Early the next morning, Wen Liunian went to the Prince's Mansion. Chu Heng was originally planning to go to the army for inspection, but when he heard the report from the steward, he frowned and asked, "Can you explain what's going on?"
"I didn't say that, and it's not easy for a young one to ask beyond the rules." The housekeeper said, "But it doesn't seem like a good thing to be accompanied by people from Shadow Chasing Palace."
Chu Heng became more and more puzzled, and felt that he had neglected others by ignoring them these few days
"If father doesn't want to see him, why don't I go and find out?" Chu Cheng asked from the side.
"Small and small are also sent by the emperor, so how can you just say you don't see him?" Chu Heng shook his head, "Go and have a look first."
Wen Liunian and his party were still drinking tea in the living room, but someone on the other side had already rushed to find Chu Mian and informed him of the matter.
"Master Wen is really here?" Chu Mian was in a hurry when he heard the words.
"Yeah, young master, how could you do such a foolish thing?" The servant couldn't help complaining, "Not to mention Mrs. Wen, even the Lord of Tengyunbao, Shangbao, is not casual. It can be messed with."
Chu Mian also felt very annoyed, he had only had a hot head before, and he was jealous that Mu Qingshan could always follow Wen Liunian, so he found a few gangsters, thinking of teaching him a lesson. Da Kun City was originally the territory of the Chu family, and those little scoundrels had never seen anything in the world. When they heard that the young master in the palace was going to teach foreigners a lesson, they would not only show off their prestige but also get money, they naturally agreed. He went out with a bucket of water, but he didn't expect to poke a hornet's nest - Chu Mian didn't say that he was protecting them, even self-protection would be difficult.
"It's really for that matter?" Chu Mian was still lucky, "Could it be for the King of Southwest? Or military and political affairs."
"Those little rascals were arrested not long ago. How can Mr. Wen have any other purpose for this trip." The servant sighed again and again, "If the prince finds out, I'm afraid the young master will inevitably be punished."
Chu Mian was at a loss, so he simply sneaked to the front hall, trying to embolden himself. The dark guard looked amused in his heart, but he didn't stop Wen Liunian's warning in advance, he just kept watching the movement.
"Master Wen, why don't you come here without seeing the news." Chu Heng opened the door curtain and walked in, smiling, "I might as well make preparations in advance."
Chu Mian eavesdropped outside the window, clenched his fists nervously.
The hidden guard came in and whispered something in Wen Liunian's ear.
Chu Heng frowned slightly, whispering in front of his master, somewhat disregarding himself.
"My lord, don't blame me, I'm talking about the private affairs of the official family." Wen Liunian explained.
"It's okay, it's okay." Chu Heng waved his hands, and said openly, "But it has something to do with the Zhao family?"
"Exactly." Wen Liunian scratched his face, "Although we can't meet each other all the time, it's still okay to write a few letters to tell each other our hearts."
"Master Wen and Master Zhao are really as rumored, and their love is extraordinary." Chu Heng poured tea for him, and said casually, "We can't even be separated for a few days."
Wen Liunian asked curiously, "My lord has also heard the rumors about the lower officials?"
Chu Heng's expression was slightly taken aback, but he soon returned to his original state: "Not only the story between Lord Wen and Master Zhao, but also the story between Palace Master Qin and Young Master Shen has been widely circulated among the common people. Strange."
Wen Liunian was stunned, smiled and didn't ask any more questions—I've been wandering around in the city these days, Da Kun City is not as prosperous as Wang City, and there are wars from time to time, so there are much fewer scripts of all kinds. There are still some legends about Palace Master Qin and Young Master Shen, so I think I have never heard of it. If Chu Heng wanted to know about himself, he could only inquire secretly from Wangcheng, or in other words, wanted to inquire about the emperor's movements, and learned some rumors about himself by the way.
"My lord, why did you come here today?" Chu Heng asked again.
Wen Liunian was also straightforward, and said: "To be honest, it has something to do with the second young master of the family."
Chu Heng frowned when he heard the words, "Could it be that the dog didn't know how to behave, and bumped into the adults somewhere?"
