[The 71st year of the Great Qiankang, March 25th, unitary time, autumn leaf grass hall]

After Xu Ke got off duty, he went straight to the Autumn Leaf Grass Hall.

This time, he deliberately arrived two minutes early, just to talk to Zhao Yu.

When he had just sat down in the front hall of the cottage, Zhao Yu made tea for him, and was about to turn around and leave, Xu Ke said: "Xiaoyu, it's still early today, don't go to the kitchen to be busy yet, can you stay here and talk to me for a while?"

Zhao Yu saw Xu Ke being so solemn and knew that he had something to say, so he had to stay in the front hall, but he didn't dare to take a seat. It was Xu Ke who forced her to sit down, and she reluctantly sat opposite Xu Ke.

Xu Ke asked, "Xiaoyu, do you know a girl whose name is 'Yan'?"

"Yan ......, who is Yan?" Zhao Yu said blankly.

"You really don't know her?" Xu Ke asked again.

"I don't know!" Zhao Yu shook his head.

"Then do you know that there is another person, her name is 'Red Flame Demon King'?" Xu Ke asked again.

"Red Flame Demon King, who is the Red Flame Demon King?" the expression on Zhao Yu's face was even more dazed.

Seeing that Zhao Yu looked completely ignorant, Xu Ke had to change his tone and ask:

"Xiaoyu, think about it carefully, from your birth to now, there have been some strange things happening?"

"From birth to the present ......" Zhao Yu thought for a while, and said: "That year, I woke up in the earthen temple in Zhaojiazhuang, and the son of the village chief died beside me for no reason......"

"You said that, I'm asking, is there anything else weird besides?"

"And ...... There is also the fact that the village chief wants to take someone to burn me, and it is Xu Gongzi who will save me......"

"What else? Is there anything else out of the ordinary?"

"And ...... Also, that day when I was in Tsing Yi Wei, I was caught dead with a stick, but after leaving Tsing Yi Wei, all the bruises on my legs disappeared! I still don't know what is going on? Xu Gongzi, do you know?" Zhao Yu asked Xu Ke rhetorically.

Xu Ke scratched his forehead and said, "This is about you...... For the sake of better skin!"

Xu Ke thought to himself, after that day, he heard that Pei Caibao, a thousand households of the Nan'an Ping Division, had suffered a huge injury, and since then his martial arts have been lost, and he has also lost his official position. In addition, the rest of the guards who participated in the interrogation that day all died tragically, what happened in the secret room of his Nan'an Ping Division? I'm afraid that except for Pei Caibao, only you Zhao Yu knows. You said that you were given a stick by Pei Caibao, why did you end up safe, but Pei Bald was injured and became a cripple? or...... Maybe you put a stick on someone's house?

"My skin is good, is it......" At this time, Zhao Yu, like that day in Dongshi, lifted his trouser legs and examined them carefully.

"This ...... Don't be busy looking, don't be busy looking!" Xu Ke hurriedly waved his hand and said:

"Miss Xiaoyu, I still want to ask one more thing, after we left Tsing Yi Wei that day, I took you up to Xiangmanlou, how did you have such a good appetite and actually ate six plates of big meat buns in one go?"

Xu Ke clearly remembered that at noon that day, he and Zhao Yu sat at the window table in Xiangmanlou, and watched Zhao Yu eat nearly sixty large meat buns, which was almost as much as his second brother. In the past few days, he has eaten two meals in a row in Xiangmanlou, knowing that the "big meat buns in the north" there are very large, and he can only eat six or seven at most under hunger, with Zhao Yu, a gentle woman, how can she suddenly eat so many big meat buns?

"This ......" Zhao Yu lowered his head and said with a cowardly expression: "I don't know either! I just feel that I was very hungry that day, and my appetite was surprisingly good......! I ate a little more......"

"Xiaoyu is greedy and has no form, which makes Childe smile!" Zhao Yu said embarrassedly.

