Yu Chengen got up and bypassed the bookcase, hugged Lai Xing'er's shoulders tightly, and shouted in a trembling voice: "Virtuous nephew, I didn't expect our two grandfathers to meet here today, your mother and son have suffered in the past few years!" ”

The rest of the people in the hall were surprised and delighted when they saw him and the two of them unexpectedly recognize each other. Xiang Zhifei took the lead and persuaded with a smile: "It is a happy event for adults and little brothers and uncles and nephews to meet, why not sit down and talk about the past calmly, and we are fortunate to listen to a good story." ”

To his surprise, Yu Chengen let go of Lai Xing'er and issued an expulsion order to everyone: "What our family and Lai Xing'er's nephew said are personal and private affairs, and they have nothing to do with the government, so we won't delay a few people's time." Miss Tang also please go to the back hall to watch tea and rest, and after an hour, we will send you two back to Beijing. ”

Although everyone in the hall was reluctant in their hearts, they did not dare to go against Yu Chengen's will, and got up one after another and exited the main hall.

After everyone said goodbye and left, Yu Cheng'en pulled Xing'er aside and sat down, and said with emotion: "Don't hide it from my nephew, this paperweight was given to me by Ling Tang in Jiucheng Palace five years ago when I was ordered to inspect the Zhuxing Palace. At that time, your father came to Shenxing and was beheaded under the single willow tree in the imperial city of Chang'an because of his rebellion, and Lingtang was burdened by his husband and was punished into the Jiucheng Palace as a slave. She was seriously ill when she met me, but she was still forced to work with hard labor without rest, perhaps because she felt that she had little time to come, so she gave me this paperweight she had with her......"

When Lai Xing'er heard this, he was already shocked. This unexpected news of his mother's whereabouts was a glimmer of hope that he had been holding back from the frustration and loss that had been weighing on him in recent days, but it also left him at a loss. Moment. Furong and Li Jinzhong, whether explicitly or implicitly, had told him about the whereabouts of their mother's whereabouts one after another. and what Yu Chengen said. It is completely difficult to distinguish the authenticity from the fake.

"Your Excellency and Jiaci know each other?" Lai Xing'er tried to calm down his hot head, and asked tentatively.

"I only have two sides to the virtuous nephew, so it's no wonder that the virtuous nephew has doubts about this." Yu Chengen nodded, and expressed his understanding of Lai Xing'er's implicit questioning, "This matter is a long story, and it starts from when the first emperor was the prince in the East Palace before he ascended the throne: the first emperor was quite happy to make friends with literati and scholars, and sang poems and songs with each other, leaving many romantic stories. That is, just like the previous Zhongshu Ling, Pei Baiyao, who is now serving as the envoy of the first emperor's mountain mausoleum, was appreciated by the first emperor with his good poems and writings when he was young, and was promoted all the way to the phase. Your father came to Shenxing and was also one of the many literary friends of the former emperor, and he was the one with the most promising future.

Because, your father is not only the most proud disciple of Zhang Quxuan, one of the three phases of the Zhang family, but also quite respected by the Yang brothers and sisters. Zhang and Yang, the two wealthy families in the world, have a grudge and are incompatible, and your father can be friendly with both sides at the same time, is there another hidden secret? It's still an unsolved mystery.

The emperor ruled the country, and the most important way of checks and balances between courtiers. Even when choosing concubines for the crown prince, there were both the eldest lady of Zhang Men and the biological mother of the current emperor who was related to Yang Men. Since your father is extremely rare to be able to accept Zhang and Yang at the same time, he is naturally the key candidate for the first emperor's friendship. At that time, I was in charge of the inner fang in the East Palace, and I often traveled back and forth between your mansion and the East Palace on the orders of the first emperor, and I was very familiar with the people in your mansion. ”

"My lord, when you saw my mother in the Jiucheng Palace, what kind of illness did she have, does it matter? Is she still in the Ninety Percent Palace? Lai Xing'er recalled that there were indeed two or three eunuchs among the guests who often visited the family when he was young, but he didn't dare to confirm whether Yu Chengen was among them, Rao was so, he couldn't help but believe Chengen's words a little, and anxiously asked about his mother's whereabouts.

"Five years ago, I inspected various places in the palace, and I went to the Hezhong Army to serve as a supervisor, and since then I have lost the news of Lingtang." Yu Chengen seriously recalled the scene when the two met five years ago, and said, "There were many people present at the time, because I and Ling Tang had different identities, they just said a few words to each other, she stuffed this paperweight in my hand, and was shouted to leave, but I didn't have time to ask her what illness she had." But now that I think about it, she gave me this paperweight, most likely trying to ask me to pass it on to you. ”

"So, in your opinion, will Jiaci leave Jiucheng Palace and be forced to live farther away, such as Liaodong?"