As soon as the words fell, there was a clanging sound outside, and the housekeeper's surprised voice: "Second Young Master, why are you lying on the ground?"
Chu Heng got up and walked out with a dark face.
Chu Mian got up covered in water, looking a little embarrassed, but also annoyed in his heart, why he was so rough, and accidentally knocked over the water pot on the window sill, clearly remembering that there was still some distance.
The dark guard took back the rest of the pebbles and continued to watch the fun calmly.
"Mian'er!" Chu Heng said angrily, "What are you doing here?"
"Father." Chu Mian shivered a little, but he didn't know whether it was because of the cold or fear.
"Second Young Master." Wen Liunian also came out of the room.
After seeing him, Chu Mian's face became paler and he almost didn't dare to meet his eyes.
"Quickly explain clearly, where did you offend your lord?" Chu Heng urged.
"Son, son yesterday, yesterday..." Chu Mian's voice was as soft as a mosquito: "Careless, not careful..."
"What did you accidentally do?" Chu Cheng asked coolly.
"It's really the young master who did it." Wen Liunian suddenly said from the side, "I just said why I went back to the study and looked, the manuscripts I wrote earlier were missing a lot."
"Manuscript?" Chu Heng frowned slightly.
Chu Mian was also surprised.
"The young master really took it?" Wen Liunian asked again.
Although Chu Mian was confused, he also vaguely sensed that the other party should want to give him a step down, so he nodded in a hurry.
"Nonsense, if you don't ask yourself, you will be considered a thief. Besides, what are you doing with your lord's manuscript for no reason?" Chu Heng reprimanded.
"I just collected and sorted out some stories of the sages under the emperor's order. The young master can read them." Wen Liunian smoothed things over, "It's not about throwing them away, so I can rest assured."
Although Chu Heng only valued Chu Cheng on weekdays and rarely asked this incompetent young son, he was also aware of his faults, and even a poor poet with little reputation could be invited into the mansion to be treated as a guest. The receptionist asked others to leave a few words, not to mention that Wen Liunian is still a rumored Wenqu star, so it is not surprising that he can do such a thing.
"If the young master wants to read it, you can send a copy after I finish writing it." Wen Liunian said, "I wonder if I can return it now?"
"Yes, yes." Chu Mian nodded quickly, "I'll go back to the study to pick it up."
"Then I will go there together with the young master." Wen Liunian said, "in order not to miss anything."
"Your Excellency, please do as you please." Chu Heng nodded, and after seeing the two of them leave, he shook his head and sighed heavily.
"Father don't need to get angry." Chu Cheng said on the side, "After all, the second brother did such a shameful thing, not once or twice. Stealing some manuscripts and poems is not a big problem."
"Forget it, don't mention him." Chu Heng said in annoyance, "Come with me to the army."
Chu Cheng nodded and followed him out the door.
On the other side, just as Chu Mian and Wen Liunian returned to the study, they felt their knees go limp and almost fell to the ground.
"Young master, be careful." The dark guard grabbed him.
"Lord Wen." Chu Mian wept.
"Why did you send someone to trouble Master?" Wen Liunian asked.
When he heard that it was really for this matter, Chu Mian couldn't lift his head even more: "It's just a momentary obsession, master, is he alright?"
"Caught with wind and cold, it will be fine in two days." Wen Liunian said, "It's just that it's not a serious problem, but I'm afraid the young master should explain the matter clearly, otherwise even if I don't pursue it, the Lord Shang And I won’t let it go.”
"I... I also want to be your master!" Chu Mian said loudly, determined.
"The young master has a noble status, I'm afraid it won't work." Wen Liunian shook his head, and said again, "Because of this reason, do you hold grudges against the master?"
"I was also insane for a while, and I regretted it later, but I didn't dare to come to the door to apologize, because I was afraid that Shangbao would attack me." Chu Mian lowered his voice again, "Thank you, sir, for helping me hide it from my father and elder brother."
"Later, the young master will come back with me and apologize to the master and Lord Shangbao face to face." Wen Liunian said, "They are all generous people, as long as they speak clearly, they will not care too much. "
"Okay." Chu Mian nodded lazily, but said worriedly, "Master Shang really won't hit me, will he?"
