Although most of the prominent eunuchs in the palace have private residences outside, as a middle official, they have to serve in front of the imperial court most of the time. Unless they finally retire like Xiao Jing, the former eunuch and eunuch, they spend most of their time living in the palace.
In the palace. Among them, most of the ceremonial supervisors who hold seals and pens live in the riverside houses on the east side of the palace moat. There are eight residential areas in this stretch. Historically, most of the seals and pens will not exceed the number eight, so there is no need to worry.
It is not enough to live in. And those who are subordinate to the vassal eunuch Feng Yuyao and others also have a place here. The small ones only have one room, and the big ones can have a small house.
At this time, Du Jin served Li Rong to rest, and then he dragged his feet as if they were filled with lead and returned to his yard. He was known to be frugal when he was in Chaoguan, but there were at least three or four bookboys and servants to serve him in daily life, but in
There was only one Little Fireman serving in the palace. In addition, he didn't know what force the person was related to, so he didn't even care whether the person was dedicated or not.
When he returned to the house, he found it was pitch dark, with no lights on. He didn't bother to call anyone, so he just walked in. However, as soon as he crossed the threshold and entered the house, he was keenly aware that something was wrong, and he was just about to speak.
Calling someone, a voice came from the front.
"The boy who was waiting for Eunuch Du has fallen asleep. Although there are many people around, I still hope that Eunuch Du will stop making noises."
Hearing this voice, Du Jin froze there for a while, and then asked with a trembling voice for a while: "The palace door has been locked at this moment. How come you come to me on the occasion of your wedding?"
"It's a good wedding, but someone wants to make trouble for Tai Sui. I'm so tired that I have to stay in Xiyuan all night tonight. In this case, of course I came here to see my old friend." It was difficult to see in the darkness.
, but the sensitivity of other senses seemed to have risen sharply, so Xu Xun could vaguely hear Du Jin's heavy breathing, paused for a moment and continued, "Eunuch Du is accompanying Eunuch Li day and night, and he is Eunuch Li's best friend.
Someone you trust, can you tell me what's going on when Nan Jianzhang offered his resignation letter at the same time?"
Du Jin was stunned by Xu Xun's straightforward question. After a while, he stammered and asked: "This matter... I don't know anything about this matter..."
"oh?"
Although Xu Xun did not directly press him, Du Jin vaguely heard the displeasure in it. Thinking that Xu Xun had the courage to sneak into a place like the Riverside Zhifang, which was full of people from the ceremonial prison, his scalp went numb, and he immediately felt nervous.
Added: "I only heard Eunuch Li say that Mr. Zhang was confused and should not have stayed in the position of offering wine in the South Prison for a long time. He ruined the students for no reason."
"I see." Although Du Jin just said this, for Xu Xun, this was already a very valuable clue. Calculating the distance from Nanjing to the capital on his fingers, he couldn't help but sit there and ponder.
After a long while, he asked again, "How often do Eunuch Li and Jiao Fang, the Minister of Punishment, see each other recently?"
Du Jin was not used to Xu Xun's unfashionable way of asking questions. He hesitated for a moment before replying in a low voice: "Master Jiao has never met Eunuch Li, but we exchange letters very frequently. Eunuch Li always speaks in person."
He opened the envelope with a paper knife, and after reading the letter, he threw it into the charcoal basin and burned it. Even though I was waiting beside him, I didn’t know what was written in the letter. Forgive me..."
"It's not your fault. You have nothing to apologize for." Xu Xun smiled slightly, but Du Jin accidentally saw the smile in the darkness. Then, he said gently, "I'm going to Nanjing this time. If you have any news,
If you want to pass it on, just write a note and put it in the crack of the window. Eunuch Du is now in the prime of life, and he hopes to cherish his future. You know, Eunuch Li has used many people around him in succession, but few of them have ended well.
, I remember when I came back from a victorious battle, there was a man who committed suicide out of fear of his crime. And a few years ago, Jia Shichun, the steward of Renshou Palace, also died in mysterious circumstances.”….
Of course, Du Jin, who was already with Li Rong at the time, would not have been unaware of the fact that Cui Ju, the ceremonial supervisor, committed suicide because he had withheld Xu Xun's letter to ask for merit for the soldiers. Du Jin, who was already with Li Rong at that time, was certainly not unaware of it, and he knew better that it was Xu Xun's use.
Li Rong responded hurriedly to the plan. He was even more involved in Jia Shichun's death after that. He ordered someone to deliver the letter to Liu Jin. Although he was not involved in what happened upstairs at Xuanwu Gate, he can still tell with his toes
Can you guess, why is he not worried about whether he will become a victim in the future?
Therefore, after being silent for a long time, he finally asked in a difficult voice: "Can your Excellency give me a guarantee?"
"Guarantee?" Xu Xun was stunned for a moment before he understood, and then he chuckled, "Don't you understand, Eunuch Du? Even if the people who follow me die in battle, I will fight for them and return home to be buried.
, not to mention the other people who have followed me and made great achievements. I am never merciful to my enemies, but I am never stingy to my own people. You don’t have to worry about your betrayal of the master now. I will burn the bridge when the time comes. If Li
My father-in-law is not that kind of person, and you probably won't betray him easily."
