"Who?"
Cui Lin suddenly retreated to the door and shouted in a low voice.
However, no one responded to him, but his tense body still did not relax, and his vigilant eyes scanned around the room.
After confirming that no one was in the room, he breathed a sigh of relief, but his expression was still extremely solemn. When he just entered the room, he noticed that someone had come in.
The reason was simple. There was an item hanging in front of the bed where he was resting. Although it was in the dark, he was sure that it was not his, let alone a servant of his family.
Looking at the thing that appeared inexplicably, Cui Lin's expression kept changing. He was hesitating whether to ask a servant to come over and take a look.
But when he thought that someone could deliver things to his room without anyone noticing, and in this way, he felt a chill in his heart.
After hesitating for a long time, he finally gave up calling people and walked into the house step by step, wanting to see what the things that appeared in his room were.
He carefully walked to the front of the item and found that there was no danger. He breathed a secret sigh of relief and then looked at it intently.
"Um?"
When Cui Lin saw the items clearly, his expression was startled. It turned out to be a scroll and a letter.
He picked up the envelope first.
After a moment, he put down the letter with a look of shock and excitement and opened the scroll...
…………
Zhongyong Hou Mansion!
Today Zhou Chen returned to the Hou Mansion early because he was invited by Xiao Qinyan to attend his birthday banquet in the evening, so he came back early and prepared to go to Xiao Mansion.
"Master Hou, the birthday gifts have been prepared."
"Well, what is it?"
Under the service of the maid, Zhou Chen got dressed and asked Zhou Huai who was next to him.
Although he cooperated with Xiao Qinyan, he didn't have a good impression of Xiao Qinyan. Of course he didn't care about birthday gifts or anything like that, so he left it directly to Zhou Huai to prepare, so he really doesn't know Zhou Huai until now.
What have you prepared?
"Reporting to Lord Marquis, it is a golden Buddha."
"Okay, I got it, pack it up and get ready to go."
Zhou Chen didn't care too much, as long as he didn't lose face, it didn't matter what he gave him.
Sitting on the carriage, Zhou Chen fell into deep thought. The day before yesterday, after he sent the night banquet picture copied by Zhao Pan'er to Ke Zheng's mansion, he secretly handed the real night banquet picture to Cui Lin's home, along with a
letter.
He originally wanted to give the night banquet picture directly to Qi Mu, but he thought that the old man Qi Mu was deep-minded and might not be fooled, so he gave it to Cui Lin instead.
Cui Lin is the Commander Cui who appeared in the plot. He dealt with Gu Qianfan and later assassinated Xiao Qinyan. He was a staunch anti-rearist faction.
This person wanted to bring down Xiao Qinyan, so he got this picture of the night banquet that could hurt the queen and the queen. He would definitely lose his composure and would definitely cause a disturbance.
It has only been a day now. Cui Lin and the people of Qingliu's lineage must verify the authenticity of the night banquet picture and the interest disputes behind it, so they will not be able to take action in a short while.
Anyway, he has put the bait out, and these people have begun to bite. It will be up to them to see when they go crazy.
Today is not a big day, but for Xiao Qinyan, today is different.
Today is not only his birthday party, but also a good day for him to show off his skills and bid farewell to his old rival Ke Zheng.
After today, his most feared opponent in the court, Ke Zheng, will leave Tokyo. From then on, the court will enter the era of his prime minister, Xiao Qinyan.
Because of the official decree, the Xiao Mansion was extremely lively today. The Jiaofang Division sent almost all their elites to perform. There were also many guests in the huge Xiao Mansion.
It's just that Xiao Qinyan is now your father-in-law, and most people are not qualified to visit him as a guest. Many of them send congratulatory gifts and then leave. There are also many courtiers who don't want to have anything to do with Xiao Qinyan. Let alone visiting, they don't even send birthday gifts.
Zhou Chen arrived not too early. When he arrived at Xiao Mansion, the sky was already getting dark.
As soon as Zhou Chen arrived, someone immediately reported to him at the door. After a while, he saw Xiao Qinyan walking over with the housekeeper.
"Marquis Zhongyong, I have missed the chance to welcome you from afar, and sometimes I have missed the chance to welcome you from afar."
Xiao Qinyan, as the protagonist of the birthday banquet and the prime minister of the dynasty, came to greet Zhou Chen in person, which was indeed a great honor.
Zhou Chen naturally responded politely: "Xiao Xianggong is very serious. I'm late for Xianggong Xiao's birthday banquet today. I'm sorry."
