Being stared at by the prince's indifferent eyes, Pei Yan remained calm, lifted up his clothes, and knelt down peacefully. He seemed to be humble, but he turned a blind eye to the prince's anger, and said in a nonchalant manner: "Your Highness, calm down your anger."
Pei Yan stopped talking, and his eyes became cold, as if he was no longer interested in admonishing the prince.
This look is what Pei Yan is used to. The original prince and Pei Yan have always been getting along like this. Pei Yan only mentioned a few things, whether he listened or not, he didn't care about the result.
It's just that the original person thought that Pei Yan was very talented, and he had always let Pei Yan's ideas go by his will, without any opinions of his own.
Ning Xiuyun stared at him and suddenly chuckled: "Pei Qing's kind words and persuasion are just because he knew that the poisoning was a trick of someone with serious intentions. Gu Ruo insisted on investigating, so he fell into the trap of others. Pei Qing was so kind."
Pei Yan raised his eyes in surprise.
The prince's eyes were deep, as if he had already seen through the whole matter.
How could Ning Xiuyun not see that the poisoning had nothing to do with the Jiang family.
No matter how stupid Jiang Xingsong was, he would not poison him when the whole Jiang City knew that the Jiang family was hosting the Feng Feng Banquet, not to mention that this man was a bit clever.
There is no doubt that someone wants to harm the Jiang family, but the question is, who is doing it?
The Jiang family oppressed the people in Jiangcheng and made many enemies, but most of them were civilians who were unable to take revenge. How could these people alone avoid the Jiang family's investigation and poison the dishes of the Jie Feng Banquet?
Ning Xiuyun put one hand on his cheek and analyzed: "If I were the one who poisoned me, I would definitely leave immediately after poisoning. I will not stay in the house waiting to be caught. Let Jian Qing investigate the matter today." The whole story is really embarrassing for him... Master Fu, what do you think?"
As the prince spoke, the conversation suddenly changed and he looked at Fu Rushen who was standing there with an incomprehensible tone.
Asking this question under such circumstances is not so much asking Fu Rushen about Jian Xun's abilities as it is asking whether Fu Rushen is related to the poisoning.
The drunkard's intention is not to drink.
Although Fu Jing was not the one who was directly named, when he heard his father's name in such a nervous moment, his hair stood on end, wondering, could it be that the prince suspected that his father did it?
How is that possible? Fu Jing subconsciously retorted in his mind. He turned to look at Fu Rushen. There was nothing unusual between Fu Rushen's brows, except that his breathing rate had increased slightly.
Fu Jing's heart felt cold. As a son of a man, how could he not see Fu Rushen's strangeness.
The only question in the hearts of everyone present at this moment is: Was Fu Rushen responsible for the poisoning?
But Mr. Fu obviously has a much better psychological quality than Jiang Chenghe. When asked by the prince, he just bowed and said: "Although Jian Xun is not old, he has outstanding abilities. Jian Xun will naturally be able to do the errands entrusted to him by the prince." Try your best to complete it."
Before the poisoner was found, everything was just a guess. Even if the prince asked, Fu Rushen blocked it without leakage. He knew that in this case, the prince could not ask him about his crime.
Sure enough, the prince sneered when he heard this and said nothing.
Ning Xiuyun put his hand on the table and tapped his knuckles on the table. The hall became quiet and only a slight sound could be heard.
The air in the hall seemed to be sucked out little by little with this sound, and the tension suddenly spread to everyone.
However, this suffocating atmosphere did not last long, and Jian Xun soon returned with his people.
He walked into the main hall first, but his brows were furrowed and there was no trace of joy on his face. He looked more like he had messed up than he had done the job.
But as soon as he moved away, the guards behind him clearly escorted a man in.
Jian Xun walked up to the prince and happened to stop beside the kneeling Pei Yan. He said with some hesitation: "Your Highness, the poisoner has been caught. He admitted the crime, but refused to explain a word about the reason. He must wait until the interview. I won't speak until I see His Highness."
As soon as he finished speaking, the kneeling Pei Yan's back straightened a little, he raised his knees and moved a little distance away from Jian Xun.
Shen Qi, who was standing next to the prince, could clearly see that Pei San was sneering silently, without even looking at Jian Xun, as if he was silently mocking his stupidity.
Shen Qi raised his eyebrows and made a mental note to Pei San, preparing to speak properly in front of the prince in the future.
Ning Xiuyun raised his eyes and looked at Fu Rushen. Master Fu remained calm and only knew how to bow and salute, as if the series of events in front of him had nothing to do with him.
