Since he was shocked by the Spring Hunting Rebellion, and after returning to Luan, he had finished disposing of Yuwang's party, and Emperor Liang felt more and more that his health was getting worse and he could not support him. After the consultations of the imperial physicians, although their words were smooth and they only said that it would be okay to rest in peace, but looking at their appearance, Emperor Liang also knew that his situation was not good. The more one gets old and sick, the more precious one's life is, so even if it is impossible to throw it away, Emperor Liang has no choice but to throw it away first. The imperial decree of the East Palace to supervise the country was issued from this, and it was clearly ordered that the emperor would not ascend to the court. On the day, the prince will handle daily government affairs on his behalf in Chengqian Hall. At the beginning, Emperor Liang had the intention of deliberately testing and inspecting from the side. Later, seeing that Jingyan acted cautiously and fairly, and there was no sign of inflated arrogance, he gradually relaxed half of his heart. In addition to reporting a major incident in the DPRK and China, the rest of the day was devoted to maintaining and continuing his life.
Because of the power to dispose of political affairs, and because the overall situation is rough, Xiao Jingyan's seat as the Crown Prince of the East Palace is much more stable than his predecessor, but at the same time, it is also much more tiring. Sometimes, after listening to a large number of memorials in Chengqian Hall, after reviewing and completing the pile of papers, he would also meet important officials in his own palace to discuss some difficult matters.
The six departments of the imperial court today are basically all the new books in the past two years. Only Li Lin, the minister of military affairs, is still the old man when the former prince was on the throne. In the explosion of the private gun factory that year, he once charged King Jing with detaining military funds for private use. Although the incident ended with King Jing getting praise instead, no matter what, he offended others. of. So in the process of the former prince being abolished and King Jing's status gradually rising, Li Lin naturally tried his best to make up for it, but no matter how hard he tried, he never got any response from Xiao Jingyan. After the prince was ordered to supervise the country. Li Lin felt that his career was probably coming to an end, and he waited tremblingly every day for the East Palace to clean him up, and he didn't move for a long time. Instead, he received an important mission in court and asked the Ministry of War to be responsible. Submit the restructuring plan for the garrisoned troops around the imperial capital. Li Lin pondered for a long time, but he was not sure what His Highness the Crown Prince meant. It was not until he was sneered by the minister of households, Shen Zhui, that he suddenly realized that this master was different. Better to get things done first. He has been a minister of military affairs for so many years, and he actually has a good understanding of the situation and disadvantages of the military system of the imperial court. Aside from party disputes, his ability is sufficient. At this time, he made up his mind and put all his energy into it. Ten days later The plan was presented, and it was well received in the DPRK debate, only after revising individual details. It was passed on to the emperor's decree. The lord's approval and the praise from his colleagues brought long-lost satisfaction and pleasure to Li Lin, who had been caught up in party disputes for many years, and to the new prince, who obviously did not take the past grievances to heart. His feeling has also changed from fear and fear in the past to loyalty and obedience now.
"Speaking of which. The fact that the party struggle is a nightmare. Although some people have been trapped in this dream, but fortunately some people can wake up." In the side hall of the East Palace. Shen Zhui, who had just finished discussing a political matter, said with emotion, "In fact, at the beginning of their careers, most people still have the ambition to serve the country and honor their ancestors. Yes. Your Highness is willing to give these people some opportunities when updating the atmosphere of the court. It is really benevolent."
"However, such opportunities cannot be given again and again. Some people's human nature is already formed, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to change." Cai Quan, who has always been more radical than Shen Zhui, raised his eyebrows, "There are many wise men in the world, so leave some space for them. Wouldn't it be better for those unsullied and unsullied students from the poor family?" "Regardless of the wealthy and poor, all students have a way to advance. As long as the court can give the word fairness regardless of sect, it can't be overkill. You know. , for officials and government, experience is still very important, although new officials are superior in character and spirit, they are inevitably inferior in experience."
"Who is born to know everything? Give more opportunities to sharpen it, and you will naturally become old-fashioned."
"That will take time," Shen Zhui waved his hand, "It's like changing the defense system of the garrison, Li Lindi's seniority is not a good-looking thing, I want to change who will do this, I'm afraid he can't. More thoughtful and more to the point than him."
"I admit that the Ministry of War's plan is very good, but this is only an individual case and cannot be extended to most people. Such things as seniority and experience vary from person to person. Some people are the best for ten years a year, but some people guard the same position. For more than ten years, I still don’t know anything. Everything can’t be generalized, and it must be examined one by one.”
"But there are so many local officials at all levels in the prefectures of the world, and there is no unified system and standard. How to identify them one by one? Where can these hundreds of court officials be identified?"
"Is it difficult to do it? It is the most important thing for the emperor to screen talents, select talents and appoint them. Now there are not too few but too many people who eat vegetarian meals. The prince is in power, of course the new dynasty must There's a new look."
