Li Shizhi slowly returned to the East Garden, where he lived.

On the surface, the face of this waiter of the Criminal Department looked normal, and he didn't seem to be in a big mess because of Li Daoyan's straightforward words.

When he came to the inner study, Li Shizhi made himself a cup of Zhuhai golden tea, and sat on the Taishi chair with his eyes closed.

The fragrance of tea is lingering, quiet and elegant.

He is very aware of his old father's ability and skill, and there are not many things in this capital that can hide from his old man, let alone the Li family, which he has run all his life.

In other words, Li Daoyan more or less knew some of Li Shizhi's secrets, but because of the inseparable relationship between the two, as well as his current age and the situation in Beijing, he could not make a strong response, and could only use a gentle way to persuade tactfully.

Li Shizhi will not be complacent because of this, on the contrary, his mood is a little heavy.

Li Daoyan's attitude is very clear, in this dangerous moment of undercurrent surging, the Li family tries not to do anything, to find a balance between the Son of Heaven and the Jiangnan family.

To put it simply, it's probably the role of a tinker.

But Li Shizhi knows the risks involved.

Over the years, he has secretly been very close to the Jiangnan clan, especially the other eight clans who are entrenched in the middle and upper echelons of power in Daqi, through the exchange of interests and the influence of the Li family, he has established a very close relationship with these clans, and he knows their minds well.

There is a more significant difference between the Jiangnan clan and those gate lords in the history books, they have a deeper penetration of military power.

Since Li Duan's ascension to the throne in Yongjia City, the Jingjun has been inextricably linked with the Jiangnan clan, and as time goes by, this relationship has deepened.

Now that Li Duan wants to attack the power structure of the Beijing army, he will inevitably encroach on or even deprive the Jiangnan clan of power, which is an irreconcilable contradiction.

For the Li family, it is undoubtedly an extremely dangerous choice to stand on the shore and watch at this time.

"Father, son understands your struggle, but many times danger also means opportunity, and this matter is not as complicated as you think."

Li Shizhi muttered to himself, picked up the teacup and took a shallow sip.

He sat still for a long time.

When it was dark, his henchman Li Jinshan walked into the inner study, followed by a man in his thirties.

"Meet Lord Squiro!"

The man saluted respectfully.

His name is Zhong Chang, and he is now in charge of the criminal department, and he is one of the masters sent by the criminal department to assist Lu Shen in investigating Hou Yu's case.

Li Shizhi slowly raised his eyes to look at him and asked, "How is the case investigated?" ”

Zhong Chang lowered his head and replied: "Lord Hui, there should be some progress, but the lower officials are only responsible for the review of some of the files, so they can't know the whole picture." ”

Li Shizhi groaned: "This official has always valued you very much, this time I sent you to assist Shanyang Hou in investigating the case, you must do your best, don't let people underestimate the ability of the Criminal Department." ”

"The lower officials should remember the adult's entrustment."

Zhong Chang bowed, and then said cautiously: "My lord, do you need the lower officials to do something from it?" ”

Li Shizhi glanced at him indifferently, Zhong Chang came to his senses, and hurriedly said: "The lower official is ignorant, and I hope that the lord will forgive." ”

"Do things well, do things with your heart, other things are not something you should think about."

Li Shizhi mentioned something, and then said calmly: "Go down." ”

"Yes, sir."

Zhong Chang bowed and retired.

Li Jinshan sent him away, and when he came back, his expression was slightly solemn.

"Master, Nan Anhou has been very tormented these days, and he has asked people to send several messages, begging the master to help and try to keep his position as a general."

Even though there were no others in the study at the moment, and there could be no prying eyes around, Li Jinshan still kept his voice very low.

Hou Yu is now nominally recuperating in the Hou Mansion, but in fact it is no different from the captivity, but the Son of Heaven can't be too harsh, so he just lets the forbidden army control the periphery of the Hou Mansion, which is far from being airtight.

With the strength and heritage of the Li family in Yongjia City, it is not very difficult to establish contact with the Nan'an Hou Mansion.

"The position of the Great General?"

A sneer appeared on Li Shizhi's lips, and he said slowly: "He has been in a border place like Chengzhou for a long time, and if he really develops this stupid temperament, I don't know that it will be a good ending for him to save his life this time." ”

Li Jinshan is different from others, he is Li Shizhi's most valued confidant, so naturally he doesn't need to be too cautious, so he reminded when he heard the words: "Master, Nan'anhou has a lot of connections in the army. ”

Li Shizhi bowed his head and said, "So he can't die." You send someone to tell him that the game has just begun, and that the only thing he has to do now is to be patient. ”

Li Jinshan bowed his head.

Li Shizhi looked at the soft candlelight on the big case, and said: "When Your Majesty and Lu Shen burn this fire more vigorously, and many people can hardly bear it, there will naturally be a chance for him to make a move." ”

Li Jinshan's eyes lit up, and he said respectfully: "The villain understands." ”

……

At night, the Marquis of Shanyang's mansion.

In the side hall, there is a simple table.

Luo Jiujiu sat in the south, taking a small bite of his meal while looking at Lu Shen who was eating on the other side.

It was actually a very novel experience for her.

Lu Shen sensed her curious gaze, so he pulled the last bite of rice in the bowl clean, then picked up the handkerchief next to him to wipe his mouth, took a cup of tea from the maid's hand, and said to Luo Jiujiu: "Your amount of food is not small." ”

Luo Jiujiu was stunned, and said with a smile: "You are a dignified prince, I also heard that your Lu family is quite wealthy, why be so stingy." ”

Lu Shen smiled, skipped the topic and said, "I thought you would sneak out today, but I didn't expect you to be able to endure staying in the mansion, but it was a little unexpected to me." ”

Wei Chigui has already lifted the ban on Luo Jiujiu's vein, and under the premise that Lu Shen is not at home, it is indeed not difficult to run out with her martial arts.

