People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 711 Qinxiangyuan, secretly plotting

The night is deep and full of light.

A famous scholar got drunk and was helped out of Pingkangfang by someone.

Some are titled on the gold list, and they can see all the flowers in Chang'an in one day;

Zhou Zhi rode on a horse and walked slowly along Pingkangfang Long Street. In his sight, he could occasionally see one or two Jinwu Guards, but they were basically familiar faces.

It was the sergeant of the Zuo Jinwu Guard patrolling Pingkangfang, not the one who followed him.

Zhou Zhi's face softened a little. If he felt right, then since he left the door today, no one has been following him.

But is it true that no one is following him anymore?
……

Qinxiang Garden.

Standing in front of the door, Zhou Zhi's face was complicated.

The pavilions are elegant and the lamps are warm and bright.

It's not as quiet as a brothel here.

There are no maids and servants pulling people outside the door. The whole body of the building is blue, clean and quiet, as if guests are allowed to come in and out at will.

But everyone who passed by saw this place, and quickly moved away as if seeing a snake or scorpion.

The expenses here are really too high, even the rich and powerful families in Chang'an City can't afford to come here easily.

Zhou Zhi hesitated a little, and then walked into Qinxiang Garden.

The moment he entered, he completely relaxed, because he knew that no matter if it was Jinwu Guard, Qianniu Guard, or even Secret Guard, he couldn't easily enter here.

The people behind here, even secret guards, can't be easily provoked.

Now no one is watching him anymore.

The entire Qinxiang Garden was still quiet, only a few maids with graceful figures walked through the stairwell, and their graceful figures disappeared in a blink of an eye.

The elegant sound of the piano came from the depths of the garden. It was quiet here, and it didn't look like a brothel at all.

On the contrary, it looks a bit like an embroidery building built by a rich family for their daughter.

The fragrance of books and green bamboo embroidered buildings make people feel at ease and intoxicated at the same time.

At this moment, a pretty maidservant wearing a light blue chest-length skirt walked down the steps on one side, then slightly bowed to Zhou Zhi, and said softly: "Zhou Lang, your guests It's here."

Zhou Zhi's expression suddenly became serious, and he said in a deep voice, "Lead the way ahead."

"Here!" The pretty maid turned slightly and walked forward along the steps.

Zhou Zhi glanced around, then quickly followed.

The corridor is quiet, walking inside, you can't hear any sound from the rooms on both sides.

Jing room, quiet room.

When going out to entertain guests, no matter what, it is inevitable that there will be voices exposed and known to others.

No matter how low the voice is, it is difficult to keep someone from eavesdropping.

But here, no one can hear anything that shouldn't be heard, just like a secret room.

At the end of the long passage, the wooden door was pushed open, the pretty maid stepped aside, and Zhou Zhi walked in directly.

In the large hall, the central hall is dimly lit and the scene is blurred, but the corners are brightly lit.

Someone was playing the piano with an elegant woman in Taoist robes, with a soft and melodious voice.

Someone is painting with a charming girl in a pink skirt. With a swipe of the brush, a pair of perilous peaks and pines has appeared in the brush.

Someone else was sitting behind the table, with black and white chess pieces in the middle, and opposite was a heroic woman in a blue high-collared robe, with white skin and sword-like eyebrows.

These three women are all the most beautiful in the world.

In every brothel in Pingkangfang, they are the top candidates for courtesans, but now they all stay here quietly, playing chess and painting with the guests, without the slightest trace of prostitution.

Perhaps, because they are not prostitutes at all.

The three women present all had top-level attainments in the three arts of piano, painting and chess. They were far from rough places like brothels and teaching workshops. They were instant products released after three or two years of study. After the accident, the girl from a good family who was forced to join the Jiaofang Division was a real lady of the family.

Even, they have some unknown relatives and friends with the three men on the opposite side.

……

"Zhou Lang!" A soft and supple woman with a slightly tall figure and a green skirt came out from behind and called Zhou Zhi softly.

Zhou Zhi immediately relaxed, turned around, and called in a low voice: "Qiniang."

"Zhou Lang seems to be quite troubled today, you might as well talk to my concubine." Qiniang pulled Zhou Zhi to the study on the east side.

Zhou Zhi leaned against Qiniang's arms, feeling the soft fragrance of ink behind his back, Zhou Zhi completely relaxed.

Slowly, Zhou Zhi closed his eyes and fell asleep.

A quarter of an hour later, Zhou Zhi woke up, and at this time, the four corners of the hall were dimmed, and only the study where Zhou Zhi was in was still lit.

Zhou Zhi restrained his expression, a trace of vigilance flashed in his eyes, and then he calmed down again.

He nodded to Qiniang, and Qiniang immediately retreated through the small door on one side obediently.

In the atrium directly in front, hot dishes and warm wine have been placed, and the other three people are eating food and drinking there, casually chatting about trivial matters.

Zhou Zhi got up and walked over, then greeted the three of them: "Brother Cui, Brother Hu, Brother Zheng."

"Brother Zhou!"

Cui Fan from Zhongshushe, Hu Zai from Prince Zhongshe, and Zheng Fan, secretary and junior supervisor, all three bowed their hands to Zhou Zhi in return.

Zhou Zhi sat down, raised his wine glass, and sipped a glass of wine directly into his mouth, then looked at the three of them and said, "Today, the emperor's list came out, and the first place in the test is Cheng Xingmou, a disciple from a poor family in Shanzhou. .2 is Xu Qi of the Xu family in Anlu, and No.3 is Zhuge Minghui of Nanchang Palace."

