To The Land of Nevernight

It had only cleared up for one day, and it rained heavily in the north again.

The sound of crackling rain hit the ground, and there was a fishy smell of soil in the air.There were no pedestrians walking on the roads in Cizhou City. Because of the heavy rain, the people entered their houses one after another and stopped walking on the street.A black steed galloped out from the main gate of Fu Yin's Yamen, and rushed all the way through the city gate. The horse's hooves stepped on the ground, splashing rainwater all over the ground.

Ji Zhi, the chief supervisor of the Cizhou Supervisory Mission, was in the main room of the yamen, handing over the booklet to the courier, and asked him to send it to Shengjing as soon as possible. After that, he continued to discuss this matter with other officials.

On the city tower, Xu Linghou, the left servant of the household department, watched the horse leave the city gate, sighed softly, and said in a distant voice, "It is a fast horse that came out of the government office. Thank you, sir. It seems that the inspectors found out the horse. What's the matter?"

Standing beside him was Xie Cheng, the right servant of the Ministry of Industry.

Xu Linghou and Xie Cheng are currently the only third-rank officials in Cizhou City, and they are also the highest-rank officials.

Hearing this, Xie Cheng looked at Xu Linghou, and said, "Master Xu has a good opinion? I never thought that there would be people greedy for ink in the Jinghe incident. This is not a natural disaster, but a man-made disaster!"

Xu Linghou turned to look at him: "Why, what does Mr. Xie know?"

Xie Cheng smiled and said, "What does Master Xu know?"

The two looked at each other for a long time, and smiled at each other, but the smile was not as good as their eyes.

The heavy rain poured down, and there was no end in one fell swoop.

At night, Tang Shen returned to the posthouse. He lit the candle lamp, took out a blank notebook, and began to write what he had seen and heard in the past three days.In the middle of the night, he took out the token that Zhao Fu personally gave him, and secretly sent this note out.

When Tang Shen returned to the house, he happened to run into Ji Zhi.

Master Ji stood in the courtyard, looking up at Tang Shen.When the two looked at each other, Tang Shen knew that Ji Zhi was not here by chance, but had been waiting for him for a while.He was silent, and stepped forward: "Master Ji."

Ji knew: "Master Tang sent something out just now."

Tang Shen was silent for a long time, and said, "No, I just went to the kitchen to find something to eat."

Ji Zhi: "Master Tang, this is the end of the matter, and you should have noticed that we are standing at a turning point. The danger of Cizhou City is more terrifying than I thought before I came here, and the water is deeper than we thought. Master Tang, please see everything clearly, and don't let the villain fool you."

Tang Shen stared fixedly at Ji Zhi, but didn't speak.

The serious and old-fashioned sixth-rank censor cupped his hands: "Farewell."

Because of the heavy rain, the Jinghe River became more turbulent and turbulent. The officials and craftsmen who were originally sent to investigate on the Jinghe River all returned to Cizhou.The officials who stayed in Cizhou knew about Qiaoji, and most of them guessed that some of them were greedy for ink.Ji Zhi privately found Xu Linghou, the left servant of the household department, and the two talked secretly in the room for two hours.

When Xu Linghou went out, his face was ugly. He looked back at the closed door behind him, and shook his sleeves angrily.

In the city of Cizhou, the common people were the same as before, but the officials were panicked.

The sky was covered with dark clouds. I don't know if it was a psychological effect. The officials felt that they were overwhelmed by the dark sky.On this day Tang Shen went back to the post house to rest, when suddenly he heard movement in the dark room.Tang Shen was startled, he touched the dagger under the pillow with one hand, opened his eyes, and listened vigilantly to the movement around him.

The window was pushed open gently, and a faint footstep jumped in from the window.

The next moment, Tang Shen was about to yell, and this man rushed forward, covering Tang Shen's mouth and nose.The cold hands still carry the rain outside the house, and the palms are bitingly cold.Tang Shen opened his eyes wide, and pulled out the dagger with his backhand to stab at the opponent. The man let out a "huh" in surprise, and then swiftly slashed on Tang Shen's wrist. Tang Shen frowned in pain, and the dagger landed on the ground. on the ground.

"It's me, don't make a sound."

Tang Shen was startled: ...Su Wenyun?

"You promise me, if you don't make a sound, I will let go of your hand. Nod your head, even if you agree."

Tang Shen nodded.

Su Wenyun let go.

"Master Su?"

"Ah."

