cabinet first lady

Chapter 47 The Assassination Failed
Seeing that Zhang Anyu had no intention of letting her go, Hu Yunxi blushed even more.

Zhang Anyu looked at Zhang Anyi, the former moved away unnaturally, while the latter looked calmly.

Seeing that Hu Yunxi was thin-skinned, and he was embarrassed to see it, Ruan Muyang pulled Zhang Anyi and said to them: "It's getting late, four brothers and sisters should go to bed earlier, let's go first."

Seeing that they had finally left, Hu Yunxi breathed a sigh of relief, and said in a low voice, "You—put me down and walk away, and I will be seen again later."

Zhang Anyu returned to his fearless look, and said disapprovingly, "How can you walk with your feet like this? What are you afraid of? Anyone who dares to look at me blindly will pick out his eyeballs."

You know, Zhang Si is indeed fearless in Zhang's house, but he will feel guilty when facing his second brother, and uncomfortable when facing his second sister-in-law.

On the other side, Ruan Muyang and Zhang Anyi walked back to Chuanyun courtyard together.Recalling Zhang Anyu's expression just now, she couldn't help laughing and said: "So I thought the fourth brother is still a child who hasn't grown up, so he also knows how to love others."

She felt that Zhang Anyu had indeed matured a lot after getting married, at least she would no longer stare at her, looking for evidence of her "love affair".

When she mentioned Zhang Anyu, Zhang Anyi's eyes moved slightly, and when she said that Zhang Anyu looked like a child who hadn't grown up, there was a smile in his eyes, and he teased, "Madam, are you envious?"

Ruan Muyang glared at him.When did she say she was envious?On the night of the late Emperor's death, he sent her to Yuxiu Palace to pick her up, and carried her back to Chuanyun Courtyard from the carriage, which was enough to make her ashamed to face others.

Zhang Anyi stared at her with a shy face, and the amorous look in her eyes.It happened to be a full moon tonight, and the silver moonlight sprinkled on her body, making her slender and exquisite figure clearly, as if covered with a faint halo, coupled with her dignified demeanor, she was charming .

Zhang Anyi suddenly reached out and pulled her into his arms, lifted her chin and planted a kiss on her lips.

"What are you doing!" Ruan Muyang exclaimed in a low voice.

She looked around, but fortunately there was no servant there.

Zhang Anyi watched the blush climb up her cheeks with satisfaction, pursed her lips, and led her back to Chuanyun Courtyard.

On the second day, in Wenyuan Pavilion.

A memorial was thrown on the ground by Luo Jie, like thunder on the ground, silencing the other five cabinet members.

"Whose copy is this?" Luo Jie's old and serious voice sounded.

Everyone looked at Zhang Anyi.

Even if the person who can enter the cabinet is not old and cunning, he is also a person with a clear mind.These days, Luo Jie's suppression of Zhang Anyi was seen by everyone, and they kept silent.In recent days, Zhang Anyi has been dismissed by Luo Jie too much.The documents submitted by the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty had to go through the cabinet before being handed over to Emperor Ling.As the chief assistant of the cabinet, Luo Jie is the last hurdle.If he doesn't want His Majesty to see something, then His Majesty must not be able to see it.

Zhang Anyi's gentle voice sounded: "Lord Luo, this is my book."

Looking at his attitude, Luo Jie became even more angry, and scolded Zhang Anyi severely in front of several other cabinet scholars.

"Foreign races have been invading our Guanghua border all year round. If we want to reconcile with them now, wouldn't it fuel their arrogance and give them a chance to recuperate? This makes the old man have to speculate on Master Zhang's intentions."

Several other cabinet members were wise and safe, watching the show quietly.

No matter what Luo Jie said, Zhang Anyi always looked at his eyes and nose, his nose and his heart, and had no temper.After Luo Jie's voice fell, he said: "Lord Luo, why don't we need to recuperate? If we can reconcile the mutual market, wouldn't it be a win-win situation?" Compared with Luo Jie's attitude, Zhang Anyi's tone seemed very calm, which made him It is his illusion that a person has the upper hand.

Just when the two were at a stalemate, another person in the cabinet finally stood up and spoke.

"The lower officials agree with Mr. Zhang's decision."

It was Shen Wei who ranked last in the cabinet.Her voice was loud and clear.

Zhang Anyi and Shen Wei were Jinshi in the same year, and they have a very good personal relationship, which is well known in the court.

Even though the two of them were tough, the reconciliation of the mutual market was shelved.

Coming out of Wenyuan Pavilion, Shen Wei said in a low voice: "Luo Jie will definitely not present the memorial to the Holy One, what should we do now?"

