Reincarnation of the powerful minister

In the middle of the night, the alley was dark and quiet, a thin young man dressed as a servant knocked on a wooden door in the alley.

After entering the room, the man took off his turban, wiped the dust and stains on his face, and revealed the delicate features of a girl.It was Tao Ling, the little court lady who escaped from the Nanjing Palace by hiding in the water tanker.

From the inner room behind the curtain came out a fifty-year-old man wearing a brocade robe and three beards under his chin. He was born with kind eyebrows and eyes, and his face was flushed. He looked like a pampered rich man.

Tao Ling stepped forward to salute, and called out crisply: "Father."

The rich man had no expression on his face, he picked up his teacup and said, "It didn't work out."

Tao Ling hesitated for a moment, then replied softly: "This matter can't be done, it's not my daughter's fault."

On the eve of the mausoleum ceremony, she used benzoin mixed with mandala powder to make the prince fall into a half-dream and confused light sleep, and then kept repeating in his ear, "In the mountains and forests, there is a white deer with golden horns on its head". Until these words completely entered the prince's mind and became part of the dream.

Therefore, the prince's dry throat and sore throat after waking up are the sequelae of inhaling the incense.In order not to leave any traces, she immediately buried the spices and cleaned the incense burner as soon as she left the temple.

Just after the sacrificial ceremony was over, news came back from the palace inspector, saying that the crown prince had gone to Beifeng to look for deer with his bodyguards in micro-clothes, and their people had successfully recommended themselves as guides.

So far, her mission has been accomplished.As for the follow-up, it should be the task of the servants in the palace, and even if it doesn't succeed, it can't be blamed on her.

"You're right." The rich man nodded, "They detonated the gunpowder as planned to blow open the North Peak Stream, but the water didn't reach the cemetery. It is said that the prince led his guards to cut down trees to block the waterway, diverting the water away. It can only be said that people are not as good as heaven.”

Tao Ling asked: "What should I do next?"

The rich man twisted his beard and said: "You don't have to worry about the future. Daughter, let's rest here. Don't show your face for a while, so as not to be noticed. I will call you again if necessary."

Tao Ling nodded obediently, Fushen said "Dad, sleep well", and quietly left the room.

The rich man put down his teacup, and twisted the three strands of long beard between his fingers, as if he cherished it very much, and touched the joint between the roots of the beard and the flesh from time to time.

He pondered for a moment, then sighed regretfully: "If the best strategy fails, then take the middle strategy."

In the early morning of the next day, Lu Shangshu came to see him as agreed, and the prince described the situation lightly, and sent him back to write a memorial for the court.

As soon as Lu Shangshu left, the prince and Su Yan left the palace with a dozen guards. In order not to attract attention, they even disguised themselves as soldiers from the guard station who went to the North Peak to clear the forest.

A group of people bypassed the southern slope where Xiaoling Mausoleum is located, and came to the foothills east of Zhongshan Mountain.

There is a temple called Linggu Temple at the eastern foot of the mountain. The monks opened up several mountain roads for the convenience of collecting herbs up the mountain. Most of them are compacted dirt roads. Some steep places have stone steps and fences.

Zhu Helin and Su Yan climbed up the North Peak from the "Monk Road", holding a compass as they walked, looking for the location where the deer were caught and the traps were laid that day.

After searching for about two hours, they finally saw a landslide in the dense forest. The rock formation was blown into a huge sinkhole, and the earth and rocks were messy, and the original appearance could not be seen.

"According to the sound of the explosion and the distance, this should be the place where the first gunpowder exploded." The guard who explored the road said, "Because not far ahead, I saw the marijuana oak tree, which was not washed down by the current. , the deer chains are still tied to the tree trunk."

Zhu Helin nodded and ordered everyone: "Just focus on this big trap and search in all directions to see if you can find any clues."

The guards searched carefully.

Zhu Helin pulled Su Yan to sit on the rock beside him to rest and drink water.

