Autumn rain knows the cold, after a heavy rain, the weather suddenly turned cold.
On the street in the middle of the night, the wind is howling, sweeping past, the flying dust is so blinding that people can't open their eyes, and the chill is so cold that it penetrates their clothes. Pedestrians are rarely seen on the road, and even the guards patrolling the streets are tightened. Collar, shrinking neck, looking hurried.
On the street, a man was wrapped in a cloak, walking forward against the wind, and his steps were not at all slow. The black clothes and black hair looked like a lonely shadow in the dark night.
Walking to a pawn shop that had already closed, he looked around and knocked on the door lightly twice, paused, twice again, and then twice again.
Soon, the door was opened, and the man stepped into the room.
"My lord, please go to the inner room." The person who opened the door greeted him.
Entering the room, a man was lazily half lying on the chaise longue, throwing grapes into his mouth one by one. The candles in the room were weak and his face could not be seen clearly.
"Yo." The man's eyes lit up, and his words were sarcasm, "Master Yan came down to the humble house in person, the grass people are terrified."
Yan Sikong found a stool and sat down: "She Zhun, I'm here to talk to you about business today."
"Which time did you find me for business?" The man named She Zhun laughed and said, "At the beginning, you said that you and I should not meet if it is not necessary."
"I have entered the court as an official, and there may be eyes watching me all the time, so I must be cautious."
She Zhun shrugged: "You didn't send your ugly servant here today, it seems that it is not only a serious matter, but also a major event."
"That's right." Yan Sikong looked serious, "I can't tell by letters. I need you to do something for me in person. Don't leave it to the people below. I don't worry."
"Oh?" She Zhun raised his eyebrows, put down his overlapping long legs, and sat up with him. Under the light of the candle, he could vaguely see a handsome and cynical face, "Tell me about it."
"I asked you to check the Oiran of Tinglange last time, remember?"
"Ye Li, of course I remember." She Zhun touched his chin, "Tsk tsk, that little lady is so beautiful."
"I have sent her many gifts anonymously, and now I need you to get close to her, no matter what method you use, how much money you spend, and become her regular customer."
"Wow, there are such good things." She Zhun said with a smile, "In what capacity?"
"People from the rivers and lakes, guests of the King of Chu."
"Purpose."
"Inadvertently revealed to her..." Yan Sikong's eyes were bright, "Liang Wang has raised soldiers and cast iron for many years, hoarded grain and accumulated silver, and recruited wise men."
She Zhun narrowed his eyes: "Is this true or did you make it up? Liang Wang wants to oppose it?"
"It may be true or false. I went to Jingzhou Mansion four years ago and found that the number of guards of King Liang far exceeded the number of vassal kings."
She Zhun unconsciously lowered his volume: "That doesn't mean he wants to rebel. Yan Sikong, what do you want to do?"
Yan Sikong smiled lightly: "Do you know who the current governor of the two lakes is?"
"... Ge Zhong."
"Ge Zhong, as a great official in the frontier, is in charge of the military and political power of the twenty-one states in the two lakes. Liang Wang is the eldest son of the emperor. He cannot inherit the throne because he is not a direct descendant. The dragon chair is reserved for an eight-year-old child. It is not his turn to sit. You say, this Could it be possible for the two to have a reactionary force while the other has a rebellious heart?"
She Zhun took a deep breath: "Yan Sikong, you are really brave."
"I don't care if they want to rebel or not, I will help them 'rebel'. Ge Zhong colluded with the eunuchs, gained power and money, framed Zhongliang, Liang Wang was lawless, searched for the people's fat, bullied the land and bullied his mother. If these two are not eliminated, the people of the two lakes There will never be peace." Yan Sikong said coldly, "Besides, Ge Zhong is also a member of Xie Zhongren."
She Zhun was silent for a while: "You know mine, you have enough money, I can do whatever you want."
Yan Sikong took out a money bag from his pocket and put it on the table, and it made a loud clang, which sounded heavy.
She Zhun grinned: "I have money, and I can sleep with the courtesan, Mr. Yan, next time you have such a good job, just come to me."
Yan Sikong stood up: "I'll go first."
"You have gotten quite close to Prince Jingyuan recently." She Zhun joked.
