Chapter 103: The Fairy of Magpie Bridge (VI)
The snow covered the eaves, and the sunlight was particularly weak in the cold fog.
Meng Yunxian stood in the corridor behind the government hall, holding his fist to his lips and coughing non-stop. Pei Zhiyuan heard it from inside the room, so he personally poured out a bowl of hot tea and handed it to him, "Mr. Meng, since you got caught in the rain last time, why hasn't your cold gotten better? Do you want to find another doctor to take a look?"
"Who else can I replace?"
Meng Yunxian took the tea bowl and took a sip, and his throat felt better.
"Zhang Jian, isn't he a famous doctor? Why don't you ask for permission and let this doctor treat you?" Pei Zhiyuan started making jokes after just a few words.
Meng Yunxian laughed, "Any news from the Ministry of Internal Affairs?"
"The people Lord Han left behind still need to be used," Pei Zhiyuan nodded, moved closer, and lowered his voice, "The emperor did use Zhang Jian's medicine to have this heir..."
"However, this medicine seems to be a strong one. Although it has miraculous effects, it is inevitable to damage the root cause."
No one knows the emperor's health condition better than the eunuchs who serve him closely. Before Han Qing was appointed as the Night Envoy, he already had a foundation in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. All these secrets were revealed by Han Qing's people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
"Mr. Meng, it is impossible for Zhang Jian not to discuss the pros and cons with the emperor in advance. In other words," Pei Zhiyuan sighed slowly, "in the emperor's heart , he still wants a child of his own."
Previously, the chief physician of the Imperial Medical Bureau, Nie Xiang, was beaten to death in exchange for Prince Jia's return to the capital, but he could not have any more offspring. Although the people in the Imperial Medical Bureau knew this, they dared not make any rash conclusions. However, the famous doctor Zhang Jian used extraordinary methods and extraordinary medicines, which went against the cautious warming and nourishing method of the Imperial Medical Bureau, and made the emperor have offspring.
"Princess Jia offended the Imperial Concubine in Chaoyun Palace yesterday, and the Imperial Medical Bureau went to check the Imperial Concubine's pulse in a panic, so Princess Jia was imprisoned. Prince Jia pleaded for his beloved wife, but the Emperor was angry instead, and the couple were imprisoned in Chongming Palace," Pei Zhiyuan rubbed his frozen hands and exhaled white air while speaking, "Now that the Emperor has a son, he hates Prince Jia even more. He is an adopted son forced upon the Emperor by the court officials, not something the Emperor wants. The road ahead of us is not easy to walk."
It is not yet known whether the baby in the imperial concubine's belly is a prince or a princess, but the battle for the crown prince has already begun. The imperial concubine is in the spotlight and does not know how to hide from the spotlight. Whether it is Pei Zhiyuan or Meng Yunxian, they all know that the imperial concubine and the baby in her belly are just the first step used by Pan Youfang, Duke Lu and others to destroy Prince Jia.
"Didn't the emperor allow Prince Jia to return to Tongzhou?" Meng Yunxian blew away the tea foam. "For now, you have to protect Cao Dong and make sure nothing goes wrong."
Cao Dong's account books are clear. His father Cao Shanli had colluded with Wu Dai, an official and a businessman, when he first started to run a private business. Cao Shanli bought the official grain of Daizhou just to make it easier for Wu Dai to control the officials of Daizhou. After Cao Shanli's death, his eldest son Cao Dong inherited the family business. At that time, King Nankang died, and Pan Youfang gradually gained power. He suppressed Wu Dai several times in the court, and also used all means to make the Cao family's Manyu Money House secretly become his own.
Wu Dai's hard work was destroyed because of him.
But they were ultimately tied to the same rope. Wu Dai knew that he was seeking revenge for what happened in the past, so he secretly swallowed his anger.
In Cao Dong's secret account, there were not only Wu Dai, but also Pan Youfang, and even members of the royal family such as Duke Lu, the son of Prince Nankang.
The criminal official involved in the Daizhou grain draft has been giving money to Wu Dai, Pan Youfang and Duke Lu for 15 years. Over the years, the Cao family's Manyu Money House has relied on the support of these three people and other members of the royal family to carry out monopoly in many places and make huge profits through private relationships.
