The world of film and television begins from childhood

"Yes."

Zhou Chen said with emotion: "I am a good friend of Deputy Envoy Gu, and I know him quite well. He is a very good person and worth relying on."

"Really? Hahaha..."

Xiao Qinyan had already understood what Zhou Chen meant from his words. His relationship with Gu Qianfan seemed very secretive to outsiders, but if someone investigated carefully, they would actually be able to find clues.

Especially for a noble family with a long history like the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery, it is not surprising to know the relationship between him and Gu Qianfan.

But he certainly wouldn't admit it.

"Ziheng, the Lime Chant you wrote for Mr. Ke a few days ago is really profound and admirable. It fully expresses Mr. Ke's character. Compared with Mr. Ke, I am really ashamed of myself."

"Uncle Xiao is too serious. Mr. Ke is my mentor and I respect him very much, but Uncle Xiao has also devoted himself to the court and is equally admirable."

"Really? Haha, compared to Mr. Ke, I am really far behind. My greatest hope in this life is to emulate Mr. Ke and do my best for the court and the world."

Xiao Qinyan looked like he was concerned about the country and the people, as if Mr. Ke was really a colleague he admired.

"It's a pity that my enthusiasm is always misunderstood by the world. They say I am a disaster to the country and the people, and call me a traitor. They try every means to resist me."

"But I am not afraid of these, because I know very well why I do everything. Everything I do is for the Song Dynasty and for the people of the world. I am not afraid of people misunderstanding me. I just hope to do better."

As she spoke, tears began to flow uncontrollably, giving Zhou Chen goosebumps.

What is the Best Actor? Young handsome guys, come and see, this is the Best Actor.

This person is a real movie star in real life. If he lives in the future, he will be able to win the Oscar for Best Actor.

I have known for a long time that Xiao Qinyan is a shameless person, but when I actually met him, Zhou Chen couldn't help but sigh, he is so shameless.

When Xiao Qinyan compared himself with Mr. Ke, he did not raise his own level, but lowered Mr. Ke's level.

Although he felt disgusted, Zhou Chen had to cooperate with his performance.

"Uncle Xiao's breadth of mind is something that the younger generation can never match."

Xiao Qinyan wiped her tears with a silk scarf, suppressed her grief-stricken expression, and became serious.

"Ziheng, you don't know that on my way back to the capital, I encountered several assassinations by gangsters. If it weren't for the servants in your house who swore to protect me, I would probably not be able to return to Tokyo now, but would have died on the road."

When Zhou Chen heard this, he immediately slammed the table and stood up: "What? Who is so bold as to assassinate an important official of the imperial court? He really doesn't know how to live or die."

He expressed indignation and rage, but after cursing for a few words, there was no further action.

Xiao Qinyan, who was waiting patiently, felt his eyes twitch. Zhou Chen's difficulty was really beyond his expectations. He had performed so well, but Zhou Chen remained unmoved, disrupting the rhythm of his performance.

"Ziheng, although I am already in Tokyo, I am still surrounded by enemies and feel uneasy. I don't know when I will be assassinated. Ziheng, do you have any way to help me?"

Zhou Chen frowned and thought for a long time. Finally, he said, "Uncle Xiao, I have only encountered assassinations on the battlefield. I haven't encountered them since I left the border, so I really don't know how to deal with it. However, Dongjing City is the capital of the Song Dynasty. It is heavily guarded. There are also guards from the Palace Front Department and the Imperial City Department. The assassin should not dare to assassinate in the city, right?"

Xiao Qinyan shook his head and said, "Ziheng is wrong. Those assassins are so bold that there is nothing they dare not do. Moreover, I suspect that the mastermind behind the recent hat monster case is probably the same force as the one who sent someone to assassinate me."

"what?"

Zhou Chen slammed the table again and said loudly: "Uncle Xiao, what are you waiting for? Let's go to the Imperial City Department and the Palace Front Department and ask them to find a way to arrest him. If that doesn't work, we will go to the government. The government will definitely take care of it."