"It's okay, it's okay!" Xu Ke hurriedly waved his hand and said with a smile:

"Maybe you were caught by Pei Bald and put into the Nan'an Ping Division, and you were scared, but your appetite suddenly improved. ”

"Yes?......" Zhao Yu raised his head and looked at Xu Ke innocently.

Xu Ke saw that his pure jokes were as serious as the teacher's preaching, and he felt a little ashamed in his heart. He was busy and digressed from the topic:

"By the way, the big meat buns in the fragrant building are delicious, why don't you invite you again next time, let's go there and eat another one, okay?"

"That's really...... Great!" Zhao Yu lowered her head again, and a shallow flush flew on her face for no reason, as if Xu Ke's words just hit her heart......

"Well, when the time comes, let's order six more plates of northern meat buns, oh no, at least ten plates are enough!" Xu Ke suddenly remembered that I had just had lunch that day, and you were eating all the meat buns, and the next time, let's eat the buns together, you have eaten six plates, and I have to eat at least four plates!

"I can ...... I can't eat so much anymore" Zhao Yu hurriedly waved her hand, and the look on her face seemed to be even more shy.

Xu Ke suddenly remembered that he had also entered Zhao Yu's dream in the Mirror Flower Building of the Divine King Pavilion, and in her dream, he vowed to invite Zhao Yu to go to Xiangmanlou.

"But...... Isn't that right?" Xu Ke said in his heart: "In that dream, wasn't the person who talked to me the 'Yan Girl'? In the end, the one I invited was also the 'Yan Girl', and from beginning to end, I never saw Xiao Yu on the road! How could I see Xiao Yu's expression now, as if this dreamer was her?"

Xu Ke immediately asked: "Xiaoyu, forgive me for taking the liberty of asking, have you ever had a dream, in which I invited you to Xiangmanlou for dinner as I did today?"

“......”

At this moment, Zhao Yu's face became more and more red, she was stunned for a long time, she couldn't speak, and suddenly got up and hurried to the kitchen.

"Mr. Qiu is coming back, Xiaoyu will cook first, Xu Gongzi, let's talk next time......"

Zhao Yu's crisp voice came from far away from the kitchen, and he could hear it, and his voice was unusually cheerful.

After Zhao Yu left, it didn't take long for Qiu Mingli to return to the cottage.

He was not surprised to see that Xu Ke was already waiting here, and after washing his face, the two sat in the front hall and began to eat together.

Naturally, Zhao Yu only cooked a hearty and delicious meal in a short period of time.

Xu Ke sandwiched these light and delicious dishes, and couldn't help but be amazed. He felt that women were really a great person, and almost every woman had a great ability, that is, cooking!

No matter how tight the time is, no matter how insufficient the materials are, no matter how difficult the days are, with just one pot, one stove, one bowl and one scoop, they can make a whole table of delicious food like a trick.

Their love for their families, their tolerance for life, their understanding of happiness, and their desire for the future are all incarnated in that plate of delicious food, and in the daily labor......

If there are no women in this world, it can't be called the world!

......

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, Qiu Mingli and Xu Ke discussed the current situation in the court.

Qiu Mingli said: "No illness, do you know who will take over the post of secretary of the ministry?"

Xu Ke said: "Who?"

Qiu Mingli said: "You also know this person, he is the former household member Wailang, Pan Wenjuan!"

Xu Ke thought about it for a while, then shook his head and said, "It's actually this person, and it's rising so fast!"

Qiu Mingli stroked his beard and smiled: "I can't think of it, right? Don't say it's you, even the old man never thought that the head of our six departments, this Shangshu post was actually taken over by Pan Wenjuan!"

Xu Ke asked: "It is reported that this Pan Wenjuan Party is attached to the King of Jin, and his promotion so quickly this time is all due to the recommendation of the King of Jin?"

"That's nature! but ......" Qiu Mingli raised his neck and took a big sip of wine, and said: "This position of the secretary of the ministry is very important, and this time Pan Wenjuan can be the secretary of the ministry, I'm afraid it ...... It's not just the recommendation of King Jin!"

Xu Ke was puzzled: "Could it be that there are other reasons in this?"

Qiu Ming said: "This is not the balancing technique of our emperor?"

