The rain kept falling, and the flowers in the gardens all over the capital were already in full bloom, gradually falling into the mud.
Regarding the investigation of the household department, the palace is still waiting for a result, which has made the officials in the court suffer. Now, the officials naturally know that if anyone wants to bring down the household department, they must do it first. It wasn't even Mr. Fan who was far away in the south of the Yangtze River's turn to speak, and Mr. Fan who was in the middle of the capital showed enough cards.
Checking and checking, it's not about finding yourself, who wants to do such an idiotic thing? — What's more, the prince has already made a good demonstration in an idiot.
In the officialdom, the biggest one is the emperor's words of wisdom, and the second biggest one is the so-called unspoken rules. Now the Ministry of Household Affairs is tossing and turning between these two affairs, but no matter how it shakes, it just insists on refusing to fail. Down.
Fan Jian just refused to ask himself to resign to settle the matter. Even if there were rumors in the palace that His Majesty was going to make up for it with the rare Houjue, the Fan family was still holding on. They couldn't help but admire Fan Jian's confidence.
In fact, Fan Jian did not hold back. When the Ministry of Household Affairs had involved enough officials, and when the crown prince began to turn his attention to other aspects: such as self-protection, such as dragging his brothers into the water, the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs did not do it again. After returning to the yamen of the household department, I started drinking tea in the mansion more leisurely, went to the manor to see the mountains and rivers, and occasionally went to the mansion I had made friends with to bother me twice.
It is inconvenient for him to go to other houses at this time, because he does not want to cause trouble for others at the checkpoint of the household department, and others dare not get too close to him.
However, Prince Jing's Mansion is an exception.
Prince Jing is the empress dowager's own son, the youngest son, the emperor's own younger brother. For so many years, he has been silent and honest, doing flowers and plants. Everyone in the palace knows what his attitude means, so they have never paid much attention to him.
Fan Jian and Prince Jing have always been on good terms, so it is normal to go to his house. On the other hand, with Prince Jing's character, he is not afraid of anything at all.
Then one day, Fan Jian entered the palace, had a deep talk with His Majesty all night in the imperial study, and sincerely confessed his thoughts to His Majesty.
He analyzed from various aspects and thought that it would be more appropriate for him to continue serving as Minister of the Household Department. On this issue, he did not hide anything from the emperor. The so-called love for inn is not love for war. In such a seemingly peaceful but complicated situation, Fan Jian analyzed himself and the court one by one, admonishing His Majesty, it should be taken back. Investigate the will of the Ministry of Household Affairs. Only in this way is the best choice for Qing.
This is an upright path. Even the emperor was a little surprised when he was so upright and upright.
The next day, I heard that Prince Jing also entered the palace. According to the rumors, this absurd prince muttered for a long time in the Empress Dowager's Hanguang Palace, and finally even quarreled with the Empress Dowager's ancestors. As for the content of the quarrel, But no one knows.
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…
That night, the Empress Dowager and His Majesty the Emperor watched an excerpt together. During their free time eating melon seeds, the Empress Dowager told the Emperor about King Jing's entry into the palace. The Emperor smiled and said nothing.
The empress dowager's meaning was very clear, and it was still the same as Fan Xian's attitude when he first entered the capital. The old Fan's family had done so many things for the old Li's family, and they couldn't treat them too badly. Besides, let the youngest come into the palace to quarrel every day. It's not very good-looking... The most important thing is that this ancestor of the queen mother knows that her grandsons are probably not very good-looking in the affairs of the household department. If the household investigation department finds out the royal family, where will the royal family's face be put
Fan Shangshu always thought that the emperor would always care more about face than his courtiers, but he didn't expect that the first person who felt shame was the empress dowager.
But the effect is about the same.
The next day, the decree came down. Although in order to maintain the order of the court, the imperial decree of the investigation department was not clearly withdrawn, but the emperor transferred most of the ministers in the joint investigation team back to the original department under the pretext of government affairs. Ya, there is no doubt that the investigation of the household department will be weakened a lot.
The officials all breathed a sigh of relief. The so-called hello, hello, hello, everyone, is just a peaceful court, so why bother to kill you
Everyone also knew in their hearts that the weakening of the palace's investigation of the household department must have something to do with the riot that Prince Jing made in the palace. Thinking of this, the ministers couldn't help feeling a little strange in their hearts.
It is well known that the Fan Mansion and Prince Jing's Mansion have been friends for generations, but this is different from the past. Since last autumn, there seem to be many problems between the two families. First, the war between Fan Xian and the second prince involved Prince Jing. The eldest son Li Hongcheng, and later the Miss Fan family shocked the world by being accepted as a closed disciple by the Northern Qi State Master Ku He, and the marriage of the two families fell through...
