Clear and Muddy Loss of Love

Strategizing in prison

After Qi Yan left, Nangong Jingnu sat alone on the Babu bed, lost in thought.

Although Qi Yan still felt disappointed because she couldn't understand her painstaking efforts, Nangong Jingnv calmed down and thought about it: Qi Yan is not an unreasonable person, and the other party did say before that entering the sky prison was part of his plan.

As for the content of the plan, it may be the reason for Qi Yan's lack of energy these days, but he didn't reveal it.

The matter has come to this point, Nangong Jingnv knows that it is useless to fight, so she can only wait patiently.

Most of the detainees in Dali Temple are courtiers and royal relatives who made mistakes, and the conditions of the cells are naturally much better than those of the Ministry of Criminal Justice.

Qi Yan lived in a separate apartment, with three walls on the outside and a railing on one side. Inside, there was a desk case, complete with the four treasures of the study, an oil lamp and half a pot of lamp oil, a futon behind the desk case, and some straw scattered on the ground.

There is also a small room inside, which is only half the size of the outer room. On the left is a wooden bed, with a rough wooden board in the middle as a screen, and a grain reincarnation bucket and washbasin on the other side.

The jailer greeted him with a smile on his face, walked all the way ahead with his waist bowed, brought Qi Yan to the innermost cell, and opened the big lock: "My son-in-law, please come inside."

Qi Yan: "Thank you."

After entering the cell, the jailer unlocked it again, and said with a smile through the railing: "I'm sorry that you stay here for a while, the cells around you are all empty and clean. If you have any orders, just pull over there." son's rope, connected to the bell to the lobby, we heard the bell and came over immediately."

Qi Yan: "Understood."

Jailer: "The little one won't disturb your rest."

Qi Yan: "Please go ahead."

The environment of the prison cell was better than Qi Yan imagined. She looked around and sat cross-legged on the futon. The only fly in the ointment was that there were not many books to pass the time...

After another hour, there was a conversation outside the cell, and the jailer said, "Why is my aunt here in person? You can send someone to say something, and we can go get it."

Qiu Ju: "You and I each perform our duties, where is the trouble? Where is the son-in-law? Do you want to check?"

The jailer: "How dare you, we don't worry about the things that my aunt personally sent, please come to my aunt."

Qi Yan stood up, and the jailer led Qiu Ju to come, followed by two servants and two maidservants, the five of them stopped outside and separated from the railing, and saluted Qi Yan in unison: " See Prince Consort."

Qi Yan: "Why is sister Qiu Ju here?"

Qiu Ju: "His Royal Highness sent servants to deliver some things to the son-in-law. The environment here is simple, so please feel sorry for the son-in-law for a few days."

Qi Yan: "Thank Your Highness for me."

The jailer bowed his waist and invited the five of them in. Today, Qiu Ju was wearing the palace attire of a female official in charge, and her rank was clear at a glance. Apart from accompanying Nangong Jingnv to attend palace banquets, Qiu Ju rarely dressed so formally.

Qi Yan's heart is like a mirror: Nangong Jingnu is afraid that she will be wronged, so she can't come in person, so she asks Qiu Ju to go here for her, to deter the jailers.

This tactic was indeed effective. I saw the jailer standing bent over in the corner, looking at him with a pair of eyes, already weighing in his heart.

The officials of Dali Temple are the most sensitive. Whether the people who come in really lose their power, or just stand there, you can tell at a glance.

A palace maid came out from the inner room and reported: "Auntie, is the original quilt spread underneath or lost?"

Qiu Ju glanced at the palace maid: "Of course it was lost, far away."

Palace maid: "Yes."

The other two servants worked together to lift a box, chose a place to put it, and took out the contents.

Qiu Ju: "These are the clothes that His Highness personally prepared for the son-in-law. There are also some books and bamboo slips, the four treasures of the study, a copper stove and kettle for making tea, tea sets and saucers, a hand stove and Mrs. Tang who warms the bed. They are all here. By the way, this The two boxes of dried melons, vegetables and fruits are my favorites, and I will eat some when I am tired from reading. There may be omissions in the rush, so please use it first.”

Qi Yan: "Your Highness has a heart."

Qiu Ju: "The three meals a day of the son-in-law will be delivered by the servants in person. If there are any servants who are missing, I will bring them to the son-in-law. Later, the servant will come to deliver the silver charcoal brazier. It's cold at night, the son-in-law. Grandpa put Mrs. Tang under the bed early."

Qi Yan: "Understood."

After a few people took care of it, the prison cell, which was originally in a good environment, has been raised to a higher level.

Even the jailer was secretly stunned: My dear, there are so many dignitaries who have lived in this cell, and the second prince stayed here before he was convicted, and I haven't seen anything like this.

