Looking at the mountains and rivers

"Everyone, please sit down." Yang Yan whispered, and then sat sideways on the vacant main seat.

"Why did the young master come here in person?" Wen Zhi asked suspiciously, "there are so many eyes and ears in the palace, I'm afraid it will alarm people."

Yang Yan smiled silently: "Don't worry, everyone in Prince Mu's mansion is busy now, so they won't take me too seriously as a blind man for the time being." He changed the subject and asked, "Lan Yu, where are you in Jinzhou? How is it going?"

Wen Zhi hurriedly said: "Everything has been done according to the young master's instructions."

Yang Yan raised his eyebrows and smiled slightly: "I didn't expect you, a scholar, to be so handy in dealing with bandits."

Wen Zhi smiled and shook her head: "Actually, there are also bandits who are loyal and honest, but compared with the officialdom, they seem to be pure and clear."

"Now that this matter is done, you all know what to do next."

Liu Shitong hesitated for a moment and then said: "I don't know when the young master plans to act. This matter is of great importance. If the young master is only trying to bring down King Mu, there is no need to hold back for so long. I must have other plans in mind."

Yang Yan nodded lightly: "You are all people with extraordinary insights, you should be able to guess my intentions."

"Today Mu Wang Yang Jue can be regarded as a mediocre person. The reason why he was able to win the throne from his elder brother and enjoy the right and left among the dignitaries in the court is mostly because his maternal ancestor belonged to the Lu family, one of the four great families, and he He is the only heir of King Xianmu's marriage with the family. The family has spent so much effort to support this prince because they want to consolidate the power of the family in the court and the royal family. The young master will not reveal what Yang Jue has done. Probably because he wanted to expose Yang Jue and the family behind him at the right time." Li Yushan said in a low voice.

"The right time?" Wen Zhi lowered her head and pondered, then raised her head to look at Yang Yan, "Shortly after the first day of next year, Yang Jue will take over the position of Zongzheng and take charge of the royal family's affairs. If at that time, this old matter is uncovered, I'm afraid the whole court will be shaken by it. As long as the planning is done properly, this matter will not only make Yang Jue lose his throne and his life, but even the whole family will be humiliated and devastated."

Yang Yan smiled slightly: "Since everyone can see through this matter, it shows that I have not misjudged the person." With clear eyes, he said slowly, "In troubled times, soldiers are used, and ink is used to rule the world. Although I have no soldiers and no power in my hands, you I am full of talent, and the pen in my hand is better than thousands of troops. In this contest, I just wait for everyone to make use of the topic and use the article to open up a smooth path for me."

"Don't worry, my lord. We taught books in the Hongwen Library and met many insightful people. Now the court is corrupt, the high-ranking people are fatuous, the family is nepotism, and there are many people who are dissatisfied. I can guarantee that once this happens, The briefings of impeachment from all directions will immediately fill the imperial case of Tai'an Palace."

"Okay." Yang Yan nodded, and said again, "But there is one more thing right now, which is a bit tricky."

The three immediately sat upright and asked, "What's the matter?"

"I said earlier that the palace is busy, and the busy thing is to prepare for my wedding. The third brother intends to choose a relative and a wife for me." Yang Yan smiled wryly, "I heard it is Lu Shaobao's daughter. "

As soon as this remark came out, Wen Zhi immediately said: "Brother Ling, this is something else."

Li Yushan also nodded and said: "King Mu's move is definitely not to care for the young master. He deliberately selected people from the Lu family. It seems that he wants to use this to win over the relationship between Duke Tuoba and the Lu family. It is more likely that," He lowered his voice, "He wants to get rid of the young master, leaving only the blood of the young master and the Lu family."

He spoke so bluntly, Liu Shitong couldn't help coughing lightly, and shook his head at him.But Yang Yan said calmly: "It's okay, I already knew that my brothers wanted to kill me, no matter how stupid I am, I won't let them let down their guard." When he said this, he laughed at himself He smiled, "Actually, that's fine too. Our brothers have each had their own calculations from the very beginning. In detail, I'm afraid I have more calculations than them. If I really lose, blame me for being too greedy." Bar."

This last sentence changed the faces of several people, and Liu Shitong couldn't help saying: "My lord, forgive me for speaking bluntly, it doesn't matter if this marriage is accepted. Yang Jue's temper is arrogant, since he has made up his mind, it will not be a discussion , but insisted on forcing the young master to submit. To resist at this time, I am afraid that it will cause disputes, and it will miss the big event later."

Sitting there, Yang Yan raised the teacup in a daze, and when he was about to bring it to his lips, he stopped again and didn't drink it for a long time.