Duke Lu is the eldest son of Prince Nankang. In the past, Prince Nankang and Wu Dai had a secret relationship, but now Duke Lu and Pan Youfang have a vested interest in each other.
“It’s natural.”
Pei Zhiyuan nodded, but his expression was not relaxed. "Tan Guangwen is dead, so we can't hand Cao Dong over at this critical moment. Otherwise, we won't be able to tell what happened sixteen years ago, and Cao Dong will have to die."
The emperor invited Meng Yunxian back to Beijing to promote new policies, simply to use him to suppress the royal family, but suppression is not the same as cleaning up. The world belongs to the Zhao family. If they hand over Cao Dong at this time, it will give the emperor an excellent opportunity. The emperor can use Cao Dong's secret accounts to intimidate the royal family. In order to protect themselves, the royal family will spit out most of the money they have taken in, and this will achieve the emperor's goal.
At that time, the government would burn the secret accounts and kill Cao Dong, thus appeasing the royal family and easily exonerating the crimes of Duke Lu and others.
Those royal family members will surely be grateful.
But what about what happened sixteen years ago? What about the truth behind the bloodbath at Mushen Mountain that Tan Guangwen was hiding? Not to mention that Duke Lu and Pan Youfang would not give anyone a chance to speak to the emperor, even if someone dared to speak up and bring up the case in front of the emperor, the emperor would just suppress it.
If General Yujie's death sentence turned out to be an unjust case, how would the emperor face the public's criticism?
Pan Youfang, isn't that why he is so fearless?
"Mr. Meng, I've noticed that you haven't been in good spirits since you met Pan Youfang that night," Pei Zhiyuan said, feeling as if a stone was pressing down on him. "Minxing believes that the living are always more important than the dead."
"No."
Meng Yunxian spoke up immediately, then coughed for a while. He put one hand on the pillar and shook his head, "No, Minxing, we living people must not say such things. If a person dies, regardless of whether he was wronged or suffered in his lifetime, everything about him will disappear into thin air. Then what is the purpose of living for us? Aren't you afraid that you will be treated like this by the living after you die?"
"None of the saints and wise men are so unjust."
"In fact, Pan Youfang said something very right. If we really talk about guilt, I am also guilty of General Yujie. "
Meng Yunxian's eyelids were sore. "Back then, the emperor said that he couldn't stand the disturbances from the royal family and some officials, and urged Chongzhi and I to quickly make some achievements in the new policy. The emperor used the new policy as an excuse to make us fight the royal family and the old-school officials with all our strength. In this way, he watched the fire from the other side and checked all parties. The result was that the innocent General Yujie was implicated."
Anyone who dares to increase the power of military officers is tantamount to undermining the interests of all civil officials in Da Qi.
The death of General Yujie Xu Hexue was a revenge by the royal family led by King Nankang on Zhang Jing and Meng Yunxian, and it was also the protection of their own interests by some civil servants.
"It's Min Xing's words that are careless,"
Pei Zhiyuan bowed to him and said, "Mr. Meng, I am just worried about you and want you to take care of yourself first. Now we are faced with the test of Prince Jia. Only after we get through this test can we plan for the rest of our lives..."
"Didn't you say that? If a gentleman wants to achieve something far away, he must wait for it; if he wants to achieve something great, he must be patient."
"yes……"
Meng Yunxian wrapped himself in two cloaks, but it was freezing cold, and he still felt that his body couldn't keep warm. Snow was flying outside the corridor, and he stopped coughing, "If you want to accomplish great things, you must first be patient."
"Right now, we have to protect Prince Jia first."
Pei Zhiyuan nodded, and then hissed, "I suddenly remembered that I forgot to tell you something."
"What about Huang Zongyu?"
Meng Yunxian stuffed the empty tea bowl into his hand.
"You know that the emperor summoned him to the Qinghe Hall today?" Pei Zhiyuan smiled a little, "Then guess why?"
"you say."
Meng Yunxian has been ill these days and has no time to hang out with him .
"Do you still remember the case of the winter examination candidate? You should still remember Miss Ni who rang the drum to seek justice for your brother?"
"How can you not remember?"
Talking about this woman, Meng Yunxian's eyes showed some admiration, "Didn't Tongchuan mention her in his memorial? I didn't expect that she left Yunjing and went to Yongzhou. I heard that she also went to Suchile's camp with the army and treated soldiers and civilians in the city. With such courage and insight, she can be said to be a heroine."
