Chapter 216 How did Gu Ci meet Nian Xi?

Pei Jian returned to the Prime Minister's residence after leaving Yiqiao Street.

The meeting room was already filled with officials waiting.

There is no morning meeting today.

The court is divided into two parts: the Grand Court Meeting and the Minor Court Meeting. The Grand Court Meeting refers to the congratulations of the ministers in the main hall on New Year's Day, the Winter Solstice and the great celebration days, while the Minor Court Meeting refers to the summoning of civil and military officials to handle government affairs.

The small morning meeting is held once every three days.

Most of the officials in the meeting hall today are from the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Personnel.

The Yellow River is flooding, and the people downstream are suffering. The Ministry of Works will send craftsmen to repair the dam, the Ministry of Revenue will transfer grain for disaster relief, and the Ministry of Personnel will dispatch personnel. Today we must come up with a plan, and present it to Your Majesty for review at the court tomorrow morning.

Ma Chun, the Minister of Works, is reporting on the progress.

The Yellow River changed its course and broke its dikes thousands of miles away. Several officials have even lost their lives.

In the face of natural disasters, human power is insignificant.

Ma Chun tried to make the situation sound more serious so that he could argue with the cunning Qin Lang from the Ministry of Revenue later. But for some reason, he talked for a long time without Prime Minister Pei making any statement.

I always feel that Prime Minister Pei, who is sitting in the main seat today, is a little absent-minded.

Of course, this is just his speculation.

Because he accidentally met Pei Xiang's deep and dark eyes, for a moment, he felt as if all his thoughts were seen through.

Ma Chun quickly gathered his thoughts, "...the river channel is blocked by mountains, forming a narrow opening. It has been raining a lot recently, and the river has flooded at Daqing Pass and has changed direction to the west--"

As he was speaking, a guard hurried into the meeting room and whispered a few words to Pei Xiang. It was visibly that Prime Minister Pei's expression changed slightly.

Ma Chun stopped.

In fact, the entire chamber fell silent.

Waiting for Prime Minister Pei's next instructions.

However, Prime Minister Pei just waved his hand to tell the guards to go back, and signaled Ma Chun, "Go on."

Ma Chun continued, "I thought that the riverbed upstream was wide and flat, while the Daqing Pass was suddenly narrow, so naturally..."

Ma Chun swore that this time it was not his illusion, Pei Xiang was really distracted. Because he had finished talking for a long time, but Pei Xiang was still looking down in deep thought.

He thought that the question he was talking about was not profound and obscure, and the Yellow River had changed its course since ancient times. Such a thing was not enough to make Pei Xiang ponder until now. The only explanation was that there were more important things occupying Pei Xiang's mind.

Is this what the guard who just came in said?

What kind of big deal would it be?

Is it worse than Prince Jing's rebellion and raising guards?

Ma Chun was worried for a moment.

Those who could sit here were all pillars of the dynasty, and everyone had a pair of discerning eyes. Therefore, not only Ma Chun, but everyone else also noticed the Prime Minister's abnormality.

Qin Lang too.

At this moment, he didn't care about competing with Ma Chun for the disaster relief money, and turned to look at Pei Jian. What exactly happened?

Pei Jian, who was at the center of the incident, was indeed distracted at the moment.

Gu San said that Nian Xi went to his villa in Peishan.

This is sheer nonsense!

It's far away from Beijing and hasn't been inhabited for a long time. She lives there alone. Not to mention whether it's safe or not, just in terms of food, clothing and other daily necessities, can she get used to the food and the place?

He always provided her with fine clothes and delicious food, but she was depressed and weak. Now that she went to Peishan, could she adapt?

Don't get sick again. The shortage of doctors and medicines there is no joke.

How can Wen Qingheng be a brother?

He doesn't feel sorry for his sister at all.

And they drove people into the mountains!

Pei Jian was furious and his face became even gloomier.

But the Yellow River flooding affected people's livelihood, so he had to sit patiently and wait for the rules to be drawn up so that he could go to Peishan in person to pick up people.

Thinking of this, he looked up at Ma Chun, frowned slightly, and spoke in a low voice, gently turning the ring.

This is a sign of his impatience.

"Why don't you say it?"

Ma Chun was so overwhelmed by the momentum that he stuttered for a moment, "Say... I'm done."

Pei Jian pursed his lips, his lacquered eyes darkened. He rarely got angry now, but this Ma Chun was really a waste of time.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Ma Chun: ...

trembling with fear.

