The Treacherous Minister Who Sold Out His Teacher for Fame (1)

Ji Changze looked around and found that it was obviously a court session. In addition to the ministers who were pointing at him and scolding him, there were also a bunch of onlookers, as well as an angry emperor.

"How dare you!!!"

The emperor was indeed very angry, which was also normal. Which emperor would not be angry when being called a tyrant?

He threw the inkstone on the table to the ground, his face was ashen with anger: "I listen to whoever I believe, and it is not your turn to make a comment!!"

The emperor was angry, so how could the ministers not kneel.

So, the ministers knelt in a row.

Ji Changze knelt down and took the time to read the memory while observing the faces of the people around him.

Almost half of the ministers gave him an angry look when they found him looking at them, and the remaining half lowered their heads in fear and did not look at him.

It seems that the original owner should be quite vindictive.

Ji Changze read the memory and found that the original owner not only remembered grudges, but also did not know how to remember favors.

The original owner was a scholar born in a poor mountain village.

He was the only son in the family, so his parents regarded him as everything. His father almost worked hard to earn money for his studies, and finally died of overwork. He relied on his mother to support his studies.

Originally, his mother's support could not last for too long, but when the original owner was ridiculed by his classmates because of poverty during a poetry meeting, he was caught by a great scholar.

When the great scholar was young, he almost couldn't continue his studies because of poverty. When he saw the original owner, he felt sympathy. After further investigation, he found that the original owner was very smart, so he cherished his talent even more.

He accepted the original owner as his apprentice, brought him to his house, taught him to read, took him to learn martial arts, and gave him monthly silver every month, just like his own son.

With such a great scholar master, the original owner's predicament was naturally solved. The old mother at home no longer had to work hard day and night to weave, and he didn't have to worry about money.

The original owner thrived under the cultivation of the great scholar. The great scholar and his wife treated him as their own son and betrothed their only daughter to him.

This is what a winner in life is like.

The original owner was an elegant scholar to the outside world. Although his official position was not high, his colleagues in the officialdom were also very friendly to him because he had the great scholar behind him. Internally, he was his wife's caring and gentle husband, and a good disciple who respected the great scholar very much.

It would be nice if he lived his life like this, but unfortunately, something happened later.

The great scholar had a sister who was a concubine in the palace. The son of the concubine was always praised. Although he was not very old, he was very brave and resourceful. When the enemy country invaded, the emperor sent the son of the concubine to quell the chaos.

In the end, no one knew what happened. The enemy country was defeated, but the son of the concubine did not come back as a hero, but was escorted to Beijing.

This most promising prince rebelled.

Everyone's first reaction was to not believe it.

In terms of emotion and reason, there was no reason for this prince to rebel.

He was born in a good family and was excellent enough. No prince in the palace could compare with him. He was also young. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the throne would definitely be his in the future.

He didn't need to do this.

When this happened, many old ministers asked the emperor to investigate thoroughly.

Even the prince's rivals, the other princes with the same father and mother, did not believe that he would rebel.

But the emperor firmly believed this.

Moreover, it was concluded that the prince's uncle, the great scholar, was also cooperating with the prince in rebellion.

The great scholar was imprisoned.

This caused a big uproar.

Maybe the prince was just a noun for the common people, but the great scholar had an extraordinary status in the minds of many scholars.

They believed that such a great scholar would not do such a thing.

Just when people were pleading for the great scholar and the prince everywhere, hoping that the emperor would investigate thoroughly, the great scholar was brought to the court. He was also a fierce man. In the court, when he was accused of being a traitor by the emperor, he hit his head against the pillar and died.

After his death, the original owner took [the correspondence between the great scholar and the emperor about treason] and [killed his own relatives for the sake of justice].

The only direct disciple of the great scholar/the husband of his only daughter/the father-son relationship stood up to confirm the guilt of the great scholar.

No matter how many people do not believe it, at least from the perspective of public opinion, when the original owner stood up, the guilt of the dead great scholar was determined.

When his wife, who was about to give birth, rushed here from her hometown in a hurry, she heard the bad news that her husband had framed his father. The child was born prematurely, and because it was premature, it was a dead fetus. When she rushed back after burying it on the spot, everything was settled.

The great scholar died, and the prince was imprisoned. The emperor said very "mercifully" that the crime did not extend to his family. Since the great scholar had apologized with his death, he would not care about the family of the great scholar. Therefore, under the care of the "merciful" emperor, the great scholar's family was not confiscated, and his wife and daughter were not implicated.

