On this day, Wendu was reporting the control record to the emperor. After reading the report, the emperor put it on the table, and suddenly looked at one place and said, "Is there any movement over there recently?" ”

"Back to the emperor, I didn't find any changes over there." Wen Du said.

The emperor was a little irritable, "I really can't stand it anymore!" Every day, when I see him fearless and arrogant, my heart is panicked! ”

"Your Majesty, you are incompetent!"

The emperor sighed lightly, "The Marquis of Qingyuan has infiltrated his power in all the yamen in the capital, how can it be so easy to find out?" Even if it is identified, it will have to be deployed slowly, so that it will not be completed in a few years, and if there is a problem in the middle link, the progress may be lost. I can't wait! Why don't we just use the last plan, right? Although the odds are not good, it comes neatly. How is Ye Xun doing? It's okay to do well in the military department, right? ”

Since Ye Xun went to the Ministry of War, the emperor did not let Wendu report his schedule every day. "Back to the emperor, Ye Xun went to the military department, arrived at the ministry on time every day, never slacked off, everything was in order, there was no big mistake. Only last month his father died and he took three days off. ”

"Ye Xun is really interesting to him, he has to deduct more than half a month's salary for three days off, and he is so picky?" The emperor was not without sarcasm.

"That Lin Xiaoxiao only knows how to eat, drink and have fun, and can't do anything, even his father's funeral was handled by Ye Xun. Ye Xun did his best for him, and he ate and lived in the Lin family for three consecutive days. However, with his humble understanding of them, Lin Xiaoxiao would never treat him badly, the Lin family was very rich, and Lin Xiaoxiao's compensation to him must be several times higher than that of Yulu. Wendu analyzed.

"I see." The emperor hooked the corners of his mouth and smiled, "It seems that I haven't seen him for a while." Every time he went up to the court, he hid at the end, silently. I've been busy lately, but I'm also deliberately trying to chill him off for future plans......"

"Your Majesty, there is something in my heart that I have doubts about my humble position, and I have been hesitant to explain it to the emperor, that is... I feel that the Marquis of Qingyuan is deliberately trying to win over Ye Xun......" Wen Du said.

"Oh?" The emperor turned his face to look at him, thought for a moment, and said, "Actually, I feel this way. Although the Marquis of Qingyuan often spoke disrespectfully to him every time he saw him, he paid attention to him everywhere. But I think that the Marquis of Qingyuan is just a talent, and he also has a pity for Ye Xun. ”

"Your Majesty, not only that, on the day of Ye Xun's father's birthday, the Marquis of Qingyuan also sent someone to send a congratulatory gift."

"Marquis Qingyuan gave him a gift?" The emperor's expression was quite playful, "Did Ye Xun accept it?" ”

"Nope. Ye Xun directly asked the man to take it back. ”

The emperor's heart was slightly wider, and a light smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

However, the Marquis of Qingyuan refused to give up, and he asked the man to bring the gift to lobby. I don't know what to say to Ye Xun, he actually accepted the gift. ”

"Accepted?" The emperor frowned in disbelief and asked, "Bold!" He dared to take it! Why didn't you report to me earlier! ”

Wen Du hurriedly knelt down and said in fear, "Your Majesty, I think there must be a reason in it!" The gift given by the Marquis of Qingyuan may not be something of value? Or did Ye Xun have to accept it because of his feelings? With his humble understanding of him, he would not dare to accept a valuable gift under any circumstances. ”

"Therefore, we must speed up the deployment, otherwise our people will be abducted by others! As for Ye Xun, take advantage of my free time this afternoon to call him, I want to give him a warning, and beat him well! It is also a foreshadowing for the upcoming action. Get up. Prosperous! The emperor shouted at the door.

Xingwang entered the house, bowed down and said, "Your Majesty, what do you call the old slave to order?" ”

"You go to the military department to call Ye Xun, I have something to do with him!" The emperor said with a gloomy face.

"Yes! The old slave will go. ”

Ye Xun walked uneasily behind Xingwang, and walked out of the road for a while, Ye Xun finally couldn't help but ask, "Xingwang, the emperor hasn't summoned me for several months, why did you suddenly let me go over today?" Do you know? ”

Xingwang shook his head, "I really don't know what the hell is going on. In the past, the emperor never talked to anyone behind my back, but now as soon as that Lord Shen enters the house, the emperor will spend me. Alas! This Lord Shen often mutters this and that in the emperor's ear, you have to be mentally prepared, it shouldn't be a good thing, and I can't help but sue you for something. ”

"Shen Wendu? Probably not. Ye Xun thought for a moment, "Prosperous, so what is the emperor's attitude?" Are you in a good mood today? ”

"The emperor has a black face, not very happy."

