In the capital, the crowd is bustling. The streets are lined with the cries of hawking.

Some hawkers shouted just to make more money before the Chinese New Year's Eve.

The merchants were in a hurry, hoping for an early end to trade and family reunions.

The restaurant is more lively, people come and go, endlessly, the guys in the restaurant are busy one by one, but the boss is very happy.

Because the Chinese New Year is coming soon, some famous families in the capital come to the restaurant to order wine and food, so as to have a comfortable New Year, and the restaurant can take this opportunity to make a lot of money.

The annual pilgrimage ceremony is arranged in the month of La, and this arrangement is not unreasonable. The lunar year is close to the Spring Festival, and during this time, envoys from various countries come to promote commercial trade.

Moreover, because some merchants moved their families directly to the Northern Dynasty in order to facilitate trade and celebrate the festival with their families, this played a very important role in the economic prosperity of the Northern Dynasty.

The smell of rice came from the restaurant and entered Murong Xia's nose.

Murong Xia sniffed it, smiled, and turned around and walked into a restaurant.

He was alone, and no one gave him directions, but he found the gate with unmistakable accuracy, and walked in.

As soon as he entered, he heard where there were the most customers, so he walked in that direction.

He sat down, asked for a pot of wine and a table of food, and sat there quietly, listening to the hustle and bustle.

"It's been so lively in this city lately."

"But isn't it, think about it, all the merchants from all over the world have gathered, can it not be lively?"

"If you want me to say, the emperor is still wise and can come up with the trick of the court."

"Most of our country is wasteland, not suitable for agriculture, and this business is indeed the only way to develop"

"The emperor is really capable, it's only been a few decades, the country is prosperous, and the country and the people are safe."

"The emperor's benevolence and generosity are all over the world, comparable to Liu Xuande of the year"

"If you want me to say that being an emperor has to be kind-hearted, if you are stubborn and self-serving, can the country survive for a long time?"

After hearing these words, Murong Xia did not make any expression on his face, although this restaurant was noisy, as long as Murong Xia wanted to hear it, there was nothing that he could not hear, and there was nothing that he could not hear.

Prince's Mansion.

"That's what they really said?" Mu Chen held his chin with his hand and pondered, "There is nothing bad to say?"

Murong Xia said, "I have walked around the capital, whether it is a restaurant, a shop or a brothel, I can hear it very clearly."

Mu Chen muttered, "Could it be that the emperor is really as good as they say?"

Bian Xiaofeng said, "Big brother, why did you let Brother Murong check these things?"

Mu Chen said, "Because Brother Murong's ear power is better than ours, letting him inquire about things will not arouse the suspicion of others, so as to avoid being discovered by our secrets." ”

Bian Xiaofeng said: "Brother, are you suspicious of the emperor's ......?"

Mu Chen said, "Don't tell the third brother about this, I don't want him to be suspicious."

Bian Xiaofeng said, "The third brother came back just now, and he said that the emperor sent him to investigate some things."

Mu Chen said, "What?"

Bian Xiaofeng said, "About General Zhang"

Mu Chen frowned and said, "Could it be that Zhang Qianzhi has already started to act?"

Bian Xiaofeng said, "What action?"

Mu Chen said, "Zhang Qianzhi now knows that Zhang Qianzhong is not dead but is still with us, presumably he will not let us go, he will definitely find an opportunity to get rid of Zhang Qianzhong"

Bian Xiaofeng said, "Could it be that the third brother also arranged for him to go out this time?"

Mu Chen shook his head and said, "I don't know."

Murong Xia said, "Zhang Qianzhi you are talking about, is he the prime minister of the dynasty?"

Mu Chen said, "Yes, you know?"

Murong Xia said, "I don't know, but I've heard something about him."

Mu Chen said, "What?"

Murong Xia said, "Many people are praising him because he is a very capable person who has come up with many ideas to help the country become rich and strong"

Mu Chen said, "It's all praise?"

Murong Xia said, "It's all praise"

Mu Chen was suddenly silent, no one knew what he was thinking, even Bian Xiaofeng couldn't guess what Mu Chen was thinking at the moment.

Murong Xia suddenly said, "Although I don't know what happened, I think that since Brother Mu has some suspicions, it is better to go and visit in person."

Mu Chen said, "Visit, I don't have the hearing of Brother Murong, if I go to the street and ask around, I will definitely be suspicious."

Murong Xia said, "I didn't mean to let you inquire."

Bian Xiaofeng said, "Then what do you mean?"

Murong Xia said, "Since you have come to the capital and are a friend of the prince, there is nothing wrong with visiting Zhang Xiang."

