Only master and apprentice Wen Junchen and Yingping were left in the room.
Looking at Wen Junchen, whose black hair was mostly gray, Yingping felt inexplicably distressed. Now that he almost encountered an accident, Yingping felt that he could not live up to his master.
He looked at Wen Junchen silently, his eyes full of apology and distress.
Wen Junchen seemed to sense the meaning in his disciple's eyes, and said with a smile: "What? Are you scared by such a trivial matter?"
Yingping came back to his senses and saw that his master was relieved, and the complicated feelings in his heart dissipated a little. He sighed and said: "Master, you should stay in the mountains to avoid the limelight for the next few days."
Wen Junchen was slightly startled, then shook his head: "Avoiding the limelight? Can you avoid it for a while, but for a lifetime?"
"But……"
Yingping hesitated to speak. Now he couldn't leave Wen Junchen for a moment, but he didn't want Wen Junchen to take such a big risk for himself.
Wen Junchen Feng Qingyun smiled indifferently and said: "There is no 'but'. Since this path was chosen for the master himself, there is nothing to regret. Besides, your master had predicted long ago what has happened now and what may happen in the future." Everything that happened, since I was not afraid at that time, what should I be afraid of now? Now that someone has chosen to assassinate me, it means that I have hit their 'seven inches'! In this case, we must Implement the new law thoroughly!"
Listening to Wen Junchen's peaceful and generous words, Yingping was excited and said: "No matter the wind or rain, I am willing to be with the master!"
Wen Junchen felt very happy when he saw Yingping. With such words, he would have no regrets in his life!
Although Wen Junchen did not take this assassination seriously, Yingping was still worried. He said to his master: "Why don't I let Changsha follow my master recently to protect him."
Wen Junchen waved his hands and refused: "The emperor's body is worth thousands of dollars, but the emperor and his ministers are no more than ordinary people. How dare they sacrifice the important things for the sake of lightness? If anything unexpected happens to the emperor, the emperor and his ministers will be uneasy!"
Seeing that Yingping still wanted to persist, Wen Junchen said with relief: "Now that one blow has not taken away my master's life, it means that my master's life should not be cut off here! They certainly don't dare to assassinate again, but somewhere else, We need to be more careful.”
"Well, that makes sense. Not only Master, but also officials from various places who support the new laws should be careful these days!"
Seeing his master's insistence, Yingping couldn't say anything more. Previously, he wanted to send more guards to Wen Junchen, but the guards in the imperial forest have been almost replaced bit by bit by the Wang family brothers and sisters since the Tang Emperor Yan Jia. Now, except for Ye Changshan, all the people in the palace he can trust There really weren't many people there, so he would be even more worried if he really sent someone there.
The tree wants to be quiet but the wind is not stopping. Since the other party has shown its fangs, this matter will definitely not go away like this. Yingping felt a deep uneasiness in his heart. He was in the open and the enemy was in the dark. He didn't know when a hidden arrow like today would be 'shot' at him...
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※
The titles of nobility in the Central Plains countries can be roughly divided into three categories. One is "hereditary". These people are generally the founding fathers and ministers who opened up the territory and expanded the territory. After these people are ennobled, the title can be passed down to the eldest son from generation to generation. , and the title will not be reduced; the second category is the ordinary 'hereditary', the title of this type of person can also be passed on to the eldest son, but it will be one level each generation; as for the third category, it is the 'lifelong title', It's very simple. Once you die, you can't pass it on.
Zhao Xingwen was lucky and had a good ancestor. His title was of the 'hereditary' type. His ancestor was Zhao Quan. As Emperor Taizu was a great hero in conquering the world, now this title has been passed down to his generation. I don’t know how many generations it has been worn. Zhao Xingwen's father was quite progressive and did not rest on his laurels. When Emperor Tang was in power, he also found a position in the court. Now that Zhao Xingwen's father has passed away, the title has naturally been passed on to Zhao Xingwen. But Zhao Xingwen was different. He didn't have any lofty ambitions. He relied on the family business built by his father and the money and food given by the court to idle around, eat, drink and have fun all day long.
