Chapter 259: Ambitions Grow

The personal guards of the Daiwang Mansion chased for more than ten miles. Two groups of people rushed past the official road like racing. Ji Gang, who was sandwiched in the middle and ran away with two legs, finally used his abnormal physical strength to be the second-rate martial arts master at this time, and actually ran comparable to the galloping war horse.

Seeing the pursuit getting closer, a Jinyiwei riding a horse made a sudden inspiration, reached into his bag and took out a handful of iron caltrops, and threw them hard at the back. The war horse under the crotch of the Dai Wangfu guard stepped on the iron caltrops. In pain, the man stood up and then fell in the middle of the road. The people behind could not dodge and ran into it. For a moment, the people on the official road were overturned and moaned endlessly.

This move worked very well and successfully blocked the pursuers. So, under the constant yelling of the personal guards of the Daiwang Mansion, Xiao Fan and his Jinyiwei successfully got rid of the pursuers and headed to Juechen.

Ji Gang ran for more than ten miles. When he caught up with the carriage, he was almost exhausted. He lay on the shaft of the carriage, foaming at his mouth, and thrusting all over his body...

Xiao Fan patted his shoulder and sighed: "Ji Gang, thank you for your hard work..."

Ji Gang looked up with difficulty, wiped the foam from the corner of his mouth, blinked twice, and finally shed tears, and said a very familiar line while shaking his lips.

"It's not hard for the disciples, but the disciples... their lives are hard."

He returned to the capital without any danger, entered the city in a low-key manner, returned to the yamen in a low-key manner, and then went to the palace in a low-key manner to report the result of this trip to Zhu Yunwen.

Zhu Yunwen heard that he had successfully formed an alliance with the three guards of Duoyan, and his expression was gloomy.

It was obviously a favorable thing to the Ming Dynasty, but Zhu Yunwen showed this expression because he felt sorry for the 20,000 taels of gold he gave out.

Zhu Yunwen didn't know how powerful the three guards of Duoyan were. He just heard Xiao Fan brag about it so amazingly, but the gold he sent was real. Although the court's treasury was quite abundant after thirty years of rest and recuperation in the Hongwu Dynasty, the treasury of the court was quite full, but 20,000 taels of gold was also a considerable amount. Out of trust in Xiao Fan, Zhu Yunwen gritted his teeth and handed the gold to Xiao Fan. Now seeing Xiao Fan come back empty-handedly, the 20,000 taels of gold must have been unreasonable. Zhu Yunwen felt a thrust in his heart at this moment.

"Twenty thousand taels of gold! Xiao Shidou, twenty thousand taels!... How many buns can I buy? It's gone?" Zhu Yunwen's handsome face wrinkled into a ball, and he was so distressed that he shivered.

Xiao Fan laughed happily: "I have asked Your Majesty to spend all my blessings, I have spent all my money, and I have nothing left. Not only that, Your Majesty still owes others things now. As the saying goes, the old man is the old man, and the grandson is the old man. Not everyone has the pleasure of being an old man. Your Majesty has a good luck..."

Zhu Yunwen opened his mouth wide, remained silent for a long time, then covered his heart and moaned, "What did you let me owe?"

Xiao Fan smiled and said, "I promised Duoyan's Tuoluhuchaer that after defeating the King of Yan in the future, the court will open Kaiyuan, and the two places of Guangning will be traded together, allowing Han and Mongolia to trade..."

Zhu Yunwen's expression cleared a little, but before he could breathe, Xiao Fan then gave him a heavy blow.

"…and grant the Daning Mansion to the Three Guards of Duoyan."

Zhu Yunwen seemed to be unable to bear the pain, and moaned and sat on the chair, his facial features twisted into a ball.

"Shi Yu, why?"

"I can't bear to leave my wife and can't catch a hooligan."

"Daning Mansion... was it just ceded to the three guards of Duoyan?"

Xiao Fan said seriously: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, the Daning Mansion will only be temporarily handed over to the three guards of Duoyan for several years. When all the vassal kings are cut off and the court's military reform has achieved results, the Daning Mansion will definitely get it back!"

