"What do you think?"

There was an ominous atmosphere in the province of Zhongshu, and all the dignitaries sat restlessly in their chairs, contemplating each other, as if they would be killed if they relaxed a little; There were two people sitting in the main seat, one of whom resembled a prime minister, but he seemed to be sluggish, and he was observing words and expressions on the side; The other man was much wider and stronger than the others, and although his face was full of flesh, his eyes were wide in between, and he could catch a glimpse of them sharply. He held the yellow silk edict in his hand, and his eyes scanned the crowd with disdain, waiting for their answers.

"The emperor approved it, and the ministers didn't dare to disobey. The general gave the order to go down. One of the politicians said on behalf of the crowd.

"That's good. You do the rest. Liu Zhennian got up and handed the edict to the prime minister, and then strode out of the palace gate. The prime minister looked at the long shadow that gradually opened outside the temple gate, his hands trembled uncontrollably, and a cold breath came out of his mouth.

"Lord Ye, we can't help with this," several ministers came up to comfort Ye Long, "I advise you to admit your mistake to Liu Zhennian, of course, not only verbally, but also to give some filial piety, right?" In that case, he will play Emperor Chen and put this matter to an end, so that he will not have trouble with you again in the future......"

Ye Long suddenly changed color, and his eyes were full of anger: "This matter also implicates my mansion, if I go to Liuzhen Nian, where is the prestige of the Ye mansion in Shandong!" He paced back a few times, "No hurry," his expression calmed. "Although I was impeached and removed from office by him, don't forget that he is not the only one in charge of the military! As long as I write to Wan Huizhi in Nanjing, with the friendship between my two fathers, he will definitely help and will be able to ensure that the Ye family will not fall. ”

"Wan Heshun this person has a lot of tricks, when Liu Zhen was the head of the town of Jinggi, he sent a letter to invite him to join the court counselor, he resigned from his illness and still guarded Nanjing, so far Liu Zhennian did not dare to touch him; I'm afraid I won't come to Beijing without permission today to help adults speak. An old man advised.

"That's all in the past. Now that Nanjing is an elite teacher, Huizhi is a king with a different surname, even if he comes to Beijing, how can Liu Zhennian live? Ye Long said, and then shook his head, "All my colleagues plan for me, Ye is deeply grateful; But it's up to me to decide. "Everyone bowed their heads and said 'yes' in unison.

"I don't know if the emperor can allow Ye Yushi to go back to the house and explain the matter? ......," the Zhongcheng asked.

Ye Long was silent and did not answer. The atmosphere becomes peaceful. He then walked to the window, his gaze grim to the south.

Before Ye Long was killed, Ye Mansion was prosperous as usual, and there was no bad news, but good things came out one after another. Cheng Congyuan gently dragged onto the cobblestone road, a smile on the corner of his mouth, and looked up at the various prosperity soaked in the warm sunlight in the distance, which was extremely bright.

"Mr. Cheng! The new chamber is inaugurated! You're going to be added to the knighthood again! ”

"Where, where."

"Alas, Mr. Cheng, in the future, you will take care of both places and work at both ends, how hard it will be!"

"If you do things for your master, you will have to mention hard work."

He listened to the flattery of the crowd and walked slowly to the front of the council chamber; After the crowd dispersed, the mind stopped to watch. There is nothing new about the house, but the materials are much better than before, the beams and pillars are all made of mahogany, and there are fine lines on them, Cheng Congyuan stretched out his hand to pat it, the texture is really hard, and it exudes a thin fragrance outward. Looking around the hall, there were open doors on all sides, and there was also a corridor with pillars, and he was very immersed in it, and he couldn't leave for a long time. The servant who knew how to stammer flattered: "Mr. Cheng doesn't have to bother to watch it. Once you're in charge of the land, you can see as much as you want. Let's go back and rest today. ”

"That's right." Cheng Congyuan was in an extremely good mood, and he couldn't help but smile, and the wrinkles on his face were layered. He also felt that his legs were sore, so he walked out of the council hall, sat on the stone bench on the side, put his legs on his feet, and beat his body: "I've been busy for a few days, and my muscles and bones are so sore!" After all, this body is getting older and older! He couldn't help but sigh.

