Opposite the entrance hall

In the late autumn, the autumn tiger suddenly ushered in what should be a cool and comfortable day. People who are hot can hardly sleep at night, and their heart feels like a ball of fire, and they can't breathe out any foul breath.

Before dawn, all the adults were waiting outside the gate of the palace, gathered together in groups of three or four, with unpredictable looks and expressions in their eyes, and their eyes wandered back and forth on other people, and I don't know what their intentions are. .

Lu Zhengxu bowed out of the sedan chair, Guan Shishan from the Ministry of War and Wu Minqian from the Ministry of Punishment looked at each other and hurried up to meet them. The three exchanged casual greetings in different ways.

Guan Shishan knocked sideways and diverted the words, "Oh, it's been an eventful autumn recently, so many things have happened before this year, and the emperor's dragon body is unwell and he hasn't gone to court for a long time. It may be that the dragon body is healthy when he goes to court today."

"Who says it's not?" Wu Minqian squinted his eyes and took up the conversation, "King Qin hasn't shown his face for a long time, and he came to court today, so I'm afraid he knows something big is going to happen."

"Because of the matter of Beiyan and General Pei, what else is there?" Guan Shishan pretended to be confused, glanced at Lu Zhengxu from the corner of his eye, and slapped his forehead, and added, "Look at my memory, the servant of the household department is not a entrant now. Is he sent to prison? What kind of inside information can Wu Shangshu know in the Ministry of Punishment?"

Wu Minqian followed closely behind, "The emperor has entrusted the full power to Yushitai, and our criminal department has no right to intervene. If we understand it, Mr. Lu should know it best. I don't know what is going on?"

Looking at the two people singing together in front of him, Lu Zhengxu whispered in his heart: Two old foxes.

On the face, he twitched his beard and pretended to be stupid calmly, "To tell you the truth, the two adults said that the emperor just detained him in our censor's platform. This person has not been tried or investigated. What's going on, I know It's not much more than the two adults, so where do I start."

"Even Mr. Lu doesn't know the details. I'm afraid Ji Shilang may not be as simple as it seems." Wu Minqian said in a strange way. He didn't believe Lu Zhengxu's words, and the lines were full of words. Some meaning.

Guan Shishan, who didn't want to be the first to start the topic, turned his back on the spur of the moment, and turned to Lu Zhengxu, "The emperor is wise and powerful, how can I guess this kind of thinking, and the court will naturally know what's going on later. "

"Master Guan is right," Lu Zhengxu smiled, "What's the use of me waiting here and guessing, I'll know everything when I go to court."

The three laughed, cursing each other in their hearts, but on the surface they were harmonious.

Yan Hao glanced at this place, and whispered to Yan Huaizheng, "These three old foxes are probably talking about Ji Si. Behind Wu Min is King Rui. Since King Liang stepped down, Guan Shishan has walked closer to King Qin overtly and secretly. From the top to the bottom of the household department, there is now a piece of chicken feathers. I am afraid that everyone wants to get a piece of it. If the servant of the household department is vacant, the one who has the best chance of being promoted is your Wusi Shaoqing. Your biggest opponent should be Qi Ziheng, but Wei Zhongting must be reluctant to let him go, so the others should not be afraid, and you will definitely be able to take the position of servant of the household department!"

Yan Huaizheng listened quietly, without making a sound or answering, looking at a place with his head tilted and wondering what he was thinking.

After waiting for a while but still not hearing an answer, Yan Hao's face darkened, and he asked sharply, "Did you hear what I said?"

Hearing this tone, Yan Huaizheng turned his eyes back and smiled back, "What did father just say?"

Seeing his appearance, Yan Hao became even more furious, but because of the inconvenience outside the palace gate, he had no choice but to reprimand him in a low voice, "If you hadn't been inferior to Qi Ziheng in every way and made Yan's family lose face, why would you need him every step of the way as a father?" Planning? He Qi Ziheng left Dali Temple, and there are many yamen scrambling to ask for it. Let's see you again? There is no future at all!"

I have heard these words a lot since I was a child, but Yan Huaizheng didn't take it seriously, and the smile on his face didn't even decrease. He turned and left after Yan Hao had finished reprimanding him. He couldn't do anything to yell, so he walked up to Qi Ran and Du Heng in three or five steps.

