Haitao and the others came out of the courtyard and parted ways. The Jinyi guards returned to the noon gate on duty, and Haitao and a eunuch continued to walk forward. The brick and stone streets between the courtyards of the eunuchs and yamen are glowing with the luster of stagnant water.

It didn't rain much, but the two eunuchs were carrying umbrellas. Haitao's umbrella was pressed very low, covering his upper body very tightly, and the eunuchs who occasionally passed by on the road could not see his face. However, the hem of his robe had been splashed with water, and it was completely wet.

They came to the Imperial Horse Prison to find Wang Jinghong.

Since the Yongle Dynasty, the celebrant has commanded all the eunuchs and eunuchs of the Inner Palace, the Twelve Eunuchs, the Fourth Division, and the Eighth Bureau, and has become the most powerful eunuch yamen. In the past, Zheng He, Wang Jinghong, Hou Xian and other cadres were all ceremonial eunuchs; But after the Hong Xi Dynasty, it was impossible for them to serve as the celebrant supervisor. The person in charge of the celebrant was replaced by Yang Qing, Brother Meng and others headed by Haitao.

At this time, Wang Jinghong had been reappointed as the eunuch of the imperial horse eunuch.

It's just that two years ago, Haitao didn't even dare to let out a fart in front of Wang Jinghong. However, at this time, Wang Jinghong greeted the gate of the Imperial Horse Prison, and was constantly nodding his head, very respectful to Haitao.

Wang Jinghong is a middle-aged man in his forties, with a thin body, and when he came back from going to sea last year, his face was even darker by the sea breeze. His physiognomy looks a little weird at first glance, but on closer inspection, his facial features are generally very upright; It's just that the details of his facial features are different from ordinary people, such as his lips are thick in the middle and thin on both sides, which is very abrupt.

"Haigong kilometers please." Wang Jinghong bent down and made a gesture.

"No, no." Haitao waved his hand. He then pondered for a moment, really a little hesitant, but finally reached into his sleeve pocket, took out the wooden boat mold, and handed it to Wang Jinghong, "Zheng He asked our family to give it to the prince." ”

Wang Jinghong caught it with both hands.

Haitao was about to leave, but suddenly turned his head and said: "By the way, Zheng Heyan, if it is inconvenient for the prince to have this thing, he can give it to Hou Xian." He also said that we eunuchs can't pass on the incense, but things have to be passed on...... Gonggong Zheng still can't let go of big things in his heart. ”

Of course, Haitao is not easy to say, if your life is not guaranteed, give it to Hou Xian; He changed Zheng He's original words a little so as not to be too harsh.

Wang Jinghong thanked him, hugged his fists and said, "Congratulations to Grandpa Hai." ”

…… Wang Jinghong stood at the door, maintaining a posture of pretentiousness for a long time. When Haitao's figure disappeared into the corner, he straightened up and returned to the lobby.

On rainy days, there is almost no need for horses in the palace, and the imperial horse supervisor is very idle now; The lobby was open, but there wasn't necessarily a single errand boy for half a day. Wang Jinghong took the wooden boat and played with it repeatedly.

Looking at this thing, he thought of the words brought by Haitao, and he already had a premonition that Gonggong Zheng was a little bad.

Sure enough, after a while, a eunuch hurriedly walked into the lobby, came to Wang Jinghong's side, bowed his head and whispered a few words. Wang Jinghong's face gradually turned pale.

For a while, Wang Jinghong felt a little desolate. Maybe it's because of the withering of the grass and trees in the cold rain, or maybe it's because of the sadness of the dead rabbit and fox.

However, in addition to the sad feelings, Wang Jinghong still felt a faint hope from the depths of his heart. At this moment, he knew that it was wrong to have such an idea, after all, Zheng He had always treated him well. But he still couldn't help himself, and he couldn't lie to himself.

Wang Jinghong stared at the small wooden boat placed on the public desk, as if he saw a lean villain standing at the front of the deck. The villain has vaguely become himself, facing the boundless sea, looking forward to the wind and full of ambition!

Soon Wang Jinghong put away this illusion of little hope and continued to ponder the boat.

After a while, Wang Jinghong sat up straight, stretched out his left hand, and picked up the boat again. Then he accurately grasped the mast and the carved wooden sail with his right hand, and pulled it up with all his might! The moment the mast detached from the hull, it was as if the mortise and tenon joint had been lifted, and the entire wooden mold was split into two pieces.

A piece of paper folded into small squares fell out of it. Wang Jinghong picked up the paper and opened it, and saw that there were words written on it: One hundred taels of gold. There are two words with different handwriting on the back: Yang Qing.

Wang Jinghong's expression suddenly changed subtly. He carefully put away the things on the table, stood up, beckoned the eunuch outside the door to come in, and said in a deep voice: "Go and invite Gonggong Hou immediately." ”

"Son, let's go!" The eunuch said busily.

Zheng He, Wang Jinghong, and Hou Xian have always been several people who have a good relationship; When the first emperor was a vassal king, he set up a eunuch school in the palace, and several of them were the first eunuchs to study, and they could be regarded as classmates.

Now that he ascended the throne, of course, he preferred to use the eunuchs who were close to him, and several of them were transferred out of the celebrant eunuchs; The so-called once a son of heaven and a courtier, Wang Jinghong and others are not in a good situation...... Therefore, Wang Jinghong was very careful and rarely interacted with Hou Xian, so as not to be secretly accused of forming a party.

But now, he can't care so much about this matter, and he must consult with Hou Xian!

