The Imperial Study.

Lao Jiu stood at the window, looking outside.

The hundred officials and the forbidden army made such a big fuss in the palace, of course he already knew about it.

It's just that he didn't intervene, there was a soft sound of footsteps outside the door, Lao Jiu turned around, only to see the inner servant come in and bow down and say, "Your Majesty, General Beichuan asks to see!" ”

"Please!" Lao Jiu nodded, turned around and sat back on the dragon chair.

After a while, Mo Beichuan stepped in, and was about to salute, when he saw Lao Jiuyi raise his hand and said, "Excuse me, what's going on outside?" ”

Mo Beichuan replied: "The elder of the pavilion has come forward to deny the rumors, and the situation has been stabilized at present, and the court officials who made trouble have all returned to their classes and returned to their duties. ”

"Denied?" When Lao Jiu heard this, his heart was suddenly relieved.

Mo Beichuan heard his tone as if he was relaxed, and his heart flashed strangely.

He had been worried that His Majesty would intervene in this matter, and he was afraid that His Majesty's hundred officials would make trouble, but now it seems that he has misunderstood His Majesty, and His Majesty does not seem to have any thoughts of making trouble.

If His Majesty can really endure and settle down, it will of course be a blessing for Mo Beichuan.

These thoughts flashed in his heart, but his mouth hurriedly replied: "Yes, Elder Ge denied the rumors, and only said that Qu Guogong was seriously ill and recuperating, so he didn't see outsiders. Last night's murder in the suburbs of Beijing had nothing to do with Guogong, but was a rumor that confused people's minds. ”

"If he says so, the courtiers will be able to believe it?" Lao Jiu seemed to be a little uneasy, and asked.

"Your Majesty is wise, there are indeed some adults who are not at ease, and insist that they must see Qu Guogong!" Mo Beichuan nodded.

Lao Jiu knew that this so-called part must be a party of the Qu family, so he didn't speak, just looked at Mo Beichuan and waited for him to continue.

Mo Beichuan said: "The elder agreed to their request on the spot, but said that Guogong was seriously ill and should not make a big noise, and finally agreed to let Yu Zheng and Lu Yutong go to the Guogong Mansion to meet Qu Guogong as representatives to reassure people's hearts." ”

"Delaying the army!" When Lao Jiu heard this, he squinted his eyes slightly and spit out four words.

Yu Zheng and Lu Yutong, both of whom are important ministers of the Qu family.

Hu Qingyan agreed that they would go to see Qu Guogong in person, which undoubtedly proved to the hundred officials that Qu Guogong had indeed not suffered.

In this way, the Qu party will naturally not make trouble again.

If nothing else, Hu Qingyan will definitely let Yu Zheng and Lu Yutong help cover up the death of Qu Guogong in order to calm the situation.

Mo Beichuan nodded and said with a wry smile: "Under the anger of the crowd, the only way for the pavilion elder to temporarily stabilize the situation and ensure that the enthronement ceremony can be held smoothly." ”

"Yu Zheng and Lu Yutong, the general has to keep an eye on the point, don't have problems." When Lao Jiu heard this, he thought about it and said in a deep voice.

When Mo Beichuan heard this, he couldn't help but be even more surprised in his heart, he really thought that His Majesty would have such an attitude, not only did he not make trouble, but also took the initiative to help Hu Qingyan stabilize the situation.

hurriedly received the order, and said: "Your Majesty, rest assured, since the elder of the pavilion agrees that these two adults will go to see Qu Guogong, then he must be sure that the two adults can cooperate."

But I didn't want to, as soon as Mo Beichuan said this, Lao Jiu's expression changed slightly, and there seemed to be a gloomy flash in his eyes, and he said meaninglessly: "If it weren't for the general's words, I would have really been negligent, Yu Zheng and Lu Yutong were all subordinates who Qu Guogong relied on during his lifetime, since the elder dared to use them to resist the rumors, he must be prepared and sure that nothing would go wrong." ”

Mo Beichuan was stunned when he heard this, and then his heart froze, how could he not understand the meaning of His Majesty's words.

Yu Zheng and Lu Yutong are both important figures in the Qu family, since Hu Qingyan is sure that the two of them can agree to cooperate with him to cover up the death of Qu Guogong, what does this mean?

It shows that these two are very likely to have hooked up with Hu Qingyan for a long time, and they were even Hu Qingyan's shadows in the Qu system.

If this is the case, how many Hu Qingyan people are there in the so-called major factions in this court.

