During the day, it rains intermittently, and at night, the streets of Kyoto do not accumulate even small puddles, but they are just a little sticky and annoying. In the chaotic garden of Xinhuai Lane, plants grow like crazy, just like people's ambitions and ambitions, but they will accumulate a lot of rainwater in those grass nests, and in the eyes of flowers, like a jar of wonderful and seductive honey syrup.

He Zongwei silently turned his back to the study, looking at the chūn garden washed by the rain, and the honey in his heart gradually melted. He knew that his idea was wonderful, but it was extremely dangerous, and the slightest mistake would be doomed.

Fan Xian is not so easy to kill, and what makes He Zongwei even more terrifying is that in the past six years of contact with Fan Xian, he can always see a trace of the cold taste of killing in the eyes of the young minister.

He is now the imperial history of the left capital, and he is also a bachelor of the middle school under the door, and the Supervision Yuan has no His Majesty in person, so he can't move him at all, and he confronts Fan Xian in the court, and for a while I don't know how many officials have been attracted to the door, and it seems that the scenery is infinite. But only he knows in his heart that he is actually going down a dead road, and his current situation is really dangerous.

If the trend in the court continues like this, the focus of He Zongwei will still be on the side of the Imperial Procuratorate, which will be used to check and balance the Supervision Yuan, but if His Majesty the Emperor goes in the future, can this situation still be maintained?

Whether it is the third prince sitting on the dragon chair, or there are other earth-shattering changes, for He Zongwei, there is no difference at all, it just depends on the sooner or later he will step down, and the difference in the suppression of Cheng Dù.

He Zongwei has no solution to this trend, so he will survive step by step, even if he becomes the leader of the middle school of the sect, but he has to face the people on the dragon chair in the future, what strength can he have?

He had tried to find an opportunity to get close to the three princes in the deep palace and seek the greatest support for the rest of his life, but any attempt in the past three years was cut off by an unknown force when he was about to approach the inner palace. It was precisely these failures that made him a little frightened to discover that the power in Fan Xian's hands was huge, and the influence in the palace was far more terrifying than everyone imagined.

Because of the horror, because he knew that his future fate would not be very good, He Zongwei wanted to stand on the opposite side of Fan Xian more and more, especially His Majesty Xià personally proposed marriage, intending to ease the relationship between his two favorite generals, but after being rejected by Fan Xianyi's strong force, in addition to being disappointed, He Zongwei also knew that he had no other way to go.

His Majesty the Emperor may have been a little angry, but He Zongwei was scared from the bottom of his heart. Although the emperor is Fan Xian's father, his understanding of Fan Xian is not as profound as He Zongwei. As the old saying goes, the people who know you best are often not your relatives and friends, but your enemies.

He Zongwei knew that Fan Xian would not let go of himself, he would not be like the Emperor Xià, he really thought that Fan Xian was just a pure minister and a lonely minister, everything and everything was in the interests of Qingguo, in his opinion, Fan Xian was a freak who always put his likes and dislikes first.

I have to say that He Zongwei's judgment of Fan Xian is correct.

………… There was no resentment in He Zongwei's eyes, just a faint self-deprecation and coldness, and he left the chaotic chūn garden and returned to the study. The layout in the study is relatively simple, but on the shelves on both sides, there are a lot of books and account books.

He walked over to the bookshelf, pondered for a moment, pulled out a pamphlet from an inconspicuous spot, sat down at his desk, and began to examine it with great care.

This pamphlet is a list of the martyrs of Daitoyama after the Kyoto Rebellion. He Zongwei is in charge of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and he has the trust of His Majesty, so he got this catalog in his hands a long time ago, and in this quiet study, I don't know how many times I have read it.

The third and forty-second pages are the deepest, and it seems that he has turned the most. Before and after these two pages are the names of the 100 Huwei who died in the country and the personnel of the Supervision Yuan who died on Dongshan Road, and there are two names on them that are very conspicuous.

One is Gundam and the other is Wang Qinian.

Whether it was this pamphlet, the final seal of the Ministry of Rites, the report of the Supervisory Yuan, and the final approval to the Inner Court, the death of these two men had already been determined.

However, He Zongwei didn't believe it, since a long time ago, he didn't believe that these two people were dead, even if he confirmed afterwards that the corpses collected on Dadong Mountain did have these two people, but he still didn't believe it, because this kind of method, the Supervision Yuan could easily do it.

