Jiuxi

Chapter 409 Chapter 407 [The clouds and the sky are far apart]

The impact of the assassination on Qingfeng Street continues to ferment, and the capital is filled with a treacherous and tense atmosphere.

Li Duan dispatched a group of capable ministers and officials, with Xue Nanting, the right prime minister, in charge, and Xu Zuo, the imperial censor, as his deputy, to conduct a detailed investigation of the various departments of the Beijing army headed by the Privy Council. The focus was on the origin of the standard crossbow that appeared at the scene of the assassination. .

This was the first large-scale thorough investigation of the Beijing army by the imperial court in fourteen years. Although Guo Congyi and Wang Yan were very reluctant, they had no confidence to oppose the emperor who was gradually taking back power and had absolute reasons.

After all, the assassination of a powerful prince and the commander of the Beijing camp in the street is really shocking, and it is an ironclad fact that someone in the military is involved. If the court cannot find out the truth this time, who can guarantee that he will not become the next target of assassination?
If we ignore the chaos during the fall of Heluo City, for more than 160 years since the founding of Da Qi, the imperial strife has been kept within a relatively mild range. Those courtiers who were defeated in the power struggle would at most be demoted out of the capital. Their opponents would not kill them all, let alone assassinate them in the streets with open fire.

Once this hole is opened, and the court cannot punish him severely in time, you can imagine what kind of terrible situation the court of Daqi will fall into in the future.

At that time, everyone will imitate this method, and the civil war will be completely out of the constraints of the rules, and weapons will be exchanged at every turn, and it will not take long before it evolves into a more brutal fighting.

This is why Guo Congyi and others knew that the emperor would take this opportunity to further interfere in the internal affairs of the Beijing army, and they had to accept it silently. After all, it is a fact that Lu Chen was assassinated, and it is also a fact that the military-standard crossbow appeared on Qingfeng Street. If they dare to speak against this matter, they will inevitably become the public enemy of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty.

On the other side, Sutra Weaver Tiju Qin Zheng personally took action and mobilized the elite forces in the capital. Using the six corpses given to him by Lu Chen as clues, through extensive investigations in the capital and mobilizing green-skinned rogues in the city to search, he gradually found out A lot of information about these six people was revealed, and they gradually got closer to the real culprit behind the scenes.

The storm was about to come, but Lu Chen, who was in the center of the storm, seemed to suddenly become an idler.

Lu Chen said calmly: "Thank you for your concern, Internal Supervisor."

Lu Chen nodded slightly, then slowly climbed up the stairs.

In the past six months, Lu Chen had been in and out of the palace frequently and was quite familiar with the internal terrain and architecture. Lu Shizhou took him around the three main halls of the former dynasty, but did not go directly to the harem. Instead, he turned to the southeast.

He realized that Lu Chen didn't want to say anything, and since he had already conveyed the emperor's instructions, he honestly kept his mouth shut and led the way.

He turned around and walked towards the magnificent palace.

Li Duan turned to face the young minister who had high hopes for him. Looking at the calm look on his face, he said slowly: "I didn't know beforehand that someone would be so bold as to assassinate you on the street, and I never deliberately delayed rescue when the incident happened. speed."

He looked up and saw a thin, middle-aged man standing next to the second floor railing.

Lu Chen did not participate in the investigation of the Beijing army or the search for the identity of the assassin. He stayed in the Hou Mansion behind closed doors and declined all visitors.

Lu Chen came up behind the middle-aged man, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Lu Chen."

Lu Chen got off the carriage, looked at Lin Xi who came down next, and said warmly: "Sister, why don't you go back to the palace first? I may have to stay in the palace for a while, and there are more than a hundred soldiers accompanying me now, so there shouldn't be any What danger."

The great eunuch Lu Shizhou led the way. He leaned forward slightly and said respectfully: "That day when I heard that Marquis Lu was assassinated, I was very worried and worried about him. Fortunately, Marquis Lu was safe and sound. This is God's blessing to Daqi and Your Majesty. In fact, Your Majesty has been waiting for you for a long time. I want to summon Lu Hou into the palace, but things are complicated these days, so I want to let Lu Hou rest in the palace for a while."

