Lanting prelude

Chapter 5 The Inner Ghost
Wei Wangfu, study room.

Li Tai was sitting in front of the desk reading a book, with a light smoke curling up from a Xiezhi copper stove next to him.

A rush of footsteps came from outside, and Li Tai knew it was Du Chuke as soon as he heard it.And he could tell that Du Chuke must have something urgent to report.Even so, Li Tai still tried his best to stabilize his mind, his eyes still stayed on the scroll in front of him.

To be calm in the face of major events is what his father always taught him, and Li Tai has been working hard to practice it.

As soon as Du Chuke arrived at the door, he sent away the eunuchs standing on both sides, and then closed the door immediately.

"Your Highness, something has happened!"

The corner of Li Tai's eyes twitched, and he raised his head slowly: "What's the matter?"

"Sure enough, that crow's mouth of Liu Ji's is right!" Du Chuke sat down on the opposite side of the desk, "I just got the news that Wei Zheng entered the East Palace yesterday and informed the prince about the Wude Palace."

"How is it possible?" Li Tai was startled, and subconsciously patted the desk, and immediately thought of the word "quietness", and quickly took a deep breath, "Is the news conclusive?"

"Yellow Dog just handed it over, how could it be wrong!" Du Chuke panted heavily, with annoyed expression on his face.

Li Tai couldn't believe it: "Wei Zheng knew about what happened the day before yesterday, how is this possible?!"

"Your Highness, it is obvious that there are ghosts around us!"

Li Tai frowned: "Ghost? Only you, He Nian and Liu Ji know about this. Who do you think is a ghost?"

"Of course it's that old boy Liu Ji, who else could it be?!"

"Why him?"

"He Nian and I are both from our house. How could we inform Wei Zheng and the crown prince? But Liu Ji is hard to say. It is entirely possible that he faces you on the surface, and secretly joins the East Palace, stepping on two boats. At that time, no matter which ship sinks, he will still have a way out."

Li Tai looked at Du Chuke, and suddenly smiled: "Why can't the people in our mansion inform the East Palace? Aren't there people from us in the East Palace?"

Du Chuke was startled: "This...it's different, we put the 'yellow dog' in."

"We can place people in the East Palace, why can't Wei Zheng place people beside me?"

Du Chuke was startled when he heard the words: "Your Highness, you...you don't doubt me, do you?"

"From a logical point of view, the three of you are suspicious now, aren't you?" Li Tai said coldly.

Du Chuke smiled wryly, and the expression on his face couldn't tell whether it was annoyance or pain.

Li Tai looked at him for a while before he chuckled: "Okay, don't make a sad face, if I doubt you, will I still sit here and tell you these things?"

Du Chuke breathed a sigh of relief, and complained: "Your Highness, what time is this, are you still in the mood to joke?"

"Be calm in the face of major events. I advise you to learn from my father's teachings."

"Yes, the Holy Majesty's teachings, the ministers should naturally learn." Du Chuke was perfunctory, and hurriedly said, "However, the most urgent task at the moment is to quickly find a way to get this ghost out!"

Li Tai reached out and stroked his forehead lightly, lost in thought.

Taiji Palace, Liangyi Hall.

This hall is the second largest hall in the Taiji Palace after the Taiji Hall, and it is also the place where Li Shimin listened to politics outside of the official court meeting.There is no guard of honor in the hall, the court ceremony is simple, and the behavior of the monarch and his ministers is relatively casual.

At this moment, Li Shimin was meeting Wei Zheng, and the two seemed to have talked about something interesting, and laughed a lot, and the atmosphere seemed quite relaxed and harmonious.The servant Zhao Dequan bowed and stood aside, and also smiled.

"Xuan Cheng," Li Shimin smiled and looked at Wei Zheng thoughtfully, "You entered the palace today, you shouldn't just come to chat with me, right?"

Wei Zheng's word is Xuancheng, and when Li Shimin is in a good mood, he will call him by his word.

"Your Majesty is wise!" Wei Zheng raised his hands, "I do have something to say."

"Look," Li Shimin said to Zhao Dequan, "I knew that Wei Zheng had talked a lot of gossip with me, just to prepare for something to happen."

