Pei Gonggui

After thinking about it, the palace servants also came out to respectfully invite Pei Jun to enter the hall, and Pei Jun stepped into the high threshold in front of the hall with his hands behind his back.

For a while, the peaceful sandalwood came to his nostrils. After he walked around a flying cloud screen and walked into the hall, he saw Jiang Zhan wearing a beaded crown on his head and wearing auspicious cloud brocade clothes, sitting high behind the imperial case. On the left side are several bachelors of the Imperial Academy, doctors of the imperial censor, and Zhongcheng of the imperial censor. Each of them has several manuscripts at hand.

But seeing Pei Jun enter, dozens of solemn eyes cast on him.

Right now it is the inner court meeting every other day in the palace, which is attended by the nine cabinet ministers on the right and the speech officials on the left.Compared with the meeting of hundreds of officials in the outer court, the emperor and the ministers in the inner court meeting are closer, and there seems to be less concealment. All the questions and answers and conversations are sharper and more explicit than those in the outer court.

Jiang Zhan used to be afraid of this place.

Four years ago, when Pei Jun was about to push Jiang Zhan here for the first time, Jiang Zhan hugged the pillars of the back corridor of the palace with tears and refused to let go, crying like a howling little beast, his head It also shakes like a drum:

"No, no, I won't go. Their eyes are eating people, and I can't answer any of the questions they ask—I, I won't let them make fun of me!"

But this little beast was easily scratched by Pei Jun, its two small claws were loosened, and it was picked up and thrown into the hall.

At that moment, Pei Jun closed the door cruelly, only to hear Jiang Zhan knocking on the door and shouting, "Let me out! Pei Jun, open the door!"

No matter how earth-shattering the carved wooden door was photographed inside, Pei Jun outside only said coldly: "The cabinet and the speech officer are coming soon. Don't cry, you are an emperor, how can the emperor be afraid of ministers?"

"But I don't want to be emperor, Mr. Pei-xian, sir... Please, please open the door..." There was an extremely faint cry from the crack of the door, like a mosquito moaning, "Sir, I, I don't want to, I I really don't want to-"

"You are already." Pei Jun squatted outside the door and warned him softly, and then comforted him softly: "Don't be afraid, I will wait for you outside. Now you wipe away your tears, don't cry anymore, sit on the throne and stand upright." Straighten up. Eunuch Hu will bring you tea in. After a while, the ministers will come, and if you don’t understand what you’re asking, just ask them back.”

"But, but I'm afraid—"

"What are you afraid of! You should be afraid of them, not you. They are ministers, and you are the king!"

……

In my memory, the rustling of the cloth behind the carved door, accompanied by the boy's crying compromise, melted into the fragrance of Ning Ran in the hall.Pei Jun restrained his thoughts, raised his eyes to look at the calm young emperor behind the case, lowered his head, picked up the hem of his robe, knelt down, and kowtowed:

"Minister Pei Jun, see the emperor."

"Pei Qing is dead." Jiang Zhan stood up behind the case, "I heard that you were at the Wengu Hall just now, do you know who complained?"

As soon as Pei Jun got up, the palace servants quickly moved over and put the mahogany chair beside him.But he didn't sit down, but just stood upright, squinted at the direction of the cabinet, and said loudly:

"Reporting to the emperor, the person who beat the drums and complained about grievances is Li Cunzhi, the magistrate of Wuzhou, Cangnan Road. He is reporting the case of Ningwu Hou Tang's family embezzling disaster relief projects in the south, embezzling money, food and wages, and imprisoning people unjustly!"

"...What?" Jiang Zhan stood up while leaning on the edge of the table, "The state officials sued Ning Wuhou?"

Cai's father and son in the nine seats of the cabinet immediately raised their heads in astonishment, only to see Pei Jun throw away the blood-stained long cloth in his hand.In an instant, the cloth that was more than ten feet long spread out with thousands of blood-red names inside, and the other end fell straight on the clean and tidy black and blue floor tiles in the hall, making it even more bloody and glaring.

