Opposite the entrance hall

The sun came out through the clouds, and the bright sunlight covered the palace walls. The maids of Qifeng Palace put ice cubes in a small furnace and fanned them. A trace of cool air came out from the copper furnace, which dispersed the air in the room. feeling of heat.

Cao Yuhan was holding scissors to trim the flower branches, and then thinking about inserting them into the porcelain vase. There were thin thorns on the flower stems and a punctured fingertip. Danrui who was waiting at the side hurriedly took out a handkerchief and said in a panic: "Why don't you, Madam?" Be careful, you have to tell the imperial physician."

"It's just a small injury, don't mobilize the crowd." Cao Yuhan took the veil and wiped the blood beads from her fingertips on it. As soon as the bright red blood touched the silk cloth, it immediately spread and stained the clean veil. She stared at the dazzling red thoughtfully.

There was a rush of footsteps outside the hall, and then the figure of Qifeng Palace eunuch Yuan Feng came in from outside the hall, he bowed and saluted, and called softly: "Your Majesty."

"What are you doing in such a panic?" Cao Yuhan asked, throwing the handkerchief aside.

"The slave has something to report."

"What makes you so flustered?"

Yuanfeng faltered, a little inconvenient to speak.

Cao Yuhan raised his eyelids and looked at it for a while, then lowered his eyes and said, "Come closer and talk."

"Yes."

After getting the order, Yuanfeng got up, lowered his head carefully, walked around the screen and walked to Cao Yuhan's side, covered his mouth with his hand, lowered his voice and said, "Cao Shangshu wants to see your empress."

Hearing this, Cao Yuhan paused for a moment, then returned to normal after a while, and asked, "Did Cao Weiyuan say why he asked to see me?"

"No."

Cao Yuhan narrowed her phoenix eyes slightly, staring at the pink and white rose in her hand, "If he wants to see it, he will see it. I want to see what tricks he can play."

Although concubines in the harem cannot privately see foreign ministers, it is a different matter if they are close family members. There are family visits every month in the palace. In addition, Cao Yuhan is the head of the harem, so Cao Weiyuan followed Yuanfeng into the habitat like this. Feng Gong was not obstructed at all along the way.

He walked around into the main hall of Qifeng Palace, bowed on his knees, and said in a muffled voice, "I have seen the empress, I hope she will be safe."

"Brother, hurry up and give up the courtesy." Cao Yuhan raised his hand vainly, "There is no one else here, and our own brothers and sisters can't do these courtesy."

"Thank you, ma'am." Cao Weiyuan was grateful for Dade's getting up, and in his heart he coldly snorted and said that Cao Yuhan was pretending, if it was true as she said, then he would mention it as soon as he came in, instead of waiting for the salutes to be finished before adding such a sentence, it was completely deliberate .

Although Cao's brother and sister are both descendants of the same mother, Cao Yuhan married Emperor Chengde, who was still the crown prince at that time, as a concubine as a concubine. After Emperor Chengde succeeded to the throne, he made an exception and promoted her from concubine to concubine.

But the Great Jin Dynasty has always paid attention to the distinction between concubines and concubines, and there has never been a precedent for a concubine to be a concubine since ancient times. Fortunately, the Cao family was far worse than before in the aristocratic family, so they wanted to promote Cao Yuhan's biological mother Qian from a concubine to a wife. Qian's mother is noble based on daughters, so Cao Yuhan's concubine position is also justified.

Because of this, Cao Weiyuan has always looked down on Cao Yuhan's status as a concubine, thinking that she is born lower than himself, if she hadn't climbed up to the emperor, she might not be able to act like she is now, and Cao Yuhan doesn't like to see her brother, who is as stupid as a pig , stupid, without foresight and future prospects at all, it is this kind of person who is the son of the Cao family, the Cao family will decline to this point, except for being a man, everything is not as good as him.

The two criticized each other as worthless in their hearts, but they still pretended to be kind on the surface. Cao Yuhan gave the seat, and Cao Weiyuan took the seat without politeness.

The palace lady served herbal tea, and the brothers and sisters of the Cao family had a lukewarm exchange of greetings, but no one mentioned anyone else, but Cao Weiyuan was too far-sighted, so he couldn't hold back and opened his mouth, "No Tell the empress that I have important matters to discuss when I enter the palace today."