Zhao Dequan smiled apologetically: "That's right, everyone, Grand Master Wei is loyal to the country, so naturally he is always thinking about state affairs."

"Tell me," Li Shimin turned to Wei Zheng, "what do you want to play?"

"Your Majesty, since King Wei presented the "Kuo Di Zhi", His Majesty has rewarded King Wei continuously. The gifts of gold, silk, materials and daily expenses far exceed the crown prince. There are many opinions in the government and the public, and they all think that this is the case. If it is not done properly, the minister also feels the same, so it is like a stick in the throat, and you can't spit it out."

Li Shimin's face darkened suddenly: "Wei Wang has contributed a lot to the dynasty in compiling "Kuo Di Zhi", and I reward him with more things as a token of encouragement. What's the big deal, and it's worth your irresponsible remarks?"

"Your Majesty has always been strict with rewards and punishments, and the King of Wei deserves to be rewarded for his merits. I have no objection to this. What I am worried about is that the King of Wei is arrogant because of his favor, and he has unreasonable thoughts about the position of the heir. If so, it is definitely not me. The blessing of the country!"

Li Shimin sneered: "Wei Aiqing, are you worrying too much? It's nothing more than rewarding some gold and silk materials, and you think of seizing the throne. If I give King Wei some more honors, will you worry? He usurped the throne?"

Zhao Dequan was slightly startled, he didn't expect the emperor to say such serious words in a blink of an eye while he was still amiable just now.

"Your Majesty, I believe that you will not do this."

"Why do you think I won't?"

"Your Majesty is a sage, Derby Yao and Shun, what should be done and what should not be done, your heart is like a mirror."

"Wei Zheng, stop bluffing me with your high hat!" Li Shimin looked displeased, "Now you say I'm a 'Derby Yaoshun', then if I really did something you think shouldn't be done, wouldn't you want to tell me about it? Cheng Xia Jie and Shang Zhou?"

"Your Majesty!" Wei Zheng stood up suddenly and bowed deeply, "Please forgive me for speaking bluntly, if you really do something you shouldn't do, I will risk my life to remonstrate you and never hide your words!"

Li Shimin sneered loudly: "Okay, then I will tell you the truth, what you think should not be done, I really did it!"

Wei Zheng's heart moved, it seemed that his method had worked, but he pretended to be surprised: "Your Majesty, what... what did you do?"

"I have decided to allow King Wei to live in the Wude Hall, and I will make a formal decree to announce it to the court and the public!" Li Shimin stared at Wei Zheng and said loudly, "I have already informed King Wei of this matter in advance. How about it, now you what you want to say?"

Zhao Dequan was shocked again, he never expected that the emperor would really tell this matter in a fit of anger.

Wei Zheng made a shocked and unbelievable expression: "Your Majesty, absolutely do not do this!"

"why?"

"Once you do this, it will definitely further arouse King Wei's ambition to seize the heir apparent, and it will also be regarded as a harbinger for you to dethrone the prince!"

Li Shimin snorted coldly: "Scaremongering!"

"Your Majesty!" Wei Zheng suddenly took off the black veil on his head, raised his head high, knelt on his knees, and said loudly, "Your Majesty, if you insist on doing it, then I beseech Your Majesty's permission today, so that I can return to my hometown and return to my old age." Lin Quan!"

Li Shimin was taken aback, he didn't expect Wei Zheng's reaction to be so intense, he didn't know what to say for a moment.

Zhao Dequan rolled his eyes, ran over quickly, and helped Wei Zheng put the black hat back on his head: "Oh, Grand Master Wei, if you have something to say, please tell everyone, how can someone take off the black hat at every turn?!"

Wei Zheng remained silent, and stubbornly took off his hat again.Zhao Dequan quickly pressed him back again.This was repeated three times, and finally the hat was still not put back on Wei Zheng's head.Zhao Dequan had no choice but to shake his head and give up his efforts, and walked back to Li Shimin resentfully.

"Wei Zheng," Li Shimin eased his emotions, "Tell me specifically, what's wrong with me doing this?"

