The sky was dark, the long street outside the gate of Feng's Mansion was empty, and the cold wind swept the white pieces of paper from nowhere, dancing under the bright and flickering wind lamp, which was a bit like the scene after the funeral, which made people feel miserable.

The two-seated sedan chair walked out of the darkness and landed in front of the vermilion gate, and from the front sedan chair came down was Xu Jue in a python robe. He is the most trusted by Feng Bao, not only the butler of the Feng Mansion, but also the official worship of the Sanpin Jinyi Guard to command the Tongzhi, and also lead the Nanzhen Fusi Yamen, in the capital, powerful and powerful, belonging to the hands and eyes of the sky. Countless gentlemen, Qi Wanchen, and officials, all of them are tolerant of knowing him, if anyone dares to pat his chest and say, "Commander and acquaintance Xu Ye knows, don't we, buddies!" This man will surely be the object of controversy.

The other person who came down in a sedan chair is naturally not an ordinary person, in his thirties, rich in appearance and bright clothes, although he has no merit and fame, but he is also a mixed official.

His name is Pan He, and he is the former prince of Zhishi, the official of the Ministry of Rites, and the housekeeper of Pan Sheng, a scholar of Wuyingdian University.

Speaking of Pan Sheng, there are some things that cannot be left unmentioned.

Pan Sheng, the word Siming, the water curtain, the thirty-second year of Jiajing, the proud protégé of the Taishi Zhang Juzheng, the official to the Ministry of Rites, and later impeached for the official speech. In the tenth year of Wanli, that is, Zhao Haochen passed through this year, Zhang Juzheng secretly wrote to Wanli before his death, recommending two people to enter the cabinet, one is in charge of Zhan Shifu, Yu Youding, the left servant of the ministry, and the other is Pan Siming.

Pan Sheng is not only Zhang Juzheng's protégé, but also Feng Bao's teacher, it stands to reason that with such a relationship, it is natural for Zhang Juzheng to enter the cabinet to replace Zhang Juzheng, which is also something that Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng are happy to see. Who knew that Zhang Siwei and Shen Shixing were unwilling to let Pan Sheng enter the cabinet, so they secretly gave a briefing to the imperial historians in the matter, signaling them to write a letter to impeach Pan Sheng.

Yu Shi Lei Shizhen "comprehended", and then wrote a book, impeaching Pan Sheng "Tsinghua has been defiled for a long time, does not smell the ability of bright festivals, and is shameless and donating, but he is willing to say and flatter", and exposed his old background, saying that when he first served as the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, the filthy traces were obvious, and the first emperor often reprimanded him, and after the resurgence, public opinion hated it. People like this, leisurely traveling in the forest is already the emperor's grace, and now he has to be entrusted with a heavy responsibility, wouldn't it open the door for those who are greedy for glory and competition? I hope that Wanli will take back his life and choose another sage.

At that time, Zhang Juzheng was at the beginning of his funeral, and the impact was still there, and Wanli considered that Pan Sheng was recommended by him on his deathbed, and he was unwilling to take back his fate. Helplessly, Zhang Dingsi, Wang Jiguang, Sun Wei, Niu Weishan, Yushi Wei Yunzhen, Wang Guozhen and others were impeached one after another, and the momentum was very strong. Pan Sheng took the initiative to resign, and Zhang Siwei reacted quickly, drafting a decree on behalf of Wanli: "Let it go!" Wanli had no choice but to push the boat down the river, and Pan Sheng gave him a new title. (This record can be found in the "Wanli Di Banknote" Wanli 10th Renwu volume and the "Mingshenzong Records" volume 125, Wanli 10th June Yiyou)

At that time, Pan Sheng was already on his way to Beijing, and suddenly received a holy decree, and he was immediately discouraged and returned to his hometown Xinchang, which made a big ugly appearance and became a laughing stock in the officialdom.

Returned to his hometown and lived a few months of idle clouds and wild cranes, but Pan Sheng's heart did not relax for a moment, always thinking about looking for an opportunity to take revenge on the two auxiliary ministers of the cabinet.