"Well, Mr. Huang gave her clinic a plaque."
"Send her a plaque?"
Meng Yunxian was unaware of this.
"Yes, he even signed it himself."
"Huang Zongyu's calligraphy is worth a fortune, and it's hard for anyone to find him on weekdays. How come he took the initiative to write an inscription and present a plaque to this woman?"
This is really inconsistent with Huang Zongyu's usual style.
"Well, I guess," Pei Zhiyuan paused, "It's just a guess. Is it possible that the Imperial Concubine wants to arrange a marriage? You see, Miss Ni is now very famous, and Mr. Huang is proud of his family's integrity. Of course, whether their family is upright or not is obvious to everyone. However, the Imperial Concubine summoned Miss Ni today. I heard someone say that when the young lady left the palace, she was limping. It was obvious that she was punished."
Meng Yunxian thought for a moment and realized that there were no other men of the right age in the Huang family. If the imperial concubine intended to make things difficult for Ni Su because of her brother Wu Jikang, Huang Zongyu did have a second son who was a very good candidate.
"Huang Li is in his thirties?"
"He's thirty-two. I heard that although he's sick, he's very good at beating and scolding people."
After hearing this, Meng Yunxian looked Pei Zhiyuan up and down.
Pei Zhiyuan saw that he looked strange, "What are you looking at?"
"How do you know these things so clearly?"
Pei Zhiyuan touched his nose a little embarrassedly when he heard this. "My wife is always willing to tell me the trivia she heard from the wives of officials. You know I have a good memory."
Meng Yunxian laughed, but thinking about the current situation of Miss Ni, he frowned again, "That young lady, I'm afraid she is having a hard time now."
It was winter, and the snow in Yunjing was sometimes heavy and sometimes light, but it didn't stop.
Commandant Miao was traumatized by the truth behind the death of his brother Miao Tianning and has been ill for the past few days. As his daughter-in-law, Cai Chunxu was not in a position to stay outside for long, so she talked to Ni Su for a while and then went back to the mansion to take care of business.
Qing Qiong has been fidgeting since Cai Chunxu left. "Miss Ni, what should we do? If the emperor's order comes, won't you have to marry that sickly man in his thirties? But General Xu is not here. If he were here..."
"What if he was here?"
Ni Su lit the standing incense and counted the offerings in front of the incense table.
"Then, let him elope with you!"
Qingqiong moved slowly and stiffly, came to her side and spoke loudly.
When the word "elopement" fell into Ni Su's ears, she couldn't help but smile.
"Miss Ni!"
Qing Qiong was extremely anxious, wondering how she could be so calm in such a situation. "General Xu, General Xu cherishes you very much!"
Ni Susu paused in his action of offering the fruit.
"real!"
Qing Qiong squatted down, "Do you remember the time when you followed him to Suchile Military Camp? Your shoulder was injured by a horse's hoof, and he carried you back! You were unconscious at that time, and I asked him about it!"
"You asked him...what?"
With Xu Hexue away, Qing Qiong didn't want to hide anything. "I asked him what he thought of you, and he told me three words - 'dare not destroy'."
Ni Su instantly forgot the number she was counting in her mind. There were piles of offerings in front of her. It took her a while to turn her head and look at Qingqiong.
Outside the eaves, the snow was falling all over the sky and the wind was howling.
The oranges were orange in color and Ni Su held them in her hands for a long time. After a long time, she lowered her head and counted the fruits in front of her again.
"What else did he tell you?"
She tried to look calm.
"He doesn't talk much."
Qing Qiong shook his head. "Do you think he has returned to Youdu? When will he be back? If he comes back late, what will you do..."
"If I have to rely on him for everything,"
Ni Su piled up the oranges one by one. "Wouldn't it be very hard for him? I am not a rootless duckweed. I am not willing to be manipulated by others. I can deal with my own affairs."
There is one orange missing.
She was finally sure.
Ni Su raised her eyes and stared at the animal bead in the middle of the offering.
"Miss Ni? Is Miss Ni here?" A smiling female voice suddenly came from outside, "Happy event, great happy event!"
Ni Su and Qing Qiong looked at each other, then she got up from the mat and walked out of the room, and saw a woman wearing a purple embroidered bodice, a turmeric skirt, and a headscarf standing in the corridor.
