As the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guard, Meng Zhi stayed in Gongye on a daily basis. When he was not on duty, he would stay in the commanding company to handle official business most of the time. He would only return to his own private residence when he was on vacation for more than two days.
Although the master is a well-known figure who stomped and stomped the capital, the Meng Mansion looked very simple, with only ten or twenty servants, and the mansion was not strictly forbidden. However, Meng Zhi himself is the number one expert in Daliang Guozhong, and he is not from Jianghu. There are basically no people who want to go to his house to find trouble. Therefore, the house has always been peaceful, and there has never been any major disturbance.
Meng Zhi's wife was chosen by her parents since she was a child. Although she was from a poor family, she was extremely virtuous. When Meng Zhi left her hometown when she joined the army, she relied on her to support her parents-in-law at home. She didn't conceive a child, but Meng Zhi didn't take a concubine because of it, she just adopted a nephew Chengyu from the next room. The couple respected and loved each other, and their relationship has always been very good.
This time Mengzhi was punished to return to the house, and the whole family was in a panic. Only Mrs. Meng remained calm and calm. As for the reason for this disaster, Meng Zhi didn't say, and she didn't ask any more questions. She just asked for warmth, served courteously, and waited for her husband to sleep at night before she lay on her side with her clothes.
Before she fell asleep, she heard the sound of pecking at the window. She jumped up in shock, and before she could speak, her husband's hand suddenly pressed on her shoulder.
"Who is it?" Meng Zhi asked in a deep voice.
"We!" a clear voice replied.
Meng Zhi couldn't help showing a smile on his face, and whispered to his wife: "It's my guest, go and open the door."
Madam Meng hurriedly put on her clothes and got up, lit the gauze lamp on the table, opened the door and saw that a young scholar in black clothes and light fur was standing outside, followed by a handsome young man with a gloomy complexion.
"I disturbed Mrs. Sister-in-law." The scholar apologized softly.
"If you're my friend, don't be polite, please come in." Mrs. Meng stepped aside to let the two of them in. She went to the stove and took the teapot that had been simmering. Then Fang whispered: "Officer, I went next door."
"You're tired today too, just sleep next door." Meng Zhi said hurriedly.
Mrs. Meng smiled without answering, exited the door, and closed the door very carefully.
"It's a blessing for eldest brother to get a wife like this." Mei Changsu praised and asked with concern, "Your injury doesn't matter, right?"
"I'm practicing hard skills. I'm afraid of how many times I'll hit the board? It's just to quell His Majesty's anger and let him see a little blood."
Knowing his loyalty to the emperor, Mei Changsu did not comment, but asked, "You have worked hard all night, but there is a case, and the emperor has turned his face like this, is it chilling?"
Meng Zhi waved his hand and said, "Your Majesty Su Ri is like this. As a minister, do you still expect Your Majesty to change his temper for me? Besides, this case really happened within the range of the Imperial Guard, and I should have taken responsibility for it. Responsibility, the emperor has not wronged me."
Mei Changsu's lips curled into a sneer, staring at Deng Rui, his eyes swaying faintly, and asked, "Has King Yu entered the palace to plead for you?"
"Speaking of this, I'm also surprised. Su Ri has nothing to do with him. This time he actually came to intercede with kindness. It's a pity that he didn't say the right thing. I saw that after he left, His Majesty's face sank even more ruthlessly."
"...Then you know why His Majesty is even more angry? Is it really because King Yu can't speak?"
Meng Zhi was startled, "I didn't think about it, could it be... Is there anything wrong with King Yu's actions?"
"You are the commander-in-chief of the 100,000-strong Imperial Army. If you say something unpleasant, the emperor's life is in your hands. Just now something happened, and a prince came to intercede for you in a hurry. This prince is not someone else, it just so happens that he is the king of honor who has some ambitions for the throne, according to what you know about the emperor, where will he react first?"
As soon as he was reminded, Meng Zhi suddenly sweated coldly, and his vest shuddered, "But... but... I... If the emperor suspected me in that way, it would be too wrong... "
"Injustice?" Mei Changsu couldn't help but sneer, "You only know him when you shout injustice in front of this master?"