It didn't take long for Hou Xian to come to the signing room of the Imperial Horse Supervisor. Wang Jinghong instructed his godson to keep watch in the lobby outside, and he took Hou Xian into the house.

Hou Xian is older than Wang Jinghong, and his temples are already gray, but his figure is burlier than Wang Jinghong, and his facial bones are very prominent. Because Hou Xian was captured by the Ming army when he was a little older and became a eunuch, he looked more like a man.

Wang Jinghong briefly said a few words, his voice was very low, and then showed the wooden boat and paper to Hou Xian.

"Gonggong Hou has been in charge of Yanwang Mansion for a long time, so he should know more about it." Wang Jinghong said quietly.

Hou Xian's face gradually turned red, and anger seemed to overflow from the thick pores! He said in a deep voice: "Gonggong Zheng's revenge, if we don't avenge it; In the future, when we die, who will report it? ”

"Shh Wang Jinghong frowned and turned his head to look, "Gonggong Hou is angry." This has to be considered in the long run...... Why don't you talk about it carefully, how much is there here? ”

Hou Xian sat on the chair without saying a word, he breathed heavily for a while, and finally calmed down a little. Hou Xian pointed to the words on the paper and said, "Except for the name of the signature, the other words should be written by Huang Yan." ”

Wang Jinghong looked thoughtful and nodded slightly.

Hou Xian continued: "Huang Yan and Gonggong Zheng have a grudge, there are not twenty years, there are ten years is certain. At that time, the two were both close servants of the first emperor and were deeply trusted by the first emperor; But Huang Yan was extremely jealous, and gradually fought secretly with Gonggong Zheng, and dismantled each other several times. And because Huang Yan was close to King Zhao (Gao Sui), the first emperor finally sent Huang Yan to wait for King Zhao in order to separate the two.

Huang Yan regarded it as an expulsion, and settled the account on Gonggong Zheng's head, and slandered in front of the emperor at the slightest opportunity, and secretly rectified Gonggong Zheng many times, and the grudge was never resolved! This time it must have been Huang Yan's doing, he wanted to take advantage of the situation and put Gonggong Zheng to death! ”

Wang Jinghong suddenly said: "So, Yang Qing is Huang Yan's person? Yang Qing backed Huang Yan's relationship and property, and hooked up with the popular eunuch Haitao, and then entered the celebrant eunuch; So that there is a chance to slander the emperor and queen?

And 'one hundred taels of gold' was written by Huang Yan himself. Huang Yan sent his henchmen to Beijing from Beiping with hard goods, and he was afraid that the eunuchs who ran errands would fill their pockets, so he wrote a note in his own hand, so that after Yang Qing signed the detention, he would take it back and check ......"

Hou Xian nodded and said: "At the moment, these things have not been confirmed, but we are sure that most of them are exactly like this!" Except for Huang Yan, who would deliberately spend money and manpower to deal with Gonggong Zheng? ”

Wang Jinghong thought for a while and asked, "Then how did this note get into Gonggong Zheng's hands?" ”

Hou Xian shook his head. The cause and effect of this is really difficult for them to know now.

Wang Jinghong said in a deep voice: "Therefore, our family advises you to calm your anger and don't be anxious." There is a debtor and a debtor! Although Yang Qing is hateful, the worst person is not Yang Qing, but Huang Yan hiding behind him. ”

Hou Xiandao: "If this thief does not die, it is difficult to eliminate the hatred in our family's hearts!" We must break it to pieces! Although he agreed with Wang Jinghong's meaning, his emotions were still very excited.

Wang Jinghong was much calmer, he pointed to the two-petaled wooden boat, "This boat ......"

"There's something in there?" Hou Xian watched intently.

Wang Jinghong shook his head and said, "Gonggong Zheng is a person with big ambitions and big hearts. He hid his things in a wooden boat, and what he did should not only be to make us revenge, but also to have a greater lodge. Otherwise, why didn't Gonggong Zheng hide the note elsewhere and carve out a boat? Gonggong Zheng should also make arrangements as early as possible and give us things in advance. ”

"Makes sense." Hou Xian said, "Since Gonggong Zheng was alert, why didn't he tell us half a sentence?" ”

Wang Jinghong said: "That's why our family thinks that Gonggong Zheng has other intentions. At the cost of his life, he said something silent so that we would not despise his hopes: this sea ship! I hope we will find a way to continue to pass on the major events of going to sea; And this is also the great ambition of Emperor Taizong of the Ming Dynasty that we are loyal to! ”

On the temples in front of Hou Xianhua's white sideburns, the green tendons bulged, and he turned his head and wiped his eyes vigorously with his sleeve.

Wang Jinghong sighed and said, "But it's too difficult." The current emperor seems to have no intention of this, and without the emperor coming forward to overcome public opinion, it is impossible for the imperial court to allow the sea ship to continue sailing. ”

The two sat opposite each other, speechless for a long time.

The autumn rain outside the window is still falling, and there is no thunder in the clouds at the turn of autumn and winter. There was no one in the courtyard either, and for a while it seemed very silent, dead silent!

In this damp and dead atmosphere, the silent Wang Jinghong felt very dull and depressed.

Wang Jinghong looked out the window, and seemed to see the scene in his dream, the choppy sea! Rows of huge ships swayed to the roar of the waves, and military flags with the word "Ming" written on them were vigorously unfurled. And Zheng He seemed to be standing in the rain, facing the waves, his body appeared particularly tall, and his cloak flew into the air in the wind and waves; The battleship was jolting, but his body stood motionless, quietly looking into the distance, the endless future.