"Two poor families, one family, the world is in trouble now." Zheng Fan couldn't help but snort coldly.

Hu Zai on the side frowned and said, "The Zhuge family can't be said to be a poor family, right?"

"The Zhuge family has not had a governor for several generations. The last one was in the Nanchen period, so there is no problem with the Zhuge family being a poor family." Cui Fan replied calmly, but followed him and said: "But Zhuge After all, the family is of family origin, and if there is a slight momentum, there will be countless people helping, not to mention Nanchang King, those aristocratic families in Wuyue, there is only one Liu family, everyone, no matter what you want to do, just think about it."

Liu Rengui, Minister of the Left, Liu Shenli, Secretary of the Ministry of Industry, and Liu Boying, Secretary of the Honghe Temple, among the three provinces, six departments and nine temples, the Liu surname accounted for one-sixth.

Even Liu Sili, an official examiner who presides over the imperial examinations in Jinke, has the same surname as Liu.

Mrs. Liu naturally has a good impression of Mrs. Zhuge, especially because she is a direct descendant of Zhuge Liang, Mrs. Liu can't wait to hug her.

If they really wanted to do something to Zhuge Minghui, even if they succeeded, at some point in the future, they would be stabbed fiercely in the back by Mrs. Liu.

"Let's let Zhuge Minghui go." Zhou Zhi finally spoke, sighed softly, and said, "The Qianniuwei that the King of Nanchang left outside the lower room last night is not for nothing."

"Hasn't the King of Nanchang dismissed the Qianniu Guard and Jinwu Guard a long time ago? Why can he still command the Qianniu Guard and the Jinwu Guard?" Zheng's background, he knew what he should know, and he didn't know anything about what he shouldn't.

"Because the King of Nanchang is investigating the Tubo spy case, His Majesty ordered Qianniuwei, Jinwuwei, Dali Temple, Yongzhou Mansion, and Chang'an Wannian County to fully assist." Zhou Zhi sighed softly and said: "His Majesty the King of Nanchang Favored, Tianhou's tolerance, coupled with personal talent and means, even the crown prince is close to him."

"In a few days, the prince will recuperate at the Lishan Hot Spring. It is said that it is the proposal of the King of Nanchang, which is conducive to the birth of heirs." Hu Zai said quietly.

Cui Fan couldn't help asking: "Brother Hu, is what the King of Nanchang said really useful?"

Hu Zai sighed softly, and said: "The crown prince asked the imperial doctor, who was silent for a long time, and said, if His Majesty is not feeling unwell, otherwise, he also hopes that His Majesty can often go to Lishan for a walk..."

Everyone was silent, it was now clear whether Li Xuan's words were useful or not.

"It seems that I don't have anything to do at ordinary times, so I might as well go to Mount Li for a walk." Cui Fan couldn't help but nodded, and said: "Although the king of Nanchang is young, there are rumors in the palace that he is a god, and his majesty loves him very much. If not, there are even rumors that His Majesty intends to let the King of Nanchang intervene in the internal affairs of the Eastern Palace."

Cui Fan's words silenced everyone present.

The original talk about the imperial examination and medical education came to an abrupt end.

The Eastern Palace has its own internal structure, which itself is infinitely analogous to the court.

Prince Zhan Shifu is equivalent to Shangshu Province, while Zuo Chunfang is equivalent to Zhongshu Province and Menxia Province.

The three internal officials of the prince are analogous to the five prisons of the nine temples, and the six ranks of the prince are equivalent to the sixteen guards of the Nanya.

In case something happens, the prince can immediately control the situation to avoid someone taking advantage of the chaos and shaking the regime.

These people are the real core administrative group of the prince. The other guests of the prince are mostly like the officials of the court.

The most important thing is the prince's three masters and three young masters, so they are the people who are really close to the prince.

Just like Li Gang.

Yang Yong, Li Jiancheng, and Li Chengqian are the three students of Xinchang County Gong Li Gang.

Later, when something happened, although he himself was safe, his children were implicated.

Li Xuan is now just the inspector prince You Zanshan doctor, even after all, it is just a part-time job.

It is far from entering the power level of the East Palace, but it is enough to make people wary.

The East Palace has long formed a solid internal structure. Even if Li Xuan is close to the emperor and the prince, he can't get in without a good entry point.

Cui Fan changed his mind and said: "But what happened last night, those traitors finally suffered at the hands of the King of Nanchang. Speaking of which, since the King of Nanchang became an official, the plots of the traitors have been foiled one after another. happiness."

"Could it be that things would go more smoothly without King Nanchang, Qianniuwei, and Miwei?" Zheng Fan suddenly asked.

Zhou Zhi, Cui Fan, and Hu Zai glanced at Zheng Fan at the same time and stopped talking.

Zheng Fan's expression suddenly turned ugly.

Only then did Zhou Zhi continue to say: "According to the report of the Jinwu Guard, Chang'an of the Vientiane Pavilion was completely uprooted yesterday. Although the pavilion master Qiu Huan ran away, he was also severely injured by the real person Shiyin. It is difficult to plot... However, although this external trouble has been eliminated, what about internal troubles?"

"Internal worries?" Cui Fan, Hu Zai, and Zheng Fan looked sideways at the same time.

Zhou Zhi said indifferently: "Everyone, you don't really think that the Qianniuwei who appeared outside our gate last night is here to protect us, right?"

In a word, everyone present fell silent.

After a long time, Cui Fan said softly: "Everyone, sometimes things have nothing to do with us, and we don't need to pay attention to them. This is my position, and it is also the Cui family's position."

"But this is only the Cui family's position."

(End of this chapter)