Mu Chen looked at Murong Xia with a smile on his face, he suddenly felt really comfortable that someone was helping.

There are some things in this world that cannot be done alone, and learning to get help from others can not only help you accomplish some things, but also make you happy.

Mu Chen was such a person, so he adopted Murong Xia's method and came to the Prime Minister's Mansion.

However, before he came to the Prime Minister's Mansion, he had already met Sima Shao, and of course he saw Sima Shao just to avoid Zhang Qianzhi's suspicion.

Mu Chen carried the gift and walked alone on the street.

He looked around and looked around.

He only remembered that the Prime Minister's Mansion was in this area, but he didn't remember the specific location.

So he had to ask someone for directions.

"Xiangfu, it's over there" A man stretched out his hand and pointed in one direction.

It was the end of a street, an inconspicuous corner.

Mu Chen walked over and walked to the corner, where there was indeed a door, but although Mu Chen found the place, the expression on his face was very unsightly.

He couldn't believe that behind this small broken wooden door was the home of the prime minister of the Northern Dynasty.

It was a very narrow wooden door, and the low wall on one side was about to collapse, and there were already many traces of leaks.

If it weren't for the old plaque on the door, the plaque reads "Prime Minister's House"

Mu Chen tried to knock on the door and said, "Is there anyone?"

After a few knocks, someone finally replied, "It's coming, it's coming."

The voice came out like that of an old woman.

The door opened, and sure enough, it was an old woman.

The old woman looked at Mu Chen, and said, "You won't be here to give gifts, our family will not see you."

Mu Chen couldn't cry or laugh, and immediately said, "Old woman, I'm a friend of the prince, come to visit Zhang Xiang"

As soon as the old woman heard that Mu Chen was a friend of the prince, she immediately said, "Really?"

Mu Chen said: "If you don't believe it, let's go in and ask Zhang Xiang, if it's fake, wouldn't it be good if you kicked me out again?"

The old woman thought for a moment, leaned to the side, and said, "Come in."

When Mu Chen entered the Prime Minister's Mansion, he felt even more surprised, this Prime Minister's Mansion can be described as a family with four walls.

A very small yard, a small wooden house, a few chickens in the yard, a stone mill, and a small car are the composition of the entire Xiangfu.

Before Mu Chen walked to the wooden house, he saw Zhang Qianzhi come out and said, "Mu Shaoxia, why did you come to me with a gap?"

Mu Chen smiled and said, "I came here with the prince to participate in the pilgrimage ceremony, and I went to meet Zhang Xiang by the way, but I didn't expect the emperor to say that you were at home, so I came uninvited and disturbed."

Zhang Qianzhi laughed and said, "Where is it, Mu Shaoxia can come, the old man's humble house is simply full of splendor"

As he spoke, he went into the house.

As soon as Mu Chen entered the room, he saw two dishes and chopsticks on a minimalist table in the room.

Zhang Qianzhi said, "If Mu Shaoxia doesn't dislike it, how about eating together?"

Mu Chen smiled and said, "Okay"

This meal was really the most heartfelt meal for Mu Chen, and he really couldn't figure out why the prime minister of the Northern Dynasty would eat coarse grain steamed buns and drink gruel in this cold house. Didn't the Northern Dynasty give officials money?

Zhang Qianzhi said: "Mu Shaoxia must be wondering why my prime minister's mansion is so simple."

Mu Chen only smiled bitterly, and he was embarrassed to ask this kind of question.

Zhang Qianzhi said, "I actually don't have a salary, but I have always advocated frugality, especially for officials, so I took the initiative to apply for a reduction in the income to set an example," he said with a smile and took a sip of porridge.

Mu Chen smiled and said, "It is really a blessing for the country for officials to have people like you."

He looked at the old woman again and said, "This is ......."

Zhang Qianzhi said, "This is my wife"

Mu Chen immediately said, "Mrs. Xiangguo, you are disrespectful"

Mrs. Zhang said, "Where, the main reason is that there are too many people looking for Xiangguo to do things in the past two days, and I am also bored."

Mu Chen said, "What are they coming for?"

Mrs. Zhang said, "What else can I do? When the ceremony has arrived, all the envoys of all countries want to give the emperor a good image, and ask the prime minister to say good things to them."

Mu Chen said: "There is still such a thing?"

Zhang Qianzhi smiled and said, "Human nature, human nature"

Then Mu Chen chatted with him for a while, and then found a reason to leave, it was not that he hated that this place was not good, but that he had already got the answer he wanted.

(End of chapter)