couldn't hide it any longer, Lin Risheng was lying on the bed tossing and turning. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info Zhao Yili's words were still echoing in his ears during the day, and he sat up. Outside the window, thunder and thunderstorms were blowing. Gu Mengying's face was covered with a thin layer of redness, and she was only shallow asleep, after he sat up, she also rubbed her eyes, and asked hoarsely, "Hasn't the rain stopped yet?" ”

Lin Risheng absentmindedly said "um" and got out of bed in his clothes and sat at the table in a daze. Gu Mengying was also completely sleepy, and she also sat at the head of the bed with her knees crossed, looking at him with a heavy heart, and suddenly burst into tears in the middle of the ring.

Lin Risheng, who was sitting with his back to her, faintly heard her crying, turned around and sat on the edge of the bed, and she fell into his arms, and the tears of grievance were like a waterfall falling from the nine heavens, even more out of control.

Lin Risheng was already worried, and her suppressed crying added to the irritability. He was exhausted and needed to be comforted, but now he had to comfort others in turn: "You don't have to worry too much about big brother." ”

"I know Daddy will find a way to save him." Gu Mengying buried himself in his arms and said in a sullen voice.

"Then you are still crying, crying hurts a lot." Lin Risheng complained with some reproach.

Gu Mengying raised her head from his arms, stared at him with teary eyes, and said, "I'm not worried about him, I'm worried about you."

Lin Risheng was very surprised, but Gu Mengying then asked seriously, "Will you leave me?" ”

Recently, Gu Mengying often asks some questions like this. When Lin Risheng heard these questions, he wanted to get angry inexplicably, and he was patient and perfunctory several times, and he mentioned it again today. He was so anxious that she was still worried about crying about this boring thing of chasing after the wind and shadows, and he only dropped a sentence lightly: "Don't think nonsense, sleep, don't cry." Then they went to the study.

As soon as the sky cleared in the early morning, Lin Risheng left Gu Mengying and rode out in a hurry alone, Gu Mengying continued to repeat his lonely and monotonous family life in addition to watching him go away at the door.

He rode past the gate of Shi's mansion, dismounted and asked, Shi Jiaheng was on duty in the palace yesterday and had not returned this morning, and he left the letter to instruct the guards to hand it over to General Shi in time. Then he turned his horse's head and ran quickly to the south of the city.

The small courtyard where Chu Yunxi originally lived had been repaired by the craftsmen invited by Lin Risheng, and the acacia tree had been removed, and new saplings had been replanted on the spot. He personally cleaned up the house, added some new furniture, cups and bowls, and he happily treated this place as if it were his own home, and then invited Chen Siyu and Xiao Hongye to move in. Chang'an's Chen's Silk Village has been closed, Chen Hong is responsible for the inventory, so he temporarily lives in the Silk Village, Chen Siyu does not want to attract attention, after careful consideration, it is better to move to this hidden place.

It's a pity that this place can hide from others, not Chu Yunxi. On this day, when Lin Risheng rushed here non-stop, it was Lu Yan who opened the door. He entered the courtyard in surprise, and saw Xiao Hongye sitting on a square bench peeling a pot of green beans, and there was an empty stool next to him, thinking that she and Lu Yan were sitting here just now.

Xiao Hongye didn't have a good face when he saw him, and moved the square stool to the side.

He smiled awkwardly, and in the room, Chen Siyu, Chu Yunxi and Yan Qingshuang were sitting at a table and talking.

The three of them looked at him in unison, and their eyes reflected the truest emotions. No matter how much torture and distress the years bring them, no matter how much they are defenseless and heart-to-heart in the face of others, but when they get together with each other, the long-lost comfortable, relaxed, and down-to-earth feeling will overflow every cell of the body like a hot spring, and you are willing to indulge in it, as if you have instantly returned to your youth, and that kind of simplicity, honesty, and happiness are the most tangible and simple.

So he happily joined them, albeit with sad content.

It was about an hour before the sound of horses' hooves came from the doorway. Shi Jiaheng didn't even have time to change his clothes, he came wearing only a suit of armor.

Lin Risheng shouted excitedly: "Brother Jiaheng." After waiting for him for a day, he finally looked forward to it, and he hurriedly greeted him and pulled him in.

Chen Siyu hurriedly stood up to pour the tea, and Yan Qingshuang went into the inner room and pushed a chair out. Chu Yunxi didn't expect Shi Jiaheng to come, her mind was blank for a moment, her hands and feet were messed up, she suddenly envied others who could do what they had to do freely, only if she stood there like a fool and didn't know what to do.