Pei Jun held up the blood book and said loudly: "Your Majesty, please take a look! This case involves more than [-] million yuan in silver. There are more than a thousand people who jointly submitted the blood book, which affects countless victims. Now the governor of a state has been ordered to travel thousands of miles to the capital to beat drums to express his grievances." ——He was dressed in rags and had scars all over his body. He didn't know how he was chased and blocked, or how he was oppressed and murdered. He was originally a dignified magistrate, but now he is like a desperate commoner. Shocking, it is enough to see the seriousness of his grievances! Now Li Cunzhi has been taken to the Infantry Deacon's Mansion for custody because of his conflict with the imperial guard of honor. case, to seek justice for the tens of millions of people in the South!"

After saying a word, everyone in the hall was shocked, and Jiang Zhan on the throne looked at the blood book in the hall in a daze, and even forgot to ask someone to present it to the imperial court.

Cai Yang among the Nine Seats is the eldest son-in-law of Ning Wuhou's family, so he naturally knows the pros and cons of this case, seeing that this matter has been exposed and caused huge waves, he can't help but get anxious, and said in a blink of an eye: "Ning Wuhou is a noble character, They are relatives of the royal family, who occupy important positions. According to Mr. Pei, is it possible to accuse high-ranking officials and relatives of being involved in this serious case just by listening to the one-sided words of the people and state officials and relying on this long cloth with red letters without evidence? How do you know that the state official falsely accused Ning Wuhou not because of personal hatred or being instigated by others?"

Jiang Zhan sat back on the throne and leaned forward slightly: "What is the meaning of Mr. Cai's words? Why does this Zhizhou hold grudges? And who instigated it?"

Cai Yang got up immediately and said, "Reporting to the emperor, since the beginning of last summer, there have been frequent floods in the south, and Wuzhou has been the first to bear the brunt of the disaster. Li Cunzhi, the magistrate, failed in many times of disaster relief, resulting in empty supplies and paying water for fertile land. The gates of the city were not closed, so that the flood flooded in and eroded the granary, and the grain and flour were damp, and thousands of tons of grain and grass were lost. However, Li Cunzhi committed this felony, not only did not know how to repent and admit his mistake, but also uttered wild words, falsely claiming that the granary was vacant in the first place. , the whole Wuzhou’s stockpiling of food and manufacturing has long been eroded year by year by Ningwu Hou Ye’s clansmen in the south, and he has nothing to do with the responsibility for misgovernment. However, this person can only be suspended pending investigation in accordance with the law, fearing that he will be punished for exile, but he did not expect that this person refused to accept the sentence, and today he brought this private grievance to report nonsense to the palace, destroying the law and shocking the emperor. Unforgivable crime! And just at this time, the New Deal has started, Lord Ningwu is also the admiral of the Nine Gates, in charge of the water transportation of Beijing Central, Jingbei, Jingnan and the Nine Gates of the capital, so indiscriminately. For the matter of the report, if Ning Wuhou is really asked to go to trial alone, and then take the opportunity to annex the nine admiral's mansions, who will get the advantage?"

He raised his hand and pointed at Pei Jun in the hall: "Of course he is Mr. Pei's Jing Zhaosi! He instigated the state officials to slander the Tang family, pulled off Lord Ningwu, and without the restraint of the Jiumen Admiral's Mansion, he Jingzhaosi monopolizes the water transportation and can exploit it. I don’t know how convenient it is to fill the purse. However, Mr. Pei got this cheap and drank the blood of the people, but he has to hold a piece of red cloth that I don’t know the so-called to complain for the people. , It can be described as stealing power and playing tricks, deceiving the world and stealing fame! How can it be a word 'treacherous'!"

"Scholar Cai says I'm bullying the world, how dare you ask him?" Pei Jun said unhurriedly, "What's the last name of the inspector of Cangnan Road who reported Li Zhizhou?"

Cai Yang gave a serious meal.Pei Jun answered for him: "The roster of officials is clearly written: one is surnamed Tang; the other is surnamed Liu, who was a former student of Taishi Cai. These two belong to the second class, but they convict Li Cunzhi with the same words. It is a dereliction of duty for the cabinet not to check the truth and falsehood, and today it is absurd to accuse others of adultery with this!" Then he said: "Major Cai, if I, Pei Jun, wanted to steal the Jingmen water transport first, why did I do it at the end of last autumn? In the beginning, it was your father-in-law, Ning Wuhou, who secretly recruited the cronies of state officials from all over the country?"