Meng Zhi's hands slowly clenched into fists, his brows furrowed, "The emperor ordered me to solve the case within a month. This is not my specialty, and I have no clue... Yu Wang is here again... "
"King Yu didn't want to harm you, he just wanted to take the opportunity to win you over," Mei Changsu said with a smile, "but this case really can't be solved."
Meng Zhi was stunned, watching him speechless. He knew that his ability to investigate cases was not strong, so he might not be able to sort out this mess, but from the beginning, he took it for granted that Mei Changsu would investigate the matter on his behalf, so he was not in a hurry. Such a statement was unexpectedly unresponsive for a while.
"When the January deadline is up, you will go to the emperor to plead guilty, say that you are incompetent, that you cannot capture the real murderer, and ask the emperor to remove you from your position as chief commander, so as to set an example." Mei Changsu approached him with a smile, "Why? Like, Commander, are you willing to take this position?"
Meng Zhi laughed loudly and said: "Lianzhan's position is not my favorite. But once I get rid of my armor and return, how can I help you?"
"You have nothing to do, just help me." Mei Changsu picked up the silver scissors on the table, cut off the wick that had started to explode, and said slowly, "I am almost certain now that the internal prisoner was killed. The person behind the scenes must be Xie Yu... Others in Beijing have neither the motivation nor the ability."
"Isn't this case..."
"Knowing it's Xie Yu doesn't mean solving the case." Mei Changsu looked serene, "Especially for you, who was suspected by the emperor just now that you were in touch with King Yu, if there were no more baseless accusations against Xie Yu, wouldn't it be more like you were participating? Partisanship?"
"Then look for evidence!"
"What is the crime of assassinating the imperial envoy? Who is Xie Yu? When he commits this kind of crime, will he leave any trace of the crime?" Mei Changsu's lips were filled with a cold smile, " Man said that if you can't find the evidence, even if you do, you can't solve this case."
Meng Zhi was a little confused and blurted out, "Why?"
"The emperor has been on the throne for so many years, I will not comment on anything else, but he is not a mediocre person. The case of the internal supervisor is about the royal decency. Even if he still has absolute trust in you, he will never put this The case is only handed over to a commander of the Imperial Guard who has little experience in investigating cases. So... The Department of Suspension Mirrors will definitely be ordered to investigate this case at the same time, but they will investigate them and will not assist you in the investigation. "
"That's right," Meng Zhi couldn't help nodding his head, "this was originally something that Xuanjing Division should take action on."
"Yes, since this is the type of case that should be investigated by the Mirror Envoy, Xie Yu first considers the investigator to deal with before committing the crime. It must not be a layman like you but the Mirror Envoy. In other words, Even if he can't guarantee that he will not be listed as a suspect by the hanging mirror, at the very least, he is confident that he will not be caught with any evidence. If there is no evidence, the hanging mirror department would not dare to report to the emperor that they have solved the case Yes." Mei Changsu smiled and tapped the table with his knuckles, "Brother Meng, if you really solve a case that even the Xuanjing Division can't solve, the emperor will not be just surprised, but jealous."
"Ah..." Meng Zhi stayed for a long time before he came back to his senses, "Xiaoshu, how can you think so clearly about so many joints, I didn't even think about that."
"If you serve this kind of monarch, if you don't want to be more thorough, you will suffer." Mei Changsu lowered his head slightly, a trace of pain on his face, "He is suspicious of you now, if you see a move If he can't overcome any difficulties, he will feel more and more that he has not seen through you before, and will feel that he has not fully controlled you, but will cause unexpected disasters for you. So the only solution now is to show weakness and let him see When you are in a critical and difficult situation, you can't get rid of a single charge on your head, it's all up to him to be kind to you. In this way, he will think that he can handle you and don't have to worry about you causing harm to him. "
The muscles on Mengzhi's face were tense, and there was a trace of sadness in his resentful expression, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Although what you said makes sense, what is the relationship between the ruler and the minister? What can a big suspicion do to me?"
"Have you never seen a heartless end?" Mei Changsu didn't expect Meng Zhi to say such a thing at this time, and couldn't help but get slightly angry, "You don't risk your own life, don't you think? Don't waste your sister-in-law's tears? If you are so naive, you can only talk about it, if you really do it, it will not be loyal, it will be stupid!"
"I..." Meng Zhi lowered his head resentfully, "I know you're doing it for my own good, but somehow, I feel really uncomfortable..."