First they bowed to each other, and Du Heng spoke first, "What's the matter with Yan Shaoqing?"

"Yu Jishilang is a colleague. I don't worry about him being in prison now. I don't want to find out about Mr. Du." Yan Huaizheng still had a smile on his face, "I think Qi Shaoqing came to ask about this too, right?" .”

Qi and Du looked at each other, and the latter was about to open the palace gate when it was opened, and everyone had to return to their places and step into the palace gate one after another.

With the support of Sun Hai, Emperor Chengde sat on the dragon chair. His face was gray and blue. From time to time, he covered his lips with his hands and coughed in a low voice. It can be seen that this is a sigh of relief stored in soup.

The hearts of all the officials sank, and they each had their own ideas in their hearts.

After handling the local affairs casually, Emperor Chengde coughed and kicked off the main event of the day halfway through the court meeting, "Ahem, I think all of you lovers are aware of the embezzlement case of Fanping's military salary. There are many people involved in this case, and the implications are extensive. It is the most important case of the Jin Dynasty this year. I sent Ji Si, the servant of the household department, to investigate the case. I never wanted to cough cough cough... The chief envoy of Ping Ping sued Ji Si to Beijing, and Ji Si was written in black and white in the account book Thinking about the number of greed, what's your opinion on this matter?"

All the officials whispered to each other, but no one came forward to report.

Emperor Chengde glanced around, raised his hand and pointed, "Lu Zhengxu, you go first."

After being named, Lu Zhengxu frowned and went out to pay respects, "Reporting to Your Majesty, I have carefully checked the accounts allocated to Fanping by the Ministry of Accounts in the past few days. Except for those who were corrupted by Cao Shang... Cao Weiyuan, the rest of the accounts are all clean. What's the problem, but the official seal on the account book in Wang Yangchun's hand is owned by Ji Shilang, and now Wang Yangchun died under the fire, and there is no proof of his death, and he doesn't know where the account book came from. The minister is at a loss."

"Guan Shishan." Emperor Chengde ordered another person to come out.

"Chen is here!"

"As the Minister of the Ministry of War, what do you think of this matter?"

Guan Shishan looked puzzled, lowered his head and faltered, "I... the matter of military pay and pensions has always been managed by the Ministry of Households, and the Ministry of War has never intervened. Minister..."

He was interrupted by Emperor Chengde sternly, "People in the Ministry of Households are all in prison now, what should they do? Since this matter is a matter in the barracks, then you, Minister of the Ministry of War, should also start to play a role. "

Speaking of this, Guan Shishan had no choice but to bear it no matter how unwilling he was, and he accepted the drudgery repeatedly, feeling extremely sad in his heart, not knowing at all how he, the Minister of the Ministry of War, could temporarily take care of the affairs of the Ministry of Accounts, how to manage, manage How much is more difficult to control.

Emperor Chengde took the expressions of these people into his eyes, coughed in a low voice, and when he opened his mouth again, his voice became hoarse again, "This matter of Wanping was originally done by officials and officials behind my back, and now it needs to be strictly investigated. Don't let go of any clues, Ji Si, as the servant of the household department, must be involved, so this matter will be investigated by Yushitai and Dali Temple together, do you have any objections?"

There was a lot of discussion among the people, and anyone with a discerning eye knew that Emperor Chengde was worried that the crown prince and King Rui would be in the way, so he deliberately avoided the faction of the two and handed it over to Dali Temple and Yushitai, who were not close to anyone. The finished drafts are not used,

The matter has come to this point, no matter how many objections Li Hongyang and Li Hongxuan have, they can't speak out hastily, but they are just thinking about how to make the situation beneficial to themselves, but Li Hongyu turned his head to look at Qi Ran, and after only a quick glance, he went back move away.

"By the way," Emperor Chengde mentioned another important matter, "how is the frontline battle?"

Tan Yang from the Governor's Mansion went out to pay homage, "Your Majesty, Beiyan has not yet retreated. They have been holding back for many years. This time they came prepared. General Guo has not yet awakened from the poisonous mist. I am afraid it will be a disaster." Little, the Pingbei camp has no leader and lost the opportunity, and the battle with Beiyan during this period of time has suffered heavy losses, this battle is difficult."