"Oh, I don't know what it is for, but I'd like to trouble my brother to go to the palace." Cao Yuhan's face was full of confusion. If it wasn't someone who knew her temperament well, she really thought she didn't know anything.

Cao Weiyuan snorted a few times in his heart, but on the face he was extremely worried, "This is a street thug who doesn't know the world and how to sue imperial courts, this incident has caused Lin'an City to be full of storms, and there are many discussions in the court. Have heard of it."

"Haven't you heard of this?" Cao Yuhan frowned, a little confused: "Brother also knows that this harem cannot be involved in politics, and it is a taboo for concubines to interfere in political affairs. I am in the deep palace all day long. Taking care of the big and small things in the harem, how did I know what happened in the court hall, and I only heard about it from my brother until today."

She turned the jade bracelet in her hand, paused for a moment, and then asked curiously: "I don't know who this person is? Who is he suing? What kind of crime is it? Why is brother so anxious? Could it be that he has something to do with him?"

Cao Weiyuan gritted his back molars, and then Yang Chun smiled, pretending to be easy to answer, "I don't have much to do with this matter, this is far away from Lin'an Mountain High Road, how could it not be as good as those officials who were sued?" We have contacts."

"Since that's the case, what is the purpose of elder brother looking for this palace today?"

"Speaking of which, it is caused by the inappropriate actions of the collateral people," Cao Weiyuan sighed with displeasure on his face, "Coincidentally, one of the officials who were sued was the A collateral member of the Cao family, named Cao Ping, took the post of Guan Liang Lang of Wan Ping. Although he was not a member of the same family, he had some friendship with his ministers when he was young. People in the officialdom are very shrewd. He pretended to be a snake, and maybe he walked closer, and he was even sued in front of the emperor. It's hard for others to say, Cao Ping is so useless, and he didn't dare to do anything against the law if he had ten guts. , there must be a misunderstanding.”

Cao Yuhan listened quietly, and picked up the pink rose on the table. She had already removed the fine thorns on the branches. Feeling some unevenness, she calmly raised her eyes to look at the person below, and spoke Question: "As elder brother said, Cao Ping was wronged and had nothing to do with this matter. You should inform His Majesty earlier, so as not to implicate innocent people and damage His Majesty's sageness."

"Your official has this intention," Cao Weiyuan's eyes lit up, and things were going as he expected, and his tone was a little more relaxed than before, "Cao Ping is just a humble name, but if it's because he made the emperor make a mistake , it's really not worth it..."

The voice hadn't finished yet, but was interrupted by Cao Yuhan, "It's reasonable, but what does it have to do with me?"

The situation suddenly turned cold, the smile on the corners of Cao Weiyuan's mouth froze, he raised his eyes and looked over coldly, only to see that the man in the main seat hooked his lips at him, he immediately understood, suppressed his anger in his heart, and reluctantly lowered his posture, Haosheng accompanied him with a smile and said: "Look at what your mother said, this matter has nothing to do with you. Your mother is from the Cao family and is the birth mother of His Royal Highness. Both civil and military people know that the Cao family supports His Royal Highness. This Cao Ping belongs to the Cao family." People, if they are really wronged and punished, then others must think that they were instructed by the Cao family. Although the subordinate officials have no dealings with him, others do not believe it. Maybe the prince will be implicated and the emperor will be displeased. It’s really not worth the candle.”

"Isn't that simple?" Cao Yuhan said with a half-smile, "Since my elder brother has no personal relationship with Cao Ping, but only a collateral lineage, it should be removed from the Cao family tree. Whether he lives or dies is up to him."

Cao Weiyuan restrained his smile, and understood that Cao Yuhan was determined to sit idly by, and had no intention of lending a helping hand from the beginning to the end. Fortunately, he had long expected that his sister was scheming and cruel, and in order to achieve his goal, he even kissed her. The son can be used, let alone his brother who is not a compatriot.

Thinking to this point, Cao Weiyuan met his gaze, stood up and bowed and saluted, "Your Majesty's words are very true, the lower officials are stupid..."

