The darkness before dawn, the clouds and the sun are covered, the stars and the moon are not light, it is the darkest moment when you can't see your fingers.

After a sudden pouring rain, only the cold autumn rain was still dripping.

There is a majestic deep house compound in the north of Lin'an City, although not long ago there has just experienced a huge turmoil here, but today, in the pink wall Zhu Hu, Yuyu Qiong Lou is still facing the cold food, night and night Lantern Festival.

The only difference is that this carved and jade-built, luxurious mansion has now changed its owner.

This is the Prime Minister's Mansion, and it is the first residence in Lin'an City except for the Imperial Palace and the Rongwang Mansion. Unlike the equally imposing Privy Council, the Prime Minister's Mansion is a private residence through and through.

Before dawn, the "acting prime minister" Lord Jia had already gotten up early to wash and prepare to enter the palace.

In the side hall of the inner house, the neatly dressed Lord Jia is sitting in danger, closing his eyes and pretending to sleep. Seven or eight maidservants crept between the kitchen and the side hall, carefully bringing the steaming breakfast to the table one by one.

Within a few moments, the table was filled with all kinds of steamed dishes and snacks. In congee soup alone, there are seven completely different ingredients and recipes, which shows the degree of luxury.

The maidservant girl at the head placed a pair of finely carved sterling silver bowls and chopsticks neatly, and then walked slowly and softly to Lord Jia's side, and said softly: "Master, breakfast is ready, you can move the chopsticks." ”

"Yes!"

Lord Jia agreed as if he didn't have it, and the maid at the head hurriedly waved her hand to the others.

Seeing this, seven or eight maidservants bowed to Lord Jia and exited the side hall in an orderly manner.

No one is allowed to be around during the meal, this is the habit of Lord Jia, because he wants to take the opportunity of eating alone to "save my body" and think about the major affairs of the family and the country, and at this time he hates being disturbed by others.

When the maidservants all retreated, only Master Jia was left in the huge side hall, and his quiet body as a wood carving moved slightly, so as to slowly open his eyes.

The sound of rain outside the window is pleasant, the food in the hall is fragrant, and the candle flame is swaying and reflecting a faint yellow, which makes Lord Jia's heart at this moment feel like water, comfortable and leisurely.

"Click......"

Suddenly, there was a soft sound of tiles shaking from the roof, which immediately made Lord Jia's eyebrows frown, and he subconsciously got up and retreated, looking at the roof with cautious eyes.

"Meow!"

A cat meow came from the roof, and the movement of trampling on the tiles gradually faded away, and Lord Jia stared intently at the roof until the wild cat on the house walked away and the sound disappeared, and then he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"What did the adults do? Why are you so cowardly?"

Just when Master Jia was about to sit down again, a cold voice suddenly sounded from inside the house, which made his eyes change, and the hairs on his body instantly turned upside down, and he subconsciously raised his eyes to watch.

I don't know when, the wet and muddy Liu Xunyi stood quietly in the corner of the side hall like a life-seeking water ghost, a pair of flickering eyes staring directly at the timid and abrupt Lord Jia. That kind of indifferent eyes that were not mixed with a trace of emotion, and seemed to be overflowing with murderous intent, made Lord Jia's body stiffen involuntarily and his back cold.

"Willow ...... Liu Xunyi, you ...... You ......"

When the panicked Lord Jia gradually recognized Liu Xunyi's identity, his face changed again and again, and he wanted to open his mouth to say hello, but unexpectedly, his throat was tight, his tongue was knotted, and he couldn't say anything for a long time.

"Master Jia, don't come unharmed!"

Compared with Lord Jia's sincerity and fear, Liu Xunyi seemed calm and calm.

"You...... How did you get in?"

Lord Jia looked at the expressionless Liu Xunyi with jealousy, and glanced at the door inadvertently with trembling eyes. This scene was fully watched by Liu Xunyi, so before Lord Jia could speak out, Liu Xunyi's threat had quietly arrived.

