In the next few days, Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng were walking on thin ice and trembling with fear, because they didn't know when Jiajing would call them to Qianqing Palace.
That day, after getting off duty, Yan Song and Yan Shifan, father and son, walked side by side and chatted.
Yan Shifan lowered his voice when he saw no one was around.
"Father, I wonder if you have noticed that there has been something wrong with Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng recently?"
When Yan Song heard Yan Shifan's words, he suddenly stopped and turned around. After looking Yan Shifan up and down with his cloudy eyes, he spoke.
"Well, there has been something wrong with these two people recently, as if they have done something bad!"
Seeing that his words were recognized by Yan Song, Yan Shifan felt excited and immediately suggested to Yan Song.
"Father, do you need me to send someone to find out the reason behind this?"
Hearing this, Yan Song rejected Yan Shifan's proposal without thinking: "Okay, you'd better take care of yourself first!"
After that, Yan Song changed the topic and asked again.
"By the way, how did you go about the thing I assigned you earlier?"
"Did father mean to invite some Taoist priests to open an altar in Gongyuan to practice?"
After Yan Shifan heard Yan Song's words, an uncertain look appeared on his face, and he turned to ask Yan Song.
When Yan Song heard this, he just glanced at Yan Shifan coldly and asked instead.
"That's natural. Apart from this, are there any other important matters right now?"
"Don't worry, father. The child has already found a Taoist priest from the Zhengyi Sect in Longhu Mountain. I believe everything will be safe!"
Seeing this, Yan Shifan immediately patted his chest and assured Yan Song.
Hearing this, Yan Song nodded slightly, then turned his gaze to Yan Shifan and asked.
"By the way, as the examiner, don't you want to stop by later?"
"Father, the child will not go. The Gongyuan area is too gloomy. Besides, as you said before, this is just a formality to find comfort!"
When Yan Shifan heard this, he laughed sarcastically and replied.
When Yan Song heard this, he was not too harsh. After all, the Gongyuan place was eerie and terrifying. It was normal for Yan Shifan not to want to go.
"Well, don't waste time, go back quickly!"
"Yes, father!"
After that, Yan Shifan was seen keeping up with Yan Song step by step, and the father and son walked together towards the place where the sedan chair was parked.
…
On the other side, the Forbidden City and the Qianqing Palace.
After hearing Lu Fang's report, Jiajing raised the corners of his mouth slightly, looked away from Lu Fang, and spoke to himself.
"Hmph, this Yan Shifan is quite good at playing tricks. He actually went to invite Taoist priests from the Zhengyi Sect of Longhu Mountain to open an altar in Gongyuan to perform the ritual!"
Lu Fang, who was on the side, saw this situation. After sorting out the words in his mind, he spoke carefully.
"Your Majesty, I have heard from the officials that the weather in Gongyuan is extremely weird. Even though it is summer outside, with the sun burning like fire and the heat unbearable, it is still freezing inside Gongyuan!"
"There are rumors that the reason why the weather in Gongyuan is so weird is because the people in Gongyuan are depressed and frustrated, and too many candidates died there, so their resentment cannot be dissipated for a long time!"
"Later, in order to solve this problem, the officials in charge of Gongyuan successively invited many eminent monks to go to Gongyuan to save the souls of grievances, and even asked Taoist priests to go to Gongyuan to open altars and practice Dharma, but all of them had no effect!"
"After trying several times with no results, I just let it go. Anyway, Gongyuan will only be used during the provincial examination and the general examination!"
After listening to Lu Fang's narration, Jiajing couldn't help but become interested in it. He held his chin with one hand and gave instructions.
"Well, this rumor is quite interesting. When the exam is held another day, come with me and have a look!"
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
When Lu Fang heard this, she immediately leaned down and answered without thinking.
At this moment, Jiajing seemed to suddenly remember something. He changed the subject and asked again.
"By the way, Lu Fang, how are Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng doing in the past few days?"
"Your Majesty, as far as I know, Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng have been in a state of fear and confusion in recent days!"
Seeing this situation, Lu Fang didn't dare to hide anything, and immediately told everything she knew about the situation.
After listening to Lu Fang's report, Jiajing waved his hand quite casually and gave instructions.
"That's all, if this continues, the two of them will be scared to death!"
"In this case, Lu Fang, you send someone to deliver a message to them, saying that I have been ill recently and have no time to read the memorials sent!"
When Lu Fang heard Jiajing's words, she couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately responded respectfully.
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
"Um."
When Jiajing heard the words, he just responded in a subtle way, and then gave instructions.
