"The man with the brass mask, can you tell who he is?"

Qi Tiansaw that he couldn't lead the eldest princess's spy through clues, so he turned the topic elsewhere.

Uncle Nine pondered for a while, "Listening to the conversation between him and Xie Jin just now, this person must be very familiar with Yunhai City and our situation, but the old man thought about it for a long time, but he still couldn't think of who this person was. ”

"Are there any of our previous enemies still alive?"

Uncle Nine thought about it, then shook his head, "The enemies before the boss were the Li family, Huang Wu, and Xie Jin's father and son. The Li family has been beheaded by the whole family because they did not hand over the military supplies on time, and Huang Wu, Xie Jingxuan, and Xie Jin's father and son have also been killed by us. ”

Qi Tian's eyes became dark, "Are the people of the Li family dead?"

Uncle Nine was stunned for a moment and thought about it for a while, "Because the Li family had completely declined at that time, the old man didn't pay close attention to this matter, and now he mentioned it coldly, and he really stopped the old man." ”

"I remember that the Li family fled a person, it seems to be Li Zelong. Qi Tian said seriously.

"Li Zelong, but the man in the brass mask doesn't have anything in common with Li Zelong. You must know that disfigurement and swallowing charcoal are all very human suffering, how can that loser have such a ruthless heart?" Uncle Jiu was a little unconvinced.

For Li Zelong, he understands that he has nothing to do all day long, eating, drinking and having fun.

Qi Tian looked up at the dark sky and muttered: "People will become, some people usually can't see anything, once they encounter a huge change, or suffer a major blow, they will completely become another person, a person you don't expect, and very terrifying." ”

Uncle Nine has experienced vicissitudes of life, and he is also very transparent about human nature, "If the boss says this, I can understand, could it be that he is really Li Zelong?"

"Whether he is Li Zelong or not, we have to get rid of him, he feels like a poisonous snake to me, hiding in the shadows, always waiting for the opportunity to bite us. ”

"Boss, the old man will pass on this order. ”

Early the next morning.

Qi Tian put on his official uniform and hurried towards the court in a carriage.

After Bingfeng left, he didn't know where to go, so the position of coachman was first held by Lin Guodong, which was also his job.

"Guodong, it's still early, let's take a detour to the mansion you found yesterday. Qi Tian was still a little worried about the words of the eldest princess, after all, Qi Nian was his own daughter, and he had to see it with his own eyes.

"Boss, okay. Lin Guodong answered, and then changed the lane.

Just as they were about to reach the mansion, the Guards blocked the street in front of the mansion.

"Gordon, go ask what's going on. Qi Tian opened the curtain and observed.

"Okay. ”

Lin Guodong, dressed in civilian clothes, approached the people who were looking around, and asked, "Big brother, why was this street blocked by officers and soldiers?"

A young man turned his head and said, "Don't you know, there was a large-scale fight here last night, and the officers and soldiers said that it was a melee between the people of the rivers and lakes, and it is said that more than 100 people died!"

At this time, an aunt turned around, "Hmph, definitely not, when the officers and soldiers carried the corpses in the morning, I saw it, and it was all soldiers in military uniforms." ”

Lin Guodong looked at his aunt and asked again, "Auntie, what's going on?"

The aunt glanced at Lin Guodong, with a look of "grandmother" who wanted to tell you a story, and slowly spoke: "Young man, I heard that your accent is from out of town, right? A few days ago, a mysterious big man moved in this mansion, and the guards guarded for twelve hours, but who this big man is, I can't tell you..."

Lin Guodong's face was black, and her words were diverted: "Auntie, I don't care who lives there, I just want to know what happened last night..."

The aunt was interrupted by him, and her face became a little impatient, "What can happen, of course someone is going to assassinate that big man! There was a fight here last night, and a lot of people died! It seems that the struggle in the court is very serious, young man, you... Alas, where are you going, I haven't finished my sentence yet. ”

Lin Guodong had already turned around and left, in the past, he knew that the people of the imperial capital city liked Kan Dashan, and some old alley strings knew astronomy and geography, and even knew which concubine so-and-so had a secret meeting with tonight...

"Guodong, how is it?" Qi Tian looked a little anxious.

"That mansion was attacked last night, and it is said that many people died. ”

Qi Tian nodded slowly, it seems that the eldest princess really sent someone to rescue Qi Nian yesterday.

In other words, Qi Nian is now in the hands of Princess Celestia.

"Let's go, go straight to the palace. ”

As soon as Qi Tian arrived at the gate of the palace, he immediately saw several old acquaintances standing together and not knowing what to talk about.

