Early the next morning, Lu Zhen got up and came to the mourning hall to worship Xu Xianzong, and after a while, Xu Chengzong also walked over from the side hall, and when he saw this, he naturally saw it again.

Afterwards, Xu Chengzong greeted: "Brother Lu slept well last night?" There is still a funeral in the house, if there is any inadequate care, I hope you will forgive me. ”

"Brother Xu, you are polite, they are very thoughtful, everything is fine. I'm a little uneasy to stay here at this time. Lu Zhen smiled and said.

"You and I don't have to be so polite. Don't say that you are a messenger sent by the imperial court, even if you come to worship my brother as a friend, I should be hospitable. When mentioning the title of brother, Xu Chengzong's eyes showed a little sadness and self-blame.

Seeing this, Lu Zhen hurriedly spoke out to convince him: "Brother Xu, don't be too sad, the dead are gone, and the living should work harder to do their best." For example, I heard that these days you stay in the mourning hall all night to guard, which is very bad for your body. In my opinion, it's better to get more rest. ”

"Thank you Brother Lu for your concern. But my brother has been taking good care of me for many years, and now that he is gone, I, as a younger brother, will always accompany him on this last journey. Xu Chengzong had his own insistence, and then arched his hand: "But there is one thing, I have to make amends to you." ”

"But what?"

Xu Chengzong did not answer in a hurry, but slapped his hand and said to the left and right: "Bring people up." ”

After a while, a pale house slave was dragged up by two family members, and as soon as he saw Xu Chengzong, he shouted: "Second son, spare your life, second son, I was wrong......

"This is ......" Lu Zhen looked at Xu Chengzong with some puzzlement, and the latter gave his hand again: "I'm ashamed to say that this guy actually went to the side of the courtyard where you live yesterday to take a peek, but was discovered by the people below." Thinking that there would be such a thief in my house, it really makes me ashamed, and I hope that Brother Lu will not be surprised. Come on, serve me in the law! ”

Immediately, several big-shouldered and round-waisted servants stepped forward, and after pressing the man down, they raised a big wooden stick with the thickness of their arms and slapped it on the man's back, and immediately beat him screaming and begging for mercy.

Seeing this scene, Lu Zhen was also stunned for a while. This is because the Xu family's family law looks really terrifying, unlike the ordinary cane that beats the legs or hind buttocks, it is actually a spine cane, which is a heavy punishment that will only be used in the army to punish those who have violated military law, and it is very easy to kill people. However, as long as you think about the fact that the Xu family has the style of being a general, this is acceptable.

What really caught Lu Zhen off guard was Xu Chengzong's frank way of telling him about someone spying on him last night. In fact, Yao Gan and the others did not hold this person at that time, and the Xu family could completely ignore it and expose this section. But Xu Chengzong is good, and he actually admitted the matter directly, what is his intention?

After a moment of astonishment, the screams of the torturers over there became more and more terrible, and blood continued to seep out of their backs. Lu Zhen came back to his senses at this time, and hurriedly said: "Brother Xu, please calm your anger, this should be his curiosity to think about peeking at us, it's really not a big deal, don't hurt people's lives because of anger." ”

Xu Chengzong refused to let go of this person at first, and it wasn't until Lu Zhen pleaded for a while that he waved his hand and said, "That's it, and leave him alive." After thanking him weakly, he said: "This time I have the right to be a small punishment and a big commandment, you, and you have all heard clearly, Lord Lu is a distinguished guest in my house, and anyone who dares to be disrespectful to him will be severely punished!" ”

Lu Zhen watched from the side, and while smiling bitterly, he unconsciously muttered in his heart: Is Xu Chengzong's behavior really because he values his friendship with me, or is there another reason? For example, preemptively, let me not go through this matter and suspect anything?

He was really unsure about this. Last night, because of Yao Gan's report, Lu Zhen had some doubts about Xu Chengzong. But today, his troubles make people feel that he is above board, and it is difficult to understand it now.

Just when Lu Zhen was turning his mind, Xu Lu, the housekeeper of the Duke of Wei's mansion, suddenly ran over with a nervous expression: "Second master (because Xu Xianzong has not yet been buried, and Xu Chengzong has not really inherited the position of Duke of Wei, it is naturally not easy to call him Duke or Lord or something), and several adults from the sixth department suddenly came to visit......"

Hearing this report, Xu Chengzong immediately frowned: "Didn't they come to worship their brother a few days ago, why did they come again?" He knew very well that the Lord of the Six Ministries in Xu Lu's mouth was referring to these marginal officials in the semi-retired state of the Six Ministries in Nanjing.

"This ......" Xu Lu glanced at Lu Jin, and then replied: "They said that they came to find Lord Lu." ”

"Looking for me?" Lu Zhen was obviously a little surprised, although he had served as an official in Jiangnan, he had no friendship with these officials of the six ministries in Nanjing, and he had never even met.