Naturally, both Ji Changze and the original owner understood that letting the mother and daughter go was not a mercy at all. It was just a self-righteous decision made after the death of the great scholar in order to appease the resentment and anger of those scholars.

He knew he was wrong, but the emperor would not admit that he was wrong, so he needed someone like the original owner to remind everyone that he was not wrong.

The original owner rose step by step to the peak of power. It was easy for him to please the incompetent emperor. As long as he scolded his dead master from time to time and stepped on his master's wolfish ambitions, the emperor would naturally be very happy.

Relying on this, the original owner successfully ascended to a high position. Now, at a young age, he is already a second-rank Shangshu Ling.

Although he is a civil servant, he also holds real power, because in most cases, the emperor will listen to what he says.

Compared with the smugness in the court, the original owner's life in the mansion is not so good.

Although he sold his master for fame, the original owner is not really shameless. What's more, he sold his master for a career. He and the emperor knew that those letters were completely unfounded. It was just because he was the closest person to his master that he was asked to reveal them to shut up some people.

If the original owner turned his face against his junior sister and mistress after selling his master for fame, everyone would know that he was such a treacherous villain, and the authenticity of the letters he took out at the beginning would naturally be doubted.

Only when he is very nice to his junior sister and his wife, and puts on an attitude of "I didn't kill my master for the sake of wealth and glory, but my master really did something treasonous, I just want to be loyal to the emperor and love the country, so I killed my relatives for the greater good, junior sister and wife, I will take good care of you", can people not find any handle on him.

So no matter how much the original owner wanted to send the two people who were in the way away, he still had to pretend to be humble and carefully serve and take care of them.

In order to maintain his affectionate personality, he didn't even dare to take a concubine.

Naturally, the junior sister and his wife who knew their husband/father well would definitely not forgive him.

In his original life, the original owner did almost everything that a treacherous minister could do, excluding dissidents, harming loyal people, causing trouble for the people, and helping the emperor do what he wanted to do but would be scolded.

After a series of tricks, this monarch and minister successfully killed the country.

When the country was destroyed and he fled, the original owner thought of his wife in the backyard. He had endured her for so long, and now he didn't need to pretend, so what else did he need to pretend, he personally took a knife into the backyard and killed his wife.

The dowry beside the wife witnessed this scene and fled overnight, but was discovered by the original owner. The original owner found that she fled not outside the city but inside the city, and became suspicious. He followed her and learned a secret.

The child of the two was not a dead fetus at the beginning, but after the wife learned that he had framed the great scholar, she was afraid that the original owner, who could even take action against his father who was like a teacher and a father, would not let go of his own daughter.

Especially, her own daughter who was half of her blood.

This child must not be allowed to stay with such a father. This was the first thought of the wife after giving birth to the child.

At that time, it happened that the close friend of the wife who was a handkerchief friend was also going to the capital. She had a miscarriage and came to borrow a female doctor. After the female doctor came back, she regretfully told her that the person had given birth to a dead fetus.

The wife immediately thought of the method of replacing the prince with a cat. She sent away her confidant. The handkerchief friend was already good friends with her and knew her current predicament. He gritted his teeth and agreed to her.

So, the two children were exchanged, the dead fetus was buried properly, and the biological child of the two was taken to be raised by the handkerchief.

The reason why the wife's dowry ran into the city was that she heard that the rebels surrounded the mansion and wanted to rescue them.

She had no other choice. After being questioned by the original owner, she thought of asking the original owner to rescue them.

After all, she was her biological daughter.

Unfortunately, she underestimated the cruelty of the original owner.

After knowing that it was just such a secret that he was not interested in at all, the original owner was very disdainful of the dowry who was crying for him.

If it was a son, maybe he would save it for the sake of his bloodline.

But a daughter?

Wait until he escapes, and he can have as many as he wants.

After saying this, he was killed by the angry dowry.

The original owner was a martial artist, but he died at the hands of a dowry.

It's not that the other party's martial arts are so profound, but he never thought that such a humble servant who was crying for him would have the courage to kill him.

This is the ending of the original owner. It can be said that he ruined the whole country, destroyed countless families, and was killed with a single blow.

The current timeline is that the original owner is doing what a traitor should do: framing loyal officials.

There was a severe drought in Gezhou. The local prefect wrote to the court for help, but the court did not respond. The people had nothing to eat and drink, and became refugees. A large number of people walked to the capital.

There were still two months before the emperor's birthday. The emperor had been looking forward to this day for a long time. He was happily preparing for his birthday, but suddenly so many refugees poured into the capital, and he was furious.

