On the morning of the second day, Emperor Xiao summoned several princes and ministers to discuss in the east hall of the Taiji Palace.

Under the court, the governors of the three provinces and several princes lined up in front, and when Emperor Xiao stepped into the hall proudly, everyone noticed the deep smile on his face.

As soon as Emperor Xiao sat down, he smiled and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I am very happy today, the slightest poison of the Nine Emperor Princes has been resolved. ”

As soon as the words fell, the ministers congratulated: "This is really a great joy! Although everyone already knew the news when they saw Xiao Mocheng in the East Hall, they were still happy, but they were a little nervous in their hearts. Soon, Emperor Xiao said the words that made everyone's forehead sweat.

"But the assassin's matter has not been found out, what do you think?" Emperor Xiao glanced at the ministers lightly, and his expression gradually became strict. To dare to assassinate his son is simply an offense to Tianwei,

"This..."

"This...."

The ministers below, you look at me, I look at you, I really don't know what to say.

The middle-aged man in a dark brocade robe listed slowly, listed slowly, bowed and said: "Your Majesty, the Nine Emperor Princes were assassinated and poisoned because of Uncle He's birthday, and the minister was deeply disturbed and ashamed. ”

This person is Pei Yun, who was the leader of the Ministry of Shangshu in the service at the time, and the Pei family is divided into two branches, one is Pei Yan and nephew Pei Fu of Xiakou, and the other is Pei Yun who served as the prime minister in the capital, Pei Yun is Pei Yan's nephew and Pei Fu's cousin.

Hearing this, Emperor Xiao raised his head and glanced at him lightly, but before he could answer, a cold and arrogant voice preemptively replied: "I said Pei Xiang, His Royal Highness was injured in Pei's Mansion, why hasn't Pei's Mansion found out about the assassin so far?" "The speaker is none other than Zhang Bowang, a regular attendant of the loose cavalry.

Zhang Bowang was born in the Zhang family of Wu County, the Zhang family is in charge of the wealth of Wu County, and is the head of the Wu County Shi family, and the mother concubine Zhang Guifei of the sixth prince Xiao Mojiu is from the Zhang family of Wu County.

Now many people in the court secretly suspect that the six princes are the masterminds of the assassination, but the Zhang family is helpless, but they suspect that someone is to blame the six princes, and the Pei family is also one of the suspects, plus the Zhang family and the Pei family have always had different positions, so in the court, Zhang Bowang has never given Pei Yun a good look.

Pei Yun glanced at him obliquely, gritting his teeth and hating in his heart, the Pei family was inseparable from this matter, when Pei Yun received the news that the Nine Emperor Princes were in danger of being poisoned, he almost spurted out a mouthful of blood, fortunately, the Nine Emperor Princes were safe, otherwise the Pei family would be annoyed, he was sure in his heart that this matter was not only aimed at the Nine Emperor Princes and the Su family, but also against the Pei family, and the strategy of killing three birds with one stone could not be more ruthless. This kind of thing is not done by the Zhang family and the Yuan family, who else?

However, Pei Yun didn't pay attention to Zhang Bowang's ridicule, the two of them quarreled not once or twice, he knew that it was the best strategy to keep back down and be silent at this time, he stood aside respectfully, waiting for Emperor Xiao to speak.

Emperor Xiao looked at his two humerus ministers, one was cautious and generous, and the other was too brave and almost arrogant, he glanced at the middle-aged man at the bottom right and the upper head, and said, "Su Aiqing, what do you think?" ”

The "Su Aiqing" in Emperor Xiao's mouth is Su Weixin, the general of the Zhongshu Lingwei, the beauty instrument of the Su family, although Su Weixin is nearly half a hundred years old, his handsome demeanor when he was young can still be seen on his somewhat old face.

Su Weixin stepped forward, his demeanor was full of outstanding demeanor, and said: "Your Majesty, this incident happened in Pei Taifu's mansion, Pei Xiang was naturally panicked, and it was reasonable for Pei Xiang to blame himself for introspection. ”

Su Weixin continued: "However, Zhang Changshou is also right, the most important thing at the moment is to find out the truth and punish the thief to protect the royal majesty!" ”

He didn't understand why Zhang Bowang was clamoring to find out who had assassinated, was it really not them, or did they have a perfect plan?