I have to say, thinking about it like this, Hu Qingyan's power in the court is so strong, how can his majesty not be taboo about it.

Mo Beichuan was deeply afraid that Lao Jiu would be unhappy in his heart again, and hurriedly said: "Actually, this matter is also a matter of course, after all, Your Majesty's accession to the throne is imminent, and the death of Qu Guogong will be publicized at this time, which will only make the court shake and destroy Your Majesty's enthronement ceremony." After the two adults Yu Lu learned the truth, how could they dare not take national affairs as the priority, and whoever changed this matter could only cooperate, and did not dare to talk nonsense. ”

Hearing this, Lao Jiu nodded thoughtfully, and didn't say anything more.

Mo Beichuan saw that his expression was calm, and his heart was a little relieved, but doubts rose in his heart, looking at His Majesty's appearance, it was clear that he had never given up at all, if he really accepted the reality, he would not care about whether Hu Qingyan was a powerful minister.

But since His Majesty is not at peace in his heart, why does he oppose the disturbances of hundreds of officials, and even intends to take the initiative to help Hu Qingyan and others quell the chaos in the court?

Just thinking about this, Lao Jiu's voice sounded: "Who do you think will be manipulating today's events behind the scenes?" And what is the purpose? ”

"Your Majesty refers to today's rumors?" Mo Beichuan returned to his senses and said.

"Hmm!" Lao Jiu nodded.

Mo Beichuan thought for a while and said: "It is obvious that someone is trying to disturb the court through rumors, confuse people's hearts, and sabotage His Majesty's enthronement ceremony. ”

When Lao Jiu heard this, he didn't say anything, and asked again: "Have you ever thought that just a rumor is just a rumor, how can it cause chaos in the dynasty, make people's hearts unstable, boil hundreds of officials, and even force the palace in vain?" ”

Mo Beichuan: "This is naturally because the rumors involve Qu Guogong, who can be described as the head of the court, and his life and death have a great impact, enough to shock the dynasty." Not to mention the rumors that Qu Guogong was killed by the Lin family, which made hundreds of officials frightened and made everyone feel that they were in danger, so the crowd was angry that it made such a big fuss. ”

"Yes, the reason why this rumor is so powerful is because the rumor is directed at Qu Guogong. But if Qu Guogong has nothing to do, he just needs to stand up and show his face, and this rumor will not be destroyed immediately. Lao Jiu squinted, meaning indescribable.

Mo Beichuan smiled bitterly when he heard this: "The bad is that Qu Guogong has already ...... Well? ”

Speaking of this, Mo Beichuan's expression changed slightly, and then he was suddenly startled, looked up at Lao Jiu and exclaimed: "Your Majesty is saying that the reason why the person behind this dares to point directly at Qu Guogong is that he knows that Qu Guogong is dead?" ”

Lao Jiu sneered: "If it weren't for that, this rumor wouldn't have been able to make any waves at all, I would never believe that it would be a coincidence that this rumor involved Qu Guogong." ”

Mo Beichuan was suddenly shocked in his heart, and said: "The news of Qu Guogong's death has been kept secret, and there are very few people who know about it, so it is said that the news will not be revealed." ”

Lao Jiu nodded, squinted his eyes and said, "Yes, it's strange here, there are very few people who know about this matter." The news of Guogong's death was directly reported by the forbidden army, and he had never been a minister of civil and military affairs, except for the forbidden army, only Hu Qingyan, Zhang Bangli, King De, and King Ming knew about it. ”

When Mo Beichuan heard this, he was immediately panicked, he knew very well that after the last palace change, His Majesty had always distrusted the forbidden army, and he did not dare to hesitate, so he immediately clarified.

I only heard him say: "Your Majesty, after learning the news that day, the minister immediately issued a gag order to all the insiders in the forbidden army, and immediately quarantined, and has not been released yet." The forbidden army is up and down, and those who know about this matter are only the ministers and the deputy general, and now even the forbidden army stationed in front of the Qu State Mansion does not know the truth, and it is impossible for our forbidden army to leak the news on this matter, and the minister is willing to take the head as a guarantee. ”

"I naturally believe the general's words." Lao Jiu does not trust the forbidden army, but he still trusts Mo Beichuan.

He was really not at ease with Mo Beichuan before, but when he clashed with King Ming again due to the death of Qu Guogong, he was still satisfied with Mo Beichuan's performance.

If there is a problem with the forbidden army, Mo Beichuan must be strictly guarded, and he will not be careless, since he is so careful, then this problem should not be with the forbidden army.

