Changle Floating Life

The north wind whistled over the imperial city as if it had a whistle.

Xiao Lanshan put his hands behind his ears and said, "Oh, it's so windy today. I didn't hear what you said, Little Ye Zi."

Ye Jianqing stared at Gu Su, and said word by word: "I'm sorry, uncle, I can't go with you yet."

There was no expression on Gu Su's face.Lanshan's eyeballs were about to fall to the ground, but he still wanted to smooth things over: "Little Yezi, think about it again..." At this moment, Pei Zhaoye suddenly turned to look at her, looked up and down and asked, "May I ask your name, please?" Has Zhaoye seen you before?"

This seemingly inadvertent question made Lanshan startled in his heart, he took a few steps back, knelt down and saluted and said, "Little girl is in the grass, a humble name is nothing to worry about."

"Her surname is Su, and she's from Yujian Villa in Zhongzhou." Gu Su flicked his sleeves and shielded Lanshan behind him.Ye Jianqing was stunned for a moment, she had known the little girl for a while, but she never knew her origin. "They don't tell me anything." He thought it was really sore.

Gu Su walked up to Ye Jianqing, and said solemnly: "You still refuse to bow your head in the grass?" Ye Jianqing didn't dare to look up at him, and stared at the withered grass on the ground.

"From now on, you are not allowed to appear in front of my eyes." Another gust of wind passed, and the blue shadow in front of me disappeared.Gu Su left without a trace.Xiao Lanshan stomped his feet and cursed: "Little fool who doesn't know what's good and what's wrong!" He also rode on the horse and chased after Gu Su.

Ye Jianqing's body softened and was supported by Pei Zhaoye next to him. He turned his head and smiled, that smile was uglier than crying: "It really hurts now after being hit by the board. I can't walk anymore." Pei Zhaoye silently moved towards the distance Beckoning, a long-awaited green horse-drawn carriage drove up and sent Ye Jianqing back to Prince Duan's Mansion, but he returned to work in the palace himself.

It's cold and the sun is setting, and the wind is majestic.Gu Lang goes, Pei Lang goes.

Pei Zhaoye didn't go home until late at night.The palace is still in the process of tidying up, several yards have been tidied up, and the servants who escaped on the night of the winter solstice are still being recalled one after another.Because there is no headed mistress and children, Duan Wang's mansion is usually lonely, and the rest of his life after the catastrophe is even more desolate.

Pei Zhaoye walked all the way to the study room, and listened to Butler Zhou whispering: "I have sent people to Zhongzhou to inquire. Some people who are familiar with the situation there have said that Master Su did have an illegitimate daughter who was raised outside since she was a child. She described it to the prince. His age and appearance are the same." Pei Zhaoye quickly changed his court clothes, put on a homely robe, and ordered: "Jianqing hasn't rested yet, send my dinner to him."

When he arrived at the courtyard where Ye Jianqing lived temporarily, the shadow of the candle was indeed flickering.Ye Jianqing was dozing on her side on the beauty couch, holding a book in her hand.Pei Zhaoye took it out of his hand and looked, it was still the "Tao Yuanming Poetry Collection".Ye Jianqing woke up and saw that it was him, smiled and took the book back. "I know you can't sleep because of the pain at night. Dumplings are hot. Didn't you eat them during the winter solstice this year? Don't eat dumplings during the winter solstice, be careful not to freeze your ears." Pei Zhaoye pointed to the food box on the table and said.

Ye Jianqing took the food box and ate a few dumplings, apparently without appetite.Pei Zhaoye wolfed down more than half of it.Ye Jianqing heard him speak vaguely: "Your injury hasn't healed these few days, so don't go out. It's still very chaotic outside. If you need anything, ask Butler Zhou to buy it for you."

"Okay." Ye Jianqing bowed her head.

However, Pei Zhaoye stopped his chopsticks, wiped his mouth casually, and said in a rambling voice: "Jianqing, you must avoid dangerous places on the road. Your Majesty is in a bad mood and doesn't want to bring up the matter of overturning the case. Why bother? Wouldn’t it be better to gradually reverse the case after acquiring the title, and then recruiting talents to create opportunities in the future?”

Ye Jianqing squeezed the chopsticks tightly, crushing the dumplings.He was disturbed and said angrily, "If we don't mention it now, Miss Ning won't know whether she is dead or alive in a few years. The first complaint is gone..." At this point, there was a lightning bolt outside the house, and it started to rain heavily. He made a strange mistake, raised his head and said, "Or, are you all waiting for her to die?"

