Since he was frightened by the Spring Hunting Rebellion and returned to Luan, he thundered and disposed of the Yu Wang's party, and Emperor Liang felt that his body was getting worse and worse, and he couldn't support it. After the imperial doctors' consultations, although their words were slick and they only said that it was okay to rest and recuperate, Emperor Liang also knew that his situation was not good. The more people get to old age and illness, the more they feel that their lives are precious, so even if they can't throw away their hands, Emperor Liang has no choice but to throw them away first, and then talk about the imperial decree of the East Palace, so he clearly ordered that whenever the emperor does not ascend to the court, the prince will handle the daily government affairs on his behalf in the Chengqian Palace. At the beginning, Emperor Liang still had the intention of deliberately testing and inspecting from the sidelines, but later saw that Jing Yan acted cautiously and fairly, and there was no sign of arrogance because of this, so he gradually let go of half of his heart, except for summoning the three dukes and six important ministers into the interior every six days, and reporting a major event in the court, the rest of the days were only dedicated to maintaining and continuing his life.

Because of the right to dispose of political affairs, and also due to the rough determination of the overall situation, Xiao Jingyan, the crown prince of the East Palace, sits much more stable than his predecessor, but at the same time it is much more tiring. Sometimes, after listening to a large number of recitals and reviewing the folds in the Chengqian Palace, after completing the piles of excerpts, he would also meet with important ministers in his palace to discuss some difficult matters.

Today's six departments of the imperial court are basically the new Shangshu in the past two years, only the military department Shangshu Li Lin is still the old man when the former prince was in power. In the explosion of the private artillery workshop that year, he once charged King Jing with the crime of misappropriating military funds, although that incident ended with King Jing winning praise instead, but in any case, he offended people anyway. Therefore, in the process of the former crown prince being deposed, King Jing's status gradually rising, Li Lin naturally tried his best to make up the cracks, but no matter how hard he tried, he never received any response from Xiao Jingyan. After the crown prince was ordered to take charge of the country. Li Lin felt that his career was only afraid that this would come to an end, and he was trembling every day, waiting for the East Palace to clean up, and he waited for a long time without moving. Instead, an important errand was requested to be handled by the Ministry of War. Submit a restructuring plan for the replacement of garrisons around the imperial capital. Li Lin pondered for a long time, and he couldn't figure out what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince meant, until he was sneered at by Shen Chai of the head of the household department, and then he suddenly realized that this master was different, rather than touching the thoughts of the superior first. It's better to get things done first. He has been a secretary of the military department for so many years, and he actually has a considerable understanding of the situation and disadvantages of the military system of the imperial court, putting aside the party struggle, and the ability is enough, so he made up his mind at this time, and even put all his energy into it, and ten days later, he drew up a plan and played it, which was very well received in the court discussion, and only after revising a few details and clauses. It was forwarded to the emperor and decreed that it was carried out. The recognition of the sovereign and the praise of his colleagues brought Li Lin, who had been trapped in party disputes for many years, the satisfaction and pleasure that he had not seen for a long time, and for the new prince, who obviously did not take the past suspicions to heart. His feelings have also changed from fear and fear to loyalty and awe now.

Speaking of which. The truth of partisan strife seems to be a nightmare. Although some people have been trapped in this dream, fortunately, some people can wake up. "In the side hall of the East Palace. Shen Chai, who had just finished discussing a political matter, said with emotion: "In fact, most people still have the ambition of helping the world and serving the country and honoring their ancestors at the beginning of their careers, but the officialdom is dirty and gradually deceives, and people's minds inevitably drift away." His Royal Highness is willing to give some opportunities to these people when updating the weather in the DPRK, which is really benevolent. ”

"However, such an opportunity can't be given again and again, some people have already become a heart, but they are afraid that it will be difficult to change," Cai Quan has always been more radical than Shen Chai, raised his eyebrows and said: "Wouldn't it be better for the world's wise men to leave more places for those untainted poor students?" "No matter whether it is a poor family or a wealthy family, all students have a way to advance, as long as the imperial court can give the word fairness regardless of the family, it can't be overcorrected." You must know that experience in serving officials and politicians is still very important, and although newly promoted officials have an advantage in character and sharpness, they are inevitably inferior in experience. ”

"Who is born knowing everything? Give more opportunities to sharpen and naturally get old--small-say-net"

"Then it will take time," Shen Chai waved his hand, "For example, the matter of changing the garrison and restructuring the system, Li Lindi's seniority is not good-looking, I want to change who will do it, I am afraid that it will not be more thoughtful than him, and more to the point." ”

"I admit that the Ministry of War's plan is very good, but it is only a case and cannot be extended to the majority of people. Years and experience are different from person to person, some people are at the top of the family for ten years a year, but some people hold a position for more than ten years and still don't know anything. Everything cannot be generalized, and it must be examined one by one. ”

"But there are so many local officials at all levels in the state capital of the world, and there is no unified system and standard, how can they be sorted out one by one? Where can these hundreds of court courtiers find out? ”

"If it's difficult, won't you do it? Screening talents, selecting talents and appointing them is the most important thing for the emperor, and now there are not too few people in the corpse position, but too many, and the prince is in charge of the new dynasty, of course, there must be a new atmosphere. ”

Xiao Jingyan had been listening carefully to the debate between the two most relied on courtiers, and at this time, Fang frowned and said in a low voice: "Cai Qing is cautious, how can there be any new dynasty?" ”

Cai Quan also immediately reacted that he had said the wrong thing, and hurriedly got up and apologized: "The minister is speechless, and the minister means ......"