Emperor Chengde slapped the table and yelled, "There are so many people in my Dajin that none of them can fight the enemy? Then what's the use of raising you bastards!"

When the emperor was furious, all the officials surrendered and knelt down in unison, holding their breath and not daring to make a sound.

"Beiyan is just a group of savages with nothing but brute strength and nothing in their belly. How can you be so frightened? You won't be afraid of the world's ridicule if you say it!"

Yang Yongtai wiped the sweat from his forehead, lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty doesn't know something. It's not that the ministers are greedy for life and afraid of death, but that Andrew is crazy. The generals pay attention to the art of war, but he Without rules and strategies, it is always unexpected and random, without countermeasures, it is really hard to rush into battle."

"Then there is no way for him to violate our border right now, cough cough cough..." Emperor Chengde coughed angrily, and Sun Hai at the side hurried forward to serve him.

All the officials below looked at each other in blank dismay, none of them knew where to start, if there was something wrong with the matter, it would definitely provoke Long Yan's fury, for a moment no one dared to answer.

"Speaking, are you all dumb? In the past, weren't you the most capable of calculating each other, cough, cough...how can you really express your opinions but each of you is silent?"

Hearing this, Gao Zexin, a college student of the Imperial Academy, took a step out of the line, bowed his head and said: "I have a word, the battle report from the front line of the play, although Beiyan came fiercely, but it didn't get much favor, killing the enemy one thousand will hurt five." Bai, if the stalemate continues, no matter whether it is Yu Beiyan or Yu Dajin, it will take decades to recuperate if things go on like this, the situation has changed suddenly in these decades, but anything can happen!"

"You mean, Xiqiang?" Emperor Chengde's expression changed suddenly.

"Your Majesty is wise, and this is exactly what I mean," Gao Zexin said after a sigh of relief, "The Xiqiang ambitions have never been concealed. Not only have they coveted the Great Jin, but they have also coveted the territory of Beiyan for a long time. Didn't it give Xiqiang an opportunity to take advantage of, the snipe and clam compete for the fisherman's benefit, and Xiqiang may have already set up a plan and waited to catch the net."

The analysis of these words was well-founded, and Emperor Chengde pondered for a while before asking, "Do you want to talk about making peace with Beiyan?"

"Exactly, if we continue to fight, we will lose both sides. It is better to take a step back and send someone to negotiate peace first, so that Andrew can see His Majesty's sincerity. They all say that Andrew is resourceful and knowledgeable. He must not be a person who does not understand the general situation. He will definitely understand how to make a decision." Just right."

As soon as Gao Zexin's words fell, Fan Yi, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, came out to worship, and opened his mouth to object, "Your Majesty, you can't do it, absolutely you can't do it, the ambition of the Beiyan wolf is clearly revealed, this time they are deliberately provoking a dispute The purpose of this is to destroy my great Jinxiongwei, in order to avenge the past. If our court proposes a peace, it will be just as Andrew intended. What do you care about the great power of the Jin Dynasty, and what do you care about your sage's wisdom, Your Majesty? What you do is to grow others' aspirations and destroy your own prestige. In the future, it is uncertain how Andrew will say that I am greedy for life and afraid of death in Dajin, which is recorded in the history books. Laugh for the world!"

"Master Fan's words are to put the people on the border of Jin Dynasty in dire straits for the sake of reputation and face?" Gao Zexin raised his brows, faintly angry, "Wanping is now in a raging war, how many people's families have been destroyed , Da Jin even lost a general, and at this time there is no peace, Mr. Fan is waiting for the dead bodies to be scattered all over the city!"

The minister of the Ministry of Industry followed closely behind, and raised his voice to reply, "Master Gao also said earlier that Beiyan killed one thousand enemies and lost eight hundred, so it may not have much advantage over us. This is a protracted war. We Da Jin has a vast territory and a large population, so are you afraid that you won't be able to survive the barbarians of Northern Yan!"

At this time, another person stood up, "Master Fan is right. The Great Jin may not lose, but if we really negotiate a peace, the Great Jin will really lose. Even if we can convince ourselves, how can we convince everyone in the world?" , the common people don’t think so much, they only think that there are no officials in the court who are useless, and they can’t beat Beiyan before negotiating a peace.”

