Hearing this, Pei Ze glanced up at the emperor, lowered his head and carefully considered the wording, and then replied cautiously: "The minister wants to be the backing of the king of Shu, and above the court, in addition to His Majesty, the king of Shu also needs other supporters." ”

The emperor's heart froze, and there was no smile in his eyes: "What about King Qi?" Everyone in this court knows that your King Wucheng is the helper of King Qi, and now you say that you want to become the backing of King Shu? Do you really think that you, King Wucheng, are omnipotent and can bless whoever you want?! ”

"The minister didn't think so." Pei Ze replied unhurriedly, "Your Majesty said that the minister was the helper of the King of Qi, but the minister thought that the minister was just a friend of the King of Qi. ”

"Just friends?" The Emperor sneered and asked, "Then are you now going to betray your friend and become the backing of his enemies?" ”

Pei Ze took a deep breath and said firmly: "If the King of Shu wants to be an enemy of the King of Qi, then yes, the minister chooses to betray his friends. ”

It is impossible for Xiao Yanzhi and Xu Lishan to have such a tepid relationship all the time, if he really has to make a choice one day, then he will definitely stand by Xiao Yanzhi's side.

Looking at Pei Ze in silence, the emperor asked coldly, "Why do I believe you?" ”

Pei Ze raised his head and looked at the emperor firmly, and said, "Whether Your Majesty believes it or not, the minister has already decided." ”

The emperor's gaze softened a little, and then he asked, "If you take a stand in front of me so bluntly, aren't you afraid that it is the King of Qi that I like in my heart?" ”

"That has nothing to do with the minister," Pei Ze said without thinking, "Even if His Majesty belongs to the King of Qi, the minister will still advance and retreat with the King of Shu!" ”

The emperor stared at Pei Ze again, and suddenly smiled, and said, "I really don't know what's so good about that kid, why do you all like him?" ”

Pei Ze secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "Isn't it the same?" ”

"Although the royal family is big, there is only one person who treats me wholeheartedly. I knew that he was afraid that I would leave him, and he had been watching my face for half a year. But he was the only relief left to me by the first queen, how could I leave him? The emperor smiled and said with a straight face, "I don't care if this is your sincerity or the countermeasures you discussed with the King of Qi, if you dare to hurt the King of Shu, I will definitely not let you go!" ”

"The minister will do his best to protect the king of Shu!"

Hearing Pei Ze's promise, the emperor also breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

Pei Ze's lecture on this side ended, and Xiao Yanzhi on the other side had just left the palace slowly accompanied by a group of reluctant ministers. After chatting with a group of ministers for a long time, Xiao Yanzhi finally asked something about Mrs. Qin.

When he was about to arrive at the Qin Mansion, Xiao Yanzhi suddenly asked Xu Lishan in a low voice: "Second Emperor Brother, do you know what the difference between a monarch and a minister is?" ”

I didn't expect Xiao Yanzhi to ask such a serious question with that indecent face, Xu Lishan was stunned, and then asked, "What is it?" ”

Xiao Yanzhi said with a smile: "Whether it is a talented or a mediocre talent, whether or not he holds all the power in the world, since the king is the king, in front of the courtiers, he has absolute majesty, every word he says is an order, since the minister is a minister, in front of the monarch, he has to be inferior, every word he says can only be a request." ”

At first glance, when he heard Xiao Yanzhi's brainless words, Xu Lishan didn't understand it, but when their footsteps stopped at the gate of the Qin Mansion, Xu Lishan suddenly realized.

Xiao Yanzhi is talking about the relationship between them and the Qin family? But why tell him?

Just stepping into the gate of the Qin Mansion, Xiao Yanzhi could hear the laughter coming from the hall, and when he got closer, he could see the people sitting in the hall full of people, and if he looked closely, they were all familiar faces in the court.

Xiao Yanzhi raised a bright smile, and said loudly before he stepped into the hall before his feet landed: "In the early dynasty, I heard that the adults said that today's Qin family's wife held a banquet and invited hundreds of civil and military officials, but I didn't expect this meeting to be even more lively than the early dynasty!" ”

As soon as they heard this discordant speech, everyone in the Qin family hall turned their heads to look at the door, and at this glance, they were frightened into a cold sweat.

Why did the King of Shu and the King of Qi come?

