Chapter 159: As a Mysterious Gate
As long as it doesn't threaten her position as the mistress, it's definitely not a big deal.

Murong Ji sat on Yang Yueman's chair and put his arm around her shoulders: "There's nothing wrong between her and me. She is indeed beautiful, but she is very scheming. She is not a good candidate for a wife..."

Murong Ji didn't say much else, and both of them understood.

Yang Yueman took out a letter nonchalantly and said, "During the past few months when you were away, three letters came in succession, all urging you to come to Beijing."

Yang Yueman looked at Murong Ji carefully and asked, "What did you do ten years ago to make the late emperor pay so much attention to you?"

Murong Ji was stunned and did not answer immediately. He read the letters one by one. Two of them were written to him by his two step uncles.

The other letter was from his elder brother-in-law urging him to go to Beijing as soon as possible.

Murong Ji put away the letter. Who would have thought that the middle-aged man was Emperor Shenzong? At that time, he thought that man was at most a prince.

"You don't need to worry about taking a concubine. I will help you with it." Yang Yueman looked at him with a smile, narrowing her eyes slightly, like a little fox.

"Do you want to marry your cousin as well? I think she only cares about you."

Murong Ji curled his lips. She was like this when Murong was resurrected. He no longer paid attention to the trap in her words and started reading the letter.

In this era, wives supported their husbands in taking concubines, because a large family could not be supported by one or two people.

If some people are red flowers, there must be some people who are green leaves and some who are roots; none of them can be missing.

If there are only three or two legitimate sons in the family and their martial arts skills are not high, they will die inexplicably. If there are no concubines or illegitimate sons, then the family line will be extinct.

They will be eaten until not even a bone is left.

The Murong family has only one direct descendant from generation to generation, and this risk has always existed, making Yang Yueman feel uneasy.

The situation in the novel is somewhat outrageous.

It is true that the wife cannot tolerate a concubine, but she will not do anything to a bastard's son. Of course, she has to ensure that the bastard's son is her husband's child.

In this era, there is a difference between legitimate and illegitimate children, and no one can say anything about it.

Favoring a concubine over a wife will lead to lawsuits and exile. Of course, if you have a legitimate son and give the family property to a concubine's son, not only will the law hold you accountable, but even the clan elders will apply family rules.

Unless you want to prove that the legitimate son is not your child.

After pacifying his wife, Murong Ji spent more than a month, locking himself in the Huanshi Water Pavilion as if in seclusion.

Carefully polish the foundation of the Golden Elixir Method, integrate Lu Zu's method, and turn it into your own nourishment.

The following months were exceptionally peaceful, so peaceful that after New Year's Eve, Murong Ji lived in peace for another half a year.

There have been some results in refining essence and refining qi.

Murong Ji pressed his chest. His breath was long and continuous, and the internal force in his body was surging. In his opinion, it had already transcended the scope of martial arts.

Tao Te Ching says, "Mysterious and mysterious is the door to all wonders."

If he could fully understand the Golden Elixir Method and Lu Zu's inheritance, integrate them into his own way, and then pass on the inheritance, then his Murong family could also be called a Xuanmen family.

He exhaled slowly, a look of worry appeared on his face. He was trying to cultivate his spirit, but he didn't know how.

It is difficult to cultivate the spirit, because it cannot be seen or touched, yet it exists in a real way.

The method I practice is vague and elusive, and I am not sure whether it is useful or just a waste of effort.

In mid-May, Murong Ji received good news that Yang Yueman was pregnant.

This piece of news really made the entire Murong family excited. The Murong family has been a single-line family for generations, and the family line might be cut off at any time, which is really worrying.

It’s different when you have kids.

After great joy, there will be great sorrow, as expected.

Mid-June of the seventh year of Yuanyou.

When the palace servants were sorting out palace items, they discovered the Emperor Shenzong's will, which ordered skilled craftsmen to forge a magical weapon. They got the sword and named it Tianwen.

end of the month.

Yang Bangyu, the general of the Western Army, took out the secret order from the previous emperor, ordering him to deliver the sword, and completed the beginning and end of the source of the imperial edict and recorded it in the middle book.

What is puzzling is that for such a small matter, only an order can be given, so why is an edict needed?
Murong Ji, who was far away in Gusu, became busy. In half a month, countless familiar people came to visit and inquire about his relationship with Emperor Shenzong.

This is very important. What if he has something that can overturn the secret decree of the current emperor, or some explosive evidence that can affect the situation in the country?

Under this situation, neither party in the game wants to end up losing.

Murong Ji lowered his eyelids. If the Murong family had not been so powerful, perhaps the entire family would have been wiped out.

With a sneer, he came back to his senses and looked at the letters in front of him. He kept the letters from people he was familiar with and threw the rest of the letters directly into the brazier for burning waste paper.

This was muddy water and he didn't want to wade into it now.

It is almost an open secret that the current emperor Zhao Xu has long been dissatisfied with the Yuanyou Old Party.

Once the emperor takes power, the old party will inevitably fall.

At the end of August of the same year, the imperial edict of Empress Dowager Gao Taotao reached Gusu, summoning Murong Ji to Beijing.

Murong Ji held the golden silk in his hand, feeling somewhat helpless. It was truly cause and effect. The cause was the gift of the sword, and the result was the muddying of the water.

This is to ask him to block the sword for the little emperor!
Don’t doubt the cruelty of civil officials. Just look at the emperors who died in the Ming Dynasty.