"Returning to Your Majesty, since the Wude Hall is located in the deep palace, it is very convenient to visit and exchange. However, this hall is located to the west of the East Palace, and its status is more respected than the East Palace. If the King of Wei lives in it, where does he want to put the crown prince? The crown prince is the foundation of a country. If the prince is allowed to override him, the country's court system will be useless, and the subjects of the world will have nothing to rely on. It will cause disasters and cause chaos! Your Majesty loves the king of Wei, but how can he bear to put him on the throne? The place of suspicion? In addition, the Hall of Wude was the residence of King Hailing in the past, and he was punished for his rebellion. The government and the public know that if King Wei moved this hall, it would be a very ominous move? Therefore, I hope Your Majesty will think twice and withdraw his order as soon as possible!"

The King of Hailing was Li Yuanji, the King of Qi at that time. He lived in this palace for several years.Wei Zheng mentions this now, on the surface he means "unlucky" or something, but in fact he is implying Li Shimin that if King Wei is allowed to live in this palace, it will definitely trigger the same tragedy as before.

Although Li Shimin knew that Wei Zheng would definitely object to this matter, he still did not expect him to object so strongly.

After pondering for a while, Li Shimin suddenly smiled: "Xuan Cheng, you have assisted me for so many years, and every time you offend me and remonstrate, I feel a little unhappy, but in hindsight, every time you say it, it almost makes sense. Therefore, I will consider carefully what you said just now, so you should step back first."

"Your Majesty is wise!" Wei Zheng solemnly put the black hat back on his head, "Your Majesty will leave!" Then he bowed and retreated.

As soon as Wei Zheng left, the smile on Li Shimin's face disappeared immediately.

"Everyone," Zhao Dequan whispered, "You really should hold back just now, don't bring this up with this stubborn Wei Zheng."

Li Shimin smiled coldly: "Dequan, do you really think that I slipped my tongue in a moment of impatience?"

Zhao Dequan was taken aback: "Then...then everyone is..."

"This matter is a stone." Li Shimin had a deep smile in his eyes, as if he was talking to himself, "If I don't throw this stone out, how will I know how many animals are hidden in this big pond of the court?" Toad, how many sounds can these toads make?"

Zhao Dequan suddenly realized: "Everyone is really a sage! This old slave is so stupid, I almost thought you really slipped the tongue."

Li Shimin glanced at him: "You didn't almost, you already thought so."

"Yes, everyone is right, the old slave is stupid, the old slave is stupid!"

"Wei Zheng made such a fuss just now, at least it can prove that he has no cronies, and he is still that high-minded and arrogant official!"

"How did everyone see it?"

"If he had cronies, someone would have leaked the news to him long ago. Do I still need to 'speak out'?"

Zhao Dequan nodded frequently, with a look of admiration on his face: "Everyone is wise!"

After Chu Lisang came home late that night, she developed a high fever and lay in bed for three whole days.

Chu Yingniang was so anxious that tears were about to fall, she stayed by the bed every day and fed her medicine herself.Chu Lisang was so burned that he didn't know day and night, but he was still thinking about sending money to the Bodhi Temple to give to that "fool" in a daze. It's just that he didn't even wake up much in the past three days, let alone get out of bed and go out.

On the third night, Chu Lisang's fever gradually subsided, and his consciousness finally became clear.

Chu Yingniang kept stroking her chest, thanking all the gods, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the sky.Chu Lisang saw that her mother's eyes were bloodshot, knowing that she must not have closed her eyes for the past few days and nights, she was both moved and guilty.

When feeding her porridge, Chu Yingniang scolded, "You've scared my mother to death these few days, just talking nonsense!"

Chu Lisang was startled: "What did I say?"

"My mother can't understand. I just heard you yelling 'don't go, idiot', and you said 'I want to help you', 'give you money' and so on. Who is the idiot?"

Chu Lisang faltered: "I... I had a nightmare, do you take the words in the dream seriously?"

Chu Yingniang looked at her thoughtfully, and immediately smiled: "Forget it, it doesn't matter if you recover from illness, thank God, Amitabha!"

Chu Lisang grinned and smiled with her mother, but in her heart she kept thinking that she was really ill at the wrong time, and it lasted for a few days, and she didn't know how the "idiot" was doing now.

