Emperor Xiaozong had originally lived in Gushan, but when he returned to Lin'an Palace, Emperor Zhao Dian and the then Empress Li Fengniang were in Lonely Mountain, so when there was a rebellion in the palace, neither Emperor Zhao Dian nor Empress Dowager Li Fengniang were actually not in the palace.

So Emperor Xiaozong, who had lived in Gushan for a long time, suddenly returned to Lin'an, did he have other things, or did he return to the Lin'an Palace specifically to kill the traitor Han Yanxuan?

If it was specifically to kill the traitor Han Yanxuan, then why did he have to wait until Ye Qing returned to Lin'an before acting? Could it be ...... Is only Ye Qing capable of killing Han Yanxuan?

Obviously, this answer is not so convincing, but it has to be said that this answer is reasonable and reasonable.

Of course, another answer is that Emperor Xiaozong returned to the Lin'an Palace with the intention of ordering Han Yanxuan to kill the traitor Ye Qing, so Emperor Xiaozong's reason for Ye Qing's return to Lin'an seems so natural and convincing.

After all, Ye Qing lives in the north all the year round, if Emperor Xiaozong is dissatisfied with Ye Qing and wants to kill Ye Qing, who is getting more and more powerful in the north, then he must wait until Ye Qing returns to Lin'an before he can do it.

In this way, it can reasonably explain why Emperor Xiaozong, who has lived in the lonely mountain for a long time, wants to return to the Lin'an Palace.

And the reason for killing Ye Qing is naturally much more sufficient than the reason for killing Han Yanxuan, Han Yanxuan is the left minister of the dynasty, although he is powerful in the court, but after all, it is because of this relationship with the Empress Dowager that he can be regarded as a relative of the emperor, so the reason for Emperor Xiaozong's killing of Han Yanxuan, a relative of the emperor, is much more far-fetched.

On the other hand, Ye Qing obviously had more motives for rebellion, when he entered Jingzhaofu Road from Guanshan in the Xia Kingdom, he was ambushed by the Xia people, and it is said that the Lin'an Imperial Court was also involved, which obviously became one of Ye Qing's possible motives for rebellion.

Later, Ye Qing coerced King Wu and King Qing to Chang'an in order to protect himself, so as to secretly threaten the imperial court, and his power in the north became bigger and bigger, and even the entire north land has been controlled by Ye Qing alone. The fact that the imperial court was unable to interfere with any local officials at all was enough to prove that the imperial court was deeply afraid that Ye Qing would become more and more powerful in the north, so he would establish himself as the king, or set up a new monarch in the north, so the court had a killing motive against Ye Qing, in order to remove Ye Qing's threat to the foundation of the Great Song Dynasty.

So...... No matter how you look at it, Ye Qing is more like the traitor, after all, he has more ample motives to rebel and make trouble than Han Yanxuan!

But the result was that Han Yanxuan became a rebel party, and Ye Qing did not get the credit and reward he deserved because of this, and even on the same day that the new monarch succeeded to the throne, he chose to continue to go north alone and continue his journey of the Northern Expedition.

All of this has happened in just a few years, but it has been clouded with a thick cloud of history, as if there is no way to find and verify whether it is right or wrong, and the real answer.

is like the so-called brick family in later generations, when analyzing one historical mystery after another, when it comes to the final summary, in fact, he himself is in the clouds, where can he clearly distinguish between right and wrong and who is the righteous or evil party?

Above the court, it is obviously even more difficult to distinguish between right and wrong, black and white, right and wrong, who is loyal and who is traitor?

The rain in Lin'an has no intention of stopping, just like the clothed people who haunt the streets and alleys of Lin'an, still continuing their mysterious whereabouts and hurried steps.

The rain has no intention of stopping, but in the eyes of some well-intentioned people in Lin'an, it is as if they have seen the dark clouds in the sky gradually cracking, and there is a possibility of sunlight spilling down.

