Cen Yin was silent, but took out a note from his sleeve and handed it to Cen Zhenxing.

Cen Zhenxing glanced at the note quickly, his pupils shrank, and he casually crumpled the note into a ball and threw it into the brazier on the side.

The orange flames swooped up, engulfing the note into ashes in an instant.

Cen Yin stared at the flames in the brazier with a faint expression, and after a while, he said, "That thing was done so tightly that even the East Factory couldn't find out a bit...... In this capital, except for the one in the palace, the only person I can think of is you. ”

The light of the fire left a strange light and shadow on his beautiful face, making him look as ghostly and seductive as the vixen who came out of the playbook.

Cen Zhenxing also has spies from the West Factory in his hands, and he has been in charge of the East Factory for many years, so he knows the way the East Factory does things well.

As for the emperor, if the emperor had such a "clue" in his hand, I am afraid that he would have been unable to hold back and directly kill him!

Cen Zhenxing didn't speak, but slowly brought the white porcelain embossed teacup in his hand to his lips, and his eyes flashed with a complex light mixed with sighs, hesitations, suddenness, reminiscence, and so on.

Since discovering that Cen Yin and Feng Yan had a "close relationship", Cen Zhenxing has been wondering whether the "stillborn" little prince back then was the real prince, and in the case of that year, the only one who could know the truth was the eldest princess of Anping.

He seemed to be true and false to give some news to Feng Qianzhi, and led Feng Qianzhi to make a move, just to seek the truth......

And he himself may not know how to face this truth, let alone how to face Cen Yin.

"Ah Yin, you...... Can't you really stop it? Cen Zhenxing's old voice revealed a hint of hoarseness and exhaustion, and a fiery bitterness welled up in his throat.

He always knew why Ah Yin came, and he also knew what Ah Yin had secretly planned all these years, but he let it go and didn't ask, until today he had to open the veil that had been crumbling for a long time.

Go any further, and Ah Yin really has no turning back! He really couldn't watch his old man walk before him as a dying man.

Cen Zhenxing did not specify who "you" were, and there was no need to say it, both of them knew it.

There was silence in the room again.

Cen Yin's eyes were still looking at the gradually lowering flames in the brazier, his narrow eyes reflected two flames, unusually bright, he hooked his lips with a smile, and his voice was not light or heavy, unhurried as usual.

"That's all I have left to live......"

So, no matter what kind of outcome you will face in the future, whether it is success or failure, or a thousand cuts, what does it matter?!

Cen Zhenxing's pupils shrank, his hands trembled, the tea in the teacup almost didn't spill out, and the complexity of his eyes was replaced by a thick guilt, turning into a low call: "Ah Yin......"

Cen Zhenxing's lips moved, but he couldn't speak, and he couldn't help but think in his heart: If he had been one step earlier...... If you stopped him from entering the palace earlier, would everything be different now......

The corners of Cen Yin's mouth curled higher, turned his head, and finally looked at Cen Zhenxing, and persuaded softly: "Father-in-law, you are also old, it is better to enjoy your old age in peace." ”

His words seem to be the love of the younger generations for the elders, as a reminder and as a warning.

The eyes of the two silently collided in mid-air, and the air froze slightly.

Cen Zhenxing's eyes gradually became sharp again, but in an instant, they regained their tranquility, like a pool of stagnant water, and the waves were not happy.

He stopped talking, and let out a long sigh from his mouth, "I still remember you at that time......" He closed his eyes, as if he remembered something, and said to himself, "Yes, since everything has happened, it can no longer be reversed." ”

His brow furrowed, and there seemed to be many more wrinkles on his face in just a few words, deeply engraved on his skin.

Since ancient times, loyalty and righteousness have been difficult to fulfill, and after hesitating for half a year, there must be a choice after all, or rather, he has actually made a choice a long time ago, as early as the moment when he recognized Ah Yin and hid it for him, he had no way back.

Cen Zhenxing felt a bitterness in his heart, and said slowly: "Ah Yin, three months ago, I already mentioned it to the emperor, saying that I have been old for the past two years and I am powerless, and the emperor asked me to recuperate at home...... Tomorrow I will go to meet the emperor again and hand over the Xichang and the celebrant to you. ”

A withered yellow leaf was blown in by the cold wind poured in by the window, and it staggered into the brazier, and the flames jumped up again, making a sound of "zi, zi, zi", and finally it turned into silence and-

The dust settled.

On November 17, the eunuch Cen Zhenxing, the eunuch of the master of ceremonies, asked the emperor for old age and decrepitude.