In the twilight, the clerk of Erya's pawn shop had just removed the first door panel when he saw the man in white clothes a few days ago standing in front of the door again, still holding the black cloth bag in his hand.

The man got angry and yelled at him to leave, but the man changed his attitude a few days ago and kept begging in a low voice, saying that this time he was not here to pawn, but came to apologize to shopkeeper Wu.

"What are you apologizing for?" The clerk said angrily while removing the door panel, "Do you think that everyone else is just like you, cheating and cheating all day long? Go ahead, our husband has to do business and has no time to talk to you!"

The man finally lost his patience, and his face changed slightly: "Brother, I am talking nicely to you, you...how can you slander people casually?"

"I think you are sick, right?" The buddy got angry, "Do you really want to fight?"

The man was about to argue, when Wu Tingxuan came out, and said to the clerk, "Da Zhuang, go do your business, it's none of your business here."

The guy named Da Zhuang glared at the man a few more times before walking away cursing.

Wu Tingxuan looked at the man: "My lord, we have said everything we should have said that day, I wonder if you today..."

The man suddenly fell to his knees with a plop, with tears in his eyes: "Shopkeeper Wu, please save Xiaosheng, Xiaosheng really has no way out this time!"

Wu Tingxuan was startled, and hurriedly helped him up: "If you have something to say, talk about it, what's going on?"

The man's tears fell down: "People from the government have come to me..."

Wu Tingxuan finally realized suddenly and could not help but let out a long sigh.

In the small flower hall in the backyard of Erya's pawnshop, Wu Tingxuan and the man were sitting on the futon.The man had just finished telling his story, but his eyes were still red.

The man said that his name was Zhou Lugui, and his father was from a local family. When he was young, he left home to do business and bought some property. Because he always loved calligraphy, by chance many years ago, he bought Wang Xizhi's authentic cursive script "Seventeen Posts" with a lot of money. Supreme treasure.A few months ago, my father suddenly missed his hometown and wanted Ye Luo to return to his roots, so he sold all his properties and took him and his mother on the road home. Unexpectedly, he encountered bandits on the way, and all the gold and silver were looted. Unfortunately killed.But fortunately, the thieves had already snatched Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, but later found that it was just a scroll of useless writing, so they abandoned it by the side of the road.In this way, because the bandits were ignorant, their father and son were able to retrieve this priceless treasure.

After returning to Yique, they were penniless, so they could only live in the Bodhi Temple and eat the fast food in the temple.Although food and lodging have been settled, but after this catastrophe, my father can't afford to be ill.In order to get medicine for his father and cure his illness, he pawned all the things he could pawn one after another, but his father's health went from bad to worse.He was extremely anxious, and in the end he had no choice but to steal the "Seventeen Posts" without telling his father to pawn, and then those things that Wu Tingxuan knew happened.

What Zhou Lugui never expected was that just yesterday, the county magistrate of Yique sent someone to find him and ordered him to hand over the "Seventeen Posts", saying that it was to be dedicated to the emperor, but he only agreed to pay a mere hundred copper coins As a compensation.He argued hard, but was threatened, saying that if he didn't know how to get the one hundred coins, he would be given three days to send Fatie to the county office, otherwise his father and son would be thrown into custody on the grounds of resistance. go to jail.He had no choice but to ask Wu Tingxuan for help, begging him to save the lives of their father and son...

After hearing this, Wu Tingxuan's eyes felt wet, and he sighed, "Zhou Lang, you should understand now why all the pawnshops in Yique County called this authentic painting of Wang Xizhi a fake and turned you away, right?"

Zhou Lugui nodded with a bitter expression.

"Actually, I should have told you everything that day, but out of the nature of a businessman, thinking that one more thing is worse than one less thing, I concealed the truth from you." Wu Tingxuan showed guilt, "I'm really sorry Zhou Lang, I'm sorry for your father too! If I had told you earlier, maybe your father and son could have escaped this calamity."

Zhou Lugui hurriedly said: "Sir, don't blame yourself, it's all because I am too bookish and don't know the dangers of the world..."

