In the blink of an eye, it was early December, and heavy snow once again covered the land on Xihe Road, and both sides of the Weihe River turned into a vast expanse of white.
That morning, two knights entered the city and came to Chen Qing's house.
"Who are you two looking for?" Butler Tian, who was clearing the snow at the door, asked.
"We came from Lin'an to deliver a letter to the Minister of Economic Affairs and Mrs. Lu on the order of Xianggong Lu."
"You two, please come in quickly!"
Butler Tian asked his servants to take away the war horses, and then asked the two of them to warm themselves by the fire in the room. They took out two letters, one for his wife and one for the envoy.
"You guys eat something, I'll give it to Madam."
Housekeeper Tian hurried to the back house with the letter. In the yard of the back house, Lu Xiu held her child in her arms and looked at Yu Ying and Yu Lian making snowmen in the yard with a smile.
"Ah Ying, you find a branch that is thicker and thinner. It's too ugly to make an arm. You have to change a branch."
"I didn't look for this, it was Ah Lian who looked for it."
Yu Ying muttered and went to look for branches again.
At this time, the housekeeper walked in and handed two letters to Lu Xiu, "This is from Lin'an. It has just been delivered!"
Lu Xiu was surprised and happy, and quickly took the letter. She recognized it as her grandfather's notes at a glance. One was for herself and the other was for her husband.
"Where's the messenger?"
"Let them have a meal by the fire outside!"
"When they finish eating, take them to the outer hall. I want to ask about the situation."
"I see!"
Lu Xiu handed his son to the nurse, took the letter and went back to the house...
The two messengers were sitting on chairs waiting. At this moment, footsteps were heard outside, and Madam Lu Xiu walked in surrounded by a group of maids.
The two quickly stood up and saluted, "See you, Madam!"
Lu Xiu recognized the two messengers as her grandfather's guards. She smiled and nodded, "It turns out it's you. It's been a hard journey to come all this way!"
"It is our duty to deliver a letter to our husband."
Lu Xiu nodded and ordered the housekeeper: "Aunt Tian, give each of them fifty taels of silver!"
"Thank you madam for the reward!"
Lu Xiu asked again with concern: "How is my grandfather's health?"
"My grandpa is in good health, but he has some old ailments that make him more miserable in winter."
Lu Xiu knew about his grandfather's old problems, asthma and cold legs, and was particularly afraid of the cold.
"You stay here for two days, and when you go back, bring me two old wolf skins to my grandfather."
"I am willing to serve the eldest lady!"
"Is there anything else going on at home?" Lu Xiu asked again.
"There should be nothing else. Before leaving, the Grand Master said that the letter to Uncle Sun was very important and he wanted him to read it as soon as possible. There is no other message."
"I understand, you go and rest."
The two of them bowed and left. Lu Xiu thought about it and asked Butler Tian to arrange for a servant to inform her husband that there was an express message from Lin'an.
...........
Chen Qing has also been in trouble these past two days. The investigation team of the Imperial Court's Criminal Department has just left.
The disappearance of the supervisor Wang Mian shocked the imperial court. More than a hundred people were missing, and they disappeared under strange circumstances.
Of course, it is impossible for more than a hundred people to disappear inexplicably. They must have been killed and silenced, and someone got in front of him.
In the official room, Jiang Yanxian smiled slightly and said: "Don't worry, sir. Officials from the Ministry of Justice also said that when Mian Wang left by boat in Chengdu, officials from Chengdu Prefecture even went to see him off. They just came to us to understand the situation."
Chen Qing sneered and said: "Actually, this is an obvious thing. There is no one else except Liu Guangshi. If I were him, I would definitely change the boatman and start in the Three Gorges Road. It is more complicated there and is out of Liu Guangshi's control."
Limitation of Liability."
Zhang Xiao said on the side: "I guess the people in the Ministry of Punishment also know it, but there is no evidence. It is normal for them to doubt the envoy. For example, if Wang Mian had some evidence in his hands, the envoy silenced him."
