Jiuxi

Chapter 788 786 [The one who comes can still be pursued]

When Yuan Yuji returned to Rende Hall, he ran into an important official coming out.

He quickly stopped and stood sideways, bowing his head respectfully to show respect.

There was no verbal exchange between the two men, and the important official just nodded slightly and continued on his way.

Yuan Yuji turned his head and glanced at the other person's back, his eyes deep and obscure.

Logically speaking, an official position like the Director of the Sutra Weaving Bureau must be held by the emperor's absolute confidant, but Yuan Yuji has always felt that there is a lot of mystery surrounding this important official named Su Yunqing, perhaps because he has lived in Jiangbei for a long time.

Suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his mind, Yuan Yuji walked into the inner hall and saluted, saying: "Your Majesty, Lieutenant Fengguo has been settled."

"Ah."

Li Zongben responded calmly, then raised his eyebrows and asked, "Did you see Su Yunqing just now?"

Yuan Yuji bowed his head and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Li Zongben seemed to suddenly become interested. He put down the book in his hand and asked, "What do you think of this Su Tiju?"

Yuan Yuji's heart trembled, and he quickly said, "Your Majesty, who is this servant? How dare I comment on the important officials of the court?"

Li Zongben had a faint smile on his face and said leisurely: "Just say it casually, I won't blame you."

Yuan Yuji thought for a moment and said carefully: "Su Ti is diligent and capable. The Textile Bureau can not only provide intelligence support to the generals of the border army during the war, but also help Your Majesty to deter the villains in the capital. Su Ti's role in this is obvious to all."

"You do know how to talk."

Li Zongben looked at him meaningfully and said slowly, "You only talked about ability and not loyalty. I think you have some different opinions about Su Yunqing."

Yuan Yuji was not only the Junior Supervisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he was also building a secret force under the emperor's instructions, which had now begun to take shape.

This force has not yet been named, and the emperor's original intention was just to have another channel to understand the outside world. In other words, their main responsibility is to gather information, but Yuan Yuji is very clear that as time goes by, this force will definitely stand in opposition to the Weaving Bureau, and both sides will aim to compete for the emperor's favor.

He and Su Yunqing were destined to be rivals, and speaking directly of the other party's shortcomings at this time might be considered as framing and slander.

However, he remembered the emperor's earnest instructions before, and still mustered up the courage to say: "Your Majesty, Su Tiju once lived in Jiangbei for a long time. I heard that the Duke of Shanyang had close contacts with Su Tiju before he joined the army."

Click till.

Li Zongben said with a half-smile, "I have also heard about this. He told me that he had contact with Lu Chen in order to hunt down the fake Yan spies. He originally wanted Lu Chen to travel to the north as a secret agent of the Textile Weaving Bureau, but he was flatly rejected. It can be seen that Lu Chen, who was only a commoner at the time, was arrogant and did not even take the Textile Weaving Bureau seriously."

When Yuan Yuji heard this, he knew that the emperor must have a plan, so he said respectfully: "I see, I was overthinking."

"It's not a bad thing to think too much, it's always better than being ignorant."

Li Zongben looked up at him and warned him, "Li Zongjian's character is hard to change. I don't want to see him causing trouble again."

"I understand, Your Majesty, please rest assured."

Yuan Yuji understood what he meant and agreed.

Li Zongben stood up and walked slowly to the exquisite screen. He looked at the embroidered map of the Great Qi territory on it, his eyes fell on a certain place in the north, and said quietly, "In three months at most, I will be able to see the youngest Duke in the history of the Great Qi Dynasty, who has saved the country from danger and saved people from disaster."

Yuan Yuji dared not say anything.

Li Zongben exhaled slowly and whispered to himself, "It's good that you're back. I also want to see you."

……

"How dare you snatch your sister's toys?"

Lu Chen, who was being cared for by many people, was standing beside the couch with a look of surprise on his face, looking at the chubby Lu Jiusi who was sticking his butt out and holding a small object made of cotton cloth tightly in his hands.

