xi, who was sleepy, let them tidy up and dress up. Sitting in the sedan chair in the official uniform, he squinted his eyes and yawned a few times. The sleepiness in the corners of his eyes could not be stopped. He walked all the way to the gate of the palace. When he opened the sedan chair curtain and looked outside, he realized that it was not too early. There are already many people gathered in the outer space, talking in groups of three or four.

He immediately put away his sleepiness, bent down and got out of the sedan chair, rubbed Ji Chuan's shoulders, squinted his eyes and looked around, scanning left and right.

In fact, apart from being busy in the first few days, the Ministry of Household Affairs did not have much official business in the past few days. When a group of people had nothing to do, they would chat a few words, and he probably had some understanding of the situation between North Korea and China.

Emperor Chengde's body has not been as good as before after a serious illness, and the number of imperial physicians entering the palace has increased. The forces of all parties seem to smell the smell of the mountain rain coming, and there are often open and secret fights. Let's break it down , can probably be divided into several parties.

Li Hongye, the king of Liang, whose mother was concubine Duan, was originally a concubine of Emperor Chengde when he was the crown prince. Later, his mother was also made a concubine because of her noble son. Li Hongye's concubine Liang was the daughter of the Minister of War, and most of the Ministry of Rites belonged to him. Although Zhou Ming was lost, the new Minister of Rites was also supported by him. He has contacts in the Ministry of Rites and power in the Ministry of War. During the year, he fought against several younger brothers. Although he had a reputation of being gentle, courteous and thrifty in the court, in fact, he only engaged in some shady and obscene activities.

The prince Li Hongyang, whose mother is now the empress, his grandfather is Cao Guan, the former imperial historian, and his uncle is the Minister of the Household Department Cao Weiyuan, who controls the world's land, taxes, and financial revenue and expenditure. The son of the Minister of the Ministry of Officials was his companion when he was young. However, although the Great Jin Dynasty did not have the rule of having a son-in-law, for most people, the son-in-law is the orthodox bloodline.

Rui Wang Li Hongxuan, whose mother is the deceased Concubine Rong, has monopolized the favor for many years. Emperor Chengde even said "Ronger is dead, my heart is dead", so he loves his house and Wu, and the four princes have been married to Emperor Chengde since childhood. Love, although there is love, it is not enough to compete with Li Hongyang and the others. One of the reasons why they can check and balance each other is that the mother of the general Guo Jingyi is his aunt, and behind him is the General Pingbei's mansion, although the real power in his hand is relatively weak. The Ministry of Punishment and the Ministry of Industry are still not underestimated.

As for Qin Wang Li Hongyu, his mother, Shu concubine, was originally the lady in charge of the lamp in the Queen's Qifeng Palace. Emperor Chengde was absurd all night with alcohol, and he never thought that he would hit a hit, so he had no choice but to order a concubine. Who knows that Qin Wang was born with congenital deficiencies, weak and sickly Concubine Shu lived in her bedroom for many years, chanting sutras and praying for the king of Qin and the common people in the world, hoping that her son would be happy and healthy for the rest of his life. Li Hongyu lived in the fief after leaving the palace. Polite, relatively indifferent temper.

Most of the officials above the fourth rank in the court stood up ahead of time, except for the three princes Qi Xiang, Fang Taifu and Zhenguo Hou Yan Shizheng, Shangshu Sheng who directly belonged to the emperor, and the Hanlin Academy, also known as the "Private Son of Heaven", the three parties had their own The divisions are clearly divided and the courts compete and restrict each other, no one will let the other, and the other side will not be allowed to seek benefits.

So much so that what Ji Si saw from getting off the sedan chair was such a three-legged scene. I don't know if these adults missed him for a long time, or heard some rumors in the market. It's embarrassing for the person who made it.

Adhering to the truth of reaching out and not hitting the smiling face, he grinned at the crowd. The strange thing is that after he smiled, the expressions of the crowd were even more strange. , which made him even more uncomfortable, he looked around and didn't know which way to go.

In fact, it is reasonable to say that with his current status, everyone knows that he belongs to Li Hongyang's faction, but he is really tired of that old man Cao Weiyuan. The official rank is not as high as that of the old man, and he can't go back, so he can only bear it with his head bowed.

Just when he was hesitating, the sedan chair of Qi Mansion arrived.

The family emblem of the Qi family is a piece of strong bamboo, which is taken from the meaning of firmness and strength of the green bamboo. In order to warn the disciples in the clan to be upright, upright and humble, all the utensils used are printed with bamboo leaf logos, which can be seen at a glance. clear.

Sure enough, Qi Xiang came out of the sedan chair first, followed by Qi Ran, Ji Si raised his eyebrows and immediately stopped being entangled, and went up to him with a smile and narrowed eyes.

In his mind, compared with Qi Ran, what kind of prince, what kind of Cao Shangshu, they are all bullshit, they have no sense of existence!

He bowed his waist and saluted respectfully, and said in a respectful tone: "Qi Xiang'an is good!"

