Chapter 607 Xu Jianwen's Story

night.

When Zhao Duan returned to the temporary "Governor's Mansion" where he was staying, he found that the lights in the main hall were on and three black shadows were reflected on the window paper.

"Squeak." Zhao Duan pushed open the door with Jin Jian, and the candlelight spread out from the threshold, as if burning a hole in the darkness.

Inside the house, Mochou, Yuxiu and Jiyue were sitting around a square table, playing mahjong.

There was a cushion on the table. At this moment, a new round of card drawing was completed. Hearing the sound, the three women turned their heads and looked over at the same time.

There was nothing unusual about Yuxiu and Jiyue, except Mochou... Her entire forehead was covered with pieces of torn paper strips.

It was like hanging a curtain on my face.

The cold wind rushed into the room from behind Zhao Duan, making the paper on Mo Chou's face rustle.

"..." Zhao Duan took a breath of cold air: "What are you doing..."

Priest Yuxiu said in a calm tone:

"Mo Zhaorong said she came to wait for you to come back. She was bored anyway, so she played cards to pass the time."

Jiyue, with disheveled hair, also nodded: "Yes."

No... I'm not blind, of course I can see that you are playing cards. What I want to ask is why only Mo Chou is losing... Zhao Duan hesitated to speak.

Only Mo Chou lowered her head, glanced at the handful of bad cards in her hand, and breathed a sigh of relief silently.

He stood up pretending to be calm, put the cards on the table, and casually tore off the paper covering his face, with a nonchalant attitude:

"The governor has returned and was just about to discuss something with you."

After saying that, he walked out the door.

Seeing this, Yuxiu smiled obscurely and said to Jin Jian:

"Two missing one?"

Jin Jian hesitated and asked, "Are you playing for money?"

"Play."

Jin Jian's eyes suddenly lit up, he walked straight over, sat on the stool with his little butt, grabbed Mo Chou's cards, and frowned.

…

Zhao Duan quietly closed the door and left the room to the three women playing cards.

Looking at Mo Chou beside him, he gently consoled her, "How much did you lose?"

"..." Mo Chou stared at him expressionlessly: "If you can't speak, you don't have to."

Kukuku... Zhao Duan tried hard to suppress his laughter, sighed softly, and said earnestly:

"The spiritual consciousness of the worldly realm sorcerers is released. With her mortal body, Miss Mo is bound to lose when playing cards with them."

They cheated... Why didn’t you tell me earlier... Mo Chou clenched her hands in her sleeves.

Fortunately, Mo Zhaorong is not a petty person.

Quickly calming down, he pointed to a swing in the yard opposite the Moon Gate.

"Come over and sit down."

The so-called "Dudu Mansion" was actually a local house in Huting. The owner fled during the war, and after the imperial court occupied half of Huting, they used the remaining house.

Therefore, many facilities remain in the house, such as this swing. The surface has been swept and there is no snow. It is woven with rattan, but it is more comfortable to sit on than the stone benches in the yard.

It's not that cold tonight.

Under the dim starlight, Zhao Duan and Mo Chou sat side by side on the swing. There was silence and no one around, except for the faint sound of playing cards coming from inside the house.

"Is everything going well?" Mo Chou went straight to the point.

Zhao Duan nodded: "Jiang Wangsun has surrendered to us. This old man has a big appetite, but fortunately he is a little timid, so we can control him."

He briefly described the process of instigating Jiang Wangsun's rebellion, then took out the intelligence on the enemy's deployment from his sleeve and handed it to Mochou.

"It went better than I thought," Mo Chou took the information, weighed it, and frowned.

"It's just that it's hard to say whether the surrender was a fraud."

Zhao Duan said calmly:

"So, to verify the authenticity of this defense map, you can leave it to Shi Meng and the others. Furthermore, they will release Feng Ju as a token of their loyalty. I've arranged for Song Jinxi to keep an eye on it."

Mo Chou was overjoyed:

"That's the best. Success will greatly boost the morale of the army. Once we're sure that Prince Jiang's grandson is trustworthy and has an insider, retaking Huting will be just around the corner. It just so happens that Prince Jing is going to Binhai, so we can catch him off guard now."