Tang Shen got up from the bed, he picked up a coat and put it on, and said: "Master Su sneaked into my room in the middle of the night, what's the matter?" Having said this, Tang Shen walked to the table and was about to light the lamp.Su Wenyun immediately stopped him: "Don't light the lamp."

Tang Shen asked in surprise, "Lord Su?"

Su Wenyun took out a palm-sized night pearl from his sleeve, he pulled Tang Shen onto the bed, and carefully lowered the bed curtain.The light of this night pearl is warm and long, not as penetrating as candlelight, but it is very bright when it is close.After putting down the two layers of bed curtains, Tang Shen and Su Wenyun stayed on the bed, holding the Ye Mingzhu, they could see each other's faces clearly.

Only then did Tang Shen realize that Su Wenyun's face was also covered with rainwater.

His face was pale, his lips were bloodless, and the rain had wet his hair and stained his cheeks.The glow of the luminous pearl shines, and there is a charming and soul-stirring beauty.

Tang Shen stopped talking.

Su Wenyun smiled and said: "Someone came into your room in the middle of the night, dragged you to the bed, and lowered the bed curtain. Don't you think it's strange, Mr. Tang? If someone broke into the door at this time, what do you think we should explain. "

Tang Shen retorted: "Master Su came to see me for something, just say it."

"Boring." Su Wenyun sneered, and took out a thick wet booklet from his arms.Tang Shen was startled when he saw the cover of this booklet. He looked at Su Wenyun in disbelief, and Su Wenyun said, "That's right, just like what you think, this is the Yin-Yang account book hidden in private."

"Where did you get that!"

"I got it with my life."

When Su Wenyun said this, his eyes were calm, as if he was just making a joke.But Tang Shen noticed a bloodstain on his collar with sharp eyes.Tang Shen: "Master Su is injured?"

Su Wenyun tugged at the neckline: "It's not my blood. Does Master Tang want to see this account book?"

Tang Shen hesitated for a moment, Su Wenyun handed him the account book, and he took it.

Looking at the first page of the account book, Tang Shen's expression became more serious.He flipped through the ledger quickly, and after a quarter of an hour, he read the entire ledger.He raised his head: "Master Su, is this true?"

"Is it true, Master Tang doesn't have a decision in his heart?"

Tang Shen remained silent.

it is true!

Every account on the ledger is carefully remembered, and the expenditure and income fit together seamlessly.However, if the expenditures written in this ledger were really used, then not only the foundation of the bridge, but also the gravel, and the meals of the artisans, all of which were corrupted!Four months ago, the imperial court allocated 80 taels of silver to the Cizhou official road, and it was recorded in the ledger that it was a deficit of 25 taels!

After closing the ledger, Tang Shen returned the things to Su Wenyun.

"Master Su brought this account book to me, why? With this account book, it is only a matter of time to find the mastermind behind the scenes. Presumably, if Master Ji gets this account book, he should be able to find it within a month. Officials who are corrupt behind the scenes."

Su Wenyun: "Do you trust Ji Zhi?"

Tang Shen was stunned.

Su Wenyun laughed mockingly and said: "Ji Zhi, it seems very impartial and righteous? Five years ago, he took in a concubine. That concubine was originally from a good family and was married. Robbed into the mansion. But the concubine’s family was poor, Ji Zhi spent money to settle the matter, and took the good family son as a concubine, so the matter did not become a big deal, and no one impeached him because of it. He was only a sixth rank, but Never short of money."

"How do you know this?"

"Master Tang, I am the Shaoqing of Dali Temple."

All the officials in the court, the filth that everyone hides behind their backs, is the only one that is hidden so deep that Su Wenyun can't find it.If it was discovered by others, then the first person to discover it must be Su Wenyun.

Su Wenyun: "The Holy Majesty wants you to come here to learn from you the truth that Ji Zhi did not tell. In this huge city of Cizhou, Mr. Tang, only you and I can truly serve the Emperor."

After Su Wenyun finished speaking, she put away Ye Mingzhu and opened the bed curtain.When he got out of the bed, he suddenly laughed and said, "If someone broke in suddenly at this moment, the two of us would probably be splashed with blood on the spot."

"will not."

Su Wenyun turned to look at Tang Shen.

Tang Shen raised his bright eyes, and said calmly: "I will say, I have a good relationship with you."

Su Wenyun was stunned.

After a long time, Su Wenyun raised her thin lips: "It's a good thing no one broke in."

Before leaving, Su Wenyun said: "Tell Your Majesty what you saw today, Mr. Tang, please." After saying that, Su Wenyun opened the window and quietly jumped out.Tang Shen carefully closed the window. He was about to go back to bed when he suddenly remembered that when Su Wenyun left the room just now, his arms were empty, unlike a thick ledger.

