Faced with Li Ran's remarks, Yan Hui hesitated for a moment, and then couldn't help but say:
"Sir, even if this matter is indeed human nature, as a gentleman, you must be ashamed of it after all, right? Can Yang Hu be forgiven for what he did?"
Li Ran smiled at him again:
"Haha, Yan Ziyuan is right. What I just mentioned is indeed aimed at those unvirtuous ministers. However, Ziyuan thinks, are there more unvirtuous ministers in the world? Or are there more virtuous gentlemen? ?”
Yan Hui sighed, cupped his hands and replied:
“There are so many immoral people, but so few virtuous gentlemen.”
Li Ran nodded approvingly and continued to reply:
"Yes! Therefore, the villain's troubles are all tied to the king! The reason why the villain did not attack is just because they don't have the conditions yet!"
"All the ministers have the heart of Yang Hu, and it is difficult to distinguish their masters, let alone if some of these people deliberately please and flatter the superiors. In this way, the masters will be even more difficult to identify. As for Yang Hu, he is greedy for the world. Choosing to commit rebellion is just a clumsier method."
"But now, instead of taking action against the ministers in his own country, the Marquis of Qi wants to punish Yang Hu, who has been cornered in the Lu State. Haha, this is just Bao Guo deliberately saying the opposite. The Tian family and The Bao family is in cahoots with each other, so what is the difference between what they do and what Yang Hu does?"
"The loyalty and deception of ministers all depend on what the master does. If the master is clear and strict, then the villain is loyal; if the king is cowardly and secretive, then the villain is deceitful. Knowing the subtle is called enlightenment, and being unable to save and forgive is called strict. Now, Isn't it wrong for the Marquis of Qi to punish Lu for causing chaos without knowing Qi's clever ministers?"
As soon as this statement came out, the students below whispered to each other and talked about it.
After some thinking, Yan Hui said:
"Sir's insights are really enlightening! The students have learned a lesson!"
All the students worshiped Li Ran, but Li Ran continued:
"Okay, let's discuss the matter between Yang Hu and Qi State here. Let's continue to talk about Ji Wenzi."
"You know, when Ji Wenzi assisted Duke Xuan and Duke Cheng, there were no concubines wearing silk clothes or horses eating grain in Ji's family at that time. His colleagues at that time advised him: You are already the minister of Lu. You are here, and you are still in charge of the two kings, but your concubines don’t have clothes or silk, and your horses don’t eat millet. Everyone says you are too stingy, and it is not honorable to the country!"
After Li Ran said this, he suddenly asked the disciples:
"Why do you think Ji Wenzi acted like this back then?"
When the disciples heard this question, they all had different opinions:
"Does that need to be said? Ji Wenzi must have done this deliberately in order to win people's hearts!"
"Yes! Look at his great-grandson Ji Pingzi's 'Eight Hundred Dances in the Courtyard' later, and then look at the Ji family now. It's only been sixty years, but how can they still be a little simple now?"
Li Ran couldn't help but smile when he heard what the disciples said, and continued:
"Haha, Ji Wenzi himself said this at that time: I think the people in our country, the food they eat is very coarse, and many of them even have torn clothes, so I don't dare! Other people's fathers and brothers eat coarse food and have bad clothes. , and I have a concubine and a horse. This is not what I, the prime minister of a country, should do! What's more, I have only heard that showing moral honor is the real way to bring glory to the country, but I have never heard that showing one's own family is the real way to bring honor to the country. His concubine and his good horse.”
"Haha, didn't you all expect that these words were actually spoken by the ancestor of the Ji family? And his words, I think, may indeed come from his heart!"
"The Ji family has lived through five generations since the beginning of Ji You. In the former, Ji You and Ji Wenzi both had merit in Lu. This is why the Ji family is prosperous!"
"As the saying goes, 'A house that accumulates good deeds will be blessed, and a house that accumulates bad deeds will have disaster'. Although Ji Pingzi later had no virtue, the virtues accumulated by Ji Wenzi made it possible for the Ji family to be passed down to this day. defeat……"
Li Ran spoke with great eloquence and had no inhibitions, thus attracting many disciples in the audience to listen carefully.
After Li Ran finished his lecture, he packed up the "Spring and Autumn" on his lecture notes, stood up and prepared to leave the classroom, but he saw Gong Eryue on guard not far away.