The key point is that he couldn't be angry.

Because the prefect of Gezhou handed him a memorial, saying that he hoped the court could provide assistance, but the emperor was planning to build a palace for himself at the time. The treasury was empty and there was not so much money. It was hard enough to build a palace. If he was given support, his palace would definitely not be a success.

It's just a severe drought. It will pass if you endure it. It will be fine when it rains. If you have to ask the court for help for such a small matter, what is the use of the prefect?

The emperor was very disgusted with the prefect, so he put the memorial aside and pretended that he didn't see it.

As a result, things have become like this now, so many people have come to the capital. Even if he is angry, he can't say "Yes, it's my fault, I shouldn't ignore you."

The emperor of this dynasty is indeed a tyrant, but just because he is a tyrant doesn't mean he doesn't know what a wise ruler is like.

The emperor who does the things of a tyrant but wants to be a wise ruler very much, isn't it because of this that he keeps doing tyrant things and then pushes them onto others, and then pretends to be innocent?

When the victims of the disaster came to the capital this time and needed someone to take the blame, the emperor who caused the trouble naturally didn't want to take the blame himself.

Therefore, as the most powerful henchman around the emperor, the original owner immediately said that the Gezhou magistrate could not handle this matter, and that he should ask the court for help due to the severe drought. He did not make any move, and could not control this group of refugees, causing the people to live in dire straits. The magistrate should be removed condemn.

The emperor immediately expressed his affirmation.

But the monarch and his ministers wanted to confuse the truth with the false, and many ministers in the court were not blind.

Counting the days, during the severe drought, the prefect did indeed submit a letter to the court, and he did so urgently, sending three letters in a row.

They didn't believe it when they said they weren't here to ask for help.

In this case, do you insist on questioning the prefect?

What's more, the magistrate of Gezhou has achieved many great achievements and is famous for loving the people like a son. Do you think that such a person would waste the lives of the people? They don't believe it anyway.

Various arguments began in the court, and the minister who just pointed at Ji Changze and scolded him believed in the Gezhou magistrate.

Everyone knows that the emperor is blaming the emperor, but they cannot scold the emperor.

So, can't we just scold the treacherous officials who colluded with the emperor?

The emperor standing above him knelt down on the ground. After all, he still wanted to be known as a wise king. It was not appropriate to directly kill the person who was the prefect of Gezhou. So he took a deep breath and suppressed his anger and said:

"This matter is the fault of the magistrate of Gezhou. There is no need to argue anymore."

As soon as these words came out, the ministers who had been kneeling quietly became anxious again.

"His Majesty……"

"Your Majesty, you can't..."

"The magistrate of Gezhou has a good reputation outside the country. If your majesty punishes his crimes indiscriminately, what will the world think?"

"His Majesty……"

The emperor's face became more and more ugly. If he didn't want a good reputation, he would have wanted to kill each of the people below who were talking to other ministers.

Just as everyone was speaking out, a disobedient mocking voice sounded:

"Due to the failure of the Gezhou magistrate, so many people have been displaced and left their homes. If you don't think about how to resettle these people, why don't you distinguish right from wrong for him first?"

The ministers who were trying to speak for the magistrate of Gezhou and try to persuade the emperor to change his mind turned green.

If they were angry and impatient with the emperor sitting above them and only hated the monarch for being unreliable, then they looked down upon Ji Changze and most of the upright ministers.

Sellers seek glory! Traitor! Symptoms! Villain! Scumbag!

These words are an understatement when it comes to Ji Changze.

The minister who pointed at Ji Changze's nose and scolded him stood up angrily and pointed at him again: "Are you worthy of talking about resettling the people?! The people are displaced and homeless, and now a lot of them starve to death every day. Man, whose fault is that?”

Mr. Ji, who was accused by him, was very calm and showed no signs of guilt or guilt. He only stroked his sleeves and smiled at the other party: "Does it matter who is wrong and who is right? Mr. Liu, even if you drag ten or eight sinners to In front of the people, that's not what they want. What the victims want is food, shelter, and doctors. Mr. Liu, you keep saying that I am a traitor and a sycophant, but you don't know that you, a loyal minister who loves the people like a son, have done everything for the victims. What did you do?”

Mr. Liu looked startled: "If, if we had been able to provide relief after receiving the discount, the victims would not be like this now."

The expression of the emperor sitting above changed.

He was the one who accepted the offer and ignored it in the first place. Isn't this just an accusation against him?

Some shrewd courtiers also heard the implication of these words, and their expressions changed.

Oops.

