The sky was fiery red, and a huge fireball shook amazingly in the gray mist, gradually revealing its head, churning with a purple and red morning glow, projecting a thousand purple and red light towards the awakened Chang'an City, and a new day had arrived.

Early in the morning, a young man came to the house of Cui Qiao, the secretary of Dali in Qinrenfang, his face was pale, he looked a little tired, and he carefully handed a post to the porter, waited for a while, and was then led in by the porter.

He is naturally Li Qing, last night into the Fengyuan accident, he didn't dare to go back, so he found an inn to squat for a night, a night of cranky thoughts, until dawn hazy eyes to sleep, early in the morning to find Dali Qing Cui Qiao, Cui Qiao's house on the steps, a pair of big stone lions stand majestically on both sides, rich and majestic.

Li Qing entered the house with the porter, sat in the guest hall and waited, a maid served him tea, he took a sip of tea, looked left and right, there was a huge gray curtain on both sides, it already looked a little old, just dragged on the coffee table for a long time, there were two red sandalwood chairs in the middle of the guest hall, a sandalwood carved board table was spaced, a celadon thin neck bottle of Yuezhou was placed on the table, and a few branches of plum were inserted, the flowers were deep and fragrant, bringing a trace of vitality to the dull guest hall.

After waiting for a long time, and not seeing Cui Qiao come out, Li Qing was patient, and slowly walked to the door, the entire Cui Mansion was very quiet, as if all the people were still asleep and had not woken up, at this time there were slow footsteps on the left, "You are the messenger sent by Lord Zhang Qiu?" ”

Li Qing turned around, a young man stood not far away, looking at himself with a smile, he was not tall, his face was clear, his long beard was fluttering, his eyes were flashing with wisdom, and he had a faint smell of books.

Li Qing suddenly felt that his eyebrows and eyes were a little kind, as if he had seen it somewhere, but at this time, he didn't have time to think about it, he took two steps back and bowed to the ground, "It's Li Qing!" ”

"I'm Cui Qiao." He smiled slightly and waved his hand, "No need to be polite, let's go into the guest hall and sit down!" ”

Li Qing sat down, first took out Zhang Qiu and Qiong's letter and handed it to him, Cui Qiao took it, unfolded the letter and read it skimmingly, his eyes flashed with a hint of sharpness, and then he returned to normalcy and said with a smile: "It turns out that Brother Zhang Qiu asked me to introduce you to Tai, it seems that Li Shenjun has won the appreciation of Lord Zhang Qiu!" ”

Li Qingxin was surprised, he didn't read Zhang Qiu and Qiong's letter, he guessed that he wanted to hand over the evidence directly to Cui Qiao, but the letter didn't mention it at all, just asked him to introduce him to himself, didn't Zhang Qiu and Qiong even believe Cui Qiao? But after thinking about it again, it's no wonder that this matter is very important, and the less one person you see, the less risk.

However, Li Qing guessed wrong about this matter, Zhang Qiu and Qiong asked Cui Qiao to send evidence in the letter, and he didn't let Li Qing go to see Tai at all, but recently the court was sinister, and it was rumored that the emperor had the intention of abolishing Tai, Zhang Qiu and Qiong didn't know in the field, but how could Cui Qiao take this matter at this time and set himself on fire.

Cui Qiao pondered slightly for a moment, and then changed the topic, "Can Li join the army have breakfast?" ”

"I ate it early in the morning."

"In that case, let's go!" Cui Qiao clapped his hands, got up and left, and when he arrived at the door, he glanced back at Li Qing with a suspicious face, and said with a smile: "What, you don't want to see Tai?" ”

.

Li Qing is from the seven officials of the seventh grade, it is easy to enter the imperial city, the imperial city is the seat of the central government agencies, the building is magnificent, the lofty pavilion is towering, the Zhu Pavilion is a high-rise building, or a single tower, or a row in a row, you can't see the end at a glance, a street walks, Chengtianmen Street divides the imperial city into two halves, there are other provinces under the door, Shangshu Province, Taifu Temple and so on in the east; And the west is the book province, Zongzheng Temple, Hongdong Palace, the east palace is in the palace city, the west of the Taiji Palace, since Li Longji ascended the throne, Tai Ben no longer lives in the East Palace, but lives with him, but since last year, Tai Li Heng has moved back to the East Palace.

The carriage stopped in front of Changle Gate, Cui Qiao handed it over, and his own guard on duty went in to report for him.

