Since hearing the emperor's secret order from the black-clothed man holding the emperor's token, Mo Niancong tossed and turned all night, but he felt exhausted. I'm just a squire of the criminal department who is soft-spoken, how can He De take on such a heavy responsibility, besides, with Lord Duan's temperament, how can I persuade me, this time the emperor is indeed too exalted of me...... Don't...... The emperor sent me, an outsider, in order not to make Lord Duan suspicious? Mo Niancong looked at the small packet of medicinal powder in his hand with a solemn expression. In the early morning of the next day, Mo Niancong got up to freshen up, changed into official clothes, and then under the escort of a group of officials, he rode to Duanfu in a four-person official sedan chair. The group came to the gate of the Duan Mansion in a majestic manner, and the guards saw that the person in the sedan chair was wearing the official uniform of the Criminal Department, and did not dare to slack off, so they hurriedly went in to pass the word, and after a while, a domestic servant hurriedly came from the mansion to greet them. Mo Niancong ordered everyone to wait outside the door, and if he did not come out at noon, he immediately returned to the prefect's office for help. After the arrangements were made, Mo Niancong straightened his clothes and hats, and stepped into the gate of Duanfu with righteousness.

"I heard that someone from the Criminal Department asked to see me, I was wondering who it was, but I didn't expect it to be you......" Duan Nantian, who was sitting on the main seat of the main hall, saw that it was Mo Niancong, and he did not hide the disdain in his eyes, and his tone was full of sarcasm.

"See Lord Duan!" Mo Niancong made a gesture to Duan Nantian, and said without humility or arrogance: "The subordinate official reported on the criminal department, and he assisted the prefect and the government to handle the case before, but he was ordered by the emperor. The official came here today to discuss with Master Duan on an important matter, can you ask Lord Duan to move to a secluded place so as not to be disturbed. ”

"This official has always been frank and open-minded, and everything must be said to others, if you have something to say, you will say it directly, and sneaky people will inevitably fall into laughter." Duan Nantian rejected Mo Niancong's request.

Mo Niancong grinned, calmly took out the excuse that had already been prepared, and said: "It's not a secret, the lower official already has a clue about Duan Gongzi's murder case, but the case is unclear for a day, so it is not appropriate to make a noise, if Lord Duan doesn't think so, the lower official will leave!" ”

As soon as Duan Nantian heard that it was about Duan Ming's case, he hurriedly spoke up. He led Mo Niancong to his study, retreated left and right, and then sat down by himself, raising his eyebrows and looking at Mo Niancong, extremely arrogant.

"Until then, please allow the officials to take care of the matter." Mo Niancong's hand hidden in his long sleeves tightly grasped the small packet of medicinal powder, and said calmly.

Hearing Duan Nantian snort, Mo Niancong continued: "Lord Duan has been in close contact with Uncle Rongguo recently, the emperor already knows, please listen to the advice of the lower officials, throughout the historical records, those who seek to usurp the throne, the losers implicate their relatives, even if they succeed, they will be infamous for a hundred years, the adults are high and powerful, it is really not worth the risk, I hope the adults will think twice!" ”

Duan Nantian laughed out loud after hearing this, and replied: "Master Mo has been an official for a short time, so naturally I don't know who this official is. Since the age of fifteen, the official has followed the emperor to conquer the south and the north, and has made a lot of meritorious contributions, the emperor appreciated the official, and appointed the official as the secretary of the military department, and even the military power in the hands of the official was also entrusted by the emperor. The official's loyalty to the former emperor, how can you and other children understand. This official has never thought of disturbing the orthodoxy of the royal family, but the orthodoxy of the Song Kingdom is not only the emperor today? As far as this official knows, the current emperor is by no means the person who was favored by the previous emperor, and as for what means he used to ascend the throne, this official does not know, but in any case, as the queen mother said, the current emperor's throne is indeed not justified. Now that the old man is helping the uncle and the queen mother to set things right, he naturally has a clear conscience. ”

"After several years of natural disasters and losses, the Song Kingdom is at a time of recuperation, and it is really not appropriate to start a war and harm the people. Since Lord Duan is concerned about the Song family, and the current saint is the orthodoxy of the royal family, why don't you turn to the saint to live up to the trust of the emperor. After Mo Niancong listened to Duan Nantian's words, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, Duan Shangshu was not an unreasonable person, and this medicine was probably not needed...... Mo Niancong has always been jealous and hateful, and he once made a grand wish to arrest and punish all the wicked people in the world, but it was the first time for him to kill people by himself, and he was inevitably nervous and uneasy.

"Yu Gong, in the eyes of the official, the inheritor of the unification, as long as it is the orthodoxy of the royal family, there is not much difference, but in private, Duan Ming died tragically in the Ning Mansion, the emperor not only did not uphold justice for the official, but blindly favored Ning Zhenhai, resulting in the official's revenge for killing his son has not been avenged so far! Can you put aside your hatred and be loyal to him wholeheartedly? The more Duan Nantian spoke, the more angry he became, and he was so excited that he actually shook the Nanmu book case in front of him with a palm.

A trace of panic flashed in Mo Niancong's eyes when he saw it, but he quickly returned to his composure and said in a gentle tone: "Lord Duan's pain of losing a son, Xia Guan can't empathize with it, however, Lord Duan's love for his son, Xia Guan deeply understands it. Looking at Duan Nantian's tears in his eyes, Mo Niancong was very sympathetic in his heart, and continued: "Xiaguan's mother died early, and Xiaguan's father raised Xiaguan as a mother. The deceased is gone, and bringing the prisoner to justice so that Duan Gongzi can be blind under Jiuquan is indeed the top priority at present. But now that the prisoner is unknown, even if the Ning Mansion is killed, it may not be able to comfort Duan Gongzi's soul. I remember that before leaving, General An told the subordinate that he had insight into the truth of the murder, and the subordinate dared to assert that with the wisdom of General An Shao, this statement was true, why didn't Lord Duan wait for him to return before making a conclusion? ”

Duan Nantian was a little shaken after hearing this, and after pondering for a moment, he asked sharply, "How does this official know that this is not your plan to delay the army?" ”

"Xia Guan is willing to stay in Duan Mansion to protect his life, if General An fails to capture the real murderer, Xia Guan's life will be disposed of by Lord Duan." Mo Niancong looked at Duan Nantian firmly and said. I often hear that this Duan Shangshu is cunning and cunning, and it is urgent to stabilize the heavy troops in his hands at the moment, if he doesn't give up his life, I'm afraid he won't be able to convince him, so since he stepped into the Duan Mansion, Mo Niancong has already regarded death as home. In exchange for the temporary stability of the Song Kingdom, it is worth it to exchange my life for the stability of the Song Kingdom...... It's just that if Brother An can turn things around and save my life, of course, it would be better...... Mo Niancong sighed to himself.

Duan Nantian thought about it for a long time, and finally agreed. Mo Niancong's heart fell, he walked to the gate with easy steps, and instructed his entourage to hand over a letter and the small packet of medicinal powder to the black-clothed man in his study, and then strode back to Duan Fuzhong.