Looking at her firm gaze, Lu Chen did not persuade her anymore, but nodded and said, "Okay."

"Flat body."

In fact, it was not appropriate for him to say these words due to his status, but Lu Chen understood that the emperor was using his words to pave the way for the meeting between the emperor and his ministers later.

After a while, the Cloud Observation Tower occupying the commanding heights of the palace appeared in Lu Chen's eyes.

But there was one person he couldn't refuse.

Early the next morning, outside the palace and Ningmen.

Lin Xi shook his head gently and said softly: "I'll wait for you here."

Lu Shizhou stopped, turned sideways and lowered his head and said: "Marquis Lu, please."

Lu Shizhou became more and more careless and said: "How dare you, how dare you."

The early morning sun shines on the earth, and the sky is clear and cloudless.

He did not hesitate at all and got straight to the point in his opening remarks.

After the assassination broke out three days ago, Lu Chen declined Qin Zheng's proposal to enter the palace to meet the saint. At first, Li Duan thought this was a sign that he was angry and distracted. Furthermore, he had to seize the time to make arrangements for the court. He simply let Lu Chen rest quietly in his mansion.

However, three days passed and Lu Chen never took the initiative to enter the palace to ask for an audience. Li Duan soon realized that there must be something fishy.

For the emperor, who had been fighting with Jiangnan's powerful families for fourteen years and gradually gained the upper hand, it was not particularly difficult to infer Lu Chen's thoughts, so he did not let suspicion become the tone between the emperor and his ministers, and immediately sent people to Shanyang. A decree was sent to the Hou Mansion, and Lu Chen was ordered to go to the palace to see him.

Lu Chen raised his head and looked into the emperor's eyes.

Li Duan continued: "Most of the capable people in the Warp Weaving Department have left Beijing before. Both Chengzhou and Taiping Prefecture need capable people to do things. You all know these situations. Furthermore, I told Qin Zheng that the Warp Weaving Department is not allowed to work in your country." Place nails around him to avoid misunderstandings. It will take a certain amount of time from the time Qin Zheng learns what happened on Qingfeng Street to the time he sends Wen Yingzhang to lead people there. If Qin Zheng comes to ask for instructions first and then sends people, you You should know that Wen Yingzhang will definitely arrive later."

Lu Chen felt a surge of complicated emotions in his heart.

He suddenly understood why the emperor was able to turn the situation around little by little in fourteen years. His warm and frank attitude alone was enough to make people heartbroken.

Moreover, it is a rare act for a king to explain so clearly to his ministers. No wonder Xue Nanting, Liu Shouguang and other important ministers are so loyal. "Your Majesty, I dare not deceive the emperor. I did have similar thoughts in my mind that day. I thought that your Majesty intended to cause more bloodshed and casualties on Qingfeng Street, so that this matter could become a big issue and no one would dare to The extent of favoritism.”

Lu Chen was honest as usual and did not hide his true thoughts, and continued: "But I soon understood that Your Majesty would not do this, because the situation at that time was indeed very dangerous, and Your Majesty was in the palace and there was no absolute certainty. I can survive.”

He didn't say it too directly, but Li Duan could understand the deeper meaning. At least in the current situation, Lu Chen's life was far more valuable than his death.

He believed that the emperor would not do such stupid things.

Thinking of this, a faint smile finally appeared on Li Duan's face, and he asked with interest: "In that case, why have you refused to enter the palace these days? You are no stranger to investigating cases, let alone this case. It concerns you personally."

Lu Chen responded: "Your Majesty, in fact, the minister is just a warrior."

Li Duan was slightly startled.

Lu Chen said sincerely: "Before encountering this assassination, even though I didn't like the intrigues and intrigues in the court, I was still willing to follow the rules. Otherwise, I would betray Your Majesty's trust and love for me. But this time is different. Those six people The soldiers died for me, and they were not sacrificed on the battlefield on the border, but fell in a pool of blood where the Qi people killed each other. I know that it has not been easy for your Majesty these years. He has made sacrifices and made detours time and time again. Full of countless compromises and concessions.”

