After parting in Hangzhou, their positions were different. Although Chen Fan was straightforward, it didn't mean that his EQ was low. He came to the capital to look for Ning Yi, not without the preparation to be betrayed or even killed.
After all, he had been in Jianghu for so many years. Sometimes, people could be forthright and loyal to each other and confide in each other. Sometimes, when it involved relatives, family members, or even major crimes of rebellion, it was not surprising that people would do anything to avoid harm.
As the disciple of Fang Qizhi, he was now a criminal of the imperial court who couldn't be cleared. He had no choice but to go north to the capital. If he had any ideas about the situation, he wouldn't have come to look for Ning Yi. Since he had come, it was not hard to imagine that Ning Yi had set a trap to betray him.
However, these things didn't happen, so he didn't let down his trust in this friendship. Chen Fan knew how difficult it was to rescue Fang Qizhi. Since Ning Yi could tell him all the reasons behind it and confessed his powerlessness, he could only accept it. However, in addition to this, he could also take him home and take a huge risk to let him see his only child. This trust was another matter. Chen Fan understood the weight of this and was more or less moved.
However, between men, such things should be seen in each other's hearts. There was no need to show it on their faces. In the afternoon, the two returned to the mansion. Xiaoning Xi had just woken up from her afternoon nap. After crying for a while, Juan 'er coaxed her to calm down. Seeing a stranger in the house, the child looked at Chen Fan curiously with her big eyes. Then, she opened her arms and asked him to hold her. Chen Fan was a little embarrassed at first, but then he reached out and took it. After playing with it for a while, he returned it to Juan' er next to him. While he was playing with the child, Su Wending came back from outside and found Ning Yi, saying that there was an urgent matter.
"I heard that this morning, Gao Muen found a group of people from the pugilistic world and specially invited them to deal with you, brother-in-law. During this period, some people even said that you have the nickname of Mental Demon in the pugilistic world and have many enemies. Even if they do something, no one will know …" Su Wending pulled Ning Yi to the corridor outside the door and said in a low voice, "Among those people are Chen Yuanwang from the Imperial Fist Dojo, Peng Xianyu, Pan Jiyao, Ma Jinfu …"
After Ning Yi left, Chen Fan came out of the room and looked at Ning Yi with a faint smile. "How did I offend such a person …"
Ning Yi shrugged. "It's not easy to have such an enemy."
"What are you going to do? Otherwise, like I said, I'll help you deal with him this afternoon … "
Chen Fan was obviously joking. Ning Yi pursed his lips and said, "Please, I'll do it myself." He paused for a moment, then shook his head and murmured, "If he really forces me into a corner, I'll smash my head into his face and scare that bastard to death …"
Su Yanping and Su Wending came to inform him of the situation one after another, which was enough to prove that they got the news from different sources. The Su family hadn't been in the capital for a long time, so they didn't have many acquaintances. The fact that they could spread the news in such a short time was enough to prove that Gao Muen and the other officials really didn't know how to keep secrets. This was also the reason why Chen Fan and Ning Yi felt annoyed and funny at the same time.
The sun was shining brightly in the afternoon. Not long after, on the official road outside Bianliang City, the two waved goodbye. Ning Yi watched Chen Fan gallop south on horseback and sighed softly. There was a limit to one's strength. As for how to save the seven Buddhas below, he really had no way. And no matter how he looked at it, the rescue of the seven Buddhas was not imperative.
But reason aside, after he refused, Chen Fan didn't look too surprised, nor did he further ask for help, which meant that he had long been prepared in his heart. If there was no hope in people's hearts, it would be replaced by a determination similar to despair.
Perhaps not only Chen Fan, but also Fang Baihua and the others who were preparing to rescue the seven Buddhas would probably be the same. The Yongle Uprising shook Tiannan, and the vigorous movement had now come to an end, like the dispersed fireworks. The counterattack force had come. No matter how big the world was, there was no shelter for them, and there was nothing they could do. Except for Liu Watermelon, who still had some hope in her heart, the rest of the people were at a loss. And even Liu Watermelon, although she had a way out, her life in the future wouldn't be too easy.
But no matter what, this was a hurdle that everyone had to cross on their own. If they couldn't cross it, it would be the end.
He returned to the city and went all the way to the Prime Minister's Mansion. He was now in charge of most of the financial investments of the Prime Minister's Mansion, so he had to tell Qin Siyuan about going south in advance.
"Oh? Go back to Jiangning? Why? "Hearing Ning Yi talking about the plan to go south, Qin Siyuan asked.
"Because of what happened in Liangshan last year, almost half of the Su family in Jiangning died. That's the first thing I did when I went north. Now that Liangshan has been eliminated and all the villains have been killed, everything in Bianliang has been arranged, so I'm going back to have a look … and also to pay my respects. "
"Right, that's what I should do." Qin Siyuan nodded and then said with a smile. "That's great. Xiao Pei is engaged and I guess the wedding date is not far away. I was just about to send the painting back, so I wanted to ask Bu 'er to go there. Since Liheng is going south, you can pass it on for me."
As he spoke, he took out a painting scroll that he had prepared earlier from a cabinet in the study room. "Actually, if I had known that you were going, Liheng, there was no harm in having you compose the lyrics for this gift, and this old man would have helped write the inscription. You and I are teacher and student to Xiao Pei. That would be great. "
"I can't write a good poem about this." Ning Yi smiled and shook his head casually. "Are you going to send Wenren to the south?"
