Broken Iron Clothes

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The next day, after changing into an official uniform and a crown, Yuan Mucheng entered the palace.

After Yuan Mucheng finished kneeling and worshiping, Liu Zhaoyu got up and went down the steps: "Xiao'an is back, get up quickly, I haven't seen you for three or four years, I didn't expect that the water and soil of the armored city can support people, looking at you, you are getting more and more handsome gone."

Yuan Mucheng smiled and said, "Your Majesty is joking."

Liu Zhaoyu patted Yuan Mucheng's shoulder and sighed, "Look, if your elder brother is not injured, you should be taller than him."

Hearing this, Yuan Mucheng didn't say a word, just looked at the ground silently.

"Look at me, what are you talking about at this time?" Liu Zhaoyu waved his hand, turned around and walked back to the hall to sit down, "How about it, I heard that this time you led the Xuanhe army to kill the leader of the iron wolf army on horseback This is not inferior to the demeanor of King Jingping who led the battle when the late Emperor was in power, King Jingping taught well!"

Yuan Mucheng said: "Your Majesty appreciates the award. Protecting the country and the people is the duty of the Xuanhe army, and it is also the duty of the ministers."

"I will reward you for this great victory. Xuan and the army are far away in Yuzhou, and I have ordered a reward. When I choose a date, the court will hold a celebration banquet. You, a great hero, should give me some face."

Yuan Mucheng knelt down and thanked: "Your Majesty has a reward, and I should accept it as a respect for Long En."

Seeing him, Liu Zhaoyu knelt down again, and said, "Xiao'an, court officials don't pay attention to etiquette, and they are easily blamed, so you don't have to."

"His Majesty……"

Eunuch Chang bowed to him and was about to speak out to persuade him. Liu Zhaoyu waved at him impatiently.

Liu Zhaoyu reigned for five years, and was only 22 when he succeeded to the throne. Because of his young age, the new emperor's various behaviors of indulging in pleasure were tolerated by his courtiers, but after five years, the only thing that has changed is the inclination of power.The emperor has the throne, but the people of Dali are actually served by the two major forces of Yan and Feng.

Everyone knew it well, and so did Liu Zhaoyu, but the puppet emperor never seemed to want to change this situation.

Liu Zhaoyu looked at Yuan Mucheng, and wanted to say something, but changed his words when he came to his mouth: "I finally hoped that you will return to Cijiacheng, so let's wait a little longer before leaving, there are not many old people around me. "

-

Outside the palace gate, Yuan Mucheng pulled over his horse and said to He Xiao, "He Xiao, go pick out the best piano, after business is done, it's time to make an apology."

He Xiao got the order and went to the market first.

Yuan Mucheng also got on the horse, and only after he turned the horse's head, a man's voice came from behind him.

"Why, who is General Yun going to meet in such a hurry, which is more important than reminiscing with old people?"

Before turning around, Yuan Mucheng smiled: "My little brother made a mistake, General Lu forgives me."

Wearing an official uniform, Lu Tianrui jokingly punched Yuan Mucheng on the shoulder who had jumped off the horse, and said with a smile: "Good boy, you look good in official uniforms, there must be many girls in Yuzhou who fall in love with you."

Lu Tianrui, as the general of the Dudu's Mansion, commanded the forbidden army in the city. He always admired the loyal and righteous people, so he became friends with the Yuan family. Although he was ten years older than Yuan Mucheng, he really got along with him like a brother.

It's getting colder in the city, and the cold wind is rushing towards the frozen bones, but no matter how the weather changes, Lu Tianrui is still standing upright, and it hasn't changed at all from the last time Yuan Mucheng saw him.

"I can see any girls in the barracks, but it's true to say that I defeated the Pakistani Wolf Department with my outstanding appearance." Yuan Mucheng answered the conversation.

"Look at you bastard, you haven't changed at all," Lu Tianrui said, "Is your brother okay?"

Yuan Mucheng smiled: "Eldest sister is pretty good, but there are many handsome men in Yuzhou, who might be abducted someday."

Lu Tianrui pushed him and said, "I'm asking your elder brother, can you have a positive form?"

"Okay, I won't tease you anymore, big brother is so good at giving birth."

"Then..." Lu Tianrui asked hesitantly, "Is his leg..."

Yuan Mucheng didn't speak, but just nodded.

This time Lu Tianrui patted him on the shoulder reassuringly, and pulled the rein for him: "Okay, if you have something to do, go first, maybe I saw you today, I guess I will have to wait until I leave to remember that there is someone like me Come on, bring your own drinks to my house another day to apologize."

Yuan Mucheng immediately got on his horse and made a bow: "General Lu is magnanimous, this apology is recorded in Jiu Xiao'an."