Xiao Jingyan has been listening carefully to the debate between the two most reliant courtiers. At this moment, Fang frowned and said in a low voice, "Cai Qing Shen Yan, how can there be a new dynasty?"
Cai Quan also immediately realized that he had said something wrong, got up quickly and apologized: "I made a mistake, I mean..."
"Okay, I know what you mean, be careful in the future."
"Yes."
Xiao Jingyan was about to let the two continue their conversation, when an attendant suddenly said, "His Royal Highness the Prince, the guest Qing Su Zhe has come to congratulate His Highness on his wedding, and now Hou Xuan is outside the Yimen."
After returning from Jiu'an Mountain, the two were busy and the other was ill, and they were both focused on each other. Although the communication with each other was still very close, they hadn't seen each other for a long time. Therefore, when Xiao Jingyan heard Su Zhe asking for a meeting, Xiao Jingyan For a while, he was in a trance, staring at the servant, speechless for a long time. "His Royal Highness, Mr. Su came here to congratulate you, won't your Highness please come in?" Shen Zhui asked strangely.
"Oh," Xiao Jingyan came back to her senses and hurriedly said, "Quickly invite Mr. Su to come in."
The inner servant bowed and stepped back, and after a while, he led Mei Changsu into the hall. During this time, Xiao Jingyan had calmed down a little, and controlled himself not to show an overly excited expression.
Mei Changsu, who was walking slowly with his eyes down, was a little thinner than the last time we met, but his complexion improved slightly. Today, he was wearing an autumn-colored satin gown, holding a plain fan, and his black hair tied on the top. The sleeves are slightly raised, looking elegant and elegant, with a temperament like jade. But the man's appearance was in the eyes of Xiao Jingyan, who knew the truth. But it was like a sharp knife stabbing straight in his chest, making it almost impossible for him to look directly.
"See His Royal Highness."
"This is the inner hall. Mr. Su doesn't need to be more polite, please take a seat. Serve tea to Mr.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Mei Changsu bowed, and instead of taking his seat, he motioned to Fei Liu behind him to present a gift box, and said with a smile, "His Royal Highness is overjoyed to concubine. It's not a mere tribute, so please accept it with a smile."
Xiao Jingyan ordered his attendants to take it. Seeing the curious expression on Cai Quan's face, Shen chased Cai Quan and opened it with a smile. When he saw that there were only a pair of ordinary fat-cleaning jade bottles, he knew that Mei Changsu did not want to attract attention. He only said politely, "Mr. trouble."
Feiliu came to the East Palace for the first time and handed over the gift box. He began to look left and right, Xiao Jingyan knew that Mei Changsu loved him like a younger brother, and did not want to restrain this young man. He ordered him to play around in the East Palace at will, but Mei Changsu added, "Just play in the front yard." Just let him out.
"Mr. Su. I went to visit you a while ago and said that I was ill. Is your health safe now?" asked.
"Thank you, Lord Shen, for thinking about it, but it's just because of the hot summer, the asthma attack is just, it's nothing serious."
Cai Quan also knew about his illness, so he frowned and said, "Mr. Su's talents are limited by his illness. It's a pity, isn't there a cure?"
Mei Changsu glanced at Xiao Jingyan, not wanting to continue talking about this topic, so he smiled and said lightly: "Everything has its own destiny, take it easy. By the way, Mr. Cai, I heard about the case of Fan Yushi's death in the water, Has the Ministry of Justice made new progress?"
"Yes, the real culprit in this case is very smart, and he set up some obstacles to mislead the direction of the investigation of the criminal department. However, this case was obviously not planned for a long time, but was started hastily, so there are many clues and confessions. Weakness. Of course, Mr. knows that in any murder case, as long as whoever is lying, whoever is most likely to be suspected, even if it is not the murderer, it is at least the insider. The Ouyang Shilang who is in charge of this case is the one who can decipher the mystery from the smallest details. If you want to deceive him, it's harder than deceiving me."
"So, the concubine who was detained by the Criminal Bureau... what's the name of the concubine, is the real murderer?" Shen asked.
"For the time being, we can't make such a conclusion, but she has the most lies and the most suspicious behavior. Before she was arrested, she tried to abscond. These are facts that aggravate her suspicion. However, this woman is stubborn and is still holding on, and... Temporary No convincing motive for her murder has been found..."
"I heard that she is from the Hua clan?" Mei Changsu asked casually.
"It can only be considered half of them. Her mother is from the Hua clan, but her father is from Liang. According to the general opinion, she should be regarded as a Liang." Cai Quan raised her eyebrows and looked at Mei Changsu, "This identity It was found out when we were investigating her origin, and we didn't pay much attention to it. Does Mr. Su think... does this matter?"
"No," Mei Changsu smiled, "because I've been thinking about where Xia Jiang will escape recently, so when I hear the Huazu, I'm a little more sensitive."
Cai Quan asked in surprise, "Is there any connection between Xia Jiang and the Hua clan?" "You don't know?" Shen Zhui opened his eyes wide and looked at his friend, "The last princess of the Hua clan was once Xia Jiang's lover. Woolen cloth."
