In the cold Biejiaguan mansion, the black coffin containing the body of the queen was parked in the center of the lobby.
There were no incense candles or any worship services.
On the couch in the inner room, Ming Chongyan and Sima Chengzhen looked at the chessboard in front of them with serious faces, as if there were countless mysteries on the chessboard. No one could bear to raise their eyes. Occasionally, the chess pieces fell, and vaguely, swords and guns could even be heard. The sound of swords and lightning and flint.
Li Xuan came in from the outside with a few plates of vegetarian dishes and a wine bottle in her hands carefully.
After glancing at the chessboard, he immediately withdrew his gaze, his face was calm, his eyes were clear, and he looked unaffected.
"Two masters!" Li Xuan put the vegetable dishes and the wine bottle on the table in the inner room, then walked up to the two of them, cupped his hands and said, "I heard that the two masters rested here all night long. I don't know if it was a bedroom. The placement is not appropriate?"
"It's okay, the state government bedroom is well arranged, but neither of us can leave here for a moment." Sima Chengzhen raised his head and glanced at Li Xuan, his eyes full of deep meaning.
The period of seven days when the queen's soul is out of the body is approaching. She will either return in these two days and try to be resurrected, or she will not appear at all in these two days and die completely, so these two days are particularly important.
Sima Chengzhen didn't want to talk more about this matter, so he asked instead: "When will the king return to Chang'an? Can I take a boat?"
Li Xuan stood up straight, cupped his hands and said, "The little king is waiting for His Majesty's order. Without His Majesty's order, the Little Wang does not dare to move lightly."
Ming Chongyan dropped his sunglasses, and then looked up at Li Xuan: "Even if we rush the eight hundred miles, it will take several days to get from Muzhou to Shendu, not to mention that the central reply will be even slower. At least the back and forth is Ten days...but having said that, it will be just in time for the king to return to Chang'an to get married."
There seemed to be something else in Ming Chongyan's words.
Li Xuan looked like she didn't understand at all. She raised her hands in the direction of Shendu and said, "Little Wang, everything is at the discretion of Your Majesty and the Queen."
Having said this, Li Xuan once again raised his hands to Ming Chongyan and Sima Chengzhen and said, "Two real men, Xiao Wang will go to each county tomorrow to inspect autumn planting and county school affairs. It will take three to five days before he can return. Today I am here to tell you two real people."
"Three to five days?" Ming Chongyan frowned, looked at Li Xuan and said in confusion: "The King of Nanchang seems to have stopped caring about the Queen's affairs since he returned to Wuzhou. I don't know why?"
Ming Chongyan's gaze was as sharp as a sword for an instant.
Li Xuan smiled faintly, and then said apologetically: "Xiao Wang did something inappropriate at the beginning, and I would like to apologize to the two real people."
"Oh?" Ming Chongyan raised his eyebrows slightly, with a look of confusion on his face.
Sima Chengzhen raised his head, looked at Li Xuan thoughtfully, and asked: "The prince is surrounded by experts... I wonder if the prince can tell me what I did wrong?"
"It was Xiao Wang who had random thoughts at the time. He had a fate at that time, so he had to act randomly. Please forgive me, two real people." Li Xuan just said lightly and did not go into depth on that matter.
"So now, there is no decree coming from the center, how can the prince be sure that he is wrong?" Ming Chongyan still insisted.
"If there is no will, it is the will." Li Xuan cupped her hands in front of Ming Chongyan, then bowed, turned around and walked away.
Looking at Li Xuan's leaving figure, Ming Chongyan frowned and said, "It seems that the King of Nanchang is sure of something?"
"Although Wang Fanglin, the governor of Wuzhou, is his cousin, he is sophisticated in his political skills and has his own opinions on central matters. Maybe he has seen something and can give guidance to the king of Nanchang." Sima Chengzhen waved his hand. , the chessboard in front of him was immediately thrown into chaos.
