As soon as Yu Yi finished speaking, two servant-looking people hurried to the backyard carrying lanterns.
While walking, an older man asked in a low voice, "Qian Fu, are you sure you saw the carrier pigeon?"
The young man holding the lantern shook his head and said, "It was too dark and I couldn't see clearly. I only saw a black shadow. It might be a homing pigeon or a bat."
The two of them said nothing and walked quickly towards the corner where the pigeonhouse was placed.
There were three pigeon lofts hanging in the corner. The two of them carried lanterns and looked at each one one by one. When they saw the last pigeon loft, the older man caught the homing pigeon that had just returned to the nest.
The moment he caught the homing pigeon, the man's expression changed drastically, "It's really a homing pigeon."
The younger servant didn't notice the man's ugly face, and looked at the carrier pigeon by the light of the lantern, "It took so long to fly back, and it didn't even get thin from hunger."
The older man did not answer, but eagerly inspected the carrier pigeon in his hand. When he saw a few copper coins tied to the pigeon's legs, his face became more and more ugly. He raised his head nervously and looked around.
"Steward Zhang, what are you looking at?" the young man asked in confusion.
The steward surnamed Zhang must be in his fifties or sixties. Most older people act calmly. As a steward, this person should not be impatient or impatient. However, this person was extremely nervous and did not answer the young man's words. He took the carrier pigeon and ran away.
The young man didn't know what was going on. He was stunned for a moment and followed him with a lantern.
After the two left, Yu Yi turned to look at Changsheng, only to see that Changsheng's face was livid and his nose was trembling.
Seeing the two people below running out of the backyard, Changsheng immediately used his body skills to fly over the walls and follow them.
Changsheng's expression was frighteningly ugly at this time. Through the actions of Butler Zhang, it was not difficult to find that this carrier pigeon was indeed sent by them. This carrier pigeon was obtained by him from the thieves of Jinding Villa who killed Shifang Nunnery, and the Jinding Villa used The gunpowder used by the Yuzhou thieves also came from the Manufacturing Office of the Ministry of War, which shows that whether it was an attempt to assassinate Yu Yi or himself, it was Qian Zhonglin's idea.
Butler Zhang walked across the hall and ran to the front hall. At this time, the host's family was eating in the front hall. Men, women, old and young were sitting around the huge table. Due to the strict family rules, there were more than 20 people from three generations of grandparents, and they didn't make a sound while eating.
Butler Zhang stood at the door and called in a low voice, "Master."
Hearing Butler Zhang's words, everyone looked up and looked outside the door. The old man sitting in the main seat saw Butler Zhang standing outside the door with a carrier pigeon in his hand, so he hurriedly put down his bowls and chopsticks and walked out.
Both Changsheng and Yu Yi recognized this old man. He was Qian Zhonglin, the provincial servant under his sect.
After Qian Zhonglin walked out of the room, he walked a few steps westward, avoiding the sight of everyone in the room with Butler Zhang.
"Master, the carrier pigeon has returned." Butler Zhang whispered.
"Is it ours?" Although Qian Zhonglin seemed calm and calm, there was a slight tremor in his words.
"Yes, there were six copper coins tied to the pigeon's leg." Butler Zhang showed the copper coins on the pigeon's leg to Qian Zhonglin.
After looking at the copper coins on the pigeon's legs, Qian Zhonglin sighed, "The pigeon was released from Chang'an. The person who released it was worried that the pigeon would fly too fast and would not be able to follow its owner, so it gained weight and slowed down."
After Qian Zhonglin finished speaking, he looked up and around like Butler Zhang did before.
Changsheng and Yu Yi were both qi practitioners. Although their hiding place was six or seven feet away from Qian Zhonglin, they could clearly see what the other party did and hear what the other party said.
"They are coming." Qian Zhonglin muttered to himself.
"Master, you go inside first, and I'll call the nurse to come." Butler Zhang turned around to leave.
