first minister

Chapter 286 Leaving and Returning

The next morning was the fourth day after the imperial decree was issued.

It was just dawn, Xia Jingyun ate the breakfast prepared by Feng Xiuyun for him in the small courtyard, dressed neatly, and walked out of the courtyard gate.

Chen Fugui, who was guarding the door in advance, was waiting here early with a bag on his back.

Standing with him are Su Yuanshang and Gongsun Jing.

The situation of this trip was complicated, and it was Xia Jingyun's first hurdle since he became an official. Su Yuanshang also planned to go along with him at first, but the current Jiang'anhou Mansion is not as good as before. No one can make up his mind to sit here. Xia Jingyun is really serious Don't worry, Gongsun Jing's strengths are not here, so Su Yuanshang had no choice but to stay.

Xia Jingyun looked at the two of them, and bowed his hands to them, "The mansion will be handed over to you two."

"Gao Yang, don't worry, I will let you have a safe future."

"Don't worry, son, I will definitely cooperate with Mr. Su and do my duty well."

Xia Jingyun nodded with a smile, turned his head and nodded towards Feng Xiuyun behind him, stopped talking, and walked out together with Chen Fugui.

Walking on the road, Chen Fugui said, "My lord, are we really not waiting for Miss Su?"

Xia Jingyun sighed, "No, there's no way to wait. Your Majesty said that we will leave in ten days, and Longshou Prefecture will naturally estimate it according to this date. We are a few days in advance, which is the opportunity we have won for ourselves. Chances of a real situation."

He paused, "As for Yanyan coming, I've already talked to Xiuyun and Mr. Su, and he will arrange it."

Chen Fugui whispered: "Master, I didn't expect to bring Miss Feng with me? Maybe someone will take care of me."

Xia Jingyun shook his head, "This trip is dangerous, and it is the first major event since I became an official. I don't know the details, so I don't want to think about it. Let's go, let's go."

As they spoke, the two went out through the back door, and there were already eight well-dressed guards waiting outside the door, and they all bowed their hands when they saw Xia Jingyun.

Xia Jingyun nodded towards them, "Go out from the south gate, and two hours later, the Yanshi Collection in the southern suburbs will meet!"

Since they are here to avoid people's eyes and ears, they will not go out from the east gate as usual to Longshou Prefecture, enter Longshou Prefecture via Xingyang, or enter Longshou Prefecture from Suishui to Huai'an County. Instead, he planned to detour around Sixiang Prefecture, so he chose the south gate when he went out.

After speaking, he mounted the horse with Chen Fugui and left first.

The eight guards also got on their horses, scattered and left in different directions.

When Xia Jingyun and Chen Fugui were riding their horses against the rising sun on the official road to Yanshiji, they unexpectedly saw a person.

Two officials, one behind the other, escorted an old man with messy beard and hair, dirty clothes and wearing shackles, walking slowly along the official road.

"Shut up!"

Xia Jingyun reined in his horse slowly, stopped beside the road, and watched the three of them pass by him.

The two officials saw that although Xia Jingyun was not dressed in an exaggerated manner, but he had a good temperament and was riding a tall horse, they looked at him with some vigilance and suspicion.

But the old man was numb and lonely, he didn't turn his head to look at it.

Chen Fugui said softly: "Seeing him like this, who would have thought that more than a month ago, he was still a power minister who would shake the court and the world!"

As the person who personally overthrew the prime minister's mansion, Xia Jingyun has no sympathy for Qin Weizhong. He has been eating vegetarian food all these years, forming a party for private interests, and he is one of the chief culprits in the collapse of the government. Coupled with rebellion and rebellion, this ending is good for him .

He said softly: "I heard that this person confessed easily in the Black Ice Platform?"

Chen Fugui has been working as a guard for a long time now, and Xia Jingyun has also begun to consciously let him get in touch with some things, and cultivate him in the direction of compound talents, in order to be able to be independent at critical moments in the future. Although Chen Fugui is honest, his brain is not stupid. He also slowly took shape, and nodded when he heard the words:
"That's right. I heard that he neither appealed for grievances nor tried to restore His Majesty's family, nor was he stubborn. He just asked for his son's body to be buried as soon as possible, and he was willing to confess thoroughly. Everyone said that he was killed by his son. I have broken my will, and I also know that the crime of treason is undeniable, so if I can be more straightforward, I will suffer less crime."