Ming Chongyan rolled his eyes at Sima Chengzhen angrily, and then his face immediately became solemn. He thought for a moment and whispered: "If you say so, he was not the only one who was wrong at the beginning. We are also wrong in our judgment." Well, I didn’t realize it until now.”
Sima Chengzhen waved the whisk in his hand and said calmly: "We are just guarding our only hope."
Ming Chongyan raised his eyebrows and said with a frown: "Could it be said that she really gave up all this and did this?
A lonely ghost, waiting to die in peace? "
"Since she is no longer an immortal, she naturally no longer wants to live." Sima Chengzhen picked up a sunspot, looked at Ming Chongyan, and said softly: "You said just now that I made a wrong judgment before. , why can’t we be firm on this?”
Ming Chongyan sighed: "It's not that I don't want to believe it, it's just that this decision is too shocking. If it is true, it means that the queen not only gave up herself, but even gave up everything she once owned. What is she trying to do? What?"
"You are not as thorough as the King of Nanchang." Sima Chengzhen swept the chessboard slightly, and the black and white stones fell into the chess box. Then he continued: "Remember when the King of Nanchang changed his attitude? ?"
"When Muzhou met the new governor of Muzhou in the city." Ming Chongyan remembered clearly that after meeting Qin Ming, Li Xuan almost seemed to be a different person, and he paid great attention to the affairs of the queen. decline.
"No, that's just the result." Sima Chengzhen shook his head lightly and said, "Do you still remember what the King of Nanchang once asked when he was on the Xin'an River, who was the person who took away the crown prince's seal?"
"King of East China Sea." Ming Chongyan gave a decisive answer.
Sima Chengzhen nodded lightly and said: "The identity of the King of the Western Regions has now been determined. You are probably using methods to deal with him now. What about the King of the East China Sea? What is his identity? You have been investigating for so many years. I am afraid that he is Now we are the closest, but as soon as the empress died, all the clues were lost."
"So, you are saying that the King of Nanchang was also aware of this, so he decisively gave up control of the queen?" Ming Chongyan had just finished speaking his question, and he immediately gave an affirmative answer.
"Smart man!" Sima Chengzhen sighed, looked at Ming Chongyan and said, "If you want to explain Qiu Shenji's matter to the Queen of Heaven, you should ask the King of Nanchang for advice."
After Sima Chengzhen finished speaking, he closed his eyes slightly.
Ming Chongyan lowered his head slightly, a trace of indifference flashed in his eyes.
Qiu Shenji has his own way of dealing with matters, so there is no need to ask others for advice.
Qiu Shenji's death must be a mystery.
The breeze blew gently, and Li Xuan stood on the bow of the ship, wearing a black and gold brocade robe.
Ahead is Dongyang County. After so long, Li Xuan finally returned to Dongyang again.
"I have met the king." Dongyang County Prime Minister Gu Tan stood on the pier, looked at Li Xuan coming off the boat, and immediately held his hands in a deep voice.
A group of familiar Dongyang County officials behind him also handed over their hands and said in unison: "I have met the king."
"Everyone, please stand up." Li Xuan looked at everyone and raised his hands with a gentle voice, and everyone stood up straight.
Li Xuan, Yu Ze and Wang Bo got on the carriage with everyone, and then headed to the county government together.
In the lobby of the county government office, Li Xuan sat behind the public case.
Gu Tan reported to Li Xuan one after another about Dongyang's summer harvest and autumn planting, the construction of county schools, and the improvement of river channels during this period of time.
Li Xuan nodded slightly and said, "I am here this time for the matter of the Eternal Emblem Monument."
"Eternal Emblem Monument!" Gu Tan's expression immediately became tense.
The rumors about the Yonghui Monument came from Li Xuan's letter to various counties mentioning what he had done in Muzhou to build the Yonghui Monument.
Seasoned officials from all over the country could see the danger in such things at a glance.
"Put a big Yonghui stele outside the south gate of Dongyang County, and other villages can put up small ones." Li Xuan's eyes fell on Gu Tan, and there was a sudden hesitation on Gu Tan's face.
