In Fengguo's left wing, where the commanding envoy was being held in custody, Guo Xin sat and listened to Wang Shiliang's account of what happened the night before.
"... I killed that Li Chongxun, then immediately threw my knife and broke the window and jumped out. There was already a chaos outside, so I took advantage of the chaos and climbed over the wall to escape."
When Wang Shiliang finished speaking, Guo Xin said nothing and made meaningless tapping with his fingers on the table.
Wang Shiliang: "According to the command of the commander, the two knives were thrown on the spot. The two women in the room must have heard what I said humbly."
"The king has done this very neatly," Guo Xin first expressed his approval, then pondered for a moment, and warned: "In the past few days, you should go home after practicing as usual, and stop other errands on hand, and don't go. Find me in the inner city.”
Wang Shiliang clasped his fists in response: "I understand, I understand."
After sending Wang Shiliang away, Guo Xin stood up and exhaled a long breath. His heart was far more excited and excited than what he showed on the surface, and there was even a hint of worry. He once heard a saying in his later life, to the effect that a person's destiny must take into account not only personal struggle, but also the process of history. Guo Xin's excitement comes from feeling that he is actively guiding the process of history, and his worry comes from his realization that the direction of destiny involves too many people and too many relationships, and whether he can achieve his expectations sometimes does not entirely depend on his own efforts.
In any case, the news that Li Chongxun was killed in Pig Killing Alley has spread throughout Tokyo, and will soon spread to other towns.
There are probably three kinds of rumors about this matter among outsiders: the first is that the Fu family regretted marrying the Li family and secretly sent people to assassinate Li Chongxun; the second is that the Yamen who almost lost to Li Chongxun on the polo day were furious. and carried out bloody revenge; thirdly, the imperial court was preparing to abolish the vassal towns, intending to start with Fengxiang, Yongxing, and Hezhong towns in Guanxi to deal with Wang Jingchong who commanded the army in Fengxiang and the tooth soldiers who recalled the former Yongxing Jiedushi Zhao Kuangzan , coupled with the current killing of Li Chongxun, the son of Li Shouzhen, the governor of Hezhong, seems to be evidence...
Guo Xin thought about it carefully and felt that these speculations were somewhat reasonable. But no matter what the cause, the murder of the eldest son of a handsome man in Tokyo is undoubtedly a major case. Official Liu Chengyou had ordered a department to investigate the matter in the morning yesterday. The only yamen in charge of criminal prisons in Tokyo are Kaifeng Prefecture and the Guards Department. Among them, the Kaifeng Prefecture is the old man Hou Yi who was just appointed a few days ago. There is no need to worry about the Guards Department. Shi Hongzhao, Liu Ci and other officers in charge of the bodyguard department were all acquaintances of him. To say the least, even if it was found out that Li Chongxun was really killed by his instigators, would Shi Hongzhao and Liu Ci really come to the Guo family to get someone?
What's more, based on his understanding of Shi Hongzhao's violent temper, since Wang Shiliang's confession was deliberately revealed that night, and there were two weapons engraved with symbols on the ground, Shi Hongzhao would most likely not bother to investigate in detail and would directly determine that it was the Fu family.
Guo Xin walked out of the signing room, stretched his body, and asked Guo Pu to lead his horse home.
Guo Xin was about to dismount in front of his corner gate when a man suddenly appeared out of nowhere, clasped his fists and asked him, "Are you the Erlang of the Guo family?"
Guo Pu on the side immediately grabbed the handle of the knife at his waist and took a stance, looking at the man warily.
The man hurriedly reported his name: "I work in the Duke of Qi's mansion, and my wife asked me to deliver a message to Erlang of the Guo family."
Guo Xin looked the man up and down, nodded and said: "I am Guo Erlang, your wife is Fu Jinlu?"
"My wife said that she wants Erlang of the Guo family to meet at Xiangguo Temple this Shenshi."
Guo Xin raised his eyes and looked at the sun. He estimated that it was less than an hour before Shenshi, and asked doubtfully: "Is your wife really talking about today?"
"It is indeed today," the man nodded. "My wife only said that Erlang of the Guo family will know when he gets there, and the other villains will not know anything about it."
After sending the man away, Guo Xin dismounted and told Guo Pu, "Just wait for me here. I'll change my clothes and come back."
Guo Pu took the horse's rope and asked curiously: "Brother Yi, aren't you afraid of fraud?"
"Why do you say that?"
Guo Pu: "Brother Yi blamed the Fu family for Li Chongxun's death. Does that mean the Fu family just accepts it?"
Guo Xin shook his head: "Even if the imperial court really blamed the Fu family for Li Chongxun's death, the imperial court would not touch the Fu family, and would even be happy for these vassals to enmity with each other. What's more, the Fu family and the Fu family's wife are two different things. Once Li Chongxun dies, it will not affect that person. I’m afraid it’s just a good thing for the lady.”
Guo Xin said this, but in reality he had absolutely no idea what he thought about Fu Jinluhui. Because what he did was far from what he promised Fu Jinlu that night! Fu Jinlu just wanted to use himself to put pressure on the Fu and Li families to make the marriage issue go away, but his method was too rough - to make Li Chongxun disappear from the world.
When Guo Xin arrived at Xiangguo Temple, he didn't know if he had arrived at Shenshi, but he knew that Fu Jinlu would not be waiting for him in front of the mountain gate, so he walked straight into the temple. As the Qingming Festival approaches, people are remembering their old friends, offering incense and praying. There seem to be more pilgrims and tourists in the temple than when Guo Xishang came back.