"Huh?" Ye Xun was very frightened in his heart, "But I think about it, I have been fulfilling my duties and keeping to myself recently, and I haven't done anything deviant?" ”

"Don't guess. You'll find out when you go. Anyway, you need to be careful in what you say and do. ”

"Hmm." Ye Xun nodded.

When Ye Xun entered the main hall, Wen Du just retreated. He squinted and peeked at Ye Xun, his eyes were a little complicated. Ye Xun didn't have time to think about the deep meaning, and hurriedly stepped forward to bow down, "Minister Ye Xun knocks to see the emperor!" ”

The emperor stared at him and said with a cold face, "Ye Xun, do you know what I am looking for you?" ”

"Minister...... Ignorance. Please let the emperor make it clear. ”

"I heard that you have been in close contact with the Marquis of Qingyuan recently, and he values you very much, what's the matter? Are you going to look for another branch? The emperor sneered.

"Your Majesty! No! The minister has no relationship with the Marquis of Qingyuan, and the minister is only loyal to the emperor! Sweat oozed from Ye Xun's forehead, and he hurriedly excused.

"Hmph, no contact? Think about it, do I want to remind you? ”

In fact, when the emperor mentioned the Marquis of Qingyuan, Ye Xun already knew why the emperor had a seizure, "Your Majesty, the minister knows what you are talking about." There is a reason for this, please ask the emperor to tell the reason. ”

"Say it. I want to hear what you have to say. ”

Ye Xun took a deep breath to stabilize his nervous emotions, and said eloquently, "Your Majesty, my father celebrated his birthday half a month ago, and because it was not a full birthday, he didn't plan to do it, so he wanted to fry a few more dishes and have a family meal." Unexpectedly, the Marquis of Qingyuan sent someone to send a congratulatory gift. The minister never accepted gifts, not to mention that he had no contact with the Marquis of Qingyuan, so he directly refused. Not long after, the man came again and said let me see the gift. When I opened it, it was my mother's handwriting when she was young. The man said that when his mother was young, she was a famous talented girl in the capital, and someone collected a pair of her mother's ink treasures at that time. Later, the Marquis of Qingyuan got it inadvertently and was willing to give it to the minister, so that the minister had a thought. The minister has not seen his mother since he can remember, and there is no mother's relic in everyone since he was a child, so the minister has a selfish desire to collect it, but the minister can't accept gifts for no reason. The minister offered to buy the pair. The man said it was someone else's gift and it was worthless. Later, the minister gave a tael of silver to buy it. ”

After listening to Ye Xun's story, the emperor was no longer angry, but in order to scare him, he still said with a gloomy face, "One or two pieces of silver will buy a pair of beautifully framed words of a deceased talented woman in the capital, isn't this a disguised bribe?" Even I have heard of your mother, who was once a brilliant eyebrow sweeper in the capital, how can her words be worth a tael of silver? I'm afraid I can't buy it for a hundred taels of silver, right? Ye Xun, are you stupid, or do you think I'm stupid? ”

"Your Majesty, it's a fool! The minister doesn't understand the calligraphy and painting market, and he is confused for a while! When the minister went home, he returned the words to the Marquis of Qingyuan! ”

"No need! Qingyuan Hou racked his brains to do what you liked, don't waste people's good intentions! ”

"Your Majesty! The minister is wronged! Not only did the minister and the Marquis of Qingyuan not have a relationship, but he repeatedly insulted his father, and the minister was afraid of his power so he kept forbearance, how could he be friendly with him? ”

"Hmph, you're afraid you're just putting on a show for me, right?" The emperor sneered.

Ye Xun felt that the emperor was a little abnormal today, and felt that it was useless to justify himself, so he knelt there and bowed his head and was silent.

The emperor looked at him with great interest for a while, "I will take you to meet someone and let you see the fate of betraying me." ”

Ye Xun raised his head and met the emperor's fierce gaze, and then hurriedly lowered his head.

