Chu Xinghe left the tavern and headed towards his hotel. The scholar and the graceful woman behind him looked at his leaving figure with different thoughts.
"Chu Xinghe is well-known in the world for being upright, upright and loyal. Can he withstand your instigation?"
"Before you met me, I remember you had a pretty good reputation. Oh, the more upright a person is, the more mistakes he makes. Because this kind of person doesn't know how to make changes and only follows one path to the end. We Just need to turn his forward direction a little bit..."
The graceful woman rolled her eyes at her: "Then what should we do next? Can we start an incident?"
"Not yet, it's not enough to just rely on these Jianghu sects. No matter how powerful the Jianghu is, it can't help. The court has to make more efforts." In the dark night, the scholar's eyes were burning. The woman looked at the scholar for a moment, feeling a little agitated. She was in a daze, as if she didn't recognize him.
…
Late at night, Wei Lejing, the Minister of Rites, was sitting in his home. He was being ordered to formulate the second draft and regulations for the martial arts conference and other matters. Every link must be carefully crafted to prevent unexpected situations in the conference, so that it can be prepared at any time. Substitute for backup.
A dark figure appeared outside the door at some point, standing quietly without knocking or leaving, just waiting quietly.
After Wei Lejing finished drafting the plan, he checked it carefully again to make sure there were no omissions or errors. Then he breathed a long sigh of relief, picked up the teacup and took a sip, rested for a while, and prepared to draft a memorial later to present it tomorrow. Leave it to His Majesty.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the dark figure outside the door, and asked warily: "Who is standing outside?"
Wei Lejing was not afraid when he first saw the black shadow. If he was a servant of the mansion, he would definitely report it early, but this person was standing outside the door like a ghost, so he must not be a servant of the mansion. But Wei Lejing asked himself that he usually abides by the law and is courteous to others. It is said that if he is upright, he is not afraid of the shadow. He does not believe that any enemy will come to his door.
The black shadow heard Wei Lejing's question and replied: "I am a nobody in the world. I came here to pay homage to Mr. Wei."
Wei Lejing snorted coldly: "Humph, since he is a nobody, what's the use of seeing him? If he doesn't dare to meet people by his real name, he must be Xiaoxiao. If you want to take Wei's life, please come in. If not, please leave."
The door of the room was pushed open with a creaking sound, and a black figure outside the door walked in: "Master Wei is upright, I admire him, and I am willing to meet you honestly."
"Confucius' water chief Dongte came to pay homage to Mr. Wei." The man took off his black robe and revealed his true face. His appearance was ordinary and had no special features. He was just dressed as a scholar, and the black robe had a pocket. Under the hat, he was still wearing a student's scarf.
Wei Lejing put down the brush in his hand and said with a displeased look on his face: "Although I, Mr. Wei, am not a member of the world, I am not ignorant either. The Confucian sect was created by the descendants of Confucius. Why is your surname Shui? Is this called a frank meeting? ?”
"And...since you are from the Confucian sect, why do you want to come to me?"
The scholar who called himself Shui Changdong smiled softly: "Your Excellency, the Confucian family is indeed surnamed Kong, but saints may not be able to sit still. My surname is Shui because my mother named Shui as my surname. It’s just accepted by a wealthy family like Confucius.”
Shui Changdong spoke in an understatement, but Wei Lejing also understood the meaning from his few words. This man must be the son of a Confucian who was living in dissolute life. To put it harshly, he called him an illegitimate son, compared to a concubine. The status is even worse.
"The DPRK and China have their own officials to receive martial arts people. Your Excellency came to visit late at night..."
"The late night visit must have something important to discuss. May I ask what rank your official residence in the court is, Mr. Wei?" Shui Changdong interrupted Wei Lejing's words.
"Third grade." Wei Lejing looked a little ugly.
Shui Changdong shook his head and sighed: "Your Excellency is upright, and such a great talent is only the third rank? Well, the third rank is also considered a high official in the court, but I heard that your salary is only five hundred dan, which is not what a third rank official should have. Looks like that, right?"
Wei Lejing was about to scold him, but Shui Changdong took the lead and kept chattering like a barrage of cannons: "Mr. Wei is a man of great talent and holds a third-rank official position, but he is not important to the imperial court. I heard that above the imperial court, a minor official of the seventh rank stands. They are all placed before adults, why is this?"
"I'm afraid it's inconvenient for Mr. Wei to say it, right? Then let me speak for you! This is because Mr. Wei is a disciple of Li Changwen, Taishi Li. His whole family was beheaded, and Mr. Wei was also implicated, so that's why the court is like this! Come on, besides Mr. Wei’s immediate superior, Mr. Liao Chixin, is there anyone who is willing to get close to Mr. Wei?”
"Not only Mr. Wei, but also the descendants of the Wei family in the future, if they have shallow talents, they may have to stay away from the court and live in the market."
Wei Lejing asked coldly: "Are you done? Please leave when you're done and don't affect my work!"
Shui Changdong stepped forward, changed his sharp words, and said in a low voice: "Everyone is seeking fame and wealth. Mr. Wei, ask yourself, if you don't want everything, I will leave now and I will not delay Mr. Wei." To do errands for the court..."