Cai Yang Yilin: "Pei Ziyu, don't spit blood on people! This place is above the inner court and before the throne. Slandering the royal family should be a capital offense!"

"How can you say that I'm slandering?" Pei Jun smiled, "I can send a witness to testify in court right now, and the testimony must be absolutely true. I'm afraid Master Cai won't listen to it."

When Jiang Zhan heard the words, he immediately frowned and asked, "Who is Pei Qing talking about?"

Pei Jun raised his eyebrows: "Reporting to the emperor, this person is none other than the former protégé of Tang Yuming, the youngest son of Marquis Ningwu, Qian Haiqing. In this life, he was kicked out by the Tang government. He has no relatives and nowhere to go. By chance, he worshiped Zhongyi." The Hou Mansion is used as an accountant. He is the person who was sent by the Tang family to accompany all the state officials' cronies, and if he is to testify in the trial, he will know everything and say everything."

As soon as he said this, Cai Yan frowned grayly in Jiuzuo, and Cai Yang said anxiously: "Since the Tang Mansion kicked him out, in this life, I have received a small favor from your Loyalty Marquis Mansion, and I am subject to the examination papers of your Ministry of Rites. , then he has long held a grudge against the Tang family and is looking for revenge. Naturally, he will say what you tell him to say, so how can the evidence be considered fair?"

"Fairness and injustice can be judged by the judiciary. How can Scholar Cai ask me?" Pei Jun said, "However, if Scholar Cai insists on physical evidence, he can do it even if he doesn't have Qian Haiqing. Just order Yushitai to inspect it." The account books of various wine shops and karaoke houses in Fanwu City are like this. Wouldn’t it be clear who came and went and who made the settlement? If it doesn’t work, ask the Ministry of Households to check the land and buildings that have been transferred and donated in Beijing in the past half a year. Look for eyeliners in the market, and see who the top brands in various brothels are booked on weekdays, where they stay overnight, have you ever been to Tang Mansion and Cai Mansion—”

"Pei Ziyu!" Cai Yang stood up abruptly, "How dare you pour dirty water on—"

"Okay." Cai Yan who was on the side finally shouted in a strict voice, and turned to look at Cai Yang.Cai Yang immediately stopped talking, glared at Pei Jun, and sat back on the chair unwillingly.

Cai Yan lightly threw the booklet in his hand on the short table in front of him, thought for a while, coughed lightly, and said slowly: "Although Mr. Pei's words are straightforward, it just means that the case of Li Zhizhou's entry into Beijing for prosecution should be Check. The cabinet heard it, the emperor and the officials also heard it, but..." Cai Yan frowned, and said in a low voice, "Although Mr. Pei detailed the tragic situation of Li Zhizhou, there is still one thing that never happened. To put it bluntly... that is Li Zhizhou, besides denying the crime, has he ever accused the government of the matter he accused? If he has been accused, but the government has not settled the case, he needs to go back and rest assured; if he refuses to accept the sentence , should also go up to the higher levels to strictly request the Beijing-China Judiciary for consultation, instead of directly suing the imperial court-Li Zhizhou is an official, knowing this law and not respecting it, even if he ignores the previous situation, it is also a breach of conduct , that's why this case..."

As he spoke, he let out a long sigh, moved his old eyes, and cast a glance towards the last seat with difficulty: "What does Mr. Zhang think?"

