When Zhao Shanqian heard the prince calling him to stop, he quickly retracted his foot, turned around and bowed his head, "What else does your highness have to say?"
"Immediately send people to surround the Xia Mansion. No one is allowed to come in or out." Liu Yan strongly ordered, "Before I enter the palace and finish things, he is not allowed to send anyone to come to me. Do you remember?"
Zhao Shanqian seemed to understand, but he didn't dare to ask any more questions, so he bowed and said, "I'll do it now, official!"
After Liu Yan watched Zhao Shanqian leave, he paced back and forth in the study alone, weighing and thinking. He couldn't come up with a conclusion for a long time. He suddenly remembered Xun Mou, whom he hadn't seen for a long time. At this time, he went to visit him and ask him for advice. , there should be a way, so he called the housekeeper to prepare the frame. After a while, Liu Yan had already put on his cloak. When he followed the housekeeper out of the hospital, he found that the outside of the house had become even colder. When he looked up, he saw layers of dark clouds on the horizon that made people feel as if they were breathless, and the dark sky was dead silent. Liu Yan suddenly stopped and muttered: "It looks like there's going to be another heavy snowfall."
When Liu Yan's carriage arrived at Duke Wei's residence, it was already the time to apply for the license. When he got off the carriage, a dry cold soaked into his bones. Liu Yan shivered suddenly, thinking that the heavy snow would probably fall in half an hour. It must be You have to go early and come back early, otherwise it will not be a good thing to stay in Duke Wei's mansion for too long! After the housekeeper came forward to report, several servants from the Duke's Mansion rushed over to greet him. Liu Yan didn't even look at them. He walked up the stone steps and arrived at the door of the house in a few steps. Xun Yu and his son had already hurried to the door of the house to greet them.
Xun Yu led Xun Mou and bowed his hands and said: "Your Highness is allowed to come to the door in person on a cold day. The humble house is really full of glory! If anything happens, just ask Your Highness. How can I let such a noble body like you make such a trip?" Woolen cloth?"
"It's okay!" Liu Yan raised his hand and said, "I may not have been to the Duke's mansion for a long time, so I'm here to see you today."
Xun Mou smiled and said: "It's cold! Let's go inside and talk!"
In the central hall of Duke Wei's Mansion, the fragrance of tea overflowed, and it was as warm as spring. The incense burner in the center of the hall was filled with smoke. The bursts of warmth made people drowsy, and the coldness just now had completely disappeared. Liu Yan sat on the main seat in the middle hall, slowly raised the tea cup next to the table, sipped the tea elegantly, as if he had endless aftertaste, and then praised highly: "Master Xun! The tea in your house is better. ah!"
Xun Yu sat at the bottom, bowed slightly, and said with a smile: "If your highness likes it, I will send some to your house during the New Year's Day to express my respect."
"You don't have to be polite, Your Majesty." Liu Yan said sternly, "I am here today to visit the Duke and General Xun, and secondly, I want to ask you for advice on something."
Xun Mou chuckled, "Your Highness must be doing it for Xia Shangshu's affairs!"
Liu Yan didn't dare to be surprised. He bowed his hand to Xun Mou and said, "Exactly!" Then he told Xun Yu and his son the whole story, and then asked, "What do you two think? How can we save Xia Jingying?"
After thinking for a moment, Xun Yu said: "This matter should not be difficult. With your prestige in the court, it should not be difficult to take over this case to the emperor, and then work around it to exonerate Xia Shangshu!"
Liu Yan nodded thoughtfully, and when he looked up at Xun Mou, he was drinking tea with a nonchalant look on his face, with a happy demeanor and a complete sense of not being involved. Liu Yan was displeased, sneered and said, "General Xun, do you have any comments?"
Xun Mou calmly put down the teacup in his hand and chuckled, "Since Your Highness has made up his mind to save Xia Jingying, I don't have any advice to give!"
Liu Yan was startled, "What does General Xun mean? Isn't it possible to just sit back and watch?"
"I'm the one who keeps an eye on you, so I don't dare to speak nonsense!" Xun Mou bowed slightly.
"You and I, the people we care about most, can't be so polite, but it doesn't matter."
Xun Mou cupped his fists and said seriously: "Then I will only ask you a few questions. Your Highness will make your own decision."
Liu Yan's face was as dark as water and he nodded seriously.
"Do you think the emperor will trust Xia Jingying again even if you save him?"
Liu Yan lowered his head thoughtfully, with a cold light flashing in his eyes. He raised his head and looked at Xun Mou, gesturing for him to continue speaking.
"Furthermore, if the Holy One knows the clues, what will his opinion be of you?"
Liu Yan frowned, stared at Xun Mou, and asked with a half-smile: "What does General Xun mean?"
"Haha... I see, don't lose the big for the small!" Xun Mou showed a sly smile, "If your highness really wants to ascend the throne, you can't achieve great things without thunderous means."
"You mean..." Liu Yan's eyes seemed to emit a faint cold light, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Kill him?"
Xun Mou saw that Liu Yan already had this intention, so he said: "That's right! And I will take the case over and let you try it!"
Liu Yan's eyes lit up. Although he would lose one of his generals, he would be able to gain the emperor's trust. After thinking about it, instead of risking his trust to save Xia Jingying, it would be better to kill Ma Su with tears and make good use of this case to win over the emperor. He showed his selfless side in front of others, and in this way, Fan Hesui would also have an explanation, and being able to win him over would definitely be beneficial to the great cause in the future. Thinking of this, Liu Yan's eyes shot out bursts of cold light with murderous intent, then he nodded coldly and murmured: "A Xia Jingying is worth..."
When Xun Yu heard his son's remarks, he was quite disapproving, "If you act like this, I'm afraid it will chill the people who follow your highness, right?"
Liu Yan glanced at Xun Yu, then lowered his head suddenly, and then said with a twinkle in his eye, "A small impatience will ruin a big plan. Xia Jing camp is full of provocations and evil, and the household affairs incident has caused complaints from all over the court, except for him , I seem to have a lot of people applauding him, and by protecting him, wouldn’t I be aiding the evil deeds?”
Xun Yu was startled. He really didn't expect Liu Yan to say these words. Originally, it was the prince's idea to investigate the treasury deficit. Now that many of the wings of Prince Ning's party have been cut off, the prince would actually come up with a trick to kill the dog. , thinking of this, Xun Yu couldn't help but feel a chill on his back.
"That's right!" Xun Mou smiled bitterly, "It's just that I don't understand it at all!"
Liu Yan said: "Where?"
"Why is there such a fight between Fan Enyu and Xia Tong?" Xun Mou asked strangely, "Xia Tong is the son of Xia Jingying, the Minister of Household Affairs. If we destroy them, what good will Fan Enyu do to him?"
Liu Yan didn't think much about it and said with a smile: "They have already had a feud with each other. Xia Tong was angry with him and tricked him online. How could Fan Enyu endure this bad temper and then plot against Xia Tong? This kind of thing has always happened. , not to mention that they still have evidence of Xia Tong’s crime!”
