Chapter 804

"Why are you going to the Ministry of Personnel's File Warehouse?" Wang Shoufu frowned.

"To investigate someone."

Xu Qi 'an blew at the foam on his tea. As he drank the tea, he said leisurely, "Don't worry. I won't cause any trouble. You don't have to worry, Grand Secretary."

Wang Shoufu nodded. What trouble could he cause in the File Warehouse? The worst case scenario was to burn the files, but that wouldn't benefit Xu Qi 'an.

He was just curious about what Xu Qi 'an wanted to do.

"I'm investigating a case," Xu Qi 'an said.

Investigating a case? He's no longer an official. What case is there to investigate? Wang Shoufu's eyes flashed with curiosity and surprise.

He thought for a moment and said, "Can I listen?"

"Of course. Speaking of which, this matter is related to the Grand Secretary." Xu Qi 'an smiled.

Wang Shoufu was stunned. His relaxed sitting posture became straight, and his expression turned serious. He seemed to be in a state of discussion.

Then, he saw a secret letter slide out of Xu Qi 'an's sleeve. He held it in his palm, and the secret letter floated in front of him.

With a perplexed mood, Wang Shoufu opened the letter and read it. He was stunned at first, then he frowned as if he was recalling something. In the end, there was only confusion left.

Wang Shoufu placed the letter on the table and looked at Xu Qi 'an. "I don't remember …"

As expected! Xu Qi 'an muttered, "Does the Grand Secretary have any impression of Su Hang in the letter?"

"I don't have any impression of this person either."

Wang Shoufu shook his head and frowned. After a few seconds, he looked at Xu Qi 'an and said solemnly, "Prince Xu, what case are you investigating? Is the contents of this secret letter true?"

He didn't remember working with Cao Guogong in the past, so he was suspicious of the contents of the letter.

Xu Qi 'an thought for a moment. After weighing the pros and cons in his heart, he decided to reveal some secrets. He nodded.

"The contents of the letter are accurate. As for why the Grand Secretary forgot, it's because this matter involves a Warlock and was obscured. That's why the relevant personnel lost their memories. "

Involving a Warlock and erasing Heaven's secrets … Wang Shoufu's expression changed. He realized the seriousness of the situation and leaned forward.

"Can Prince Xu explain more clearly?"

Immediately, Xu Qi 'an told her about Su Hang's old case. He only said that he had promised a friend that he would help her investigate the truth behind his father's beheading. He accidentally found Cao Guogong's secret letter. Judging from the erased handwriting and past experience, this case involved a lot of things, so much so that a high-ranked warlock was needed to erase the secrets of heaven.

When Grand Secretary Wang heard this, he leaned back in his chair, not saying anything for a long time.

"The only person capable of concealing the heavenly secrets is the Imperial Astronomer." Grand Secretary Wang pinched the space between his brows, as if he was asking this, but also as if he was asking himself, "What is Supervisor's goal in doing this?"

"How would I know? Isn't he investigating?" Xu Qi 'an shook his head.

"I'll give you a letter. You can use it to enter and leave the Ministry of Personnel. If you need any help in the future, just say it. "Wang Shoufu stared at Xu Qi 'an.

"But I have a condition. If Prince Xu can find out the truth, I hope you can tell me. Yes, I'll also investigate this matter in secret. "

Back in the day, a major event happened in the court. Heaven's secrets were obscured. As the person involved, he had no memory of it and forgot about it.

Something that could make the Supervisor hide Heaven's secrets was definitely a major event.

Xu Qi 'an nodded and thanked him politely.

…

After sending off Xu Qi 'an, Wang Shoufu called the housekeeper and said calmly, "Is the second son of the Xu family still here?"

Yesterday, he told Simu Wang that he wanted Xu Erlang to stay for dinner.

"Yes, this old servant will call him over now."

The housekeeper immediately understood his master's meaning. He bowed and left.

A moment later, Xu Erlang, who was dressed in a long white gown and had red lips and white teeth, stepped over the threshold. He bowed in a manner that was neither servile nor overbearing. "Grand Secretary."

Wang Shoufu picked up a brush and wrote on the rice paper. He didn't raise his head and said, "What's Erlang's ambition?"

This "Erlang" was natural and didn't seem awkward at all.

"Hmm?"

Wang Shoufu, who didn't get a reply, raised his head and found Xu Erlang staring at him. Staring at him …

Wang Shoufu's mouth twitched. "Good ambition."

He put down the brush and looked at the words on the paper. He said with a smile, "If it wasn't for your big brother, I'm afraid I'd have to retire. In the officialdom, the most important thing is to know when to advance and when to retreat.

"No matter how brilliant your political skills are or how many henchmen you have, the one sitting on the dragon throne can decide your life or death with a word. The former Grand Secretary can live out his old age in peace because he learned from his predecessors. "

The former Grand Secretary? That scum who only knew how to embezzle money and fawn on His Majesty … Xu Xinnian thought.