Then he turned his attention to the hall and saw the middle-aged man kneeling on the ground, being suppressed by the guards. Ning Xiuyun actually felt that this man looked familiar.
He frowned slightly and recalled that he had probably met him when he was wandering on the street that day. Jian Xun later bought a wooden bird from this man's stall as a gift to him.
Ning Xiuyun's mind was racing with thoughts, he stretched out his hand and said, "Then let him talk about it."
The guards released their hands from pressing the poisoner's shoulders and neck, and turned to press the point of the spear against the poisoner's body. In front of him, there was a murderous sword in front of him, and the poisoner was not afraid at all.
He was haggard and looked very down and out, but his eyes were full of hope, as if the man about to die had grasped the last straw to save his life.
The man shouted loudly: "A common man is a carpenter on the West Street of Jiangcheng. Six months ago, Jiang Chenghe, the eldest son of Jiang, kidnapped my daughter on the street. The dog was dragged to death by a fierce horse to save his sister. The little girl's body was found the next day. On the river bank outside the city... the common people sneaked into the house to retaliate against Jiang Chenghe, and were forced to poison the dishes. It was not a pity to die for the common people, but Jiang Chenghe killed the two children of the common people, and the common people wanted him to pay with his blood! Please have mercy on His Majesty the Crown Prince——"
The man's voice became more and more trembling as he spoke, and he was crying every word. Even though his hands were tied behind his back with hemp rope, he bowed respectfully. The guards quickly pressed the tip of the gun, and the blade was still on the man's neck. There was a hideous trace of blood left in between.
Just like the despair of losing a child has been cut into my broken heart day and night, and now no matter how big the wound is on my body, it is hard to compare with it.
Seeing the blood drops rolling down from the man's neck, everyone in the main hall was moved.
However, the high-ranking prince groaned and said: "Did you deliberately put poison in Gu's dishes?"
The carpenter in the hall trembled and said in a trembling voice: "The common people came up with this trick just to see His Highness. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
"You were alone and had a grudge with Jiang Chenghe. How could you avoid the Jiang family's investigation and sneak into the house? Who helped you?" Ning Xiuyun asked in an indifferent voice.
The carpenter leaned even lower and said: "No one helped the poor people, it was all done by the poor people alone."
Ning Xiuyun sighed softly.
The carpenter remained silent about the person behind the scenes, which showed that that person also cared about the carpenter, explained the pros and cons, and then gave the carpenter the choice to decide whether to become the first sharp blade to stab the Jiang family.
However, when a person who is struggling and hopeless in a dark corner suddenly sees the light and hope, how can he say a word of rejection?
This method is really not very glorious, but it is very clever and kills people without blood.
As long as the prince doesn't discover the key, he will fall into the trap. Once he empathizes with the carpenter, he becomes a pawn to be manipulated.
Killing someone with a borrowed knife is nothing more than that.
But Ning Xiuyun hated being manipulated secretly most in his life, and he would not allow anyone to force him to make a choice in any way.
Once this precedent is set, newcomers will only flock to him. When he falls, he will only be known as a prince, but in fact he is a mermaid.
There was no compassion in Ning Xiuyun's eyes, and he said indifferently: "You are a person who knows how to repay a favor. Pei Yan, tell him what crime he deserves for assassinating the prince."
"Go back to your highness and assassinate him in accordance with the laws of Daqi."
The prince's attempt failed and he will be sentenced to death by hanging." Pei Yan smiled with relief in his eyes. He was not at all softened by the carpenter's painful experience and was extremely cold-hearted.
"The common people... are not afraid... I just ask the prince to show mercy and let the children of the common people be redressed." The carpenter shivered and said shakily.
Jian Xun stood beside the prince, his brows furrowed so fast that he could kill a fly.
He noticed something was wrong when he just caught the prisoner. The man was sitting on the bench at the door of the kitchen. He didn't dodge when he saw the guard's spear, as if he had known this day for a long time.
But he didn't expect the whole story to be so difficult.
Jian Xun had been walking in Jiangcheng for two years, so he naturally knew what Jiang Chenghe was. Seeing that the prince seemed to be punishing the carpenters in his hall, he couldn't help but say: "Your Highness..."
However, Ning Xiuyun raised his hand and stopped him, saying: "No need to say more."
The prince stood up from his seat and was about to make a decision when he saw Fu Rushen standing in the hall took a step forward, knelt down and saluted, and sighed. , said: "Your Highness, please open your eyes. He was able to enter the house only because Wei Chen sent someone to clear up the relationship. Wei Chen was incompetent. He knew clearly that the Jiang family was guilty of many crimes, but could not find any evidence. He could not be brought to justice. He could only I can offer this advice to someone who has been wronged, so I ask His Highness to forgive him. I will shoulder all the blame for his crimes."