The letter from my uncle Wang Xian said that there was a rumor in the capital that Emperor Zhao Xu was not the biological son of Emperor Shenzong. There were also rumors that Emperor Shenzong's candidate for the crown prince was the eleventh son Zhao Ji, and it was all a forged imperial edict by Empress Dowager Gao Taotao.

Murong Ji sneered. They really used every possible means. The means used by the person behind the scenes were extremely disgusting.

Seeing Zhao Ji's name, Murong Ji's pupils shrank slightly. [Song Huizong] took a deep breath and arranged his travel arrangements.

He had been prepared in his heart for a long time. He had a premonition when he guessed the identity of Emperor Shenzong.

Moreover, this is the agreement between the two.

This time he went to Beijing, he would not be able to come back in a short time, so Murong Ji sent Deng Baichuan to Beijing first and buy a large courtyard to settle down.

In mid-September, Murong Ji headed north to Kaifeng Prefecture.

In the same month, Han Wei (one of the "Four Friends of Jiayou", Wang Anshi, Sima Guang, Lu Gongzhu, and Han Wei), who had already retired and was previously the Prince's Tutor, came to the court and announced an important news.

According to the will of Emperor Shenzong, Murong Ji was promoted to be in charge of the affairs of the Imperial City Office (chief of the secret service), and the number of officials, clerks and soldiers was expanded by three, twelve and 124 respectively.

There was an uproar in the court, and both the New Party and the Old Party were opposed.

This is too much power!

The Imperial City Division has two major responsibilities: one is to guard the Imperial City, and the other is to spy and investigate. There are very few people who can restrain him, which is inconsistent with the stability maintenance that the Song Dynasty has always maintained!

Memorials of opposition instantly piled up on the Empress Dowager's desk.

In front of Bianliang City.

Murong Ji looked up at the city wall of the imperial city of the Song Dynasty. For the Song Dynasty, Emperor Zhezong could be said to be the last wise ruler.

If he could not unify the country, the hope of the Song Dynasty would be shattered. After him, who else would be there? The two emperors Huizong and Qinzong? Wanyan Jiumei?

Although the ninth sister was quite capable, she was bullied by Qin Hui. Murong Ji looked down on everyone.

"Master, let's go into the city first." Deng Baichuan whispered from the side.

Murong Ji nodded and said, "Let's arrange for them to enter the city."

He took off the Tianwen sword from his back and stroked it gently. He was not interested in power. He had even forgotten what the middle-aged man looked like back then.

If I had known it would be so troublesome, I would not have boasted at the beginning. Now I can’t explain it clearly and the person is gone.

"In this way, he will repay his karma."

As he stepped into the city, he was greeted by the prosperity of Bianjing.

The end of October in the seventh year of Yuanyou.

Murong Ji took office, and it was at this time that everyone realized the power of the Murong family in the Jiangnan region!
However, the entire Yangzhou, Suzhou, Hangzhou and other places are important tax collection centers for the Song Dynasty!
This is nothing. The Murong family's eyes are almost everywhere in the Jiangnan area. Although they are a gang force, if they are applied to national politics, it will be a huge force.

The influence of the Thirty-Six Caves and Seventy-Two Islands can even radiate to the hinterland of Dali.

Murong Ji's status and political demands suddenly became important.

Countless officials came to visit, either to win over, or to threaten, or to send friendly signals.

In mid-October, Su Che was promoted to Taizhong Dafu and Shoumenxia Shilang. Since then, Su Che has become a prime minister again.

At the end of October, Su Shi was recalled to Beijing and appointed as Chief Censor.

What was shocking was that at the morning court session a month later, Murong Ji brought up a pile of boxes filled with irrefutable evidence of corruption and abuse of power by officials in the court and at the local level.

Murong Ji read out all the events one by one.

The entire Daqing Hall was silent, with only the sound of Murong Ji reading.

How familiar this scene is.

It was not until then that everyone realized that this man was a student of Su Shi, who had impeached Wang Anshi and Sima Guang.

Now is exactly the same as then.

Listening to Murong Ji's account of his crimes, attacking the new party and the old party indiscriminately, almost everyone looked at Murong Ji as if he were a fool.

Murong Ji's behavior is to cut himself off from the court!
Soon, they realized how powerful the underworld was.

In November of the seventh year of Yuanyou, the emperor personally presided over the trial, and all the people involved in the case were tried one by one. All those who were convicted received the emperor's order.

The Imperial City Bureau arrested criminal officials according to the list. Murong Ji personally visited the Beggars' Sect, Shaolin and other forces. Half of the Song Dynasty's martial arts world was instantly in operation.

The official holding a heavy fist refused to be arrested and was killed on the spot. The fugitive official was arrested by the Imperial City Department on the way.

When he returned to his hometown, the imprisoned official wanted to rely on his connections to protect his family, but his connections seemed to be no longer useful.

The Imperial City Administration doesn’t care who you are. A single imperial authorization is enough to shut up many people.

Confiscating property and exterminating families is what the gangsters are good at.

Before the Lantern Festival in the eighth year of Yuanyou, the criminal officials on the list were taken to the capital, and their property, land deeds, maids, etc. were confiscated, filling up hundreds of carts.

It really enriched the Song Dynasty's treasury.

It was not until then that everyone realized how far-reaching Emperor Shenzong's plan was! This powerful medicine caught both the New Party and the Old Party off guard.

　The plot of Tianlong will go by very quickly in the next few days, and it will soon be followed by the world of Zhu Xian.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)