Rebellious officials bow their heads

"boom!"

Xie Linze's eyes froze, only to hear a loud bang, Xu Yan blocked him, and Xu Yan pulled his robe over him.

He hugged the front of his shirt with one hand, leaned on the window sill and looked out, and saw a long trail in the mud in the courtyard. Ji Han fell all over in the mud and fell on the ground and didn't get up for a long time. Obviously, he was kicked out. .

This is probably the first time for Ji Han, not to mention being kicked away, but still in his own mansion, seeing him spitting out mud, Xie Linze burst out laughing.

Turning his head, Xu Yan's complexion completely darkened, he shook his sleeves and lifted the long knife on the wooden frame, Xie Linze rushed over and hugged the man in front of him, "If you have something to say, don't do it, Yan'er, Liu'er, huh? "

Xu Yan stared at him with his head down, suddenly picked him up from the cold ground, and said a few words: "Okay, leave him alone, let's continue."

Xie Linze nestled in his arms, and heard Ji Han's angry roar from outside: "Ji Liu! Get out!"

The veins on Xu Yan's forehead twitched, he put Xie Linze on the couch, turned around and kicked the door open with two steps, like a murderous evil spirit, "Ji Han, are you courting death?"

Standing in the courtyard, Ji Han saw that the other party was still holding a knife, he couldn't help but pause, and then said coldly not to be outdone: "You better know where you are now, the two of you in broad daylight..."

He thought of something, and the following words turned into extremely dissatisfied murmurs.

"You'd better make it clear that without me, you're still in prison." Xu Yan looked at him coldly, "Now, get out of here before I do it."

Ji Han took a deep breath, apparently suppressing his anger, "Grandpa is looking for you two."

His eyes turned to the window, where Xie Linze was lying there, with long hair scattered all over his shoulders, wrapped in a brocade robe, with glaring red marks on his shoulders, and a gloating smile on his face.

Xu Yan noticed his gaze, turned back into the room, pulled the man into his arms, and slammed the window shut to block the eyes of outsiders.

After the two of them finished dressing and went out, Ji Han had disappeared from the courtyard. They came to the main courtyard, Xu Yan went to see Mrs. Ji, while Xie Linze didn't follow him in, looked at the courtyard, and walked around slowly.

"Qingci has always been manipulating the courtiers behind the scenes. After the Linghetai incident, I'm afraid he won't plan to be a person behind the scenes again." Old Master Ji held the teacup in one hand, and walked into the corridor with Xu Yan one after the other.

"Whether he surfaced or not, Qing Ci is not far from death." The young man's gaze was as cold as ice, "I will destroy his reputation and rights, and let him Have a taste of what it means to be a national teacher respected by thousands of people and become an animal that is despised by thousands of people."

The strong murderous intent in this sentence was not concealed at all, even the old man Ji couldn't help but feel chills in his heart.

Holding the teacup in his hand, he said: "The assassination of the late emperor was indeed strange. I have already found out the evidence. This matter is indeed related to..."

"It has something to do with the old lady who passed away." Xu Yan helped Old Master Ji say what he couldn't say.

"The maids and servants around her have all died due to various accidents. It should be the work of Qing Ci's dispatchers. There is only one old woman who remains anonymous. I have someone take her into the city. , placed in a private house, you go ask."

In the distance, the maids walked by in a group. The gardener in the mansion just watered the water. The colorful flowers and plants under the porch were covered with water, and some plants such as bipod, hibiscus, oleander and aster lingered with a lingering faint fragrance. .

The old man Ji continued: "But if you want to completely eradicate the deep-rooted Qing Ci in the court, it is not enough to rely on Ji's family and you alone."

"The Mu family seems to be shaken. I will meet with Mu He tomorrow. If he understands the truth and returns to the right path, and the two families of Ji and Mu work together, the court and the central government will definitely move after hearing the news. It will be easier to put these big and small forces in the hands of the emperor." Some." Xu Yan said.

The old man Ji was silent for a while, rubbing the teacup with his palm, "What about you? What capacity do you use to do these things? Get a foothold in the court?"

Sunlight passed through the bamboo curtains in the corridor, Xu Yan's eyes were deep.

"Don't say that you are from Nanzhen Prefecture, even that document is fake. What capacity do you want to help His Majesty?" Old Master Ji asked.

Xu Yan and he continued to walk forward slowly.