"Lord Wang, why are you here?"

I saw Wang Shouren, Ma Chengwei, Huang Youcai, and Li Tongwei standing together, whispering something, and everyone's expressions were different.

"Lord Qi, your wind chill is healed?" Wang Shouren quipped.

Qi Tian smiled "haha" and joked: "I know that the old buddies are thinking about me, and I can't think about it badly." ”

Li Tongwei said with concern: "Lord Wang said that you have a cold, and I asked my subordinates to send you a few pairs of medicine yesterday, but your house is empty, have you moved?"

"Thank you, Brother Li, for your concern. Qi Tian smiled.

"Tian'er, when are you going to the mansion to have a look, as soon as I go back to the mansion now, Xiaoxue and Li Jiaomei will pestering me to ask me where you are, which makes me have a little nervous breakdown. Huang Youcai complained a little.

Qi Tian's heart sank, but his face was full of smiles: "Father-in-law has worked hard, but I'm afraid you will have to work for me for a few days, and I still have some things to do." ”

Huang Youcai nodded, knowing in his heart what he was talking about.

At the moment, Qi Nian has not been found, once Li Jiaomei asks, Qi Tian should not know how to answer.

"By the way, have you heard anything about?" Wang Shouren asked suddenly.

"What's the matter?" Qi Tian pretended not to know, but he had already guessed what it was in his heart.

Wang Shouren looked around, very cautious, and said in a low voice: "Yesterday, I heard that something big seemed to have happened in Xie Jin's Mansion, and the entire Xie Mansion was blocked, and the people inside couldn't get out, and the people outside couldn't get in. ”

Qi Tian smiled "hehe", "It wasn't you who had an accident in Xie Fu, I didn't see it, Brother Wang is quite gossipy." ”

Wang Shouren was stunned for a moment, his eyes were stunned and he looked at Qi Tian with a relaxed face, "Could it be..."

Before he could finish speaking, Qi Tian answered: "As you think in your heart, just don't say it, it's not interesting." ”

Suddenly, Li Tongwei, Huang Youcai, and Ma Chengwei all looked at Qi Tian with shocked expressions.

In addition to the shock, the four of them were also very moved in their hearts, Qi Tian had done such a big thing, but he didn't hide it from them.

This shows that in Qi Tian's heart, he already regards them as his most trusted friends.

"Why, it's so shocking, okay, I'll do it in the evening, let's find a place to drink together. ”

Qi Tian smiled and walked towards the court, now that Xie Jin is dead, he has one less enemy, and he is in a very good mood.

The early dynasty was still as ceremonial as before.

It's just that Qi Tian looked at the crown prince and the eldest princess at the front and found that they seemed to be a little different from the previous days.

The first is the difference in temperament, in the past, the prince was high-spirited, and the eldest princess was silent, but now both of them seem to be full of worries and don't pay much attention to some ordinary government affairs.

Second, although these two are political enemies, they can be considered passable on the face, there are exchanges in the court from time to time, and the prince often asks the eldest princess for her opinions, although most of them are pretending, but they are also peaceful.

It's just that the two of them now, although there is no arguing or tension, as if nothing has happened, Qi Tian can feel the undercurrent surging under the calm of the two.

It looks like the final battle is about to begin. Qi Tian said secretly in his heart.

After the usual discussion of political affairs, the crown prince suddenly spoke: "Everyone may have seen that Lieutenant Xie did not go to the court today, and yesterday he informed the prince that he was suddenly ill and could not go to the morning court for a short time, nor could he continue to perform his duties in charge of the guards. He consulted with the crown prince that Zhang Zhong would temporarily take over all the affairs of the Guards in his place, and I don't know what your opinions were. ”

At this time, an old man who had been standing in the corner behind the prince slowly walked in front of the prince and waved at the prince and the eldest princess.

"Meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Her Royal Highness the Eldest Princess. ”

The eldest princess's face moved slightly, and the golden curtain in front of her sounded "Ling, Ling".

"Oh, it turned out to be Uncle Chung. You come to take Lieutenant Xie's place, this palace doesn't have any opinion, but you are almost seventy years old this year. Princess Celestia spoke.

With the eldest princess at the beginning, a civil official immediately stood up, "Your Royal Highness the Prince, the empire has laws, and people who are over sixty years old can no longer hold any official position in the court. ”

The prince's expression remained unchanged, as if he had expected someone to give him an opinion.

