In late spring, the vegetation of Chengdu is very lush. The quaint commander of the envoy is also like a garden.

In the depths of the trees, incense is burned. Xiping Hou Musheng was sitting on a futon on a stone bench, looking at the chessboard on the stone table in front of him. Across the stone table, sat a young lady with a slightly bulging belly.

At this time, a middle-aged man in a cloth robe walked over, leaned over and whispered in Mu Sheng's ear: "General Xu has arrived, bring the guests." ”

"General Xu, please." Mu Sheng commanded. He then raised his head and looked at the maid holding the wooden plate opposite, "Mrs. Fushayi go into the house and rest for a while, be careful." ”

After hearing this, Shayi, the little lady of the Yi tribe, stood up with interest, and bent her knees and said, "The concubine is retired." ”

It didn't take long for Xu Tao, the left deputy general of Mu Shengjun, to walk in alone. He hugged his fists and saluted, then approached and whispered: "Master Hou, the person who came is Zhang He, the head of the household department, and I heard that he is the son-in-law of Lu Zhen, the secretary of the criminal department. This man did not go to Huguang, but came from Shaanxi, and was caught by Wei Dudu's men on the ground in Guangyuan. ”

Xu Tao took out an envelope, the lacquer seal on it was damaged, and the letter had been torn. Mu Sheng received it in his hand and asked, "Wei Dakai's letter?" ”

"Yes." Xu Tao said.

The letter was written with the words of Lu Zhen, the secretary of the Criminal Department. Saying that Guo Zi, the head of the household department, had contributed to the imperial court and was now in the hands of the king of Han, please send officials to negotiate and pardon Shi Qianxun, the left chief of the Han Dynasty, and others. There is Lu Zhen's name and seal below. Emperor Zhu Bi replied: quasi-play.

Mu Sheng read it twice and put the letter on the stone table, but he didn't respond for a long time.

Xu Tao finally couldn't help but remind again: "That Zhang He is waiting outside the lobby of the capital. ”

"Lu Zhen's son-in-law, take the Shaanxi detour......" Mu Sheng frowned with a thoughtful expression.

Xu Tao listened and asked in a low voice, "Is there something strange here?" ”

Mu Sheng said: "Of course it's weird! Lu Zhen has always been a henchman of the East Palace, and during the Taizong Dynasty, it was his son-in-law Zhang He who lost his honor when he saw it, but was forgiven by the prince; Then both of their sons-in-law had been imprisoned for the prince. Although Guo Zi is an important figure, the imperial court does not need to send another henchman to the enemy territory, right? ”

Xu Tao suddenly gave a thumbs up and said, "Hou Ye Gao!" He then said in confusion, "What is Zhang He doing here?" ”

Mu Sheng said: "How do I know? ”

Xu Tao said: "Ask him to come in and ask." ”

Mu Sheng shook his head and said, "Slow! ”

Mu Sheng stood up from the stone bench, paced back and forth, and suddenly stood in place again, turning around: "Send him to Yunnan immediately!" Along with this letter, it was handed over to the King of Han. ”

Xu Tao was stunned for a moment, hugged his fists and said: "The last general will be ordered!" ”

Mu Sheng beckoned again and whispered, "Try to get him to tell him the inside story on the way." Tell him that if you don't say it, you won't have a chance. ”

"The last will understand."

As soon as Xu Tao left, Lu Liangwei commanded Chen Zhen to come in. Chen Zhen did not wear armor and wore a red official uniform, which at first glance looked similar to the clothes worn by civil officials, but the difference was the complement on the chest. The military attache of the Ming Dynasty has a high grade, and he is also a guard commander and a third-grade official, while the civil official in charge of a county is only a low-level official.

