Rebellious officials bow their heads

"Qing Ci?" Xu Yan tilted his head slightly, and found a trace of impression from his faded memory. He vaguely remembered that when he was young, he was often accompanied by the prince in the palace, "You are from the imperial court. Was it Xie Linze or Ji Han who sent you here?" ?”

Qing Ci said: "I am not going to transition to a Taoist priest in Yunguan District, and I have not entered the temple to seek employment. The future of your trip is uncertain. If you have any troubles that cannot be solved, I would like to help you."

"Do you know what I'm doing here in the capital?" Behind Xu Yan was the noisy crowd, not paying attention to the movement in their corner. He slowly drew out his knife, "How did you know my whereabouts?"

"If you want to find out, you can find out. Your Excellency, you still want to restrain your whereabouts when you enter Beijing. Don't startle the snake." There was a light smile on the corner of Qingci's lips.

Xu Yan stared at him for a few breaths, put the knife back into its sheath with a clang, and turned to leave.

Riding the horse through the city gate, passing the front of the Chengdong Inn, the wooden door is covered with dust and has been closed for a long time, and then passing through the market, there is a dirty and narrow black market.

He pushed away the pavilion where Xuanzhi was robbed last time, the shopkeeper inside was flicking his abacus in front of the counter, and Zhou Yuan was looking for the medicinal materials in the medicine cabinet with a basket.

Seeing him entering the door, the shopkeeper seemed to be facing a formidable enemy, leaning his back against the wall and said in a trembling voice: "Mr. Xu..."

Xu Yan threw him a piece of gold without turning his head, and said to Zhou Yuan: "Someone has found out my whereabouts."

Zhou Yuan casually said: "You didn't deliberately hide it, what's so strange about being noticed?"

"Next, I hope that no one will detect my whereabouts, especially the power of the imperial court."

Zhou Yuan lifted the basket to the shopkeeper, who stuffed the gold into his robe and said dissatisfiedly, "It really wasn't for nothing."

"The people in the door can help you deal with the spies, what about the rest? What are you going to do?" Zhou Yuan asked.

"What kind of person do you think National Teacher Qingci is?" Xu Yan said.

"Daoist Duyunguan, just five years after the previous generation of national teachers, has pushed his reputation to a new peak among the people. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is admired by thousands of people."

"You know what I'm asking." Xu Yan knocked on the counter, and the shopkeeper reluctantly handed over a small box.

He opened the lid, put the Tianshi wrenches on his hands one by one, adjusted the mechanism, and the black iron wire flew out in an instant, penetrating through the medicine cabinet that Zhou Yuan had just opened.

Countless pieces of herbal medicine flew on Zhou Yuan's face, he closed his eyes, paused and said helplessly: "The national teacher has not shown up for a year, and he is far away from the vortex of power, there is little information about him in Baijumen. There are very few, in my opinion, this person is unfathomable, why? He is the one who knows your whereabouts?"

Xu Yan was noncommittal and asked, "Where is the guy in my inn?"

"Settled in a farm outside the city, are you going to bring them back?"

"Find a way to send them into the palace." Xu Yan said.

"What?" Zhou Yuan asked in surprise, "You want to send them to the dragon's pond and tiger's lair?"

"I also entered the palace with them." Xu Yan said indifferently, "What identity do you think is easier to sneak into the palace?"

Zhou Yuan murmured in astonishment: "Why do I find it difficult..."

Xu Yan looked at the shopkeeper.

The other party stared for a while, and said: "The governor of Nanzhen Fusi is selecting talents to fill in, and there may be a chance to enter the palace for patrol."

"Jin Yiwei?" Zhou Yuan was stunned, and turned to Xu Yan, "Didn't you say that Cheng Pei, the commander of Beizhen Fusi, recognized you?"

"There is a lot of friction between Fusi in Nanbei Town. You may expose your body during the fight. Besides, Jin Yiwei is in Ji Han's hands. You are running under his nose."

"Beizhen Fusi's assignments are complicated, and Cheng Pei is running around here and there, so don't worry." Xu Yan said, "Prepare a document for me to participate in the selection."

