Idle courtiers

Chapter 425 Zwilling

"I envy you for your romantic and elegant appearance. You are famous in Dongluo, and you have articles in Western Han Dynasty. You are welcome everywhere, and you are fighting for the car. The beauty of Qinhuai..."

There is singing coming from the stage in the distance.

That actor's voice seemed to be magical, although the voice was not loud, it came from across a wide lotus pond and fell clearly into the ears of everyone in the hall.

The rows of windows in the waterside pavilion were all open, and there were people sitting inside.

Looking out from the window, there are lotus leaves that are about to wither, a stage, and pavilions at home.

Farther away, there is a clump of yellow trees and a towering brick tower.

The blue sky and white clouds, the wind is a bit cool, and the golden autumn in Beijing has come.

This place is obviously a duke's mansion, the waterside pavilion is full of people, there are women and children, a dozen people, big and small, all surrounded by an old man in his fifties.

The old man looked rather skinny, he was wearing Hechang, he was stroking his gray beard with his hands, and said with a smile: "These two actors from Suzhou can sing well, by the way, is it Pingtan? "

A woman said: "Returning to the old man, but it's not." She was about to explain to him the difference between various operas in the south.At this time, a family member walked in quickly and whispered in the old man's ear; "My lord, my nephew came over and said he has something to do, and he is waiting in the main room outside."

Old man: "We are all a family, there are not so many rules, let him come here!"

"Yes, sir."

The old man knew that his nephew was shy and would not come here easily.Thinking of what happened in the capital in recent days, he frowned.

Seeing that the old man was lost in thought, the others stood up wisely and retreated silently.

There was only the old man left in the water pavilion, and it suddenly seemed empty.

After a while, Zhu Lun came in in casual clothes and saluted, "Nephew Zhu Lun has seen uncle."

That's right, this old man is the commander of Jinyiwei, Cheng Guogong Zhu Xizhong, the leader of the current nobles.

Zhu Xizhong stretched out his hand to help him: "Youyi, you are a person who doesn't want to see people, even your uncle doesn't come here very often, why do you want to come here today." "There is a saying "There is morality and righteousness".

Zhu Lun blushed: "Master Uncle, nephew... nephew..."

"Hey, your child is considered a first-class talent in our old Zhu's house, but he can't speak and is shy. Such a nature will suffer in the future." Zhu Xizhong said with a wry smile: "When you come to me, It's not because of the Kongming case, I already know, you sit down and talk!"

"So my uncle already knew about it, so I have nothing to say." Zhu Lun sat next to Zhu Xizhong and closed his mouth.

On the other side, another singing voice came from the stage: "The beauty of Qinhuai, I am looking for a beautiful woman to be with you for a while, and I want some mandarin duck quilts, lotus makeup..."

Seeing that his nephew hadn't spoken for a long time, Zhu Xizhong turned to look at him for a long time, then smiled and said: "I really have nothing to say? Well, I won't embarrass you kid, I will speak for you."

Zhu Lun: "Please tell my uncle clearly."

Zhu Xizhong said indifferently: "You are also an old man who handles criminal cases. It is not uncommon for criminals to bite at random. Criminal officials fall into the hands of our factory guards. In order to protect themselves, they usually bite a big man. This The higher the official position, the better, and the greater the power, the better. The reason why the prisoner did this was because he had an illusion that the important people involved could save him. If the person handling the case believed it, then That's a joke."

Zhu Lun: "Three people make a tiger, and one mouth makes gold."

Zhu Xizhong smiled: "Three people make a tiger, and one mouth makes money, hehe. Rumors in the market always have a source. Things in the world always have motives and interests. Winds don't just start at the end of Qingping."

This sentence is cryptic, but the truth is not difficult to understand.Zhu Lun is such a smart person, he immediately understood the meaning of his uncle's words: there is no need to be afraid of being bitten by a prisoner, the only thing to be afraid of is that someone will take advantage of the problem and point the finger at uncle.The problem is that the position of uncle is different from that of an official in the foreign court, and there is a whole set of organizational procedures.

For example, if an official of the foreign court wants to be a cabinet senior, he must first be a Jinshi, and he must also be a scholar.