Chen Zhen came over with a dossier and presented it to Mu Sheng. Mu Sheng flipped through it casually, and it was almost all confessions written in small characters, and asked, "Tell me the result." ”

"The last general sent someone to interrogate the troupe and servants of the Shu Wangfu that day, and interrogated the relevant people. The assassin of the day may have a lot to do with the Shu Palace! It's just that there is no evidence, and he doesn't dare to interrogate the king of Shu easily for a while. ”

Mu Sheng listened to it and said categorically: "This case is over!" The dossier was given to Xu Tao and asked him to send it to Kunming as well. ”

…… The cavalry escorting the imperial envoys stayed in Longquan Post City that night. They had to first arrive at Luzhou, where the political envoy was in Sichuan, and then take the Usada Luzhou Road to Yunnan. Along the way is an important post road in the three southwestern provinces, the post Ding horses are sufficient, and it will not take long for a team of people to ride horses to Kunming.

There was almost no change in the officials and servants of the post station, and they still received the money. The Sichuan Political Envoy sent a newspaper telling everyone that officials at all levels only had to obey the decree of the Political Envoy and conform to the laws of the Ming Dynasty. Those who seek government in their positions need not worry about the rest; Those who disobey the decree will be severely punished according to the law of the Ming Dynasty!

Therefore, the officials of the post stations in various prefectures, prefectures and counties, no matter who was justified by the emperor and the king of Han, did not directly follow the orders of the Zhu family and only managed the decrees of the three divisions. The officials of the Third Division of Sichuan, whose industrial fields were protected by Mu Sheng's army, had already made friends with Mu Sheng and others in just a few months, and had a harmonious relationship.

In the evening of the same day, Xu Tao asked his henchmen to guard the guest room where Zhang He lived. After the sun went down, he dressed up in cloth and walked into Zhang He's room.

Zhang He is a young man with a white face and a dignified appearance. Xu Tao saw Zhang He get up and saluted, and politely hugged his fists in return. Xu Tao spoke first: "This general is Xu Tao, the left deputy general of the Xiping Marquis Army. Hongwuzhong, who would have followed the king of Qianning to conquer all parts of Yunnan, served in Mu Mansion for many years, and served as the chief military officer of Dali Mansion in the last years of Hongwu. ”

When Zhang He heard this, he showed a sudden expression on his face, and said, "In the next Zhang He, he is now the head of the household department." ”

Xu Tao said: "Ben will be ordered by the Marquis of Xiping to send Director Zhang to Yunnan to see the King of Han......" He said that he wanted to stop talking here, and temporarily changed his words, "While we are resting at the post station, Ben will want to tell Master Zhang, your errand has to be decided by the King of Han." If you want to run an errand, don't think about running away on the way. Got it? ”

Zhang He nodded, groaning.

After a long time, he spoke: "General Xu, there are some words that I have to face the Marquis of Xiping...... About the murder of Mu Bin, the son of the Marquis of Xiping. Mu Bin was stabbed, and the officials of the DPRK and China have the responsibility of poor protection, but it is definitely not the work of the imperial court!

Xipinghou may not believe in the words of the next, but as long as you think carefully, you can distinguish right from wrong. After the king of Han fled from Beijing, the saint once wanted to crown the Marquis of Xiping as the prince of the country, and he did not hesitate to dissuade the Marquis of Xiping from a high position, how could he kill the son Mu Bin? After this happened, wouldn't it be clear who would benefit? ”

Xu Tao said cautiously: "The Marquis of Xiping is loyal to the King of Han, with your three-inch tongue, can you easily provoke it?" ”

"You can't say it so badly." Zhang He frowned and said, "Where are you stirring up?" But according to the truth! The saint also made a promise that as long as the Marquis of Xiping was lost and knew that he would make up for his mistakes, he would not be to blame for the past, and he would still be crowned as the prince of the country. The Marquis of Xiping was bewildered by the Gu of the Han Dynasty and made a mistake for a while, which is also excusable......"

Xu Tao said coldly: "How can Xiping Hou be a half-hearted person? You don't have to say it. ”

As soon as he walked out of the door, he called his henchmen at the door to follow. Xu Tao immediately wrote a secret letter, asking his henchman Wu to set off tomorrow morning and send the secret letter to Mu Sheng to the Yamen of the Commander of the Metropolitan Command.

……

Not long ago, Guo's house was raided, Guo Ming was arrested, and he was imprisoned in Fusi Prison in Beizhen. A servant in charge of Guo's mansion, who was given the name Xu Shun, fled, and hurried to Guizhou. The slave was found by Liu Yingjun's scouts in Guizhou and escorted to Kunming.

