The inner hall is not far from the warm pavilion, when Xiao Jingqian appeared in the inner hall, he was already well-dressed, a man in his forties dressed in coarse cloth was waiting in the hall, and when he saw Xiao Jingqian appear, he hurriedly stepped forward and said respectfully: "Second son!" ”

Xiao Jingqian glanced at this person a few times, walked to the chair and sat down, and said, "You look very eye-catching, are you in the house?" ”

The man hurriedly said: "The villain was taken to the house by Steward Liu half a year ago, and he was assigned to work in the warehouse. ”

"Liu Chong sent you?"

"Yes." The man hurriedly said: "Second son, 100,000 urgent matters, the villain got the instructions of Steward Liu, and rushed over non-stop to deliver a letter to the second son." ”

"You said Liu Chong sent you, did he give you anything?"

The man immediately took out something from his arms, but it was a string of Buddhist beads made of sandalwood, Xiao Jingqian saw the Buddha beads, nodded, and asked, "What letter did he ask you to send?" What about faith? ”

"Steward Liu said that the stakes are so important that you can't write a letter, you can only pass it on orally."

"Can't write a letter?" Xiao Jingqian frowned, "What the hell happened?" ”

The man looked left and right, leaned closer, and said in a low voice: "Second son, the old man is critically ill!" ”

"Huh?" Xiao Jingqian stood up suddenly, and said in a lost voice: "Father, he ......!" ”

The man hurriedly put his finger to his mouth and reminded Xiao Jingqian not to be loud, Xiao Jingqian also knew that this matter was very important, his expression was solemn, and he lowered his voice and said, "Tell me quickly, what's going on, how is my father now?" ”

The man looked around, as if he was afraid that someone would eavesdrop, Xiao Jingqian shook his head and said, "But it's okay to say it, no one will approach here." ”

"Three days ago, the lord suddenly fainted in the mansion, when the eldest prince and Steward Liu and others were present, they immediately invited a doctor, the doctor arrived in the mansion, to treat the master, why did he suddenly faint, the doctor only talked to the eldest son, even the lady did not know." The man lowered his voice and said: "Steward Liu felt that something was wrong, so he secretly found the doctor, spent some silver, and asked about the master's situation, but Steward Liu did not tell the villain what the disease was, only that the doctor told him that the master was only afraid of bad luck this time." ”

Xiao Jingqian clenched his hands into fists and said in a deep voice: "Then can my father wake up now?" ”

"I haven't woken up yet, but the eldest prince has blocked the news, and he has gone to the mansions of several elders in the clan several times." The man said softly: "Steward Liu asked the villain to come over and deliver a letter to the second son, if nothing else, the eldest prince is ready to hide the news of the master's illness from the second son, and then secretly contact the elders of the clan, and wait until the master ...... If something happens to the master, he will immediately take over the position of head of the family. ”

Xiao Jingqian sneered: "Guy with a small eye in the eyes, how can the position of the head of the family be taken by someone like him?" What else did Steward Liu say? ”

"Steward Liu also said that the lord doesn't know if he can wake up, if he can't wake up, the eldest prince will definitely fake the lord's will, and he will definitely say that the lord is ready to make the eldest son the head of the family, and the eldest prince is now secretly in contact with the elders of the clan, it must be to gain their support." The man said in a deep voice: "He deliberately concealed the news of the master's illness, because he was afraid that the second son would go back and compete with him for the position of the head of the family, as long as the second son did not know the news, he ascended to the position of the head of the family, and when the second son knew the news, it would be too late." ”

"What a Xiao Jingsheng." Xiao Jingqian said angrily: "I thought that Lao Tzu didn't know anything outside, but I didn't know that Steward Liu had always been Lao Tzu's eyes in Fucheng." He patted the man on the shoulder, "You're doing a great job, by the way, what's your name?" ”

"Villain Niu Qing!"

"Niu Qing, you have made a contribution this time, and my son will definitely be rewarded when he turns back. Did Steward Liu say anything else? ”

"Steward Liu said, the elders of the clan do not all support the eldest son, there are many people who actually support the second son, the second son is both civil and military, and has both ability and political integrity, only when the second son inherits the position of the head of the family, the Xiao family can prosper." Niu Qing said: "But if the second prince is not in Fucheng, relying on the prestige of the eldest prince, they will not dare to object." ”

"That idiot, he was bent on giving Zhu Lingyue's foundation to Zhu Lingyue for nothing, and he didn't want to glorify the lintel, but wanted to be Zhu Lingyue's lackey." Xiao Jingqian sneered: "Although Zhu Lingyue is powerful, why should he be afraid of him, our Xiao family can't fight with Zhu Lingyue, if the position of the head of the family falls into the hands of that idiot, Beishan will soon become Zhu Lingyue's meal, and my son will definitely not let that situation happen." ”

Niu Qingdao: "Second son, Steward Liu said that the future of the Xiao family is completely pinned on the second son, once the eldest son gets the position of the head of the family, the Xiao family will be ruined, so Steward Liu ordered the villain to tell the second son the news that the old man is seriously ill no matter what, and there can be no delay in the slightest, because ...... Because the master's situation is unknown now, if the second son goes back late, I'm afraid that ...... I'm afraid it's too late. ”

Xiao Jingqian immediately said: "Yes, I have to rush back now, Niu Qing, you wait first, I will go and entrust the affairs in my hand now, and then wait for a group of soldiers and horses to go back to Fucheng, Lao Tzu has the power of the army, see how that fool fights me!" ”

"Second son, don't do it." Niu Qing hurriedly said: "Steward Liu repeatedly told the villain that he must persuade the second son not to be rash. ”

"Willy?"