Speaking of this, he suddenly stopped, raised his head slightly and said in a cold voice: "From now on, I will be like your empress, eliminating dissidents, destroying corpses and eradicating traces, just like back then."

Hearing these words, Yuanfeng's face suddenly turned pale, and he hurriedly raised his head to look at Cao Yuhan's expression. Sure enough, the latter's smile disappeared completely, his hands froze, and his eyes were a little angry Unhappy, staring at this person.

Cao Weiyuan didn't seem to feel it, and continued to press on, "Your Majesty, you still have to keep listening. Back then, Leng Gong hadn't..."

"Yuanfeng," Cao Yuhan raised his voice and ordered, "Let the servants go out and wait. I and Cao Shangshu need to discuss some family matters."

"Yes."

The maids and eunuchs withdrew from the palace one after another, and only Danrui and Yuanfeng, who knew the truth, were left in the empty palace. After the others retreated, Cao Yuhan lost his previous generous and decent appearance, and angrily warned in a low voice, "Cao Weiyuan, you Is this threatening this palace?"

"You don't dare, I just want to analyze the pros and cons with the empress. The empress has many eyes and ears. What happened in Lin'an must not be hidden from the eyes of the empress. Then the official will not go around in circles. Concubine Wan had an affair with the guards back then. In this matter, the empress thinks that she is perfect, but she doesn’t know that there is no impenetrable wall in the world, and the servant who was ordered to deliver love poems to the guards under the guise of Concubine Wan’s name for the empress was placed by the empress’s side by the Cao family.”

Cao Weiyuan smiled sinisterly, and the words he said conveyed a lot of information one by one, "My mother is a little bit more hearty, the Cao family can't see it, the Cao family is not at ease when the married daughter splashes water. Putting all the treasures on the empress, this foreign relative has been taboo in the royal family since ancient times, and they always have to find ways to protect themselves. They just sent someone to follow them, but there was an unexpected harvest. Could it be that they planted flowers on purpose and planted willows unintentionally? Liu Chengyin."

"It's nonsense," Cao Yuhan gritted his teeth and glared angrily, "I don't understand what you're talking about."

"It doesn't matter if you don't understand, it's the ambergris ink that the maid asked the servant to handle. Now it's in the hands of the servants. The ambergris ink has a special fragrance. When it's written on paper, the fragrance lingers for a long time. It's a tribute. Excellent product, the emperor thought that Concubine Wan was from a scholarly family and was the only daughter of Mrs. Xu, so he gave it to Concubine Wan. This is why the emperor concluded that the love poem was written by Concubine Wan. No one would know that the empress also had half of it. It's something passed down from your biological mother's family, I don't know if your mother still has it?" Cao Weiyuan said.

Hearing this, Cao Yuhan's face was gloomy and ashen, but she didn't open her mouth to deny it. As Cao Weiyuan said, there was half a piece of ambergris in her dowry when she got married, and now she can't get it out, she has no plans Unexpectedly, the servant was placed by Cao's family by his side. Although he got rid of it early after the incident, it was still half a step too late and left a handle in Cao Weiyuan's hands.

She asked coldly, "What do you want?"

Cao Weiyuan got up and moved closer, evoking a malicious smile, "I don't want to do anything, I just want to ask my mother for help, my mother is my sister, and this prince is my nephew, we are a family, we should be of the same heart Tongli is consistent with the outside world, so it has nothing to do with internal strife, but I am confused about the matter of Wanping, but if I make a mistake, it will definitely implicate the Cao family and the prince, and lose the great help of the Cao family. As far as the crown prince's ambition is concerned, it is a business that is harmful but not beneficial."

"Sister," Cao Weiyuan lowered his voice, "We are the only ones now."

Cao Yuhan raised her head and took a deep breath, her eyes darkened and said coldly: "The emperor attaches great importance to this matter, and even ordered the Yushitai to conduct a thorough investigation. Even if the wind doesn't spread, even if Bengong wants to help you, he won't be able to."

"Don't bother me, the lower officials have their own way," Cao Weiyuan's voice filled with evil spirits came, "The person who sued the imperial court has a bad reputation, and such ordinary people are full of nonsense. We just need to let the emperor understand that this person is not good. It is to obey orders, and everything he does is aimed at the Cao family, so the credibility of what he said needs to be re-evaluated."

