Chapter 713: Change of Principle with the Wind (I)

"Snapped!"

In Tianji Pavilion, a crisp sound was heard from Zhao Yuan's study, breaking the tranquility of the night.

"Tell me! Who ordered you to do this?" Zhao Yuan, who was furious, pointed at Qin Wei, whose cheeks were red and swollen, and said sternly, "I have warned you long ago that you should never lie to me, and don't try to be clever in front of me, otherwise I will make you die in an ugly way."

At this time, there were three people in the study, two standing and one sitting.

Among them, those standing facing each other were Zhao Yuan and Qin Wei, and the one sitting aside and "watching the show" silently was the Minister of the East Palace, Lord Jia.

"My Lord, I dare not..."

"You don't dare?" Zhao Yuan said coldly, "The news that Liu Xunyi was taken to the Heavenly Prison is a secret of the court. Even in the court, few people know about it. As for the news that Su He and Liu Xunyi are close friends, even fewer people know about it. Besides you, who else would leak the news about Liu Xunyi to Su He?"

"I..." Qin Wei subconsciously glanced at Lord Jia who was watching coldly, and was hesitant to speak again and again.

"Do you know how furious the emperor is about this?" I don't know if it was a deliberate act for Lord Jia to see, but Zhao Yuan, who is usually calm and reserved, was furious today, as if he was going to skin Qin Wei alive. "When An Chen suddenly asked Prince Rong to let Liu Xunyi participate in the wedding, Prince Rong was not prepared at all. If he hadn't remained calm and acted decisively, I'm afraid the matter would have been exposed long ago. In the early morning of this morning, the emperor questioned the ministers of the East and West Palaces in person, asking why Liu Xunyi was related to Su He? At that time, all the ministers could not explain the matter clearly. As the master of Tianji Pavilion, I was summoned to the palace, but I didn't know how to answer. Qin Wei, why don't you tell me, should I conceal it or answer it truthfully?"

"This..." Qin Wei was extremely frightened, how could he dare to say anything nonsense?

"If you don't answer, it will be a crime of deceiving the emperor. If the emperor finds out the truth in the future, you will definitely die." Zhao Yuan continued, "If you answer truthfully, it means you admit that I knew about the relationship between Su He and Liu Xunyi. In other words, it means that I leaked the information about Liu Xunyi to Su He, which is also a dead end."

"Then...how did the Marquis finally answer the Emperor?" Qin Wei couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked cautiously.

"Do I have any choice?" Zhao Yuan asked, "If I refuse to admit it, the emperor won't have to investigate further. The West Palace will use this as an excuse to investigate thoroughly, and they might even throw the dirty water on the Prime Minister."

"The Marquis admitted it?" Qin Wei was shocked.

"I would rather die than lie to you. I will only report the truth and admit that I know a little about the relationship between Liu Xunyi and Su He, but I swear that I have not revealed any information to Su He."

"and then?"

Facing the uneasy Qin Wei, Zhao Yuan couldn't help but sneer: "What? Are you scared? The emperor has ordered me to investigate thoroughly and screen all the insiders in the Tianji Pavilion. It's better to be innocent than to let them go!"

"I……"

"At this point, how long do you want to keep your mouth shut?" Zhao Yuanhu glared and scolded, "If you don't tell the truth, don't blame me for not being able to protect you. Although Liu Xunyi escaped, the emperor is still angry and humiliated him even more. Someone must pay the price for this! Qin Wei, I know you are loyal, but you won't be so stupid as to be tortured to death for Liu Xunyi, right?"

"My Lord, help me!" Qin Wei's legs softened with fear, and he immediately knelt on the ground, begging for mercy, "I just want to rescue Brother Liu, and never thought of causing trouble..."

Just these two words made the eyes of the calm Lord Jia light up. His bloated body leaning forward slightly as he leaned against the back of the chair, and a hint of scrutiny flashed in his eyes as he looked at Qin Wei.

"It's you!" Zhao Yuan frowned, his tone filled with grief and indignation, "You are as rebellious as Liu Xunyi. The more I told you not to do something, the more you insisted on doing it. You acted recklessly without considering the consequences. In the end, you not only brought disaster upon yourself, but also implicated others."

"I admit that this was a bit reckless, but I am responsible for my own actions... I shouldn't cause any harm to others..."

"You've been implicated." Lord Jia interrupted, "You are from the East Palace, and your mistakes are the East Palace's mistakes. In other words, if a small crime of yours is sent to the emperor...it will become a big crime of the prime minister. I assume that you are not the mastermind, and at most you will be punished with a beating. But if the mastermind cannot be found, the prime minister will have to bear all the consequences. At the least, your property will be confiscated and you will be executed, and at the worst, your entire clan will be implicated. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Hiss!" Qin Wei took a breath and asked in surprise, "How could this happen?"

"Why was Liu Xunyi thrown into the Heavenly Prison? Why did Tianji Hou go to reprimand him at night? It was to prove his innocence and draw a clear line with Liu Xunyi early on." Lord Jia said with a half-smile, "Liu Xunyi was lucky to find the Mongols as his backers. What about you? Do you have Mongols behind you? If the East Palace draws a clear line with you now, your end will only be more miserable than Liu Xunyi's original end."

"The Prime Minister gave up on Brother Liu back then, so he can give up on me today." Qin Wei said unwillingly, "If I don't try to save him, wouldn't Liu Xunyi have died in vain?"

