Shengshichun

In the empty room, Fu Zhen waited for Tieying to finish drinking the medicine and asked him, "I still have some questions."

Tieying looked at her: "You say."

"Why is Xu Yin's surname Xu?"

Tie Ying frowned suddenly: "I don't know about this level either. I found Tanzhou just because he is so eye-catching, and starting from his ancestral home is undoubtedly the easiest way to find flaws."

Fu Zhen said: "Have you figured out who is currently in Prince Yi's Mansion? In other words, who is still around Xu Yin now?"

Tie Ying shook his head: "Our master didn't know there was him in the first place. It was because the two groups of people who came to check the Lian family one after another were very suspicious. Only then did we learn from the people the monarch had left to his master that Duan Mian probably had another person. His son is still alive. Now we only know that Xu Yin has most of the rigorously trained secret guards left by Prince Yi. According to their regular equipment, Duan Mian had forty-eight secret guards by his side, but Prince Yi was a general. The amount he hid as the heir would have to be at least twice as much.”

"That means there should have been at least a hundred secret guards."

"That's right." Tie Ying nodded, "It was these secret guards who captured me in Tanzhou. Apart from the secret guards, I guess he should also have a group of soldiers and horses. The original private soldiers of Prince Yi's Mansion were 20,000 people. There were a lot of losses at the beginning, and naturally there wouldn't be so many left for Duan Mian. I'm afraid there are thousands of people, but I don't know where this army will be hidden and who will be in charge."

There is no doubt that the skilled guards who appeared around Xu Yin since the assassination of Liang Ning are the remaining secret guards of Prince Yi's Mansion. According to the number mentioned by Tieying, even though there are some losses in the middle, such as Princess Rong On the night of his death, there were still a large number of people left behind.

However, there were not more than a hundred people present in Xu Mansion.

It can be seen that Tie Ying's speculation is also reasonable. Xu Yin has been hiding in the Zhou Dynasty for twelve years since he was rescued by Liang Ning in the tenth year of Shengyuan. Even if he could not lay out the plan before he was elected as an official, it would still be possible. Later, he spent the past six years secretly planning it, so it's not surprising that he had other plans elsewhere. Just like his ancestral home in Tanzhou.

Fu Zhen glanced at Tie Ying, who had been moved to the bed. Under Lu Chongyang's diagnosis and treatment, his skinny upper body was revealed, with many old and new scars. It can be imagined that after falling into the hands of Zhou Yi and the others, he How much suffering I suffered. Let's just say that during the days when he was stuffed into the bottom of the boat and never saw the light of day, it would be good if he could survive until he got out of the boat.

The layout of Xu Yin's ancestral home in Tanzhou was still confusing when Jiang Lin told him about it, but now he has all the answers.

Zhou Yi would suddenly appear in the northwest in the early years and send Xu Yin back to Liang Ning. It was obvious that they were reunited after farewell.

Even if things are not exactly what she thought, they are still close to the same:

In the tenth year of the Sheng Yuan Dynasty, King Dayue sent people to the northwest to lure Duan Mian, who had come to contact the remnants of the Yiwang Palace outside the pass, to show up. They captured and killed their husband, wife and subordinates. Xu Yin managed to escape for some unknown reason, and later hid in Tibet. Perhaps he got separated from the people around him and finally passed out in the city where the two countries were fighting. He was rescued by Liang Ning who followed his brothers to review the battle situation.

Xu Yin was desperate and had nothing to live in. After being rescued, he could only temporarily live in the Zhou army's camp.

Soon after, Zhou Yi came to find him. Zhou Yi must be one of Xu Yin's separated followers. Xu Yin happened to go to the town to buy pens and ink that day. It was unlikely that he had contacted Zhou Yi in advance. Zhou Jun's camp The defense is tight. If outsiders can pass in messages at will and can be accurately delivered to Xu Yin without being discovered, then such military discipline will not be able to defeat Da Yue in the end.

In short, Xu Yin met Zhou Yi in the town that day. They discussed it. Originally, Xu Yin could follow Zhou Yi directly, but they might think it was safer to stay in the Zhou army camp, so Zhou Yi He carefully sent Xu Yin back. However, they did not expect that Zhou Yi's seemingly inadvertent appearance would lead to Fu Zhenhui going directly to Tanzhou to expose their background, and finally intercept Hu Tieying.

Since that meeting, Xu Yin has used the protection of Zhou Jun and the Liang family to hide himself safely.

Even if Dayue people suspected that Duan Mian had a child alive, they would never have thought that he was actually staying in the Zhou army camp.