The problem was pushed to Zhang Ling, and everyone in the hall looked at it.Zhang Ling pondered for a moment under the eyes of everyone, and said with a straight face: "That's right. And since the revision of Yue's lawsuit laws and regulations, the trend of civil litigation has gradually disappeared, and officials everywhere are diligent in hearing and judging. Litigation, the world has its way, there has never been a case of beating drums to appeal for grievances, but now with the New Deal, there is a sudden big case, which has to lead people—”

"The world is right?" Pei Jun slowly wrapped the bloody book in his hand, and smiled absurdly, "Master Zhang can really say it. Although the ancient book says: 'If the world is right, the common people will not sue.' But the law of more lawsuits As soon as it came out, those fifty big boards blocked the way for the common people in the world to sue the sky. Now there are grievances that sink in the state government, block the scientific road, and fail to reach the front of the imperial court. The common people are sad and angry, and they don't want to sue, but because of the fifty boards, they dare not sue and cannot sue. This is not the cessation of litigation that Mr. Zhang said—this is silencing, which makes the people dare not speak , The road follows the eyes! In such a situation, there are still parents and officials running to the capital, who sacrifice their lives to cry out for the people, so what is the way of the world in Zhang Da's mouth?"

Zhang Ling snorted coldly: "It's just a case where the state officials refused to accept the sentence and filed a lawsuit arbitrarily, but they used it to say 'the world has no way'. Mr. Pei is too alarmist. In ancient times, those who ruled the world only valued the virtues of the people. , Treat the people diligently, so that there are no lawsuits, if it is like Master Pei said, it is good to have more lawsuits, then all the people in the world will start to compete, and eventually the government will be exhausted and the people will be poor, and the official resources will be wasted, and the gains will not be worth the losses!"

He glanced at Pei Jun, parted his thin lips on his thin face, and said: "Not to mention there are even more people with evil intentions in the court who want to use lawsuits to steal power and make troubles because of lawsuits, and now they say 'no way' Criticizing the laws and regulations of the current dynasty is simply for fear that the world will not be chaotic! If such power and traitors remain in the officials, it will be as straight as a tumor—"

"Okay, Mr. Zhang." Jiang Zhan said suddenly, with a solemn expression on his pale face, and sighed, "I listen to what you say, I want to hear advice, and I want to hear what you think of Li Cunzhijing The accusation case is not to hear you scolding people. Taishi Cai observes the discipline of the officials, Master Zhang upholds the law, but Pei Qing is only worried about the people's grievances, so she spoke too hastily, and reprimanded the cabinet and the government, which is really an inadvertent mistake. Let me tell you, there are no traitors in this palace, they are all ministers of the court."

As he spoke, he was silent for a moment, looked at Pei Jun who was independent in the palace with complex eyes, frowned deeply and thought about it, and pinched the cuffs of the inner clothes with the fingers in his sleeves, and then pinched again, finally said in a deep voice: "Xiao The unruly trend of civil litigation cannot last long, but if it is completely prohibited, it will be like what Pei Qing said, and the people will not be able to reach the imperial court, just like reaching out to cover my eyes. Although I have various imperial historians acting as my eyes and ears However, under the giant tree, it is difficult to guarantee that there will be no rotten branches and leaves, so the words of local impeachment may not be fully believed. I think that since the drum of Li Cunzhi's case has been sounded, and the report has come to the imperial court, people all over the world have only heard his drum. If you don’t understand it, then if I and the third division ignore it, wouldn’t it be cold to the hearts of the common people in the world? Therefore, this case must be investigated, what do you think?”

From the nine seats, Cai Yang's expression turned ashen and pale. Zhang Ling remained silent, but Cai Yan asked, "Although the emperor cares about the common people, the officials of the government thought it was an act of distrusting the local government. So why not?" untie?"

Jiang Zhan looked at him coldly and said, "It's the place where the letter has been passed, that's why such a shocking thing happened. It's good to investigate now, and all the officials in the world should be alerted, and the matter will be handed over to Yushitai take over."

The two Yushitai on the left responded immediately.

Jiang Zhan waved his hand tiredly and said, "That's all for Neichao." Then he looked at Pei Jun and said, "Pei Qing stays here, I have something else to ask you."

Jiang Zhan's decision and preference made the number of the nine cabinet members change secretly, and the officials also frowned at each other.Everyone's tacit gazes fell on Pei Jun's back, not without ridicule or disdain, but also with a bit of secret envy.

After the ministers left, Jiang Zhan ordered the palace door to be closed and the palace people dismissed. Except for the crown, he stepped down from the throne, walked straight to Pei Jun, and raised his hand to gently hold the fingers under Pei Jun's sleeve.

