Liu Yong sat in the living room, and the old housekeeper led Cao De, who was dressed in civilian clothes, to come. Far away, he frowned without a trace. Casual clothes came to the door, naturally it was a private visit, not to investigate the assassination of Liu Fu last night, it seems that this Lord Cao took the lead in coming to the door There is something else.

Thinking of this, Liu Yong snorted lightly.

"Xia Guan has seen Lord Liu. ”

Liu Yong's official rank is long, although he and his supervisor Si Cheng are both positive five grades, but Cao De knows that the other party inherits the title of the fourth grade, and it is understandable to shout the lord according to the etiquette system.

"Lord Cao's presence really made my Liu Mansion shine. Hurry up...... You may be seated."

Liu Yong smiled, but he didn't intend to get up to greet him.

"You're welcome. ”

Cao De's eyes flashed slightly, but he didn't show any annoyance. Although he has a reputation for being a cool official, he is a man who observes words and feelings.

After he sat down, he said apologetically: "Yesterday, I learned that the lord was in the city and wanted to go to greet him, but I really can't get out of the big case in Xicheng District, I'm really sorry." “

"Lord Cao is busy with business, and Liu understands. ”

Liu Yong nodded, then his voice sank a little, and he said to him: "However, Liu feels that Puyang City is indeed a bit chaotic. Xiao'er was attacked and killed in the house last night, and he has not woken up yet. “

"There is such a thing!"

Cao De exclaimed, as if he had just heard it and was very surprised.

"The entire Puyang City has spread all over it, but I didn't expect Lord Cao to know the news. ”

Liu Yong sneered secretly, the assassination of Liu Fu spread all over the streets and alleys of the city, and the person in front of him pretended not to know.

"These petty people ignore the royal law and dare to assassinate the noble son. Don't worry, sir, I will definitely strengthen the vigilance of the whole city when I go back. Especially in the Liu Mansion, I will try to send as many people from the Supervision Department as possible to inspect. “

Cao Deyi was righteous and swore to bear it.

Liu Yong's eyes were slightly cold, looking at Cao De's smiling face, and said calmly: "I thanked Master Cao in advance." ”

"The lord is polite, you and I are officials in the same dynasty, and we should take care of each other. Cao De smiled even more, and then said: "Moreover, Duke Qingguo admires the lord very much, and the two of us can communicate more in Puyang City in the future." ”

"Qing Guogong"

Hearing these three words, no matter how steady Liu Yong was, his face changed slightly. Fortunately, he was very restrained from his emotions, and said as usual: "I didn't expect that Lord Cao had a relationship with this big man, and the day of soaring was not far away." ”

"The lord said that I was joking, I just met with Grandpa Guo once. Thanks to his old man for not giving up, he pointed out some ways to be an official in the next place, such as Daigo empowerment, and suddenly woke up. ”

"Oh. Liu listened attentively. ”

Seeing Liu Yong's unwavering appearance, Cao De grinned and said: "Grandpa Guo said that now the chaos of the court is divided into many forces, and if you want to deal with it calmly, you must naturally find a support, otherwise it is inevitable that people inside and outside will be suppressed." ”

"Dependence?" Liu Yong drew an arc at the corner of his mouth and asked, "Then where does Lord Cao think the situation depends on now?"

"If it was in the past, I thought it was better to rely on myself, as long as I was diligent, of course, the Son of Heaven saw it. At this time, Qingguo Gong has a clean and honest style and is a person who can be relied on for the empire. ”

After speaking, Cao De looked at Liu Yong and observed the latter's reaction.

In other words, no matter how stupid Liu Yong is, he knows that the other party wants to recruit him. Now, he has been named the chief of Puyang City, although he is only a positive fifth grade, but in terms of speaking, even the Puyang City Guard is not weaker.

Liu Yong picked up the tea bowl and took a sip lightly. He said unhurriedly: "Lord Cao, whose empire is this empire?"

"Nature is the empire of the Son of Heaven. ”

Cao De said casually, and then his face changed slightly. Sure enough, I heard Liu Yong say: "Since it is the empire of the Son of Heaven, it naturally depends on the Son of Heaven, no matter how outstanding Qingguo Gong is, can he still replace the Son of Heaven!"

At the end of his speech, his voice rose by three points, leaving Cao De speechless and difficult to refute.

"It seems that Lord Liu has an idea in his heart, but Cao has done more. After a while, Cao De showed a somewhat cold smile. Since Liu Yong expressed his intentions and failed to win over, he no longer deliberately curryed favor with the other party, and even changed his title.

Moreover, he knows better that the decision of a powerful minister like Liu Yong was not made at once, I am afraid that he would have known his intentions, but he didn't make the relationship too stiff, so he let himself say a few more words.