When Li Ran saw this, he walked over with a smile:
"Yue, in fact, you don't need to be so careful in the apricot forest."
In fact, Li Ran's words were not out of sympathy. Just because there were so many disciples of Confucius, the apricot forest was packed with people every day.
Moreover, most of Ji Sun Yiru's best friends had been eliminated by Yang Hu, and now it was Kong Qiu who was in charge of Sikou. Xinglin's safety was of course guaranteed.
When Gong Eryue heard this, she smiled and said:
"Hey, there's nothing to do anyway. It's okay to wait here until the get out of class is over, sir!"
Li Ran knew that she was very active by nature, so it was not easy for her to wait here quietly.
So, the two of them returned to Li Mansion together.
Gong Eryue first served Li Ran to the study, poured a cup of water from the side and placed it next to the case. Then he went out to play with Liguang. Li Ran was reading in the study. He occasionally heard the laughter of Liguang and Gong Eryue outside, and he couldn't help but cause a ripple in his heart.
Li Ran put down the letter and opened the window, only to see Gong Eryue changed into casual clothes and chasing and laughing with Liguang. Li Ran gradually became obsessed with watching...
That night, Li Ran had another dream. This dream was very strange. It seemed to be connected with the dream he had before.
Before that, Li Ran also had a dream when Ji Le was seriously ill:
The three of them were enjoying themselves together, but Ji Le suddenly floated upwards. Li Ran tried his best but couldn't stop it. I can only watch helplessly as the ritual music floats higher and higher until it disappears.
But tonight's dream turned out to be sacrificial music falling from the sky again, slowly landing in front of Li Ran and Li Guang. Li Ran hurriedly stepped forward to hug her, and cried:
"Le'er! Are you back?!"
Ji Le gently stroked Li Ran's back and said softly:
"I'm back."
"Aren't you leaving this time?"
Ji Le chuckled.
"Husband, Leer is not leaving!"
However, Li Ran woke up suddenly at this time, sat up, and wanted to hug something, but there was nothing in front of the bed.
Li Ran felt some inexplicable regret in his heart. Why did he wake up at this time?
At this moment, he wanted to sleep again, so that he could continue his sweet dream, but after tossing and turning, how could he still fall asleep?
A feeling of emptiness spread inexplicably throughout his body, making Li Ran want to cry without tears.
At this moment, there was another knock on the door:
"Sir, sir! Are you resting?"
Li Ran recognized Fan Li's voice, but felt strange.
The sky hasn't turned white yet, it's Yinshi at most, but what other important things can happen?
Li Ran replied with some uneasiness:
"Is it the young uncle? What happened outside?"
Fan Li heard this outside the house and was obviously relieved.
"Sir, everything is fine. There was a murder just outside the house... We don't know the identity of the deceased yet. I am afraid that something might happen to you, so I came here to inform you!"
The reason why Fan Li came to report was actually because he was worried about what would happen to Li Ran.
When Li Ran heard that a murder had occurred just outside his house, he couldn't help but asked in confusion:
"Oh? How did that person die? Where did he die?"
"He was injured by arrows and died at the alley at the back door!"
Hearing this, Li Ran knew that he couldn't sleep tonight, so he simply got up and changed his clothes, while saying:
"Did anyone know about it?"
Fan Li replied:
"People have been sent to inform Kong Zhongni, and Yan Ziyou has also been notified. Yan Ziyou should be arriving soon!"
Li Ran thought for a while, put on his clothes, adjusted his crown and belt, and finally opened the door:
"Let's go take a look together first!"
So Fan Li took Li Ranshi to the back door.
At this time, Yan Yan had also arrived, but he saw a look of sadness and anger on his face.
Fan Li came forward to talk, and then he learned that the deceased was actually another disciple of Confucius named Leke.
Leke was also one of the more outstanding disciples of Confucius, and had been a disciple for some years. During this period, he and Yan Yan were managing Xinglin, but he did not expect that he would die here.
Li Ran couldn't help but frown when he learned that it was Confucius' disciple who was killed.
At this time, Sun Wu asked Chu Dang to protect Li Ran closely and escort him back.
"Sir, we will handle the matter here. When Kong Zhongni comes, Wu Ding will assist him in investigating the case!"