Wu Tingxuan was thinking about something, and he was a little puzzled: "You just said that you want my help, but Wu is just a commoner with no power or power, how can you help me?"

Zhou Lugui looked at him sincerely: "Mr. Wu, you must be able to help me with this job. I'm afraid there is no other person in Yique County!"

Wu Tingxuan became more and more confused.

"Mr. Wu, I know that you are not only a great expert in appreciating calligraphy and painting, but also have profound calligraphy skills, so..." Zhou Lugui hesitated for a moment, and then summoned up his courage, "So I would like to invite you to follow Wang Xizhi's instructions. Handwriting, re-write this "Seventeen Posts"..."

"Absolutely not!" Wu Tingxuan was startled suddenly, "There are many people in the government who can appreciate calligraphy, not to mention that today is a master of calligraphy, and there are countless capable people in the court. If you do this, you will definitely be punished." See through!"

"Mr. misunderstood." Zhou Lugui smiled, "How dare I do such a deceitful thing? Even if I dare, I must never drag Mr. into the water!"

Wu Tingxuan frowned: "Then what do you mean..."

"I've already made up my mind. I'm a poor scholar, and I definitely can't compete with the government. I can only hand over the original work. Therefore, I asked my husband to write this post, not for the emperor, but for my father. "

Wu Tingxuan finally came to a realization: "You mean, use the original copy to hide from your father, making him think that the original work is still there?"

Zhou Lugui nodded heavily, tears welled up in his eyes: "my father is already seriously ill, if he loses this calligraphy treasure that he regards as his life, he will definitely not be able to bear the blow, so Xiaosheng can only make this bad plan and hope Mister is perfect!"

Wu Tingxuan was quite moved when he heard the words, but at the same time he was thinking about something, and his face showed embarrassment: "Zhou Lang, I also want to fulfill your filial piety. The problem is that although I have some experience in appreciating ancient calligraphy and painting, I personally have I don't have any accomplishments in calligraphy, I'm afraid...I'm afraid I won't be able to take on this task!"

"Mr. is too modest." Zhou Lugui said earnestly, "Although Xiaosheng has not been back to Yique for a long time, he still knows a thing or two about you. With your calligraphy skills, not to mention a small Yique County, even if you look at the entire Yique County In Luozhou, there are very few people who can stand shoulder to shoulder."

Wu Tingxuan's eyes flickered for a moment: "Zhou Lang, don't listen to rumors from the outside world, they are all pretentious and out-of-the-box things..."

"Mr. Wu," Zhou Lugui looked at him straight, "forgive Xiaosheng for speaking bluntly. Last fall, Yang Bingwei, governor of Luozhou, celebrated his mother's birthday. The birthday card you wrote should not be something out of thin air, right?"

Wu Tingxuan was startled, and was immediately speechless.

Thinking of this matter, Wu Tingxuan still regretted it.Since he came to Yique and opened this Erya pawn shop 16 years ago, he has not written a single word. However, during the Spring Festival the year before last, he had a whim, and he couldn't bear it for a while, so he wrote a pair of Spring Festival couplets and pasted them on the door of the pawn shop. Yang Bingjun, the governor of Luozhou who happened to pass by, saw it at a glance and repeatedly praised his handwriting as having the charm of Wang Youjun, so on the occasion of his mother's [-]th birthday, he forced Wu Tingxuan to write a birthday card. Since then, Wu Tingxuan has been working in calligraphy The reputation spread.

Seeing that he frowned and remained silent, Zhou Lugui hurriedly said: "Mr. Wu, the reason why Xiaosheng mentioned your past is because he was eager to save his father, and he didn't intend to be abrupt. I hope you will understand me!"

The matter has come to this point, Wu Tingxuan can no longer hide it, so he smiled wryly and waved his hands: "I don't mean to blame Zhou Lang. Indeed, Wu also learned calligraphy for several years when he was young, but he only dabbled in Xingkai, for example The birthday post you just mentioned is written in Xingkai. As for the typical cursive script like "Seventeen Posts", Wu has never studied it deeply, so how can I help you?"

"Mr. is too modest again." Zhou Lugui smiled, "Only a couple of couplets with a few numbers can write the charm of Youjun Xingkai. With such a large handwriting, I believe that the cursive script must also be impressive."