Hearing this, Du Jin breathed a sigh of relief. What made him even more relieved was that Xu Xun followed up with another words in an understatement: "You did a good job at Linqing Chaoguan before. Now.
When I went down to the south of the Yangtze River, the emperor seemed to be interested in cleaning up the checkpoints on the canal.
As long as you can ask me clearly what I need to know about you in the palace, with your financial planning skills, it won't be difficult for me to ask the emperor to take charge of all the banknotes on the canal."
Du Jin worked hard to get the position of Linqing Chaoguan, but it was to make achievements in order to return to the capital and get a promotion. But now he has really become Li Rong's confidant, and his cautious attitude of accompanying him like a tiger has made him
He had had enough. His talent was in financial planning, but Li Rong didn't care at all. He only told him that he would be loyal and would never treat him badly. How could he compare to Xu Xun who threw out even though he was covered in thorns?
He was willing to swallow the bait. After thinking about it, he finally gritted his teeth, lifted up his robe and knelt down.
"Thank you, sir! You must live up to your trust!"
After a winter of closure, the canal has been busy since it opened on February 2, the day when the dragon raised its head. Tongzhou Wharf, as the terminus of the canal waterway and the land route to the capital, has been followed by grain ships heading north for more than ten days.
Regardless of merchant ships, almost the entire unloading dock was crowded. However, in contrast, most of the ships heading south were difficult to fill, and occasionally there were empty ships. But on this day, the cargo dock, which had always been in full swing, was temporarily suspended, with only twos and threes.
The coolies who had nothing to do were watching an official ship moored on the other side, but the thick cloth fence there prevented them from seeing anything.
The water in the canal is shallow, and Xu Xun doesn't like unnecessary ostentation. There are only twenty or thirty people on the whole ship. On the contrary, there are more people coming to see him off at this moment. Originally, the little emperor Zhu Houzhao was also coming, but he thought The last time the emperor sent him off incognito to greet his triumphant return, this time he insisted on saying goodbye in the palace. Now, in addition to the officers in the avant-garde of the government army, the ones who came to see him off were Liu Jingu, Dayong, Zhang Yong, and those who were most familiar with him. That's it. After "Yiyi Farewell" sent all these eunuchs away, and drove away the men in the vanguard of the government army who were usually happy but now dull, he walked to the shade of the tree and saw the little girl holding Li Qingniang's hand. His eyes were red, and he coughed slightly. Sure enough, the next moment, a figure appeared on the other side of the tree.
"I thought you would cut the trouble quickly and get this marriage done, but I didn't expect that you were so lucky that you actually delayed it until we left the capital without a trace?"
When Huitong saw that Xu Liang on the other side of the boat had also recognized him, and was staring at him with wide eyes, he couldn't help but grimace, and guiltily avoided Shen Yue's vicious gaze, and said with embarrassment. : "I thought so, but I just tested Eunuch Gu's tone, and I didn't expect that he would let me take care of it. The baby in her belly is still a month old, and I was afraid that the messy etiquette of kneeling down and worshiping that day would cause trouble. It's a mistake, so I can only delay it for now... Don't worry, I will definitely marry her openly!"...
Shen Yue's teeth were itching after hearing this, and she couldn't help but yelled at Li Qingniang: "Godmother, there are so many good men in the world, why did you fall in love with this dead monk!"
"Ahem!" Huitong was extremely unhappy when he heard that he had become a dead monk. Seeing that Xu Xun was staring at him, he could only touch his nose and murmured in a low voice, "I'm not a young couple like you, so I tolerated it. In just a year or two, we are already old, so we can live a better life by cooking rice early... In short, there are not many strong men in the world who dare to marry a horse with a saddle, except me. She goes back!"
"What did you say? How dare you say it again!"
Seeing Li Qingniang's eyes widening, Huitong immediately shut up. Xu Xun looked at this interesting scene and immediately laughed. Shen Yue knew that the deal was done, so she had to give Huitong a lot of warnings, and finally refused. Shirdi said goodbye to Li Qingniang. After Ruyi helped Shen Yue get on the boat, Huitong asked a mother to help Li Qingniang get into the car, and then immediately whispered: "Don't worry, this is the biological mother of one of my apprentices. She is good at taking care of pregnant women." He doesn’t say anything and is tight-lipped.”
"I have nothing to worry about with the people you use. However, you have to know that even though I have already said hello to Jinyiwei and all the news goes to them, you are not sitting idle. After I leave, you Should know how to do it.”
Xu Xun has assigned all kinds of things these days, but the single most important thing is assigned to Huitong. At this moment, this middle-aged man who has long lost his appearance as a monk The man narrowed his eyes and said word by word: "Don't worry, I will try my best. But as soon as you leave, they will definitely find new ways to please the emperor. The emperor likes all kinds of new things and tricks. Even if you are really addicted, when you come back, the emperor may not be able to...".
"The Emperor is not that kind of person."
Xu Xun took a deep breath, thought about Zhu Houzhao's true temperament in front of him, and immediately interrupted Huitong: "If it really comes to that point, you try to inform Ruisheng and let him see the maid of Renshou Palace.