Li Ran glanced at the body lying on the ground and felt sad.
"Chang Qing... we must investigate this matter clearly so that we can give an explanation to Zhong Ni!"
Chapter 615_Murderous case! Gong Eryue’s Suspicion
Li Ran returned to the house, and at this time Gong Eryue approached and asked curiously:
"Sir, what happened outside?"
Li Ran explained the whole story and finally asked:
"By the way, where is Guang'er?"
Gong Eryue suddenly looked surprised and called out:
"Who is so bold? Actually... I heard some noise just now, but because Guang'er was still sleeping, I was afraid of disturbing her, so I didn't get up to check..."
Li Ran felt a little strange when he heard it, but he didn't take it seriously. He just waved his hand and said:
"There's no need to go see Yue...just let Chang Qing and Young Uncle handle it!"
Gong Eryue said:
"When did it happen?"
Li Ran shook his head again and said:
"It's still unknown, but the victim... was Kong Zhongni's disciple Le Ke. Hey, so we must investigate this matter clearly!"
When Gong Eryue heard this, she couldn't help being surprised, and said thoughtfully:
"Is it him?...How could he...appear there?"
Li Ran was silent for a while, and of course he couldn't answer this.
Confucius arrived at dawn.
Confucius was now the chief military officer of the Lu State. A murder occurred on the outskirts of the city, and the deceased was his favorite disciple, so naturally he was particularly concerned about the case.
After some inspections, Confucius entered Li's house again and discussed the case with Li Ran.
Confucius was also very sad and angry about Leke's death:
"My dear benefactor, such a big case happened when Qiu was newly appointed as the Chief Secretary. And the person who died was Zi Sheng (Le Ke Zi Sheng). This... this is clearly aimed at me, Confucius!"
"These days, Zisheng and Ziyou have been taking care of Xinglin for me. He should have returned to his home in the city normally last night, and he should have just passed through here..."
"Then he was killed by that gangster! According to the preliminary investigation, his body had not been moved, so that should be the place where he committed the crime!"
Li Ran also felt quite guilty.
"It is really a pity that Zi Sheng was killed at the back door of our house! It is true that our Li family was negligent, otherwise it would definitely not be like this!"
When Confucius heard this, he couldn't help but narrowed his eyes:
"This murderer actually chose to commit murder here and harmed Qiu's disciples. I'm afraid my benefactor needs to take more precautions..."
"This matter has not implicated my benefactor today. Qiu is very lucky. Otherwise, Qiu's culpability would be huge! Qiu will definitely investigate this case to the end! In addition, Qiu will also send more manpower inside and outside Xinglin to handle the case. Just in case something unexpected happens again!”
Li Ran thought for a while and asked:
"Then what's the clue to this case now?"
When Confucius heard this, he sighed and shook his head in confusion.
"We have no clue at the moment, and the weapon left behind was also homemade. Zi Sheng was killed by one of his arrows. The arrow penetrated very deep, and with such arm strength, he was obviously a martial arts practitioner. Alas... …”
As Confucius spoke, he started to choke up.
When Li Ran saw this, he comforted him and said:
"Zhongni, please forgive me... If you need anything, Zhongni just ask, and I will definitely help you!"
Confucius covered his eyes with his sleeves and bowed down again as a gesture of thanks.
Afterwards, Confucius said goodbye to Li Ran.
After all, after Confucius was worshiped as the Great Sikou, he naturally had many things to deal with, so he couldn't stay here for too long.
When he came out of the Li Mansion, he ordered people to step up vigilance on Xinglin, and also brought Leke's body back to arrange the funeral ceremony for him.
Li Ran was also a little upset by this incident for a while.
Confucius suddenly occupied a high position, which must have offended many people, and there were many disobedient people from various forces.
Therefore, if someone wanted to use this as a warning to Confucius, it is entirely possible.
Sun Wu has been following up on this matter these days. After all, this matter was related to the safety of Li Mansion, so he naturally couldn't just sit idly by and ignore it.
"Chang Qing, can you find any clues about the murder of Le Zisheng?"
Li Ran knew that Sun Wu had been staying at the back door thinking for the past few days, so he also came to the back door and asked him with great concern.
