The old bull had been a jailer his entire life, but he had never thought that he would be kidnapped one day.
When he heard that someone wanted to see him, the old bull did not pay much attention. There were many strangers who wanted to see him. The people locked up in the Heavenly Prison were all criminal officials. All of them had connections and had a lot of friends and relatives. After a criminal official was imprisoned, his friends and relatives would be bribed.
Those with deep backgrounds and great abilities would directly greet the Ministry of Justice or the prison officials. Those who could not reach that level would use gold and silver to open the way. They would directly greet the head of the prison or the prison guards with great seniority and prestige.
The old bull thought that the person looking for him today was a relative of a criminal official who had connections, so he casually left the Heavenly Prison. He did not mind being led to a secluded place. In the end, those bodyguards of Ye Xiaotian led him into a small alley and announced solemnly, "Our lord wants to see you!"
The old bull asked blankly, "Who is your lord?"
If there was no other choice, the mountain warriors were not willing to say Ye Xiaotian's name. That would be offensive. Since the old man Venerable wanted to see this person, the old bull would know the identity of the Venerable if he went. The warriors had never thought that this old jailer was actually respectfully addressed as Uncle Niu by their supreme Lord Venerable.
One of the warrior leaders waved his hand and said solemnly, "You will naturally know when you see him. Take him away!"
Two warriors rushed up from the side, grabbed the old bull from the left and right, and carried him away.
The old bull cried out miserably, "Tie …"
A sharp knife was placed across his mouth. It was really placed across his mouth. The sharp blade had already entered his mouth. The old bull immediately opened his mouth and did not dare to make a sound.
The old bull was carried and dragged all the way to the inn. Along the way, the old bull did not know how many times he had prepared for the worst. When he passed by the wall at the side of the inn, he thought he was going to be stabbed and stuffed into the gutter. He only managed to catch his breath after he passed by the wall.
Once he saw the other party dragging him into the inn, the old bull finally relaxed. The people staying here were all officials from all over the country who were heading to the capital for official business. They were officials who were here to see the emperor. It was impossible for someone to kill or harm someone here. In that case, they weren't lying before, and there was really a "lord" who wanted to see him?
When he thought of this, Old Cow was so angry that his nose almost became crooked. He had almost peed his pants in fright along the way. Who would use such a reckless method to invite someone? This was simply preposterous.
"Sir" came out from the house. When he saw Old Cow, he beamed with joy. "Uncle Cow, long time no see …"
Old Cow looked at Ye Xiaotian and was stunned. "Are you Little Tian or Little An?"
Originally, Old Cow was most familiar with Ye Xiaotian. However, after Ye Xiaotian left, Xiao An replaced his position and became a prison guard for a few years. Old Cow could not tell who was who.
Ye Xiaotian smiled and said, "I am Little Tian, Uncle Niu is as healthy as ever, you don't look old at all. But this hair … how come it's almost gone? "
The old cow rolled his eyes at him. "You're the one who wants to see me?"
Ye Xiaotian said, "If it's not me, who else can it be?"
The old cow said angrily, "Where did you find your subordinates? Are they inviting someone? This is simply kidnapping! "
Only then did Ye Xiaotian realize that Old Cow's arms were being held by two tall and strong warriors. He hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Let go, let go. This is my Uncle Cow. How can you invite my Uncle Cow like this?!"
Ye Xiaotian waved his hand to dismiss the guards and helped Old Cow into the room. As he poured tea for him, he said with a smile, "Uncle Cow, don't be angry. My subordinates are all men from the mountains. They don't know the rules when doing things, and they often don't understand my instructions. Please don't be offended."
Old Cow grumbled angrily before saying, "How is Old Ye? Your whole family has returned to the capital?"
Ye Xiaotian said, "It's just me. My father is still in Guizhou, and he often misses you."
The two of them chatted for a while before Ye Xiaotian went to the main topic. "Uncle Cow, I just returned to the capital, and it's a little troublesome now. It's not convenient for me to go in and out, but my subordinates aren't suited to handle matters, so I have something to trouble you with."
