Yongsu Hall, a small hall on the west side of Qianqing Palace

"This is a disorderly order. The cabinet will not obey the edict. If the edict is issued, the cabinet will definitely return it." Li Dongyang made a decisive decision and shouted loudly and forcefully.

The great eunuch Liang Gong over there knelt down after saying the last word of Yizhi. At this moment, hearing the words of the chief minister of the cabinet, he was so frightened that he lay on the ground and did not dare to raise his head.

Brother Shou stopped laughing, his eyes were cold, and he said coolly: "Why bother to stop me? No, the Queen Mother has even taken care of my posthumous affairs. What worries do you have, my dear friends?! I have made up my mind..."

"Your Majesty!" Li Dongyang seemed to be angry, and without regard for the etiquette of the monarch and his ministers, he emphasized sternly: "The Queen Mother's original intention was for the safety of the Emperor, and she did not want the Emperor to be involved in danger, but the way she used to provoke the generals was inappropriate."

He turned his head and said to Liang Gong in a more stern voice: "The Queen Mother is so concerned that she will be confused. The Emperor is extremely filial and can understand the Queen Mother's motherly heart. Please be at ease with the Queen Mother. He does not need to think about it. If there is a treacherous villain who tries to seduce Ci Gong. Holy King, the law of the country will never be lenient!"

Li Dongyang turned back to salute Brother Shou, and said seriously: "I was in a hurry, and my words were inappropriate. Please punish me. I would like to ask your Majesty to issue an order. Nothing said in the inner hall today is allowed to be spread outside."

This was an effort to bring the mother and son together, and also used the excuse that her words were inappropriate to prohibit the spread of the Queen Mother's decree that would cause an uproar.

Brother Shou looked at Li Dongyang with a dull face for a long time before spitting out the word "accurate".

Li Dongyang's cold eyes swept across the ministers present again.

There was not a fool present. The Queen Mother might really want to stop the Emperor from asking the imperial commander to go to the expedition in person, but it was impossible to say that the words about adopting the clan son were purely to frighten the Emperor and force him to retreat.

When the Zhang family sent Concubine De into the palace, they knew that the Queen Mother and the Zhang family had always wanted to seize the emperor's heir as a bargaining chip.

Of course, among all the relatives, who doesn’t want to capture the emperor’s heir?

Now that Ning Fan is sending gifts to the Zhang family with great fanfare, and the Empress Dowager says this, do you still need to ask what does it mean?

Presumably because of the huge commotion caused by the Ancestral Temple Sixiang, it was too eye-catching and too sensitive to adopt the young master of the Ning Mansion. Or maybe the Zhang family was unwilling to be led by the Ning Mansion, so they simply mentioned the recent "Ning Mansion". All the children of the royal family who have the reputation of "Wise King" are gathered around, who will not be able to fawn over them?

What a calculation!

But when meeting Li Dongyang's gaze, everyone would remain tight-lipped.

But today, I'm afraid this matter can't be solved. As long as a little bit of news spreads, it's hard to say how many rumors will be spread in the Ning Mansion.

Wang Hua was also winking at Liu Zhong over there. The latter understood and nodded to indicate that he knew how to deal with the internal officials who heard the news today.

Brother Shou didn't care about the lawsuits of these people at all, and simply told Liu Zhongdao: "The Queen Mother is overly sad because of the old lady's affairs, and she has given me a verbal order to ask Concubine De to spend more time with the Queen Mother. She has told the imperial doctor to conduct daily consultations, and I want to see the pulse record. "

After saying that, he waved his hand for Liang Gong to retreat and said: "You know the rules. There will be no next time."

Liang Gong's face turned pale, he kowtowed heavily and rolled back.

The hall fell into silence again, except for the sound of rain.

Brother Shou ignored everyone and casually turned over Shen Rui's information, pouting with disdain. However, when he saw the secret report, his expression changed...

*

Shanxi Datong, Shen Shen Government

After coming out of the secret room, I washed my inkstone without leaving in a hurry. I drank a pot of good tea in the study room and tasted the Soviet-style snacks made by the chef brought from the south. I was full of praise for a while. I was full. After drinking enough, he stretched out and indicated that he wanted to leave.