"I was able to sneak into the inner house without knowing it, which shows that the guards in the Lord's Mansion are not worth anything. Adults should know what to do, if you dare to shout and scream, my sword will definitely be before the guards rush in...... Pierce your throat first. ”

was exposed by Liu Xunyi's thoughts, Lord Jia's face instantly turned pale as paper, and he subconsciously took two steps back, and at the same time touched his neck with his hand, his eyes became more and more uneasy.

"You...... You're here to kill me?"

"If I had murderous intent, adults wouldn't have had a chance to ask that. Liu Xunyi shook his head slowly, his tone as flat as water.

"Could it be because of the matter of Jingyun Pavilion...... Let me help you rehabilitate Zhaoxue?"

"Rehabilitated Zhaoxue?" Liu Xunyi sneered, "Your Excellency really knows that I was wronged. ”

"This ......"

Realizing that he had lost his words, Master Jia's expression couldn't help but become a little embarrassed. Seeing that Liu Xunyi had not made a move on him for a long time, the fear that lingered in his heart gradually dissipated, and the nervous emotions slowly calmed down, so that his face softened, and his tone became soft and cordial.

Actually, the official is very sympathetic to your plight, and he is even more distressed by the despicable behavior of Xifu, and it is difficult to sleep and eat. Lord Jia looked up to the sky and sighed, pretending to be indignant, "It's just that Dongfu has just suffered a catastrophe, so that the vitality is greatly damaged, even if this official wants to help you, I'm afraid it's powerless......"

"Trouble sleeping?" Liu Xunyi's meaningful gaze swept towards the table full of delicacies, and a contemptuous smile rose at the corner of his mouth, "Your Excellency doesn't have to be sad, I'm not here for the Jingyun Pavilion, and I haven't thought about rehabilitating Zhaoxue." Since Xifu can instigate the emperor and Prince Rong to deal with me together, even if the truth is revealed to the world, I am afraid that they will pretend to turn a blind eye and turn a deaf ear. ”

"Alas!" Hearing Liu Xunyi's answer, Lord Jia was relieved in his heart, but on the surface he sighed, "Right now, the West Mansion is strong and the East Mansion is weak, our colleagues don't know how many people have been beheaded by raiding their homes, and how many people are in prison. If you continue like this, I am afraid that sooner or later this official will follow in your footsteps. ”

After saying that, Lord Jia's eyes rolled, and he pretended to be concerned: "Looking for clothes, now Lin'an City is full of Xifu's eyeliner, and there are soldiers and horses searching for you all over the street, how dare you stay here? Escape from Lin'an as soon as possible is the best policy......

As for this, Master Jia's tone froze, and he pretended to look left and right, so he whispered tentatively: "You came to me...... Do you want this official to help you escape from Lin'an?"

However, in the face of Lord Jia's pretense of caution, Liu Xunyi sneered silently.

"This matter is a little difficult to handle...... "Lord Jia said in a matter-of-fact manner, "but you have saved me at Yanmen Pass, this official will never be ungrateful, I will definitely find a way to send you out of the city, but this matter must be done without leakage......

"Don't bother, my lord, I'm not looking for you to escape from Lin'an. ”

"This ......" Master Jia was stunned, as if he didn't understand Liu Xunyi's meaning, "If you don't run away now, when will you stay?"

"I want to ask you a question. Liu Xunyi ignored Lord Jia's confusion and said to himself, "Qin Wei secretly colluded with Xifu, and this matter is ...... Do you know?"

"Shhh

As soon as these words came out, Master Jia couldn't help but gasp, and his confused eyes gradually became a little tangled.

"To tell the truth, when Qin Wei made a lot of nonsense in front of the emperor and pointed the finger at the prime minister, the official and the Marquis of Tianji expected that he might have betrayed his lord to seek glory. Lord Jia said helplessly, "But the will of heaven is unpredictable, before we start to investigate, the Dongfu has been 'defeated like a mountain', the prime minister, the official, and the marquis of Tianji are all mud bodhisattvas crossing the river and it is difficult to protect themselves, how can they have the leisure to pursue Qin Wei's loyalty and traitor?"

