Qi Ning left the palace, and Duan Canghai also waited outside the palace all afternoon, anxious. When he saw Qi Ning coming out safe and sound, he hurriedly greeted him and asked.
Qi Ning just said that Longtai kept him in the palace to have meals. Duan Canghai was surprised and said: "Master Marquis, did the emperor tell you why he stayed in the palace to have meals?"
"Is there any special reason for the Emperor to stay with me for dinner?" Qi Ning said with a smile: "Fortunately, we hit it off and we all feel very good."
Duan Canghai knew that the emperor's summons to ministers, especially the first summons, would often end quickly. He didn't see Qi Ning all afternoon, so he thought something had happened, and he was extremely anxious. At this time, he heard that Qin Ning had just eaten dinner. When he came out, he was also very surprised. After all, it was extremely rare for him to stay in the palace for dinner after being summoned for the first time.
However, it is certainly not a bad thing if the emperor can grant meals. Duan Canghai thought about it and felt a little relieved.
At this time, it was completely dark. Fortunately, at dusk, Duan Canghai felt that Qining would be unable to leave the palace very late, so he had already prepared a lantern and hung the lantern on the carriage before returning to the Hou Mansion. .
The car was rolling, and Qining was thinking in the center of the car. He didn't know how long it had passed, but suddenly he heard a shrill scream coming from outside. He was slightly startled, raised the curtains of the car, and looked out, only to see this When I was walking on a street, there happened to be a small alley on the side, and a figure rushed out of the alley.
Duan Canghai had already said sternly: "Protect the Marquis!"
Several followers had their swords out of their sheaths and were already guarding the carriage. They were on full alert. Qining only saw the man who rushed out of the alley looking like he was crazy, dancing and screaming, and seemed to be in extreme pain.
Then I saw several more people rushing out of the alley, all holding a wooden stick in their hands, wearing rags and ragged clothes, and their hair was very disheveled.
Duan Canghai already said in a deep voice: "Who are you?"
When someone from the other side saw the carriage, he came forward and cupped his hands and said: "You'll travel all over the world and guard the yin and yang in all directions!"
Duan Canghai's voice softened slightly and said: "It turns out he is a brother of the Beggar Clan."
"Everyone should follow the right path, please!" The man's tone was polite, and he raised his hand in a gesture of invitation.
At this time, the few remaining people surrounded the howling madman. Some people reached out to grab him. The madman was surrounded, running left and right, but couldn't get away for a while. Those few people seemed to be afraid of the madman. They just surrounded him, as if looking for an opportunity to catch him.
Duan Canghai cupped his hands towards the person who spoke, and without saying a word, he urged his horse to the window and whispered: "Master Marquis, it doesn't matter, he is from the Beggar Clan."
"Beggars' Gang?" Qi Ning felt a little familiar when he heard these two words, and asked: "Are these people from the Beggars' Gang? Who is that madman, and why should we arrest him?"
Duan Canghai said: "Master Hou, we don't have to interfere with the Beggar Clan's affairs. The Beggar Clan has never had any grudges with our Jinyi Hou Mansion, so there is no need to cause trouble."
At this moment, I saw a person suddenly find an opportunity and throw the madman to the ground from behind. The madman roared and threw the man away. It showed that he was very strong. Fortunately, several other people also followed him at this time. Taking the opportunity, he rushed forward and held the lunatic tightly. Someone said in a deep voice: "Tie him up first and then talk."
The Beggar Clan disciples tied up the madman with quick hands and feet. The madman let out strange screams from his throat, but he was held tightly by several people and could not break free.
The disciples of the Beggar Clan didn't want to look at Duan Canghai. A few people picked up the lunatic with all their hands and feet, then quickly entered the alley, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"Duan Canghai, no one cares about this?" Qining frowned. Although it was already very late, there were still some pedestrians on the street. The scene that happened just now did not last long. The pedestrians on the street were far away. Stay away, don't come close.
Duan Canghai explained: "Master Hou, this is the internal affairs of the Beggar Clan. Outsiders will not interfere. Even the Shenhou Mansion will not take care of it as long as the Beggar Clan does not cause too much trouble. This is the Beggar Clan's ghost money." The people at the helm of the Yangtze River have not caused trouble in the capital in recent years, and the Beggar Clan disciples and the government are relatively cooperative."
"Ghost Golden Sheep Branch?" Qining knew when he was in Huize City that there were a total of twenty-eight branches of the Beggar Clan, which were named after the twenty-eight constellations. The twenty-eight branches were spread all over the world. They can be said to have the largest number of people in the world today. gang.