"Okay, I know what you mean, be careful in the future."

"Yes."

Xiao Jingyan was about to let the two continue to talk, and there was a sudden waiter outside the palace gate, and said: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Su Zhe, the guest secretary, came to congratulate His Highness on his wedding, and he is now outside the Yimen. ”

Coming back from Jiu'an Mountain, the two of them were busy, one was sick, and their hearts were heavy, although the news transmission between each other was still very close, but they hadn't seen each other for a long time, so when they heard Su Zhe asking to see Xiao Jingyan, they were in a trance for a while, and they looked at the waiter in a daze, speechless for a long time. "Your Highness, Mr. Su specially came to congratulate His Highness, didn't you invite him in?" Shen Chai asked strangely.

"Oh," Xiao Jingyan came back to his senses and said busily, "Come on, Mr. Su in." ”

The chamberlain bowed down and retreated for a moment, and then led Mei Changsu into the hall. During this time, Xiao Jingyan had calmed down a little, controlling himself not to show too excited expressions.

Mei Changsu, who was slowly lowering his eyes, was slightly thinner than the last time they met, but his complexion changed slightly. He is wearing an autumn-colored satin robe today, holding a plain fan and a black bundle. The sleeves are slightly raised, elegant, and elegant, and the temperament is like jade. But the people are looking at Xiao Jingyan, who knows the truth. But it was like a sharp knife piercing his chest, making it almost impossible for him to look directly.

"See His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"This is the inner sanctum. Mr. Su, please take a seat. Serve tea to the gentleman. ”

"Your Highness." Mei Changsu owed, and did not sit down first, but motioned to Feiliu behind him, presented the gift box, and said with a smile: "Your Highness, Concubine Li, is very happy." It's not a mere courtesy, but please smile. ”

Xiao Jingyan ordered the attendant to take it, seeing Shen Chai Cai Quan with a curious expression, smiled, opened it and saw that it was just a pair of ordinary fat purifying jade bottles, and knew that Mei Changsu didn't want to attract attention, so he only politely said: "Sir, bother." ”

Feiliu came to the East Palace for the first time to hand over the gift box. began to look left and right, Xiao Jingyan knew that Mei Changsu doted on him like a brother, and he didn't want to restrain this young man. ordered him to play around the East Palace at will, but Mei Changsu still added, "Just play in the courtyard in front." and then let him out.

"Mr. Sue. I went to visit you a while ago and you said you were sick. Can the body be safe now? Shen Chai has never been too restrained here in Xiao Jingyan, so as soon as Mei Changsu sat down opposite him, he asked with concern.

"Thank you, Lord Shen, for worrying, it's just because of the hot summer, it's just that it's not a big deal."

Cai Quan also knew about his illness, frowned and said: "It's a pity that Mr. Su's talent is limited by his sick body, isn't there a cure?" ”

Mei Changsu glanced at Xiao Jingyan and didn't want to continue to talk about this topic, so he smiled and said lightly: "Everything has its own destiny, let's treat it slowly." By the way, Lord Cai heard that the case of Fan Yushi who fell into the water and died has made new progress in the Criminal Department? ”

"It's the real culprit in this case, who is very clever and has set up some obstacles to mislead the direction of the criminal department's investigation. However, this case was obviously not premeditated for a long time, but was started in a hurry, so it left a lot of clues, and the confession was flawed. Of course, Sir knows that in any murder case, as long as anyone is lying, who is the most suspicious, if not the murderer, at least the one who knows. Ouyang Shilang, who is in charge of this case, is the person who can solve the mystery from the subtleties, and it is more difficult to deceive him than to deceive me. ”

"So the one who was detained by the Criminal Department...... What's the concubine called is the real murderer? Shen asked.

"I can't say so for the time being, but she has the most lies, the most suspicious behavior, and tried to abscond before being arrested, these are all facts that aggravate her suspicion, but this woman is still holding on, and ...... No convincing motive for her murder has yet been found......"

"I heard she's from the Slippery Clan?" Mei Changsu asked casually.

"It can only be counted as half, her mother is a slippery clan, but her father is a Liang person, according to the current general opinion, she should be regarded as a Liang person." Cai Quan raised her eyebrows and looked at Mei Changsu, "This identity was found out when we traced her origin, and we didn't pay much attention to it, does Mr. Su think...... Does this matter? ”

"It's not," Mei Changsu smiled, "It's because I've been thinking about where Xia Jiang will flee lately, so when I hear about the Slippery Clan, I'm a little more sensitive." ”

Cai Quan asked with some surprise, "Is there any connection between Xia Jiang and the Slippery Clan?" "You don't know?" Shen Chai's eyes widened and he looked at his friend, "The last princess of the Slippery Clan was Xia Jiang's lover." ”

"Huh?"

