"Very good, I'm afraid that you will still pretend to be stupid to me like last time, then we will have a breakup." King Tan's eyes flashed with surprise and appreciation, stopped in front of her, looked at her lazily and said, "In this way, you don't need me to confess my heart to you, you understand?" ”

Qiwen's expression was solemn, and there was no trace of a smile left: "Lord Wang, the slave maid thinks that after the last incident, there is no need to say these words between you and me. ”

King Tan raised his eyebrows narrowly: "Yes, you are the only girl who doesn't like to listen to me talk about love, and you can't complain that I have to forget it from time to time." But......" He slowly paced to Qiwen's side, stopping half a foot away, his voice softer and more ambiguous, "Since you understand the truth, shouldn't you be polite to me?" ”

Knowing that Empress Taishang can instigate him casually, he doesn't mean to be afraid of him?

"That's right," Qiwen didn't move, didn't turn her head to look at him, still solemn and indifferent, "I should also understand what the prince wants to do from me, and the prince should be polite to me." It's that I thought wrong, and it's also true, the prince's actions today were meant to give me a dismount. ”

For the first time in his life, King Tan heard the girl's family talk to him in such a prickly tone, and couldn't help but laugh dumbly, and when he saw Qiwen looking back and forth at the sandwich road, he said: "Don't worry, since I chose to talk to you here, I am sure that I will not be listened to by others." ”

Qiwen turned to face him: "I don't know what the prince wants to say today?" ”

King Tan had a relaxed attitude: "It depends on what you want to say to me." ”

Qiwen was silent for a moment, and said calmly: "As the prince said last time, I chose him to find a proper backer." I didn't expect that he didn't even dare to canonize me because he cared about my background, and he was indeed quite jealous of you, Lord Wang. ”

"So what?" Tan Wang Road. Unlike the last conversation, this time he didn't show any intention of guiding her, and completely turned to retreat as advance.

"So," Qiwen mobilized almost all her brain cells, carefully considering every word that came out of her mouth, "I am grateful for the prince's kindness last time, but now that I have come this far, I must have a different heart...... The prince also knows that I chose to save my life, not to lose my life. ”

King Tan had a playful smile on his lips: "You want to say that you regret that you chose the wrong one?" ”

Qiwen shook her head lightly: "It's not right or wrong." You also said, I am a high-spirited person, the love of children is not what I pursue, stay in the palace as a concubine, and be left behind by you in two days, how can it be the destination I am willing to choose? Now that I have reached this point, I dare not ask for anything, I just hope to find a safe future. If you want to get into your eyes and find you as a backer, you naturally have to make some contributions. It's just that this credit can't be exchanged for life. ”

King Tan's smile deepened a little: "Don't worry, since I dare to provoke you, I have the ability to protect you, as long as you want me to protect you." ”

"Then please let me see first, how good you can be to protect me." Qiwen looked at him with a straight face, "It's perfect, even the main courtyard of Longxi Pavilion can't enter, it's too weak." The person you want me to deal with is the Ninety-Five, don't blame me for being cautious. ”

"Okay, you'll be able to see it soon." Unexpectedly, King Tan didn't say much, nodded very happily, walked slowly towards Ciqing Palace, and whispered when he passed by her side, "Just don't be scared then." ”

It wasn't until she heard his footsteps fading away that Qiwen glanced back and walked away quickly. This confrontation was not thrilling, but it really made her feel physically and mentally exhausted.

It turned out that her psychological quality was not as good as she thought before, especially after she had a deep affection for a person, and then she came to make a false relationship with another man, which made her feel extremely disgusted, both annoyed by that man and hated herself. This experience is like pouring dirt on yourself, nauseous, and not washed.

The enthusiasm for wanting to be a double agent has almost disappeared by this time.

But should we stop doing it?

Returning to the realm of Longxi Pavilion, her heart calmed down a little, and Qiwen looked at the eunuchs who were busy coming in and out, wondering what kind of way King Tan would show her ability. Anyway, he should find out what eyeliner he has in the palace before retreating, right?

Qiwen comforted herself silently, I swore that if I wanted to help him, I would do what I said, his biggest threat at the moment was from King Tan, and spying on that person would obviously help him more than screening votes. Now that you have been stirred into this whirlpool, you can't be too glassy.

Wang Zhi was still sorting out the music in the eastern room, and Qiwen went in to briefly describe the story to him, only saying that Queen Taishang asked herself to go over and ask the emperor about his life, and did not mention the matter of King Tan.

Even if the emperor didn't explain anything, she also knew that this openness and honesty could only be limited to him alone, and no matter how trustworthy the rest of the people were, they couldn't reach the point of being confided.

It was getting dark, and the emperor was coming back soon, so Qiwen had to go to the imperial study to make some preparations. Since that time when the emperor sent her back to the next place, all the dirty work and tiring work will no longer need her to handle, but some close service things the emperor likes to do by her, and she likes to do it too, so no one will come to rob her.

