Jiang Qing

"Stop rubbing it, you have to go to court tomorrow." Bai Bingchen fell into a drowsy sleep, closed his eyes and felt the hand that was moving on his body, put it in the palm of his hand, turned around, touched his face and kissed him. After a while, "Be quiet and sleep."

"Your Majesty is ill and will not be able to go to court tomorrow."

"Your Majesty is sick?" Bai Bingchen opened his eyes, and the drowsiness that had been brewing for a long time disappeared, "What's going on?"

"You are sick too." Mei Shao rubbed his head, "So you can get up late tomorrow."

Bai Bingchen was stunned for a moment, half-closed his eyes, and said in a slightly surprised tone, "Have you seen His Majesty? When... Min Qiuping went to Zhezhuxuan?"

"En." Mei Shao laughed lowly twice, and said maliciously: "I'll let him stay in the yamen for a while."

Qin Chengtao [-]. If he doesn't go back to the post house at night, the envoys of Liang Kingdom will definitely go out to look for him. It doesn't take much effort to know that he is locked in the yamen, and Qin Chengtao will come out from there before dawn.

Bai Bingchen didn't expect to be able to trap Qin Chengtao's hands and feet with this incident, but he was too arrogant in Li's capital, so he wanted to teach him a lesson.

He originally thought that he would wake up early tomorrow and tell Zhao Zhen about this before going to court, so that Zhao Zhen would not be half-prepared under the questioning of Liang Guo's envoys, but he didn't expect that Mei Shao would come early Entered the palace and said.

"Your Majesty is willing to see you?" Bai Bingchen was a little surprised.

At that time, the palace gate had already been keyed, and without Zhao Zhen's consent, Mei Shao could not enter.And there has never been any communication between the two of them...

Mei Shao remembered something when he said that, "humph" and said: "At first it was not allowed, but later I told the little eunuch who sent the message that it was about you, and he saw me. He is quite ...trusted you."

Bai Bingchen turned back his sideways face, and said with a broken smile, "Huh? What happened to you today, the jar of vinegar was overturned?"

"I don't." Mei Shao rubbed her cheeks affectionately against his palm, sighed and said, "He believes in you, I'm not too happy. In this way, you can be regarded as someone protecting you in court affairs."

"Why, you're not protecting me?"

"Don't you dislike my low official position?" Mei Shao pretended to be angry.

"Be careful."

Mei Shao was silent for a moment, then continued: "Actually, I know that there are many things in court affairs that I cannot help you with."

He clearly knew that no matter how hard he tried to catch up, he couldn't compare to Bai Bingchen and Zhao Zhen's political sensitivity and... tacit understanding.

But he didn't feel depressed, at least the emperor was on Bai Bingchen's side, so Bai Bingchen would not be hurt as a minister.

"Who said that? You did a good job this time."

In the dark, Bai Bingchen seriously boasted: "At Zhezhuxuan, when I let you go, you must have been worried about my safety, but you held back. You asked Min Qiuping to come, put aside your relationship, and returned Let Qin Chengtao learn some lessons. Afterwards, you went to the palace to find His Majesty and explained the reason clearly, which put us in a favorable position. If His Majesty said that he was ill tomorrow, the envoys of the Liang Kingdom would not be released orally. They can only go to me or the leftist."

Bai Bingchen snorted softly, and said: "Your Majesty and I complained of illness one after another. If Zhang Jiudai wants to win over people, he must be more cautious, and he will definitely stay behind closed doors. In this way, Qin Chengtao will be sleepy for a while."

"More importantly, I suspect that Zhang Jiudai revealed to Qin Chengtao that I have the military garrison plan. According to the prince's temperament, after this incident, he will probably have a fight with him."

"So, my family's Chongjin is really powerful, killing three birds with one stone." Bai Bingchen boasted without hesitation.

Mei Shao was immediately relieved, and said complacently: "I am already good, and you can teach me more in the future. When you are studying, you always have a cold face. I asked your master what he said, and you You refused to tell me. Later, you taught His Majesty for so many years, but you didn’t teach me anything. In the future, you can teach me more.”

"Teach you what?"

"Teach me..." Mei Shao deliberately scratched his waist, and said in a tricky way: "How can you be full of bad water without changing your face."

----

Sure enough, as Bai Bingchen said, Qin Chengtao was trapped in the yamen for three full days before His Majesty's "illness" recovered.

Zhao Zhen was surprised to find that Prince Liang was arrested as a bastard who disturbed the market, but due to the strict laws of Li State, some necessary procedures for releasing people were out of his control as the emperor, and it dragged on until the third day At dusk, Liang Guo's envoys took their prince back.

Liang Guo's envoys are not stupid, just looking at Zhao Zhen's "just right" illness, he knew that it was His Highness who annoyed this His Majesty at the dinner party, and now he has seized the opportunity to torment him, but he is helpless in a foreign country, no matter how old he is. I have to put away my temper.