"After the slippery country was swallowed up that year, many noble ladies were divided into various places as maids," Shen Chai briefly recounted, "Mrs. Xia Jiangdi once saw the princess of the slippery tribe in the cold winter and Layue outside, and felt pity for Huanyi, so she took her back to her house and regarded her as a sister, who knew that this princess actually hooked up with Xia Jiang. Mrs. Xia is also the previous generation of hanging mirror envoys, and her temperament is very strong, and she took her son away in a fit of anger, and she still doesn't know where she is. ”

"It doesn't sound like a trivial matter," Cai Quan said in a daze, "why have I never heard of it?" ”

Shen chased and glanced at him: "Princess Xuanji died seven years ago, you were only transferred to Beijing five years ago, and things were already cold at that time, Xia Jiang's identity is a half-hidden person, who has nothing to do if you are so serious, talk to you about his romantic affairs?" ”

"But there are many rich and noble families with Nahua women as concubines, even if Xia Jiang's lover is a princess, is it worth noting that the country has died?"

"It seems that Lord Cai doesn't know much about Princess Xuanji," Mei Changsu Zhengse said: "She is not just dependent on her lover to live a closed life, she was one of the princesses in charge before the Slippery Kingdom was destroyed, and her status was second only to the eldest sister Princess Linglong who died in battle later, but she was more cunning and better at hiding her edge, so that many people did not realize her danger, but in fact, this Princess Xuanji has always had amazing control over many Slippery people, although she is now dead, Xia Jiang has more or less inherited some of this control from her." If Lord Cai can't find out other motives for killing, he might as well consider the possibility of killing his mouth. "Extinguish?"

"Maybe Fan Chengxiang showed that his concubine was helping Xia Jiang, maybe Fan Chengxiang himself was once Xia Jiang's protector, and later wanted to sue for some reason...... Xia Jiang has been in charge of the Hanging Mirror Division for many years, he must have a secret power that we can't imagine, and if we don't dig him out sooner, it's hard to say what kind of harm he will cause to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince......"

Cai Quan frowned and said in a deep voice: "What Mr. said is very true. Now that Xia Jiang is on the run, whether it is for His Royal Highness or the Criminal Department, this is a big matter, even if this case only has a little connection with Xia Jiang, this point must be clarified and ruled out first. ”

"Yes, if it's just an ordinary murder case, it's okay, if it really has something to do with Xia Jiang, it's a good opportunity to track down his whereabouts."

"By the way, Ouyang Shilang sorted out the record and copywriting of the current case to me, I happened to take it with me on the road to see if Mr. wants to see if you can also see what we have missed."

Before Mei Changsu could reply, Xiao Jingyan, who had been listening intently, cleared his throat and said, "Cai Qing, you have acted very thoroughly, Mr. Su has just recovered from a serious illness, don't let him bother, let's talk about something light." ”

Cai Quan was reaching out to touch the case file in his sleeve, and when he heard the prince say this, he couldn't help but freeze. When Xiao Jingyan said this, his expression was very lightly controlled, so that people couldn't tell whether he was really considerate of Mei Changsu's body when he clearly said to stop it, or was he unhappy to see Cai Quan just take the case file of the Criminal Department to an unemployed guest secretary to read. Shen Chai, who was watching from the sidelines, was a little quicker, and instantly thought of the fact that the two had not seen each other for a long time, and the fact that Xiao Jingyan hesitated for a while just now before inviting Mei Changsu in, it was inevitable that he would guess whether the prince was deliberately alienating this Qilin genius who was known for his scheming, and his heart chuckled, and he immediately glanced at Cai Quan, signaling him to ask for guilt.

"The minister is not thoughtful, he really shouldn't trouble Mr. Su, please forgive your Highness." Cai Quan is not a stupid person, and immediately understood the meaning, thinking carefully about what he had just talked about, and his behavior was indeed inappropriate, so he hurriedly bowed down and saluted.

Xiao Jingyan didn't care about what kind of misunderstanding these two Shangshu had, but he didn't want Mei Changsu to have the same misunderstanding, so he explained: "I heard that Mr.'s illness is still mainly based on leisure and recuperation, not to mention that Mr. didn't come to the East Palace to discuss the case, just give some guidance, so you don't have to worry about the details." ”

Mei Changsu glanced at Xiao Jingyan deeply, and when he saw his gaze dodging uncomfortably, he couldn't help but wonder in his heart. Shen Chai smiled and said: "What Your Highness said is that it is all to blame Lord Cai, and Mr. Su came to congratulate His Highness, but the tea was not drunk, and a sip of snacks was not eaten, so you pulled others to tell the case!" ”

In fact, Fan Chengxiang's murder case was mentioned by Mei Changsu first, but no matter how upright Cai Quan is, he will not argue at this time, and he mumbled a few times vaguely at this moment, which can be regarded as recognizing Shen Chai's words.

However, he recognized Mei Changsu, but he didn't want to go down this step for some reason, and actually smiled and said: "Your Highness is kind, Su can't understand this case file of Lord Cai, I really want to see it, Your Highness doesn't mind, right?" ”