During the day, it rained several times on and off, and it fell and stopped. After nightfall, even small puddles did not accumulate on the streets and alleys of Kyoto, but the wetness made people feel sticky and annoying. In the chaotic spring garden of Xinhuai Lane, the plants are growing like crazy, just like people's ambition and ambition, but they will accumulate a lot of rainwater in those grass nests, in the eyes of flowers, like pots of beauty and temptation Powerful honey syrup.
He Zongwei silently turned his back to the study, looking at the spring garden washed by the rain, the honey in his heart gradually melted away. He knew that his idea was wonderful, but it was also extremely dangerous, and if he was a little careless, he would end up irreversible.
Fan Xian was not that easy to kill, and what made He Zongwei even more horrified was that during the six years of contact with Fan Xian, he could always see a trace of murderous coldness in the eyes of that young official.
He is now the censor of Zuodu, and also a senior scholar under his sect. Without His Majesty's personal order, the Overwatch Council can't touch him at all. He confronted Fan Xian in the court and attracted many officials to the gate at once. Casting, it seems that the scenery is infinite. But only he himself knows in his heart that he is actually heading towards a dead end, and his current situation is really precarious.
If the trend in the court continues as it is now, He Zongwei will still focus on the Metropolitan Procuratorate in the future to check and balance the Overwatch Council. However, if His Majesty the Emperor leaves in the future, will this situation still be maintained
Whether the third prince sat on the dragon chair or there were other shocking changes, to He Zongwei, there was no difference at all, it just depended on the difference in the time he stepped down and the degree of suppression he received.
However, He Zongwei didn't have the slightest solution to this trend. If he continued to suffer like this step by step, even if he became the leader and bachelor of Zhongshu under his sect, what would he have to face the people on the dragon chair in the future? strength
He once tried to find an opportunity to get close to the third prince in the deep palace, seeking the greatest support for the rest of his life, but any attempts in the past three years were cut off by an unknown force when he was about to approach the inner palace. It was also these few failures that made him realize to his horror how great the power in Fan Xian's hands was, and his influence on the palace was far more terrifying than everyone imagined.
Because of panic, and because he knew that his future fate would not be very good, He Zongwei became more and more on the opposite side of Fan Xian. After the strong refusal, despite being disappointed, He Zongwei also knew that he had no other way to go.
His Majesty the Emperor might just be a little angry, but He Zongwei was afraid from the bottom of his heart. Although the emperor was Fan Xian's father, his understanding of Fan Xian was not as deep as that of He Zongwei. There is an old saying that the people who know you best are often not your relatives and friends, but your enemies.
He Zongwei knew that Fan Xian would not let him go. He would not really think that Fan Xian was just a pure and lonely minister like His Majesty the Emperor. He put the interests of the Qing Kingdom first. In his opinion, Fan Xian is a freak who always puts his likes and dislikes first.
It has to be said that He Zongwei's judgment on Fan Xian was correct.
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There was no resentment in He Zongwei's eyes, just a touch of self-deprecation and a coldness. He left the chaotic spring garden and returned to the study. The layout in the study is relatively simple, but there are a lot of books and account books piled up on the bookshelves on both sides.
He walked to the bookshelf, pondered for a moment, pulled out a booklet from an inconspicuous place, then sat down at the desk, and began to examine it very carefully.
This booklet is a catalog of the list of martyrs in the Dadongshan side compiled by the Ministry of Rites and the inner court after the Kyoto uprising. He Zongwei is in charge of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and has His Majesty's trust. He got this catalog in his hands a long time ago, and read it countless times in this quiet study.
The third page, the forty-second page, was the most wrinkled, and it seemed that it was also the place he turned the most. Before and after these two pages are the names of the hometowns of the 100 Tiger Guards who died in the country and the personnel of the Overwatch Council who died in the line of duty on Dongshan Road. There are two names on it that are very conspicuous.
One is Gundam and the other is Wang Qinian.
Whether it's this pamphlet, the final envelope from the Ministry of Rites, the Overwatch Council's request for merit, or the final approval from the inner court, all of them have already confirmed the deaths of these two people.
However, He Zongwei didn't believe it. From a long time ago, he didn't believe that these two people were dead. Even after he confirmed that the corpses collected on Dadong Mountain were indeed these two people, he still didn't believe it. It's easy to do.