Mei Changsu stared at him, his face was like snow, he only felt a colicky pain in his chest, and then another burst of stuffiness. With his breath stagnating, he couldn't help covering his mouth with his sleeve and coughed violently. Meng Zhi hurriedly came over to pat him. Back, input his true qi, think about what he said just now, it is indeed inappropriate, I just feel guilty and unspeakable, and I want to break it down, but I am afraid that the wording is wrong, which will make him sad. Entering the room, he grabbed Mei Changsu's hand and gave him a stern look.
After coughing for a while, Mei Changsu gradually eased his panting, first patted Feiliu's hand soothingly, then smiled and said softly, "I'm sorry, the lamp is so heavy, it's choking..."
“Xiaoshu…”
"Okay brother Meng, I know you feel wronged, but now, I'm afraid you still have to listen to me..."
"I understand," Meng Zhi's heart was hot and he clenched his hand, "Xiaoshu, I will do whatever you say. I will not investigate anything this month, and when the deadline is up, I will go to ask His Majesty to apologize."
"It's not like that either," Mei Changsu smiled lightly, "You can do whatever you want this month. If you can't find out what to worry about, you have to be in a hurry, but the result must be in vain. Your resignation, the emperor will not approve. Although he is suspicious of you, there is always a basis for trust. Although it is a civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, how can you find someone more trustworthy than you to replace the commander of the imperial army. The position? It's a pity that someone is going to suffer the disaster of the pond fish."
"Who?"
"Your lieutenant."
"Zhu Shouchun? He's been with me for seven or eight years..."
"That's how to remove it. I think the most likely option for the emperor is not to remove you, but to choose a few strangers who have nothing to do with you as your deputy, so as to check and balance the power."
Meng Zhi smiled coldly, "I have a clear conscience, I can send anyone I want. But for the brothers who were removed, I must find a good place for them."
"If you want to adjust the city defense camp, I'm afraid Xie Yu will not dare to accept it. Take this opportunity to stuff it to King Jing, he will not wrong your brother."
"Hey," Meng Zhi sighed, "although I'm a little bored, but having you come to advise me is still a lot of peace of mind. This matter can probably be exposed like this."
"You can't rest assured now." Mei Changsu shook his head and said, "You've been busy this month, and Xie Yu certainly won't be idle. He probably won't want to make a move when he makes this move. Guard the palace defense more carefully, and there must be no more troubles and make the situation worse."
"I have the confidence to say that Miyagi is guarded like an iron barrel. But there is Zhuo Dingfeng around Xie Yu, and the actions of martial arts masters are always difficult for ordinary soldiers to guard against."
"Leave this to me. Zhuo Dingfeng is in the light, so it's not difficult to deal with. Whether it's him, his son, or the other masters he has made friends with, I can monitor it. If they are smart enough to detect If they are under surveillance, they must not dare to commit crimes if they are not sure of getting out. If they are a little slow and don't notice my control, they will just bump into my hands. As long as there is a change, I will be able to grasp the evidence of the crime. At that time, I will give it to Xia Dong and see if she will let Xie Yu go again this time." Mei Changsu raised her eyebrows, and her face suddenly became frosty and arrogant, "In this New Year's Eve case, Xie Yu is just a preemptive striker. Otherwise, in terms of Jianghu tactics, will the Jiangzuo League still lose to Tianquan Villa?"
"No," Meng Zhi couldn't help laughing, "If Zhuo Dingfeng really thinks that your strength is beyond the scope of the fourteen states of Jiangzuo, then it's really a big concern."
Mei Changsu sighed with some emotion and said, "I don't know if it's for fame or profit, love or righteousness, Zhuo Dingfeng has already been dragged into the same boat by Xie Yu. He is also a generation of heroes in the world. It's just that this chaos in the capital is not a battlefield he is familiar with. Now that children are married, they are not one family but also one family. If he wants to retreat in the future, I'm afraid it won't be easy."
Meng Zhi said in a slightly cold tone: "In the end, this is also his own choice, and if there is any result, he can only swallow it himself. It's Xiao Jingrui, a young man... I have always admired his gentleness, but it is a pity that he will inevitably suffer from his father in the future. tired."
Hearing his words, Mei Changsu frowned slightly, looked at Denghua in a daze, and murmured, "Jing Rui... that's not just a pity..."