Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1646 The masterminds behind the scenes!
Yijing, Night

An ordinary carriage drove to the back door of the residence of Duke Rong Cui Shao. The next second, a figure in a black cloak got off the carriage and knocked on the back door.

A moment later, the black shadow arrived at the study of Rongguogong Cui Shao. Looking at Cui Shao in front of him and the two teacups in the room, the black shadow seemed to realize something and immediately spoke to Cui Shao:

"Did you guess I was coming?"

Cui Shao did not answer the question directly, but picked up the tea bowl and said:
'Today's tea is good, try it!'

Hearing this, the black shadow picked up the teacup and took a sip. Then he said with a complicated look:
"It's my favorite Pu'er tea. You really guessed I was coming!"

After saying this, the black shadow raised his head and looked at Cui Shao and said:

"What would you have done if I hadn't come?"

Under the gaze of the shadow, Cui Shao said calmly:
"Tomorrow, His Majesty will summon me to discuss the disaster in Ji, Yu, You, Yan, Qi and Lu!"

Although he had expected this answer, a hint of self-mockery still appeared on the black shadow's face.

Cui Shao also said upon seeing this:

"Although I didn't fully anticipate what you did, your presence today means that I, Cui Shao, did not completely misjudge you!"

"You have already said that to Xuan Yifeng, so I naturally understand that the truth has been revealed, so of course I have to come to see you!"

"So what are you going to do?"

"What I do depends on your opinion. If you want to expose me to His Majesty, I will take all the blame. Since I dare to do this, I have naturally prepared for the worst. I have even prepared poisoned wine and white silk!"

Looking at the man in front of him ready to die, Cui Shao shook his head and said:

"Although His Majesty is not a violent person, he is not a soft-hearted person either. Do you think he can let your family go?"

"If I remember correctly, I attended your daughter's full moon banquet last month..."

Dark Shadow said with a smile;

"After His Majesty became emperor, he was thinking about reform and being a benevolent monarch. He wanted to abolish those tortures, so naturally he would not implement the law of collective punishment. If he punished my family, how could he reform?"

"What a good way to use one's own spear to attack one's own shield! But this may not be enough!"

"You're here! I believe you'll protect my family!"

Seeing the black shadow's matter-of-fact look, Cui Shao couldn't help but shook his head.

At this time, the black shadow also spoke with some doubt:
"Can you tell me how you found me?"

"I thought I did it covertly enough and hid it from your eyes and ears!"

Cui Shao heard this with a complicated expression and said:
"After more than ten years of getting along, you really know me well enough, so you hid it very well from me, and I never noticed what you did!"

"Then why do you know this?"

"It was the Queen who told me to be careful of you!"

"Queen?"

"Do you remember your mistress Ziyun?"

"It turned out that this incident exposed my weakness. I was just playing with that bitch, but she wanted to use the child to blackmail me. I could only send her off. I didn't expect that I would fail because of this..."

"When did you become so cruel? I still remember your sincerity in serving the country and the people!"

After hearing this, the black shadow also felt a little emotional, and then he slowly said:

"I am very grateful for your care and love for me, but after many years in the officialdom, I have learned a truth, that is, a man of small mind is not a gentleman, and a man of no evil is not a man. Even you have been cruel at times over the years!"

Cui Shao sighed and said:
"I couldn't help it!"

"It is said that one cannot control the body, and one cannot control the mind. So how can one control the body?"

"You can't control your heart, and you can't control your body. You have really grown up over the years!"

'Thank you for your cultivation over the years! This is the path I chose!'

"By the way, if I turned a blind eye, what would you do?"

"Things have come to this point now. I will never start something with a bang but end it with a whimper. I will completely resolve the Coordination Office!"

"Without the Coordination Office, your majesty's reforms will be like rootless duckweed, and will not be implemented at all. At that time, your majesty will have no choice but to give up the reforms. Your majesty will do so!"

"Why do you have to do this? The court is in a turbulent time right now, with war outside and disaster inside. How will it benefit the country and the court if you stir up trouble in the court at this time?"

"I don't want to take action at this time, but if I don't take action at this time, do you think His Majesty will compromise?"