Yan Sikong turned his head: "How do you know?"
"Is there anything inside and outside the capital that I don't know?"
"I gave you money, not for you to stare at me."
"I have eyes and ears all over the place, and I didn't intend to stare at you." She Zhun said with a half smile, "Why, when you mention that little wolf king, you are not quite right, and you are still thinking about your childhood sweetheart?"
"...Let me know anytime you have any news." Yan Sikong hurriedly left.
—
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Feng Ye returned to Jingshan Camp, Xu was busy with military affairs, the two hadn't seen each other for more than a month.
Yan Sikong's life is still the same, he often goes in and out of Wenyuan Pavilion and the East Palace, and has some entertainment from time to time. He is very good at winning people's hearts. He has only been in the capital for two years, and he has made many friends. Because he is both talented and beautiful, and he is also the prince's attendant, he is famous among the princes and celebrities in the capital. Many people also want to make friends with him. .
As a result, more and more people wanted to match him, but he always said that his parents' fate and marriage should be decided by his teacher, and asked them to go to Yan Zilian, but after saying this, there was no further information.
That day in the East Palace, even Chen Kui couldn't help being curious: "Sir, why haven't you married yet?"
"Why does Your Highness care about this?" Although he didn't want to marry a wife, he was actually curious why Yan Zilian didn't propose marriage to him so far.
"Mr. is so talented and beautiful that everyone in the world wants to marry you, but you not only don't marry a wife, you don't even have a concubine." Chen Wei narrowed his eyes slightly, and said ambiguously, "Could it be that... Mister is so masculine?"
Dasheng is not as masculine as in the previous dynasty, but he does not shy away from it. It is not a new thing for the family of the royal relatives and dignitaries to have a male favorite.
Yan Sikong said with a smile: "Your official has read sages and sages, he has Buddhism and Confucianism in his heart, and he has great ambitions in his heart. He only wants to assist His Majesty, His Majesty, create a peaceful and prosperous world, and establish the achievements of all people. What's the matter."
Chen Kui laughed and said: "Mr. is only twenty-three years old, what you said is like an old man, don't deceive me when I am young, and say such a grandiose name, even if you marry a wife and have children, it will not hinder your achievements. "
Yan Sikong was helpless: "Your Highness is right, the officials are also curious, my mentor has not engaged me, there is nothing I can do about it."
"I'll go talk to Mr. Yan Ge."
"No." Yan Sikong begged Rao, "Teacher must have a purpose in doing this, please don't worry about it, Your Highness."
"Okay." Chen Kui rolled his eyes, and suddenly approached Yan Sikong, with a naughty smile on his childish handsome face, "Then, is Mr.... a manly man?"
Yan Sikong unconsciously leaned back: "Your Highness, stop making fun of me."
Chen Kui laughed out loud.
—
When I went to Wenyuan Pavilion the next day, seeing Yan Zilian, Yan Sikong suddenly remembered what Chen Kuang said.
Why didn't Yan Zilian marry him? Could it be that they want to choose a gentry of their own faction to further win the relationship between them? Marriage is very important in factional disputes, perhaps because of this reason, Yan Zilian has not yet found a suitable family.
Furthermore, since the case of the new history compilation, Yan Zilian treats him as usual, sometimes a little indifferent, wondering if he is testing and testing himself.
Yan Sikong decided to ask, he didn't like this kind of unsure thing, but most likely he couldn't decide the marriage.
Seeing him coming in, Yan Zilian just raised his eyes and continued to look at the official document in his hand.
Yan Sikong bowed to him: "The student has met the teacher."
"Sit down." After Yan Zilian said this, he buried his head in grading the paper and ignored him.
Yan Sikong was not in a hurry, he sat quietly and waited.
After almost an hour, Yan Zilian just released the paper and raised his head.
Yan Sikong hurriedly cupped his hands.
"What are you looking for from me?"
"Student... there is something quite puzzling, and I want to ask the teacher."
A sharp light flashed in Yan Zilian's eyes: "What about the new history?"
"Uh, no."
"What's that about?"
Yan Sikong made a somewhat shy look: "Recently, more and more people want to say goodbye to me. Both my parents have passed away. The teacher should decide on the important matters of marriage..."
