Along the way, Yuan Rui told Yuan Yao in detail about the cause and effect of the incident, and the more Yuan Yao listened, the more angry he became, his eyes seemed to be on fire, and he said viciously: "The Lian brothers are the one who is in trouble, and I will destroy their nine clans!" ”

During the conversation, the two had already arrived at the Queen Mother's dormitory, Danyang Palace. After the palace people reported, the Queen Mother met them in the main hall. The Queen Mother is about fifty years old, with a little powder, her eyes are like torches, and she knows at a glance that she is the kind of shrewd and capable woman. Yuan Yao seemed a little impatient: "Queen Mother, Yuan Rui has made a major discovery in Yingyang this time!" ”

The Queen Mother was suspicious, and Xin Dao Yuanrui could make any major discoveries if she had nothing to do all day, so she said mockingly: "Really? Let's hear it. Seeing that Yuan Yao wanted to speak and stopped looking at Aunt He who was standing aside, he was a little unhappy, "Aunt He is not an outsider, but it doesn't hurt to say it!" ”

Yuan Yao Zhengse said: "This matter is very important, please forgive the queen mother." ”

The Queen Mother waved her hand to let He Gu retreat, and said impatiently to Yuan Rui: "Yuan Rui, now you can talk about it!" You won't tell the mourning family to meet some exotic monks who are stepping on reeds to cross the river, right? ”

Yuan Rui Shili: "Back to the Queen Mother, of course it won't be such a trivial matter." However, the minister met a disciple of the monk that day, not the monk himself. The matter of stepping on reeds to cross the river was also told to the minister by the disciple of the monk, not what the minister saw with his own eyes. ”

The Queen Mother waved her hand a little annoyed: "Whether it's a monk or a disciple of a monk, the mourning family is not interested, so let's talk about this discovery!" ”

Yuan Rui repeated the matter of Yingyang again, and finally said: "For the sake of the world, I hope that the Queen Mother will make a decision to arrest Lian Dayong as soon as possible to prevent turmoil." ”

The Queen Mother pondered for a long time: "The rebellion you said is all your speculation in the end, and there is no real evidence. ”

As soon as Yuan Yao heard this, he became anxious: "What more evidence do you need?" Yuan Rui, you show the wound to the queen mother! People are killing people, do we still act as if nothing happened? ”

The Queen Mother glared at Yuan Yao with a cold gaze, and said sharply: "You are so impetuous, how can the mourning family rest assured that the country will be handed over to you!" ”

Yuan Yao was so frightened that he quickly stopped. The Queen Mother continued: "Even Dayong is an important minister of the court, and he can't be punished for some things that catch wind and shadows." The mourning family will find out about this matter, so you should retreat first. ”

Yuan Yao and the two touched a gray nose and had no choice but to retreat. met Aunt He at the door, because of her honor, neither of them dared to look at her more, and hurriedly left with their heads down. When he went down the steps, he bumped into an old minister who was climbing the ladder, this person was Li Hui, the great Si Nong, who was self-denying and serving the public during his tenure, and won the hearts of the people of the court. Maybe it's because he's worried about state affairs, although Li Hui is actually only in his fifties, he has already shown a little dragon clock in his gestures.

Seeing that it was Yuan Rui, Li Hui seemed to be very surprised, and his words were a little stammering: "Long ...... Your Royal Highness, King Changle, you ...... You're back? ”

Yuan Rui smiled: "Li Sinong was so surprised, didn't he think that Yuan Rui died outside?" ”

Li Hui apologized: "Where is it, I haven't seen His Highness for a long time, and I am a little unaccustomed to the sudden reunion." Your Highness, ...... this? ”

Yuan Rui: "I found some information when I traveled abroad, so I came to pay tribute to the Empress Dowager." ”

Yuan Yao squinted at Li Hui: "Li Sinong also came to find the Queen Mother?" ”

Only then did Li Hui realize that he had not yet saluted Yuan Yao, so he hurriedly made up for it, wiped the cold sweat on his forehead, hurriedly said goodbye to the two, and went to the interior to see him. Looking at Li Hui's trembling back, Yuan Rui and the others couldn't help but secretly sigh that the years are ruthless, even the most capable people will have a day when they will wane.