Tang Shen was shocked, he searched the room in the dark for a long time, but it was too dark, and he found nothing.

Tang Shen stayed sleepless all night and opened his eyes until dawn.At dawn, he immediately looked for it again carefully in the room.After searching for half an hour, I finally found an account book in the crevice of the bookcase in the corner.

Su Wenyun!

Tang Shen was shocked and helpless.

He never expected that Su Wenyun would be so shameless.He didn't know where Su Wenyun found this ledger, but there was no doubt that it was a hot potato.In the entire Cizhou City, someone must be looking for it, looking for this thing that needs Su Wenyun's life in exchange.But Su Wenyun actually hid it in Tang Shen's room.

"He is... taking me as a target!"

Su Wenyun, the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, is really a cold-blooded and ruthless character.

At the same time, Shengjing was hundreds of miles away.

In the early court, when all the officials had an audience, Zhao Fu walked up to the throne and sat down slowly.

All the officials saluted, but before they got up, Zhao Fu snorted coldly, grabbed a booklet from the purple nanmu plate Ji Fu was carrying, and smashed it on the ground forcefully.The cardboard folded on the cold floor tiles, making a bang.The book hit the ground a few times and landed in the third row of officials on the left, which happened to be at Wang Qin's feet.

Holding the jade wat in his hand, Wang Qin lowered his eyes calmly, looking at some of the content revealed on the notebook.

In the hall, there was a dead silence.

Zhao Fu got up from the throne, and he walked back and forth on the golden platform twice, looking up at the officials below from time to time.Suddenly, he smiled, and said in a gentle tone: "All the lovers present here are all heroes of our Great Song Dynasty, and the talents of our Great Song Dynasty. Half a year ago, I wanted to build an official path, and you told me that the canal would not work. I can only be an official, and I agreed. The Ministry of Industry among the six departments of the Shangshu, I sent the Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry and the left and right servants to the front line. I also sent how many high-ranking officials of the third and fourth ranks, and how many low-ranking officials, to do this. It’s a momentous event.”

"Ji Zhi's book came up last night. He told me that I take these things to heart. Among the ministers I trusted for half my life, there are people who are greedy for ink!"

Zhao Fu laughed and said: "Yuan Mu is in Youzhou, I can't scold him, I can't point to his nose and scold him from thousands of miles away, how do you manage your subordinates, you waste. He has no idea of ​​what he has done, why someone under his command is greedy for ink! But Mr. Hubu Shangshu Wang..."

Wang Qin took a step forward, held the jade wat in his hand, bowed his head and said nothing.

Zhao Fu looked at the top of his head and said with a smile, "Zifeng, raise your head."

Wang Qin raised his head, there was not much expression on his elegant and handsome face.

Zhao Fu paused for a moment, winked at Wang Qin quietly, and then suddenly yelled: "Wang Zifeng, tell me how Xu Linghou, among the two third-rank officials in the city, does things! As a householder Minister of the Ministry, he is the left servant of the household department, and someone is greedy for ink under your noses!" After saying that, Zhao Fu casually picked up another booklet and threw it at Wang Qin.Wang Qin didn't dodge, the book brushed past his cheek, leaving a red mark.

"Go to Assassin Province, and bring back those who are greedy for ink, and make atonement for their crimes!"

In the Zichen Palace, there was complete silence.

Everyone knows how much Zhao Fu loves and trusts Wang Qin.Now he was furious, looking as if he wanted to take off the black hat from Wang Qin's head, which shows that Longyan was really furious.

Among the hundreds of officials, there were not many first-rank officials standing in front of Wang Qin.When Wang Quan, the right minister of the court, stood first on the right side of the team, he was also Wang Qin's biological uncle.Wang Qin was scolded by the emperor pointing his nose, but Wang Quan didn't respond. Instead, he looked at his nose and his heart, and looked at the ground casually.

In the empty hall, Wang Qin saluted, "Yes."

The next day, Wang Qin, Minister of the Household Department, led the decree to go to Cizhou.

From Shengjing to Cizhou, it will take more than a day at a fast pace, but it will take two or three days for Wang Qin and others to arrive.

On this day, Ji Zhi summoned several officials from the monitoring mission, but this time Tang Shen was about to get up, Ji Zhi said quietly: "Master Tang, don't move."

Tang Shen looked up at him.

Ji Zhi: "Don't get too close to Su Wenyun, Master Tang, these are my last words from the bottom of my heart."