Leng Yi said: "This is only part of what you heard. That cat was actually raised by a very favored concubine of the late emperor named Li Fei. It has pure white fur without any variegation, and its eyes are like green gems. It is huge, twice as big as an ordinary cat. It looks very fierce, and most people don't dare to hug it. However, Li Fei gave this fierce beast a very cute name called Rou'er. "Having said this, he looked at Wang Zhixuan with a smile.
Wang Zhixuan said: "I heard that the late emperor had a concubine called Concubine Rou?"
Leng Yi nodded and said with approval: "You can teach a child. This also shows how arrogant Concubine Li was in the palace at that time."
Wang Zhixuan sighed: "That's true, but wasn't the Empress Dowager the same at that time"
Leng Yi said: "As I am about to say this, the Empress Dowager has always had a strong character and can't get rid of the sand in her eyes, but that's how it is in the harem. The weak eat the strong, and there is no need for us officials to be less than half, or even more so. Nothing less.¡±
Wang Zhixuan nodded and agreed. Although his mother was only a princess, she had grown up in the palace. She was used to these bloodless wars, and sometimes she was vaguely scared when she talked about it to herself.
"The empress dowager was raising a starling brother that the late emperor had found for her from the south. He was very smart and could learn many words instantly. The empress dowager liked it very much. But later on the late emperor's birthday, everyone came to Fuzhou. Ning Dian went to celebrate, but that night, someone deliberately opened the door of the myna's birdcage, and then the cat named Rou'er bit the myna to death."
Wang Zhixuan said: "In this harem, chickens are often killed to scare monkeys, and there are many things where Xiang Zhuang's sword dance is aimed at Pei Gong. It's just that he wants to use the spirit of the Eighth Brother to kill the Empress Dowager."
Leng Yi waved his hand and said with a smile: "Don't just look at things by their appearance. So what you say is that it was Concubine Li who did it?"
Wang Zhixuan said: "Whether it was Li Fei's fault or not, at least the cat belongs to her, so there should be nothing wrong with it."
Leng Yi said: "No, no You just know that Xiang Zhuang's sword dance was intended for Pei Gong, but you forgot that there is another move that is to kill someone with a borrowed sword."
Wang Zhixuan said: "That's true, but the final victim of this incident shouldn't be the real murderer, right? Someone was innocently made a scapegoat."
Leng Yi looked at Wang Zhixuan with a half-smile. He said: "Then who do you think the scapegoat will be and who will be the real murderer?"
Wang Zhixuan thought for a while and said: "This subordinate really doesn't dare to make random guesses. But I think based on the analysis of what I have taught my subordinates over the years, the scapegoat should be Concubine Rou, and the real murderer is the Queen Mother."
Leng Yi laughed, then looked at Wang Zhixuan with approval and said: "You are indeed my subordinate, Leng Yi. It seems that you have not followed me for so many years in vain."
Wang Zhixuan said: "But there is still one thing that I don't understand. That is, logically speaking, the Queen Mother should not have had any direct relationship with Concubine Rou at that time, but she did not like Concubine Li's arrogance and domineering behavior. Why should she not treat Concubine Li so well? Why don¡¯t you start directly and choose Concubine Rou instead?¡±
Leng Yi said: "I have said that you should not just look at the surface of things, but look at the essence through the phenomena."
Wang Zhixuan thought about it for a while, although he still couldn't understand the matter. But after listening to Leng Yi's suggestion, he thought about it for a while. He said: "Could it be that the Empress Dowager and Concubine Rou are actually related, but others can't see the clues, or maybe the Empress Dowager hides it too deeply, and no one can see her likes and dislikes?"
Leng Yi pointed to the calm lake and said, "Look at the lake, can you see anything?"
Wang Zhixuan shook his head.
Leng Yi said: "But do you know that I have a bad habit? One time I went to the border to have peace talks with Dai Viet. Later, I became sworn friends with the prince of Dai Viet. He gave me ten fish. I liked them very much, so I gave them to me. All ten fish were transported back and placed in this artificial lake. You can go to the guardrail and have a look."
This was the first time Wang Zhixuan heard Leng Yi talk about this matter. He thought that there were only ten fish, so why did he have to go to the lake to see it by himself? However, he still got up and walked to the guardrail of the pavilion and stuck his head down to take a closer look. Wang Zhixuan, who had never paid attention to this artificial lake, found that after looking at it for a long time, there seemed to be nothing else in the lake except crystal clear water, not even aquatic plants.
"Sir, your man-made lake is so big, it's impossible to only put ten fish in it, then naturally my subordinates won't be able to see anything."
As soon as Wang Zhixuan finished speaking, he saw something flying behind him. Before he could take a closer look, it had already fallen into the water. Leng Yi pulled Wang Zhixuan back and said, "Be careful!"
Before Wang Zhixuan could react, he saw something emerging from the lake where he could not see anything.?Several big fish that were much longer than their own swords all flew out of the water with their big mouths, and some of them were almost touching the guardrail.
Wang Zhixuan had never seen such a huge fish before, and was very surprised. Soon, the fish disappeared again.
"My lord, was that meat you just threw into the water?" Wang Zhixuan asked.
Leng Yi smiled and nodded.