Raindrops were pattering on the roof tiles and under the porches.

Pei Zhaoye asked: "What did the Crown Princess tell you?"

Ye Jianqing shook her head and said: "She only said that she was going to become a monk. By the way, she was just pleading for the prince." Pei Zhaoye got up to pack the dishes, repacked the food box, and said softly: "Don't think too much. Today The man and the woman outside the palace city have unknown origins, it is better for you to keep in touch with them less in the future. I heard from Feng Mian that you also saw that little girl in the Zhao Mansion in Tianshui Hutong, right?"

Ye Jianqing's heart moved, didn't Zuo Fengmian tell Pei Zhaoye about the iron box?He reluctantly replied: "Got it."

Pei Zhaoye took the food box and went out, only to see a vast expanse of whiteness between the sky and the earth.He stood under the porch for a long while, and walked into the pouring rain without hesitation.

After a night of wind and rain, it took a break until dawn.The second day is the day of Shang Dynasty, which is also the first morning court after the winter solstice.Zuo Fengmian staggered in the team and looked at the Golden Luan Hall.Not only the prince was not present, but not a single vassal king appeared.This was originally Pei Zhan's strategy.The emperor greeted his sons in advance and asked them to ask for leave together, so that the prince's absence would not seem so obtrusive.

Pei Zhan, who was on the throne, first said that the success of the suburban priests was inseparable from the cooperation of the ministers and workers, and then turned the topic to the riots in the capital on the night of the winter solstice.He lightly informed his ministers that several high-ranking figures had neglected their duties and had been taken down.The prince was imprisoned in Zongzheng Temple for the ambiguous and minor crime of "privately making jade belts", awaiting investigation.After he finished speaking, he suddenly ordered the eunuch to read out an imperial decree. The content of this imperial decree stunned everyone: Zuo Shaoqing of Dali Temple has made meritorious service to the country, and he will be promoted to Jing Zhaoyin from now on, and will be given purple clothes and goldfish bags.

The voice of Man Chaotang gasping, in the eyes of countless people who were either envious, suspicious or disdainful, Zuo Fengmian came out with extremely heavy steps to thank him.Pei Zhan gave a few words of praise, which made him temporarily return to his original position, and then looked at the left and right yellow gates, which meant that the morning court could be over today.Just as the palace supervisor was about to sing the promise loudly, someone suddenly shouted: "The imperial envoy Guo Yining wrote a letter to Fu Que."

"Why is it him again?" There was a buzz of discussion in the court hall.This person is the envoy who was involved in the impeachment case of Princess Zhenguo's mansion last year.Because of his impeachment, Bo Shaojun, the Minister of Dali Temple, was dismissed from office, and King Duan was imprisoned.Although it was later proved that Dali Temple did not engage in malpractice for personal gain, it really caused the whole temple to be devastated.Just when the colleagues were speculating about what enmity this person had with Dali Temple and Zuo Shaoqing, what this person said refreshed his colleagues' understanding of the dangers of the officialdom.

"I want to impeach Pei Jianye, the crown prince of the Eastern Palace." The man said carelessly with his head stuck.

Zuo Fengmian suddenly raised his head.Someone behind him sighed: "What kind of evil wind is blowing?"

Pei Zhan endured his anger so hard: "Say!" If it weren't for the court, he who is usually well-mannered would almost want to yell: farts, farts, but no farts!

"Du Xian and Du Chao took advantage of the opportunity of His Majesty's family sacrifice in the southern suburbs to use force to eradicate dissidents in the capital. General You Jinwu isolated the inside and outside of the Forbidden Palace, intending to hold the prince hostage. The East Palace was responsible for supervising the country, and failed to quell the chaos in time, resulting in the fall of the nine gates of the capital. , Refused Wancheng to leave the gate of the country, the sage bowed in danger, the ministers broke their courage, and the ancestral temple almost collapsed. The chaos in the past few days was caused by the incompetence of the crown prince, and the crown prince could not convince the public. Your majesty, please order another state crown."

Now there was no sound of gasping, the entire court was deadly silent, and even the air was trembling.

Has it finally come to this point?After the Nine Gates of the capital, they opened up another Shura field where blood flowed.Zuo Fengmian closed his eyes, unable to bear to look at everything in front of him.

Pei Zhan suddenly smiled darkly, his beard fluttering from the smile: "Then who do you think should be the reserve?"

