Opposite the entrance hall

When he got out of the sedan chair, Ji Si had been dozed off completely, and he was in good spirits. He waved his hand to let the bearer go back to the house first, and come to pick him up later, and then tidied up, smoothed the wrinkles on his clothes Only then did he take a step into the yamen of the household department.

I think Master Ji was not a very pleasant person in the past, the colleagues he met along the way didn't say a word to him, even saluted with fear, and didn't dare to lift his head, as if he was afraid of being swallowed alive by himself, which hurt him He wanted to ask him where he was going, but he couldn't ask, so he could only pretend to watch the willow tree that had just sprouted in the courtyard.

Just when he was at a loss, a person came from behind. It was one of his colleagues who had a drink with him last time. His name seemed to be Sun Xing. Ji Si was quite excited and pretended to be calm on the surface.

Sure enough, the man also saw him, turned a corner, walked straight towards him, and saluted respectfully, "It's time to go, sir, why don't you go in."

Isn't this waiting for you to lead the way?

Ji Si thought so in his heart, but said on his mouth: "It's stuffy inside, let's get some air here, and I'm about to go in."

"Then, my lord please."

"Ah."

He responded coldly, slowed down on purpose, let this man walk ahead, and even looked around from the corner of his eye.

"Last time, the lower officials didn't think about it properly. They ruined your lord's interest and hoped to make amends. Next time, you will definitely make up for your mistakes." Sun Xing said flatteringly.

Ji Si knew that he was talking about the last time. After thinking for a while, he snorted coldly, and then replied in a deep voice: "There will be no next time."

"I know, I know," Sun Xing nodded again and again, hesitated for a while, and then said again cautiously: "Then Qi Ziheng went too far this time. Others say he is not close to women, and he has a pure heart." The appearance of a saint of desire, why did he get into a fight with adults, and made it clear that he was targeting adults."

What he said was vague, and Ji Si couldn't quite understand. Thinking about it, he felt that he was hired by Qi Ran to carry him back to the mansion, and he was spared on the West Street. Perhaps Sun Xing felt that Qi Ran was sweeping own face.

In fact, you don't need to think that that person did it on purpose, but you definitely can't answer like this, Ji Si weighed your words and replied: "Qi Ziheng has a brilliant literary talent and a distinguished family background, he should be a role model for my generation, and there is no harm in getting acquainted with him more. "

I don't know which sentence was wrong, Sun Xing was stunned after he finished speaking, and then nodded, "Your Excellency is very true."

The two entered the house one after the other.

After accepting the post, just as he sat down and breathed a sigh of relief, the chief came over with several officials holding a pile of ledgers, "Your Excellency has been recuperating in the mansion for a long time, is there still a serious health problem?"

"No problem."

"It's an auspicious sign."

"Is there anything else?" Ji Si asked.

"The vernal equinox was just a few days ago, and it was the time for farming. All the localities have reported the data. The officials have compiled the recent taxation and grain storage in the granary into a book, and please look over it."

After speaking, he beckoned, and several people behind the commander put down the booklets in their hands, and then stood aside respectfully waiting for orders.

Ji Si looked at the pair of documents on the table, inexplicably felt a headache, and inexplicably reminded him of the days of listening to the training in Chongshu Academy. Taifu Fang was extremely strict, and he would not allow the slightest slack in academic courses, and he did not care about their identities. Very serious about coursework inspections.

Later, after he became acquainted with the old lady Fu, and because he was at the age of playing, he sneaked out of the palace with Qi Ran for a few days and forgot to do his homework. , the old lady guarded the door with a cup of tea, while criticizing the two of them, while watching them make up their homework, he had to come down from time to time to give some pointers.

The Taifu is famous for being serious and upright, and no one dared to persuade him. Hearing that Prime Minister Qi returned home after returning home, he was worried about what happened. After entering the academy, he didn't worry immediately, instead he twirled his beard and laughed and said, "If you are naughty, let Lao Fang discipline you more and eat and eat."

Prime Minister Qi agreed, the emperor didn't care, and the ladies and eunuchs in Siyuan Hall didn't dare to say anything, so they had to wait for the Tai Tuo to release their young prince early.

