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Shen Changmao is the first assistant of the cabinet, and Huang Yourong is the elder of the cabinet, although Shen Changmao's position of the first assistant is a bit untrue, and the imminent fall of Huang Yourong is well known, but on the surface, the status of the two of them is still much higher than that of Zhao Junchen.

Therefore, when Shen and Huang came to Zhao's mansion, Zhao Junchen entertained them very ceremoniously, and after welcoming them into the living room of Zhao's mansion, Zhao Junchen even presented Shen and Huang to the main seat, and he consciously sat at the head of the guest seat, showing due respect.

It can be seen that Shen and Huang are both satisfied with Zhao Junchen's respectful attitude, and they are faintly surprised - they came to visit Zhao Junchen this time, originally just wanted to put on a posture and counter the rumor that "Shen Changmao sent someone to assassinate Zhao Junchen", and did not expect Zhao Junchen to take the initiative to cooperate with them, let alone expect Zhao Junchen to put on a good face for them, after all, Zhao Junchen has become more and more "rampant" recently, and he has never taken the two of them in his eyes.

Therefore, Zhao Junchen's performance was quite unexpected by them, so at the beginning, the atmosphere between the three was quite harmonious.

*

"Hearing that Lord Zhao was assassinated, the old man was quite worried in his heart, and he didn't care about continuing to deal with court affairs in the Wenyuan Pavilion, so he hurried to visit, and now that he saw that Lord Zhao was safe, he knew that it was a false alarm, and the old man was relieved."

In the living room of the Zhao Mansion, Shen Changmao sat in the first place, and because of the scene, the concerned expression on his old face was a little stiff.

On the side, Huang Yourong was very clear about the reason why Shen Changmao brought him to Zhao's mansion, so he hurriedly opened his mouth to help: "Yes, Shen Shoufu has always cherished young talents the most, and has always admired Lord Zhao the most, and has repeatedly said that sooner or later there will be a place for Lord Zhao in the cabinet, after learning about Lord Zhao's assassination today, Shen Shoufu was even more furious, and he had ordered the relevant yamen to arrest the murderer as soon as possible to solve the case, all of this is Shen Shoufu's love for Lord Zhao, Lord Zhao, you must take it to heart." ”

Obviously, Huang Yourong's acting skills are much stronger than Shen Changmao, although he is a little reluctant in his heart, he still has a serious expression and a sincere tone, and he has a kind of infectious power that will make people believe it.

Although Zhao Junchen's acting skills are slightly inferior to Huang Yourong, they are also far stronger than Shen Changmao, after hearing the two singing and harmonizing, he immediately put on a touched look and said: "Shen Shoufu's care for the lower officials, the lower officials are grateful, and they will never dare to forget!" ”

After speaking, Zhao Junchen also stood up and bowed deeply to Shen Changmao.

After some exchanges, the two sides seem to be close.

Although, all three people present knew that all this was just an illusion and acting.

However, seeing that things were going well, Zhao Junchen was also quite cooperative, Shen Changmao's expression eased again, and said: "Lord Zhao, you are young, you have been favored by the emperor to serve as the head of the household department, and you have also managed the household department well over the years, which can be described as a promising future, sooner or later he will be the pillar of the country. ”

On the side, Huang Yourong said again: "Yes, Shen Shoufu's public heart can be described as heaven and earth!" Although there are differences in political views between you and Shen Shoufu, Lord Zhao, they are both for the sake of the overall situation of the imperial court, but they have different ideas, so Shen Shoufu not only does not think about it, but appreciates Lord Zhao more and more......"

Speaking of this, Huang Yourong suddenly shook his head and sighed, and changed his words, saying: "It's a pity that there are always many villains in this government and the opposition, who are ill-intentioned and not as dedicated to the public as Shen Shoufu and Lord Zhao, but they actually took advantage of the assassination of Lord Zhao to stir up trouble, sow discord, spread rumors everywhere, and try in vain to provoke the conflict between Shen Shoufu and Lord Zhao, and take advantage of the fisherman's profits, which is really vicious!" However, with Lord Zhao's resourceful vision, he would never believe those rumors full of loopholes! ”

After speaking, Shen Changmao and Huang Yourong both looked at Zhao Junchen, waiting for Zhao Junchen's reply, with a faint hint of nervousness on their expressions.

The thing that Huang Yourong hinted at was naturally the rumor circulating in the market about "Shen Changmao sent someone to assassinate Zhao Junchen", but he wanted to take the opportunity to find out Zhao Junchen's attitude.

