eldest son of Ming dynasty

Chapter 359 Human Heart
In the early morning of the capital city, two figures walked through the alley. When the night and day intersect these days, they can always be seen in this neighborhood in the west city. The two walked out of Shuangnian Street and walked south along Andingmen Street Then turn west and cross Dongjiangmi Lane to arrive at Jinyiwei to the southwest of Chengtianmen.

Mao language is here.

"...What is madness?"

The two figures in front of the desk knelt quietly, and said slowly: "This Zou Cheng probably thought that many people wanted to kill him and silenced him. His Majesty also sent Zhao Shilang to Yangzhou Mansion, and Gu Shilang's case was not tried, so his heart gradually Panicked, getting better day by day, it seems that I should be really scared. So it seems... as if I was frightened out of my wits."

"How do you see that he is a bit stupid?"

Another person picked up the report, "He hasn't slept well for several nights, he is basically quiet for an hour or two, and then he yells all night, like a dog for a while, and a chicken for a while, cooing and barking for a long time, and he will also call the old man When you are a young girl, hug her and have a messy kiss."

Mao Yuwen folded his hands on his chest, bit his thumb and fell into some kind of thought.

I thought to myself: Is it pretending to be crazy?

Nowadays, there are indeed people who want to kill him, but in fact, Jin Yiwei has already considered it. It is actually not easy for anyone to do it without leaving traces.

Of course Zou Cheng himself didn't know this.

"I understand. You all go down and rest."

"Yes, my subordinates retire!"

In the West Garden where Zou Cheng lives, there are people staring at him day and night.

These two are the people who are in charge of tracking at night.

Mao Yuwen didn't dare to delay, and he went to Qianqing Palace to hand over the note as soon as the palace gate opened in the morning.

But the emperor was in the early court in the morning and didn't see him until noon.

In fact, Zhu Houzhao will be exempted from the imperial court every now and then, but today, unfortunately, Mao Yuwen bumped into him, so there is no way.

After seeing the emperor in Qianqing Palace,

Mao Yuwen reported the situation in detail.

Zhu Houzhao sneered, "It's an old trick. I haven't done anything to him. He is doing well as a transfer salt envoy from both the Huaihe River and Huaihe River. Even if he is a little worried, why is he so frightened? He is lying to ghosts. By the way, The people who came out of the West Garden are all normal, but what about the people who went in?"

"The minister who went in was also ordered to be watched, and nothing else. It's just that he has become increasingly manic recently, and he has to listen to girls talking about music in order to calm down, so there are constantly prostitutes coming in and out. Roughly speaking, there are more than 20 Yes. The minister thought that someone was trying to spread the word, so he played tricks, and there were too many people, so it would be difficult for us to find out which one was wrong."

Zhu Houzhao nodded, "It's a smart way to fish in troubled waters. But he suddenly pretended to be crazy, which shows that he really wants to live. It depends on whether some people agree or not, so someone may take risks. You have to be on guard in advance."

"Yes!"

The main trick of pretending to be crazy and acting stupid is really used by too many predecessors, Sun Bin of the Spring and Autumn Period, Xuanzong Li Chen of the Tang Dynasty, there is another one before this, that is the famous Emperor Taizong Zhu Di!

So the people behind Zou Cheng refused to agree,

The people in the palace would not believe it either.

In the West Garden,
It is true that some people have mixed in, and in order to deceive people, they deliberately played elegant songs to cover the voices of the conversations between them.

And she is indeed a woman who looks very romantic.

"Xu Houye means that the palace has clearly focused on the salt lesson now, and today is not a weak person. No matter what, Zou Shi's life is extremely difficult to save."

A prostitute's face was calm when she said such words, Zou Cheng was so frightened that cold sweat broke out on his forehead, but the woman opposite didn't even spend any rouge.

"So? Master Xu Hou wants you to kill me?"

The woman shook her head,
"Master Hou misses the old days. He never thought of killing Envoy Zou. Besides, the emperor is very smart now, and many people have become extremely cautious in their actions. If Envoy Zou died at home, the court will definitely use this as an excuse to raise important cases again. After all, Envoy Zou is also a member of the third rank of the imperial court. Wouldn’t it be unwise for a small matter to turn into a big one at that time? So it is better for Envoy Zou to settle it for himself. Master Xu Hou guarantees that he will take good care of your family.”

Zou Cheng clenched his fists tightly.

Half a month ago, this Master Xu still told him not to move around, so as not to startle the snake.

After half a month, I didn't expect that he couldn't hold his breath first, and already had the idea of ​​'let himself die'!

Your Majesty, Your Majesty, your method of tormenting people has made people's hearts treacherous!
"Not yet... haven't asked the girl's name yet."

"A mere lowly name is not worth mentioning."

"No, the girl wants to kill Zou with just one word. She should make Zou know clearly and die with peace. Otherwise, if he wants to repay his kindness in the next life, he doesn't know who to turn to."

The woman on the opposite side narrowed her eyebrows and said after a slight pause, "The little girl's name is Guan Ning."

"How can Ms. Guan prove that she is Xu Houye's person? How can Zou believe that what you said is Xu Houye's original intention?"

These questions are quite common,

And since it is an ordinary question, there must be preparations before coming.

Guan Ning took out a letter from her cuff, held it between her slender fingers and handed it to Zou Cheng.

