Linzhi

When He Rong comes back to report on his work, he will naturally have to go back. To him, Chang'an is just a place to rest, not a long-term place. The foundation of his business is in Lingzhou, and he will eventually return to Lingzhou in a few days .

After being scolded by the emperor in the palace that day, the palace did not issue any order to deal with him. He Rong was also happy to be leisurely. He stayed in Chang'an for several days, either going out with He Zhan to shop for obedient books, or staying at home. Planting flowers and grass—Of course, it sounds very elegant, but from the fact that Wen Jiang helplessly directs his subordinates to move the withered flowers and plants outside every day, we know that King An really has no talent in planting flowers and plants. , and it's the kind that insists on harming flowers and plants by itself even though they are not well-raised.

Except for Ji Ling and Chen Qian, who had been with He Rong in the past, very few people took the initiative to visit Prince An's Mansion. Naturally, the aristocratic family was unwilling to take the initiative to pay attention to this prince who didn't follow the rules of the game at all. There was no movement from the Prince's side. King An Although he was in the capital, he seemed to be invisible for a while, and no one cared about him.

Until two days before Ji Wang's birthday, He Zhan came to the mansion to invite He Rong to celebrate his second brother's birthday.

"I've already asked someone to prepare a gift, and it will be fine to send it over when the time comes. If I go, everyone will have a bad time. Wouldn't it ruin the second brother's birthday party?" He Rong refused at first.

"It was the second brother who asked me to invite you." He Zhan hugged his shoulders and said with a smile, "Second brother is sincere, so you just take it for my sake and make it difficult for you, okay?"

He Rong smiled: "How big is your face?"

"Of course!" He Zhan opened his eyes wide and approached him, "Isn't it big?"

Of course, the result was that He Rong tapped him on the forehead.

He Rong now has a bit of nonsense to the two elder brothers, Prince Ji and King Ji, but the other party asks He Zhan to invite him in person, so he can't push it any further. On the day of King Ji's birthday, he will Join hands with He Zhan to celebrate He Xiu's birthday.

At that time, Prince Ji's mansion was full of guests and guests. Many people had already arrived. The male and female guests were seated separately. The female guests were entertained by Princess Ji Li Suian. A moment of silence.

After a while, everyone seemed to realize that they pretended nothing had happened before continuing to talk and laugh happily.

He Zhan didn't expect his third brother's "deterrent power" to be so great, and he couldn't help but sneered at the stalking of these people.

He Rong felt at ease, and sat down with He Zhan separately.

After all, it is only a small number of villains who follow the trend, and most people, especially the families with profound backgrounds, even if they secretly tripped He Rong, they would not tear themselves apart from him in the open. Someone from the Fan family and the Zhang family took the initiative to confront He Rong one after another. Rong greeted each other with polite greetings, and his attitude was polite, and there was no unhappiness that others imagined.

In fact, if you take a closer look, you can find that none of the guests present today is an official of the third rank or above. Although Li Kuan is the father-in-law of King Ji, he is the right minister, so he must avoid suspicion and will not come to the banquet in person, like Zhang Song, Fan Yi and other important officials. In this way, each family only sent their juniors to congratulate them on their behalf, which is considered to be a courtesy, even if it is the crown prince's birthday, it may not be possible to invite a few veterans to come in person.

There are many people who understand, but there are those who don't have long-term eyesight, feel that King An has fallen out of favor, is lonely, and has no one to take care of him, so he made fun of him in a teasing tone: "I don't know that the third highness has been in Lingzhou for a long time. Chang An, how do you feel?"

He Rong raised his eyelids and glanced at that person, vaguely recognizing that the other person's surname was Zhou, and he was a descendant of the Zhou family.

After all, Zhou Shu belonged to the Zhou family, but when He Rong killed him, he undoubtedly slapped the Zhou family in the face. Zhou Jiaming didn't say anything on the surface, but there were many people who cursed He Rong in private. I can't hold my breath anymore.

Many people have been paying attention to He Rong intentionally or unintentionally. Seeing this movement, they can't help but stop talking, and the atmosphere stagnates again.

He Rong said leisurely: "The feeling is indeed there. Lingzhou's dead branches and leaves have been swept away, and now it has a new look. As for Chang'an..."

But he didn't continue talking, instead he smiled at the Zhou family junior.

For some reason, the junior of the Zhou family actually saw a bit of murderous intent from this bright smile, and felt a chill in his heart. Immediately thinking of Zhou Shu's death, he couldn't say what he had prepared.

This Wang An...

