Bright Spring

"Respectfully send off the prince." The generals said.

At the victory celebration banquet, there were bold and unrestrained laughter everywhere.Only this episode added a touch of gloom to the festive scene.

……

After the banquet, Zhu Gaoxu also returned to his county palace to rest.

At this time, it is almost the end of the new year, and the first year of Jianwen is about to pass.Beiping is very cold, and the outside is already covered with snow.Under such weather, there may be no more wars in the near future.

Chapter 64 Continuation

The snowflakes floated in the air, the snow was not dense, but it never stopped.

The roofs of Beiping city were already covered with white snow, and it was a vast expanse of whiteness as far as the eye could see; but at this time, it was almost the end of the year, and there were red lanterns dotted among them, which added a bit of color.

A group of people walked into the gatehouse of King Yan's Mansion under umbrellas, and then walked west along the snow-cleared road.The old monk holding the Zen staff in front was Yao Guangxiao. He brought a few people to a door, took the umbrella, and handed it to the novice next to him.

The little novice and the other two didn't go in, only Yao Guangxiao walked through the door.

After a while, Yuan Gong and a civil servant greeted him.Yuan Gong wears black gauze on his head and a regimental collar robe. He used to be a fortune-teller, but now he is the chief history of the palace and has been appointed as an official.

Yuan Gong and the civil servants around him stepped forward and bowed together.Yao Guangxiao also responded to them with a one-handed salute. His triangular eyes looked from Yuan Gong's face to the civil servant next to him.

"This is Zhang Yan, the book of King Yan's Mansion, Master Daoyan has seen it before." Yuan Gong said.

Yao Guangxiao nodded and asked, "Has the monk confessed?"

Yuan Gong said: "No, he won't admit it no matter how tortured, he just said that we wronged him."

"Let's have a look." Yao Guangxiao said.

A group of three then walked inside along the narrow aisle.This is a courtyard with brick walls. It was not a prison in the past, and there were few rooms. However, after King Yan raised his army, some important prisoners were unable to be sent to the official prison, so this sturdy building was chosen as a place to temporarily hold prisoners.

Not long after, Yao Guangxiao and the others stopped in front of a fence.I saw that the fence was made of hard wood thick as a thigh, and was locked with thick iron chains.When I looked inside again, I saw a bald monk curled up in the corner, the bloodstains on his ragged robes were shocking.The monk's feet were still chained, and he was dragging a round iron ball.

Yao Guangxiao observed for a while, and saw that the monk who was curled up in the thatch moved a bit, and it seemed that he was not dead yet.

At this time, Yuan Gong said: "The former governor of the Prince of Yan, Shi Gecheng, betrayed the prince after he was persuaded to surrender. When the prince raised troops, according to Master Daoyan, we did not kill him. Later, we interrogated him several times.

Ge Cheng couldn't keep his mouth shut, he said everything he knew.It's a pity that he didn't know much, and he only spied on the inside story of the Yan Palace for Zhang Bing, the chief envoy, and Zhang Bing had been killed on the spot at the beginning of the prince's army.

We originally thought that Ge Cheng was useless, but he revealed some clues in his words: Ge Cheng and Zhang Bing met once in Huiju Temple before, and a monk in Huiju Temple arranged a private room for them... The monk This is the one right now, the dharma name continues to be empty. "

After hearing this, Yao Guangxiao said: "This person is using the guise of becoming a monk, so he may be a spy."

At this moment, the monk inside made a hoarse voice, "The poor monk is not a spy, and the chief envoy Zhang Bing is a member of the party. The poor monk only received him twice, how could he become a spy?"

Yao Guangxiao did not speak to Monk Xukong at all, and quickly left the gate of the fence.

The three of them walked into a room next to them and sat down separately.Yuan Gong frowned, and murmured to himself: "Could it be that we have wronged Xu Kong? Judging from what is being asked right now, the relationship between Monk Xu Kong and Zhang Bing and others is indeed not that great..."

Yao Guangxiao raised his hand, and Yuan Gong shut up knowingly.

"There must be spies in Beiping City, and even in King Yan's mansion!" Yao Guangxiao said in a very sure tone, "The people in the capital will soon know about many things on King Yan's side, so you can't take it lightly."

Yuan Gong nodded hurriedly and said: "Master Daoyan is right. It's just that after King Yan raised his troops, Beiping was in chaos for a long time, and there will be no clue for a while. Otherwise, he would not have arrested Xu Kong, who has little relationship."

Yao Guangxiao said: "Isn't Xukong the clue? This kind of person is in the temple, and it is very likely that he is responsible for delivering the news. If it is true, he knows a lot, and he must pry his mouth!"

