On the way back, An Ge sent someone to wait under the city gate with Xu Rui's Xuanyuan Ran, and Xu Rui invited Wang Shun to take a car with him, Wang Shun did not refuse, and the forbidden army escorted Xuanyuan Yuan to the palace.

For some reason, the two didn't speak all the way, and it wasn't until they were about to arrive at the palace that Xu Rui couldn't help but ask: "Father-in-law, don't you know if Father-in-law Hu can be buried?" ”

Wang Shun closed his eyes and said: "Lord Lao Hou is worried, eunuchs are cheap, and a straw mat is enough to wrap himself." ”

As he spoke, Wang Shun suddenly opened his eyes and whispered, "What pastime does Master Hou have on weekdays?" ”

Xu Rui was stunned for a moment, and said with a smile: "I am working hard, my leisure time is quite short, and I can't sleep enough, where do I know how to have fun?" ”

Wang Shun patted the back of Xu Rui's hand and said: "Master Hou works hard for the country, and the slaves and maids admire him very much, but he has to combine work and rest to last a long time." ”

Xu Rui smiled: "What my father-in-law said is, I don't know if my father-in-law has any good places to go?" ”

Wang Shun glanced at Xu Rui deeply and said with a smile: "Hou Ye may wish to make an appointment with three or five friends when he is free, drink and have fun, and relax and relax is a good time." ”

As he spoke, Wang Shun dipped his fingers in the tea in the cup and wrote the words "Dome Pavilion" on the low table in front of him.

Seeing this, Xu Rui glanced out of the window, only to see a few young eunuchs with their heads bowed, following Xuanyuan Yuan and walking forward slowly, and said in his heart: "Thank you father-in-law for your teaching, and you must have more pastimes in your spare time." ”

Wang Shun nodded, stopped talking, and the two ended the conversation like this.

Xu Rui fell into deep thought.

When he mentioned Hu Miao's funeral, he was asking Wang Shun if he had any clues, but Wang Shun did not answer directly, but asked him to go to the Dome Pavilion to find the answer.

Xu Rui of the Dome Pavilion had never heard of it, and according to what Wang Shun said, it should probably be a place for drinking and having fun, but what Xu Rui cared about was the way Wang Shun revealed this information.

If it was said that the rubbing note was handed over to Xu Rui last time in order to hide people's eyes and ears in the public, then this time in a private space like Xuanyuan Yuan, it is not necessary, why did Wang Shun not say it directly, but wrote the three words of Qionglong Pavilion on the table?

Wang Shun seemed to have been thinking about something, but there were only his henchmen and eunuchs near Xuanyuan, and the forbidden army escorted was a little far away, so he shouldn't be able to hear the conversation between the two.

Could it be that Wang Shun is worried about the eunuchs around him?

Wang Shun is the ancestor of the inner court, if he doesn't trust the little eunuchs around him, then does it mean that he is gradually losing control of the inner court, or is he aware that there is an inner ghost around him?

Or is the mastermind behind the killing of Hu Miao also threatening Wang Shun?

If this is the case, then the horror of the mastermind behind the scenes is still above his expectations, because Wang Shun not only controls the inner court, but he is also a super master who can't be hidden, and the forces that even he is so afraid of are really a headache.

Whatever the reason, this is a very bad sign.

Wang Shunnai is a veteran of the Three Dynasties, who has experienced at least two succession successions, as well as countless party struggles, no matter who becomes the emperor, no matter which political group is in power, he has a firm grip on the inner court.

If even he is already in danger now, it means that the situation is rapidly spiraling out of control.

Thinking about it, Xuanyuan suddenly stopped, Xu Rui came back to his senses, and only then did he realize that he had come to the palace gate.

Wang Shun got out of the car first and led Xu Rui towards the palace gate.

At night, the palace gate that should have been locked opened a crack, and a group of eunuchs knelt on both sides of the palace gate to greet Wang Shun and Xu Rui.

The two of them, together with the escorted forbidden army, passed through the palace gate all the way, and without saying a word, they hurried to the south study.

The south study was still lit with a faint light, and when Xu Rui entered, Emperor Hongwei was lying on a recliner and pretending to sleep.

His complexion was much worse than the last time they met, the red spots on his face were more obvious, his hair had turned pure white, his eye sockets were deeply sunken, his forehead was wrinkled, and his skin was covered with tiny blisters, as if he was seventy or eighty years old.

