Yan Cigui.

Chapter 457: Grieving (two updates in one)

Li Shao's carriage entered the alley.

Because the Dingbei Hou Mansion was surrounded, the neighbors' houses on the left and right were closed, making the whole alley look a bit solemn.

The porter answered the door and was stunned when he saw Li Shao getting off the carriage.

"Why are you here, Your Highness?"

"I came as soon as I thought about it. Is grandpa in the mansion?" Li Shao responded casually, but his eyes couldn't help but glance sideways at Dingbei Hou's mansion.

The circumstances of the case were unclear, and the instructions from above were to "treat them kindly". The guards were relatively relaxed and did not feel as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

Someone with sharp eyes saw Li Shao and quickly saluted and said hello from a distance.

The concierge followed Li Shao's gaze and replied, "My uncle and uncle are not here. The old lady is in the inner courtyard."

Li Shao was just acting on a whim. His grandfather and uncle were not in the house, so he didn't care much.

After entering the door, he asked again: "What's going on next door in the past two days?"

The gatekeeper said embarrassedly: "Yesterday, the garrison came to search, and the Dingbei Marquis's Mansion cooperated very well. I thought it was just a sideshow, but I didn't expect that they would find something deadly.

The Ji family insisted that they were 'unaware' and 'framed', so Commander Wan returned to the palace without much trouble.

After that, the house was surrounded, but there was no noise inside or outside, and they were very restrained. "

No matter how restrained he is, after all, such a big thing is weighing on his head.

The neighbors were anxious when they saw it, not to mention the people of Dingbei Hou Mansion?
When the porter said this, he didn't hold his tongue and sighed: "Dingbei Hou still brought his children and grandchildren to fight against the enemy in Yumen, but such a change happened in the capital. The person who framed him is really hateful!"

Li Shao raised his eyes and looked at him: "How do you conclude that it is a frame-up?"

The concierge was stunned.

Knowing that he had made a mistake, he really couldn't figure out the temper of His Highness, so he could only lower his head and say nothing.

Li Shao didn't bother to argue with the concierge and strode towards the inner courtyard.

When they arrived outside the old lady's courtyard, Xia Qinglue, who had received the news, had already come out to greet her.

Xia Qing slightly saluted and called "Your Highness".

Li Shao nodded slightly in return.

In the room, the old lady also got up and walked to the door. She asked Li Shao with a kind smile: "Your Highness should send someone over earlier, so that I can ask the kitchen to prepare more of your favorite dishes."

"I just remembered it," Li Shao stepped forward to help him, "Grandma, does she know what I like to eat?"

"Why don't you know?" The old lady smiled and said a few dishes.

Li Shao raised his eyebrows.

Almost all of them are the ones he loved to eat when he was a child, but have eaten less in the past two years.

But we can't blame the old lady for not remembering that when he was a child, he would come once a month. As he grew older, he came less and less.

In recent years, during festivals and festivals, I would only show up, say hello and then leave, without ever sitting down to have a meal.

Who is to blame for this?
After thinking about it, Li Shao still had to blame his grandfather and uncle who inherited the title.

Without relying on his status as the father-in-law and uncle of the country while walking around, he would not be able to think of anything to fight for for Li Shao.

If they had devoted themselves to their grandchildren like Xuexian Liu and Gu Heng, he, Li Shao, would not be the deposed prince today.

Li Shao took a deep breath.

He wanted to have a good talk with the two of them.

It makes no sense that other people's maternal grandfather's family is charging forward and racking their brains, while his maternal grandfather's family is retreating.

Especially my eldest uncle, when he came to court this morning, he saw all the things that Xuexian Liu did. In the end, it was no different if he just didn't learn and didn't see anything.

After taking two more steps inside, Li Shao noticed that there was another person standing next to the floor covering.

That was Xia Qingzhi.

Xia Qinglue did five things at home, and Xia Qingzhi did three things at home.

"I'm here to see what's going on next door," Li Shao said as he walked in with the old lady, "I'm here to see you too."

"Your Highness, please take care of me." The old lady responded, but she never mentioned the neighbor next door.

Xia Qingzhi was not as restrained as the old lady, and asked directly: "Your Highness, what does the Holy One think of the Dingbei Marquis incident?"

"Qingzhi!" The old lady looked at him angrily, and then said to Li Shao, "It's rare for His Highness to come here and not talk about the court affairs."

Xia Qingzhi turned his head gloomily.

Seeing that Xia Qinglue remained silent, he added, "You and Duke Fu are as familiar as brothers wearing a pair of trousers, so you don't care?"

Xia Qing briefly looked at the disapproving old lady, and then at Li Shao, knowing that Xia Qing said: "The one under investigation is the Dingbei Hou Mansion, not the Fu Guogong Mansion."

Li Shao laughed.

Yes.

He had forgotten that there was such a thing.

Obviously they were cousins ​​of the same age, but Xia Qinglue didn't know why he had no friendship with him, but he was very familiar with Xu Jian.

Even if he doesn't take the right path, Xia Qinglue is actually no less generous.

