auspicious time has come

Chapter 174 If He Was Still Still
"You guessed it right, someone did go to the old residence of the King of Jin that was seized and confiscated today." Cheng Ping, who had just returned from the outside study, said in the front yard of Ji's house, in Hengyu's exclusive study.

"I didn't guess." Heng Yu casually put down the brush in his hand, looked at Cheng Ping, and asked, "When those people left, what did they take with them?"

"Well, they carried away two boxes covered in mud."

Heng Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

Since all developments are expected, it seems that Xiao Mu is ahead of the early dynasty today, and it is generally safe to say that there is no danger.

Today is his first hurdle after returning to Beijing. Whether he can pass this hurdle and whether he can take this first step steadily is very important.

……

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness King Xiang is back."

As the king of Xiang and others returned to the palace, an inner eunuch walked quickly into the inner hall and preached to the emperor who was half lying on the Arhat bed.

The emperor, who tried his best to close his eyes and rest his mind, opened his eyes suddenly when he heard the words, and was about to get up with his hands on his sides, his tone was a bit laborious but slightly hurried: "Help me up..."

He was eager to confirm the truth of the so-called treasure map.

As the emperor was brought back into the hall by the crown prince, all the officials saluted together.

"Everyone is flat." The emperor looked at the King of Xiang, who was saluting with everyone, and asked with a slightly tense expression, "Can you find the place shown in the picture?"

The king of Xiang replied: "Going back to my father, I led people to search all the way according to the blueprint, and finally found an old willow tree in the West Garden."

old willow?
The emperor frowned: "Did you find anything?"

"I searched around and found nothing suspicious, so I asked someone to try to dig around the willow tree, and indeed they found two large boxes."

The emperor's eyes changed, and he hurriedly asked, "Where are those two boxes? What's in them!"

A mere two boxes are not enough to hold any gold and silver treasures that are invincible, but what if it is an important clue about the location of the treasure?

In short, if this blueprint is real, then there must be something extremely important inside the box!
Hearing that they had really dug something, Baiguan couldn't help guessing, and secretly looked at Xiao Mu.

The King of Xiang said: "The things are just outside the hall, and I haven't opened them without permission. I'd like to ask my father to see them in person."

Some officials couldn't help but wonder from the bottom of their hearts—it's amazing, His Royal Highness the King of Xiang could hold back his curiosity, and didn't open it first to take a look?
As everyone knows, His Royal Highness Xiang's curiosity has reached its peak at this time.

It didn't open, of course not because he didn't want to.

But just when he was about to make people open the box, the eunuch sent by his father reminded him that this matter was of great importance, in order to prevent any mistakes, or the opportunity for people to make fuss and speculate randomly, it is better to first It is more comprehensive to bring it to the saint and open it on the spot.

So, he endured.

Hearing the emperor's order to bring up the things, King Xiang immediately urged the eunuch to carry the two boxes into the hall.

The extremely tightly sealed vermilion lacquered wooden box was locked, and with the permission of the emperor, a guard came in and cut off the two locks one after another with a knife.

The guard put the knife back into the scabbard at his waist, bent over to open one of the wooden boxes, and suddenly felt the smell was extremely strong, and subconsciously turned his head away.

The officials who were close also smelled the smell wafting out of the box, and couldn't help being startled—is this... the smell of wine?

Looking into the box again, I saw that there were wine jars neatly stacked inside.

Seeing this, the King of Xiang hurried forward to open another box, which was also full of wine jars.

"I mean, it's no wonder it's so heavy, so it's full of wine!" Xiang Wang leaned closer and took another sip: "Father, it smells like good wine vaguely!"

How could it be wine?
The emperor frowned tightly, and the officials in the palace were already discussing in whispers.

The prince looked at the two wooden boxes, and there was no surprise in his eyes.

He opened his mouth and asked: "Fourth brother, Eunuch Liu, when you led people to dig out these two boxes, were there any signs of loosening around your feet?"

This is very important, it is related to how the whole thing should be concluded.

When Eunuch Liu was about to answer, the King of Xiang was already ahead of him and said, "Eunuch Liu and I have checked carefully. The soil and green bricks on the side are all intact and tight, and there is no sign of looseness at all. And because of these two The box was buried not far from a big willow tree, so when we dug it up, the box was covered with roots!"

As he spoke, he pointed to the two boxes: "Look, brother, these are the traces left by those roots!"

Jiang Zhengfu also glanced over when he heard the words, and sure enough, he saw traces of different shades and some roots left on the vermilion lacquered wooden box.