"what?"
"After the Hua Kingdom was swallowed up, many aristocratic female relatives were distributed to various places as maids," Shen Zhui briefly recounted, "Once when Mrs. Xia Jiangdi saw the princess of the Hua nationality washing clothes outside in the winter and twelfth lunar month, she felt pity and felt sorry for her. He took her back to his house and treated her like a younger sister. Who would have guessed that this princess would actually hook up with Xia Jiang. Mrs. Xia was also a former Xuanjing envoy with a very strong temperament. When she was angry, she took her son with her. I'm gone, and I still don't know where the people are."
"It doesn't sound like a trivial matter," Cai Quan said blankly, "How come I've never heard of it?"
Shen Zhui glanced at him, "Princess Xuanji died seven years ago, and you were transferred to the capital five years ago, when things were already cold, and Xia Jiang's identity was a half-hidden person, you are so Seriously, who has nothing to do to chat with you about his romantic affairs?"
"But there are many rich and noble families with Nahua women as concubines. Even if Xia Jiang's lover is a princess, it is still a loss of the country. Is it worth noting?"
"It seems that Mr. Cai doesn't know much about Princess Xuanji," Mei Changsu said sternly: "She is not a waiter who only depends on her lover to live. Before the Huaguo was destroyed, she was one of the princesses in charge. The status is second only to Princess Linglong, the eldest sister who died in battle, but she is more cunning and better at hiding her edge, which makes many people unaware of her danger. Amazing power of control, even though she is dead now, Xia Jiang has more or less inherited some of this power from her. If Mr. Cai can't find another motive for the murder, he might as well consider the possibility of silence." "Quiet?"
"Maybe Fan Chengxiang found out that his concubine was helping Xia Jiang, maybe Fan Chengxiang himself used to be Xia Jiang's protector, and later wanted to report for some reason... Xia Jiang has been in charge of the Xuanjing Division for many years, and he must have something that we can't imagine. Secret power, if we don't dig him out sooner, it's hard to say what kind of harm he will cause to His Royal Highness..."
Cai Quan's eyebrows moved, and he pondered: "What you said is very true. Now that Xia Jiang is on the run, whether it is for His Highness or the Ministry of Punishment, this is a big concern, even if this case has only a little connection with Xia Jiang, We have to get this out of the way first.”
"Yeah, it's fine if this is just an ordinary murder. If it's really related to Xia Jiang, it's a good opportunity to track down his whereabouts."
"By the way, Shilang Ouyang sorted out the copy of the current case for me. I happened to take it with me on the road to see it. If you want to take a look at it, sir, maybe you can find something we missed."
Before Mei Changsu could answer, Xiao Jingyan, who had been listening attentively, cleared his throat and said, "Cai Qing, you've already acted very well. Mr. Su is recovering from a serious illness. Don't let him worry about it. Let's talk about something light."
Cai Quan was reaching out to touch the case file in his sleeve, but when he heard the Prince's words, he couldn't help but froze. When Xiao Jingyan said this, his expression was very light, and people couldn't tell whether he was expressing his words to stop him, was he really caring about Mei Changsu's body, or was he unhappy to see Cai Quan just taking the case file from the Ministry of Punishment to him. An unemployed guest clerk looked at it. Shen Zhui, who was on the sidelines, was a little more agile, and instantly thought of the fact that the two had not seen each other for a long time, and that Xiao Jingyan had hesitated for a while before inviting Mei Changsu to come in. It was inevitable to guess whether the Crown Prince was deliberately alienating this man who was good at tricks. The talented unicorn, his heart skipped a beat, and he immediately gave Cai Quan a wink, signaling him to apologize.
"My minister is not thoughtful, I really shouldn't bother Mr. Su, please forgive me, Your Highness." Cai Quan was not stupid either, he immediately understood the meaning, thinking about what he was talking about just now, and his behavior was indeed inappropriate, so he hurriedly bowed and saluted.
Xiao Jingyan didn't care what kind of misunderstanding these two ministers had, but he didn't want Mei Changsu to have the same misunderstanding, so he explained: "I heard that the main thing for Mr. I'm not here to discuss the case, just give some pointers, and don't bother with the details."
Mei Changsu gave Xiao Jingyan a deep look, and when he saw his gaze dodged uncomfortably, he couldn't help but feel suspicious. Shen Zhui laughed and said, "Your Highness said, it's all to blame for Mr. Cai. Mr. Su is here to congratulate His Highness. In the end, he didn't drink a sip of tea or eat a piece of dim sum, so you just took him to tell the case!"
In fact, the murder of Fan Chengxiang was brought up by Mei Changsu first, but Cai Quan, no matter how upright he was, wouldn't be arguing about it at this time. He hummed a few times in a vague way, and accepted Shen Zhui's words.
But he recognized it, but Mei Changsu didn't want to go down this step for some unknown reason, so he smiled and said, "His Royal Highness is kind to Su.