"Let's go, Lu Fang, accompany me to Ganlu Palace!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
After Lu Fang responded, she followed Jiajing and walked out of Qianqing Palace and headed towards the direction of Ganlu Palace.
On the way to Ganlu Palace, Lu Fang summoned a young eunuch. After whispering a few words in his ear, the young eunuch quickly followed the order and left.
…
Beijing, Zhang Juzheng's residence.
Recently, every time after his shift, Gao Gong would come to Zhang Juzheng's mansion to sit for a while.
There is no other reason. This feeling of waiting is too torturous. It is always good to have one more person with you to distract yourself.
Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng didn't know how Jiajing would react after seeing the memorial.
Will he get furious and immediately order the Jinyi guards to come and get the person, or will he accept their suggestion and let King Yu go to the fiefdom to join the vassal?
The unknown is often the most frightening!
I saw Gao Gong picking up the tea cup with wolfberry on the side, and after taking a sip, he sighed helplessly.
"Zhang Juzheng, what on earth is going on? It's been several days. Why is there no news from His Majesty?"
Zhang Juzheng, who was sitting at the top, had a look of helplessness on his face after listening to Gao Gong's complaints.
"Oh, I don't know either. Logically speaking, His Majesty should have received the memorial we submitted a long time ago, but now..."
After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, a hint of sadness appeared in his eyes.
At this moment, there was a rush of footsteps outside, and a servant hurriedly ran in, looked at Zhang Juzheng who was sitting at the top, and reported respectfully.
"Master, someone is coming from the palace!"
After Zhang Juzheng listened to the servant's report, he suddenly stood up from his seat, his face full of excitement, and he immediately asked.
"Who is coming?"
"Yes, who is here?"
Seeing this situation, Gao Gong on the side also turned his gaze to the slave and asked eagerly.
The servant had never seen this battle before. After recalling it for a long time, he hesitated to report it.
"Back...back to Master, the person here seems to call himself Feng Bao!"
Hearing this, Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng couldn't help but look at each other. Immediately, Zhang Juzheng looked away, cleared his throat, and gave instructions in a deep voice.
"Invite Eunuch Feng in!"
"Yes, sir!"
After receiving Zhang Juzheng's specific instructions, the servant immediately turned around and left without even stopping in the room.
Soon after, Feng Bao walked into the room under the guidance of his servant.
When Feng Bao saw that Gao Gong was also present, a look of surprise appeared on his face.
But soon, Feng Bao suppressed all the chaotic thoughts in his mind, leaned down, and saluted respectfully to the two of them.
"I've met two pavilion elders!"
When Zhang Juzheng, who was sitting at the top, saw this situation, he immediately waved his hand and then asked.
"Eunuch Feng, what's the matter with your sudden visit?"
Facing Zhang Juzheng's probing gaze, Feng Bao looked as usual and spoke unhurriedly.
"Mr. Zhang Ge, my godfather asked our family to come over and give you a message!"
"What words?"
When Zhang Juzheng heard Feng Bao's words, perhaps he was so excited that his hands hidden under his sleeves trembled slightly.
"My godfather asked our family to tell you that His Majesty has been ill recently and has no time to read the memorials sent to him!"
"What!"
When Zhang Juzheng heard this, his face was full of shock, and he immediately lost his voice.
Not only Zhang Juzheng, but also Gao Gong on the side looked quite shocked. Then, the two of them looked at each other and saw something different in each other's eyes.
"Is it possible that His Majesty has really been ill recently?"
Zhang Juzheng thought this, his face full of suspicion, but he quickly denied this conjecture.
After all, Zhang Juzheng had just met His Majesty not long ago. His Majesty was already in his fifties. Not only did he not have a single white hair on his head, he also had no wrinkles on his face.
In addition, His Majesty's energy is unparalleled. How can he get sick just because he is sick?
Moreover, if His Majesty had been ill, the news would have spread throughout the government and the public!
Therefore, Zhang Juzheng felt that this was more like an excuse. His Majesty was trying to give him and Gao Gong a step down: "I have been ill recently. I have not read the memorials you sent, and you should not ask me again." Mention this!"
After Zhang Juzheng figured out all this, he quickly came back to his senses, looked in the direction of Feng Bao, and expressed his gratitude.
"I'd like to trouble Eunuch Feng to make this trip in person!"
"Where...where, Zhang Ge's old words are serious, our family is just running errands for our godfather!"
When Feng Bao heard what Zhang Juzheng said, he immediately declined.
After that, Feng Bao looked serious, leaned down and said goodbye to Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong.
"Since the words have been brought, we won't stay here too long!"