Mr. Liu is afraid that he will not be able to escape today.

Just when the emperor was about to speak with a livid face, he was interrupted by a burst of laughter.

"it's so funny."

Ji Changze made no secret of his ridicule and disdain for Master Liu and raised his chin: "Let me tell you, Master Liu, are you really confused or are you pretending to be confused?"

"You keep saying that I am a villain, and it seems like you love the people so much, but the things you do are not painful, you do nothing for the people, you neither feed them nor give them something to drink. You didn’t give them any of the land or houses they wanted, oh, you did something else, you were scolding me.”

"Ah, everyone says that I am a villain, but what about those who call villains? Loyal ministers? Good people who are not afraid of threats from traitorous ministers? Mr. Liu, if you want a good reputation, you should do some good things and do good things. , help the victims, appease the people, instead of doing these things, you come here to scold me, isn’t it just to gain a reputation for loyalty by scolding me?”

Mr. Liu was stunned when he heard this. The more he listened, the more anxious he became: "You! You! You are talking nonsense! Never have I ever thought of this! I am doing it for the world! For the people!!"

"Oh? For the people?"

Mr. Ji, who was unparalleledly handsome and wearing a red official uniform, smiled even harder: "Okay, Mr. Liu, why don't you come and talk to me, my colleagues, and your Majesty? If you scold me, the people will get it." What?"

"A grain of rice? A pot of water? Or a comfortable bed, or a shelter from the wind and rain?"

Master Liu trembled with his lips and pointed at Ji Changze, unable to say a word for a long time.

Seeing this, Ji Changze smiled with satisfaction, turned around and bowed to the emperor sitting on the dragon throne. When he straightened up, his face was full of affirmation; "Your Majesty, it seems that Mr. Liu did not come to scold the minister for the sake of the victims, but just for the sake of the victims. It’s a personal grudge.”

"Hahahahahaha!"

The emperor was so angry that he wanted to kill someone, but Mr. Liu was on his death list. Now seeing Ji Changze beating people up, it was as if he was picking off the other person's face and throwing it to the ground to trample on him. Long Xin was very happy. , laughing out loud.

"Liu Qing, you are not young anymore. Don't be so persistent in the fight of will."

"Me! Weichen! Your Majesty!!!"

"His Majesty."

Ji Changze saw that Mr. Liu still wanted to explain, so he directly intervened: "In the opinion of the humble minister, since Mr. Liu cares about the people so much and is worried about the victims, it is better to assign the disaster relief work to Mr. Liu."

"I believe Mr. Liu loves the people as much as his son, so he will definitely carry out disaster relief work and comfort the victims outside the capital."

As soon as these words came out, the other ministers who were originally thinking of speaking for Mr. Liu paused.

Although disaster relief is a hard job, hard and thankless, if Mr. Liu had done it, such things as sucking the blood of the victims would definitely not have happened.

Ji Changze's suggestion was definitely to make Mr. Liu suffer, but perhaps for Mr. Liu who wanted to do practical things for the people, going to disaster relief might be what he wanted.

They hesitated, wondering whether they should speak out.

After all, judging from the previous situation, if Mr. Liu hadn't gone, His Majesty would definitely have sent someone he trusted.

But 99% of the people your Majesty trusts are sycophants!

If those people go, let alone disaster relief, it would be nice not to shed another layer of skin on those victims.

Master Liu also understood this. He was originally full of anger, but after hearing these words, all his anger was gone. He clenched his fists nervously, for fear that the emperor would not agree.

The emperor indeed planned to send someone he trusted.

But disaster relief is a hard job. This guy can't keep his mouth shut, so he might as well endure the hardships.

"In that case, let Liu Qing go."

As soon as these words came out, Ji Changze could even hear the sounds of relief from many people around him, which showed how badly they were tortured by the emperor on weekdays.

"The Gezhou magistrate concealed the truth and failed to report it, which caused the victims to flock to the capital. For such a serious crime, please think about it, dear sirs, how should I convict that guy?"

Why should we still be convicted?

Some ministers were extremely tired.

They no longer planned to care about the fact that the emperor withheld the discount and ignored it, but could the emperor continue to blame others.

The magistrate of Gezhou is a man of justice and straightforwardness, an official who is honest and loves the people, and the people under his rule have always been very peaceful.

It would be too unfair for such a good official to be punished without any explanation.

The emperor did not intend to kill the person directly. After all, he had a good reputation. If he killed him like this, he would be worried about his reputation.