Zhu Yunwen said with a sad face: "You must bring it back. This Ming Dynasty was left to me by the emperor's grandfather. I once made a great wish to create a grand prosperous era. But the prosperity had not yet begun. I sent it out of the Daning Mansion. If the emperor's grandfather knew about it underground, he would jump out of the coffin and strangle me to death..."

"Your Majesty is too much to worry about. My master has made some tricks of passage. I asked him to draw a few peach talismans and paste them on the Xiaoling Mausoleum. Your emperor and grandfather will definitely not be able to jump out of the coffin..."

At noon the next day after Xiao Fan returned to Beijing, Ji Gang, the new assistant to Jinyiwei, appeared in a teahouse in the west of the capital.

He stepped into the teahouse with a smile on his face. Ji Gang narrowed his eyes slightly, and then he found that the curtain of the teahouse Accord moved, as if it was blown by the wind, so inadvertently.

Ji Gang's face froze, then he regained a kind smile, lowered his head slightly, and walked into Accord quickly.

The pavilion is quite elegantly decorated. There are several calligraphy and paintings of predecessors hanging on the walls. There are two pots of rich bamboos standing in the corner of the wall. In the middle of the pavilion is a mahogany eight immortal table. On the table, there are two very exquisitely crafted folk kiln green cups. The hot tea inside the cup is emitting a slight white mist.

A middle-aged man sat at the Eight Immortals table. He had white face and no beard, wearing an ordinary long gown, and his hair was meticulously combed. When Ji Gang saw Ji Gang walk in, the man raised his eyelids and did not get up to greet him. Instead, he picked up the teacup and took a sip slowly, fully loading up his airs.

Ji Gang hurriedly walked to the man, clasped his fists and smiled and said, "I have met you, but my father-in-law, I have been late for a while, so I have asked my father-in-law to wait for a long time. Please forgive me."

The middle-aged man was the chief eunuch who was in charge of the in-house magistrate. At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang was now the eunuch who was in charge of tea and daily life by Zhu Yunwen - Nie.

The name "Nie" is quite strange. When Zhu Yuanzhang killed the eunuch Qingtong, he used this to warn Zhu Di, the king of Yan who was secretly sent to assassinate Xiao Fan, and Nie was transferred to Zhu Yuanzhang to serve the marquis. Because Nie was a flexible person, knew how to observe his words and expressions, knew how to advance and retreat, was considerate and considerate, and did nothing, so he was highly appreciated by two generations of emperors.

Seeing Ji Gang laughing at him flatteringly, Nie hummed, his sharp voice echoing in the Accord.

"Mr. Ji, the late emperor could have established rules when he was alive. The eunuchs strictly prohibit making friends with foreign ministers, and those who violated the crimes were beheaded. We have no friendship. What do you want to say when you come here? After that, you leave quickly. The xiao family has to go back and serve the marquis."

Ji Gang bowed and laughed: "Have you received the 200 taels of silver that the minister asked someone to give him to his father-in-law's filial piety?"

Nie's face slowed down and he smiled and said without a smile: "If it weren't for the sake of the 200 taels of silver, would you think the scattered family would meet you, a person you didn't know? Stop talking nonsense, if you have anything to do, hurry up and say it. When you meet you, the scattered family is at the risk of losing their heads, so don't harm the scattered family."

"Yes, yes, yes..." Ji Gang nodded quickly, then took out a thin gift list from his arms and handed it respectfully.

But Nie didn't answer, and said, "Don't show this kind of thing to the zoo family. Just tell the zoo family directly, what is it written on it?"

Ji Gang smiled flatteringly and said, "You can tell at first glance."

Nie said gloomyly: "Mr. Ji, are you here today to humiliate the family?"

Ji Gang said in surprise: "Why did your father-in-law say this?"

Nie stared at Ji Gang and gritted his teeth and said, "If a family of all kinds is literate, how could he enter the palace and become an eunuch? Ji Gang, what do you mean?"

Ji Gang was stunned, and then suddenly realized.