Looking at Zhou Chen's "clumsy" performance, Xiao Qinyan felt a toothache. This kid won't cry until he sees the coffin. Why does he have to continue to be in a stalemate with him like this?

"Zi Heng."

Seeing Xiao Qinyan's expression so serious for the first time, Zhou Chen gradually restrained his exaggerated expression.

"Ziheng, I'm sure you have understood what I mean. In fact, I already have a suspect, and that is Qi Mu, Qi Zhongcheng. Ziheng should be familiar with this person, right?"

Zhou Chen did not answer, but asked calmly: "Uncle Xiao, are you ready to speak frankly?"

Xiao Qinyan did not feel embarrassed, but nodded seriously and said, "Yes, let's be frank, but I don't know if Ziheng is willing to listen to me."

Zhou Chen was silent for a few breaths, then extended his hand: "Uncle Xiao, please."

Xiao Qinyan didn't keep the secret and directly stated his purpose.

"Ziheng, I know there is a rift between you and Qi Mu. If there is a chance to get rid of him, you should be happy to see it happen, right?"

"I don't have any deep hatred with Qi Zhongcheng, but whether he exists or not makes no difference to me."

Xiao Qinyan frowned and asked again: "If I want to cooperate with you to get rid of Qi Mu's gang, is Ziheng willing?"

Zhou Chen tapped the tabletop lightly with his fingers and said slowly, "Prime Minister Xiao, I just said that whether Qi Mu exists or not makes no difference to me, but it is different for you, Prime Minister. I am not willing to do things that are thankless."

How could Xiao Qinyan not understand what Zhou Chen meant? It was simply that he felt there was no benefit and didn't want to help, but he was prepared.

"As far as I know, Qi Mu is in collusion with the Palace Front Department. The Palace Front Department's Du Yuhou is Qi Mu's man. Even the Palace Front Department's Commander Guo Du has a thousand connections with Qi Mu."

Zhou Chen's expression changed slightly. He knew that there were Qi Mu's people in the Palace Front Department, because in the TV series, the commander of the Palace Front Department who had an intersection with Gu Qianfan was Qi Mu's man, and later the assassins who assassinated Xiao Qinyan on the ship were also people from the Palace Front Department.

but.

"Qi Mu himself is only a chancellor, and Commander Guo Du is a second-rank military officer, higher in rank than Qi Mu. Could he be Qi Mu's man?"

Xiao Qinyan said, "That's why I said they might be colluding. Commander Guo is certainly not Qi Mu's man. Qi Mu is not qualified enough. But as far as I know, Commander Guo admires Mr. Ke very much. Mr. Ke and Qi Mu are both from the Qingliu lineage. There is no guarantee that there is something between them. Don't you think so?"

Zhou Chen chuckled and said, "According to what Lord Xiao said, I am still Lord Ke's disciple. Does that mean I am also in collusion with Prime Minister Qi?"

"Hahaha……"

Xiao Qinyan burst into laughter. "Lord Zhou, you are joking. You are just a little related to Mr. Ke, but you are from a noble family. You are destined not to be in the same boat with the Qingliu family. I also know what happened to you back then, so you definitely cannot be related to the Qingliu family."

"Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Palace Front Department." Zhou Chen suddenly said.

"What?" Xiao Qinyan looked surprised.

Zhou Chen smiled and said, "Prime Minister Xiao should understand what I mean. I can cooperate with you, but I want the position of Deputy Commander of the Palace Front Department."

Xiao Qinyan looked at Zhou Chen deeply, "Lord Zhou is really very courageous, then why don't you just say you are the commander of the Palace Front Department?"

"From what the Prime Minister said, can I become the commander-in-chief?"

"Lord Zhou is really bold in his thinking."

Xiao Qinyan suppressed his unhappiness. He felt that Zhou Chen was really greedy. The commander-in-chief of the Palace Front Department was the pinnacle of military officers, and his rank was not lower than his. He was in a high position and had great power. He had just returned to Beijing to take up his post. How could he have that ability?

"That's why I said the deputy commander-in-chief."

