The room was quiet, except for the occasional clinking of porcelain as the emperor drank tea, and the rustling of Xu Lingyi's papers.

Chen Bozhi stood there with his eyes lowered and his nose looking at his heart. He looked very submissive, but in his heart he was thinking about what happened today.

He was ordered to report to the emperor in Beijing. After talking about the grain transport, the emperor asked him to stay in the inner study to talk. This was a great honor, so he naturally nodded in agreement. But he did not expect to meet the Yongping Marquis waiting at the door of the study, and he did not expect the emperor to call the Yongping Marquis by his name in a friendly manner... He was nervous at the time.

It has long been heard that Yongping Hou was arrogant and domineering in his early years, which displeased the emperor, and even the crown prince was estranged from him. Thanks to Yongping Hou's alertness and his ability to judge the situation, he has been trembling with fear in recent years and dared not cross the line, and even resigned from the grand court meeting on the grounds of illness, so that no big mistakes have been made. Later, famous generals such as Fan Gangwei, Jiang Yunfei, Cheng Bicheng, and Li Ji were born, and Yongping Hou's halo gradually faded over time, which gradually made the emperor's resentment towards him disappear.

Originally, one of them was a court official and the other was an outsider, one in the north and one in the south, and there was no handover. Unexpectedly, when his son went to Beijing, he was slapped in the face by Xu Sijin, the youngest son of Yongping Marquis. Not only that, Xu Sijin was brutal, and more than 30 people followed him, and more than 20 were seriously injured. At least one or two years will be needed to recover. He was shocked when he heard it, and his son was even more frightened. He fell ill when he returned to his apartment in Yanjing, and he is still often awakened by nightmares today...

Thinking of the crown prince, he smashed an inkstone and decided to hold back his anger. He asked his good friend Gu Yan from the Hanlin Academy to be a lobbyist. As long as the Xu family was willing to apologize, he could step down and the matter would be over. Unexpectedly, Yongping Hou pretended to be deaf and dumb and did not accept the challenge at all. Xu Sijin became famous in one battle. The children of Yanjing aristocratic families competed to associate with him. During the New Year, there was an endless stream of people coming and going.

One general's success is the result of the sacrifice of thousands of soldiers.

Who Xu Sijin uses as a stepping stone is his own business, but he should never drag his son into it... If he doesn't work out the issue this time, how will his son have the face to walk around in Yanjing in the future!

When Gu Yan wrote to him to complain, he wanted to prove right and wrong, but it would be impossible without the emperor's support.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but glance at the emperor quickly.

The emperor's face was as gloomy as water, and no clues could be seen.

His heart sank.

First, he called Yongping Hou by his name affectionately, and then asked Yongping Hou to read the memorials of the imperial envoys... The former was easy to explain, as Yongping Hou was the emperor's brother-in-law, and they had been close when they were in the palace, or maybe it was just a habit. But reading the memorials of the imperial envoys, wasn't it telling Yongping Hou who was impeaching him...

The thought flashed through his mind, and he felt as if sweat was breaking out on his forehead.

Did the Emperor mean for them to reconcile?

Chen Bozhi's mind raced.

If the emperor really means this, then reconciliation in that form would be a big problem.

The cost of medicine and the like can be waived... But the Marquis of Yongping must come to visit the patient in person, and Xu Sijin must apologize to his son... Afterwards, he can even bring a generous gift to thank the Marquis of Yongping... But there is no need to interact with him, who knows what will touch the emperor's heart. Some things can be done slowly... For example, see what the crown prince thinks of this uncle...

While Chen Bozhi was thinking, he had almost finished reading Xu Lingyi's memorial.

The emperor suddenly spoke: "What do you have to say?"

"I am terrified." Xu Lingyi knelt down immediately. "I have also heard about what was reported in the memorial. I was shocked at the time and called Xu Sijin to ask. Jin said that he heard in the teahouse at that time that he saw someone bullying a father and daughter who were singing for money. They had a conflict with others, but he didn't know who they were. After hearing this, I immediately sent someone to investigate. It was said that although Lord Chen's son was bedridden, he was not beaten to the point of being disabled as described in the memorial. I wanted to send a steward to Huai'an, but when I thought of the ancestral laws that outsiders were not allowed to make friends with close officials, I gave up the idea. I only sent someone to inquire whether there were any guards who were beaten in Lord Chen's residence in Yanjing. The neighbors on both sides didn't know about this, and no one from Lord Chen's family came to argue afterwards," he said, his voice lowered, "I have been idle at home for more than ten years, and there have been rumors from time to time. Every time, the emperor made the decision for me, and I didn't take it to heart this time..." His voice was a little sad.

What a confusion of right and wrong.

Chen Bozhi sneered in his heart and looked towards the emperor.

The emperor actually showed an expression of pity.

He secretly said that it was not good.

"Your Majesty," Chen Bozhi said in a soft and respectful voice, "I was wrong in this matter. I thought that Yongping Hou had conquered Miaojiang and pacified the northwest, and had made great contributions to the country. Such a small incident happened between children, so I did not alarm Yongping Hou..."