"Li joins the army and waits here, don't walk around, this is no better than the imperial city." He stepped forward and said in a low voice: "There are some guards that you can't see, take a wrong step, and kill them." ”

Li Qing was awe-inspiring, and quickly glanced around, only to see that the city wall was majestic, the eyes were open, and there was not even a single tree, how could there be a place to hide, but the Yulin Army had ten steps and one sentry, five steps and one post, all staring at him coldly, even if he wanted to walk around and take a look, it was impossible.

About half an hour later, I saw a small sedan chair walking out of the palace, two eunuchs in front of the road, more than a dozen guards guarding the left and right, the sedan chair quickly walked in front of Li Qing, walked a few steps, but stopped.

A person bent out of the sedan chair, beckoned to Li Qing and smiled: "Virtuous nephew, is it you?" ”

Li Qing flashed his eyes and saw that it was Li Lin, the king of Xining, he was surprised and happy, and took two steps forward to bow to Li Lin, "How is the prince?" Li Qing did not come to the palace yesterday to greet him, and asked the prince to forgive him. ”

"I already know what happened yesterday, I really wronged my nephew, tonight, come to my house! When you get together, it's like going back to your own home. ”

"Thank you, I will definitely come."

Li Lin then remembered that he was standing outside the palace, and couldn't help but be surprised: "Is the virtuous nephew here to ask to see Tai?" ”

"Yes! I have official business, and Master Cui has already reported it for me. ”

Li Lin suddenly became excited, "Official business!" Business! Everyone is on official business, and if I had official business, why would I be here today, alas! ”

He let out a long sigh, his eyes showing a sad look, "The heavens want to punish me, but what! ”

Li Qing saw that he was sad, and he couldn't bear it, so he comforted: "Li Qing may help the prince, Wang."

Guan said. ”

Li Lin seemed to think of something, looked at him carefully, and blurted out, "Can a virtuous nephew have a marriage match?" After saying that, I felt that it was inappropriate, "That's it! That's it! He shook his head helplessly, got into the sedan chair and left.

Li Qing heard him suddenly ask about his marriage match, and remembered what happened to Li Huaijie yesterday, and secretly wondered: "Could it be that Li Huaijie really asked the emperor for marriage?" He looked at him faltering, as if he was ten years old, which made people pity, and thought of his kindness to him, Li Qing's heart to repay his kindness was full of energy.

At this time, a tall and white eunuch with a few little eunuchs swaggered out, looked left and right, and screamed loudly: "Which one is Jiannan Li joining the army." ”

Li Qing hurriedly raised his hand and replied loudly: "It's down there!" ”

Unexpectedly, the eunuch glanced at him, sneered, but ignored him, still leaned over to look, and continued to ask in a sharp voice: "Let me ask again, which one is Jiannan Li joining the army." ”

There is only one person here, why does he need to ask more, Li Qing comprehended, took out two pearls the size of pigeon eggs from his arms, held his hand and handed them secretly, "Under is Jiannan Li joined the army." ”

These jewels were the things that the Hai family wanted to send to Tibet, and they were taken from the ship by Gao Zhandao, and they had nothing to do with smuggling, so they were naturally confiscated and 'confiscated' by Li Qing.

The eunuch rubbed his hands, his eyes immediately smiled into a slit, and his white and fat face seemed to bloom like a flower, and he complained repeatedly: "Why didn't you say it earlier, His Royal Highness summoned you, please come with me." ”

The main hall of the East Palace is called Mingde Hall, which is the place where the eunuch handles official business and receives courtiers, but the eunuch leads him through one door after another, and winds through the alleys, as if walking through a labyrinth.

"Li joins the army, there are many rules for seeing Tai, and it is the first time you have entered the palace, you have to learn to salute first, and then come to summon you when you are too free." He added, "Wait a while, you tell the sour people in Chongguan, you don't see Taimian, this etiquette can be reduced by at least half." ”

Li Qing heard that he still had to learn etiquette, his heart was really depressed, the matter was urgent, how could he be so abrasive, he didn't know the rank of the palace, just saw that the eunuch walked with high spirits this year, so he speculated that he might be a steward, and asked with a smile: "I don't know the name of my father-in-law, I will ask someone to send some local products from Chengdu during the New Year's festival after I go back." ”

The eunuch liked to hear this sentence, and he immediately smiled and said: "Thank you Li for joining the army, our family's name is Li Jingzhong, and he is an old slave who serves Tai, and if Li joins the army in the future, our family may be able to help." ”

'Li Jingzhong! Li Qing's heart suddenly, could he be Li Fuguo, he only remembered that Li Fuguo was later changed his name, as for what the original name was, he didn't know, but looking at the age and momentum of this eunuch, and surnamed Li, people, Li Qing thought about it, decided to press down this treasure, he wiped an emerald ring from his hand, and stuffed it.

