Broken Iron Clothes

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"Cousin, General..."

Wen Kaisen is only in his weakest years, perhaps because of the fact that he and his father Wen Yao have been far away from the court all these years, the child's character is still intact, and at this moment he is pestering Yuan Mucheng to accompany him to listen to the music.

Yuan Mucheng flipped through the military newspaper sent from the Yuzhou camp and listened absent-mindedly.

No matter how hard he shouted, Wen Kaisen called out his words in a hurry: "Yuan Xiao'an!"

Yuan Mucheng raised his eyes and leaned over.The sense of oppression brought by his dignified body made Wen Kaisen unavoidably terrified, and shrank back a little.

Yuan Mucheng twitched the corners of his mouth, and immediately revealed an asshole look, and threw the booklet in his hand: "Ancestor, I have traveled for eight days, and His Majesty allowed me to report to the palace a few days later. Can you pass me?"

Wen Kaisen said a little aggrieved: "Usually, you are the first to respond to such a good thing. How can you not be willing to say no to going now? I still want to go very much."

"I, Yuan Xiao'an, didn't stop you from going," Yuan Mucheng said with a smile, "Could it be that Mr. Wen's ears grow on me?"

Wen Kaisen said a little shyly: "You know, my father doesn't like me going to those places, general, good cousin, just treat me as a favor to you, okay?"

"Is there any beauty? Is there any strong wine? I, Yuan Xiao'an, am a jerk. I don't like to listen to music. What can Young Master Wen use to seduce me?"

"I don't have strong alcohol, I don't know about beauties..." Wen Kaisen seemed to have thought of something, and raised his voice, "Does a male beauty count?"

"I've only heard of people praising women's beauty, where are the men..." Yuan Mucheng hadn't finished speaking, but a figure flashed in his mind.

"Jiang Shiqing, haven't you heard of it? Yan Lingyong invited him to listen to the music today. His appearance is definitely a beauty. Do you believe me or not?"

"I'll trust you once," Yuan Mucheng took the booklet out of Wen Kaisen's hand, stood up after arranging it, and walked out the door on his own.

"He Xiao, prepare the horse, Mr. Wen has invited guests to listen to the song!"

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Xiangefang is not an ordinary Qinlou Chu Pavilion.Courtiers are not allowed to be extravagant and licentious, but it is inevitable that some people will slip through the net. It is not one thing to be extravagant, but it is another thing to use these places to seek personal gain and collusion.So the cabinet discussed and proposed to set up a string song workshop under the Ministry of Rites as a place exclusively for courtiers to play and sing.

Yuan Mucheng got off his horse outside the Xiangefang, the deputy He Xiao led the horse away, and the chief in charge of the Xiangefang saw that it was General Yifei, and personally led him to the second floor.

The third floor of the Xiangefang is a private box, the first floor and the second floor have seats, and the singing and dancing performances are all set in the main hall on the first floor. .

String music was playing in the main hall, Wen Kaisen sat down next to him, looked up with interest, Yuan Mucheng didn't have his elegance, just scanned the audience wearily, and finally his eyes stopped on the first floor with interest.

He touched Wen Kaisen's shoulder, and pointed to a certain direction downstairs with his eyes: "Is that Yan Lingyong?"

Wen Kaisen glanced at it, and replied: "That's right, Mr. Cen specially arranged for the sonata when Mr. Yan was coming today. On the surface, he said that he was asking him to mention some things that need improvement. In fact, it's not because of him. For the face of the Empress Dowager and Duke You."

Now relying on the power of the emperor's birth mother, the Empress Dowager Yan, and the power of his father, Duke Yu, Yan Lingyong is different from Wen Kaisen of the same generation. He even dresses in brocade clothes and jade belts. In the name of a relative of the state, people beat his back and rubbed his waist everywhere he went.

It's so eye-catching.

It was precisely because of being so eye-catching that Jiang Shiqing, who looked extremely elegant beside him, was out of place.

"Where is the one sitting next to him?" Yuan Mucheng asked knowingly.

Under Yingge and Yanwu, Yuan Mucheng watched indifferently, and Yan Lingyong whispered a few words in his ear from time to time, but the man did not avoid it, he only curled his lips into a smile, and twirled the rosary in an orderly manner with his hands hidden under his sleeves.

It is necessary to capture the soul and become a Buddha.

"That man is Jiang Shiqing, who has only moved to the city for less than two months, but there are rumors in the city that he is the owner of Yemen Village, and many people in the court secretly came to visit him, isn't this still being intercepted by Mr. Yan?" Speaking of this, Wen Kaisen sighed a little, "It's a pity, if you say that Mr. Jiang has a good appearance, he was targeted by a manly man like Yan Lingyong."

Seeing Yan Lingyong touching Jiang Shiqing intentionally or unintentionally below, Yuan Mucheng laughed contemptuously: "It's been so many years, but I'm still a stubborn bastard."

"I didn't lie to you, Jiang Shiqing is a beauty, right?"

"Yes," Yuan Mucheng smiled, but his tone was indifferent, "she is a beauty."