Duan Canghai thought that Qi Ning did not understand the Beggar Clan, and the carriage continued to move forward. He followed on horseback to the window and explained: "The Beggar Clan has a total of twenty-eight branches, named after the twenty-eight constellations, and their disciples are all over the world. This ghost golden sheep is just one of their seven southern places in the south.”
"Nan Qisu?"
"The green dragon in the east, Xuanwu in the north, Suzaku in the south, and white tiger in the west." Duan Canghai is very familiar with the forces in the world. "The Suzaku Hall in the south has the Nan Qisu branch, and this ghost golden sheep is one of them. As far as I know, Nan Each of the Qisu branch rudders has a helmsman, and Nan Qisu is under the jurisdiction of the elders of Zhuque Hall, and the Zhuque elders of Nan Qisu are in the capital."
"Oh?" Qi Ning asked curiously: "Who is the leader of the Beggar Clan? Have you seen him?"
Duan Canghai shook his head and said: "The leader of the Beggar Clan, Shenlong, has never been seen before. Even the disciples of the Beggar Clan, not many people have seen it. I heard that the leader of the Beggar Clan has extremely high martial arts and is the strongest martial arts prodigy in the Beggar Clan in the past century. Whether it’s true or not, I don’t know.” He added, “If that lunatic just now is not an enemy of the Beggar Clan, he might be one of the Beggar Clan itself.”
"One of our own?"
"Yes, I heard that the rules of the Beggar Clan are quite strict. They have set up twelve major rules. If someone violates them, the minor ones will be expelled from the Beggar Clan. The more serious ones will even be executed by the Beggar Clan themselves." Duan Canghai said: "Anyway, we'd better not mess with those beggars. Although there's no need to be afraid of them, there's no point in messing with them."
Qi Ning smiled and said, "Strict gang rules?" But he thought of the beggars in Huize City who cheated, kidnapped, and even trafficked young girls, but he didn't know how to deal with those guys according to the rules of the beggar gang
But when I think about it, I feel relieved. Huize City is just a small county on the border of Chu State. It is a mixed bag of fish and dragons. Moreover, the disciples of the Beggar Gang in Huize City are just a small branch under the winged fire snake branch. It is inevitable that they will be ignored when building Ye Capital City. It is the heart of the Chu Kingdom. If the Beggar Clan's branch in the capital looses gang rules, idles around, and does evil in the capital, I am afraid that the Beggar Clan leader will not need to control it. The Shenhou Mansion will have already taken action to deal with it.
In addition, the elder of Zhuque Hall is in the capital, and the Ghost Golden Sheep Branch is under the nose of the elder of the Beggar Clan, so he is naturally much more honest.
There were no accidents along the way and we returned to the Hou Mansion smoothly.
Everyone in the Hou Mansion was already waiting anxiously. Not only Gu Qinghan, but also every servant and maid in the manor was extremely nervous.
Everyone knows that being summoned to the palace today to accept the emperor's summons, in the eyes of everyone in the Marquis Mansion, this time is actually a big test for the Marquis of Jinyi who has just inherited the title. The honor and disgrace of the Marquis of Jinyi is directly related to the rise and fall of the Marquis of Marquis. Everyone in the room waited for a whole afternoon, but the Marquis never returned home. Even after it had darkened for a long time, Qining still didn't come back. Everyone from Gu Qinghan on down felt extremely nervous.
Being in the Marquis Mansion, unlike ordinary people's homes, I have a vague understanding of the situation in the court.
Everyone also knows that despite the calm situation, the capital city has actually experienced a huge change recently. The former emperor passed away and the new emperor ascended the throne. The current situation in the court is far from being said to have been completely stable.
The situation in the court can change in an instant. It is said that one emperor and one courtier. Although the previous two generations of Jinyihou enjoyed high status and reputation in Dachu, no one can guarantee that Qining, who has just inherited the title, will receive the same treatment. , after all, everyone knows in their hearts that although the young master in the house has inherited the title of Marquis of Jinyi, to be fair, he has not made any great contributions to the court. His achievements and prestige are far from being comparable to those of the previous two generations of Marquises of Jinyi. .
The old marquis began to conquer the world with Emperor Taizong when he was young, and the second generation of Jinyi Hou Qijing had already followed the old marquis on the battlefield and made great achievements when he was still the prince of Jinyi. Compared with them, today's When Jin Yihou was the heir apparent, what was most remembered was his stupidity.