Qi Kuangshan received a salute just a few steps out of the sedan chair, not to mention that the person who saluted was Ji Si from the household department, the famous Mr. Ji, both of them were officials in the same dynasty, but they had no social relations, so he was a little puzzled , in a daze.

Not only was he stunned, but everyone else was also stunned. I have never seen Master Ji show such respect to Prime Minister Qi this time before. What is going on today?Could it be that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is finally going to start a move, planning to win over the Prime Minister's Mansion?It's not unreasonable. The position of the prime minister's mansion is here, and there will be no harm after winning over, or is there some agreement reached?

Do you want to tell King Rui/King Liang that you can still get the first merit by then?But this has no beginning and no end, so how to say the beginning?Said that Ji Si smiled very obscenely and shamelessly at Qi Xiang today?In case I made a wrong guess, after all, Ji Si is extremely insidious, maybe he is the one who tricked me, or should I take another look?

But if the Prince's faction really intends to win over the Qi Mansion, if he didn't say it, it would be self-defeating and a big mistake.

It's been a long time since he went to court this season, why did he play such a false move, half-truth and half-false move, completely insidious and cunning, as expected, this person can't stay.

All the party officials present thought this way. Even the princelings were confused. They looked at each other and didn't understand what Mr. Ji was doing. He didn't hear that the prince said that he was going to make friends with the prime minister's mansion. Why did he go up there? I'm in a hurry.

Everyone was thinking wildly over there, but here Ji Si still smiled and squinted his eyes and said softly: "I haven't seen you for a few days, and Qi Xiang's complexion is getting better and better, and he looks much more energetic than the last time I saw him."

Hearing these words, Qi Kuangshan finally came to his senses, nodded his head slightly, his tone was so polite that no one could fault him, "Master Ji is overrated, I heard that Master Ji was injured a few days ago, I don't know if his body is still in trouble."

"Missing Lao Qi, it's okay. Ji Si was not feeling well a few days ago, so that Zi Heng came to my house to visit and neglected him. After a few days, I will go to the house to pay my respects with a small gift."

Ziheng?

Qi Kuangshan slightly turned his head to look at his youngest son behind him, and saw that the man who had become more and more emotional and angry over the years now had his lips tightly pursed, his brows furrowed, his whole body was full of anger, and he looked very unhappy and was about to explode Look, I think it's very interesting.

He smiled in his heart, but on the surface he looked away and continued: "Master Ji is being polite, I don't know when Master Ji and Xiaoer will be friends."

Ji Si raised his head to look at Qi Ran, and the latter just happened to look over too, and the two of them looked at each other just like that. He had something wrong with his son, and his mind was full of dirty thoughts, all of which could not be put on the table. In front of an old father, no matter how thick-skinned he is, he still knows how to be ashamed. Ji Si felt a little guilty all of a sudden. Only then did I realize that Ziheng and I hit it off and became close friends."

Qi Ran stared at this man, wishing to burn a few holes in his head, how could this man be so brazen, when did he fall in love with him at first sight, and where did he become confidants, could it be a dream!

His temperament has changed a lot over the years. Today, he was beaten back to his original shape by a tactic because he kept silent for a season. In his anger, he still remembered that this was the gate of the palace, and he had to go to court in a while, so he was able to suppress his anger. , and continued to maintain his expressionless face, at worst, he turned a blind eye as a floating cloud.

The adults in the back could only see Ji Si's back, and they were far away. Naturally, they didn't know what they said. They just saw that the atmosphere between the two parties was extremely harmonious, and there was no tension that should have been. What's more, they have already started to count the remaining two of the three men, whoever is better to win over, it is better to strike first, don't let the other party take the initiative.

Qi Kuangshan is indeed a person who has seen strong winds and waves. Hearing Ji Si's words, he didn't even change his expression, and continued: "The gate of the palace is about to open. Let's not miss the hour."

At this time, the bell on the city tower rang, and various voices came from among the officials, Ji Si knew it in his heart, and turned sideways, "Please, Mrs. Qi."

"Master Ji, please." Qi Kuangshan also said politely, and walked straight forward after speaking.

He walked in front, Ji Si intentionally slowed down and stood side by side with Qi Ran, and said with a light smile, "Is Ziheng safe today?"

Qi Ran didn't even look at him, he quickened his pace and walked forward.

Early in the morning, Ji Si rubbed his nose in embarrassment, sighed, and said that his love life was bumpy, but he didn't want to continue chasing up to make people annoying, so he found his own place obediently, and followed the crowd The civil servants entered the Qianqing Hall.

It's a pity that he lived eighteen years before, but it was the first time he came to this place, and he was a little curious about everything, but he didn't dare to look at it openly, he could only lower his head and glance left and right from the corner of his eye.

Not long after, an old eunuch with a static whip came up, and Ji Si immediately withdrew his eyes. Hearing the sharp and piercing "Go up~", he knelt down with the officials and shouted: "Long live my emperor!" Long live."

The voices are uniform and powerful.

As soon as the words fell, a majestic but slightly out of breath voice came from above his head, accompanied by the sound of coughing, "cough cough cough, everyone loves you."