The emperor said to Xingwang, who had not dared to speak silently beside him, "Xingwang, let the sedan chair be prepared outside, and I will take Master Ye to Dongchang Prison to meet someone." ”

A prison leader, the emperor, Ye Xun and Xingwang, came to a secret room in Dongchang Prison, and at first glance, the people imprisoned in it were not ordinary people. As soon as he entered the cell, he was greeted by the pungent smell of blood, and Ye Xun peeked at a ragged man standing on the wooden pillar opposite. Ye Xun couldn't see who he was, and he didn't dare to identify him carefully. The head of the prison graciously brought a chair and a small table for the emperor, on which tea and some simple snacks and fruits were placed. The emperor sat down and let the others retreat, and only the emperor, Ye Xun, Xingwang and the dying prisoner were left in the cell.

The emperor yelled at the man, "Ye Xun, take a closer look at who that person is?" ”

Ye Xun nodded and walked slowly towards the man. Ye Xun approached only to find that the person was not tied to the pillar, but was nailed to the pillar by several large nails. There were many long nails on the hands, feet, arms, and thighs, and the blood that flowed from the nails had dried up and turned black, and some were still scarlet and fresh, covering the entire bare skin. In addition to nail marks, the man's upper body was also covered with knife marks, whip marks, soldering iron marks... There is no good skin on the body. The man had his head down, his hair was disheveled, and his face was covered in blood......

Ye Xun couldn't identify who he was, but he was stimulated by those shocking wounds and the pungent smell of blood, and his chest was filled with nausea. He pressed his discomfort and ruffled the man's hair with trembling hands. Ye Xun saw that there was a big mole on the left side of the man's face, he looked at the man's face carefully, and frowned in disbelief, "Lord Liu? ”

"Do you remember him?"

This person's name is Liu Xiu, and he had already achieved the position of deputy commander of Jinyiwei before the accident, and he was one of the few celebrities around the emperor a long time ago. When Ye Xun was still working as a guard by the emperor's side, he could often be seen entering and leaving the palace hall in high spirits, and the two of them had no friendship, and they only saluted and nodded when they met. But this man of the hour, who holds the lifeblood of the officials in the capital, has many frightening stories circulating in the community.

"Yes. In the years when the minister was a guard, I often saw him, and he was just a small leader of the Jinyi Guard. Later, they rarely met, but Danchen heard that he was the deputy commander of the Jinyi Guard, and he is now ......" Ye Xun turned his face and couldn't bear to look directly at the injuries on his body.

"He is now a prisoner, and he will be nailed with a long nail every day, and he will not dare to die without a hundred nails!" The emperor looked at Liu Xiu, with a vicious smile on the corner of his mouth.

"I don't know...... What kind of rebellious crime did Lord Liu commit, and the emperor wanted to treat him like this? Ye Xun asked in a low voice.

"As a close confidant of me, he actually accepted the banquet of the Marquis of Qingyuan. This is the end of betrayal. ”

"That's it...... Accepted a banquet? Ye Xun couldn't believe it, he immediately understood the purpose of the emperor bringing him here, and sneered in his heart, "The emperor thinks that if he deserves to die, it's okay to kill him, why torture him so much?" ”

"Dead? Isn't that cheap for him? I want him to live rather than die! He couldn't kill himself if he wanted to, because his parents, wife, and children were in my hands. He can only die if I let him die. The emperor raised his eyebrows, and there was an undetectable smile on the corner of his mouth, which made Ye Xun feel like a murderous and vicious devil at this moment.

Ye Xun felt that his chest was blocked by a breath, and he tried to restrain himself before he allowed himself to speak calmly, "Your Majesty, the minister remembers that you once aspired to be a wise monarch through the ages. Ming Jun must be a benevolent monarch. And to torture subordinate officials like this for a trivial matter, the minister thinks that it is against the way of the Ming monarch. ”

"Ye Tianyu!" The emperor glared at him with wide eyes, "You dare to educate me!" ”

Xingwang next to him saw that the emperor was really angry, and hurriedly shouted at Ye Xun, "Bold! Ye Xun! Don't apologize to the emperor yet! ”

Ye Xun hurriedly knelt down, "Your Majesty, minister...... That's not what it means. ”

The emperor smiled angrily, he stood up, "Ye Xun, you are really good at it!" You're crying out for this betrayer, aren't you? In this way, you go and drive a nail in him, and I will let you go today, and your business will be over. ”

Ye Xun knelt on the ground in a daze and didn't move for a long time.