Her Highness Zhen Zhen really loved this son-in-law to the bottom of her heart, completely disregarding others' opinions.

After everyone left, Qi Yan picked up a book and started to read. At night, Qiu Ju came to deliver the meal, and she really came with a few servants carrying the charcoal basin.

Qiu Ju: "My son-in-law, please take the medicine first and then have dinner."

Qi Yan: "Sister Qiuju still has to preside over the big and small affairs of the Weiming Palace during the day, and it will be cold in a few days, and it will be even more difficult if it snows. From now on, don't run away in person, just send someone to see you off. "

Qiu Ju glanced back, saw that the jailer had retreated knowingly, and waved her hands to let a few servants go out to wait, she knelt beside Qi Yan and said in a low voice: "My lord, Your Highness said that you should pay attention to the change of clothes she sent." Change a set every day, and it’s time to go out after the change.”

Qi Yan was silent for a moment: "Understood, you can go back when it's late."

Qiu Ju: "Your maidservant will leave."

After dinner, Qi Yan read two more pages of the book, then went to sleep in the back room.

Three days later in the morning, it was the time of the morning, and the conversation between the jailer and other people was heard again in the corridor.

Qi Yan closed the scroll in his hand, if he expected correctly, he should be here.

Jailer: "The next official sees Lord Shangshu."

Gong Yanghuai: "Give me the key."

Jailer: "This... the young one, should you take Master Shangshu there?"

Gong Yanghuai: "The cell in Dali Temple is as solid as gold, are you afraid that we will lose our wings? I won't embarrass you. It's only half an hour. Don't bother me."

After a sound of metal colliding, after a dozen more breaths, Gong Yanghuai, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, appeared outside the cell.

Qi Yan: "Baishi, you are here."

Gong Yanghuai opened the big lock in silence, Qi Yan pulled out a mattress from under the desk and spread it to the side: "Sit down."

Gong Yanghuai sat cross-legged beside Qi Yan, raised his eyes to look around and looked at Qi Yan for a while, and said reassuringly: "I knew you would not be wronged."

Qi Yan hooked the corner of her mouth: "Thanks to Your Highness."

Gong Yanghuai put his arms on the desk, leaned over, and said in a low voice, "You'll be out soon."

Qi Yan: "Oh?"

Gong Yanghuai sighed with emotion, his eyes showed envy: "Your Highness Zhen Zhen is not the only one protecting you, I really didn't expect you to accumulate such prestige in the court."

Qi Yan: "What's wrong?"

Gong Yanghuai: "This morning, Li Qiaoshan, a foreigner from the Ministry of Industry, presented a joint memorial in court, begging Your Majesty to show mercy beyond the law, and give you a lighter punishment."

Qi Yan: "Li Qiaoshan? I don't seem to have any old friendship with him."

Gong Yanghuai patted Qi Yan's arm, lowered his voice and explained: "Do you know who are the joint names in the memorial?"

Qi Yan: "I don't know."

Gongyanghuai: "Jinzhou students, a total of 53 people have jointly signed an intercession."

Qi Yan raised his eyebrows: "Why are there so many?!" Jinzhou has not had many students to enter the imperial examination since the first year of Jingjia's disaster. Although Jinzhou shined brilliantly in this year's grand examination, there were only ten candidates for the gold list. People, 53 people, this number greatly exceeded Qi Yan's expectations.

Gongyang Huai said with a smile: "In this big exam, a total of 86 students from Jinzhou who passed the Qiuwei Township Examination, ten of them were named on the gold list and stayed in Beijing to work, and 43 stayed in the capital as scholars or candidates as 'Shi Brown' "Submit articles to various prefectures and wait for recommendation. Have you forgotten Mr. Yuan? Every time after the announcement of the rankings and the start of the next big exam, the students who fail the rankings can stay in Beijing to recommend themselves. In previous years, there would not be so many people, but this year ten All Jinzhou students who made it to the gold list stayed in the capital. Including you, the chief examiner from Jinzhou, this number is quite normal. However, these students are all ranked below the fifth rank, and they are not yet qualified to go to court , They heard that something happened to you, and they were so anxious that they rushed to tell each other. I heard Li Qiaoshan say: These people planned to hand over the paperwork before the decree of punishment was issued, alas... because there is no way out. In the end, it was this year's No. [-] student from Jinzhou: Qin De, I found the number one scholar of this scientific examination, that is Yu Wenjin, the young son of the Minister of the Ministry of War. Speaking of which, Yu Wenjin can be regarded as your protégé, but his old man is One of the impeachers, Yu Wenjin, did not dare to openly disobey his father, so he secretly found Li Qiaoshan, a member of the Ministry of Industry, and handed over the paper to him. Li Qiaoshan admired what you did when you were the minister of the Ministry of Industry, so he handed over the paper today .”