Everyone could see that Prime Minister Pei was in a bad mood, and the whole hall fell silent for a moment.

Pei Jian exhaled and warned himself to be patient. Just as he was about to speak, another guard came in and reported, "The Marquis of Guanjun returned to the capital and passed by Peishan and met the lady."

Pei Jian's expression changed completely.

He himself couldn't explain why, but he felt very flustered and uneasy.

Subconsciously, I was afraid something might happen.

A very bad, terrible situation has emerged.

But what exactly is it?

Pei Jian didn't know.

Gu Ci has been away from the capital for more than ten years. When the late emperor was alive, he was ordered never to return to the capital.

It was not until the death of the previous emperor, the benevolence of the new emperor, and the long period of peace in the northern border, that he sought permission and was able to return to the capital.

This is his brother and best friend who he grew up with.

But at this moment, it seemed to be the source of his panic.

How did Gu Ci meet Nian Xi?

Pei Jian could no longer sit still, so he said, "Let's discuss this later," and walked out.

The officials were left looking at each other in bewilderment.

Qin Lang sat closer and vaguely heard the word "Champion Marquis". He was surprised and delighted. Could it be -

Gu resigned and returned? !

They had been classmates at the Imperial College and lived in the same courtyard, so they had a close relationship.

Moreover, Gu Ci was a cheerful and generous person with good interpersonal relationships. If it weren't for the incident at the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, he would have been one of the most outstanding men in the capital.

A few days ago, he learned from Pei Jian that Gu would return to Beijing soon, but he didn't expect it to happen so soon!

Thinking of this, Qin Lang also stood up and chased after him, but Pei Zhen was nowhere to be found.

Pei Jian gave instructions as he walked out, and several groups of people followed his instructions and left. As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Sancai said, "The carriage is ready."

"Prepare the horses."

The carriage was too slow, and Pei Jian didn't have the leisure to ride in it at the moment.

The group was walking out when they were stopped by a voice saying "cousin".

Xu Wanxin was standing at the corner, holding a little boy's hand. "Cousin, you're in a hurry, but where are you going?"

She pushed the boy forward and smiled gently, "Lin'er has recently learned the Thousand Character Classic and wants to recite it to his cousin. His cousin is well-educated, and even if we teach him a little, it will be enough for the child to benefit a lot."

Xu Wanxin spoke attentively, and was affectionate from the inside out.

Pei Jian frowned.

His thoughts have been confused recently, and many bizarre fragments pop up from time to time.

It took him a moment to remember, "Didn't I tell you to leave?"

At that time, he brought Xu Wanxin's son to Nianxi, wanting her to raise him. However, Nianxi didn't even look at the child, but was determined to divorce him. Pei Jian knew that he had annoyed her.

After coming out of the East Garden Theater, he ordered Xu Wanxin and her son to move out of the Prime Minister's Mansion.

Later, he was busy and didn't ask again.

But after these days, Xu Wanxin still lives here.

Although Pei Jian was extremely anxious, he also knew that things would be better if they were done slowly. He called Manager Li and personally ordered him to move these two people out today.

Xu Wanxin held the child in one hand and a handkerchief in the other, tears falling like rain, "Cousin is driving us away at this time, are you trying to kill us?"

Pei Jian never argued with women.

Just at this moment, the guards brought the horses over. Pei Jian jumped on the horse, whipped the horse and was about to leave, but Xu Wanxin blocked the way in front of the horse, crying with tears in her eyes:

"My cousin is so cruel that he doesn't even care about me at all?"

Pei Jian's eyes darkened when he heard this. What he hated most in his life was such unclear and ambiguous relationships.

Xu Wanxin's words were simply an insult to his bottom line as a human being!

If this were to reach Nianxi's ears...

Thinking of this, Pei Jian felt gloomy in his heart. Does Nian Xi still care?

She refused him and left alone.

Pei Jian sat on his horse, looking down from above.

His voice was low, like the collision of metal and stone, and every word was heard clearly by everyone present. "If I see them mother and son anywhere in the mansion in the future, you——"

He looked around and found that everyone, whether it was the guards or the stewards, or the maids and servants serving nearby, all lowered their brows and did not dare to look him in the eye.

"Then you don't have to stay in the mansion."

After saying this, without even looking at Xu Wanxin's ghostly face, he pulled the reins, and the horse passed her and galloped straight forward.