But Prince Jing enters the palace? Has the relationship between the two been restored as usual? The civil and military officials sighed, feeling that Fan Jian was a little unfathomable.
However, at the same time, the emperor announced an elusive personnel appointment—He Zongwei, the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, was promoted to the censor of Zuodu and joined the team of the Ministry of Household Investigation.
He Zongwei was a well-known talented scholar in Kyoto who was as famous as Hou Jichang among the four sons of the Fan family. Because he had always been on good terms with Guo Baokun and had a relationship with the Ministry of Rites, in order to avoid controversy, he postponed his official career until the fifth year of Qingli. But because of the death of a family member, he was forced to give up the exam.
Therefore, this famous talented person has never participated in the scientific examination. In people's hearts, he is indeed a person with extremely bad luck.
But on the other hand, He Zongwei's luck was extremely good. Back then, he made friends with the Guo family, met the prince, and became famous in Beijing. Later, in the spring of the fifth year of Qingli, he "coincidentally" was involved in the incident of the former prime minister's downfall. His majesty took a fancy to him, jumped through the layers of procedures, and directly granted him the title of imperial censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
In fact, everyone knows that it's just that He Zongwei is good at swaying, and he stands in line very well, sometimes standing on the side of the prince, sometimes standing on the side of Xinyang... But now he has become the censor of the left capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate!
People are a little dumbfounded that such a young person has achieved such an official position. Why does His Majesty admire this person so much
In fact, this kind of precedent did not exist before, such as Fan Xian... Xiao Fan is younger than He Zongwei, has a greater official position, greater power in his hands, and a greater reputation.
But the problem is that everyone now knows that Master Xiao Fan is a prince in the shadows, and his reputation in civil and martial arts is world-renowned. It is not surprising that he can have his current status, but what is going on with He Zongwei
Some gossip officials couldn't help but think secretly, could it be that His Majesty discovered another illegitimate child
No matter how the officials and common people guessed, in short, this talented man from Kyoto who had been hiding in the carriage of the second prince, in the mansion of the eldest princess, and in the study of the Metropolitan Procuratorate finally officially stepped onto the stage of history, and in the future It will continue to shine and heat for several years.
Young, handsome, talented, worthy, and appreciated by His Majesty, the Zuodu Censor He Zongwei at this time is as eye-catching as a rising sun.
And Fan Xian, who is far away in the south of the Yangtze River... I am afraid that he is a black hole that can swallow the sun. I'm afraid no one would believe that last year, Fan Xian used black fists to beat this current celebrity into a pig's head.
This was the shame of He Zongwei's life, because he knew that the little Master Fan who was far away in the south of the Yangtze River looked down on him from the bottom of his heart, but now that His Majesty thinks highly of him, he must do something for His Majesty.
※※※
The situation that caused His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's distress was finally relieved, but the four hundred thousand taels of silver still had to find a way to smooth it out. Last night, the Queen Mother scolded her grandson severely in the Hanguang Palace before telling him that His Majesty was in a bad mood. The fact that the imperial grandmother was able to block you this time does not mean that she will be able to block you in the future.
The prince regretted it a bit. In fact, after Fan Xian entered Beijing for the past two years, he has been doing pretty well. He is honest, safe, and rarely even plays with women. It's just that the self two years ago was really absurd, leaving so many tails, It's a lot for people to grab.
Thinking of this, he began to hate the Hubu Shangshu who grasped his tail tightly, making his tail extremely painful.
Fan family!
Compared with the second prince who made him extremely resentful in previous years, the prince has finally confirmed that in the next few years, his biggest enemy will undoubtedly be the Fan family, whether it is the old one or the young one.
The investigation of the Ministry of Household Affairs has already brought Donggong and the Fan family into close combat, and this time the Fan family has the upper hand. Regardless of whether the crown prince is willing to resolve the matter peacefully, Fan Jian naturally knows that if the crown prince ascends the throne, the Fan family will not There will be too many good fruits to eat.
The prince is not an emperor, and he has no feelings for the old lady in Danzhou.
As for Xiao Fan, because of what happened to the Ye family back then, it was a mortal enmity. It was impossible for the crown prince to hope that Fan Xian would stand by him, or even hope that the other party would not oppose him on the issue of succeeding to the throne.
Now that the main contradiction is established, the rest of the contradictions are secondary contradictions, and all the unhappiness in the past can be waved away.
So when his confidant heard the proposal from the second prince to invite him to a gathering on the Liujing River, the prince thought for a while, and agreed to the proposal.
He sneered, knowing that his second brother also knew that if he wanted to deal with Fan Xian, it would be far from enough to rely on his own strength. There was only one chair, whether it belonged to the crown prince or the second child, everyone could use their daggers to grab it later, but at the moment, at least make sure that this chair will not fall under the third child's ass.