When he passed through the Ming Hall and entered the West Room, he saw Fang Kui standing inside, obviously waiting for the emperor to come back and report to him about the affairs.

Qiwen and Wang Zhi's master and apprentice are very familiar, but because Fang Kui has not been in and out of Longxi Pavilion much, and he is cold and silent, he has hardly spoken a few words to him.

"Girl, stay." Fang Kui unexpectedly stopped her, "Our family has something to tell the girl." ”

Qiwen stopped and said, "Father-in-law, please speak." ”

Fang Kui said: "Today, I have instructed our family to check the eyes and ears laid by the third prince in the palace, and if there is a need in the future, I will ask the girl to help." ”

Qiwen was surprised when she heard this: "My father-in-law said that today you want me to help Dongchang check the eyes and ears of the third prince?" ”

"Exactly." Fang Kuiluo nodded, "How to act, after we can show it today, our family will come to inform the girl again." The girl just needs to know by heart. ”

Qiwen nodded: "Okay, then I'll wait for my father-in-law's orders." ”

Fang Kui didn't say much, Qiwen went to clean up in the room, and secretly felt strange in her heart, the emperor and his three henchmen and eunuchs have been getting along for many years, and there are many negotiations between them on official matters, it is not strange to say that the emperor did not come to mention it to her, so he went to instruct Fang Kui first.

And although the emperor did not clearly let her go to negotiate with King Tan, he was no longer as resistant as before, and it was not surprising that he would loosen his attitude and assign her this errand.

What's really strange is that after the emperor instructed Fang Kui, he should have come to tell her himself, instead of asking Fang Kui to relay it, which is not quite like his style.

But it's not completely unreasonable to say that it's strange, about the emperor just hasn't had time to say it yet, Qiwen didn't bother thinking about this matter, and it didn't take long to leave it behind.

When she had finished inspecting the imperial study, she heard a round of applause from outside, a signal from the eunuchs waiting outside to her colleagues in the room about the emperor's turnaround. It's just a day since I saw it, and when Qiwen heard this voice, she was quite throbbing.

Because of the unhappiness caused by Queen Taishang and King Tan, the moment he saw him appear, he was mostly cured.

The emperor could see at a glance that her expression was different, on the surface, it was the same as the usual courtesy, but there was a complicated look between her eyebrows and eyes, which seemed to be happy or sad, just like a child who had been wronged and went home to see his parents. Seeing Fang Kui waiting, he didn't rush to ask, and first summoned Fang Kui to discuss the matter. Qiwen automatically quit and did not audit.

After only a cup of tea, Fang Kui withdrew, and the emperor ordered the eunuch to set the meal, leaving only Qiwen alone to accompany the meal as usual.

"What are you happy about?" Qiwen asked as he covered the dishes. The emperor was obviously in good spirits and in good spirits, and even Qiwen was a little happier by him.

"It's a great event." When the emperor saw that Qiwen was about to take a seat, he stretched out his hand and pulled her into his arms, let her sit on his lap, and kissed her on the cheek, which surprised Qiwen very much.

Although the two of them were already skin-to-skin that day, these days the emperor is deeply restrained in the main hall, rarely taking the initiative to do anything intimate with her, and occasionally being "sneak attacked" by her, he still has to put on a face of annoyance and anger. Today, I can see that he is indeed very happy.

"What's the happy event, it's still sold?" Seeing that he was eating with one hand around her waist and eating with the other hand, and was not in a hurry to continue, Qiwen couldn't help but smile and asked.

"You can't guess what." The emperor took a piece of garlic tenderloin with his chopsticks and stuffed it into Qiwen's mouth, "Today, when we discussed the matter of quelling the chaos in Guanzhong, Du Rong was dissatisfied with my opinion, and came to threaten the old man again, I agreed to it, and arranged a reward for the Ministry of Rites in court, so that the Yi Cheng family could send him back to his hometown as soon as possible." Presumably early tomorrow morning, Lord Du will leave Beijing and hit the road. ”

Qiwen almost choked on half of the loin in her mouth.

The officials of the court and China have a tried and tested strategy, but if the emperor insists on his own opinion and does not listen to them, they will claim that the ministers are incompetent, and voluntarily sue the old man to return to his hometown to sell sweet potatoes. The more high-ranking officials are reused, the more often they will use this trick, in fact, they are sure that the emperor can't do without himself, and he is just playing tricks.

Generally speaking, it is indeed impossible for the emperor to allow these people to really resign and go home, they will take a step back, say some kind words to save it, and both sides will go down the steps.

And today, when the dignified cabinet chief assistant Du Rongdu made this trick for the Nth time, the emperor was happy to play it and really invited him to go home and sell sweet potatoes.

How can Qiwen not be surprised, no matter how much Lord Du is the leader of the Tan Party, no matter how yin and yang are violated, it is also the first assistant of the cabinet, the chief secretary general of the emperor, almost the prime minister's existence, the country's major and minor affairs, and people have to take the lead in reviewing the draft opinions on the draft. How can you just quit?