Old Master Ji sighed, "The reason why I asked you to go back to Ji's house was because Ji Han was not Qingci's opponent. I needed someone who could free Ji's family from constraints and gain a foothold in the court. It's a pity that you refused. Remember when I said The door of the Ji family will always be open for you, and this sentence has not changed now, if you are willing to come back, then the power of the Ji family will be used by you."

Xu Yan remained silent, and the light and shadow circulating on the bamboo curtain fell on his stern profile.

"After so many years, is the old grudge still more important than His Majesty?" Old Master Ji looked at him, "If you are an official, Ji Han will not be able to overcome it. You should be under one person and above ten thousand."

The two passed the corner, Xu Yan moved his lips, as if he was about to say something, suddenly he turned his head and looked out.

Not far away is a yellowed bamboo board, and below is the emerald green lake. A group of crimson carps gather together to grab food, and there are circles of ripples on the water.

Sitting on the wooden floor, Xie Linze, with his back facing them, was wearing a soft cloth robe, his long hair was loosely tied with a strip of cloth, and he was throwing down a bag of fish food.

The gentle breeze blows slowly, and the man's body is soaked with warm sunshine.

Old Master Ji waited for a long time but did not see Xu Yan's answer, so he couldn't help but shift his gaze from Xie Linze to him. During this process, he heard Xu Yan say: "Grandfather."

These two words are plain and simple, but it really surprised Mrs. Ji.

Xu Yan never took his eyes off Xie Linze.

After a few breaths, the old man responded, full of emotion: "Lao Liu, it's good to be back. It's just that His Majesty's affairs can't be delayed any longer. He was robbed at Linghe Terrace, and the city was full of disturbances. Everyone was panicked. You have to prepare everything as soon as possible and send him back to the palace."

"Yes, I know."

The two of them were talking, when Xie Linze in the distance heard something faintly, and turned around to see Xu Yan and Mrs. Ji in the corridor.

He stood up and saluted Old Master Ji.

The other party quickly returned the gift and made a gesture of resignation.

Xu Yan walked towards him, and he threw fish food to the man: "What plan are you two discussing?"

"When talking to Ji's family, every word should be in the interest of the family." Xu Yan replied.

Xie Linze laughed, "Yes, it makes sense."

As soon as he walked, a nest of carp in the lake rushed to follow his footsteps.

Xu Yan grabbed the fish food and threw it away, causing the carp to scramble to peck each other, "I want to take you somewhere."

"Huh? When are you going?"

Xu Yan looked at the sky, "Let's leave now."

The two housekeepers got ready and got into the carriage, carefully avoiding the patrols of the Imperial Army, and stopped in front of a house after turning seven or eight times in the alley. Xu Yan entered the back room, and Xie Linze stood in the narrow and dilapidated main room, seeing the curtains being hung up , the figure of an old woman appeared in the dark back room, looking around timidly.

Xu Yan said a few comforting words to her, and the woman calmed down. She was still half-hidden behind the curtain, and said hoarsely to Xie Linze who was outside: "Your Majesty, you look very much like the empress."

Xie Linze didn't understand what she said, and looked at Xu Yan curiously.

The other party explained to him: "This is the personal maid of the late Mrs. Ji."

He nodded and looked at the woman quietly.

The woman lowered her head in embarrassment and said: "The old lady is devoted to Taoism, and she is very keen to discuss Taoism with Master Guoshi..."

Xie Linze realized something, and the relaxed expression on his face gradually changed.

"Because the old lady is not in good health, the national teacher specially sent a few packs of high-quality medicinal materials. It can't be said that it can cure the disease, but it is only used to take care of the body. This happened before the first emperor hunted. The old lady recovered after using it a few times. Some, she went into the palace and gave the medicinal materials to the empress..." At this point, the woman's voice trembled.

Xie Linze didn't move at all, so quiet that he didn't even breathe.

"Later, the hunting emperor was assassinated and died. With his skill, even if he couldn't resist the rebels, he could still escape from the hunting ground under the protection of the black scorpion guards. But, but..."

The woman panicked and said: "The late emperor passed away. The old lady went to the palace to comfort the empress, but she heard that she inadvertently said that because your majesty was at the desk all the year round to review the memorials, he couldn't sleep at night. He stayed up all night before the hunt. The empress Worried that His Majesty would be exhausted physically and mentally, he decocted a portion of the medicine and asked the late Emperor to drink it..."