Xu Ke said: "What is the explanation?"

Qiu Mingli said: "Think about it, which prince is 'in charge of this ministry'?"

Xu Ke thought for a while, and immediately said: "Could it be that the emperor is still not at ease with King Wei?"

Qiu Mingli nodded and said, "The emperor's thoughts, no one can guess it." However, at present, Pan Wenjuan's fact that he is the confidant of King Jin is already known to all courts. At this time, the emperor put the henchmen of the king of Jin in the ministry of the king of Wei to make a book, and its intention can be imagined. "Okay

Xu Ke thought for a while and said, "Perhaps, in the eyes of the emperor, do you think Pan Wenjuan is also a rare talent?"

At this time, a figure suddenly flashed in his mind, that person was in his fifties, born dark and thin, and often made some seemingly high-sounding words in the council hall, but in fact they were useless, and every time he saw that person, he couldn't help but feel a trace of disgust in his heart. However, that person is in the eyes of the emperor, a person who is "talented and famous, and can be of great use".

Naturally, the person Xu Ke thought of at this time was the famous "Cheng Buxing" in the DPRK, Cheng Kezhong, the secretary of the Criminal Department.

Qiu Mingli brought a wine jug, poured it full for Xu Ke and himself one by one, and raised his glass to drink a big sip with Xu Ke, and then said slowly:

"No disease, do you know what kind of person Bi Songyun is in the former official department? Everyone knows that he is the confidant of the abolished prince Li Ren, but who knows that Bi Songyun is still the fourth in the top armor of Kang Yuan's thirty-three years. He has quick thinking and excellent literary talents, in addition to being a person with some arrogance, he can also be regarded as a capable talent! Rao is like this, he also has been a servant of the Ministry for six years, and after Li Ren has fought several times, it is Bi Songyun's turn to sit in the position of the secretary of the Ministry of Officials......

Qiu Mingli raised his glass and took another sip and sighed: "But what is that Pan Wenjuan! He is just a member of the household department from the fourth grade, and he was just promoted to the post of household servant two months ago. This person doesn't know how to learn, except for some tricks of slapping horses, his biggest ability is to play tricks and bent on camping. Such a person is now sitting in the position of the secretary of the ministry again. Let me ask, if it weren't for the emperor's deliberate use of checks and balances, how could he have promoted this person to the throne......? The dove occupies the magpie's nest, which is really a pity!"

Xu Ke picked up the wine jug, poured it full for the teacher, and raised his glass to persuade:

"Why should the teacher be sad? It doesn't matter if his official book is Pan Wenjuan or Li Questionnaire, if he is his scholar, what does it have to do with me?"

Qiu Mingli and Xu Ke drank a glass, but their faces were still worried.

He was thinking in his heart, although King Wei was already the Prince of Jiuzhu, he was still one step away from the crown prince after all. Now, all the princes in the court are vying to install people, but King Wei is unmoved, and during this time, he just arranged a Li Chengfeng to the ministry. Moreover, even if this Li Chengfeng is not necessarily a reliable person. During this period of time, he has seen Li Chengfeng many times, although he saw that the other party's words were quite respectful, and he repeatedly expressed his loyalty to King Wei, but he always felt that the other party had a slippery atmosphere accumulated over many years of officialdom.

Qiu Mingli couldn't help but sigh secretly in his heart: "Judging from the current situation, the forces under King Wei are really thin. ”

Xu Ke saw that Qiu Ming was worried, so he said:

"Teacher, don't forget, the main responsibility of my Bei'an Ping Division is to conduct an investigation of officials in Beijing, if that Pan Wen is involved in the appointment of the secretary of the ministry, he is not a good official, greedy for money or dereliction of duty, my Bei'an Ping Division is the first to spare him!"

When Qiu Mingli heard this, he couldn't help but laugh and said: "No disease, people say 'Shibei should be impressed for three days', and after you are an official for three days, it is really different...... Look at the tone of your voice, you are worthy of a thousand households!"

