Jiuxi

Chapter 814 812 [Phoenix Crying]

When April came, Dingzhou was already full of vitality and an atmosphere of optimism.

Before Lu Chen left, he handed over the general affairs of the Governor's Office to Huang Xianfeng and Liu Yuan. Of course, urgent military information had to be sent to the capital by an express horse for 800 miles for him to make a personal decision. In addition, if these two people could not make up their minds about general difficult issues, they could be sent to the inner house of the Governor's Office for Wang Chulong to make the decision on the spot.

In the inner courtyard study, Wang Chulong finished reviewing an official document and handed it to a maid, saying calmly, "Take it and give it to Huang Changshi and Liu Zhubu."

"Yes, ma'am."

The maid took it respectfully.

Wang Chulong raised her white fingers and gently rubbed her eyebrows, then took out a piece of paper from the box. On it were nine words written by Lu Chen himself.

Sixteen, ninety-three, spring is born and the weather is bright.

Wang Chulong has already deciphered the implied meaning of the last four words, but the first two sets of numbers are still beyond his comprehension.

Lu Chen did not explain in the letter what these nine words meant, but Wang Chulong knew very well that his return to Beijing this time would not be so safe. This should be a coded message left by someone.

"Mrs. Lin is here."

The maid's crisp voice was heard from the corridor outside.

Wang Chulong looked up and saw Lin Xi approaching her around the screen, so she stood up and saluted, "Sister."

Lin Xi took her hand and smiled, "What are you busy with?"

Wang Chulong glanced at the paper on the table and said with guilt, "My husband sent me a puzzle, but I racked my brains and only solved half of it."

"Puzzle?"

Lin Xi took it and looked at it with great interest. After thinking for a while, he said, "This question has no beginning or end. How do I solve it?"

"The last four characters have a ready-made anecdote, so there's probably no way to go wrong. The main problem is that the first two sets of numbers are very tricky. I've tried to use the examples recorded in the three mathematical classics to solve the puzzle, but I still can't find any clues."

Wang Chulong sighed softly. Even though she was well-read and talented, and could write a brilliant article in a moment, she still found it difficult to solve this strange puzzle.

"If even you can't figure it out, I'm afraid my husband has no solution at all."

Lin Xi has always admired Wang Chulong's intelligence. Looking at Lu Chen's strong and powerful handwriting on the paper, she tentatively asked, "Could these two sets of numbers represent directions?"

Wang Chulong's mind moved, and he said thoughtfully: "It is indeed possible, but I lack the necessary information, so I can't guess it."

Lin Xi said, "Since he specially sent someone to send it all the way here for you to decipher, it must be a secret that is inconvenient for others to know. In order to prevent it from being leaked during the journey, he did not even explain the whole story to the messenger. This shows that this matter is very important. Sister Chulong, you don't have to insist on deciphering all the secrets. Send what you know now to the capital as soon as possible, and it will definitely help him."

As the saying goes, a word can wake a person up from his dream. Wang Chulong realized that Lu Chen would not have the leisure to play such a trick of solving a mystery from a thousand miles away, and nodded quickly and said, "Okay, I will write back to my husband right away."

"There's no need to rush for just a little while."

Lin Xi smiled and said, "I came to see you for another matter."

"Sister, please tell me."

"I'm going to be away for a while, so I'll leave the house to my sister."

Wang Chulong was slightly startled.

Although Lu Jiusi was only eight months old and had not yet been weaned, Lu Tong had already spent a large sum of money to hire two wet nurses, so there would not be any problem if Lin Xi left for a short time. However, Lin Xi chose to leave at this time, which must be something very important.

Wang Chulong said with some concern: "Sister is going to the capital?"

"I can't hide it from you after all."

In fact, Lin Xi had never thought of hiding it. Now she had already regarded Wang Chulong as her closest sister, and said frankly: "I just received news that the angel from the capital entered the city and went straight to the governor's mansion. Governor Xu has been promoted to the right prime minister of the current dynasty."

"Right Prime Minister?"

Wang Chulong's expression changed slightly, and he asked, "Who is the new governor of Dingzhou?"

Lin Xi sneered and said, "The former Minister of War, Ding Hui, is said to be a close friend of the Minister of Personnel, Li Shizhi."

Wang Chulong was so smart that he reacted after a little thought and said seriously, "In this case, the emperor, the left prime minister and the Jiangnan clans are standing together, right?"

"Yes, my husband always reports good news but not bad news. He will definitely not speak directly about his current situation in the capital, so as not to worry us."

Lin Xi held Wang Chulong's hand and said softly, "I can feel at ease with you at home. Besides, I have already informed Jiang Sheng and the others. You will decide all internal and external affairs."

"Sister, take care of yourself."

Wang Chulong did not dissuade him, but just said softly: "Oh, sister, I'm worried that someone will take the opportunity to plot against my husband. Please send someone to do something."

Lin Xi looked into her eyes and nodded seriously.

More than half an hour later, Lin Xi came out of the back door of the Governor's Mansion carrying a bag and a long sword, and immediately met Qi Lianfu, one of the elders of the Seven Star Gang.

"Miss, the brothers are ready. I have also consulted the gang leader and there is no problem."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Uncle Qi. You take them south first. Someone will pick them up after they cross the river."

"Yes, Miss."

Qi Lianfu took the order and left.

Lin Xi turned her head to look at the Governor's Mansion. She seemed to be able to hear the clear and pleasant laughter of Lu Jiusi and Lu Xinyi. A hint of attachment and reluctance could not help but emerge in her eyes.

She took a deep breath, hung the bag and long sword on the belly of the divine horse that had accompanied her for many years, and then climbed onto the horse with great agility.

"Gee!" The divine horse spread out its four hooves and galloped away as if riding on the clouds.