After speaking, he pulled up the rein and galloped away.

It wasn't until Yuan Mucheng's figure on the horse disappeared from sight that Lu Tianrui lowered his head and smiled, and turned his head to enter the palace gate. He seemed to be muttering something, but no one could hear it clearly except himself.

"Can't catch up," he said.

In this life, he is destined to guard the city of Yan, and he will not be able to catch up with the thousands of miles of snow fields and thousands of miles of rivers and mountains.

-

Inside the Jiang residence, Jiang Shiqing was sitting by the stone bridge in the pond and was feeding the fish. Just as the bait was thrown into the pond, half of the fish in the pond were scrambling for food. The bait was almost gone, and the fish below opened their mouths to beg. .

"Master, the parachutist is really here with his qin!" Xu Guo ran around the stone bridge.

Xu Guo only ran halfway, and Jiang Shiqing said without looking back: "I declined."

"Oh." After watching the good show at the beginning, it ended because of such a sentence, Xu Guo felt a little pity.

After a while, Jiang Shiqing saw Xu Guo who had finished speaking, approaching, and asked, "What do you say?"

"The general said he will come back tomorrow."

"Tomorrow I will also refuse." Jiang Shiqing patted his hands, trying to clean off the bait residue on his hands.

Xu Guo was puzzled: "Huh?"

"How can we understand your master's heart?" Gu Nanxing carried a jug of wine, grabbed a handful of bait, and sprinkled it into the pool.

Jiang Shiqing glanced at him and said, "It's your fault if you make it to death, and you can buy it yourself and make up for it."

"Huaichuan, why don't you have some snacks," Gu Nanxing said, and sat on the side of the stone bridge with one foot, and said to the dazed Xuguo, "Xuguo, your sister Ji is going to take you to buy clothes. I've been looking for you everywhere, next time there is such a good thing, don't let her know, it seems that I am very inconsiderate."

"After so many years, I didn't expect our Master Gu to be a good person, let alone be as considerate as Master Jiang." A sixteen or seventeen-year-old woman walked over with a smile, the dimples on her cheeks were even more beautiful.

Gu Nanxing pointed at Jiang Shiqing as if he had suddenly realized: "By the way, Jiang Huaichuan, don't use your seduction skills on our family Ji Dong. The girl I brought up cannot be a little widow."

"Bah, bah, what did the master say!" Ji Dong looked at Gu Nanxing with annoyed expression.

Gu Nanxing punished himself by drinking, but Jiang Shiqing took the words: "If you go to the temple to open up your mouth, maybe you can become a town treasure. In the future, when others use swords and swords, you can just use your mouth. "

"Where can it be? The treasure of the town is none other than the vice-owner Jiang," Gu Nanxing said with a wink at Xuguo, "Is it Xuguo?"

Xu Guo turned her head and pretended not to hear.

Jiang Shiqing gathered up his cloak, turned his head and signaled Xu Guo: "Go, prepare some for your elder sister Ji."

Xu Guo suddenly got excited: "Okay!"

"Ji Dong thanked the deputy owner!" After finishing speaking, the two happily left together.

Gu Nanxing looked down at the jug, and said with a smile, "It's true that the old man's heart is different from that of tourists. I don't envy gods and young people."

Just as he was sighing, a money bag was thrown into Gu Nanxing's arms. He picked it up and weighed it heavily.

"Drink money," Jiang Shiqing said, "do something for me."

-

In Taiwei's mansion, Xu Bin looked gloomy at Yu Jing who was kneeling in front of him, and said angrily, "Yu Jing, do you know what you're doing?"

Xu Bing has assisted the Emperor Liu Zhaoyu for many years, and he is cautious in doing things. Although he is a Taiwei, he has always been gentle in front of outsiders. Today, after learning that a student he has taught for many years privately sent dead men to Xiangefang to assassinate Jiang Shiqing, he rarely lost his temper.

But Yu Jing was arrogant, he didn't realize that he was wrong, but raised his head to argue: "Yan Lingyong and Jiang Shiqing have a close relationship, if we don't take this opportunity to wipe out the roots, one day Yemenzhuang will become a pawn under Yan's command, and the winning rate between Mr. How much is left?"

"The matter has come to this point and you still argue? How could I, Xu Bin, teach..." Xu Bin shook his sleeves, calmed down his anger, and then said, "Let me ask you, where is Xiangefang, and who is Jiang Shiqing, who dares to come here? How sure are you when you make a move?"