"We can afford to wait, can the innocent people on the border afford to wait? One more second of delay means more danger. How can we have both? Your Majesty, Mr. Gao is right. Xiqiang is eyeing a tiger. Jin is unfavorable, although peace negotiation is not the best way, but now it is an emergency way, and the people of the world will definitely understand your majesty's good intentions."

"If a peace is negotiated this time, Da Jin will bow his head to Beiyan. Andrew has a grudge in his heart, and he does not rule out the possibility of negotiating a peace on the surface. His majesty's move is inappropriate. May your majesty think twice!"

"His Majesty……"

"I thought that..."

……

The two sides argued endlessly with each other sticking to their own words. They quarreled in the court hall until their faces were red and their necks were thick. Everyone was impassioned and did not retreat half a step. hand, "Okay, stop arguing, you have been arguing and you haven't heard a solution."

After he finished speaking, he raised his eyes and glanced at Qi Kuangshan who had been silent below, "What's your opinion, Prime Minister Qi?"

When his name was mentioned, Qi Kuangshan came out to pay respects, and after deep thought, he said, "What Mr. Gao and Mr. Fan said is not unreasonable. I think that since there is no better solution, it is better for both parties to take a step back and come to a meeting." Try Bei Yan's attitude by throwing stones and asking the way. This peace negotiation is not as simple as a simple touch. Your Majesty might as well send an envoy to find out what Andrew thinks about this. If he is sincere and willing to negotiate a peace, then everyone will be happy. If we have a plan, then our Dajin may not be afraid of him."

Emperor Chengde pursed his lips in thought, covered his lips and coughed from time to time, and nodded after a long time, "Just follow what Xiang Xiang said, do you have any objections?"

The officials who had been arguing red-faced before hurriedly bowed their heads and said in different voices: "Your Majesty's arrangement has been fully listened to."

"Then let's leave the court if there is nothing important." Emperor Chengde was about to get up, when he thought of something else, "By the way, General Pei died for the country. gone."

Wan Xing, the new minister of the Ministry of Rites, responded repeatedly, "I obey the order."

"Okay, let's go."

After all sent off Emperor Chengde respectfully, the court gradually dispersed.

Qi Ran had just stepped down the long ladder in front of the Qianyuan Hall, and Yan Huaizheng behind him called him and hurried up to him.

"What's the matter with Yan Shaoqing?" Qi Ran asked with a frown.

"There is nothing wrong with it. Now the emperor has asked Qi Shaoqing to take charge of Ji Shilang's case. I think the truth will definitely come to light. I wonder where Qi Shaoqing plans to start the investigation?"

Yan Huaizheng was born with a flirtatious face, and he was also flirtatious in Lin'an City. Although Qi Ran was just an acquaintance with others, he had heard about him. Yu Yu didn't have any good intentions, "Why is Yan Shaoqing so concerned about this matter?"

"Is there anything wrong with caring about your colleagues?"

"No, it's just that the case is complicated and Qi Ran can't tell you rashly."

"It's okay, it's okay," Yan Huaizheng smiled, "In this case, I won't bother Qi Shaoqing, let's go ahead."

After saying that, he nodded and left, but stopped after walking a few steps, tilting his head slightly, "I think Qi Shaoqing knows that the crown prince intends to accept a concubine."

Qi Ran stared at the man's back thoughtfully.

When Du Heng walked over, he saw his expression, followed his line of sight and only saw a figure from the back, but he still recognized it, "What is Yan Huaizheng looking for you for?"

"Nothing, just said a few words."

The two walked out of the palace side by side, and Du Heng mentioned the matter of courtship, "Looking at the situation in front of you, the crown prince should be Lord Ji but he doesn't want to lose the power of the household department. King Rui also seems to want to fight for it." Let's fight, what should we do to protect Master Ji next?"

"The attitude of others is not important, what is important is the attitude of the emperor."

"Your majesty?" Du Heng recalled the attitude of Emperor Chengde since the incident, and immediately came to a conclusion in his heart. He paused, looked around and lowered his voice, "You mean the emperor wants to protect Lord Ji?"