"The vice-president is the public treasure of the world. When the time is peaceful, the heir will be the first, and if the country is in trouble, it will be credited. If it is not suitable, the country will be disappointed, and it will not be the blessing of the community. I dare to die today, please make His Royal Highness Duan Wang as the heir."

Zuo Fengmian almost wanted to applaud.If Pei Zhaoye was in the hall at this time, he might have to praise this trick of "framing" and "advancing with retreat".

Pei Zhan's face was pale and uncertain, he pondered for a long time, and called names one by one with a malicious voice: "Master Chen, Master Li, Master Xu... What do you think?" It's up to see who can hold back.

Those who were named were either hesitating, ambiguous, or giving way to each other, and the voices of "Your Majesty clearly sees it" kept coming and going.Some people even pretended to be dizzy and tried to escape.

The emperor had asked the Sangong and Zaifu, but he was not satisfied, and suddenly pointed out: "Master Jing Zhaoyin Zuo, what do you think of Guo Yushi's Shangshu?" Zuo Fengmian was taken aback, never expecting the emperor to ask Own.He came out of the line in no hurry, kowtowed his head and said: "The imperial envoy, the peace of the world, the only way to break the hard into softness is the public. Mr. Guo is doing his duty. The so-called madman's words, the sage chooses, but Judge by His Majesty."

Pei Zhan squinted at him and said, "Do you think Guo Yushi's proposal makes sense?"

Zuo Fengmian kowtowed again, looked directly at Dan Chi calmly, and said: "Jing Zhaoyin governs the capital, this is not within the responsibility of the minister, and it is beyond the responsibility of the minister. The minister only knows that it is difficult to become a prince but easy to destroy. Your Majesty judges it."

The crown prince is hard to achieve but easy to destroy?Pei Zhan understood this sentence carefully, and gradually calmed down his anger.He couldn't help but look at Zuo Fengmian on the ground a few more times, this person is young, but he has the air of a Zaifu.He was suddenly jealous of Prince Duan again, why are there so many idiots around the prince?

"The turmoil in the winter solstice is still under investigation, and the prince has already repented. It's too late, let's disperse."

After the emperor left, all the ministers stood up, all sweating heavily, and thanked themselves for having lived another day.Some people gathered around Zuo Fengmian, congratulating him on his promotion to power.Zuo Fengmian watched Guo Yining hurriedly walk outside the hall, this person seems to be upright in admonition, but his heart is really deceitful, presumably the emperor will not keep him anymore.

Zuo Fengmian went back to Dali Temple to sort out the files and prepare for handover.Just after returning to the official office, someone reported that King Duan was visiting.Pei Zhaoye strode across the threshold, with a smile on his face, and said with a smile: "Fengmian has been promoted, happy event!" Zuo Fengmian retreated to the left and right, and said with a wry smile: "Your Majesty uses ministers as Jingzhao, because he doesn't want Dali Temple to embarrass the crown prince again. I will be promoted tomorrow." Really surrender." Pei Zhaoye just laughed, and said: "Your court is very clever, and you fell into Guo Yining's trap, and your father must have hatred for leaving talent today."

But Zuo Fengmian was puzzled and said: "Your Highness, I heard His Majesty's tone today and he doesn't really want to send the prince down. Making a jade belt privately is at most an arrogance of etiquette, and it's not a life-and-death crime. Why did the prince want to burn the jade and stone together? Huh?" He couldn't figure out why he would rashly bring up a topic like "Yi Chu" in the court today that the prince absolutely didn't want to mention.

"Tyrant, it really wasn't a big deal when the crown prince was favored a few years ago. It's not the same thing now." Pei Zhaoye smiled slightly, hesitating to speak.Only Ye Jianqing and Xu Shicheng knew the inside story of Yudai.The prince refused to admit it to death, and Luo Chenshui was indeed killed by him, so there is no proof of his death.But the strangeness of the night in the imperial city and the slow response of the "Silver Sword Guard" were enough to plant a seed of doubt in the emperor's heart.

Was Luo Chenshui really in collusion with the prince?Or as the commander-in-chief of an army, he was just being cautious when facing King Duan who came to mobilize troops from Ye Chi?King Duan knew that Luo Chenshui was loyal to the emperor, but he took the opportunity to kill and eliminate dissidents?Perhaps Pei Zhan had such thoughts in his mind.