During the conversation, his eyes casually glanced at Kou Zhong who came to see the room, but he didn't pay much attention to it, and left in a hurry. Cheng Congyuan went back and asked Ye Yongjia about the situation of the new council hall, Ye Yongjia didn't listen very carefully, just nodded a few times in response; Talking about what the name of this hall should be, Ye Yongjia didn't pay much attention to it, so he used the name of 'Rosewood Hall', which was called by the wood he used.

After coming out of the conference hall, Cheng Congyuan swirled in his mind a few times, convinced that there was no doubt that there was nothing to do, so he packed up his weak body and returned home to rest. He drank some tea, and at first realized that he was not sleepy, so he took the book in his hand and sat crooked on a wicker chair to read. In less than half an hour, his eyes were struggling to open, so he had to close his book lightly and fall asleep in a chair at will.

……

"Mr. Cheng! Mr. Cheng! ”

Cheng Congyuan heard these two shouts, opened his eyes slightly, stretched his arms, and was not fully awake, and responded with half-open eyes: "It's been a long time...... It's not morning? ”

"Yes." The man replied in a humble voice.

Cheng Congyuan paid attention to the person at this time, but it was Kou Zhong who was bent down and standing in front of the table, with a smug look on his face, which made him very uncomfortable. "What are you doing here? Afraid that my rest is broken? Rush me to work? Cheng Congyuan lowered his head and rubbed his eyes, and asked impatiently.

"Mr. Cheng said the opposite," Kou Zhong's smile seemed to be a little ill-intentioned, "but it can give you a break." ”

Cheng Congyuan suddenly had a lot of doubts, and he unconsciously felt apprehensive in his heart. "What the hell is going on!" Cheng Congyuan asked eagerly, "Don't hide it like this." ”

"Then I'll hurry up." Kou Zhong coughed a few times, straightened his sleeves, and Cheng Congyuan looked at him uneasily. "Yes, that's right, the master wants me to be the steward of the Rosewood Hall, let me ask your opinion. It's time to share the burden with Mr. Cheng. ”

Cheng Congyuan's head suddenly 'buzzed', he looked left and right in a panic, his hand kept knocking on the table, and he didn't know how to react for a while. He put his hand on the handlebar, exhaled a lot, and said for a long time, "Give me that pot of tea." ”

Kou Zhong looked back for a while before finding a pot of tea and handing it to Cheng Congyuan. Cheng Congyuan picked up the teacup, and Kou Zhong hurriedly helped him carry the pot and poured the tea inside. Cheng Congyuan took a sip, and then froze.

"I'll go see my master myself." He said in a faint voice.

"This kind of big thing and villain don't dare to deceive, Mr. Cheng can rest assured." Kou Zhong still pretended to be courteous.

"Let's go." He said to himself. Kou Zhong's words didn't seem to reach his ears.

"Mr. Cheng is here?" Ye Yongjia smiled and stepped forward to greet him. Cheng Congyuan forced a smile, returned the salute, and immediately sat aside. After chatting for a while, Cheng Congyuan deliberately led the conversation to the new steward: "The Rosewood Hall is said to be in charge of Kou Zhong, and I want to ask the master...... Is this really the case? ”

"yes. I just wanted to ask Mr. Cheng for his opinion. ”

Cheng Congyuan tightened his eyebrows, "Kou Zhong's heart is not right, he can only be used for small things, and he is still ...... It's not appropriate. ”

"Kou Zhong's servants are respectful, no matter what, it is incumbent on them, and they can't be compared with the previous time. Mr. Cheng is just his own assumption. Ye Yongjia said, knowing that he had lost his words slightly, he immediately remained silent.

"Yes." Cheng Congyuan's voice was weak, not quite like the usual old man, and the atmosphere became a little tense at this moment, and no one dared to move. Both of them were dumbfounded. Cheng Congyuan is still reminiscing about the word 'assumption', when it was also evidence.