When the term of the Imperial Academy expires, you have to go to the sixth department to be a Lang Guan with experience in central work.Lang Guan's term of office is over, but he can go to the local area to be a governor. He has the resume of a big official in Xinjiang, so he can consider joining the cabinet.

To put it bluntly, the factory guard is a matter of the emperor's words.

If others covet the position of commander, no matter how they spread rumors, as long as the emperor doesn't believe him, his uncle's position will not be shaken.

This kind of tricks of spreading rumors, playing tricks on right and wrong, and taking advantage of the situation is easy to use in the outer court, but it is useless to the inner court.

Julen: "Teachable."

Zhu Xizhong: "You are wise today, don't worry, if you have righteousness, you can have this kind of heart, the old man is very pleased."

Zhu Lun: "What should I do when I get down?"

"Never mind, this is a matter of Dongchang, let's wait and see what happens." Zhu Xizhong knew that this nephew didn't talk much, and he rarely communicated with him on weekdays.Today is a rare opportunity, but I can give some pointers: "Kongming's assassination of Prince Yu's son may be suspected to be King Jing, but if you think about it carefully, even if it happens, it will be harmful and not beneficial to King Jing. This matter is revealed from the beginning to the end. It’s absurd and ridiculous.”

Julien: "Exactly."

Zhu Xizhong: "Maybe there is only one truth."

Julen looked up at his uncle.

Zhu Xizhong: "Everything in the world has a cause and effect. Xiang Zhuang's sword dance is aimed at Pei Gong. However, who is Xiang Zhuang and who is Pei Gong? I am curious."

Zhu Lun: "From my nephew's point of view, I just don't care about it."

Zhu Xizhong smiled: "The Dongji Incident Factory robbed you of your errand, and Youyi was upset, but now you've figured it out?"

Julien was silent.

Zhu Xizhong didn't force him to speak, "Listen to the music, hey, these two actors sing really well!"

At this time, a servant came in again: "My lord, there is a visitor named Chen outside. I didn't post a post, and I didn't say his name when I asked him. I just think the lord knows who he is?"

At the same time, the uncle and nephew of the Zhu family shook their bodies and straightened their backs.

"Invite him in quickly." Zhu Xizhong asked Zhu Lun with a smile, "Youyi, who do you think is here?"

Zhu Lun: "Maybe Xiang Zhuang."

Zhu Xizhong laughed loudly, and stroked his back with his hands: "Youyi is really my family's thousand-mile horse!"

When the guests entered the waterside pavilion, the actor on the stage in the distance just finished singing the song: "Who do you know, it is the Qinhuai mansion in the south, and the wedding dresses are all busy."

Seeing the person brought in by the servants, Zhu Xizhong said, "Eunuch Chen, you came just in time. If you were a little late, the music would be over."

That's right, it was Chen Hong who came.

Chen Hong is also dressed in casual clothes today, and even put on two fake beards.

He nimbly sat next to Zhu Xizhong, smoothing the hem of his clothes with his hands: "The big case is empty and shocked the government and the public. How can you be sloppy? After all, you have to give an explanation to the people of the world and to His Majesty."

Zhu Xizhong: "Oh, Eunuch Chen wants everyone to stay together until the end of the song, and there are several green peaks on the river. Then, let me ask you where this green peak comes from. It should not be too abrupt."

Zhu Lun's heart trembled when he heard it, he knew that his uncle was going to discuss with Chen Hong how to settle the case.

Yes, the two leaders of Dongchang and Jinyiwei got together today, obviously to discuss the final conclusion.

The emperor obviously didn't want to get entangled in this case for too long, as soon as the public outcry was delayed, the situation would get out of control.

What if the fire is directed at King Jing?

The only thing is that this matter was clearly mentioned in the yamen, and Chen Hong chose to pretend to be a casual visit, probably not for the simple reason that his uncle owed him a favor.

Zhu Xizhong is different from his nephew Zhu Lun who is shy and shy. On the surface, he looks carefree and casual.

This made Chen Hong, who was born in the strict rules and regulations of the palace, very uncomfortable. He snorted: "Suddenly, are there not many sudden things in the Ming Dynasty?"

Zhu Xizhong said "Oh": "I still ask for advice!"

