The city of Chang'an still seemed to be peaceful, and the common people would naturally not know what happened in Changchun Garden. As for the servants in the Taiji Palace being transferred to Changchun Garden, and the direct descendants of the Yang family were also invited to Changchun Garden, which caused a great shock among the courtiers, but they would never have imagined that The little emperor is dead.
The courtiers didn't think that the Iron Armored General would kill the little emperor. The reason was that if he wanted to do it, there was no need to wait until now. So people speculate in one direction, that is, the little emperor has been imprisoned, and all the descendants of the Yang family have been imprisoned.
University scholar Niu Huilun has been staying at home for a while. Although he is the auxiliary minister ordered by the late emperor, he has never been to the court since General Tiejia took charge of the government. He is not young, and it is a good excuse to say that he is old and sick and needs to recuperate. General Iron Armor seemed to be too lazy to pay attention to a literati like him, and he seemed to be quickly forgotten after approving his papers.
The Niu Mansion occupies a small area, and the decoration and furnishings in the mansion are also very simple. This is because Niu Huilun still sticks to his nobility. Since he was promoted to Assistant Minister, in fact, many people secretly came to give gifts, but he politely rejected them. He is a person who knows that not standing in line is sometimes safer and more leisurely than standing in line, so he will not be moved no matter which force of the court is wooing him.
Just because he knew his attitude, he didn't bother him at all.
It was already spring, and Niu Huilun performed a boxing with a strange posture as usual before breakfast. People in the house were no strangers to it. They knew that this boxing style was called Wu Qin Xi, and it was Master Xiao Fang who used to be very famous in Chang'an City. Teach undergraduates. Since practicing this set of Wu Qin Xi, Master Niu's body has indeed become much stronger.
The literati are noble, so they are destined to have a certain contempt for martial arts. It's as if a martial artist leading an army is doomed to have no favorable impression of literati. So Niu Huilun always said that this is not a boxing technique, but a medical technique.
After breakfast, Niu Huilun asked someone to move the reclining chair to the small gazebo in the yard, make a pot of tea, lie on the chair and read a book for a while, throw away all the troubles, and feel at ease. It is the season when the spring breeze is the coolest, and drinking tea and tasting books is really a very enjoyable thing for a literati.
A woman in a bright green dress walked over slowly, and placed a plate of snacks and dried fruits on the coffee table. It seems that she is in her twenties, and her clothes are still girly styles that have not been released, so it is a bit surprising. According to the practice of the Sui Dynasty, women reached the age of marriage at the age of fourteen or fifteen, and girls who stayed at home after the age of twenty, no matter what their status was, would always be judged.
But she was different. When people in the Niu Mansion mentioned this girl, no one had a heart of contempt, and they all secretly praised the heroine.
"Father, I heard that there is another big event outside the mansion."
The woman stopped behind Niu Huilun and massaged the old man's shoulders.
The old man closed his eyes, seeming to like his daughter's technique very much.
"Don't care about him, let's just close the door and live our own lives. You... Didn't I tell you after you came back, you have passed through life and death once, so don't get involved in those extraneous things. Can you It’s good to come back alive, we father and daughter depend on each other, so don’t think about other things.”
"yes."
The woman nodded: "I just feel that this is a bit strange, so I want to tell my father to know."
"Strange?"
Niu Huilun looked back at her, his eyes were a little erratic: "You are just like Huahua, you are so curious about everything..."
The woman froze for a moment, a trace of pain flashed in her eyes. She thought of the woman who looked charming and coquettish, but was always lonely in her bones. That woman who always deliberately seduces men, but treats men as playthings. When she was in the Martial Arts Academy, she originally looked down on Niu Huahua the most. She felt that a woman who reached this point would not only lose face to her family but also to women.
She never thought that later on, she and Niu Huahua would become best friends.
"Actually, I've wanted to talk to you a long time ago. Your father was a court general after all. Why did he give you such a vulgar name as Marilyn?"
"Your father is still a scholar of the imperial court, why did he give you a more vulgar name like Niu Huahua?"
Then the two laughed together.
"It's almost Huahua's memorial day, and the days go by so fast."
Niu Huilun sighed: "It's been a while since you came back from the northwest. When you came to find me, I couldn't recognize you. It's not like a daughter's house. You are covered in injuries, like It's like dying."
"Father died in battle in the Northwest during the suppression of the rebellion... At that time, I was thinking, if I return to Chang'an, who should I rely on?"
Ma Lilian said a little absent-mindedly.
Not just because of the sadness of a broken family, but also because of other things. When she fled back from the northwest, she hesitated for a long time. Should he go back to Chang'an City, or go to Huangyang Road to seek refuge with that boy named Fang Jie. In the end, she gave up on the second thought. Although she occasionally thinks about it now, she still regrets it.
"Just look for me. You have no relatives in your family, and I also lost my daughter. Now you have a father again, and I have a daughter again... It's good."
Niu Huilun smiled: "By the way, what strange things did you just say?"
Just as Ma Lilian was about to speak, she saw the manager hurried over and said in a low voice, "Master, there is someone outside asking to see..."
"Didn't I say no one would see me?"
"This person is a bit unusual. It is said that he is your old acquaintance, master. He came from Yongzhou...he is a handsome young man."
Hearing these words, Ma Lilian's heart suddenly jumped wildly. The name Fang Jie jumped out again from the deepest part of her heart that could be hidden, and hit her heart so heavily.
