Jiuxi

Chapter 850 848 [Thunderstorm]

More than a month has passed since the wedding that made a sensation in the capital. Some people have noticed that the Duke of Qin's Mansion, which was once bustling with distinguished guests, is now almost deserted.

In the eyes of ordinary people, this may be related to the assassination of the new governor of Dingzhou, Ding Hui. After all, that was Lu Chen's territory.

Because of this relationship, many people did not dare to take the initiative to make friends with this powerful military hero, at least until the assassination case was solved.

The dignitaries at a higher level were involved in a major case because Gao Huan, the former Minister of Justice, was involved in the assassination case. It was very abrupt and strange that Gao Huan was dismissed from office at the beginning. Now he was involved in such a major case that was enough to confiscate the property and exterminate the clan. The dignitaries finally realized that Gao Huan was only assisting in the investigation at that time, and the person in charge was Lu Chen.

The atmosphere in the capital was becoming increasingly weird.

The gate of Duke Qin's Mansion was tightly closed, with almost no communication with the outside world, as if an imperial decree would be issued at any time to strip away the halo from Lu Chen.

The mansion was relatively peaceful. Although the servants Lu Chen brought from Guangling had not seen too many big scenes, they firmly believed that no matter what troubles there were, Lu Chen could solve them calmly.

But they could also feel that a storm was about to come.

When it was getting dark, thick dark clouds covered the sky, and there was no wind. In this summer evening, an extremely depressing and miserable atmosphere was created, making it difficult to breathe.

Li Bingxue pushed open the outer door of the study in the inner house, walked slowly around the screen, and saw Lu Chen standing in front of the window with his hands behind his back, staring at the haze in the sky through the window.

In the past half month, Lu Chen seldom left this study room, especially late at night, when he often had secret conversations with various confidants and some very mysterious figures. Naturally, he had no time to accompany his wives and concubines.

Li Bingxue and Gu Wan'er naturally didn't mind this. They knew that the situation their husbands were facing now was almost like they were standing on the edge of a cliff. If they were not careful, they would fall into the abyss. Therefore, they were considerate and sensible and did not come to find him.

Until today, Li Bingxue finally couldn't control her worry.

Hearing the gentle footsteps behind him, Lu Chen sighed incomprehensibly, then turned his head to look at Li Bingxue, who was full of concern, and smiled, "Madam is here."

Li Bingxue said carefully: "I know you are very busy these days, but I still want to come to you to see if there is anything I can help with."

Lu Chen took her hand and sat down, saying, "You can help me in many ways, but not now."

Li Bingxue looked at his expression which was different from usual. His calmness on the surface seemed unable to cover up the boiling murderous intent, so she asked directly, "What exactly does the emperor want to do?"

Lu Chen said frankly, "Since three days ago, there have been more spies outside the palace than before. Among them are the secret guards from the palace that Li Zongben has created in the past two years, as well as spies from the Textile Bureau. Su Yunqing told me that Li Zongben is already on guard against him, and this time the order did not go through his hands, but was carried out by the supervisor Shen Yi."

Li Bingxue frowned, and her tone was a little more angry: "Does he really want to harm Zhongliang?"

"It's actually not important anymore."

Lu Chen remained calm and said calmly, "Yesterday morning, two troops from the Jinwu Camp were stationed ten miles away from the Ruishi Camp Cavalry Station in the name of changing guards, one in the northeast and the other in the southeast, forming a pincer movement."

Li Bingxue said in shock: "Then why are you still sitting in meditation in the mansion?"

If the increase in the number of spies outside the palace was just surveillance, then Chen Lanyu's dispatch of the Jinwu Camp was a very obvious signal, and this must have come from the emperor's instruction, otherwise even if Chen Lanyu had ten times the courage, he would not dare to do so.

Lu Chen signaled her to stay calm and said with a smile: "I really can't do much in this situation. I can't just bring 300 personal soldiers to force my way into the palace and ask Li Zongben to give me an explanation. That would be no different from directly rebelling. According to the latest intelligence, Yuan Yuji will return to the capital with the Gao brothers in three days."