At the beginning of April, the servants of the Guo family arrived at the Han Palace. At this time, Zhu Gaoxu's family members have returned to Yunnan from Dali one after another. Zhu Gaoxu called the servant to meet the princess Guo Wei.

The slave has no letters, but knows Guo Wei. He was dressed in dust, and hurriedly reported: "The Jinyi Guard commanded Tan Qing, Xue Yan, the secretary of the Dali Temple, and Geng Tong took the Jinyi Guards to the house to raid the house and arrested the master!" A few days later, three judicial convictions were made, saying that our master collaborated with the king of Han, and had secretly ordered Lu Zhang, a thousand households of the defenders of Guizhou, to let the army of the king of Han go to the city! The court convicted the master of the death penalty and beheaded him after the autumn! The Guo family will be exiled to Liaodong......"

Guo Wei's face was pale, her eyes were distracted for a while, and her body was not very stable. Zhu Gaoxu hurriedly held her shoulders and stroked her back, and Guo Wei's hand grabbed Zhu Gaoxu's arm vigorously.

The slave Xu Shun continued: "Whoever the master sees and does, most of them tell the villain to handle it. This is an unjust case!

But there have been signs since last year...... At that time, the second prince (Zhan Kai) was suffering from convulsions, and there happened to be a priest who offered silver snake gall gall medicine and wine, and several Lang Zhong also said that this medicine could cure children's convulsions, and the master sent the medicine and wine into the palace. Unexpectedly, Emperor Taizong died soon after!

The silver krait itself was highly poisonous, and the lady was worried that this matter was not appropriate, and persuaded the master to flee and go to Yunnan. The master did not listen, but he did not expect to suffer this great disaster! ”

"Where's my sister?" Guo Wei asked in a trembling voice.

Xu Shun lowered his head and said: "The villain was in a hurry, and he failed to inquire about Concubine Guo's situation. ”

"Why is the eldest brother so ruthless! My sister was devoted to him, but he was so ...... to the Guo family" Guo Wei's tears slipped down her face, her voice was choked, and she could barely cry.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Don't worry, princess, if you are still alive, there is still room for redemption." ”

Guo Wei said with tears in her eyes: "But the three justices have been convicted, and they are going to behead my father." ”

"After the autumn, the emperor has to draw with a red pen, and the eldest brother will not sketch." Zhu Gaoxu said kindly, "Your father did not collude with me, I am sure of this!" If my eldest brother is just suspicious of him, the best thing to do is to spy on him without rushing to frame the charges. ”

Zhu Gaoxu continued: "And the news brought by Xu Shun, the eldest brother punished the Guo family, probably because of the silver snake gall medicine and wine; Then we can guess that the death of the first emperor is unknown, and he may have collapsed from poisoning. The eldest brother also wants to find out the truth, he will not kill the suspect and lose the clue, it is your father. ”

"Is that really the case?" Guo Wei looked at Zhu Gaoxu, and said busily, "My father would never do that kind of thing, and my sister is not such a vicious person!" The Guo family must have been wronged! ”

Zhu Gaoxu gently patted Guo Wei's back and said, "I believe in the princess, and I also believe in your father and sister." In the future, we must find out the truth and return the Guo family to innocence. ”

He then waved his hand and said, "Go down, ask Wang Gui to settle down for you, and rest first." ”

Xu Shun bowed and said: "The villain retired." ”

After the outsiders left, Zhu Gaoxu hugged Guo Wei again and comforted her with good words.

Was the death of the first emperor poisoned, and was it related to the Guo family? Zhu Gaoxu didn't know at all. Guo Zi, the secretary of the household department, didn't recruit him to kill, and Zhu Gaoxu was busy fighting before, so he didn't have time to ask.

Zhu Gaoxu said casually, just to comfort Guo Wei. Guo Ming already has a major crime of collaborating with the enemy, and he is not afraid of bites if there are many lice; If you follow Zhu Gaoxu's statement, Guo Ming will really not die for a while.