Zheng Yuheng couldn't sleep all night.
　　Although he persuaded the Queen Mother to come back and rest, he only sat on the edge of the bed to guard her, without even taking off his clothes. He got up at night to pick up the fallen clothes and gently placed the pearl and jade forbidden step on the dressing table.
　　In addition, it was a long wait and gaze.
　　Zheng Yuheng carefully stroked the end of Dong Lingjiu's black hair.
　　He sighed softly to himself and thought: Zheng Yuheng, Zheng Yuheng, you claim to be innocent, but you have not missed a single thing that harms the country. Sooner or later, you will fall for this.
　　Before failing the exam in the spring, Zheng Yuheng thought that he would enter the court in the future and become a court official who would work for the interests of the country, so he cultivated a splendid literary heart. He had a very clear understanding of what he did.
　　He was heading towards a dead end with no turning back, and he was willing to do so. Even though the queen repeatedly loosened the kite string and wanted to let him fly into the sky, Zheng Yuheng tied himself up in the net, pushing his flesh and blood body into the fangs of fate, not caring whether he would be crushed to pieces.
　　After the hour of Chen, Dong Lingjiu stretched out a hand from the brocade quilt and held the fingers of Zheng Yuheng who was accompanying her.
　　She had nails that were only an inch long, round and clear, without nail polish, and her ring finger and little finger were slightly longer, so she usually wore armor. At this moment, there was no extra decoration, just warmly holding his hand and gently covering it.
　　Zheng Yuheng's mind suddenly became nervous: "Queen..."
　　"Well..." Dong Lingjiu answered him lightly and vaguely, "Not asleep?"
　　Zheng Yuheng hesitated and said: "Your Majesty..."
　　Before he finished a word, Dong Lingjiu pulled him over. Zheng Yuheng was not careful for a moment, and was unexpectedly pulled into the brocade quilt by her without any defense, surrounded by a very warm breath.
　　Dong Lingjiu put his arm around his waist. His figure was between a teenager and a young man, slender and strong. Dong Lingjiu's hand slid over like catkins and pressed against his back.
　　Zheng Yuheng felt uneasy. Although it was not the first time, he still felt very nervous. His tone softened and he unconsciously said something like a spoiled child: "Empress Dowager..."
　　"Close your eyes." Dong Lingjiu said, "Sleep with me for a while longer."
　　Zheng Yuheng: "But..."
　　"This is the imperial decree." She said.
　　Zheng Yuheng kept silent and had to obey, closing his eyes obediently. At first, his eyelashes kept trembling and his eyes moved slightly, looking very uneasy, but Dong Lingjiu's hand gently patted his back, his breath was like orchid, and warmth was overflowing. The
　　soft red scented tent, the person he admired was right beside him, it was so dreamy, Zheng Yuheng was soon surrounded by peace of mind and satisfaction, he put aside his worries, lowered his head and buried it in the crook of Dong Lingjiu's neck, and indulged himself for once.
　　Dong Lingjiu's hand moved from the back of the young doctor to the back of his neck, gently caressing the white jade skin. At this moment, all the troubles of the world were thrown away. She stared at Zheng Yuheng's face, leaned down, and lightly touched his forehead with her lips, as light as a dragonfly touching the water, and separated in an instant.
　　...
　　After General Geng left the Cining Palace, in addition to the business to be presented to Her Majesty the Empress Dowager, his mind was inevitably lingering with the expression and eyes of the young doctor Zheng.
　　He was an old minister and used to be the East Palace Guard of Emperor Mingde in the East Palace. Because of the appreciation of the emperor and the empress, he was able to sit in the Shenwu Army, take charge of the tiger talisman, and command the elite. Geng Zhe was very grateful to the late emperor and the empress dowager. It was because of this gratitude that he had a very complicated idea about Zheng Yuheng's existence.
　　On the one hand, they felt that the appearance of this person must be an insult to the late emperor, and on the other hand, they felt that the Empress Dowager was haggard and exhausted because of the death of the late emperor. Even if there was such a person around, they, as trusted subordinates, could only feel ashamed that they could not share the worries of the Empress Dowager.
　　Geng Zhe did not return to the Shenwu Army, but followed the order of Empress Dowager Dong and went to the residence of Jiang Yunhe, the commander of the Qilin Guard, to discuss important matters with him. As soon as
　　General Geng entered the Jiang Mansion, he did not expect that in addition to the commander, there was another guest waiting in front of the hall.
　　This person was dressed in blue and looked as cold as frost and snow. When he saw Geng Zhe enter the door, he immediately stood up and saluted, bowed his head, and said in a calm tone: "This servant has met General Geng."
