Jiuxi

Chapter 410 Chapter 408 [Eternal Night and Moon Together]

It was July 14th, the fourteenth year of Qi Jianwu's reign.

At about three o'clock in the morning, Lu Chen walked into the palace again. Four days had passed since the last time he met the emperor.

It's just that this time the emperor didn't meet him at the Cloud Observation Tower, nor did he meet him alone.

As soon as he passed through Hening Gate and arrived at the flat and wide square inside the palace, Lu Chen saw Left Prime Minister Li Daoyan walking surrounded by several important ministers.

As if sensing something, Li Daoyan turned his head to look, and then whispered to the officials around him. Everyone bowed respectfully and said goodbye, quickened their pace and walked forward, leaving Li Daoyan alone.

Lu Chen understood in his heart and stepped forward to say hello: "How are you doing, Mr. Prime Minister?"

Li Daoyan's eyes were gentle, revealing a bit of the elder's approval of the younger generation, and he said leisurely: "You said before that you hope I can live a few more years, and now it seems that it should be possible."

Lu Chen shook his head and said, "How can a few years be enough? This younger generation hopes very much that the old prime minister can live a long life."

"That's an old monster. It only makes people hate you."

Dozens of human heads were thrown in front of the Privy Council Gate, hitting him, the Privy Councilor, in the face.

Of course he knew that Lu Chen was talking about the conflict in front of the Privy Council Gate that day. During this period, Guo Congyi's life was not easy. Not only was Xu Zuo, a ruthless man, leading a group of tigers and wolves to cause trouble for the Beijing army, but also because many good people took that scene The publicity of the conflict dealt a huge blow to the reputation he had built up for nearly two decades.

Lu Chen sighed softly: "The old Prime Minister is joking, how can this junior guess what you are thinking."

Li Daoyan did not blame Lu Chen for his behavior of turning over the table. On the contrary, he praised: "Young people should draw their swords in anger, lest some people regard you as a soft persimmon. Even if you are not afraid of that kind of role, And it’s boring to do it again and again. You are just a young person now. If you are as sluggish as we old men at this early age, what’s the point of life?”

Li Daoyan smiled, raised his hand and nodded at him, and then said: "It is a good thing that you are full of passion, and it is even more rare to cherish your subordinates. However, what impresses me is that you can keep your composure in the follow-up and do not act recklessly just because you are a victim. Such reckless behavior will make everyone unable to stand down. Especially during this period of time, you can truly understand the way of being an official."

Li Daoyan raised his head and looked at the Wende Hall that had come into view in front of him, and said calmly: "If you fail His Majesty, Your Majesty will definitely fail you."

Li Daoyan smiled slightly and said with a bit of slyness: "Guess."

"It doesn't matter whether you guess it or not."

"It seems that after staying in Beijing for a few months, you have also learned the skills of making people happy and climbing up the ladder."

Lu Chen suppressed his smile, lowered his head slightly and said, "Juniors are all ears."

Lu Chen felt a strange feeling in his heart.

Li Daoyan couldn't help laughing.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen said calmly: "With the words of the old prime minister as a basis, the younger generation will definitely do more good deeds in the future by drawing out a sword to help when the road is rough."

If only one unrelated person in the capital knew the inside story of the Qingfeng Street assassination, Lu Chen would not hesitate to tell Li Daoyan's name. Although the old prime minister became increasingly silent in the court, Lu Chen would never Don't doubt his ability and skills.

He didn't have much contact with Li Daoyan in the past, but he knew that the prime minister was pretty good to him, but today he was obviously more open-minded and straightforward, as if he regarded Lu Chen as his nephew.

However, Li Daoyan's words were very cryptic and did not give a clear direction. Lu Chen did not rush to ask questions, and followed the other party's words and said: "What the old prime minister said is embarrassing for this junior. If the Privy Council hears you, If you praise a junior, he may fall out with you."

Li Daoyan laughed at himself, and then there was some emotion in his tone: "But having said that, if the younger generation in Daqi can be as knowledgeable about advancement and retreat as you are, I will feel refreshed and happy, and I will naturally be able to live a few more years. ”

Lu Chen's heart moved and he said convincingly: "I would like to be taught."