Besides, now that he is really unavailable, it is rare that Mo Beichuan is still loyal to him, no matter whether he has doubts about the forbidden army in his heart, he must show his trust in Mo Beichuan.

"Thank you, Your Majesty for your trust!" Mo Beichuan's heart was slightly relieved, and he hurriedly bowed and thanked him.

Lao Jiu waved his hand, signaled for exemption, and after a pause, he said: "It's not a forbidden army, and I haven't leaked it, so only Hu Qingyan and King Ming are left, which one of them do you say it will be?" ”

"Your Majesty has nothing to rely on, and you don't dare to talk nonsense!" Mo Beichuan said in a deep voice.

Lao Jiu didn't force him to point at one person, but said slowly: "This troublemaker, since he released this rumor, obviously wants to use this rumor to force the dynasty to admit that Qu Guogong is indeed dead, so as to truly achieve the goal of causing chaos in the court." If it was the rumor released by Hu Qingyan and the others, then they should have pushed the boat down the river now and admitted that Qu Guogong was dead, but they tried their best to deny it, I felt that this matter should not have been done by them. ”

Mo Beichuan echoed: "The three adults are all important ministers of the country, and they share the glory and disgrace with the country, and the first to propose secrecy was the three adults, and now it is the three adults who are trying to clarify the rumors, and the ministers also think that this matter should have nothing to do with the three adults." ”

When Lao Jiu heard this, he was silent for a moment, and then his voice was obviously cold: "If it weren't for the three of them, then only the Ming Wangfu would be left." ”

Hearing this, Mo Beichuan was speechless except for silence.

As soon as His Majesty mentioned this topic, he understood that His Majesty must have suspected King Ming.

Eventually, it did.

But in Mo Beichuan's heart, he didn't think that King Ming did this.

The reason is very simple, now King Ming is holding the Son of Heaven hostage to order the princes.

The court cannot be said to have been completely decided by King Ming, but at least in the current situation, compared to His Majesty, King Ming is the real master.

King Ming has no reason to cause chaos in the court, it is not His Majesty's interests that are harmed, but the interests of his Ming Palace.

It's just that he can only think about this in Mo Beichuan's heart, he doesn't dare, and he can't say it in front of Lao Jiu.

He pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, if it is really King Ming's doing, what will his purpose be?" ”

Lao Jiu saw that he didn't immediately speak out right, or open up for King Ming, he immediately felt a lot more comfortable, and immediately said: "I have thought about it carefully, this rumor is intended to link the death of Qu Guogong with the murder of the suburbs of Beijing last night, in short, it is to deliberately make the ministers think that Qu Guogong was killed by the Lin family, if this matter is really done by King Ming, then his purpose is naturally to trap me in injustice." ”

"Your Majesty is stupid, I don't know what Your Majesty means by this?" Mo Beichuan really didn't understand, and he couldn't figure out how this matter could trap His Majesty in injustice.

"I thought that the purpose of this rumor was to provoke the relationship between the dynasty and the Lin family, but after seeing that the hundred officials were so fierce, I suddenly realized. The target of this rumor is not the dynasty at all, but me! Lao Jiu's voice became colder and colder: "If under the rumors, the dynasty has no choice but to announce the death of Qu Guogong, I am afraid that the hundred officials will only believe that Qu Guogong was killed by the Lin family." At that time, the hundred officials will force me to crusade against the Lin clan and give them an explanation. ”

"The reason why we did not announce the death of the prince is that we are afraid that His Majesty will ascend the throne soon, and we do not want to cause turmoil in the DPRK and China. If you really have to do it, you can announce the truth, Qu Guogong is being corrected by the country, and the evidence is ironclad and clear. In any case, it can't involve the Lin family. Mo Beichuan frowned.

Lao Jiu sneered: "That's why I said that the purpose of this rumor is not to provoke the relationship between the dynasty and the Lin family, but to provoke the relationship between me and the courtiers. As you said before, now that the rumors are rampant, if they confirm that Qu Guogong is indeed dead, then they will only believe that Qu Guogong was killed by the Lin family.

Even if we produce evidence, the courtiers are already frightened birds, and everyone is in danger, and our evidence is useless no matter how clear it is. Just put one more rumor, saying that I was afraid of starting a war with the Lin family, and I was fabricating evidence to cover up the facts, and then I would be speechless, which would not only damage my reputation, but also make the hundred officials and me deviate.