Before the interests became the consensus of the two of us. He suddenly remembered that there was a day when he announced a break with the past. Now, no one can be blamed, but it must be endured.

Cheng Congyuan slowly got up and said goodbye to Ye Yongjia.

But because of this, the cornerstone of the Ye family's prosperity has been built, and this is enough. ’

Cheng Congyuan left the council chamber. He understood that trust had been quietly transferred to Kou Zhong, and he would lose all his confidence and his insight into all the interests of the house. He turned slowly and bowed in the direction of the hall door:

"Master, I only live for the Ye family."

"Who wrote the letter?" The official straightened his official uniform and belt, turned around and sat on the chair, and took a bowl of tea.

"This letter was written by Lord Ye Longye in the middle of the court to the prince."

"Who are you?" The official asked, blowing tea.

"It's just a portable minion."

He hesitantly scanned the contents of the letter, read it about once, put it down, and showed a look of concern on his face.

"How?"

He tightened his eyebrows, gritted his teeth, and sighed: "Liu Zhennian dares to do this to Brother Ye!" With that, he clenched his hands into fists.

"That ......"

"What?" His eyes slipped to the minion's face.

The servant glanced at him hesitantly: "Lord Wan saw what was written in the letter, please bring troops into Beijing." ”

Wan Heshun pouted: "Don't be so reckless!" Jingshi is the residence of the emperor, and he goes without an edict, so I am afraid that it will attract criticism. He glanced at the minion's face again, and quickly changed his words: "That's not what it means, it's not that...... Of course, I have to help Brother Ye...... But not that way. I will write a letter of support tomorrow, and Liu Zhennian is afraid of my strength, so he will not dare to act rashly. Just rest assured! ”

The servant wanted to speak again, but he heard someone knocking on the door of the house outside, and the voice was urgent: "King Jun, there is an urgent matter!" ”

Wan Heshun immediately put away his smile and waved at the minion: "I have important business today, I can't accompany you, you go back." Alas, rest assured! So saying, he got up in a hurry, ran to the door, pushed it open, looked in both directions, and asked in a serious way, "Where?" And he saw his shadow through the paper window, and went eastward.

"This guy can't be trusted!" The minion still had some gloom left, and said through gritted teeth. Ye Long was silent, his mouth was closed deeply, and he was indifferent to his words. "Master, who else are you looking for? ……”

"You don't need to look for anyone," Ye Long closed his eyes, as if resigned to fate, "It's going to be tried today." ”

"You?"

"Then who else can be tried? I'm afraid the Willow Party is collecting my faults. Ye Long smiled helplessly, "It's inevitable...... and the house shall also suffer. ”

"Mr. Cheng, it's amazing!" In the dark night, these words were like a sharp thunderclap, shaking the sky and piercing into Congyuan's ears. He had already figured out what was going on. The day was inevitable, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. "Find the master." He responded with a pretense of composure.

"Say whatever you say, you have to save the old man!" Kou Zhong advocated loudly. "No." Cheng Congyuan sat aside, his eyes staring at the standing lamp, "Liu...... Liu Zhennian is waiting for us to take the bait. Kou Zhong looked at Cheng Congyuan suddenly, his eyes were cold: "Is it difficult for Mr. Cheng to let us open our eyes and watch the old man die?" ”

"Nonsense!" Cheng Congyuan was so angry that he trembled, "At this time, Steward Kou shouldn't just think about internal friction!" ”

"Mr. Cheng, you ......"

"That's it!" Ye Yongjia refuted Kou Zhong's words and said to Cheng Congyuan: "Mr. Cheng, is there no other way? ”

"I can wait and see. If you really want to write a letter to defend your grievances, not only will the master not be able to come back, but there will also be changes in the house. ”

Ye Yongjia looked unwilling, and looked at Cheng Congyuan again: "Is there really no way?" ”

Of course. Cheng Congyuan almost blurted it out, but he still swallowed it stiffly, and said in a decisive tone: "No." ”

Ye Yongjia gritted his teeth.

