Jiuxi

Chapter 590 588 [Life is short]

"In fact, I don't want to doubt Li Xiang."

After a brief silence, Lu Chen said with a complicated expression.

Li Tianrun could understand this feeling.

In the last two years of the late emperor's life, Li Daoyan and Jinlin Li made great contributions and played a key role in the stability of the court. Many people, including Li Tianrun and Lu Chen, only then saw the good intentions of the old prime minister to take the overall situation into consideration.

If such a prime minister who worked so hard to control the direction of the giant ship of Da Qi was the mastermind behind Lu Chen's inference, it would not only be difficult to accept logically, but also impossible to make such a judgment rationally.

Because Li Daoyan had many students and old friends all over the world, and the Jinlin Li family was the most powerful family in Jiangnan, on par with the Zhailin Wang family in Jiangbei, he did not need to use such sinister means to cultivate his own party.

The most important thing is that in the court struggles of the previous two years, Li Daoyan mostly stood on the side of the late emperor, which caused many aristocratic families to become alienated from him.

Giving up his existing network of contacts and going to great lengths to cultivate a new group of people, isn't Li Daoyan just doing nothing?

With this in mind, Li Tianrun said gently, "Li Xiang is indeed the least suspicious, but this possibility cannot be completely ruled out. At that time, the conflict between the late emperor and the Jiangnan clans was irreconcilable. In Li Xiang's position, it would be a difficult question as to how to choose."

Lu Chen nodded.

Li Tianrun asked again: "What do you think of Prime Minister Xue?"

The label on Right Prime Minister Xue Nanting is too conspicuous.

He and Qin Zheng were the late emperor's right-hand men. Before Li Daoyan gradually made his attitude clear, he was the late emperor's most powerful supporter in the court.

Without his hard work, the First Northern Expedition would not have been possible.

Even without talking about Xue Nanting's character, just looking at the late emperor's respect and trust in him, we know that he is unlikely to do those shady things, because if he wants to cultivate his own trusted followers, I am afraid that the late emperor would be happy to see it happen and might even help him.

Lu Chen knew this very well, and said slowly: "Prime Minister Xue and Prime Minister Li are in similar situations. They don't have to do this. It's just that because of their status and authority, they have more ability to do this than others, so I can't just exclude them."

Li Tianrun asked: "So the people you really suspect are Zhong Cheng and Han Zhongjie?"

"These two adults..."

Lu Chen hesitated for a moment and said softly, "To be honest, I can't see through them yet. I don't have enough information to support my analysis. But I can confirm one thing, they are all beneficiaries of the rebellion in the capital, Han Zhongjie benefited the most, and Zhong Cheng the second. The former skipped a long promotion process in the officialdom and became a core senior military official, while the latter successfully controlled the Ministry of Personnel and became the head of the six ministers. If the intelligence from the Textile Bureau is correct, then these two adults are highly suspected of being the ones who secretly promoted the rebellion of those aristocratic families."

Li Bingxue, who had been silent all this time, suddenly asked, "If the mastermind behind this is one of these two people, what exactly does he want to do? Does he have a rebellious heart?"

"That's not necessarily the case."

Lu Chen shook his head and said, "Perhaps he just wants to be above everyone else and become the most powerful official in the history of Da Qi for more than a hundred years. In the process, he needs to constantly eliminate his opponents and eventually achieve the power to rule the country and make his orders come from one person."

Li Bingxue naturally couldn't stand this kind of behavior, but given her position, she wouldn't make such superficial sighs.

She knew that for many big shots, power was even more powerful than poison.

Li Tianrun glanced at her, then said to Lu Chen, "You don't have to be too nervous. Since you have already noticed the other party's existence, there is no need to alert them for the time being. Just wait and watch calmly and wait for the other party to reveal their tracks. Since the person behind the scenes has great ambitions, he will definitely not be satisfied with the status quo. He wants to seize more power and will definitely continue to make moves. After confirming the other party's identity, you can crush his plot with thunder and lightning."

Lu Chen responded: "I think so too."

Li Tianrun was silent for a moment, then asked meaningfully: "Have you informed the emperor of these suspicions?"

Lu Chen said frankly: "No."

Li Tianrun said slowly: "Okay, let's take another look."

Li Bingxue was a little confused at the moment. She didn't understand what the two were talking about, but she noticed the tiredness between her father's eyebrows and eyes, so she coughed a little harder.

Lu Chen understood immediately and said apologetically, "Uncle Li has been traveling a long way and is recuperating. I shouldn't have kept you talking for so long. Uncle Li, take a good rest. I'll come to visit you again in two days."

Li Tianrun said calmly: "Thank you for your trouble. Bingxue, please see Lu Chen off for me."

"Yes, daddy."

Li Bingxue stood up, glanced at Lu Chen who smiled unconsciously, then turned around and left.

Lu Chen took a step forward to catch up.

The Duke's Mansion was the Marquis' Mansion a few years ago. There have been some changes in the regulations, but the overall structure has not changed.

The afterglow of the setting sun gently shines down, bathing this majestic mansion in soft light.

The two of them strolled along the path, side by side.