"I thought that when he was an official in the past, he could be regarded as loyal and caring for the people. Even if he ransacked his house and executed him, he was still a good official after all."

This time, before they could speak, Ji Changze spoke first.

"Your Majesty, you are too kind to the Magistrate of Gezhou. His crime is so serious that if you just simply ask questions, you would be too sorry for the people who were harmed by him. Wei Chen suggested that it is better to tie the Magistrate of Gezhou to Gezhou. On the execution ground of the state, the people who had been harmed by him were allowed to insult him and throw away debris. After ten days, if he died, it would mean that the people did not want him to live. If he lived, your majesty would pardon him. "

Um?

This method...

The emperor hesitated.

He was not sure what his most trusted minister, who was most able to solve his problems, was thinking about, so he simply waved his hand and said, "I'm a little tired. I'm going to have a rest and we'll discuss this later."

After saying that, he went to the back hall.

Ji Changze didn't even need the eunuch to invite him, he went directly to the back hall by himself.

Along the way, the other ministers looked at him with fear and hatred, and they all gave way. Ji Changze held his head high and went straight in without even looking at them.

As soon as he left, the remaining ministers immediately gathered together to discuss in twos and threes, just like the students whose class teacher had left with their classmate who liked to make small reports with the class teacher.

Among them, Mr. Liu’s classmates, not his colleagues, are the most numerous.

"Master Liu, are you okay?"

"Hey, Mr. Liu, I'm going to have to work hard for you this time."

"Brother Liu, you were too impulsive just now. If His Majesty was angry just now, what would happen to your whole family?"

"It doesn't matter."

Mr. Liu himself was flushed.

"This matter can be regarded as a blessing in disguise. Now that I have been given the task of providing disaster relief, I can feel more at ease when I can personally do something for the victims and keep an eye on them personally."

This is true, after all, Mr. Liu is known as a practical person.

Letting him do this would make them feel more at ease than letting anyone else do it.

"That Ji Changze has done a good thing."

"Oh, he just wants to challenge Mr. Liu. How could he, a person who is greedy for pleasure, know what Mr. Liu's ambition is? He is just trying to get it wrong."

Master Liu just laughed when his colleagues around him said this.

In my heart, I always felt that something was wrong.

When he said those words just now, His Majesty was already angry. At that time, he had anticipated his own fate and had planned to die to prove his ambition.

But Ji Changze stopped His Majesty with his words at that time. On the surface, those words were meant to tease him, but in fact they were equivalent to saving his life and fulfilling his wish.

Ji Changze was famous for his intelligence when he was young. He didn't believe that such a smart person would not know that those words actually helped him.

Also, His Majesty was the one who wanted to question the Gezhou Magistrate, but it was Ji Changze who stopped him.

Although such a punishment method is a bit embarrassing, if it can survive without losing its official position and life, it is indeed a good method for the magistrate of Gezhou.

But, is Ji Changze really helping them?

why? Isn't he a villain and a sycophant?

In the back hall, the villain Ji Changze was laughing evilly: "Your Majesty, if you directly accuse Gezhou Magistrate, he has some official titles before. I heard that many people boast that he loves the people like a son. Your Majesty, if you accuse him, even though he is I made a mistake, but there is no guarantee that there will be some malicious people spreading rumors behind my back.”

As for what the rumors were, he didn't need to ask the emperor to understand.

The emperor had a sullen face. Isn't it because he was worried about this that he was unsure of what to do?

"According to your wishes, the punishment just now will allow me to sit back and relax?"

"nature."

Ji Changze explained warmly: "Your Majesty is not punishing him. This is clearly asking the people to accuse him. If he dies, it means that the people hate the evil officials so much. Your Majesty, you are a wise king who sends the evil officials to the people for disposal. If If he is alive, it is because of your mercy. You should have executed him, but you spared his life. If he dares to say anything wrong about you in the future, such as shirk responsibility for the disaster that happened out of control this time, your Majesty will not be angry. He will be the spit of all the people in the world. Xingzi can drown him."

He took a sip of the tea handed over by the eunuch and said with a smile: "By then, Your Majesty has already forgiven him once, and the second time he couldn't bear it, it can be considered excusable."

The emperor's eyes lit up.

No.

Isn't what he is worried about because he wants the prefect of Gezhou to take the blame, and he doesn't want others to think that he is a fool and just picks someone to take the blame?

In this way, people are handed over to the people.

If a person died, it was the people who killed him.

If he is alive, it is also his kindness.

This method is really wonderful.

"Hahahaha! Okay! Okay! Let's do it like this, Aiqing, you are still smart."

