Imperial study room.

Lao Jiu stood at the window and looked outside.

Of course, he had already known about the officials and the imperial guards who had made such a big fuss in the palace.

But he did not intervene. There were footsteps outside the door. Lao Jiu turned around and saw the eunuch coming in and bowing and saying, "Your Majesty, General Beichuan is asking for a visit!"

"Please!" Lao Jiu nodded and turned around and sat back on the dragon throne.

After a while, Mo Beichuan stepped in and was about to greet him when Lao Jiuyi raised his hand and said, "I'm fine, what's going on outside?"

Mo Beichuan replied: "The master of the cabinet has come forward to deny the rumors. The situation has been stabilized. All the officials who are causing trouble have returned to their ranks and returned to their respective positions."

"Don't you deny?" Lao Jiu felt relieved when he heard this.

When Mo Beichuan heard his tone seemed to be relaxed, his heart was strange.

He had always been worried that His Majesty would interfere in this matter, but he was afraid that His Majesty would make trouble all the officials. Now it seems that he has misunderstood His Majesty, and His Majesty has no idea of ​​causing trouble.

If Your Majesty really can endure and be content with peace, it will certainly be a blessing for Mo Beichuan.

These thoughts flashed through my mind, but I quickly replied: "Yes, the old master denied the rumors and only said that Duke Qu was seriously ill and recuperated, so he did not see outsiders. The murder case in the suburbs of Beijing last night had nothing to do with Duke, but was a rumor that confused people's hearts."

"If he says this, the courtiers can believe it?" Lao Jiu seemed a little worried and asked.

"Your Majesty is wise, and there are indeed some adults who are not at ease and insist on meeting Duke Qu!" Mo Beichuan nodded.

Lao Jiu knew that this so-called part must be the Qu Party. He didn't say anything, but just looked at Mo Beichuan and waited for him to continue.

Mo Beichuan said: "The Master of the Pavilion agreed to their request on the spot, but he said that the Duke of the People is seriously ill and should not make a big noise. Finally, he agreed to let Yu Zheng and Lu Yu and two adults go to the Duke's Mansion to pay homage to Duke Qu to calm the hearts of the people."

"A slow-down strategy!" Lao Jiu narrowed his eyes slightly and spit out four words when he heard this.

Yu Zheng and Lu Yu are the same, both of them are important officials of the Qu Party.

Hu Qingyan was willing to agree that they would go to see Duke Qu in person, which undoubtedly proved to all officials that Duke Qu had never suffered any disaster.

In this way, the Qu Party will naturally not make trouble again.

If nothing unexpected happens, Hu Qingyan will definitely let Yu Zheng and Lu Yu help cover up the news of Duke Qu's death to safeguard the court.

Mo Beichuan nodded and smiled bitterly: "With the anger of the masses, the only way to temporarily safeguard the court and ensure that the throne ceremony can be held smoothly."

"Yu Zheng and Lu Yu are the same. General must be careful and not have any problems." Lao Jiu thought about it and said in a deep voice.

When Mo Beichuan heard this, he was even more surprised. Did he really think that His Majesty would have such an attitude, not only did he not cause trouble, but he also took the initiative to help Hu Qingyan stabilize the court.

He quickly took the order and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, since the Pavilion Master agreed to these two adults to meet Duke Qu, he must be sure that he can let the two adults cooperate."

But unexpectedly, when Mo Beichuan said this, Lao Jiu's expression changed slightly, and there seemed to be a gloomy flash in his eyes, and he said in an unintentional sentence: "If it weren't for the general's words, I would have been really negligent. Yu Zheng and Lu Yu were both subordinates whom Duke Qu relied on during his lifetime. Since the elders dared to use them to resist rumors, they must have been prepared and sure of being foolproof."

Mo Beichuan was stunned when he heard this, and then his heart was shocked. How could he not understand what His Majesty said?

Yu Zheng and Lu Yu are both important figures in the Qu family. Since Hu Qingyan is sure, he can agree to cooperate with him to cover up the news of Duke Qu's death. What does this mean?

This shows that the two of them are very likely to have been hooked up with Hu Qingyan for a long time, and they were even the secret sons who were placed in the Qu family by Hu Qingyan.

If this is true, how many people from Hu Qingyan are still there in the so-called major factions in this court?

I have to say that after thinking about it this way, how could Hu Qingyan not let His Majesty be taboo about it?

Mo Beichuan was afraid that Lao Jiu would be in trouble again and caused trouble, so he hurriedly said, "In fact, this matter is natural. After all, Your Majesty is about to ascend the throne. Publicizing Duke Qu's death at this time will only cause a shock to the court and destroy Your Majesty's ascendance ceremony. After Master Yu Lu and the other two learned the truth, how dare they not put state affairs first? If anyone changes to this matter, they can only cooperate and dare not speak nonsense."

When Lao Jiu heard this, he nodded and thoughtfully, and did not say more.