Yuan Mucheng had been away for many years and didn't know Yemenzhuang, but he had an intuition that if Yemenzhuang, which the court and the court were vying to curry favor with, must be a threat if it was an enemy rather than a friend.

"Acheng, go back to Jacheng, the court cannot be without people now."

Yuan Haoxun's instructions echoed in his ears, and he couldn't forget them.

The undercurrent in the Dali Dynasty has been surging for a long time, and now the two major forces, Yan and Feng, each occupy one end, regardless of equal, the imperial power is divided into two, and the emperor Liu Zhaoyu alone is not in the hands.

Back then, Yuan Haoxun and Lu Sheng assisted the former emperor Liu Yun in stabilizing the Dali country. Now Liu Yun collapsed and Lu Sheng died in battle, leaving only Yuan Haoxun stationed in the northern border. The Yan family, headed by the Duke of the State, still only holds power in the court, but the Weiming army stationed in the west is led by Feng Han, the cousin of King Yin, so the Feng family not only holds political power, but also has military power.

Yuan Mucheng understood that the reason why Yuan Haoxun let him return this time was because Dali could not only rely on pacifying the wars in the west and the north to achieve stability. The two major forces, Yan and Feng, were fighting openly and secretly in the city, and they had long buried many interests and powers. Corroded rotten roots.Once these rotten roots are about to move and spread all over the city and even the seven states, Dali will be torn apart.

Therefore, there must be someone in the court, someone who can wait for the opportunity to dismantle these rotten roots as soon as possible.But since the Wei Ning war eight years ago, Dali suffered heavy losses, and almost all the military and government forces have changed. Although he has entered the city, he still has to wait for a while to see who the ministers are with.

Just as he was thinking this way, he saw Yan Lingyong being called away, and the tea delivery boy casually touched his cuffs, and brought tea to Jiang Shiqing who was listening to the music.

The cold blade was forced out from the cuff, Yuan Mucheng immediately pulled He Xiao's knife and threw it there, the blade collided, and the boy was stunned for a moment.

"He Xiao, protect him." Yuan Mucheng picked up Wen Kaisen and threw him to He Xiao's hand, then turned around and jumped off the guardrail.

The people in the main hall panicked and were in a mess, and several dead men took the opportunity to show their daggers and rushed towards Jiang Shiqing.Remembering Jiang Shiqing's instructions, Xu Guo forced the assassin to the table in front of him. Jiang Shiqing drank hot tea without moving, and only turned his side slightly when Xu Guo slashed at the piano in front of him.

Yuan Mucheng's attack was ruthless and extremely powerful. He locked the throat with one hand and instantly twisted the dead man's neck. He picked up the wooden stool with one foot and pressed the man to the ground. He turned his head and picked up a chopstick and pierced the opponent's lung.When he arrived in front of Jiang Shiqing, he blocked the wrist of the last dead man with one hand, and gently slashed the dagger across the man's neck, blood spurted out, and Jiang Shiqing turned his face sideways.

The person fell on the guqin in front of him, Yuan Mucheng stepped on the low table, lifted the person and threw it aside, leaned slightly and stared at Jiang Shiqing, acting like a play, and said: "Sorry, the shot was ruthless, and I didn't leave anything behind." live."

The stars and blood spots stretched from the clothes all the way to the snow-white neck, they were clearly as terrifying as killing people, but they were like decorations on this man's body, as beautiful as peaches and plums, and as cold as ice.

Jiang Shiqing raised his eyes slowly, met Yuan Mucheng's eyes without showing any timidity, and said, "Thank you for your help."

The quieter the person facing him now, the more mysterious and unpredictable Yuan Mucheng felt.

Ordinary people would be in a panic when encountering this kind of thing, but Jiang Shiqing didn't seem to even plan to cover it up, on the contrary, he was a little too calm.

"Master, the qin that Young Master Yan gave you is ruined, how can I explain it when he comes?" Xu Guo pointed at the qin that was split in two and stained with blood, and shouted like a catastrophe.

Yuan Mucheng glanced at the table, and said sincerely: "If this violin is destroyed, I will have a share. Someday Yuan will come to visit and pay you a new one."

Jiang Shiqing's eyes were as pure and kind as a young animal's: "I haven't thanked Mr. Yuan for saving me last time, but this time I owe another life, how dare I ask for compensation."

It sounds good, but none of it is true.

Today, Jiang Shiqing borrowed a knife to lure him into action. He knew that Jiang Shiqing was capable of protecting himself, but he also acted with him in a show of urgency. What's more interesting is that both of them knew the other's intention to take the opportunity to test, but they still had a clear conscience. Put on a show.

Although he still didn't know what Jiang Shiqing's purpose was, he happened to want to find out the details of the person in front of him. Since Jiang Shiqing gave him the opportunity, he took it logically.

So he continued to play along: "I form a lot of good relationships and don't ask for anything in return."

"Then Jiang accepted it readily, but was disrespectful."