Wang Shoufu continued, "Two hundred years ago, Yunlu Academy withdrew from the imperial court for the sake of the country. Sheng Cheng set up a monument in the academy and wrote that he was righteous and repaid the emperor's kindness with his life. These were all to show the same thing to future generations.

"The emperor is the emperor, and the subject is the subject. Only by grasping this can you have a meteoric rise in the imperial court."

Xu Erlang frowned and asked, "What if I'm not willing?"

Wang Shoufu laughed loudly. "If you're not willing, then what official are you going to be?"

Xu Erlang bowed and said, "I understand."

He was well-read in history books and could easily understand Wang Shoufu's words. There were countless powerful officials in every dynasty. But if the emperor wanted to touch him, no matter how much power he had, the best outcome would be to retire.

Wang Shoufu suddenly sighed. "Your elder brother's personality and character are admirable, but he's not suitable for the imperial court. Don't learn from him."

Elder brother has been asking me for advice recently. Why should I learn from him? Xu Erlang raised his chin proudly and said, "I understand."

Wang Shoufu nodded. "Stay for dinner."

…

In the warehouse of the Ministry of Appointments.

Xu Qi 'an, who had disguised himself as Xu Xinnian, brought out the list of the new Jinshi in the tenth year of Yuanjing with the help of the officials.

Unexpectedly, the top scholar in the tenth year of Yuanjing turned out to be Wang Zhenwen, the Grand Secretary.

The second rank was called Lu An.

The third rank was blank and had no name.

"Found him …" Xu Qi 'an stared at the blank for a long time and did not speak.

"The office attendant whose name was erased was the third rank in the tenth year of Yuanjing, a Jinshi. Who is he? Why is the Heavenly Secret shielded? Is he dead or alive now? Since he entered the imperial court as an official, he can't be the Initial Supervisor.

"It can only be done by the current Supervisor. But why did the Supervisor do this? What does the nameless office attendant have to do with Su Hang? Su Hang's name was not erased, which means he is not the office attendant, but he is definitely related. "

Based on the clues at hand, he made a simple assumption.

Back then, there was a party in the imperial court. Su Hang was one of the core members of this party, and the office attendant whose name was erased was probably the leader of this party.

This party was very powerful, but it was besieged by other parties and ended up in a miserable state. Su Hang's fate was the proof.

But what Xu Qi 'an couldn't figure out was why the Supervisor erased the name of the office attendant if it was just an ordinary party struggle. Why was the Heavenly Secret shielded?

There must be a deeper layer of secrets behind this.

"My intuition tells me that this old matter is very important. Well, of course it is important. Otherwise, why would the Supervisor shield it? Sigh, I hate investigating old cases the most. No, I hate warlocks the most. The two cuties, Zhong Li and Caiwei, don't count. "

Xu Qi 'an left the Ministry of Personnel and rode his beloved filly on the street.

The little mare was very understanding. She maintained a moderate speed so that Xu Qi 'an could take the opportunity to think about things and not focus on driving.

"When I investigated the Sampo Case, the Initial Supervisor was also involved, but there was no record of it in the historical records. In the end, it was the smart Huaiqing who pointed the clues to the Green Dragon Temple through the decline of the Buddhist temple 500 years ago, which made me realize that Shenshu was related to Buddhism and the prosperity of Buddhism in the Central Plains 500 years ago.

"Huaiqing's method can also be used on this office attendant. I can investigate some of the major events of that year and find clues from them."

After finalizing his thoughts, he continued to think about the Yuanjing Emperor.

Previously, he wanted to investigate the Yuanjing Emperor because he felt that if it was just for the soul elixir, it would not be enough for the Yuanjing Emperor to take such a big risk and join forces with the King of Zhenbei to massacre the city.

After all, the soul elixir was not a kidney treasure. Three mouthfuls of immortality was not enough to massacre the city.

After the trip to the Sword Region, he was even more certain that there was something wrong with the Yuanjing Emperor. Those who had luck could not live forever, so what was the old emperor doing?

As the ruler of a country, it was impossible for him not to know this secret. Great Ancestor and Wu Zong were examples.

"Right now, I can only find clues from the daily records of the former emperor. If the Yuanjing Emperor really has a secret, he will definitely get rid of it.

"But he can't completely erase the traces. For example, the former emperor might hide some important clues, but it is inconspicuous, or others can't find it. Only those who have a certain amount of information can understand it.

"If there are no clues from the former emperor, I can only look for Aunty. Aunty has taught the Yuanjing Emperor for so many years, it is impossible that she can't see any clues, right?

"After that, there is the matter of the Initial Supervisor. I have to find this place called Xu Zhou first. Yes, Duke Wei and Erlang will help me find it. Oh right, tomorrow when I go on my date with Hangan, I will ask her to help me pass a message to Huaiqing and ask her to help me investigate Xu Zhou.