Guo Xin led Guo Pu around the crowded main halls outside. As soon as there were fewer people around him, a sturdy monk walked out, stood in front of Guo Xin and saluted him: "Donor Guo, do you still remember me?"
Guo Xin was slightly surprised, looked at him and said, "Are you the fortune-telling monk?"
"The poor monk's Dharma name is Yuanren." The monk was not angry at Guo Xin's rudeness and moved half of his body to one side. "The distinguished guest has been waiting for a long time. Donor Guo, come with me."
Guo Xinxin thought: This is interesting. Song Xie told him earlier that this monk was some kind of eminent monk who had returned from traveling in the south. Now it seems that he still has something to do with the Fu family?
Enren silently led the way, and sure enough, he led Guo Xin and his two men to the Zen room deep in the bamboo forest. Waiting for them in front of the path to the Zen room was the maid named Bitao next to Fu Jinlu. Guo Xin saw that she was still wearing a green dress and thought to himself, is this girl named Bitao because she likes to wear green?
After getting closer, Guo Xin realized that Bitao was staring at him, looking very angry. As soon as they met, he said coldly to Guo Xin: "General Guo is really good at it. Does he know how much trouble he will bring to my wife?"
Guo Xin smiled: "Everything happened for a reason. Isn't Guo here to apologize?"
Bitao led the way and said dissatisfiedly: "General Guo is really good at reasoning."
Guo Xin stopped laughing: "People can only be reasonable when their fists are hard enough."
When they reached the door of the Zen room, Bitao stopped and did not go in. Guo Xin also winked at Guo Pu, leaving him waiting outside the room, and followed Yuanren into the Zen room.
The Zen room is still simply decorated, with no extra furnishings except for a low table and two futons in the middle. Fu Jinlu knelt down on the futon opposite the door. When she saw Guo Xin come in, she stared at him with her beautiful eyes.
Guo Xin couldn't see any anger or happiness on Fu Jinlu's face, so he simply ignored him and sat down opposite Fu Jinlu without any courtesy. Monk Yuanren came forward and picked up the teapot and cup on the short table and served two cups of tea each. Then he clasped his hands and bowed to each of them, then quickly turned and left.
The door of the Zen room was closed by Yuan Ren who was leaving, and Fu Jinlu finally said: "I thought Guo Lang wouldn't come."
"Whether I'm asking for punishment or asking for reward, I should come." Guo Xin gently accepted Fu Jinlu's words, then turned to ask about Monk Yuanren: "Speaking of which, I didn't expect Jinlu to know that monk."
Fu Jinlu smiled lightly: "Guo Lang, there is no need to trick me. Master Yuanren has an old relationship with my father. Today I just used the master's place to meet General Guo."
Guo Xin pretended not to believe it: "This monk used Taoist gossip to tell my fortune last time. Are you really not a fake monk?"
Fu Jinlu shook his head: "Master Yuanren is indeed an eminent monk. What's more, he just returned from traveling to Tang, Shu and other countries in the south this year. Even in this Xiangguo Temple, there may not be many people who are higher than Yuanren in terms of Buddhist teachings and knowledge."
Guo Xin picked up the tea cup and took a sip: "The Fu family is really well-connected. From Tokyo to the feudal town, from the court to this temple, there are acquaintances everywhere."
Fu Jinlu was still smiling: "What's the use of having many old acquaintances? Who is not my acquaintance in the civil and military affairs of the previous dynasty? How many are left in the court today? The situation is constantly changing, and my father wants to take power. It's not easy to maintain. I'm just sharing the worries for my father and family, but I didn't expect Guo Lang to act like this."
"I am a martial artist, and Jin Lu should know that martial arts always like to use some rough methods." Guo Xin put the tea cup in his hand and played with it, "No matter what, I have done what I promised Jin Lu."
"I didn't let Guo Lang kill Li Chongxun, and I didn't let Guo Lang always say that it was my Fu family who did it. Guo Lang doesn't seem to be a fool, so he didn't think about the consequences?" Jin Lu frowned slightly, obviously still interested in Guo Xin Very opinionated.
Guo Xin was silent, not because he was thinking, but because he felt that the angry expression of the young lady in front of him was very interesting. But he still couldn't tell the girl in front of him his true intentions - it was precisely because the secret letter made him believe that to kill Li Chongxun, the ambitious Li Shouzhen would definitely do something in this name, and the situation in Kansai became more and more chaotic, Liu The more the family is inseparable from Guo Wei, who is the privy envoy, the more room he has for himself in the Forbidden Army. As for blaming the Fu family, it was just to provide Fu Jinlu with a layer of insurance. Li Shouzhen was more than just Li Chongxun's son.
Fu Jinlu no longer asked: "Tomorrow I will go back to Yanzhou with my brother. After all, Guo Lang has helped me, so I will send Guo Lang a word of thanks. When Li Shouzhen learned about Li Dalang's death, he would definitely rebel against the court and prepare for war in the river. It has been a long time, and Li Shouzhen is not a mediocre person. I am afraid it will not be easy to deal with when the time comes. Guo Lang had better remind Privy Guo and ask the court to prepare in advance."
"I understand what Jin Lu means." Guo Xin nodded in greeting.
The two looked at each other in silence for a while. Guo Xin heard the chanting of the monks in the temple, which seemed like chanting and singing. At the same time, it was accompanied by the sound of musical instruments such as wooden fish playing, but it was just hazy, which made Guo Xin feel very... distant.
Guo Xin picked up the tea cup and drank it all in one gulp: "It's almost time, I should go."
Fu Jinlu quickly stood up and bowed, a trace of unnoticeable worry flashed in his eyes: "I hope I can meet Guo Lang someday."
Guo Xin came to the door and couldn't help but look back when he heard the sound.