Seeing that Qi Ran kept walking forward without making a sound, Du Heng could only chase after him, "What's the purpose of this?"

"Although Ji Si belongs to the prince, he also obeys the emperor's orders. It's not surprising that the emperor wants to protect him." Qi Ran didn't say that Master Ji poisoned Li Si because he obeyed the emperor's orders, but he just said that he was ambiguous and left it to Du Heng. to guess.

Sure enough, Du Heng didn't feel any difference after thinking about it for a while, but asked something else, "In that case, can we go to Yushitai to interrogate Mr. Ji, and think of a way to release him?"

"No hurry, you and I will go to one place first."

"where?"

"Jifu."

Ever since Ji Si entered the Imperial Prison, Ji's Mansion, which was previously sparsely populated, has become deserted. Although the emperor has not ordered the closure of the mansion, those people all want to gain benefits from Ji Si. , the servant girl in the mansion also wanted to leave, but the deed of prostitution was held in Tingxue's hands, and people were panicked for a while, and even the door was locked during the day.

When the door was knocked, the people inside came to open the door unhurriedly, the door opened a gap, and the servants of the Ji Mansion looked at the two people in official robes in front of them, and asked in a low voice: "What's the matter, my lords?"

Qi Ran and Du Heng looked at each other, and the latter touched his waist badge and approached him, "The Yushitai is working at the Imperial Palace, and the emperor's order is to search the servant's mansion."

The servant's face suddenly changed, he hurriedly opened the door and respectfully invited him in.

As soon as a group of people stepped into Ji's mansion, they heard the sound of Tingxue and rushed over. After saluting and saying hello, they waited beside the two of them so that they could answer questions. The first day of the junior high school who was on the side was concerned about Ji Si, but knew that it was not the time to ask about personal matters, so they had to follow suit behind.

Ji's mansion was built between elegance and vulgarity, with winding corridors, curved pavilions, rockery fish ponds, and even planted a few begonias. It must have taken a lot of effort to survive in Lin'an. Ji Si's extravagance is everywhere in this mansion. A lot of four big characters were directly displayed.

Qi Ran felt a little helpless, turned around and walked straight to Ji Si's bedroom. Compared with other places, Ji Si's bedroom was elegant and quiet. There were a lot of Xiangfei bamboos in the courtyard. fall.

"The adults don't allow us to serve here on weekdays, and we usually only come in when cleaning," Ting Xue said while pushing the door open, "My lords, please!"

There were not many things in the room, and the few people accompanying Yushitai saw that the two were easy-going, and they did not dare to do anything reckless, so they looked around carefully, Qi Ran looked around, and stopped when he saw the bed. When the prince was young, he had a habit of sticking important things under the edge of the bed. He leaned over to look at it and stretched out his hand to wipe it. As expected, he took out the key and smiled slightly.

Turning around and asking, "Where did this key come from?"

Ting Xue came forward to take a closer look, and replied respectfully: "My lord's study has a dark room, no one in the house dares to approach it, presumably this is the key to the dark room."

"Where is the study?"

Hearing this, Tingxue wanted to lead the way, she never thought to be stopped by Qi Ran, she raised her eyes a little puzzled, but heard this man say, "You stay here, he will take me two."

"He" refers to the first day of the junior high school, Ting Xue did not doubt that he stepped back a few steps, the first day of the junior high school lowered his head and followed behind the two of them, and when he passed the corner and saw no one around, he raised his head and asked with red eyes , "Master Qi, Lord Du, how is my lord?"

The friendship formed in Xiangzhou, not to mention Qi Ran and Ji Si, but Du Heng also felt sorry for the first day of the junior high school, and hurriedly comforted him, "Your family is fine, don't worry, it's very chaotic outside now." Haosheng stayed in the mansion, don't you want to go out and find out?"

"I know," Chu sobbed softly, "Master Qi, since General Pei left, my lord has been holding back something in his heart. He must have suffered a lot in prison alone. When can I go and see?" Him?"

"After dealing with these matters, I will let you see him." Qi Ran said softly.

Chu nodded, even though he hadn't been involved in the court, he understood that Ji Si had encountered a major event this time, Mr. Qi was not necessarily less worried than himself, if he continued to let his temper go, it would be useless except to add to the chaos.

