In the midsummer of the eighteenth year of Changning, Xue Ji was forcibly recalled to the capital by a holy decree.

Before leaving, Xue Qi's face was full of worry, and he repeatedly told him to be cautious. Xue Ji agreed, but in fact, he was not at ease in his heart, always hesitant and tired.

Hurry up and return to the capital, before he could go back to the house to change his clothes and rest, he was stopped by Zhang Yu at the gate of the city and taken into the palace, and went to the imperial study to face the saint.

I hadn't seen him for more than a year, and when Xue Ji looked up at Qin Xu again, he was shocked to find that he was already gray with gray temples and a haggard complexion.

"Respectfully, Your Majesty, Long live Your Majesty, Long live Long live."

Qin Xu slowly raised his hand and motioned for him to get up. "Don't talk about so many false things, I want to ask the prime minister a few things."

The word "please ask" bites very hard, and Xue Ji knows in his heart that it will not be a good thing.

Sure enough, following the drop of Qin Xu's finger, there was a fold on the side of the table, and a confession was attached to it. It was Chen Shao's confession that was forced out of Xu Lang's mouth a few months ago, whether true or false.

Extorting confessions by torture is what Xue Ji hates the most.

Xue Ji sneered and said, "Lord Xu is corrupt and bribe-taking, but it is these unwarranted things that he extorts from confessions, what is the intention of the Criminal Department?"

Qin Xu said coldly, "Needless? I don't know, but I also asked the prime minister to argue about the matter of the ground movement in Shu County, why the song was two hours late!"

Xue Ji's heart sank, but he didn't panic, he had already made up the rhetoric when he pressed the song, but he didn't expect it to come in handy today.

"The mountains and rocks of Shudao are steep, and there is a disaster of ground movement, it is inevitable that the rocks will be blocked, and the official roads will be blocked, so it is normal to be one or two hours later than the usual urgent report, why is it on the head of the minister?"

Qin Xu stared at Xue Ji's eyes tightly, but he didn't see any flaws.

"Okay, let's think about it too much. I will order Dali Temple to try another case, and the prime minister will be innocent."

Hearing the three words of Dali Temple, Xue Ji was even more worried, and the assassination of Xie Zhixi in this confession was unwarranted, and the others were ...... If you really want Dali Temple to check, you may not be able to find out.

But Fang had already hardened his anger once, and he couldn't be suddenly deflated, so he could only stubbornly say, "Your Majesty Shengming."

After coming out of the palace, Xue Ji returned to his mansion, and as soon as he entered the front hall, he saw his eldest son Xue Chen sitting on the side. When Xue Chen saw him coming back, he got up to greet him and called "father".

Last year, Xue Chen took Princess Huadu and Xue Ji back to Jiangling for about three months, and returned to the capital in the summer.

Xue Ji was relieved that there was a son in the family who had grown up, and he was a good son who could help him carry a piece of the sky.

"I heard that Hua Jue is pregnant?"

"My father is deaf and clear-sighted."

Xue Jile is happy, and in a few months, he will also be able to hold his grandson.

"Then you still come to me, don't you go home to accompany your daughter-in-law?"

"The two mothers are gone, and it's too much trouble for me to go back, so why don't I come to say goodbye to my father first."

With Xue Chen's sweet words, Xue Ji's heart relaxed a lot, and he put aside any trivial matters in the court to fight for power and profit for the time being.

In the future, everything is business as usual, Xue Ji is still in the filial piety period, and he manages the government in his own house on weekdays, and he does not go to the court or the banquet. Occasionally, Xu Yan came to discuss political affairs with him, and everyone else came behind closed doors.

In autumn, as soon as the wind blew, I saw the fallen leaves on the ground in the courtyard rolling towards the root of the wall, and when I looked up, the old branches were bare, and there was not a single leaf left.

Early in the morning, Xue Ji went from the north bedroom to the east study, Shen Yurong hurriedly followed behind, put the cloak in his hand on his shoulder, and muttered: "The weather is getting colder and colder, you don't know how to wear more, and you still think that you are young and vigorous......

Without waiting for Xue Ji to dislike her for nagging, Wang Qu hurriedly came in outside, seeing that he was full of anxiety, and his forehead was full of sweat, there must be something big. Shen Yurong understood the matter, tied his cloak for him, and turned around and went back to the house to do needlework.

Xue Ji raised his hand to caress the collar of his cloak, his eyes fell on Wang Qu, and asked, "Why are you in such a hurry?"

Wang Qu was also old, and after a few breaths, he finally came to his senses before he said, "Master,

Lord Xu will be executed tomorrow at noon, and people will talk about you, saying that they want to see you."