Mrs. Qin sat firmly in the first place, calmly looking at the two uninvited guests who entered the door with several dignitaries.

She recognized King Qi, but this is another ...... However, seeing the attitude of the hundred officials, and then looking at it, even Xu Lishan, the king of Qi, has to walk behind this person, this person is afraid that this person is the king of Shu who made the Qin family suffer a big loss, right?

After hesitating for a moment, Mrs. Qin got up with the support of the maidservant and walked slowly in front of Xiao Yanzhi with a cane.

"The old man has seen two highnesses." Mrs. Tai slowly bent her legs as she spoke, thinking that Xiao Yanzhi and Xu Lishan would be concerned about her age and exempt her from the ceremony, but she didn't expect Mrs. Tai's knees to touch the ground, Xiao Yanzhi and Xu Lishan didn't say anything Xu Lishan actually wanted to exempt Mrs. Tai's courtesy, but was stopped by Xiao Yanzhi just before she could speak, until Mrs. Tai finished the ceremony completely, and all the officials knelt down to greet her, Xiao Yanzhi smiled and bent down to help Mrs. Tai, and made a panicked look.

"Oh, Mrs. Tai is so polite, how can the younger generation afford your gift?" Saying this, Xiao Yanzhi personally held Mrs. Tai's arm and sent Mrs. Tai back to the main seat.

Although Mrs. Tai wanted to break away from Xiao Yanzhi's hand halfway, she couldn't. Looking at the gentle smile on Xiao Yanzhi's face, Mrs. Tai's eyes were slightly downcast.

Seeing Mrs. Tai sit firmly, Xiao Yanzhi said with a smile: "Although this king only entered Beijing not long ago, he has heard a lot of things related to Mrs. Tai. I heard that Mrs. Tai has been in Luozhou all along, why did she return to Beijing? ”

"There is a big incident in the family, how can the old body stay in Luozhou?" Mrs. Tai said with a look at Xiao Yanzhi.

As a result, Xiao Yanzhi asked with a surprised face, "Oh? Something happened to the Qin family? What happened? Is it strict? Is there anything you need the king's help with? ”

Xu Lishan felt that if he talked about the thickness of his skin, he would definitely not be able to compare to Xiao Yanzhi, and he might be beyond his reach in his lifetime.

Mrs. Tai couldn't help but glance at Xiao Yan more, and then said coldly: "My Qin family has been an official for generations, but it will be extinct from the officialdom, does the prince think this matter is a big deal?" ”

"What's going on?" Xiao Yanzhi immediately sank his face, "Is Lord Zuo Cheng going to resign?" ”

Mrs. Tai was choked by these words, and she didn't know how to answer for a while.

Looking at Xiao Yanzhi again, Mrs. Tai took a deep breath, and then said bluntly: "Is the prince playing with the old body?" What happened to my Qin family, the prince couldn't be clearer, isn't the prince here today just for this? ”

Xiao Yanzhi said with a smile: "This king is here today, just to see the banquet of Mrs. Tai, which is comparable to that of the great dynasty, and has no other intentions. It's just that this king really didn't expect that the words of Mrs. Mrs. Qin could make all the officials in Chang'an City come to the Qin Mansion without a bad time, Mrs. Tai's words are really more effective than the holy decree! ”

As soon as Xiao Yanzhi said this, all the officials in this hall were shocked.

Taking in everyone's expressions, Mrs. Tai said calmly: "The prince doesn't have to say such things to scare them, they will gather here because of the words of the old body, because they have all received the favor of the Qin family, and they give the old body this face." ”

Xiao Yanzhi sneered and said, "This king didn't scare them. They talked to the Qin family about love, but they talked to their father about responsibility. Eat the king's Lu and be loyal to the king, but if you can't do the thing of loyalty to the king, then can you also do without this Yulu? My father is not an unreasonable person, if you feel that affection is more important, then this king can ask your father for a favor for your lords, and let all of you come to the Qin Mansion as retainers? ”

As soon as he heard this, he immediately bounced up from his seat, made an excuse to leave, and then turned around and ran.

originally thought it was just a matter of love, just to have a meal with the crowd, but if it was more than just a matter of love, then they couldn't afford it!

There is a farewell, there is a second and a third, and after a while, the hall is a third empty, and the rest don't know if they are really inextricably linked with the Qin family or if they simply don't want to show their timidity and pretend to be strong, in short, they are still sitting in their seats without moving.