Everyone else greeted Shi Jiaheng normally, but Chu Yunxi stood with his head down, so he didn't go inside, but only picked the outermost chair to sit down, and she sat in the innermost, just opposite him.

Everyone sat down, and Lin Risheng told everyone the secret of the sinking water and the incident of hitting the wall in the saint yesterday without concealment.

Shi Jiaheng walked all the way, hot and sweaty, while listening to him blow the tea in his hand, and after the sweat on his body was dried by the cool breeze in the courtyard, Lin Risheng also told a rough idea of the cause and effect. He took a sip slightly, but his mouth was still hot, so he put down the cup, looked at him and Chen Siyu's sad appearance, and showed a relaxed smile: "I don't think you two need to be too anxious." The water can be put away, and there is no need to ask for this. Please think carefully about this case, there is a deep meaning behind this case. ”

His smile and words were like sunshine shining through layers of dark clouds, sweeping away the haze of heavy rain for days.

Chu Yunxi very much agreed with his words, and couldn't help but say: "I also think it's weird, Dali Temple just arraigns the prisoner every day as a routine matter, and if the result is not found, it will be retried at a later date, it seems that he intends to delay the time, this case is personally approved by the emperor, but there is no time limit for the conclusion of the case, I think that the saint is indeed a drunkard who does not mean to drink." She just looked down at the cup in her hand, as if she was communicating with him, and as if she was talking to herself.

Shi Jiaheng couldn't help but look at her when he heard her speak, and then quickly looked away and looked at Lin Risheng's hopeful face: "Exactly." After a few years, this case has long been decided, but it has been turned over and re-examined, and this case is said to be a murder of the Holy Monarch at best, and a tribute has been lost at worst, all of which lie with the emperor. The emperor really took it seriously, and put Gu Chaomin in prison, but the trial was uncertain, and he only interrogated or detained the other people involved in the case at will, and did not track the whereabouts of Shui Shenbi. ”

Chen Siyu heard some doorways and hurriedly asked, "What do you say?" ”

After Shi Jiaheng's mention, Chu Yunxi had already understood nine points in his heart, and blurted out: "Yes, the Holy Lord imprisoned two people as hostages. This time she didn't restrain herself, and happened to look at him.

This time he didn't look away, but looked firmly into her eyes, and said with a smile: "Yes, Yunxi is the first in his words, that's exactly the case." The emperor's detention of Gu Chaomin and Master Chen meant two things. The seizure of Gu Chaomin has three meanings, one is to put pressure on Gu Chen, Chu Xiaolian has been in charge of the government for more than ten years, Cui, Wei and other gate lords and scholars have been cut off one by one, the Gu family has risen rapidly, Gu Chen is old and loyal to the emperor, he has a degree of advance and retreat, and he guards the duties of his courtiers, but the Gu family is prosperous and has many clans, so he can be restrained and thoughtful. Then there are Gu Xiang and Tian, Gu Sha forcibly levies, Gu Zhen private collection, Gu Zhou greedy for ink, and so on, once this big case involving the Gu family is thoroughly investigated, it will inevitably shake the country's foundation and disrupt the dynasty. Over the years, the court has been troubled by internal and external troubles, and it has been shaky, and it can no longer withstand the chaos. The emperor arrested Gu Chaomin in order to force Gu Chen to deal with it, and this contradiction was transferred from the ministers to their Gu clan. The second is to reduce the power of the crown prince. Letting the prince supervise the case of Gu Xiang's invasion of the field is the most clever thing about the saint, which not only avoids the intensification of the conflict between the monarch and the minister, but also tests the prince. If the crown prince enforces the law impartially, it will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among the Gu clan and weaken the relationship between the two parties. The emperor is testing the prince with this. His gaze was gentle and powerful, but it was like a nail, nailing her. She couldn't control herself from looking at him, and she felt even more stupid at the moment.

She stared at him in a daze, and he was only half heard, her vision blurred, and her mind fainted as if she were drunk. She didn't know what she was looking at or listening to, as if she had been inspired by a monk to look in front of her and talk about the Buddha.