Thinking of this, he raised his hand to wipe away the tears and said in a hoarse voice, "My lord's study is just ahead."

There are a lot of treasures, calligraphy and paintings in the dark room of the study, and Qi and Du looked at each other and understood that if others knew about these, then Ji Si would be half convicted of embezzling military pay, and he had a plan in mind.

Before leaving, he caught a glimpse of an exquisitely crafted box in the corner, which was placed in an extremely important position. Qi Ran was puzzled and stepped forward to check it. Inside the box was a folding fan. There was a picture drawn on the fan surface, and the mountains were covered with white clouds , a round of red sun breaking through the clouds and rising, the colors are rich and clear, and there is an inscribed poem in the lower right corner.

He narrowed his eyes and put the fan back in place.

After coming out of Jifu, he turned around and headed towards Yushitai.

Ji Si sat cross-legged in the haystack. If it wasn't for the shabby environment and the stains on his clothes, he wouldn't look like a prisoner at all. Thanks to Du Heng's prior care, he could wash it frequently so as not to stink The appearance of being smoky.

The life in the prison is boring, and there is no light, so it is hard to tell what is the night. Ji Si mostly closes his eyes and rests his mind. He has a severe headache these days, and some intermittent fragments flashed in his mind from time to time, which belonged to Mr. Ji memory,

It's very messy, like the perspective of a bystander, looking at some memories that don't belong to me, but those memories are incoherent, and it's a bit difficult for people to see.

Ji Si slowly opened his eyes until he heard the sound of chaotic footsteps, and saw someone opened the cell door, raised his chin at him and said, "Master Ji, I have to go to the interrogation hall."

When he saw Qi Ran in the interrogation hall, he was not surprised at all. The two of them acted very well under the watchful eyes of the public, and they didn't show any clues.

Qi Ran looked at the person in front of him, saw that he was not injured except that he was getting thinner, so he raised his hand to signal others to go out, and everyone did not dare to object and walked out one after another, leaving only two people behind.

The sound of footsteps gradually faded away, and Ji Si fell into a familiar embrace after his eyes dimmed. With a cold fragrance and warmth, it was so warm that his eyes were a little sour. He tightened his hands to embrace the person, and absorbed the warmth , sucking his nose and muttering to himself, "You don't feel too flustered."

The adjacent chest vibrated slightly, and Qi Ran laughed, "No wonder there is a strange smell, I thought this interrogation hall hadn't been cleaned for a long time."

"It's late," Ji Si raised his eyebrows and grinned cheerfully, "You have already smelled of me, and when you go out later, others will know what shady things you did with me here, and why not?" I deliberately cleared the situation, Qi Shaoqing, what do you think is your intention?"

"how do I say this?"

"Isn't it all said in the scriptures, that a beauty like me who is in trouble will definitely provoke a deadly enemy? You fell into love/duplicity, I begged to wash my face with tears, and finally my eyes were dull and jaded. Heng Chen, desperately looking at this dark prison."

Being teased by the person's words, he stretched out his hand and patted Ji Si's waist, and spoke softly, his eyes were so gentle that water dripped out, and the ear tip of the person in his arms couldn't help but feel hot when he heard it, "I've been busy and confused recently, wait I will burn your script when I go back."

"..."

"Okay," Qi Ran let go and handed him the account book on the desk, "Don't mess around, you can take a look at this first, do you have any impression?"

Ji Si took the account and sat on the desk swaggeringly, stroked his chin and looked at it for a while, then asked another question, "At that wonton stand, why did you swear that Master Ji took the pension money?"

These words made Qi Ran frowned, thinking about it carefully, "Do you still remember Zhou Ming?"

"Zhou Ming?" Ji Si repeated the name, and the corresponding person immediately appeared in his mind, "The Minister of Rites?"

"At that time, he confessed to many corrupt officials, including Master Ji. The Ministry of Criminal Affairs and Dali Temple checked the accounts of the Ministry of Accounts, and found no abnormalities, so they didn't just think that he was framed. If it weren't for the son of the old couple who came from For the disabled soldiers who came back from the Pingbei Camp, I would not know that the pension money was not only distributed."

After Qi Ran finished speaking, he asked, "Are you suspecting that this account book is the one lost in Zhou Ming's hands?"