"Stop," Qian Zhonglin shouted in a deep voice. When Butler Zhang stopped and turned around, he whispered, "Don't disturb others. Go back to your residence and close the door. If you can survive tonight, you should leave Chang'an immediately and never see anyone again." Don’t come back.”
Hearing Qian Zhonglin's words, Butler Zhang nodded in frustration, turned around blankly, and left numbly.
After Butler Zhang left, Qian Zhonglin turned around and walked to the back hall. The servant who had gone to the backyard with Butler Zhang hurriedly ran over with a lantern to illuminate it, but was scolded by Qian Zhonglin.
The family members who were eating together noticed something was wrong and walked out one after another. However, Qian Zhonglin did not give them a chance to speak. He just ordered them to continue eating and go to bed immediately after eating. No one was allowed to leave the house tonight. Go to the back hall.
The Qian family's rules were very strict. Although the family members were confused and worried, they did not dare to disobey Qian Zhonglin's orders. They just watched Qian Zhonglin walk through the porch and walk to the back hall alone.
Changsheng and Yu Yi had been lurking in the dark. When Qian Zhonglin went to the back hall, they followed him immediately.
Qian Zhonglin went to the back hall, pushed open the door and entered without closing the door or lighting the lamp. He walked to the table, fumbled for a wooden chair and sat on it.
"Sir, he knew we were coming." Yu Yi said in a low voice.
Changsheng did not answer. Qian Zhonglin's actions showed that he had understood that the matter had been exposed, was prepared to die, and did not want to implicate other people.
Seeing that Chang Sheng remained silent, Yu Yi spoke in a low voice again, "Sir, do you want to talk to him?"
Changsheng raised his energy and lightened his body, floating down from a high place to the ground, followed closely by Yu Yi.
As soon as Yu hit the ground, Changsheng turned around and said to him, "Guard the front yard. If you find someone leaving, don't come over and ask me. Take action immediately. No chickens or dogs will be left behind."
Changsheng did not deliberately lower his voice when he spoke. Qian Zhonglin in the room naturally heard it, but he did not answer the words. It was not until Yu Yi left and Changsheng slowly walked in that Qian Zhonglin spoke in a deep voice, "You are a law official, so you should know that your crime is not as serious as your wife and children."
"You are the first assistant of the first rank, so you should be open-minded and act brightly." Changsheng closed the door with his backhand.
The two of them were ministers in the same palace. Although Chang Sheng rarely went to court, Qian Zhonglin could hear his voice. Even though he couldn't see his face in the darkness, he knew it was him who came. "This matter is my fault." Because, it has nothing to do with others.”
Changsheng pulled up a chair and sat across from Qian Zhonglin, "Now you are the fish and I am the swordsman. It doesn't matter whether it involves your family or not. Don't try to commit suicide. If I can't know the truth, everyone in the Qian family will be worried." There will be no one left alive.”
Qian Zhonglin remained silent.
Changsheng was furious and got straight to the point, "Why do you want to harm us?"
Qian Zhonglin lowered his eyebrows and closed his eyes, but did not answer.
"In your opinion, I am a very patient person?" Changsheng asked coldly. He was not softened by Qian Zhonglin's previous actions, because the bloody scene in Shifang'an was still vivid in his mind.
Whether harsh words can shock the other party does not depend on how harsh the words are, but on what the speaker has done. Qian Zhonglin did not dare to challenge Chang Sheng's patience, so he had to say, "Everything is my own." My idea has nothing to do with the Emperor, and the Emperor is not aware of what I have done."
"You are the minister's minister, the chief assistant of the dynasty, and the most trusted person by the emperor," Changsheng said. "You said that the emperor has no knowledge of this matter. I half believe it."
"I never lied to you." Qian Zhonglin said.
Changsheng said in a deep voice, "Maybe you have already thought of the consequences, but I tell you clearly that the matter is more serious than you think. If you cannot win my trust, you will definitely bring trouble to the emperor, because I will suspect that you are acting under orders."