Shen Xuan looked gloomily and sent him out personally.

Xi Yan had a happy smile on his face. When he crossed the threshold of the small courtyard, he turned back and smiled playfully at Shen Xuan and said, "Master, it's really embarrassing to be like this..."

Before he finished speaking, an arm suddenly stretched out and grabbed the back of his neck with great force, and then a rope was pulled over him.

Xi Yan was shocked. Although he was made unsteady and fell backwards, he had been trained in boxing and kicking for two years. When he grabbed the rope around his neck, he used the force to tilt his body and kicked out with all his strength.

But he didn't expect a pain in his waist, as the sharp blade had already penetrated his flesh and blood.

He was so horrified that he wanted to scream, the rope around his neck was tightened, and a cry for help was stuck in his throat.

Then there were two more sharp knives, and the man made no sound again.

Things happened so suddenly and so quickly that Shen Xuan didn't even have time to react, and Xi Yan had already died.

Shen Xuan was a civil servant. Although he had punished servants, solved cases, and seen many bloody situations, this naked murder scene had never happened before.

He was startled and subconsciously wanted to run back, but his legs couldn't obey him.

"Don't worry, sir, the thief has been captured." A pair of iron-like hands held his arm, and a familiar voice sounded.

Shen Xuan turned his head and saw that it was his second son Shen Hu.

His pupils shrank sharply, and his mind was in turmoil. Suddenly he remembered something, and he hurriedly shook off his son, wanting to go over and see how the man was doing.

But he couldn't get rid of those hands no matter what. He only heard the words in a heavy tone: "Master, I'm really dead about washing inkstones."

Shen Xun suddenly turned around, and when he met Shen?'s dark eyes, he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

"Master, let the boys do the cooking. Let's go back." Shen Xuan said, then he supported Shen Xuan and forced him into the study.

Entering the brightly lit study, Shen Xuan seemed to have regained his breath. He raised his hand and slapped Shen? on the face, and said sternly: "You idiot, do you know what you did?"

Shen? Covered his face, but his expression remained calm, "Master, don't you go into the secret room to talk?"

Shen Xuan choked and went into the secret room angrily.

Shen? He rubbed his cheeks, what was he doing?! He wanted to keep everything he had worked so hard to possess!

Nowadays, he is in charge of the internal and external affairs. He is aware of any disturbance, not to mention the fact that a young stranger enters the master's outer study.

He recognized Xi Inkstone at a glance - back then, his wife hated his aunt and it was known to the whole family, so Xi Mo and Xi Yan, two little book boys, slaves who were not born into the family, could look down upon others. Bully him.

In order to please his wife and get a reward, he was deliberately framed and beaten several times, and once he was almost blinded in one eye.

It is truly unforgettable in my life, he recognized them even when they turned into ashes!

And Xi Yan was also lost with Shen Dong back then. Now it suddenly comes back, what good thing can it be?

That means that Shen Dong is still alive and may come back!

After Shen Dong was lost, his father began to train him. He had worked hard for nearly ten years to gain his current status. Everyone in the house respected him and feared him, and everyone outside regarded him as a person.

If Shen Dong comes back, he will be the poor, penniless bastard again. He will become a housekeeper and servant who takes care of the general affairs and earns money for his eldest brother. He will kneel at his brother's feet and see whether he will give him a bite of food to see how he feels.

All his hard work would be in vain, how could he be willing to do so!

What's more, where was Shen Dong lost? He didn't understand it when he was young, but gradually he came into contact with more things, and there was something about the previous sect and vassal, so there was nothing else he didn't understand.

Now, when Shen Dong comes back, not only is his status in jeopardy, but the lives of his entire family are also in jeopardy.

After entering the secret room, Shen He heard a sharp shout: "You bastard, kneel down!"

Shen Xuan remained motionless and asked Shen Xuan, "Does the master know what he has done?"

"Why did the master initiate the vassal regulations in the first place? When the master asked me to find Uncle Rui, what did he tell me?"