Ning Xiuyun chuckled lightly and said: "I know that people in this world say that it is difficult for me to be a prince if I am mediocre and incompetent. All the civil and military officials in the capital think so, and it's no wonder Master Fu refuses to trust Gu."
Even as soon as he entered the city, he gave Fu Rushen face and told everyone clearly that he was on Fu Rushen's side. Fu Rushen didn't give him any trust.
Instead, he used this method as a threat, hoping to force him to attack the Jiang family and clean up the foul atmosphere caused by the Jiang family in Jiangcheng.
You need to have an attitude when asking for help, but Fu Rushen doesn't even have basic respect.
Is Fu Rushen too stubborn, the prince's reputation is too bad and cannot be trusted, or is it because he has been bitten by a snake and has been afraid of ropes for ten years and has learned from past mistakes that he dare not trust people in the royal family so easily?
"Everything is the fault of a minor official. Please punish me, Your Highness." Fu Rushen knelt down again but refused to defend himself.
Fu Jing next to him was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, with a cold sweat on his forehead. He didn't know how things could take a turn for the worse and develop to this point.
In his impression, his father had always acted cautiously, so how could he be so anxious this time? It was really too much.
Fu Jing was about to kneel down and bow down when he heard the prince on the throne speak again: "Okay, very good. Mr. Fu loves the people like his own son. Wouldn't it be too unkind to pursue Gu Ruo's case any further?"
Ning Xiuyun narrowed his eyes, said loudly: "Don't say a word about what happened in the main hall today. If anyone asks, just say that Jian Qing has caught the poisoner and punished him on the spot as a warning to others. As for the blood debt on Jiang Chenghe's body, Gu Ben has also decided to hand it over to Master Fu, and Gu has assigned a team of guards to you. We must find evidence of Jiang Chenghe's crimes. How much can be settled in the end depends on Master Fu's ability."
"As for this person, I took him away." He pointed at the carpenter kneeling in the hall, flicked his cuffs, and strode out of the main hall.
When passing by Fu Rushen, the prince's long python robe brushed against a dark gray shadow, and he immediately left a cold message: "Master Fu, you need to think twice before doing anything in the future. I miss you and serve the people wholeheartedly. Let bygones be bygones. If you commit the following crimes again, What you have done is not to be taken lightly."
The prince left the main hall first, and several subordinates followed him immediately.
Only Pei Yan stood up slowly after the prince's figure disappeared, without any embarrassment of being punished to kneel on his face.
He walked slowly out of the main hall. The young attendant at the door saw him and immediately came up to him and asked, "Master, are you okay?"
"You haven't arrived for half an hour, what can happen?" Pei Yan patted the lapel of his clothes. He said nonchalantly about the dust on his clothes.
The young attendant breathed a sigh of relief and asked again: "The case has been closed? I see that His Highness has withdrawn the guards."
Pei Yan tidied up his image, not at all embarrassed, and he was a handsome gentleman. Shen Qi told him with great interest: "His Highness said that the poisoner has been brought to justice by Mr. Jian. Please tell the idle people in the convoy this news."
Although Shen Qi didn't know what the prince's intention was in taking away the carpenter, but she also properly put the carpenter into a sack and his body was carried out of the Jiang family's mansion as a "warning to others".
Because the carpenter shed a lot of blood and it stained the sack, it looked like that.
Then he notified his colleagues in the front yard to retreat. The guards surrounded the prince's car and escorted him all the way to the temporary prince's residence.
Ning Xiuyun got off the carriage and walked back to the main courtyard. Shen Qi followed him and asked, "Your Highness, how will the carpenter be punished?"
Ning Xiuyun said casually: "Fu Rushen doesn't have any soldiers in his hands. This man lets go." In the Sheriff's Mansion, I am afraid that I will die quietly, but in the Prince's Mansion, few people dare to come in."
Shen Qi's eyes lit up, and he praised the Crown Prince for his thoughtfulness, and responded: "I understand."
Shen Qi After taking the people to settle the carpenter, during the short journey to the main hall of the main courtyard, only Ning Xiuyun and Jian Xun were left.
When he entered the main hall, Ning Xiuyun sat down on the main seat and held his forehead, feeling a splitting headache.
Ning Xiuyun, who had been furious just now, suppressed his anger and didn't show it, but now they all got angry at the same time.
He held his chin and closed his eyes to rest, listening to the breathing of another person in the main hall, and said: "Since you have doubts, don't hide them, but it doesn't matter."