As expected, as the rumors say, oil and salt do not enter, and a heart of stone is hard-hearted.

It is said that he was in the Zichen Palace, facing the questioning of the emperor, in front of the six departments and nine ministers, he refused to say a single word of begging for mercy. Some people thought he was stupid and ignorant of current affairs, while others thought he was tough.

In any case, this is not an easy person to deal with.

Mrs. Zhou regretted that she blurted out as soon as she was instigated just now, and became the first bird.

He Rong looked at him, and slowly said: "The towering tree soars into the sky, but there are more dead branches and moths, but these things that harm the tree will be wiped out one day."

The younger generation of the Zhou family showed dissatisfaction, and wanted to say something, but was held down by the person next to him, who cupped his hands and said, "Young people are ignorant, and His Highness laughed at you."

He Zhan felt a little funny. He remembered that when he was in Fangzhou, he heard that the third brother and the eldest brother accompanied His Majesty, who was still a commoner at the time, to the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet held by Sima Yun, the governor of Fangzhou. He poured wine all over him.

Now it's just a verbal retaliation, which is already extremely polite.

"Third brother, don't be angry." He Xi comforted him in a low voice, clumsily speaking.

He Rong patted his head, and smiled in his heart, he couldn't take such trivial matters to heart.

He Xiu was far away, but he also noticed this little episode, and couldn't help frowning, stopped talking with others, got up and walked towards this side, and offered to toast.

He Rong and He Zhan naturally got up to greet each other.

"Second brother, every year has today, and every year has today." He Zhan raised his wine glass in respect.

"I wish my second brother good health and everything goes well." He Rong also said.

"Second brother wins everything!" Qilang He Xi followed closely behind.

He Xiu seemed to be in a good mood today, clinking glasses with them, the three brothers raised their heads and drank it all.

In addition to the crown prince and He Xi, Qilang He Xi also came. This was the most homogeneous time for the brothers in the past two years.

He Xiu took He Rong's arm and asked him: "Did someone make you unhappy just now?"

He Rong shook his head: "No, it's just an ordinary conversation. Today is my second brother's birthday, so I won't disappoint."

He Xiudao: "You are my younger brother, and you are a dignified prince. If anyone dares to disrespect you, it means disrespecting our He family. Even if you are magnanimous and don't pursue it, I will not let him go."

He deliberately raised his voice and said this to the people around him, saying that no matter what happened to King An, it was not up to outsiders to teach him a lesson.

The provocative Zhou family junior turned pale and hurriedly lowered his head. He never raised his head until the banquet was over.

He Xiu patted He Rong on the shoulder: "Sanlang, let's go to the corridor, there are newly planted hydrangeas."

Knowing that he had something to say, He Rong nodded and followed.

Clusters of hydrangeas bloom under the corridor, pink, white and purple, just like the colorful gems on the sideburns of women.

"The flowers are blooming well." He Rong praised, but he didn't know that these flowers were planted by Li Suian.

As he once said to Li Suian, they knew very little about each other, and it was over before it started.

"It was a good drive." He Xiu absent-mindedly echoed, and then changed the topic, "Sanlang, I never blamed you."

No matter how sharp He Rong's mind was, he was taken aback by such nonsensical words.

"What does the second brother mean?"

He Xiudao: "You attacked those merchants in Lingzhou, including the Lu family. For the sake of the Lu family, I wrote a handwritten letter to help them plead with you. Although you didn't do anything extraneous later, I know, You have just arrived there, you need to stand up, they are greedy and take the blame, no one can blame it. And I know that you have given me face by not dealing with the Lu family like you did with Zhou Shu."

He Rong smiled: "Thank you, Second Brother, for your understanding."

He Xiu also smiled: "Is it in your heart that I have always been unreasonable?"

He Rong: "Since the death of my second sister-in-law, I was afraid that you would be overly sad, and blindly go into a corner, but now seeing that you are cheerful and generous, I finally feel relieved."

He Xiu laughed and said: "You don't have to praise me. I just figured out what kind of cheerfulness and generosity. Among the brothers, except for the crown prince, you guys have always been good. Wulang and I have the same mother. Needless to say, that day I was heartbroken and lost my mind, and you fought against the prince several times, and it was you who helped me out of it. Speaking of which, you went to Lingzhou, and it was not the reason why it was difficult to be caught between me and the prince, right? Why don't I go and beg His Majesty to let you change the fief?"

He Rong shook his head and said, "Thank you second brother for your kindness, I'm used to staying in Lingzhou, and I don't want to move any more."