On the same day, Cen Yin took over the West Factory in charge of Cen Zhenxing, and was promoted to the eunuch of the master of ceremonies and the seal of the seal, which was the most powerful position among the twelve eunuchs in the inner court of the Dasheng Dynasty. Although Cen Yincai and the weak crown, there was no opposition from the government and the opposition to this appointment, or in other words, everyone had already vaguely known that this day would come sooner or later.

Cen Yin became the youngest palm print eunuch in the history of the Dasheng Dynasty, and the scenery was infinite.

Since the decree was issued, a group of noble courtiers went to Cen Yin's mansion from all corners of the capital like a hundred birds and phoenixes to congratulate him, and the stream was endless, almost breaking the threshold of Cen Mansion, and those carriages and congratulatory gifts blocked the alley where Cen Mansion was located, and the team was lined up from the end of the alley to the adjacent street.

This scene attracted many people who watched the excitement, and they all stretched their necks to look at the tightly closed box on the roadside, and they all stretched their necks to look at the tightly closed box, so that they could see what was in the box.

All the congratulatory gifts were accepted correctly, but none of the people who came to the door were seen, and even the attitude of the porter was very contemptuous, looking like you don't like to come, and the people who came to congratulate were submissive, and no one dared to object.

After Cen Yin took over the West Factory, he made a big move resolutely, and the first thing he did was to ask the emperor to merge the East Factory with the West Factory.

Since then, the Dasheng Dynasty has only the East Factory and no West Factory, and the East Factory has taken over all the functions and powers of the West Factory.

Subsequently, Cen Yin took Dongchang to raid the mansions of King Kangjun and Guiyi Hou, and the court was in an uproar.

When many mansions heard the news, they nervously sent people around to inquire about the reason, which made many noble courtiers in Beijing like ants on a hot pot, and people were panicked for a while.

Wei Yongxin had just returned home on the front foot, and someone came to the door to ask for a meeting, and the person who came was General Shi of the Fifth Military Battalion.

This Shi staff general is regarded as Wei Yongxin's disciple, who was picked up by him, and later transferred to the fifth military camp and promoted step by step to the third rank staff general. The two have also known each other for many years, so although General Shi did not hand over the post in advance, Wei Yongxin immediately ordered the little servant to bring someone to his study.

"Lord Wei, you must help the last general this time." As soon as General Shi came in, he prayed in fear, and his body that was about to kneel was held up by Wei Yongxin in time.

"Lao Shi, why are you doing this? If you have something to say, it's good! Wei Yongxin hurriedly reassured, "We have been friends for so many years, how can the governor who can help not help." Sit down and talk. ”

General Shi still looked panicked, and sat down on the circle chair by the window uneasily, and then said: "Lord Wei, have you heard that the day before yesterday and yesterday, Governor Cen led the Dongchang to connect and raid the King of Kangjun and the Marquis of Guiyi's mansion?" ”

This matter made a fuss, of course Wei Yongxin knew it, and nodded. He thought of something and asked, "Could it be that you ......" are also involved?

"The last general just heard the news last night, the king of Kangjun and the Guiyi Marquis Mansion were seized by ......the Dongchang for selling salt money for profit," Shi Shen General said, and cold sweat oozed from his forehead, "The last general also ...... Zeng ......"

General Shi couldn't say anything, and the implication was that he also sold salt money privately.

Wei Yongxin has been an official in the court for many years, how can he not understand the routine.

The emperor often rewarded meritorious ministers with salt money, and it stands to reason that salt money can only be sold to salt merchants recognized by the government, however, some private salt merchants often bribe officials with heavy money in order to obtain salt money, and the wealth is touching, and many ministers in the court secretly sell salt money to private salt merchants.

"Lord Wei, you want to help the last general!" General Shi stood up and clenched his fists deeply at Wei Yongxin.

Wei Yongxin pondered for a while, feeling that this kind of thing is not big, but it is not small, but in fact, Cen Yin just opened one eye and closed one eye. After thinking about it, he smiled and said, "Leave this matter to Bendu!" ”

General Shi was overjoyed, and was about to thank Wei Yongxin, when he saw that the door curtain was raised from the outside, and a small servant came in quickly, and said to Wei Yongxin: "Master, General Shi's servant is here, saying that there is an emergency!" ”

Shi Shenjiang chuckled in his heart, and a sense of foreboding came to his mind.

Sure enough—

Soon, a gray-clothed young man came panting with the little servant of the Wei Mansion, and anxiously reported to General Shi: "Master, it's not good, Lord Cen led people to surround the mansion!" The little one is just going out to run errands before he can come to the master to report the news......"