The next moment, Jian Xun's voice sounded in Ning Xiu Yun whispered in his ear: "Everyone in Jiang City knows the numerous crimes committed by the Jiang family. Why didn't His Highness just send someone to find out and punish the Jiang family once and for all?"
Ning Xiuyun opened his eyes and looked at Jian Xun, and said softly: "Do you think the Jiang family has been able to dominate Jiangcheng for so long without having a trump card?"
Jian Xun was stunned and said: "This... the Jiang family does have many staff and a rich family, and Jiang Chenghe has a title. I'm here, but these should be nothing to His Highness."
"Nothing... Is Jian Qing so arrogant?" Ning Xiuyun was so happy that even her headache subsided by three points.
He straightened up, broke apart Jiangcheng's current situation and told Jian Xun: "Fu Rushen is the weakest among all the forces in Jiangcheng today. I don't need to explain the reason. He has several counties in his hands. The guards who guard the mansion are probably not as good as the private soldiers raised by a random family. Although Daqi is not allowed to station troops, but they only say that they are guarding the courtyard, local officials will give face to the family and turn a blind eye. Jiang I don't know how many 'guardians' there are in my family, but it's only a lot more than the people I have now."
"The sky is high and the emperor is far away. Rabbits will bite people when they are in a hurry, let alone this group of eaters. People don't spit out bones." Ning Xiuyun sighed with emotion.
Jian Xun suddenly fell silent, because he knew that the situation in Jiangcheng was far more than what the prince said, and was actually much more difficult.
Because the Jiangcheng garrison was not only deeply dissatisfied with the county governor Fu Ru, but had also been corrupted by the Jiang family, all generals and captains of soldiers with some power in the garrison camp were Jiang family aides.
Under such circumstances, it was extremely difficult for Fu Rushen to clean up the filth in Jiangcheng, so he could only place his hope in the hands of the prince.
But the prince is actually very stretched, and the lack of troops is the biggest weakness now. Unless he can hit the Jiang family with one blow and uproot it, he will be like a centipede insect that will die but not freeze.
In this case, could it be that the prince no longer intends to interfere with the Jiang family's affairs?
An unknown fire arose in Jian Xun's heart, and within a short time it burned to the point of pain in his heart.
He originally thought that the prince was different and would not ignore the mess in Jiangcheng, but now it seems that is not the case.
Increasingly angry, Jian Xun lost his sense in speaking: "Your Highness, do you mean to let the Jiang family do what they want? Let these people bully the people?"
Ning Xiuyun looked at him deeply, knowing where his anger at this time came from. Come.
The original book did not mention Jian Xun's past in Jiangcheng, but it did tell a story about how lonely the Jian family was.
When Emperor Jiaxing visited Jiangcheng on his southern tour, it happened that the old Marquis of the Jiang family had just moved his family to Jiangcheng. The old Marquis was a veteran of three dynasties and had been a mediator in the struggle for the right to inherit the throne. It was originally the former crown prince's party, but later the former prince did not know why. After a sudden death, the old Marquis retreated bravely to Jiangcheng. However, he had many children under his command and had a deep foundation in the court. They could not be cut off by moving the family to Jiangcheng.
At that time, Emperor Jiaxing had just ascended the throne. He respected this elder. When someone filed a lawsuit against the Jiang family, he believed that doing more was better than doing less. The big thing was reduced to a small one, so that those who had been wronged would die in peace.
At that time, the person who complained was a young scholar, but he failed to get justice. He was trapped by the matter for several years, and finally died of depression.
This scholar was Jian Xun's father. His talent and learning were once only under Marquis Jingxuan. However, the young man who was originally a high-spirited man failed to recover and passed away within a few years.
Jian Xun's mother died of dystocia and hemorrhage when giving birth to him. Once his father passed away, Jian Xun was the only one left in the Jian family.
After many years of living in the care of others, although Marquis Jingxuan treated him well, Jian Xun finally lost all ties with him.
The sullenness in Jian Xun's eyes made Ning Xiuyun's heart ache. He seemed to be able to imagine the confusion and hatred that the young Jian Xun felt when he was alone. This was the reason why he resisted people from the royal family.
Ning Xiuyun sighed and said, "In your eyes, do you think Gu is a coward and fearful of trouble? Or do you also think Gu is a cold-blooded and heartless person?"
Jian Xun was brought back to his senses by this rhetorical question. He calmed down and asked again: "But today, the carpenter risked his life just to avenge his children. Why is Your Highness... so angry?"
Ning Xiuyun almost laughed angrily again. He said, "Are you really an undercover agent sent by Fu Rushen? Fu Rushen threatened you with injustice just to use Gu's help to get rid of the Jiang family. You can't see any of this?"