Unexpectedly, Liang Qin died in battle in the fifteenth year of Shengyuan. Liang Ning had to support his soul and return to the capital. Xu Yin followed him to the capital.

From then on, the articles he had studied so hard in the northwest were put to use. He took part in the imperial examination, won the third prize, and entered the Hanlin Academy in one fell swoop. In the six years since then - no, it has been seven years. In these seven years, he has been working step by step, killing Liang Ning, marrying Yongping, taking refuge in Prince Rong's palace, and finally entered the inner circle of the Great Zhou Dynasty step by step according to the plan.

Originally, Fu Zhen thought that the reason why he spent less time with her and stayed away from her more after he was admitted to high school was because he fell in love with someone else or was clinging to her. But now it seems that this guy is not one of those short-sighted people who stayed away from him more often. , perhaps it was because of his official status that after becoming independent from the Liang family, he finally had the freedom to reconnect with Zhou Yi and his group and plot his inner plan.

And Yongping was just a cover he used to cover up his actions.

Yongping is so stupid, why would Xu Yin marry her?
First, he needs Prince Rong's Mansion, and marrying Yongping is the fastest way for him to surrender to Prince Rong's Mansion.

Secondly, he needs a confused woman like Yong Ping as his wife, so confused that she can automatically ignore all his abnormalities in order to possess him.

However, despite all his tricks, Yong Ping suffered the consequences. The more Yong Ping was bewitched by him, the easier it was for him to go crazy. When Yongping killed the Liu family's son and got involved with the concubine Yu, he finally felt that he was being backlashed and wanted to get rid of Prince Rong's palace.

Whether he was deliberately trying to get the fan or killing Princess Rong, his decisiveness showed that all of these people were among his chess pieces that could be discarded at any time.

Just like Liang Ning back then.

Fu Zhen walked out of the door and saw Pei Zhan standing under the tree with his back to this side. The wind blew down a few leaves and stuck them on his shoulders.

She walked over: "There are still a few doubts. First, how did Xu Zhan's ancestral home in Tanzhou become Xu Yin's ancestral home? How did Xu Zhan become his father? Xu Yin is from Dayue, why did it happen? Speaking of Tanzhou dialect? Second, Tie Ying just said that after the war, a few months ago, two groups of people went to Dayue to secretly inquire about the Lian family. It was assumed that one of the two groups was Xu Yin's people. , Who is the other group of people? Thirdly, does the fan, or the deceased father and son in Baiyu Hutong, have anything to do with Dayue's struggle for imperial power? "

Pei Zhan looked at the horizon: "It's too late to check this. Now, the most urgent thing is to expose Xu Yin to the emperor immediately."

Fu Zhen nodded: "Yes, with his cunning, he will not sit still and wait for death. - You can go into the palace with Chen Guan and the others now!"

Pei Zhan looked at her, but stretched out his big palm to wrap her hand: "Together."

"This is a matter for the court, and I don't want to be in the limelight."

"The security of the country does not distinguish between internal and external. Every citizen of the Great Zhou Dynasty has a responsibility. How can it be a show of force to eliminate traitors? What's more, if you hadn't stayed in the northwest to help your eldest brother return to the capital, sooner or later you would have become a brave member of my Great Zhou Dynasty. Female general."

Fu Zhen was full of thoughts, and suddenly it swayed like a fallen leaf in front of him.

Pei Zhan smiled: "Let's go!"

Fu Zhen still shook his head: "I accept your persuasion, but I can't go with you to meet the saint this time. If Xu Yin fails to draw water from the bamboo basket, he will be exposed in front of He Qunying. How can he explain all this to He Qunying? I can’t ignore the He family’s reaction.”

Pei Zhan thought for a moment and then agreed: "That's fine."

...The emperor is recuperating from illness and does not attend court early during this period.

Outside the wide open window, the white fish belly on the horizon is so close that it seems to be right in front of you.

The two foot-high candles in the room were more than half burned. Xu Yin stepped in, picked up the scissors and cut off the candle wick at the top. The candlelight lit up again, covering up the brightening sky outside the window.

The servants had already gotten up, and the sound of cleaning the courtyard could be heard in the distance.

He pulled off his wet cloak and sat on a chair under the lamp.

When the sound of compact footsteps reached the door, he turned his face. A pair of bloodshot eyes, coupled with the attire of having been busy at the dock for most of the night, gave his stunning face a bone-gnawing grace.

"I have just checked. Pei Zhan returned to the palace early yesterday and has not returned to Prince Rong's palace all night! And just now, he has already rushed to the palace in a carriage!"

Xu Yin held the corner of the table and stood up, his cold eyes like sharp knives: "It is indeed him! I guessed not wrong, it is really him!"