Zhou Yuan said with a headache: "Then remember not to show off, just be selected."

The next day, at the Nanzhen Fusi Martial Arts Competition, a servant held a tray with flying fish suits on it. Xu Yan took it, and behind him was a big man lying on the ground.

The Jin Yiwei who watched the battle on the opposite side showed horrible looks, only the commander Xu Zhenfei laughed loudly, strode forward and patted him on the shoulder: "Not bad, not bad, with such skill at a young age, there will be a bright future in the future, as the governor of Nanzhen As a member of the brothers, you must perform well in front of the emperor and Lord Shoufu, and don't let the people in Beizhen's prefecture seize the opportunity, understand?"

"Understood." Xu Yan replied in a deep voice.

When everything was ready, he followed a group of people into the majestic palace gate and looked in the direction of Taixuan Hall.

Xie Linze was sitting in the hall with hanging curtains. A table of ancient books was scattered in front of him. His slender fingers were caressing a bamboo slip with undulating characters engraved on it.

Leaning his shoulders casually by the window, the magnificent sunset light passed through the window pavilion and fell on the bridge of his nose. Suddenly, Xie Linze seemed to feel something, and when he looked out, he saw only wide and extended stone steps, like a fortified barrier. Forbidden army.

Looking away, he put the disassembled ancient books back together and asked, "Why hasn't the medicine been delivered in the past few days?"

The attendant in the corner replied: "Your Majesty, Ji Shoufu has ordered that if you want to ask for medicine, you can go to the cabinet to meet him in person."

Xie Linze's eyes showed some thoughtfulness, without much hesitation, he got up and brushed off his wrinkled sleeve robe, "Let's go while the sky is still dark."

The attendant was startled, and stepped forward to lead the way.

Yuxia Chengqi stretches across the sky, and the cabinet is brightly lit, spreading on the ground like sapphire. As the figure walks in, the candlelight flickers, and the bright red and gorgeous robe trails across the ground.

Xie Linze stood still and looked at the person behind the case.

Ji Han put down the memorial watch in his hand, and said to him: "I got a piece of news that the one who killed the leader of Yuan Xuanfeng was staying behind and was guarding the capital, neglecting his duties, going in and out of gambling houses, so that some people in the city caused disturbances and could not be supervised, and died in vain. Two lives."

He walked down from behind the case, "How do you think this matter should be handled?"

The smile on the corner of Xie Linze's mouth became colder: "You really tried your best to get rid of any of my confidantes."

Ji Han said: "In terms of eradicating, it's not called eradicating, I just taught him a little lesson."

He went straight to the door of the pavilion and stood with his hands behind his back. Then a team of forbidden soldiers kicked the dirty man on his knees, making him kneel on the ground with a thud.

Ji Han said to Xie Linze behind him: "What punishment does the emperor think he should punish?"

Xie Linze looked at the man on the ground, pursed his lips and did not speak.

"Then I'll make the decision for you." Ji Han turned to the guards and said, "Forty lashes."

Shadows of whips whizzed down were projected on the wall, sharp screams and begging for mercy pierced the silence, and the smell of blood soon spread.

Xie Linze watched this scene in silence, his fingers gradually clenched under the sleeves.

Ji Han said coldly: "It's only a warning of forty lashes, because he was canonized by you yourself, let's spare his life for the time being, if you always think of causing trouble in the court, then such lessons are just the beginning. "

He turned around and walked towards Xie Linze step by step, so close that their breaths intertwined, "As for those ministers who are approaching you, Old Shangshu Chen is old and has few days to live, and the rest will recognize the people who think Xie Linze The imperial power of the family is unbreakable, that is just what the people think."

Xie Linze said lightly: "After so many years of acting according to the imperial power, now you can't help but surface?"

"You know, the real monsters under the water haven't shown their heads yet."

The sunset behind the two was reflected in the pool of blood, and the dying man on the ground was taken down by the imperial guards.

Ji Han raised his hand to the attendants, and ordered: "Take Your Majesty back to the Taixuan Palace. As for the medicine, I will order it to be served on the anniversary of death two days later."