At dusk, the warm orange light shrouded under the glazed eaves, making it seem that the Chong Academy was very quiet. The teacher at the back was thinking that the old lady had a bad stomach, so she sent someone to bring a food box. He and Qi Ran were in a daze at the end with Mrs. Fang While eating, I finished my homework in the smell of rice that wafted in the room.

Ever since he came out of Chong Academy, Ji Si had hardly read the books well, let alone making up his homework. How could he have thought that this person would go back to life more and more, why not become a student and become an official, but he still couldn't escape his fate. I don't know whether to cry or laugh.

When I was a little prince, although I was not promising, but I was really supported by rich clothes and fine food. I didn't know that being an official was so hard. I suddenly felt that the emperor might love him and didn't want him to suffer this kind of crime.

Ji Si comforted himself. After reading a few books, his eyes were already sore, so he had to close his eyes and rub his eyebrows to relieve the discomfort. He looked sideways at the tall booklets on the table, and could only helplessly Sighing, he took another book and opened it. Just after reading the beginning, a man came over and stood in front of him, bowed respectfully and said: "Master Ji, Cao Shangshu asked you to go over."

Cao Weiyuan looking for him?

Ji Si was a little puzzled, he didn't understand why Cao Weiyuan wanted to find him the first time he came back from leave, but he still closed the booklet and put it on the table and followed this person out.

In order to keep it clean, Shangshu hall was separate from them, so that they followed the detour to the backyard before arriving. He stood at the door and looked up, and suddenly understood that the co-author was not Cao Weiyuan, an old man looking for him, but the old man. His nephew, who is now His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Li Hongyang.

Seeing an old acquaintance at first glance, to be honest, Ji Si still panicked. During his youth in the palace, his relationship with Li Hongyang was not close, and he didn't have much contact with each other on weekdays. Maybe because of the dignity of the son-in-law, he is not very smart. The queen empress is very strict with him, so that he always speaks and does things carefully, which is really a headache.

Recalling those few years, the most frequent conversation between them was the time when it snowed heavily in the early winter of one year. At that time, Lin'an was extremely cold. Since I grew up in Shuzhou, I rarely had the chance to see heavy snow. It was inevitable to be a little excited to see such a big one for the first time. After holding it with my hands for a long time, I almost lay down in it.

After playing too much, he got chilblains on his fingers. The concubine Wan concubine gave her medicine while she was distressed and cursed angrily. Later, she got a Mrs. Tang overnight to let him hold him and not let him go. It really warmed up a lot. The next day When I went to Chongshuyuan, I couldn't help but be happy.

It was also at that time that he caught a glimpse of Li Hongyang's fingers flushed, as if he had been cold for a long time. He thought he had been punished by the empress again, so he hesitated for a while, taking advantage of the old lady's carelessness, he stuffed Mrs. Tang in his hand, and laughed softly. : "Second prince, help me get it, I'll make up some homework."

Li Hongyang glanced at him, and just about to refuse, he heard the man say again, "You can make it up for me."

So he had to hold it.

Afterwards, when he returned the cold Mrs. Tang to him, he thanked him softly, and also sent two copybooks that Mrs. Fang had punished him to copy.

He said, "Li Si, I will be better than you."

How did I answer, as if I replied: "Dream!"

It's really a young man with an arrogant tone and half ignorance of the heights of the sky and the earth.

Thinking of the past, and then looking at Li Hongyang sitting in the room, Ji Si suddenly felt that life was unpredictable. When he was young, his facial features were not developed, but when he grew up, he realized that this person was very like the emperor, especially the charm between his eyebrows and eyes. Prince, perhaps there is also this reason.

He was thinking wildly here, and the chief who led the way over there bowed towards the room and said softly: "Report to Your Highness, Master Ji has arrived."

Li Hongyang flicked the tea leaves with the lid of the cup, took a sip slowly, then put it on the table beside him, and said in a deep voice, "Got it, let's go."

After receiving the instruction, the man took a few steps back, bypassed Ji Si and returned the same way.

When the people walked away, Li Hongyang turned his head to the person beside him and said, "Uncle, go get busy first."

"It's Your Highness."

