Li Gongde passed the teacup over and sighed softly. Forcefully picked melons are not sweet, then what about the melons you picked yourself? Li Gongde collected his thoughts and muttered to himself, "Forget it, since things have come to this, it's good to not be the provincial governor of Lingzhou. If I give it up quickly, the Xu family will remember this favor. It's time to return Lingzhou to a stable officialdom. "
When Li Gongde turned his head around, he said, "Master, there is a fellow who claims to be master's junior and wants to see master no matter what. He gave me 20 taels of gold right away, scaring me. If it was a normal day, this gold would have been earned by master. But today, it is not his turn to bother master. A scholar with no scholarly achievements, no family background, and only some money, is worthy of showing off in our Li household. He really doesn't know what's good for him. Today, even a sixth-ranked official can't say more than a few words."
Even a rank 6 official can't say anything. "Li Gongde waved his hand and He Chang turned to leave. He then exclaimed and said," That's right, master, that thirty something year old junior said his name is Xu Hun and he is from Lingzhou's Danyang county. He even said shamelessly that as long as he said this, master will definitely meet him. "
Li Gongde was absent-mindedly drinking tea with his head lowered. His fingers trembled. Just as the old steward He Chang was about to drive the young man who did not know the immensity of heaven and earth out of the mansion, the Administrator raised his head and calmly said, "Bring him here."
The old manager acknowledged and did not dare to say anything. He turned around and heard Li Gongde ask softly, "Is the Lingzhou general's residence still empty?"
He Chang nodded, "It's empty. The Lingzhou general has not returned yet."
Li Gongde nodded and waited for the loyal old manager to leave before placing the teacup on the table. He stood up and joked with Li Fuzhen, "Father still needs to entertain guests. Didn't you always complain that I look down on that poor scholar Guo Fufeng? Bring him to see your mother. A grown girl cannot be kept at home. Father will turn a blind eye and treat it as me forcing you out of the house. "
In the past, Li Fuzhen would have been overjoyed. However, at this moment, based on his intuition, he asked softly, "Father, is this Danyang County guest called Xu Hun?"
Li Gongde smiled indifferently and said, "An old friend's disciple. I have to meet him."
Li Fuzhen was skeptical and left the house with a worried heart. The old steward quickly brought in Xu Hun, who did not look like a noble at all. The Administrator, who had already sat back in his chair, squinted his eyes and looked at him carefully. He hesitated for a moment, held the cup lid with two fingers and shook the slightly cold tea.
The old steward left tactfully. Xu Hun, who looked ordinary, stepped into the house and closed the door without asking for permission. He smiled and said, "Xu Hun thanks the late uncle."
Li Gongde did not speak from the beginning to the end. He lowered his head and drank his tea. This Xu Hun was very unfamiliar to the entire Lingzhou. Probably not many people could recognize him. Even if they had met him once, they would not remember him. However, Li Gongde was different from ordinary people. When the Golden Weaving Bureau was established in Beiliang, it was located in Danyang County. According to the original intention of the imperial court, the Golden Weaving Bureau should have reported to the imperial study in the capital. He should have reported everything to the military officials in Beiliang, as well as the scholars' recommendations and customs. However, Li Xifeng was probably living under someone else's roof and knew that Xu Xiao was not to be trifled with. He had been doing nothing and turned the Weaving Bureau, which had a gloomy authority, into a government office with few visitors. He only symbolically paid a visit to Li Gongde and Yan Jiexi during festivals. Li Xifeng often traveled around Beiliang and did not deliberately hide anything. There was once when he met Li Gongde, who was the Governor of Feng Province at that time. At that time, Li Xifeng let a coachman appear for no reason and introduced him as a distant relative of his called Xu Hun. Li Gongde was silent for a long time. He finally raised his head and looked at Xu Hun. Xu Hun handed something to the Administrator. "This is the handwriting of the Grand Secretary Zhang Julu. Huan Wen of the Province also wrote a note."
Xu Hun saw that Li Gongde had no intention of taking it. He smiled and carefully placed it on the table. He said calmly, "If you don't trust the secret letter, don't worry. You can find a way to verify the handwriting and seal in private. If you don't trust Li Xifeng, you can take Xu Hun and send him to the Lingzhou General's Mansion next door. If you don't trust Xu Hun, you can send him to the Golden Weaving Bureau and then send him to Chu Lushan. If you don't trust the imperial court, you can take a look at the secret letter before making a decision. "
Li Gongde responded with a cold smile.
Xu Hun took it calmly.
