At night, the autumn wind began to wreak havoc in all corners of Star City, blowing the already yellowed leaves of the city to the ground.

Every year in Star City, the gradually decreasing temperature is accompanied by the continuous autumn wind, and all kinds of yellow dead leaves fly in Star City, and after landing, they are cleaned up by special cleaning handymen.

At this time, it is usually rare for a monk to drive his mental power to keep himself warm. Feeling the cold of approaching winter is one of the few opportunities they have to pretend that they are ordinary people, and they are close to the stove or hold the hand warmer in their arms without driving their mental energy, as if this can remind them of when they were still ordinary people.

The psychology of the monks is very strange, they are already different from ordinary people, but they always want to imitate the appearance of ordinary people. Perhaps this is the return to basics pursued by the monks, or perhaps...... It's just the bad taste of the monks.

Calculating the time, it seems that it is already autumn, no wonder there are already slightly yellowing leaves falling.

In the pavilion in the mansion, Li Siming slowly poured a cup of clear spring water from the Sage Mountain into the small pot on the stove, and thought so when he saw the dead leaves falling in the courtyard.

This is Li Siming's only hobby, in his spare time, he makes a pot of southern tea brewed with the sweet spring on the Sage Mountain at home, sometimes he will send the housekeeper to invite some geisha to sing a little song, and sometimes he will drink tea quietly alone, thinking about some court affairs or his own private affairs.

It's just that since becoming the chief judge of the Ministry of Justice, Li Siming has rarely had such leisure time, although he usually makes a pot of tea at work, but there is no chance for the tranquility with the tea.

Sighing softly, Li Siming picked up the book on the table and read it with relish. Recently, the Ministry of Justice has been very busy dealing with the dereliction of duty officials caught by the Ministry of Justice, and he has not finished reading this book that he bought a month ago. I happened to have nothing to do tonight while waiting for news, so I simply read this book to the end.

However, at this moment, a middle-aged man dressed as a housekeeper trotted into the courtyard and walked into the pavilion in a panic to meet Li Siming, and he seemed to be holding an unopened letter in his hand.

Li Siming seemed to have expected it the moment he saw the butler, he put the book down and sighed again.

"Master, the urgent secret letter over there in Hongyi City. The butler said as he handed the letter out.

Li Siming took the letter, waved his hand at the butler, and said softly: "Uncle Jiang, you go and send the groom to help me prepare my war horse, I may have to go out later, and then ...... Just do what you have to do, and let the servants stay in the house tonight, and don't go out again." ”

"Yes, sir. The housekeeper nodded and said that he had remembered Li Siming's advice and hurriedly retreated.

The housekeeper naturally didn't understand why Li Siming asked him to prepare a horse after receiving this urgent secret letter, and it looked like he was going out at night. But since it was Li Siming's meaning, he didn't dare to disobey it, just convey it honestly. After following Li Siming for so many years, this housekeeper also understands the truth of what should be asked and what should not be asked.

After the housekeeper left, Li Siming slowly opened the letter and read the contents carefully.

As he expected, the letter said that in the battle of Changheguan, Li Xinda, the head of the Li family, died in battle, because Li Xinda never married and had no direct heir, the elders of the Li family decided to ask Li Siming to go back, take over the position of the head of the Li family, and take over all the affairs of Hongyi City.

The letter also said that in fact, Li Xinda had already made a decision, and after he retired, he handed over the position of head of the Li family to Li Siming, and all the affairs of the Li family were handled by him, which could be regarded as compensation for the harm caused to him by the Li family.

After Li Siming finished reading the contents of the letter, he put the letter paper on the stove, and then he stared at the letter paper that was gradually burning out, not knowing what he was thinking.

The tip of his index finger unconsciously tapped on the tabletop, and the kettle on the stove had already made a sharp sound of steam jetting, but Li Siming was unmoved, and seemed to have entered a state of self-forgetfulness, completely ignoring the things around him.

"Master Li, your water is boiling. ”

An abrupt voice came into Li Siming's ears, Li Siming suddenly woke up, and then immediately picked up the kettle on the stove, poured boiling water into the teapot where the tea had already been placed, and extinguished the fire.

Although making tea directly with boiling water at such a high temperature will cause some damage to the tea leaves, it is obvious that Li Siming doesn't care about these things now, and there are more important things that are bothering him.

Gently placing the kettle on the table, Li Siming stopped his eyes on the man sitting opposite him at some point.

The man was dressed in black, and his face was masked, so it was impossible to see his exact face. Although there was no fluctuation of spiritual power on his body, there was indeed a deep chill revealed in his sharp gaze.

Li Siming seemed to know the identity of the man, but he was not sure who the other party was, so he asked out loud: "Dare to ask your senior's surname?"