Hearing this, Wu Tingxuan couldn't help but smiled wryly again: "I don't know if Zhou Lang has thought about it, even if I have the ability to help you write this copy, but your father has enjoyed this post for many years, and he must be familiar with Wang Xizhi's handwriting. A flaw, isn't it self-defeating and actually hurt him?"

"My father is old and sick, and his eyesight is not as good as it used to be. I don't think my father will see the flaws with my master's generosity." Zhou Lugui insisted very stubbornly, "So, as long as you do your best As long as it is similar to the original work, there is no need to force it."

Wu Tingxuan frowned deeply, as if he was extremely contradictory. After pondering for a long time, he slowly said: "To tell you the truth, since Wu moved here 16 years ago, he vowed not to write a single word. Writing a post for the governor Yang Bingjun is really a case of coercion. Because of helplessness, it was definitely not out of Wu's will. Therefore, I also ask Zhou Lang to forgive Wu's difficulties, and this matter...you should ask someone else to do it!"

This time it was Zhou Lugui's turn to be silent.He hung his head down, looking extremely disappointed.

The atmosphere is almost frozen.

"Since that's the case, Xiaosheng won't be able to make things difficult for others." Zhou Lugui stood up and bowed deeply to Wu Tingxuan, "Xiaosheng is very sorry for bothering you for a long time, so I will leave now."

Wu Tingxuan got up and bowed back, his eyes were somewhat unbearable, but his lips moved, but he didn't say anything after all.Zhou Lugui looked gloomy, and walked out slowly with the black cloth bag in his arms.Wu Tingxuan stared blankly at him to leave, with mixed emotions in his heart.Suddenly, he noticed something moving behind him, and when he looked back, he saw Chu Lisang coming out from behind the screen, looking at him fixedly, his eyes were a little red.

Wu Tingxuan was startled: "Sang'er, you...why are you here?"

Chu Lisang looked directly at his father: "Father, you have taught me since I was a child that righteousness should be the first priority in life. It is the duty of a person to save people in need, help those in need, but you just now..."

Wu Tingxuan looked away: "It's not that Dad doesn't help him, but that this matter is not that simple."

"It's nothing more than writing a copybook. How complicated is it?"

"Sang'er, you also know that father has sealed his pen 16 years ago, and he was forced to write a post for the governor. So this time, father will not make an exception again."

"Why?" Chu Lisang suddenly raised his voice, "Why can't you make another exception?"

Wu Tingxuan was thinking about something, and after a moment of silence, he said coldly: "This is a personal matter for father, it has nothing to do with you, you don't need to ask any more!" After speaking, he turned and walked out.

Chu Lisang was anxious, caught up a few steps, and said loudly: "Father! You are heartless and ungrateful for doing this! This is not the father I know!"

Wu Tingxuan was startled and stopped in his tracks.

"Sang'er, you can't talk to your father like that!" Chu Yingniang walked in from the side door of the flower hall, and looked at Chu Lisang with a stern look that she had never seen before.

Chu Lisang became more and more wronged: "Mother, you don't know, just now dad..."

"I know everything." Chu Yingniang interrupted her coldly, "I heard what that young man said just now."

Chu Lisang was stunned: "That means you think the same as your father, don't you?"

Chu Yingniang remained silent.

Chu Lisang nodded, smiled sadly, turned and walked out of the flower hall.

Chu Yingniang and Wu Tingxuan looked at each other, but they were speechless.

After Chu Lisang left the flower hall, she locked herself in the boudoir. She didn't come out for lunch or dinner. Even though Chu Yingniang and Lvxiu were persuading and talking good things at the door, she always hid in the room without saying a word .

In the evening of that day, Wu Tingxuan hurried back to Erya's pawnshop from outside, and had a quiet discussion with Chu Yingniang in the bedroom for most of the night.Early the next morning, Wu Tingxuan went out again.Chu Yingniang immediately came to the door of Chu Lisang's boudoir, let Lu Xiu go down first, and then knocked on the door: "Sang'er, open the door, mother has something to tell you."

The room was still silent.