Cracks began to appear in the strange situation, so that people became an opportunity, and the soldiers of the Imperial City Division began to enter the palace, and almost all the soldiers of the Imperial Palace and the Cining Hall and the soldiers of the Guards Division were removed.

Qingqiu, who is the deputy commander of the Imperial City Division, naturally wants to explain to the current saint that this is the will of the empress dowager, and Zhao Kuo did not dwell too much on this matter, and after pondering for a while, he agreed to the empress dowager's will.

The rain was still falling, but there was a slight pause before dawn, and when the light began to shine, bean-sized drops fell again in the cloudy sky.

Rongguo Gong Zhao Shikui hurriedly ran out of Yan Keji's mansion, jumped into the carriage again and went straight to Shi Miyuan's mansion.

After knocking on Yan Keji's side, and learning that the Imperial City Division's entry into the palace had nothing to do with the current saint, but the will of the empress dowager, Rong Guogong's heart was much heavier than when he heard the news.

The carriage galloped on the streets of Lin'an, and when passing by the Xinwang Mansion, Rong Guogong, who was in the closed curtain, did not intend to lift the curtain to look at the few people in the clothes at the gate of the Xinwang Mansion, and even the coachman who drove the car naturally classified the few people in the clothes who were a little sneaky as ordinary people who were sheltering from the rain.

Rongguo Gong Zhao Shikui's carriage quickly left the Xinwang Mansion behind, and the door of the Xinwang Mansion was finally opened from the inside at this time, and the happy ones were obviously the same group of people as the people in the clothes who were "sheltering from the rain" outside.

The Xinwang Mansion is still the same as it was back then, although it has not been inhabited for a long time, but there are still many people who stay in the mansion to take care of and take care of the daily life of the mansion.

When Rong Guogong's carriage stopped in front of Shi Miyuan's mansion, the two carriages in front of the Ye Mansion also stopped almost at the same time, and King Qing and King Wu, who had not seen each other for a long time, ran into the Ye Mansion quickly under the umbrella of the subordinates.

With the appearance of Zhao Shichun, King of Wu, and Zhao Kai, King of Qing, in the front hall of Ye Mansion, Zhu Xi got up to say goodbye to Ye Qing with satisfaction.

King Wu and King Qing watched Zhu Xi walk out of the front hall generously with some inexplicability, and after disappearing into the rain under the guidance of the subordinates of Ye Mansion, they looked back at Ye Qing with a smile on his face, and asked unconsciously: "When did King Yan get so close to Zhu Xi again?" Aren't you afraid that one day Zhu Xi will slander your reputation again? ”

"At this time and that time, Zhu Xi has now completely withdrawn from the court, if I still hold on to the grievances of the past, wouldn't it seem that I am too intolerant?" Ye Qing said with a smile after inviting the two of them to sit down.

King Wu Zhao Shichun looked at Ye Qing with a smile, shook his head and teased: "If it is really like what King Yan said, I am afraid that there will be no jealous and hateful people in this world." ”

"Does this king look like that kind of small-bellied chicken intestine?" Ye Qing was not angry, looked at Zhao Shichun and asked with a smile.

King Qing looked a little worried on the side, looking at the two of them still having time to tease, as long as he said out loud: "King Wu, King Yan, let's get down to business." ”

"Okay, King Qing doesn't know what he wants to say?" Ye Qing turned his head and looked at King Qing Zhao Kai and asked.

King Qing glanced at Zhao Shichun, and then sighed slightly and said, "These days...... Rong Guogong has come to my mansion, and there is an implication in his words to win over, naturally, why do you want to win me over, presumably I don't need to say this, right? ”

"I'm like King Qing, and Rong Guogong has also wooed me. The reason, of course...... King Yan was not a clan but was crowned king, which he felt he could understand, after all, he was a meritorious man, and the entire northern land was recovered, no matter what, King Yan was indispensable. But...... Now King Yan is clinging to the power of the northern land, and he is obviously interested in the imperial court

Two hearts, so ...... Rong Guogong's meaning is obvious, he is not jealous that you have been given the title of King Yan, the reason why he wants to impeach and suppress you is from the perspective of the clan and for the sake of the future of the Great Song Dynasty. So he wants me to be on the same side as him at this time. Wu King Zhao Shichun explained to Ye Qing.

