Yongchang at the beginning of October is half gorgeous and half bleak. Autumn is thick at the foot of Yanshan Mountain, Luoshui Lake is sparkling, and the morning mist rises like a fairyland; When the fog dissipates, the trees on the mountain show various colors of red, yellow, orange and green, layer upon layer, sparse and dense, bright as clouds, the wind sends yellow leaves, and falls on the clear lake, attracting the fish to jump high, and the white crane that is so frightened that it spreads its wings and flies away.

The news that the Son of Heaven intends to sell Yanshan Manor came out of the household, since the autumn, the people who came to watch the scenery and choose are endless, the incense carts are one after another, the official road in front of Yanshan is blocked tightly, and the number of people who inquire about the price from the household department is hundreds. This made Yu Zhijie sigh extraordinarily, the treasury was empty, but the rich merchants of the princely family were rich, and the manor of two million buildings could not stop the enthusiasm for buying at all. The more this is the case, the more cautious Yu Zhijie becomes, and he wants to plan carefully and use these estates to recover as much silver as possible for the treasury.

Apricot trees are planted on both sides of Chongrenfang, and since autumn, the leaves are golden and the leaves are like butterflies, quietly paving the road. Tian Shoulou rode in a carriage and galloped up from the fallen leaves without hurrying, leaving a "rustling" sound. The carriage drove into Yongxingfang and became quiet, Tian Shoulou gently lifted the curtain, the willow leaves on both sides fell, and the branches like whips hung down weakly, indescribably bleak.

Tian Shoulou has been here to deliver official documents, and knows what kind of lively place Zhumen not far in front of him used to be, even on the third watch, there are people coming and going in Zhumen. Looking at the high stone steps, the Zhu Gate is still the same, but the plaque on the door has been changed from the words "Xiangfu" to "Changchi Hou Mansion", and the pair of stone lions under the steps seem to be much darker.

The carriage continued to drive forward for more than ten zhang, stopping in front of a low portal, and Tian Shoulou bent down to get out of the carriage. The Wei Mansion in front of him is called the Horse Mansion, it is the mansion where Wei Youcheng and Princess Anshou live, Wei Youcheng is still Princess Anshou, the Son of Heaven reads Wei Yishen's merits, and orders the princess to marry the Wei family, not to build another Horse Mansion, but to buy the house on the west side of the Wei Mansion to build a small Wei Mansion, two gatehouses for a family. The same vermilion gate, three rooms and five frames, carved beams and painted buildings, gorgeous and rich.

Tian Shoulou walked up the steps unhurriedly, and there were four men in black sitting in front of the door, seeing Tian Shoulou dressed in a cyan robe, he knew that he was just a petty official of the eighth or ninth grade, and a seventh-grade official in front of the prime minister's door.

"I'm bothered that the master went to pass through, and said that Tian Shoulou, the head of the Ministry of Rites, asked to see Master Wei." Lord Tian bowed to the four of them.

The strong man in black sitting on the outermost side looked up at Tian Shoulou and asked lazily, "Is there a sticker?" ”

"Yes", Tian Shoulou presented a Nanmu famous thorn with both hands, the man sat and took it, his fingers moved behind his back, he felt the silver ticket behind the famous thorn, stood up with a smile, and shrank his right hand quietly, and the silver ticket was included in his sleeve.

"This master, my lord is in the house, I will speak for you, I have to speak if you don't see it, you wait a minute." The strong man in black took the thorn and hurried inside. The other three men smiled as if no one was around: "Qi Liu must have gained benefits, otherwise he wouldn't be so enthusiastic, how much benefit did this master give him, and when he comes back, we will ask him for it." ”

Tian Shoulou smiled bitterly in his heart, and scattered three of the silver tickets prepared in advance, and the three men got the money and warmly invited him to sit down and rest. Tian Shoulou was not polite, and sat on the bench and chatted with the three gatekeepers.