With that said, Jiang Shiqing took the handkerchief, dipped in the tea in the cup and wiped off the blood.He wiped it very finely, rubbing the silk surface across his neck, and the water stains mixed with blood stains smeared into one piece, slipped down to the collar and faded away, but the water stains beyond the collar went all the way down, extending to an invisible place.

It was clearly an ordinary movement, but it was strangely bewitching.It's a pity that he, Yuan Mucheng, is not Yan Lingyong.

Yuan Mucheng sneered, stared at him for a while, and then said, "It wasn't wiped clean."

Jiang Shiqing paused, raised the corners of his eyes, and said softly, "It can't be wiped clean."

Yan Lingyong came aggressively with his guards, but he saw that the workshop was already in a mess. At this time, Cen Yu, the servant of the Ministry of Rites, happened to enter the door.

"My lord Cen! You were the one who boasted in front of my father that this song would win His Majesty's heart, but today you have already made such a fuss before your Majesty. What do you mean?" Yan Lingyong was furious.

After seeing the person, Yuan Mucheng withdrew his feet and stood up straight calmly.

When Cen Yu saw that General Yi was there, he felt even more uneasy, so he stood up tremblingly: "Fortunately, there were no unnecessary casualties. The officials will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly. I also hope that General Yun and Mr. Yan..."

Yuan Mucheng was tired of the officialdom, and said bluntly: "Cen Shilang doesn't need to be strict, I don't care about things that I shouldn't care about." After finishing speaking, he left the scene.

Yan Lingyong was shocked to realize that Yuan Mucheng was also there, and felt that he couldn't hold up any more face, and said ungratefully: "Master Cen, the guest I invited by Yan Lingyong almost had an accident in the Xiangefang today, where are you going to put Yan's face? "

There was such a incident in the string song workshop, although the person who came was targeting Jiang Shiqing, if it got out, it would only be said that there was an assassin hiding in the string song workshop, which could be regarded as a crime of regicide.Cen Yu naturally wanted to suppress the momentum before things got serious.

Cen Yu invited people to the side and whispered: "Young Master Yan, this matter may be minor or major, if you don't take the initiative to bring it up, the next day the officials will find out who did it, and you must personally apologize. Everyone also knows that it is because of Duke Yu's deep kindness that I can take up the post of Minister of Rites. Today, I arranged this music performance in the name of rehearsal in order to respond to Mr. Yan's request. If this matter becomes serious, Yan The young master will inevitably be tired."

It made sense, so Yan Lingyong had no choice but to give up, thinking about how to explain this to Jiang Shiqing.

On the other side, Jiang Shiqing threw off the handkerchief and stood up, the tea in the cup had turned from light red to deep red.

"Mr. Yan, since this is the case, Jiang will take his leave first. Thank you for your hospitality."

Jiang Shiqing didn't give Yan Lingyong a chance to speak, and immediately called Xu Guo and walked out the door.

"Xuguo, take the piano and let's go."

-

At night, Yuan Mucheng took a sip of wine and frowned.

Sure enough, Yuzhou's wine was stronger, but he didn't like any wine.

"Have you found it?" Yuan Mucheng asked He Xiao as soon as he entered the room.

"I've found out," He Xiao said, "Yemenzhuang is an organization that has only sprung up in the Jianghu in the past two years. At first, it was famous for buying and selling news, and later it also got involved in killing people. It is rumored that there are two owners of Yemenzhuang. , but so far no one knows the real name of the owner of the villa. As for Jiang Shiqing in the city, it was only found that the people sent by the court to the Jiangzhai to test were all wounded and returned with silver needles, and one of the owners of Yemen Village It is famous for killing people with silver needles, so some people speculate that Jiang Shiqing is the owner of Yemen Village."

Such a sharp knife like Yemenzhuang can be driven by money, not to mention the government and the public, even the emperor wants to monopolize such a sharp weapon.After all, without a master's knife, it might stab him at any time.So some people want to get this knife, but some people want to destroy it if they can't get it.

Regardless of the purpose of Yan Lingyong's approach to Jiang Shiqing, it was more or less at the behest of Duke You or the Queen Mother.But why did Jiang Shiqing want to get close to a military general who has been fighting all the year round and has no experience in the court at this time? Yemenzhuang does not belong to any faction, so what is the plan?

Yuan Mucheng played with the cup in his hand, without a smile at all, his eyes gradually became dark: "It's a bit interesting."

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"Beautiful as peaches and plums, cold as ice" from "Goshawk Strike·Cutting Love"

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The article is historical, so the content about the regime structure and official positions is a mixture of many dynasties. The names of some institutions, such as Xiangefang, Criminal and Prison Division, etc., are all compiled by me, and related official positions or political powers will be mentioned later. I will explain the empty content here.

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New characters in this chapter:

Wen Kaisen: 20 years old, cousin of Yuan Mucheng, father Wen Yao is the second assistant of the cabinet, aunt Wen Yu is Yuan Mucheng's biological mother;

Yan Lingyong: 24 years old, his father Yan Youqian (Yu Guogong) is the chief assistant of the cabinet, and his aunt Yan Yixin is the queen mother (the emperor's biological mother).

Cen Yu: Minister of Rites