Zhang Anyi looked at the layers of palaces in the distance, and said: "Then present the fold to the Holy Master." The direction he was looking at was the direction of Emperor Ling's palace.

Shen Wei's expression became serious, but there was a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

This is equivalent to declaring war with Luo Jie.

That night, Zhang Anyi asked to meet Emperor Ling, and presented the memorial in person, analyzed the current situation, and explained the benefits of reconciling the mutual market.

Although Emperor Ling has an indecisive personality and is now addicted to alchemy, his talent is actually the best among the several princes, and he was trained and taught by the late Emperor and Empress Xiaojing since he was a child. monarch.After reading Zhang Anyi's memorial, he frowned and thought for a while and said: "Zhang Aiqing's proposal to reconcile the mutual market is very good, and you will be solely responsible for this matter. If you have any memorials in the future, you can submit them to me without going through Mr. Luo .”

From Emperor Ling's expression, it could be seen that he was very dissatisfied with Luo Jie's interception of the memorial, and also felt threatened.

As long as you are a king, you want absolute authority and obedience.

"The minister obeys the order."

The next day, word spread that Zhang Anyi brought Zhezi to meet Emperor Ling alone.Emperor Ling also summoned Luo Jie alone and reminded him vaguely.

Since then, it has become clear to the whole court that the cabinet minister and the cabinet minister are no longer simply at odds, but have formally stood on the opposite side just like Luo Jie and Xu Hou back then.

When the situation in the court was changing, the person Hanshi sent to assassinate Xie Zhao finally got the news.

"How?" Ruan Muyang screened everyone off.Her tone seemed calm, but she was actually pinching the corner of the table nervously.

Han Shi sighed and said, "It failed."

Sure enough, the assassination failed.

Xie Zhao must have prepared for this trip.

After all, let the tiger go back to the mountain.

Ruan Muyang suppressed the disappointment in his heart, looked at Hanshi who blamed himself, and comforted him softly, "It's not your fault." He is a servant from a wealthy family in the capital, and he has no connections in the world. It is not bad to find someone to assassinate Xie Zhao up.

Her voice warmed Han Shi's heart.He has been with the Second Young Madam for so long, and he was very grateful to be promoted by her all the way up and entrusted with important tasks.Although some things were very dangerous, the second young lady was very kind and treated him well, even if she did not do well, she never blamed him.

"The people who came back said that there were three groups of people including the one who assassinated King Yong'an and ours. Although the two groups worked together, it is certain that they were not sent by the same person. Our people were going to follow Madam's order." , They did it when they were about to reach Xizhou and relaxed, but when those two groups of people did it, it was an excellent opportunity, and our people also went up."

Ruan Muyang nodded, if she was there, people would seize this opportunity.

One of the group of people must be sent by Luo Jie, so who is the other group of people?Apart from Luo Jie, who was worried about King Yong'an's return, and himself, who was at odds with him, who else would do such a treasonous thing of assassinating the prince?

Han Shi said again: "It's a pity that the three groups of people didn't succeed together."

"Okay, I got it." Ruan Muyang said, "You remember to make those mouths tighter."

After the cold food went down, she thought about it carefully and didn't realize who sent the other killer.There may be many people who have enmity with King Yong'an, but not many people sent people to kill him.

Maybe she wanted to miss it.

At night, Zhang Anyi still came back in the dark.

In the past few days, Luo Jie has put a lot of pressure on him.

Ruan Muyang knew that Zhang Anyi would confront Luo Jie sooner or later, but he didn't expect it to come so soon.

"Luo Jie's power is all over the court, Second Master must be careful in the future." She was a little worried.

At this moment, Zhang Anyi was not as vigorous as he was just now when he openly challenged Luo Jie's authority, nor did he have a trace of fear.It seems that despite the changes in the sea and mountains and rivers, his gentle and profound appearance will never change, and it has been immersed in the bone marrow. "Madam, don't worry, the Holy Majesty and the Empress are also aware of Luo Jie's single-handed overthrow, and want to use me to suppress him. With the Holy Majesty behind me, nothing will happen."

Ruan Muyang nodded.Even so, she was still worried.She knows how ruthless Luo Jie is, who will do anything to achieve his goals.

"Ma'am, go to bed first."

"Second master still not sleeping?" Zhang Anyi slept very little these days in order to reconcile the mutual market.

Zhang Anyi said: "I'll take a rest tomorrow. Shen Sikong will leave Beijing and leave the customs. I'll see her off tomorrow. I have some things to discuss with her, so I'm afraid I won't be able to accompany Madam."