"I wonder what the two of you think? Promised? Ye Qing looked down at the teacup in his hand and asked lightly.

"Yes, because he has the secret decree of the Holy One in his hand." Zhao Shichun and Zhao Kai said in unison.

Ye Qing looked up at the rain outside the window and breathed a sigh of relief: "It seems that the one who should come still has to come, and it can't be avoided." ”

Zhao Shichun and Zhao Kai glanced at each other, the reason why they agreed was also because they were at Ye Qing's request, but they just pretended to agree to Zhao Shikui, after all, at the beginning, they didn't believe it too much, with Ye Qing's current achievements, it would even attract the suspicion of the court and the saints, and they didn't believe it too much, Rongguo Gong Zhao Shikui was really jealous of Ye Qing being named King Yan, so he took this opportunity to announce his personal vendetta.

And Ye Qing asked them to agree to Rong Guogong's request, although it can't be fully proved that Rong Guogong Zhao Shikui really wants to suppress Ye Qing, but at least he can see some clues.

Even the two of them have had too much contact with Zhao Shikui during this time, and they have faintly felt that Zhao Shikui's ambition is constantly expanding, and they originally thought that they were just jealous of Ye Qing being crowned king, but as Zhao Shikui got bigger and bigger and more actions in the past few days, Zhao Shichun and Zhao Kai had to wonder if Zhao Shikui wanted to emulate Zhao Ruyu back then, and also be able to occupy a place in the court, not because of the stability of the court to suppress Ye Qing.

"Then what is King Yan going to do? I don't really have to ...... with the saints. Zhao Kai asked worriedly.

Ye Qing looked at him and smiled bitterly, then shook his head and said, "If I really want to do that, wouldn't it just be exactly what Master Zhao wanted?" Isn't it really a chaotic minister and thief, and let the world scold him? ”

"But now it seems that the Holy Lord has obviously believed in Zhao Shikui, otherwise, Zhao Shikui would not have been running around Lin'an all these days." Zhao Shichun was more worried about Ye Qing than Zhao Kai emotionally.

His promotion to King Wu is somewhat related to Ye Qing, and after some time, the Queen Mother may also issue an order to marry his two precious daughters to Ye Qing's two sons who are far away in Yanjing, so Ye Qing's current predicament has even involved his personal interests for him.

"If you ask the Queen Mother to come forward and help you clear up your doubts in front of the Holy ......." Zhao Shichun tentatively came up with an idea.

"The Holy Lord is already an adult, obviously he has his own decisions, and even if the Queen Mother trusts me Ye Qing, but now she can't reverse it alone." Ye Qing bit his lip lightly and said.

Then after looking at the two people with rather heavy expressions, he thought for a moment and said, "At present, I am afraid that only by letting the Holy Lord see the truth of the matter, and letting him see with his own eyes who is loyal and who is the traitor, may be able to completely resolve the suspicion between me and the Holy Lord." ”

"Yes...... There's nothing you can do now, isn't it? Rong Guogong is now deeply trusted by the saints, and there is Shi Miyuan behind him to help and help you, all of which is extremely unfavorable to you. If you want to convince the Holy One, I'm afraid...... Not that easy, right? Zhao Kai frowned, then raised his head and said, "If it is up to me and King Wu to ...... in front of the saint." ”

"That will only make the saint more suspicious of me, don't forget, you two are in Lin'an, and you are also considered to be half of the people of the Northland, will the saint fully believe what you say?" Ye Qing immediately refused.