After that, more than ten days passed, and there was no movement. During this period, Yuan Rui also met Yuan Yao a few times, and when asked about this, Yuan Yao was also very anxious, only saying that the Queen Mother was investigating.

This yen Rui was bored in the house, and suddenly the housekeeper Chen Bo came to report, saying that Cui Gongzi and Geng Gongzi were visiting. This Cui Gongzi's name is Cui Mingyou, and he is the son of Taichang Cui Xuan; Geng Gongzi's name is Geng Bao, and he is the son of the former general Geng Tong. The two and Yuan Rui are both unofficial and unemployed, and they often fight cocks and lackeys together on weekdays.

Yuan Rui hurriedly asked Uncle Chen to invite them in. Before entering the hall, Cui Mingyou shouted from afar: "Your Highness, Geng Bao and I heard that you have been in a panic recently, and we have invited you to hunt in the mountains to relieve your boredom!" Yuan Rui thought that being idle was also idle, so he went with them.

There are not a few small animals such as hares and foxes on the mountain, but maybe Yuan Rui has something in his heart and has not gained anything. After missing the target with a few arrows, another arrow was released, and in frustration, he threw his bow and sat on a large rock and sulked. Seeing this, Cui Mingyou immediately picked up the hunting bow and handed it to Yuan Rui, and gossiped with him.

"I heard that the drought in the northern states and towns is very serious, and some counties and counties have already had the phenomenon of cannibalism, has Your Highness ever encountered the victims of the disaster making trouble this time?" In order to avoid mentioning words such as Lian Dayong and Queen Mother to stimulate Yuan Rui, Cui Mingyou's choice of this topic can be regarded as after some thought, which can not only give Yuan Rui something to say but has nothing to do with his troubles.

Yuan Rui was shocked when he heard this: "I have also passed through many states and towns along the way, and the drought is indeed there, but it is not as serious as you said!" ”

This time it was Cui Mingyou's turn to be surprised: "Really? The old man of my family said that a few days ago, he reported to Li Sinong that the drought in the north was very urgent, and that he had urgently allocated grain storage in Yongxing and Changxing to relieve the disaster. ”

Yuan Rui thoughtfully: "Li Sinong has been an official for more than 20 years, and he has always fulfilled his duties, but he always pays special attention to everything that involves the people, and tries to take precautions for everything. ”

Cui Mingyou has his own opinion: "If you talk about the Great Wei Liangchen, I only serve the court lieutenant Zhou Zhengzhi, and I am selfless in law enforcement and do not avoid the powerful." ”

As he was talking, Geng Bao jumped over excitedly, brandished his horse whip and shouted, "Your Highness, Mingyou, what do you see I hit?" ”

Yuan Rui and Cui Mingyou noticed that there was a sika deer lying on Geng Baobao's side, and immediately jumped up excitedly. Cui Mingyou patted the deer's head and quipped: "No wonder I haven't been able to see you, I was doing such a big deal!" ”

Yuan Rui also echoed: "I have a good mouth tonight!" ”

Geng Bao smiled and said, "Why don't we go to our mansion today and bake it together?" ”

Yuan Rui's mood improved, and he also joked: "That's nature, do you still want to enjoy it alone?" ”

The three of them continued to hunt for a while, and when they saw that there was no new harvest, they returned to Geng's Mansion early to prepare to enjoy the delicious food. Geng's house is customary, if there is delicious food, it must be counted as a portion of Geng Tong, the head of the family. Geng Tong and Yuan Rui politely exchanged two words and sat down. He is a very serious person, although Yuan Rui has seen him a few times before, but the words he has said add up to no more than ten sentences, I really don't know how a son born with this kind of character can fall in love with Yuan Rui so much.