Again, He Zongwei knew Fan Xian better than His Majesty the Emperor. What made him suspicious was because of some small details in the past few years. First of all, Gao Da and Wang Qinian are Fan Xian's absolute confidantes, and they shouldn't die in such obscurity, in His Majesty's eyes. These are two inconspicuous little people, but in He Zongwei's view, these two people have their own importance.
Secondly, he has been secretly watching Fan Xian for the past few years, watching his every move, including a few days ago when Fan Xian took Fan Ruoruo and the officials of the Overwatch Council to sacrifice the tomb. I even went to check it out myself.
As in the past few years, Fan Xian's visit to the memorial garden was still so casual. The most important thing was that Fan Xian did not stop deliberately to burn some paper money in front of the two tombs with the names of Wang Qinian and Gao Gao written on them.
Fan Xian was an official who was extremely defensive and cared for his subordinates, especially a dead confidant like this, logically speaking, he shouldn't be treated like this.
In the end, it was another small detail that made He Zongwei make up his mind. The reason why these two people were not dead. When he became suspicious, he began to use the power of the Metropolitan Procuratorate to secretly observe the release of the pension. Gao Da has never married a wife or had children in his life, so it will be settled after his death. However, Wang Qinian, the dignified head of the Overwatch Council stationed in the Northern Qi Dynasty, has a wife, a daughter, a family, and a family. However, the annual pensions of the Overwatch Council are distributed, but never. No one knows who took it away.
The most important thing is that after Wang Qinian's death, it is said that his whole family moved back to their hometown, but no one found the whereabouts of this family in the Wang family's hometown.
If Wang Qinian really died, Fan Xian would definitely be in charge of the daily life of the Wang family. With his temperament, it was absolutely impossible to allow Wang Qinian's widow and daughter to wander in the world in pain.
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Wang Qinian didn't die, and Gundam naturally didn't die either. As for the two people who didn't die, why are their bodies on Dadong Mountain? Why did the Overwatch Council help them conceal it? On Dadong Mountain, hundreds of tiger guards sprinkled their blood and blocked fierce swords. Gao Da was in the middle, why didn't he die? Could it be that he got cold feet? Wang Qinian was at the side of His Majesty on the top of the mountain before the event, if he was not dead, why was he not seen afterwards? Could it be that when His Majesty was in danger, he had already run away
He Zongwei slowly closed the volume, a smile appeared on the corner of his lips, thinking that the powerful subordinate brought out by Mr. Fan, at the critical moment, was like Fan Xian, running faster than anyone else, and he looked at himself better than anyone else. Everyone matters.
This is a serious crime of bullying the emperor, and the crime deserves to be executed quickly. He Zongwei understood His Majesty's character very well. As long as someone dared to betray him, or in other words, as long as a subject dared to put his life before the emperor's safety, he would be furious and deeply enraged.
And there are many bullies. If Wang Qinian and Gao Da were brought back, they would naturally die, but what about the Overwatch Council? What about Fan Xian
He Zongwei took a deep breath, and his young and tired face suddenly looked a little more angry, a little more murderous.
As for Fan Xian, he couldn't find any way to attack, so he could only wait for the miserable day in the future, unless he could stir up the relationship between His Majesty the Emperor and Fan Xian before His Majesty died.
To stir up the relationship between a father and son, of course it is necessary to use the relatively illusory means of the mind. And the crime of deceiving the emperor is a thing to punish one's heart.
In the final analysis, this is probably the only lifeline for Fan Xian in this life. This person is too sentimental. If Gundam and Wang Qinian were directly killed in the first place, these things would not happen now. When He Zongwei thought about it, he couldn't help but shook his head with a smile, then lowered his head, and lightly tapped the teacup on the table, making a ding sound.
Not long after, two people came in, one of them was about thirty years old, with a respectful expression on his face, judging from the facial features of this person, he was somewhat similar to He Zongwei. The other person is over half a hundred years old, but he is still dressed as a Confucian scholar.
"Wang Qinian, Gundam." He Zongwei said directly without any words, "I have been investigating these two people for more than a year. Do you have any clues?"
The person who looked like He Zongwei was actually a distant cousin of his. His voice was slightly sandy, and he replied, "I caught some threads vaguely. It's just the work of the Overwatch Council. Even if you smell some wind, you can't catch up with it at all." It turns out that everything stopped three years ago, even if these two people still have secret connections with the Overwatch Council, it’s probably out of our reach.”
He Zongwei frowned, and nodded. He knew in his heart that with the power of the Overwatch Council, no matter whether it was Old Dean Chen himself or Fan Xian who made arrangements, these officials in the court could not lift the iron plate at all. , unless he secretly ordered the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple to be arrested by sea, but the problem is that this matter must be done in secret, and the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple basically hide the nails of the Overwatch Council.