　　Geng Zhe did not dare to ignore it, and said with a cupped hand: "Xu Bingbi."
　　This person was Xu Xiang.
　　The leader of the Shenwu Army, the commander of the Qilin Guard, and even the supervisor of the Neijishi Factory and the eunuch who held the pen in front of the emperor, gathered together. In addition, Wei Que, the Minister of Justice of the Six Departments, and the Imperial Censorate... these people almost formed the steel and iron bones of Dong Lingjiu's forces and forged the authority of "the Empress Dowager's Kindness".
　　Xu Xiang's nickname "Jade-faced King of Hell" came from the Shenwu Army. Two years ago, Emperor Mingde was seriously ill, and there were some rampant rumors in the Shenwu Army that shook the morale of the army. Xu Xiang came to interrogate people according to Dong Lingjiu's handwritten order. He looked cold and silent.
　　The soldiers bullied him for being a eunuch, and he was proud of his martial arts training, thinking that the methods of the inner prison were no more than that. So they openly mocked and insulted him. Xu Xiang said nothing, never responded, and just took the person to the inner prison.
　　Three days later, when General Geng Zhe's deputy general went to check the torture record, he saw the military ruffians who had spoken outrageously and lawless at the time crying and screaming, kneeling on the ground and begging for mercy, but they were completely spineless. Xu Bingbi still looked calm, and respectfully presented the transcript to the deputy general, saying, "Please read it, General."
　　The deputy general was frightened and hurriedly replied, "I dare not, thank you, Bingbi."
　　The transcript clearly stated that many false rumors in the army were caused by bribery and conspiracy by relatives. The two sat outside the prison. When reading, the howling in the prison was more bloody and terrifying than the battlefield, which left a deep impression on the deputy general.
　　From then on, no one in the Shenwu Army was contemptuous and presumptuous of Xu Bingbi.
　　Geng Zhe always respected him, but also kept a distance from him. He kept a distance from eunuchs and eunuchs. If it were not for the Empress Dowager, he would not stand with people like Xu Xiang.
　　Jiang Yunhe said with a smile, "I knew you were coming. I was wondering if something big had happened when the empress urgently summoned me in the middle of the night. It turned out to be something that happened to you, old man."
　　Geng Zhe said expressionlessly, "You can still laugh."
　　"I can laugh, why can't I laugh?" Jiang Yunhe said, "The country's parasites hid, so I couldn't laugh. But your sense of smell is so sharp that you found them directly. I should laugh!"
　　The three of them sat together, and on the table were the procedures for transporting military grain in those years and the governors of various states who handled them. Any link in it could have problems, and this problem could never be the superficial local corruption. They must have someone in Beijing covering it up to have such courage.
　　Geng Zhe drew the name of the grain officer and said, "In order to avoid alerting the enemy, I did not detain this person, but sent someone to investigate the civil servant who was in charge of the grain transportation accounts. This person has been dismissed."
　　"Resigned?" Xu Xiang's eyebrows were slightly frowned.
　　"That's right."
　　"Do you know where this person went after he left his post?" Jiang Yunhe asked, "Did he go back to his hometown?"
　　"No," Geng Zhe said, "He couldn't even go back to his hometown. He was robbed by bandits on the way and died."
　　"Strange." Jiang Yunhe laughed in anger, "There are bandits in the imperial capital? The prefect of Jingzhao is just a freeloader..." When
　　he said this, he suddenly remembered that the prefect of Jingzhao, Zhang Kui, had died of corruption and bribery, and both he and the Minister of the Central Secretariat had been dismissed from their posts and were under investigation by the Internal Investigation Bureau. He suddenly felt a chill in his heart.
　　Jiang Yunhe looked at Xu Xiang.
　　Xu Xiang was silent for a long time before he said, "Those dozen boxes of gold and silver were indeed sent to Zhang Kui's home by the Zhongshu Ling's mansion, and Zhang Kui confessed to the matter."
　　"Making trouble, killing people on horseback, and finding out Zhang Kui...someone wants him to die without any evidence."
　　Geng Zhe said coldly, "I'm afraid Zhang Kui himself doesn't know whether he was implicated by the Zhongshu Ling's son's killing in the downtown area, or whether he got the retribution for seeking the skin of a tiger."
　　"From this point of view, the killing in the downtown area is also quite strange." Jiang Yunhe said, "It seems that the trip to the former Zhongshu Ling's mansion is inevitable."
　　The killing in the downtown area and the involvement of Zhang Kui in taking bribes seemed to be all to cover up the transaction between the person behind the scenes and Zhang Kui - and this transaction was the real unforgivable crime of embezzling 100,000 shi of military pay.