Yu Chengen stared at Lai Xing'er sensitively and replied: "As far as I know, the large-scale repatriation of palace people out of the palace in the past five years is only this time after the current emperor ascended the throne, and only the palace people in the Daming Palace in Chang'an City have been repatriated. In addition, only the two saints of the emperor and queen can banish the palace people, after the death of Ling Zun, Ling Tang has been enslaved, and it seems that he will not be exiled again, according to this, it is very likely that Ling Tang is still in the palace of Jiucheng. ”

Lai Xing'er only felt that his heart was "wow" and jumped, and he couldn't wait to put on his wings and fly to the Jiucheng Palace to find out. In a blink of an eye, he thought of the life diary in Liaodong that Li Jinzhong had shown him in his mother's handwriting, and he couldn't help but feel a little hesitant in his heart.

"Jiucheng Palace is not very far away, after the virtuous nephew returns to the palace to report the letter, you might as well play to the emperor according to the truth, and ask the emperor to allow you to visit Lingtang." Yu Chengen saw that Lai Xing'er's face was flushed and he stopped asking, thinking that he had unexpectedly received news from his mother, and his heart was excited, so he comforted him easily.

After unexpectedly learning about Lai Xing'er's family background, Yu Chengen had a new idea: before the current emperor ascended the throne, he was too close to Empress Zhang, so that he was now left out in the cold, and was transferred from the Hezhong front line to Jingzhou to garrison. He still nominally holds the title of envoy of the soldiers and horses from all walks of life, but in fact, in addition to the less than 30,000 soldiers and horses of the Shenhe Army, which can be called elite, there are only some old and young remnants of the weak combat strength left. Even Li Jinzhong, who was born as a horseman, is now in the position of Zaifu and the Duke of the Kingdom, and he is in power, of course he Yu Chengen will not be willing to sit back and watch himself slide down the long downhill to the bottom of power. Since Lai Xing'er accompanies the emperor all day long, isn't it an excellent bridge to Daming Palace, and if he carefully repairs this bridge, he is expected to recover the current decline and regain a place in the new dynasty.

Thinking about this, Yu Chengen stood up and said to Lai Xing'er with a smile: "Even if this paperweight is transferred to you today, in the near future, when the virtuous nephew and Lingtang's mother and son meet, don't forget to bring a good sentence for our family." I see that the virtuous nephew is still a little drunk, so it is not too late to take a break here before leaving. I'll come when I go. With that, he hurried out of the chamber.

About half an hour later, a sergeant from the prison palace came to report to Lai Xing'er that everything was ready, and Lord Yu invited him to set off. Lai Xing'er walked out of the prison palace with the sergeant, and saw Yu Chengen holding the reins of a white horse with his own hands, and he was already waiting outside the palace gate with Nayu.

Lai Xing'er walked a few steps, bowed down and apologized: "Lord Lao has been waiting for a long time. As he spoke, he stretched out his hand to take the reins from Cheng En's hand.

Yu Chengen refused to let go, he smiled and stroked the long mane of the white horse with his other hand, and said to Lai Xing'er: "I roughly remember that the virtuous nephew is an expert who loves horses and understands horses. Come on, get on the horse. ”

Lai Xing'er looked at the white horse closely, and saw that it shrugged its eyes and ears, plump and thin tail, it was indeed a rare good horse, and he couldn't help but feel happy in his heart, and he couldn't care about being humble, so he leaned forward, pulled the saddle and turned over on the horse, sat firmly on the horse, and hugged his fist at Yu Chengen: "Thank you uncle for giving the horse today, and Xing'er will be rewarded another day." As soon as Lai Xing'er got on the horse and sat down, it raised its head and let out a long neigh, as if to express its joy at meeting the new master.

"Don't be too busy thanking us, Lord Yu has also given us a new mission." Nayu said lukewarmly.

Yu Chengen waited for Lai Xing'er to get on the horse, then handed the reins to him, took a fine silk woven bag from the hand of the sergeant beside him, and explained to Lai Xing'er: "This is a piece of music that I just wrote, which includes the latest military situation in the Helong area, so I ask the virtuous nephew to present it to the emperor on my behalf." He pointed behind Lai Xing'er and said to Nayu: "Those two boxes are not rare things, they are all things that women like to use, and I also ask the virtuous nephew and Miss Tang to bring them back to Chang'an together and present them to the two noble concubines, which can be regarded as a little heart of my foreign minister." ”

After he said this, Lai Xing'er noticed that there was indeed a black horse behind him, carrying two huge cages on his back. He was grateful to Yu Chengen for telling him the news of his mother, and agreed to the two things without hesitation.

Seeing that the sky was about to get dark, Lai Xing'er was in a hurry to hurry, beckoned Nayu to turn over and get on the horse, and the two said goodbye to Yu Chengen with their fists, spurred the horse, and galloped eastward. (To be continued.) )