Su Weixin's words not only supported Pei Yun but also cooperated with Zhang Bowang, and more importantly, Xiao Mocheng was his nephew, and he could touch the emperor's heart even more when he said these words. The rise and fall of the scholar clan in the past dynasties of the Dahuan Dynasty alternated, but the Su family has always been firmly in the ranks of the first-class scholar clans, which is not unrelated to the Su family's good insight into the situation and grasping the proportion.

Su Weixin also inherited the family tradition well, did not advance with foreign relatives, did not borrow strong branches to press dry, and successfully helped Emperor Xiao maintain the balance of power on all sides. Emperor Xiao's favorite Nine Emperor Sons, Xiao Mocheng, is not only because of Concubine Su, but also because of his trust in the Su family.

Zhang Bowang glanced at Su Weixin, and secretly said that this old fox could not be offended.

Just when several lords in the hall couldn't discuss a reason, Shang Shufu shot Wang Xu's list, and arched his hand: "Your Majesty, the minister listened to what the imperial doctor said, the slightest poison is synthesized by seventy-seven forty-nine kinds of drugs, since Jiang Yinu has already cured His Highness, then she must know the names of these forty-nine medicines, His Royal Highness Nine was poisoned in Pei Taifu's mansion, so you can go to Xiakou Pei's mansion to find out." ”

Emperor Xiao bowed slightly, quite agreeing. It's just that when he thinks about it carefully, he has a bit of a headache, it is difficult to explain this matter to Concubine Su and the Nine Emperor Princes without investigation, and the assassin is extremely arrogant, and he must not be soft. But if you really find out, I'm afraid there will be a lot of things involved behind it, and he has been sitting in this position for decades, so he naturally knows the stakes best.

He didn't say anything, but waited for the reaction of the other ministers.

At this time, Pei Yun trembled his eyebrows and said slowly: "Your Majesty, since this incident happened in Pei's Mansion, the minister thinks... It is better for Pei Fu to find out the real culprit by making meritorious contributions to comfort the heart of His Royal Highness Jiu. ”

Pei Fu and Pei Yun are brothers of the same clan, and the Pei family is both prosperous and lossy.

As soon as Pei Yun's voice fell, a voice sneered: "Pei Xiang is really confused, Pei Fu is not effective in protecting the prince, he should be punished, how can he still let him investigate the case, besides, shouldn't this be Tingwei's business?" ”

This person speaks sharply and stands tall proudly, and it is the Cheng Qi Xiuling in the imperial history. He is upright, upright, and rarely gives people a good look, and the court has always regarded him as a flood beast, and generally does not offend him.

Pei Yun frowned when he heard this, and saw that he was quite faceless, and his face was pale, but if Yushitai gave face, it would not be called Yushitai.

"Your Majesty, the assassination of the prince is a major event, which is detrimental to the majesty of the heavenly family, and the minister thinks that he can send a court lieutenant to investigate the case and inspect the assassins, and he must find out the whole thing and give an explanation to the people of the world." Xie Hui, who was a regular attendant of Zuo Min's book, said with a smile.

Therefore, after Xie Hui said this, the ministers couldn't help but whisper underneath. Because this investigation is likely to cause an uproar.

Xiao Moheng, who was dressed in court clothes, had been standing quietly on the side, he calmly looked at the qiē in the hall, without any emotion on his face, he glanced at the sorghum on the top of the hall from time to time, and then looked at the courtiers who were talking to each other, it seemed that this qiē had nothing to do with him.

However, Xiao Mojiu in the palace was pale, he had sent someone to Xiakou to investigate the truth, hoping to give himself an innocence, more than half a month has passed, and there has been no news so far. If the court ordered to investigate, it was difficult to guarantee that no one would frame him. Therefore, he is anxious and angry.

Xiao Mocheng, the prince of the Nine Emperors, took a qiē in the hall in his eyes, a smile hooked up at the corner of his mouth, and then slowly bowed down, and said: "Father, the son of the emperor has gone through this difficulty, he knows that the world is unpredictable, life is terrible, and the son has played the world under a pseudonym. I implore my father not to delve into it, so as not to hurt the innocent. ”

The Nine Emperors' earnest words surprised everyone present, and when he said this, it seemed that this was a personal grudge in the rivers and lakes. Everyone appreciated the generosity and tolerance of the Nine Emperor Princes, but if you think about it carefully, the Nine Emperor Princes are just saying good things.