It didn't take long for the servants to serve the venison, and the aroma was immediately filled, which was appetizing. Yuan Rui looked at Geng Tong: "Old general, please!" ”

Geng Tong also replied politely: "Your Highness, please!" ”

Yuan Rui couldn't hold it back for a long time, so he unceremoniously picked up a piece of venison and chewed it: "Fresh!" It's really fresh! I feel like I'm going to swallow my tongue too, so try it! Everyone moved, and for a time the sound of praise was endless.

Suddenly, Cui Mingyou proposed loudly: "Wouldn't it be a pity to have delicious food but no good wine!" ”

Yuan Rui Geng Bao hurriedly agreed: "Extremely yes! ”

So Geng Bao's wine that had been treasured for several years was also taken out, and several maids poured wine for everyone. The maid who didn't want Geng Tong to stop him from pouring wine said to everyone: "Your Highness, please forgive the old man for disappointing his fun, the old man has not drunk for many years." ”

Yuan Rui: "Have a drink, the old general might as well try it." ”

Geng Bao also persuaded: "Your Highness is right, Dad, you have not led troops for many years, so you don't need to be so vigilant from time to time." ”

Geng Tong couldn't stand the persuasion of the three of you, and in the end, he had no choice but to open a drinking ring.

After three rounds of drinking, everyone was a little drunk, especially Geng Tong, who talked more and more, and even danced from time to time, Yuan Rui and others finally understood why he had not drunk for many years, and it turned out that he was drunk after a drop.

Cui Mingyou took a sip of wine and complained: "Tell me, isn't my sister Cui Jiaren beautiful?" The group of blind eunuchs actually said that her appearance was not good! Only then did Yuan Rui know that Cui Mingyou's sister also went to choose the queen, and she was defeated.

Geng Bao was also indignant: "If you don't like it, the Queen Mother was not necessarily better than a beautiful woman when she was young!" ”

Yuan Rui had the best amount of alcohol, and he was still sober at this time, so he hurriedly waved his hand to let the people retreat.

is different from everyone's accusation that the clerks are blind, but Geng Tong patted the table and pointed at Cui Mingyou and Geng Bao and said: "You two hairy boys, you don't know anything, you know how to complain, it's really embarrassing." ”

Yuan Rui heard what he said, and couldn't help but wonder: "What is the old general's opinion?" ”

Geng Tong raised his eyebrows and asked: "Three little dolls, the old man asks you, among the girls who are running for the queen, are there people from the Hu family?" ”

Cui Mingyou shouted: "There are so many girls who are running, how can you remember them all." ”

Geng Bao thought hard for a long time: "It seems that I heard that the daughter of Bingzhou Assassin Shi Humo is also one of the beauties in this election. ”

Yuan Rui suddenly realized: "The old general means that the queen mother intends to choose another queen surnamed Hu!" ”

Geng Tong applauded: "Your Highness is Your Highness, and you are the first to open your mind." In fact, the reason why many things seem complicated is because you have not yet seen through them. ”

Yuan Rui used to only think that Geng Tong was an old martial artist with a rigid personality, and he didn't expect his insights to be so unique. Thinking of the troubles of the past few days, he decided to ask him what the mystery was, so he left the table and went to Geng Tong, and solemnly gave a salute: "The old general's words are like an enlightenment, Yuan Rui has benefited a lot, there is a matter that has been bothering the younger generations recently, and I also ask the old general to give advice." ”

Although Geng Tong was still drunk at this time, seeing Yuan Rui raising himself like this, he hurriedly avoided the table and staggered back: "Your Highness has tormented the old man." ”

Yuan Rui: "It's not a secret, the younger generation found out a few days ago that Yingyang Town General Lian Dayong intended to rebel, and he didn't dare to delay for a moment, and quickly returned to Beijing to the Empress Dowager, but he didn't think that the Queen Mother didn't seem to care very much, but ignored Lian Dayong on the grounds of insufficient evidence, and the younger generation really wanted to break his head and didn't understand the truth, I don't know what the old general thinks?" ”

Geng Tong laughed after hearing this: "The Queen Mother is waiting for him to rebel against Dayong, how can she take action against him?" ”