"The threat of Fang La in the south has been eliminated, and he has been training for a while. I originally planned to send him to the north. But now the situation in the south is a bit bad. After Fang La died, many people started to move. They re-marked the land and distributed the benefits. A lot of people have been killed in the places where the war was fought. Now they are mainly trying to appease the people. But the houses are gone, there is a lack of food and medicine, and many of the goods sent by the merchants are overpriced. The prefectures and counties can't control the prices, and some officials even sell the relief from the court to the merchants … It's a mess, and there are many people involved … "
The old man sighed. Ning Yi was a bit confused. "It's not good for the Office of Secret Investigation to intervene in this kind of thing, right?"
"There are a few account books. They are being circulated." Qin Siyuan took a piece of paper from the desk and handed it to Ning Yi. He said, "The news came last night. When Fang La rebelled, a few account books were lost in the war. They are the life-saving accounts of the noble families, and there are many secrets in them. I thought it was impossible to keep the account books after the rebels burned and killed for so long. But after the war in Hangzhou subsided, some people had been secretly investigating, such as the Ji family, a salt merchant in Suzhou and Hangzhou … The Office of Secret Investigations didn't pay much attention to it at first, but recently, these things seemed to be true. In terms of time, it's very subtle. "
"On the surface, these account books are probably useless." Ning Yi looked at the intelligence report and said with a frown. He suddenly had an idea.
Qin Siyuan nodded. "No matter how messy the accounts are, even if they colluded with the enemy to sell their country, smuggled salt, and sold weapons, it's as if the South has been plowed over. The evidence and witnesses are all gone, so there's no point in putting the accounts on the table. But if they are put on the surface, for example, warning these people to behave for the time being and let the people in the south live a better life, it may be useful. "
"But … the time is subtle?"
Ning Yi looked at Qin Siyuan. The old man smiled and looked at Ning Yi cautiously. "After the Seven Buddhas were captured, this news gradually surfaced. There are also rumors of valuable gold and silver secretly stored by the Yongle Dynasty. In terms of time, we can't rule out that someone wants to take drastic measures to keep the Seven Buddhas alive … What do you think, Liheng? "
Ning Yi thought for a moment. "Even if it's fake, the fact that the news can spread proves that the information in this person's hands has indeed poked some people's sore spots. It doesn't matter if it's true or not. As for the treasure … Heh. "He shook his head strangely.
From the way Qin Siyuan looked at his expression, Ning Yi knew that the news of Chen Fan entering the city had been reported by Wenren Buer. The old man didn't mention it, which was a matter of respect. And in terms of position, the life or death of the Seven Buddhas didn't mean much to Qin Siyuan, because Fang La's rebellion was before Qin Siyuan's restoration. He would only have the credit of putting down the rebellion, but not the first. And if he wanted to make the situation in the south more stable, the account books mentioned in the news were the key.
No matter whether the account books were true or not, and no matter whether the news was deliberately spread or not, if it could cause other people to move, it meant that some news had been spread to the point. If the Office of Secret Investigations could grasp these points, they would have a say in the new round of land annexation and redistribution of benefits after the war in the south. If used well, they would at least be able to make the lives of a portion of the common people a little more peaceful. This was also the reason why Ning Yi said it didn't matter whether it was true or not.
And then again, Chen Fan didn't mention the account books before he left, so Ning Yi was inclined to the inference that the account books were true. But if it was fake, it meant that there was someone behind this matter who understood the situation very well and was very meticulous in his thinking. It was also because of this that he was able to accurately poke at the weakness of some people, and then make this information appear on Qin Siyuan's table.
Could it be the foreshadowing of the last time Fang Seven Buddhas was captured? He didn't even tell Fang Baihua, Chen Fan, and the others, just to let those aristocratic families suffer in silence?
Ning Yi recalled the people who had the ability to do this in Fang La's camp. Except for Fang Seven Buddhas, he didn't have much impression of the others.
Holding the gift for Zhou Pei, Ning Yi soon said goodbye to Qin Siyuan. When he was about to leave the Prime Minister's residence, he met Ji Kun and greeted him. Ji Kun said, "I visited Chen Yuanwang this afternoon. You don't have to worry about the affairs in the High Court for the time being."
Ning Yi cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Mr. Ji."
Among the several permanent advisors in the Prime Minister's residence, Ji Kun, who was in his early forties, should be one of Qin Siyuan's most trusted people. He was relatively quiet but not arrogant. Many of the specific affairs in the Prime Minister's residence were handled by him, including a lot of "dirty work." In this regard, Cheng Zhouhai was also a ruthless character who was not afraid of doing dirty work, but in terms of proficiency, Ji Kun was definitely the most professional. It was also because of this that among the advisors in the Prime Minister's residence, Yao Zunian was the most famous, and the one who had the most influence should be Ji Kun.
With him going to the Imperial Boxing School, Chen Yuanwang and the others should also know the importance. However, if Gao Muen wanted to find trouble, in less than half a day, Su Yanping, Su Wending, and Ji Kun all knew about it. He could only sigh that this group of rich playboys really didn't have a good sense of confidentiality.
This matter wasn't over yet. When he returned home, people came to remind him one after another, including Qin Shaoyu and Wang Shanyue. In the evening, even Li Shishi specially came to remind him. It was just that when she learned that Ning Yi was going to leave Bianliang tomorrow, she thought it was a wise move to leave the city to avoid trouble.
"… I'm very envious that you can leave the city whenever you want to."
As the sun set, in the living room, the beautiful woman who was going to perform soon held her chin with an envious expression, but there was also a hint of loneliness in her eyes.
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