Only Mu Xiaohe, who was called to discuss the matter for the first time, understood in his heart that this was just a trick that Xiao Mocheng wanted to indulge.

Emperor Xiao looked at his youngest son, full of love, it was already very rare for him to have such an insight, how could he let him be wronged, and then thinking of Concubine Su's tearful eyes, Emperor Xiao was even more determined to find out the truth.

"Where is Pei Fu?" Emperor Xiao said sharply.

"The minister is here!" Pei Fu bowed down in response.

"Pei Fu, you don't protect the prince effectively, so you will go to the post of internal history of Wuchang County on the same day, and go home to serve Mrs. Pei well."

Pei Fu did not have any complaints, and immediately replied: "Pei Fu Xie Xià Kaig." With that, he slowly withdrew from the hall.

After Xiao Mocheng was assassinated in Pei's house, Pei Fu followed the will to escort Xiao Mocheng all the way into Beijing, Emperor Xiao asked about the matter, and asked him to wait in the Shangshu house, when he heard that the life of the Nine Emperor Princes was worried, he knew that his official hat could not be saved, if the Nine Emperor Princes did not die, I am afraid that he was also a death, and now he has saved a life, which is a blessing.

After Pei Fu withdrew, Emperor Xiao's dark eyes glanced at the hall, and then slowly raised his lips and said: "Ladies and gentlemen, who should hold the post of internal history of Wuchang County?" ”

Fourteen years ago, Pei Yan and Xiangyang guarded Yun Lingbo together with Jingzhou, when Yun Lingbo died, Xiangyang fell into the hands of Dayan, Yuan Kai took the opportunity to occupy Jingzhou's Jingling and Jiangling, Pei Yan retreated to Xiakou, so many years, Pei Yan and Pei Fu choked Xiakou, originally to suppress the upstream Yuan, in order to reduce the pressure of Yuan's overlooking Jiankang.

So the seat is quite awkward. If it is controlled by the Yuan family, the power of the Yuan family is monstrous, and it may be even more indispensable, which Emperor Xiao will never allow, if it continues to be held by the Pei family, then it is a change of soup and not a change of medicine, if another person is sent, it is really sandwiched between the court, the Pei family and the Yuan family, it is not easy, so this official position is a hot potato.

After a whispered discussion, one person listed and took the lead in breaking the deadlock in the hall, "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that Shen Yu can take this position." "The speaker is the Zhongshu waiter Fu Yan, Fu Yan used to be the official Langzhong, and he is considered Pei Yun's cronies, Pei obviously wants to control this position as much as possible in his own hands.

However, this construction was quickly opposed.

"The minister thinks it's inappropriate." A voice cut off his words directly,

Zhang Bowang immediately answered, "Your Majesty, Shen Yu has been in the Ministry of Officials for less than a year, and it may not be conducive to the normal transfer of officials if he is transferred abroad, not to mention that the appointment and assessment of officials in the Ministry of Officials must set an example for the world." ”

The Zhang family and the Yuan family have always been each other's faces because of the six princes. It is impossible to let the people of the Zhang family or the Yuan family take office, so it is necessary to prevent the people of the Pei family from taking office.

Zhang Bowang's reasoning is very sufficient, but Pei Yun and his party can't find a reason to refute it. Pei Yun snorted coldly, but he had nothing to say.

After the ear, the courtiers put forward several candidates, but they were all rejected by everyone one by one.

Until everyone was at a stalemate, a man with excellent demeanor in the last row of the court stepped forward and said calmly: "Your Majesty, the minister recommended a person, who can be appointed as the history of Wuchang County, this person is quite Wen Tao can manage civil affairs, and has a military strategy, and is with Pei Taifu temperament, and a few days ago, he also went to attend the Taifu birthday banquet, I think he will definitely be favored by Taifu, which will not only help to investigate the case, but also quickly take over the post of Wuchang County internal history." Therefore, the minister recommended the work of Zuo Lang Xie Tinglin. ”