As early as when Pan Sheng was in Beijing, Pan He and Xu Jue became friends, and this time when he came to Beijing, he was the first person to look for. For this now hot officialdom nobleman, Pan He did not dare to slack off, and presented a silver ticket of 10,000 taels as soon as they met. Such a denomination, even in today's officialdom where bribery is commonplace, is definitely a heavy gift. Xu Jue took the money and his attitude was really eager, and he immediately returned to Feng Bao and made an appointment for this meeting tonight.

As soon as he got out of the sedan chair, he was greeted by a doorman, and Xu Jue asked, "Has the ancestor returned?" ”

"Nope."

"What?" Xu Jue, who had already stepped into the threshold with one foot, took his foot back again: "Didn't you say that you will come back as soon as you leave the class?" ”

"I don't know if it's small."

Xu Jue has moved out of the Feng Mansion since he served as Jinyiwei, and now he helps take care of major events in addition to major events, and he has long been left with housekeeping. There is another housekeeper in the Feng Mansion, who is the master of ceremonies and the clerk Qiu Deyong. However, the Feng Mansion still treated him as a housekeeper, and when he saw Menzi's expression at this moment, as if he didn't know that he had an appointment, he asked:

"Where's Manager Qiu?"

"Manager Qiu also entered the palace and never came back!" Menzi replied cautiously.

Something must be wrong, right?

Xu Jue muttered in his heart, his face remained silent, and he turned around and smiled at Pan He: "The old ancestor is afraid that something will stumble on his feet, let's go in first and wait." ”

There was indeed an accident in the palace, Zhu Yijun was upset today, he went to Xiyuan to relax, and when he came back, he found that the rosewood inlaid black gold bracelet he was used to playing with was actually missing, and he was immediately furious, and called Zhang Dashou to the front for a good time, just when Feng Bao arrived in the Qianqing Palace, he became more and more angry, pointing at Feng Bao's nose and yelling: "Feng Bao, you came just in time, you stole things to my head, how do you care about it on weekdays?" Hurry up and check, I can't find out that I am asking for you! ”

Wanli's stern tone was definitely the first time for Feng Bao, and he suddenly felt like he was being beaten by a punch.

Of course, he understands that since Zhang Juzheng's death, Wanli's dissatisfaction with himself has become more and more obvious, and he is also actively looking for countermeasures, but he doesn't take it very seriously. After all, he has served three emperors, and he is also a veteran of the three dynasties, and there is no merit and hard work, not to mention that the queen mother of the two palaces trusts him, and Wanli's attitude is not so obvious, he doesn't believe that Wanli will do anything to himself at all.

But today is different, Wanli actually called him by his name instead of the usual "big companion", what does this portend? He didn't dare to think deeply.

However, thinking of the reason why Wanli was angry, Feng Bao's heart calmed down a little. That bracelet was a congratulatory gift from Zhang Juzheng at the time of Wanli's wedding. For so many years, he and Zhang Juzheng can be said to have shared weal and woe, Wanli because of such a big fire in his hand, it shows that the old love for Zhang Juzheng is unforgettable, even if he is dissatisfied with himself, he is thinking of Zhang Juzheng's relationship, and he is afraid that it will not be good.

It's just that when he thought that the emperor's bedroom could throw things, he couldn't sit still. Obviously, this was a premeditated theft, and it was not Wanli, but he Feng Bao

Who is behind this? There are too many objects of suspicion, after Wanli left, Feng Bao and Zhang Dashou looked at each other, talked secretly for a long time, and still couldn't get the essentials, so he could only order Zhang Dashou to take the eunuchs involved in the matter to Dongchang Prison, torture him, and told Qiu De to serve Zhu Yijun with a good life, he remembered the agreement with Xu Jue, and thought that it was a good thing for many people to discuss it, so he went out of the palace and returned to Feng's mansion.

Before he got off the sedan chair, Feng Bao heard his entourage shouting and asking, "Who is it?" Startled him, he hurriedly raised the curtain slightly to look out, and saw a person standing next to the stone lion at the door of the house, looking through the light, it turned out to be Chen Mo, and he couldn't help but be stunned.