Again, He Zongwei knew Fan Xian better than His Majesty the Emperor. What made him suspicious was because of some small details in the past few years. First of all, Gao Gao and Wang Qinian are Fan Xian's absolute confidants, and they should not die in silence like this, in the eyes of His Majesty. These are two inconspicuous little people, but in He Zongwei's opinion, these two people have their own important xìng.

Secondly, he has been secretly staring at Fan Xian in the past few years, watching his every move, including a few days ago Fan Xian took Fan Ruoruo and the officials of the Supervision Yuan to the mausoleum, and soon after the incident, he also knew the rumors, and he once went to investigate in person.

As in the past few years, Fan Xian went to the sacrificial garden, it was still just so light, and the most important thing was that in front of the two tombs with the names of Wang Qinian and Gundam, Fan Xian did not deliberately stop and burn some paper money.

Fan Xian is an official who is extremely protective of his shortcomings and takes great care of his subordinates, especially a dead henchman like this, logically speaking, he should not only receive such treatment.

In the end, He Zongwei made up his mind to determine that these two people had no reason to die, which was another small detail. When he became suspicious, he began to use the power of the Metropolitan Procuratorate to secretly watch the bereavement and let it go. Gao Gao never married a wife and had children in his life, and he naturally became a hundred after his death, but Wang Qinian, the head of the Tangtang Supervision Yuan in Northern Qi, had a wife, a daughter, a family and a family, but the annual pension of the Supervision Yuan was issued, but no one knew who took it.

And the most important thing is that after Wang Qinian's death, his family is said to have moved back to their hometown, but in the Wang family's hometown, no one has found the whereabouts of this family.

If Wang Qinian really died, Fan Xian would definitely be in charge of the life of the Wang family, and with his affection, it was absolutely impossible to allow Wang Qinian's widow and daughter to wander in the world in misery.

………… Wang Qinian did not die, and Gundam naturally did not die. And why did the bodies of the two people who did not die on Dadong Mountain? Why did the Supervision Yuan help them conceal them? On Dadong Mountain, hundreds of tiger guards spilled their blood and stopped the murderous sword, and Gundam was in the middle of it, why didn't he die? Could it be that he escaped from the battle? Wang Qinian was serving beside His Majesty Xià on the top of the mountain beforehand, if he was not dead, why did he not see him afterwards? Could it be that when His Majesty was in danger, he had already run away?

He Zongwei slowly closed the volume, a smile appeared on the corner of his lips, thinking that the powerful subordinates brought out by Lord Xiao Fan were really at the critical moment, they had the style of Fan Xian, they ran faster than anyone else, and they regarded themselves as more important than anyone else.

This is a great sin of deceit, and the crime deserves to be put to death. He Zongwei knew the emperor's majesty too well, as long as someone dared to betray him, or in other words, as long as a courtier dared to put his life before the emperor's safety, he would definitely be furious and deeply heartfelt.

And there are many people who deceive kings. If Wang Qinian and Gundam were arrested, they would naturally be unable to escape their deaths, but what about Fan Xian?

He Zongwei took a deep breath, and his young and tired face suddenly looked a little more angry and a little murderous.

Regarding Fan Xian, he couldn't find any empty door to start at all, so he could only wait for the miserable day in the future, unless before the death of the emperor, he could provoke the relationship between the emperor and Fan Xian.

To provoke the relationship between a father and son, of course, it is necessary to use the relatively illusory means of intentions. And the crime of deceitful is a heart-wrenching thing.

In the final analysis, this is probably the only lifeline in Fan Xian's life, this person is too affectionate, if he directly killed Gao Gao and Wang Qinian, where would there be these things now. As soon as He Zongwei thought of this, he couldn't help but smile and shook his head, then lowered his head and gently knocked on the teacup on the table, making a clanging sound.

It didn't take long for two people to walk in, one of them was about thirty years old, with a respectful expression on his face, looking at this person's facial features, he looked a little similar to He Zongwei. The other person is more than half a hundred years old, but he is still dressed as a Confucian scholar.

"Wang Qinian, Gundam. He Zongwei didn't contain any words, and said directly: "I have been investigating these two people for more than a year, do you have any clues?" ”

The person who was similar to He Zongwei was actually a distant cousin of his, his voice was a little shady, and he responded: "I vaguely caught some threads, it's just that the Supervision Yuan is doing things, even if you smell some wind, you can't catch up at all, everything stopped three years ago, even if these two people are still secretly connected with the Supervision Yuan, I'm afraid it's also a place we can't touch." ”

He Zongwei frowned and nodded, he knew in his heart that with the power of the Supervision Yuan, whether it was Dean Chen personally or Fan Xian making arrangements, just these officials in the court could not lift the iron plate at all, unless he secretly ordered the Criminal Department and Dali Temple to go to the world to catch the sea, but the problem was that this matter must be done secretly, and in the Criminal Department and Dali Temple, there are nails hidden in the Supervision Yuan.