But everyone came to the door, so he naturally couldn't refuse, so he glanced at Xu Chengzong: "I'm ashamed, it seems that I'm going to turn against the guest once." ”

"Haha, it's a trivial matter, so let's do it, there's still a vacancy in the side hall, so you can meet these adults there. As for me, I won't wade into this troubled water. Xu Chengzong nodded at him, and then turned back to the mourning hall.

Lu Zhen didn't understand the meaning of the other party's words at first, but when he saw these high-ranking officials in Nanjing, he knew the answer. Because as soon as they met and informed each other of their identities, Wang Can, the head of the Ministry of Rites, said directly: "Lord Lu, you have bewitched Your Majesty in Beijing to disrupt my Ming ancestors many times, which is really unbearable for me to wait, and you must give us an explanation today!" ”

Then, those other people also echoed him, putting on a posture of denouncing him, and accusing Lu Jin's various behaviors of inappropriateness and mistakes.

It was only at this time that Lu Zhen realized that these guys actually came to Xingshi to ask for guilt because they advocated opening the sea and supporting the abolition of the crown prince by the Son of Heaven.

From here, it can be seen how bored and idle these officials of the six ministries in Nanjing are, and they will deliberately come to the Wei Mansion to find their own theories for the sake of this disagreement in political opinions. If this is placed in Beijing, let alone a high-ranking official at the ministry level, it is a Langzhong member and a foreigner, and he is so busy that he can't even get out of the yamen on weekdays, let alone go to other people's houses to denounce it.

Moreover, these people are far more stubborn than the officials in power in Beijing, and in their eyes, the rules set by the ancestors must be extremely correct, and if anyone dares to break them, it is no different from a chaotic minister and thief, and must be refuted.

What makes Lu Zhen feel even more headache is that the identities of these people are still here, and they have qualifications, and it is really difficult for his junior to use his identity to suppress them, so he can only argue with them and explain it well.

Even though Lu Zhen had confronted many old-fashioned officials in Beijing and was well aware of the various objections raised by them, and could find suitable reasons to refute them, he still struggled to face the constant questioning of these prepared guys.

This debate lasted for more than two hours, and after failing to distinguish between the superior and inferior, the officials left with a sentence that they would come to the door tomorrow to ask for advice. Only Lu Jin, who had a dry mouth and a hoarse throat, was left sitting there, crying and laughing.

This is a situation that he could never have imagined when he came to Nanjing. Originally, he wanted to go to Nanjing to hide from the peace because he was disturbed by the courtiers in Beijing, but he didn't expect to know here that it was even more difficult to be quiet here.

In fact, when I think about it, these officials who were excluded from the capital were out of place, so they were full of complaints. And Lu Jin, as a close minister of the Son of Heaven, is naturally easy to make them jealous, and what he has done is completely contrary to their views, so he is naturally even more dissatisfied with him.

And some of their thoughts can no longer be sent to the emperor at this time, and there are so many thoughts in their hearts, and there is no way to vent them. Now that Lu Zhen has come to Nanjing, will they miss this opportunity?

Just as Lu Zhen was smiling bitterly and drinking tea to moisten his throat, Xu Chengzong turned in again: "How about it, my officials in Nanjing are not under the hundred officials in the capital, right?" ”

"You're really right, these people are far superior to the officials in the capital." Lu Zhen smiled bitterly: "It's good that you left me here to suffer, but you went to hide quietly." ”

"There's no way, I, the Duke of Wei, still have to rely on them to help me in Nanjing, so naturally it's not good to fall out with them for you. But don't worry, they're just making a fuss, and it will stop in two days. What's more, three days later will be the day when my brother will enter the ground, and you won't be able to stay for long. ”

"yes." Lu Zhen glanced at the other party with a somewhat complicated expression, and didn't say anything more.

His suspicion of Xu Chengzong was a little deeper at this moment, and he was even seven or eight points sure that he must be doing something shady in secret.

Because he was too straightforward before, he actually handed over the house slave who spied on him, which was obviously a remedy after knowing that he had found something. In addition, the arrival of these officials of the six ministries may also have nothing to do with him.

I only arrived in Nanjing yesterday, and no matter how fast they reacted, they would not have been able to come to the door early this morning. Someone must have conspired with these people and deliberately asked them to argue with themselves. Its purpose, in addition to stumbling on itself, is to free up his mind to think about unusual things in the city.

"Xu Chengzong, what do you want to do? What are you doing? When he walked out of the side hall, Lu Zhen couldn't help but glance at the other party, and said secretly in his heart.

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Today, on 918, I heard the siren again, and the alarm bell rang for a long time, and the national shame must not be forgotten。。。。。