"Have you forgotten, sir? If eldest brother really comes back, our family will be in dire straits. Master has been pastoring the place for many years and has done so many good things for the people, but are we going to be ruined by him?"

Shen Xuan asked questions one after another, but Shen Xuan couldn't answer a word.

Finally sighing, Shen Xuan said helplessly: "What do you know! Do you know what that kid said just now?! Your grandfather is in his hands!!!"

Shen? Shen was startled, his mind was spinning rapidly, his face changed drastically, and he shouted loudly: "What does he want Master to do?! Master, don't be confused!"

Shen Xuan took a deep look at his son. He was inconspicuous in the past. Later, Shen Dong lost his son and the one under him was too small to be useful, so he brought it up.

I didn't expect that although this kid couldn't read, he had such a bright mind that he could figure out the joints so quickly.

If you can gain fame as a civil servant, or donate to an official position, you may not be able to move up in the future...

"You have thought of it too." Shen Xuan no longer concealed anything, simply said what Xi Yan said, and said, "I am also afraid that he is cheating, and I don't know how many accomplices he has here, so I just give him a few words. .Send him away first, and don’t let him send a message immediately to hurt your grandfather."

As he spoke, he glared at Shen Hu and said, "You are so reckless and kill him right away. If his accomplices find out..."

Shen? But asked: "How do you know that he must be sent by your elder brother and not by someone else? No, I am not saying that someone in the court is testing me. I am saying that if you do what you are told, what will happen if this is done?" It’s in the hands of others. If I’m asked to do something at that time, can I not do it?”

If someone is a collaborator, once they are investigated, it will be difficult for the entire family to escape, not to mention the death of an old man.

Amidst the strife in the DPRK, Shen Xuan understood better than his son, what did it matter who sent it? No matter who sent it, this "Cong Long Gong" was a big trap.

Is luring the Tatars to invade considered a credit? Even if they messed up Beibianer and bought time for King Ning, they would not be rewarded openly in the end. On the contrary, they would have to worry about old scores being turned over one day. Talking about this would be the grave sin of annihilation!

But will Ning Fan only look for him? Or a civil servant?

He is in charge of the horse market and knows best the current situation on the grassland. Is it possible for the Tatars not to plunder under the drought? Impossible!

So since he knew that the Tartars were bound to come, should he hide?

Since he knew that someone would definitely let the Tatars in, should he hide?

It's a pity that his life is so short.

If the Tatars invade in a large scale, there will be chaos in the north. Then...does Ning Fan have a chance?

The imperial court was very quick to deal with King Anhua. Is that because there were heavy troops in the border town? What about the south?

At that time, no one thought that peace was impossible.

Therefore, although Shen Xuan was washing the inkstone perfunctorily at that time, he was still a little shaken in his heart. What's more, he was also really concerned about his father's safety and did not want to worry about it early.

But now...

"No matter who it is, you killed someone and alerted the snake..." Shen Xuan said angrily.

Shen? But he immediately said: "Master, leave it to me. Songjiang, Shanxi is a long way away. Even if the people behind Xi Inkstone here get the news that Xi Inkstone is dead, it will take some time to send it to Songjiang. It is impossible to rush on by changing horses day and night." ——

"But they can't do it, but we can. Yesterday I saw Xing Dazhuang, the head of the Shunfeng Biaoxing escort. He said that Master Tian Fengdao would be in Datong in the next day or two. I will go look for him soon and call him first. Send some people to protect our house, and let this person send a message to go back to Songjiang as soon as possible to check the situation. It concerns Songjiang, and even for Uncle Rui's face, Tian Feng will step up to deliver the message.

"Whether it is true or not about the Tatar matter, Tian Feng must tell Uncle Rui as soon as possible." Shen? Stared at Shen Xuan and said, "Uncle Rui can only go up to Heaven to hear this matter. Listen, the master is safe. The master is killing his relatives for the sake of justice for the people in the city. Unfortunately, the master was killed by the thieves. Three years later, with the master’s many achievements in Shanxi, and Uncle Rui helping him again, it will be just as easy to recover. .”
To be continued...