Yuan Gong nodded and said: "I also have the same idea, and with only this clue, I spent a lot of time on Xukong's side. I sent people to Huiju Temple to check Xukong's official documents; After checking the file, I found out Xu Kong's name and place of origin before he became a monk."

Yuan Gong paused, and then said: "So I sent someone to the place where his native place is, and have quietly brought his family members here, and they are on the way..."

Yao Guangxiao glanced at him, but said nothing.

Yuan Gong said helplessly: "The monk's mouth is very strict, and what's more, what he said is also very reasonable. We can't be sure that he is a spy. The only way to do this is to use his family to coerce him. What will happen? "

He frowned tightly, took a breath and said in a deep voice, "I'm afraid that if he is really wronged, he will lose a few innocent lives... Shall we report this matter to King Yan first?"

"No need." Yao Guangxiao glanced at him, neither telling Yuan Gong to continue working, nor did he intend to stop him in the slightest.

At this moment, Yao Guangxiao asked Zhang Dianbo to bring the confession file and read it carefully.Before he left, he said, "Find a reliable doctor in Yanwang's mansion, and show Xukong his injury."

Yuan Gong hurriedly said: "I have also ordered that the people in the yard no longer use torture, and just wait for Xu Kong's family members to arrive, so he can't help but keep silent!"

……

The New Year is almost here, and even though the city of Beiping has just passed the war, it is still gradually getting a festive atmosphere. The sound of "cracking" firecrackers can be heard in the sky from time to time, and couplets hanging with lanterns can be seen everywhere.

Compared with various etiquettes, Zhu Gaoxu is more willing to feel the atmosphere among the market in the Ming Dynasty.

He ordered all the soldiers of the honor guard to go back to celebrate the festival, so he found a fur coat to put on to keep out the cold, and asked Wang Gui to go out.

The cold air was filled with the smell of burning coal, charcoal, nitrate and all kinds of food. Although the corners of the streets and alleys were covered with snow, there were still many people walking outside wearing cotton jackets and breathing white steam from their mouths.

Zhu Gaoxu and Wang Gui led the horses for a walk, and they chatted one after another while looking at all kinds of strange things around them.

At this moment, Zhu Gaoxu vaguely heard the words "someone in Yan Wang's mansion accidentally ate Junyingcao", and he didn't even hear the words before and after, so he only noticed this sentence!He immediately stood there: "Wang Gui, what did you say just now?"

Wang Gui was stunned for a moment, and said: "My maidservant, go to King Yan's mansion to walk with my classmates."

"It's not this sentence, Jun Yingcao." Zhu Gaoxu said.

Wang Gui hurriedly said: "Oh! The name of Ma He in King Yan's mansion has been changed to Zheng He. He has made great contributions in Zheng Village, so King Yan gave him the surname Zheng..."

Zhu Gaoxu was startled again, it turned out that Ma He was Zheng He!Of course Zheng He knew that the reason for the surname Zheng was that he had done meritorious service in Zheng Village...but at this time Zhu Gaoxu wanted to hear more about Jun Yingcao, so he didn't say anything.

Wang Gui continued: "It's about to celebrate the new year, and the servants gave Zheng He a little gift, and sat at his house for a while. During this time, Zheng He mentioned one thing. Someone in the Palace of King Yan was poisoned by eating Junyin grass by mistake, and he was not cured. died."

"When did you get poisoned?" Zhu Gaoxu asked again.

Wang Gui suddenly said: "In June, it was before the King of Yan raised his troops to Jingnan."

Standing there, Zhu Gaoxu suddenly felt that many things became clearer in his mind.

Chapter 65 Fireworks are Brilliant

"Hey..." Every time Zhu Gaoxu took a step, he could hear the sound of his boots crushing the snow.

You can't see the road in the snow. Only when you step on it carefully and feel the solid road, will you feel at ease in your heart.

He looked down at the road and said nothing more.The past came to my mind one after another, and many things I saw and didn't see were slowly connected together like a knitted sweater.

Junyingcao is the modern lily of the valley, and the whole plant is poisonous.That thing is very common in modern times, but it was considered rare in ancient times. Zhu Gaoxu dabbled in it because of his hobby.

When Zhu Gaoxu was in the Nanjing mansion, the first time he saw the little white flowers blooming in the corner of the wall, he knew what it was; he didn't think about its use.That's why he talked about it in front of Du Qianrui and teased those servants who were talking rumors in the corner.

However, Zhu Gaoxu and others were imprisoned later, and the development of the matter was worse than expected.Zhu Gaoxu had nothing to do, so he decided to take the risk, using lily of the valley to create the illusion that the son was seriously ill, so as to create a chance to escape.