Imagine the future, in the military camp, the female prime minister in female official robes who was supervising the army on behalf of the emperor looked at him with a different look:

"You are a lucky star."

Zhao Duan smiled and said, "Don't speak too early."

"how?"

"Nothing, I just feel like it's going too smoothly." Zhao Duan leaned on the swing, looked at the night sky and said softly:

"When I first arrived, Prince Jing was gone, and Prince Jiang's grandson also successfully defected. The progress was much smoother than on the Western Front."

Mo Chou frowned: "Maybe you're overthinking it."

"Maybe. Let's not talk about this for now," Zhao Duan suddenly changed the subject and turned to look at his rival:

"I have something to ask you. You've been in the palace for many years, so you should know the Second Prince Jian Wen very well. Could you tell me more about him? Well, you don't need to tell me the public information, so please tell me your opinion of him."

Mo Chou was stunned for a moment: "Why did you suddenly mention Jian Wen?"

"Curiosity, is this explanation enough?" Zhao Duan said in a cynical tone.

Although Mo Chou was full of doubts, she knew his temper and did not ask any more questions. After thinking for a while, she said:

"Jian Wen... before the coup, he was actually a very good person. Well, you could say he disguised himself very well."

"Tell me in detail."

"That's right... He has been exceptionally intelligent since childhood, far surpassing the other princes and a shining example in the Imperial Academy. Well... I didn't say that myself, but His Majesty said it privately.

Although Your Majesty is also extremely intelligent and appreciated by the Grand Tutor, you were born later. When you first entered the school, Jianwen was the most respected, and your teacher at that time was the Grand Tutor Zhuang Xiaocheng.

At that time, Jianwen was a very strong-willed person and loved to compare himself with the Crown Prince.

Mo Chou seemed to be lost in memories, and she spoke eloquently:

"For example, when Jianwen and the Crown Prince were young, they often visited each other. At that time, the Crown Prince lived in the Eastern Palace, and his residence was much more luxurious than that of the other princes. He often hosted banquets to entertain his brothers and sisters.

At a gathering, Jianwen was discussing an article and quoting from classics, stealing the show. Song Zhi, the Prince's groom at the Crown Prince's residence, then laughed at Jianwen and said, "I understand everything you said. But you don't know what I know." He silenced Jianwen.

Zhao Duan interrupted: "Wait, this Song Zhi is..."

Mo Chou was stunned for a moment, and said with disdain:

"You don't even know Song Zhi? Oh, I almost forgot. You're a small soldier in the Imperial Guard who just came to prominence a few years ago. It's reasonable that you don't know what happened ten or twenty years ago."

Zhao Duan: "..."

Are kings, princes, generals and ministers born into different families?

After slightly belittling Zhao Duan, Mo Chou felt much better and continued:

"Song Zhi is a remarkable figure, having been the top scholar in a certain class and appointed a Hanlin. He is extremely knowledgeable and is said to have a photographic memory and the ability to draw inferences from one instance.

Well... if we make a comparison, he is probably much better than Han Zhou and Han Xue Shi today. At that time, he was only in his thirties, but he had the air of a great scholar. Well... if he had not disappeared later, Mr. Zhengyang might not have been able to rise, and he might have been under Song Zhi.

By the way, he even had a relationship with Zhang Tianshi back then, so they were close friends regardless of age difference."

So powerful?

Why haven’t I heard of it... Zhao Duan was surprised.

Mo Chou said:

"Because of his exceptional talent, he was promoted by the late emperor to be the Crown Prince's groom, serving in the Imperial Household Department as a future member of the team. Eh... I've strayed off topic. Where was I?"

Zhao Duan reminded: "Song Zhi criticized Jian Wen, saying that he was not knowledgeable enough."

"Oh, that's it." Mo Chou said:

"After Jian Wen returned from the banquet, he remained calm on the surface, but he went to the library more and more often.

A year later, when the Crown Prince was entertaining his brothers and sisters again, Jian Wen actually dragged Song Zhi to the school library, pointed at the huge library, and told Song Zhi to pick out any book he could recite that Jian Wen could not.

Wow, this guy also holds a grudge... Zhao Duan called him an expert.

What a great temperament... However, before entering the mortal world, with a mortal body without the assistance of spiritual consciousness, being able to recite a whole book in a year is indeed abnormal.