…
…
"Oh it's you?!"
Niu Huilun looked at the young man in front of him and couldn't help but marvel. Ma Lilian, who was standing beside him, couldn't hide the disappointment in her eyes. The person who came was not Fang Jie. But this person was sent by Fang Jie.
"Greetings to the grand maester."
The young man gave a big salute, got up and smiled and said, "It's been a few years since I've seen you grow old, I can't believe that your spirit looks better."
"Musan, why did you go to Yongzhou?"
Niu Huilun thought for a while before he remembered the name of this young man. He clearly remembered that this man was once the little eunuch who served in the imperial study during the reign of Emperor Tianyou. But since the military chaos in the Northwest and the Emperor Tianyou's personal conquest, this person seems to have disappeared. Unexpectedly, he ran to the southwest of the Sui Dynasty, and seemed to have a close relationship with Fang Jie.
"Don't lie to the Grand Master..."
Mu San took out a secret decree from his bosom and handed it to Niu Huilun: "This was handed over to the servants before the emperor's imperial conquest, and the servants were asked to contact some people outside the court to work for the court. But something happened later, and the people in the secret decree Nine out of ten were killed by the rebels. The slaves found Lord Xiaofang and stayed with him all the time."
He handed the secret decree to Niu Huilun in order to dispel Niu Huilun's suspicion.
Sure enough, Niu Huilun took a look at the secret decree, and immediately sat up straight, and his face changed immediately: "There is such a thing... When His Majesty went to the Northwest by himself, he should have expected great changes in the court, so he decided There will be such an arrangement. Before His Majesty sent Huai Lao back to Jiangnan, and dismissed the commander of the Ouchi Guards Department, Luo Weiran, and expelled him to leave Chang'an, it was all for future preparations. I just didn't expect that the plan was far behind the changes... "
When he said the last sentence, his tone was particularly sad.
"Yes."
Mu San hurriedly said: "At the beginning, Your Majesty ordered your servant to take out the secret decree at the right time, and invite several important officials on the secret decree to return to Chang'an, but later, Huai Lao and Lord Su all died at the hands of the rebels, and this servant took Your Majesty Fortunately, he finally joined Lord Xiaofang's army, which barely insulted His Majesty's trust. Commander Luo is also serving in the Black Banner Army now."
"No wonder!"
Niu Huilun sighed and said: "I thought Fang Jie was against him, and I scolded him countless times. He was deeply favored by the late Emperor Long. If he really had to work with those traitors, I really misjudged the person. According to the late emperor's secret decree, to prepare troops in the southwest and wait for the opportunity to suppress the rebellion... The late emperor had a long-term vision, and I am afraid that he had already foreseen the chaos in the court and the villain in power..."
Ma Lilian was also happy when she heard it. One of the most important reasons why she didn't choose to go to the southwest to join Fang Jie was that she thought Fang Jie was going against her. Her father died in the war against the rebellion, and she had experienced so many life and death events in the northwest, it was difficult for her to accept the rebels.
Hearing that Fang Xie followed the late emperor's secret decree to manage the Southwest, the remorse she had deliberately suppressed in her heart grew stronger.
"Fang Jie, what did he ask you to do?"
Ma Lilian asked eagerly.
Mu San looked left and right, and said in a low voice: "Master Xiao Fang heard that the imperial court has undergone a great change. Someone has manipulated the government to coerce the king. He has been waiting for the news from the palace, but he can't wait for it. Master Xiao Fang is impatient. So I sent my maidservant back to check it out. Because this maidservant has been in the palace for a long time, it is better to investigate these matters."
"Um."
Niu Huilun nodded: "A minister is not a minister, a king is not a king... oh..."
It was surprising that such outrageous words came out of his mouth.
"Lord Xiaofang has one more explanation, so that the servants must complete it. He said that if the capital is really not peaceful, he will find a way to rescue you from Chang'an. Now Lord Xiaofang has stabilized his foothold in the southwest, and he led troops to retreat to the Southwest a while ago. The coalition forces of the Yan people and the He people regained the entire Pingshang Road in one fell swoop. Although it is tired there, it is safe. Master Xiaofang said that he has always missed you, and ordered me to see you."
"He really has a heart."
Niu Huilun sighed: "I still blame him..."
"Bachelor, do you know the origin of that armored general?"
Mu San asked.
Niu Huilun was silent for a while, and his face was very ugly: "When the late emperor asked me to wait for the three of us to be assistant ministers, he once specifically explained one thing... His Majesty only told the three of us about this matter. Now Yang Shunhui has gone to Dongjiang , Xu Xiaogong didn't come back outside, and I stayed behind closed doors at home. Is it because of this matter? It's just that my knowledge is limited, and what His Majesty said at the beginning was also very vague, but I guessed it myself... So, I dare not Go to court again... "
"What do Grand Maesters know?"
Mu San asked eagerly.
"Can you take me out of Chang'an?"
Niu Huilun asked back.
Mu San nodded: "Yes, I came with me this time, and there are people who are scattered gold. With the ability to trade goods around the world, it should be no problem to take you out of Chang'an."
"Well."
Niu Huilun was silent for a while and said: "When I see Fang Jie, I will tell him myself!"
"Dad..."
Ma Lilian asked in surprise: "Didn't you say that you don't participate in anything? You can retire at home quietly."
Niu Huilun smiled, with the cunning of the old man: "Cheat yourself, can't you?"