Li Daoyan shook his head and said calmly: "Actually, I just want to say something today, so you can just listen to it."

This sentence seems to mean something.

Lu Chen listened to the waves of compliments, and a thought suddenly popped into his mind, so he said half-jokingly and half-seriously: "Old Prime Minister, you seem to be giving high hat to the juniors for free today. You can't be Jin." Someone from the Lin Li family is involved in that assassination case, so are you planning to ambush this junior in advance? "

Li Daoyan stopped talking. Although his pace was not fast, he walked very steadily. Just like after decades of ups and downs in officialdom, he was always able to stand firm and became a towering tree without realizing it.

The moment he walked into the Hall of Wende, Lu Chen still had a lot of confusion in his heart. Li Daoyan was not the kind of person who pretended to be mysterious. There must be something else going on in today's simple chat.

Could it be that his ridicule unintentionally revealed the truth, that someone from the Li family was indeed involved in the Qingfeng Street assassination, so Li Daoyan lowered his profile and took the initiative to talk to a junior like himself.

But if that's the case, can a few words of praise extinguish the flames of revenge in Lu Chen's heart?

Even the emperor knew that this was impossible, how could Li Daoyan be so naive.

Full of doubts, Lu Chen followed Li Daoyan into the Hall of Wende.

Today is the period of rest, but yesterday evening the emperor sent eunuchs to various mansions to deliver orders, so not a single important official with an official rank of fourth rank or above appeared in the palace.

Many people speculated that this sudden small-scale court meeting was related to the assassination on Qingfeng Street. So at this moment, when Li Daoyan and Lu Chen entered, most of their eyes were fixed on Lu Chen, the victim.

As if unaware, Lu Chen walked straight to Wu Xun's second row and stood there. He raised his eyes and looked forward, his pupils shrinking slightly. The three princes stood side by side on the right side of the imperial steps.

This is a very rare phenomenon, because the emperor did not give the princes the right to observe the government, and these three people will never be seen in court meetings, unless it is a ceremonial occasion like the Zhengdan Dynasty.

The princes naturally noticed Lu Chen's gaze, and their reactions varied.

The eldest prince, Li Zongchao, had a complicated expression and a slightly nervous expression. I don't know whether it was because he was standing here to receive the attention of the important officials in the court, or because he remembered what Lu Chen said at the banquet in Feng Yuan Garden that day.

The second prince, Li Zongben, was as upright and upright as usual, and even nodded to Lu Chen without any taboo.

As for the third prince Li Zongjian, he didn't seem to care about Lu Chen's appearance at all, which was in line with the world's impression of him, but no one knew that the third prince's solemn expression at this moment was not a disguise.

He pretended to glance at Li Daoyan's figure casually, and his eyes immediately passed over the vacant position among the civil servants.

Li Shizhi reported that he was ill and recuperating. This was the news that the third prince learned three days ago. What made him even more uneasy was that his people could no longer contact the eldest son Li.

After thinking about it, the third prince could only think that Li Shizhi was timid and did not dare to get too involved in this matter, so he pretended to avoid talking about it.

These wealthy nobles are really greedy and cowardly. If they didn't have to rely on their support, the third prince would have wanted to scold them in person.

When the emperor's solemn tone reached his ears, the third prince immediately calmed down. At this moment, he was feeling both nervous and excited.

"Eight days ago, Shanyang Hou Luchen suffered a brutal assassination on Qingfeng Street in Xicheng. The mastermind behind the scenes was generous and sent out a lineup of more than 40 people at a time, including many well-known top figures among the grassroots. Master. Fortunately, Lu Chen and the guards around him worked together bravely to thwart the assassins' plot. "

Li Duan glanced at the ministers in the palace, with a hint of anger in his voice: "I never thought that in this important place in the capital, someone would dare to take risks and assassinate the commander of the Beijing camp whom I appointed in such an unscrupulous way. This makes me doubtful, Yongjia Is it the capital of Daqi? Am I the emperor of Daqi?”

"Your Majesty, calm down."