Yan Zilian sneered: "Are you in a hurry to marry a wife?"
"No, if the students are in a hurry to get married, they will be married at the age of sixteen or seventeen. The students are just curious, why the teacher rejected the matchmaker."
"To tell you the truth, you won't be able to get married within two years."
Yan Sikong raised his eyebrows in surprise: "This... the student doesn't understand." Hearing this, Yan Sikong felt relieved. If they really get married, Feng Ye doesn't know what to do... But it's human nature to marry a wife and have children, and Feng Ye will get married sooner or later, but it would be better if he doesn't have to worry about this for two years.
"If you want to know why, you need to answer me a question truthfully." Yan Zilian's old-fashioned eyes fixed on Yan Sikong.
Yan Sikong sat up straight unconsciously, he suddenly realized that Yan Zilian was hot and cold these days, maybe he was waiting for him to come to him, of course not for marriage, but for something else...
"Teacher, please."
Yan Zilian suddenly took out a book from under the pile of books and threw it to Yan Sikong.
Yan Sikong took a closer look, and it was the original manuscript of the ninth volume of the new history: "This..."
"Shen Hexuan came to look for me a few days ago." Yan Zilian said, "The place where he said something wrong looks quite strange, which made him doubtful."
Yan Sikong had expected that such a stubborn person like Shen Hexuan would not tolerate sand in his eyes and had doubts in his heart, so he needed to find out, but he didn't expect to go directly to Yan Zilian. Although his heart was a little tense, he seemed very calm, "Actually, brother Shen told me before that I also felt that the mistake was a bit unusual, and I can't say what's wrong."
Yan Zilian narrowed his eyes: "You also feel strange?"
Yan Sikong nodded: "What did the teacher see?"
"I scolded He Xuan back, the matter has been turned over, I told him to stop being suspicious." Yan Zilian said in a deep voice, "However, I think his suspicion is right."
"What...does he suspect?" Yan Sikong asked cautiously.
Yan Zilian paused: "He suspected that the character 'Zhao' was added later."
Yan Sikong was shocked: "This..." He hurriedly flipped through the manuscript, carefully looked at the upside-down word, "This..."
Yan Zilian carefully observed Yan Sikong's reaction, and did not speak for a moment.
Yan Sikong raised his head suddenly, his face darkened: "Teacher, are you doubting me?"
This sword came too straight and too fierce, Yan Zilian was stunned for a moment, and he said: "If this word is really added later, everyone in Wenyuan Pavilion will be suspected, and naturally you who are involved in the case are the most suspicious .”
Yan Sikong stood up and knelt down respectfully: "The student failed to check for mistakes and omissions. It is a deep dereliction of duty. Thanks to the teacher and several adults working together to protect him, His Majesty only punished him a little bit. The student is a small Hanlin. It took several years to serve the teacher, and I never dared to joke about my future and life with the royal majesty, the teacher... really frightened the students."
Yan Zilian's face softened, and his tone became gentle: "Sikong, get up quickly, as a teacher, I just want to investigate this matter secretly, and I don't really suspect you. Besides, no one knows whether this word was added later. Even Liu Zhaolin himself can't remember what he wrote."
Yan Sikong wiped the sweat from his forehead before standing up, but his expression was already a little panicked.
Yan Zilian put on a straight face again: "I never got along with that Wang Shengsheng. It was a happy thing for him to be demoted. However, I will never allow anyone to play tricks on me under my nose. I have been up and down for more than forty years. Zai, the word 'unaware' is the most taboo, once you don't know, it's easy to lose control of everything, if it causes a catastrophe, it may involve many things, and the consequences are unpredictable, do you understand?"
"Students understand."
Yan Zilian nodded: "Your marriage." He stroked his beard, "Sikong, you are the talent of Wang Zuo, the younger generation I value the most. Given time, you will definitely ascend to the court to pay homage to the prime minister. But you are from a humble family background. Weak, old as a teacher, one day I will not be here, you juniors will have a bumpy career, so you need a strong in-law."
Yan Sikong stared blankly at Yan Zilian.
Yan Zilian smiled and said: "So, I declined all marriages for you, and wait for a princess to grow up."