Mrs. Tai was a little angry: "What is the prince doing?" ”

"Do what?" Xiao Yanzhi turned his head to look at Mrs. Tai again, and said with a smile, "This king just looks at the fact that there are more officials in this Qin Mansion than in the court, and he is a little unhappy, Mrs. Tai doesn't have to care." ”

Hearing this, Mrs. Tai glared at Xiao Yanzhi fiercely.

The King of Shu ran to the Qin Mansion to spread wildness, can she not care?

Taking a deep breath, Mrs. Tai said: "The old body has not returned to Chang'an for a long time, today is just a banquet and a small gathering with hundreds of officials, the two princes, please go back." ”

Hearing this, Xiao Yanzhi turned around and took two steps in the direction of the gate, but turned another corner under his feet, turned to an empty seat on the side and sat down.

"Since Mrs. Tai is a banquet for hundreds of officials, then the king and the emperor's brother have also taken on positions recently, and they can be regarded as ranking among the hundred officials, so let's have a banquet in the Qin Mansion today."

Xu Lishan had nothing to say, so he could only sit silently with Xiao Yanzhi.

"Is the prince intent on going against the old body today?" Mrs. Tai glared at Xiao Yanzhi angrily.

"No, no, no," Xiao Yanzhi hurriedly shook his head, "This king is just here to eat." Mrs. Please. ”

He went against the Qin family, and it didn't just start today. When he was walking on the road, he was still worried that Mrs. Qin was old, and if he was too tough today, he would directly anger this old lady to death, but now that he saw that this Mrs. was in good health, he was relieved.

Mrs. Tai was so angry that she gasped, and finally stabilized her breathing under the comfort of the maid, and Mrs. Tai unexpectedly asked Xiao Yanzhi directly: "Since the King of Shu is not leaving, then the old body does not have to bother the adults to talk more, and the old body will directly talk to the King of Shu about this matter." ”

Xiao Yanzhi smiled: "Mrs. Tai, please speak." ”

"I heard that my great-grandson was dismissed by His Majesty, and the cause was the prince, but is there such a thing?"

"Yes." Xiao Yanzhi admitted with a smile.

Mrs. Tai asked with a cold face: "Then dare to ask the prince, what did my great-grandson do to provoke the prince, and actually asked the prince to instigate His Majesty to remove my great-grandson?" ”

Xiao Yanzhi raised his eyes to look at the sky and pondered carefully, and then looked at Mrs. Tai and said, "Why does this king think that what Mrs. Tai said and what this king thinks are not the same thing?" ”

"Why not one?" Mrs. Tai asked.

Xiao Yanzhi snapped his fingers and counted: "The following are guilty, doing business, looting people's fat and people's ointment, abusing power for personal gain, embezzlement, and deceiving superiors and subordinates...... Mrs. Tai, your precious great-grandson Qin Fengming can't count the things that this king has done wrong, what he is angry with is not this king, but his father, this pile, one by one, is in front of his father, do you still need this king to instigate anything? ”

"The prince doesn't want to spew blood!" Mrs. Tai shouted angrily.

Xiao Yanzhi looked at Mrs. Tai's angry face, shrugged her shoulders and said, "Mrs. Tai, don't get excited, it's not good for people who are old to have too intense feelings." As for whether this king is a bloody squirting man, you can ask anyone here. They are all people who have received the favor of the Qin family, and there may be a protégé of Duke Qin, presumably Duke Qin has also taught them what honesty and integrity are, they will never lie to you, right? ”

Mrs. Tai angrily grabbed someone nearby and asked, but with Xiao Yanzhi and Xu Lishan present, let alone a lie, that person couldn't even make up ambiguous words, so she could only nod and acquiesce in Xiao Yanzhi's words.

Mrs. Tai was stunned.

Xiao Yanzhi laughed and said: "Mrs. Tai, you should be glad that your great-grandson did not have a personal enmity with this king, otherwise you would not have been able to understand it by dismissing him!" ”

"Go and call them! Go and call them all to the old body! When she came back to her senses, Mrs. Tai roared angrily.

