At the entrance of the store, Hu Ji twisted her waist and waved her arms to attract customers.
Her eyes fell on the handsome young master in the hall from time to time, and she didn't even see any customers taking the initiative to enter the store.
"I am coming!"
Du Wulang tied up his horse and rushed into Wang's store happily. He immediately saw Xue Bai and others.
He said hello cheerfully, but when Jiaonu turned around, he shrank his neck again, walked around to the other side and sat down. When he looked at the table, he said in surprise: "Hey, why are there no fish meats?"
"I just realized that the fish soup is raw." Xue Bai shook his head, "I won't eat it."
"How can you not eat?" Du Wulang's eyes moved, he raised his hand and pointed to the wall of the store, and said: "Look!"
Several people, including Jiao Nu, turned around and saw that it was full of poems written by literati.
"The fish dumplings are so delicious. Look at the poems praising the fish dumplings on the wall. There are Wang Wei's 'The Maid's Golden Plate with Carp' and Wang Changling's 'Herring, Snowfall, Orange and Sautéed'. Hey, there's also Li Bai. new poems.”
"Li Bai is also in Chang'an?"
"Not here." Du Wulang looked at the annotation of the poem and said: "This is written by a drunkard named Cen Shen. It is Li Bai's new poem in Luzhong. It praises the delicious fish and shrimps. "When Hu'er brushes a few frost blades, the red flesh The flowers are falling and the snow is falling. I laid down the chopsticks for you and had a full meal, and mounted my horse with a golden saddle and returned home drunk. 'Tsk, tsk, it's so well written, but how could this man write Taibai's poems next to Mojie's poems?"
Xue Bai looked at it intently and saw the writing on the wall with flying dragons and phoenixes, which read: "In the third year of Yu Shouxuan's visit, I visited the great rivers and returned to Chang'an in the west. After I got drunk, I wrote a new poem by Li Taibai as a reward for the officials in the capital, and we all enjoyed it."
Looking at the poem again, it was a bit sloppy at the end, but it was so heroic.
Next to it is Cen Shen's own "Guan Jiu Fu".
"Shen, Xiangmenzi. He studied at the age of five, studied literature at the age of nine, hid in Songyang at the age of fifteen, and presented books under the palace at the age of twenty..."
Everyone looked at it seriously, Du Wulang stretched out his hand and handed half of the jade pendant to Xue Bai's hand.
Xue Bai put it into his sleeves calmly.
~~
Du Zhai.
Lu Fengniang carefully opened the door and saw Du Jin sitting in a daze where Du Youlin usually sat.
"How come I haven't seen you today?" Lu Fengniang first found a topic to chat with.
Du Jin said: "The day before yesterday, the eldest sister asked a slave to inquire about the news. I will go and ask today."
"I see, by the way, why did you annoy your grandpa?"
Du Jin asked, "What did Grandpa say?"
Lu Fengniang was worried and hesitantly said: "Mr. Lang said...it's shameful for a woman to be like this."
Du Jin smiled bitterly.
Yes, for a daughter like her to use the power of the traitor to force her father to ask for favors from the elders of the clan, and not to miss the old relationship between husband and wife, and to persecute Dong Gong, it just sounds bad.
When Lu Fengniang saw that Du Jin was silent, she continued in a low voice: "Mr. Lang still said you were confused. He said that since they are showing kindness, you insist on asking for many benefits, and then both parties will be offended."
"Offending both sides?" Du Jin sneered and said, "I almost ransacked my family and exterminated my clan. How can I still be afraid of this?"
Lu Fengniang sighed: "Second mother, you must not be too stubborn."
Du Jin pointed to a box on the table and said, "Mother, take it. I'll ask Grandpa Bo for it to help subsidize the family."
Lu Fengniang was stunned, then stepped forward, opened the box and looked at it. Her nose felt sore, she quickly wiped her eyes with a handkerchief, and finally burst into tears.
"Your grandpa doesn't know how valuable rice is when you are a family member... wu wu... a good and wealthy family is living like this..."
"I know." Du Jin turned his back and said, "Can you trust me, mother? I am doing this for the good of the Du family."