While drinking the water, Su Yan was thinking about something with an expression of disbelief, and he didn't even notice that the water had dripped onto his collar.

Zhu Helin wiped his wet chin with his sleeve and asked, "What are you thinking?"

"...Tell me, what are the monks building the mountain road for?" Su Yan asked.

Zhu Helin was startled, and answered, "Picking medicine?"

"Picking herbs requires such a wide road?" Su Yan gestured with both hands, "Eight feet wide, enough to pass a cart."

Zhu Helin felt strange when he thought about it: Most of the people who go up the mountain to collect medicines carry medicine baskets on their backs. Even if there are medicine fields on the mountain, there is no need to build such a wide road, unless the yield per mu is [-] catties?

Su Yan collected the water bag and climbed up the steep rock top.Zhu Helin was so frightened that he grabbed the hem of his clothes: "What are you doing?!"

"Climb up and have a look."

"Don't, what do you want to see, young master, go up. You are a powerless—"

"Stop!" Su Yan interrupted him, "Let me hear the words 'a scholar with no strength to restrain a chicken' again, and I'll make your face water!"

Zhu Helin swallowed back the word "scholar" and asked instead: "What do you mean by 'you'? Who else would dare to belittle you like this except my young master, and my young master rewards him for his words!"

"Oh, you can only bully me as a co-author, not others, what do you mean?" Su Yan rolled his eyes at him.

Zhu Helin said, "Young master didn't bully you", while showing a natural expression.

He pressed his hands on the rock face, jumped to the top, stretched out his hand to pull Su Yan up, and hugged him tightly by the waist: "Look at whatever you want, be careful."

Su Yan took a condescending look around and pointed to the two iron chains hanging in the valley: "Look at that, is it a zipline?"

Zhu Helin tilted his head to look, and asked, "What is a zip line?"

Well, grown up in the palace, when I didn't ask.

Su Yan explained: "A pulley can be hung between the two iron chains to transport heavy objects."

Zhu Helin nodded: "I understand. If it's just herbal medicine, it needs to be transported with a tackle? There must be something strange in it."

The two of them went down to the top of the rock, and a guard came over and reported: "Master Su, I found a stone with yellow spots in my humble position, washed it with water, looked under the sun, it seemed to have golden stars."

Zhu Helin took the fist-sized stone and handed it to Su Yan without seeing the Mingtang at all.

Su Yan tossed and turned, seeing flocculent and dotted yellow in the dark cyan rock formation, a little suspicious of some heavy metal ore.But in his previous life, he was not a geology major. He only saw some common types of raw ore in the ore museum, and he couldn't tell what it was.

"Sulphur? Copper? Gold? I don't know... Maybe it's just an ordinary yellow impurity." He gave up thinking about it.

Zhu Helin threw the stone back into the hands of the guards: "Take it back, and go to Nanjing Ministry of Industry to find an official who is familiar with mining and metallurgy."

Su Yan corrected: "Wait, don't go to the Ministry of Industry. Go to the market and ask if there are any villages where miners live. Go there and ask. Be more secretive."

Zhu Helin suddenly realized: "Are you worried that the Nanjing Ministry of Industry..."

"Be prepared." Su Yan said, "There is also the Linggu Temple at the foot of the mountain. Let people ask quietly to see who donated money to build the temple and the mountain road."

Zhu Helin entrusted these two tasks to a few alert guards.

Seeing the sun slanting to the west, a group of people went down the mountain the same way, and deliberately avoided the herbal monks who occasionally appeared on the mountain road.

Back in the Imperial City of Nanjing, Su Yan didn't want to enter the palace, so Zhu Helin had the cheek to follow him home for dinner.

"What are your plans for tomorrow?" He asked Su Yan.

Su Yan: "Tomorrow... Rest? I've climbed too many mountains in the past two days, so I'm tired."

Zhu Helin: "Go to Tangshan to soak in the hot springs to relieve fatigue."

