"Nie Zhongyou?" Zhong Xiqing squinted her eyes and seemed a little confused, and asked: "Kill them?"
"That's too late."
Xu Hexing shook his head in annoyance and said: "Li Xia was a false move. He diverted our attention and it was too late."
Zhong Xiqing looked around and saw that the guards of Youxiang's Mansion had filed out and surrounded Li Xia and Nie Zhongyou.
"Take the people back." Xu Hexing sighed.
"Damn it." Zhong Xiqing hurriedly said, "I'll report it quickly..."
As for the cell leader Liu Bing, someone took him down again.
On the small building, only Xu Hexing was still standing there.
He had seen someone bringing Nie Zhongyou and Li Xia into the Youxiang Mansion.
"With such ability, no wonder... no wonder he can come back from the north alive..."
Li Xia walked through the vestibule, and under the moonlight he could see that the layout of the courtyard was elegant and had the style of a prime minister's residence.
Although it is rented.
Li Xia then thought about it. He heard that Cheng Yuanfeng came from a scholarly family in She County. If he really wanted to buy a house in Lin'an City, he might not be able to afford it... Maybe it was because he didn't know how many years the prime minister could be, so why spend such unjust money?
Nie Zhongyou was very familiar with Youxiang's Mansion, and his steps were a little hurried, walking in front of the guards who were leading the way.
In front of the side hall, a graceful old man came forward.
"Zhong You!"
"Right Prime Minister!"
"It will be good to come back, it will be good to come back...I am very worried about you..."
Cheng Yuanfeng was fifty-seven years old at the time. He was a young and strong figure among the prime ministers. As his name suggests, he could be called "a dragon and a phoenix among men". His demeanor was truly heart-wrenching.
He was planning to go to court. He had just tidied up his appearance and his long beard was combed neatly and smoothly. He did not look tired at all in this late night. His eyes were very bright and he was full of energy. However, he seemed to have turned red after seeing Nie Zhongyou.
Eye.
"Your Excellency Lao is worried..."
Cheng Yuanfeng patted Nie Zhongyou's shoulders with both hands and supported Nie Zhongyou himself.
Nie Zhongyou's eyes filled with tears. He turned to look at Li Xia and said, "Right Prime Minister, this is Li Xia..."
"Okay, okay, go in and talk."
Several people walked into the side hall.
At this time, Li Xia didn't have time to reminisce with Nie Zhongyou. In fact, as soon as Nie Zhongyou came back, the guards of the Prime Minister's Mansion surrounded him and called him "brother, brother" non-stop.
"Okay, you can come back safely." Cheng Yuanfeng said okay for the third time, and then asked about things to the north.
Nie Zhongyou explained everything on the road, until he was seriously injured at the bank of Longhu Lake in Wanqiu County and went to distract the pursuers.
"After escaping, I have been hiding in the north and will come back after I recover from my injuries..."
Having said this, Nie Zhongyou turned to look at Li Xia and said, "I have always been worried about you. I didn't expect to meet you when I arrived in front of the Prime Minister's Mansion tonight. That's great. Where are the others?"
Li Xia did not answer immediately, but looked into Nie Zhongyou's eyes. He could feel Nie Zhongyou's worry, and the relief was real.
When Cheng Yuanfeng saw that Li Xia was silent, he said warmly: "What is the specific situation? Let's start from the beginning. There is no need to rush."
Li Xia picked out most of what he encountered along the way, hiding only a small part...
Cheng Yuanfeng couldn't help but praise him a few times and praised Li Xia a few times.
At the end, Li Xia said: "At that time, I diverted the pursuers alone and asked Lin Zi to bring the remaining people back. The information was in their hands. After I returned to Lin'an, I went to the house in Qinghefang and noticed that someone was ambushing me there.
"
"Is there an ambush?"
"Yes. I found something was wrong, so I didn't enter the house immediately, but quietly followed those people."
Nie Zhongyou asked: "Have you found anyone else?"
Li Xia said: "No, but I heard someone say, 'The interrogation came out, and the two people captured were Lin Zi and Liu Jinsuo, but the information was not in their hands. It should have been taken by the four people who escaped.' Then I knew,
Lin Zi and Jin Suo were captured, while Mr. Han and the others escaped.
So, I rushed to report to the Prime Minister, but tonight, when I arrived nearby, I found two groups of people standing guard outside the Prime Minister's residence, seemingly not letting me see the Prime Minister."
After Li Xia finished speaking, he glanced at Cheng Yuanfeng.