"Why don't I believe you? To be honest, your grandpa is a fool and a bad person... He is so confused!"
Du Jin had no choice but to stand up and pat Lu Fengniang's back to comfort her.
But in fact, under the current situation, she herself was mentally and physically exhausted.
Xue Bai made it very clear that the East Palace is unreliable, and the Right Prime Minister's Palace is equally unreliable. In this struggle, the weak will always be the one that both sides may sacrifice at any time.
It just so happens that they are the weak ones. They didn't use it in the last sacrifice, but they will probably use it next time.
So you can't rely entirely on any one party.
"We must be like a seed, surviving the collision of two boulders, surviving in the cracks, and taking root."
Du Jin repeated this sentence in her heart and looked out the window, hoping that everything went well with Xue Bai.
~~
Qingmen, Wangjiadian.
As time passed, in the afternoon, many diners had left.
Xue Bai didn't dare to drink, so he ate some roasted mutton. Suddenly he saw a middle-aged man wearing a blue official robe walking into the hall.
Jiao Nu also saw it and his eyes narrowed slightly.
"Do you recognize him?" Xue Bai asked.
Jiao Nu thought that he noticed his gaze and asked, "Don't think this man is a young official. In fact, he often comes to A Lang to report."
"who is he?"
Jiaonu frowned slightly, thinking that Xue Bai really wanted to ask questions no matter what he saw. She was here to monitor him, and she was not really his slave.
"Huh?" Xue Bai continued to ask.
"I only know that his surname is Pei." Jiaonu said, "He is an official who handles peace and purchase matters, and he is highly regarded by the king."
"What a coincidence. Several people I met today are all related to Wang Fei."
"Because you keep asking, and Qingmen is close to Dongshi and the city gate, and has a lot of wealth and wine."
"There are many beauties," Xue Bai said casually when he caught a glimpse of someone holding two Silla maids diagonally across the long street and swaggering past.
Jiao Nu was slightly proud and took a sip of wine.
Xue Bai patted Du Wulang and said, "You will go back later. When you are free, we will cook boiled fish."
"Okay." Du Wulang dropped the chopsticks like flying and was still eating meat.
Xue Bai had already stood up and went to the toilet.
Jiaonu hesitated for a moment, but still sat and watched Du Wulang eat, and at the same time kicked the Tian brothers.
"Why don't you follow me to protect me? I really promote you just to take you to eat and drink."
"..."
When Du Wulang saw the Tian brothers walking away, he also stood up. Looking at the mess all over the table, he wanted to ask Jiao Nu whether the girl would pay the bills today, but he didn't dare to say anything and walked out cautiously.
After leaving Wang's store, he patted his round belly and felt much relieved.
According to what Er Niang said, if today's affairs are settled, Du's house will be safe and sound from now on. All he has to do is study hard with Xue Bai and become an official in the imperial examination.
Grandpa has resigned from office, and the responsibility of the Du family will be on his shoulders from now on.
After leading the horse for more than 20 steps, Du Wulang was happy when he suddenly felt someone staring at him. When he looked up, he couldn't help but froze, and his face instantly turned pale.
"Jijiji...Ji Dalang?"
~~
Today, Jixiang was forced by Wang Zhun to drink so much wine that he vomited to the point of vomiting out his heart and liver. She was being supported by two Silla maids to blow the wind on the long street, and they were also trying to hide from the evil young man Wang Zhun.
As a result, he turned around and saw someone who looked quite familiar.
"Du...what's going on with Du? Du is in pain!"
Jixiang suddenly remembered who this was in front of him, and couldn't help being surprised, and said: "Are you here to ask for someone from me?"
"You want someone?" Du Wulang was stunned, "Who do you want? You still have to wait for your life?!"
"Fuck him, beat him!"
Du Wulang was about to go find Xue Bai. When he turned around, he saw a vicious man leaping from the carriage next to him and knocking him to the ground with a punch.
Jixiang stepped forward and kicked him.
"Damn, your news is so damn fast, you came to me asking for someone on the back foot."
~~
Jingzhao Mansion.
As soon as Ji Wen entered the familiar torture chamber, he felt that he was in control of everything.