Speaking of the things that Xu Lingyi made the emperor taboo, he reminded the emperor of Xu Lingyi's unusualness - he looked like a cat at the moment, but actually it was because of the emperor's suppression. If the emperor stopped suppressing him, he might turn into a tiger again.

After hearing these words, even if the emperor wanted to help him, I'm afraid his feelings would be somewhat indifferent.

But before he could finish his words, Xu Lingyi asked anxiously, "So, Xu Sijin really beat your child? Is it serious? The memorial said that he was disabled..." As he spoke, his face became extremely ugly, "Is it true?"

Chen Bozhi's face also turned ugly.

Officials represent the face of the court. In addition to talent, the court also requires good looks. If the son is disabled, it will be difficult for him to be an official in the future. Even the newly appointed commander may be used by someone with ulterior motives and eventually taken back. But if he says his son is fine, doesn't that mean that all the memorials are fake? And it also means that his son molested the singing father and daughter...

He glanced quickly at the emperor out of the corner of his eye.

The emperor seemed to be listening attentively.

Chen Bozhi did not hesitate for a moment and said, "My son is not disabled..."

"That's good! That's good!" Xu Lingyi interrupted him again, "If he becomes disabled, your son's future will be ruined, and our Jin Ge'er will be to blame even if he dies!" He looked very relieved.

The emperor also nodded: "As long as the child is fine!"

Chen Bozhi was not an ordinary person as he was able to become the Governor-General of the Grand Canal.

He knew that he could not mention the child anymore. Even if his son was still hiding in the **, if he continued to talk about it, it would only make people think that his son was useless. He could only work hard with Xu Sijin's vicious means.

"I only have this one son, and I have high hopes for him. I have kept him by my side during the years of dredging the Huitong River. He has been through wind and rain, so he can be considered a man who has experienced the vicissitudes of life." The reason why the emperor appointed his son as a fourth-rank commander-in-chief was because Chen Bochi had made great contributions to dredging the Huitong River. He mentioned this matter implicitly, hoping that the emperor would remember his contribution and develop a sense of disgust towards Xu Sijin's actions. "I am afraid that among the more than 30 guards around him, more than 20 of them may not be able to take care of themselves in the future..."

The emperor was stunned and looked at Xu Lingyi.

Xu Lingyi seemed very surprised as well.

"There is such a thing!" He immediately looked at the emperor with a confused expression, "When I called the child to ask about this matter, I asked the steward to check. The steward said that he brought four personal servants and six guards at the time. Because it was New Year's Day, there were many things to do at home, and only one of the six guards had good skills, and the others were just so-so. As for the personal servants, they were all about sixteen or seventeen years old. Because I hired a boxing master for Jing'er, they usually serve by the side and learned a few moves... three to ten guards..." The implication was that Chen Bochi was exaggerating.

After several rounds, Chen Bozhi had deeply experienced Xu Lingyi's ability to take advantage of opportunities, and he had been prepared for this question. Hearing this, he said calmly: "I also find it strange. These thirty or so people escorted my son all the way to Yanjing. There has never been any mistake..." The words refer to the fact that the Xu family actually has such a master, and in Xu Lingyi's words, he is just mediocre. It can be seen that the Xu family has seemed honest in the past ten years, but in fact they have evil intentions.

"Your Majesty," Xu Lingyi bowed to the emperor after hearing this, "In my humble opinion, should we ask the people of Shuntian Prefecture or the Wucheng Military Department? When I asked Jin'er, Jin'er and the other servants were not injured at all, and he also said that the young man who flirted with the singing girl only had three or four guards. I think it makes sense, otherwise, I would not have believed him. Now Lord Chen said that your son is fine, but more than 20 of the guards who have been around for more than 30 years have been seriously injured... Could it be that he made a mistake? We are talking about completely different things!"

Chen Bozhi's heart was in turmoil, and he pursed his lips tightly, fearing that he would say something inappropriate in front of the emperor if he got excited. As soon as Xu Lingyi finished speaking, the atmosphere suddenly became cold, and he said, "Even if I made a mistake, the Censorate should not have made a mistake, right? If the Censorate made a mistake, it would be a crime of deceiving the emperor." His tone was firm.

The emperor looked at Chen Bozhi, who was shaking with anger, and sighed secretly in his heart.

Everyone said Xu Lingyi was a bit dull, that was because he rarely spoke now. When Empress Wu was around, he had once made her speechless... Thinking of this, he thought of the time when he was in the palace... There was a period of time when he didn't dare to go out at all. He relied on his father-in-law to take care of things outside, and all the tasks of passing messages were handed over to Xu Lingyi, who was only eight or nine years old. It seemed that from that time on, he spoke less and less... However, he seemed to have gradually gotten used to Xu Lingyi's silence, otherwise, he would not be afraid that Xu Lingyi would be attacked endlessly by these censors, and wanted to solve this matter from the source.

Now it seems that he has overreached!

"Chen Bozhi, since the children of both families are fine, I think this matter should end here!" The emperor frowned and said in distress, "I will issue an order to repair the Baita River in a few days to avoid being dragged around by those imperial censors. Chen Bozhi should put the overall situation first." As he said this, he frowned at Xu Lingyi and said, "Yinghua will pay Chen Bozhi one thousand taels of silver for the medicine!"