Li Bingxue looked at the faint smile on his face, and her anxiety slowly subsided. However, she still said with a worried look on her face, "The emperor will definitely use Gao Huan to attack you. Your conflict has developed to this point, and I'm afraid it can no longer be resolved by reducing your power."

Lu Chen thought for a moment and said comfortingly, "Bingxue, don't worry, I have been making arrangements in secret. I am not wasting my time in this study room all day. Even if I don't care about my own life, now that the whole family is here, how can I dare to take it lightly?"

Li Bingxue knew that he would not be careless about such an important matter, so after hesitating for a moment, she asked, "Where are the Dingbei Army and the Feiyu Army now?"

"Jiangbei, Jingzhou."

Lu Chen immediately gave an answer, and then added: "We will cross the river tonight."

These ten short words contained a very complex and profound meaning, and Li Bingxue finally understood it after thinking about it.

She finally felt relieved and asked with concern, "Anything else?"

Lu Chen nodded and said, "Yes, Senior Sister is in the city."

Li Bingxue's eyes widened and she asked in surprise, "Why doesn't Sister Lin come home?"

"I believe you will meet soon."

Lu Chen brushed it off and then changed the subject, "I have been waiting these past few days, but I didn't see the person I wanted to see. Instead, I received a secret letter from Xu Zuo. There were only two short words on the letter, which were called monarch and minister."

Li Bingxue asked in confusion: "What do you mean?"

Lu Chen said slowly, "Xu Zuo is very conflicted and entangled. I think it was Li Zongben's new discovery in the assassination case that forced the two prime ministers to make a decision: continue to maintain the situation between me and Li Zongben, or follow the education they received since childhood to be loyal to the emperor and help the emperor suppress me, a powerful and treacherous minister. Xue Nanting is relatively not so tormented. Normally, he will protect me and avoid discord between the emperor and his ministers. When the time comes when he has to make a choice, he will give priority to protecting the emperor."

"Xu Zuo knows what the emperor is thinking, so he reminds you in this way?"

“It’s both a reminder and an exhortation.”

Lu Chen raised his eyebrows slightly and said calmly: "He doesn't want to see me fall into the dust, but he also hopes that I can uphold the principles of monarch and subject. Naturally, he is in a dilemma and is extremely anxious. For someone like Xu Zuo who has integrity and is not blindly loyal, I'm afraid he won't be able to sleep well these days."

Li Bingxue couldn't help but sigh and asked, "You just said you were waiting for someone, who are you waiting for?"

Lu Chen laughed at himself and said, "If Li Zongben is willing to talk to me openly, I will tell him the truth about those things and let him know who is playing tricks on him. These days, I have been waiting for the report from the north and making preparations in secret. In fact, I am also waiting for Li Zongben's decision. However, he still can't see the truth behind this fog. I can't continue to be sentimental." Li Bingxue could feel the little regret left in his heart, so she held his hand and said, "It will take at least three days for Yuan Yuji to return to the capital."

"Pointless."

Lu Chen turned his head and looked at the dark sky outside the window, and said softly: "It's going to rain."

……

At night, the rain suddenly started.

It seemed as if this rain had accumulated for too long, and when it poured down it was like a downpour.

There were continuous flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder in the night sky.

"boom--"

Bolts of lightning struck the earth one after another. The usually majestic imperial city looked like a dormant beast under the reflection of the lightning.

The rainstorm washed the white jade railings and the bluestone floor, rolled up the dust in the corners, and gathered with the water flow, winding towards the low-lying areas like a dragon.

In the northeast corner of the imperial palace, there is a relatively low and cramped house where the palace servants of the Ministry of Internal Affairs live.

There is a small courtyard deep in the building, which is the residence of Chen Hong, the chief of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The eunuch that the emperor trusts the most is of course Yuan Yuji, and Chen Hong is only second to Yuan Yuji. In addition to his publicly known identity, he is also the deputy commander of the palace secret guards. Therefore, when Yuan Yuji was away from Beijing on official business these days, he served the emperor.