Xia Jingyun couldn't help frowning when he heard the words, he always felt that such a hero should not be so weak-minded.

"My lord, do you think there is something wrong?"

Xia Jingyun shook his head, "It's nothing, let's go! Don't delay."

As the sun rose, Xia Jingyun led his guards and rode eastward.

In the mountains and forests, a desolate and emaciated old man staggered all the way south.

In the short ten days that followed, he traveled so many roads that he had never traveled in the past ten years.

The whole person is also on the verge of falling, like a candle in the wind, dying.

The two officials had received orders in advance and did not dare to boil him to death, so they quietly left more time for rest.

On this day, they waited until Sishi before starting their journey. They didn't go far before they met a huge and gorgeous convoy.

There were more than ten horse-drawn carriages in the front and back of the convoy, and there were more than a hundred guards in their well-equipped guards.

"Hey! Which big family is entering the capital? This is not a small force!"

"You're blind! Didn't you see the big Su characters embroidered on the flag! Who else is there, Yunmeng Su's family!"

The official who was dodging to give way by the side of the road said that Qin Weizhong, who had been walking numbly like a walking corpse, finally raised his head and took a look.

In the muddy old eyes, there is a huge Su character, which is also full of emotions of vicissitudes and changing world.

"Okay! Let's go!"

The official sent a slap on Qin Weizhong's back with the hilt of his knife, and urged him.

Qin Weizhong staggered and started on the road again.

In the carriage passing by him, a maid smiled and said:
"Miss, how do you think Mr. Xia will welcome us?"

Su Yanyan was wearing a long white dress, sitting on a soft cushion, holding a book in his hand, and said calmly after hearing the words: "According to the information I learned on the way, he should have set off for Longshou Prefecture by now. How to welcome me?"

The maid was taken aback, "Ah? How can Mr. Xia do this?"

Su Yanyan glanced at him calmly. Although his words were light, they were also somewhat stern and solemn, "Renrou Township is a tomb of heroes, and good men have their ambitions everywhere. If you want to be with me, don't expect anything from the other party." Great skill; if you want to marry a great hero, don’t expect him to play with your boudoir every day. A woman may not be beautiful or smart, but she must be clear about it. If this is the case, I don’t want to hear it from you again.”

The two maids, Tingxue and Huaiyue, were overwhelmed by Su Yanyan's stern attitude, and quickly agreed respectfully.

The convoy continued to move forward, and finally, two days later, they passed the Spring Breeze Station and arrived at the southern suburb of Zhongjing City.

When stopping to drink tea at a tea shop, Su Yanyan, who was wearing a veiled hat, smiled and asked Dr. Cha, "Old man, I want to ask you about someone?"

Dr. Cha showed hesitation, and the maid beside him, Tingxue, handed over a small piece of silver.

"It's easy to say! Easy to say!" Dr. Cha immediately changed his face, and while picking up the money, he said with a smile: "I have been in Zhongjing for so many years. In this capital, from the court princes to the merchants and pawns, as long as they can have some reputation, Naturally, the old man can say a thing or two to the nobleman."

Su Yanyan said: "Then do you know Xia Jingyun?"

Dr. Cha quietly breathed a sigh of relief, and straightened his back a little, "Hey! If you want to say that other people's old people may not know it, but who would not know this champion!"

"Oh? I don't understand. Would you like to tell me something for the little girl?"

Dr. Cha said: "By the way, Mr. Xia, when I first arrived in the capital, I sat and drank a bowl of tea in this tea shop! I thought about it, hey! What a coincidence, I happened to be sitting in the seat of the girl! My You can tell right away that Mr. Xia is not an ordinary person!"

The maid Tingxue retorted: "How is that possible! They are candidates who came to Beijing to catch the exam, and they all stayed in Chunfengyi. It was winter at that time, who would come here to sit and drink tea after walking a mile or two? ah!"

Su Yanyan kicked her secretly, and Ting Xue stopped talking.