This shows that the two boxes have been buried there for at least several years.

That being the case—

Jiang Zhengfu looked at Xiao Mu.

This is indeed not something that others can fake in a short period of time...

"But... didn't you say it was a treasure map? How did it become a wine map?" Some officials were still surprised.

"Yeah, what exactly is going on..."

Amidst the speculation, the prince next to the dragon case turned to face the emperor, bowed his head slightly and said, "Father, these two boxes of wine are indeed from the second brother—"

"That sinner is no longer your second brother." The emperor interrupted the prince's words with a gloomy look in his eyes.

What he hated and didn't want to face the most in his life was the word betrayal, but his son and his friends all betrayed him...

Thinking a lot in an instant, the emperor's chest rose and fell violently, and his eyes kept repeating.

"Yes." The prince paused for a moment, and continued: "He did bury these wines with his own hands a year before he left Beijing. I can testify to this matter. When he buried these wines, he once said that one of the boxes It will be used during Father's Thousand Autumn Festival next year..."

There was one box left, and the second brother said that if one of the four of them had a happy event in the future, he would take out an altar to entertain.

The second brother, him, Yun Chao, and Jingzhi...the four of them.

Hearing this, the emperor's eyes froze for a moment.

He looked at the wine jars neatly stacked in wooden boxes, and the back of the young man buried wine alone under the willow tree seemed to flash in front of his eyes.

The emperor's dry lips moved lightly, and his tightly clenched fingers gradually became weak.

King Xiang was stunned for a moment, looked at the wine, and said in a soft voice: "Brother mentioned this, I have some impressions... It seems that I did hear the second brother talk about such a thing back then... "

"He was afraid that we would break the agreement and secretly dig up his wine to eat, so he didn't tell anyone where he buried the wine." The prince's voice was soft but clear: "There are many houses in his mansion, and I love Liu and become crazy, the Jin Palace in the past was often called the Liu Garden...Maybe I was afraid that I would not be able to remember where the wine was buried, so I drew this picture of wine storage."

Hearing the prince talk about this old incident, all the officials fell silent in different moods.

"Or he cherished this thing very much, so he brought it to Yingzhou back then." The prince speculated: "Probably he would often take it out as a memory of the old Sijing, and it would be seen by interested people. Without knowing the truth, after combining it The act of rebellion, with speculation, gradually spread rumors that it became some kind of treasure map—”

"He can even do rebellion, so how can he be a nostalgic person!" The emperor subconsciously denied it.

However, the confession of the close follower appeared uncontrollably in my ear - His Royal Highness Jin Wang did have a blueprint that he cherished very much, no one knew where it was hidden, and never let others handle it...

"Father, calm down, I'm just guessing according to common sense." The crown prince lowered his head, but continued to say: "Or the person who spread the rumor knew that there was no treasure map. Instead, he deliberately used this to drive a wedge between the royal father and Xiao Jieshi—now that the truth is at hand, I hope that the father will not fall into the trap of the villain."

The emperor tried his best to calm down.

The crown prince turned his head to look at the figure like a green pine in the snow in the hall, and said: "On the other hand, Jieshi Xiao, this time he went to Beijing to present it in person without knowing what this picture is, nor can he prove its authenticity. Fear of jealousy is enough to show openness and loyalty. And it must also believe that the sage is like the father and emperor, and will never wrong loyal ministers."

Sensing the Prince's sight, Xiao Mu bowed slightly, held the wat board, and silently saluted in the direction of the dragon case.

Jiang Zhengfu looked at the prince with a serious face.

The crown prince's words are undoubtedly intended to completely clear up the rumors about the treasure map on Xiao Mu's body in front of all the officials in the hall, and to establish a good name for him as a "loyal and upright minister"!
"Please allow me to say something bold... I wonder if His Royal Highness's words are a little too early?" The official who had 'failed to speak' before seemed to think carefully: "From the current point of view, this map of wine storage is indeed Really, but what if... there is a real treasure map?"

The crown prince looked over and said: "My lord Zhong's words are hard to agree with. You must know that the so-called treasure map theory is nothing but nonsense. No one and no evidence can prove that there is such a thing in the world. Now that this explanation has been obtained, it is enough to prove the source of this rumor. Under such circumstances, if you still use this far-fetched rhetoric to blindly create new rumors, without any evidence, you can slander others. What are the charges?"

The official froze when he heard the words: "This..."

When he was about to say something more, he noticed that Jiang Zhengfu's restrained gaze swept over.