"But my subordinates have never seen these fish before. These fish look very ferocious, and they probably have never been seen in our Song Dynasty." Wang Zhixuan looked down again, but could no longer see anything.
"This kind of fish is called piranha, and it did not exist in the Song Dynasty."
"What kind of fish? Piranha? Do you mean this kind of fish wants to eat people?" Wang Zhixuan looked at Leng Yi with wide eyes and surprise.
Leng Yi nodded with a smile and said: "Let alone a human being, even if you throw a cow into this lake, it will only last for an hour, and even the bones will be gone."
Only then did Wang Zhixuan understand the meaning of what Leng Yi had just said to him: Don¡¯t take everything at face value.
"Sir, is this the bad habit you just mentioned? Does Jinyan know that the fish in this lake are actually fish that want to eat people?" Wang Zhixuan asked.
Leng Yi smiled and said: "It is indeed a bad habit of mine, but I can't change this habit. Everyone in the Leng Mansion knows it. Otherwise, look at such a clear lake, why is there no one there?" How about going to the lake to play?"
Wang Zhixuan said with emotion: "You really shouldn't underestimate these little things, but the reason why you let me see these piranhas is to tell my subordinates, that is, don't think that the seemingly calm expression is actually an undercurrent inside." Move, right?¡±
Leng Yi signaled the two of them to return to their seats and sit down to continue drinking.
"There is a saying that the lesser of two evils should be chosen. For the Empress Dowager, Concubine Li at that time could not be easily shaken, but it is not a bad thing to have a knock-on effect through this incident. Besides, Well, Concubine Rou's brother was guarding the border at that time and had great military exploits. He was also arrogant and arrogant in the court. It was not easy for the late emperor to punish him directly. This move of the Empress Dowager killed two birds with one stone, killing two birds with one stone. The arrogance of Concubine Rou's family also served as a warning to Concubine Li."
Wang Zhixuan said: "It is indeed a good move! Although this matter seems to have nothing to do with Concubine Li, it is not wrong that the cat is hers, and it is not wrong to kill the mynah brother of the Queen Mother, although the victim is Concubine Rou, but the late emperor at that time must have considered Concubine Rou to be a scapegoat, because Concubine Rou was uncontested and unfavored, so there was no need to harm the Empress Dowager, but Concubine Li was different, she had a motive, So although she appears to be fine, in fact this is worse than directly saying that something is wrong with her."
Leng Yi raised his glass and said: "I said there are some stupid people among the people I personally selected, and they are all stupid at first glance. It seems that I am very relieved to leave Jin Yan to you. Come, have a drink."
An hour later, Wang Zhixuan left Leng Mansion and rode directly to Li Changzai's house to say goodbye.
The two friends said goodbye in Li Changzai¡¯s study.
"Why, it's just noon. You see you're already a little tipsy. I'll have someone bring you some soup to sober up." Li Changzai was wearing a light gauze satin robe, looking very cool and looking good.
Wang Zhixuan did not stop him. He did drink too much. After leaving Leng Mansion, he thought a lot and figured out a lot. Leng Yi did not directly tell him the real purpose of the Queen Mother letting him go to Hangzhou to be the governor, but , Wang Zhixuan understood more and more that if he left, he might never return. Not to mention that he could not be saved, his wife Fang Jinyan might not be saved either.
After a while, the maid brought some melons and fruits soaked in ice water and some sour plum soup. Wang Zhixuan drank some, and then she felt cool. After all, she went out during the hottest time, and she really couldn't stand the heat.
When there were only two people left in the room, Li Changzai walked to the chair next to Wang Zhixuan and sat down. Seeing that the blush on Wang Zhixuan's face was fading slightly, he knew that he was feeling better.
"I'm leaving tomorrow, and I haven't been able to find a chance to say goodbye to you. I thought I would only go to Hangzhou to see you next time."
Wang Zhixuan chuckled, a little honest, a little cute, and said with a hint of drunkenness: "Chang Zai, you and I have been friends for many years, and we have grown up together, but today you tell me, am I worthy of being the governor of Hangzhou? "
After hearing this, Li Changzai just smiled: "If the Empress Dowager says you can do it, it's OK if you don't; if the Empress Dowager says you can't, it doesn't matter if you can!"
Wang Zhixuan said angrily: "Even you talk to me in an official tone."?, It's really boring. In this case, I just came here in vain and left! "After that, he stood up staggeringly to leave.
Li Changzai grabbed Wang Zhixuan's sleeve and said: "Just a few cups of yellow soup have made you drink like this. Why don't you sit down quickly and drink more sour plum soup to sober up. It won't be too late to leave after you wake up."
Wang Zhixuan turned to look at Li Changzai, and chuckled: "I know, my best friend is also very dissatisfied with me going to Hangzhou to take up my post. You know me best, and you think I am not suitable. Naturally, everyone in the world will I feel that I am not worthy of my reputation." After saying that, he shook off Li Changzai's hand and left.
Li Changzai had no choice but to stand up and stop Wang Zhixuan with his hand, saying: "Okay, okay, can't I tell you? It's best for you to sit down obediently and listen to what I say to you." After that, he pushed Wang Zhixuan back. He sat down on a chair and handed him a cup of tea. (To be continued)