Zhao Kai and Zhao Shichun sighed helplessly, in fact, they themselves know this very well, Wu King Zhao Shichun now has a large family business in the north, although King Qing did not have the same family business as King Wu, but in the matter of building Kaifeng Mansion to stay in the capital, Zhao Kai's support for Ye Qing's Northern Expedition has embezzled the money and food of the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Households, which has made it difficult for the saint to believe that he and Ye Qing are not out of the same nostril.

So in the final analysis, because of the various things they had in the Northland, they couldn't get the trust of Zhao Shikui in front of Zhao Kuo, and naturally, it was because of their various things in the Northland that Zhao Shikui, the Duke of Rongguo, was able to successfully get the unconditional trust of the current saint Zhao Kuo after Zhao Kuo succeeded to the throne.

"But you can't sit still. By the way, in addition to Rong Guogong, who is quite trusted by the saint, Li Lifang, the secretary of the household department, has always had a very close relationship with the saint, if Li Lifang comes forward to mediate for you in front of the saint...... By the way, why hasn't he come yet? Zhao Shikui said halfway, and unconsciously looked out the window, today Ye Qing originally invited the three of them to come to the mansion to discuss things.

"Li Lifang has been recruited into the palace by the saint, so I'm afraid I won't be able to catch up for a while." Ye Qing explained.

"I see, ......." Zhao Shichun and Zhao Kai couldn't help but feel relieved, obviously Ye Qing also thought of this, that is, to use the special relationship between Li Lifang and the Holy Lord to help him mediate and resolve the suspicion of the Holy Lord's suspicion of him.

"But it wasn't to speak for me in front of the Holy One, and I also told him not to intercede or say good things for me after seeing the Holy One, because that would only backfire." Ye Qing seemed to see through the minds of the two people, and immediately poured cold water without hesitation.

"Huh? You...... Didn't you miss out on a great opportunity for nothing? Zhao Shichun was a little surprised.

Ye Qing, on the other hand, shook his head with a mysterious smile and said, "Don't know how to forbear." What's more, this kind of day is coming to an end, and maybe when this rain stops, all the fog will completely disappear. ”

"What does King Yan mean by this?" Zhao Kai asked steadily.

"Some people are starting to lose their breath, and they will inevitably show their feet in a short period of time." The smile on the corner of Ye Qing's mouth was even more meaningful, and then he took a deep breath and said, "Inviting the two of you to come to the mansion to narrate today is to discuss something. ”

"King Yan might as well say bluntly, as long as the two of us can help, we must be willing to do it." Zhao Kai was the first to speak, and King Wu on the side also nodded vigorously.

"Several state capitals in the north have been handed over to the imperial court for control and governance, but if I remember correctly, the criminal law of the northern land seems to still be firmly in his hands since the last time King Qing returned to Lin'an to negotiate with the imperial court, right?" Ye Qing asked after a deep groan.

"That's natural, as long as your Yan King doesn't let me go, then I won't give it away." Zhao Kai said seriously.

The last time he returned to Lin'an with Ye Qing, although many things happened in the palace, after Ye Qing left Lin'an, he and King Wu still stayed in Lin'an, running for the criminal law of the northern land.

At that time, Li Lifang was still the secretary of the Criminal Department, and Dali Temple was tightly controlled by Bi Zaiyu's hands, so since Ye Qing left Lin'an, Zhao Kai did not make much effort to control the criminal law of the northern land.

As a result, when punishing officials, Beidi can completely do not need to go through the approval of Dali Temple, the Criminal Department and even the Yushitai, just like the imperial examination that Beidi is now promoting, it does not need to be approved by the imperial court again, and it can be directly appointed and then reported to the imperial court.