"As for the third." Shi Jiaheng was a little thirsty when he said it, so he picked up the tea that was already cold and drank it all, "I also want to give the eldest princess Taining a breath." The case of the concubine was presided over by Gu Chaomin, and the concubine was relegated to a wild place, contracted and died, and the princess An Neng did not get angry. I think that the letter was also the princess's idea, which is why after more than two years, the letter can still enter the emperor's hands unimpeded. ”

He analyzed the head of the land, and everyone was impressed, especially Lin Risheng, these intertwined disputes between the court and the royal family would never have been imagined even if he scratched his head. At this moment, he understood the hidden meaning of the emperor's words, and realized how naïve and ridiculous his words to the emperor yesterday were.

Shi Jiaheng looked around at everyone and continued to talk: "The prince's henchman is not a person who is related to the prince, and the chaos of his relatives is a big disaster, and this is also to weaken the power of his relatives. The crown prince's right guard in the East Palace has been transferred to serve as a general, which is proof of this. ”

Chen Siyu was shocked and even more aggrieved, and said hatefully: "So my grandfather was studying with the prince, and he was innocently arrested, but it was just a move by the emperor." ”

Shi Jiaheng smiled slightly, and said meaningfully: "No, arresting your grandfather is also one of the emperor's calculations, but its intention is elsewhere. ”

Chen Siyuqi said: "My grandfather is neither a member of the court, nor a Gu clan, and he doesn't understand the affairs of the court, what is he doing as a businessman?" ”

Chu Yunxi smiled and nodded: "That's right, but your grandfather is rich, the emperor arrested Grandpa Chen to force you to ransom the Chen family's huge rich family property." Jiaheng, am I right? She didn't feel that she opened her mouth to ask Shi Jiaheng, and when she was shocked, the smile on her face froze.

Shi Jiaheng was very happy and agreed: "Yes, that's exactly the truth. The annual income of the imperial court is no more than 50 million taels, most of them are around 10 million taels, and sometimes even less than 10 million taels. Over the years, bandits have risen in the southeast, there has been a resurgence in the northwest, snow disasters in the north, floods in the south, and earthquakes in the southwest, victims are everywhere, military salaries are scarce, and officials are corrupt, and money is needed everywhere. The Chen family is the richest man in Jiangnan, if he can take the lead in donating his family wealth in the name of sympathy for the country's hardship, I can't guess that in January, Old Man Chen will be released safely. ”

When Chen Siyu heard this, he angrily slapped the table and stood up, and asked: "This is the Ming robbery that is alive, plundering the people and scraping the merchants, is this how the imperial court governs the country and loves the people?" I would like to ask the general, every year, the number of officials at all levels in various prefectures who are greedy for ink and money is ten times better than that of the Chen family, why don't the saints check and confiscate the family wealth of these people, appoint cool officials and greedy officials, and plunder everywhere, since you know why you don't go up to the saint, but pretend to be deaf and dumb, and ignore it? ”

Lin Risheng was afraid that Chen Siyu would be angry and would not choose to speak, so he hurriedly pulled her to sit down and apologize for her.

Shi Jiaheng was not angry, and continued to smile with an excellent demeanor: "Well said, good question." Of course, these officials want to investigate, but they can't investigate all of them, and of course they want to be treated, but they can't be dealt with urgently. The emperor's appointment of this group of tiger and wolf ministers was also forced to be helpless. ”

His gaze gradually narrowed away, looking at the lush spider plant bonsai on the coffee table opposite, his eyes gradually became confused, and he said softly in a reminiscing tone: "In the past, I always had a lot of unsolvable questions about the court and the emperor, but now I understand a lot through this case." ”

He looked around at everyone and suddenly asked: "Why do you think the emperor believes in Chu Xiaolian so much, why Chu Xiaolian framed Zhongliang and embezzled huge sums of money for decades, and the emperor still defended him in many ways and trusted him incomparably." Why did more than a dozen imperial historians jointly write a book, but as many as seven or eight were exiled and executed? ”

Lin Risheng couldn't answer, and Chu Yunxi was silent. Chen Siyu and Yan Qingshuang didn't know anything about the government, and only stared at everyone with a pair of ignorant eyes.