His mind was not on studying at all, and he loved to watch the excitement of various houses all day long. His father often called him to the imperial study room just to listen to him tell fun stories.

Xia Qinglue knew a lot about the news about family shortcomings in the east and west of the capital.

He's such a lover of theater, but now he doesn't want to mention Beihou Mansion anymore?
Surprising!
Xia Qinglue didn't want to say anything, but Li Shao wanted to ask.

"If my father didn't trust Marquis Dingbei at all, he wouldn't have besieged the mansion politely today," Li Shao said. "But I don't dare to believe it blindly. After all, Li Du is involved. I also want to find out the situation as soon as possible, otherwise Whether it’s Jingcheng or Yumen, it’s very worrying.”

The old lady laughed: "That's the reason. The specific internal situation will be investigated by responsible officials..."

Now I want to bring the topic back, but Li Shao is not one to give up halfway.

He briefly said to Xia Qing: "Why is it none of Xu Jian's business? Xu Jian is under the command of Dingbeihou. If Dingbeihou has an affair with Li Du and lets Xu Jian do dangerous things, what will happen?"

"How could His Highness think so?" Xia Qinglue had no choice but to throw the words back.

"Xu Jian is your best friend, and he is also the one who helps me. I hope everything goes well for him." Li Shao nodded slightly when he said this.

When talking about positions and closeness, Li Shao believed that he was speaking the truth.

Xu Jian's accident would not do him any good. On the other hand, Xu Jian's return alive would be his help.

He was really concerned about Xu Jian's condition and spoke more and more confidently: "Li Du hates Xu Jian. The Marquis of Dingbei didn't say anything about letting Xu Jian be involved in danger. He could also assign some difficult things to Xu Jian. If the time comes, he will not have any credit, but he will still have a lot of sins." …Grandma, do you think I can stop worrying about the situation in Dingbeihou Mansion next door?”

"It is reasonable for His Highness to be concerned about the condition of Duke Fu," the old lady thought for a moment and said, "We have been neighbors with the Dingbei Marquis Mansion for so many years and have had many contacts over the decades. Knowing their character, the Ji family should not be Li Du. people.

I also know that I know people, but I don’t know their hearts, and I don’t dare to say for certain.

But I think the imperial court will be able to determine the result after conducting an investigation. "

Li Shao didn't expect to be able to dig out any secrets about the next door from his grandmother, he was just very upset.

Since Enrongbo's Mansion and Dingbeihou's Mansion are close, why don't Dingbeihou help Li Shao?
Oh.

Neither does Enrongbo Mansion.

This is what Li Shao worries about the most.

He was simmering with anger in his heart and his face became darker. He briefly said a few words about home affairs. Knowing that neither the old uncle nor Uncle Enrong came back for dinner, Li Shao simply stood up and left.

The old lady kept him, but if she couldn't keep him, let it go.

The two brothers Xia Qinglue sent him out together. Along the way, Li Shao listened to Xia Qingzhi talking about this and that. Xia Qinglue wanted to interrupt several times, but the two people ignored him.

When he walked to the door of the mansion, Li Shao finally saw it.

Xia Qingzhi was also full of complaints.

Li Shao didn't want to talk to Xia Qing slightly, but he was very pleased with Xia Qingzhi, and even asked him to have a drink with him next time.

After sending Li Shao away, Xia Qinglue and Xia Qing knew: "Your Highness Jingui, if you want to have a drink, you should come home and forget about it outside, so as not to cause trouble."

Xia Qingzhi frowned and said: "You also said that His Highness Jin Gui has the final say where he chooses to have a drink. I don't want to go to any weird place with His Highness. It's worth having a drink in a serious restaurant. Such careful advice? Don’t you go out to drink less?”

Not enough words to speculate.

But those who are speculative can talk about it together.

The next day, Li Shao invited Xia Qingzhi to dinner. At noon, he booked a private room in a small restaurant not far from Qianbu Corridor.

Since he was from the Xia family and didn't serve wine, Eunuch Gao couldn't say anything.

The two of them talked a lot about a few side dishes.

Unlike his cousin Qing Lue, Xia Qingzhi Zheng'er was studying the Eight Classics, and his studies were not outstanding, but he could be said to be quite satisfactory.

But his path to education was not smooth.

His family did not arrange for him to be admitted to the Imperial Academy. The academy was not bad, but it was full of talents. He was only a student with a higher family background than others, and he did not stand out among his teachers and classmates.

"I also know that our Enrong family has received favor from the emperor, and the queen passed away early, so we need to be more restrained and prudent in our actions," Xia Qing knew. "But I occasionally think that my grandfather and the others are too restrained."

Although he is the father of Dashun, the Xia family is far away from the government.

Enrong Bo went to court and did not participate in other political affairs. He only had the word "Qinggui" carved on his face.

Xia Qingzhi never thought about asking his family to put so much thought into him, but not only did he not care, but he also showed humility, which was really aggrieved.

After quietly glancing at Chamberlain Gao, Xia Qingzhi lowered his voice and said to Li Shao: "I shouldn't say something, I quite envy that boy Liu Xun.