Hearing what he said, Ji Si realized that there was still someone in the room, and moved his eyes slightly to the left, but he couldn't see Cao Weiyuan.

The latter stayed beside him for a moment when he crossed the threshold, and warned, "Your Highness the Crown Prince asks you what you say, you know."

"Yes."

Cao Weiyuan stared at Ji Si's wimpy look bent over and drooping eyebrows, flicked his sleeves, and walked away with his hands behind his back.

At this moment, there were only the two of them left in the room, Ji Si didn't know how much Li Hongyang knew about the original Master Ji, and was afraid that some of his actions or words would arouse suspicion, so he stood there blankly and did not dare to act rashly.

"Kiss."

"The subordinate is here."

Li Hongyang raised his eyes and looked at him, "Are you waiting for the prince to pick you up in a sedan chair?"

Hearing this, Ji Si hurriedly stepped forward, knelt on the ground and saluted, "Ji Si has seen His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Well, get up."

"Thank you, Your Highness." After getting up, he consciously stood aside with his head down.

"How's the injury?"

Ji Si changed his posture to face the person sitting there, and said in a terrified tone, "Thank you for your concern, it's all right now."

"That's good." Li Hongyang picked up the teacup again, took a small sip of tea, felt the sweetness on the tip of his tongue, and smacked his lips. Ben, I was so busy that I couldn't get away and didn't find time to ask you a question, so I came here today when I have free time, come on, tell me what happened at that time."

At that time, if Ji Si guessed correctly, what happened on the way back to Beijing, if the original Mr. Ji must have known, but now that there is a new person in the inner circle, how can he know what happened? , I panicked at this moment.

"Why? Could it be that you can't say it?" Li Hongyang pressed on step by step.

The prince's tone was already displeased, Ji Si suddenly knelt down on the ground, carefully chose his words, and said carefully, "After escorting Zhou Ming to get the ledger that day, he immediately set off for Beijing without a moment's delay. On the way, he met bandits and was attacked by them. The entourage suffered heavy casualties. Xiaguan fled hurriedly holding the account book. Unexpectedly, the group of thieves who were familiar with the terrain soon caught up. In a panic, Xiaguan rolled down the cliff, and then passed out. Things are not known.”

What he was talking about was the memories left by Mr. Yuan Ji before his death, fragmentary and indistinct, and it is quite exhausting to connect them together. There is still a word in the words, that is, the group of thieves who came down before Mr. Ji died Having trained him, he overheard a conversation as he lay dying.

"do you died?"

"died."

"Take good things and go back."

"Yes!"

The voice of the person who spoke first seemed very far away. In addition, he was hit on the head, and there was a buzzing sound in his head. He couldn't hear very clearly, and he couldn't even distinguish between men and women, but Master Ji remembered it. This made Ji Si I felt a little weird, but I still didn't say it after thinking about it.

Li Hongyang nodded after hearing what he said, and said with a sneer, "Bandit? Where did the bandit come from so courageous, and even murdered the imperial court official? It's going against the sky."

Ji Si lowered his head and didn't answer.

"Have you seen their faces clearly? The fourth child is still the eldest." Li Hongyang continued.

Ji Si was stumped by this question, how could he see even when he was in a coma, so he could only shake his head aggrievedly.

"Trash!" His Royal Highness was obviously displeased with his failure to learn the ability to see people's faces clearly in a coma, and suddenly became furious.

When I was the master, I didn't think so, but when I became a subordinate, I would be so frightened when I saw the master losing his temper. Now, in this situation, I can't just leave His Royal Highness alone, let him sing a one-man show alone, maybe he will lose his temper later, so Ji Si pleaded guilty again and again, wishing he could admit that a thief entered the mansion in the middle of the night in the past few days, "Your Highness calm down, Your Highness calm down, it's due to the negligence of the officials, Your Highness, please don't get angry."

Seeing the useless appearance of this person kneeling in front of him, Li Hongyang felt even more irritable in his heart, but he also understood that no matter how dissatisfied he was at this moment, there was nothing he could do. Ji Si is too stupid to take his own people out of this game, and he must not discuss this matter with him.

Thinking of this, he took a sip from his teacup, and then talked about another matter, "I heard from Zhao Quan that Qi Ziheng went to your house a few days ago?"