"Of course not." Wen Liunian shook his head, "Also, if the young master wants to discuss songs, prose and poems in the future, feel free to come, as long as I have nothing to do, it's fine to have a chat."
"Is it really possible?" Chu Mian suddenly raised her head when she heard this.
Wen Liu said, "Yes."
"Thank you, my lord!" Chu Mian was overjoyed. He thought that he would have to suffer a family law, but he didn't expect that not only was everything safe, but he was also given such privileges. He was so happy that he didn't know what to do with himself.
"Let's go." Wen Liunian said, "Go and apologize to Master first."
Chu Mian hurriedly nodded and followed, although he was still worried that he would be beaten up by Shang Yunze, but as long as he thought that he could go to Mrs Wen at any time in the future, he felt that it would be okay to be beaten up. The dark guard looked at the light in his eyes, and was a little confused - what was going on in this man's head, did he really like you so much
But having said that, fortunately the head of the family is not at home for a while, otherwise if he knew that there was such a person, he didn't know what would happen.
Seeing Chu Mian coming to the door, although Shang Yunze was still annoyed, he reluctantly accepted the so-called apology for Wen Liunian's sake. Stealing personal clothes when you come here, and ordering the gangsters to behave mischievously, no matter how you look at it, it doesn't look like a gentleman's actions.
"Master, don't worry." Wen Liunian said, "I have my own discretion."
Now that Wen Liunian agreed, Chu Mian really started to run to Wen's house every day, which is not to be polite. Although Wen Liunian had two secret guards guarding him every time, it was impossible to get closer, but being able to discuss literary and historical classics together like this was something that he had never even dared to think about before, and it was a wish fulfilled. Satisfied tightly.
"Prince Chu seems to be quite busy recently?" Wen Liunian asked casually while grinding his ink.
"Yeah, I don't know what I'm busy with. It's been several days, and I only came back late at night, and the same is true for my brother." Chu Mian said.
"Probably because Chinese New Year is coming soon." Wen Liunian said, "So it will be extra busy."
"I haven't seen this busy in previous years." Chu Mian said, "But this is good, no one cares about me."
"Why doesn't young master help the prince?" Wen Liunian continued to ask.
"I'm not interested in wielding knives and guns." Chu Mian said, "I just want to be a great talent who is famous all over the world, just like my lord!"
"Young master is too famous." Wen Liunian shook his head, "I have little talent and learning, how can I afford to be famous all over the world."
"My lord's words are self-effacement." Chu Mian shook her head when she heard the words, and seemed to have a tendency to make a long speech about her confession. Wen Liunian hurriedly changed the subject and said, "It's almost Chinese New Year, do you know if there is a custom of opening charitable halls in the city?"
"What kind of hall?" Chu Mian was puzzled.
"Looking at the people in Da Kun City, they are not considered rich. The Chinese New Year is coming soon. Will the local government send some rice, flour, grain and oil to the people?" Wen Liunian explained.
"Occasionally, but I haven't heard from my father this year." Chu Mian said, "Although the local people are not rich, they still have no problem eating. They don't need government assistance, so don't worry about it."
Wen Liunian nodded, but frowned slightly in his heart. Over the years, Chu Heng had asked the court for a lot of money. Now it seems that he did not build towns, and he did not help the people. The large amount of money must have been embezzled or hidden away. was thrown into the army. Thinking of what Ye Jin said earlier, that Chu Heng's prestige in the army is much higher than that of the emperor, and the two sides are connected, and the reason can be guessed somewhat.
Sure enough, when Shen Qianfeng came back at night, he also said that he had heard the news that Chu Heng's army had received much more money than the amount stipulated by the court. These were just ordinary soldiers. exaggerate.
"It's a cheap deal to use the money allocated by the court to the people to buy the morale of the army." Wen Liunian shook his head, "The houses in this city are dilapidated, and the people are going to go fishing at the risk of pirates. They live comfortably and comfortably, no wonder everyone is so devoted to Chu Heng."
"What do you think about the next step?" Ye Jin asked.