Wei Lejing stared at Shui Changdong for a long time, as if he wanted to remember this ordinary face in his mind. He knew that he was moved: "What is your purpose?"
"Master Wei is working hard and working hard for the country for the sake of reputation. He wants to leave a good name in the history books and pass it on to future generations. Naturally, we will not make it difficult for Master Wei. Today, His Majesty is resorting to military warfare and has no sympathy for the people. We just want to Just a little reminder to Your Majesty."
Wei Lejing waved his hand in disgust: "His Majesty is resorting to militarism? How ridiculous! Now the vassal kings from all over the country have surrendered one by one, and the world has become one. This will benefit the future!"
"But the sin lies in the contemporary era! We are not doing anything earth-shattering, just a small reminder."
Wei Lejing decided to find out first: "How to do it?"
A trace of burning heat flashed through Shui Changdong's eyes: "It's very simple. As long as Mr. Wei can make Qian Shuai, who commands the Twelve Heavenly Guards, leave for a while during the conference..."
"Ridiculous! Qian Shuai is responsible for His Majesty's safety. What are you trying to do! I will go into the palace to report you!" Wei Lejing started to complain.
"Okay, Sir, please excuse me. Anyway, we haven't done anything yet. If Sir goes to report, we will stay hidden. How will the court treat you, Sir Wei?" Shui Changdong was confident.
Wei Lejing took a few quick breaths, slowly sat back on the chair, and took a step back: "Continue talking."
Shui Changdong came closer and said: "Master Wei only needs to let Qian Shuai leave for a while. During the conference, we will pretend to gather people to cause trouble, for no other reason than to ask for an explanation from His Majesty. After all, the purpose of the martial arts conference is to gather the martial arts community. Use your own strength to resist the Northern Yi, or use the name of the Northern Yi to wipe out the martial arts in the Central Plains..."
Wei Lejing suddenly realized that this was the reason he came here in the middle of the night. Indeed, now that Chu Xiang has been wiped out, the imperial court has enough power to deal with various martial arts factions. No matter how powerful the various martial arts sects were, they would still be unable to compete with the imperial court's powerful crossbows and armor.
Now it seems that although the martial arts sects have come to the capital, they are all suspicious and suspicious, and do not know the true intention of the court. It is reasonable for such a reckless man to think of the method of "forcing the palace". The people sent as lobbyists are all illegitimate sons of Confucian people, which is too unpopular.
"What can I get?" Although Wei Lejing read the books of sages, he also wanted a golden house.
Shui Changdong pretended to hesitate and said: "We are in a rough world, and there really is nothing we can do with it. It can only be some gold and silver common things. What's more, it's the admiration and respect of various martial arts sects."
"Oh, I want your respect?" Wei Lejing snorted coldly. He studied the books of saints and sages and finally got into the court. He really looked down on these rough and tumble people.
"Master Wei is confused! How did Lord Wu Dinggong rise to prominence, do you know? It was the recovery of Nanhuai and Donglu, but could he have accomplished it alone? Without the help of the Nanhuai Li family and the Donglu bandit gang, he Could it be the Duke Wu Ding who has this honor today? Mr. Wei has helped us all, who in our martial arts community would not sell it to Mr. Wei to save his face?"
"If the imperial court is determined to annihilate the martial arts world, it will not be so easy. Both sides will suffer in the fight, but in the end it will just be reconciliation. If it is to appease the martial arts world, isn't this a good thing? Besides, Mr. Wei, Qian Shuai will only leave for a moment. When the time comes, Who will find out who asked him to leave?" Shui Changdong was persuasive.
After hearing these words, Wei Lejing lowered his head and pondered. Shui Changdong did not rush him and waited quietly. The candle slowly burned out more than half, and there was a pile of wax underneath.
"Okay, I'll change the rules and give it a try, but whether it succeeds or not is up for grabs, and...we haven't seen each other tonight either!" Wei Lejing made up his mind.
"No, no! Of course not! The common people have never seen Mr. Wei. If Mr. Wei needs help from other court officials, just say it, we will try our best." Shui Changdong knew that eggs cannot be put in one basket and thought I need to use Wei Le Jing to find a few more "baskets".
Wei Lejing thought for a moment and waved gently to Shui Changdong. Shui Changdong immediately leaned over and nodded frequently.
At midnight, there was no pedestrian on the street, but the door of Wei Mansion suddenly opened wide. Wei Lejing personally escorted a man in black robe out of the house. The two said goodbye, and the man in black robe hurriedly left. Wei Lejing also looked around. I went back after making sure nothing happened.
There was a dark figure in the distance. It wasn't until Wei Lejing returned to the mansion that he revealed half of his body and looked at the Wei mansion. Obviously, he had seen all the farewell scene between the two of them. Watching the man in black robe leave, the black shadow stepped lightly, not knowing where to go.
"Master's prediction is good. There is indeed a man in black robe who went to look for Wei Lejing. If master hadn't ordered not to act rashly, I would have captured that man in black robe!"
"It's better to lure the snake out of its hole than to scare it. If you capture him, I don't know how many 'snakes' are hidden in this capital."
"Master, what should we do next?"
"Wait, wait until all the 'snakes' in the capital come out!"