"Although it is the front line, it also means that there are always opportunities to fight." He Xiu's words seemed a little envious.

He Rong noticed his tone. "Second brother wants to leave Beijing?"

He Xiu laughed at himself: "I think so, but how can the crown prince let me go now? Even if he is still in court against Li Xiang, he won't be at ease."

He Rong was silent.

Because he knew He Xiu was right.

Previously, He Xiu had made great contributions in the Ganzhou Great Victory, and he was obviously very famous, but suddenly there was a murder and a prisoner, and finally he had to let the Zhang family's children take the blame. No matter whether there was any handwriting behind the matter, He Xiu must have put this The account is on the prince's head.

Afterwards, the direct prince died young, and the government and the public were full of turmoil. The prince was pointed at, and the prince might not have doubted He Xiu.

So when the crown prince sent Li Yun to Lingzhou to ask He Rong to fabricate charges against He Xiu, He Rong knew that the relationship between these two people had reached a point where fire and water could not be tolerated.

"There is a saying, I don't know whether to say it or not." He Rong finally spoke.

He Xiudao: "If you are persuading me not to fight with the crown prince, then you don't need to say it. I also thought about asking myself to garrison the border town, but the crown prince obstructed me in every possible way and made me go. Now he just wants me to go. I'm not going either."

"I can't get involved in the matter between you and the prince. What I want to remind you is," He Rong looked at him, "don't get too close to Li Kuan."

He Xiu was surprised, and then amused: "He is my father-in-law."

He Rong nodded, his expression frank: "I know."

He Xiu murmured: "Sanlang, I don't know what misunderstanding you have with Li Xiang. If you want, I can come forward and ask Li Xiang to meet you in private, and you will clear up the misunderstanding."

He Rong sighed secretly, knowing that his unsubstantiated reminder would not have any effect, so he said: "No need, Li Xiang has always been impeccable in public and private, but he is the prime minister after all. , and second brother, you are the prince, and you two are Weng son-in-law, and both of you have high identities, so it is normal for the prince to be jealous, if you can keep some distance from Li Xiangming, maybe the prince will not target you so much."

He Xiu laughed: "Sanlang, when did you become so naive? The prince's attitude towards me now will not change at all because of who I get close to.

He Rong nodded: "I made a slip of the tongue."

The conversation between the two brothers came to an end. After all, He Xiu was the host of the banquet, so they couldn’t leave the banquet for too long. The two returned to the banquet. He Rong drank two more cups and got up to leave. He hesitated to speak, but He Rong held him down and asked him to leave the table.

As soon as he returned to Prince An's Mansion, He Rong received a letter from Xue Tan.

After a cursory glance, He Rong frowned slightly, and handed the letter to Zhang Ze.

"Is the family okay?" He asked Zhang Ze casually.

"I wanted to persuade my elder brother to join me in serving you, but I was taught a lesson by my elder brother instead." Zhang Ze shook his head with a wry smile, and then stared at the content of the letter, all his attention was attracted, and he had no time to say It's about home. "There is a change in Turkic?"

Xue Tan reported the recent situation in Lingzhou in the letter, saying that since the last time a group of corrupt and lazy people were killed, and Lin Miao kicked out the old, weak, sick and disabled in the general, the military training has been very effective, but after all, the time is still short, and many People have already been terrified by the fierce reputation of the Turkic people over the years. If they meet again, they may not have the confidence to win. They also mentioned the recent clues of the mobilization of soldiers and horses in Turkic and Liangzhou, and asked He Rong and the others to come back as soon as possible. Just in case.

Although Xiao Yu rebelled and established his country as emperor, people in the Central Plains still habitually call it Liangzhou, not Liangguo.

"Your Highness, should we go back earlier?" Zhang Ze worried.

He Rong nodded: "Tomorrow I will see you in the palace, please return to Lingzhou as soon as possible."

After returning to Beijing for so many days, after being scolded, Emperor Jiayou never summoned He Rong again, and He Rong didn't ask for an interview, not because he was angry with the emperor, but because he was waiting for an opportunity.

Now the opportunity has finally arrived.

This time, he brought Princess Zhending with him, and as soon as he handed over the passbook, Emperor Jiayou summoned them very quickly.

"If I don't summon you, do you just keep your ears clean?" Emperor Jiayou sneered when he saw him.

He Rong cupped his hands and said, "I'm just afraid that His Majesty is still angry, so I dare not rush to see you."

Emperor Jiayou became angry when he saw his calm look: "I see you are like this, it doesn't seem like you are sincere and frightened!"