Zhao Xingwen's life was originally extremely comfortable, but recently... he panicked!
Why?
Naturally, it was because of the new law. As soon as the new law came out, the money given by the court every year to nobles like him with no legitimate profession was reduced by half. And it was rumored that in the near future, this money would be completely cut off, even for himself. The fiefdom will also be taken back by the court. He was lavish and spent money like running water. Originally, relying on his family's great business and the money and fiefdom, it was nothing, but now if he wanted to take them all away, it would cost him his life! During these days, he couldn't eat well and couldn't sleep. He didn't even go to brothels and gambling houses a few times.
Zhao Xingwen's father had a good relationship with Wang Yanqing during his lifetime. Now he could only rely on some connections left by his father during his lifetime and went to Wang Yanqing to see if this powerful minister could think of something.
At this moment in the palace, Zhao Xingwen was telling his miserable situation with snot and tears, and almost knelt on the ground and hugged Wang Yanqing's thigh.
"Master Shangshu - Your Majesty is going to force us to death - wuwuwu... I have a mother and a young child, and all my expenses depend on the salary that my ancestors sacrificed their lives for - wuwuwu... My father had a good relationship with you during his lifetime. Your Excellency... you can't watch this junior being forced into a desperate situation like this, wuwuwu..."
Wang Yanqing looked at the grief-stricken Zhao Xingwen, and he despised him in his heart. Apart from squandering the savings left by his ancestors, such a waste has no use value at all, and he doesn't know how his father taught him.
A trace of disgust flashed through Wang Yanqing's eyes. He was already feeling depressed about this matter, and the people below him seemed to be unable to hold on. He was afraid that if things continued like this, the faction network he had worked so hard to build for many years would be destroyed. Will be mercilessly cut off by this sharp blade. It's not that he hasn't thought of a way, but it failed. Not only did he fail, but he also offended Gongsun Cuo. Although he repeatedly denied that this matter was planned by others and had nothing to do with him, four soldiers died in the Shence camp. , Gongsun Cuo blamed the matter on himself regardless of trivial matters. He was really unable to defend himself. Gongsun Cuo, that damn fat man, even said a few harsh words without dignity, saying that if the mastermind behind the scenes was caught, he would definitely die a hard death!
Just when Wang Yanqing was impatient, he heard Zhao Xingwen's voice ringing in his ears again——
"Master Shangshu - not only me, but also my brothers, even Lin Feng, the Duke of Jin, can hardly survive, sir..."
Thinking of Gongsun Cuo's incident, Wang Yanqing became more and more impatient. He was afraid that if Zhao cried a few more times, he would issue an eviction order. However, after hearing the word "Lin Feng", Wang Yanqing's eyes suddenly lit up slightly. It's like capturing some details. A kind smile returned to Wang Yanqing's face to replace the previous impatience. He turned to Zhao Xingwen on the other side of the tea table and said, "What did Nephew Zhao say just now? Lin Feng is...so miserable?"
Lin Feng, his grandfather was also a general in the army. He was knighted by the late Emperor of the New Tang Dynasty forty or fifty years ago for his meritorious service in rescuing the enemy. This Lin Feng was Zhao Xingwen's good brother. Since Zhao Xingwen was in such a miserable state of living, drinking, and singing every night, Lin Feng was naturally not much better.
"Ah! Is there still a lie? The Duke of Jin is in a worse situation than me! A few months ago he just spent tens of thousands of taels of silver to take an oiran from Cuihong Mansion as a concubine. Last month he lost ten thousand taels of silver in Jindingfang. Tens of thousands of taels, this...the money I borrowed was put in before I could cover it up, he...he...sigh!"
Mentioning this friend who was even worse than himself, Zhao Xingwen couldn't help but feel like he was facing Adou who couldn't help him.