"Father-in-law Li said well, rely on your parents at home, rely on friends when you go out, who doesn't have a hard time, I like to make friends, if Father-in-law Li doesn't dislike it, how about we make friends?"

Li Qing guessed well, Li Jingzhong was the later Li Fuguo, assisted Li Heng to ascend the throne, killed Empress Zhang, supported Daizong Li Yu, and the power was for a while, and the Tang eunuch chaos began with him.

Li Jingzhong had already caught a glimpse of the superb emerald on Li Qing's fingers, and when he finally sent it, he was extremely happy, too cautious in his work, and extremely strict in restraining his subordinates, so although he was too confidant, he usually did not have much oil and water, and the eunuchs were not humane, so they naturally attached great importance to property, which was nature, just like a dog gnawing bones.

Seeing that Li Qing was so generous, he intended to make friends with him, and knew that he was a person sent by Zhang Qiu and Qiong, so there must be something urgent, Li Jingzhong quickly balanced the relationship between public and private, and said with a slight smile: "Li Senjun treats our family as a friend, how can our family not help, you come with me." He no longer led Li Qing to any Chongguan, but walked straight towards Tai's inner palace.

The rules for receiving courtiers are very strict, if it is not a clan, the general courtiers can only be received in the Mingde Palace, and there is a clerk's record, every word and deed of the Tai must be recorded, reported to the Tang Ming Emperor, and it is not allowed to go out of the palace Jingzhong without authorization, Li Jingzhong also has certain privileges, this is Li Qing's luck to be flexible, if he does not befriend Li Jingzhong, but goes to the Mingde Hall seriously without a chance to show evidence, it is not even possible to enter the palace to search the pass.

Besides, just take it out, do you dare to ask for it too much?

Li Jingzhong first found a eunuch's clothes for Li Qing to change into, and seeing that he didn't have to, he pulled the leader a little higher and covered his Adam's apple, and then led him through several alleys, and entered the inner palace of Tai from a side door.

.

Tang Taiyuan named Li Zhong, set up as the queen mother and renamed Li Heng, this New Year, he has been sullen, since last year Liu Sheng sat on the stolen goods case, Li Linfu seized the opportunity, one by one to give him a set, eradicate his Li Shizhi, recently heard the palace line newspaper again, Li Linfu secretly told Li Longji, Shuo Fang Jiedu made Wang Zhonghei want to support Li Tai to ascend the throne, and Li Longji was not afraid for a few nights, this is similar to when he abolished Li Ying.

He had just sent away Li Lin, the king of Sining, and last night, news came from the palace that the emperor suddenly changed his mind and intended to marry Li Jingyan, the daughter of Li Lin, to Khitan Li Huaijie, needless to say, this must be Li Linfu's means to retaliate against Li Lin's support for him.

The etiquette system, but the emperor agreed, it can be seen that there must be some interest transactions, if he rashly persuades, he will be caught by Li Linfu, which will inevitably hurt Li Lin's heart, Li Heng weighed it again and again, and finally decided to remain silent, after all, he is still too important.

At this moment, Li Heng is savoring a bowl of ginseng bird's nest porridge in the inner palace, he is weak, he can't be overtired, and he always has to go back to the palace to rest for a while after receiving the courtiers, at this time, the door curtain sounds, Li Jingzhong came in quietly, and stood without saying a word.

"Did Zhang Qiu's envoy go to Chongguan?"

"Report to Your Highness, the minions have the courage to bring him."

Li Heng didn't speak, and after a while, he smiled faintly, "Yes, you are worthy of being a person who is valued by me, where is he, let him in." ”

Li Qing was quickly led in, a personal guard followed behind with a silver plate, and the evidence brought by Li Qing was placed in the plate, through the thin gauze curtain, he saw a person sitting on the couch in the room, leaning on the cushion, unable to see his face clearly, but it must be too undoubted, Li Qing hurriedly knelt down: "Jiannan Jiedu envoy Cao Shen military Li Qing knocked to see His Royal Highness." ”

"Li Qing, Jiannan" The person who invented slush is called Li Qing, and was later recommended by Zhang Qiu as the chief bookkeeper of Yibin County, but you? ”

Li Qing was shocked by his memory, and hurriedly replied, "It's Weichen." ”

"Yes, the slush father likes it very much, and I like it too, so you can raise your head."