When Qin Chengtao came out, he was so angry that the envoys had to take turns to persuade him to endure it and not to trouble Bai Bingchen.

Holding his breath, he couldn't go to Bai Bingchen to vent his anger, so Qin Chengtao pretended to go to the perpetrator Xingshi to question him.

Zhang Jiudai, who had just had a few drinks with his colleagues outside, returned to the mansion, and saw Qin Chengtao's obviously surprised expression.

"Master Zhang is really happy. As soon as I come out, the typhoid fever will be cured immediately, and I can go out to drink." Qin Chengtao said eccentrically.

Zhang Jiudai didn't bother to argue with him. He knew Qin Chengtao's disposition. He was not serious, but he was quite sinister. If the young master hadn't persuaded him to befriend him, and borrowed the power of Liangguo to put pressure on Bai Bingchen, he wouldn't have Will cooperate with such insidious people who only play tricks.

"His Royal Highness is too impatient. After all, this is the capital of the Li Kingdom. If Bai Bingchen is really so easy to get rid of, is it because of the lack of those two dead men all these years?" Zhang Jiudai sat opposite him, and brought a servant to offer He took a sip of the tea on the table and signaled the people on both sides to disperse, leaving only the two of them talking.

"Isn't the information you gave wrong that made me suffer such humiliation?" Qin Chengtao was so angry that he was still drinking tea calmly.

"The garrison map is not in Bai Bingchen's hands?"

"Mr. Zhang, why bother to ask questions knowingly? Bai Bingchen is not the temperament you said at all. I have never seen a more recalcitrant person than him." Qin Chengtao resented, and then his eyes were stained with a gloomy look, staring at Zhang Jiudai Said: "Isn't it possible that you two should have discussed it and come to tease me?"

"His Royal Highness is thinking too much. I have been at odds with Bai Bingchen for a long time."

"Have you been at odds for a long time?" Qin Chengtao asked back: "As far as I know, there is no personal enmity between you. How did you get to the point where you are fighting to the death?"

Hearing the suspicion in Qin Chengtao's words, Zhang Jiudai raised his eyes and glanced at him, and said indifferently: "There are so many hatreds in this world, and more of them are competitions for interests. His Royal Highness should know this better than me, Prince What are the grievances and worries between His Highness's younger brothers and His Highness, and they all left the road to the underworld early?"

The Lord of Liang was in his prime, and there was only one prince like Qin Chengtao these years. It wasn't that the Lord of Liang was unlucky. Apart from Qin Chengtao, there were no other princes, but that the rest of the princes died underage.

Such a strange thing has not caused waves, a large part of which is that the Lord Liang has no intention of investigating this matter, and naturally the government and the public will not rush to touch the emperor's back, and mention this matter recklessly. What if it is really a problem with the dragon body itself, causing the princes to be weak and sick, and die at an early age?

Zhang Jiudai also knew from the son that all these years, Qin Chengtao's younger brothers have been in the hands of Empress Jiang.

As long as Qin Chengtao is the only prince in Liangguo, what extra means are needed to fight for the crown prince?

It is not that no one has thought of such a simple truth since ancient times, but it requires the implementer to have enough power and a poisonous heart to disrespect gods and Buddhas. Empress Jiang has both, and she does it neatly. The more princes die, the more strange it becomes. Instead, people will not pay attention to death itself, but instead focus on the theory of gods and ghosts and the virtues of emperors, and her position will be more stable because of this.

Qin Chengtao's ruthless nature is mostly inherited from his mother, but he has been spoiled too much, without the scheming, there is nothing left but to be fierce and brave.

As soon as Zhang Jiudai finished speaking, Qin Chengtao's face darkened visibly to the naked eye, and he said sullenly: "Is it found out by your freak who is not a man or a woman? You should know that if this matter spreads If you go out, even if you are thousands of miles away, I can send someone to take your head."

"I never like to meddle in other people's business, but if His Royal Highness doesn't show some sincerity for cooperation, I can control my own mouth, but I can't control so many mouths of my subordinates."

"You dare to threaten me!" Qin Chengtao roared.

"Being angry hurts the liver. His Royal Highness was imprisoned for three days, why didn't he have much refreshment?" Zhang Jiudai greeted him back without hesitation, and said bluntly: "We each take what we need, why not be more honest? As long as You helped me get rid of Bai Bingchen, and I will give it to you."

Qin Chengtao narrowed his eyes and said meaningfully: "Mr. Zhang is from Li."

"It's also Li Guochen." Zhang Jiudai answered, "But I serve the world of the Zhao family, and I serve the real king of the Zhao family."

Qin Chengtao's eyes flickered slightly, and he paused for a long time before he picked up the half-cold teacup and lightly touched the rim of his cup, "Then I wish each of us get what we want."

It wasn't until Qin Chengtao left that Zhang Jiudai relaxed his shoulders and neck a little, loosened his muscles and bones, and could not hide the exhaustion in his eyes.