Wei Yongxin frowned, his face sank like water, and General Shi was already so frightened that his face was bloodless, and he looked at Wei Yongxin worriedly, "Lord Wei......"

Wei Yongxin stood up, dusted off his robe casually and said, "Lao Shi, this governor will accompany you on a trip!" I think that this little face will still be given to the Governor. ”

He ran in person, which can be regarded as giving Cen Yin face, Cen Yin will not be so uninteresting!

"Thank you, thank you, thank you." General Shi said in a continuous voice, grateful.

Without further ado, Wei Yongxin went out with General Shi immediately, rode his horse and whipped, and galloped away to Shi's mansion.

The two of them hurried all the way, and arrived at Shifu in less than a stick of incense, where they had long been surrounded by the cold-faced Dongchang Fanzi.

There were also a lot of people gathered around to watch the excitement, and the pointing gaze made General Shi feel as uncomfortable as a pinprick.

Wei Yongxin is the dignified governor of Jingying, and General Shi is the master of this Shi Mansion, how did the Dongchang Fanzi who guarded the door not know these two people, as soon as he heard that they asked to see the governor, he took the two into the mansion and led them all the way to the main hall.

Cen Yin, who was wearing a red unicorn robe, was sitting on the Taishi chair at the top of the main hall and drinking tea leisurely, and there was a small red clay stove on the side, the teapot on the stove made a slight boiling sound, and a small chamberlain stood aside to watch the fire.

The other party's idle cloud and wild crane-like feeling as if he was not here to raid the house, but to make tea and drink tea at home!

Wei Yongxin laughed loudly, stepped over the threshold quickly, hugged his fists at Cen Yin and said: "Lord Cen is really leisurely, unlike a rough person like me who drinks tea, he only knows cow drinks, which is really a tyrannical thing." ”

Cen Yin slowly brushed off the foam on the tea soup with the tea lid, and said casually: "I just stole half a day of leisure." The faint tone could not be heard with joy or anger.

Cen Yin didn't ask, Wei Yongxin had to take the initiative to mention: "Master Cen Governor, General Shi and I have been friends for many years, can you ask the Governor to make it convenient?" The Governor should keep this love in mind! ”

At the same time, when he was an official in the court and always needed to take care of each other, Wei Yongxin thought that he still had a little more face than others in front of the emperor.

Cen Yin raised his eyes to look at Wei Yongxin with a smile, and raised his narrow eyebrows, "Lord Wei, do you know what General Shi has done?" ”

Although Wei Yongxin wanted to intercede for General Shi, he would not let people grasp the handle, and said vaguely and cautiously: "Lord Cen Governor, General Shi has been friends with me for many years, and I still know his personality, so it's just a misunderstanding. ”

Cen Yin sighed slightly, "There is a way, knowing people and faces but not hearts." Master Wei, don't be so gullible about others in the future. ”

The implication of the other party's words is that there is no negotiation.

"......" Wei Yongxin's face changed, and he felt as if he heard a "snap", and a loud slap was thrown on his face.

He still wanted to say a few words threateningly, but he saw Cen Yin casually raise his hand and flick his fingers, and two Dongchang fans came in, and smiled gloomily at General Shi, "Please also ask General Shi to accompany us to Dongchang." There are still a few questions to worry about, and General Shi will explain it......"

General Shi's heart was as cold as water, if he entered the Dongchang Prison, he would have to go to half his life if he didn't die. General Shi fell to his knees with a thud, and begged again and again: "The overseer spares his life, the overseer spares his life......"

In the midst of a series of mournful wails, Shi Shen was dragged down by the two Dongchang fans, and the wails gradually faded away......

Only Cen Yin and Wei Yongxin were left in the hall.

Wei Yongxin felt that his heart was hot, as if something was burning, and gritted his teeth and said: "Lord Cen, everyone is an official of the same dynasty, why should you!" ”

Cen Yin smiled, "This seat advises Lord Wei to take care of 'his own family' first, and then worry about other people's affairs." ”

Wei Yongxin's face was even more ugly, and he felt that Cen Yin seemed to care about Liu Rong and Liu Yingshuang, and his expression instantly turned gloomy like a vulture.

"Cen Yin, let's wait and see!"

Wei Yongxin didn't want to talk to Cen Yin anymore, so he threw up his sleeves and left. In the future, I will always have the opportunity to settle this account with Cen Yin, a eunuch!

Wei Yongxin left in a huff, not paying attention to Cen Yin behind him and raising the corners of his lips with a smile.