"Second son, my lord's current situation, but life and death are uncertain, although he is seriously ill, but ...... But it's not necessarily that you can't wake up. Niu Qing said softly: "If the second son takes the troops back, but the master wakes up, how should the second son explain to the master at that time?" Could it be that the master knew that the second son was going to lead the troops back to compete for the position of the head of the family? Moreover, many elders in the clan praised the second son, and they all felt that the second son was far better than the eldest son, but if he really brought the troops back, I was afraid that the elders in the clan would also think that the second son was ......! But he didn't go on.

Xiao Jingqian frowned and said, "It's okay for you to say it, I won't blame you for making a mistake." ”

"Second son, if you bring the troops back, the elders will also think that the second son is coercive and seizes power, which is absolutely ineffective for the second son." Niu Qing said solemnly: "The second son wants to be the head of the family, and if he wants to convince the whole clan, he must convince people with virtue and bring the troops back, which will only damage the prestige of the second son, and it is definitely not the best policy." ”

"Yes, yes, yes." Xiao Jingqian suddenly realized: "Niu Qing, what you said is right, well, you can't lead the troops, if you really want to bring the troops back, Xiao Jingsheng's idiot will inevitably say that I am seizing power, hehe, this son will not give him a chance to tell the truth, this son is the head of the family, that is what everyone expects, to convince people with virtue, to convince people with virtue, to convince people with virtue ......!" patted Niu Qing on the shoulder, and said with emotion: "Niu Qing, I didn't expect you to have such knowledge, you are really a talent, you can rest assured, when this son gets the position of the head of the family, he will definitely reuse you." ”

"The villain thanked the second son." Niu Qing said gratefully.

"What do you think you should do?"

"Steward Liu has already thought of a countermeasure." Niu Qing said softly: "Second son, don't make a big fuss, don't reveal the master's illness to others, whether it is Zhu Lingyue in Tianshan or Chu Huan in Xiguan, their eyes are staring at our Beishan, if they know that the master is seriously ill, I am afraid that it will cause great trouble, so the less people know about this news, the better." ”

Xiao Jingqian was thoughtful, nodded and said, "You're right. ”

"The second son should rush back to Fucheng overnight." Niu Qingzheng said: "Fucheng is only more than a hundred miles away from here, the second prince is quick to whip up, set off now, he should be able to rush back to Fucheng before dawn, and the second son doesn't need to do more, as long as he goes back, he sees the lord and stays by the lord's side, the eldest prince is helpless." The lord has always appreciated the second son, as long as the lord can wake up, he will definitely hand over the position of the head of the family to the second son, even if the lord can't wake up, as long as the second son is in the city, those elders who support the second son will dare to stand up and support the second son...... If you are a soldier or a horse, when it is a last resort, it is not too late for the second son to use it! ”

Xiao Jingqian naturally understands the meaning, if he gets the support of the elders in the clan and finally wins the position of the head of the family, then naturally everyone is happy, but if there are more people who support Xiao Jingsheng, and Xiao Jingsheng finally has the advantage, that is the last resort, and at that time, there is no need to care about any prestige, and it is inevitable to mobilize troops and horses to seize power.

Xiao Jingsheng understands very well that what he wants to win is not just as simple as the position of the head of the family, and only by obtaining the position of the head of the family can he be qualified to inherit Xiao Huanzhang's power and become the governor of Beishan Province, with great power.

The position of the governor of Beishan Province is not the same as before, if it was in the past, after Xiao Huanzhang's death, he would inevitably be appointed by the imperial court and send another official to take office.

But now the imperial court can't control the northwest, and the Xiao family can't watch the power being seized, so that others can sit in the position of the governor of Beishan, the Xiao family is deeply rooted in Beishan, whether it is money, food, soldiers and horses, they are firmly in the hands of their own clan, and the gentry and wealthy families in Beishan are also under the banner of the Xiao family.

This is just a scene effort, after all, the Xiao family doesn't want to be easily charged with rebellion for the time being.

The Xiao family is already deep-rooted in Beishan, it is difficult to shake, if the court pushes the boat down the river, then both sides are happy, the court continues to live his life, and the Xiao family will continue to be the courtiers of Daqin on the bright side, but once the court really wants to send another official, for the Xiao family, there are many paths to choose, although the officials sent can die one by one, even if they don't take their lives, the money, food, soldiers and horses are all in the hands of the Xiao family, and the officials sent have no place at all.

And the road that tears the face even more, it is naturally directly reversed, the world is now full of rebel forces, even if the Xiao family rebels, the imperial court is powerless to conquer.

However, as a last resort, of course the Xiao family will not take this path, just like Zhu Lingyue, everyone knows that he has become a force in the northwest, and even knows that this person is determined to be in the entire northwest, but as long as he does not play the banner, he is still a good courtier of the imperial court.

Xiao Jingqian knew that the position of the head of the family was equivalent to the position of the governor, and the position of the governor was equivalent to the military and political power of the entire Beishan Province, and of course he would not give up such power to the brother who was far inferior to him in his opinion.