Pei Jun stood on the spot without saying a word, and met him eye-to-eye. After he looked at him for a while, he heard him say softly:

"Pei Jun, I haven't seen you for a long time."

Pei Jun had already thought up his words: "Recently, all the ministers are busy, and today I don't have time to come to the inner court. It just so happens that there is a complaint about grievances—"

"Then if nothing happened, wouldn't you have come?" Jiang Zhan looked up into his eyes, examined his expression with clear eyes, and asked slowly: "Is this case really just a coincidence?"

Pei Jun only felt that the fingers held by him seemed to be coiled by ice snakes, and the coolness had spread from the fingertips. Before answering, he heard Jiang Zhan ask: "I remember, Deng Zhun said before that you care about Salt tax and water transport, you recently advised to set up a new salt department, so is your move today really as Cai Yang and Zhang Ling said, just want to get rid of the Tang family and monopolize the water transport, so that it is easier to control the power of the salt industry?"

Pei Jun raised his eyebrows slightly, and with a bitter smile in his heart, he simply said: "Yes. The emperor is worried?"

Jiang Zhan frowned slightly: "Even if it is, you don't need to encourage people to go to Beijing to beat the drums and complain. Now that the matter is getting worse, although it can embarrass the Cai family, Qingliu and Zhang's family will also be discussed, and the New Deal will happen immediately." What will people in the world think of me after this accident?"

"Then why does the emperor think of the people of the world?" Pei Jun smiled faintly, "It's just that the grievance has not been revealed, but it is there in the end."

Jiang Zhan said: "Why don't I know this? But it doesn't matter if I am wronged or not."

As soon as these words came out, the smile on Pei Jun's face gradually faded.

Jiang Zhan lowered his head, played with his sleeves casually, and said very despondently: "The cabinet sentenced Li Cunzhi, but the case has never been approved in front of my eyes, so someone in the cabinet must have expressed the intention of defending it, I think it is undoubtedly the Cai family. I know you want to bring down the Cai family, so I agree with you to investigate, but although Cai Yan is cunning, what he said is also reasonable: if this case is retried, those who complained of grievances in the world, true or false, will bear the consequences. There are many lawsuits in Beijing, and if the imperial court wants to accept them one by one, regardless of the official resources, it will also make the local officials fearful and cover up each other. How can they dare to do things in the future?... I really have no idea."

Pei Jun slowly pulled out his sleeve from his hand: "Then how should the emperor deal with those involved in this case?"

Jiang Zhan quickly looked up at him, blinked his bright eyes, and asked sincerely, "What do you think?"

Pei Jun said, "I'm asking the emperor."

"I..." Jiang Zhan lowered his eyes for a moment, turned around and walked away two steps with his hands behind his back, and sighed softly, "Ruoruo Nandi is really such a tragic situation. After investigation, I'm afraid he will kill the officials to shake the people's grievances."

Pei Jun Lingran asked: "Only kill officials?"

Jiang Zhan looked back at him: "Then is it really going to affect Ningwuhou's mansion?" He shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Then Shizong Pavilion and Shoukang Huanggu will definitely quarrel endlessly. There will be no more peace."

Pei Jun asked again: "Then if they are in peace, what will happen to the peace of the world?"

"The common people can bear it, but the royal family can't. The royal family's quarrel is to make me lose my stable life, how can I give the people peace?" Jiang Zhan finally turned around and grabbed Pei Jun's sleeve again, " Pei Jun, please help me think about it, what should I do now? Although I should investigate and give an explanation to the world, how can I investigate so as not to hurt the authority in Beijing? How can I investigate so that this matter can be settled?"

When he asked this, his eyes followed Pei Jun, but he felt that Pei Jun was looking at him with a look of pity in his eyes.He turned to hold Pei Jun's hands, and found that Pei Jun's hand holding the bloody cloth was cold and hard, and he still remained silent for a long time, so he couldn't help feeling a little anxious: "Pei Jun, speak up."

But Pei Jun was speechless for a moment, and finally said blankly: "This matter is difficult to deal with. I really don't know how to respond to the emperor. I hope the emperor will forgive me."