"Master Xu's handwriting, you should be very familiar with it."

In fact, Zou Cheng just said that, why would he want to see it?He wished he didn't have this thing so that he could use it as an excuse to get around!
In the current situation, everything this woman said is within logic. If he were Lord Hou, he would have already started planning to kill people at this time.

But people are not such rational creatures after all, it is normal to think clearly but not be able to accept it.

When there was such a letter, Zou Cheng took it and read it very seriously, because only black and white letters can break his last illusion.

It said: I also know your grievances, but if you are not dead, nothing can be done.After your death, I will take care of your wife and children by myself, so don't worry about it.

Zou Cheng didn't get angry because it was in front of outsiders, but in fact, he was already full of anger in his heart!

All the crows in the world are black!Not a single good thing!

Each one is high-sounding, isn't it the four characters of seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages!
It's a beautiful idea for a dead fellow Taoist not to die a poor fellow!
"Emissary Zou." Guan Ning moved the candle to the center of the table.

That means, this letter is finished after you read it, and you can't keep it, so you must burn it.

The flames rose and extinguished in Zou Cheng's pupils. He frowned tightly and asked a unwilling word, "The order to announce my entry into the palace came from the inspector of ceremonies. Your Majesty has not given me a single word so far." It’s not even known whether His Majesty’s intention to let me enter the palace is His Majesty’s original intention, and there is no sign in the court that His Majesty wants to investigate the salt class. Furthermore, I have not met Your Majesty since I entered Beijing. It can be said that there is nothing wrong with it. Sure, under such circumstances, Master Xu still wants me to die?!"

Guan Ning looked at him calmly, "Emissary Zou, do you really know what kind of king His Majesty is?"

"Girl, do people in the world know that?"

There was something offensive about that.But Guan Ning is probably used to it, and probably feels that the person opposite is about to be a dead person. In short, he is neither angry nor complaining, and looks indifferent, and he still talks about himself.

"Your Majesty is well versed in the art of maneuvering and manipulating people. You never do anything meaningless, and as long as you do it, you must have a plan. It's not that Master Xu never thought of saving you. After all, Master Hou and Zou We have known each other for many years, if you don't trust Zou, how can the position of Lianghuai Salt Envoy fall on Lord Hou?"

"But the little girl has said before that in today's world, everyone is becoming more cautious, and it is absolutely impossible to startle the snake. So... this is also a helpless move."

"Then I want to see Lord Hou."

Guan Ning flatly refused, "No one will see you at this pass."

"Just go and report to Lord Hou! Besides, if you really understand today's world, you will know what he is after. If there is no result, even a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood will be useless. Zou, a third-rank senior in the court Members, went to Beijing to wait for the emperor to summon, but ended up killing himself, wouldn't this make His Majesty want to find out the reason?"

"You say that everything will be fine when I die, but it's just a blind move in a panic. Or just take a step and wait, and trade my life for a little hope!"

At this moment, Zou Cheng's eyes were red, and he was beating the table hard with his fist!

"So envoy Zou thinks, what can be done?"

Zou Cheng immediately said: "In my Ming Dynasty, the emperor and the honored ministers shared the world. The salt quotations were not given by the filial temple? Your majesty now wants to check the salt class, but if too many honored officials are involved, even the emperor will There will be some worries. In the past, there has never been a case where the emperor used thunder for a few taels of silver."

"So if Lord Xu Hou is really worried, he can tell His Majesty the truth. In the end, it will be nothing more than a few words of reprimand. With Lord Hou taking the lead, we people will also change death crimes into living crimes, and felony crimes into pleas, so it will be over. Is it? But if I die, His Majesty will feel that there must be something important, and which of the world's affairs can stand investigation?!"

After all, if the emperor didn't deal with the ministers hard, then the others would not be easy to deal with, otherwise wouldn't it be "the palace and the mansion are not one"?A bowl of water is uneven, and many civil servants also want to speak.

The emperor is a wise man, so naturally he would not do such a mindless thing.

It's just that Lord Hou is going to confess to the emperor himself...

This is obviously not an easy task.

This is equivalent to asking someone to take the thunder for you, who would be willing?
So Guan Ningning remained silent, she knew in her heart that no amount of words would be of any use.Basically, he only stayed for a while before leaving, leaving Zou Cheng alone in the room.

The West Garden no longer knows the passage of time,
It's also afternoon time,
Suddenly there was a crackling sound in the room, and then Zou Cheng roared: "Ah!!"

The servant was worried about something and looked in through the crack of the door, only to find that the table was overturned by the master.

Zou Cheng felt humiliated in his heart,
He was also one of the ten thousand Jinshi, the pride of the Zou clan. The imperial examination changed the fate of people, but how many people can really touch this side?

He did it, he won the Jinshi!

He still remembers the ecstasy when the list was released, and the glory when he returned home!

Anyway, he's a reader!

But as a scholar, his final fate is decided by a few words between the mouths of a prostitute.

This ending is utterly tragic, utterly absurd, and utterly ridiculous.

Since then, he has become more and more insane, and he went crazy day by day, and one day he crawled on the ground and barked at his dog, as if he was about to compete.

In this way, not only the people in the West Garden were frightened, but the dogs were also frightened!

So there is no dog guarding the door at night, and those people in the shadows finally reached out to the West Garden...

==
One more chapter.

(End of this chapter)