Su Yan: "A mountain again?"

Zhu Helin: "You promised my lord! After the mausoleum sacrifice ceremony, go shopping and soak in hot springs."

Su Yan: "...All right."

"So reluctantly? I'm warning you Su Qinghe, this is the grace of the East Palace, don't be shameless."

"Hey, the wings are hard, and they will bully others."

"What does it have to do with being tough or not? The young master has always been bullying others. But you, when did you become so courageous that you dare to violate the order of the crown prince?"

Su Yan rolled up his sleeves: "Say I'm guilty of the next crime? I'll show you the crime!"

He overestimated his ability to leapfrog the challenge, but because Zhu Helin didn't let him this time, he was pressed on the couch and scratched with tears in his eyes, so he almost meowed and begged for mercy.

Su Xiaobei listened outside the door, shook his head, and took away the Xiaoshi tea brought over.

The memorial written by Lu Shangshu will be sent to the General Administration Department of the capital court through the "immediate delivery" of the post station.

After handing over the memorial to the messenger, the clerk from the Ministry of Rites left the station.

The two messengers exchanged winks and walked into the inner room with a letter box.

Sitting in the room was a white-faced, beardless young man. From his sparse eyebrows and inadvertently raised orchid fingers, he could see the femininity of a castrated man.The messenger nodded and bowed and handed over the letter box: "Eunuch Lin, this is it."

Eunuch Lin opened the letter box, scraped off the sealant, opened the playbook and looked carefully at the candlelight, and said: "Lu Shangshu is really a Spring and Autumn calligraphy. How can such an ambiguous playbook make the court princes and the Holy Son of Heaven look at it carefully?" Satisfied? Come, Mr. Zhuge, help polish it."

A young man opened the curtain and came out.I saw that his black hair was combed neatly, and he was wearing a dark blue Haoran scarf, which made the jade-colored dark clothes on his body distinct in black and white. He wore plain shoes with cloud heads, and he was dressed in a very simple and simple Confucian style.

But because of his unrefined eyebrows and tall body, he also wears the simplicity of the charm of Daogu Xianfeng, and his posture is leisurely and elegant, just like a white crane shining on the water.

If Su Yan was present, he would definitely recognize him at a glance—isn't this an old acquaintance, Mr. He?

It's really "no longer in the world of mortals, but meet in the sword".

Mr. He sat down at the table leisurely, took Lu Shangshu's playbook, and picked up a pen to write on another empty playbook, his handwriting was exactly the same as Lu Shangshu's.

Eunuch Lin looked sideways and saw the words "White Deer", "Auspicious", "Great Congratulations", "Killing a life and breaking the law", "Desecrating the imperial tomb", "Destroying the dragon's veins" and other words on the paper. A trace of uneasiness flashed in his eyes, but he became resolute in an instant.

After the other party finished writing and dried the ink, Eunuch Lin took it over to read it, and said with satisfaction: "Sir, you have a good literary talent, and it blends perfectly with the original text, and there is no trace of alteration at all."

Mr. He said modestly: "My father-in-law is absurd. You are all working for the same master. How dare you not be dedicated?"

Eunuch Lin asked the messenger to reseal the newly written memorial, put it in the letter box, and ordered: "Fly it immediately, and send it directly to the cabinet. Remember, it must be handed over to Jiao Yang and Wang Qianhe, two veteran cabinets!"

The messenger made a promise, carried the letterbox on his back and left the house.After a while, the sound of horseshoes gradually faded away outside the courtyard.

Eunuch Lin stood up and said, "Our family is going back to the city, do you want Mr. Zhuge to come with you?"

Mr. He cupped his hands: "Elder-in-law is good to go, and I have to visit an old friend."

After Eunuch Lin left, Mr. He washed his hands in a copper basin filled with clear water, wiped them with a sweat towel, and smiled happily: "Lord Su, long time no see, I miss you very much... How about playing another game of chess? "