"Jiang's mansion is difficult to break into. There is no trace of the dead men sent. Jiang Shiqing's whereabouts are uncertain and he is often in the mansion. We have no way to start. Since Yan Lingyong is hosting Jiang Shiqing at this time, it is an opportunity. Yu's territory, as long as you don't hurt the court officials and don't leave any excuses, then..." Yu Jing paused, "If Yuan Mucheng wasn't there that day, maybe Cen Yu and Yemenzhuang could be taken down in one fell swoop."

Xu Bing said, "You also sent someone to Jiangzhai?"

At this moment, Xu Yixu, who stood silently by the side, lowered his head and replied, "It's from the students."

"Confused!" Xu Bin pointed at the two of them and wanted to curse a few more words, but in the end he gave up, turned to Yu Jing, and said, "Yu Jing, you dare to make such a move, isn't it because Jiang Shiqing has no power and power in the court? Even if you were assassinated, it would just be dismissed as an ordinary case. But, do you think that Jiang Shiqing would let you succeed without Yuan Mucheng present? An accident in Xiangefang can get rid of Cen Yu, but have you ever thought about it? From now on, at this moment, something happened to Yemen Village that Yan's good friend, who would they be the first to suspect?"

Yu Jing was puzzled: "But isn't it a tacit understanding among the people in the court that the Yan family and Yin Wang are incompatible?"

"Go to the court to see who will talk about this matter." Xu Bin frowned, "The Yan family and Yin Wang are the only two big families, but whoever provokes the incident first is equivalent to giving The other party’s excuse to fight back, then in the eyes of outsiders, Yan’s is self-defense, while Yin Wang is provocative, do you understand?”

Seeing that Yu Jing didn't answer, Xu Bing shook his head and left with a flick of his sleeves: "Forget it, you go back and think about the past, and come find me when you figure it out."

-

After five consecutive days of being shut out, Yuan Mucheng was in a bad mood, and after returning home, he practiced hard with a knife.In the early years, General Yifei earned the title of "half a jerk" in the city of Yan by his ambition. Now that this "half a jerk" has changed his ways, he has met the other half of a jerk.

Jiang Shiqing, are you having fun playing hard to get?

Thinking about it this way, the blade slashed down on the branches hanging down in the courtyard, and swept across the ground following a roundabout at Yuan Mucheng's feet. Sprinkle water on the leaves, and finally turn the wrist to put the knife neatly behind him, and swing his palm towards the tree trunk beside him.

In the rustling sound, the water drops dripped along with the fallen leaves just after they touched the leaves.

He Xiao who was at the side wiped the water off his face, then flicked the fallen leaves off his shoulders, and asked, "Master, are you still going today?"

"I'm not going," Yuan Mucheng threw the knife to He Xiao, picked up the sweat towel, and asked, "What's going on at the Xiangefang?"

"Cen Shilang handed over all the dead men's bodies to the Ministry of Punishment, and then went to the Ministry of Households to check all the people in the Xiangefang. Finally, he dismissed the head of the Xiangefang on the grounds that he had neglected his duties."

Yuan Mucheng asked, "Didn't you mention anything about the concert that day?"

He Xiao said: "I mentioned it, so the band from Shengzhou was sent away yesterday. His Majesty's birthday banquet is coming soon, and now Cen Shilang is urgently calling the performers in the music hall in the city to rearrange the repertoire."

Yuan Mucheng threw the sweat towel on the stone table, and snorted: "It's more appropriate to hit your own feet with the stones you move."

Before He Xiao put the saber back into its sheath, Yuan Mucheng patted him on the shoulder and said, "Brother Lu is not on duty today, bring a few jugs of good wine and go."

-

Before the season of plum blossoms blooming, the plum trees have not yet seen their petals, and the branches look lonely in the afterglow.In Huimei Courtyard, a white piece landed on the chessboard.

"Mr. Qianqian mentioned to me that Prince Jingping's Mansion and the owner of the villa are working together, but it seems that the owner of the villa has never mentioned Yemen Village with Yuan Shi." Jiang Shiqing retracted his fingers to the top of the chess box.

"Above the game, those who enter the game are all pawns. Sometimes those who are of the same way will meet again when necessary, which is the greatest protection for those who play the game." Jiang Yu looked at the chessboard quietly, stretched out his fingers to explore the black pieces in the box, and picked them out. One fell slowly, and then said, "So, how many times has Yuan Mucheng met you?"

"Not many, I've only seen two sides." Jiang Shiqing looked at the chess game and said after a pause, "I thought that at first it was because I found out that there was a big inside line buried in the city, so the owner allowed me to move to the city. Mr. Ri asked someone to send a letter, saying that Yuan Mucheng could find out about this matter together, so I took this opportunity and owed some favors. Presumably Yuan Mucheng will not forget this debt of favor for a while, and he will have a relationship with me in the future The only thing I have come and gone is what is the plan of the master and the owner of the villa?"