Xingwang hurriedly took a long nail and put it in Ye Xun's hand, "Lord Ye, go quickly!" Lord Liu is not short of your nail. ”

Ye Xun looked at the nail in his hand, looked at the person nailed to the pillar again, and suddenly threw the nail to the ground and said, "Your Majesty, the minister can't do it!" If the emperor thinks that the minister is wrong, he will punish the minister. ”

The emperor swept over the tea bowl on the table, pointed at Ye Xun and said angrily, "Ye Tianyu! You...... If you don't want to nail him, drive this nail into yourself! ”

"Yes, nail it!" Ye Xun said with a cold face.

The emperor was so angry that his hands began to tremble. Xingwang hurriedly stepped forward to beat the emperor's back and rub his chest, "Your Majesty, stop your anger!" Then he turned his face to Ye Xun and said, "Ye Xun, you see that you are angry with the emperor!" You're going to die! Don't hurry up and kowtow to the emperor and admit your mistakes! ”

Ye Xun quickly glanced at the emperor and did not speak.

The emperor took a deep breath to calm himself down, and then sneered, "Ye Xun, you dare to rebel against me!" You're here with my heroes, you've probably forgotten who you are, have you? Do you think you're alone? I'm afraid you have more worries than Liu Xiu, right? I believe that if I put a nail in you, you can endure it, and you won't even frown. So, I don't nail you, I can nail the nail into the person you care about, like ...... Your father, your wife, and your three lively and lovely children......"

Ye Xundeng's face turned pale with fright, and the clothes on his body were instantly soaked with sweat, and it took a while before he remembered to kowtow, "Your Majesty, don't!" The minister is wrong, and the minister will never dare to disobey you again. You can punish me as much as you want! Let me do whatever I want, and don't touch them! Ye Xun kowtowed like pounding garlic, knocking the ground with a bang, and soon blood oozed from his forehead.

"Go! Pick up the nails! Nailed to the man! The emperor shouted to Ye Xun.

Ye Xun didn't think about it, and hurriedly crawled on the ground to find the nail. After finding it, he crawled to Liu Xiu's side with a rolling belt. Xingwang helped Ye Xun up and handed him a hammer. Ye Xun didn't take the hammer, but just looked at the long and sharp nail like a dagger for a while. Ye Xun held the end of the nail close to Liu Xiu's palm that had already nailed two nails, and at the moment when the nail went down, Ye Xun was still a little hesitant, he closed his eyes and stabbed the nail on Liu Xiu's palm fiercely. Liu Xiu let out a low roar of pain. Ye Xun was trembling all over, and when he saw that a part of the nail was still exposed, he slapped it with his palm fiercely, and his palm was dripping with blood......

Xingwang on the side stopped him and said, "Okay! It's nailed! No more nails! ”

Ye Xun sat on the ground with a weak body, and Xingwang stepped forward to help him, "Go and return to the emperor!" Ye Xun pushed him away and climbed back to his original position.

The emperor stared at him and laughed dryly, "Ye Xun, do you know? All the people in the world can be disobedient, but you can't! Because I know better than anyone who you are! Your father who pretended to be crazy and stupid, your three children, your wife, and even Wu Qiutong and Lin Xiaoxiao...... Each of them is more important to you than your own life. You want to protect everyone, but who can you protect? Any one I take out will make you die a thousand times! How many lives do you have! ”

Ye Xun lay on the ground and kowtowed vigorously, "Your Majesty! No! I was wrong! I'm damned! I ......"

When the emperor saw Ye Xun lying on the ground, trembling and covered in blood, he knew that he was scared a lot this time. He turned his back and softened his tone a lot, "Okay, don't knock again!" As long as you are obedient in the future, I will not embarrass them. Prosperous, help him tidy up, treat his wounds, and don't let him go out like this and scare people. I'll go back first, and in a moment, you can find a carriage to take him home." The emperor glanced at Ye Xun one last time, then pushed the door and left.

Xingwang asked the jailer to take the medicine, fetch water, give Ye Xun medicine, wipe his hands, wipe his face, tidy his clothes, and put his hair in a bun...... Ye Xunli is at the mercy of people like a wooden man.

After finishing up, Xingwang said to Ye Xun, who had been stunned, "Lord Ye, it's okay." Ye Xun didn't respond, Xingwang shook his arm, "Lord Ye! Ye Xun! ”

Ye Xun nodded as if he had just woken up.

"Let's go, we can go home." Xingwang went to help Ye Xun, Ye Xun's legs were weak, Xingwang didn't help him up, so he called the people around him, "You two come over and pick up Lord Ye!" ”