February 16, the end of the day.

As the night completely covered the land, the entire city of Beijing fell into silence again.

Because of the previous iron-fisted rectification in Daxing County, the number of people who committed night bans in the capital was greatly reduced, and there were almost no people in the streets and alleys.

However, in front of a grand mansion that covers an area of great size and extraordinary magnificence not far from the Forbidden City, there are still dozens of sedan cars parked at this moment, and many coachmen and sedan drivers are also gathered there to eat the dinner sent by the people of the house.

As for the inside of the mansion, it is even more crowded at this moment, full of friends, all holding wine glasses, and talking auspicious words of congratulations to the master sitting on the main seat. However, if someone takes a closer look, they will find that half of this group of people are slightly feminine, and their faces are smooth and delicate not like men, and they are a group of pure eunuchs.

They are the various stewards and eunuchs of the inner palace of the Forbidden City not far from here. As for the person who can be treated so respectfully by them and touted hard, it is naturally the big celebrity in front of today, the eunuch Wang Zhen, the master of ceremonies, and today is his birthday.

As the ancestor in the mouth of these eunuchs, his birthday is naturally for everyone to come over to express their gratitude. Of course, not any eunuch can sit in this hall, and now the one who sits in the farthest place is also the chief eunuch with a position in the palace, and there are also some officials in the court who have taken refuge in the prince early, as well as his cronies who have been running for many years.

After some flattery, the people close to him took out the birthday gifts they had carefully prepared one by one and presented them to Wang Zhen.

If it is an ordinary official, no matter how greedy it is, in order not to provoke criticism, this kind of thing is done secretly, for fear that others will know what he has received. But the prince obviously has no such concerns, not only does he receive gifts in public, but also likes to have people take things out and display them to prove the preciousness of the gifts.

After an official sent a famous painting he had worked hard to obtain and was approved by Wang Zhen, many people turned their eyes to the two men in brocade clothes sitting on either side of Wang Zhen on the main table.

Both of them are in their thirties, and their appearances are somewhat similar, one is slightly taller and thinner, and the other is stockier. The reason why they can sit on both sides of Wang Zhen is because their identities are different, they are a pair of brothers who are the most trusted of the prince, Ma Shun and Ma Shuo.

These two people are vicious and ruthless, and they were entered by Wang Zhenan as an errand in Jinyiwei early on, and became a chess piece to control Jinyiwei. Now, with the increasing power of the Zhenfu Division, it has gradually replaced the commander Xu Gong.

The other, who was fierce and combative, was sent into the army by Wang Zhen. It is said that the prince has recently promoted him to go further, but it is not known how far he will go.

These two Wang Zhen's henchmen, the birthday gifts they gave a few years ago were extremely valuable, and this time it will naturally not be bad. Even because they won the favor of the princes, in order not to make them ugly, no one else dared to come up with a better birthday gift than them.

It's just that in the past, they would give the birthday gift they prepared first, so that everyone could be prepared. But this year, they have been keeping it a secret, which makes everyone more curious about the birthday ceremony.

Wang Zhen's eyes also fell on the two brothers of the Ma family: "Why, didn't you prepare any congratulatory gifts for our family today?" ”

"How dare a little one?" Ma Shun smiled flatteringly, and looked at his brother again: "It's just that this baby may not satisfy your father-in-law." ”

"Our family doesn't believe this, no matter what you two do, you have won the heart of our family, and this congratulatory gift must be the most in line with our family's wishes, so don't hide it, take it out." The prince laughed.

When he said this, Ma Shuo on the side had already gotten up and walked outside the hall, gesturing to the people waiting in the outer room. Several of the subordinates who got the signal hurriedly lifted up the tall and heavy thing that had been hidden on the side.

Seeing this, the curiosity of the people next to him became even heavier. Generally speaking, gifts are smaller and more valuable, can such a bulky thing really get into the eyes of the prince? It's just that this thing is covered with a layer of red cloth to cover its true face, so everyone can't see why.

It was Wang Zhen, after taking a look at this thing from a distance, he showed a thoughtful expression, and then showed a satisfied smile. When Ma Shun next to him saw him like this, he knew that he had seen the face of things, so he nodded at his brother.

Ma Shuo didn't delay, and immediately reached out and tore off the red cloth, revealing the true face of the thing. Suddenly, the hall was full of red light, and all the guests let out a burst of amazement.

Those who can sit here to participate in Wang Zhen's birthday banquet are all people with extraordinary status and rich family backgrounds, and they naturally have a high vision. It's hard to surprise them with ordinary treasures, but this one in front of them is obviously very unusual.

This one is tall enough to be a man, and its whole body is vermilion, looking like a clump of coral rising in flames, there is hardly any trace of artificial carving or bumping. In other words, this coral is completely natural!

Coral is a precious thing, so it is rare to see it so complete, and its color and shape are so rare that it is enough to steal everyone's eyeballs. It was Wang Zhen, and at this time, a pair of eyes were also staring at the coral for a moment, full of greed and joy.

