On the official road of 初 (chūn), the shallow grass is delicate and the air is fresh.

Ling Kun, Zhao Mingyue, and Shangguan Chengcheng rode fast horses and galloped, and after they received the holy decree, they rushed to the capital without stopping.

Zhao Heng's holy decree was very urgent, and no one knew what was going on, so they could only rush back as soon as possible. Besides, Chengdu is besieging the city and attacking slowly, so they don't need them for the time being.

In the afternoon of this day, the three of them hurried back to the capital and entered the palace to meet Zhao Heng, but the news came out from the palace that the emperor (shēn) was unwell, and today (rì) was gone, and tomorrow he would normally enter the morning court.

Ling Kun and Zhao Mingyue were very puzzled, what is this, is it urgent or not? However, they had no choice but to go home first.

In the early morning of the second (rì), Shangguan Chengcheng personally served Ling Kun in his official uniform and went to the court, and Zhao Mingyue also entered the palace with him.

Ling Kun hadn't been to the court for a long time, and he had exchanged pleasantries with the Manchu Dynasty along the way, and he couldn't see anything unusual.

With the sound of "The emperor has arrived", Zhao Heng strode out of it and sat on the dragon chair. The civil and military of the Manchu Dynasty knelt on the ground and saluted, and the mountain shouted long live.

Zhao Heng raised his hand and said, "Wai Li Ping (shēn)." Then he looked directly at Ling Kun and said, "Ling (ài) Qing is back?" It's been hard work along the way. ”

Ling Kunji said: "It's not hard to serve the emperor, but I don't know why the emperor recalled Weichen." ”

Zhao Heng nodded and said: "Jingdong East Road transfer envoy Lu (ài) Gong Lu (ài) Qing specially entered Beijing and participated in your copy, I hope to verify the matter as soon as possible." ”

"Join me?" Ling Kun looked at the ministers behind him suspiciously, he didn't know which one was Lu (ài) Gong and why he wanted to join him.

"Lu (ài) Qing, you can tell me." Zhao Heng said.

"Wechen obeys." I saw a civil official about 50 years old, (shēn) who was thin and weak, stood up and said: "Your Majesty, because General Ling is out of the horse, Jingdong East Road is protected from pirates, which is really the luck of the court and the people, it is said that Weichen should be grateful to the general, but Weichen recently discovered a new problem and had to report it to the emperor truthfully, otherwise the consequences may be unimaginable." ”

"It's a good thing that the pirates of the East turned around overnight and changed all of them to normal trade. However, Wechen learns that all the trade of the Dongying pirates is in the hands of two women, who are also said to be the women of the general. In this way, the 100,000 pirates in Dongying are actually in their hands

In the hands of the general, the trade income between the Central Plains and Dongying is also the private property of the general, and the general is now rich and rival the country, the soldiers are strong and strong, and the strength in all aspects is straight (bī) my Great Song Dynasty, so I have to guard against it. ”

As soon as these words came out, the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty were shocked. If this is the case, Ling Kun has all the pirate power in his hands, and all the income from the Chinese (rì) trade, then he can set himself up as king at any time. Moreover, he (shēn) was a great general, and he must have had his own forces in the Great Song army. If he wants to rebel, who can stop him?

Ling Kun (jìn) frowned, this is obviously a frame-up, but what he said is the truth, so that you can't refute it, he has no grievances with this Lu (ài) Gong, I don't know why I want to go against him.

Zhao Heng frowned and said: "Ling (ài) Qing, I believe in you, it just so happens that the Manchu Dynasty is full of civil and military forces, you can explain it to everyone." ”

"The minister is loyal to the emperor, there is no second heart, the Dongying trade is indeed controlled by two women, but they are not my women, the minister only cooperated with them to better control the pirates, this matter the minister told His Majesty." Ling Kun retorted.

"You did tell me about trade, but you didn't say anything about the two women, if they are really your women, then Ling (ài) Qing's business is a bit big, right?" Zhao Heng said with an unkind face.

"Your Majesty, they are really not the women of the ministers, the ministers are innocent with them, and the ministers can't get a penny when they trade."

Lu Gong interjected: "Your Majesty, the minister has already investigated, the pirate alliance leader of Dongying has already held a wedding with the general, and the president of the Dongying Chamber of Commerce in the Great Song Dynasty also claims to be the general's woman. ”

Ling Kun opened his mouth and was irrefutable, this matter should have been made clear from the beginning, but he was afraid that Zhao Mingyue and Shangguan Chengcheng would misunderstand, so he concealed it, but he didn't expect to plant a bomb for himself.

"Ling (ài) Qing, I said that I believe you, but you must give an explanation to the imperial court about this matter, do you think you can withstand the investigation?" Zhao Heng asked.

"Your Majesty, the minister has no selfish intentions in this matter, please ask the emperor to investigate."

"Okay, pass the decree down, temporarily put Ling Qing in prison and put him in the prison of the Criminal Department, Dali Temple is responsible for hearing the case within five days, and return Ling Qing to a clean slate, Ling Qing has no problem, right?"

Still going to prison? Ling Kun's eyes jumped, and he had a bad feeling, but he couldn't object at the moment, otherwise he would be weak-hearted. If you are imprisoned, you will be imprisoned, again

正一 (shēn) is not afraid of crooked shadows, and besides, a mere prison may not be able to hold him Ling Kun.

So he nodded and said, "Your Majesty, there is no problem with the minister." ”

Zhao Heng nodded, waved his hand and said, "Take Ling (ài) Qing down." ”

The Ouchi guards immediately rushed up and took Ling Kun to the Heavenly Prison. However, he did not take off his official uniform for him, nor did he put shackles on him, and he still drove luxury cars along the way. Maybe it's just a formality, Ling Kun lowered his heart slightly.

When he arrived at the prison, the cell boss greeted him early, bowed and said, "General, I know that you are coming, and the lower officials have specially prepared a place for you, so you are satisfied." ”

Ling Kun nodded and said, "My lord has a heart, I'm just a prisoner now." ”

The cell leader led Ling Kun to a big cage and said, "General, this is it, I can only wronged you for a few days. ”

Ling Kun looked carefully, the cage was very large, there was a lot of space, there was (chuáng) with brand-new bedding on it, and there was a small bookshelf (chuáng) with several books (tào) on it.

Look at this cage again, it is also a simple wooden cage, although the wood is thick, it looks rotten, and it can be smashed open by yourself with about one percent of the internal force.

So he nodded and said, "My lord has worked hard, this place is very good." He walked in.

The cell boss personally locked the cell door and said goodbye to Ling Kun.

Ling Kun took off his shoes, sat on the (chuáng), poured a cup of tea and tasted it slowly, and picked up a book casually, which turned out to be a palace fragrant book, but a good thing to pass the time.

In the upper study, Wang Qinruo came in and reported: "Your Majesty, Ling Kun has been put in a cage. ”

Zhao Heng exhaled a long breath, stood up and said, "Okay, call Mingyue to come." ”

The eunuch received the order and went out to invite Zhao Mingyue.

Kou Zhun couldn't help but sigh, he felt that this thing was really disgraceful, but he had to admit that this was the best way to settle the Western Xia, for the sake of the country and the court, he could only sacrifice this princess in Hengxin.

Zhao Mingyue entered the palace with Ling Kun early in the morning, chatting in Liu E's palace at the moment, and hurried to the study after receiving the command.

Zhao Heng's face was a little (rè), he didn't know how to speak, Kou Zhun couldn't help but lower his head, and the atmosphere in the study was very embarrassing for a while.

Zhao Mingyue frowned and said, "Brother Huang, what happened." ”