"Who are you?"
Ni Su walked closer and heard that the main hall in front was very lively, but she didn't understand what was going on.
The woman was delighted, "I'm here to do good things!"
Ni Su realized almost immediately that this was a matchmaker. Qing Qiong, who was standing beside her, changed her expression and couldn't help but say, "The Huang family is here so soon?"
"What Huang family?"
The woman was stunned for a moment, and was about to speak again, but she heard footsteps approaching. She turned around and saw a hand lift the curtain. The young man was wearing a scarlet official uniform and a long-winged hat. He had an upright posture and a handsome appearance.
"...Master Xiao Zhou?"
Ni Su had never seen Zhou Ting wearing such an official uniform. He seemed to have rushed here. Snow particles melted on the fabric of his shoulders, leaving wet marks. There was also sweat on his temples, and his face looked a little pale.
The matchmaker began to talk nonstop, "It's not the Huang family, it's the Zhou family. This is Deputy Envoy Zhou of the Night Bureau. Miss Ni, listen to me..."
"Please go to the main hall and wait for a moment."
Zhou Ting interrupted her.
The matchmaker said yes, then held the embroidered handkerchief, opened the curtain and walked into the main hall. At this moment, Ni Su saw many boxes and cages in the main hall, all tied with bright red silk ribbons.
The back porch was quiet, with only the wind and snow blowing.
"Miss Ni."
Zhou Ting stood in front of Ni Su.
"What is Lord Zhou doing?" Ni Su moved her gaze back to his face.
"I just heard this young man mention the Huang family. I guess Miss Ni knows the intention of the Empress in the Palace?" Zhou Ting looked at Qingqiong who was standing aside.
There was the matchmaker and there were those boxes in front. Qingqiong certainly knew what he was here for. He couldn't help but feel worried for Xu Hexue, but he didn't know what to do. He could only turn his head to the side, not wanting to even look at Zhou Ting.
"yes."
Ni Su nodded.
Zhou Ting rushed home immediately after leaving the palace to ask his mother, Lan, to hastily prepare the betrothal gifts. He did not even have time to change out of his official uniform before rushing here. "Huang Li is the second son of Mr. Huang, 32 years old. He lost his wife three years ago and has five concubines and four children. He is weak and has no job, and has a violent temper."
This is the information obtained by the Night Watch Department while monitoring all officials and their children. This information should not be disclosed to people outside the Night Watch Department.
Ni Su looked at him, "Master Xiao Zhou...are you here to help me out?"
"Please forgive my rudeness, Miss Ni. The emperor's order to arrange a marriage has not yet been issued. I have no choice but to hurry up and propose to you first, so that you can escape from the queen's calculations."
"I also know that there is someone in the girl's heart."
The man he met in Wazili, and the man with a sword who later saved her on a rainy night but did not appear in front of him, should be the Master Ni in Yongzhou.
The clothes she made were for Mr. Ni.
The person she was looking for was always that Mr. Ni.
But even so,
Zhou Ting looked at her and cupped his hands, "I am willing to help you out of this predicament. After a year, you and I can get divorced."
"But if the girl is willing,"
Zhou Ting's original intention was to help her out of trouble, but he still couldn't help but have expectations for this woman, "I am willing to treat you sincerely. From now on, I will only be your wife, not your concubine."
She is not a woman without fear, but her fear will never make her back down.
Whether she was being interrogated in the Night Police, being beaten in the Dengwen Court, or treating injuries at the border in Yongzhou, she was born weak but also strong.
Zhou Ting admires such women.
The wind and snow were blowing, knocking down the railings.
A light mist gathered in the room. Xu Hexue's body was covered in bloodstains and his hair was disheveled. He stared in confusion at the animal bead on the incense table surrounded by many offerings.
He stood there blankly for a while before he slowly heard the movement in the yard.
The bloodstained hem of his clothes swayed slightly on the threshold. He leaned one hand on the door frame and raised his eyes. Snow was flying everywhere. Chao Yisong and several of the Night Watchmen's close followers were carrying boxes tied with red silk to the back corridor with smiles on their faces.
Zhou Ting was dressed in a neat and clean official uniform. Snowflakes brushed against his scarlet sleeves. He took out a golden hairpin from his sleeve and stared at the woman in front of him:
"This is my mother's stuff. If you are willing, please accept it."