After Wei Yongxin returned to the Wei Mansion, he found that the Wei Mansion was also temporarily sealed by the people of Dongchang, so angry that Wei Yongxin almost wanted to rush into the palace to complain to the emperor.

But he thought about it again and again, and simply wrote a book, planning to wait until the next morning to go up to Cen Yin in public, however, Wei Yongxin didn't have time to speak, but saw Cen Yin come to the Jinluan Hall in a dignified manner.

"Your Majesty, King Kangjun, Marquis Guiyi, and Shi Daoyang, a general of the five military camps, secretly sold salt money to make huge profits, and the minister led the Dongchang to copy out a total of nearly one million taels of silver, which can be filled into the treasury." Cen Yin's feminine voice echoed in the hall, and the surrounding civil and military officials were silent, with different expressions.

"Good!" On the high throne, the emperor slapped heavily on the armrest, and the dragon was overjoyed.

He was planning to build another jade garden in the Xishan area, but Duanmu Xian always cried that the treasury was empty and he couldn't get the silver, which made him worry for several days. With an unexpected amount of silver, I think it's enough for the upfront expenses......

Ah Yin is really capable, and in the blink of an eye, he conjured up a million taels of silver!

The smile on the emperor's face became even stronger, "Ah Yin, it's good, you didn't disappoint me!" ”

Wei Yongxin's heart was as cold as water, knowing that even if he went to Cen Yin now, the emperor was afraid that he would not be the master of himself, and he would only bring humiliation on himself again.

Cen Yin!

Wei Yongxin's eyes looked gloomily at Cen Yin, and a storm seemed to be brewing in his eyes.

"Thank you for the emperor's compliment, this is the duty of the minister." Cen Yin was not arrogant or impatient, and seemed to be calm and calm.

The emperor and Cen Yin looked like the monarchs and ministers were happy, and the expressions and eyes of the courtiers around them were more complicated, secretly looking at each other, or dissatisfied, or worried, or imaginative......

Obviously, the new official took office with three fires, and Cen Yin was using this to establish his authority!

In the government and the opposition, of course, there are more than these three families who sell salt money privately, after Cen Yin's beating, other noble courtiers are afraid that they will also be affected by this wave of inventory, and for a long time in the next few days, they are all holding their tails and behaving a lot, and they plan to worry about it after this wave of rumors.

On the contrary, Feng Yan was in charge of the "salt introduction", in the case that everyone was not optimistic, taking advantage of this wave of wind, quietly carried out, the first batch of salt merchants who sent grain to Qianzhou had arrived in Qianzhou, and obtained salt introduction that could sell salt in Liangguang.

Seeing this, other salt merchants heard the news, and in just a few days, two major salt merchants in Beijing vigorously negotiated with the household department to send Junma to Qianzhou in exchange for salt.

Everything is like a drizzle of rain falling, moisturizing things silently.

For Duanmuxian, this period can be said to be all the best, the salt introduction is proceeding in an orderly manner, the tax revenue of the Minzhou sea trade is one percent better than expected, and there is "unexpectedly" more silver in the treasury.

Duanmu Xian felt relieved and refreshed, as if he had suddenly become several years younger.

Duanmuxian secretly felt that Dongchang was doing this beautifully, otherwise, the war in southern Xinjiang needed military salaries, the snow disaster in Mozhou needed disaster relief, and the emperor's jade garden also asked him for silver, where did the treasury get so much silver?!

The cold wind in December was howling, bitter and biting, the pedestrians on the street were sparse, and the trees were withering, but Duanmuxian didn't seem to feel the chill, and rode back to Duanmu Mansion in a good mood.

As soon as he got off the horse, he was led to Yongxi Hall by the maid sent by the He clan to guard there.

In the left secondary room of Yongxi Hall, not only the He family was there, but also Xiao He's, Duanmujun and Duanmufei, and there was a brazier lit in the room, and an elegant incense permeated the surroundings, covering the smell of charcoal fire.

"Old lady," After Duanmuxian sat down, He Shi said straight to the point, "I want the old lady to come over and be a witness......

While talking, Mama You came in with a red lacquered wooden box, followed by two mothers-in-law with big shoulders and round waists, and the mothers-in-law carried a heavy box of account books in their hands and put them in the middle of the room.

"Sister Jun, this is your mother's dowry account book for nearly ten years, and I will hand it over to you." He twisted the Buddhist beads in his hand and said unhurriedly.

Duanmu Fei looked at the box full of account books, squinted, and felt a little surprised.

There is still half a month before the end of the year, and she originally thought that the He family would try to delay a little more by taking advantage of the busy New Year, but she didn't expect that the He family didn't make any trouble this time, so she obediently returned the Li family's dowry.