Lu Xinyi didn't cry or make a fuss. She looked at her brother with her big round eyes, as if she didn't understand why he was so interested in this thing.

"Lu Jiusi, return the toy to your sister quickly, or I will spank you."

Lu Chen's threats were obviously useless. When Young Master Lu heard his father talking to him, he raised his head and grinned happily.

"Hey, you kid."

Of course Lu Chen couldn't really do it. After all, Lu Jiusi was only five months old and at an age where he couldn't understand anything.

In the end, he could only stand there helplessly with his hands on his hips.

"Okay, go about your business."

Lin Xi felt a little amused and a little disgusted. She now realized that her husband was not omnipotent. At least when it came to taking care of the baby, he seemed very clumsy, which was very different from his usual calm and composed self.

Lu Chen did not insist. He leaned over and pecked Lu Xinyi's pink cheek. Then, when he turned around, he saw Wang Chulong's eyes, so he understood and said, "Okay, Senior Sister, I'll trouble you here. Chulong and I will go talk about something."

"Go."

Lin Xi looked normal, and reminded: "Sister Chulong is still recovering, don't give her a lot of things to do, at least wait until next spring."

"Thank you sister for your concern."

Wang Chulong smiled gently, and then followed Lu Chen back to her main room.

When they arrived at the study, the couple sat opposite each other. Wang Chulong took out a few sheets of paper from a pile of files, handed them to Lu Chen and said, "Husband, take a look first."

Lu Chen took it and looked at it. He saw a clearly written analysis of the various forces in Beijing.

More than two months before Wang Chulong was due to give birth, Lu Chen asked Tan Zheng, Qu Zhong and others to stop reporting to her to prevent her from overwork and affecting her physical condition.

Postpartum recovery is also very important. Lu Chen is well aware of the backwardness of medical skills, especially gynecology, in this era. He also has a certain understanding of this aspect in his previous life. Therefore, both Lin Xi and Wang Chulong, under his insistence, rest assured to recuperate and basically did not interfere with the work. But for Wang Chulong, compiling such an analysis does not require too much energy.

In the past two years, she has controlled all the power of the Lu family hidden under the surface. All the disturbances in the country will be delivered to her in time. In addition, she has shown a talent for intelligence integration and analysis since she was a child, and it has gradually become an instinct.

Lu Chen watched carefully, and Wang Chulong said, "My husband said that the memorial advising the Northern Expedition has been circulated in the capital. Afterwards, I thought that it might not be appropriate. My uncle sent someone to deliver a secret letter to convey the emperor's goodwill to my husband, which at least proves that the emperor has realized some of his mistakes. But because of that memorial, if someone whispers in the emperor's ear to provoke him, I'm afraid it will cause the emperor to rebel."

"Whether there is that memorial or not, Li Zongben will not really want to repair his relationship with me."

Lu Chen had his own considerations, and said gently: "From the changes in the court over the past year or so, Li Zongben seems to be willing to accept good advice, but in fact he lacks tolerance. The root of the conflict between him and me lies in the division of power. Either I take a step forward or he takes the lead. It's like a tug-of-war that is getting more and more intense, and there is basically no situation where everyone is happy."

Wang Chulong hesitated for a moment, then stared into Lu Chen's eyes and said, "Does my husband really want to take that step?"

Lu Mo remained silent.

After a moment, he smiled and said, "I can't hide it from you after all."

"Actually, Sister Lin also guessed it. We have talked about it privately before."

Wang Chulong looked calm and said slowly, "Sister Lin said that no matter what my husband wants to do, she will support him without hesitation. I think so too, but maybe it's because I've seen too many sinister people since I was a child, so I always feel a little uneasy."

Lu Chen comforted her, "Don't worry. In fact, it doesn't matter what I think. The key lies in what those people in the court will do."

Wang Chulong certainly understood the implication of this sentence. She glanced at the paper on the table and said softly, "Husband, I have carefully reviewed the important intelligence of the past few years. There is one person you need to pay special attention to."

"Who?"

