Chapter 1379 Meeting and Secret Discussion

This is a remarkable achievement in the chaotic Golden Plain.

Xue Zongwu even glanced behind the door and found that there were two places where the bronze array plates in the doorway were worn and not repaired - he found it when he entered the city last time.

It can be seen that Mangzhou has not repaired the city defense array in the past six months.

Anyway, Mangzhou is in the hinterland of Yao State and will not be attacked. Anyway, this kind of large array can still operate normally even if three or four boards are broken, so the locals are lazy.

Xue Zongwu shook his head. If it were his men, they would have been beheaded long ago.

Mangzhou is still prosperous, with shops lined up in the market, exquisite mansions by the lake, and magnificent temples in the city. The men and women in red and green clothes are no different from before.

Compared with the capital Tianshui City, Xue Zongwu likes Mangzhou more. Living here is also decadent, but you can be less restrained and more unrestrained.

Because Mangzhou is almost a must-go place for officials from the west to enter the capital, there are many nobles wandering in the city now. Xue Zongwu rode a carriage and walked through the streets with his personal guards, and the officials he met on the road had to salute him.

Xue Zongwu nodded casually and passed by them without saying a word.

His destination, of course, was Xiaotao Villa.

After Xue Zongwu's mentor and father-in-law retired from Qingniu Mountain, King Yao passed by Mangzhou and visited him in person, and stayed in Xiaotao Villa for three days.

A person who is extremely respected by the monarch will certainly be very successful in Yaoguo.

At present, Mangzhou is busy with traffic, but at least half of the traffic is in Xiaotao Villa. Officials and wealthy businessmen passing by Mangzhou will send visiting cards to the Qi Mansion.

There are limited high and steep peaks in Mangzhou. Xiaotao Mountain is densely forested, but its overall height is only 100 zhang (more than 300 meters). Compared with other famous mountains and rivers, it is just a small hill - except for the peak of Beishan, which rises to 200 zhang - the road up the mountain is wide and flat, and can accommodate three carriages.

At present, this mountain road is no longer quiet as in the past, and there are often carriages coming and going.

Like other mansions, the courtyard wall of Qi Mansion is as high as 150 meters, hiding the red and green gardens, which are not visible to outsiders.

When Xue Zongwu arrived, Qi Mansion immediately opened the door to welcome the arrival of this important official.

After all, it was a visit to his mentor and father-in-law, and Xue Zongwu was not convenient to bring a full set of people and horses and swagger in. At that time, according to the convention, he selected several deputy generals and confidants, and the others were sent to wait at the resting pavilion outside the door.

Xiaotao Mountain Villa often had dignitaries and nobles, so two rows of houses were built on the hillside, called resting pavilions, to provide food, lodging and food. If the visiting officials have too many followers or guards, they can temporarily leave their people and horses in the resting pavilion and visit the door by themselves.

The sky gradually darkened, and the lights in Qi Mansion were already on.

Xue Zongwu walked more than ten feet into the gate, and the evening breeze blew, bringing faint laughter.

It seems that Qi Mansion is full of distinguished guests tonight.

As the saying goes, the great hermit hides in the city. After Qi Yunsheng retired, dignitaries had no more taboos to interact with him. He was even busier than when he was the chief elder of Qingniu Mountain.

The servant who led the way faced him and almost bent to the floor: "The master has instructed that when you come, you must go to the Yangxin Hall."

"Yangxin Hall?" Xue Zongwu was familiar with this villa and did not need others to lead the way. However, there were many distinguished guests tonight. As the host, Qi Yunsheng should be greeting guests. Why would he go to the Yangxin Hall to see him?

Qi Yunsheng has three small Taoist temples in the manor, and Yangxin Hall is one of them, and it is also the one closest to the banquet hall and the garden. Xiaotao Mountain Manor is too big. Qi Yunsheng meets Xue Zongwu here, and he has to take care of other guests when he turns back.

Xue Zongwu was slightly surprised, but he turned the corner and went to Yangxin Hall. The deputy generals and guards followed closely behind him.

Along the way, several officials saluted and greeted him.

Although his wife had passed away for many years, he still had close contacts with his father-in-law Qi Yunsheng. Those who knew him understood why.

Yangxin Hall was not far from the banquet, but the dense vegetation filtered out the noise. The environment here is quiet and suitable for meditation and thinking, and of course it is also suitable for conversation and secret discussion.

Xue Zongwu knew that Qi Yunsheng asked him to meet here, and it was definitely something important.

Turning around a clump of ferns, lights came out in front, and Yangxin Hall was here.

As soon as Xue Zongwu raised his hand, the guards dispersed into the forest and no longer followed.

Walking into the Yangxin Hall, Xue Zongwu saw Qi Yunsheng standing by the window with his hands behind his back, and immediately said:

"Master, how are you!"

"Come in, close the door."

Qi Yunsheng closed the window himself.

As soon as the barrier was released, the noise outside disappeared instantly.

"How are you doing recently?"

What happened in Shuangxi could not be brought to the table, Xue Zongwu just said: "Everything is going well."

Qi Yunsheng pointed to a thin wooden box on the table: "Yesterday morning, someone quietly put this thing into the ear room of the villa gate."

"What is it?"

"Open it."

Xue Zongwu opened the box and saw a square book lying inside, the style was very familiar.

Could it be?

He hurriedly picked it up, but the more he flipped back, the uglier his face looked.