In August, the palace of Prince Mu was already full of excitement. The marriage between the four princes of Prince Mu's residence and Lu Shaobao's daughter had already undergone a ceremony of asking for names, and soon the date of engagement came.

Outside Mu Wang's mansion, there were dozens of carts parked outside the gate early in the morning, all of them were people from aristocratic families who came to congratulate him.Boxes containing gifts lined up from the gate to outside the Qing'an Hall in the Inner Mansion, and even the gift slips were piled up in a thick stack in the corner.

There are guests and servants coming and going everywhere, bustling and bustling, and there is only one figure sitting alone in the middle hall, which is the fourth son Yang Yan who is engaged this time.Since half a month ago, Yang Jue took him out of the south courtyard and lived in the palace again under the pretext that his marriage was approaching, and he was afraid of not taking good care of him. He didn't have any objection to this, but he was more silent than before.Now in this lively atmosphere, he seemed a bit out of place, his eyes were lightly hanging on the ground, and the hands protruding from the wide sleeves were extremely thin, making his figure even thinner.

The guests all knew that the Fourth Young Master was handicapped and could not see things, and he might not have any identity, so no one went up to greet him, and most of them crowded in the back hall to meet Mu Wang Yang Jue.Not long after, there was a commotion outside, but it was Liu Yi, the chief steward of Prince Yong's Mansion, who came to congratulate him with a gift. Yang Jue heard that, got up to greet him, and led him into the middle hall.

Liu Yi said with a smile on his face: "The villain came to congratulate me on the order of my prince." He turned his face and glanced at Yang Yan, and said with a sigh of relief, "When the villain saw the fourth son, he was still a child. They are about to get married. Speaking of it, it is Mu Wang Gaoyi who found such a good marriage for the fourth son, which is considered a good story in Jian'an City."

Yang Jue smiled, and said to Yang Yan: "Fourth brother, this is Liu Guanshi from my uncle's house, come and meet me soon."

Yang Yan hurriedly straightened his clothes and stood up, groping to take a step forward, he seemed a little trembling, as if he was timid because he had never experienced such a thing.No matter how inconspicuous he is, he is still the son of the palace. Liu Yi naturally couldn't accept his gift, so he hurriedly stepped forward to support him: "The fourth son is very happy, and the villain congratulates the fourth son." He said with a smile, and then He wanted to bow his head to salute, but he was slightly surprised.This young master's hands were very hot, looking carefully, the blushing of his cheeks did not look like joy, but rather sick.

"Many... Thank you, Guanshi Liu." Yang Yan stammered a little, his hand holding Liu Yi trembled, and when he opened his mouth again, a mouthful of blood spewed out, and then fell to the ground.

The whole place was shocked.

Yang Jue was so shocked that he forgot to react, but Liu Yi, who was well-informed, said anxiously: "The fourth son seems to be poisoned, quickly bring the detoxification pill."

This engagement ceremony ended in chaos.

Because the accident happened too suddenly, and the guests were full of chatter, rumors spread quickly about the incident, and the emperor was still far away in Xishan, so he didn't know anything about it.However, King Yong was alarmed. He still remembered that these four young masters had another troublesome identity - the grandson of Tuobaxin. To prevent any accidents, he immediately sent a famous doctor from Taichang Temple to check the pulse, and called Yang Jue. to ask questions.

When Yang Jue came back from Prince Yong's Mansion, it was already dark. He got off the carriage angrily, went straight to find He Yan, shouted furiously, "What did I tell you before! I took him to the Palace, I just don’t want to make any mistakes in this matter, and let you strictly watch over it. Fortunately, the whole Jian’an City knows that the fourth son of Prince Mu’s Mansion was poisoned and fainted on the day of the engagement, and my uncle just gave me a good reprimand! You have handled the food and water for a few days, but tell me, where did the poison come from?"

He Yan knelt on the ground and trembled all over: "My lord, calm down, the poison did not come from the drinking water. Just now the imperial doctor checked the pulse and said that the fourth son seems to have been poisoned by the mandala flower."

"Dala flower?" Yang Jue wondered, "Where did you get the Datura flower?"

He Yan didn't dare to lift his head: "There are a few mandala plants planted in the corner courtyard, but somehow the Fourth Young Master misunderstood it."

Yang Jue was stunned, with a ferocious look on his face: "I really want to admire this younger brother. He took poison to resist the marriage. He hit me in the face in public, and let people know that I forced him to marry. What a shame!" Good job." He gritted his teeth and sneered twice, then suddenly became furious, "I forced him, so what? Does he still expect that old dog Tuobaxin to come from the northwest to rescue him? Can't save him!"

