When the first rays of sunlight shone on the Xuande Tower in the morning, there was still silence in front of the Great Xiangguo Temple, but the vendors along the street had already come to both sides of the Xuande Gate and the Great Xiangguo Temple with flat shoulders and Taiping carts, and began to sell along the street.

"Cooking cakes, soup cakes, osmanthus cakes, five pennies spare you a spoonful of sugar water!"

Although there were not many pedestrians on the street at this time, most of the civil and military ministers who came to the court gathered here. It was the season when it was warm and cold, and the ministers wore wide court clothes and came to Xuande Gate in a sedan chair. The servants came to the breakfast stall with a few copper coins to buy breakfast for their respective masters. And the officials inevitably greeted each other.

On weekdays, Zeng Bu, one of the rulers, would step out of the sedan chair and walk around with his hands in the wide sleeves. When a vendor along the street saw him, he would greet him: "Zeng Xianggong is here!" ”

Zeng Bu also nodded and smiled, and said, "It's coming, it's coming." As a member of the imperial court, he didn't have the frame of a big official, so he also won the love of the people and the trust of the ministers.

But today, he didn't get out of the sedan chair for a long time.

Just the day before, he gave a secret revelation to the official family.

The so-called secret revelation is a non-public movement, which only he and the official family know. This was the first time that Zeng Bu had been enlightened since he became an official, so he felt a little ashamed in his heart, feeling that he had damaged his reputation as an upright official.

As the privy envoy of the imperial court, he shouldn't have taken care of such a thing, but he couldn't resist his wife Wei Wan, so he had to write this secret revelation head-on.

When Mrs. Wei learned that Mo Yunxiao's family had been raided and the family was imprisoned, she was shocked. That's what happened.

Mi Qi handed it over yesterday, and it should have been heard back today. He didn't know whether the official family would be furious or disapproving, and his heart was uneasy.

It wasn't until the palanquin man bought him a steaming bowl of sesame oil soup cakes that he came back to his senses from his contemplation.

This noodle soup made by boiling noodles and topping them with meat broth is one of the most common breakfast dishes in Tokyo, and it is also the prototype of later generations of noodles.

Zeng Bu took the soup cake, stirred it with chopsticks, and said with a smile: "When I was old and decrepit, I often ate soup cakes, and now I serve the Son of Heaven, and I am close to the sky, but I still like this folk food." ”

The palanquin man smiled and said, "Madame also often says that our lord is approachable, and it is related to food. ”

Zeng Bu smiled, and swallowed the soup and noodles together. "Okay, when it's cold, a bowl of hot soup is enough to warm up." He happily wiped the grease stains on the corners of his mouth, put the dishes and chopsticks aside, and then slowly walked out of the sedan chair, stretched his waist, and walked towards the front of Xuande Gate.

Entering the Xuande Gate, you will be greeted by the Daqing Hall of the Upper Dynasty. This is the main hall that only the important ministers of the two provinces are eligible to enter.

Standing on the stone steps of the main hall, a eunuch about forty years old saw that the ministers had arrived one after another, so he raised his voice and shouted: "Today, the official family feels a little evil, his body is weak, and his eyes are blind, so he will stop the court for the time being." I hope that all the ministers will dedicate themselves to their duties, live up to the trust of the officials, and go by themselves. ”

Although the eunuch's voice was sharp, it was full of energy, and it seemed that it was not effortless, and he carried his voice far away.

After he finished speaking, he walked down the stone steps with a smile and said to the officials of the second government who gathered around: "Ladies and gentlemen, today's officials are hesitant, and it is inconvenient to go to the court to discuss politics, so I am really sorry to let you run in vain." As he spoke, he raised his hands and saluted the people.