"The pirates who appear and disappear on the three-foot waves should be Chu Heng's tricks." Wen Liunian said. "After all, if Donghai is really so non-stop, it is natural to concentrate on suppressing the bandits first. Then this dilapidated town and the poor and hungry people will have an excuse to explain."
"You have to think of a way. Let's go to the Sanchilang first?" Ye Jin asked.
"I'm not in a hurry now." Wen Liunian shook his head, "Someone has already gone to check, and there must be results in a few days."
"Who?" Ye Jin asked curiously.
"Ahem." Wen Liunian said, "The King of the Southwest."
"Who?!" Ye Jin was shocked.
"King of the Southwest. Wen Liunian had no choice but to repeat it.
"Duan Baiyue?" Ye Jin asked again.
Wen Liunian continued to nod—after all, what King Duan said back then was "don't let Guzhu Ye see the red-armored wolf" instead of "don't let Guzhu Ye know my whereabouts", so it probably doesn't hurt to say something.
"Why did Duan Baiyue come to Great Kun City?" Ye Jin was startled and furious.
"Why can't you come? Muyang City is not too far from here." Wen Liunian blinked, "Besides, the emperor said before leaving that if you have any difficulties, just go to the Southwest King."
"There was such a decree?" Ye Jin twisted his mouth when he heard the words, and grabbed Shen Qianfeng, "Let's go, let's meet Duan Baiyue."
"If you want to meet, there must be a reason." Shen Qianfeng couldn't help crying and holding him back, "Now that the King of Southwest has a plan with your lord, and he is helping the emperor, logically speaking, he should be with us. If you have to, don't It's better to disturb easily, so as not to be noticed by Chu Heng and disrupt the original arrangement."
"But..." Ye Jin circled the room.
"But what?" Both Shen Qianfeng and Wen Liunian looked at him.
Ye Jin was at a loss for words, feeling so depressed.
How to say this
Seeing him leave the door with black wind, Shen Qianfeng had no choice but to catch up. Wen Liunian sat at the table, but heaved a sigh of relief. When the owner of the valley heard that the Southwest King was coming, his first reaction was to want the red armored wolf, but he didn't even mention it.
But having said that, I don't know what kind of entanglement there was between Ye Guzhu and the Southwest King. Why did it seem like he was going to eat people when he mentioned it
It was very scary.
Two days later, Wen Liunian was laying on the bed and spreading the quilt, when suddenly there was a sound coming from outside the window, followed by the voice of the hidden guard: "Who?!"
"Read it in the next paragraph." The other party said, "My lord has something to say to my lord."
King of the Southwest? Wen Liunian was overjoyed, hurriedly put on his clothes, got out of bed and opened the door.
The weather outside was very cold, and it was raining lightly, and the shoulders of both of them were a little wet. Wen Liunian felt very sorry, so he hurriedly made some hot tea.
"Is the red armored wolf okay?" Duan Baiyue asked immediately.
"Don't worry, the king of the Southwest, he is very energetic." Wen Liunian opened the small porcelain jar and released the red-armored wolf for him to see.
Duan Baiyue was obviously relieved.
"I don't know if there is any harvest at the other end of the three-foot wave?" Wen Liunian asked cautiously.
"Yes." Duan Baiyue nodded, "They say they are pirates, but they are actually Chu Heng's people."
"Sure enough." Wen Liunian was not surprised, "It's exactly as I expected."
"The reason why ghosts and ghosts appear is because there are many reefs in that sea area." Duan Baiyue said, "The opponent's fleet looks powerful, but there are not many real warships, most of them are small boats waving flags back and forth. It only takes a short time to hide behind the boulder, and with the cover of the vast white mist, it will seem to disappear out of thin air."
"Why did the King of Southwest conclude that this group of pirates and Chu Heng secretly colluded?" Wen Liunian asked again.
"My lord and I spied on Sanchilang, and we saw Chu Cheng secretly meet with his leader." Duan Nian said, "It looks very familiar."
"What's Mr. Wen's next plan?" Duan Baiyue asked.
"If this gang of pirates is not eliminated, I'm afraid that the common people will not be able to live a happy life." Wen Liunian said, "I wonder if the King of Southwest can help?"