Who do the eight Tuanlong Yukui correspond to?The emperor is thinking all the time.However, he couldn't send people with jade belts to lure the enemies one by one in another chaotic night like Pei Zhaoye did.Even if he had the opportunity to test like that, he didn't bother to do it.Because the price is too high!Now that things have happened, there is only one way to make myself feel at ease and the country to be peaceful—that is, to make this jade belt never come in handy—in other words, as long as the owner of the jade belt is gone, future troubles can be eliminated forever.

As dull as a prince, he also knew that his father really wanted to kill him this time.That's why I instructed people to "self-hack" and confuse the water in the pool to see if there was any chance of survival.

Seeing the unspeakable gloom in Pei Zhaoye's eyes, Zuo Fengmian knew that the matter of the jade belt was not so simple, and Duan Wang didn't intend to tell him clearly.Compared to this, the current promotion made him even more worried: "Your Highness, I'm afraid in the future..."

"You and I will try to keep as little contact as possible in the future. The various forces in the capital are intertwined, and Jing Zhaoyin must be His Majesty's person to govern the emperor. You only need to enforce the law impartially. You are such a person by nature. From now on, don't distort it." It’s up to you.” Pei Zhaoye raised his hand to interrupt him, and said softly, “Feng Mian, I’m so happy for you. If your ancestors have spirits in the sky, they will also feel that they are shining brightly.”

The two have had a long-standing friendship, and there is something in his words, and the love is already in it without saying anything, which only makes Zuo Fengmian sad.

He created an opportunity to use the emperor's hand to clear his identity and become a minister.This is also a tactful and decent breakup.Even if one day he is a king and he is a minister, the two will return from bridge to bridge, and there will be no intersection.Zuo Fengmian held the corner of the table tightly with one hand, resisting the urge to pounce on him, and said in a hoarse voice, "Your Highness must be careful at every step from now on."

Pei Zhaoye's loving eyes lingered on his face.Time is such an incredible power, it turned a glaring boy into a modest gentleman.The sword at the waist is still bloody, but the young man has learned how to resent without anger, and to provoke without expressing it.Pei Zhaoye stood up, swept the hem of his deep clothes, cupped his hands and said solemnly: "Lord Zuo, take care!"

In the evening, Zuo Fengmian sealed the talisman document in Dali Temple, and turned back to the mansion behind Xueyin Nunnery.

The whiteboard door opened, and the old servant said that there was a visitor.He thought it was the gift giver and was about to run away.The man walked into the courtyard and said, "Master Zuo is hard to find here. During the day, many people came to check around, but they didn't find the way. But I don't think we will be so lucky tomorrow."

Doesn't this person who doesn't know good and bad know that he is the person he least wants to see?Zuo Fengmian really wanted to strangle him to death.Seeing him staring at her, Ye Jianqing smiled innocently.

Zuo Fengmian said weakly, "It's windy late at night, let's talk inside."

Oil lamps are like beans, and a room is poor.The tea is rough tea ten cents a catty, and the snack is a plate of peanuts.Ye Jianqing sat down, and went straight to the point: "I don't want to say more about congratulations. I just want to ask Mr. Zuo, how to deal with the iron box?"

Zuo Fengmian squinted at him: "What iron box?" Ye Jianqing was taken aback for a moment, but soon understood, so he silently lowered his head and sipped a few sips of tea, which tasted rough.He suddenly said: "Lord Zuo, please forgive me for not understanding Jianqing. In the Xuzhou salt case, my lord seemed to have a great enmity with me. My two good friends..." Thinking of Zhao Nanxing and Yuan Shangqiu, he couldn't help but choke up. :"what is this?"

Why?The two teenagers saw their own despair in each other's eyes.

"When I was a young boy, my late emperor, who was a Hanlin scholar, had some kind of bad luck, and was entrusted by His Majesty with the task of patrolling the salt envoy." Zuo Fengmian poured a cup of tea by himself: "Salt patrol envoy Dealing with salt merchants, although the rank is not high, it is a fat job. The first king has been in the officialdom for a few years, but he is actually a corrupt scholar. Because of his incorruptibility, he can't understand the sensuality of the Jiangnan salt industry, and he discovered the fact that he was short , I wrote a note to the Holy One and sued a lot of people."

Ye Jianqing gasped.He trembled and asked, "Yuan Huaike was in charge of the salt administration in Xuzhou back then, right?"