"Marquis Zhongyong is too kind, please."
Xiao Qinyan waved his hand and prepared to invite Zhou Chen into the inner courtyard.
But at this moment, the person in charge of greeting guests at the door shouted loudly again.
"Xianggong Ke, Qi Mu Qi Zhongcheng, Duke An Guo..."
I don’t know if these people arrived at Xiao Mansion almost at the same time through consultation.
Xiao Qinyan's expression suddenly changed, he apologized to Zhou Chen, and then greeted him with a smile.
Zhou Chen did not leave, but stood there, quietly looking in the direction of the door.
Soon, he saw a familiar figure walking over in a hurry. Xiao Qinyan walked beside him and greeted him with a smile, while Qi Mu and others followed behind.
"Ke Zheng, Ke Xianggong."
Zhou Chen's eyes flashed.
When he took up the post of Deputy Commander of the Guards and Horse Army, Xianggong Ke had already been dismissed as Prime Minister. Although he had not left Tokyo yet, he had not gone to court again, so he had never seen this former minister in the several court meetings he attended.
Mentor.
Today was the first time he saw Ke Zheng in public.
Ke Zheng is about the same age as Xiao Qinyan, but he looks burlier than Xiao Qinyan. Xiao Qinyan has a more scholarly temperament, but although Ke Zheng is also a scholar, he still gives people a warrior-like perseverance.
.
It is obvious that Ke Zheng has been dismissed as Prime Minister, and Xiao Qinyan has made him Prime Minister. It is a time of great success, but Ke Zheng's magnanimity is no less than Xiao Qinyan's.
It was obvious that Ke Zheng was not dealing with Xiao Qinyan. Although Xiao Qinyan talked to him again, he just dealt with it hastily. On the contrary, he smiled when he saw Zhou Chen.
"Zi Heng!"
"Teacher!"
Zhou Chen bowed respectfully to Ke Zheng. Nowadays, he disdains the Qingliu lineage in the imperial court, but he has great respect for Ke Xianggong, the real Qingliu leader, not to mention that the other party has helped him.
, is his mentor.
Ke Zheng put his hand on Zhou Chen's shoulder, looked at Zhou Chen, and said with admiration: "Okay, you are good, you did not disappoint me."
Of course he was well aware of what happened to Zhou Chen back then, but there were too many interests involved, so even he couldn't help Zhou Chen.
Fortunately, Zhou Chen's growth did not disappoint him. Although he failed to establish a career in the elite line of civil servants, he was able to truly protect his family and country and guard the borders.
He considers himself to be of the highest caliber, but as long as he has merit for the imperial court and has the ability and ability, he will give his full support.
He is different from careerists like Xiao Qinyan who are more interested in their own power. He considers more the situation of the whole world, so he strongly opposes the rear party and wants to let the official family establish a prince, support the prince, and make the prince more powerful.
The prince offended the queen by supervising the country, and finally ended up being demoted.
Zhou Chen replied respectfully: "Disciples never dare to forget the teachings of their mentor."
Ke Zheng praised: "Okay, as long as you can remember the words of being a teacher and remember the word character, you are worthy of being my disciple, Ke Zheng."
Xiao Qinyan suddenly interrupted: "As soon as the lime chant came out, who in the world doesn't know about Ke Xiang and Ke Xiang's disciple Zhongyong Hou?"
As soon as these words came out, everyone around them agreed.
Zhou Chen's Lime Song indeed caused a great stir when it was first released.
On the one hand, this poem is indeed profound in its artistic conception, and on the other hand, it is because this poem praises Ke Zheng, a famous figure in the world.
Under the leadership of Xiao Qinyan, a group of people came to the main courtyard in great momentum, and then walked into the main hall to sit down and wait for the birthday banquet to begin.
Most of the guests who came to congratulate Xiao Qinyan on his birthday today were first-class civil servants. Among the distinguished military officers and nobles like Zhou Chen, apart from Zhou Chen, there was only one Duke An Guo.
So naturally, Zhou Chen sat with An Guogong.
An Guogong was also a maverick among the nobles. He was obviously a Duke, but he loved romance, liked writing, and liked to squeeze into the circle of literati.
Although An Guogong holds the title of Duke, in fact, his status in the court is not high. He mainly relies on the kindness of his ancestors and his own average ability. Therefore, in terms of strength, the current Duke An Guo's mansion
And the background is not as good as Zhou Chen's Zhongyong Hou Mansion.
To be continued...