Ji Changze also laughed, and his words were full of treachery:

"No matter what your Majesty said, I am just thinking about your Majesty's thoughts, worrying about your Majesty's worries, and sharing your worries for your Majesty."

"Okay! Okay!! I know that you are my loyal minister. Hey, if all the people in the court are as loving as you, then I can feel at ease."

After the intermission, when His Majesty the Emperor returned to the throne, he directly announced that he would deal with the Gezhou Prefect in that way.

At the same time, Mr. Liu must also quickly set foot on Gezhou to provide disaster relief.

This matter can be regarded as a perfect solution. Although many courtiers are a little dissatisfied with the attitude of Ji Changze and the emperor, they also know what kind of urine these two people have. Now it can be considered a good ending to have such an ending. If not, Satisfied, the quarrel continued, and we still don’t know what the quarrel will become in the end.

When going to court, the ministers walked down the steps and walked towards the palace gate.

"Master Liu."

When a familiar voice sounded, the ministers who heard the voice almost immediately pricked up their ears and opened their eyes to pay attention to the movement over there.

Ji Changze walked over casually. He had a good appearance. When he wasn't doing those things of flattery and frame-up for Zhongliang, he really looked like that. Every step he took had a different kind of air. .

Master Liu, who was stopped, stood there and watched him walk up to him.

"Master Ji, how are you? Is there anything else you want to say?"

"Oh, it's not that there's anything wrong."

Ji Changze chuckled lightly and said as if he was chatting: "I heard that Mr. Liu is a concubine in the family. Before the family was separated, Mr. Liu's family lived in a small and pitiful courtyard."

The colleagues who stayed on the side and were worried about what Ji Changze would do to Mr. Liu suddenly became angry after hearing this.

Who in the entire capital didn't know that Mr. Liu was born as a concubine. Although he relied on his fame to enter the court, his father and biological mother passed away early, and his aunt mother relied on her filial piety to prevent him from leaving the family and living separately. Therefore, Mr. Liu obviously He is a good minister, but he still has to live in a small courtyard, and he has to give his aunt his filial piety every month.

There is nothing we can do about it. Filial piety is the first priority in this dynasty. Even if the aunt's mother is not the biological mother, she is still the illegitimate mother. Legally speaking, she is even higher than Mr. Liu's biological mother.

So a person who is almost forty years old is still controlled by his aunt.

"Hey, I'm just concerned about Mr. Liu's family situation. Sir, why do you look at me like you want to eat me?"

The minister was angry: "You!"

"Zifang."

Master Liu stopped his friend next to him, took a deep breath, and looked at Ji Changze: "So? What does Master Ji want to say?"

"It's nothing. I just saw Mr. Liu pointing at my nose and scolding me today, and it reminded me of some past events. Following the past, I thought that Mr. Liu lived in that small courtyard twenty years ago. I didn't expect that twenty years ago. Years later, they all married and had children, but they still lived there."

"I just don't know if there will be any trouble in your mansion when Mr. Liu goes to Gezhou."

Mr. Liu immediately clenched his fists and glared at Ji Changze: "Ji Changze!!!"

Ji Changze sneered, took a step forward, and looked at each other:

"So now we call him by his first name, right? Liu Shengyan?"

The two were confronting each other, and the atmosphere was tense. They looked like they were about to fight. The ministers who were descending the steps wanted to watch, but they were worried that standing still would be disrespectful, so they all took small steps. It felt like they could not wait. One step is divided into a hundred steps.

"Ji Changze, don't go too far!"

"I went too far? When did I go too far? You weren't the one who was pointed at and scolded in the court, right?"

"You! You are also a second-rank official of the imperial court, but you are directly threatening my family, how shameless!"

"Blackmail? Which of your ears have heard that I threatened your family? It's just to show concern for my colleagues. You misunderstood it like this, which shows how you are. Ah, by the way, you also know that I am a second-grade officer? You are a first- and fifth-grade officer. When you see me, You are disrespectful to your superiors and you still speak arrogantly, but I want you to be punished for disrespecting your superiors?"

"you you!!"

Liu Shengyan couldn't defeat Ji Changze. When he was anxious, he punched him directly, but his fist was firmly grasped by Ji Changze.

The surrounding officials exclaimed in surprise at first, and then a little bit as expected.

Everyone knows that Ji Changze is both civilized and martial. Not only is he a talker, he is also very capable with his skills. Liu Shengyan and Mr. Liu are just a weak scholar. If the two of them really fight, Ji Changze will naturally have the upper hand.