"Then...after your nephew's achievements in such a situation, how much more do you have?"
"How many? There are so many! In addition to me and Brother Lin, there are also Brother Chen Ming from the Chen family, brothers from the Xie family, and..."
Zhao Xingwen counted them one by one with his fingers, and the names he reported were all those of a prodigal son like him who had no knowledge, no skills, no real work, and relied on the shadow of his ancestors to prepare for this life.
The smile in Wang Yanqing's eyes grew stronger and stronger, as if the worse these people were, the happier he was.
Zhao Xingwen's mouth was a little dry. He had already mentioned dozens of names, but found that he had not even reported half of the names on the list. He picked up the tea cup and took a sip, then returned to his pitiful look and looked at Wang Yanqing helplessly.
When Wang Yanqing saw Zhao Xingwen looking at him, he immediately hid his smile and put on a look of empathy.
He stood up, patted Zhao Xingwen on the shoulder, and said: "My dear nephew, when the Holy Spirit pushed for the new law, my uncle had already advised and strongly opposed it, but... there was no choice but to have some evil words to deceive the Holy Spirit, which led to today's situation. .”
After Zhao Xingwen heard this, he couldn't help but gnashed his teeth and wished he could cut into pieces the person who bewitched the Holy One.
"Your ancestors are all people who have made great contributions to the country and the country. Otherwise, how could the previous emperors confer titles on your ancestors? How could the Tang Dynasty not know about such favor? The predecessors planted trees and the descendants enjoyed the shade. You Inheriting the grace of God, this is how it should be, but..."
"well--"
Zhao Xingwen punched the palm of his left hand heavily with his right hand. Thinking of the history written in the history books that his ancestors sacrificed their lives to fight for Taizu, and thinking of his current situation, he couldn't help but feel a little unfair for his ancestors.
"Master Shangshu! You have to make the decision for this junior -" After saying that, tears welled up again and rolled in his eyes.
"Uncle, why don't you want to find justice for you? It's a pity..." Wang Yanqing shook his head helplessly and looked out of the hall with his hands behind his hands.
Zhao Xingwen's heart was as gray as ashes, and there was no trace of life in sight - if even this Lord Wang was helpless, then he would really be doomed.
Zhao Xingwen was about to stand up and say goodbye when suddenly Wang Yanqing's faint voice came from in front of him——
"If you want to prevent this, the key is not uncle, your fate... is in your own hands——"
"Master Shangshu! What should I do now!" Zhao Xingwen seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw.
Wang Yanqing turned around and stared at Zhao Xingwen calmly, as if testing his determination.
"If this thing doesn't work out, it will be a success. Do you... have this determination?"
"Chengren? If the family legacy left by our ancestors can't be kept, what's the point of what this person has done!?" Zhao Xingwen suddenly stood up and said passionately, as if he had vowed to keep this 'foundation', even if he was shattered to pieces.
"Uncle has a plan. When you go back, you can discuss it with the Duke of Jin and others." Wang Yanqing paused.
"Master Shangshu, please speak——"
"However, you absolutely dare not say that it was your uncle who brought this up. Don't even say that you have been to my uncle's house today, otherwise -"
Wang Yanqing's eyes were so cold that Zhao Xingwen shuddered inexplicably. Wang Yanqing covers the sky with one hand. Although he has a title, he is still a down-and-out nobleman. The other party's attempt to erase him is like squeezing an ant to death.
"I know - this junior knows - this junior will sneak back through the back door later..."
Zhao Xingwen nodded his head like a chicken pecking at rice, with a look of humility and submission in his eyes.
Wang Yanqing saw that Zhao Xingwen was so timid, so he stopped scaring him. He flexed his palms and motioned for Zhao Xingwen to bring his ears up. When Zhao Xingwen saw this, he leaned over like a pug. He just heard Wang Yanqing whisper in his ear——
"Don't you hear - 'The law does not punish everyone'?"
…