Then he hurriedly said: "His Royal Highness, what he said is reasonable, but the lower official was narrow-minded for a while, got into a dead end, and accidentally made a slip of the tongue..."

Ma Cunyuan, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials next to him, said: "Master Zhong has repeatedly slipped his tongue in front of the hall today, it is better not to take the nickname of those hidden mountain dwellers, and simply change his name to slip of the tongue layman!"

Zhong Ji blushed when he heard this—why did he make such a thing for him?
It should be noted that once a matter leaves a stalk, it can never be erased!It is destined to be remembered by others, and will be brought out to make fun of the corpse from time to time!

Zhong Ji scolded his wife in his heart, but the tense atmosphere in the hall for most of the day eased a lot.

The prince also smiled.

The emperor had calmed down the many emotions in his eyes, and when he looked at Xiao Mu again, he had a relatively objective scrutiny.

After a while, he opened his mouth and said: "I have always listened to the treasure map as a rumor... Today, I took so much trouble to prove it, and it is also to restore Xiao Qing's innocence in public. Xiao Qing trusts me so much. I naturally don't doubt Xiao Qing."

The end is a benevolent state of no doubt between the monarch and his ministers.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Xiao Mu raised his hand, and said solemnly, "I will live up to your Majesty's trust, live like a dead head, die like a weed, and serve forever."

The young general's voice was not high-pitched, and his words were short, but every word was as solemn and powerful as an oath.

"Okay, okay..." The emperor looked at him steadfastly, a gratifying smile appeared on his weak face, but after looking at him for a while, his eyes were in a trance for a moment.

At this moment, he seemed to see the person when he was young...

There was a violent surge in his chest, and the emperor coughed again.

This gigantic cough did not stop for a long time, and under the obstructed breathing, the person almost lost his breath several times.

All the officials were very nervous, subconsciously they didn't dare to take a big breath - after all, the saint was out of breath, so they shouldn't be too presumptuous, right?

The prince hurriedly ordered the inner eunuch to help the emperor to the inner hall, and at the same time sent people to invite the medical officer quickly.

After a while of fuss, the crown prince appeased the ministers and ended the morning court belatedly.

After saluting, all the officials retreated in twos and threes, Xiao Mu stood where he was, and saluted the crown prince.

The crown prince looked at him, and said in a warm and respectful tone, "Xiao Jie envoy has been exhausted all the way, it's really hard work, please go back home for two days to rest."

"Yes, thank you Your Highness, I will leave."

The prince nodded, watching the tall and straight figure exit the hall.

Until the figure disappeared completely, the prince seemed to be in a trance and whispered to himself: "If he is still there, the young general...does he look like this..."

"Linggong..." On the way to leave the palace, Zhong Ji lowered his voice and said, "We were in the palace just now, why didn't you... just let him get away from this matter, wouldn't we have lost a way to go... ..."

Occasionally there were officials passing by around, so he didn't dare to speak too clearly, after all, it was enough for the two of them to understand.

"From the moment he showed the blueprint, he has kept every word and every word, so he came prepared... This matter is established, so it's useless to talk too much." Jiang Zhengfu frowned, his eyes were full of thought: "Zang Treasure I am afraid that the matter of the picture needs to be further investigated... This person is quite deep in the city, he must not be careless, and must not make rash advances, lest he be caught instead."

"Yes, I understand." Zhong Ji also frowned: "Today, His Royal Highness seems to treat this person differently..."

Jiang Zhengfu pursed his lips.

Did he treat him differently, or did he really make up his mind to stand against him, thinking that his teacher was too in the way, and began to pave the way for him to take power after he ascended the throne?

If it is for this reason, you have to blindly trust Xiao Mu, that would be too muddled!
And what is Xiao Mu's real intention of entering Beijing this time?

How could such people, who are prepared at every step, put themselves in danger just for the sake of an oracle?
He has been thinking about this matter for a long time, and he always feels that there must be something unusual in it...

"...My lord?" Zhong Ji called after a few words without getting a response.

"In short, you must not do something as stupid as yesterday." Jiang Zhengfu frowned and left without saying a word.

Zhong Ji froze in place - was that stupid thing yesterday?
What kind of stupid thing?

Yesterday he was punished by his wife to kneel down and think about it, and now his knee is still hurting, so how could he have the opportunity to do stupid things!
"My lord, my lord..." He hurried to catch up.

……

When the prince returned to the East Palace, it was already dark.

Let the princess take care of changing clothes, and the prince went to the outer study.

Ji Nanxian, who was waiting here, raised his hand and saluted: "Your Highness."

　Today is a very fat chapter, good night everyone!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)