"How could you not know? You always knew, but you didn't want to tell me?" Jiang Zhan moved closer to his arms, grabbed his hem and said, "You're still angry with me, aren't you? But because of me I told you about your sister last time, so you don't want to enter the palace to see me?"

Pei Jun stepped back slightly, and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, I also said in the early years that entering the palace will not last forever, and it will be a matter of time if you don't enter the palace."

But Jiang Zhan immediately grabbed his wrist: "No, no! I won't allow it. Pei Jun, you can't leave me behind. If you said you want to stay with me, you will stay with me for the rest of your life. If you said you want to help me, just To help me for the rest of my life... I don't want to be alone."

Pei Jun let him drag him, his body only swayed slightly, and he said softly: "The wedding car of the Haring tribe is coming, after the rain, the emperor will never be alone again—"

"But what I want is you, Pei Jun!" Jiang Zhan shook his hand and looked at him with wide eyes, "Pei Jun, don't leave me, I don't want anyone else, I just want you ……I only want you!"

--I only want you.

Pei Jun had waited about ten years to say this in his previous life, and in the end he had never heard Jiang Zhan say it.But at this moment, he quietly looked at Jiang Zhan in front of him, but felt that even if the words were finally said and heard by him, it seemed that they were meaningless.And those grievances and oppressions that grew crazily in his heart due to lust, love and hatred, but never saw the light of day, those misunderstandings and infamy that he once borne alone, passed through two lifetimes, accompanied his soul in this body Suddenly left and right, at this moment, it seems that all the sentences were suddenly pardoned, and suddenly disappeared——

Even the past and the reasons that brought him to prison in the first place are all gone.

Everything seemed to start for no reason, and ended in a scribbled and silent way today.

He clenched the sticky blood-stained long cloth tightly in his hand, and heard himself saying: "How humble is my minister, but the emperor is the emperor, the king of a country. The emperor's heart is the world, and the people of the world are bleeding."

Jiang Zhan looked at him with red eyes, gritted his teeth and whispered: "You know I don't want to be emperor at all...you pushed me up."

"Your Majesty's words are wrong." Pei Jun looked at him indifferently, "The power of the emperor is determined by nature. It is not me who wants the emperor to be the emperor, but fate. The emperor can't just blame me and refuse to accept fate."

Jiang Zhan found that at this moment, in Pei Jun's eyes, he seemed to no longer be able to capture the slightest bit of love.What's worse, even the pity for him in Pei Jun's eyes seemed to be gradually fading, and what became clearer in it was a look of absoluteness as if everything had passed.

At this moment, the bottom of his heart seemed to be smashed empty by a boulder, and a gap was opened, which was instantly filled with coldness. He had to work extremely hard to say: "Pei Jun, what's wrong with you? Why are you looking at me like this?" Me?...I, we just had a quarrel, why do you treat me like this? If you are still angry that I don’t want to forgive your sister’s sins, I will immediately sign her to forgive her, and I will immediately—"

Pei Jun pressed his shoulders, stopped him from turning around, and said calmly: "Jiang Zhan, don't you understand? My sister is not something you can forgive right now. This bureaucrat in Beijing is like a torso. He has already given birth to hands and feet. I have grown a head, and that head is the cabinet. The cabinet's mouth is named Cai, and the tongue is named Zhang, if they all want to make Pei Yan suffer, how can you let her go with a pardon?"

Jiang Zhan froze all over, stared at Pei Jun and let out a deep sigh as he brushed off his hand, and then watched Pei Jun kneel down in front of him, and heard that the most intimate pillow person in the past, Finally he said the words:

"The emperor can do it for himself in the future. The minister will leave."

It was almost noon when Pei Jun came out of the Zhongqing Hall, but the sunlight outside the hall was not as strong as in the early morning, but was only imprisoned by the thicker and denser clouds, trying to reveal a bleak light and shadow between the sky and the earth.