Old Cow sipped his tea and looked up at him.
Ye Xiaotian moved closer and said with a cheeky smile, "I want to find out the whereabouts of a person. The Ministry of Rites definitely knows her whereabouts, so I want to trouble Uncle Cow to help me find out."
Old Cow thought about it and frowned. "Ministry of Rites? If it's the Ministry of Justice, I still know some people, but I'm really not familiar with the Ministry of Rites! "
Ye Xiaotian stretched out his hand, and a gold ingot appeared in his palm. Ye Xiaotian said, "With this to open the way, there's no need to be afraid of not knowing someone!"
Old Cow opened his mouth wide and said in shock, "Brat, you really struck it rich! Who do you want to find out about? "
Ye Xiaotian said, "The daughter of Chieftain Xia of Guizhou's Red Maple Lake, Miss Xia Yingying!"
…
After Xu Boyi returned to the capital, he immediately went to the palace to see the Emperor. If the other eunuchs had the chance to leave the capital, they would all want to stall for time and stay there for a few more days. Not only would they be able to obtain more benefits, but they would also be free. Once one entered the palace, one would be as deep as the sea. Looking back, it would be a hundred years. Who knew if there would be a chance to step out of that yellow wall in the future? However, for Xu Boyi, he wasn't greedy for any of this.
In the past, what he was most passionate about was power, and that was still the case. This had nothing to do with whether or not he was a healthy man. It was just that he used to be in the officialdom, and now he was in the inner court.
Other than pursuing power, he also had an obsession, and that was to get revenge on Ye Xiaotian. This could not be separated from the palace. Right now, he was like a dodder. Only by wrapping himself around the towering tree that was Emperor Wanli could he look down on all living beings. Otherwise, he could only prostrate at the feet of others.
Thus, when he returned to the capital, he didn't miss the bustling scene of the capital at all. He immediately stepped through the palace gates to see the Emperor. Emperor Wanli was in a dilemma. When he heard Xu Boyi talk about his experience of going to Ziyang to receive tribute oranges, he didn't care at all. After listening to Xu Boyi, he faintly waved his hand.
Xu Boyi really wanted to ask if the Emperor had gotten hold of Ye Xiaotian's woman, but seeing the Emperor's lack of interest, he didn't dare to ask. As a servant, he knew best that when his master was unhappy, it was best not to make him impatient.
Xu Boyi kowtowed and was about to leave when Wanli suddenly called out to him, "Xiaobai!"
After entering the palace, Xu Boyi originally changed his name to Yu Baigong, but Wanli always called him Xiaobai, so Xu Boyi simply called himself Yu Xiaobai. Speaking of it, it could barely be considered a name bestowed by the Emperor. Although it couldn't compare to Ye Xiaotian's name bestowed by the Emperor, it was still an honor.
Xu Boyi quickly bowed and said, "Does Your Majesty have any other instructions?"
Emperor Wanli muttered to himself for a moment before waving his hand at him. Xu Boyi quickly moved closer to him.
Wanli coughed lightly and slowly said, "Miss Yingying …"
Xu Boyi's eyes lit up and he quickly stared at Wanli. Wanli revealed an awkward expression and said, "Her mother has already mentioned to me that she has been in the capital for too long and wants to return to Guiyang as soon as possible. I am in a very difficult position! "
Xu Boyi's eyes turned and he thought, "Her mother wants to return to Guiyang, why is the Emperor in a difficult position? Could it be that the Emperor is like Emperor Chenghua who favored Imperial Concubine Wan in the past, liking women who are much older than him? Hmm … I don't say, Madam Xia is still very attractive … "
How could Emperor Wanli know what kind of dirty thoughts were running through Xu Boyi's mind? He frowned and said, "If she returns to Guiyang, Miss Yingying … it will be inconvenient for me to keep her. I am planning, hmm … I am planning to ask Fifth Imperial Uncle to come forward and be a matchmaker for me … "
Xu Boyi finally understood that this Son of Heaven had not succeeded yet!