The effort was not great, Qi Liu trotted over, bowed down and said, "Master Tian, my master invites you to the study to talk." ”

Along the verandah, the courtyard is shaded by trees, red leaves, yellow leaves, and green leaves contrast with each other, the bamboo is straight, the sound of water gurgling into the ears, the dark fragrance floats, and it is exquisite, quiet and beautiful. Tian Shoulou secretly praised in his heart, it was worthy of being the mansion where the princess lived, and it was nothing more than the residence of the prince.

Passing through the weeping flower gate, the rockery in the middle of the courtyard is rugged, the strange flowers and plants are verdant and red, the vines along the wall are climbing, there are five upper rooms at the end of the road, and under the eaves, Wei Youcheng is standing there with a brocade robe and a smile. Tian Shoulou hurriedly stepped forward and said, "I've seen Master Wei." ”

"You don't need to be polite to guard the building, talk about it in the house." Wei Youcheng smiled sideways and let the guest go.

The room exudes a faint light fragrance and smells cozy. As far as the eye can see, there are bookshelves on three sides of the room, with a dazzling array of books, and there are no superfluous furnishings, revealing a strong smell of books. In front of the west window is a mahogany desk, on which the pen, ink, paper and inkstone are inkstoned, and the sunlight enters through the window, reflecting the leaves outside the window mottled on the desktop, which is elegant and fresh.

A few jujube wood chairs were placed around the desk, Wei Youcheng motioned to Tian Shoulou to sit at will, and the delicate little maid served tea, Tian Shoulou took a sip and praised: "Ansan silver needle, good tea." ”

Wei Youcheng sniffed the tea on the tip of his nose, and there was a graceful smile on his white jade-like face, which had a heart-wrenching momentum. Tian Shoulou secretly compared him with the lord Jiang Anyi in his heart, and it was difficult to distinguish between him and his lord Jiang Anyi for a while.

Putting down the teacup, Tian Shoulou took out Jiang Anyi's letter from his arms and said, "Lord Wei, Lord Jiang has a letter from Tian to hand it over, please take a look." ”

Wei Youcheng took the letter, he knew that Tian Shoulou was Jiang Anyi's walk in Beijing, this person was good at dancing with long sleeves, and he was generous, not only getting along with the small officials of the Six Ministries and Jiuqing, but also with the Ze Party, the Yu family, many officials and even the queen Wang, the Ze Party often had to call this person at the gathering in Beijing, as if he was the representative of Jiang Anyi, Jiang Anyi trusted this person, and the silver he used to deal with the officials was all from the perfume shop, I heard that this made Jiang Anyi's uncle Li Shicheng annoyed, and said a lot of strange things about Tian Shoulou, It's just that it didn't change Jiang Anyi's support for Tian Shoulou.

He and Jiang Anyi are just moral friends, and there are not too many private contacts, Jiang Anyi is far away in Huazhou, if there is anything to ask Tian Shoulou to make a special trip to deliver the letter, Wei Youcheng is full of suspicion to watch the letter.

The timeless handwriting in the letter is written by Jiang Anyi, and after some politeness, Jiang Anyi said in the letter, "...... Some time ago, the prince washed the horse and kept a letter from Zhou Cun to inform him that the prince wanted to buy the manor in Yanshan as a resting place for his close ministers, and he couldn't raise so many silver taels for a while, and asked Jiang to borrow one million taels temporarily. You Cheng is a straight bachelor of Chongwen Pavilion and the prince's brother-in-law, when you know the truth of this matter, you let Tian Shoulou bring a million silver tickets to present, and bother You Cheng to make decisions on your behalf......"

Putting down the letter, Tian Shoulou had already taken out a stack of thick silver tickets and handed it over, Wei Youcheng didn't reach out to take it, and said with a wry smile: "An Yi is giving me a problem, this million taels of silver, he is not afraid that I will swallow it." ”

"Lord Wei is a humble gentleman, everyone knows it, don't say a million taels of silver, even a million taels of gold don't care about it." Tian Shoulou flattered.