Mrs. Tai of the Qin family has never been a woman in the boudoir, when her husband is still there, she is one of the strategists beside her husband, when her son enters the court as an official, but whenever something happens, it is also to discuss with Mrs. Tai, the affairs of the court Mrs. Tai has seen a lot, and only a few words are enough for her to guess the cause and effect and the doorway. Therefore, when I heard Xiao Yanzhi say this at this time, and then pondered the letter I received when I was in Luozhou, Mrs. Tai immediately understood what was going on.

This group of puppies dares to play these little tricks with her!

The subordinates of the Qin Mansion immediately rushed into the backyard, and a quarter of an hour later, they led Qin Tai, Qin Fengren, Qin Fengming and others to the hall.

These people were originally afraid that the officials present would not be able to speak, so they left Mrs. Tai to sit alone with the officials, but at this time, when they saw that even Xiao Yanzhi and Xu Lishan were sitting in their own halls, several people were stunned.

"Qin Fengming, kneel down for me!" As soon as the man arrived, Mrs. Tai shouted angrily.

Qin Fengming was taken aback, and hurriedly walked to Mrs. Tai and knelt down.

Seeing this, several people who came to the hall knelt down in front of Mrs. Tai.

"Grandmother, what are you angry about?" Qin Tai asked with a smile.

"You still dare to ask the old body?!" Mrs. Tai trembled with anger, "Look at the good son you taught! What are the following offenses? Deceiving the superiors and deceiving the subordinates? Will he still seek power and usurp the throne in the future?! Who taught you to do these unfaithful and unrighteous things?! ”

As soon as they heard this, several people subconsciously aimed at Xiao Yanzhi.

Qin Tai kneeled in front of Mrs. Tai and said with a look of remorse: "Grandmother, things are not what you imagined. ”

"What's that like? Today, in front of the King of Shu, the King of Qi and your colleagues, you say! ”

Qin Tai immediately began to explain: "It was a pure misunderstanding to commit that incident, Feng Ming just admired the demeanor of the King of Shu, so he lost his sense of proportion for a while. And Fengming has only been in the court for a short time, and he is just a Shaoqing of Honglu Temple, which is managed by others everywhere, what can he do? The king of Shu was anxious to judge, saying that Feng Ming was deceived and concealed, but Feng Ming was also deceived! As for the corruption thing, it is even more false, it was framed by Feng Ming carelessly! ”

Mrs. Tai looked at Qin Tai with a cold face and did not speak.

Xiao Yanzhi sneered and said, "Lord Qin's words are really good. The king can not care about him for the following crimes, but Lord Qin keeps saying that he was deceived and framed, so who deceived him? And who framed him? Lord Qin, even if you can't catch the criminal, why don't you show this king the evidence? ”

"Atai, do you have any evidence?" Mrs. Tai asked coldly.

"Grandson...... There is no evidence for the grandson. Qin Tai said with a look of embarrassment.

Xiao Yanzhi laughed and said: "This incident happened in September, and now it's December, Lord Qin knows that the second son was wronged, but he still hasn't collected evidence to prove the innocence of the second son?" In this case, Lord Qin also hopes that the second prince will stay away from the court, right? As for the other people related to the Qin family, they are all implicated in this matter, if Lord Qin can't come up with evidence, even if he shouts injustice here, it's useless, Mrs. Tai, are you right? ”

Mrs. Tai took a deep breath and said, "The prince is right. ”

"Moreover," Xiao Yanzhi said again, "the second son is not young, and he is still being deceived, if the second son is really so easy to be deceived, then he is not suitable to be an official in the court."

The father remembered that he had been friends with the Qin family for many years, and he had always taken care of the Qin family, but whenever the children of the Qin family wanted to enter the court as officials, the father and emperor arranged good positions, and they were much more tolerant than other officials.

But after all, the court is still the court, and it is a place that controls the entire country, and there is no room for the slightest negligence and slackness.