All the ministers shouted in unison.

Li Duan smiled coldly and continued: "The thing that makes me most angry is that a large number of military-style crossbows appeared at the scene of the assassination. These weapons, which were exchanged for people's sacrifices, were used to assassinate people who fought desperately to protect the country and the people. Good general in the army, this is such an ironic thing. Whenever I think about this, my face will feel burning, as if I have been slapped hard by the traitor. "

Guo Congyi and Wang Yan felt tight in their hearts.

The two of them did not participate in the assassination of Lu Chen, and they were free of guilt. However, those crossbows were like sharp swords hanging on their heads and could be cut down at any time. Therefore, they and the arrogant and tyrannical soldiers of the Beijing army The generals have been very low-key recently.

Li Duan glanced at these military giants, then looked at Xue Nanting and said: "Right Prime Minister, I asked you to investigate the origin of these crossbows. Have you found anything now?"

Xue Nanting came out of the squad and said: "Your Majesty, I have been ordered to investigate in detail the case of the leakage of the Beijing Army's standard crossbows. Now I have investigated more than half of the armaments in and out of Beiya and the three Beijing camps. I have found that there are a large number of weapons in each army." Due to the missing condition of the ordnance, it is impossible to determine which department those standard crossbows belong to, and no one has admitted that they are related to this case. I kindly ask your Majesty to give you some more time, and I will sort out the specific issues of the various departments of the Beijing Army and then submit them to the emperor in writing. ”

Guo Congyi and Wang Yan were full of distress, but at this moment they couldn't say a word.

Li Duan pondered for a moment, nodded and said: "Accurate. Prime Minister, you must remember that no matter how long the investigation takes, no matter who is involved, I want a definite answer, and I will never allow the mastermind behind the scenes to go unpunished!"

Xue Nanting responded: "I obey the order."

Li Duan looked around at the courtiers and suddenly saw a middle-aged civil servant standing very far in front of him. He was none other than Ning Yuanfu, the Minister of Civil Service, who held the power of appraising and appointing officials.

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became solemn.

Ning Yuanfu bowed to the emperor, and then said loudly: "Your Majesty, I have this memorial."

Li Duan said expressionlessly: "Tell me."

Ning Yuanfu's expression was calm and his tone was sonorous and forceful: "Your Majesty, I have something that puzzles me. That day, Marquis Shanyang went to Fengyuan for a banquet. The route should have been chosen randomly, and this matter was not known to outsiders. Why did the assassin Can they set up such a thorough ambush in advance? The location they chose is remote and quiet, and the arrangements before and after are very thorough. It can be seen that it is not a sudden move, but they have already known the whereabouts of Shanyang Hou to arrange such a murderous plan!"

As soon as these words came out, there was a solemn silence in the hall.

On the right side of the imperial steps, the eldest prince's expression changed slightly, because he heard the murderous intention hidden in the words of the official minister.

Li Duan narrowed his eyes slightly and said slowly: "What exactly does Ning Shangshu want to say?"

Ning Yuanfu said solemnly: "Your Majesty, His Highness King Chen hosted a private banquet for the Marquis of Shanyang that day. At that time, almost no one in the capital knew about it. Apart from His Highness King Chen, the only people who knew about it were people from the palace. I do not suspect that this matter is related to His Highness King Chen. , but now that it is related to the stability of the court, everyone hopes to find the real culprit who intends to murder Shanyang Hou, and there are a lot of discussions in the public. As the eldest son of the emperor, His Highness Prince Chen should explain the truth to the civil and military officials of the court, so as to be clean. Get rid of your own doubts!”

There was a commotion in the venue.

Although Ning Yuanfu repeatedly denied doubting the eldest prince, none of the people in the palace could tell that he clearly wanted to accuse the eldest prince of being the mastermind behind the assassination on Qingfeng Street!

At this moment, Li Daoyan turned his head and glanced at Ning Yuanfu who was not far away.

The old man's face was expressionless, and no one could see his true thoughts.

He retracted his gaze and looked at the ground in front of him, standing silently and lonely just like he had done in the past few years.

(End of this chapter)