The officials also returned the salute one after another. Among them, Li Qingchen, the imperial historian, stepped forward and asked: "The official family has always been healthy, why would he suddenly get sick?" ”

"It's the unforeseen weather that happens." The eunuch replied: "Although the official family is the Son of Heaven, in the world, it is not exempt from vulgarity. ”

Li Qingchen nodded, and said, "Since that's the case, I'll retire first." asked my husband to play on my behalf, and said that we all hope that the official family will recover soon. ”

The eunuch replied with a smile: "Yes, we thank you for your kindness on behalf of the official family." But......" He looked at it and said to Zeng Bu, "Zeng Xianggong, please stay." ”

"Oh?" Zeng Bu was stunned for a moment, and he couldn't help but chuckle in his heart. The ministers all looked at him, but none of them dared to come up and ask.

The eunuch took Zeng Bu and walked slowly towards Ouchi, not saying a word on the way. Zeng Bu was a little uneasy, so he asked: "An Neiguan, I don't know why the official family summoned me alone?" ”

The official eunuch smiled and said, "Zeng Xianggong, this can be called asking for blindness." We are just a servant of the official family, and we only know how to act under orders, how can we ask Tianxin? The official family waited in the imperial garden, and the prime minister could ask him face to face. ”

"Yes." Zeng Bu answered, and then stopped talking.

They bypassed the Daqing Palace, Zhongshu Province, and went straight to the Great Interior. And the Zichen Palace, the Vertical Arch Palace, and the Jiying Hall are the three palaces that stand side by side in the Ouchi, but the official family is not here.

They walked for a long time, passed through these three major halls, and bypassed the Baoci Palace, Chongzheng Hall and other palaces, and came to the gate of the inner garden.

At this time, the sun was in the sky, and Zeng Bu's body was already sweating slightly. The eunuch also stopped at the entrance of the inner garden.

Zhang Di, the personal attendant of the official family, greeted him with a smile. He greeted the elderly eunuch and Zeng Bu one after another, and then said to Zeng Bu: "Zeng Shumi, the official family has been waiting for a long time." ”

Zeng Bu saw that his tone was kind, and his nervousness was relieved a lot. So he answered the "oh" and walked into the imperial garden of the inner garden with him.

Spring flowers are blooming, but this year's spring is exceptionally cold, so many flower bones are delayed. Zeng Bu looked at it and saw that there were flower buds that had not yet opened and dead trees that had not yet grown new shoots, and he felt a little strange in his heart, wondering why the official family was here to meet him.

Young Zhao Ji was in a gazebo. This pavilion is not big, and a stone table is covered with the four treasures of the study, and the official is holding a paintbrush and contemplating it. Around him stood several guards wearing rattan armor and holding swords at their waists, looking majestic.

"Official, Zeng Shumi's has arrived." Zhang Di walked up the steps and bowed to Zhao Ji. Zeng Bu also hurriedly bowed and saluted, saying, "Zeng Bu, the deputy envoy of the minister's privy council, knocks to see Your Majesty." ”

Zhao Ji looked back and smiled at the two of them, and said, "This is the inner garden, not the court, Mr. doesn't have to be formal." Then he beckoned and said, "When I was waiting for my husband, I was bored in my spare time, so I made this painting, and I asked him to taste it." ”

Zeng Bu moved over, opened his eyes and looked, it turned out that this painting was a mountain waterfall, the strange rocks under the waterfall were craggy, and a scholar sitting on the side was caressing. It's just that there is some space around the scholar, and I think the author hasn't finished painting yet.

"It's a good painting." Zeng Buzan said: "The official family has this wisdom root, which is given by God. It's just that it seems that this painting has not yet been completed, and the minister does not dare to talk about it in vain. ”

Zhao Ji seemed to be very satisfied with his work, so he straightened up, looked at it carefully, and said, "Mr. doesn't come to advise?" ”

Zeng Bu was stunned for a moment and asked, "What is there to advise?" ”

"The Queen Mother and the Imperial Historians often say that the Son of Heaven should put state affairs first, and cannot operate such a strange skill." He said: "They also have to cite Li Yu, the queen of the Southern Tang Dynasty, as an example. ”