Lian Ruan frowned and stepped forward: "The worst thing has happened. Lian Yang's people fell into his hands, and the master's identity will most likely be exposed! If he hadn't grasped certain clues, Lian Yang wouldn't have done it at all. We will find him in Tanzhou! This Pei Zhan must be eliminated!"

"Will everything be fine if you kill Pei Zhan?" Xu Yin turned around suddenly, "He is General Pingxi, the eldest son of General Zhenguo. Should I kill him? How? Just kill him and run away? Then I have worked hard for many years. All my foundation is ruined, and where will I go?”

Xu Yin's eyes were filled with anger: "You have been with me for six or seven years. How could you come up with such a stupid idea at this moment?"

He knelt down repeatedly and said: "The little Liushenwuzhu is so stupid!"

Xu Yin retracted his angry eyes, gritted his teeth and said: "How big of a thing is it for you to panic? Do you think that my work in running the court these past few years has been in vain? So what if they captured Lian Yang's person? At most, it's nothing. They know my identity, but what about Yu Ze? Do they have evidence that I killed Princess Rong? They can only kill me for these few crimes, but they have no evidence!

"Don't forget, the two people who died in Baiyu Hutong have nothing to do with me. This case is the earth-shaking case! If the sky must fall, then someone will always stand in front of me!"

Lian Ruan raised his head and said, "What the master said is true. I'm just a little confused. As Dayue people, we don't deserve to lose our heads. The most we can do is to be demoted to common people and not allowed to approach the court. It's really a disaster. At present, there are many people who are too superficial to be able to keep their composure.”

Xu Yin pursed his lips tightly, pulled off the hairpin on his head, threw it on the table and said: "Give me a note to go to the East Palace. I want to see the prince immediately. In addition, tell He Qunying about Pei Zhan's visit to the palace! The He family Over there, take advantage of the opportunity and use strong medicine."

……

When we walked out of the house, it was almost dawn.

People who got up early to make a living walked energetically on the streets, greeting each other, with expressions of hope on their faces for the coming peaceful world.

Not only Pei Zhan, but also Liang Chen, Liang Zhi and Du Mingqian entered the palace to meet the saint.

After Fu Zhen said goodbye to them, he rushed to Ning's house.

Mrs. Ning opened the door in person. When Fu Zhen saw her, he couldn't help but feel a sore nose and ran up to her and threw himself into her arms.

Mrs. Ning trembled slightly: "What's going on? Who bullied you?"

Fu Zhen buried his head on her shoulder, shook his head, and choked, "No one bullied me - no, there was a wolf-hearted beast who bullied me! Auntie, I, I -"

"I" what? Fu Zhen didn't say it in the end.

Maybe she didn't know what to say, said she was wronged? But what right did she have to feel aggrieved? Speaking of being sad, what qualifications does a person named Xu have to make her sad?

Mrs. Ning gently stroked her hair and let her hold her without saying a word, her beautiful eyes filled with sadness.

"You, you call me A Niang?..."

……

When the eunuch from the royal study stepped out the door, the morning light just shined through the porch. The thin and pale third prince sat on the railing, with a slight smile on his lips, looking up at a paper kite in the sky.

A group of people followed the eunuch inside. The emperor, who was sitting on the kang in robes, put down the memorial and raised his head: "I just got up, and you all came into the palace together like this?"

After everyone knelt down and saluted, the emperor gave them seats and looked at Pei Zhan: "I was just looking for you. Have you gained anything from being stationed in Prince Rong's Mansion these days?"

Pei Zhan said: "I have learned from your Majesty that I have gained something. And a great harvest!"

"Oh?" The emperor looked puzzled, "Then you should tell the truth."

"Your Majesty," Pei Zhan raised his head, "the murderer of Princess Rong is someone else. But before I report the truth, I must first ask the Emperor for a decree of immunity. No matter what the minister involved in the story, I beg your Majesty to forgive any unavoidable acts that exceed the rules."

"What crime have you committed?" The emperor became more suspicious.

"I violated the royal law and broke into the ancestral temple of Prince Rong's Mansion without authorization, and stayed there for half the night. However, I witnessed the murder of Princess Rong with my own eyes. Not only did I see who killed Princess Rong, but also I also know the whole story of his murder.”

"What did you say?" The emperor bowed slightly and straightened up immediately. He looked at the others, and the others responded with firm eyes: "I guarantee this with my official position. What General Pei said next "Every word is true! If there is any truth, I am willing to be punished together with General Pei!"

The emperor's throat rolled, and his right hand, which was placed on the Kang table, curled up slightly unconsciously.

He said slowly: "Say it. I won't punish you." (End of Chapter)