Luo Jie only hoped that he would fail in this reconciliation with the foreign race, so he had to sit in Beijing.Therefore, this job was handed over to Shen Wei.

Ruan Muyang knew the importance of this matter.Emperor Ling entrusted Zhang Anyi to personally supervise the matter, and he let Shen Wei go, which showed that he had great trust in Shen Wei.

Not only because I trust her, but also because I trust her talent and ability.

As women, Ruan Muyang was always inferior to Shen Wei who was born as a Jinshi and entered the cabinet by his own ability.

Concealing the emotions in his eyes, Ruan Muyang smiled and said: "It's just right, the fourth sibling invited me to go to Pinghai Temple to offer incense tomorrow."

Zhang Anyi looked at her and said, "You and your fourth sibling are fine."

Ruan Muyang didn't know what Zhang Anyi was interested in, so he nodded and said, "Yes, the fourth younger brother and sister are exquisite people, and the fourth younger brother has become a lot more stable after becoming a relative. This has something to do with the fourth younger brother and sister."

Because of Zhang Anyan's matter, Zhanyu Courtyard and Chuanyun Courtyard's disagreement is known even to the servants of the Zhang House, and the conflict between Wang Shi and her has accumulated too much.

As for Zhang Anchao and Chen's couple, although they usually keep a low profile and don't offend others, their relationship with them is actually very alienated.And Ruan Muyang knew that the couple always remembered that Zhang Anyi sent them to Zhuangzi and Zhang Anchao. Because Zhang Anyi became a co-examiner of the examination, he had to avoid it, and missed three years. .

Fortunately, Zhang Anyu and Hu Yunxi of Tanfengyuan are not bad.

Ruan Muyang finally had someone to talk to in the Zhang residence.

Seeing Ruan Muyang in the carriage the next day, Hu Yunxi blushed and looked a little uncomfortable.

Ruan Muyang knew that she was remembering what happened on the night of August [-]th, so he didn't reveal it, and changed the subject to chatting with her about jewelry.

While chatting, the topic somehow turned to Zhang Anyu.

Hu Yunxi said that Zhang Anyu felt that he would take part in the next year's examination.

The descendants of the Zhang family have been studying since childhood.Although Zhang Anyu was favored by the old lady, she passed the provincial examination so-so very early on.Among Zhang Lao Shangshu's four grandsons, only Zhang Anyan, the eldest grandson, is only a scholar, and the other three have at least achieved fame.

Ruan Muyang sincerely sighed in his heart that Zhang Anyu had really changed.She smiled and said: "The fourth brother is extremely intelligent, as long as he puts his mind on studying, it will definitely be fine."

"It's just that the second sister-in-law knows about the next year's exam, will the second brother be the examiner?" Hu Yunxi inquired.

Ruan Muyang immediately understood what she was worried about.

Now with Zhang Anyi's identity, he can even be the chief examiner. If he really becomes the examiner, then his brother must avoid it.

And as far as Ruan Muyang knew, Zhang Anchao was also going to participate in the next year's general examination.

His two younger brothers are already grown up, if Zhang Anchao and Zhang Anyu have been suppressed by him for three years because he wants to avoid him, I'm afraid they will feel dissatisfied.

"The fourth younger sibling reminded me. I will tell the second master when I get back." Ruan Muyang guessed that this was probably just Hu Yunxi himself who was worried, and even Zhang Anyu didn't think about it.

Hu Yunxi smiled and said, "Then there will be Mrs. Lao."

"The fourth siblings are polite, they are all from our own family."

When they arrived at Pinghai Temple, after Ruan Muyang and Hu Yunxi worshiped the Buddha together, Hu Yunxi went to find the abbot to unwrap the lottery, and she walked around the temple with Diancui and enamel, and went to the meditation room together after Hu Yunxi came out.

September is the time when sweet-scented osmanthus is fragrant.

Ruan Muyang, smelling the scent of sweet-scented osmanthus, was walking slowly along the ginger-yellow wall of Pinghai Temple when he was suddenly stopped by two unfamiliar men.

"What are you going to do?" She stopped and asked cautiously.

There is no one around, but it is not far from the Buddhist hall, if you shout, someone must be able to hear it.

Diancui and enamel stand in front of Ruan Muyang.

One of them said: "Mrs. Zhang, my lord pleases."

Ruan Muyang frowned and asked, "Which adult?"

"Naturally, Lord Luo."

Dian Cui and Fa Fang looked at Ruan Muyang.