Chen Qing walked a few steps with his hands behind his back: "Between Liu Guangshi and I, I am more suspicious. After all, Liu Guangshi has no direct relationship with Wang Mian. He is a dignified propaganda envoy. It is said that he is seeking wealth and killing people.
I guess the emperor and his ministers won’t believe it either. If I’m not wrong, the emperor has actually decided that I was the one responsible, so he summoned me back next March to report on my duties. I’ll probably never come back from this trip.”
Zhang Xiao shook his head, "The envoy is wrong. The Emperor's calling you back has nothing to do with Empress Wang. I said before that appointing you as the governor of Longyou was just to confuse you. In fact, when you defeated Xixia and Ren De
Respect, when you capture Hehuang, your mission will be solved, and the emperor will call you back and appoint Liu Guangshi as the envoy of Sichuan and Shaanxi, also to let him take over Xihe Road."
Chen Qing nodded, "What Sima said makes sense. In fact, I have also considered it carefully. As long as I am on Xihe Road, it is impossible for the imperial court to control Xihe Road like it controls Sichuan and Shaanxi. This is something that neither the emperor nor the imperial court can tolerate.
Therefore, I must be transferred away from Xihe Road so that the court can smoothly control it. But the problem is that once the court determines that I am responsible for killing Mr. Wang, I will not go back to Lin'an to report on my duties, but will go directly to jail to extract a confession. How could I surrender myself?
A snare?"
Jiang Yanxian's eyes became worried, "Actually, I want to remind the Minister that you are not representing yourself, but the interests of a group, including the generals who have followed you for many years, the officials you appointed, including me and Zhang Xiao
, once something happens to you, the entire group will be implicated, I hope the manager will consider it carefully."
Chen Qing sighed and said, "You are right!"
At this time, a soldier saluted at the door, and Chen Qing asked: "What's the matter?"
"Reporting to the capital, my wife sent someone to deliver the news, saying that an express message has been delivered to my home in Lin'an."
Chen Qing immediately understood that the letter must be from Lu Yihao, so he said to the two of them: "We will stop here for the time being. If there is any situation, I will discuss it with you two!"
........
Lu Xiu walked into her husband's study with a cup of tea, and saw her husband standing in front of the window meditating. The letter written by her grandfather had been opened and placed on the table.
Lu Xiu put the tea cup on the table, "Husband, what happened?"
Chen Qing turned around and walked back to the table and sat down, smiled and said: "It's no big deal. Grandpa asked me not to return to Lin'an tomorrow spring?"
"But if the official calls you back to report on your duties, is that okay if you don't go back?" Lu Xiu asked worriedly.
"Calling me back is actually not about reporting on my duties, it's just about tricking me into going back."
Lu Xiu's face changed drastically, "What happened?"
"It's really nothing serious. It's just that the officials didn't want me to stay on Xihe Road, and they were afraid that they wouldn't be able to transfer me, so they used debriefing as an excuse to trick me back."
“But if you resist and disobey the decree, isn’t that considered rebellion?”
"Of course not. How could my grandfather teach me to rebel? He just asked me to find an excuse not to go back. This kind of excuse is easy to find. For example, if a war breaks out, the officials can't do anything."
Seeing his wife's worried face, Chen Qing took her hand, asked her to sit on his lap, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, you will be out of town, and your life will be compromised. It has been like this since ancient times. Let's see how we compromise in the end."
Lu Xiu sighed and said, "How can you defeat the imperial court by yourself?"
"I am not alone. So many generals, officials, and soldiers have placed their wealth and lives on me. What will they do if something happens to me? Do you understand what I mean? I am no longer alone, but a group. I can
It’s called Xihe Road Group.”
"I understand, just like my grandfather, he often said that he is not alone. If he falls, many people will be liquidated."
"That's the reason. If I fall, your grandfather will be hurt. If I ignore the court, the emperor really doesn't dare to touch your grandfather for fear of provoking me to rebel. That's why my grandfather told me not to go back."
"I understand. My grandfather also said in the letter to me, let me remind you to protect your son and don't be treated as a threat!"
This sentence reminded Chen Qing that if Zhao Gou had nothing to do with him, he might really have an idea for his son, and he must strengthen the safety of his family.