The surroundings were very stuffy, and he was sweating a little when he walked all the way south to the Infantry Deacon's Mansion.He was led respectfully into the squad room in the mansion, but he saw that Li Cunzhi had been placed on a stone bed of dry grass in the row of prisons, and a doctor was diagnosing his pulse and applying medicine for him. In the ear room, there was a familiar human voice faintly.

He walked along the row of prisons to the ear room, turned his head to look at Li Cunzhi behind the wooden fence, and saw the old man's thin body covered with hematomas after taking off his jacket. People are experiencing things that the other side will never experience in their lifetime.Thinking about it this way, I really don't know whether the people over there are in prison or the people here are in prison.

The aisle was soon over.Pushing open the door, the two people sitting side by side at the table in the room raised their heads, with serious expressions on their faces.

Xiao Lin, who was sitting on the inside, said, "Here we come. What does the palace say?"

But the person sitting outside was wearing a white robe with black hair and a jade belt around his waist. Seeing Pei Jun approaching, although the seriousness on his face immediately faded, but because Xiao Lin was still there, he just nodded slightly and said: "Lord Pei .”

A gust of fresh breeze broke in through the small window in the anteroom, blowing away some of the dampness in the office.Pei Jun stood still, and nodded to him with a smile: "Prince Jin."

Then he said to Xiao Lin: "The palace has decided to investigate this case, and it's...successful. How is Li Cunzhi?"

Speaking of this, Xiao Lin's face turned serious: "The doctor looked at it and said that he was beaten severely and traveled a long distance, his abdominal organs were bleeding a lot, and the trauma was innumerable... Although this situation does not lead to immediate death , but it probably won't last long, and it won't be able to withstand major turmoil, so you need to be careful in everything."

After hearing this, Pei Jun sighed and nodded: "Okay, thank you. I'll treat you to a drink later." Then, he looked at Jiang Yue and asked Xiao Lin to say, "I want to have a private chat with Prince Jin. Can you make it easier for me to give me a break?"

Although Xiao Lin didn't know how Pei Jun and Jiang Yue turned from old enemies to allies, but seeing the urgency of the matter, he didn't bother to ask any more questions. He simply got up and walked out of the side room, and closed the door considerately.

Seeing him go out, Pei Jun lifted a single stool in the room with one hand and placed it in front of Jiang Yue. With his knees against Jiang Yue's, he folded his arms and sat down in front of Jiang Yue.

Jiang Yue immediately sat back.He retreated the clinker, and Pei Jun dragged the stool forward a little, and finally he was next to him.

"What are you doing?" Jiang Yue glanced at the door of the ear room.

Pei Jun swayed his knee and bumped into his leg: "I'm having a long talk with Prince Jin."

Jiang Yue retreated to the point where he could not retreat, seeing that avoidance was inevitable, he had no choice but to stop trying and talk about the business: "Did you go to the Inner Court for a meeting?"

"That's right." Pei Jun sighed wearily, rubbed his face and said in a low voice, "This is another quarrel with the cabinet, and I made Zhang Ling and Cai Jiaye very angry, which can be regarded as a blow to the nine All the cabinet members scolded, and even the emperor offended..."

As he said that, he thought of Cai Yang, Zhang Ling and even Jiang Zhan's various faces just now. Thinking of these various faces, he couldn't help but accuse him of abolishing public affairs for private reasons, filing lawsuits just to monopolize the water transportation... He couldn't help but smiled, shaking his head and laughing at himself Said: "Hey, no matter, I am a bad person anyway. With me being a bad person, everyone will have a better life. Why is everyone calling me a traitor?"

He seemed to easily raise his empty hand, patted Jiang Yue's snow-white knee, and asked with a smile, "Do you think so?"

But at this moment, he suddenly felt that his right hand, which was still clutching the blood book, was suddenly grabbed by someone.

The grip was very light and tentative at first.Then there was a warm feeling from the edge of the palm, and the calloused fingertips turned towards his tightly kneaded five fingers.

He saw Jiang Yue gently take out the blood-stained cloth from his hand, and put it properly on the table beside him. The next moment, he held his hand tightly again under the sleeve of his robe, as if answering a very serious question. Like a question, he looked at him sincerely and said:

"No."

"Pei Jun, you are not a bad person, they wronged you."