"I have to reasonably use the top students to do things for me. Oh right, I can't fall behind on the progress of understanding the 'meaning', although I have no clue yet. I will give myself a holiday tomorrow and listen to music at the brothel. I miss Fu Xiang a little … "

"There are so many things to do …" Xu Qi'an rode on the little mare, moving up and down rhythmically.

…

When he returned to the Xu Mansion, he saw Susu sitting on the roof from afar, holding a red umbrella. She was like a beautiful mountain ghost, tempting people on the mountain road.

No, she was a ghost.

"They are back …" Xu Qi'an jumped on the roof and sat next to the female ghost.

"What!" Susu rolled her eyes at him in annoyance.

Xu Qi'an poked her chest, only to hear a "poof" sound, and it broke.

He was a little disappointed. "You should also go to the Celestial Commissioner to find Song Qing and ask for a body, right?"

"Bah, lecher!"

Susu looked down at her chest, spat at him, and snorted.

"I am not going to ask for a body. Master said that if I ask for a body now, I will definitely be dragged into the room by you to sleep. I think what she said makes sense, so when you find out the truth of my father's case, I will ask for a body. "

"Your master is simply slandering me."

"Really?" Susu looked at her suspiciously.

"Really, I can sleep with you here. Who said that I have to drag you into the room?"

"Go, go, go." Susu scolded him.

Xu Qi'an jumped off the roof, passed through the yard, and saw outside the kitchen, the cook was killing the goose. Xu Lingyin, with her hair tied up in two buns, squatted by the side and watched eagerly.

Her master, Little Black from Nanjiang, also squatted by the side and watched.

One big and one small, a sharp contrast.

"Lingyin, Big Brother is back." Xu Qi'an shouted.

Little Bean ignored him, concentrating on watching the goose being killed and plucked …

Was she fantasizing about which part to start with? "This stupid kid, she only has food in her eyes …" Xu Qi'an complained in his heart, and went into the inner hall.

Li Miaozhen and his aunt were sitting in the hall, talking, and there were a few pieces of crystal clear pastries on the table.

Seeing her nephew coming back, the aunt raised her sharp chin and said, "The pastries on the table were left for you by Lingyin. She was afraid that if she stayed here, she would not be able to resist eating the pastries, so she ran out."

Xu Qi'an suddenly turned his head, looked outside the door, and laughed.

"Where's Erlang? It's a break today, and you went out together. Why didn't he come back?" Aunt looked outside and asked.

"Wang Shoufu set up a banquet to entertain him, so he probably won't come back today." Xu Qi'an smiled.

After dusk, the gates of the Imperial City closed, so it was impossible for Xu Erlang to come back today.

"The Grand Secretary set up a banquet to entertain him …" Aunt was shocked.

Although Dalang had mercilessly exposed the "affair" between Erlang and Miss Wang not long ago, Aunt didn't expect it to progress so quickly.

She also didn't expect Wang Shoufu to set up a banquet to entertain Erlang.

"This family doesn't match, ah, really …" Aunt was a little annoyed, and a little helpless. "Marrying the daughter of a Grand Secretary is like marrying a Bodhisattva."

"Aunt, you're the mistress of the family. Now that this daughter-in-law has married into the family, it's up to you to train her," Xu Qi'an said.

"With Simu Wang's temperament and means, after marrying into the family, it will be interesting to bully Aunt to tears every day. That will be interesting …" Xu Qi'an somewhat looked forward to the future life.

Aunt straightened her chest, looked around, and said proudly, "Of course. Even if she is the daughter of the Grand Secretary, after marrying into the Xu family, she has to listen to me obediently."

Li Miaozhen glanced at her, but didn't say anything.

…

At dusk, in the Musical House.

In the master bedroom of Yingmei Pavilion, there was a violent cough.

The maid sat under the eaves, guarding the small stove, and listened to her wife's cough coming from inside.

Lady Fu Xiang had been sick for a while. More than half a month ago, Yingmei Pavilion stopped serving tea. Since then, her wife had been ill in bed and became more and more haggard.

Her mother had invited a lot of famous doctors to treat Lady Fu Xiang, but she didn't get better. Gradually, her mother stopped inviting doctors.

At first, she cared about her daughter, but later, she became indifferent, and finally, she didn't come to visit her at all. She even transferred away the pretty maids and guards in the courtyard.

There was no need for them to guard a sickly man who was on his last breath, right?

"My wife used to be so famous. She was the top girl of the Musical House, the Top Courtesan, and the lover of Xu Yinluo. Now she is down and out, and no one comes to see her. There is no news from Xu Yinluo, either. He hasn't come to the Musical House for a long time. "

"Humph, it must be a b * tch who stabbed my wife with a paper doll." The maid sat by the stove, wiping her tears and thinking angrily.