"Master Liu..."

While Ji Changze grabbed Liu Shengyan's fist and forced it to move downward, he showed a typical traitorous smile: "Don't worry, I will take good care of your family for you while you are away from Beijing."

"How about coming to your door every two days? Is it caring enough? Speaking of which, I heard that the old lady of the Liu family is kind, and she must also like me as a junior, right? However, it is better to be cautious when persuading Mr. Liu, otherwise if If you have any dispute with me, the old lady will help me, and there is nothing you can do about it, Mr. Liu."

This is a threat.

This must be a threat.

What about coming to your door every two days and taking good care of your family? Doesn’t the translation mean: if you leave, I will scare your family members and do whatever they want?

It seems like something Ji Changze can do.

After all, just because a petty official accidentally stepped on him on the way to court, he just casually accused the petty officer and sent him away from afar.

Liu Shengyan pointed at his nose in the court and cursed such a person who was determined to retaliate. It was strange that he could endure it.

There was silence all around. Some people wanted to speak uprightly, but they were pulled back by their fellow travelers and whispered:

"He is very powerful now, so don't try to push yourself. If someone is careful and fails to save him, he will help him get in."

In the silence, everyone watched Liu Shengyan tremble all over, with anger on his face, and slowly put his fist back into his sleeve.

Yes.

That's how it should be.

That's all if it's just him.

Liu Shengyan still had a wife and children. Faced with such a threat, he could only endure it.

When the fawning minister Ji Changze saw Liu Shengyan surrendering, he showed a look of satisfaction on his face, smiled and clapped his hands: "Don't worry, Mr. Liu, I will keep my promise, come to your door every two days, and take good care of your family."

Liu Shengyan seemed to be angry but dared not speak, and turned away with a livid face.

His friend immediately followed.

"Brother Liu, wait for me!"

After bullying the other courtiers, the treacherous minister Ji was in a good mood, and he did not leave. He just stood on the steps and looked at the sun in the sky.

After a while, a little eunuch trotted over.

"Master Ji, Your Majesty knows that you have a conflict with Master Liu, so he sent me to ask the servant, but what's the matter?"

Ji Changze looked at the sun on the horizon: "Excuse me, my father-in-law, please tell your majesty that Wei Chen is fine. It's just that Mr. Liu scolded Wei Chen before, and Wei Chen felt angry, so he went to him to argue with him."

The little eunuch quickly agreed, turned around and trotted back.

As a result, the surrounding ministers all knew that His Majesty already knew what happened today.

He was still on Ji Changze's side as always.

Yes, after all, Mr. Liu cursed so much in the court before, not only Ji Changze, but also Your Majesty. Ji Changze vented his anger on Mr. Liu, and he was afraid that His Majesty also took part in it.

They sighed and turned away with deep worries about the country.

On the other side, Liu Shengyan remained silent all the way. Seeing that he was in a bad mood, his friends beside him didn't know how to comfort him, so they could only send him to the door of the house, and then said a few words:

"That Ji Changze is so arrogant and domineering! He threatened him in front of so many colleagues. Brother Liu, don't be angry. Such a villain will definitely be punished by God. He is too arrogant!"

Liu Shengyan stood there blankly and suddenly said: "It wasn't like that before..."

"Huh? Brother Liu? What did you say?"

Liu Shengyan came to his senses and smiled quickly: "It's nothing, Zifang. Thank you very much for today. You should go back home quickly."

"You and I are friends. We should help each other. What's there to thank you for? Brother Liu, if you don't worry about your family, just leave it to me. As long as I have my beard, Ji Changze won't dare to do anything more."

Beard Fang has the confidence to say this, after all, his biological grandfather is a great scholar that even His Majesty must respect.

If Ji Changze dares to touch him, His Majesty will never support him.

Looking at the confident bearded Fang, Liu Shengyan smiled and said: "Okay Zifang, go back quickly. I am also tired today and need to rest early."

Watching Huzi Fang leave, Liu Shengyan turned around and entered the house.

After walking all the way to the small courtyard where their family lived, he breathed a sigh of relief.

When his wife, who was making clothes in the yard under the sun, saw him coming back, she smiled and put down her clothes to greet him: "Master is back, are you hungry? I'll ask someone to buy some food outside."

After seeing his wife, Liu Shengyan regained some of his thoughts.

He asked his wife: "Do you still remember Ji Changze?"

Mrs. Liu smiled and looked at him in confusion: "You're so good, why are you talking about him? Don't you always look down on him? But what did he do?"