"Since the lord and the marquis have long been suspicious of Qin Wei, why don't they show the emperor early?" Liu Xunyi asked rhetorically, "The emperor has always hated that there are people in the court who form parties for personal gain, once he knows that the Xifu and Qin Weili should cooperate with the outside world, maybe the Dongfu can turn defeat into victory......"

"Do you have any evidence?" Master Jia said with a wry smile, "A Qin Wei is naturally not to be feared, but don't forget that he has the support of the Xifu behind him." If you want to impeach Xifu in front of the emperor, if you don't have ironclad evidence, you will only end up destroying yourself. As everyone knows, the West Mansion has been secretly preparing for many years to deal with the East Mansion, and when the time and place are right, they will dare to tear their faces with us with full certainty. The two mansions of the east and west are the important weapons of the country, and their forces are intertwined and spread all over the world, and they can not be easily shaken overnight or in a few words. ”

"Actually, long before the turmoil in Dongfu, Qin Wei and Xifu had already colluded together. Ding Chou once inadvertently bumped into him and Bai Jin's secret meeting, and Qiu Han also knew about it. ”

"What?" Master Jia was shocked, "what do you mean...... Qin Wei didn't defect on the verge of battle, but premeditated?"

"Not bad!"

"Where is Ding Chou and Qiu Han? Can you let them enter the palace with me?" Seeing Liu Xunyi's oath, Lord Jia, who had suddenly woken up, was angry and then happy, and his reaction was very strange, "At the beginning, Xifu borrowed a small Qin Wei to pry our Dongfu, which caused a monstrous change. Today, we simply use the way of others to govern their bodies, and use Ding Chou to pry the mountain of Xifu. Even if he can't be ashamed, at least he can drag Qin Wei down from the seat of Tianji Hou. ”

Lord Jia's words are high-sounding, and it sounds like avenging the shame of the prime minister, Zhao Yuan, and Dongfu, but in fact, it is for his own selfishness. As everyone knows, using Ding Chou and Qiu Han to deal with Xifu, no matter what the result is, the two of them will not end well.

From beginning to end, Master Jia didn't think about the life or death of Liu Xunyi and Ding Chou, all he cared about was how to eliminate dissidents and how to enrich his power.

"It's too late!" Liu Xunyi, whose heart was like a mirror, ruthlessly poured a basin of cold water on Lord Jia, and said indifferently, "Qiu Han is dead, and Ding Chou has left the country." ”

"What?" Lord Jia was disappointed and asked unwillingly, "Where did Ding Chou go?"

"I don't know. ”

"You ......"

"Although I don't know where Ding Chou is, and I don't understand what the adults mean by 'the right time, the right place and the right people', I am willing to make a deal with the adults and use it in my own way...... Help you achieve your long-cherished wishes. ”

"Deal?" Master Jia finally understood Liu Xunyi's true intention, and immediately became vigilant, and said suspiciously, "What deal?"

"There is a Wangchuan silk village in Lin'an City, and the shopkeeper's surname is Pan, and their family of four is my old friend. Liu Xunyi said unhurriedly, "Right now, in order to lure me to appear, Xifu ordered their family of four to be put in prison, and sentenced them to death. I hope that Lord Jia can administer justice for them and return their innocence and freedom. ”

"You can't protect yourself now, and you still want to save others?"

"You don't have to take any chances. Liu Xunyi ignored Lord Jia's ridicule, and said righteously, "As long as your lord acts impartially in accordance with the laws of the Great Song Dynasty, it is enough to give the Pan family justice." ”

"The matter...... It's not difficult!" Master Jia said thoughtfully, and his words were vague, "I can help you save people, but I don't know ...... How can you help me?"

"I'll help you kill people and exchange three lives for the four members of the Pan family. Among them, two lives help you eliminate dissidents, and one is shameful. Another life helps you invite merit in front of the emperor and secure the position of prime minister. ”

"Oh?" Lord Jia's heart moved, and his eyes couldn't help but flicker, "Which three lives?"

"'Tianji Marquis' Qin Wei, 'Privy Deputy Envoy' Lord Qian, and ......"

"Who else?"

"I!" Liu Xunyi. ”

......