"Sir? Lord Ji? What Lord Ji? Which Ji Jue? Yuan Chonghuan didn't seem to understand the cell leader's words, and confirmed it several times.

The cell boss said: "Lord Ji, the old man's name and villain dare not mention it." But Inspector Yuan should know it. The lord is not the same as Inspector Yuan, worships under Inspector Sun, and has the same friendship with Inspector Yuan! ”

"Oh! It turned out to be Ji Qingwen! Yuan Chonghuan suddenly realized, but said, "Slowly, slowly." Ji Qingwen, this kid is now a lord? ”

"Not really!" The cell boss said, "Lord Ji is now the earl appointed by the emperor." I have a brother who helps out in the Ministry of Rites, and that scene when he was knighted...... It's breathless. Although Inspector Yuan can rest assured, Lord Ji is now a well-spoken and well-known figure in front of the emperor, with him, as well as Old Inspector Sun and his old man interceding in front of the emperor, Inspector Yuan's sin is not a crime......"

There was a lot of chatter behind the cell boss, but Yuan Chonghuan didn't listen to half a sentence, but asked again: "Then let me ask you, how did Ji Qingwen become a knight?" ”

The cell leader replied, "Lord Ji led the army to quell the rebellion of the White Lotus Sect!" The emperor has a will, saying that since the battle of Salhu in Liaodong, the imperial court has used troops to win less and lose more, just take advantage of this time to add officials to Lord Ji, so as to boost the morale of the court's civil and military forces! ”

"Alas!"

Yuan Chonghuan sighed heavily.

In the Battle of Ningjin that year, Yuan Chonghuan led a lone army to defend a lonely city in Jinzhou, not only defeated the elite of the Eight Banners of Manchuria, but also killed Nurhachi with artillery. Such a credit is not small, but in the end, he did not get any reward, but was demoted by the court and lived idle. When this happened, it was still when Wei Zhongxian was in power, and Chongzhen couldn't be blamed. However, for Yuan Chonghuan, Chongzhen is not a good emperor, he has fallen to the current point, and in the final analysis, it is all thanks to Emperor Chongzhen.

Thinking of this, Yuan Chonghuan felt a sense of jealousy in his heart, why was it that if he fought for the country, Ji Qingwen could be promoted to the rank of knight, while he himself could only be demoted to prison? Could it be because Ji Qingwen has the protection of the gods on his head?

However, the current situation is not the time to sour Ji Qingwen.

The presiding judge, Wen Tiren, has never been on his own line, and seems to want to put himself to death intentionally or unintentionally; And the officials of the other criminal departments, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the Dali Temple have never had any friendship with them, and when it comes to the juncture, it is good that they can not fall into the ground.

In this way, it seems that only Ji Qingwen has something to do with him, whether Yuan Chonghuan can survive this catastrophe or not, now it seems that he can only rely on Ji Qingwen. What's more, behind Ji Qingwen, could it be that Teacher Sun Chengzong is deliberately taking care of him?

With such a mood, Yuan Chonghuan was "escorted" by a group of officials, listening to the shouts of "might~martial~~" of the officials of the Criminal Department on both sides, Yuan Chonghuan boarded the yamen hall of the Criminal Department again, and when he raised his eyes, he saw Ji Qingwen sitting on Wen Tiren's right hand with a big grin, and the clothes on his body were obviously the head of the dignified earl.

Yuan Chonghuan's current mood was both relieved and jealous, and he didn't have time to sigh, but he heard Wen Tiren pat him in surprise and asked, "Who is the one set up by the court?" ”

Yuan Chonghuan was taken aback when he heard this, and hurriedly replied: "The criminal minister Yuan Chonghuan ......"

Wen Tiren raised his eyes and scolded: "Since you are a criminal minister, why don't you kneel when you see the official of the Criminal Department?" ”

After a few months of torture in the prison of the Criminal Department, Yuan Chonghuan's arrogance that was originally covered up and down his body had already disappeared, and after listening to Wen Tiren's reprimand, he immediately knelt on the ground and shouted: "Criminal Minister Yuan Chonghuan, please ask Lord Wen to make the decision for me." ”

Wen Tiren said: "Okay." He who has been commanded to judge your sins is the one who has come to make decisions for you. If you have any questions from this officer, you have to answer them truthfully, understand? ”

Yuan Chonghuan hurriedly replied: "Yes, understand, the criminal must speak truthfully." ”

Ji Qingwen saw that Yuan Chonghuan, who was originally a great Yuan Rong who was not afraid of heaven and earth, had now become so obscene and timid, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of pity in his heart, so he interjected: "Lord Wen, there is a reluctant request below, I wonder if Lord Wen can agree?" ”

For such an upstart in the political arena as Ji Qingwen, Wen Tiren still looked down on him; But Ji Qingwen is now a serious earl, and his grade is above himself, so he can't help but look at it squarely.