"You want me to send troops?" Duan Baiyue frowned slightly.
"It's not sending troops out in the open." Wen Liunian shook his head, "It was helping secretly to destroy this fleet, leaving Chu Heng confused."
"This matter is no small matter." Duan Baiyue shook his head.
"So why don't you all sit down and have a good discussion?" Wen Liunian said, "The King of Southwest also has a chance to give the red armored wolf to Lord Ye Gu in person."
"This..." Duan Baiyue touched his chin.
Wen Liunian looked at him eagerly.
"Alright." After hesitating for a moment, Duan Baiyue nodded.
Duan Nian sighed inwardly, although he knew that the king would not refuse, but seeing him nod so readily, he was still in a complicated mood.
For that person in the imperial court, wouldn't he be too responsive...
In the small courtyard next door, Ye Jin was helping Shen Qianfeng to press his shoulders. The lights were dim and the quilt was warm. Before they could do something while they were in love, someone knocked on the door suddenly.
Ye Jin was taken aback, Shen Qianfeng hugged him comfortingly into his arms and patted him, got out of bed and opened the door.
"Leader." The dark guard whispered, "The King of Southwest is here."
"Duan Baiyue?" Shen Qianfeng was surprised when he heard this.
"It's in the adult's room." The dark guard said, "Please go over with the leader of the alliance and the owner of the valley, and say that we have something important to discuss."
Shen Qianfeng nodded, and went back to the room to tell Ye Jin about it. After a while, Shang Yunze was also found by the dark guards, followed by Mu Qingshan who had just recovered from the wind and cold and was wrapped into a small bun.
Ye Jin was sitting at the table with a teacup in his hand, looking at Duan Baiyue with an inscrutable expression.
The rest of the people in the room were at a loss. It stands to reason that the King of Southwest came to help. Even if he couldn't thank him, he should be warm and friendly. Why did Master Ye come back with a grumpy face when he mentioned it? Could it be that he owed money? .
"Xiao Jin." Shen Qianfeng patted him on the back lightly.
Ye Jin was unwilling, so she narrowed her gaze a little.
"I heard that Guzhu Ye wants the red armored wolf?" Duan Baiyue didn't care about his attitude, but asked with a smile instead.
"No." Ye Jin shook her head firmly.
"Really?" Duan Baiyue took out the small porcelain pots, "It took me a lot of effort to find these three, and I would like it if I were a valley owner."
Ye Jin: "..."
Are there really three? !
"Do you want to take a look?" Duan Baiyue asked.
Ye Jin nodded, it doesn't hurt to take a look.
But you must not want it!
Duan Baiyue smiled slightly, and reached out to open the lid.
Since they had been together with the golden-armored wolves before and ate well, the three red-armored wolves were very energetic, crawling fast, and illuminated by the candlelight, all of them were bright red.
Ye Jin's heart suddenly flashed and thundered, and heaven and man were at war.
"Thank you Southwest King." Shen Qianfeng came out to smooth things over.
"President Shen, you're being polite, it's just three red-armored wolves." Duan Baiyue didn't say much, and handed over the small pot, "But this king is here today, sending red-armored wolves is the next best thing. That fleet is the most important thing to solve right now."
Ye Jin's eyes drifted along the way.
Shen Qianfeng took the jar in his hand and handed it to him.
Ye Jin calmly took it in his hand and squeezed it very firmly.
Duan Baiyue smiled: "According to Mr. Wen, he wants to take the opportunity to wipe out these pirates in one fell swoop, so that the people can have a good and stable year."
"If it's true that Chu Heng is secretly implicated, it's all right to wipe him out." Ye Jin said, "It's just a chance to rub the opponent's spirit."
"Will it make the other party suspicious?" Duan Baiyue said, "After all, according to Emperor Chu's intention, he wants to keep it stable for a year or two, instead of launching an offensive now."
"No." Wen Liunian shook his head resolutely.
"Oh?" Duan Baiyue probed, "My lord seems very sure?"
"Yes." Wen Liunian touched his nose, "As long as you do what I say, not only will Chu Heng not be suspicious, but he will only suffer from being dumb."