Mo Chou recalls the past:

"It's interesting to say that it's a case of acquaintance after a fight. Because of this episode, Jian Wen and Song Zhi actually developed a personal relationship and became good friends.

Being good at studying was only one of Jianwen's advantages. In fact, Jianwen was outstanding among all the princes in riding and shooting, the ability to make friends, conversation and intelligence, and even martial arts practice. The crown prince was dull in comparison.

If we compare, the prince is only superior to him in benevolence and righteousness."

Zhao Duan frowned and said, "This may not be a good thing."

Mo Chou nodded and sighed:

"Yes, but the late emperor also loved and relied on Jianwen very much. As he grew older, he often arranged for Jianwen to go out and handle some court affairs.

The Crown Prince rarely left the capital. Gradually, even within the court at the time, rumors began to circulate that the late Emperor intended to appoint a new Crown Prince.

As a result, some court officials gradually gathered around Jianwen, and the retainers under Jianwen were also raised during this period."

No... Is the old emperor setting himself up for failure? Or does he really want to change the heir? Zhao Duan wondered.

To be honest, although he had been facing the remnants of Jian Wen since the day he traveled through time, it was the first time he got to know the dead second prince in such detail.

Zhao Duan asked doubtfully, "Could it be that the late emperor really intends to...?"

Mo Chou shook her head and said:

"Who could possibly guess what the emperor was thinking? However, it is true that just after Jianwen rose to power, the late emperor once flew into a rage and severely punished Jianwen for his followers breaking the law.

This action was interpreted as the late emperor still favoring the prince.

Jianwen did indeed behave himself much better after that, but even after the late emperor became angry, he didn't stop him from making friends with the court officials... In short, it's very confusing. Later, with the late emperor's death and the Xuanmen coup, you know everything."

I always feel like there’s something wrong… Zhao Duan muttered to himself.

He asked some more questions, but unfortunately Mochou was just a maid at the time. She remembered some small things in Jianwen's life clearly, but she was unclear about the court affairs.

"By the way, who is Song Zhi? How come I haven't heard of such a famous person?" Zhao Duan asked.

He had read the files of the Xuanmen coup and did not remember this name appearing in them.

Mo Chou sighed softly:

"Song Zhiyin was too close to Jian Wen, yet he was the prince's groom, which was inappropriate.

At first, it was fine, but once Jian Wen became influential and had his own followers... Song Zhi found it difficult to continue his work. Therefore, he resigned from his post long ago, left the capital, and began to wander the world. He has since disappeared without a trace.

So that's how it disappeared... No wonder I didn't know... Zhao Duan's heart moved and he said:

"Since Song Zhi is close to Jian Wen, will he..."

Mo Chou glanced at him and said:

"Aren't you responsible for investigating the Kuangfu Society? How could you not know if there were such people in it?"

Well, there really isn't someone like Song Zhi in the Kuangfu Society...

Zhao Duan shook his head and said self-deprecatingly: "It seems that I am overthinking it."

Mo Chou picked up the military intelligence, stood up and said, "I'm going to find Shi Meng."

"Yeah." Zhao Duan watched her leave with her hips twisted. After a long time, he stood up, pushed the door open and walked into the main room.

As soon as the door opened.

Then he saw Jin Jian standing on a stool with his hands on his hips, and he slammed the last two cards onto the table with great momentum:

"Win! Give me money!"

The young priestess's palms were facing upwards, like an old general who had fought bravely on the battlefield and won the victory.

…

…

"A-choo!"

Feng Ju woke up from his curled up position, opened his eyes, and saw the dim roof.

The room was very cold and there was no charcoal. It was a good bedroom, but the bricks on the floor were almost covered with white frost.

Feng Ju sat up drowsily and wrapped his cotton coat tightly around him.

"Gurgle."

...My stomach was rumbling with hunger.

Feng Ju struggled to stand up, supporting his weak body, and staggered towards the door. He pushed it open with both hands, and the howling cold wind outside made him shiver.

What you see first is a government office courtyard.

This was the government office set up by the imperial court in order to "open the market".