"Do what you are told? Whose orders are you listening to?"

Cao Weiyuan sneered, "Pingbei Army General Guo Jingyi's order, this is the Pingbei Army's camp to the north of Pingping, Guo Jingyi is a trouble, it's better to get rid of it sooner, and then I will need your mother's help." .”

After that, he bowed and saluted again, and said with a loud smile: "At that time, no one will be able to compete with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Brother really thinks of the prince." Cao Yuhan said with a sneer.

"After all, it's my own family, so I should protect it."

The two laughed with each other's thoughts, and calmed down the previous tense situation with a few words. Even if Cao Yuhan was unwilling in his heart, he could only hold back this tone and deal with Cao Weiyuan. As soon as the fire was turned on, the teacup on the table shattered with a wave of his hand.

"What is Cao Weiyuan! How dare you threaten me with the matter of Xu Lingyi, that bitch! Trash! You trash!"

Yuanfeng's body trembled a bit, the back was chilled, his forehead was wet with cold sweat, he knelt down and kowtowed in a panic, begging for mercy repeatedly, "Madam, it's my servant's negligence. This servant thinks it's safe to deal with people, but Who would have thought that it was actually someone arranged by the Cao family, my lady spared my life, it was because the servants were confused for a moment! My lady, please spare my life!"

"If it weren't for the fact that you have been with me for so many years, I would have needed your dog's life today!" Cao Yuhan was so angry that he had a headache, he propped his head with his right hand and softened a few times, and then he eased the resentment in his heart, "Cao Yuhan They are so guarded against me, they are not benevolent, so I can't blame me for being unrighteous."

Danrui came over to rub the shoulders to relieve the anger, and asked with some concern: "Now that Cao Weiyuan has a handle, does the empress have to help with the matter of Wanping? What you see is complicated, if you mix it up, wouldn't it be asking for trouble and causing trouble for the upper body?"

"This matter of Wanping cannot be mixed up. If you are a little careless, let alone Cao Weiyuan, even the palace and the crown prince will be implicated," Cao Yuhan lowered her tone, "As for what happened back then, it is just that the truth cannot be seen again."

"My lady means..."

The corner of Cao Yuhan's mouth curled up into a sneer, "The fight between these two parties is similar to gambling. Whoever shows his hole card first will lose the opportunity. Naturally, he will lose the game. Since the matter of Wanping came prepared, Cao Weiyuan was forced to Throwing out the way to save life, it must be a solid fact, this elder brother Bengong has no other abilities but is very afraid of death, then we will use the plan to get rid of this scourge by flattening this knife."

"But if the Cao family falls, His Highness will lose the support of the Cao family. Aren't you worried?" Yuan Feng asked with a frown.

"Support?" Cao Yuhan sneered twice, "Do you think the current Cao family is still the Cao family when the late emperor was there? Among the eight great families, the Cao family can only be ranked at the bottom, and now the Cao family relies on the breath of the palace and the crown prince to make a living. , Cao Weiyuan is not stupid but not smart either, fighting with Ben Gong depends on whether he has the ability!"

She looked at the scattered rose petals on the ground, the expression on her face was hidden in the dark, a bit weird, and her voice was full of ruthlessness, "In this world, only the dead can't speak. "

The petals are scattered all over the ground, and the end result of all things is nothing but ashes to ashes, ashes to ashes, this is true of flowers, and so is human beings.

Ji Si withdrew his eyes from the picture of a cluster of flowers, raised his head slightly and looked at the person sitting on the dragon chair from the corner of his eye. Emperor Chengde's face was pale and sick, his cheeks were sunken and his cheekbones were high and protruding. The whole person's appearance became as thin as a stick, but Emperor Chengde was fidgeting only after a stick of incense came in. Not only did he lick his lips once and scratch the corner of the table, but occasionally there were a few harsh scratching sounds, the sound was not very loud, but Ji Si could hear it. Always good to catch.

In short, it was very weird, as if he was enduring something.

"Cough cough..."

There was a coughing sound in the empty hall, and Ji Si quickly lowered his head.

Immediately afterwards, Emperor Chengde's hoarse voice followed, "Is what is said in this complaint true?"

