Qizhou

"The lower officials are stupid. The lower officials don't know or understand what Mr. Jiang said. But thank you for informing that the emperor is not in the palace, and the lower officials will come back at another day." He Qizhou still didn't change his expression after hearing this bunch of nonsense, Jiang Huanyu didn't even have a chance to reply, he said his goodbyes, turned his head and left with Xu Wenzhi.

Jiang Huanyu stood behind the two of them. Seeing that they were about to leave, he went around to stop them with his hand, and said with a smile, "Why are you leaving now? You are here, why don't you have a cup of tea to catch up?"

"Master Jiang, if you have something to say, you can say it bluntly. It's too hot today, and it's not appropriate for us to stand like this on the street." He Qizhou stopped Xu Wenzhi, who was about to speak, and said with a smile, "You Isn't it hot?"

Jiang Huanyu said: "It's fine if it's normal, but when did the people from Qin Tianjian have such a close relationship with my servant of the Ministry of Rites... I'm very curious."

"Why does Mr. Jiang care so much about Mr. Xu? The officials have never noticed it before, and they have really neglected to observe." He Qizhou said, "The officials and Mr. Xu jointly organized the Winter Solstice Banquet. Mr. Xu has to take care of all the work, big and small..." He deliberately lowered his voice, and said in an extremely cryptic manner: "But having said that, the position of Minister of Rites is in Mr. Jiang's pocket. Master Jianzheng talks about the tacit understanding of the emperor. If there is no such pass as Qin Tianjian..."

"What do you mean?" Jiang Huanyu's face turned half green when he heard this, the corner of his mouth twitched, and he said through gritted teeth, "You are mocking my position as Minister of Rites, all thanks to your Qin Tianjian? You low-ranking people Trick! What is it..."

He Qizhou interrupted: "Keep Qin Tianjian can rely on this low-level trick to earn you a position as Minister of Rites for Mr. Jiang. Mr. Jiang, those who know current affairs are outstanding, and those two baskets entered Ye Jian's official residence." Baby, it's Master Tai Tuo who cherishes talent."

Jiang Huanyu was startled, his face changed, the words that he wanted to pay back were stuck in his throat, and he stopped for a long time before turning into a sentence: "...Qin Tianjian, is the meaning of Taifu?"

He Qizhou was noncommittal, bowed politely, and said, "I will take my leave. It's too hot. Mr. Jiang should avoid the heat, but don't catch the heat and hurt your body."

Xu Wenzhi kept his words in his stomach and rushed all the way, and finally revealed it when he returned to the mansion with He Qizhou. He looked surprised and frowned and said, "Brother He... What do you mean by those words just now? What does the master mean? What kind of heart to cherish talents, could it be..."

"Damn him." He Qizhou entered the room, hugged Ci Nian who was running towards him, and smiled at Xu Wenzhi, "Jiang Huanyu's brain is not much different from Qin Ge's." .”

Master Xu has come to He Mansion many times, and it's not the first time to see the two of them so close, but it still made his ears warm for a moment when they came to him like this.After silently saying "Do not look at evil" five times in his heart, Xu Wenzhi entered the room with the two of them, and said again: "Qin Tianjian and Taifu... are they really living together as one body as in the legend?"

He Qizhou sighed: "Brother Xu, I was talking nonsense. I said it to deceive Jiang Huanyu. He is simple-minded. Even if the Taifu appoints him, he will not be regarded as a confidant. It is common sense not to talk to him about many things. He doesn't know what the Taifu is doing. If you think about it, you will naturally think that the Tianjian Qin and the Taifu are involved, and if you have any crooked thoughts in the future, you will be concerned about the face of the Tianjian Qin and the Taifu..."

"But I don't want to." Xu Wenzhi frowned, "I know that Brother He has good intentions, but I don't want to. Right and wrong in this world, black is black, white is white, why should I rely on this person? Only the power of a person can gain a foothold... If I hadn't been desperate, I shouldn't have begged you today..."

"Brother Xu..." He Qizhou knew that he was dead-headed, and he couldn't persuade him for a while, so he could only follow him, "You are right at all, but the current situation is like this, and everything else... will wait." I have seen the emperor, let me sort out the ins and outs for you. Don’t worry, just contact your family and let them check whether the evidence is clear.”

At the end, He Qizhou added another sentence: "But you have to remember that the emperor of Dameng is a wise emperor, and His Majesty has his expedient measures for many things, but you have to believe that he will never let a good minister like you be wronged." Aggrieved."

After a while, Xu Wenzhi nodded and said, "I believe..."

When Xu Wenzhi left, his back was a bit dejected.After he walked away, Ci Nian stood at the door and sighed: "Master Xu looks very unhappy."

"Where can you be happy if you have something on your mind?" He Qizhou said, "Brother Xu has always been a man of undemanding nature, he only talks about right and wrong, and doesn't talk about human sophistication. When Jiang Huanyu took his position as Minister, he didn't say a word , Now, for the sake of my father, I have searched all the people I can find, but there is still little success... I hope that what I said to Jiang Huanyu today can persuade him and make him stop."

Resigning from the Nian said: "Then what Jiang...does it have anything to do with Mr. Xu's father's affairs? You human beings, fighting back and forth, it's so boring. It's really puzzling to do things that are obviously harmful to others and not beneficial to yourself. "

"People always have various ways of doing things. In just a few short decades, who can convince whom? Isn't it just a fight..." He Qizhou smiled, raised his hand and scratched Ci Nian's nose, " I taught you how to grind ink before, did you know it?"

Ci Nian let out a "hum": "Such a simple thing has been known for a long time!"