As midnight approached, a few bright candles lit up the east wing of the courtyard.

Chen Hong listened to the continuous thunder and rain outside, took a sip of wine, and sighed: "I didn't know how much I envied Yuan Shaojian in the past, but I recently realized how nervous it is to stay by your majesty's side all day. Tonight, thanks to your majesty's grace, I can finally rest for a night, otherwise I wouldn't have the leisure to drink with you."

There was a small table on the couch, on which was a pot of wine and a few dishes.

A eunuch in his forties sat opposite and said respectfully, "There is a saying that goes 'a big ship can bear heavy loads, a swift horse can gallop far', this is the right way to describe you, the eunuch. In fact, in my opinion, it is not unusual for Yuan Shaojian to be valued by your majesty as he was an old friend during the time when your majesty was in the palace. If we really compare ability and means, the eunuch is more than enough to surpass Yuan Shaojian."

Chen Hong shook his head and said, "Hey, you can't say that casually."

Although he said this, a hint of pride still showed between his eyebrows.

The eunuch's name is Wei Zhen, and he now works in the Internal Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Although he is an old man in the palace, he has never been able to make a name for himself because no one has helped him.

He and Chen Hong have known each other for many years. They knew each other as early as when Chen Hong went to the Prince of Xiang's Mansion to serve the current emperor. Now that Chen Hong is both the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and in charge of the secret guards, he naturally finds ways to flatter him.

Wei Zhen toasted Chen Hong with another glass of wine, watched him drink it all, and then said with a smile: "But speaking of it, that Yuan Shaojian is really lucky."

Chen Hong put down his wine glass and said with a smile: "Everyone has his own destiny, so don't envy it."

Wei Zhen lowered his voice a little and sighed, "I'm not saying that he had a good life before, but I admire that he will have a good life in the future. At least he can live longer."

Chen Hong was drunk and didn't notice that the other party changed his name. He asked in confusion: "What do you mean by that——"

Before he could finish his words, he felt a sharp tearing pain in his lower abdomen. Only then did he notice that Wei Zhen had a ferocious smile on his face and was shaking the wine glass in his right hand.

Chen Hong immediately noticed something was wrong and angrily said, "What did you do to the wine?"

Wei Zhen said dimly: "That's why I say Yuan Yuji is lucky, otherwise he would have ended up like you tonight."

"you!"

Chen Hong's facial features were almost squeezed together in pain, but he was the second-in-command of the secret guards after all, so he immediately supported himself on the couch with his right hand and tried to jump up.

However, the seemingly thin Wei Zhen jumped up, knocked over the wine jug and food plates on the small table, and directly knocked Chen Hong to the ground. With a flip of his wrist, a dagger was already at Chen Hong's throat.

Chen Hong was not so vulnerable, but the poison in the wine made his martial arts useless. He covered his abdomen in extreme pain, staring at Wei Zhen's hideous face with red eyes, and said with difficulty: "You... why are you..."

Wei Zhen grinned and said, "Since you are the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, of course I have to send you down first, so that you can continue to serve the tyrant emperor. Don't worry, you are not alone tonight. There are some of your companions who are on their way to the underworld."

Blood flowed from the corners of Chen Hong's mouth, and his eyes gradually became straight. He could no longer speak, and could only utter intermittent syllables.

"So that you losers can know——"

The sharp dagger in Wei Zhen's hand slowly cut open Chen Hong's throat. With a grim expression on his face like a demon, he leaned in and said, "Listen carefully. I am following the order of the Queen Mother to kill all of you who are disloyal and unfilial! You have ignored the Queen Mother in the past two years, but you have forgotten one thing. Before you got carried away, she had been in charge of the harem for fifteen years! Did that tyrant think that he could kill all those who were loyal to the Queen Mother after just one round of cleaning?!"

"You all deserve to die!"

There was a rumble of thunder outside the house, and the sound of rain poured into the night.

The expression on Wei Zhen's face seemed to be both crying and laughing, and he cut Chen Hong's throat forcefully.

"Go to hell!"

(End of this chapter)