"These are all written down by Zhu Ying Zhoukou to Shichen. The content must be correct, but whether it is true or not needs to be thoroughly investigated by the minister to find out. After all, this matter is of great importance and many people involved are involved. Negligence can lead to great mistakes."

"You can go and investigate boldly," Chengde said coldly: "I want to see what kind of ability it is, and it can hide it from the world without even letting the wind out!"

"Your Majesty obeys the order," Ji Si bowed and saluted, then raised his eyes a little hesitantly, and after thinking about it again and again, he asked: "Your Majesty, this matter may implicate the Cao family or even His Royal Highness the Prince. In-depth investigation? The official believes that His Royal Highness and Cao Shangshu have nothing to do with this matter, but it is inevitable that there will be some involvement. I am afraid that some uninformed people outside will spread some bad words, which will cause a estrangement between His Majesty and the Crown Prince. It's not very good."

Emperor Chengde didn't answer the words, but had an inexplicable smile on his face, and he heard him say, "Ji Si" after a while.

"Chen is here!"

"Do you know why I asked you to thoroughly investigate the matter of Wan Ping?"

Ji Si was as clear as a mirror in his heart, but on the surface he still pretended to have a half-knowledge, "Didn't your Majesty say that you should let your ministers make up for their crimes? This embezzlement of military salaries to enrich one's own pockets is due to a problem with the accounts, and the local government's money is also a problem. The account transfer department is required to transfer the money. Among the six departments and five temples, none of the yamen can be cleared by the account department. It is most appropriate for the account department to check. Your Majesty's decision-making is like a god with a long-term vision. I am very impressed."

Emperor Chengde didn't reveal any joy when he heard these flattering words, he just stared at Ji Si's face for a while, and then slowly said: "You are talking about one of them."

"Then what's the reason? Forgive me for being stupid, but I hope Your Majesty can raise a point or two."

"You're right. The account department is most familiar with the money matters. How much is allocated, how much is used, and how much is left. The accounts are clearly listed. You are an official of the account department, Wan Ping You should know how many accounts are involved in this matter." Speaking of this, Emperor Chengde's face became gloomy, and even his voice became a little cold, "That's more than 2000 million snowflake silver!"

Ji Si has been so busy these days that he hasn't had time to carefully check the total amount of those accounts, but he also knows in his heart that it must not be a small amount. Hearing the number revealed by Emperor Chengde at this moment, the shock and Surprised but true, so much money was concealed under the noses of many people, not to mention that there are many crimes such as prostitution of young girls, forming a party for personal gain, no matter which one is enough to punish those officials sin.

He lowered his head and did not make a sound, knowing that it is not good to speculate on the holy will at this time, for fear of offending the moody emperor, as expected, Emperor Chengde sighed faintly and continued: "What is the state of the treasury now? As the servant of the household department, he must be very clear that if this money enters the national treasury, it will only benefit Dajin. This flat is like a big tree with luxuriant branches and leaves. When you open it, you can see that there is only a thin bark that has been devoured by moths inside. If you want to investigate this matter, you need to uproot it to avoid future troubles.”

What the superiors think about is never just a few lives, but how much benefit they can get from it. Emperor Chengde didn't care about those innocent people who died in vain, but the money allocated. In addition, there is the Cao family.

Cao Weiyuan must have something to do with Wanping, and Li Hongyang didn't know what role he played here, but since King Liang left Beijing, the power of the prince's faction has become more and more overwhelming in the court. He was trained to become another King of Liang, but Li Hongxuan was like a dou who couldn't afford to support him, except for the official duties assigned to him, he just couldn't move a single step in the mansion, and had no future at all.

Emperor Chengde lost his thoughts and let him go, and instead put his mind on balancing Li Hongyang. Among his sons, he liked Li Hongxuan the most, but he was lukewarm towards the crown prince. People's hearts, their ambitions are clearly revealed, and it is this that makes Emperor Chengde quite displeased. No one will have a good impression of someone who is thinking about the position under him day and night, and can't wait to replace him.