Zhou Chen said it as a matter of course. The commander-in-chief had never even thought about it because it was simply impossible, but the deputy commander-in-chief was different.

Now he is the deputy commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guard Cavalry, which is second only to the commander-in-chief and deputy commander-in-chief of the Palace Front among the three yamen. So it is impossible for him to become the commander-in-chief of the Palace Front, but he may have a chance to move up to the deputy commander-in-chief.

The most important point is that he knew that in the near future, the position of the Commander-in-Chief of the Palace Front Department would be a nominal position and would no longer be easily established. At that time, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief would become the actual controller of the Palace Front Department.

Xiao Qinyan fell into deep thought. Zhou Chen was originally the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery, a third-rank official. He was now the deputy commander-in-chief of the Cavalry Division. He was indeed qualified to compete for the deputy commander-in-chief of the Palace Front Division.

But being in such an important position, how could he let Zhou Chen succeed so easily? If there was that opportunity, wouldn’t it be better to replace him with one of his own?

But he also had to admit that he was far inferior to Zhou Chen.

After hesitating for a long time, he spoke again.

"So what can you bring to me?"

Zhou Chen knew that he was safe, so he became calmer: "Prime Minister Xiao, don't forget that I am a noble, and my maternal uncle's family is the Meng family."

Xiao Qinyan's face solemnly looked serious. He chose Zhou Chen for this reason. Zhou Chen himself was not a simple person, not to mention that Zhou Chen was also related to the Meng family.

Although the Meng family basically would not interfere in the disputes among factions in the court, he did not need their help. As long as the noble family did not deliberately target him, it would be enough.

"Can you take the place of the nobles?"

"Prime Minister Xiao thinks too highly of me. Although I am a member of the noble family, I am not qualified to represent the noble family. I just want to tell you that the noble family stands behind me. Although there may not be many promising people in the noble family, we are the most united."

When it comes to using force to overwhelm others, Zhou Chen is also very skilled at it. No matter whether it is true or not, he will scare Xiao Qinyan first.

How could Xiao Qinyan be intimidated by Zhou Chen? It was just that he was very aware of his own weakness. Although he had great power now, it was basically all due to the power of the Queen and the Emperor. He was like a rootless duckweed, floating unsteadily.

What Zhou Chen has is the military power that he lacks the most, and the noble family represents military power.

Why does he want to ease his relationship with Gu Qianfan?

The reason is naturally that Gu Qianfan is capable, and also that Gu Qianfan is in the Imperial City Division and he needs the military force of the Imperial City Division.

Although Lei Jing could be intimidated, he was an outsider after all and could not be as reliable as his own son.

More importantly, Lei Jing is a two-faced person and is not trustworthy at all. He might even stab him in the back at a critical moment, so of course he would not trust Lei Jing.

"Lord Zhou, I really want to cooperate with you. As long as you can help me get rid of Qi Mu's gang and let me gain a foothold in the court, I can help you get the position of Deputy Commander of the Palace Front Department."

"Then it's settled."

Zhou Chen stretched out his hand, Xiao Qinyan also stretched out his hand, and the two of them high-fived to form an alliance.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 990: Alliance, Quote and Leave

"Master Hou, are you okay?"

As soon as Zhou Chen came out, Qin Yi and Zhou Huai came up to him. They were relieved to see that Zhou Chen was safe and sound.

"What's the matter? Let's go back."

Zhou Chen got on the carriage and left Xiao Qinyan's mansion.

In the hall of the mansion, Xiao Qinyan had a stern look on his face, and Guan Jiazhongshu slowly walked to his side.

"Prime Minister, how was your conversation with the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery?"

Xiao Qinyan snorted coldly, "This kid is much more difficult to deal with than his father. He is so ambitious at a young age. If he wasn't from a noble family, why would I bother looking for him?"

Today's confrontation with Zhou Chen made him feel very uncomfortable. He was several decades older than Zhou Chen, but he did not gain any advantage over Zhou Chen. Instead, Zhou Chen's demands were so high that he had no choice but to give in.