Shi Jiaheng leaned on the back of the chair, put his hands on his chest, looked at the roof and said firmly: "The world either thinks that Chu Xiaolian is hiding from the sky and the sea, blinding the audience, or, saying something disrespectful, thinking that the emperor is old and ignorant. At first, I thought so irreverently. But after watching the changes in the imperial court over the years, the waves and clouds are treacherous, and I only vaguely understand it now. Looking at the court officials who Chu Xiaolian killed and uprooted in the past ten years, although there are virtuous and famous generals, there are also feudal officials who are on the one side of the disaster, and the legions and gate lords of the secession side, Wei, Cui, Han, Zhao and other scholars were uprooted during the period when Chu Xiaolian controlled the government, and the henchmen who had threatened the court for decades were relieved. This has to be said to be Chu Xiaolian's work. I even boldly guessed that the reason why the saint trusted Chu Xiaolian, and the reason why Chu Xiaolian was able to dominate the court for decades, was actually because he was a saint. ”

Chen Siyu and Lin Risheng exchanged a look of surprise. Yan Qingshuang seemed to be quite interested in these officialdom battles, although she didn't know much about them, and she couldn't interject, she listened to them with relish. Only Chu Yunxi was shocked when he heard this, and couldn't help but look directly at him and said, "You mean that Chu Xiaolian is actually a knife and a sword that the Holy Lord planted in the imperial court. ”

Shi Jiaheng still smiled gently, and said the most thrilling truth with a light look like clouds in the sky: "So to speak." ”

Chu Yunxi's heart was clear at that moment, and many doubtful, incomprehensible, and unreasonable facts suddenly came through, and she said her straightened out thoughts while recalling: "When I was reading the records of this dynasty in the Hanlin Academy, I saw that in the early days of the Holy Lord's reign, because the governance was too strict and radical, it was opposed by the major warlords and clans in Luoyang. They even moved to abolish the establishment of the former crown prince Li Bo as emperor, and also searched for the heirs of other princes among the people. If it weren't for the emperor taking advantage of the Qi clan and moving the capital to Chang'an, I am afraid that he would have died long ago. Then the saint was a little lazy about state affairs, and after two years of dormancy, he actually leveled the Qi clan in one fell swoop, which made people tremble. Later, he indulged in the art of Taoism and life, abandoned the government, and lost power. But the wisdom of the emperor in the Seven Kings Rebellion, the ruthlessness and decisiveness in the administration and promotion of government, and the strategy in Taoguang and obscurity, it is really hard to believe that he will be so stupid that he does not even distinguish between loyalty and treachery. Moreover, after Chu Xiaolian's incident, the emperor's attitude of calming things down was clearly for preservation. But if what you guess is true, then I have done a very ridiculous thing, and the so-called punishment of adultery and evil and the elimination of harm for the people has become a joke. Later, she felt a chill on her body, and she was confused for a while, and suddenly she didn't know what the value of what she had done at the risk of her life at that time.

Lin Risheng listened to the conversation between the two and asked with great incomprehension: "I don't understand why the emperor wants to use this group of cool officials and greedy officials, why don't the emperors use those fair and strict clean and honest officials?" ”

Shi Jiaheng smiled lightly, and easily solved the problem that puzzled him: "The appointment of honest and honest officials and the people are naturally overjoyed, but those people who are not good people to deal with by the saints are all traitorous and heroic ministers who have been passed down from generation to generation and have risen in the process of climbing, if the people in the court are as respectful and benevolent as Brother Lin, or those pedantic scholars who are full of knowledge and will only argue endlessly for gentlemen and villains all day long, if they are allowed to fight with these people, how can they be their opponents? To put it bluntly, they're just useless good people. ”

Chu Yunxi, who has loved reading history books since he was a child, also felt the same way, and added: "Although the group of people used by Chu Xiaolian are greedy and ruthless, they are indeed like a sharp blade, poking at the enemy without mercy. It is precisely because they are not highly educated, do not follow the virtues of the saints, do not be benevolent, and only know how to bow down and obey orders, so they can be used to be more handy. Although they were insatiable and violent to the people, they were unequivocal in their submission to the king's authority and the execution of the king's decrees. ”

This idea also won Yan Qingshuang's praise: "Exactly, only the wicked can deal with the wicked, and in front of the evil wolf, the good guy can only end up with Mr. Dongguo." ”

"But with them, they defeated the gate lords of the Shi clan and broke the threat of the royal family, but they corrupted the dynasty and damaged the people's morale, wouldn't the gains outweigh the losses." Lin Risheng still asked unrelentingly.

"That's the price." Shi Jiaheng turned around and said sonorously, "If the emperor does not appoint these tiger and wolf officials, and eradicate these foreign ministers who are serving the court and eyeing the town, then the Central Plains Dynasty will still be in disarray, the war is still frequent, and the people will suffer even more. ”