"Here is a list collected by the Imperial City Division in the past six months." Ye Qing took out a letter from his sleeve pocket and handed it to Zhao Kai, watched Zhao Kai open it impatiently, and continued: "These people all passed through Shi Miyuan's door after I returned the various state capitals to the imperial court last year

Or the officials of his henchmen who then went to the Northland to serve as dispatches, some have been on duty in the Northland for more than half a year, some have only been in the Northland for three or two months, and even one has been ...... less than a month. ”

"...... this?" Zhao Kai was a little confused and said, "I want to send these people back to Lin'an ...... again." ”

Ye Qing shook his head, and then said calmly: "It's not true, but because after these people take office, the first thing they do is to increase the taxes in various places, or the silver taels of the Ink Transit Division, or even the money of the officials under their command." Now that the Imperial City Division has more or less evidence of each of them, I want ....... ”

Ye Qing quietly looked at Zhao Kai's serious and surprised face, and said in a deep voice: "What I want is for them to confess their guilt in the Northland, and sign and draw evidence of their bribery of Shi Miyuan and his henchmen, including the exact amount of silver they each gave Shi Miyuan." ”

"Interrogation in the Northlands?" Zhao Kai's eyes widened and confirmed: "Without going through the imperial court, the Criminal Department and Dali Temple ......." ”

"I'll say hello when I meet there again, as for the current ...... of the Criminal Department." When Ye Qing said this, he sighed unconsciously.

Li Lifang's goods, originally in the Criminal Department, were actually the most helpful to him Ye Qing, but this goods seemed to be only a few cups of tea for anything, plus at that time he was going to the Northern Expedition, and he was short of silver at hand, and he also needed to move the money from the user department in order to keep the Kaifeng Mansion as the capital, so Ye Qing had to support Li Lifang in the end.

As the saying goes, fish and bear's paws can't have both, since Li Lifang went to the household department, then the criminal department will definitely not be used by Ye Qing again, plus the competition between Xie Shenfu and Li Xinchuan, but in the end, Han Yanjia was cheaper, and although Han Yanjia has no power above the court, but the daughter of the family is the most favored "palace maid" in front of the current saint Zhao Kuo, so no matter how bold Ye Qing is, he does not dare to provoke Han Yanjia easily at this time.

In this way, it is impossible for Ye Qing to bring those corrupt and misappropriated officials in the north back to Lin'an for trial with conclusive evidence, although this can make it more convenient for him to deal with Shi Miyuan, but there are too many uncertain factors, once Han Yanjia, the secretary of the criminal department, wants to intervene, even Ye Qing is not very easy to oppose.

After all, even if he didn't give Han Yanjia face, Ye Qing would have to take care of the current saint Zhao Kuocai behind Han Yanjia.

So at the moment, Ye Qing can only let Zhao Kai go back to the north tirelessly, and after everything is confirmed, and then bring those incriminating evidence back to Lin'an.

Ye Qing's purpose is now obvious, it is obvious that he wants to completely pull out all the foundations of Shi Miyuan in Lin'an in one fell swoop, and although the evidence of bribing him in the north is not enough to put him to death, Ye Qing believes that at least it can be the last straw that crushes the camel.

Shi Miyuan is bound to put himself to death this time, after all, the current situation is different from the previous royal family's attitude towards Ye Qingshi, whether it is Emperor Taishang or Emperor Xiaozong, Emperor Gaozong at least there are some hesitant knots towards Ye Qing, and here in Zhao Kuo, Ye Qing does not take any advantage at all, so once he fights with Rong Guogong or Shi Miyuan, Zhao Kuo's position will inevitably be on Shi Miyuan's side.

"But if you go back and forth like this, the time will be ......." Zhao Kai shook his head with some urgency.

It will take two or three months to go back and forth, and the waves under the calm rain in Lin'an City are strange at the moment, and it is obviously impossible to wait for the time when he returns.

"Xin Qiji has gone from Yangzhou to Jinan Mansion, but all the officials in the state capitals who are related to Shi Miyuan's party have been detained and controlled now, and the reason why there is no news in Lin'an City now is because the Imperial City Division has already blocked the news." Ye Qing said seriously.