"You heard clearly, this prince is saying that Zhang Zhong temporarily took over the duties of Lieutenant Xie, not to be promoted to lieutenant, and when Lieutenant Xie recovers, Zhang Zhong will naturally return the power of the guard, so this is not against the official system of the empire. ”

The eldest princess's body moved slightly, but she didn't make a sound, obviously something came to her mouth, but she didn't want to speak.

The crown prince glanced at the eldest princess and continued, "I wonder if you have any other opinions?"

At this time, the official who stood up spoke again: "I heard that Lord Xie does not seem to be sick at home, but... After lunch, I suddenly died of a sudden heartbeat. ”

As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar.

"What, Lord Xie is dead?"

"I saw him doing well when I went down to court yesterday!"

.........

Manchu officials whispered.

The crown prince's brows furrowed inadvertently, and he said sharply: "Shen Fan, what do you mean by this, are you questioning this prince!"

Shen Fan's face was slightly frightened, he glanced up at the eldest princess, and continued: "Your Royal Highness the Prince, don't misunderstand, Weichen just wants to confirm the rumors he heard, and he doesn't mean anything else. ”

"Hmph! Prince Ben was discussing with Lieutenant Xie last night, how could he suddenly die suddenly after lunch? As a fourth-level official of the imperial court, you did not check the facts, but instead listened to slanderous rumors, came and dragged Shen Fan out, and fought for twenty battles!" the prince ordered loudly.

Although Shen Fan is not old, but looking at his gray hair, he is also over fifty years old, and even the young Qi Zaiqing can't stand the twenty court battles, how can he stand a person who is over half a hundred years old?

"The prince forgives the sin, Weichen just wants to confirm the guess in his heart, and he doesn't argue in vain!" Although Shen Fan shouted to the prince, his eyes looked at the eldest princess.

After all, he is the person of the eldest princess, and he was punished because of the instructions of the eldest princess, and now he can only beg the eldest princess to spare his life.

But he was disappointed, and the eldest princess didn't seem to hear or see his plea for mercy, and stood quietly in front of her, not saying a word.

Two court soldiers rudely pulled him up from behind and dragged him out of the court.

Shen Fan saw that the eldest princess was indifferent, and his heart was in a hurry, so he changed his words and shouted: "Eldest princess, help!

It's just that the eldest princess still hasn't moved, like a statue.

Qi Tian watched a murder happen in an instant in the middle of the court, and his heart was cold.

This prince is too vicious, and this eldest princess is too ruthless.

These two people are worthy of being members of the emperor's family, ruthless, cold-blooded and ruthless.

"Okay, since everyone has no opinions, Zhang Zhong will temporarily take the responsibility of lieutenant and be in charge of all the guards in the imperial capital!"

And the officials in the court, you look at me, I look at you, and they didn't speak again.

Shen Fan's lessons from the past are not over yet.

"Ahh

"Ahh

The screams outside the hall were like a heavy punch, hitting the hearts of the Manchu Dynasty civil and military forces.

In the eyes of ordinary people, these big officials are usually majestic, hugging each other in front and back, and the scenery is infinite.

But how did they know that when these big officials entered the court, their lives were no longer their own, but the emperor's family.

Jun let you die for three watches, and you can't live for more than four watches.

Like Shen Fan, he was even more miserable, thinking that the eldest princess was his last straw, but he didn't expect it to be illusory.

I don't know how long it took, there was no longer Shen Fan's screams outside the court, only the muffled sound of "pop, pop" long stick hitting the flesh.

At this moment, everyone knew that Shen Fan had returned to the West, and a fourth-level official of the court had died like this, without any warning or mistake.

If you want to blame, you can only blame him for saying the wrong thing and saying something that the prince doesn't like to hear.

Downwards and backwards.

Qi Tian walked out of the gate of the court, and at a glance he saw Shen Fan, who was covered in blood and had a terrifying death, he was lying on a bench, his face full of unwillingness.

The surrounding ground was also stained red with blood, and every official who came out of the court could see this tragic scene, and everyone was also like a cicada, and left in a hurry, leaving only the corpse alone in front of the gate of the court.

As Qi Tian walked, he experienced the cold-bloodedness and darkness under politics.

"Lord Qi—" a crisp voice came to mind from his side.

Qi Tian turned his head to see that it was the palace maid beside the eldest princess.

The palace maid gestured to Qi Tian.

Qi Tian knew that this was the way the Grand Duke wanted to see him, or the last time they met, first going to a closed street, and then changing carriages.

When Qi Tian walked into the lake room again, it was still the same as before, and nothing had changed.