Under the current situation, the two sons of the emperor must abandon their previous suspicions, unite, and unite all forces that can be united, so as to defeat that perverted wild species far away in the south of the Yangtze River.
On the Liujing River, the spring is as thick as a woman's eyes, and it is gradually getting warmer, as if summer is coming.
On a flower boat, the crown prince and His Highness the Second Highness had a good time drinking and enjoying the scenery. It seemed that there had been no unhappiness between the two of them over the years.
The second prince's initiative to stretch out his hand, naturally expressed his stance first. He first expressed his apology for the disgraceful fall of Yan Xingshu, Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice, during the investigation of the household department.
Of course, it would not be very clear to say that although the prince is sometimes an idiot, he is still a smart person most of the time, and he only needs a little bit.
The prince also sighed, saying that after Fan Xian entered Beijing, he suppressed him less.
The two brothers looked at each other, and they both saw the faint worry and a trace of helplessness in each other's hearts.
The power in Fan Xian's hands was too great, and the old fellows standing behind him were too powerful. What's more, it seemed that some people in the palace were leaning towards him.
Li Chengping, Xiaosan has been by Fan Xian's side all the time, what does the emperor's father mean by this arrangement
The crown prince and the second prince fell into silence at the same time.
In the end, it was the second prince who spoke slowly, and said with a soft smile, "His Royal Highness, I heard that Fan Xian opened a branch in Baoyuelou in Suzhou. There are two very famous girls in it, and one was snatched from Hongcheng." Little girl, but the other one is a bit interesting, I heard that she is... a female slave of the big emperor's brother's house."
The prince lowered his eyes, gritted his teeth, and said with a cold snort, "Our elder brother, in the imperial study, was also speaking for Fan Xian? It seems that he is really afraid of the princess from Beiqi...Second brother Ah, you and your eldest brother have been friends since childhood, why didn't you see that he is a bastard?"
The second prince raised his eyebrows and smiled, hehehe twice, but did not continue to say anything.
At that time, the warm wind was blowing gently on the river, the flower boat was swimming slowly, and the willow branches on the bank could not bear the increasingly hot weather, looking forward to the rain that had stopped in the morning to fall again.
The two people by the boat window had gentle expressions on their faces. In fact, they had their own ulterior motives, but they had to sit together to discuss matters.
"He Zongwei, we will continue to investigate the household department." The second prince said with a smile, "Please rest assured, he has a sense of proportion."
The prince snorted coldly. Including the Ministry of Rites, including He Zongwei, these people were actually neighbors of the East Palace at first, but they were all dragged over by the eldest princess and the second prince. Now that He Zongwei has gained a firm foothold in the court, how can the prince not hate him
He said coldly: "Don't forget, He Zongwei is passionate about fame and fame, and he is a real slave of the three surnames. He is standing on your side now, who knows how he will stand in the future?"
The second prince was fascinated by the late spring scenery outside the boat, and sighed, "Don't worry, he won't vote for Fan Xian."
The prince said: "But with his current status, it seems that there is no need to stay under your sect..." He laughed and said: "In the final analysis, this position was given to him by the emperor."
The second prince was slightly taken aback, knowing that the prince's words were meaningful, but he was too lazy to refute, and said with a smile: "It is inconvenient for him to come today, it is precisely because of the reason you mentioned, since he is a courtier, of course he must pay attention to talking with us." keep distance."
"However," the second prince turned to look at the prince, with a harmless and gentle smile on his face, but there was a bit of disgust in his heart. He was forced to join hands with this guy he had always looked down on. I felt a little uncomfortable in my heart, "Your Highness is invited to come here today, because someone wants to see you."
The prince was taken aback, frowned and said: "Who is so arrogant, dare to call me to see him?"
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…
"Can't I, too?"
A gentle, clear, seductive and beautiful female voice came from the rear compartment. As soon as this voice came out, it seemed to immediately cover up the beautiful and natural sound of the wind blowing the willows and the birds flying lightly.
The prince's complexion changed, complex emotions flashed in his eyes, he was dumbfounded, he stood up slowly after a long while, bowed to the back room, and laughed at himself: "Since my aunt entered the palace, I haven't seen Cheng Qian, Cheng I thought my aunt was not happy to see me."
The eldest princess Li Yunrui opened the bead curtain, walked out slowly, and looked at the prince with a half-smile.
The prince felt nervous for a while, but he didn't dare to look directly at that beautiful face that was not like a mortal.
…
…
"It seems that we have all been fooled by the matter of the household department this time." The eldest princess Li Yunrui showed a slightly tired look on her face, but she couldn't hide her brilliance. It's really interesting. We set up a trap for us to exploit. Fortunately, Prince Jing made a fuss, otherwise things would explode, and we wouldn't be able to catch the evidence that the Ministry of Households stole national funds to the south of the Yangtze River. explain."