Zeng Bu said: "What the ministers said is good, if Your Majesty is obsessed with calligraphy and painting, the government will definitely be abolished." However, calligraphy, painting and poetry can also cultivate people's temperament. Confucius still compiled "Three Hundred Poems", and His Majesty made a painting occasionally. ”

"Hahaha......" Zhao Ji smiled and said, "Mr. Zeng's words made people pause. However, he frowned again and pondered bitterly: "It's just that this painting has not yet been completed, and whether the scholar is painting strange rocks or old pines, streams or flowers and plants, tsk, no matter how he paints, it seems too vulgar and cannot come up with new ideas." ”

He pondered for a moment, then turned his head and asked Zeng Bu, "Sir, do you have a clever method?" ”

Zeng Bu smiled awkwardly and said, "The minister is not good at this. ”

"I heard that Mrs. Wei is literary and romantic, is this true?" Zhao Ji asked again.

"Neiko can make a few sour words, but the style is not high, and I am afraid that it is not worthy of the official painting."

Zhao Ji smiled slightly and said, "It's okay. This painting can be taken back to Mrs. to see, and it is good to refer to it in detail. If Mrs. has an ingenious idea, she can order the painter to paint it, if not, alas, it will be my temporary graffiti, adding a burden to Mr. and Mrs. ”

With that, he put the brush down, turned and paced away. Zhang Di hurriedly went up and carefully rolled up the painting and put it into the painting tube. Zeng Bu was also not easy to refuse, so he had to follow the emperor after thanking him.

Zhao Ji suddenly said: "Mrs. Wei has a very close relationship with Mo Yunxiao from that Minglou, this time it must be Mrs. Persuasion's secret revelation to me, right?" ”

Zeng Bu's heart tightened, and he couldn't help but sweat coldly. He stretched out his hand to wipe the sweat on his face, and hurriedly said, "The official family is sage, this ...... It is indeed the meaning of the inner child. ”

"Hehe, how do you and I know?" Zhao Ji was quite proud, and said with a smile: "Although I have no relationship with that Mo Yunxiao, I also have the elegance of acquaintance. On that day, Mrs. Zun was also here. After he finished speaking, he took out a small jade pendant from his arms, turned around and handed it to Zeng Bu, and said with a smile: "Look, this is a token given to me by the lady of the Mo family." ”

Zeng Bu took the jade pendant and took a look, there was a camellia carved on one side, and the word "Mo" was engraved on the other side, which must be the daughter of the Mo family.

Zeng Bu was taken aback, and couldn't help but look at Zhao Ji with wide eyes. Zhao Ji was a little embarrassed, and said: "That day, I also participated in the tea fighting meeting in the tea building on a whim, but I won the first place. Hehe, later I also thought that if this woman is of good character and good looks, she might as well be admitted to the palace......"

"Your Majesty......" Zhang Di interrupted Zhao Ji's words, and shouted: "How can the daughter of a merchant ......?"

Zhao Ji waved his hand at him, signaling him to be calm, and continued: "I didn't expect something to happen to their family so soon. ”

Zeng Bu pondered for a moment and asked, "Your Majesty, do you know what crimes her family has committed?" ”

"He said that his father was a deserter from the Western Army." Zhao Ji replied.

Zeng Bu nodded, secretly admiring the young man's deafness and vision, and said slowly: "Your Majesty has not been on the throne for a long time, and he is about to set a new example for the subjects of the world. Although his father was guilty, it was not a heinous sin. Can Your Majesty follow the custom and grant amnesty to the world? ”

Zhao Ji sighed, paced back and forth, and said, "It's okay to forgive the children of the Mo family, but if you want to forgive Mo Chenglin...... I'm afraid that as soon as this case opens, the soldiers guarding the border will be fugitives in the future. ”

Zeng Bu hurriedly said: "The Son of Heaven sits in the world, and he is in virtue and not in danger." If the military pay is sufficient, and the soldiers are rewarded for their merits, and punished for their crimes, there will be no such thing as His Majesty worries. ”

Zhao Ji smiled at him, then turned his head to Zhang Di and said, "Let's go to the prison of Kaifeng Mansion to see, what is the condition of the Mo family?" ”

"Yes." Zhang Di answered, handed the painting tube in his hand to another little eunuch, and bowed and retreated.