Seeing that his expression was calm, Mo Beichuan felt a little relieved, but he felt puzzled. Judging from His Majesty's appearance, he clearly had never given up. If he really accepted the reality, he would not have been concerned about whether Hu Qingyan was a powerful minister.

But since Your Majesty is not satisfied, why do he object to the officials' trouble, and even intend to take the initiative to help Hu Qingyan and others calm the chaos in the court?

Just as he was thinking about this, Lao Jiu's voice sounded: "Who do you think the matter today will be manipulating behind the scenes? What's the purpose?"

"Your Majesty refers to today's rumors?" Mo Beichuan came back to his senses and said.

"Yeah!" Lao Jiu nodded.

Mo Beichuan thought for a while and said, "It is obvious that someone is trying to use rumors to disrupt the court, confuse people's hearts, and destroy His Majesty's ceremony of ascending the throne. As for whom, this matter is suddenly unaware of it."

Lao Jiu heard this, but did not express his opinion and asked again: "Have you ever thought about how a mere rumor could cause trouble to the court, make people unstable, all officials excited, and even act rashly to force the palace?"

Mo Beichuan: "This is naturally because the rumors involve Duke Qu, who can be said to be the leader of the court. His life and death have a great impact and are enough to shake the court. Not to mention that the rumors point out that Duke Qu was harmed by Lin, which shocked all officials and felt that everyone was in danger. Therefore, the people were so angry that they made such a big fuss."

"Yes, the reason why this rumor is so powerful is that the rumor points directly at Duke Qu. But if Duke Qu has nothing to do, he just needs to stand up and show his face. Wouldn't this rumor be broken immediately?" Lao Jiu narrowed his eyes, meaningless.

Mo Beichuan smiled bitterly when he heard this: "It's bad that Duke Qu has...well?"

Speaking of this, Mo Beichuan's expression changed slightly, and then he was suddenly shocked. He looked up at Lao Jiu and said in a shock: "Your Majesty is saying that the reason why the person behind this dares to point directly at Duke Qu is that he knows that Duke Qu is dead?"

Lao Jiu sneered: "If it weren't for this, this rumor wouldn't make any noise at all. I would never believe it. It would be a coincidence that it would involve Duke Qu."

Mo Beichuan was shocked and confused and said, "The news of Duke Qu's death has been kept confidential, and there are very few people in the matter. It is said that the news will not be revealed."

Lao Jiu nodded and squinted his eyes and said, "Yes, it's a bit of blame here. There are very few people who know about this matter. The news of the death of the Duke of the Kingdom was directly reported by the imperial guards. He had never had a civil and military minister. In addition to the imperial guards, only Hu Qingyan, Zhang Bangli, De Wang, and Ming Wang were also informed of the information."

When Mo Beichuan heard this, he was immediately frightened. He knew very well that after the last palace change, His Majesty had always distrust the imperial guards and did not dare to hesitate. He immediately clarified.

He only heard him say, "Your Majesty, after learning the news that day, I immediately issued a ban on all insiders of the Imperial Guards and isolated them immediately. It has not been released yet. The Imperial Guards, the only ones who know about this matter are the ministers and the deputy generals. Now even the Imperial Guards stationed in front of Duke Qu's mansion do not know the truth. There is no possibility that our Imperial Guards will leak the news in this matter. I am willing to use the head to guarantee it."

"I naturally believe the general's words." Lao Jiu did not trust the imperial guards, but he still trusted Mo Beichuan.

He was indeed not very relieved about Mo Beichuan before, but when he clashed with the Ming King again due to the death of Duke Qu, he was still satisfied with Mo Beichuan's performance.

There was a problem with the imperial guards, and Mo Beichuan must be careful and not be careless anymore. Since he was so careful, the problem this time should not be with the imperial guards.

Besides, he is really no one to use now, and it is rare that Mo Beichuan is still loyal to him. No matter whether he has any doubts about the imperial guards in his heart, he must show his trust in Mo Beichuan.

"Thank you for your trust!" Mo Beichuan felt a little relieved and hurriedly thanked him.

Lao Jiu waved his hand and signaled to avoid the tribute. After a moment of silence, he said: "It's not an imperial guard, and I haven't disclosed it. Then there are only Hu Qingyan and the other two and the Ming King. Which of them do you think they will be?"

"My subordinates have no support and dare not speak nonsense!" Mo Beichuan said in a deep voice.

Lao Jiu did not force him to point at someone else, but said slowly: "Since this rioter has released this rumor, he obviously wanted to use it to force the dynasty to admit that Duke Qu is indeed dead, so that he can truly achieve the goal of rioters in the dynasty. If it were the news released by Hu Qingyan and the other two, then he should go with the flow and admit that Duke Qu is dead, but they tried their best to deny it. I think this matter should not be done by them."

Mo Beichuan echoed: "The three adults are all important officials of the state and share the honor and disgrace of the state. The first person to propose to keep the secret was the three adults. Now the three adults are trying their best to clarify the rumors. The ministers also think that this matter has nothing to do with the three adults."