"How can I win your trust? You ask and I answer?" Qian Zhonglin asked.
"Okay," Changsheng nodded, "Let me ask you first, why do you want to harm us?"
"Because you are young and frivolous, arrogant about taking credit, have no laws, and are extremely bold." Qian Zhonglin said seriously.
Without waiting for Chang Sheng to answer, Qian Zhonglin said again, "You have rectified the administration of officials and killed innocent people indiscriminately. This has caused everyone, big and small, to be in danger and panic all day long. In order to amass wealth and claim credit, you did not hesitate to fabricate accusations and ransack homes, which made the world angry and people resentful. Everything is lost. Now the Tang Dynasty is plagued by chronic diseases and cannot withstand your torture. If you are allowed to continue to act recklessly, it will definitely disrupt the country and shake the foundation of the country."
"Is this the reason why you assassinated us?" Changsheng asked.
"Yes, you flatter the superiors and bully the subordinates, disrupt the government, cultivate party members, and form cliques for personal gain. If you don't kill him, it won't make the people angry, and if you don't kill, it won't eliminate the hidden dangers." Qian Zhonglin said righteously.
Changsheng knew that he had a bad reputation, but he didn't expect that he would be so unworthy in the eyes of the provincial minister, who is the head of the hundred officials. He suppressed the anger in his heart and asked coldly, "In your opinion, I am a traitor?"
"Yes, you are a treacherous official," Qian Zhonglin said with a risk-taking attitude. "What you did seemed to be correcting mistakes, but in fact it was all about flattery and seeking credit. If the emperor favors martial arts, you will do what he likes, use military officers in high positions, and exclude others. Civil servant. You are in charge of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and you have deducted food funds for disaster relief in every possible way, but the palace expenses are abundant. The emperor's draft is obviously out of date. Instead of writing a letter to advise, you instead allocate funds and donate horses from the Western Regions to please the emperor and make him happy. Indulging in the sensuality of dogs and horses, blinding your mind, weakening your will, depleting your body, and confusing your spirit, what kind of peace of mind do you have? What are you doing wrong?"
Changsheng tried to speak, but he never thought that Qian Zhonglin would not give him a chance to speak, "As a minister, you have no dignity and have lost all etiquette. You do not kneel before the king, beat the prince, behead first and then report, and despise the law..."
"Shut up," Changqi said urgently, "I just want to ask you, do you think I have a disobedient heart?"
"Although you have a disloyal heart, you don't have the strategy to govern the country or the talent to rejuvenate the country," Qian Zhonglin shouted angrily, "You are just a reckless man who likes to fight bravely and has no ideas. What you do is just for the sake of peace." Flattery to please, grandstanding to flatter others.”
"In your opinion, what is the best way to govern and prosper a country?" Changsheng asked angrily.
"Those who win the hearts of the people with virtue win the hearts of the people, and those who win the hearts of the people win the world," Qian Zhonglin shook his head and stroked his beard, "To govern a country and secure it, one should influence with virtue, and..."
Before Qian Zhonglin could finish his words, Changsheng interrupted angrily, "As the saying goes, great laws are needed to govern troubled times. Now that the Tang Dynasty is in turmoil and almost terminally ill, the idea of convincing people with virtue simply won't work."
"Your approach is even more unworkable. The sage said that the one who rules the country with virtue is a king, and the one who rules the country with force is a hegemon. You can be a king, but not a hegemon." Qian Zhonglin breathed quickly, "You are just a treacherous minister who flatters you. How can you understand virtue?" enlightenment."
By this time, Changsheng had determined that the emperor was not aware of what Qian Zhonglin had done, but that he had teamed up with some other officials who were dissatisfied with him to do it privately. Seeing that the other party was obsessed with what he said, his saliva flew everywhere, and Changsheng cursed angrily, "Shut up, you're a stupid ass."
"You are a mad dog." Qian Zhonglin yelled back.
"I'll beat you to death, you old fool..."