　　"But this person didn't expect that His Majesty the Emperor pleaded for Zhang Kui, which made the Empress Dowager angry. She cleaned up the court and changed the world, which gave you the opportunity to report this matter."
　　Geng Zhe frowned and said, "I think even if you go to the house of the former Secretary of State Wu Chongshan, you will not get any results. Even if the horse was tampered with and was out of control, this matter happened too long ago, and I am afraid that there is no trace of it."
　　When the three of them were silent for a while, Xu Xiang suddenly spoke: "Who was the censor who impeached this matter and reported it to the emperor?"
　　It was the Supervisory Censor Zhou Yao.
　　Jiang Yunhe was shocked and stood up immediately. He was wearing the uniform of the Qilin Guard and had a sword on his waist. He bowed and said, "You two, I am afraid that the news of the general's meeting with the Empress Dowager today has been spread. Now that there is a little clue, the time is urgent and there is no time to lose. Jiang will go first."
　　After that, Jiang Yunhe picked up the cloak with the Qilin pattern, turned around with the sword, stepped out of the house, and mobilized the Qilin Guard to go to Zhou's house.
　　The remaining two people all sat quietly in their seats, each thinking deeply.
　　Xu Xiang was in charge of the inner prison, and he also participated in the torture of Zhang Kui that day. He stroked his fingers and recalled every detail of that day.
　　The person who embezzled military pay actually killed the civil servant in charge of the account book first, and then planned to kill Zhang Kui. He even bribed both of them first and then silenced them. The means were so vicious and cruel. If they were investigated further, there might be more crimes to be discovered.
　　"That account book..." Xu Xiang whispered, "Who was it handed over to later?"
　　Geng Zhe said, "After this person died, a new official naturally took office. But just looking for the account book is not enough. Since they dared to do this, they must have falsified it. Even if they found the detailed account of the grain transportation at that time, I am afraid it would not be more true than what was recorded in our army."
　　Xu Xiang pondered for a while, then stood up and saluted, saying, "The records in the inner prison are complicated. I will go back to deal with them first, and then I will leave first."
　　Geng Zhe guessed that he might have thought of something, so he did not stop him. Instead, he looked at Xu Xiang's departing back. When the other person's figure left the gate of the mansion, he remembered with mixed feelings that in the "Zhu Mo Case" in the past, he led the army to arrest people and sent those who were scheming for rebellion to prison. He didn't know if this person, now with such a look on his face, had any resentment from the past?
　　People who were once captured and imprisoned by him and implicated in the family's treason. It was really strange that he had to sit with him for the case of embezzlement of military pay for the Shenwu Army.
　　But there are more strange things in the world.
　　After Xu Xiang left Jiang's house, he recalled the interrogation records of Zhang Kui in the inner prison while keenly analyzing the changes in the court and the public. The Queen Mother's thunderous means failed to purge the corrupt people. Is this person hiding so deeply? Or has he already...
　　His thoughts were unsuccessful, and a light autumn rain fell in the air.
　　The eunuch who accompanied him held up an umbrella and said, "Sir, please get on
　　the sedan chair. We still have a long way to go back to the inner prison." Xu Xiang was about to agree, when suddenly another magnificent carriage appeared outside the blue-topped sedan chair in front of him. It was pulled by four snow-white horses with ropes, and the four corners were decorated with bells and pearls. The door of the carriage opened, revealing the luxurious curtains and a rich fragrance inside.
　　Even the groom's dress was better than others.
　　A hand lifted from the curtains, revealing a jade face like peach blossoms under the eaves of the carriage. The tassels on Meng Zhaiyue's temples swayed lightly, and a white jade ornament was pressed in her hair. She stuck out half of her face, blinked at him, and said, "Good night, Xu Bingbi."
　　Xu Xiang was about to salute the princess, and the maid of the princess's mansion beside him immediately supported him.
　　Meng Zhaiyue said, "Oh, what a coincidence, I met Xu Bingbi again."
　　It was quite a coincidence. The little maid who had been watching the wind for half an hour thought sadly.
　　Seeing that he was silent, the princess coughed lightly, a little embarrassed, but pretended to be generous and casual, saying: "Since we have met, I will give you a ride. Don't thank me too much, this is because you serve the queen mother."
　　Xu Xiang said: "I am afraid, I really dare not..."
　　"Come here." Meng Zhaiyue raised her hand, "Please ask him to come up."
　　Immediately, more than a dozen strong and sturdy princess guards appeared behind the carriage, each wearing a sword and armor, with eyes like tigers and leopards, staring at him fiercely.
　　Xu Xiang: "..."
　　Princess: "How is it?"
　　Xu Xiang: "...Being respectful is better than obeying."