"Sang'er, your father has changed his mind." Chu Yingniang said calmly, "Don't you want to hear it?"

The sound of Chu Lisang turning over and getting out of bed was heard in the room immediately, followed by the sound of the bead curtain being suddenly pushed aside, then the sound of footsteps, and finally the door opened with a whimper, revealing Chu Lisang Three points haggard and seven points surprised face.

Chu Yingniang let out a long sigh in her heart.

Chu Lisang grabbed his mother's hand: "Mother, have you decided to help him?"

Chu Yingniang nodded.

Chu Lisang was overjoyed, and hugged his mother suddenly: "I knew that you and father are such kind people, and you will definitely not die!"

Chu Yingniang didn't speak, but smiled wryly.

The mother and daughter held hands and sat side by side on the embroidered couch outside the boudoir.

"Your father went to the abbot of the Bodhi Temple yesterday afternoon and asked him everything about the situation. What the young man said is indeed true," Chu Yingniang said.

"Of course! That idiot is a gentleman, how could he lie and deceive others?" Chu Lisang said happily, suddenly realized something, and quickly covered his mouth.

Chu Yingniang looked at her: "So, he is that 'nerd'!"

Chu Lisang was about to make up a lie, but Chu Yingniang raised her hand to stop her: "You don't have to hide it anymore. In fact, your mother knows what you did behind your back."

Chu Lisang pretended to be confused: "Mother, what are you talking about, what did I do behind your back?"

Chu Yingniang didn't speak, stood up and walked into the inner room of the boudoir, and came out after a while, holding a crumpled piece of clothing in her hand, it was the blue round-neck gown that Chu Lisangqiao was wearing.

Chu Lisang was dumbfounded and cursed in a low voice after a long while: "Damn green sleeves!"

"Don't scold the green sleeves." Chu Yingniang put her clothes aside and sat down, "She has been keeping her mouth shut all this time, her mouth is tight! Mother discovered it herself."

Chu Lisang smiled awkwardly: "You...how did you find out?"

Chu Yingniang didn't smile, but looked at her seriously: "Sang'er, do you think mother is blind and deaf, or a fool?"

Chu Lisang lowered his head and muttered in a low voice: "Look at what you said, how could I..."

"In the past few years, you have secretly learned six or seven of my mother's martial arts. Don't think that my mother doesn't know; you have been buying this outfit for more than half a year, and you have climbed over the wall from behind no less than ten or eight times. This mother also knows; also, on February [-]th, you secretly went to the temple fair, and when you came back, you had no time to change your clothes, and wrapped yourself in a quilt to sweat profusely, mother also knew; I just met outside, otherwise you wouldn't be so concerned about his affairs. Is what mother said right?"

Chu Lisang was dumbfounded, not knowing what to say.

"Sang'er, what mother said today is not to scold you. Mother has said it before, and girls can't help mother. Thinking back when I was young, why was I not like you? As long as you don't go out of line, mother will just open your eyes. I closed my eyes. My mother told you this today because she wanted to tell you that everyone has secrets. Some secrets are harmless if they are revealed, such as your matter; but there are still some secrets in the world, but... But you can't touch it." Chu Yingniang looked at Chu Lisang, "Can you understand what mother means?"

Chu Lisang thought thoughtfully, "Are you referring to the matter of father sealing the pen?"

Chu Yingniang didn't say a word, it was a tacit agreement.

"Did dad make an exception to help Zhou Lugui this time because of me?" Chu Lisang couldn't help but blame himself when he thought about his attitude towards his father yesterday.

Chu Yingniang smiled and touched her face: "It's not all because of you that your father did this. He has always been kind-hearted, and he still sympathizes with what happened to Zhou's father and son." He pulled Chu Lisang up hand, "Okay, let's not talk about this. You haven't eaten all day and night, mother will cook something delicious for you."

"Mother," Chu Lisang rubbed his stomach in embarrassment, "I...I can't eat."

Chu Yingniang was surprised: "You haven't eaten for several meals, why can't you eat?"

Chu Lisang smiled embarrassedly: "Last night, I asked Lu Xiu to go to the kitchen to get some food, and it's still swollen right now."