Ruan Muyang felt heavy in his heart.If Luo Jie looks for her at this time, nothing good will happen.

Seeing her standing there hesitating, the man said again: "Mrs. Zhang, don't make things difficult for us. My lord said that I must see you."

Ruan Muyang pursed his lips and said, "Okay, I'll go with you."

Since you can't hide, you can only go to see her.

She was led to a carriage.The carriage looked very simple and inconspicuous, but there were several people guarding it all around. Inside the carriage covered by the curtain, there was a tense silence.

Unexpectedly, Luo Jie knew her whereabouts and found Pinghai Temple.

"Madam Zhang, please."

"Diancui enamel, you wait for me here." After the instruction, Ruan Muyang got into the carriage.

The person sitting in the carriage was indeed Luo Jie.

"Lord Luo." Ruan Muyang said respectfully.

Luo Jie looked at Ruan Muyang.Seeing the subtle changes in her tone and attitude when she spoke to him, he smiled and said, "Long time no see, Mrs. Zhang is more dignified than before."

"Master Luo is too much." Ruan Muyang circled around with him, just waiting for him to get to the point.

Luo Jie stroked his beard and said, "I haven't thanked Mrs. Zhang for tipping off the news. If Mrs. Zhang hadn't sent someone to inform the old man, I'm afraid that the old man would have died like Xu Hou."

Mentioning this incident, Ruan Muyang's heart sank.

Now that Zhang Anyi is in a relationship with him, why did he suddenly mention this matter?She had a very bad premonition.

"Did Mrs. Zhang send the letter to the old man without telling Mr. Zhang?" Luo Jie took a panoramic view of her expression and continued, "I'm afraid not only King Yong'an and Xu Hou, but even Mr. Zhang doesn't know the relationship between the old man and the Holy One. So the success is all due to Mrs. Zhang, right? Who would have thought that it was a woman who made all of this possible."

The news that Ruan Muyang passed to Luo Jie that night was indeed crucial, and what changed was a dynasty.

What Luo Jie kept reminding was that Zhang Anyi didn't know about the news she leaked to him that night.

Ruan Muyang had a very bad premonition.

"Although I don't know if Mrs. Zhang really just doesn't want King Yong'an to take the throne, but I know that Mrs. Zhang is different from other women in the back house, and what she pursues must be different." Luo Jie said firmly.

Actually he was wrong.

Originally, what Ruan Muyang wanted was revenge, but now that Xie Zhao went to Xizhou, and she couldn't touch him for the time being, she wanted the same as ordinary women, wanting harmony in the house, and harmony between husband and wife.

Luo Jie was extremely confident, and did not give Ruan Muyang a chance to explain: "No matter what Mrs. Zhang wants, I can satisfy it. As long as you are by Zhang Anyi's side to monitor his movements for the old man. Anyway, if you can leak the news, Zhang Madame definitely has no feelings for Mr. Zhang." Leaking out the will, in case of Luo Jie's defeat and Dong Chuang's incident, Zhang Anyi will be held accountable in the end.

In Luo Jie's eyes, a woman like Ruan Muyang, who even plots against her husband, is scorpion-hearted, indifferent, how could she have a relationship with Zhang Anyi?

Ruan Muyang's body froze.

By doing this, in the eyes of others, does she have no heart for Zhang Anyi, and does not care about the relationship between husband and wife?
But she loves him, and she hides everything from him just because she doesn't want him to be directly involved in it.

At the time she had no other choice.

"Lord Luo is wrong." Ruan Muyang said, his throat was a little astringent, "How can I have no relationship with him as husband and wife? I will not work for Master Luo."

Luo Jie sneered and said: "I didn't see you thinking about the relationship between husband and wife at the beginning, but now you are pretending to be very affectionate with this old man? Have you ever thought about what Zhang Anyi would do if he knew what you did and your true face? How do you feel? Will you think about the relationship between husband and wife again? Do you have any sympathy for people like you?"

Ruan Muyang was speechless for a moment.

She was indeed on guard against him at the beginning, but now because of Shen Wei's matter, she still has a grudge in her heart, and feels that there is always an inexplicable gap between the two of them, and she doesn't want to involve him, so she keeps hiding it from him. .Now after being reminded by Luo Jie, she suddenly realized that if Zhang Anyi discovered what she had done, she might not be able to explain it clearly.

Suppressing the emotions in his heart, realizing that Luo Jie was threatening her, Ruan Muyang didn't want him to poke her bottom, so he kept calm and said, "I'm afraid I can't do what Master Luo asked."