"Who said that? As long as the emperor doesn't order Liu Xunyi to be executed, there will be a chance for this matter to turn around. Why are you so anxious?" Lord Jia sneered, "Besides, drawing a clear line does not mean giving up on saving him. You are not a worm in the prime minister's stomach, so how do you know what the prime minister is planning? If you want to save others, you must first protect yourself. If you can't protect yourself, how can you save others? Such a simple truth, don't you understand?"

"This……"

In front of the cunning Lord Jia, Qin Wei had no idea of ​​his thoughts and intentions, so the more he listened, the more confused he became, until he was completely bewildered and at a loss. "Young people are immature and inconsiderate, but they like to act on their own and insist on doing things. They are really incapable of achieving anything, but are always causing trouble!"

"I……"

"Don't be so 'I'm'. I want to ask you, do you understand why I want to question you tonight?"

Faced with Lord Jia's aggressive questioning, Qin Wei shook his head subconsciously, then suddenly realized that something was wrong, so he nodded desperately.

"Since you understand, why not tell me."

"I..." Qin Wei was confused and tongue-tied. He could only look at Zhao Yuan for help, who had a complicated expression on his face.

"You don't have to ask Tianji Hou for help in everything. He can help you temporarily, but he can't help you forever."

Lord Jia slowly stood up, walked to Qin Wei leisurely, stretched out his fat and smooth right hand to gently hold Qin Wei's chin, took out a handkerchief with his left hand, and wiped the sweat on Qin Wei's forehead slowly, smiling and said: "Don't be nervous! Back then, you and Liu Xunyi went to Yanmen Pass to rescue me from the thieves. I still remember the scenes of the past. You are masters of fighting the enemy in battle, you have courage, skills, and loyalty. But in the court, you can't fight and kill all your life, running around all your life, you have to find a place to settle down, take root, and slowly achieve your own fame, right?"

"What your Excellency said is absolutely true..."

"Let me ask you, what do you rely on to achieve fame and success?" Lord Jia continued, "The sword at your waist? The horse under your crotch? Or your eyes and ears? Or your sword that strikes like a dragon and your knife that strikes like a tiger? I tell you, these are not the answers. If you want to gain a foothold in the court, you rely on this."

After that, Lord Jia stretched out a finger and poked Qin Wei's head gently, and taught: "The Privy Council leads the army of the Song Dynasty, and is responsible for the battles on the battlefield, but the Privy Councilor and the Privy Councilor are gentle and refined. Why? Because they command thousands of troops not by strength, but by brains, tactics, and wisdom. No matter how powerful a person's martial arts is, he can't compete with everyone in the world. Therefore, the magic weapon to control thousands of people is not swords and spears, but pens, ink, paper, and inkstones. Especially in the court, a beautiful article is worth a general's merits in a hundred battles, and a sentence, a memorial , sometimes it's just war and arrows. The East and West have been fighting overtly and covertly for many years. When have you ever seen the Privy Councilor and the Prime Minister facing each other with swords? It's not that they don't fight, but they fight in places that you and I can't see. Now, you and Liu Xunyi have experienced the battlefield of swords and shadows, and come to the court of intrigue. You can't hold on to swords anymore, and you can't just rely on your will and courage when encountering things. You must learn to bend and stretch, learn to retreat in order to advance, and learn to recognize changes. Now is the critical moment for you to break out of the cocoon and become a butterfly. You must be careful and cautious, and you must not make a mistake that will last forever. "

"I will remember every word of your teachings!"

Seeing Qin Wei thoughtful, Lord Jia nodded slowly and asked, "Besides you, who else knew about Su He saving Liu Xunyi?"

"And... the young prince." In front of Lord Jia, Qin Wei could not bring up the slightest idea of ​​resisting or concealing anything, and could only answer truthfully, "It was the young prince who helped me sneak into Banjing Hall, so that I could meet Su He smoothly..."

"Young prince?" Lord Jia frowned slightly, then looked at Zhao Yuan and whispered, "You mean... Zhao Yu?"

"Exactly."

"I understand!" Lord Jia pondered, "Right now, the Mongols' interference has left the emperor with lingering fears, and he dares not act rashly again, for fear of causing trouble again. I predict that once the princess and the Mongols leave, the emperor will definitely bring this matter up and investigate. And you are an insider and a participant in the whole thing, so the emperor is very likely to summon you for questioning alone."

"Your Excellency means... that I have a chance to enter the palace and meet His Majesty?"

"You think this is a good thing?" Zhao Yuan scolded, "Do you know that 'serving the emperor is like serving a tiger'? If you answer well, you can save your life. If you answer badly... you will be killed without a complete body."

Zhao Yuan's words made Qin Wei's heart tremble and his hands and feet turned cold.

"Then... how should I answer? Lord Jia and the Marquis may I ask for your advice!"

Upon hearing this, Lord Jia's eyes turned fierce, and he whispered, "I want you to put all the blame on the young prince."

"What?" Qin Wei was shocked.

"You must insist that you are following orders and dare not disobey. In this way, not only will your life be safe, but the Prime Minister will also be able to escape."

"Then the little prince is..."

"Don't worry, the emperor loves Zhao Xie very much. At most, he will just scold him a few words, but he will never hurt him." Lord Jia smiled confidently, "The most important thing is to let the emperor know that the instigator of this incident came from Rongwang Mansion instead of Tianji Pavilion. In this way, the prime minister can get a chance to breathe from the previous haze. Rongwang Mansion and West Mansion are birds of a feather. The marriage between Song and Mongolia has made them the center of attention. We can take this opportunity to severely suppress the arrogance of West Mansion and take back what East Mansion has lost."

……

(End of this chapter)