"Come on, Mr. Zeng might as well walk here with me, as a pastime." Zhao Ji said and walked forward.

Zeng Bu followed behind him with some trepidation, and asked, "Is it just for this matter that the official family is sick today?" ”

"yes." Zhao Ji smiled: "Somehow, I'm very curious about that Mo Yunxiao. ”

Zeng Bu was silent because he didn't know how to answer.

Zhao Ji continued: "'I'd rather touch Kaifeng Mansion than Mo Yunxiao; I'd rather eat ten buckets of vinegar than Mohelu'. Hehe, if you want to come here, the woman must be strong. But what I saw that day was a little shy, I don't know why? ”

Zeng Bu replied: "After all, it is my daughter's family, and I will always be shy." ”

Zhao Ji's smile narrowed, and he seemed to be a little disappointed, so he said, "I hope she is a sincere person." Just like Mi Fu, a life of uninhibited, even if you see me. Such people are called you like. ”

Zeng Bu still didn't answer, he also didn't know how to answer, so he could only accompany the emperor for a walk.

After a while, Zhang Di came back breathlessly. "Official...... The official family ......" Zhang Di trotted all the way and came over and said, "That Mo Chenglin...... He's dead. ”

"Dead?" Zhao Ji and Zeng Butong were shocked.

"How did you die?" Zhao Ji hurriedly asked.

Zhang Di replied: "I heard that he died suddenly in prison, but I think I can't survive the punishment." ”

Zhao Ji frowned and pondered, and said, "How can the soldiers of the Western Army be so weak? ”

"Could it be that the official family suspects that he committed suicide in fear of crime?" Zeng Bu asked.

Zhao Ji was distracted and asked Zhang Di: "Did you do an autopsy?" Can there be trauma? ”

"Nope." Zhang Di replied.

"Poisonous traces?" Zhao Ji asked again.

Zhang Di still said: "No." ”

Zeng Bu thought for a moment and said, "In this way, Sheng Fu Yin and Qiu Yu will inevitably be reprimanded. ”

Zhao Ji nodded thoughtfully and said, "I boldly guess that Mo Chenglin must have thought of a way to commit suicide without telling the truth, so that the family can get away with it." ”

"This ......" Zeng Bu was a little nervous, so he asked: "If this is the case, how will the officials deal with it?" ”

Zhao Ji smiled helplessly and said, "If there is no evidence, how else can we deal with it?" Only according to him. ”

A stone in Zeng Bu's heart finally landed, and he said after a while: "The official family is really the lord of leniency. ”

Zhao Ji smiled slightly, and said with some worry: "I just don't know that the Mo family suddenly lost its lord, how should the children of this family live?" ”

Zeng Bu thought for a moment and replied, "Neiko will definitely help." ”

Zhao Ji nodded and said to him, "Take good care of Mo Yunxiao for me, maybe one day I will have to go to see her." ”

Zhang Di was taken aback and interjected: "Could it be that the official family really wants to admit her into the palace?" ”

Zhao Ji asked with a smile: "Why not?" ”

"Oops!" Zhang Di shook his hands, paced two steps anxiously, and said, "The daughter of a merchant, how can you enter the palace gate?" Besides, her father is a criminal, if she enters the palace, how can she explain to the subjects of the world? ”

Zhao Ji smiled, pointed at him with a fan and said, "The view of Confucianism is not worth refuting." Fan Wenzhenggong has the words "what a crime a businessman is, and a gentleman is ashamed of his neighbor", after a hundred years, the words are still in my ears. As for her father, how can the guilt of the dead be imposed on the living? In this way, everyone in the world will have to strain their descendants when they commit crimes, and the words of King Jizo Bodhisattva that 'hell is not empty, and he will not become a Buddha if he vows to become a Buddha' will become empty talk. ”

After Zhao Ji finished speaking, he laughed with Zeng Bu.