The money from the Ministry of Accounting has been around Jiangnan, and they have already returned. Naturally, nothing can be found. Although some silver is still in the bank in Jiangnan, the amount is not large, and there is no loophole in Fan Jian's method. .
The prince looked at his nose with his eyes and his heart with his nose, and said softly: "I also ask my aunt for advice."
"Today I just came to drink tea." The eldest princess smiled and said: "After all, you are...brothers, you can talk about everything, don't let outsiders see the joke."
When she mentioned the word "brother", she focused on the word "pro" and accentuated her tone. Although it was a point, there was no reason to reveal a hint of temptation.
The crown prince said in a trembling voice: "But if the Ministry of Household Affairs can't catch it, Fan Xian... has no loopholes to catch. We can only wait for him to cultivate his wings in the south of the Yangtze River. If he returns to Beijing in the future?"
"Of course the Ministry of Household Affairs needs to investigate." The eldest princess stared at the prince's face with her watery eyes, and said with a smile: "The emperor's brother takes a step back for now, but he must take a big step forward in the future. Don't worry about this Your Highness. As for me You don't have to worry about that son-in-law... Anzhi seems to be a man who doesn't like oil and salt, but in fact... it's easy to deal with him."
Both the crown prince and the second prince were stunned, wondering where did this come from? For a person like Fan Xian, it's not easy to stink him, and it's even harder to bring him down. It can't be eradicated mentally, and it's even more difficult to eradicate physically. Why did the eldest princess say so indifferently
"My son-in-law," the eldest princess said softly, "seems ruthless, but in fact... Tao is ruthless but sentimental."
※※※
After the secret meeting on the Liujing River was over, the second prince boarded the carriage under the escort of the eight generals, and went straight back to his mansion in Beicheng, Kyoto. Today, one of the eight generals was killed by Fan Xian, and Fan Wujiu was frightened back to his hometown by the swordsmen of the Sixth Division, so there were only six people left, and it seemed that they were no longer as prestigious as before.
The second prince has been crowned king for many years, and he has been married for several months now, and his relationship with the princess has always been very good, and there has been no bad rumors.
The concubine's surname is Ye and her name is Ling'er.
In the bedroom, Ye Ling'er put on a sky blue thin coat for her husband. In the past, there was a hint of sadness floating on her cheerful face.
The second prince turned around and looked around, made a little apology in his heart, held her cool hands, and said comfortingly: "What are you thinking?"
"Today..." Ye Linger bit her lower lip, a struggle flickered in those bright jade-like eyes, and she finally mustered up the courage to ask, "Where did you go?"
The second prince lowered his head and went silent for a moment, then replied directly: "Go to Liujinghe to meet with my aunt and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
A warm feeling surged in Ye Linger's heart. For such a big matter, since the second prince didn't hide it from himself, he really regarded himself as a caring person, and couldn't help but persuade: "Why bother? Why don't we just live in peace and quiet?"
After several months of marriage, the second prince was gentle and considerate, and did not show the domineering and shameless aspects of the royal family. This is because Ye Linger's background is also extremely deep, and on the other hand, it is also because he has some affection for Ye Linger exist.
The younger generation of Qingguo actually grew up together since childhood, such as Wan'er, such as these princes, such as Ye Ling'er and Miss Fan's family, the distinction between the royal family and several confidant families is not obvious.
The second prince knew that his wife was thinking of himself, so he couldn't help but sighed, and said: "There are many things that we can't help ourselves."
Ye Linger stared at him in a daze, and suddenly said: "In the past, His Majesty pushed you out, but now... Master, Fan Xian has already taken your role, why do you want to participate?"
The second prince sighed again, calmed down for a while and said: "If it is true as you said, my historical mission has been completed, and I should not participate in these matters, but don't forget."
He laughed slightly and said: "The master you mentioned, the most famous Mr. Fan in our Daqing Dynasty, is actually... the most vengeful character."
Ye Linger frowned slightly, and said sadly: "Is there any hatred that cannot be resolved? Do you want me to talk about it?"
Although the second prince laughed secretly at his wife's childishness, he was also slightly moved. He hugged her into his arms and said comfortingly: "There are many hatreds between men that cannot be resolved by the friendship between the boudoirs."
He didn't explain in detail, but he knew that the hatred between himself and Fan Xian was difficult to unravel. The guards who died on Niulan Street, the matter of Baoyue Tower, those dead prostitutes, and many more, Fan Xian Keep the account on yourself. In fact, this is something that the second prince didn't understand very much. Why did Fan Xian have such a great hatred for himself because of the death of some unimportant subordinates
In order to protect himself, he must have power. Of course, the most important reason is... the second prince is still unwilling to accept it.
Everyone was unwilling, but few people knew the good intentions of Fan Xian who was far away in the south of the Yangtze River.