Wu Kangcheng's screams were heard in his ears, but he was not in a hurry to ask questions, but looked at the map Xue Bai gave him and pondered it.
"Huh."
He suddenly frowned, remembered something, and ordered a minor official to go to Jingzhao Prefecture to bring some documents. After checking carefully, he found that some officials close to the East Palace had actually set up villas in Daozheng and Changlefang. , but Xue Bai didn't mark it.
For example, Wang Zhongsi's military envoy Li Guangbi and Heyuan army envoy Wang Ruolan.
Ji Wen added these clues with his pen, and then looked at the sixteen households marked by Xue Bai, and selected four official residences that were likely to be close to the East Palace.
He nodded with satisfaction and was about to put down his pen when he glanced out of the corner of his eye and suddenly thought.
"Yang Shenjin?"
It's not that he doubted Yang Shenjin, but Ji Wen had vaguely heard Wang Xian and the right prime minister complaining about Yang Shenjin's arrogant attitude.
It can be seen that neither the king nor the emperor likes Yang Shenjin, and the right prime minister also hates this kind of person who claims to be knowledgeable, elegant and noble. In the past, the Yushitai needed someone of his own to promote Yang Shenjin, but now Wang Zhi has also served as the imperial censor and can take over the imperial court. It seems that he has already decided to deal with Yang Shenjin.
Ji Wen then wrote Yang Shenjin's name and circled it.
At this moment, he thought of Xue Bai again, and felt that Xue Bai, Yang Shenjin, and Wei Jian all gave people the same feeling. How should I put it...even if they were attached to the right minister, they still looked upright and would not nod or bend.
This kind of person will have to be killed sooner or later.
After turning these thoughts in his mind, Ji Wen already had an idea, which was to check whoever the Prime Minister disliked the most first.
He stood up and walked towards Wu Kangcheng.
"Come on, where are the dead men in the East Palace hiding?"
Wu Kangcheng had been tortured to pieces, but he shook his head.
"I...I am the Jinwu Guard's street patrol...an official of the imperial court. You can't just take me..."
"I can't take you?" Ji Wen seemed to be amused by him. He poked the wounds on his body with red-hot iron pliers and said, "You have an old relationship with Huangfu Weiming, and you drank with Liu Ji. These two major cases are It’s not settled yet, I want to take whoever I want, remember?”
Wu Kangcheng just screamed.
At this moment, a prison guard came over and said, "Fa Cao, the Right Prime Minister has sent someone here."
Ji Wen frowned this time and said, "Let him wait."
"Jifacao is so majestic."
Someone outside has already said this.
Ji Wen turned around and saw that it was Jiao Nu who had held up his right token and brought Xue Bai in.
"This is Jingzhao Mansion."
In Jingzhao Mansion, Ji Wen was not as timid as he was in Youxiang Mansion. He put his hands behind his back, raised his head, looked at Xue Bai proudly, and said: "You are a white man, how can you come straight to the execution room of Jingzhao Mansion?"
"I'm sorry for you." Jiaonu snorted coldly.
Ji Wen smiled and cursed you as a cheap servant in his heart.
He used to be afraid of Jiaonu, because he was afraid that the servant would say bad things about him when he was around the right minister. But with these things happening recently, he knew that she would definitely say bad things about him, so he was not so afraid anymore.
Moreover, this maid has been following Xue Bai recently, so the right minister may not believe what she says.
"I found the location of the dead men in the East Palace and want to confirm it." Xue Bai said: "Can Jifa Cao allow me to talk to Wu Kangcheng?"
Ji Wen sneered.
This time, even Tian Shengong poked his head into the execution room and said: "Jifacao, the right minister has to explain, and he must do his best."
Ji Wen nodded, turned sideways, and said calmly: "Ask."
Xue Bai said: "Can I ask alone?"
"Huh? What other shady things can you do?"
"This is my interrogation technique. It is different from Jifa Cao. Please cooperate."
Ji Wen looked at the beams, pretending to be proud, but in reality he rolled his eyes. Finally, he waved his hand and ordered: "Take the prisoner to the back room and let him question him alone."
"Here."
After making these arrangements, Ji Wen walked through the corridor with a smile on his face, walked around the row of houses, and entered a dark room.