Ever since He Rong could remember, he knew that his father's disposition was sometimes like a child's. He was happy and angry quickly. How to get along with each other.

"I can't cry anymore, why don't I give you a smile?"

"..." Emperor Jiayou really wanted to kick him, so he said angrily, "Speak up if you have something to say, I don't have time to waste time with you!"

He Rong said: "I have received news from Lingzhou that there are some changes in the Turkic people, so I want to go back as soon as possible and sit in town in person, so I can feel at ease."

Emperor Jiayou was dubious: "Not long after the Turkic reunification, they can't wait to attack the Central Plains. Are they too courageous?"

He Rong said: "Because we all think so, we unknowingly relax our vigilance, and the Turkic people also know this very well. Lingzhou's military training has not yet been completed, and it cannot be called impenetrable. I am afraid that it will become the target of the Turkic people at any time. An ambitious Xiao Yu is fanning the flames, let alone take it lightly, no matter whether the news is true or not, I still want to go back and see for myself."

Emperor Jiayou looked at him for a moment, then suddenly sighed.

"Do you think I've been treating you badly?"

Princess Zhending is still waiting in the side hall, no one came to see her, Emperor Jiayou waved back the servants, there are only father and son left here, so you can open the skylight and speak honestly.

Everyone said that he was indifferent to He Rong. In fact, among the several sons, he did have some preference and neglect, but he would not be partial to the horizon and turn a blind eye to this son's deeds.He Rong killed Zhou Shu, rectified the merchants, mobilized the army, and Emperor Jiayou saw it all. It's not that he was not sure of He Rong's achievements, but he just felt...

"You are too impatient. Many things, your purpose may be good, but if you do it without saying a word, like killing Zhou Shu, you can put him in the prison without killing anyone, so you don't have to fight with Zhou Shu." There is a deadly feud between the two families. And about saving Princess Zhending, you should also tell me in advance, instead of killing people first and playing later, saving people and adding trouble to the court out of thin air, have you ever thought about it? "

He Rong frowned and said: "Your Majesty, the time is not with me. I am afraid that I will do too little. Now there are aristocratic families inside and Turks outside. The imperial treasury is empty. Once there is a natural disaster, there will be no relief. Difficulties at home and abroad are tantamount to worsening the situation, I am afraid that the country is in danger, so we must use heavy codes to govern people and affairs at present!"

Emperor Jiayou didn't take it seriously: "It's an exaggeration."

He Rong pursed his lips, stopped talking about this topic, and said instead: "Your Majesty, although Lingzhou has taken some money from Lu Fan's family on Wednesday, the money is just what they owed to the treasury over the years. , Seeing that winter is approaching, adding clothes and quilts to the soldiers requires money, and I want to boldly ask His Majesty to allocate some food and grass for the army."

Emperor Jiayou frowned: "You also know that the national treasury is empty now, so you have the nerve to say so?"

He Rong quickly picked up: "If there is no food to allocate, then please ask your majesty to exempt Lingzhou's money, food and taxes for ten years?"

Emperor Jiayou glared at him: "You cheated on me, right? Ten years? Thanks to you, you can tell, three years, no more."

He Rong: "Five years."

Emperor Jiayou laughed angrily: "Do you buy vegetables at the market? For three years, do you want love or not?"

"That's three years." He Rong compromised.

Three years is enough, he estimated in his heart.

Emperor Jiayou said: "I see it now. It is false that you came to plead guilty today. It is true that you want to exempt me from taxes in Lingzhou. You really know how to pick the time. When I calm down on you, okay?" Take the opportunity to ask for more."

He Rong: "Your Majesty is wise."

Emperor Jiayou was angry: "Get out, leave tomorrow! Go back to your Lingzhou!"

He Rong bowed his hands and saluted, but he really backed out without any intention of turning back.

Emperor Jiayou was so angry that he almost threw the teacup out.

But He Rong suddenly stopped and turned around again.

"Father, your sideburns are white, please take care of the dragon body."

Unexpectedly, with this sentence, Emperor Jiayou's heart was drawn into Emperor Jiayou's heart like the wind, which made him a little sore, and his heart that had just hardened suddenly softened again.

"You, hey!" Father and son looked at each other, Emperor Jiayou had mixed feelings, but he didn't know what to say, he could only say for a while, "I know, you have always been a good boy, and now... the first emperor passed away a few years ago , I don’t want to overthrow his decision hastily, in two years, I will give your mother the post of Zhaoyi.”

He Rong didn't say anything, just saluted silently, and then left.

This time, he didn't stop and didn't turn around.