Li Qing raised his head, only to find that the curtain had been opened at some point, and he saw Tai's appearance clearly, only to see that he was about thirty-five years old, his face was pale, he looked a little sickly, his nose was high and long, his lips were broad, especially the eyebrows and eyes were unusually elegant, giving people a solemn but lazy, very loose feeling.

"Say it! What did Zhang Qiu send you for? ”

Li Qing glanced at the plate, and the guards immediately handed over the letter in the plate to Li Heng, the most on the front was a secret letter written by Zhang Qiu and Qiong to Tai, Li Heng opened it casually and looked at it carefully, at first it was careless, but gradually his eyes sat up, found Li Daofu's letter, read it word by word, his hand trembled slightly, as Zhang Qiu and Qiong expected in advance, this letter came too much and Li Daofu will definitely die, and Li Linfu will not be able to eat and walk around, however, it doesn't matter whether Li Daofu dies or not, there is this handle in his hand, He knew that Li Linfu would naturally take the initiative to compromise with him.

Li Heng carefully put these pieces into a box and locked them, and glanced at Li Qing meaningfully, a trace of coldness burst out of his eyes, Li Qing suddenly thought of something, his brain 'boomed', the hairs on his body exploded, and he suddenly realized that he was too much to kill.

The sweat on his back immediately soaked a lot, before this he had been thinking about how to get rid of Li Linfu's pursuit, and did everything possible to send the evidence to Tai, but he ignored that Tai would kill people.

Li Qing's mind was thinking about countermeasures like lightning, and before he could open his mouth, he immediately preemptively said: "Your Highness, this matter is handled by the minister, and the smuggling ship of the Hai family was captured by the minister in Yibin, and the case of the Hai family in the future will still need to be corroborated by the minister." ”

Li Heng did have the idea of killing people, but Li Qing said this first, but it seemed to see through his scheming, Li Heng was silent, waiting for him to continue.

"But last night, a large group of soldiers came to Yizhou to enter the Fengyuan to arrest the minister, but the lord of Chengdu County Bo was taken away as a minister, so the minister was in a hurry to send this evidence early this morning, the minister thought that my personal life was small, but if I missed His Highness's matter, it was big."

He said these words inexplicably, without any boundaries, and he was confused by Li Jingzhong next to him, but Li Heng understood what he meant: Li Linfu already knows that I came to Chang'an, if I am suddenly killed by you, and when I can't find me when it is corroborated in the future, how can you explain it to the emperor.

A faint tired smile appeared at the corner of Li Heng's mouth, although Li Qing's answer was a bit far-fetched, but this quick wisdom made him secretly approve, and remembered Xinzhang Qiu and Qiong's unstingy praise for this person, Li Heng was a little more murderous, and his heart suddenly moved the idea of loving talent, he was not very old, only twenty-five years old, but his eyes showed grimness, calmness and perseverance, and his age was completely unmatched, he had a special temperament, which seemed to surpass this on the ground but could straighten up and talk, humble and dignified, Li Heng suddenly thought of the most scarce thing in himself, that is, talents who are loyal to themselves.

He really wanted to ask him more, but time didn't allow it, Cui Qiao was still waiting in the Mingde Palace, and the recorder was calculating the time of his rest in detail, too long would make his father suspicious.

He looked at Li Qing and smiled slightly, his eyes were warm, "You go!" First go to Chongguan to learn the rituals, and then come to Mingde Hall to see me later, tell me how you govern Yibin County, and then tell me how you invented slush. ”

Li Qing walked out of the Taiinner Palace, only to find that his underwear was already soaked, he took a long breath, and went with the guards, Li Heng kept staring at his back, smiled, and suddenly turned around and asked Li Jingzhong: "What do you think of this person?" ”

Li Jingzhong secretly glanced at Tai's face, "Slaves don't dare to judge foreign officials." ”

Li Heng snorted coldly, "Say it!" There is no need to be so hypocritical in front of me. ”

"The slave doesn't dare, the slave doesn't know much about him, but the slave only feels that this person's temperament is not ordinary, maybe he can be used by His Highness."

Li Heng nodded, and instructed lightly: "You go to the Ministry of Officials and transfer this person's file in Yibin County to me." ”