Chen Hong: "In the 21st year of Jiajing, when Renyin Palace was changed, do you remember Xu Shencheng, the imperial physician? I think the Duke should remember. You seem to be the one who handled the case, right?"

Zhu Xizhong's eyelids twitched: "Why don't I remember, when the incident happened, I was the admiral of the [-]th Regiment Battalion and the [-]th Army Battalion, and I was on duty at night. After I dealt with it on the spot, I handed over the case to Mr. Lu Bing, the Jinyi officer. However, as a party involved, I have also gone to court several times, and the whole story of this case is clear."

The so-called Renyin palace change.Twenty years have passed since this case, but because it was a crime of regicide, it had a huge impact. Thinking about it until now, Zhu Guogong still feels thrilled.

The thing is like this, when the son of heaven wanted to live forever, he was persuaded by the magician in the palace to use the menstrual blood and medicine of a virgin.

The process of taking blood was naturally very unbearable, and some palace people felt so humiliated that they rushed up one night, trying to strangle the emperor with their belts.

But the maids were weak, so they couldn't strangle the emperor to death.

There was a maid who was afraid and secretly reported to Queen Fang.

Queen Fang called Zhu Xizhong, who was on duty at the time, to arrest the criminal.

Also because of this credit, Cheng Guogong's holy family has been extremely prosperous in the past 20 years, and finally achieved the post of commander of Jinyiwei, enjoying all the glory and wealth.

Zhu Lun couldn't help asking: "What about Xu Shen?"

Chen Hong: "At the beginning, the emperor was in a coma, and it was the imperial physician Xu Shen who gave the prescription to revive the Lord Long Live. Afterwards, because of this rescue, the imperial physician Xu was named the prince and the prince. It is strange to say that half a year passed. , Doctor Xu unexpectedly died suddenly at home."

Zhu Lun: "I've heard about this. After the imperial hospital prescribed the medicine, the emperor waited for four hours before waking up. During this period, the imperial physician Xu was so frightened that he was so frightened that he contracted it after returning home. Passed away seriously ill."

Chen Hong smiled, obviously he didn't want to explain, he just said to Zhu Xizhong: "I heard that Imperial Physician Xu and Cheng Guogong are distant relatives. When Xu Shen died, the Duke was also very embarrassed."

Zhu Lun wondered, "What does Xu Shen's death have to do with Uncle?"

Zhu Xizhong waved his hand at Zhu Lun, and said to Chen Hong: "Eunuch Chen, the imperial physician is hereditary, and our relatives are also hereditary. They have lived together in the capital for hundreds of years, and they have been neighbors for generations. It is not surprising that they stick to each other and bring relatives. Eunuch Chen is here today." My humble house, I think the Kong Ming case has already been resolved, so I would like to ask."

Chen Hong dipped his finger in the tea, and wrote the word "From" on the table.

Zhu Xizhong frowned and looked at the withered lotus in front of him, speechless for a long time.

Chen Hong was not in a hurry, smiled, stretched out his finger and picked up a pine nut and nibbled slowly.

After a long time, Zhu Xizhong smiled wryly: "Is it interesting to revisit old accounts over the years? Today is different from the past."

Chen Hong said leisurely: "People don't hurt the tiger's mind, but the tiger hurts the mind!" He blew the melon seeds off his palm: "Let's go."

When Chen Hong left, Zhu Xizhong was still looking at the pool of dead leaves.

Zhu Lun finally couldn't help asking: "Uncle, what charades are you and Chen Hong playing, my nephew can't understand at all. Also, what does the word Cong mean?"

Zhu Xizhong: "It's not Cong, it's two characters, Shuangliren."

"Zwilling?"

Zhu Xizhong: "Yes, Chen Hong is Xiang Zhuang, and this Shuangli man is Peigong."

After all, he also dipped in the tea and added a word "yu" next to the word "cong".

Zhu Lun took a breath: "Xu?"

Zhu Xizhong nodded slowly: "Yes, it's a word Xu, Xu Jie's Xu."

"Chen Hong wants to overthrow Xu Jie and put him to death?" Zhu Lun was shocked: "What's the motive?"

Zhu Xizhong: "Fight for the position."

(End of this chapter)