Dr. Cha took a look and knew that this was not the kind of foolish daughter of Huaichun, so he continued honestly: "Maybe the old man has misremembered. But the old man can remember the following things clearly. After Mr. Xia came to Beijing, he first talked with the Shi family. Nao will come up, the Shi family, you know, the Minister of Rites, and it is in the spring, and the power is at its peak, and no one wants to offend. But because of Mr. Xia, the Shi family was ransacked and beheaded by him in a short time. All the family members in Guangling Prefecture have been copied. One move directly wiped out the Minister of Rites, think about it, how powerful this is!"

"Not long after, Mr. Xia got into a fight with Mr. Qian from the Qin family again. Oh, you may not know that Mr. Qian's surname is Qin, because the Qin family is rich and rich, and there is already Mr. Qin in Zhongjing City. So everyone calls him Young Master Qian."

Su Yanyan said softly: "I heard it's because of a brothel girl?"

Dr. Cha said excitedly, "Hey, isn't it? It is said that Mr. Qian robbed a girl that Mr. Xia was good to, and wanted to use it. That girl would rather die than obey, and jumped to her death. Then Mr. Xia became angry, not only Torn faces with Mr. Qin, and personally buried that woman! Tsk tsk, you haven’t seen that scene, almost all the brothel women in the city have come to accompany them, and now the Huakui in Zhongjing City are still talking, Mr. Xia went to the brothel , I will never accept his money! My role model, my role model!"

"What a role model, he's just a philanderer, a heartless man!" The maid Tingxue couldn't understand, she subconsciously cursed, and then she reacted, and added, "It's not a good habit to be jealous of women in brothels."

"Master Xia is such a flirtatious talent, can he still live with a woman? Naturally, it's all right!" Dr. Cha didn't see anything unusual, and continued: "Later, Mr. Xia defeated Mr. Qian and said Come to think of it, when you come to Beijing, you must try the roast duck in our Zhongjing City. It is a must! Although it is said that the chef of Mingyulou and the steward of the imperial dining room invented it together, the old reliable news is that this thing was invented by Mr. Xia Yes, he and the eldest miss of the Qin family are a perfect match, but they have made a lot of money!"

The maid Tingxue hurriedly said: "Wait, what is Miss Qin?"

"It's the owner of Mingyu Tower! I heard that Miss Qin is so beautiful that she is a perfect match with Mr. Xia. It just so happens that Mr. Xia has not married yet, and many people are saying that it is better to marry Mrs. Qin." , a match made in heaven, a match made in heaven!"

The maid stopped Xue and immediately retorted: "Nonsense! Young Master Xia has already fallen in love with Miss Yunmeng Su's family whom I heard about, so there is nothing wrong with others!"

"Isn't it very common for a big man to have three wives and four concubines? Besides, how far is the Su family, and how close is the Qin family! The Qin family is the most wealthy in the world, and Mr. Xia is a match made in heaven!"

The maid stopped Xue and wanted to say something, but was stopped by Su Yanyan, "Old man, continue."

"Mr. Qian, he was dealt with by Mr. Xia casually, but guess what? Mr. Qian died suddenly. Everyone thought Mr. Xia did it, so they locked him up in a dark ice platform. I almost missed Chun Wei, but the concubine De concubine blew the pillow wind and cried to His Majesty. His majesty couldn't hold back the concubine, so he ordered him to be released to take the exam. As a result, the concubine De concubine really didn't give it to the concubine De Shame, he won the first prize in the exam! His Majesty is so happy, give him three consecutive promotions within one day, and now he is a fourth-rank official!"

Dr. Cha smiled and said: "Because of the deaths of Mr. Qian and Mr. Qin, now, in our capital city, there is no such thing as the Four Great Masters. On the contrary, there are gradually two theories. One says that Mr. Xia is the first son of Zhongjing. But many people think that although Mr. Yuhu disdains the rankings, we still have to respect others, so some people fiddled with the idea of ​​the double wall of the empire, saying that Mr. Xia and Mr. Yuhu have one article and one military, and they are the future of our Great Xia Dynasty. Hope. This old man thinks it's right!"

Su Yanyan, the double wall of the empire, stood up with a smile, "Thank you, old man."

"You're welcome."

Dr. Tea watched the group of people slowly disappear in the official road, took a sip of tea, lay down on the bamboo chair, and hummed a little song of his own leisurely.