After all, Zhao Junchen is the party and the victim, if he can stand up and clearly show that he does not believe this rumor, then this rumor will naturally be self-defeating, on the contrary, if Zhao Junchen mistakenly believes the rumor, and because of this, he clenches Shen Changmao, then Shen Changmao's suspicion will become more and more difficult to clear.

In fact, as mentioned earlier, Shen Changmao came to visit Zhao Junchen this time, just to put on a posture of caring about Zhao Junchen's safety, in order to counter the rumors, originally they didn't expect too much, but after they saw that Zhao Junchen was very cooperative, they were a little hopeful, and wanted to get Zhao Junchen's clear statement, so that the effect was much stronger than some simple gestures.

However, under the gaze of Shen Changmao and Huang Yourong, Zhao Junchen was silent.

After a long time, Zhao Junchen looked up at Shen and Huang and said, "The rumors that Huang Ge Lao said refer to the rumors that Shen Shoufu sent someone to assassinate the lower officials?" Xia Guan has also heard people mention it. ”

Hearing Zhao Junchen's inquiry, Shen and Huang both frowned.

In officialdom, the choice of words is very exquisite, and there are rules for what words and phrases should be used under any circumstances, and officials are also cautious in this regard, for fear of causing misunderstandings.

For example, now, for the rumor that "Shen Changmao sent someone to assassinate Zhao Junchen", Huang Yourong called it a "rumor", which means that it is completely uncredible, but a rumor spread by someone with malicious intentions, and Zhao Junchen calls it a "rumor", which means that Zhao Junchen does not deny the possibility of this rumor.

Therefore, after hearing Zhao Junchen's words, Shen and Huang were both vigilant, and the atmosphere between the three of them, which was originally quite harmonious, suddenly became cold.

Especially Shen Changmao, there was coldness in his eyes, feeling that Zhao Junchen wanted to take the opportunity to attack him, and secretly considered a countermeasure in his heart.

Under the vigilant gaze of Shen and Huang, Zhao Junchen sighed softly, and once again recounted the evidence he had fabricated: "Don't hide it from Shen Shoufu and Huang Gelao, in fact, when Xia Guan was assassinated, the murderer who assassinated Xia Guan once said, 'If you want to please the emperor, you can't block everyone's financial path'......"

Speaking of this, Zhao Junchen suddenly stopped talking.

On the other side, hearing Zhao Junchen's opening, Shen and Huang's faces changed even more.

They were all wise people, and they all deduced many conclusions from this statement.

Could it be that someone really assassinated Zhao Junchen because of the rectification of commercial taxes? In that case, if this matter spreads, before the real culprit is caught, wouldn't Shen Changmao, as the leader of the court officials who oppose the rectification of commercial taxes, be more suspicious?

Although Shen and Huang did not believe the testimony provided by Zhao Junchen, Zhao Junchen was the only party and the victim, and Shen Changmao and Huang Yourong could not accuse Zhao Junchen of making things up.

So, Huang Yourong was taken aback, and hurriedly asked, "Regarding this matter, did Lord Zhao reveal it to others?" ”

Zhao Junchen first shook his head, then nodded again, and said: "This matter is quite sensitive, so the lower officials did not disclose it to the various yamen, for fear that it would cause chaos in the temple, but when His Majesty asked, the lower officials did not dare to bully the king, and told His Majesty in detail, except for this, no one else should know." ”

After hearing Zhao Junchen's answer, Shen Changmao's expression became more and more gloomy.

As long as Emperor Deqing knows about this, with Emperor Deqing's character, there will inevitably be a fierce reaction next, and he will inevitably have big trouble, so what difference does it make if others know it or not?

After a long time, Shen Changmao said slowly: "Although the old man and Lord Zhao have political disagreements, and the relationship between them is not harmonious, but the old man, as the head of the cabinet, has been up and down for more than 30 years, and he has his own bottom line, and now it is not a life-and-death contradiction, so the assassination of Lord Zhao has absolutely nothing to do with the old man...... That's all the old man said, if Lord Zhao doesn't believe it, the old man can't force it! ”

After speaking, Shen Changmao returned to his usual cold expression.

I'm afraid that if Zhao Junchen reveals any suspicion of Shen Changmao in the future, then Shen Changmao will get up and leave immediately, and the two sides will have to see the truth again in the future.

