National color raw owl

The inner hall is not far from the Nuan Pavilion. When Xiao Jingqian appeared in the inner hall, he was already well-dressed. A man in his 40s wearing coarse clothes was waiting in the hall. When he saw Xiao Jingqian appear, he hurried forward and said respectfully: " Second son!"

Xiao Jingqian took a few glances at this person, went to the chair and sat down, and said, "You look unfamiliar, are you in the mansion?"

The man hurriedly said: "The villain was brought to the mansion by Steward Liu half a year ago, and he was assigned to work in the warehouse. The second young master seldom went back, and he didn't see much. Maybe he doesn't remember the villain much."

"Did Liu Chong send you here?"

"Yes." The man hurriedly said: "Second Young Master, it's an urgent matter. The villain has been ordered by Steward Liu to rush over here without stopping to deliver a letter to Second Young Master."

"You said Liu Chong sent you here, did he give you anything?"

The man immediately took out something from his bosom, but it was a string of beads made of sandalwood. Xiao Jingqian nodded when he saw the beads, and asked, "What letter did he ask you to deliver? The letter?"

"Steward Liu said that the matter is so important that you cannot write a letter, you can only pass it on orally."

"Can't write letters?" Xiao Jingqian frowned, "What happened?"

The man looked around, leaned closer, and said in a low voice, "Second Young Master, Master is critically ill!"

"Ah?" Xiao Jingqian suddenly stood up, and said in a broken voice, "Father, he...!"

The man hastily raised his finger to his mouth, reminding Xiao Jingqian not to speak loudly. Xiao Jingqian also knew that the matter was of great importance, so she lowered her voice and said, "Quickly, what's going on, how is father now?"

The man looked around, as if afraid of someone eavesdropping, Xiao Jingqian shook his head and said, "But it's okay, no one will come near here."

"Three days ago, the master suddenly fainted in the mansion. At that time, the eldest son, Steward Liu and others were all present, and immediately invited a doctor. The doctor came to the mansion to treat the master. Why did he suddenly faint? At first, even Madam didn’t know about it.” The man lowered his voice and said, “Butler Liu felt that something was wrong, so he secretly found the doctor, spent some money, and asked about the master’s condition, but Butler Liu didn’t tell the villain what the problem was. , just said that the doctor told him that this time, the master is afraid that there will be bad luck."

Xiao Jingqian clenched his fists and said in a deep voice, "Then can father wake up now?"

"I haven't woken up yet, but the Eldest Young Master blocked the news, and went to the homes of several elders in the clan several times." The man said softly: "Butler Liu asked the villain to come over and deliver a letter to the Second Young Master. If there are no accidents, The eldest son is planning to hide the news of the master's illness from the second son, and then secretly contact the elders of the clan, and wait until the master... if something happens to the master, he will immediately take over as the head of the family."

Xiao Jingqian sneered and said, "Short-sighted guy, how can someone like him take over the position of Patriarch? What else did Butler Liu say?"

"Butler Liu also said that the master doesn't know if he can wake up. If he can't wake up, the eldest son will definitely pass on the master's will, and he will definitely say that the master is planning to make the eldest son the head of the family. The elder son is secretly working with the elders of the clan. The contact must be to gain their support." The man said in a deep voice: "He deliberately concealed the news of the master's illness, because he was afraid that the second son would go back and compete with him for the position of the head of the family. As long as the second son did not know the news, he would go to the As the head of the family, it will be too late when the Second Young Master gets to know the news."

"What a Xiao Jingsheng." Xiao Jingqian said angrily, "I thought I didn't know anything outside, but I didn't know that Steward Liu had always been my eyes in Fucheng." He patted the man's shoulder, "You did a good job, by the way ,May I have your name?"

"Villain Niu Qing!"

"Niu Qing, you have made a contribution this time, and I will definitely reward you in return. Did Steward Liu say anything else?"

"Butler Liu said that not all the elders in the clan support the eldest son. Many people actually support the second son. The second son is both civil and military, with both ability and virtue. Only when the second son inherits the position of patriarch can the Xiao family prosper. " Niu Qing said: "But if the Second Young Master is not in Fucheng, relying on the power of the First Young Master, they would not dare to object."

"That idiot, all he wants to do is give Zhu Lingyue the foundation of Beishan for free. He doesn't want to glorify the family, but wants to be Zhu Lingyue's running dog." Xiao Jingqian sneered: "Although Zhu Lingyue is powerful, why should we be afraid of him, our Xiao family, It's not like I can't fight Zhu Lingyue, if the position of the head of the family falls into the hands of that idiot, Beishan will soon become Zhu Lingyue's meal, and my son will be smashed to pieces, and I will definitely not let that happen."

Niu Qingdao: "Second son, Steward Liu said that the future of the Xiao family depends entirely on the second son. Once the eldest son wins the position of patriarch, the Xiao family will be destroyed, so Steward Liu ordered the villain to do whatever he wants We must also tell Second Young Master the news that Master is seriously ill, without any delay, because... because Master's condition is unknown now, if Second Young Master goes back late, I'm afraid... I'm afraid everything will be too late."