Ji Si reckoned that "Zhao Quan" was Guanshi Zhao, and was displeased in his heart, vaguely having plans, and explained on the face: "Sun Xing and the others held a banquet for the next official, and met Mr. Qi because of some misunderstandings, but Don't worry, Your Highness, the officer didn't say much to him, and Guanshi Zhao can testify to this matter."

"You and I can still trust you, get up and sit down."

You can trust a grandma's legs.

Ji Si added in his heart that he now understands how dangerous this Master Ji is. For some reason, Li Hongyang used him but also suspected him. .

Li Hongyang tapped the table with his fingers, and said in a calm tone: "Behind Qi Ziheng are the Prime Minister's Mansion and Dali Temple. Although Qi Kuangshan has only been in name and has no real power in the past few years, he has been an official for many years and is one of the three princes. He should not be underestimated." , what's more, his family also came out with a top three yuan list. Even if he is now a fourth grade, he will not be able to tell in the future. If you get too close, you can give in to some things, and you can still ask for favors."

The "give way" in these words puzzled Ji Si, but he still nodded in response.

After the official business was finished, Li Hongyang talked about personal matters, "How about the stage troupe I asked you to prepare earlier?"

"what?"

"Ah what! Didn't you forget about this!"

"No, no," Ji Si Si denied without thinking, he was just a little surprised, it turned out that Li Hongyang really had a stage troupe, "It's almost over."

"Prepare better. The emperor has become obsessed with listening to operas recently, and the fourth son will follow suit. The number of times he has entered the palace has increased recently. The one you prepare must be better than the one that the fourth son is looking for. If not, you are the only one left Yes." At this point, Li Hongyang put down his teacup and got up, waved his hands and said, "It's getting late, the prince will go back first, and I will let you know if there is anything to do."

Helpless, Ji Si could only let go of the chair that had just been warmed with body heat, knelt on the ground again, and said loudly: "Respectfully, Your Highness."

When he heard the sound of footsteps walking away, he slumped down on the ground, let out a long sigh of relief, and was worried that Cao Weiyuan might be talking about it when he came back. After a while, he hurriedly stood up and walked back. Hear voices from inside.

"I heard that Ji Buyan got into a fight with Qi Ziheng from Dali Temple a few days ago."

"How did you find out?"

"It's spread all over Lin'an City."

"I've heard that too, why is that?"

"It is said that it is for a girl from Xiangge. That girl was Lord Qi's best friend. When Master Ji learned that Fei's first relative, Fangze, the girl refused to follow and planned to force her. So Lord Qi caught up and came out to save the beauty." , So the two fought, everyone knows that Lord Qi was a martial arts learner, and Lord Ji was his opponent, he was beaten to the ground in two or three hits, fell to his knees and cried for his father and mother begging for mercy."

Speaking of this, there was a burst of laughter from inside, and Ji Si, who was standing at the corner, was a little bit dumbfounded.

"How true or false is this?" The inside continued.

At this time, Sun Xing's voice sounded, "Sixty to seventy percent, I talked about this matter with Master Ji before midnight today, he is not as angry as before, but he praised Master Qi, maybe he was scared."

Ji Si who was outside heard the words, and only then did he understand what the conversation in the morning meant. It must have been what Li Hongyang said just now. There was no sound inside, and he returned to his position as if nothing had happened.

Sun Xing came over to submit today's summary when it was time to pay off, and Ji Si waved to everyone, "Everyone, I have something to do in a while, if there is nothing else, how about we go to Wenxiang Pavilion for a drink or two?"

Rumors do not deceive me.

This is the voice of everyone here.

The author has something to say:

small theater:

A: I heard that Master Ji and Master Qi had a big fight over a brothel girl.

B: What, Mr. Ji played a hooligan and found out that Mr. Qi is the one he likes.

C: Have you heard that Mr. Ji is playing hooligans on Mr. Qi! ! !

Ding: You don't know yet, Master Ji seduced Master Qi, tsk tsk tsk, saying that he was wearing women's clothing.

Ji Si:? ? ?

ps: There were not enough entertainments for the masses in ancient times, and they were particularly interested in gossip.