He is obviously a fool with no idea what's going on. His father worried about him a lot when he was in office and wanted to arrange everything for him.

That is to say, Liu Xun couldn't figure it out himself, so he took advantage of others and caused His Highness to suffer..."

Li Shao laughed.

This is indeed a true statement.

Liu Jing did his best to raise his son. Of course, he raised a son he recognized.

Speaking of which, that boy Liu Xun is in exile, and he doesn't know whether he is dead or alive at the moment.

After lunch, Li Shao was dissatisfied with the alienation from his grandfather's family, and Xia Qingzhi had thoughts about his grandfather and uncle's aloofness. The two thought of going together, which could be considered a "hit".

In the next few days, we often met for dinner and drinks.

The high chamberlain privately sought out Eunuch Cao: "I shouldn't be worried about Uncle Enrong's house, but I feel that Young Master Xia's words are not very appropriate..."

Eunuch Cao knew it well and reported it to His Majesty.

The Holy Master sighed: "Xu Jian is not in the capital, and Shaoer has never had any good friends."

After all, he is the nephew of the Xia family. The Holy Emperor will not say that Li Shao is not allowed to interact with relatives of his grandfather's family, so he said: "Tell Qing Lue and ask him to join in. Qing Lue will follow. I am relieved."

Another compartment.

Lin Yunyan's carriage entered Uncle Chengyi's mansion.

When Xiao Duan saw her, she hurriedly said: "It's so hot, be careful not to get heat stroke."

"I made some cold cakes in my house and kept them iced along the way. I sent them to my family to try," Lin Yunyan said with a smile, "I will also send some to Uncle Enrong's house later."

As soon as he heard this, Xiao Duan wanted to call for help.

Lin Yunyan stopped: "I'll go by myself."

"It's so hot..." Xiao Duan didn't agree. When Lin Yunyan insisted, she had no choice but to let her go.

Yun Yan has always had her own opinion.

Maybe a trip to the next door is not just to deliver cold cakes.

In fact, Lin Yunyan did visit the Xia family for something.

The capital is facing a storm due to the BRIC case in Dingbeihou Mansion, but it is Li Shao who Lin Yunyan needs to be more alert to.

According to the information obtained by Shen Chen, it may be that without Xu Jian to supervise the government, Li Shao has shown signs of solid growth in recent days.

And since Li Du still has the power to frame others in Beijing, he can't ignore Li Shao, who "doesn't distinguish between friend and foe" and can blow up a big firecracker with just one move.

But now, it's not so easy to put people around Li Shao.

The way for the eunuchs, chamberlains, and bodyguards was blocked by Eunuch Cao.

If it weren't for his incompetence, Eunuch Cao would have wished he could have followed Li Shao at twelve o'clock every day.

Therefore, the person who has become close to Li Shao in recent days is Xia Qingzhi of Enrongbo Mansion.

Lin Yunyan knew something about Xia Qingzhi.

Xia Qingzhi is the nephew of Uncle Enrong. His father is the second son of the old uncle. He is married to an official woman. In addition to Xia Qingzhi, there is also a daughter who has already left the court.

The Xia family's incense is not prosperous, but it is not sparse either.

Among the Qing generation, Xia Qingzhi, who was ranked in the middle, was not as good as the eldest grandson. His family did not value him as much as his eldest grandson, and he did not favor him as much as his youngest grandson.

In such a situation, it is not surprising to have complaints about the situation at home.

But Lin Yunyan still didn't believe that Li Du could win over Xia Qingzhi.

Because Queen Xia died under Li Du's plan, regardless of whether Li Du wanted it or not, the result was there.

It's no surprise that everyone in the Xia family is gnashing their teeth at Li Du.

How could anyone vote for Li Du?

Li Du had to make two more turns if he wanted to make waves.

Lin Yunyan just wanted to figure out where the two bends would be.

When she went to Uncle Enrong's house, she could be said to be familiar with the family.

She often came here when she was a child, and the old lady and the uncle treated her very kindly.

Aunt Yu, who was beside the old lady, trotted all the way to greet her: "Princess, our old lady was still talking about you a few days ago, saying that since you married to Fu Guogong's mansion, it is not as convenient as before when you lived in the alley. See you."

Lin Yunyan smiled.

When he saw the old lady and sat down, Grandma Yu put the cold cakes on a plate and presented them to her.

The old lady smiled and took a piece: "The princess is still thinking about me, and she will not forget me if she has delicious food."

"You always gave me all the delicious and fun things you had in the past," said Lin Yunyan.

The old lady was cheerful, but with a glance, she signaled Nanny Yu to push away the others, and then she asked seriously: "Is the princess coming here for some serious business?"

"Yes," Lin Yunyan followed her words and said, "for the matter of Dingbeihou Mansion next door.

They are all old neighbors from the same alley, and they know everything about them. I don't believe they would vote for Li Du.

My grandmother asked me to come here because she wanted to discuss it, and she was wondering if I could help the Dingbei Hou Mansion at this time. "

Thanks to book friend Cha Ge for the tip.