"I ran north and south, only knowing that fame, fortune and wealth are really hard to find; she looked east and west, lamenting that the beautiful dream, the good fate, and the few good mates; half of life is hard, half of life is bowed, only to know that life is unsatisfactory in all likelihood~ah~ah~ "

Walking in the long-lost Zhongjing City, Su Yanyan opened the curtain to look at the slowly receding scenery around him, and slowly picked up his past memories.

The Su family's motorcade put away the flag that was hoisted up early this morning to guard against humble thieves, walking on the street at the moment, not many people cared.

The convoy didn't even go to the Su family's house in Beijing, and went all the way to the gate of Jiang Anhou's mansion.

When this huge convoy arrived, the concierge of the Marquis of Jiang'an naturally reported it immediately.

But Su Yuanshang and Feng Xiuyun, who had already received Xia Jingyun's orders, soon walked out together.

Su Yanyan looked at Su Yuanshang, smiled and bowed.

Su Yuanshang hurriedly said: "Miss, please get up quickly, let me introduce you."

But Su Yanyan smiled directly and took the initiative to salute, "I think this is Sister Feng, she is as elegant and generous as the rumors say, thank you for your hard work these days, my sister is new here, I don't understand something, I hope my sister can give me some advice. "

Seeing Su Yanyan's posture so low and his attitude so gentle, Feng Xiuyun also secretly heaved a sigh of relief, and said with a smile: "Miss Su is exhausted, please go to the mansion to rest."

The members of the Su family entered the Hou's mansion, they were busy talking and settling down, needless to say, but a while later, Gongsun Jing came to Miyagi in a carriage and informed Concubine De of the matter.

Familiar Xihuamen, familiar guards.

Just as Gongsun Jing was about to speak, he saw the arrogant guard greet him warmly, "Oh, Mr. Gongsun, long time no see."

Then, a captain who was guarding the gate also walked out quickly, with a friendly attitude, "Mr. Gongsun, do you have something to report to Empress Defei?"

Gongsun Jing nodded, "Please help me pass it on, sir."

As he said that, he slid out a bank note from his cuff, but the other party quickly waved his hand, "It's a trivial matter, Mr. Gongsun, did you make me wait? You wait for me to make arrangements."

Looking at the back of the other party leaving resolutely, Gongsun Jing couldn't help but think of those scenes more than half a year ago, and couldn't help but smile on the corner of his mouth.
-
Yueyang City.

Although the sky is still clear, the wind and rain are already brewing.

Just wait for a critical point, or an opportunity, and the precarious wind and rain will fill the whole world.

Click!

A bolt of lightning flew across the air like a giant snake, instantly illuminating the entire city.

It also illuminates a figure staggering in the downpour of a suburban cemetery.

His thin clothes were already half soaked, and he staggered and stooped into a simple shed built of branches and leaves, leaning against a stone, curled up, watching the storm in front of him.

Boom!

Thunder resounded through the sky, as if the whole city was trembling with it.

The old man held a rotten fruit that he picked up from nowhere, and weakly stuffed it into his mouth and chewed it.

When he arrived in Yueyang, no one in the entire Yueyang City hired him to work, even if it was hard work, and no family gave him any food, even if he could buy it with money.

He can only wander in those streets and alleys all day long, competing with the beggars and wild cats and dogs in the back alleys for the most humble food.

But he was old, how could he compete with those fierce and flexible beggars, in the end, he could only wander into the cemetery, occasionally picking up some sacrifices for food.

Taboo is not taboo, in the face of life, it seems insignificant.

And this fruit was the only harvest he had in the past two days.

Life, in such hunger and cold, is passing by quickly.

Leaning against the tree trunk, he murmured: "Your Majesty, you are so ruthless!"

In the torrential rain with tens of thousands of households closed, three figures in coir raincoats and bamboo hats broke through the rain curtain, passed through the dense forest, and slowly came to him, stopping in their tracks.

A man in coir raincoat slowly came to him, and slowly squatted down.

"Jiexi!"

Qin Weizhong's eyes widened suddenly, no one had called him by his name for many years.

And this voice? !

Click!

A flash of lightning once again split the darkness between heaven and earth, and also illuminated the face in front of him!

In the summer of the 24th year of Chongning, Qin Weizhong, who ruled the government for more than ten years, was found dead in a cemetery outside Yueyang City.

When he died, he was suffering from hunger and cold, and had no long-term possessions.

No coffin to bury, no one to mourn.

(End of the third volume)
(End of this chapter)