……

The flowers are in bloom yet, spring is still here, and the scenery south of the Yangtze River is particularly beautiful.

After a continuous spring rain, the air seems exceptionally fresh and the mountains and rivers become more beautiful. It is a good time to go out for an outing and enjoy the spring.

For Li Daoyan, who is nearly 70 years old, traveling far away is an unrealistic luxury. Fortunately, the Li family ancestral home is large enough, occupying almost half of the East City of Jinlin County. There are countless pavilions and halls in the mansion, and one can still enjoy the spring scenery while strolling through it.

"Old age is not about strength, heroes emerge from youth, the ancients were not wrong."

The old man chose a flat stone and sat down, looking at the jagged rocks and the rockery and flowing water in front of him. He held his crutch with one hand and tapped his left leg gently with the other, a faint smile on his weathered face.

Another year passed, and Li Gongxu, who was standing next to him, became more calm and his childishness had disappeared unknowingly.

In addition to the grandparents and grandchildren, there was also a tall and straight-statured man in his forties, who was none other than the old man's confidant, Li Yuliang.

After expressing his feelings, Li Daoyan said to Li Yuliang: "Go on."

"Yes, Prime Minister."

Li Yuliang was respectful and said slowly, "Your Majesty entertained Duke Qin in the palace, and then had a casual chat in the Imperial Garden. Your Majesty and Duke Qin had a dispute over whether to reinstate Han Zhongjie, but both sides were very restrained and did not further intensify the conflict. At the grand court meeting in mid-March, the eldest master requested Your Majesty to transfer Governor Xu of Dingzhou back to the capital and appoint him as the right prime minister. Your Majesty agreed and then decided to let Minister of War Ding Hui take over as Governor of Dingzhou."

Hearing this, the old man's dim eyes narrowed slightly.

Li Yuliang added: "Ding Hui then recommended Han Zhongjie to succeed him as the Minister of War, but this was strongly opposed by Duke Rong, so the proposal was abandoned and the post of Minister of War was taken over by Chen Xincai, the Left Vice Minister."

Li Daoyan motioned him to stop, then turned to look at his young grandson and asked, "Zhi Yu'er, what do you think?"

Li Gongxu looked at the old man's kind eyes and said cautiously: "Grandfather, my uncle is helping your majesty suppress Duke Qin."

Li Daoyan couldn't help but smile and encouraged: "Anything else?"

Li Gongxu thought for a moment and replied, "The replacement of the governor of Dingzhou may not completely anger Duke Qin, but it is obviously just the beginning. The left prime minister is willing to make this exchange, which means that he may accept it a second time. If your majesty, the left prime minister and your uncle join forces, Duke Qin will have no power to resist in the court. If grandfather is unwilling to come forward, Duke Qin will be in a difficult situation in the capital this time. From the overall perspective, this is not a good thing for Da Qi."

Li Daoyan said slowly: "So you want me to take action?"

Li Gongxu nodded without much hesitation and said, "Yes, grandfather, Duke Qin is my grandson's teacher."

This explanation is sufficient.

Li Daoyan shook his head and said, "I have been away from the court for more than a year. How can I have the capital to go against Your Majesty?"

Li Gongxu obviously didn't believe this answer.

Li Yuliang, who was standing nearby, took the opportunity to say, "Young Master, the Prime Minister is right. Now our Li family's connections are all in the hands of the eldest master, and those close friends and old acquaintances only listen to the eldest master's orders. Even if the Prime Minister shows up, those people will not disobey him openly, but they will definitely not work hard in secret. Over the past year or so, there have been spies outside the old house, and the identities of some of them have been found out. They are all sent by the eldest master. In the name of protecting the Prime Minister, they have turned this place into an isolated island, unable to contact the outside world."

"what?!"

No matter how fast Li Gongxu progressed, he was still only a sixteen-year-old boy. When he heard the news, he quickly became angry.

"You teased him again."

Li Daoyan raised his hand and nodded at Li Yuliang, then said to the young man kindly: "His words are a bit exaggerated. Even though your uncle is ambitious, he dare not act like this. He did send a lot of spies, but how dare they cut off my contact with the outside world?"

Li Gongxu touched the back of his head embarrassedly.

Li Daoyan looked at Li Yuliang and asked, "What's the situation in Beijing now?"

"Han Zhongjie has no hope of reinstatement. Seeing that Duke Rong is so determined, Your Majesty has no choice but to put the matter aside for the time being. Apart from the start of the imperial inspection, there have been no other disturbances in the capital recently."

Li Yuliang paused for a moment and said strangely, "Duke Qin is not in the capital at the moment."

"Oh?"

The old man narrowed his eyes and asked curiously, "Where is he now?"

Li Yuliang replied, "Duke Qin left the capital with the daughter of Duke Wei many days ago, and toured the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan under the protection of hundreds of personal soldiers. They first went to Xunyang in Jiangzhou to visit Jinghu Lake, and then walked all the way west. They were so free and happy."

Li Daoyan suddenly fell into a long silence.

Li Gongxu and Li Yuliang stood quietly.

"I see. It's a good trick that when many hands gather together, the fire burns higher. This kid is getting more and more cunning."

Although the old man said this, his face was gentle and loving.

The other two looked bewildered.

The old man smiled and said to Li Gongxu: "In a few days, you will personally take people to the outskirts of the city to welcome your master."

"Yes, grandfather."

Li Gongxu didn't ask any more questions and responded respectfully.

Li Daoyan slowly stood up, leaning on a crutch with one hand and holding the boy's arm with the other, and walked forward.

He looked at the lush green in front of him, a hint of melancholy and hesitation appeared in his eyes, and he talked silently to himself.

"You want to come to me to find an answer, but the answer I give you is destined to not satisfy you."

"How..."

(End of this chapter)