After a while, Li Gongde glanced at the table and asked calmly, "Why are there two secret letters? What's written in them? "
Xu Hun smiled, "Xu Hun is just a messenger. Even if I die, I won't know what's written in the letter. Li Xifeng didn't touch the secret letter from the beginning to the end. As for why there are two secret letters, since you asked about it, it means that they are sincere. Then Xu Hun has to die. "
Li Gongde frowned, "What do you mean?"
Xu Hun said calmly, "Xu Hun has avoided all the spies in Lingzhou. Please don't worry about this. I might as well tell you the truth. The Lu Family in Qingzhou was attacked. Beiliang's Peregrine Falcon suffered heavy casualties. Zhaogou suffered even more. The main reason was not to stop the Lu Family from dying. It was to attract Lingzhou's attention so that Xu Hun's trip would be foolproof. But this is not enough. The imperial court wants me to tell you why there are two secret letters after you have the intention to accept the secret letter. One letter is real, the other is fake. Vermilion mud seal is real if the color is too heavy and fake if the color is too light. The fake letter was sent by the Administrator to the Crown Prince of Beiliang. Of course, other than one secret letter, it is not enough to clear your suspicion. So Xu Hun has to die. Golden Weaver Li Xifeng also has to die. Even the entire Golden Weaver Bureau will cease to exist from today onwards. But Li Xifeng has suffered. A Golden Weaver Bureau allows the imperial court to have one more pillar of the imperial court. At the same time, Beiliang has one less Administrator. It is worth it! "
Xu Hun spat out a poisonous pill from his mouth. After peeling it, a small piece of paper was revealed. He crushed the pill and hid it in his sleeve. After reading the contents of the paper, he stuffed the paper into his mouth and swallowed it. He said expressionlessly, "The day after tomorrow."
Li Gongde did not speak.
Xu Hun explained, "The Crown Prince of Beiliang will arrive in Lingzhou the day after tomorrow. Today, Xu Hun will leave quietly and come back the day after tomorrow. The Administrator will kidnap Xu Hun and send him to the General's Mansion in Lingzhou. After Xu Hun's death, there will be a group of Death Warriors and a group of elite Zhaogou left Beiliang with the Administrator. But they can only bring 18 people at most. In order to leave smoothly, Sir Li will have to cooperate with us. He will first give up his position as the Provincial Governor of Lingzhou and stay in Lingzhou for at least half a year. During this time, he will go out to relax and relax the surveillance of the Beiliang spies. As for when the Zhaogou will make a move, someone will inform Sir Li. "
Li Gongde sneered, "The imperial court seems to have forgotten about my son, Li Hanlin!"
Xu Hun smiled, "Young Master Li has received a military order to go to the South to carry out a secret mission. He will first stay in Gu Sai Prefecture. Then, he will go east along the northern border of You Liang and enter Ji Prefecture. Finally, he will meet Sir Li in the capital."
Li Gongde closed his eyes and tapped the teacup lid lightly. He said with slight self-mockery, "Last time, Yan Jiexi only brought 16 people out. The imperial court is really concerned about me."
Xu Hun was silent.
Li Gongde smiled and said, "Let me do the math. I, Li Gongde, am now a rank two border official. If I want to advance any further, I can forget about Northern Liang. However, there aren't many positions in the capital. Among the six Ministers, other than the Minister of Personnel, who was recently promoted, the rest are nothing. Hmm, the fake secret letter must have said that the Minister of Personnel is too full. Who knows, it might be even more petty, like the Minister of Revenue or the Minister of Justice. However, I am very curious as to what kind of reward was written in the letter before I opened it. Zhang Julu is in charge of the Minister's Department and cannot be changed. Huan Wencai is promoted to the Minister's Department and cannot be changed either. That leaves only the Hall of Secretaries. Other than becoming the Lord of this place, it seems that I will also be given the title of Grand Secretary of the Imperial Cabinet. Li Gongde has been addicted to being an official all his life, but I never thought that I would be able to be on par with Sun Xiji and the others."
Xu Hun remained silent when he should not have spoken.
Li Gongde smiled and asked, "Are you not afraid that I will send you and the letter to His Royal Highness now?"
Xu Hun said indifferently, "I will die anyway. So what if I die two days earlier?"
Li Gongde stared at his face for a moment and nodded.
"Thank you, Sir Li, for letting me die a worthy death."
Xu Hun bowed deeply and gently opened the door. Then, he quietly left the Administrator's mansion.
Li Gongde stood up and walked to the side of the table. He stretched out a hand and quickly retracted it as if it was hot. Then, he slowly stretched out his hand again. However, his hand stopped a few inches above the two secret letters. His expression was gloomy.
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