Feast of Rebirth

"My lord, why don't you eat?"

Yun Congfeng forced a smile: "I have no appetite."

The yamen servant took a bite of the steamed bun and sighed: "It's the first time I've taken on such a job, and it's really disgusting, but ah, people are like iron rice and steel, if you don't eat a meal, you'll be hungry, how can you not eat? Hmm?"

Yun Congfeng looked at the half bun that the yamen servant took over, took it silently, and took two bites.

Now that the concubine's crimes are convincing, her going to the demon prison is a certainty, but if the emperor wants to protect his shortcomings... so what?Yun Congfeng had to seriously consider the worst-case scenario.If the emperor intends to protect the imperial concubine with all his strength and transfer the evidence of the crime to others, he is the emperor and he will not be sentenced, so who can do anything to win him?Then he is doomed.escape?Where are you going?The ambition to be a prime minister in the past... Heh!

The more he thought about it, the more pessimistic he became. Yun Congfeng only felt that the future was gloomy, and his ideals and ambitions might stop here.

If it stops here, alas, that's all.

The maids brought up a big pot of wolfberry chicken soup, the whole chicken was stewed so soft and boneless, the fragrance was overflowing, and a group of people rushed to grab it.During the commotion, Zhong Hongyun came in: "Yun Congfeng!"

"Here!" Yun Congfeng stood up, not knowing why.

"Come out."

Not knowing whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, Yun Congfeng felt uneasy, followed Zhong Hongyun to the outside, Zhong Hongyun's serious and tense face seemed to relax: "You have worked hard these few days."

"After you go back, go to Shen Bin, the deputy director, and learn from him for a while. Don't think about anything else."

Yun Congfeng was a little uneasy, but still nodded.

"After finishing this case, I will also beg the emperor for the bones." Zhong Hongyun patted Yun Congfeng on the shoulder, "I heard that you have a good relationship with He Yici?"

Yun Congfeng seemed to have caught a clue, but he didn't have time to figure it out, Zhong Hongyun continued: "Where did you get Chengying's demon blood?"

Yun Congfeng was silent for a while.

"Tell the truth." Zhong Hongyun's tone became severe again.

"I asked the princess to help."

"Princess Concubine." Zhong Hongyun's tone was quite strange, as if he had suddenly realized, "Has she... had a relationship with you?"

"Familiarity is far from acquaintance." Yun Congfeng hesitated whether to be more specific, Zhong Hongyun said: "That's good, you've been in Qingping Division for so long, there's no harm in getting to know more people .”

"Thank you, Master, for teaching."

"You can go back earlier today, and you don't have to work late."

"Ah."

Zhong Hongyun wanted to beg for the bones, and also asked him to go to the deputy director's place. Does that mean...to take over?The matter has not yet settled, and he revealed his intention to resign so early, can the emperor not be suspicious?

After much deliberation, Zhong Hongyun only revealed this meaning, but he did not say when to beg for bones. This time can be delayed until several years later.Perhaps Shen Bin was not the only one who studied under Shen Bin, and Zhong Hongyun would not submit his bones until the most suitable successor was confirmed.

Back home with a lot of worries, Rujia Inn is the peak passenger flow in the afternoon, the living room is full of laughter, shouting and drinking, it is very lively, Yun Congfeng sat down in the corner, poured a bowl of water to drink, and his chaotic thoughts gradually calmed down.

After a break, he went upstairs to find Hu Yan.

Eighty percent are on the roof.

He was still reading a book.

What he was reading was a book he had read before. He had turned the pages black and rolled up, and he had densely written eyebrows and footnotes on the blank pages of the book. Later, he felt that he had thoroughly understood the book, so he put it aside and read it again. have not seen.

Unexpectedly, Hu Yan picked up the book again.

"Hu Yan."

"Huh? I came back quite early today."

Yun Congfeng sat down beside him, and Hu Yan looked at him for a while: "Your face is wrong, have you been scolded by your superiors?"

"No." A few sparse weeds grew from the cracks in the tiles. He pulled out a leaf and curled it in the palm of his hand, "Hu Yan."

"Ok?"

Yun Congfeng thought for a while: "If... if I can't be prime minister in the future..." "You don't want to be?" Hu Yan tilted his head.

"No, something happened recently. The outlook is not very good."

Hu Yan suddenly realized: "Oh! Are you afraid of the imperial concubine's revenge?"

Reluctantly touching the edge, Yun Congfeng continued: "I think, if I am demoted this time, where will I go. The official career may be in a slump."

"Don't hug Pu back?"

"Go back and have a look once in a while."

"Where do you want to go? You won't obediently listen to the dog emperor's words and go wherever you want?"

"I have a household registration, so I don't want to go wherever I want. Living in seclusion is very boring. I have experienced it in Baopu Mountain before. It was so boring that I could only eat and sleep. Besides, the chief of the village and pavilion in the local area does not sell it." , it’s hard to live a normal life.” Yun Congfeng shook his head.

"Then come with me to Qingqiu. Although the Yaozu's territory has been given the name Great Wilderness, it's not desolate at all. It's basically at the same level as the human world."

Yun Congfeng smiled and said nothing.Hu Yan became serious: "Look down on the Yaozu?"

"No, after all... I'm human."

"What's wrong with being of the same race? How dare they fart when I'm around? You, you just think too much."

"Maybe." Yun Congfeng bowed his head, the color of the leaf in his palm darkened, he threw it down with a wave of his hand, looked at Hu Yan's profile, hesitant to speak.