This coral alone compares the birthday gifts that everyone took out before, and it also convinces everyone a lot. No wonder this Ma family brother can be so favored by the prince, just this flattering mind is not comparable to others.

Wang Zhen's face was full of wrinkles with a smile, and he took a sip of wine from his wine glass, and then said with a smile: "Okay, even if you two little rabbit cubs have some thoughts, our family is very satisfied with this birthday gift." ”

Hearing him say this, the Ma family brothers also smiled on their faces, and quickly knelt down on one knee to congratulate Wang Zhen again, and then, Ma Shun said: "Father-in-law, in addition to this birthday gift, the little brother has also prepared another small gift for you, but this will have to wait until the banquet is over." ”

Wang Zhen scolded with a smile: "The two little cubs have a lot of tricks, it's just that, let's go back to the study later, and then give it to our family." ”

Looking at the people at the banquet touting Wang Zhen and the Ma family brothers, they admired the preciousness of the coral, but a few people who understood secretly frowned, because they had already seen the origin of the coral. But they didn't dare to talk about it, so they could only rot in their stomachs.

When it was almost the third watch, the banquet was over, and everyone said goodbye and left, only the two brothers of the Ma family accompanied Wang Zhen back to the back study.

After taking a sip of strong tea to relieve the hangover, Wang Zhen casually asked the two of them to sit down below, and then looked at them with a smile: "You really put a lot of thought into it, knowing that our family took a fancy to this coral last year, and it was sent to us today." ”

"What you need, father-in-law, is what we must do our best, otherwise how can we run errands by your side?" Ma Shun hurriedly responded with a smile.

It's just that this time Wang Zhen didn't smile anymore, but narrowed his eyes: "On the day of the Shangyuan Festival, a fire suddenly broke out on the street of Dingyuan Pavilion, and many people died, I'm afraid you set this fire, right?" This coral was also taken out of the Dingyuan Pavilion by you at that time, I said it right, right? ”

When he asked with such a straight face, the bodies of the two brothers really trembled, and then the two quickly got up and knelt down again: "Father-in-law's eyes are like torches, that's exactly the case." But there is not the slightest denial.

"You ...... It's really bothering, in order to please me, you actually did such a thing, and you dare to set fire to it at will in the capital! Wang Zhen leaned back in his chair and said in a solemn tone.

"Father-in-law, the younger two just want to relieve your worries. You took a fancy to this thing that day, and the boss of Dingyuan Pavilion refused to make a move, how could we tolerate him! This time, sending him a fire and taking away the coral was just a lesson for him. Ma Shuo was a little tougher and explained.

"Hmph, what if the matter is revealed?" Wang Zhen said dissatisfiedly: "Although our family has the favor of His Majesty, it is not something that can be tossed casually in this capital, otherwise there will definitely be trouble." ”

"Father-in-law, don't worry, we've already done everything, and this is also a small second birthday gift for you, just a little smaller." Ma Shun saw that his face was a little pale, so he hurriedly approached and said.

"Tell me about it." Wang Zhen said, picked up the teacup and took a sip.

"Didn't my father-in-law always be dissatisfied with the Qingzhu Gang who had helped Lu Jin? It's just that because of their bad identity, they attacked them directly, so the little one took the opportunity to push them this time. The name of the murderer who set fire to the streets, causing many deaths and injuries, was hung on them. Therefore, even if the people of the Ding Yuan Pavilion want to find something, they will only find trouble for them. In this way, there will be no problem with killing two birds with one stone. Ma Shun smiled gloomily.

After Wang Zhen heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then showed a satisfied smile: "I see, you guys are really bothered." Okay, this birthday gift is comfortable for our family. But when it comes to this, then Lu Jin's presence is not a taste for our family. ”

"Father-in-law, don't worry, didn't it be rumored that he was going to leave Beijing for a transfer? When the time comes, the little ones will naturally help their father-in-law solve their worries. Ma Shuo hurriedly followed.

"Very good, it's true that our family has always trusted you. Oh, this is the waist card of the commander of the Jinyi Guard, Ma Shun, you can replace Xu Gong from next month. As he spoke, Wang Zhen took out an oval-shaped waist card made of ivory from the drawer and threw it to Ma Shun's hand.

Ma Shun caught it in surprise and thanked him loudly: "Thank you for the grace of your father-in-law's promotion, and the little one will definitely do his best to run errands in the future......"

"That's it!" Wang Zhen smiled and waved his hand, and then looked at Ma Shuo, who was looking at him with a blank eye: "You don't have to be in such a hurry." Before Guangningbo was arched down by Lu Jin, the position of his Qian Military Governor's Mansion has been vacant, our family has asked His Majesty for grace, and when it comes to next month, the holy decree will come down. ”

"Thank you for your grace!" Ma Shuo was also overjoyed when he heard this, and quickly knelt on the ground and kowtowed.

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