After Zhu Yuanzhang founded the country, he learned from the lessons of eunuchs in the Tang and Song dynasties' abusive power and disorderly politics, and strictly stipulated that eunuchs in the palace were absolutely not allowed to read. Therefore, all eunuchs in the palace in the early Ming Dynasty were illiterate and illiterate, because only in this way could the eunuchs and eunuchs were unable to interfere in government affairs. It was not until the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty that in order to compete with the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet and maintain the balance of the government, the rule that eunuchs were completely abolished.

Seeing Nie's expression was full of bad looks, Ji Gang couldn't help but feel frightened. He hurriedly took the gift list in his hand and said in panic: "My father-in-law is forgiven. The official is reckless. The official just wanted to tell his father-in-law that the official had asked the father-in-law Shang Shangjian to bring you a thousand taels of silver into the palace. It is all filial to his father-in-law, and please accept it with a smile."

When he heard that there was another silver in the account, Nie's eyes lit up.

The early years of the Ming Dynasty were the darkest days for eunuchs. They were not allowed to interfere in government affairs, made friends with foreign ministers, and were unable to play with women. They only had the pursuit of money. Therefore, eunuchs at this period were very enthusiastic about money. They were slaves and servants, and even had physical integrity. What else could they pursue except for gold, silver, jewelry and other things?

One thousand taels of silver are not a small amount. Nie immediately smiled and smiled.

"Mr. Ji is so polite. The family is a little uneasy. If you don't have any merits, you should give the family such great benefits. If you give the family such a big benefit, you should just say it straight to the point. What do you want? If you don't explain it clearly, the family will not dare to accept this money."

"The subordinates are dedicated to respecting their father-in-law, and they have absolutely no other intentions. Why should they meet the father-in-law?"

Nie smiled so much that his eyes narrowed into two slits, raised his hand and pointed at Ji Gang, and cursed: "A man who seems to be loyal, but there is no honest word in his mouth. If you don't say it clearly, our family will really take the money and pretend to be confused. Then don't say that this thousand taels of silver will be washed away..."

Ji Gang was silent for a moment, and said calmly: "Since my father-in-law asked me, the lower-ranking officials would not hide it. As soon as the lower-ranking officials entered the officialdom, they did not understand many rules. Please ask my father-in-law to give me some training in the future..."

Nie smiled and said, "You are a foreign minister, and it is not easy for a family to go to the palace. How can you cultivate you? You are burning high incense, so I am afraid you have worshipped the wrong Bodhisattva..."

Ji Gang also smiled and said, "My father-in-law is humble. There are many places where you can recommend the officials..."

"What can the miscellaneous family bring you up?"

"If you have something to do, your subordinates will agree with what you like. Your subordinates are sincere in your heart to you. You want to serve your son all day long, but you cannot be close to Tianyan. If your father-in-law can reveal what you like and hate today, your subordinates will be grateful to you in the future."

And Nie sighed for a moment and finally understood Ji Gang's purpose of meeting him today.

This guy wants to flatter the emperor...

Nie stared at Ji Gang and said with a slight smile: "When Lord Ji was the second-class student in high school, didn't he join the disciple of Mr. Xiao in front of many people? Mr. Xiao had a close relationship with the emperor, and was even more close than his brothers. Mr. Xiao knew what the emperor liked and hated, Mr. Xiao knew the most. Why didn't Lord Ji ask him?"

The teahouse Accord suddenly fell silent. After a long time, Ji Gang whispered: "I have been so embarrassed that I have never opened my heart for my whole life. The lower-ranking officials have ambitions. If I don't rely on a few big trees to walk in the officialdom, how can I achieve success?"

Nie Jingjing looked at Ji Gang for a while and finally smiled: "The family likes ambitions the most."

At noon, another pretty guest came to Xiao Mansion.

The customer is actually not considered a customer, he is an old acquaintance, the helmsman of the Chen family business, Chen Ying'er.

Since Xiao Fan returned to Beijing, she has been busy with official affairs in the yamen. Chen Ying'er has also learned her lesson and does not meet Xiao Fan at all. Every day, when Xiao Fan wanders to the yamen to find Mao, she comes slowly. Before Xiao Fan almost returns home, she hurriedly bid farewell.

