"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister has arrived."
King Su was laughing with several princesses in the backyard when the housekeeper came in a hurry.
King Su narrowed his eyes slightly, and a trace of pride flashed across his face. After all, the prime minister couldn't keep his composure as Liu Yijin led the troops to the expedition.
King Su knew that he had a temporary advantage in the tug-of-war with Liu Yong.
"Master, what are you so happy about?" A woman in a pink dress fell into Prince Su's arms like a flying swallow, wrapping her arms around her and whimpering slightly.
King Su laughed loudly: "I beat the old fox in one move, so I am naturally happy."
The woman wanted to say something else, but King Su slapped her on the hip: "Okay, let's play with them. I will come over to accompany you in a while."
Prince Su turned around and walked towards the front hall, followed by the butler behind him.
"How many people are here from the prime minister this time?"
"Just himself."
King Su slowed down and hesitated: "Is he really the only one?"
"Back to the prince, it's really just him, but he looks very anxious."
King Su stood still: "If you ask him to go to the study, just tell him that I will wait for him in the study." After speaking, King Su turned around and walked towards his study.
When the prime minister saw the butler walking over alone, he suddenly looked unhappy and said, "Why, is the prince very busy?"
The housekeeper smiled and said: "The prime minister misunderstood. The prince has been staying in the study these days."
Liu Yong was stunned and couldn't help but sneered: "It seems that your prince has not been able to eat well or sleep well during this period."
As the housekeeper led Liu Yong towards the study, he sighed: "The Prime Minister doesn't know something. My prince is really worried these days."
Liu Yong glanced at the housekeeper and felt relaxed.
Seeing that King Su was also very angry with His Majesty, although he came to him on his own initiative, the two of them were at odds with each other and neither one spoke to the other.
When Liu Yong walked into the study, he saw Prince Su standing in front of the map with a solemn face. He couldn't help but smile and said, "Your Majesty is really concerned about the country and the people. Why are you still looking at this border defense map when you are at home?"
King Su turned around and said hurriedly, "It turns out to be the Prime Minister, please sit down!"
"Butler, watch the tea!"
The butler filled the teacup and stepped back.
"I wonder why the prime minister came here?"
Liu Yong put down the tea cup: "Prince Su must have received the news. The person leading the army this time is Liu Yijin."
King Su hummed: "After all, he is young and promising, and has won the trust of His Majesty."
Liu Yong sneered: "Daxia's soldiers and horses have always been stronger than my Daqian. Before, my Daqian and the Uighur cavalry could compete for a while. Now even the Uighurs have chosen to side with Daxia. This game of chess is not easy to play."
King Su nodded: "Yes, I am also in a hurry and can't help it."
Liu Yong saw that King Su did not mention this matter at all, so he secretly said to the old fox: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, if there is a game that can determine the outcome of the Daqian Dynasty, it must be you."
King Su waved his hands hurriedly: "Your Majesty, Prime Minister, you are serious. The eldest princess has been at the border for a while. I heard that she can manage the army well and can also win several battles with surprise troops. Besides, there are many generals in the court, and some of them have retired from the previous court." The old man is even more brave and good at fighting. It’s not my turn, it’s not my turn.”
Liu Yong pretended to be careless and said: "It's just that His Majesty said that the position of the general in charge is Liu Yijin, but when an army of 100,000 goes on an expedition, there must be two people on the left and right to look after each other."
"The left and right armies have not been decided yet."
King Su was stunned: "Really? I thought it was settled."
Liu Yong sneered: "If the prince can't talk to each other like this, I don't think there is any need to continue the conversation."
King Su smiled hurriedly and said: "The Prime Minister is suspicious. I am really at a loss, so I answered like this."
"If there is some way, I will naturally not give up the position of general, but?"
Looking at King Su's helpless expression, Liu Yong said tentatively: "Although the general has the right to command the overall situation, the actual leader of the left and right route armies is also the key."
"According to convention, the left and right armies are appointed by the generals, but Liu Yijin has only been emperor for a short time, and he is not from the army. Therefore, the veteran is very worried about the candidates for the left and right generals."
King Su hummed: "I do have the right people in the Ministry of War, but I don't know if His Majesty agrees."
Liu Yong took a gentle sip of tea and said with the help of the dense tea aroma: "Lu Zi'ang is also a good candidate among the military generals in the DPRK. Moreover, this person once suppressed the rebellion of the Southern Barbarians. It can be said that he has rich experience in marching and fighting."
King Su nodded: "The left and right route troops can give His Majesty some advice, but what about the position of marching supervisor?"
"Do you have any advice, Your Majesty?"
King Su smiled and said: "The supervisors have always been civil servants or people from the inner court. The last time I was ordered to go on an expedition, the supervisor was Zuo Xiaoqing, the Minister of Civil Affairs. But this time, I have no idea."