I can almost already think that there will be rumors that King Ming will be brought out to compare with me, and the ignorant will only look at the surface, and some people will inevitably say that if King Ming is in power, how dare the Lin family be so arrogant, how dare they deceive our country for half a point? ”

Mo Beichuan heard the words, his face changed again and again, at this moment he finally understood why His Majesty did not make any trouble today, and even had the intention to take the initiative to help the elder of the pavilion suppress the troubles of the hundred officials.

It turned out that His Majesty thought that this rumor was released by King Ming to harm him, so he reacted like this.

Regarding His Majesty's words, to be honest, Mo Beichuan did not agree.

He didn't have the same resentment as Lao Jiu towards King Ming, so he was still able to think calmly.

Obviously, all Lao Jiu's considerations did not consider how the dynasty would be harmed, he only thought about how this matter would be unfavorable to himself.

However, in fact, if there is really a situation that Lao Jiu said, it is the dynasty that suffers the most, and it is conceivable that the dynasty at that time, the death of the prince has frightened and chaotic the court, and because of suspicion, the monarch and the ministers are separated, and it is almost scattered from top to bottom.

In such a chaotic dynasty, can the warlords turn a blind eye?

Can you not see the stitches and insert the needle, and the country and the country up and down?

Or is it the same sentence, now that the power is in the hands of King Ming, His Majesty can ignore the dynasty, but King Ming can't ignore it, shouldn't he be so anxious, just to hit His Majesty and cause chaos in the court?

After pondering for a long time, Mo Beichuan finally organized his language and said: "Your Majesty, if King Ming really has this thought, then he can stand up and confirm that Qu Guogong is dead when the hundred officials made trouble before, so that no matter how the elder clarifies, it can't cover up the death of Qu Guogong, but King Ming did not stand up, maybe this matter was not done by King Ming." ”

Lao Jiu was stunned when he heard this, yes, if King Ming really had this thought, why did he let the elder of the pavilion cover up this matter?

It doesn't make sense.

However, Lao Jiu quickly thought of the reason why King Ming didn't dare to be blatant, and saw a sneer on the corner of his mouth: "He didn't do it, because he didn't dare." ”

"Don't dare?" Mo Beichuan raised his eyes.

Lao Jiu said: "If you really force me to be in a hurry, he knows the consequences." ”

Mo Beichuan understood, His Majesty's meaning was obvious, if he was forced to be in a hurry, then he would inevitably announce the matter of King Ming to the world by coercing the Son of Heaven to order the princes, obviously King Ming was worried about this, so he didn't dare to be blatant.

To be honest, Mo Beichuan wanted to ask him at this time, "Isn't your words contradictory?" Since King Ming didn't dare to push you into a hurry, how could he continue to stimulate you at this time? Could it be that as long as King Ming doesn't stand up publicly, you won't be forced to be anxious? ”

He didn't know how to respond, or even how to react.

His Majesty has already decided that if he refutes it again, it will only make His Majesty annoyed, and even regard him as a person who is the king of Ming.

He was silent, but Lao Jiu's eyes fell on Mo Beichuan: "General, before my father died, he left a message to me, saying that the general was the last line of protection when I was in danger, and I must not fail the general's loyalty." ”

When Mo Beichuan heard this, his heart immediately tightened, he had a hunch that His Majesty suddenly said this, I'm afraid it is not a good thing.

But there was no way, he could only kneel: "Your Majesty has the trust of the first emperor, and you are ashamed to trust Your Majesty, and your Majesty will die!" ”

Lao Jiu shook his head: "Today, I have fallen to such a point, looking at the government and the opposition, as the emperor said, only the general is loyal and righteous, and he will not leave me." It's me who is incompetent, I have taken the last orders of the emperor, and I can't treat the general well, and I am ashamed of the general. ”

Mo Beichuan said: "Your Majesty must not think like this, just because of the incompetence of your subordinates, you have misled the country and the king, Your Majesty has not blamed the ministers, but also given the ministers the opportunity to let the ministers continue to serve by Your Majesty's side and make meritorious contributions." With such a monstrous grace, how dare your subordinates complain again, and only want to die for Your Majesty. ”

Lao Jiu got down from the dragon chair, walked in front of Mo Beichuan, personally helped him up, and said in a firm voice: "My father did not mistake the general, I swear that if the general can help me regain control of the mountains and rivers, I will return it as a national soldier!" ”

Mo Beichuan listened to these words, but there was no joy in his heart, only bitterness.