However, it seems that if there is really a need to choose a crown prince, the crown prince is the most suitable candidate. On the one hand, Emperor Chengde suppressed Li Hongyang, and on the other hand, he also planned for his future. The biggest threat among them is his relatives, even if the Cao family has nothing to do with Wanping today. , it will definitely be a disaster in the future, if there are a few more Cao Weiyuan, then the court will have to mess up.

After all, there are only two things, the Cao family has to be demoted, and the money from Wan Ping has to be recovered.

Ji Siting's heart was startled, his eyes sank, and he lowered his voice and said: "Your Majesty's words are confusing, I don't quite understand what Your Majesty means."

Emperor Chengde tilted his head and coughed a few times, and waved his hands to reject Sun Haiying's plan to go up to help him. He took a moment to say, "The Pingbei camp suffered a night attack and lost more than half of its food and grass. The shortage of food and grass on the front line is a big deal. Guo Jingyi not long ago I also handed over the booklet and asked me to send food and grass there. I never thought that many things in recent days have been delayed, and it is time to start arranging it. This transportation of food and grass is not a trivial matter, and it is thousands of miles away from Lin'an. You see that this dynasty is the most suitable for transporting grain and grass."

There is one meaning in the words, but another meaning behind the words, Ji Si pretended to be confused, and replied with a sad face, "The purpose of going to Wenping is not to deliver food and grass, but to thoroughly investigate the corruption of officials in Wenping. For this case, it is extremely important which lord to send, and the officials are too dull to say anything, but His Majesty has made every effort to plan a strategy, so he must have someone in mind."

"You can guess what I'm thinking," Chengde said with a deep smile, "Then why can't you guess that I'm going to send you to Pingping?"

Before the words finished, Ji Si's expression became complicated, and he quickly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, this important minister in the army is really powerless, why not send Liu Shilang or Guan Shangshu from the Ministry of War."

"Although you don't understand military affairs, when it comes to food and grass accounts, the officials of the Manchu Dynasty are not as good as your household department. Could it be that you think Cao Weiyuan is more suitable?"

Ji Si opened his mouth and wanted to say something else, Emperor Chengde raised his eyebrows, and his voice became a little more impatient, "That's the matter, you go back to the mansion today to sort it out, the imperial decree will be issued soon, when I Choose another person to go with you."

Seeing that there was no room for discussion, Ji Si pursed his lips and kowtowed to accept the order, "Minister, Ji Si, accept the order!"

Emperor Chengde raised his hand to signal people to stand up, and said in a deep voice: "If the matter of Wanping is found out, the Cao family will definitely not be able to escape responsibility, and then Cao Weiyuan's position as Minister of the Household Department will be lost. Ji Si, I am giving you a chance , if you do this well, you will have made the first contribution, and you will be promoted to receive the reward, guess what reward I will give you when the time comes?"

"I dare not ask for rewards for things that are within my duties."

"Okay," Emperor Chengde rubbed his brows wearily, "Entrust the official duties in hand, it should be a few days, go back and wait for the order."

"Yes."

Ji Si bowed and took a few steps back before coming out of the hall. He took a deep breath, suddenly felt that Emperor Chengde was in trouble, frowned for a while, stood under the steps and looked behind him In the end, the gate of Qianyuan Hall just turned around and left.

All the way out of the palace, when he was at the gate of the palace, he saw Li Hongyu from a distance, squinted his eyes and greeted him, "I have seen the prince."

"Ji Shilang is free of courtesy," Li Hongyu smiled, his body was still weak and harmless, "Are you ready to leave the palace?"

"Exactly," Ji Sihui said, "Is the lord going to the palace to find the emperor?"

"Oh, it's because my mother and concubine feel the wind and cold occasionally, and this king is very worried, so I went into the palace to have a look. I heard that Ji Shilang is busy with the matter of suing the imperial court recently, so I don't want to delay too much. Ji Shilang should be busy with business first. important."

"Then I will take the first step as an official." Ji Si nodded and left first. After walking a certain distance, he stopped and turned around to look at Li Hongyu's back not far away. Fleeting has not yet been seen clearly, but it becomes black.

Ji Si frowned and suppressed the strange feeling in his heart, shook his head, looked away in some confusion.