"The minions have inconvenient legs and feet, and there is nothing to say...... The right and retired. If the master still wants to discuss, just ask the steward of Kou. ”

"Good. Mr. Cheng rested earlier. ”

"Yes."

Cheng Congyuan walked out of the conference hall. That's the only way to go. He borrowed an oil lamp from the servant standing outside the door, and the light flickered in the dead night sky, surrounded by darkness. Without hesitation, he followed the light of the light, fumbled to open the door of his house, gently lit the standing lamp in the room, took a piece of paper from the bookcase, and sat on a chair. He settled down, took out his pen, dipped it in the inkstone, and wrote slowly.

'The Minister and Soldier Section gave Ye Yongjia ......'

He suddenly put the pen on hold, hesitated for a while, and then took it again.

'Zanzuo Du Yu Shi Ye Long:'

Cheng Congyuan's pen stopped again, picked up the paper and looked at his own words, his hands trembling slightly. Compared with the last copy, it is more similar, and the people in the court should not be suspicious, he said silently in his heart. After thinking about it, he gently blew the handwriting and continued to write.

It was about the middle of the night, and even he forgot about it a few times before he finished writing this so-called "recital", and he only needed to affix a seal, so that he could deceive both the government and the opposition. He put the book aside, and was about to take a nap, but he didn't feel sleepy at all, and his emotions were still difficult to calm down. Cheng Congyuan tried to settle down, so he turned to think about something else. He thought about Kou Zhong in his head first.

Of course, this man in Kou Zhong cannot settle his old suspicions with me, and if he knew that he would condemn me to death, there is no doubt about it; Speaking of this man, he is quite loyal, almost like a dog, and he can climb to this place, thanks to which he knows what he should live. ’

Cheng Congyuan thought of this, looked out of the house a little anxiously, and glanced at the sky, there was still some time before the morning.

'The master is getting older and older, and the prosperity of the Ye Mansion should no longer depend on a certain minion. If he had known what I was going to do, he would not have forgiven him.

Speaking of the master, he is by no means a corrupt Confucian, but he owes some aura in the court. If he is killed because of this, I am afraid that he will ......'

Cheng Congyuan stopped thinking about it, but fear had soaked down his back in a cold sweat, and it lingered in his heart for a long time. Suddenly, he breathed a sigh of relief and relieved those unnecessary worries, but he was just alone.

"Alas, you take it."

On the still sunny morning, Cheng Congyuan stood at the gate of the conference hall, holding a book in his hand, and called a servant who came out of the hall.

"Mr. Cheng, I don't know about this object...... I didn't dare to take it. ”

"This is a piece written by the master last night, and I was asked to find someone to deliver it to the court. This is your chance, would you like to do it? Cheng Congyuan didn't mean to discuss in his expression.

"When...... Of course! ”

"You haven't done this kind of thing yet, if you don't know anything, just ask, but I'll tell you first: put this book in the box, I'll prepare money for you, you set off immediately, and you don't have to make it clear to the master, the master doesn't want to make a noise for people to know, understand?"

"Understood!" The servant said, "I don't know who the chapter will be handed over?" ”

"When you go to Beijing, go directly to the palace gate and tell the person on duty that you want to hand over the chapter, and someone will naturally lead you there. Is it all clear? ”

"Clear!" The minion didn't dare to say even a single 'no'.

"Also, this book is a matter of secrecy, and you must not open it without permission; If they see any signs of opening the seal, they may ask you about your capital crimes. ”

"Don't dare! Don't dare! ”

"Go ahead."

"Yes, yes." The slave looked frightened, didn't dare to look at Congyuan, looked down for a long time, and then touched the music, wiped his sweat, and hurriedly got up and ran.

Cheng Congyuan looked at his embarrassed appearance, and only when he didn't see his figure did he retract his long gaze. He remembered the man's fear of him, and he was stunned, and let out a wry smile that was helpless and self-deprecating.