Could it be that the emperor thinks that with her as an intern secretary, even the secretary general can be dispensed with? She just can do some simple work of screening votes, okay?

The emperor looked at her with a face full of astonishment and laughed: "Are you so surprised? It's just a cabinet chief, he can do it, and he can do it for someone else. ”

Seeing that he let go, Qiwen got up and sat back in her seat, and asked while cooking for him, "Do you have someone else in mind?" ”

"Not yet." The emperor said lightly, the secretary of the ministry could not concurrently serve as the first assistant of the cabinet, and Su Qianying, who he trusted the most among the ministers, still needed to continue to be in charge of the ministry, so it was not good to make up for this shortage.

"But there's no hurry. Actually, I figured it out for a while, and you once sighed a few days ago that these cabinet adults have not done much better than they have done their jobs, but they have not dismantled the table. I listened to this, and it did make sense. Rather than keeping a scum like Du Rong to tear down the stage and make trouble for me all day long, I would rather drive him away and vacate that seat, but I would have to worry about it. I should be more decisive, the more gentle I am, the more accustomed I am to their lawlessness. ”

"However, Master Du still has a lot of heavy responsibilities, and when he leaves, who can do these things?"

"Big deal, I'll do it." The emperor hooked the corners of his lips proudly, "Back then, too. Zu Taizong didn't have the assistance of the cabinet, so didn't he manage the government in an orderly manner? Although I dare not compete with them, I don't expect to work harder than I used to fight with them every day. ”

Qiwen nodded when she listened, and it was true, too. Grandpa abolished the prime minister system, and it was not until the reign of his grandson Emperor Xuanzongzhang that a cabinet was established, and the previous two generations of emperors held both the two responsibilities of emperor and prime minister.

It must be tiring to do so many things by yourself, but it is true that as he said, Du Rong and others usually do some work, and they also make a lot of trouble, if Du Rong did not take the lead in confusing black and white to deceive the Holy Hearing, she and Wang Zhi would not have had to spend so much energy to screen and screen the votes.

If Du Rong's work was directly done by the emperor, it was really hard to say whether the leadership team of their Longxi Pavilion would be harder than before, or easier than before.

Not to mention, this move is still a powerful blow to the Tan party group. Even the head of the cabinet said that it would fall, and the others had to make a good noise for a while? Presumably, King Tan was shocked when he heard the news.

The emperor's seemingly absurd move may really have more advantages than disadvantages.

"Thanks to you." The emperor took her hand, "If it weren't for you helping me with the selection of votes for a while, which made me a lot easier, I wouldn't have made up my mind." ”

It's not that she has the ability to replace the head of the cabinet, but with her assistance, the emperor has been relieved of part of the burden and has the confidence to take over the cabinet work by himself.

"It's best if I can help you." Qiwen smiled, "But you also have to prevent them from fighting back, those people will not be willing to give in." ”

"That's nature. In fact, I also made this move to provoke them to make a move, and take the opportunity to see how capable they are. ”

Qiwen didn't answer, she wanted to provoke King Tan to make a move today, and take the opportunity to see what he was capable of, thinking that as soon as she had the opportunity to be alone with the emperor, she immediately sued him, but seeing that he was so happy at this moment, she couldn't bear to say it. Whether it is the actions of Queen Taishang or King Tan, he will never be happy when he hears it.

After dinner, Qiwen called the waiter to collect the dishes and plates, and waited for the emperor to finish rinsing his mouth, and when there were only two of them left in the room, she said: "This afternoon, the Empress Taishang called me to Ciqing Palace, and it was the third prince who made a plan, and he also talked to me afterwards." ”

The emperor sat on the Luohan chair, put the teacup in his hand on the small table, and glanced at her with a smile in his eyes: "I don't want to talk about it yet." ”

Seeing that Qiwen was slightly stunned, he took her hand and asked her to sit next to him, "Don't worry too much, I went to Ciqing Palace before I came back to Longxi Pavilion, and I heard the queen mother mention the summoning of you in the past, and I saw that Yuan Ying was also there, so I found out." ”

Qiwen smiled: "It's because you're too careful, is it possible that I can still suspect that you are staring at me?" ”

Although the words are intimate, there is still a trace of sad alienation in them. How intimate Ren usually is, as soon as the topic involves King Tan, it is inevitable that he will be a little sensitive. Why did he think she would be "too hearty"? Isn't it because you know that this is a topic that can easily arouse distraction?

Suddenly, there was a panic in my heart, as if there were crises and traps everywhere around me, and no one could be trusted, let alone rely on anyone, not even him.

It seems that at this moment, I realized that between this world and the world, I am always lonely and helpless. A small mistake can lead to the loss of life. Even the sense of security he can give is so limited. Even if he was bullied and wronged, he couldn't rest assured and boldly confide in him and seek refuge in him, but he also needed to beware of his suspicions. How humble and pitiful is this?

Qiwen hurriedly reassured herself: I must have been frightened by the events of the afternoon to be so cranky. I panicked when I saw this battle, what else to talk about to help him? I'm really useless!