If once his action reminded Fan Xian, let the other party block the opening, or even secretly use some cruel hand out of anger, that's not what He Zongwei wanted to see.
"My lord, this matter depends on us alone, and we can't find anything at all. The corpses on Dadong Mountain have been counted. Although I don't know how the Overwatch Council did it, the number of people and the list are just right. And at that time there were corpses on the mountain trail. The fire, the face is burned like that, it is impossible to tell what the problem is."
The older Confucian scholar still didn't say a word. The one who spoke was He Zongwei's distant cousin. This person only started to work with He Zongwei in recent years. He was extremely cautious in dealing with people. He was already He Zongwei's confidant, so he was arranged to investigate This important event is also relatively straightforward to speak of.
"During the rebellion in the capital city, the soldiers from the northern battalion just surrounded the mountain. At least a few thousand people died in that battle. It was not too difficult for the Overwatch Council to move two corpses secretly." He Zongwei lowered his head and frowned. He said, "Even if there is fire on the mountain path, what about on the top of the mountain? Although the battle of the masters was extremely powerful, not many people died in front of the ancient temple. Didn't Ren Zhengqing and the officials of the Ministry of Rites live well? Why did Wang Qinian Did he die? Did he die on the top of the mountain or on the way down the mountain? If his body was not burned, something strange can always be found."
"However, three years have passed, and the bones have already turned into ashes. They said that the one buried in the grave is Wang Qinian, so they have no choice but to admit that it is Wang Qinian." The Confucian scholar finally spoke, and the moment he opened his mouth, he hit the nail on the head, "So go and investigate for a few more years. The first thing is too difficult, and the second problem will never be found out. If you really want to open a way from this aspect, I think it should be more important to find the living Wang Qinian and Gundam."
He Zongwei fell into silence. Of course he knew that his counselor's opinion was correct, but the problem is, if Gao Da and Wang Qinian are now hiding in Dongyi City or Beiqi, hiding their names, who can dig up these two living people? come out
"You go down first." He Zongwei raised his head and said to his cousin in a harmonious voice: "This matter involves the court's face, you should be more careful."
He has established himself in the center of the court for three years, and his subordinates have also gathered some strength, especially His Majesty, who also secretly helped him, but compared with Fan Xian, he is still far behind. And this cousin was the prime candidate to take care of He Zongwei's shady affairs.
It is true that the He family is clean and honest, but He Zongwei still needs money and needs to support a large number of subordinates who sincerely follow him if He Zongwei wants to gain a foothold in the court. That cousin is the person who handles this matter.
Only He Zongwei and the elderly counselor were left in the study, and they seemed a little quiet. After a long silence, He Zongwei said, "If Wang Qinian and Gundam can be brought back alive, what do you think will happen in the future?"
"Lord Xiao Fan will definitely protect these two people." The counselor lowered his head slightly and said, "With His Majesty's disposition, if this matter doesn't become a big deal, he might give Lord Fan the face and cover up this matter. go down."
"You mean... even if these two people committed the crime of deceiving the emperor, His Majesty will let them go?" He Zongwei said in a cold voice with a cold glint in his eyes, with a complicated feeling in his heart, if His Majesty really If he is so lenient that he is willing to let those two people go, then what is the point of all his busyness
"The key is to see what price Master Xiao Fan will pay for these two subordinates." The counselor smiled wryly, "Everyone in the world knows that Master Xiao Fan is very good to his subordinates. To protect these two people, what will His Majesty do? Just kill him? My lord, don't forget that Lord Xiao Fan is His Majesty's own son after all."
"Own son?" He Zongwei slowly closed his eyes, "The crown prince and the second prince are also His Majesty's own sons."
"This statement is true, but...the crown prince and the second prince did not take down Dongyi City without bloodshed for His Majesty." When the counselor said the words "second prince", his voice trembled, and then he said softly: "Exchanging a piece of territory for the lives of two subordinates, His Majesty still has this bit of generosity."
"Of course." The counselor glanced at He Zongwei, who was looking disappointed, and said lightly, "Even if you can't force His Majesty to turn against Lord Fan, at least you can plant a thorn in His Majesty's heart."