“If everything is calm now, Your Majesty would never think of settling the situation peacefully, let alone giving Zeng Yang a lavish burial. Zeng Yang, that bastard, the only good thing he did in his life was to take poison, so that I could use his death to criticize the Central Mediation Office…”

"Your methods are indeed very clever. You actually have a hidden agent in the Coordination Office!"

"Don't you have it, too?"

Cui Shao was a little surprised when he heard this, and immediately shook his head and said:

"I really can't hide anything from you!"

"Can you tell me what you decided?"

"It is never too late to put down your butcher knife and become a Buddha right now!"

"You want me to stop?"

"It's not you, it's you!"

As soon as these words came out, a strange look flashed in the black shadow's eyes, and at this time Cui Shao continued:
"Your method is indeed something I didn't expect, but even so, you and Xuan Yifeng don't have such ZZ energy and can't cause such a big storm, so besides you two, there must be someone else!"

The black shadow remained silent after hearing this.

Cui Shao continued:

"Although I disagree with some of your reforms, your Majesty's ideas are good. Under your Majesty's governance, the entire Daqian is thriving, and everything is moving in a good direction. These are visible and tangible facts!"

“We can create a prosperous era!”

"You are all pillars of the court and talents who can govern the country. Why do you insist on going against His Majesty?"

Hearing this, the black shadow said in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty is indeed a great hero, but that doesn't mean everything you do is right! Your Majesty's reforms are shaking the foundation of the court!"

"Your Majesty is the emperor, but Daqian is not just yours alone. It is built by all of us. Many colleagues have worked hard to build Daqian, but now some people are being kicked out of the government office at your order. Is this fair?" "You said that as long as your Majesty becomes the emperor, we will all be founding heroes and enjoy endless wealth and glory, but what about now?"

"It is not us who betrayed His Majesty, it is His Majesty who betrayed us for his great cause of reform!"

Seeing that he could not persuade the other party, Cui Shao was too lazy to waste any more words and directly said:
"I only give you two choices. First, stop now. Second, go back and drink your poisoned wine..."

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The next day, the palace

In a courtyard, Murong Xinyun, with the help of a maid, was hurriedly helping Ye Mingsheng put on his clothes.

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly to the girl in front of him. When he was about to say something, he suddenly couldn't help coughing twice, then forced a smile on his face and said to Murong Xinyun:

"Xinyun, take good care of yourself! I'll come see you in two days!"

"Yes! I will wait for your majesty!"

Under Murong Xinyun's gaze, Ye Mingsheng turned around and left the yard, walking towards the imperial study.

After seeing Ye Mingsheng off, Murong Xinyun was about to have breakfast when a palace maid came over and reported:

"Mrs. Yunpin, the Imperial Concubine asks you to come over!"

"now?"

"Yes!"

Although she was somewhat curious as to why her sister called her over so early, Murong Xinyun still put down what she was doing and followed the palace maid to Murong Qingwu's residence.

After seeing Murong Xinyun, Murong Qingwu dismissed the maids and asked her sister:
"Xinyun! Did His Majesty rest at your place last night?"

"Yes! What's the matter, sister?"

"Xinyun, do you think His Majesty was abnormal yesterday?"
Although she didn't know what her sister was talking about, Murong Xinyun thought about it carefully and then said:
"Your Majesty has a cough and looks a little tired... And your Majesty was a particularly gentleman last night!"

"A special gentleman? Xinyun, what do you mean?"

"Sister, you know, His Majesty likes to take advantage of others, but he was very well behaved last night. He went to bed early last night. I thought he wanted to do something, but he was really just sleeping!"

After Murong Xinyun finished speaking, she saw her cousin Murong Qingwu's serious expression, and immediately asked in confusion:

"Sister, what happened?"

Facing her sister's questioning, Murong Qingwu finally said:

"Your Majesty is ill!"

"Indeed! His Majesty has been coughing recently and looks very tired. I asked him about it and he just said he caught a cold!"

"I'm afraid it's not a cold!"

Murong Xinyun was stunned when she heard this, then looked at her sister in surprise and said:

"Sister, what do you mean? If it's not a cold, what is it?"