So far, the first goal of Qi Yan's voluntary imprisonment has been achieved.

She has single-handedly cultivated many Jinzhou students, but she doesn't know who is really loyal to her.Although we can't judge completely this time, as long as they sign the booklet, it will be difficult to say goodbye to the mountain gate in the future.

This is what Qi Yan wants, she doesn't care how many people are desperate, as long as they have no backer other than herself.

Jinzhou is of the same line, with the same spirit.Qi Yan is the highest official rank in Jinzhou in the court. The more Jinzhou people in the court, the more stable her position will be; a rising tide lifts all boats.

Gong Yanghuai: "Although these people have the highest official ranks from the fifth rank, they are all very young. The oldest is only 25 years old. It will take less than ten years for them to appear as humeral pillars of the imperial court, so even if they are Your Majesty must also consider carefully."

Gong Yanghuai sighed, and patted Qi Yan on the shoulder: "As the saying goes, you will reap melons if you sow melons, and you will get benevolence from seeking benevolence. You can be regarded as a blessing in disguise. Looking at the whole court, there are people with higher prestige than you, but you can get it." You are the only one supported by so many young people. Even when Master Zhongshuling Xing was your age, he didn’t have this ability.”

Seeing that Qi Yan remained silent, Gong Yanghuai approached Qi Yan again, and said: "Although you are no longer an official, you still have the status of a royal family, and with this letter, you should be able to go out soon. Depending on your ability, it won’t take long for you to be reactivated. It may be difficult to return to your original position, but it’s more than enough to be a servant. To put it bluntly... until the new emperor ascends the throne..."

Qi Yan: "Baishi!"

Gong Yanghuai covered his mouth: "I know, I know."

Qi Yan took a deep breath, took the brush and the cut rice paper, and wrote: Let me ask you, you, you of the Gongyang family, are you loyal to the emperor or the Fifth Highness?

Gong Yanghuai widened his eyes, looked at Qi Yan suspiciously, pondered for a moment and wrote truthfully: Judging from the current situation, being loyal to His Highness the Fifth Highness is equivalent to being loyal to the King.

Qi Yan grabbed the piece of paper, rolled it into a ball and threw it into the brazier.

Continue to write: If I tell you that there is another candidate for the new king, what should I do?

Gong Yanghuai was horrified, and wrote with a pen tip trembling: Don't dare to make this joke, you...

Qi Yan: Your Majesty already has a candidate for the crown prince in mind, and he left me a secret order, ordering me to do my best to assist His Highness the future crown prince to ascend the throne, Baishi... You and I have known each other since we were young, have I ever lied to you for so many years?How can such a big event be child's play?

Gong Yanghuai held the piece of paper written by Qi Yan in front of him and looked at it for a long time, then looked back guiltily, seeing no one behind him threw it into the brazier, staring straight at the piece of paper burned to ashes Only then did he look away, swallowed with a movement of his throat, opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word.

But Qi Yan continued to write: If His Majesty prefers His Highness the Fifth Highness, why did he not make any progress after many years of being the Prince Supervisor?You tell me today, whether you and your Gongyang clan are loyal to the emperor or the Fifth Highness.

Gong Yanghuai grabbed the wrist holding the pen, the tip of the pen was still shaking uncontrollably.

The "conversation" between him and Qi Yan in the cell today was related to the life and death of the entire Gongyang clan. Gongyanghuai really couldn't figure out who the "prince" in Qi Yan's writing was. Among the princes, there is no one who is better than Nangongda.

However, "loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness" is something engraved in the bones of every scholar in the Wei country. There is an ancient "clothes edict". In the face of a puppet emperor, countless people swear their allegiance to the death. Woolen cloth?

Although Nangong Rang has been in poor health for the past few years and has rarely shown himself in public, as long as the throne is not passed on to others, Nangong Rang is still the target of most officials who will swear their allegiance to the death.

Finally, Gong Yanghuai started to write, and wrote on the paper: "Loyal to the Emperor".

Qi Yan also burned this piece of paper, and wrote: The secret decree given to me by Your Majesty will be shown to you after an opportunity. Your Majesty intends to let the "three-five" party fight and support the future prince to grow secretly. It's a pity that people are not as good as God , the death of Prince Rui has broken the balance of the situation, I don't have much time left, I must help the prince to stabilize his position as soon as possible.

Gong Yanghuai: What do you want me to do?

Now that he has made a choice, Gong Yanghuai decided to contribute to the new emperor. On the one hand, he can save the Gong Yang family, and on the other hand, he can accumulate enough meritorious deeds, so that he can go further when the new emperor ascends the throne.