It used to be bustling with people and was very grand. But now it is desolate and dilapidated, the whole yard is deserted, all the doors are locked, and there are rebels stationed outside the yard all day long.

Feng Ju and a group of other officials in the government office were imprisoned here under house arrest.

With a lack of charcoal and food, this winter was extremely difficult. The little bit of food delivered every day was just enough to keep them from starving to death, but it didn't give them the strength to escape.

Feng Ju walked towards the main hall of the office, pushed open the door, and saw a fire burning in the room. The wood used to ignite the fire was the split plaque of the office.

A group of about ten people, with disheveled hair and dirty faces, gathered around the fire like beggars.

There was a pot on the fire, and a pot of "soup" was cooking in the pot. It was called soup, but it was just a thin layer of rice paste, mostly snow water, and some leaves or something.

"You! Why did you burn the plaque as well!?" Feng Ju's head buzzed.

Beside the fire, an official looked weak and miserable:

"Master Feng, the cabinets and tables are almost completely burned. We can't tear down the doors and windows that keep us out of the cold and wind, can we? We'll freeze to death if we do. This office is already in name only. What's the point of leaving a plaque?"

The other person nodded: "Yes, yes."

"..." Feng Ju raised his hand and pointed at them weakly. Facing the faces one after another, he finally sighed deeply and waved his hand bitterly:

"Never mind, never mind."

As he spoke, he moved, squeezed through the crowd, and sat down by the fire.

"Sir Feng, it's just a plaque. There's no need to be sad. It leaves us with useful bodies. If we can return to the court alive in the future, we can build an official office."

Across the crowd, a woman wrapped in cotton clothes spoke weakly.

Although the woman had not eaten enough for several months and her face looked pale, she was cleaner than the others.

If Zhao Duan were here, he would definitely recognize that this person looks very similar to the Yuan Fei in the palace.

She was the concubine, the geisha Lin Susu, who was snatched away by the "Little Cabinet Minister" Li Yinglong.

Next to Lin Susu, there was a disheveled man almost curled up. He was the businessman Hu Xuezhai.

He is also her husband.

At the beginning, Lin Susu and Zhao Duan joined forces to plot against Li Yinglong. With Zhao Duan's promise, she would return to Huaishui to find her husband and become the first batch of imperial merchants together.

With the help of the east wind, the business was booming for a while. When Prince Jing broke into Hu Ting, Lin Susu and his wife were there, and they consulted Feng Ju on how to take refuge.

As a result, they were also put under house arrest and detained together.

Feng Ju heard this, forced a smile, and tried to boost morale:

"Madam Lin is right. The rebels confined us but didn't kill us because they wanted us to be useful because we knew how to run a business. They wanted to seize your majesty's throne and then use us to profit from it..."

However, although the rebels were delusional, we were able to save our lives temporarily.

As long as we continue to be patient, and wait for Lord Zhao to destroy the rebels and rescue us, His Majesty will certainly take our suffering today into consideration, and will certainly reward us in the future..."

"Pooh!"

Suddenly, the disheveled Hu Xuezhai spat fiercely and interrupted Feng Ju's empty promises with a sneer:

"Master Feng, how many times have you said this? Ask yourself, do you still believe it?"

After months of torture, this once elegant and graceful Jiangnan businessman seemed to be on the verge of collapse. He gnashed his teeth and cursed:

"How long have we been imprisoned? If the imperial court could rescue us, why hasn't it come yet? You claim to be a direct descendant of Zhao Duan, and with his connections, you've taken the position of doctor. So what?

How many days of glory did it last?

Aren't you also a prisoner with us?!

Are you still dreaming that Mr. Zhao will come to rescue you? Are you stupid or do you think we are all stupid?

Feng Ju was stunned.

Lin Susu, who was standing by, was also stunned. She pulled her husband in a panic and said with a sullen face:

"You're starving! How dare you slander Lord Zhao?"

Hu Xuezhai waved his hand and threw Lin Susu off, revealing a face that was frozen purple, with a ferocious look and contempt in his eyes:

"Bitch, I knew you had an affair with Zhao Duan, and now you're defending him!"

…

ps: The plot has been dull recently, and I can't write enough words. I could have written a plot outline of several thousand words today... never mind. I'll try to resume writing five or six words a day tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)