And Zhao Kai and Zhao Shichun looked at each other a little, the first thing they thought of in their minds was Bai Chun and Liu Lan'er, after so many years, the two of them also knew more or less that Bai Chun and Liu Lan'er actually controlled many unknown things in their hands.

Even most of the news from east to west and from south to north in the north went through the hands of Bai Chun and Liu Lan'er, and then reached Ye Qing's hands after screening.

"You need to rush to Jinan Mansion, and you have to be fast." Ye Qing continued seriously: "It is rumored that the Holy Lord may send Xie Shenfu to Jinan Mansion to serve as the prefect soon, so now we must take down all this matter before Xie Shenfu. ”

"But if anything changes......." Zhao Kai frowned, and his mind was already thinking about how to start the dispatch that Ye Qing had given him after he returned to the Northland.

"It's very simple, if the plan can't catch up with the change, then you and Xin Qiji will take everyone to Yangzhou." Ye Qing explained.

"But what if someone doesn't plead guilty?" Zhao Shichun asked on the side.

A smile appeared at the corner of Ye Qing's mouth, and he said a little coldly: "Under the torture of the Imperial City Division, I am not afraid that they will not recruit, not to mention that these are not made up by us, it is not too difficult to make them confess and sign and detain." Xin Qiji has now started to sort out the manpower in Jinan Mansion, and King Qing just needs to make everything look legal, and use the identity of King Qing's clan to let them know that the general trend has gone, so ...... This is also the reason why King Qing had to go to the Northland. ”

Zhao Kai lowered his head and thought for a moment, then nodded and said firmly: "Okay, then when do I need to go?" ”

"It's better now." Ye Qing looked at Zhao Kai and said.

Zhao Kai nodded, and then suddenly smiled and said, "I'm afraid that the carriage Yan Wang has already arranged it for me, right?" ”

"Mo Xiaobao will pick some flower soldiers to escort you to Jinan Mansion, because of the rain, so you need to take the waterway all the way." Ye Qing said without denying it.

"Okay, in that case, I'll set out right away and try to complete this as soon as possible." Qingwang Zhao Kai then got up and said.

Watching Mo Xiaobao and King Qing Zhao Kai leave in a carriage, King Wu Zhao Shichun let out a long sigh: "I hope that King Qing will not let Shi Miyuan and them notice anything when they go out of the city, if they find out, it is not ruled out that they will intercept the boat ...... halfway." ”

"Intercepting ships?" Ye Qing raised his eyebrows and sneered: "Is there no water army in the army of the Northland?" ”

"You ......." Zhao Shichun was stunned for a moment, and then understood: "The ship of the navy is coming to pick up King Qing?" Not on a passenger ship? ”

"If it hadn't been raining heavily in the past few days, I'm afraid I would have let King Qing set off a long time ago." Ye Qing looked up at the still gloomy sky, and continued: "I hope that the few days that have been delayed by me will not affect anything." ”

"The waterway will be very fast, and there shouldn't be any delay." Zhao Shichun said as he and Ye Qing turned around and prepared to walk towards the mansion, but just as they turned around, they saw an extremely luxurious and wide sedan chair, which was walking quickly in their direction at this moment.

"This burnt bun has to sit in a sedan chair on a rainy day." Ye Qing frowned slightly.

Zhao Shichun also looked back at the sedan chair and said with a smile: "Lord Li can't do without this sedan chair now, this is the only luxurious sedan chair in the entire Lin'an City that is comparable to the sedan chair of the saint." ”

"Wait for me in a moment." Just when Ye Qing and Zhao Shichun were about to walk back to the house first, Li Lifang's voice came from behind them, and before the sedan chair stopped, Li Lifang had already opened the sedan door, lifted the sedan curtain, and greeted Ye Qing and Zhao Shichun.