After Feng Bao finished speaking, he was about to leave. At this moment, Zhang Juzheng's voice sounded in his ears.
"Eunuch Feng, wait!"
"What's wrong with Mr. Zhang Ge?"
When Feng Bao heard what Zhang Juzheng said, he suddenly stopped, his face full of doubts.
Seeing this, Zhang Juzheng immediately called the housekeeper. After whispering a few words to him, the housekeeper left quickly.
After that, Zhang Juzheng cleared his throat and turned to speak.
"Eunuch Feng, you have been of great help this time. I would like to trouble you to go there in person!"
When Feng Bao heard this, his face was full of humility, and he immediately responded.
"No, no, as we said before, we are just running errands for our godfather. If you want to thank me, you have to thank your godfather!"
After Zhang Juzheng heard Feng Bao's words, he nodded slightly and immediately spoke.
"Eunuch Feng, I will personally visit you another day and express my gratitude to Eunuch Lu!"
While the two parties were talking, they saw the butler who had left earlier come back. When he came back, he had a wooden tray in his hand, which was full of large silver notes and many gold and silver jewelry.
After that, Zhang Juzheng turned his attention to Feng Bao, his face full of gratitude.
"Eunuch Feng, you have been of great help in today's matter. It's just a small gift, it's not respectful!"
When Feng Bao saw this situation, he was immediately shocked. He looked in the direction of Zhang Juzheng, with a look of hesitation on his face: "Mr. Zhang Ge, this..."
Seeing this, Gao Gong on the side also added.
"Eunuch Feng, you have really helped us a lot today, please accept it!"
When Feng Bao saw Gao Gong speaking, the hesitation on his face immediately disappeared. He knew very well that he had to take today's money even if he didn't want to!
Immediately, Feng Bao came to his senses, lowered his head and saluted respectfully.
"Well, thank you Zhang Ge Lao!"
Zhang Juzheng nodded with satisfaction when he saw Feng Bao accepting the money.
"Our family still has some things to deal with, so we won't stay here any longer!"
"Eunuch Feng, walk slowly!"
When Feng Bao heard this, he just nodded slightly and left the room under the guidance of the butler.
After Feng Bao and the housekeeper left, only Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng were left in the room. After that, Gao Gong sighed helplessly and immediately spoke.
"It seems that His Majesty means to treat this matter as if it never happened!"
Zhang Juzheng on the side also nodded when he heard Gao Gong's words, and then spoke with emotion.
"Well, His Majesty should have his own considerations. We ministers should not speculate!"
When Zhang Juzheng said this, he paused for a moment and then added.
"But this is good, at least we can have a peaceful sleep!"
"Yeah, I can finally have a good night's sleep!"
Gao Gong deeply agreed with Zhang Juzheng's words and sighed with emotion.
After that, Gao Gong stood up from his seat and said goodbye to Zhang Juzheng: "In that case, I won't stay with you any longer and will go back first!"
Zhang Juzheng heard Gao Gong's words and did not stop him in any way. He just responded in a subtle way: "Yes."
On the other side, after Feng Bao left Zhang Juzheng's residence in the capital, he took a sedan and headed towards the Forbidden City.
At this moment, there were countless doubts lingering in his mind.
"When did Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng get together?"
"And why would my godfather name me and ask me to send a message to them?"
"Obviously I just followed the instructions of my godfather and conveyed the news to Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng that His Majesty has been ill recently and has no time to read the memorials sent. The two of them behaved very abnormally."
"They seemed to be relieved. Not only that, they also said that I had helped them a lot. In addition, they also gave me so many silver notes, gold and silver jewelry!"
"What happened in the meantime?"
"It seems that when we go back, we have to check this direction carefully!"
Immediately, Feng Bao suppressed all the chaotic thoughts in his heart, opened the sedan curtain, and admired the surrounding scenery.
…
Night, Yan Mansion.
The lanterns outside Yan's mansion had already been lit, and there were two doormen at the door, chatting constantly.
Seeing no one around, a boy lowered his voice and said.
"Hey, do you know that some time ago, the food in the kitchen of the house often decreased inexplicably?"
When the boy next to him heard this, his face was full of disdain, and he responded.
"Of course I know. Didn't you say that it was because of the Four Seasons Hao (note: solid color cat) that Xiao Ge raised?"
When the boy who started the topic heard this, his face was full of arrogance. After looking around to make sure that no one was paying attention, he lowered his voice and said.
"Let me tell you, last night, the housekeeper caught the culprit. I heard it was..."
Before the boy finished speaking, he heard the sound of rapid footsteps in the distance. After a while, he saw several guards, guarding an official, running over in a hurry.