Xu Ke couldn't help scratching his forehead, and said embarrassedly: "The teacher made fun of it, the thousand households of Lao Shizi who are not sick don't want to be a ...... for a long time."

Qiu Mingli's face was straight, and he said solemnly: "Eh...... If you are not sick, how can you say such a thing! You are only one in twenty, and you can become the youngest Tsing Yi Wei Qianhu in the history of my great cadre, this is the emperor's great trust in you, and it is also His Royal Highness the King of Wei who has helped you strive for! Now, you have been favored by the old pavilion master, become his disciple, and become a senior brother with His Royal Highness King Zhao, this is God's great favor for you! Since you are so lucky, you should think about seeking benefits for the people, serving the country, and creating peace for the common people in the world! How can you give up so easily?!"

Xu Ke was busy in front of the seat and arched his hand: "The teacher's words are remembered, the students remember!"

Qiu Mingli and Yan said: "No disease, do you know that today, the government and the opposition, I don't know how many people envy you? The old man knows that you are an indifferent person, and he never thought about how big an official he is, but since God has entrusted you with a responsibility, you should have the courage to bear it! In the future, you must not be so arrogant and self-defeating!"

Xu Ke had no choice but to answer again: "The teacher teaches, and the students keep it in mind!"

After a pause, Qiu Mingli asked with concern:

"I heard that you are quite close to Nangong Qianhu of the Northern Anhei Division?"

Xu Ke replied: "The two of us have the same temperament and are like-minded, and we are ......getting closer to each other in our daily lives."

Qiu Mingli said with a smile: "Okay! Tsing Yi Wei Li north of the Anping Division has the heaviest power, if you can form an alliance with Nangong Qianhu, one is in charge of the investigation of the hundred officials in Gyeonggi, one is in charge of the inspection of the whole guard, one is the Son of Heaven himself, and the other is a member of the Tianzi Gate of the Shenwang Pavilion, and in the future, this Tsing Yi Wei ...... It's your world!"

"This ......"

Xu Ke didn't know what to do, he just felt that his silence with Nangong was nothing more than verbal speculation, and he just liked to stay together every day, but he really never thought that he would form an alliance with Nangong and control the affairs of Tsing Yiwei together in the future.

"But ......," Tyumen said, and then admonished:

"No disease, during this time, you can check anyone, but you can't check Pan Wenjuan!"

"Why is this?" Xu Ke said in his heart, I didn't want to check on him originally, it's too late for me to check the cat demon during this time!

"Hehehe......" Qiu Mingli took a sip of wine and said with a smile:

"Think about it, Pan Wenjuan is a close confidant of King Jin, you are a cadre under King Wei, then as soon as Pan Wenjuan took office, you pounced, even if you found out some illegal deeds of the other party, but the face is not very good-looking to the two princes. If this matter is known to the emperor, how should he conceive of His Royal Highness the King of Wei? That Pan Wenjuan is a pawn in the balance of the emperor and the emperor, and in a short period of time, you and I will not be able to touch him!"

"This ...... Okay!" Xu Ke said helplessly: "The student knows!"

But he thought in his heart, if Pan Wenjuan is a good official, even if I pounce on him, what can I do to him? If he is corrupt and perverts the law, I should collect evidence and write a letter for impeachment, how can there be so many irrelevant truths in the middle?

But he wanted to think about it, in front of the teacher, he didn't dare to disobey him.

Moreover, he said to Qiu Mingli that he was a "member of the army" under King Wei, and he always disagreed with it in his heart, but he couldn't find a reason to oppose it, so he had to bear it silently.

......

Next, Qiu Mingli asked him what he had done with Nangong Buyu during this time, how was the progress of the cat demon case, why had the displaced people in Chang'an not been expelled, and what had Shen Huan been busy with recently?...... and so on, Xu Ke took the trouble to answer them one by one.

Time is in a hurry, the copper kettle outside the grass hall is dripping, the sound does not stop, and in a blink of an eye, it has reached five o'clock, and after three o'clock, it is already the hour.

Seeing that it was late at night, Xu Ke was worried that it would hinder the teacher's rest, so he could get up and say goodbye, and Qiu Mingli also got up to see him off.