Lao Jiu heard this and was silent for a moment, then his voice became obviously cold and said, "If it weren't for the three of them, then there would be only the Ming Palace."

Hearing this, Mo Beichuan was speechless except silent.

From the moment His Majesty mentioned this topic, he understood that His Majesty must have suspected the King of Ming.

In the end, it was indeed the case.

But in Mo Beichuan's mind, he did not think that this was done by the Ming King.

The reason is very simple. Now the Ming King is holding the emperor to command the princes.

The court cannot be said to be completely decided by the King of Ming, but at least in the current situation, compared to Your Majesty, the King of Ming is the real master.

The Ming King had no reason to cause trouble in the court. It was not the interests of His Majesty, but the interests of his Ming Prince's Mansion.

But this can only be thought to Mo Beichuan. He dared not and could not say it in front of Lao Jiu.

He pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, if it were really done by the King of Ming, what would his purpose be?"

When Lao Jiu saw that he did not immediately speak out or explore the Ming King, he felt much more comfortable and immediately said: "I have thought about it carefully. This rumor is intended to link Duke Qu's death with the murder case in the suburbs of Beijing last night. In short, it is to deliberately make the ministers think that Duke Qu was killed by Lin. If this matter was really done by King Ming, then his purpose is naturally to trap me injustice."

"My subordinates are stupid, I don't know what Your Majesty means?" Mo Beichuan really didn't understand. He couldn't figure out how this matter could bring his Majesty to justice.

"I thought the purpose of this rumor was to provoke the relationship between the state and the Lin clan, but later I saw that the officials were so fierce, and then I suddenly realized. The target of the rumor was not the state, but me!" Lao Jiu's voice became colder: "If the state had to announce the death of Duke Qu, the officials would probably only determine that Duke Qu was killed by the Lin clan. At that time, the officials would have to force me to attack the Lin clan and give them an explanation."

"This is why we do not announce the death of the Duke of the Kingdom because we are worried that His Majesty is about to ascend the throne and do not want to cause turmoil in the court. If we really have no choice, we can announce the truth. Duke Qu was corrected by the State Administration, and the evidence is as strong as a mountain, and it is clear and clear. No matter what, it cannot be involved in the Lin family." Mo Beichuan frowned.

Lao Jiu sneered: "That's why I said that the purpose of this rumor is not to provoke the relationship between the state and the Lin family, but to provoke the relationship between me and the court officials. You also said before that now that rumors are flooded, if they confirm that Duke Qu is indeed dead at this time, they will only determine that Duke Qu was killed by the Lin family.

Even if we provide evidence, the court officials are already frightened and everyone is in danger. No matter how clear our evidence is, it is useless. Just post another rumor that I am afraid of going to war with the Lin family and forging evidence to cover up the facts. At that time, I will not be able to argue. Not only will my reputation be damaged, but all officials will also be disloyal from me.

I can almost think that there will inevitably be rumors at that time. I will bring out the Ming King and compare it with me. Ignorance will only look at the surface. Some people will inevitably say that if the Ming King is in the dynasty, why would the Lin family dare to be so arrogant and how could they bully our country's dynasty?"

Mo Beichuan's face changed again and again after hearing this. At this moment, he finally understood why His Majesty did not make any trouble today, and even took the initiative to help the cabinet elders suppress all officials to cause trouble.

It turned out that His Majesty thought that the rumor was released by the King of Ming Dynasty and that was why he reacted like this.

To be honest, Mo Beichuan did not agree with His Majesty's words.

He was not as resentful as Lao Jiu to the Ming King, so he could still think calmly.

It is obvious that Lao Jiu's considerations did not consider the harm of the State Council at all, and he only considered how unfavorable this matter would be for him.

However, in fact, if the situation that Lao Jiu said happened, the most damaged was the state. It can be imagined that the death of the state Duke would have frightened and chaotic, and the monarch and ministers were disunited due to suspicion, and almost covered in disarray from top to bottom.

In such a chaotic dynasty, can the warlords turn a blind eye to such a chaotic dynasty?

Can you attack the state without any trouble?

As for the same sentence, now that the power is in the hands of the Ming King, Your Majesty can ignore the state, but the Ming King cannot ignore it. He shouldn't be so anxious that he would cause chaos in the court just to attack His Majesty?

After pondering for a while, Mo Beichuan finally organized his language and said, "Your Majesty, if King Ming really has this idea, then he can stand up and confirm that Duke Qu is dead when the officials were causing trouble. In this way, no matter how the cabinet master clarifies it, it will not be able to cover up the news of Duke Qu's death. But King Ming did not stand up, perhaps this matter was not done by King Ming."

Lao Jiu was suffocated when he heard this. Yes, if King Ming really had this intention, why did he let the old general cover up this matter?

This is unreasonable.

However, Lao Jiu quickly thought of the reason why King Ming did not dare to blatantly, and saw a sneer on his lips: "He didn't do this because he didn't dare."
To be continued...