"The son of Prime Minister Li, the Minister of Personnel Li Shizhi."

Lu Chen's eyes narrowed slightly. How could he possibly ignore this loyal minister of the emperor who was rising to prominence?

Even if we put aside the existence of Li Daoyan and the hundreds of years of foundation of the Jinlin Li family, the speed of Li Shizhi's rise after the new monarch ascended the throne was enough to make Lu Chen alert, not to mention that the other party now has the power to bring down the right prime minister.

Although Li Zongben tacitly approved of this, it is enough to show that Li Shizhi's skills should not be underestimated.

However, he knew Wang Chulong's character very well, and he mentioned it so solemnly because there was obviously another mystery behind it.

Wang Chulong took out another file from the table and said, "My husband, this is the detailed life story of Minister Li. From the time he entered the government to the 13th year of Jianwu in the previous emperor's reign, he had basically no outstanding deeds. However, from the 13th year of Jianwu to the first year of Dingzheng, Minister Li's influence in the capital increased day by day. Especially in the past year and a half, his status has risen at an incredible speed, and he can now compete with Prime Minister Zuo."

Lu Chen couldn't help but frown slightly.

Wang Chulong continued, "What surprises me most is that Prime Minister Li asked Li Gongxu to become my husband's disciple."

Lu Chen replied: "The old prime minister has seen a lot in his life. Considering the family foundation, it is not surprising that he has arranged an extra way out."

"That does make sense, but I always feel that the old man is entrusting his son to his care."

Wang Chulong's eyes were clear, and he continued, "With the vision of Mr. Li, he must have seen the ability and skills of Li Shangshu, otherwise he would not have chosen him as the successor so early. This matter puzzles me. If Mr. Li had no grudge against Li Shangshu, why would he arrange a way out for his grandson in advance for no reason? Isn't he worried that Li Shangshu would have a grudge against him? Besides, entrusting an orphan to someone else is usually a helpless response. Why would Mr. Li do this?"

Lu Chen looked at the file in his hand, as if a ray of light suddenly shone into his heart.

Some inconspicuous details emerge from the depths of memory, and then entwine and cling to each other, outlining a picture hidden in the shadows.

After a long while, he said with emotion: "You are right. I did underestimate this Minister Li. Thank you for your reminder, Madam."

Wang Chulong smiled and said softly, "My husband is busy with many things every day, and it is my job to fill in the gaps for you."

"You are worthy of being my good wife."

Lu Chen raised an eyebrow at her and said slyly, "Leave it to Madam to do whatever she wants tonight."

The painting style changed a little quickly. Wang Chulong knew that he just didn't want her to think too much, so she rolled her eyes and said solemnly: "Husband, you can't be careless when you go to Beijing this time. I know you must have made enough preparations, but you must remember that we are waiting for you at home."

Lu Chenyi put away his joking thoughts and said solemnly: "Don't worry, I promise to come back alive and well. I'm still waiting for Jiusi and Xinyi to call me daddy."

Wang Chulong then stood up, walked around the desk, and took the initiative to move into Lu Chen's arms, leaning against his chest.

The couple did not do anything romantic, but just embraced each other silently with mutual understanding.

……

The lively and festive New Year's Day is coming to an end.

The 19th day of the first month of the second year of Dingzheng.

Lu Chen, Duke of Shanyang and Grand Commander of Dingzhou, was surrounded by his personal soldiers, and accompanied by counsellor Chen Xun, general Ye Jitang and others, and 3,000 cavalrymen from the Ruishi Battalion, as they set out on a journey southwards.

Lin Xi, Wang Chulong, Song Pei and a group of people came outside the city to see them off.

"Everyone go back."

Lu Chen looked at his wives and concubines who were reluctant to leave, waved to them with a smile, and then got on the carriage.

The driver swung a beautiful whip and the team slowly set off.

Spring is blooming, and all things are revived.

The world is beautiful.

……

……

(Hello, book friends, the seventh volume "The Age of Great Contention" ends, and the eighth volume "Moment in Peking" begins.)
(End of this chapter)