He made a few movements silently, ordered the door to be closed, sat down on a bench, and put his ear against the wall.
After waiting for a while, I heard the movement next door, and even Wu Kangcheng's breathing was clear.
Because there are four large urns under the darkroom, and the walls are also made of special blue bricks, it has a miraculous effect of amplifying sound.
"I already know where the Longyou veteran is hiding."
Xue Bai's voice was very low when he spoke, but Ji Wen could hear it clearly.
Wu Kangcheng didn't answer and breathed heavier.
"It's useless for you and me to pretend to be useless." Xue Bai spoke slowly and said: "I can just ask the right minister to send someone to capture them. But for the sake of you and me drinking, I want to save you, and I am willing to share You deserve some credit.”
Wu Kangcheng still didn't answer.
Xue Bai said: "Okay...it's in Yang Shenjin's villa in Changlefang, right?"
Ji Wen's expression changed, and he was greatly surprised, but then he secretly said that he had indeed guessed it right!
"How do you know?!" Wu Kangcheng also said in a surprised tone.
"You think we can never guess it? But fortunately there is no one at this time. I am still willing to share the credit with you. When I go out later, I will say that you took the initiative to recruit me." Xue Bai said: "Now I want to confirm something with you. detail."
Wu Kangcheng did not answer.
"how many people?"
After a while, Xue Bai said again: "It's useless if you don't speak. Jin Wuwei has already kept an eye on that house."
"We have people in Jinwu Guard." Wu Kangcheng finally spoke and whispered, "The veterans will leave tonight and destroy their armor and weapons. You can't find them."
"When will the action be taken?"
"Zi Shi."
"anything else?"
"The Jinwu Guard Right Patrol Envoy, Changle Fangfangzheng, and Dongshi Department all have our people, and they will try to lure Guo Qianli's people away."
"..."
"I have to tell the right minister."
When Ji Wen heard Xue Bai's words, he stood up quickly.
He quickly left the dark room, looked for the yamen servant, and ordered: "Try to stop Xue Bai. They must not be allowed to leave."
"Here."
"Prepare the chariot, no, prepare the horse. I want to see the right minister immediately."
Jiwen hurriedly ran through the corridor of Jingzhao Mansion.
~~
Daozhengfang.
Tuoba Mao walked up to the attic and asked, "Mr. Pei, what do you say?"
The middle-aged man in a green robe was looking at the sunset and said: "We have made arrangements to evacuate tonight."
He said this twice today.
But only he knew in his heart that the two times had different meanings.
The first time he said that he wanted to evacuate, he was prepared to have all these Longyou veterans captured and confess Huangfu Weiming's plan to investigate the rent case, shocking the world's hearts with the wrath of the saint and the blood of the veterans. Although it can't change anything, it can make more people place their hope in the prince.
But when it came to evacuating, it was the little Taoist priest who intervened and reached a condition with the other party to preserve his strength.
If nothing else happens, there probably won't be any deaths tonight.
~~
Xue Bai was also watching the sunset.
He was trapped in Jingzhao Mansion, his face was anxious, but his heart was extremely calm.
In the way of power struggle, doing more may not necessarily result in getting more.
If you try your best to help the East Palace, you will be buried alive; but if you try your best to help the Right Prime Minister, your fate will be good? Just listen to the promises made by the superiors. If you don’t know how to keep it safe the first time, and you can’t learn it the second time, then you are really hopeless.
Sometimes doing it just right can yield the most results.
It's not the time for him to worry about who wins or loses between the Right Prime Minister and the East Palace. He only needs to be able to stand firm.
After tonight, I will be able to settle down in the Tang Dynasty.
If nothing happens, no one will die.
"Boom!"
The evening drum sounds.
Under the setting sun, Xin Twelve rode his horse to the front of Jingzhao Mansion. The horse didn't even bother to tie it up and hurried up the steps.
"Is Alang here?! I have something important to do!"
After shouting in a hurry, he turned around and looked at Xue Bai.
Xin Twelve was stunned and stopped warily.
"You! What are you doing here?!"
Xue Bai's face darkened when he saw Xin Twelve's wary gaze.