He Zongwei shook his head, opened his eyes and looked quietly at the counselor in front of him, and said: "Fan Wujiu, you were originally one of the second prince's eight generals, and because of the second prince's death, you turned gray all night, so you came to vote for me. Our two goals are very consistent, so you also know that if Fan Xian does not die, I will die, and if you want to avenge the second prince, you must think clearly, one thorn is not enough."
It turned out that this old-looking counselor who looked over half a century old turned out to be one of the eight most powerful generals under the second prince's back then, Fan Wujiu! Back then, the second prince and Fan Xian had a chaotic battle in the capital, and the eight families were killed and injured. However, Fan Wujiu saw that Fan Xian was unstoppable a long time ago, and after persuading the second prince to be useless, he left sadly.
Unexpectedly, many years later, the second prince committed suicide by taking poison, and this Fan Wujiu returned to the capital, and joined He Zongwei's sect to avenge the second prince wholeheartedly.
After being silent for a long time, Fan Wujiu said softly: "If you want to make a big deal out of this matter, you can't do it in secret. It must be known by the government and the public. Your Majesty is the person who values face the most. At that time, no matter Mr. Fan No matter how strong you are, I'm afraid you can't stop the murderous knife in His Majesty's hand."
"If Your Majesty really kills Wang Qinian and Gundam this time, I'm curious what Fan Xian will do." He Zongwei smiled slightly and said, "Besides Your Majesty, I can't imagine anything other than the inner court. Who can find those two people in this vast sea of people under the cover of the Overwatch Council."
"But there is one most important question." Fan Wujiu looked into He Zongwei's eyes calmly, "If my lord wants to tell His Majesty secretly, I'm afraid I will take a huge risk."
"Oh, what should I say?" He Zongwei didn't show any panic, but asked indifferently.
"Because you don't have any real evidence at hand, what you have is just some speculation and analysis. Of course, this kind of speculation and analysis alone should be able to persuade His Majesty to be suspicious." Fan Wujiu glanced at him again, and said softly: "Your Majesty I should be suspicious of Mr. Xiao Fan... But, I will also be suspicious of you, Mr. Fan."
"I am wholeheartedly loyal to the imperial court and His Majesty, what does Your Majesty suspect of me?" He Zongwei said softly, pursing his lips tightly.
"Your Majesty will suspect that you are deliberately sowing the relationship between him and Mr. Fan and his son."
After a long silence, He Zongwei said softly, "If Your Majesty really becomes suspicious and stops protecting me, what do you think will happen to me?"
"If your majesty doesn't like a person, there are many ways to deal with it. I think your majesty may find an excuse to leave the court in Kyoto after three years and go to a remote place to work, and then your life will be mediocre." Fan Wujiu said calmly.
He Zongwei smiled bitterly, sighed, his eyes were full of calm and determination: "If I make a move, I may end up being swept into the dust in the future, but if I don't make a move, I will end up being smashed to pieces in the future. Which one do you choose?" ?”
He looked at Fan Wujiu with a slight smile, and said, "I choose the former, because at least I can survive. But if Fan Xian really turns against His Majesty, it will be very difficult for him to survive."
Fan Wujiu blinked his eyes, his gray hair looked particularly glaring in the dark night study, and said quietly: "Your Excellency seems to have resentment towards His Majesty in his heart."
He Zongwei's complexion remained unchanged, but the emotions in his heart kept churning. He had endless gratitude to the emperor, but also endless resentment. If the emperor hadn't lifted him up to fight Fan Xian, how could he have been trapped all the time? In the precarious predicament, how could he be so afraid of dying without a place to bury him in the future
"Back then, the Second Highness was actually in the same situation as you are now, my lord." Fan Wujiu smiled slightly, and persuaded softly: "So, my lord, you must learn from the lesson of the Second Highness and maintain a heart of loyalty to your majesty. Find out Wang Qinian and Gundam, maybe His Majesty won't suspect you, but Fan Xian is the only one who is unlucky."
"I have always been loyal to His Majesty." He Zongwei replied calmly, and glanced at Fan Wujiu lightly, he knew what this man was trying to test. To avenge the dead Second Highness, Fan Xian was naturally one of Fan Wujiu's targets, and that ruthless and cold-blooded emperor could not escape Fan Wujiu's eyes.
He Zongwei said sarcastically: "One needs to know where one's abilities are. To deal with Fan Xian is almost beyond your and my abilities. As for those characters above the clouds, it's best not to think about it, that would be... dead of."
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(This is an error-corrected version, it should be Fan Wujiu, but I wrote it as Fan Bian... I got confused with Xie Bian, apologies.)