"It's him." Zuo Fengmian nodded with a smile: "He sent someone to intercept the post-horse going north urgently, stole my father's note, and replaced it with another letter of apology. On the day the note was delivered to the capital, my father Being found hanged in the government office, this incident was later classified as committing suicide in fear of crime."

"Your father didn't commit suicide, he was Yuan Huaike..." Ye Jianqing suddenly realized.

"Because Dad has been in high spirits since he handed over the report, I don't believe he will commit suicide." Zuo Fengmian took a sip of tea and said, "Your Majesty was furious when he saw the stolen report. The imperial envoy came to investigate. Yuan Huaike put all the excrement bowls on my father, and my whole family was punished by exile in Yunzhou. Princess Zhen Guo was also involved in this matter." He will always remember the night when the house was raided, the sky It was raining heavily, and he was trampled in muddy water, and saw a huge carriage parked outside the gate.A noble lady stood under the eaves of the car and watched coldly, with a golden phoenix on her skirt, and the golden light was reflected in the puddle.

Ye Jianqing jumped up all of a sudden, wanting to refute something, but what filled his mouth was the bitter taste of tea leaves.He thought of Grandma Princess's usual stern expression, maybe what Zuo Fengmian said was true.

"On the way to Yunzhou, my grandparents, mother and younger sister all died one after another. When I got to Yunzhou, there were only a dozen people left in my big family of more than 100 people. Later, I grazed horses at the horse farm. That's how I got to know Your Highness." There was a trace of tenderness in his eyes suddenly, and his voice was deliberately lowered: "Your Highness heard about my family's grievances, and tried every means to rescue me from the prisoner team, and asked me to change my name and surname. I have achieved everything I have today because of my meritorious service. From the moment I met His Highness, I made an oath that I will avenge my father and wash away the humiliation of my family in this life, and I will never be an unknown person in the middle of nowhere."

Ye Jianqing stood blankly in the middle of the main room, the oil lamp casting his shadow on the ground.Looking at the crumbling figure, he said sadly, "Will the father pay the debt? Shang Qiu is innocent..."

"Innocent?" Zuo Fengmian suddenly sneered a few times, and said, "Young Lord, do you really think that Mr. Yuan is the loyal brother in front of you? The crimes are no less than his father's, and each one is enough for him to die once."

Ye Jianqing was speechless for a while.That's right, don't talk about Yuan Shangqiu, it's the stupid Zhao Nanxing, how much does he know about him?

Zuo Fengmian looked up at him, and said calmly: "I hate that Princess Zhen Guo not only did not support his denunciation during her lifetime, but also did not defend his innocence after death, but was in cahoots with Yuan Huaike on my father's case. Princess Zhenguo sheltered and indulged Yuan Huaike and Li Zhiwei. I once hated you too, young master. There are twelve yellow books in Xuzhou’s salt case, which record the bribes, deficits, and kickbacks given by salt merchants to officials over the years. Twelve secret yellow books were transferred to the Zhao family because Ning Bancheng married a daughter, and later they were copied out at the bottom of Xiaojing Lake in Huiliu Mountain Villa for some reason. I think it was deliberately framed by someone. Because my father had read the yellow books He told my mother that Princess Zhenguo's Mansion never appeared in the accounts. So he naively thought that Princess Zhenguo was on the same side as him, and sent someone to the Princess Mansion to inform her as soon as the paper was written. How did he know? The leak of the news brought about his death."

Ye Jianqing breathed a sigh of relief, but worries arose in his heart.Zuo Fengmian said with a little sarcasm, "Princess Zhen Guo was born noble and has been favored for more than three dynasties. The rewards from the Tian family alone are countless. What's more, Marquis An Ning has generations of officials. Your family doesn't even care about the little money from the salt merchant. Think it’s dirty. The yellow book has been confiscated by His Majesty now, but Dali Temple has sealed a transcript, you can find a way to read it yourself. In the case of Princess Zhenguo’s mansion, it may not be true that she was greedy for ink, but she said She meddling in the salt industry and interfering with the salt administration is not wronged her."

"Lord Zuo, you are an expert at solving cases." Hearing this, Ye Jianqing asked nervously, "Who is responsible for the fire at Ning's house and the death of Ning Bancheng?"

Zuo Fengmian shook his head and said, "I don't know who the real culprit is. However, you appeared at the scene of the fire, and whoever told you to go there that day can't get away with it."

Ye Jianqing's eyes widened and he almost bit his lips to bleed.

The author has something to say: It's unexpected to break up peacefully...

Three chapters at a time is enough, see you next week...