Liu Yong felt relieved when he saw King Su taking the initiative to make friends.
"We can talk about the governor's matters slowly. Besides, even if you and I are anxious, there is nothing we can do if His Majesty is not anxious."
"It's just that I still have a question."
"Is the prime minister talking about Maitreya Buddhism?"
Liu Yong nodded: "Yes, Liu Yijin has been responsible for investigating the affairs of Maitreya Buddhism. I heard that now there are some clues about the elders of Maitreya Buddhism. If he leaves suddenly, how should Maitreya Buddhism be managed?"
King Su looked at Liu Yong: "What do you mean by the Prime Minister?"
Liu Yong looked solemn: "Since General Liu Yijin has become a foregone conclusion and cannot be changed, I think it is better to let the Ministry of Punishment take over this matter. This way, neither party will be delayed."
"And I have already drafted a candidate for the position of Minister of the Ministry of Justice."
King Su looked at Liu Yong in surprise: "I wonder who the prime minister recommended?"
"Lu Dingzhong."
King Su was stunned: "The most outstanding figure of the third generation of the Lu family, Lu Dingzhong, who is known as White Horse West Wind?"
Liu Yong smiled lightly and said: "Yes, this person was just a teacher of the Hanlin Academy before, but he is very familiar with punishment and the legal system of the court, and he also specially studied the legal system of the past dynasties. It can be said that this person became the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment. It’s a good fit.”
"Moreover" Liu Yong looked at Prince Su: "I heard that you, Your Majesty, had a relationship with the Lu family back then?"
King Su coughed lightly, nodded and said, "Yes, he has some connections. If the prime minister can recommend him, he is also a suitable person."
Liu Yong sighed: "The Minister of Punishment is settled, so we can continue to pursue Maitreya Buddhism. The left and right route armies are settled, so we don't have to worry too much about the 100,000 troops."
"As for the position of military governor, it depends on His Majesty's wishes."
Seeing Liu Yong looking at him with blazing eyes, King Su couldn't help but smile and said: "I think it is most suitable for the post of governor to come from the staff department."
"Oh?" Liu Yong said with a smile: "I would like to hear the details."
King Su smiled and said: "The prime minister has given me a favor, so naturally I have to pay him back."
...
In Liu Mansion, Liu Yijin was working hard with Sun Sangxiang in the backyard.
Liu Yijin panted and said, "Xiang'er, can you do it now?"
'Master, it would be better if you hurry up. '
"oh."
Half an hour later, with the sound of a crane in the room, Liu Yijin walked out holding his sore waist. He looked up at the sky and felt that the sun was as pale as paper.
"Although Lan Yu'er is good, Yu'er's medicine will kill her."
Liu Yijin walked to the front hall tremblingly, and Xiaorui hurriedly stepped forward: "Master, you are shaking very badly."
"Yes, yes. Maybe it's because the wind here is a bit strong, and it keeps shaking."
Xiao Rui raised her head in confusion and saw the motionless leaves outside the door. She looked suspicious and said, "Master, I'm afraid you are blinded. There is no wind today."
"Ah." Liu Yijin looked ahead with dull eyes, and tremblingly took the teacup handed over by Xiaorui: "Eight times, even a strong man can't bear it."
"What eight times? Master, what are you talking about?"
There were heavy and rapid footsteps outside the door, and Erzhu came in holding a large iron rod.
"Brother Yijin, Princess Qingqiu is here."
"Ah? Ah!" Liu Yijin shook his fingers and poured hot tea on him instantly.
"Ouch!" It was an early autumn day and he didn't wear much. Coupled with this cup of hot tea, a burst of heat came to his vital parts, which immediately made Liu Yijin grin.
Xiaorui on the side was shocked. If she had burned the baby, the three ladies would probably kill her.
Xiaorui was so anxious that she wanted to cry. She hurriedly knelt down and wiped it hastily with a towel: "Master, I didn't burn you. It's all your fault. You deserve to die."
Liu Yijin said slowly, "It's not a problem, it's not a problem. Don't kneel down. Get up first."
Liu Yijin panicked and went to help Xiaorui with both hands, but the latter knelt in front of Liu Yijin and kept wiping his hands, which made Erzhu, who was standing outside the door, look even weirder.
"Sir, what are you doing?"
Liu Yijin didn't have time to think about what Erzhuzi was thinking. His mind was full of scenes with the two ladies.
He bit his tongue hard, and the moment of clarity made him roar: "Er Zhuzhu, why are you still standing there, why don't you let Princess Qingqiu come in."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gong Qingqiu's figure appeared at the gate: "Liu Yijin, you..."