If once his own actions reminded Fan Xian, let the other party block this opening, and even secretly cast any ruthless actions because of yīn's anger, it was not what He Zongwei wanted to see.

"My lord, we can't find anything out of this matter alone. The corpses on Dadong Mountain have been counted, although I don't know how the Supervision Yuan did it, but the number of people is just right on the list. And at that time there was a fire on the mountain path, and the face burned like that, and it was impossible to say anything wrong. ”

The somewhat old Confucian still didn't say a word, and it was He Zongwei's distant cousin who spoke, this person only started to follow He Zongwei in recent years, and he was extremely cautious in dealing with people, and he was already He Zongwei's confidant, so he was arranged to investigate this major matter, and he spoke more directly.

"During the Kyoto Rebellion, the Zhengbei Battalion Soldiers Brigade just surrounded the mountain, and at least a few thousand people died in that battle. He Zongwei lowered his head, frowned and calculated, "Even if there is fire on the mountain path, what about the top of the mountain? Although the battle of the grandmaster is extremely powerful, not many people died in front of the ancient temple, and the adults of Ren Zhengqing and the Ministry of Rites were not all alive and well? Why did Wang Qinian die? Did he die on the top of the mountain or on the way down the mountain? If his body was not burned, something strange could always be found. ”

But three years have passed, and the bones have long been ashes, and they said that Wang Qinian was buried in the grave, so they had to recognize that it was Wang Qinian. The Confucian finally spoke, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he hit the nail on the head, "So to check what happened a few years ago, one is too difficult, and the other is that you will never find out the problem, if you really want to open a path from this aspect, I think, it should be more important to find the living Wang Qinian and Gundam." ”

He Zongwei fell into silence, of course he knew that his advisor's opinion was correct, but the question was, if Gao Gao and Wang Qinian were now hiding in Dongyi City or Northern Qi and were incognito, who would be able to dig out these two big living people?

"You go down first. He Zongwei raised his head and said in a harmonious voice to his cousin: "It involves the face of the imperial court, so you should be careful." ”

He has been in the center of the court for three years, and his subordinates have also gathered some strength, especially His Majesty, who has also secretly helped him in some ways, but compared to Fan Xian, it is still too far behind. And this cousin is the first person to do shady things for He Zongwei.

He Mansion is honest, in fact, it is true, but if He Zongwei wants to gain a foothold in the court, he still needs silver, and he needs to support a large number of subordinates who sincerely follow him, and that cousin is the person who deals with this matter.

Only He Zongwei and the elderly strategist were left in the study, and they seemed a little quiet. After being silent for a long time, He Zongwei spoke: "If you can really capture the living Wang Qinian and Gundam back to Kyoto, what do you think will happen in the future?"

"Lord Xiao Fan will definitely protect these two people. The strategist lowered his head slightly and said, "With His Majesty's xìng feelings, if this matter doesn't make a big fuss, maybe he will give Lord Xiao Fan this face and cover up this matter." ”

"You mean to say...... Even if these two people commit the crime of bullying the king, will His Majesty let them go?" He Zongwei's eyes were full of coldness, and he said coldly, with a complicated feeling in his heart, if His Majesty was really lenient enough to let those two people go, then what was the point of his busyness?

"The key is to see what kind of price Lord Xiao Fan will pay for these two subordinates. The strategist smiled bitterly and said: "Everyone in the world knows that Lord Xiao Fan is very good to his subordinates, if he really tears his face and insists on protecting these two people, what will His Majesty do? ”

"Biological son?" He Zongwei slowly closed his eyes, "The crown prince and the second prince are also the biological sons of His Majesty. ”

This is true, but it ...... The crown prince and the second prince did not fight for His Majesty without blood, and took Dongyi City. When the strategist said the three words of the second prince, his voice trembled, and then he whispered: "With a piece of territory, in exchange for the lives of two subordinates, Your Majesty still has this bit of leniency." ”

"Of course. The strategist glanced at He Zongwei, who was disappointed, and said lightly: "Even if you can't force Your Majesty and Lord Xiao Fan to turn their faces, you can at least plant a thorn in Your Majesty's heart." ”