Murong Qingwu took a piece of paper and said:

"Your Majesty has changed the tea leaves and now drinks this every day!"

Murong Xinyun took the paper and read in a low voice:
"Chrysanthemum, honeysuckle, bitter gourd..."

After saying this, Murong Xinyun seemed to realize something. She raised her head and looked at Murong Qingwu in surprise.

Under her sister's gaze, Murong Qingwu said in a deep voice:

"If I'm not mistaken, there must be something wrong with your Majesty's liver and lungs!"

"Sister, even if there really is a problem, it might just be a minor one!"

"If it's a minor problem, why didn't Your Majesty summon the imperial physician? Didn't Your Majesty summon the imperial physician to see the cold before?"

"Sister, are you saying that His Majesty is suffering from an incurable disease?"

"I don't know yet, but judging from the current situation, I feel that Your Majesty's problem is definitely not a small one!"

"When Your Majesty came to me ten days ago, he was polite. When he went to Chen Rouer's place five days ago, Chen Rouer made all kinds of poses, but Your Majesty remained indifferent, causing Chen Rouer to return empty-handed. Chen Rouer scolded him for two whole days!"

"Sister, do you mean that His Majesty is trying to cover up something?"

Murong Qingwu nodded and said:
"The grassland war has not yet come to an end, the disaster in the north is getting more and more serious, and now the Censorate and the Coordination Office are fighting endlessly. Now everyone is looking at Your Majesty. If Your Majesty has any health problems at this time, it will make the situation even more chaotic, and some people may even take risks!"

Murong Xinyun also took over the conversation and said:
"So your majesty must block the news and not let others know that there is something wrong with his health. Once the imperial physician is summoned, or if he does not visit the concubines, it will definitely attract the attention of those with ulterior motives!"

"That's why your majesty didn't summon the imperial physician, and behaved like a gentleman!"

Murong Qingwu nodded slightly and said:
"Sister, what you said is exactly what I was thinking!"

"If something happens to His Majesty, you and I, sisters, and even the entire Murong family will be in danger!"

"Sister, are you worried about An Miaoyi?"

"Yes! An Miaoyi's mind is vicious and her methods are ruthless, not inferior to Empress Lu. If Your Majesty encounters an unexpected event, Madam Qi will probably serve as a lesson for me, your sister!"

At this point, Murong Qingwu had a slight smile on her face, but if you look closely, it's not hard to tell the bitterness in the smile...

Hearing her sister say this, Murong Xinyun also comforted her:
"Sister, you worry too much. Your Majesty is a great hero. How can you let An Miaoyi do whatever she wants?"

"Even if the worst happens, Your Majesty may follow the example of Emperor Wu of Han and kill the mother and keep the son..."

Murong Qingwu shook her head and said:
"It might have been possible before, but since he became emperor, your majesty has not been so cruel. Besides, if your majesty wants to pass the throne to the crown prince, he will definitely leave An Miaoyi behind!"

"Why is this?"

"The Queen Mother alone cannot control those arrogant and fierce generals. Although An Miaoyi did not lead the troops to fight, she has taken care of the families of those soldiers over the years. These people all remember An Miaoyi's kindness, and those generals of the Ye family also listen to An Miaoyi very much!"

"If your majesty really passes away, only An Miaoyi can stabilize the court situation and control those arrogant and fierce generals. If An Miaoyi is not there, the queen mother and the prince will probably be bullied to death by those arrogant and fierce generals. Your majesty will understand this!"

After saying this, Murong Qingwu continued:
"Xinyun, you are very thoughtful. If His Majesty goes to your place to rest again in the next few days, you must observe carefully to see how His Majesty's physical condition is!"

"Sister, I know!"

Murong Qingwu said faintly after hearing this:
"An Miaoyi sees us as a thorn in her side. If she becomes the Queen Mother and rules the country from behind the scenes, she will definitely not tolerate us. So if His Majesty really encounters an accident, our Murong family must prepare early, otherwise it will definitely be a great disaster for our Murong family!"

"Don't worry too much, sister. His Majesty is a lucky man. He may recover in a few days!"

“I hope so…”