Realizing that someone had entered the door, Emperor Hongwei opened his eyes with difficulty, squinted for a while before confirming that the person in front of him was Xu Rui, and said lightly: "Are you here?" ”

Xu Rui nodded: "The minister is here." ”

Emperor Hongwei thought for a while and said, "All the people outside the city have been killed? ”

Xu Rui nodded again: "A total of twenty-three rebels, all of them have been killed, but there should be a lot of remnants." ”

"Good kill."

A touch of green anger appeared on Emperor Hongwei's face, and he sneered.

A trace of surprise flashed on Xu Rui's face, it seemed that Emperor Hongwei didn't seem to be interested in those people from the East China Sea, and even very disgusted, so why did he treat them with national courtesy, and even issued an edict to let himself enter the palace in such a hurry?

As if seeing Xu Rui's doubts, Emperor Hongwei suddenly sighed and said, "When you left the princess's mansion, Governor Hong had just gone out from here. ”

"What?"

Xu Rui was stunned: "Are you talking about Hong Guangli, the governor of the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies?" ”

Emperor Hongwei nodded.

Xu Rui frowned, Hong Guangli has always lived in a simple place, he rarely sees people on weekdays, let alone interferes in government affairs, he has been in Changxing for so long, Xu Rui has never seen this martial saint once, how could he suddenly come to see Emperor Hongwei, or after the palace door was locked?

"Alas...... Debt ......"

Emperor Hongwei suddenly sighed, picked up a letter from the table and handed it to Xu Rui and said, "This is sent by the old six or eight hundred miles urgently, you can take a look." ”

Xu Rui took the letter and opened it to see that it was the war letter that Ning Qian handed over to King Su through Long Yun that day.

"Ningqian and the Governor of Hong fought a decisive battle?"

Xu Rui was stunned for a moment after reading this battle letter, and then said with a smile: "Is this Ning Qian's brain broken?" ”

Emperor Hongwei glanced at Xu Rui and said, "What, do you have any objections to the decisive battle between the two Martial Saints?" ”

"Is it more than objection?"

Xu Rui sneered: "This East China Sea Sword God is a martial saint in the rivers and lakes, but he is just a grass man who does not enter the stream in the court, and the governor of Hong Dadu is the pillar of the country, the body of a thousand gold, how can he fight a decisive battle with such people?" ”

Looking at the undisguised disdain in Xu Rui's eyes, a smile gradually appeared on Emperor Hongwei's face.

"Yes, what a martial saint, to put it bluntly, he is just a reckless man, but I have no choice but to agree."

Xu Rui's face changed, and he exclaimed, "Could it be that this group of thieves dares to threaten the Holy Lord?" ”

Emperor Hongwei waved his hand and said, "I am the Son of Heaven of Great Wei, who in the world dares to threaten me?" Who can threaten me? It's the meaning of Governor Hong, he came tonight to make a request to me, and he is willing to fight with Ning Qian fairly, so before that, this person can't die! ”

"This ......"

Xu Rui couldn't help but be surprised, although he hadn't seen Hong Guangli, judging from what he had done over the years, this person should be a person who was indifferent to fame and fortune, and it was unlikely that he would accept the challenge for the sake of fame, so why did he come to ask Emperor Hongwei to agree to this duel?

Emperor Hongwei saw that Xu Rui was puzzled, and opened his mouth, but he wanted to say something and stopped, as if there was something difficult to say.

Xu Rui saw his appearance in his eyes, remembering that Wang Shun had reminded him not to ask more, and forcibly suppressed the doubts in his heart, but he also noticed that there was probably an inside story behind this matter.

Emperor Hongwei didn't seem to intend to explain anymore, so he changed his words and said: "Because I agreed to this competition, I recruited you into the palace late at night, and I want to give you a task!" ”

"What does the Holy One command? The ministers will do their best to live up to the emperor's grace. ”

Xu Rui quickly came back to his senses when he heard this, and habitually patted his chest.

Emperor Hongwei smiled when he heard this, but his face quickly became serious and said, "Don't be in a hurry to agree to me, this matter is not easy to do." ”

Seeing Emperor Hongwei's face, Xu Rui's heart tightened, and he realized that he was afraid that trouble was really coming.