He Zongwei shook his head, opened his eyes and quietly looked at the strategist in front of him, and said: "Fan Wusheng, you were originally one of the eight generals of the second prince, because of the death of the second prince, you came to me, the two of us have the same goal, so you also know that if Fan Xian does not die, I will die, if you want to avenge the second prince, you must think clearly, one thorn is far from enough." ”

It turned out that this strategist, who looked to be over half a hundred years old and looked old, turned out to be one of the eight most powerful generals under the second prince back then, Fan Wusheng! The second prince and Fan Xian had a chaotic battle in Kyoto, and the eight families were killed and wounded, but Fan Wuxuan saw that Fan Xian was unstoppable a long time ago, and after persuading the second prince to be useless, he disappeared.

Unexpectedly, many years later, the second prince committed suicide by taking poison, and this Fan Wusu returned to Kyoto, and threw himself under He Zongwei, wholeheartedly avenging the second prince.

After Fan Wusu was silent for a long time, he said softly: "If you want to make a big deal about it, then you can't do it secretly, you must make it known to everyone in the government and the opposition, Your Majesty is the person who values face the most, at that time, no matter how strong Lord Fan is, I'm afraid that I won't be able to stop the murderous knife in His Majesty's hand." ”

"If you really kill Wang Qinian and Gundam this time, I'm curious what Fan Xian will do. He Zongwei smiled slightly and said: "And apart from His Majesty, apart from the inner court, I can't imagine who else can find out those two people in this vast sea of people under the cover of the Supervision Yuan." ”

"But there's one most important issue. Fan Wusu looked at He Zongwei's eyes calmly, "If the adults want to tell His Majesty secretly, I am afraid that I will also take a great risk." ”

"Oh, what do you say?" He Zongwei didn't panic in the slightest, but asked indifferently.

"Because you don't have any solid evidence at hand, it's just speculation and analysis, and of course, this speculation and analysis alone should be suspicious. Fan Wusu glanced at him again, and said softly: "Your Majesty should be suspicious of Lord Fan...... However, you may also be suspicious of adults. ”

"I am loyal to the imperial court, loyal to His Majesty, what does His Majesty suspect about me?" He Zongwei pursed his lips tightly and said softly.

"Your Majesty will suspect that you are deliberately provoking the relationship between him and Lord Xiao Fan's father and son. ”

After He Zongwei was silent for a long time, he said softly: "If His Majesty is really suspicious and no longer protects me, what kind of fate do you say I will be." ”

"If you don't like a person, there are many ways to deal with it, and I think adults may be found by your majesty in three years, leaving the Kyoto court and serving in a remote place, and then this life will be mediocre. Fan Wusu said calmly.

He Zongwei smiled bitterly and sighed, his eyes were full of calm and resolute expression: "If I make a move, I may end up being swept away in the future, but if I don't make a move, it will be a broken end in the future, which one do you choose?"

He looked at Fan Wusu and smiled slightly, and said, "I choose the former, because at least I can live." And if Fan Xian really turned his face with His Majesty, it would be difficult for him to live. ”

Fan Wuxu's eyes blinked, his gray hair looked particularly dazzling in the study of the night, and he said quietly: "My lord seems to have a grudge against His Majesty in my heart. ”

He Zongwei's face remains unchanged, but the love in his heart is constantly tumbling, he has endless gratitude to the emperor, but he also has endless resentment, if it weren't for the emperor to bring himself up to fight with Fan Xian, how could he be trapped in a precarious predicament all the time, how could he be so afraid that he would die without a place to be buried?

"Back then, Second Highness was actually in a similar situation to your current situation. Fan Wuxu smiled faintly, and persuaded softly: "So my lord, you must learn the lessons of His Royal Highness, and maintain a loyal heart to His Majesty, if you really find out Wang Qinian and Gundam, maybe Your Majesty will not suspect you, but it is only Fan Xian who is unlucky." ”

"I have always been loyal to His Majesty. He Zongwei replied calmly, and glanced at Fan Wuxu lightly, he knew what this person was testing. To avenge the death of His Royal Highness, Fan Xian is naturally one of Fan Wusheng's targets, and it is impossible for the ruthless and cold-blooded Emperor Xià to escape Fan Wusheng's eyes.

He Zongwei said sarcastically: "A person must know where his ability is, dealing with Fan Xian, it is almost beyond your ability and mine, as for those characters above the clouds, it is best not to think about it, it will be ...... Dead man. ”