Mrs. Tai, do you say that's the reason? ”

Mrs. Tai closed her eyes, nodded, and said, "The prince is right. Since it was the Qin family's fault first, the old body had nothing to say, whether he was deceived by others, or whether he did something that shamed the Qin family, it was all right and wrong that my Qin family had closed the door to discuss right and wrong. ”

Xiao Yanzhi smiled brightly: "It's great to be able to solve this misunderstanding with Mrs. Tai." Other than that...... This king has one more thing he wants to discuss with Mrs. Tai. ”

Mrs. Tai looked at Xiao Yanzhi expressionlessly, and said in a deep voice: "Lord Wang, please say, as long as it is within the power of the old body, the old body will help the prince." ”

Xiao Yanzhi shook his head and smiled: "It's not that I need Mrs. Tai to do anything for this king, I just want to ask Mrs. Tai to tell Duke Qin, Duke Qin is also in the time to retire, this national major event is enough for us juniors to worry about, don't dare to let his old man bother anymore, and Duke Qin doesn't need to spend time cultivating talents for the imperial court." ”

Mrs. Tai was stunned for a moment, and after thinking about it, she realized that Xiao Yanzhi was talking about her son's preaching and teaching abroad.

After thinking for a moment, the lady nodded and said, "Thank you for your concern, the old man will definitely relay the prince's advice to the dog." ”

"That's good." Xiao Yanzhi smiled, "Since this is the case, this king and the imperial brother will not bother in the mansion." ”

"Congratulations to the prince." Mrs. Tai immediately got up and sent Xiao Yanzhi.

Xiao Yanzhi smiled and stepped out of the Qin Mansion hall, but stopped and turned his head to look at the officials in the hall: "Do you adults want to sit here again?" ”

Before Xiao Yanzhi's words fell, most of the officials stood up, politely said goodbye to Mrs. Tai, and then left the Qin Mansion with Xiao Yanzhi, and the rest of them were either in-laws with the Qin family, or protégés of the Qin family, all of whom thought they had a clear conscience and had not done anything wrong, so they did not need to be afraid.

Xiao Yanzhi didn't care about them, just silently noted down who they were, and then left with Xu Lishan.

Looking at the hall that was half empty within an hour, Mrs. Tai suddenly picked up the crutches on the side and slapped Qin Tai hard.

"Atai, you have grown up, and you dare to deceive your old body? Are you old and confused, don't you know what's going on?! You're a fool when you're old, aren't you?! ”

"The grandson doesn't dare, the grandmother is angry!" Ignoring the pain in his arm, Qin Tai immediately kowtowed and apologized.

Mrs. Tai said with a sad face: "My Qin family has been an official for four generations, and in the name of loyalty and goodness, how did you come up with such a thing!" What are the following offenses? Deceiving the superiors and deceiving the subordinates? Do you say that your father and son are worthy of the ancestors and ancestors of the Qin family?! ”

"Great-grandmother, it's clear that the King of Shu doesn't like the Qin family and slanders us!" Qin Fengming said with a stiff neck.

"He doesn't like the Qin family?" Mrs. Tai sneered, "Why does he look at you unpleasantly?" Why didn't anyone look down on your great-grandfather when he was alive? Why didn't anyone look down on your grandfather when he was an official in the court? You're not doing it right, so that others can see how pleasing to the eye?! If you don't ask someone to seize the handle, what will they do to slander you?! What a misfortune for the family! ”

"Grandmother ......"

"Needless to say!" Mrs. Tai interrupted Qin Tai unceremoniously, "This time you have not only ruined the reputation of the Qin family, but also affected those who had been friends with the Qin family, and even more affected your father's protégé, what else do you want?!" Your eldest brother has long said that you are not right-minded, and the old man believed in your rhetoric, and sent your eldest brother and second brother out of Chang'an, and now you have tarnished the reputation of the Qin family, how do you want to face the ancestors of the Qin family! ”

Qin Tai didn't speak.

He originally thought that Xiao Yanzhi's entry into Beijing was the beginning of his life's prosperity and wealth, but since Xiao Yanzhi entered Beijing, he has not encountered a good thing! Now not only has the two financial routes been cut off, but the good colleagues in the past have also begun to avoid him like a snake and scorpion, and even the people he sent to an important position in the official office have been almost cleaned up by the emperor and King Wucheng, and finally invited back his grandmother in Luozhou, just to use his grandmother to incite officials to intercede for him, if he can let his grandmother take his own protégé of the Qin family to face the saint, then the eight achievements can prevent the emperor and King Wucheng from continuing to clean up the Qin family in the court...... But why is Xiao Yanzhi here again!

After relieving her breath, Mrs. Tai instructed the maid on the side: "Go and arrange it, the old body will not return to Luozhou, since they have not learned the loyalty, filial piety and shame of the Qin family, then the old body will stay and teach them well!" ”