So Wen Tiren said with a smile: "Lord Ji has seen the outside, if you have anything to say, just say it." ”

Ji Qingwen said with a smile: "Don't tell Lord Wen that Xia Guan is a soldier who leads soldiers to fight, and he was injured in the neck on the battlefield before, and he is still in pain." Now that Yuan Chonghuan is kneeling on the ground for trial, and the lower officials want to observe, they have to lower their heads and bodies to watch. If I keep my head down like this, my neck will break......"

"So what does Lord Ji want me to do? Lord Ji is now sitting in the trial, so you can't let Lord Ji lie down to listen to the trial, right? Wen Tiren said as he thought to himself: This Ji Qingwen is really not easy to deal with, and he doesn't know what to come up with.

Ji Qingwen said with a smile: "Lord Wen, what are these words, how can I have such a style?" I only ask Inspector Yuan not to kneel, to stand up and speak, I can look at him at eye level, and my neck is already a lot more comfortable! ”

I see! I didn't expect Ji Qingwen to be quite affectionate, seeing that Yuan Chonghuan was uncomfortable kneeling, he thought of a way to make him stand up, so as not to suffer the crime of kneeling like this to hear the trial.

Lord Wen Tiren, the second assistant of the cabinet, is a person who pays attention to benefits and does not want to be famous, whether Yuan Chonghuan is kneeling and talking, or standing to be tried, in his eyes, it is a matter of indifference, and now he hears that Ji Qingwen is interceding for Yuan Chonghuan, so he has the heart to sell Ji Qingwen a favor.

So Wen Tiren said nonchalantly: "It's okay, then let Yuan Chonghuan stand and listen to the trial." I don't know what Lord Zhou wants? ”

kicked the ball to Zhou Yanru again.

Zhou Yanru has to habitually oppose Wen Tiren's proposition in everything, but in this matter, it involves Ji Qingwen's face, which makes Zhou Yanru have to be jealous, so he can only wave his hand generously and say: "It doesn't matter if you kneel or not, just ask about the case." Yuan Chonghuan, get up! ”

When Yuan Chonghuan heard this, he kowtowed to the few adults sitting in the hall as if he had been pardoned, and then he got up from the ground, bowed down and stood with his hands down, not even daring to reach out and pat the dust stuck to his trouser legs.

"Okay, so Lord Ji's neck, I don't know if it's a little better?" Seeing that Ji Qingwen didn't say anything more, Wen Tiren said with a straight face, "Then by order, this official is going to interrogate Yuan Chonghuan." ”

After saying that, Wen Tiren coughed vigorously twice, cleared his throat, and asked loudly: "The first one, the entrustment is ineffective, and the deception is hidden. Yuan Chonghuan, you personally promised in front of the emperor back then, promising to pacify Liaodong within five years - oh, Lord Ji was also present in this matter - but now three years have passed, the emperor has spared no effort to support him, and the hundreds of officials in the court have also helped him, but you have not recovered the size of the land, and I don't know how to explain to the emperor? ”

This is really Yuan Chonghuan's weakness, and Yuan Chonghuan was speechless in one sentence, and he muttered for a long time, then he arched his hands, bent over, and almost buried his head under the blue bricks in the lobby of the Criminal Department, and said: "This is all the minister's unscrupulous words." Unexpectedly, after the death of Manchurian Nurhachi, his son Huang Taiji became more vicious and arrogant, and he could not be defeated in a moment. If the emperor asks again now, the minister will no longer dare to say so lightly. This...... This...... This is all the minister's unscrupulous words! ”

Yuan Chonghuan has always been an official, and in addition to Emperor Chongzhen, perhaps only his teacher Sun Chengzong can enter his eyes. After such a setback, it is not easy to suppress Yuan Chonghuan's arrogant personality a little.

So Ji Qingwen interjected: "Inspector Yuan, I remember that Teacher Sun also reminded you to be cautious in your words and deeds, but you didn't think so at the time, but now?" You're not deceiving the emperor, it's clear that you're really disobeying your teacher's orders! ”

Yuan Chonghuan was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and thought: What a Ji Qingwen, he really spoke to himself, although it is unreasonable to disobey the teacher's orders, it is much lighter than deceiving the emperor, this is exculpating himself!