"Look at this place." Ji Si closed the ledger and laid it flat. He looked at the left and right sides and looked at it with Qi Ran. The latter stretched out his hand and immediately understood, "The thickness is different?"

The official ledger paper is specially made, thicker than ordinary ones, and the method of binding it into books is also more secure and firm. However, the bound end of the book in my hand is obviously thicker, which means that someone has deliberately torn some of it. Page.

Ji Si casually flipped through a few pages, except for the few pages with his own official seal, the rest were blank, licked his gums, and said unhurriedly: "This account book is a game against me, no wonder you It cannot be found out, because the money did not go from the name of the Ministry of Households, but through other yamen, maybe not only the Ministry of Rites."

Qi Ran frowned and thought for a while, then followed what Ji Si said and deduced, "So Zhou Ming's death is really related to this ledger? He wanted to destroy the ledger to cover up his corruption and bribery." Evidence, I never thought that someone was one step ahead of him and borrowed his hand to set up this situation. Who wants Master Ji to die so much? Who knows that Ji Si is not dead? Master Ji died on the day Zhou Ming died, but you To come back alive through his shell, the most unbelievable thing is the person who saw Lord Ji dying, who could this person be?"

The two thought hard for a long time, then their eyes lit up, they looked up at each other and said in unison, "Yan Yi!"

"Yan Yi wanted to get rid of me, it must have something to do with the torn pages of accounts, when he woke up, he didn't see any extra money in Master Ji's memory except some calligraphy and painting tools, he hid the money in the Where?" Ji Si frowned and pondered, but couldn't figure it out.

At this time, Qi Ran bent his index finger and gently tapped the desk, and slowly opened his mouth, saying a conjecture that shocked Ji Si, "What if Master Ji handed over the money to Yan Yi?"

"How is it possible?" Ji Si frowned tightly, his eyes filled with disbelief, "Master Ji and Yan Yi don't know each other at all, and besides, he can't show up now, what's the use of taking so much money, always..."

At this point, Ji Si suddenly stopped, his eyes darkened, and something flashed in his mind, as if he suddenly understood the meaning of Qi Ran's words, "Raise soldiers."

"I've never wanted to understand what happened to the group of people who chased and killed you before. Now it seems that Mr. Ji has a lot to do with Xiqiang, or Yanyi."

Ji Si looked at Qi Ran, still puzzled and asked: "These two people have no similarities in terms of identity or age, so how can there be any relationship?"

Qi Ran briefly told him what Zhu Xun told him when he was in Shuzhou, and said in a deep voice: "At first I suspected that Master Ji's mother was the nine princesses of Xiqiang, and Yan Yi was Master Ji's uncle, but I heard that their siblings The relationship between people is very good, then Yan Yi will definitely not kill you, although I guessed wrong, but one thing is right, the identity of Mrs. Ji must not be so simple, I sent someone to Zhangzhou to count The day will come back soon, and it will be clear when the time comes.”

He stopped, and hurriedly asked again, "Do you remember who gave you the fan in the darkroom of your study?

Although the fan was unremarkable, Mr. Ji placed it very carefully. Just the outer box was made of high-quality agarwood, as if it was a gift from an extremely important person.

Maybe when Ji thought of this person, all problems would be solved.

Hearing this, Ji Si rubbed the center of his brows tiredly, tried his best to think back but found nothing, and finally just sighed, "We seem to be in a big situation, and if we are not careful, we will lose everything. What I asked for But the one I love is safe, why does God always fight against me.”

Qi Ran took him into his arms and patted him on the back lightly, as gentle as coaxing a child.

"You coax me like you're thinking of me." Ji Si's muffled voice came,

"Nian'er is much more well-behaved than you, but luckily he doesn't have your temper, otherwise I would be the one to suffer."

The corners of Ji Si's mouth couldn't hold back, swept away the depression and irritability just now, raised his head from Qi Ran's arms to steal a scent on his lips, and narrowed his eyes with a smile, "It's not good to be like me, I see you like me I like this character so much, but now I hate it, so when I am old, won't it be a miserable old age?"

This man was not serious, Qi Ran glanced at him coldly, but he stopped as soon as he saw it, and made a gesture of covering his mouth.