"Prime Minister, do we have to look for him?"

"What else? You have seen the intelligence we have collected recently. He has gained power recently. The government values ​​him. He also has a lot of say in the noble circles. Most importantly, he has the military power that we lack. We cannot trust Qianfan for the time being."

Xiao Qinyan rubbed his head and looked at his previous opponents. All of them were powerful and influential. Even Ke Zheng was defeated by him.

But this time, even though he returned to the capital, his footing was not stable after all, and secretly there were a group of people including Qi Mu who wanted to pull him off his horse.

Although he was not afraid, he had to be on guard, so he urgently needed allies.

The reason for looking for Zhou Chen is that they value Zhou Chen's power and status, and they also feel that Zhou Chen is easier to control than those old foxes.

However, before he could get any benefits from Zhou Chen, Zhou Chen asked for a very high price, and even used his power to pressure him, forcing him to agree.

Being forced in this way by a junior, if he had not been cunning enough, the negotiations would have probably collapsed just now.

"Young Master..."

"Forget it. Qian Fan is extremely wary of me. Even if he really controls the Imperial City Bureau, he may not be able to be used by me. Although Zhou Chen is a bit difficult to deal with, we have a common goal and he is ambitious enough, so I can still trust him before we achieve our goal."

"According to the plan we made earlier, this time I will not only defeat Qi Mu, but also cut off the Qingliu lineage, and also capture Qianfan's heart."

Xiao Qinyan's face was furious. He had just returned to Tokyo, and as the saying goes, a new official starts with three fires, he wanted to make this fire burn even more vigorously.

Zhou Chen sat in the carriage and cursed inwardly, "Old fox."

In the confrontation just now, it seemed that he had gained the upper hand, but Xiao Qinyan's original goal was to pull him into the car. Although he paid the price of the position of deputy commander of the Palace Front Department, in fact, even if he did not take it, no one under Xiao Qinyan could take this position.

However, with the support of Xiao Qinyan's party, his chances of success have become greater.

In the eyes of those upright literati, the Empress Liu Wan was a rebellious party that brought disaster to the country and the people, but Zhou Chen knew clearly that Empress Liu Wan would rule the country from behind the scenes for more than ten years, and the future Emperor Renzong Zhao Zhen would be a puppet emperor for more than ten years.

However, as a noble, he cannot openly support the queen, so cooperating with Xiao Qinyan is also an option.

The factions and intrigues in the ancient officialdom were really annoying, so if he had a choice, he still thought that modern society was better.

Of course, the ancient times also had their own advantages, such as having three wives and four concubines, having great power as an aristocrat, and so on.

Zhou Chen instructed his men to do two things. While Tao Xin was still discussing with his father and uncle, Liang Yuan had already started to act.

Liang Yuan fully displayed his demeanor as a dandy boy. He took a few of his good friends and ran to the Music Bureau. He then designed a plan to create a conflict between him and Shen Ruzhuo. Although Shen Ruzhuo knew that these dandies were not easy to mess with, he did not want to give in in his own territory.

Those drunken dandies, at the slightest provocation of Liang Yuan, furiously beat up Shen Ruzhuo. Finally, people from the government came and took them all away.

However, Liang Yuan and his friends walked away by themselves, while Shen Ruzhuo was carried away.

Going to Kaifeng Prefecture was the beginning of Shen Ruzhuo’s nightmare.

Before the fight between Shen Ruzhuo and others was resolved, several more prostitutes from the Jiaofangsi came to report Shen Ruzhuo, saying that Shen Ruzhuo used his power to force them to do things they did not want to do. Their stories were well-reasoned and detailed.

Shen Ruzhuo, who was already in trouble, was now in even more trouble. Although official prostitutes were looked down upon, if only a few of them reported the incident, it would certainly not pose a threat to Shen Ruzhuo.

But the problem was that there were a few playboys named Liang Yuan, and they seized this opportunity to torture Shen Ruzhuo to death.

On one side is Shen Ruzhuo, who has no powerful background and has both criminal facts and evidence; on the other side are several sons of marquisates and earls.