I was speechless for a moment.Hu Yan also had something in his heart, and now should be the best time to say it, but for some reason, he held back, unable to say it, and his face became hot.

Yun Congfeng naturally noticed.

He stroked his chin and thought for a while, as if he had sensed what Hu Yan was thinking, and couldn't help laughing: "Hu Yan... when do you want to do it?"

"Ah? Do, what are you going to do?" Hu Yan was startled, so panicked that he couldn't choose what to say.Yun Congfeng lost his temper for a moment, bowed his head and did not speak.

After a short period of panic, Hu Yan calmed down, full of regrets, very regrets, why he lost his position all of a sudden, and Yun Congfeng has an introverted temperament, this misfire, maybe he thought he disagreed.

Yun Congfeng looked at the sky from a distance, looked at it, suddenly fought, stood for a while and jumped down: "something."

"Huh?" Hu Yan looked over, and there was a person flying from the sky. Judging by the color of his clothes, he seemed to be Yun Congfeng's colleague?Sure enough, the man rushed to Yun Congfeng after landing, panting and said: "Follow me! The emperor calls you!"

"Okay, huh? The emperor? What did the emperor ask me to do?"

"Don't ask so many questions, the boss is in a hurry, saying that you can only explain this clearly when you come!"

The two flew away in a hurry.Hu Yan looked at the two black dots going away, feeling uneasy, wanted to follow, but also worried that if he entered the palace, a momentary carelessness might bring him trouble, so he was in a hurry.

Yun Congfeng followed his colleagues to the palace, the sky was dark, dim yellow lights were lit on the tall city walls, and thunder shook in the sky.

After entering the palace, the eunuch led the way all the way to the Zhongyuan Hall.This is where the emperor usually summons his ministers.The eunuch gave Yun Congfeng some etiquette instructions, flicked his whisk, and raised his head to roll his name: "Second-class Qingping envoy of Qingping Division, Yun Congfeng came to—"

Inside the hall was the head of the department, Zhong Hongyun. There was an open space in the hall, and a woman in plain gray clothes bent down and lowered her head, crying softly. Is it the imperial concubine?Qin Shuang is also there, so the one sitting next to him is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?Yun Congfeng thought and bowed: "My minister sees Your Majesty."

"Pingshen." The emperor said weakly, "Do you know what is said about your coming?"

Yun Congfeng thought for a while, and pretended to be stupid: "I don't know."

"Youqin said that she asked you for help to verify the composition of the elixir used by the noble concubine, then do you know how the thing Youqin gave you came from?"

"I don't know."

"I don't know? Then why are you willing to help?"

"The Crown Princess and I have a classmate friendship. Furthermore, the Crown Princess is not asking me to work hard in vain."

The emperor seemed to be amused, but the laughter was especially creepy amid the soft sobbing of the imperial concubine and the stagnation of the surrounding people who dared not make a sound.Yun Congfeng thought about it, will he ask next: "How do you prove that what you verified is correct?"

As if there was a tacit understanding, the emperor asked: "Unexpectedly, Aiqing is also proficient in medicine. I am very interested. How did you verify it? How can you prove that what you verified is correct?"

Yun Congfeng began to talk: "The smell of each medicinal material is different, not to mention the medicine made by the noble concubine, the medicine pill has a unique smell, and it is difficult to test it wrong."

"Naturally, empty words are not enough evidence. The frequent disappearances of children on the street were committed by people in the imperial concubine's palace, and the corpses were buried in piles in the back garden. With so many corpses, I want to bury them deeply On the ground, the battle is not small, and the imperial concubine really doesn't know about it? This is the proof."

"On the day of Xie Jitong's birthday, the Seventh Master of the Academy, the Zhenbao Pavilion was set on fire by thieves, causing heavy losses. Qingping Division cleaned up the ruins and debris on the Zhenbao Pavilion, and spent several days comparing it with the directory of the Zhenbao Pavilion. The wooden utensils, calligraphy and paintings were completely reduced to ashes in the fire. , the Zhenbao Pavilion is missing one of the most special things, the rare medicine phoenix bone." Zhong Hongyun said, as if in harmony with the thunder from the sky, "The medicine made by the noble concubine has the smell of children's essence and blood, and the unique fragrance of phoenix bone. This smell cannot be faked, and there are two proofs.”

Just as Yun Congfeng was about to say this, he had an idea: "Weichen still suspects that the imperial concubine's refining medicine has not just started recently, but has a long history. Not long after Weichen entered the Qingping Division, he took over a report. An old man In the alley, I saw someone using black magic to turn children into cows and horses, gouging out their hearts and blood, and selling meat for sale. After Weichen caught the old witch, the witch committed suicide, but a little ghost remained. Weichen saw it with his own eyes. With that little ghost floating into the palace!"

"This statement...is it true?"

"Regarding this case, I have given the most detailed information in the report. If Your Majesty does not believe me, I was accompanied by another person at the time. It was he who helped to preserve the dying demon soul. He can testify."

"Oh? Who is that man?"

Who is that person?

Yun Congfeng's head was buzzing, and he couldn't hear anything for a moment. Who is that person?It's called... what's it called?

Mr.

How about sir giving me a word?

Sir angry?

"The man's name is Quan Hongfang, and he is also the envoy of Qingping. However, he doesn't know much about this, and he is loyal to His Majesty's court. Your Majesty can call him to verify it."