But he didn't observe much. Cheng Yuanfeng's eyes were full of surprise and confusion, making it difficult for people to see through his thoughts.
Cheng Yuanfeng said: "You don't have to worry. Now that you have seen me, I will keep you safe and save others."
"yes."
One of the attendants ran to the door and called out: "Alang, it will be late to go to court."
This was the time calculated by Li Xia. He deliberately came at this time before going to court to avoid a complete confession and to allow time to observe Cheng Yuanfeng's reaction.
However, Cheng Yuanfeng glanced at Li Xia and seemed to have seen through his thoughts.
When they met for the first time, an old man and a young man looked at each other and soon got to know each other a lot.
Cheng Yuanfeng took a sip of tea calmly and asked Li Xia, "Have you confirmed that information?"
Li Xia understood what he meant.
If asked by another person, it might be, "Did you really go to Kaifeng? Did you just escape back and lie to me?"
Li Xia asked for paper and pen, and wrote down some things he remembered, such as the taxes of several northern states, the strength of the Mongolian army in conquering Shu, etc.
"Please see, right minister, this is all I remember."
Cheng Yuanfeng read it and nodded.
"I'm here to investigate this matter."
"yes."
Cheng Yuanfeng then stood up with the help of his chair and said: "It's a pity that you were persecuted by treacherous officials when you returned from serving the country. After you rescued people and retrieved the information, I will personally perform my merits for you."
Li Xia was neither humble nor arrogant, and said: "Thank you, Prime Minister."
Cheng Yuanfeng stroked his beard and smiled. Although his expression was calm, there was some admiration in his eyes. He pointed at Li Xia and said with a smile: "Although he is not as good as Liu Wuzhong's "Twelve Heroes Conquering Xinyang", he is still a young talent. I, the Great Song Dynasty
There are so many talents.”
"I dare not bear it."
"I heard that you used to study at home and did not become famous by studying behind closed doors. I recommend that you go to Taixue."
Li Xia cupped his hands and said, "This junior wants to join the army in Shu."
Cheng Yuanfeng was already walking out of the hall. Hearing this, he stopped and glanced at Li Xia again, saying: "You are still too young. I will leave this matter to you. This is for your own good."
"Juniors are not material for studying. They only want to serve the country by joining the army."
The expression on Cheng Yuanfeng's face remained unchanged, but there was some consideration in his eyes.
Outside the side hall, the attendant was a little anxious, stamped his feet, and whispered: "Alang, it's really late."
Cheng Yuanfeng was still very calm and deep, and said to Li Xia: "Don't worry, I will never treat you badly."
Li Xia cupped his hands and did not answer.
Cheng Yuancheng then arranged: "You can rest in the house for now, but if you need anything, just ask for it."
"Yes, we have it now." Li Xia asked, "Dare I ask, do you have money?"
For a moment, Cheng Yuanfeng seemed stunned.
He was a dignified minister, and he rushed to talk to this young man before the court meeting, but the other man actually asked... for money?
Thanks to his profound self-cultivation, his expression remained unchanged and he ordered the servant: "Cheng Yu, prepare two guest rooms for them, and give Li Xia money for emergency use."
"yes……"
Cheng Yuanfeng then walked out, his steps still steady even though it was already late to go to court.
Not long after, Cheng Yu, the housekeeper of the front yard, walked into the side hall. There were several guards outside, waving to Nie Zhongyou, wanting to catch up with him, but Nie Zhongyou smiled and waved away.
Cheng Yu arrived in front of Li Xia, handed a stack of paper gauze called "Pianqian Huizi" with both hands, and said: "Please accept it, Mr. Li Xiaolang."
"Thank you."
Li Xia took it and saw that there were only two hundred coins in total, and I was afraid that he would not be able to exchange it for two hundred coins.
He accepted it politely.
Cheng Yu saw that although Li Xia was polite, he was not afraid, so he had to remind him again with a reserved smile.
"Although the Right Prime Minister has not said it explicitly, he really appreciates Mr. Li Xiaolang. You must know that although the monthly salary of the Prime Minister is 300 yuan, the expenses are very high, and he has no savings in the years since he entered the court."
Li Xia said: "Thank you for your kindness."
Cheng Yu then nodded, smiled again, raised his hand and said, "Please Mr. Li Xiaolang, follow me to the guest room to rest until Alang goes to court."
Li Xia looked at Nie Zhongyou.
Nie Zhongyou then said: "I'll talk to Li Xia again, and I'll take him there later."
"That's fine." Cheng Yu agreed, and removed the people around him, leaving them alone to chat...