Li Xuan played with the command arrow on the table casually, and said seemingly casually: "You should know that the position of Jinhua County Magistrate is about to be vacant?"
"Yes, I have heard some rumors." Gu Tan lowered his head slightly, and his expression suddenly tightened when he couldn't see it.
Li Xuan nodded, and then said: "I heard some rumors a few days ago that County Magistrate Huang of your county is seeking the position of County Magistrate of Jinhua?"
Gu Tan immediately raised his head and looked at Li Xuan with some surprise on his face: "The body of the county magistrate is completely gone."
All recovered? "
After all, Gu Tan is not just the Prime Minister of Dongyang County. It’s just that a few months ago, County Magistrate Huang Jin was seriously injured, which gave him the opportunity to take charge of Dongyang County. Moreover, Gu Tan had also made many meritorious deeds following Li Xuan. , Under normal circumstances, promotion to county magistrate is not a problem.
Now Huang Jin actively seeks the position of Jinhua County Magistrate, which just makes room for Gu Tan.
"It should be so, but given the current situation, it is unrealistic for County Magistrate Huang to seek the position of Jinhua County Magistrate." At this point, Li Xuan said calmly: "Jinhua County is a Shang County, and the County Magistrate is the seventh grade. One step forward can lead you to become a state official. However, although Dongyang County is a Zhongxian County, in the recent turmoil, Huang County Magistrate has really not contributed much. He is already favored by the court, so how can he expect to be promoted to a higher level? step."
Li Xuan's words made everyone stunned for a while. County Lieutenant Kang Yao couldn't help but asked: "Didn't you say that County Magistrate Huang and Du Canjun were married?"
"Du Canjun made great contributions in suppressing the rebellion, but it was Du Canjun who made the contribution, so what's the dispute with Magistrate Huang?" Li Xuan turned to look at Gu Tan, and said softly: "If it was Magistrate Huang, pursuing If the magistrate of Jinhua cannot do it, then he will come back and take charge of Dongyang affairs again."
As Li Xuan's eyes fell on Gu Tan,
Everyone at the scene immediately understood the subtext of Li Xuan's words.
Once Huang Jin comes back, the power of Dongyang will inevitably fall into Huang Jin's hands again.
With Huang Jin standing in front of him, if Gu Tan wants to seek the post of Dongyang County Magistrate, the first hurdle he needs to overcome is Huang Jin.
After going around in such a big circle, everyone immediately understood the meaning of Li Xuan's words.
In an instant, everyone's mood suddenly sank.
During Huang Jin's absence, Gu Tan took over his duties and almost became the de facto county magistrate of Dongyang.
Now, although Gu Tan had made considerable contributions in the previous counter-rebellions, if Huang Jin really came back, if he didn't want to be stuck on the road of being a county magistrate, he would have to find a way to serve as a county magistrate somewhere else.
Although with his merits and the strength of the Gu family, he can definitely achieve this, it also means that all his hard work in Dongyang has been in vain.
Looking up at Li Xuan, Gu Tan said decisively: "I am willing to follow the prince's order and erect a monument of eternal emblem."
Li Xuan immediately breathed a sigh of relief and then smiled.
The Yonghui Monument in Wuzhou City has already been erected, and construction has begun in Jinhua County and Lanxi County. Now that Dongyang is added to the list, Li Xuan can easily win another city.
Li Xuan raised his head, looked at the crowd, and said: "Now that Muzhou is in peace, five county magistrates in Wuzhou are vacant. Magistrate Huang is considerate and caring for the people, so Muzhou is not an ideal place."
In just a few words, Li Xuan had already kicked Huang Jin to Muzhou.
Seeing the horror on everyone's faces, Li Xuan said calmly: "Although I don't mind what I said today being known by County Magistrate Huang, in order to avoid turmoil, I still hope that you can keep it a little secret."
After Li Xuan finished speaking, Gu Tan immediately looked at everyone fiercely. No one knew the foundation of everyone present better than him.