The daughter turned out to be on a "hunger strike" like this, Chu Yingniang gave her a reproachful look, and couldn't help being angry and funny.

The imperial city of Chang'an is located to the south of the Taiji Palace, where the Central Government Office of the Tang Dynasty was located, and the Hundred Liao Office was listed among them.

Liu Ji is the deputy chief of Menxia Province, and his office is on the east side of Chengtianmen Street in the northern part of the imperial city.The main responsibilities of Menxia Province are two: one is to review the edicts and decrees drafted by Zhongshu Province, and then submit them to Shangshu Province for promulgation and implementation. Played, handed over to the Ministry of the Secretary of State for submission to the emperor, and if there is any inappropriateness, the revision can also be rejected.

This morning, when Liu Ji was at his desk handling government affairs, the clerk suddenly came to report that Du Chuke, Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, had come to visit.

Feeling slightly surprised, Liu Jie ordered the scribes to welcome the guests, and at the same time sorted out the messy volumes on the desk.In the past few days, when Liu Jie was reviewing the edict issued by Zhongshu Province, he had been paying attention to whether there was any content about Wei Wang's residence in Wude Palace, but he never found anything.

Could it be related to Du Chuke's sudden visit today?

Liu Ji thought so, and as soon as he got up, Du Chuke strode in: "Brother Sidao, the spring is beautiful outside, you don't go out to bask in the sun, you stay at your desk all day, it's not good for your health!"

Liu Jie arched his hands and said with a smile: "Brother Shanshi came, Liu felt the spring was full of the room, and he felt refreshed. It doesn't matter whether he goes outside or not."

The two looked at each other and laughed loudly at the same time.

No matter how you think the other party is unhappy in your heart, you still have to fight this superficial haha.While inviting Du Chuke to take a seat, Liu Jie said to the scribe, "Give Du Shangshu some tea."

"No need." Du Chuke said, "I'll leave after a few words."

Liu Ji believed in his intuition just now more and more.He motioned for the clerk to step back, and then looked at Du Chuke: "Brother Shanshi, do you want to talk about Wude Palace?"

Du Chuke smiled: "It's no wonder His Royal Highness King Wei values ​​you so much. Brother Sidao really knows things like a god!"

Liu Jie also smiled: "Brother Shanshi praised you absurdly, so I just made a random guess."

Du Chuke approached and said in a low voice: "Your Highness, let me inform you that the Holy Majesty has decided to make an official decree to announce this at the court meeting on the first day of next month."

Liu Jie was very surprised, and calculated in his mind that the first day of the new year was only a few days away. If it was true as what Du Chuke said, why is the Zhongshu Province still closed and there is no sign at all?

"Your Highness asked you to come here to tell me?" Liu Ji was a little suspicious.

"That's right. Isn't Your Highness eager to share with you whenever there is a happy event?" Du Chuke said, "Your Highness also said, what should he do next after entering the Wude Palace, I ask you to help plan it."

"Please tell Your Highness, Liu will do his best."

"Well, I've brought my words, so I'll take my leave." Du Chuke cupped his hands, and still walked out with big strides.

"Go slowly, I won't see you off soon." Liu Ji looked thoughtfully at Du Chuke's leaving back.

At the same time that Du Chuke told Liu Jie about this, Li Tai was also mentioning the Wude Palace to Xiao Henian in Wei Wangfu.

However, what Li Tai said was completely opposite to Du Chuke's.

He told Xiao Henian: "I don't know why my father changed his mind, and he doesn't plan to let me live in Wude Palace."

Xiao Henian was a little surprised, but on second thought, it must have been the grand master who entered the palace to lure the emperor to tell the story of Wude Palace, and successfully persuaded him.

Xiao Henian was secretly happy in his heart, but on the surface he looked annoyed, and he sighed with Li Tai.

Li Tai secretly observed his expression.

Although he couldn't see any flaws at the moment, Li Tai believed that within three days, he would definitely know who the ghost was.Because the two news he released are all false information.If the "yellow dog" sent back the news that Du Chuke told Liu Ji, then the inner ghost would be Liu Ji; otherwise, the inner ghost would be Xiao Henian.

(End of this chapter)