Ji Si stood up and looked at Emperor Chengde on the dragon chair, feeling mixed feelings in his heart for a moment. He could remember that this king who controlled the world would teach himself to read and write, he would not be stingy with his encouragement and praise, and he would say to himself , "Lin'an will be your home from now on."

All kinds of things in the past seem to be still in front of us, but things have changed.

After a serious illness, Emperor Chengde often had a sickly pale complexion, looked much older, and coughed a few times every few words he said. He was not at all different from the heroic emperor in his memory. Speaking carefully, Qi Xiang is a little older than him, but his mental outlook is much better.

He lived in Lin'an for nearly six years, and spent three years in the palace. Emperor Chengde treated him so well that Ji Si forgot that besides being a kind elder, he was also the ruler of the Jin Dynasty. He is the king of all, holding everyone's life and death in his hands, weaving a dream for you with gentleness, and then using this dream to kill you, you will not even resist, and you have to kneel on the ground to thank Dade and cry bitterly.

Just like Concubine Wan said, "He is the monarch of the Jin Dynasty and the emperor of the whole world, but he is not a good husband, nor is he a good father. He has done everything and done everything for the position under him. , other people are nothing more than a pawn to him after all."

Since ancient times, emperors have been ruthless. It is such a simple truth that Concubine Wan didn't understand until she died.

Speaking of Concubine Wan, it will be her death day soon, I am not Li Si now, I don't know if I will receive paper money if I use Ji Si's identity to burn paper money for her, whether she can receive it in the underground, she has no idea when she spent money during her lifetime, I haven't burned paper money for her for six years, and the previous money may have been spent long ago, so I don't know how to scold myself below.

Ji Si lowered his head and thought wildly, so much so that after the meeting, he didn't listen to what was said at all, he just stood there blankly and wandered, and when he retreated, he followed the crowd in a daze except for the Qianqing Palace, and waited to wake up Coming over, subconsciously stretched his head and looked for Qi Ran in the crowd, but he couldn't find him, but an unexpected person came.

The great eunuch next to Emperor Chengde, Sun Hai.

"Master Ji, the emperor invites you."

He wondered in his heart, he didn't know what the emperor asked him for, but he knew that he shouldn't ask more questions, so he bowed respectfully, "Then I will thank Eunuch Sun to lead the way."

"Master Ji is polite."

Followed Sun Hai around to the side hall, Emperor Chengde sat in the center and read the scriptures, Sun Hai lowered his voice and said: "Your Majesty, Lord Ji is here."

"My minister, Ji Si, sees the emperor."

"Well," Emperor Chengde replied without a head, "Sun Hai, you go outside and guard."

"Yes!"

Ji Si turned his head slightly and listened to the footsteps passing by him until they disappeared. The only sound left in the hall was the sound of Emperor Chengde flipping the paper. After a while, he put down the booklet, looked up and swept Ji Si down, and coughed twice Said: "Get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After getting up, Ji Si still stood aside with his head down. He didn't understand why Emperor Chengde was looking for him, so he couldn't speak rashly.

"How's the injury?" Emperor Chengde spoke first.

Ji Si was stunned for a moment, and quickly replied: "Your Majesty is concerned, and the officer is no longer in the way."

"Ah."

Then there was a long silence, and Ji Si sweated a little on his forehead. Just as his heart was beating fast, Emperor Chengde said again: "Which side do you think sent to kill you?"

Hearing his question, Ji Si frowned, and was even more puzzled. Since Emperor Chengde asked this, it showed that he had already made a calculation in his mind, and felt that those "bandits" were either from King Liang or King Rui. But why he asked himself, the reason made him puzzled.

Ji Si swallowed his saliva, weighed it for a long time, and then replied cautiously: "At that time, I fainted, and I didn't look carefully. Maybe the surrounding refugees became bandits. It's like this in many places."

He was a little nervous, but Emperor Chengde seemed to ask casually, and didn't continue, but found another topic, "Dali Temple is going to retry Zhou Ming's case, what do you think?"

How can this be seen!

This question is even more difficult for Ji Si, he can't say that there is something wrong with Zhou Ming's case, and the reason is for a retrial!

I can only talk about him from left to right, "This matter involves too much, and His Majesty must have plans in mind."

As soon as the words fell, there was a burst of laughter above the head, "You will avoid the important ones, that's all, you go down."

Ji Si breathed a sigh of relief, kowtowed hurriedly and said, "I will take my leave."

All the way out of the gate of the palace, his heart hanging in his throat finally fell.

At this moment, Ji Si understood why Li Hongyang doubted him when he used him, the reason was because Emperor Chengde used him.

The author has something to say:

small theater:

Ji Si: [Seeing Qi Ran, with a shy face] Qi Xiang'an is good, today's is still very handsome.

Qi Xiang: ...

Onlookers: Look at Ji Si's face, I wonder if he has a crush on Prime Minister Qi!

Qi Xiang: ... I am too difficult!

ps: In the next chapter, unlock a new character and guess who it is.