He Qizhou said: "Okay, then go grind the ink for me."

As dusk gradually rises, candle shadows flicker in the study.Ci Nian stood aside, twisting a piece of pine ink in his hand, and concentrated on squeezing the inkstone to grind it.Sitting at the desk, He Qizhou finished writing the letter stroke by stroke by candlelight.Ci Nian didn't read the words on his letter, he just raised his head and said, "Are you going to release pigeons again?"

"Yes." After the last stroke, He Qizhou didn't tease him, "Why don't you guess who this pigeon is going to be released to?"

"Give it to your emperor?" Ci Nian guessed, "But... do you know where he is now?"

He Qizhou said: "It can be regarded as half of the guess, but... I don't know, someone will know."

The letter paper was rolled up and stuffed into a thin bamboo tube.He Qizhou walked into the yard, picked up the gray pigeon that was already stationed here, and gently stroked its head. The bird opened its round eyes and rubbed its head affectionately against its fingertips.He Qizhou said: "Go, find your father."

The bird seemed to be able to understand human speech, and when the words fell, it soared into the sky, flapped its wings, and flew far away towards the star-studded dusk.

At night, Cuihua Mountain.

The lights by the koi pond were dim, Meng Yincheng sat leaning against the railing of the corridor, beckoning Fu Du to hold the lamp for him.The fish in the pond feel very good, knowing that where there is light, there will be food. Fu Du held the lantern, and he did not forget to greet "Your Majesty, look here", the fish food fell into the pond, and there was a scramble , Meng Yincheng was very satisfied, and said with a smile: "Yes, you are good at palming the lamp."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your praise, good palm, good palm..." Fu Du hurriedly responded with a smile, but a small eunuch suddenly came to the west of the corridor. There was no sound at all.When he appeared behind Fu Du, he didn't even need to speak, Eunuch Fu offered him the long lantern in his hand, took the tray in his hand, and stood far away with a few attendants, avoiding it.

Meng Yincheng still didn't turn his head, he just looked at the pool water with rippling lights and said, "Qin Ge brought you here?"

The little eunuch said: "Yes."

Meng Yincheng said again: "Oh... Even if I hide here in Cuihua Mountain, I can't stop you. Tell me..."

The little eunuch said softly: "It is His Majesty who does not want to block me. If he really wanted to block me, he would not let General Qin come to meet him, let alone ask Eunuch Fu to cooperate."

Meng Yincheng smiled and said, "Qizhou, you are too smart."

The little eunuch stood the long lantern by the railing and raised his head slightly. No matter how deceptive his eunuch's attire was, he couldn't block He Qizhou's iconic sword eyebrows and starry eyes. He straightened up and bowed respectfully: "Your Majesty."

Meng Yincheng sprinkled all the fish food in his hands, clapped his hands, looked at the school of fish churning in the water that almost jumped out of the water, and said, "What's the clue?"

"The clue about the guilty minister's daughter has been broken. If no one acts rashly, the clue will probably be broken here. But..." He Qizhou paused, and said, "This minister came today because he discovered another strange thing. "

Meng Yincheng leaned on the railing, looked at the koi in the water with great interest, and said, "Oh?"

He Qizhou said: "It's... Xu Shilang's father was caught by the government for selling private salt. Since the founding of Dameng, there has been a law that explicitly prohibits the sale of private salt. Violators will be stabbed in the slightest, beheaded in severe cases, and killed." It hasn't changed in a hundred years. Weichen thinks it's strange at this time."

Meng Yincheng said: "If Xu Aiqing's father was stupid, he would not be able to teach him such an upright son."

"However, there are all witnesses in this case..." He Qizhou thought over and over again, and said, "I have a good relationship with Mr. Xu, so I have the opportunity to read the letter from his home. The evidence listed in the letter is all just right. The goods are delivered to the warehouse for lease, and even witnesses are all available... This is probably the most strange part of this case."

Meng Yincheng lost the fish and food in his hand, but picked up the jade pendant he was holding in his hand again.The emperor gave a "tsk" and suddenly said, "Qizhou, do you think the fish in this pond look good?"

He Qizhou didn't know how to answer this nonsense, so he had to take two steps, watched it with Meng Yincheng for a while, and said, "It looks good."

"It's just good-looking." Meng Yincheng said, "When there is fish food, they will fight for it. When there is no fish food, they will always look amiable. If you swim east, I will go east, and I will go east." Westward Journey, you also go west... But I just like to throw fish food down, let them fight and grab it, just such a pool of water, I see what tricks they can fight for."

He Qizhou was silent, and after a while, Meng Yincheng said: "What's the matter, do you think what I said is wrong?"

"Your Majesty..." He Qizhou said, "This minister thinks that Mr. Xu should not be fish food..."

Meng Yincheng glanced at him, twitched the corner of his mouth, and sighed: "Look at you, what are you thinking. I value talent and love talent, but this talent is like rough jade. Will become a weapon. Xu Aiqing is upright, hard-working, and loyal to the country. I can see all of this. But Qizhou, you also need to know... In this court, there are only integrity and steadfastness, and you cannot stand Steady footing. The art of checks and balances is that even mediocre talents like Jiang Huanyu can be used by me. What I want to know now is whether there is another brick in this court that can share the same status as the Tai Tuo."

He Qizhou didn't know how to respond, so he was silent for a while: "But Your Majesty, if Master Xu's father is really innocent..."

"If he is really innocent, those people from the Ministry of Punishment should not try to steal under my nose." Meng Yincheng interrupted, "I will never treat a good minister harshly."