If it were other officials, when they encountered such a situation, they would probably continue to test a few words, and even find a way to win over Zhao Junchen to speak for themselves, but Shen Changmao is different, his personality has always been resolute, and his style of doing things has always been fierce, although he will try to avoid trouble, but he is not afraid of trouble, if he is forced too much, then he will often create more trouble.

It is precisely because of this that Shen Changmao has always been rarely provoked, even Zhao Junchen, if it were not for the current special situation, he would never easily provoke Shen Changmao.

At this time, Shen Changmao saw that Zhao Junchen didn't trust him at all, and faintly had the intention of splashing dirty water on himself, but he lost his temper again, and he had no intention of continuing to tempt at all.

Seeing Shen Changmao's appearance, Zhao Junchen secretly sighed in his heart, but he took the initiative to take a step back and said: "Actually, the lower officials also believe that Shen Shoufu will never do such a thing, you are the first assistant of the cabinet, and you have always been of high character, how could you do such a thing?" As Huang Ge Lao said, those gossips in the market must be a villain who wants to sow discord, and the lower officials will never believe it, for the sake of Shen Ge Lao's reputation, when it comes to tomorrow morning, the lower officials are also willing to make their positions clear. ”

Shen Changmao saw that Zhao Junchen took the initiative to take a step back, first stunned, then frowned, waiting for Zhao Junchen to continue.

With Shen Changmao's understanding of Zhao Junchen, he knew that Zhao Junchen had always been a person who didn't see rabbits and eagles, and if he didn't have certain benefits, he would never help Shen Changmao get rid of this trouble, so Zhao Junchen would definitely put forward trading conditions next!

In fact, Shen Changmao really guessed correctly.

Zhao Junchen knew very well that if there was no tangible evidence, it would be difficult for him to use this matter to inflict a real blow on Shen Changmao, at most, it would only create some trouble for Shen Changmao, but sooner or later, Shen Changmao would always be able to solve these troubles.

Moreover, Zhao Junchen's goal from the beginning was only to crack down on those ministers of the DPRK and China who opposed the rectification of commercial taxes, so that their commercial tax plans could be carried out smoothly, not for Shen Changmao alone, as long as this goal can be achieved, then how about helping Shen Changmao once with the help of the boat? You can also take the opportunity to ask Shen Changmao for some benefits!

So, Zhao Junchen smiled again and said: "Just now, Huang Ge Lao said that Shen Shoufu is a person who loves talents, and the lower officials think so, I heard that Zhang Jizhi, the prefect of Linqing, has always been capable and has a good reputation, and can take on great responsibilities. With Shen Shoufu's love for talent, he should have supported this matter, and he would definitely not press it down, could it be that something went wrong? ”

Obviously, this is Zhao Junchen's condition, so that Shen Changmao does not object to Zhang Jizhi, a subordinate of Zhao Junchen, to serve as the prefect of Yanzhou, and Zhao Junchen will help Shen Changmao get rid of suspicion.

After hearing Zhao Junchen's conditions, Shen Changmao hesitated slightly.

After all, Taierzhuang is the throat of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and now its prosperity is not inferior to that of Suzhou and Hangzhou, which is not only the key to the success or failure of the commercial tax rectification, but also a position full of oil and water, and the most important thing is that Shen Changmao will press down Li Lide's recommendation of Zhang Jizhi, just to send his own people to control this position, not only to accumulate money, but also to prepare for the future business and tax affairs.

Now, is it worth it to give up the fight for this important position just to get rid of the suspicion on yourself?

What's more, the suspicion is only temporary, as long as the various yamen can catch the murderer who assassinated Zhao Junchen and find out the real mastermind behind the scenes, then the suspicion on his body will naturally be cleared, why give Zhao Junchen such a big benefit in order to be in a hurry?

Therefore, Shen Changmao felt that Zhao Junchen's asking price was too high, and after hesitating for a moment, he planned to reject Zhao Junchen's proposal and conditions.

However, at this time, something that happened suddenly made Shen Changmao change his mind!

In fact, just when Zhao Junchen had just returned home, Xichang had obtained Zhao Junchen's information in advance, and seized the opportunity among the major yamen, and after half a day of searching, he finally discovered the whereabouts of Zhang Wei, the murderer of Zhao Junchen!

So, a round-up containing conspiracy began quietly!

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PS: Speechless! The accidents in life are always one after another, and I don't dare to guarantee anything in the future, just speak with actions! I'm so sorry!

…… (To be continued.) )