"I have received Lord Cao's wishes, but Liu only hopes to contribute more to the people and the community, rather than participating in other turmoil. Seeing Cao De's dissatisfaction with himself, Liu Yong paused, and then said: "The Liu Mansion will only be the Liu Mansion, not someone else's Liu Mansion." ”

"Lord Liu has this courage, and Cao admires it. However, the Son of Heaven has been in power for forty years, how many years can he be in charge of the government?" Cao De smiled and said: "People can't help themselves in the officialdom, I hope that Lord Liu can be safe and sound under the wind and rain." ”

"It's not too early, Cao said goodbye. ”

Cao De got up, and suddenly he was stunned, turned his back to Liu Yong and said: "By the way, remind Lord Liu, in five months, it will be the most important city meeting in Puyang City, and then the Liu Mansion will not let people fall into the truth." ”

After speaking, he waved his sleeves and left the Liu Mansion under the gift of the old housekeeper.

When the old housekeeper returned to the hall, he saw Liu Yong frowning. Knowing his master's temper, he didn't dare to disturb.

"Old butler, do you know that Puyang City will meet in five months?" asked Liu Yong. The old housekeeper was a member of the Liu Mansion who arrived in Puyang City in advance, so he naturally knew more about the situation in the city than him.

"Master, Puyang City will be a little special. The war in the northwest is chaotic every year, so the martial style is more victorious, and the major forces in the city jointly hold the city meeting once every three years, and the participants are the heirs of all parties, and the winner can get ten thousand taels of gold and even get a letter of recommendation from the Sheji Palace. ”

"A letter of recommendation from Sheji Palace?"

Liu Yong's face changed slightly, he had been in the Central Imperial Capital for a long time, so he naturally knew how high the threshold of Sheji Palace was. The Sheji Palace only recruits 20 students every year, and after graduating in three years, they can even directly become high-ranking officials or generals without passing the imperial examination, which is to truly cultivate talents who can carry the Sheji. Even if the heirs of those big names don't have outstanding talents, it is difficult to enter the Sheji Palace for half a step.

"No wonder ......"

Liu Yong's face sank, so many killers targeted Liu Mansion along the way, not only to cut off the foundation of Liu Mansion, but also to rule out the chance that Liu Mansion would get this place at the city meeting.

Thinking of this, Liu Yong's eyes changed slightly, he looked at the old housekeeper and asked, "What is he doing?"

"The young master asked Zhao Jiu to teach him martial arts. ”

The old housekeeper naturally knew who "he" was in Liu Yong's mouth.

"Give him all the clan books and resources he needs, even if he is a pig, he will see the results in the shortest possible time. ”

"But ......"

The old housekeeper was a little worried, martial arts resources and martial arts secrets were important, but it was not easy to pull out the seedlings in a short period of time, and he himself was a person who practiced martial arts, so he naturally knew that it was difficult.

"Nothing. Liu Yong's tone was categorical, and he said in a deep voice: "Old housekeeper, you don't know how difficult my Liu Mansion will be in the future. ”

"Sir!"

The old butler exclaimed, he had never heard such a thing from this calm old man.

"There will be more lobbyists in the future, and my Liu Mansion will naturally not join any party. But ...... reject them" Liu Yong smiled, and did not say the second half of the sentence, refusing the solicitation of the rest of the forces is tantamount to becoming their enemy.

Sure enough, Liu Yong's prediction came true.

In the next day, many distinguished guests visited Liu's Mansion, all of whom were some well-known figures in the city. Liu Yong excused his son's injury as an excuse to exclude many people, but after half a day, Liu Yong's face changed greatly when he received a message.

"This bastard?"

Liu Yong's face was a little pale, and he was holding a letter of worship in his hand, and the three big gold lacquer characters of the county guard mansion were shining.

"The other party came prepared. ”

Zhuge Qingfeng walked out of the darkness. The contemporary county keeper is named Yi Zhixi, who is good at calculation and ruthless, and is Liu Yong's number one political enemy in Puyang City.

"Could it be that the two waves of assassins are related to him?" Liu Yong's expression was a little gloomy, the Yi family behind Yi Zhixi was the opponent of the entire Liu clan, and naturally there was no relationship between him. I just came to Liu's Mansion at this time, I'm afraid it was more for other purposes.

"If that's the case, then we're in a dire situation. Zhuge Qingfeng frowned. If the two waves of assassins were all sent by Yi Zhixi, then it is very likely that the other party came to the door at this time to confirm Liu Yang's identity.

"Since he's menacing, then we can't sit still. ”

"What do you mean?" Liu Yong looked at him, a little puzzled.

"The bell needs to be tied to the bell. ”

A smile appeared on the corner of Zhuge Qingfeng's mouth.

"Are you going to do it?"

"Exactly. ”

Zhuge Qingfeng nodded, knowing that Liu Yong had guessed his thoughts. The two have worked together for many years, and they almost know what they are thinking with one look.

"You are so confident in him?" Liu Yong was a little unsure.

"Didn't you say it yourself? Looking forward to this guy's performance in Puyang City. ”

Zhuge Qingfeng laughed out loud, so that Liu Yong couldn't help but glare at him. The "he" that the two said was naturally Liu Yang, as long as he could get through in front of Yi Zhixi, the crisis in Liu's Mansion would naturally be solved. After all, Yi Zhixi had never seen the original only son of Liu Fu before.

"Pass him over. ”

After hesitating for a moment, Liu Yong still asked Liu Yang to come over.

"No. ”

An old figure walked out.