Xu Boyi quickly said, "Your Majesty, you are the Son of Heaven! The imperial family taking a concubine is just a matter of an imperial edict, why do you need a matchmaker! Of course, Your Majesty, you like Miss Yingying and want to give her enough courtesy, this is also possible. But … taking a chieftain's daughter as a concubine, I am afraid the officials will be dissatisfied. When Fifth Imperial Uncle just arrived, the officials over there will be kneeling at the Zuo Shun Gate! "
Xu Boyi's' Zuo Shun Gate 'had its reasons. In the past, Emperor Zhengde died young and did not leave behind an heir. His cousin succeeded the throne, which was Wanli's grandfather, Emperor Jiajing. Jiajing and Zhengde were of the same generation, so it was only right that he was adopted as the son of Zhengde's father, Emperor Xiaozong.
But Jiajing did not want to change his family name, so he ordered the officials to go to his father, Prince Xingxian, to discuss the title and ceremony. This poked the hornet's nest. Twenty-three of the Nine Ministers, twenty of the Hanlin Academy, twenty-one of the Imperial Censors, thirty of the Imperial Censors, and a total of more than two hundred people knelt outside the Zuo Shun Gate, crying loudly. This was the world-famous Zuo Shun Gate incident.
Hearing this, Wanli's expression suddenly changed. He angrily said, "I want a girl that I really like, is it so difficult?"
Xu Boyi was afraid that he would give up and quickly said, "Your Majesty, this matter can be said to be difficult, but it can also be said to be not difficult. If you say it is difficult, it is because Miss Xia's identity is sensitive. The officials are worried that if Miss Xia becomes the Imperial Concubine, the Xia family's Chieftain, as a relative of the Emperor, will take advantage of the situation and affect the peace of the southwest.
If you say it is not difficult, it is also not difficult. As long as Your Majesty cooks the rice first, it is not difficult to send the girl back to Guiyang. If this causes the Chieftain of the Xia family to be dissatisfied and cause trouble, then it will be the officials who did not agree with Your Majesty taking Miss Xia as the Imperial Concubine. Who would dare to bear this heavy responsibility?
Therefore, once Your Majesty and Miss Xia become real husband and wife, this servant believes that the only thing the officials can do is to mend the pen after the sheep is lost and request Your Majesty not to give the Xia family any additional rewards. This will prevent the Xia family from using the opportunity of Imperial Concubine Xia being favoured by Your Majesty to strengthen themselves. "
Hearing the words' Imperial Concubine Xia ', Wanli's heart itched even more. He stamped his feet and said, "But this is raw rice, it cannot be cooked!"
"Ah?"
Xu Boyi stared blankly at Wanli and was very puzzled, "Your Majesty can't be like me, lacking a necessary ingredient to cook rice?"
Wanli said in distress, "Miss Yingying is naive and does not understand my love for her. I also do not have the opportunity to be alone with her. I originally instructed Imperial Concubine Chen to use the identity of a fellow from Guiyang to win over Xia Furen. I thought that Xia Furen would often bring her daughter into the palace so that I would have more opportunities to get along with her … … "
Wanli casually pointed to the sky, "I just excitedly went to Imperial Concubine Chen's place. Who would have thought that only Xia Furen was there. When I asked Xia Furen, she said that Miss Yingying could not stand the cumbersome rules of the palace so she did not come. I have no reason to summon her into the palace! "
As Wanli said this, he stamped his feet in exasperation.
Xu Boyi rolled her eyes and said, "Your Majesty, Miss Xia's identity is sensitive and Your Majesty does not have freedom. How can you keep a beauty in the palace with ordinary methods? This servant has a plan. If Your Majesty is willing to use it, this servant will make sure that Your Majesty's heart will be fulfilled. Tonight, we will pick that flower at Red Maple Lake! "
Wanli was overjoyed and hurriedly asked, "What is the plan?"