"Shoulou praised." Wei Youcheng reached out to take the teacup, took a sip to ease his mood, and said: "Thanks to An Yi's trust, but Wei is inconvenient to agree to this matter, and the silver ticket is also requested to be taken back by Shoulou, and An Yi needs to make his own decisions in this matter." ”

Tian Shoulou gently put the silver ticket on the table and said, "Lord Jiang has a few words that are inconvenient to write in the letter, let me talk to Lord Wei in person." ”

"Please."

"The whole world is not the king's land, the prince is the crown prince, it is not appropriate to ask Tian to ask for help, An Yiyuan is not clear in Huazhou, it is inconvenient to admonish, you are a straight bachelor of Chongwen Hall and the brother-in-law of the prince, it is for the closest relatives, if you know the prince's wrongs, you should be blunt, and it is the way to be a minister."

Wei Youcheng's eyes flashed with shame, and he didn't make a sound.

"The evil of Zhou Chucun and others is for the sake of the ministers and the prince, and it should be eliminated."

Wei Youcheng smiled bitterly: "I also want to get rid of Zhou Chucun and others, but I don't know where to start, if I am not careful, I am afraid it will backfire." ”

Tian Shoulou picked up the teacup and took a big sip, and said with a smile: "My family has a plan for Lord Wei's reference......"

At the gate of the mansion, Wei Youcheng personally sent Tian Shoulou away, leaving the four black-clothed gatekeepers in front of the door to murmur secretly, what is the origin of this little master of the Ministry of Rites, the old man actually sent him out in person, his eyes have to be brighter, and the next time this person comes to the door, he doesn't dare to ask for a door bag again.

Back in the study, Wei Youcheng looked at the silver ticket on the table and thought for a moment, then came to the bedroom with the silver ticket, waved away the waiting maid ring, An Shou held back his eyes, and said with a smile: "What are you doing, such a mysterious and secret, you can't see anyone?" ”

"Madam, just now Jiang Anyi sent someone to send a million taels of silver tickets, saying that he was borrowing money from the prince to buy Yanshan Manor, but asked me to give him the idea?" Wei Youcheng said as he took out the stack of silver tickets and put them on the table.

Princess Anshou raised her eyebrows and said angrily: "Jiang Anyi has bad intentions, let you sit on wax for him, so bold, you promise to be smart in vain, why don't you return the silver ticket to his face?" ”

Wei Youcheng bent down and touched An Shou's stomach gently, and said with a smile: "Madame, don't be angry, be careful of the fetal gas, then Jiang Anyi also said it openly, he wants to use this money to get rid of Zhou Chucun and others around the prince." ”

Princess Anshou was extremely disgusted with Zhou Chucun, Wang Zhixing and others around her younger brother, these people hooked her younger brother to eat, drink and have fun all day long, if you can get rid of them, it is not impossible to help.

Half an hour later, Princess Anshou took Wei Yunlin to Kunning Palace, and when she saw her grandson, Queen Wang was so happy that she smiled, and chased after her grandson, without the majesty of the mother's world. When the queen mother returned to the chair to rest, Princess Anshou took out the silver ticket and put it on the table, Queen Wang restrained her smile and asked, "Anshou, what is this for?" ”

"The queen mother, the younger brother asked Zhou Chucun to ask Jiang Anyi for one million taels to buy the manor in Yanshan, Jiang Anyi did not argue whether it was true or false, and asked people to hand over the money to Wei Lang and let him hand it over to the prince. Wei Lang thinks that the world will belong to the prince in the future, so why buy any manor, so let me hand over the money to the queen mother to decide. ”

Queen Wang's face sank, she knew about the Son of Heaven's sale of Yanshan Manor to fill the treasury, but she didn't expect her son to actually have the idea of buying a manor, what did he do when he bought a manor, could it be that An Shou said to himself that the prince and a group of close ministers were having fun?

"Come on, go to the East Palace and invite the prince." The queen commanded.