"Free of expensive, surnamed money. ”

"It turned out to be Qian Ying's predecessor, and he has been looking up for a long time. Li Siming said as he poured two small teacups into the tea, and then handed Qian Ying a cup.

Qian Ying took the teacup and drank it in one gulp, and then he didn't seem to have any intention of being polite with Li Siming, and said straight to the point: "I see that Master Li has been hesitant after reading the letter sent by the Li family, could it be ...... Master Li, is this regretting?

I would like to advise Master Li that even if you regret it, you should continue to do it as planned. You participated in the whole process of formulating this plan, and if you want to go back on it, even if you are a close confidant of Your Majesty, I am afraid that Your Majesty will not easily bypass you.

Of course, Lord Li, this is just my personal meaning, not on behalf of Your Majesty, please don't get me wrong. ”

"I'm not repentant, it's just ......" Li Siming lowered his eyebrows and thought for a moment before finding the best description, "I just didn't expect it to be so sudden." The Li family is not one of those weak nobles in the south, such a big family will be destroyed in an instant...... This is indeed something that we did not dare to imagine before. ”

After listening to Li Siming's explanation, Qian Ying smiled: "Lord Li, this is the aristocratic system of the empire, no matter how powerful those families are, they will ultimately be in the hands of Your Majesty."

As for the border three...... It was just an accident, a bad decision from the emperor a thousand years ago, so now we have to undo it. ”

"I know all of this, and I know the details of the reasons even better than you. Li Siming took a deep breath and said, "It's just that I was born in the Li family after all, and although I have been abandoned by various branches, there are always some people who are kind to me." ”

Saying this, Li Siming seemed to remember something a long time ago. At that time, he had not yet met Xingheng, and he had not yet left the Li family. Although all branches of the Li family are suppressing him, there are always a few cousins who are secretly taking care of them, if it weren't for those cousins, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to survive the time to see Xingheng.

"My lord, under the avalanche, not a single snowflake is innocent. Qian Ying's words were a little ruthless, but he also said the truth.

"Well, it's so boring to talk to you. We literati feel that you have to become a cold reality here. Li Siming chuckled, came back to his senses, and drank all the tea in the cup in one gulp.

"Lord Li, the shadow guard is pragmatic, we don't talk about anything in the snow. ”

"Alright, don't talk about it so much. Seniors, might as well tell me what happened to the late-night visit, or is it that Your Majesty doesn't even worry about me, and I need to be watched by my seniors at any time?"

"Don't worry, Lord Li, you are a close confidant of His Majesty, and we will never stare at you even if we are staring at Lord Xingzheng. I have come tonight to convey His Majesty's meaning: Your Majesty invites you to go to the Imperial Study. ”

"Sure enough, I have to go out of this door tonight. Li Siming sighed and refilled himself with a warm cup of tea.

Although Li Siming had expected it since the Sky Shifting Star Array was completely opened this afternoon, even he didn't expect Xingheng to act in such a hurry, the matter of Changhe Pass only happened in the afternoon, and now he had just received an urgent secret letter from the Li family in Hongyi City, and Xingheng asked him to rush to the palace to participate in the next step of the plan.

"So Master Li knows what's out there?"

"Do you still need to guess this? Your Majesty's plan is actually clear to many people...... There are always people who don't want His Majesty to change the pattern of the aristocratic system. Li Siming lowered his eyebrows and sighed in his heart. Originally, I thought that the Star Emperor Kingdom still needed the preparation of Xingheng's generation of emperors before it would make a move on those nobles, but no one expected that the Battle of Changhe Pass would completely break the balance between the imperial court and the border nobles.

"Master Li, you still want to go out knowing this?" Qian Ying's voice seemed to bring a smile, and he asked so knowingly.

"Could it be that Your Majesty sent a senior to be a spectator? I am afraid that there are not many people who have such treatment if there is a shadow guard? ”

Qian Ying smiled, and bent down to put the teacup in his hand heavily on the table. Then, he hid his figure in front of Li Siming's eyes.

Li Siming was not the slightest surprise at the scene where Qian Ying disappeared in front of him, since the other party could appear in front of him quietly, he could naturally disappear in front of him, these are just the necessary abilities of the shadow guard.

After drinking all the tea in his cup in one gulp, Li Siming slowly stood up, hugged the hand warmer in his hand, and then said to the outside of the courtyard: "Uncle Jiang, is the horse ready? I'm going to go out." ”

The voice of a servant came from outside the courtyard, Li Siming nodded, and walked towards the courtyard.

At this time, the cold wind is still howling, and the dead leaves are still falling, but unlike before, the Star Emperor Kingdom will undergo a great change.

............