Jian Xun really didn't understand, he asked in reply: "But if the result is good, why doesn't Your Highness just go with the flow?"
- But in that case, what's the difference between a person in a high position and a puppet? Without any opinion, he could only be coerced by the people under his control and forced to make a choice.
Ning Xiuyun subconsciously refuted in his heart, but he suddenly remembered the plot mentioned in the original book, Jian Xun's smooth road to becoming emperor.
But Jian Xun was not a person who was good at dancing and maneuvering. After he ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, did the so-called strategies to benefit the country and the people come from Jian Xun's original intention, or were they deliberately guided by those who were interested?
What role did people like Pei Yan play in this? Just thinking about it was hard for Ning Xiuyun to accept.
Ning Xiuyun's eyes were a little serious.
"Jian Xun." He called softly. This was the first time he called Jian Xun's name so seriously.
Jian Xun looked up at him doubtfully.
The prince in a python robe stood up from his seat, gave way to the chair, pointed to the very symbolic chair, and said, "Sit down."
"What...?" Jian Xun was a little confused. I don't quite understand what the prince means.
Ning Xiuyun said repeatedly and firmly: "I'll let you sit down."
Jian Xun looked at the empty seat, hesitating between obeying the order and pretending to be stupid, but looking at His Highness the Crown Prince's unconcerned gaze, he still chose the former. Sit down on the main seat calmly.
Ning Xiuyun walked to the opposite side of Jian Xun and said, "If you are sitting in Gu's position, and the rebels in one city threaten the civilians in the city and ask you to cede the other two neighboring cities or pay for it with your life, Jian Qing feels that , what should we do?"
Jian Xun thought for a moment.
He knew that his idea was rebellious, but he did not want to go against his true intention, and the prince in front of him did not want to hear every compliment from him, so he said: "If one day, I can relieve His Highness's worries, even if I die, I will I don't want any innocent person to be wronged."
He will try every means to preserve both of them, and if he is really desperate, he will not hesitate to sacrifice himself.
Ning Xiuyun looked at him, as if he could see Jian Xun's sincere soul shining brightly. From the first time they met until now, he had been infatuated with him.
Perhaps because he had been hiding in the darkness for too long, Ning Xiuyun was particularly envious of the sunshine.
"You, you won't even know that someone will sell you one day in the future." Ning Xiuyun joked, leaning slightly to look at Jian Xun's handsome features, he said, "It's good that Jian Qing has intentions."
"But not alone."
"Yes."
Anyone in a high position will always have many things they can't help themselves. Jian Xun can't see or understand it now. Ning Xiuyun doesn't think it's Jian Xun's fault. In the future, he will tell Jian Xun that those in power should act.
However, despite many concerns, Ning Xiuyun can still promise: "I promise you that in the future, in the position of the prince, no one will die unjustly. Jiangcheng's forces are complicated, but Gu will definitely uproot them. Today's Jiang Chenghe is the first one."
Jian Xun was on pins and needles, and he felt an urgent need to stand up from the throne from the moment he understood the prince's words, but the prince did not speak, and he did not dare to move for a while.
Jian Xun fidgeted and said, "This subordinate understands."
The prince chuckled and said, "I thought you would be happy if I punished Jiang Chenghe."
That night in Zui Feng Tower, Jian Xun ate a lot of food in order to assassinate Jiang Chenghe. What a shame, now that he has entered Jiangcheng as the prince, he should start to decline from Jiang Chenghe.
But Jiang Chenghe is just the beginning. Just pressing Jiang Chenghe is nothing. He must be as clear as possible about these cancers.
After that, there were the Jiang family, other dignitaries from Jiangcheng's aristocratic families, people who did evil things, and even... the one on the dragon throne.
Ning Xiuyun's eyes were gloomy. He couldn't say so clearly, so he picked up a candied fruit from the fruit plate on the table and handed it to Jian Xun.
"Forget it. Here you go. I don't know if it's poisonous or not, so just play with it."
After saying that, he turned around and walked slowly out of the main hall.
Jian Xun was left alone, looking at the candied fruit in his hand with deep doubts.
The candied fruit exudes a sweet smell, which seems to tempt people to put it in their mouth.
But thinking of the prince's words, "I don't know if it's poisonous or not," Jian Xun stopped thinking.
Jian Xun took it in his hand and looked at it carefully for a moment.
——At least it looks sweet.
Ning Xiuyun, the two protagonists sharpening their swords and preparing to kill their relatives for justice will kill any sign of be in the cradle! (make a fist)