Luo Jiujiu said, "Why should I risk going out? ”

Lu Shen said: "What do you mean by this? ”

Luo Jiujiu raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "Although I don't understand the doorways of your Qi Imperial Court, I also know that Hou Yu's case has made many people entangled. If you can kill me, although your Emperor Majesty will definitely be very angry, he will also completely cut off the possibility of repairing relations between Qi and Shazhou. At that time, it was obviously an unnecessary move to punish Hou Yu because of the innocent and tragic death of the Shazhou people. ”

These words surprised Lu Shen slightly.

In the bright light, the bright expression of the woman in red was like the breeze of a summer night.

Being looked at by Lu Shen like this, Luo Jiujiu was not ashamed, and said calmly: "Am I not right?" ”

"That's right."

Lu Shen smiled slightly, and then said: "If the imperial court punishes Hou Yu, can the people of Shazhou calm the resentment in their hearts?" ”

Luo Jiujiu put down his chopsticks, wiped his lips with a cool handkerchief, and said softly, "It's difficult." ”

Lu Shen's eyes condensed slightly, in fact, this answer was what he expected, but it was confirmed from the mouth of the daughter of the head of the Yalong tribe, which was not very pleasing after all.

Seeing this, Luo Jiujiu explained: "If Hou Yu can get the punishment he deserves, the people of Shazhou will definitely have some good feelings towards His Majesty the Great Qi Emperor, but how to calculate that account back then?" ”

There is a problem between Daqi and Shazhou Qibu that can never be solved, that is, the 8,000 native soldiers who died in Yanziling, the northern suburb of Heluo, in 19 years.

The Shazhou Seven Divisions were pure victims in that incident, and the first emperor of the Qi Dynasty who betrayed them had long since died, and even if they wanted to take revenge, they could only rush at the entire Great Qi.

As Luo Jiujiu said in the palace that day, the people of Shazhou are very aware of the gap between each other and do not want to cause greater casualties to themselves, so they will not take the initiative to provoke Daqi, but it is obviously impossible to let them let go of their hatred and become the most loyal servants of Daqi as they did a hundred years ago.

Luo Jiujiu sighed lightly: "And the situation in Shazhou is also very complicated, although my father is the head of the Yalong tribe, and the Yalong tribe does have the largest population, but he can't decide everything in the tribe, and the leaders of other tribes will not completely listen to him many times." ”

In fact, this problem can be glimpsed from the name of the seven departments of Shazhou.

After hundreds of years have passed, Shazhou is still seven tribes coexisting, and they have not been integrated into a tribe, which shows that the internal forces are relatively balanced, and no one can be a monopoly.

Lu Shen bowed slightly, and asked again: "How big is Shazhou?" ”

Luo Jiujiu was stunned, then raised his hands and drew a big circle in front of him, and said, "It's so big." ”

Lu Shen couldn't help but ask, "How big is it?" ”

Luo Jiujiu glanced at him and smiled: "How do I know?" Anyway, the area of Shazhou is very large, and the seven departments do not live together, but each has its own territory. Our Yalong Department and Huining Department live not very far from Yunling, and after crossing Yunling, dozens of miles away is the Chengzhou of your Qi country. ”

Lu Shen remembered what the Son of Heaven had said, so he said gently: "Which tribe's territory is the bird locked in?" ”

Luo Jiujiu replied: "Flying Bird Pass? It was the territory of the Kanegawa Division, and I visited it once when I was a child. Asuka Pass is very steep, and only a few dozen people need to guard it, and even a few thousand people can't attack from the north—"

Before she finished speaking, there was a sudden sound of hurried footsteps outside the hall, and then she saw Chen Shu, the chief housekeeper of the Hou Mansion, walk in, and said with a solemn expression: "Master Hou, something happened." ”

Lu Shen raised his eyes and asked quietly, "What's the matter?" ”

Chen Shu said: "I just received an urgent report, our family has run out of water in a shop in Beicheng, the fire is very fierce, and the things in the warehouse cannot be saved, fortunately no guys have an accident." ”

Luo Jiujiu's complexion changed slightly.

At this sensitive and complicated moment, a fire suddenly broke out in the façade of the Lu family's firm, and there are too many intriguing deep meanings in it.

She looked at Lu Shen a little nervously, not knowing how the young prince would respond.

Lu Shen wanted to get up, but sat back again.

He turned his head to look at Chen Shu and said indifferently: "Since the guys didn't have an accident, it's good that you lose some money." Now that it's night, I'm not going to check it, you have someone go and inspect the other shops. Now that the weather is dry, it is indeed necessary to be prepared for fire prevention. ”

After hearing these words, Chen Shu suddenly felt a shock in his heart, and muttered: "Master Hou, could it be this fire-"

Lu Shen interrupted him calmly: "It's just an accident, don't panic too much." Starting tomorrow, our business will temporarily close its doors to check the hidden dangers inside. ”

Chen Shu bowed and said, "Yes, Master Hou." ”

After he retired, Luo Jiujiu asked with some concern: "You won't have an accident, right?" ”

Lu Shen looked at the look of concern on her pretty face and smiled, "Of course not." In addition, I will tell you the good news, Hou Yu's case will have a result in a few days. ”

A touch of joy appeared on Luo Jiujiu's face, and he said sincerely: "Thank you." ”

(End of chapter)

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