"There is one more thing to discuss with you."

"What's the matter?" Ji Si asked.

"About the matter of the prince accepting the concubine."

"I have seen Your Highness."

Hearing the sound, Li Hongyang raised his eyes, and looked at Li Hongxuan who was walking towards him. The expression on his face was not very good-looking, and he just nodded coldly, "Where did King Rui come from?"

This direction leads directly to General Dingwei's mansion. He asked deliberately, and Li Hongxuan replied with a smile, "General Pei has gone, and there is no one in Pei's mansion. I heard that Miss Pei's health is not good. Anyway, my colleagues went to send some supplements." , it’s a thought.”

"It's rare for King Rui to be considerate," Li Hongyang said with a smirk, "but the Pei family is now run by Miss Pei, so it's better to pay attention to the difference between men and women, not to mention damaging the reputation of my daughter's family, but I'm afraid of Princess Rui. I'll think about it too, won't the gain outweigh the loss if it makes the house restless?"

Li Hongxuan squinted his eyes, smiling unabated, and said just now: "The prince is right, you should learn from the prince, I heard that the prince is busy accepting concubines recently, I wonder which girl is so lucky to be favored by the prince?"

"King Rui is well informed. This matter has not yet been decided. If it happens on the day of great joy, King Rui may drink a few more glasses to rejoice."

"sure."

The two smiled harmoniously on their faces, but they spat a few times in their hearts, scolding each other bloody.

"Oh," Li Hongxuan slapped his forehead, pretending to have just realized it, "Look at me, the prince must have something important to do here, but I delayed it, so let's go ahead."

Li Hongyang didn't make a sound, just nodded and nodded, his eyes fell on his body and stared at the back, his face sank when the news dissipated.

The subordinates at the side also looked at the backs of the few people, and came up to ask, "Your Highness, shall we still go to General Dingwei's Mansion?"

"What are you going to do?" Li Hongyang glared angrily, "Going to Pei's mansion just after training Li Hongyang on the front foot, isn't this slapping yourself in the face?"

"Go back to the palace!" With that said, Li Hongyang flung his sleeves and left angrily.

After a while, the figure disappeared around the corner.

The sound of footsteps in the distance gradually, stepped across the threshold into the courtyard, and finally stepped into the house.

Pei Yao didn't even raise her head, she put her head down in plain clothes and put away Pei Zhan's belongings. She has nothing to do these days, so she comes to Pei Zhan's yard from time to time to dig out those old things one by one, what should be thrown away Throw away what needs to be wiped, just like every time Pei Zhan is not in the mansion, but just leads troops at the border, it seems that his brother will appear out of nowhere in a short time, and he must not go through the front door.

"Miss." Chun Xi called out in a low voice with a light footstep.

"King Rui is gone?"

"Well, let's go."

Chunxi stood aside, watching her lady put those copybooks in the box one by one, even the wrinkles were smoothed out, and she felt a little sad, so she turned her head and started talking to divert Pei Yao's attention, "Miss , why do you think that King Rui keeps running to our house these days? Either sending medicinal materials or some jewelry, no matter how you look at it, something is wrong, could it be that you have something to ask for? "

Pei Yao's hands froze, and she sighed quietly, "This is Xiang Zhuang's sword dance, aimed at Pei Gong."

"Miss, what you mean is that King Rui came prepared." Chunxi tilted her head and thought for a while, and she finally came to understand, "Could it be that King Rui and the crown prince have the same idea?"

Chunxi didn't understand the reason, but Pei Yao knew it all too well, her elder brother went to Pei's army and now it's all under the command of Guo Chang, Guo Sheng rushed to the barracks before he even healed his wounds, what he was afraid of was that someone would take the opportunity in the camp To make a big fuss, since he is weak and a woman, he can only train Le Jin as soon as possible so that he can take over the Pei family army.

But this is not something that can be accomplished in a year or so, it is easier said than done, during this period, the Pei family is a piece of meat that everyone covets, and I am the medium to get this piece of meat.

Why was I born a woman?

Pei Yao has never hated her identity as much as she does now, but the matter has come to this point and waiting to die will not solve the problem, the best policy is to strike first.

She stopped her movements and raised her eyes to look at Chun Xi