After coming out of the palace, Ji Si thought about it again and again and planned to go to the post station to have a look at Zhu Yingzhou. If he really had no choice but to go to Fanping, then Zhu Yingzhou couldn't travel long distances with his body, so he had to hurry up and recuperate. Fan, it was a long time before the departure, and he thought of taking him to the Jifu to take care of him. First, he was proficient in medical skills in the first day of junior high school. With him watching over him, he might be able to recover faster; That place full of people and miscellaneous eyes is really unlikely to make the injury better.

Just when he had a plan, he quickened his pace and walked for a certain distance, but was blocked by two people in front of him wearing the costumes of the guards of the Eastern Palace. Ji Si stopped and stared at the unkind people. His eyes darkened a little.

The person at the head saluted with his fists clasped, and said respectfully: "Master Ji, I've been waiting for a long time, Your Highness welcomes you."

The place where Li Hongyang summoned him was in an elegant and quiet tavern, he opened the curtain and came out of the carriage, and before he could take a closer look at where it was, Fang Qing, the chief eunuch of the Eastern Palace, hurried up to greet him, slightly Possessed, "Ji Shilang is here, His Highness has been waiting inside for a long time."

Ji Si followed Fang Qing and walked into the tavern, looking at the scenery along the road, since King Liang lost power, Li Hongyang has been protecting and cultivating forces, holding all the fragmented forces under King Liang in his hands, busy with the first two big , I haven't looked for him for quite a while, which made him calm down a lot, and he didn't need to devote all his energy to deal with this person. Today's visit must have been well prepared, and Ji Si guessed in his heart that Li Hong called himself here Intentionally, he felt that it was probably for the sake of peace, so he quickly stepped forward and walked side by side with Fang Qing.

"Eunuch Fang Qing," Ji Si said, "Why did His Highness call me here?"

Fang Qing glanced at him sideways, and smiled slightly, "Wouldn't you know when Minister Ji arrives?"

Seeing that people didn't want to say more, Ji Si closed his voice, and after walking for a while, Fang Qing stopped outside a courtyard made of fake stones, made a gesture of invitation, and said to Ji Si: "Ji Shilang just go in and you'll be done. The slave girl still needs to do some chores for His Highness, so she doesn't accompany Ji Shilang in."

"There's Father-in-Law." Ji Si nodded slightly, raised his legs and walked in.

You can't see it from the outside, but there is a hole in the inside, with jagged rocks, lush trees, and a trickle of water. After walking along the path for a while, Ji Si's vision widened, and he saw the princelings sitting on the ground in a flat place.

Li Hongyang was wearing a short robe with narrow sleeves, and he was practicing sword, stabbing and slashing. Every movement was done beautifully, but it was too good-looking and not strong enough. It was far less direct than Qi Ran's lethality, Ji Si secretly commented in his heart.

Suddenly, the long sword came straight at him. The blade of the sword reflected a cold light in the sun, breaking through the wind and pushing towards Ji Si's face. Seeing the distance gradually shortened, Ji Si's eyes widened and he stood there dumbfounded. He remained motionless in place, with only room for a sharp blade in his pupils, bit by bit, getting closer and closer, he even relaxed his breathing, gritted his teeth and forcibly suppressed the body's instinct to avoid danger, so as not to Get yourself out of the way.

The long sword pressed against the tip of Ji Si's nose, and made a small shallow hole, which can be pierced through with a little force. Li Hongyang raised his chin, and asked a bit nastyly: "Why don't you hide?"

"Your Highness now relies on His Highness for everything. Without Your Highness, there would be no Ji Si today. In other words, His Highness gave you this life. If His Highness wants your life, there is no reason for you not to pay it back. For His Highness." Death is the supreme glory of being an official." Ji Shilang opened his mouth and said nice words, what he said was a sincere and loyal one.

Never thought that Li Hongyang was dissatisfied, and mocked with a cold face, "It's full of nonsense, and none of it is true."

Ji Si showed a wry smile, and said in a gentle voice: "The lower official was so frightened that his legs went limp, and he didn't have time to avoid it. His highness is superb in martial arts. If it happens again, the lower official will probably be scared to the bum. It's not good to spread the word."