Jiang Yu tapped the chessboard lightly with a chess piece, and said, "The owner of the villa means to leave all the affairs of the city to you, and you have the full power to decide how to do it. It's just that King Jingping has been in Yuzhou for many years, and he rarely communicates with the court. Although Yuan Mucheng has returned to the city, he is no different from fighting alone, so he is naturally on guard against anyone and anything. The owner of the villa does not disclose your identity, sir, because this picture is seen in the city It's hard to show a familiar face, so I can only trouble you to help him wipe out the hidden troubles."

Jiang Shiqing nodded, and then made a move before asking: "Sir, will you leave today?"

"It's time to leave today," Jiang Yu said. "It was a good time to come. I heard some news about the antidote with Lin Meng on the way, so I was delayed. Lin Meng also went to Aozhou to find the medicine. Probably not until later in the day."

Jiang Shiqing said: "It's a long way from Shuangtan Mountain to Yancheng. Gentlemen, if you have something to do, just ask the brothers in the village to send a message. It's tiring to come here in person."

Jiang Yu smiled, not letting go of the sunspots for a long time, only looking at Jiang Shiqing under the night, and said: "Lin Meng and I wanted to find time to visit you, and it just so happens that we have something to discuss with you about Yuan Mucheng. Although the entrusting person sent a message first, we still didn't feel relieved and came because we thought it was time for Nagengxue to make trouble again. Lin Meng didn't plan to go back, but I still have some things to explain to the owner. I wanted to stay for a few more days, but I couldn't. Huaichuan, don't blame Mister."

The evening wind was filled with cool air, sweeping through his fingers one by one, Jiang Shiqing remained silent, just stared at the chess pieces with his head down, smiled, and said: "This body is decaying, it should have been buried in the ground long ago, it's just that the great hatred has not yet come." I still have some thoughts, so I won’t be able to enter the underworld for the time being, gentlemen don’t need to worry too much.”

As he spoke, the chess pieces in Jiang Shiqing's hands became hot from being rubbed with his fingertips. After a moment of silence, he said, "Besides, I owe you the gift of preaching and teaching, sir, so how can you blame me?"

Hearing this, Jiang Yu's right hand holding the chess piece froze for a moment, then retracted it to his chest, and leaned on the table.

"Jacheng is mixed with fish and dragons. Right now, not only Yuan Mucheng, but even the entire Prince Jingping's mansion is hard to hide from open guns and hidden arrows. You should be more careful. After you go back this time and speak to the owner, the master will come to Yancheng to help you." Speaking of this , Jiang Yu stared at Jiang Shiqing again, only to call out suddenly after a long silence: "Huaichuan."

"Huh?" Jiang Shiqing looked up at him.

Jiang Yu has aged a lot. After Liu Zhaoye fell into the river ten years ago, the former prince and grand teacher disappeared into the court and the public.At that time, Jiang Shiqing was only 13 years old, living in a body named Lu Xianfeng. He had met Liu Zhaoye, but he didn't understand the cruelty of fighting in the same room. Later, when he was 15 years old, he met Jiang Yu, and he also didn't understand him. ambition.

Now, Jiang Yu has dedicated half of his life, but it seems that there are still many things that have been suppressed under his ideals and ambitions, and he can't say anything.

"You're thinner than last time," Jiang Yu said after a moment of silence, "Mr. has dragged you down."

Jiang Shiqing smiled: "I help Mr. because everyone has their own needs, so why bother?"

Jiang Yu didn't say a word, and laughed along with him, but her heart was still heavy.

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"The heart of an old man is different from that of a tourist, and he does not envy gods and youths" comes from Yuan Mei's "Miscellaneous Poems on the Lake" in the Qing Dynasty

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The Taiwei in this article is different from the Taiwei in history. The Taiwei in this article is the highest chief executive, and his rank and duties are equivalent to the prime minister.

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New characters in this chapter (according to the order of appearance, there are a lot of characters)

Liu Zhaoyu: 27 years old, the emperor of Dali Dynasty, once the fifth prince;

Chang Yi: The eunuch who served beside Liu Zhaoyu;

Lu Tianrui: 35 years old, General of the Dudu Mansion;

Ji Dong: 17 years old, the girl who followed Gu Nanxing after he was rescued.

Xu Bing: The word Bojin.Taiwei, equivalent to the prime minister.

Yu Jing: A student of Xu Bing, he is a student at the Imperial Academy.

Xu Yixu: That's right.Xu Bing's student is also a teacher in the Imperial College.

Jiang Yu: Words and Sichuan.Jiang Shiqing's husband taught him etiquette and tactics.