Today, Chen Ying'er also brought her personal maid to hold the piano. One master and one servant took advantage of Xiao Fan's absence and entered the door of Xiao's mansion in a narrow way.

This was the first time Baoqin entered the Xiao Mansion. As soon as she entered the door, she looked around curiously and looked at everything in the Xiao Mansion.

The screen walls carved with auspicious beasts, winding corridors, exquisite waterfronts, elegant gardens...

Bao Qin opened her big eyes, and the more she looked, the more she felt that the Xiao Mansion was more grand than she had imagined. It was a calm and restrained temperament. Every room and every tile seemed to look like the owner of the Xiao Mansion. She was so low-key and restrained, not ostentatious, but invisibly with a bit of domineering power, which was daunting.

"Miss, Miss, this is my son-in-law's... Is this my Lord Xiao's Marquis' Mansion?" Bao Qin exclaimed.

Chen Ying'er nodded lightly: "Yes, although she doesn't see luxury, she has a strong aura. The house is like the head of the family. The head of the family is prominent, and the house is grand."

Baoqin looked at the respectful and polite servants coming and going, and unconsciously shivered, his expression became a little scared.

The son-in-law of the businessman who was looked down upon in the past is now a state-owned official who holds power and looks down on the court. It is no exaggeration to say that Xiao Fan now coughs gently, and the entire Ming Dynasty will tremble.

In just a few years, he had reached such a high position. I remember that Xiao Fan was penniless and laughed to the sky and left the Chen family. He couldn't help but win the Qin and his eyes were red.

At that time, he must have suffered a lot to survive to his current status? A few years have passed, and now he is in a high position, do he still remember the little maid of the Chen family who slapped his forehead?

When I thought of this, somehow, Bao Qin felt sad, as if something had blocked his chest, and he felt a little uncomfortable.

"Hold the zither, hug the zither! What's wrong with you? Why are your eyes red?" Chen Ying'er said with concern.

Baoqin sniffed hard, and forced herself to smile and shook her head, "Miss, I'm nothing, I'm just worried that I've bullied my son-in-law. I wonder if he would hold a grudge against me..."

Chen Ying'er chuckled and said, "He is not such a stingy person. He was more concerned about you than me at the time. Do you think I don't know anything?"

When I hugged the Qin, my pretty face turned red in an instant. I shyly lowered my head, timidly pulled Chen Ying'er's slender hands, swaying and acting cute, looking very cute.

The two of them laughed and made a few jokes while walking towards the inner courtyard of Xiao Mansion.

"Hold the piano, wait a minute, you can't be so unruly. When you meet the mistress of the Xiao family, be honest and don't let others laugh at our businessmen for being unpredictable." Chen Ying'er instructed seriously.

Bao Qin nodded and said, "The mistress of the Xiao family mentioned by Miss Xiao... was the one from Jiangpu County, that... the little beggar?"

Chen Ying'er looked up and sighed. Several years had passed away. When the Chen family's inner hall was in a row, the two girls confronted each other. She was so arrogant. Now that the feng shui is changing, she has to be careful in this Xiao Mansion and serve her with her concubine. Her life experience is really magical.

"Yes, she... was the little beggar from that time, the princess of the current dynasty, and the eldest wife of the Xiao family. I heard that even her name was given to her by Xiao Fan, such as painting thrush, painting thrush... You grind ink for her, but gave me a lonely peony. When will you let go of the grudges of that year?"

A resentment lingered in my heart, and I sighed indifferently. After a while of silence, Chen Ying'er raised her chest again, and her beautiful eyes showed a sense of perseverance.

Today is the day when I see Princess Huamei. If I want to enter the Xiao family, I have to pass the Huamei level. For Xiao Fan, even if I am beaten and scolded today, I will suffer.

After giving herself enough breath, Chen Ying'er took a deep breath, and then walked into the inner courtyard of Xiao'er's mansion with a tragic mood.
To be continued...