After the official got off the horse with the support of the guards, the two young men could see the official's appearance clearly.
The official was panting, his face was pale, he was out of breath, and his face was full of unconcealable fear.
When the two boys saw this situation, they wanted to step forward to interrogate them. Unexpectedly, the official rushed forward as if he had seen a savior, firmly grasped the hand of one boy, and spoke breathlessly. road.
"It's... it's dead. Hurry... go in and tell Mr. Xiao Ge that someone is dead in Gongyuan!"
When the two young men heard this, they did not dare to neglect at all.
Afterwards, only one boy was seen responsible for comforting the official, and another boy responsible for guarding the door rushed into Yan's mansion as quickly as possible to report.
In the Yan Mansion, the room where Yan Shifan is.
Just when Yan Shifan was about to go to bed, there was a rapid knock on the door.
Seeing this, Yan Shifan couldn't help but frown slightly, immediately put on his clothes and opened the door to the room.
The person outside the door was the housekeeper. At this moment, the housekeeper looked panicked. When he saw Yan Shifan coming out, he quickly leaned down and reported respectfully.
"Mr. Xiaoge, something big happened. According to the boy in charge of the gate, an official came to report just now that someone died in Gongyuan!"
When Yan Shifan heard the housekeeper's words, his pupils suddenly shrank, and his original sleepiness disappeared in an instant.
Then, Yan Shifan came back to his senses, turned his eyes to the housekeeper, and asked in a deep voice.
"Where is the person? Wherever he is, take me there immediately!"
"Mr. Xiao Ge, we are already waiting in the waiting room!"
Hearing this, Yan Shifan nodded slightly. Soon, Yan Shifan put on his clothes and went to the hall where Yan's house was used to entertain guests under the leadership of the housekeeper.
When Yan Shifan came to the hall, he suddenly discovered that sitting in the hall at this moment was the official who was in charge of managing the Gongyuan not long ago.
When the official saw Yan Shifan's arrival, he hurriedly stood up from his seat and saluted respectfully.
"Xia...Xiaoguan has met Mr. Xiaoge!"
Yan Shifan knew very well that there was no point in getting angry now. The top priority was to understand what happened!
Afterwards, Yan Shifan suppressed the anger in his heart and went straight to the official in charge of the Gongyuan. After looking him up and down, he asked in a deep voice.
"You just said that someone died in Gongyuan. Is this true?"
"If I go back to Mr. Xiaoge, there are indeed dead people in Gongyuan!"
When the official saw Yan Shifan's scrutinizing eyes falling on him, he couldn't help but panic and answered hesitantly.
Yan Shifan ignored the official's reaction, but sat directly at the top and asked coldly.
"Tell me, who died?"
"Hui, Hui Xiao Ge Lao, the six Taoist priests from Longhu Mountain who were invited by you to exorcise evil spirits in Gongyuan are all dead. Not only that, there are no scars on their bodies!"
"Currently, people from Shuntian Mansion have gone to the scene!"
When the official heard Yan Shifan's words, he immediately told everything he knew about the situation without any hesitation.
After hearing what the official said, Yan Shifan couldn't help but feel dizzy. Immediately, he barely held his temples and ordered in a cold voice.
"Tell me what happened right now!"
"Yes, Mr. Xiaoge, this is what happened..."
Under the official's narration, Yan Shifan finally got a rough idea of what happened.
The six Taoist priests from Longhu Mountain who had been invited by him earlier to exorcise evil spirits began to perform rituals in the Gongyuan after nightfall.
Before entering the Gongyuan, the six Longhushan Taoist priests had repeatedly warned the official responsible for managing the Gongyuan that they would not come out of the Gongyuan until at least three hours. Before that, they must not go in. !
The official in charge of managing the Gongyuan also followed their request and waited outside the Gongyuan with his guards. Unexpectedly, after three hours, the six Longhushan Taoist priests showed no sign of coming out.
At first, the official in charge of Gongyuan thought that the Longhushan Taoist priests were delayed for something, but remembering their earlier instructions, the official in charge of Gongyuan did not rashly bring anyone in to investigate the situation.
After waiting for another hour, the official in charge of managing the Gongyuan realized something was wrong, and immediately led people into the Gongyuan, where they discovered the bodies of six Taoist priests.
What's strange is that there are no injuries on the bodies of the six Taoist priests!
After noticing this situation, the official in charge of managing Gongyuan suddenly panicked, so he immediately sent someone to inform Shuntian Mansion of the news, and he took several guards to Yan Mansion to report the news!
(End of chapter)