Lu Chen took the initiative to speak: "I suddenly remembered that I once lived here for a period of time."

Li Bingxue smiled and said with emotion: "You have really changed a lot now."

Lu Chen blinked to show his confusion. Li Bingxue put her hands behind her back and said leisurely, "If it was you in the past, you would either be asking me about the situation on the Jiangbei border or talking to me about the twists and turns in the court. You would never be like you are now, looking back on the past as soon as you open your mouth."

Lu Chen wisely remained silent.

Li Bingxue tilted her head to look at him, and said with interest: "Are you trying to say that when you first came to this house, I was drunk and even took advantage of the alcohol to reveal my true feelings to you, telling you clearly that I have a good impression of you? Or, after you were stabbed and injured and moved in here, I told you all my thoughts without reservation?"

Lu Chen laughed and said, "Am I so shameless in your mind?"

"Of course you wouldn't have done that before, but now..."

Li Bingxue retracted her gaze and raised her smooth chin slightly: "That's hard to say. Ever since that casual conversation in Ju County, Jiangbei, I found that you consciously became less dull and honest, and gradually learned to speak sweet words. Don't be nervous, I don't think this is a bad thing anyway. After all, it's enough for you to be serious in business. If you act like an old scholar at other times, it will be more or less boring."

Lu Chen sighed: "That being said, I just feel like I am useless in front of you."

This is natural.

If it were Lin Xi or Wang Chulong here, they would never take the initiative to talk about their past embarrassing moments. Only Li Bingxue could be so calm and casual.

Li Bingxue smiled and said, "I thought you would say that I am more shameless."

"I'm afraid of getting beaten."

Lu Chen pretended to be honest.

Li Bingxue looked him over and shook her head, "I may not be your opponent now."

The two of them almost simultaneously remembered that before Lu Chen entered the palace to attend the court meeting for the first time, they had fought several times in this house, and the result was that Lu Chen was defeated repeatedly, and the loss was no surprise.

Lu Chen couldn't help but feel a little emotional, and continued the previous topic: "Life is short, why should we always be bitter and resentful? I have figured out some problems and reflected on what I did in the past."

“It’s hard to say whether it’s good or bad.”

Li Bingxue took over the conversation and said with a half-smile: "Although I like your current state, I am worried about Sister Lin and Sister Wang."

Lu Chen already understood what she meant, but he still couldn't help asking, "What are you worried about?"

Li Bingxue sighed, "I'm worried about how big your house will have to be in the future to accommodate so many people. You're not very old, but your reputation and status are so high that it's not appropriate to describe you as a young noble. It can be said that there have been few outliers like you in thousands of years. Now you've learned how to use sweet words to make women happy. No matter where you go, you're the most eye-catching one. How many women can refuse you? Thinking about it this way, I can't imagine how many people will be in your backyard in the future. Of course, I'm worried about my two sisters."

At the end of her speech, she couldn't help laughing out loud, her face full of teasing.

In the afterglow of the sky, her smile is as beautiful as a flower.

Lu Chen said seriously: "Don't worry, no matter what the situation is in the future, there will definitely be a courtyard in the Lu family's backyard that belongs to you."

Li Bingxue was stunned. Even though she was open-minded and cheerful, her cheeks turned red at this moment. She spat softly, "Who wants to live in your house?"

Lu Chen suppressed his laughter and said seriously, "But I will let you and Senior Sister live farther away, otherwise we will have to renovate the house in a few days."

"You're saying we're tigresses?"

Li Bingxue moved as fast as the wind and pinched Lu Chen's ear with extreme precision.

However, Lu Chen did not dodge or evade, but took advantage of the situation to hold her hand.

Li Bingxue pulled back her hand and said with a smile, "You are getting more and more lazy. You are still a powerful marquis. By the way, aren't you going to take up an appointment to the frontier soon? Why are you so worried about the affairs of the court?"

Knowing that she was trying to change the subject, Lu Chen didn't want her to feel uncomfortable, so he said, "There are two reasons. One is that the three states in northern Jiang can't afford to support so many border troops. The stability of the rear is related to the strength of the border troops. If the court is in chaos and officials are distracted from their work, the supply of the border troops will definitely not be able to keep up. This is a very serious hidden danger."

Li Bingxue nodded. In fact, she also understood this truth.

Lu Chen continued, "The second reason is my selfish thoughts. The late emperor left a very good foundation for the present emperor, and I will never allow anyone to wantonly destroy the late emperor's hard work. No matter who intends to do this, as long as he dares to expose his tracks, I will tear him into pieces."

Li Bingxue was silent.

She understood the deep and complex feelings that her lover had for the late emperor. At least until now, he only wanted to fulfill the late emperor's last wish.

Return to the old capital, recover the homeland, and recreate the prosperous scene of the Great Qi.

Li Bingxue stopped, turned around and looked at Lu Chen, reached out to help him straighten his clothes, and said softly: "Take care of yourself."

"it is good."

Lu Chen raised his hand and gently touched her hair, smiled slightly, and said goodbye and left.

Li Bingxue stood under the peach tree, quietly looking at his receding back, her gaze like a thin yet tenacious thread of love.

(End of this chapter)