It was getting dark now, but the Marquis still hadn't returned, and some people even felt that something was wrong.
Gu Qinghan was upset, but he also knew that she was the backbone of the Hou Mansion at this time. No matter what kind of news came, he must not be confused. If he even panicked, the entire Hou Mansion would completely collapse.
Every moment that passed made Gu Qinghan more tormented.
There was deathly silence in the Hou Mansion. There were one or two hundred people standing densely in the courtyard. Gu Qinghan was sitting in the main hall. Although he was tired, he still waited quietly.
Suddenly the sound of footsteps was heard, breaking the silence. Everyone looked at the person coming, and saw that they were staring outside the gate. Gu Qinghan had already stood up and asked: "Master Hou is back?"
The man only ran a short distance, but he seemed to be out of breath. He pointed to the door and said: "Third Madam, Mr. Hou... Mr. Hou...!"
Everyone stared at him, anxious to death. Gu Qinghan couldn't get out anymore and asked anxiously: "What's wrong with Mr. Hou?"
Then I heard a voice laughing: "Why are you all here? Do you want to have a meeting?"
But he saw Qi Ning walking over quickly with light steps, and Duan Canghai was following Qi Ning.
Qi Feng, Zhao Wushang and others were also in the crowd. When they saw Qi Ning appearing, they looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief. The stone in their hearts finally fell.
"Ning'er...!" Gu Qinghan saw Qin Ning returning safe and sound, and said happily: "Are you okay?"
Qi Ning came forward and saw Gu Qinghan's worried look. He felt warm in his heart and said with a smile: "Sanniang, I'm fine. The emperor summoned me to the palace to talk to me. When it gets dark, I'm afraid I won't be able to catch up. He wanted to have some food, so he left me to eat with him in the palace."
As soon as these words came out, everyone around him was startled at first, but soon they all showed joy.
It was of course a great blessing that the Emperor could stay with the Marquis to have dinner with him. Everyone's originally tense heartstrings finally relaxed completely at this moment.
Gu Qinghan took a deep breath, finally showed a smile, and waved: "Everyone, please go down first, the Marquis is back, don't worry."
Everyone then dispersed happily. The Marquis was appreciated by the emperor. Naturally everything will be smooth sailing for the Hou family from now on. The whole family can of course sit back and relax.
Back in the hall, Gu Qinghan asked some questions. Qi Ning naturally said what should be said and deleted what should not be said. The information Gu Qinghan got from Qin Ning was the emperor's opinion of the two previous generations of Jinyi Hou Mansion. He respects his loyalty and meritorious service very much, and hopes that Qining can inherit the ambition of the previous two generations of Jinyihou and share weal and woe with the imperial court.
Until Gu Qinghan was completely relieved, Qining saw that Gu Qinghan was very tired, and then persuaded her to rest.
In the dead of night, Qi Ning was lying on the bed, thinking about what he and Longtai said today. He knew that the little emperor was actually a man with a lot of plans in his heart. Today, he gave his advice. The little emperor obviously listened to it, but some things are easier to say. It’s not easy to do it.
What's more, neither the King of Huainan nor the Marquis of Zhongyi are simple figures. They have to use power to check and balance the two, and they also need to develop and strengthen their own strength in the confrontation between the two. This is easier said than done. He must know the right amount of heat. He really didn't know if Longtai could control the heat well at his young age.
But he knew that Longtai was a very patient person.
After Xiang Tianbei discovered him on the day of the funeral, Longtai didn't lose his temper. Instead, he secretly sent Xiang Tianbei to confirm. There was quite a period of time between them. Qining believed that Xiang Tianbei was not just monitoring him at the flower market. , and sometimes I don’t even notice it.
Longtai was very patient and knew that it was certain, so he announced his entry into the palace.
The basic quality of a person who is patient and always does great things.
He was lying on the bed with his eyes closed, thinking, when he suddenly heard a "click" sound and a very light movement from the window. However, after being poisoned by the little demon Anao last time, Qining was much more cautious, and Hou The guards of the mansion became even tighter. He immediately stood up and whispered: "Who is it?"
There was no reply. Qining touched the cold blade, stood up and walked slowly to the window, only to find that the window, which was originally closed tightly, had opened a small gap.
He frowned, held the cold blade tightly, and suddenly caught a glimpse of a table by the window. It was originally empty, but now there was a pile of things.
He came closer and saw a stack of blueprints. He reached out and took it. He only glanced at it and his expression suddenly changed.
What was placed on the table turned out to be a sword picture that had been missing everywhere!