"Thank you for your hard work, Enxiang." A soft voice sounded suddenly from the room, but Zhang Jiudai was not surprised at all. He still closed his eyes and rested his mind. Under the gentle and powerful massage of the person behind him, he said wearily, "Do this with Qin Chengtao." It's really tiring to talk about people who like and dislike."

"Powerful and powerful, but brainless. Such a person is the most suitable to be used." The young master spoke softly, and in a place Zhang Jiudai couldn't see, his greedy and sinister eyes locked firmly on the back of his head, and asked: "Does Enxiang think what I'm saying is right?"

Zhang Jiudai opened his eyes and flashed a ruthless look, "Being able to overthrow Bai Bingchen for the truth is already the greatest role of his pawn. When Li Guochaotang is under my control, I will let His Majesty know who is the right one." A true minister of the humerus."

-

An inconspicuous carriage was parked at the back door of the Zhang Mansion. When the young master went out, he saw a familiar face standing beside the carriage at a glance. A smile could not help showing in his eyes. He took three steps at a time and got into the carriage, bowing his head. He whispered, "Father."

A middle-aged man was sitting in the middle of the carriage. He looked up, knocked on the door twice, and the carriage started to move slowly.

"Has Qin Chengtao approached Zhang Jiudai?"

"Yes. They have boarded a boat." The young master replied respectfully.

"The boat should be safe, don't let them go down easily. Qin Chengtao also put away the letter that Qin Chengtao gave to Zhang Jiudai when he returned to China. It will come in handy in the future." The middle-aged man said casually.

"My son knows, father don't worry. Some time ago, in order to chase the scroll, the hag explored Wudu halfway, and was recruited by my son. Now, do I need to send people over again?" The young master asked cautiously.

Mentioning this matter, the middle-aged man frowned slightly, and said, "Didn't Zhang Jiudai receive the letter from Marquis Nanyang? It shouldn't be... Winter is almost over, and he hasn't done anything yet?"

"Soon." The young master replied: "Ren Heyu's title was not easy to come by. Although he still has a bit of a bandit temperament, he is also more cautious. He is also afraid of death. He needs to find someone to lead the way and find out the truth. After all, who are we?" I don’t even know what’s in Wu Duzhong.”

"Our Majesty is very thoughtful. Apart from him, Bai Bingchen knows what's in Wuduli. However, my identity is really inappropriate to ask him about it. It's just that there are some weapons and soldiers inside. I just need to know how much is hidden there." The middle-aged man twisted the incense ash on the twisted wooden table, and said slowly: "I have worked hard over the years, and I only have fifty thousand in my hand. If I don't lose some military lords, I will I really don’t have the confidence to raise an army.”

The young master couldn't help but said: "Actually, why should father be so anxious..."

"What do you know?" The middle-aged man glanced at him coldly, not angry, "I have already spent too much time on the planning of the two dynasties. We have already lost the opportunity to deal with the scroll. Let Bai Bingchen and Mei Shao fight internally, and now let Mei Shao lead the army, and when he gradually grows, the great cause of restoring the Li country will only become more and more difficult."

"It's the son's fault. He failed to catch the man in time and let the father lose the opportunity."

"Okay." The middle-aged man patted him on the shoulder lightly, and said in a deep voice: "Since you are Zhang Jiudai's subordinate, you should do what you should do well, be respectful, and help him and Nanyanghou Qin Chengtao and Qin Chengtao, at least he is the prime minister of the court, so death always has some value."

"Over there in Liangguo, the sixth prince..." the young master glanced at his expression, and asked tentatively.

"He's been hiding for so many years, so he won't lose his composure after such a long time. When the matter in Nanyang is over, it's an extravagant wish for him to find a job in Yanzhou. The mantis catches the cicada, the oriole is behind, Qin Chengtao... ... Zhang Jiudai, it seems that no matter in Liang Country or Li Country, there are always some blessed and self-righteous people who take it for granted that they are the oriole who controls the overall situation, who knows..." The middle-aged man sneered, his eyes showed some gloom, but the corners of his mouth curled up, "But we have to feed these 'sorrels' on weekdays, and we don't want them to come here to make plans."

"My son understands, and he will definitely watch them well."

"It's the hardest thing to be an early bird." The middle-aged man pointedly said: "For my father to let you act in secret, it is also for the purpose of protecting you. If you are made to suffer in Bai Bingchen's position, as a father, I will be worried." How can you bear it? But... if my son can reach this high position, he must do better than him."

The young master's heart skipped a beat, and the corner of his mouth overflowed with a wry smile, but he replied: "Yes."

If... If he is not a man of heaven and cannot take an official career, maybe his father would really have chosen him instead of Bai Bingchen back then.

But as long as his father has this thought, he is willing to be the most powerful oriole in his hands, clearing the way for him, and he will be successful. He will let his father know that he is the person he should be closest to and trust .