I don't know which words pleased Li Hongyang, he laughed out loud, put away his sword and walked to his seat, took the handkerchief handed over by the servant, wiped off the sweat from his forehead and neck, threw it on the tray casually, and sat down After taking a sip of wine, he said: "Why are you standing still, why don't you sit down?"

"Yes." Ji Si "legs limp from being frightened", naturally walked a little awkwardly, and slowly sat down under the eyes of other people watching the excitement.

"What's the current situation with the matter of Wan Ping?" Li Hongyang took a sip of the plum wine soaked in ice hockey pucks, "Let's talk about it."

This matter was a big one, Ji Si guessed that Li Hongyang would ask, so he didn't hide it, and told Qi Ran exactly what Zhu Yingzhou said.

"You said he has the real account book that Cao Ping didn't present?" Li Hongyang raised his eyebrows, "Where did he get Cao Ping's account book from a thug?"

Yan Huaizheng smiled and said, "It's not easy, just take out the ledger and look at it to know the truth."

Ji Si frowned and said with a mournful face: "The man said that the account book was left in Wanping, and he was determined to go to Beijing to sue the imperial court for the purpose of finding Taifu Fang. Somehow, Cao Ping and his party found out, and sent many people along the way. Taking his life is the reason why the idea of ​​the Three Caves of the Rabbit came into being, if something happens on the way to Beijing, someone will take advantage of Cao Ping and the others to take advantage of their slack, and send the ledger directly to the Qi Mansion, so as to be prepared for no danger."

"Did you come out of the palace earlier?" Li Hongyang didn't continue this topic but asked other questions.

"Yes," Ji Si nodded and said, "The emperor wants to thoroughly investigate the case of Fanping, and the officials next to him will clean it up. He thinks that Pingbei Daying is sending grain and grass, so he will go to Fanping on another day to find out the matter of the general's private embezzlement."

He stopped here, and hastily defended, "Then Cao Ping is doing something wrong in the name of the Cao family. The officials will definitely act carefully and will not let him get involved with Cao Shangshu and the Cao family. I hope His Highness can rest assured. It will be done beautifully."

"The emperor wants to find out, then you should check everything out."

"But Cao Shangshu..." Ji Si raised his eyes and looked at the person, a little hesitant.

Li Hongyang sneered, "If Cao Weiyuan is really inseparable from this case, then it can only be said that it is his own fault. This snake's heart is not enough to be swallowed by others, and he can't blame others."

Ji Si repeatedly nodded in response, actually thinking in his heart that these people bit dogs, smacked their mouths, and after drinking for three times, a group of men would inevitably talk about women. Ji Si had no nature at all, but when Li Hongyang mentioned the Pei family Miss Shi, still pricked up her ears, although it was only a few words of praise, and then she talked about other things, but it still made Ji Si feel that something was wrong, squinting her eyes and thinking secretly in her heart.

After dealing with Li Hongyang, he arrived at the post house. It was already dusk, and the afterglow of the setting sun shone on him, making the crimson official uniform a little darker.

When he opened the door and entered, Zhu Yingzhou was eating, his hands were covered tightly by the charcoal fire, let alone moving the spoon with chopsticks, he couldn't even move a little bit, but this man was arrogant , not easy to show weakness in front of others, rejected the waiter, was struggling to put his hands together, trying to hold the porcelain bowl with his wrist, but failed after several attempts, instead spilling a lot of white porridge on the tray.

Hearing the movement, he raised his head and glanced coldly, then continued with the movements in his hands.

But Ji Si couldn't see it. He took a few steps forward and picked up the bowl in front of people's eyes. He held the spoon and stirred the porridge. My son also drank a few cups of green plum wine at Li Hongyang's place. He smelled the white porridge and realized that he was hungry, but no matter how hungry he was, he would never snatch food from this cripple's mouth. He could only scoop up a spoonful of it resignedly. Pass it to someone's mouth.

Zhu Yingzhou still didn't want to see Ji Si very much, and turned his head away with his drooping eyes.

Ji Si moved closer, and raised his eyebrows when he saw that people didn't appreciate it, "Don't you want to eat?"

His tone was indifferent, and he couldn't hear any emotion. Zhu Yingzhou's sideways face seemed to Ji Si to be a child with a temper, and he was always ruthless when dealing with such people.