Jiuxi

Chapter 1016 1014 [Life and Death]

Capital city, Chengpingfang.

There is a house to the west of the Prince Qin's Palace, which is not too far away. If you go around from the back street, you can go directly to the northwest corner gate of the palace, which is quite convenient for travel.

This is where the secret guards of the royal palace work.

Yin Shangfu, Tan Zheng and Nan Yi each have a group of people, each responsible for a part of the duties, with generally no overlap.

They accepted Su Yunqing's unified dispatch and command, and the intelligence they collected and the feedback on their actions were also sorted and summarized by Su Yunqing, who then reported it to Lu Chen and sent a copy to the palace for filing, which was actually given to Lin Xi and Wang Chulong to check.

In the East No. 1 duty room, Su Yunqing compiled the latest intelligence in the capital into a book, had it delivered to the palace from the back street, and then packed up a little and returned to his own residence.

It was a three-courtyard house located in Xiangpingfang. It was not particularly large, but it was exquisite and elegant, especially suitable for a family to enjoy leisure time.

Su Yunqing was not alone. His wife was born in an ordinary family. For a long time, she did not know that her husband actually held great power. She just thought he was an ordinary clerk. Even so, she did not have any resentment. Not only did she help Su Yunqing give birth to a son and two daughters, she also took care of the household affairs with all her heart and soul, and she was a model of a good wife and a good mother.

Later, Su Yunqing was transferred back to the capital to replace Qin Zheng as the director of the Weaving Bureau. As a result, even if she wanted to hide the truth, she could not do so. However, Su's wife did not change her temperament because of this. She was still frugal and cautious. Even her own brother who came to the capital to seek refuge with her and hoped that Su Yunqing could help him arrange an official position was rejected by her.

For Su Yunqing, this three-story house is not only a home, but also a harbor that can shelter him from wind and rain. Only when he returns here can he completely relax and no longer care about the wind and rain outside.

However, he couldn't calm down today because a middle-aged man with a special identity appeared in the study.

Qin Zheng flipped through the books on the bookshelf and said calmly, "King Qin probably doesn't know that you are so knowledgeable and talented, right?"

Su Yunqing frowned slightly and said, "Sir, you shouldn't come here."

Qin Zheng asked curiously, "Are you worried that the King of Qin will find out?"

Su Yunqing did not answer, but repeated: "You shouldn't have come."

Qin Zheng shook his head, put down the book in his hand, sat down on the armchair not far away, and said slowly: "At this time, I have to see you in person to feel at ease."

Su Yunqing sat opposite in silence.

His story with Lu Chen originated from the Spring Rain in Guangling, but real substantive progress was made after the first battle in Lei Ze Plain and before Lu Chen led a small force to launch a surprise attack on Heluo.

At that time, he told Lu Chen the tragedy of the Su family being killed by the Jinglian people, so he decided to join Lu Chen. Only this young man could help him realize his ideal of fighting in the North to the end and thus take revenge on the Jinglian people.

However, there are always many buts in this world - Su Yunqing and Qin Zheng knew each other earlier, and the reason why he was able to stand out in the Weaving Bureau was basically due to Qin Zheng's hands-on teaching and training. Even his initiative to join Lu Chen was an order issued by Qin Zheng himself.

"At that time, rumors about Lu Chen's life were rife in Yongjia City. Emperor Gaozong chose to suppress the matter for the sake of the Northern Expedition, but he couldn't just turn a blind eye, so I wanted to plant a hidden pawn next to the King of Qin. After much thought, you were the only one who met the requirements at the time. You had some friendship with the King of Qin, and the impression you left on him was also consistent with that of a person who was willing to do anything for the Northern Expedition."

Qin Zheng looked up at Su Yunqing, his deep gaze seemed to pierce through his heart, and then said: "This is the fate of every one of us who walked out of the Sutra Weaving Department."

"Fate? Betrayal?"

Su Yunqing looked calm and said, "Sir, I don't know what you want to do, but based on my understanding of the King of Qin, it is impossible for the Weaving Bureau's plan to be completely hidden from him."

"I know, I never thought I'd be able to do this."

Qin Zheng nodded and said, "But we have to make some preparations."

"Get ready... Sir, I recently discovered something very strange. The secret guards of the royal palace can only find out the secrets of some low-level officials. Not to mention the two prime ministers, even the chief officials of the various ministries and yamen have not made any moves. According to the arrangement of the King of Qin, the civil officials in the court are under the supervision of Yin Shangfu and his men."

Su Yunqing met the other party's gaze and said with a sharp tone: "So Yin Shangfu is also a hidden chess piece that the adults have placed beside the King of Qin?"

"Not exactly. It can only be considered an accident."

Qin Zheng did not deny it. He said frankly, "When the King of Qin went to Baotai Mountain and after the surprise attack on Heluo, he met Yin Shangfu several times. He admired his talents and wanted to recruit him. But he overlooked one problem. Since Yin Shangfu could become the head of the secret agents of the Textile Bureau in Heluo City at that time, I must be absolutely confident in him. I know you have checked the details of the twelve secret agents, and the fourth one is Yin Shangfu."

"I see."