Duanmujun was also surprised, and on the surface, he quietly made enough of the etiquette, and said in arrears: "I've been tired of my grandmother all these years." ”

"Hey—" He sighed faintly, "Sister Wei, I don't ask you to be grateful, just don't blame me." Today, it's all my own people, and I'll just talk about some things. Adolescence...... There were several turmoils in Beijing, and some shops did not have good income, so they closed a few shops; Six or seven years ago, there was a drought and snowstorm, and the harvest of the grange was not good, and those tenants could not survive, so I decided to exempt the tenants from rent......"

Saying that, she seemed to hesitate, glanced at Duanmu Xian, and said: "In the early years, there was a 'period of time' at home that was not good...... she seemed to be hinting at something, "In order to celebrate the Wanshou Festival and the Thousand Autumn Festival, I had to sell some antiques ......"

With He's word by word, Duanmu Xian's face became more and more ugly, and his original good mood was swept away.

No matter how many unavoidable ones there are, in the final analysis, to sum up, it is just one sentence-

He moved Lee's dowry.

The He family refused to return the dowry in every possible way, in the final analysis, he was afraid that this matter would be exposed!

She's so daring!

Thinking about it, Duanmu Xian's eyes were gloomy as water.

He naturally saw Duanmu Xian's displeasure, and he was prepared, so he hurriedly said: "It's all mine." In fact, over the years, the family has gradually gotten better, and I have saved some money, thinking that I can't treat the two girls badly...... It's just that those antique calligraphy and paintings are not something that money can buy. ”

Duanmu Xian's face looked a little better, but his expression was still not good, and his whole body was tense.

Embezzling his daughter-in-law's dowry, it's too embarrassing to say this kind of thing, if the royal history of the court and the central government learns about it, I'm afraid he will be impeached for the crime of not cultivating his inner house and losing his private morality.

There was no sound in the room, only the crackling sound of the wind blowing the window lattice, just like the mood of the He family and the Xiao He family at the moment, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law both looked at Duanmuxian with burning eyes.

Whether this level can be passed, it depends on Duanmuxian's attitude, if Duanmuxian nods, what waves can the two girls set off.

The teacup that Duanmu Xiancai picked up was put down again, and his inquiring eyes looked at Duanmu Jun and Duanmu Fei, and asked, "Sister Jun, four girls, what do you mean......"

Mama You held the red lacquered wood carved box in her hand to Duanmu and presented it respectfully with both hands.

Duanmu pursed the corners of his mouth, stared at the box in Mama You's rough hands, and lowered his eyelashes to cover the flashes in his eyes.

Things are already like this, and it is unlikely that He and Xiao He will take out the dowry as it is.

No matter how stiff they are, they can't change the fact that the dowry has been misappropriated.

Now that grandfather Duanmuxian is ashamed of them, he will make amends. But once the trouble starts, this guilt will be reduced a lot, and in the future, the gains will outweigh the losses.

One, two, three......

When the smile on Mama You's face was about to freeze, Duanmu Jun raised his hand and took the box.

She was not polite, and opened the box directly in front of everyone, and there were three silver tickets inside, one for 10,000 taels, one for 5,000 taels, and the last one for 2,000 taels, for a total of 17,000 taels.

Duanmujun's long eyelashes fluttered slightly, and he raised his eyes to look at He and Duanmuxian, and smiled, "Then bother Grandmother to send someone to move the account books to Zhanqing Courtyard." ”

The implication is to accept He's "apology".

The originally heavy atmosphere in the room suddenly relaxed, and even the wind outside the window seemed to stop, and suddenly became quiet and peaceful. Xiao He on the side tried his best to suppress the corners of his mouth that were about to curl, and casually rolled the silk handkerchief in his hand.

Duanmu Xian also breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, and looked at Duanmu Jun and Duanmu Fei's eyes with a smile again, and felt that his two granddaughters really knew the general situation and knew that the overall situation was important.

His grandfather is still there, so naturally he will not wronged the two girls, and he will definitely make up for them more in private in the future.

Thinking about it, Duanmuxian picked up the pastel enamel teacup on the side again, glanced at He Shi out of the corner of his eye, and sighed in his heart: He used to only think that his old wife was getting older and more confused in the past two years, but now it seems that this is a person who doesn't know how to measure, and he actually hides it from him, and even dares to touch his daughter-in-law's dowry...... If it weren't for the fact that the children were all older, she really couldn't hide it, and she didn't know how many more years she could hide it from herself!

Duanmu Xian pursed the corners of his mouth, and looked at He's eyes a little colder.