Gong Qingqiu looked up and saw Xiao Rui kneeling in front of Liu Yijin, while Liu Yijin's hands were holding Xiao Rui's shoulders, and his whole body was shaking.
"Oh, you shameless scoundrel!"
Liu Yijin was worried: "Princess, things are not what you think. I was scalded by boiling water."
"You still said that!"
Gong Qingqiu's face turned red.
Xiao Rui hurriedly stood up and told the story again in embarrassment. Gong Qingqiu glanced at the large wet area on Liu Yijin's body and coughed lightly, "Is this how you talk to me?"
Liu Yijin said awkwardly: "Then please ask the princess to wait for a while, and I will go change clothes."
Gong Qingqiu looked at Liu Yijin's embarrassed look, waved his hand and said, "Okay, you go and do your work first."
Gong Qingqiu glanced around and walked towards the Bo Gujia beside him.
There are bottles and jars of things placed on the ancient shelves. Although the paintings are exquisite, they can't catch Gong Qingqiu's eyes at all.
She was about to turn around without interest when her eyes fell on a painted pottery.
Huh?
Gong Qingqiu was stunned for a moment, then curiously took the ugly painted pottery in his hand and looked at it carefully, with a puzzled look on his face.
Liu Yijin walked in wearing a light blue gown. When he saw Gong Qingqiu looking at the painted pottery in his hand, he was in a daze, and then he remembered that this thing was taken from the prime minister's house.
"Does Her Highness the Princess also know about this painted pottery?"
A trace of uneasiness flashed across Gong Qingqiu's face: "I just suddenly remembered a past event."
"Oh?" Liu Yijin said, "Does Her Highness the Princess still know the story of this painted pottery?"
"It's okay, it's okay." Gong Qingqiu put the painted pottery back, and when he turned around, he couldn't help but take another look: "Where did you get this painted pottery?"
Liu Yijin wanted to tell the truth, but then he thought and said, "I bought it from a street stall."
A disappointed expression flashed across Gong Qingqiu's face: "This painted pottery reminds me of my little brother, but he died of illness that year."
"Your brother?" Liu Yijin was stunned.
If he remembers correctly, when he was in the prime minister's house that day, Liu Yong once told himself that this painted pottery was made by his boy back then.
The prime minister's youngest son and Princess Qingqiu's younger brother?
This, how is this possible!
Although there were huge waves in Liu Yijin's heart, he still said calmly: "The princess's brother? Why haven't I heard of him?"
Gong Qingqiu showed a trace of misery on his face: "He and I are only one year apart. He often took me to play in the palace. He knew how to knead painted pottery, so he often kneaded this kind of pottery for me."
"When he was only four years old, he suddenly fell ill and died."
Liu Yijin was shaken, and his tone was a little urgent: "How is your relationship with him?"
"My sister is a few years older than my brother, but they don't have a good relationship."
"I still remember that the prime minister's wife often came to the palace at that time. The prime minister's youngest son and my brother were of the same year and month, and we often played together. Later..."
Before Gong Qingqiu finished speaking, the tears on his face fell uncontrollably.
Liu Yijin's breathing was a little rapid: "You mean the prime minister's son and your brother died at the same time?"
Gong Qingqiu nodded: "Well, they got sick one after another, and then..."
Liu Yijin's eyes fell on the six fingers of the painted pottery. He felt that he seemed to have grasped something, but he was not sure.
"Princess Qingqiu, what are your brother's fingers?"
Gong Qingqiu pointed to the painted pottery: "My brother was born with six fingers, so each of the painted pottery he made has six fingers."
Liu Yijin's head was buzzing, and Prime Minister Liu Yong's words rang in his ears: "This is the painted pottery made by my youngest son himself, but he is already dead."
"Dead? The prime minister's son is dead, and the late emperor's son is also dead. The prime minister's son has six fingers? Or does it mean that the late emperor's son also has six fingers?
Liu Yijin asked in a voice that he could not describe: "What about the hand of the prime minister's son?"
"He is perfect, just like us."
Gong Qingqiu looked at Liu Yijin's trembling body in confusion: "Are you still not recovered? Why is your body shaking so hard?"
"It's okay, I'm fine."
Under Gong Qingqiu's puzzled gaze, Liu Yijin walked to the table tremblingly, picked up the tea cup on the table and drank it in one gulp, "I'm just thirsty, yes, I'm just thirsty."
"You guy!" Gong Qingqiu glared at Liu Yijin: "Okay, let's get down to business. I have something urgent to come to you this time."
Liu Yijin's mind has not yet recovered from the painted pottery incident: "Ah? What does the princess want from me?"
"My sister wants to see you, it's about black powder!"
"Ah?" Liu Yijin looked at Gong Qingqiu blankly: "Has Your Majesty agreed to make black gunpowder?"