Li Duan narrowed his eyes slightly, nodded and said, "Continue."

Lu Chen thought for a while, and finally decided to save some of his inner thoughts, and said concisely: "I only have one wish, and that is that the person behind this assassination case should pay a sufficient price."

Logically speaking, this wish is not too much, and at least until now, he is firmly on the emperor's side, and the emperor should allow him to vent his bad breath.

However, Li Duan became silent.

On the cloud viewing platform, the morning breeze brought a cool atmosphere, but the mood of the monarch and his ministers could not be relaxed.

Li Duan looked at the buildings in the distance and said slowly: "If this case involves a certain prince, what do you want me to do?"

When Lu Chen first came to Beijing, Li Duan was already very friendly towards him, but at that time it was mainly because of Xiao Wangzhi's existence.

Li Duan wanted to use Lu Chen's relationship to further win over the governor of Huaizhou. The relationship between the monarch and his ministers actually heated up when Lu Chen returned to Beijing a few months ago.

Li Duan needed a knife that was sharp and hard enough, and Lu Chen hoped that his influence could reach the center. The monarch and his ministers hit it off immediately. As for the rumors about Lu Chen's life experience, Li Duan turned them into ashes in the pile of old papers with just a few words.

With the tacit cooperation time and time again, the trust between them gradually deepened, especially when Li Duan stood up for Lu Chen in the court to frighten the officials, and later made some remarks that seemed to be a nuisance, causing Lu Chen to treat the emperor. Have a great feeling.

However, how can things in this world fulfill people’s wishes?
Now there was a thorny problem before Lu Chen.

He thought for a moment and said calmly: "Your Majesty, the prince is guilty of breaking the law and the common people are guilty."

This sentence seemed to have a childish emotion. I am afraid that few people in the world would really believe this truth, but Li Duan did not criticize or ridicule. He said softly: "I only have three sons."

Lu was silent.

In fact, the fact that the emperor could say this was enough to prove how much he valued Lu Chen. After all, the two most important words in this world, how could a king bow to his ministers?
After a long time, Li Duan said solemnly: "Lu Chen, I hope that you can become the new king's assistant minister in the future and become the mainstay of the Qi Dynasty. Unlike other ministers, you are naturally upright and upright, so I will wait for you." You are also different from others. There are so many important ministers in the court, and I have never been so sincere to them. I hope you can understand my difficulties."

Lu Chen lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, I can't bear this."

Li Duan shook his head, raised his hand and pressed it on the railing, with a slightly solemn tone: "If one of my sons is really involved in the assassination on Qingfeng Street, in addition to his life, I will make him pay a sufficient price." .”

After all, he is not the kind of heartless and cold-blooded person. Of course, another important reason for this is that Lu Chen is safe and sound, and the court situation has not experienced much shock.

Lu Chen's heart was as clear as a mirror. Since the emperor had said this, he had no room to resist, so he bowed his hands and said, "I thank your majesty for your kindness."

Later, Li Duan looked at Lu Chen's retreating back and couldn't help but sigh.

There was a sound of footsteps, and Qin Zheng came behind the emperor and said respectfully: "Your Majesty."

Li Duan didn't look back and said calmly: "Speak."

Qin Zheng spoke calmly, recounting the clues found by the Sutra Weaving Department and his analysis.

After hearing this, Li Duan was noncommittal and asked, "They still have no sign of entering the palace?"

Qin Zheng understood that the emperor was referring to the three princes, so he replied: "Yes, Your Majesty."

Li Duan slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, there was no trace of sadness in his eyes, only the coldness and majesty of a nine-five-year-old man remained.

He looked at the palace bathed in bright sunshine and said word by word: "Let's begin."

Qin Zheng bowed and said calmly: "Yes, Your Majesty."

(End of this chapter)