Liu Shengyan opened his mouth, wanted to say something but swallowed it, and said, "That's not true. I just remembered that he and I were also good friends."

This last sentence is a bit self-deprecating.

Mrs. Liu was silent.

After a while, he smiled and said: "Presumably, it was because of Mr. Li that he became friends with the master that day. Such a villain, if Mr. Li didn't value the master, he would not be pretending."

Master Li is the great scholar and Ji Changze’s master.

At the beginning, Mr. Li valued Liu Shengyan's talent and often invited him to the mansion to teach him a lot. At that time, Ji Changze lived in the mansion and was considered the son-in-law of Mr. Li. The two young men were similar in age and both were smart. They hit it off and became a couple. Friends.

Mrs. Liu, who was Miss Li's handkerchief at the time, often went to Li's Mansion to look for Miss Li. By accident, she met Liu Shengyan, and a marriage began.

As a result, the two became husband and wife.

At that time, it was said that the two families were well connected, but who would have expected that a huge change would occur and it would end up like this.

Liu Shengyan asked Mrs. Liu: "Have you ever visited Miss Li? How was it? Did Ji Changze treat her harshly?"

Miss Li has been staying at home since that incident. She has not seen anyone in the entire capital except Mrs. Liu who she can see.

"It's still the same, lifeless."

Speaking of her friend, Mrs. Liu became even more angry: "That damn Ji Changze, he only pretends to take good care of Sissy all day long. When I went to his house, I heard some servants gossiping about Ji Changze. They are so kind to Sissi, but Sissi still doesn't appreciate it. It makes me want to tear their mouths off! They don't know anything, they just see Ji Changze pretending, why do they say that!"

Liu Shengyan saw that she was so angry that she was rubbing her clothes to pieces, so he quickly comforted her: "Okay, okay, don't be angry. It's not like you don't know. Not everyone in the world is like this. Just look at the appearance. They think they know everything, whether there is a hidden secret, but they have never thought about it. "

As he was talking, he suddenly paused and murmured: "Hidden secret..."

"Hidden secret...?"

Mrs. Liu was still angry, but when she saw him like this, she didn't care about being angry anymore: "Husband, husband?"

"Ah, oh, it's nothing. I thought of some things at court."

Liu Shengyan was brought back to his senses by her shouting, and he gave her a comforting smile: "I'm going back to the study first, and you'll call me after you have dinner."

"Okay, go ahead."

Mrs. Liu watched her husband enter the study and looked at his hands that had been hidden in his sleeves with some confusion.

Is it that cold today?

It seems like I should prepare a hand stove for my husband tomorrow.

After Liu Shengyan entered the study, he immediately closed the door. After checking the entire room to make sure no one was there, he sat down with confidence and opened his clenched fists.

There was a piece of paper hidden inside, crumpled from being held tightly.

He quickly unfolded the note slowly and saw a line of words written on it in a familiar handwriting.

"Tomorrow, at noon, the jade pendant will be there."

Liu Shengyan stared at these words for a long time, then bent down and took out a wooden box from the cabinet. After opening it, there was a jade pendant that looked not very valuable quietly inside.

This was a relic left by his mother to him. When he was a teenager, when he and Ji Changze were still good friends, they sneaked out to play together, and he left this jade pendant behind.

Ji Changze accompanied him to search for a long time, and finally found it in a ruined temple that the two of them passed by on the outskirts of the city.

Because that place was too remote, they made a joking agreement that the jade pendant was equivalent to a ruined temple. If one day they needed to use a secret code, they would just say "jade pendant" and they would know that they were talking about the ruined temple.

Liu Shengyan always thought he didn't remember this joke.

Ever since Mr. Li passed away, he hated Ji Changze to the core. Looking back at their mutual friend, he almost wanted to throw it into the dirt. Even this jade pendant could no longer be worn properly around his neck.

And now, Ji Changze revealed the jade pendant.

Should I go or not?

Liu Shengyan touched the jade pendant and sat in the study for a long time in a daze.

The second day.

He got up early, packed himself up and went out.

At noon, he walked to the entrance of the ruined temple.

A handsome and handsome man came out. When he saw him, he smiled happily.

"I thought you wouldn't come."

"But you're late again. Why can't you change this problem?"

In an instant, this scene overlapped with that of more than ten years ago.

The energetic young man stood somewhere and complained to him: "You are late again. When did you change this bad habit? You are late every time."

At this time, he would say: "Sorry, sorry, I was wrong..."

Liu Shengyan's eyes were red and he gave the same answer as before.

"I was wrong, I'll do it again next time."