Although the current situation in Nangong is in full swing, Gong Yanghuai is very clear: all the light was given by His Majesty, and taking it back is just a matter of time.

Moreover, as long as Nangong Dayi is not the crown prince, even if His Majesty dies, the candidate for the new emperor must follow the will.

Qi Yan: You stay by Nangongda's side for the time being so as not to be exposed, and report his developments to me. As for Nangongda's order, it is best for the Gongyang Mansion to do the work instead of doing anything.

Gong Yanghuai: Good.

Qi Yan: To be honest, I have recommended you to the crown prince as the new lieutenant, but there is still some transition, you know it well and wait for the opportunity to cooperate.

Gong Yanghuai: Are you serious? !

Taiwei, the best military officer, is on par with Zhong Shuling in the court, the true one person is below ten thousand people, is the goal of countless military officers' lifelong struggle.

Gongyanghuai: I am a civil servant, how can I be a captain?

Qi Yan: That's why a little transition is needed. If necessary, you can ask His Highness the Fifth Highness to help you.

Gongyang Huai: Understood.

Gong Yanghuai: Mr. Yuan...can you tell Your Majesty which Highness is the candidate in your mind?

Qi Yan: You will know when the time is right.

……

Gong Yanghuai watched as Qi Yan threw all their conversations into the brazier and turned them into ashes.

Standing up and clasping fists, he made a bow to Qi Yan: "Everything is kept in silence, Mr. Yuan... remember everything Baishi has treated me, take care."

Qi Yan returned a salute, and watched Gong Yanghuai lock up and leave.

So far, the second goal of Qi Yan's voluntary imprisonment has been achieved.

How could Nangong Jingnv have thought that in just three days, Qi Yan first dragged all the Jinzhou students who stayed in the capital onto the warship, and then won the support of the Gongyang clan for her.

There is one last thing left, Qi Yan himself is not fully sure.

However, it is much more convenient to talk here than in Weiming Palace and Princess Zhenzhen's mansion, Qi Yan also firmly believes that there must be the influence of that person in the imperial court and even the inner court...

Qi Yan came to the corner, and opened the wooden box placed there, inside were two stacks of changed clothes neatly stacked.

Qi Yan reached in and touched it twice from bottom to top. There were still 27 sets left in the box.

In other words, Nangong Jingnv will let herself stay here for 27 days at most, I wonder if this time is enough?

……

On the other side, Nangong Jingnv was sitting in the study, and on the desk in front of her was a memorial to the students from Jinzhou to petition Qi Yan.

There are a total of 53 names on it, of which the oldest is 25 years old, and the highest official rank is Cong Wupin.

Judging from the current situation, none of the people who impeached Qi Yan even if all these people are added together is very important.

Looking at this sincerely worded memorial, Nangong Jingnv finally understood Qi Yan's painstaking efforts.The other party provided himself with a list, a list that could choose to cultivate cronies.

Nangongda had already let go, and the joint memorial was presented at the right time. Nangong Jingnv almost issued an order to release Qi Yan in court, but she didn't know if Qi Yan had any other tricks. She was worried that Qi Yan's deployment would be disrupted, so she refrained from releasing him .

Right now, the only thing Nangong Jingnv can do is: send Qiu Ju to visit Qi Yan from time to time, to see what the other party lacks, and if she has anything to bring back.

In this way, Nangong Jingnv endured the torment for another 20 days. The so-called three joint trials were just a cutscene, and she was interrogated only once. It's over.

During this period of time, the news of the son-in-law's imprisonment also spread to the capital. Ding You, who was still frantically researching the prescription of fake death medicine in Gyeonggi, heard the news in the teahouse, packed his bags and flew back to Beijing that day.

Ding You: Didn't Qi Yan say there are three months left?How can it be so fast?But...the fake death medicine has not been developed yet, so what should I do?

Ding You is not stupid, he went to the capital to secretly inquire about the reason why Qi Yan was imprisoned, if the other party revealed his gender, he would not be able to go back.

As a result, Ding You breathed a sigh of relief. He went back to the palace to find Dean Wang and dismissed the holiday. Seeing the other party's meaningful eyes, he felt a little uneasy.

In the afternoon, Qiu Ju was ordered to deliver dinner to Qi Yan. Before entering the cell, Qiu Ju stuffed a piece of silver into the hands of the jailer, and the other party casually found a reason and left.

Qiu Ju knelt beside Qi Yan, and asked in a low voice: "Your Highness ordered your servants to come and ask, is the change of clothes enough?"

Qi Yan thought for a while and replied: "It seems that there are not many left, let's send a few more tomorrow."

Qiu Ju: "How many pieces?"

Qi Yan: "Ten pieces."

Qiu Ju: "Yes."