When Sun Wu saw that Li Ran was coming, he quickly stepped forward and reported:
"Sir, although the bunch of arrows were homemade, there are still traces of their range and trajectory. Wu made some deductions based on the wounds on the corpse, the direction in which he fell to the ground, and the depth of penetration into the flesh. If it is true that there is no If someone had moved it, that arrow must have come from the back door here!"
Li Ran's eyelids couldn't help but twitch:
"Oh? Are you sure?"
Sun Wu replied quite confidently:
"It should be accurate. Wu is good at bow and arrow skills, so this can be confirmed! However, there are still two doubts. One is that the body may have been moved by people later. Secondly, It’s the big bow used by the murderer, but what is it made of? Because this directly involves whether the arrow came from inside the back door? Or outside the inner door!”
"According to common sense, if you stand in the corner and shoot it, it will definitely not penetrate so deeply into the flesh. At least it will be ten steps away from the back door! That's the way it is! But... if it is a specially made bow and arrow, it will not penetrate so deeply. Hard to say……"
Chu Dang on the side said blankly:
"If the arrow came from the Li Mansion, could it be... that it was done by someone from within the Li Mansion?"
After hearing Chu Dang's question, Sun Wu replied:
"That's not necessarily true, but it is enough to show that the Li Mansion is not safe now. Chu Dang, you must protect your husband's safety in the future! Don't make any negligence!"
When Chu Dang heard this, he couldn't help scratching his head:
"That's natural, but...if it's a murderer within the Li family, how can we prevent it?"
Sun Wu ordered:
"So, you must not let Mr. out of your sight! Even if it is late at night, you must be awake in the cubicle!"
Li Ran said:
"Actually, it doesn't have to be like this. If this person really wanted to harm me, he wouldn't act like this..."
When Sun Wu heard this, he couldn't help but said anxiously:
"Now there may be a traitor in the house. Even if you don't care about your own safety, sir, you should think more about Guang'er!"
Li Ran nodded when he heard Sun Wu say this.
"Well... Chang Qing, then you should put more thought into it and be sure to get to the bottom of this matter as soon as possible!"
Sun Wu responded:
"promise!"
After Li Ran turned around and left, Sun Wugong saw him off.
At this time, a suspect had actually emerged in Sun Wu's mind - that person was Gong Eryue.
Just because he himself felt that Gong Eryue's arrival was really strange. Moreover, I always felt that she must have ulterior motives for approaching Li Ran.
Therefore, during this period of time, he paid special attention to Gong Eryue.
Moreover, he felt more and more that something was wrong.
Although Gong Eryue was as usual these days, patrolling around the Li Mansion and playing with Li Guang from time to time. In his free time, he even took care of Li Ran Yiying's diet and daily life. Everything seemed extremely normal, but the more so, the more Sun Wu felt that there was something fishy about Gong Eryue.
After all, isn't it suspicious enough that someone like her, who loves to cause trouble by nature, can be so peaceful these days?
On this day, Gong Eryue made lotus seed soup for Li Ran and his daughter, while Sun Wu went straight to the kitchen and stood behind Gong Eryue, silent for a while.
Gong Eryue noticed someone rushing in, and there seemed to be an inexplicable sense of oppression.
"Miss Yue! Isn't it you who killed this person?"
Sun Wu's straightforwardness made Gong Eryue startled.
Gong Eryue turned around and replied inexplicably:
"Why did Mr. Changqing say this?"
Sun Wu said in a deep voice:
"Miss Yue, I'm afraid you know some things well. You...should have come to Lu State with a mission, right?"
Gong Eryue hesitated for a while, then stood up and turned back to look at Sun Wu.
"Yue'er doesn't understand the meaning of Lord Changqing. Yue'er came from the State of Lu as a talented person from the State of Yue. Before leaving, she was naturally told to serve the Marquis of Lu well and told us to do so The interests of Vietnam are the most important thing, this...should be common sense, right?"
Sun Wu sneered and said:
"It's just...girl, from the moment you came to the Kingdom of Lu, what you did was because you didn't want to enter the palace and serve the Marquis of Lu! There are many talented people, but it is rare for someone as unconventional as you to be!... …Miss Yue, don’t think that you are smart, but in fact… you have flaws everywhere!”
Gong Eryue turned around and stared into Sun Wu's eyes.
"Yue'er has traveled thousands of miles to come here, not to be framed by you!"
(End of chapter)