Xue Ji felt a pain in his heart, and somehow the situation of thirty years ago appeared in his mind. It was in an inn a few miles outside Xu Cheng, he took Shen Yurong's forearm and walked upstairs, and Xu Lang called him behind him.

At that time, Xu Lang concealed his family, made up a set of excuses and took his car into the capital, and he also had the intention of taking what they needed and using each other to help him this time.

I could never have imagined that thirty years have passed since this mutual use.

Xu Lang's more than 3 million stolen money is deserved, but he has really helped him over the years. People are about to die, and their words are good, if they don't even want to see the last face, it is too ruthless.

However, Chen Shao's eyes were still staring.

"I can't see him." Xue Ji said in a deep voice, lowered his head, and his heart was mixed, which was very unpleasant.

"The minion went and refused......

"Not necessarily." Xue Ji shouted to stop him, and said helplessly: "The execution will be carried out tomorrow, what else do you refuse."

The next day, the autumn wind blew and the people in the prisoner car coughed repeatedly. Xu Lang looked at the onlookers on both sides of the road, a little lonely.

Lord Xue, Brother Qingzhi, you really refuse to come.

In fact, they are the same kind of people, they can be emotional, but they also regard interests as the first, and it is correct that Xue Ji did not come. When he asked Xue Ji to meet in prison, Chen Shao was standing beside him, and he had no choice.

Xu Lang raised his head and glanced at the sky, and when his eyes swept over the teahouse on the side, he was suddenly stunned. There was a familiar figure standing by the window on the second floor of the teahouse.

The eyes of the two met, their eyes met, and their hearts were full of emotion.

Xue Ji was dressed in plain clothes, standing by the window on the second floor of the teahouse, and bowed to Xu Lang in the prisoner car below.

Xu Lang saw it, and his heart was suddenly relieved.

He chuckled, looked up at the shadows of the clouds in the sky, and said in a loud voice—

Shallot on the dew, He Yixi. The Ming Dynasty has fallen, when will people return when they die......

winter

Since Xu Lang left, Xue Ji has been lost again, and he can't see parting when he is old, especially life and death.

Late this night, the candlelight on the table in the study suddenly went out, and Xue Ji suddenly felt his eyebrows skip a beat, and he rubbed his forehead for a while before he eased up slightly. He put down the official document in his hand, got up and went out of the room, ready to call Wang Qu and ask him to light the lamp again.

As soon as he came out of the courtyard, he raised his eyes and saw the moon shadow and starlight in the sky, and his eyes swept around and he didn't find Wang Qu's figure, and was about to call him out, when he heard someone knocking on the door at the gate again and again.

Without waiting for Wang Qu to come out, Xue Ji stepped forward and opened the door, looked at the person who came, and asked in a deep voice, "What happened to the third watch in the middle of the night?"

The man outside the door was dressed like he was in the palace, and the anxiety on his face could be vaguely seen by the moonlight. As soon as he saw Xue Ji open the door, he breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly said, "Lord Xue, let's go into the palace and take a look, Long live Lord has been in a coma for three hours!"

Xue Ji's first thought in his heart was that he was in a coma, so hurry up and let the imperial doctor take a look, what do you ask him to do? But when I thought about it, I suddenly felt a little more fearful in my heart. In case of this coma...... Can't wake up again?

There are too many deceased people who have died in the past year and a half, and he can't afford to part.

Pressing the thoughts in his heart, Xue Ji raised his eyes and looked at the person who came: "I'll change my clothes, father-in-law wait a minute."

At this time, it was really unfortunate to enter the palace in plain clothes, Xue Ji changed into an autumn-colored robe, put on a dark cloud pattern cloak, went to the wing room to inform Wang Qu, and then hurriedly entered the palace with the eunuch who passed the word.

At this time, it was late at night, the streets were empty, and the city was silent, except for the bright lights in the Zichen Palace. The subordinates were busy sending ginseng soup inside, as well as the medicine that had just been decocted, and when they saw Xue Ji coming, no one had the time to come forward to greet him.

Xu Yan had been in the palace for most of the hour, and I heard that the queen and the concubine were there, but they couldn't hold back to rest at this time.

Xue Ji walked into the dormitory, only to see the white-haired old lady doctor whispering in a low voice, discussing how to use medicine.

"Lord Xu." Xue Ji whispered to him and looked at Qin Xu who was unconscious on the dragon couch,

"How is Your Majesty?"

Xu Yan shook his head and sighed: "His Majesty was already terminally ill at the beginning of this year, but he didn't say anything, and he was discussing in the imperial study today, and suddenly fell into a coma."