Xiao Jingqian immediately said: "That's right, I'm going back now, Niu Qing, you wait first, I'll go and entrust the affairs in hand, and then wait for a soldier to go back to Fucheng, I have the military power in my hands, See how that idiot fights with me!"

"Second Young Master, absolutely not." Niu Qing said hastily: "Butler Liu has repeatedly told the villain that he must persuade Second Young Master not to act emotionally."

"Madness?"

"Second son, master's current situation is uncertain. Although he is seriously ill, but...but it may not be impossible to wake up." Niu Qing said softly: "If the second master leads the troops back, the master wakes up. And how should I explain to the master? Is it possible to let the master know that the second son is going to lead troops back to fight for the position of Patriarch? Moreover, many elders in the clan praise the second son quite a lot, and think that the second son is far better than the eldest son, but if it is true I'm afraid the elders of the clan will think that the second son...!" But he didn't continue.

Xiao Jingqian frowned, and said, "It's okay for you to say it, and I won't blame you if you make a mistake."

"Second Young Master, if you bring your troops back, the elders will also think that Second Young Master is coercing and seizing power, which is absolutely useless to Second Young Master." Niu Qing said solemnly: "Second Young Master wants to be the head of the family, and wants to let the clan If the middle and upper levels are convinced, we must convince people with virtue and lead the troops back, which will only damage the prestige of the Second Young Master, which is absolutely not the best policy."

"Yes, yes, yes." Xiao Jingqian suddenly realized: "Niu Qing, what you said is right, um, you can't lead troops, if you really want to bring them back, that idiot Xiao Jingsheng will definitely say that I seized power by force, hehe, I will not let him down It is a chance for me to be the head of the family. It is expected by all. You must convince people with virtue, and conquer people with virtue...!" Patting Niu Qing on the shoulder, he said with emotion: "Niu Qing, I didn't expect you to have such insight. What a shame! Don't worry about your talent, when I get the position of Patriarch, I will definitely use you well."

"The villain thanked the second son." Niu Qing thanked him.

"In your opinion, what should you do?"

"Butler Liu has already figured out a countermeasure." Niu Qing said softly: "Second Young Master, don't make a big fuss, and don't reveal the master's condition to others. Whether it's Zhu Lingyue from Tianshan or Chu Huan from Xiguan, all eyes are on you. Looking at our Beishan, if they find out that the master is seriously ill, I'm afraid it will cause huge trouble, so the less people know about this news, the better."

Xiao Jingqian nodded thoughtfully, "You're right."

"Second Young Master should rush back to Fucheng overnight." Niu Qing said solemnly: "Fucheng is only more than 100 miles away from here. Second Young Master hastened his horse and set off now. He should be able to return to Fucheng before dawn. Second Young Master doesn't need to go too far. What to do, as long as you go back, see the master, and stay by his side, the eldest son will have nothing to do. The master has always appreciated the second son, as long as the master can wake up, he will definitely hand over the position of Patriarch to the second son, even if the master can't wake up, As long as the Second Young Master is within the Fucheng, those elders who support the Second Young Master will dare to stand up and support the Second Young Master... Even if it is a soldier, if it is a last resort, the Second Young Master will not be too late!"

Xiao Jingqian naturally understands the meaning of it. If you get the support of the elders in the clan and finally win the position of Patriarch, then everyone will be happy, but if there are more people who support Xiao Jingsheng, and Xiao Jingsheng takes the upper hand in the end, there is a last resort. At that time, there is no need to care about prestige, and soldiers and horses must be mobilized to seize power.

Xiao Jingsheng understood very well that what he wanted to win was not just the position of a patriarch, only the position of patriarch was qualified to inherit Xiao Huanzhang's power and become the governor of Beishan Road, with great power in his hands.

The position of the governor of Beishan Road is different from the past. If it was the past, after Xiao Huanzhang's death, he must be appointed by the imperial court, and another official will be sent to take up the post.

But now the imperial court can't control the northwest, and it's impossible for the Xiao family to watch their power being taken away and let others take the position of governor of Beishan. In his hand, the gentry and aristocratic families in Beishan are all under the banner of Xiao's family. If Xiao Huanzhang died of illness and the position of governor was vacant, all the officials from Beishan would naturally have to submit papers to the court and collectively recommend Xiao Huanzhang's heir to succeed him as governor. .

This is just a superficial effort, after all, the Xiao family does not want to be easily charged with treason for the time being.

The Xiao family is already deeply entrenched in Beishan, and it is difficult to shake it. If the court pushes the boat smoothly, then both parties will be happy. However, for the Xiao family, there are many paths to choose from. Of course, the sent officials can be killed one by one. land.

And the more embarrassing path is naturally a direct rebellion. The world is now full of rebel forces. Even if the Xiao family rebelled, the court would be powerless to conquer.

But unless it is a last resort, the Xiao family will certainly not take this path, just like Zhu Lingyue, everyone knows that he has established himself in the northwest, and even more knows that this person has ambitions in the entire northwest, but as long as he doesn't show his banner, he is still the imperial court. Good servant.

Xiao Jingqian understands that the position of head of the family is equivalent to the position of governor, and the position of governor is equivalent to the military and political power of the entire Beishan Road. Of course, he will not hand over such power to his elder brother who is far inferior to him in his opinion.