Su Yunqing sighed inexplicably and said in confusion: "Then I don't understand even more. Yin Shangfu can certainly conceal the information of many officials, but how could the King of Qin not notice it? Why did you let him do this?"

Qin Zheng changed his usual tone today and said sincerely: "First, it is necessary to conceal the names of some officials. They are not targeting the King of Qin out of selfish motives. Before the Queen Mother speaks, I have to protect them. Second, as you said before, the King of Qin is too smart. He will not ignore my existence. Therefore, letting Yin Shangfu reveal some flaws can better help you conceal your identity."

Su Yunqing was silent.

After a long pause, he asked softly, "Sir, what exactly do you want to do?"

"doing what?"

At this moment, Qin Zheng's eyes showed some disappointment, and he shook his head and said, "Actually, I don't know what I can do."

There is only one word difference between want and can, but there is a world of difference between them.

Su Yunqing could probably understand the mentality of this benefactor. Qin Zheng had no prejudice against Lu Chen and only admired him, but he could not abandon his loyalty to the emperor.

"Look again."

Qin Zheng said these three words slowly, then stared at Su Yunqing and said, "I won't force you to do anything beyond your ability, but if King Qin attacks the mother and son of the Tian family, I hope you can be mentally prepared." Su Yunqing read a lot from his eyes, and after a moment of silence, he nodded and said, "Okay."

Qin Zheng said no more and left.

……

Buzhengfang, the residence of the left prime minister.

As the end of the year approaches, Xue Nanting has endless government affairs to deal with every day. Even on a holiday like today, there are countless officials and gentry who come to the mansion to visit and ask for advice.

Even though not everyone is qualified to cross the threshold of the Left Prime Minister's Mansion, Xue Nanting still has to take out half a day to meet a few guests.

The palace did not become quiet until just before sunset.

Xue Nanting came to the study in the inner house, sat quietly for a while, spread out paper and pen, but found it difficult to speak when he picked up the pen.

When a middle-aged man walked in with light steps, Xue Nanting still hadn't written the first word.

"Master Prime Minister."

The middle-aged man bowed, then said with some difficulty: "The eldest young master went to see Zuo Hao, the doctor of the Ministry of Personnel's Selection Department, again today."

One word "again" is enough to explain many problems.

Xue Nanting put down his pen and said calmly, "When are they going to start?"

The middle-aged man said with guilt: "Please forgive me, sir. I am still investigating."

"No need to check. Ruogu doesn't have great wisdom but he has some cleverness. He knows very well that the King of Qin's departure from the capital is a bait thrown out on his own initiative. He won't be impatient to take the bait. He will probably wait until the King of Qin returns to the capital and gradually lets down his guard before taking action, such as the last grand court meeting at the end of the year."

Xue Nanting's tone was calm, but the middle-aged man's heart trembled when he heard it.

He didn't understand why the Prime Minister was so indifferent. If he thought the younger generations could succeed, he could at least give them some support. If he thought they had no chance of success, how could he let Xue Ruogu get deeper and deeper into it?

You know, that's his eldest son.

Xue Nanting didn't explain much, and ordered: "During this period of time, you should personally keep an eye on him. If he wants to do something wrong, remember to stop him and say that this is my order."

The middle-aged man secretly breathed a sigh of relief, quickly bowed in response, and then bowed and left.

The moment he walked out of the study, he suddenly had a strange feeling, but he couldn't figure out what was wrong, so he could only shake his head and leave.

The study became quiet again.

Xue Nanting's eyes fell on the blank paper.

"Throughout history, those who have accomplished great things have always had a heart of steel, and you are no exception."

"Because of you, Da Qi was able to defeat powerful enemies, implement new policies, and live up to the people. These are all your contributions. No one can slander or erase them."

"However, because of you, the royal family mother and son are in constant fear. If a tyrant is in power, and you raise the banner to create a prosperous era, I believe no one can blame you. But you and I both know that during the years that the Queen Mother has been in power, her trust and support for you is no less than that of Emperor Gaozong."

"Perhaps you don't understand why a corrupt scholar like me is so stubborn. It's just because we are on different paths."

“You are practicing your words.”

"And so am I."

After talking to himself for a while, Xue Nanting picked up his pen and began to write. In less than half an hour, he had finished a long article.

If that middle-aged man were still here and could read this article, perhaps he would understand where the uneasiness comes from.

This is a suicide note.

Xue Nanting put it into the secret compartment and then walked into the main bedroom.

Looking at the official uniform of the Left Prime Minister on the hanger, which was envied by countless scholars and symbolized the head of civil officials, Xue Nanting stood with his hands behind his back, standing quietly for a long time.

"Perhaps thousands of years later, people will say that this is the most stupid prime minister. Even now, he is indeed stupid. He did not want to keep his useful body to protect the royal family, but just wanted to splash blood on others, thinking that this would make the other party feel fearful and maybe help preserve the royal bloodline?"

Xue Nanting laughed at himself and then shook his head.

He turned to the south, bowed deeply, and said with great difficulty: "Your Majesty, I am incompetent. Please allow me to be unbridled for the last time."

When he stood up again, Xue Nanting's eyes were already red and tears were streaming down his face.

(End of this chapter)