The two walked to the gate of the thatched hall and separated, and Qiu Ming Li said to himself:

"No disease, as the 'deputy envoy' of this investigation, you must be good to help King Zhao investigate the case, after the success, there is no need for His Royal Highness King Wei to come forward, His Royal Highness King Zhao will help you ask for merit in front of the emperor......"

Xu Ke had no choice but to say goodbye to the teacher, and went straight to Liquanfang in the northwest of Chang'an City.

It was night, and there was only a waning moon in the sky, and even the stars hung sparsely in the sky, emitting a few faint rays of starlight. Xu Ke was alone, walking on the streets of Chang'an City, the lights around him were dim, there was no sound everywhere, and he seemed to be the only one in the whole big city, still walking at night......

Along the way, occasionally a few teams of Tsing Yi guards who patrol the night came, and there was no need for him to show the "gold-inlaid tiger plate" on his waist, he would immediately bow down and salute, and retreat on both sides.

A cold wind blew, and under the cold of spring, Xu Ke couldn't help but shiver slightly, and he suddenly felt a little strange: At this time, shouldn't the night patrol in the capital be dominated by the forbidden army, supplemented by the Tsing Yi guard?

Naturally, Xu Ke didn't have the heart to pay attention to these trivial things at this time, after all, it was almost time, he got up this morning in order to avoid Yao Zibei, and he drank a lot of "Fenyang drunk" with Mr. Qiu just now. At this moment, he is seven points sleepy, three points drunk, and he just wants to find a bed as soon as possible, and he can't wait to fall asleep!

As he strode northwest, he thought to himself. He thought about the "puzzles" on Zhao Yu for a while, the "Yin Yin advice" that Mr. Qiu gave him, and the next time he thought about how to investigate the case next, whether to send someone to keep an eye on Cuiyun Tower...... But after thinking about it, I was still at a loss in my heart.

Finally, after about half an hour, Liquanfang was already in front of his eyes.

According to the curfew order in the capital, all the doors of Chang'an City should be closed at the end of the day. Xu Ke had to knock on the door loudly, and after a while, Li Zheng came over with Fang Ding to open the door. Half of the door was opened there, and he was about to scold, but when he saw that it was the thousands of households from the Xu Mansion who had gone home, he hurriedly turned into a smiling face, and he was busy and opened the door in person, and let Xu Ke in.

After Xu Ke walked into the door of his house, he suddenly thought of Hu Yiyi's promise to him last night, and at this time, he felt a burst of worry in his heart for no reason.

If everything is going in the same direction, will the world change dramatically on the first day of June?

In one hour, on the 26th of March, and on the first day of the sixth month, won't there only two months left?

For Xu Ke, in the Jiazi Twelve Lines Wheel of Life, the sky is dark, the earth is barren, black smoke is billowing everywhere, and demonic beasts are abusing everywhere. He had already secretly decided that no matter what, such a tragedy could not happen in this world!

Xu Ke walked through the front yard, through the front hall, through the corridor, into the back garden, and was about to pass through the back garden and go back to his "Honghu Ju" to sleep, but he could hear Hu Yiyi's voice in the Wenyu Pavilion in the back garden:

"Little Wuxi, you're here......"

"Sister Hu, why don't you sleep?"

"My sister is waiting for you!"

"Sister, what's wrong with you?"

"Hey...... Come and sit down first!"

Xu Ke had to walk into the Wenyu Pavilion again, and Hu Yiyi was sitting alone at the stone table at this time, not only did there be no refreshments on the table, not even a candle was lit, but with the few palace lamps in the corridor, a glimmer of light was cast from afar.

Xu Ke and Hu Yiyi sat opposite each other in the dark night, he couldn't see Hu Yiyi's face clearly, and vaguely felt that Hu Yiyi's mood seemed to be unusually heavy at the moment......

Sure enough, it didn't take long for Hu Yiyi to sigh lightly and said:

"Ahem...... Xiao Wuxi, your marriage with Zibei's sister seems to be ...... It can't be done!"