This is an account book, and he could recognize the handwriting on it at a glance:

Qian Yu!

His account manager Qian Yu died in Shuangxi inexplicably, and this is Qian Yu's account book!

Qi Yunsheng asked meaningfully, "Is there anything I should know?"

"This is my account book, originally stored in Shuangxi government office. This year I sent Qian Yu to check the accounts as usual, but he was robbed and then killed; at the same time-" Xue Zongwu licked his lips, "someone broke into the account office of the government office, rummaged through the boxes and cabinets, took away several account books, and set fire to them, burning half of the old accounts."

He shook the ledger in his hand and said, "This is one of them. Ha, it's true that it's an attack in the east and in the west!"

Qi Yunsheng's brows knitted: "Are these account books troublesome?"

Xue Zongwu nodded helplessly.

"what happened?"

"These are the items in the actual accounts. Tong Huan said that if Tianshui City sends people to re-establish the accounts, these items will be the basis for verification. If they don't match..."

"You're just too greedy!" Qi Yunsheng slapped the window lattice, "I warned you a long time ago, alas!"

This son-in-law is decisive in killing, brave and strategic, but he has one biggest weakness, which is the word "greed"!

"Greed" is a big pit. Once you fall into it, you will only become more greedy. He believed that the "some" mentioned by Xue Zongwu must be an astonishing number, a trouble that would be irreversible once announced.

Hearing his complaint, Xue Zongwu pursed his lips and remained silent. The old man picked himself up so cleanly, and he didn't even think about how much wealth the Qi family had made thanks to him Xue Zongwu over the years!

He is in front of the stage, Qi Yunsheng is behind the scenes, and his net worth has increased several times!

In terms of greed and ruthlessness, how could he be compared with his father-in-law?

Hey, they all know the basics, why is the old man pretending to be noble in front of him?

If Xue Zongwu is a tiger, Qi Yunsheng is a cunning old wolf!

"There are also red lines in the book." Qi Yunsheng had read it beforehand.

Xue Zongwu was shocked when he heard this. When Qi Yunsheng pointed it out to him, he couldn't help but grit his teeth.

In addition to the hands and feet in the accounts, Huang Liushou's items were also marked with red lines in this account book.

Xue Zongwu and Huang Liushou's "official business" was apparently business-to-business, and every transaction was recorded and traceable. The trick here is extremely hidden, and no problem can be found by just looking at the account books.

But the trouble is that Qingyang has detailed evidence to liquidate Huang Liushou. There are one or two pieces of information that correspond to this account book, and there are flaws!

Huang Liushou was beheaded half a year ago. Xue Zongwu had almost destroyed all the information related to him. Only recently did he remember how many accounts Shuangxi still had!

He told Qian Yu to rush to write off the accounts and redo them. Who knew that such an accident would happen?

Now that Qian Yu is dead, one of the missing ledgers has been sent to his father-in-law.

This is obviously a message:

The person who stole the ledger wanted to tell him that everything about him was under his control, from his whereabouts to the evidence.

Qi Yunsheng asked him: "How many ledgers were lost in total?"

"I don't know. All the other information was burned, so there's no way to verify it."

"The other party at least still has several copies in his hand." Qi Yunsheng pressed his eyebrows, "Are you thinking the same as me?"

Xue Zongwu's voice was hard and he uttered two words: "Qingyang!"

His series of troubles all started when Qingyang became the Supervisor of the Yao Kingdom.

"The old witch from Bejia spent several months to understand the situation between the government and the opposition. Recently, she has become more aggressive and even provoked my king in public!" Xue Zongwu said in a deep voice, "She sent me this account book, what do you think? "

"Maybe she wanted to tell you that although Huang Liushou died early, the clues were not interrupted and she could still find you." Qi Yunsheng sighed, "It's a pity that Huang Liushou died. He was a smart man. People who do things neatly.”

If He Lingchuan were here, he would be able to pick up some clues.

"She wants to demonstrate against me?"

"No, it's more than that." Qi Yunsheng analyzed, "If it's just for demonstration, she doesn't need to send you the account book. She just needs to announce your crime in court and use it as evidence. I think she wants to blackmail you. You or win over you.”

"Blackmail me? Win me over?" Qi Yunsheng's thoughts coincided with Xue Zongwu's, "What does she want me to do?"

"The Yao Kingdom is so big and the court is so complicated. She and the hundreds of people she brought cannot control it at all. We also need the support of powerful local forces...such as you." Qi Yunsheng waved his hand, "You first Don’t be so quick to sneer, this is the best policy.”

"Where's Zhongce?"

"If you are unwilling to change your mind, she will at least make you fearful and not dare to confront her again." Qi Yunsheng continued, "If this doesn't work, there is another option: the court will publish the evidence at hand to alienate you monarchs and ministers. , bringing you notoriety, which will also weaken my king’s power.”

Xue Zongwu gritted his steel teeth and said, "This old woman is really vicious!"

He conquered cities and territories abroad with cruel methods and was known as a "ferocious god".

But that was abroad, outside Yao country!

No matter what he does abroad, he is famous, and he is a hero when he returns home. He knew very well that the people of Yao country would not pay attention to the Golden Flash Plains at all, and did not care about the life and death of other people. He was a little proud of his thunderous methods.

But in the country, if he is accused by Qingyang of obstructing national interests and grabbing people's interests, and all the details are announced to the public, his reputation will be ruined!