He Yan tremblingly said: "But the prince is about to succeed Zongzheng. This is the position of the patriarch of the clan, and virtue is the most important thing. If this matter gets out, I'm afraid it's not good..."

Yang Jue stepped on his shoulder: "You know it's not good, you thought up this plan, but you made a mistake. Let me ask you, who planted the mandala flowers in the corner courtyard?" , how did you let the blind man know?"

He Yan was stunned for a moment, cold sweat broke out on his forehead: "mandala flowers have been planted in many yards, who would have thought that the fourth son would have such an idea, this is really the negligence of a humble job."

Yang Jue kicked him a few more times, and then looked coldly at the room where Yang Yan lived: "It seems that he is toasting and not eating or drinking as punishment." He waved his hand and said impatiently, "Go down!" .”

He Yan hurriedly backed away.

The house in the corner courtyard was very quiet, with the faint chirping of cicadas coming through the window, Yang Yan was leaning against the bed, listening to the cicadas' cries with rapt attention.The servant brought the warm porridge to his lips, and he obediently opened his mouth to eat it. The servant was just doing rough work, and he was sent to serve him because the young master didn't want a maid to serve him.He had never seen such an easy-to-serve master before, and he felt a little puzzled, wondering why the people who were assigned to the south courtyard refused to come back. Who would want to let such a master not follow, and instead go to the house What about the moody prince?

I just fed half a cup of porridge here, when the door was kicked open with a bang, Yang Jue walked in aggressively, and knocked over the porridge bowl in the servant's hand: "Those who want to die, please feed me!" What did he do!"

The servant was so shocked that he didn't know what to do, he stood there helplessly, only to hear Yang Jue yell again: "Get out!" Then he glanced at the young man next to the bed worriedly, and timidly backed out.

Yang Yan took the detoxification decoction, the sickly redness on his face had faded, and he looked paler than before, and he didn't get up at the moment, just leaned against the bedside and smiled: "Third brother."

Yang Jue looked at his smiling face and just sneered: "Don't call me third brother."

Yang Yan seemed a little surprised, and looked up in his direction.

"You also know in your heart that I don't regard you as a younger brother at all." He approached Yang Yan, grabbed his skirt, leaned close to him, and said in a low and cold voice, "You bastard with Donghu blood."

Yang Yan's eyes suddenly widened.

"Do you think there is nothing I can do about you if something like this happens on the day of the engagement? To tell you the truth, unless you die, I will tie you up and marry you. Do you believe it or not?"

Yang Yan smiled bitterly, his voice was a little hoarse, and he said in a low voice: "But third brother, I really don't want to..."

"What right do you have to say you don't want to!" Yang Jue immediately interrupted him, "I was exiled to southern Xinjiang by Yang Dai, and I was forced to marry the daughter of the governor of Bingzhou. , Am I willing in my heart? But if not, how can I return to Jian'an step by step and regain the throne."

Yang Yan still smiled wryly: "Third brother, you use your wife as a chess piece, now, do you also want to use me as a chess piece?"

Yang Jue was startled, and then grinned: "Why, you don't agree? Okay!" He suddenly picked up his weak brother, dragged him out of the room, and walked all the way to the back of the mansion.

In the outer mansion, He Yanzheng hurriedly called his confidant to come, and ordered: "Go to the South Courtyard quickly, and call Tang An, I have something to ask him."

The servant hurriedly agreed to go, leaving He Yan standing alone on the steps, feeling uneasy.He naturally knew who the person who planted the mandala flowers in the mansion was. Tang An did all the work of planting flowers and grass before, but he didn't dare to reveal it in front of Yang Jue just now.After all, Tang An is his confidant, if something goes wrong with this person, Yang Jue will punish him together with him in a rage.After careful consideration in He Yan's mind, he still decided to ask Tang An privately for questioning, at least to get rid of his involvement first.

The servant came back after leaving for a long time, but he didn't bring Tang An, he just said: "He Changshi, Tang An is not in the south courtyard over there."

The uneasiness in He Yan's heart spread more and more, and he said anxiously: "Didn't he buy a foreign house, did he go there to find it?"

"The villain has already been there, and the house is already empty. I heard from the left and right neighbors that Tang An took his wife and packed up his things and left a few days ago. I don't know where he went."

Hearing this, He Yan was almost convinced that his eyes and ears had already given birth to a heart. He felt that the matter was far from simple, but he couldn't figure it out for a while, so he just slumped and sat on the ground in a daze.