At this time, Luo Jie was not angry anymore.He smiled and said in a friendly tone: "Mrs. Zhang, don't rush to reply to the old man, you can go back and think about it. If Mrs. Zhang really wants to ask Mr. Zhang, she should agree to the old man. The old man will understand what happened before. Keep it a secret for Mrs. Zhang, and in the future, I will not kill them all for Mrs. Zhang's face, leaving him a way out."

It is naturally best to give her a chance to relax and think about countermeasures.

Ruan Muyang knew that Luo Jie was using him.If Zhang Anyi really lost to him, he would end up like Xu Hou, with no possibility of survival.

With a calm expression on her face, she said, "Master Xie Luo, I'll go back and think about it."

Coming out of the carriage, smelling the scent of sweet-scented osmanthus, Ruan Muyang's mood did not become more relaxed, as depressed as he was in the carriage just now.

Luo Jie's words kept echoing in her ears.

——Have you ever thought about how Zhang Anyi would feel if he knew what you did and your true face?Will you miss the relationship between husband and wife again?Do you have any compassion for someone like you?

"Ma'am! Are you okay?" Seeing that Ruan Muyang's face was pale, Dian Cui asked with concern.

Ruan Muyang shook his head and said: "Let's go back, it took a lot of time, I'm afraid the fourth sibling is looking for us. After a while, I will say that I feel unwell, stop and rest for a while, don't tell anyone what happened just now, including Second Lord."

Diancui and Falan nodded.

When they went back, they saw Hu Yunxi and two maids waiting for them.

"Why does the second sister-in-law have a bad face?" Hu Yunxi looked at Ruan Muyang's face and asked.

Ruan Muyang smiled and said: "Just now I saw that the osmanthus flowers in the temple were blooming well, so I went to have a look, but I suddenly felt dizzy, so I sat down and rested for a while."

Seeing that her face was indeed a little pale, Hu Yunxi didn't suspect anything else, and asked with concern: "How is it now? Do you want to go back?"

Ruan Muyang shook his head and said, "Perhaps it was smelled by the fragrance of flowers, and it's much better now."

"That's good, let's go to the meditation room to rest for a while."

Had a fast meal at Pinghai Temple, and when he returned to Zhang's mansion in the afternoon, Zhang Anyi had already returned.

Ruan Muyang's complexion has long since recovered, and there is nothing unusual about it.

"Master Shen is gone?"

Zhang Anyi nodded.

"Going to the border this time, Mr. Shen looks weak, and I don't know if he can bear it." Ruan Muyang thought of Shen Wei, a woman who was going to the border and negotiated with foreigners, and he couldn't help admiring her courage.

Zhang Anyi's eyes flickered, and then he said firmly: "Shen Sikong will definitely not let me down."

Maybe it was envy of Shen Wei's ability and courage, or maybe it was envy of Shen Wei's failure to stand side by side with Zhang Anyi in the court hall, facing him so sincerely, Ruan Muyang felt lost.

In order to prevent Zhang Anyi from noticing her emotions, she changed the subject and talked about what Hu Yunxi said to herself in the carriage today.

"The third brother and the fourth brother will both have to take part in the exam in two years' time. If you want to avoid it, I'm afraid I will blame you, especially the third brother." She reminded tactfully.

Zhang Anyi frowned and said, "The third brother's temperament is not suitable for being an official in the officialdom. If he is instigated by a traitor, he might go astray. As for the fourth brother, his temperament is still unstable."

He's telling the truth.

Ruan Muyang didn't expect that he, who is busy with government affairs in the court all day, would even consider these things.He seems indifferent, but in fact he cares about the people in the Zhang family, otherwise he would not have saved Zhang Anyan, nor would he have sent Zhang Anchao and the Chen family to Zhuangzi, but they did not understand his good intentions and would not Appreciate.

He is not the eldest grandson, but he secretly supported the entire Zhang family, never explaining, never making a sound.

Thinking of this, she looked at the man with gentle eyebrows in front of her, and felt extremely distressed.

"However, if they continue to be suppressed by me, they will definitely feel dissatisfied, so let them go."

Zhang Anyi is an extremely sensitive person.Sensing Ruan Muyang's soft gaze, he turned his head to look at her, with a gentle smile, teasingly said: "The two-month period has not yet come, is it safe for Madam to flirt with me like this?" Pamper and coddle.

Such warm and affectionate words made Ruan Muyang blushed and looked away, and his heart beat faster.

Who is teasing whom?
The words Luo Jie said today suddenly sounded, like a wake-up call ringing in her heart, making her suddenly feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave, and her heart gradually calmed down.

(End of this chapter)