Hearing Chen Mao clarifying his words to this extent, Zhang Shi's face stiffened again.
After a while, he sighed and said helplessly.
"Brother Shunqing, I know you have a grudge against Ren Hou. But when the third brother left, you actually made it very clear that letting Ren Hou take charge of the Central Military Governor's Mansion was just a temporary measure. You don't
Why bother..."
As he spoke, Zhang Xi could not help but feel a sense of frustration in his heart.
To be honest, when Zhang Fu was still alive, he had always been very fond of Zhang Fu, who was from the third room. Not only did he arrange for him to go to the battlefield to fight for military exploits, but he also regarded him as the person in charge of the British government.
But when it came to Zhang Xi, it was arranged to join the Beijing Guards Command and Envoy Department, and hang out in an official position that was neither salty nor light.
Zhang Xi was actually dissatisfied with this differential treatment.
However, due to the prestige of his eldest brother and the outstanding performance of his third brother, Zhang Xi could only cooperate peacefully.
But there is still some grudge in my heart.
So this time Zhang Fu went to Wala as an envoy and asked him to take charge temporarily. Zhang Fu actually secretly wanted to have a good fight.
However, reality gave him basin after basin of cold water, forcing him to admit that Zhang Fu's choice back then was the right one.
Apart from anything else, when Zhang Fu was still in Beijing, although the British government was not as good as when Zhang Fu was there, it was still prosperous and had a strong army.
At that time, they and the Empress Dowager Sun worked together in the palace, and the two parties trusted each other and there was no barrier at all.
In the Fifth Army Commander's Office, although Guo Sheng, Zhao Rong, and Shi Jing were appointed governors, they could not get real power at all. Even Guo Sheng had to change his position and join their side.
Among the civil servants, Yang Shan, Xu Bin, Luo Tong and others, although there are no particularly highly respected ministers, they are also full of talents.
As a result, just two months after Zhang Fu left Beijing, the situation in Beijing became like this.
Not to mention anything else, even I am a mess internally.
Chen Mao said that he was deceiving himself and others. Zhang Min wanted to refute, but was speechless because he understood that what Chen Mao said was right.
Since the last meeting with Changbo, Zhang Shi could feel that the relationship between the palace and them had gradually become somewhat alienated.
He was not sure how Luo Tong got in touch with the palace, but after all, Empress Dowager Sun had to have such a desire for Luo Tong to get in touch.
To put it bluntly, the palace has gradually become wary of them.
In fact, before Zhang Fu left Beijing, he specifically told him that he must follow the opinions of the palace regarding the rescue of Chen Mao.
But Zhang Min didn't care too much. He always felt that the palace had no other way to rely on but them.
Therefore, at that time, even if Empress Dowager Sun was tactful in her words and said that if something couldn't be done, don't force it, Zhang Shi selectively ignored it.
In the end, although the Queen Mother cooperated with them and rescued Chen Mao, she still had a grudge.
In addition to this, there are also frequent internal strife on their side.
This was also the reason that frustrated Zhang Shi the most. Now he was increasingly doubting whether he was right in insisting on rescuing Chen Mao.
Since Chen Mao was released from prison, his reputation and status among the nobles have plummeted. He has basically withdrawn from the court and can only make suggestions behind his back.
Perhaps because of this, Zhang Mian always felt that Chen Mao was holding a breath in his heart. This was not the first time that he had said such suspicious words today.
From Luo Tong before, to Jiang Yi, and then to Ren Li, whom he is about to talk about, Chen Mao has doubts about all the reliable people here now.
But the facts proved that everything ended in nothing. Even though it was an old friendship for many years, Zhang Shi couldn't help but feel a little resentful.
After all, Chen Mao was still a mature man. He immediately heard the dissatisfaction in Zhang Shi's tone, and his face froze slightly, and he said a little unnaturally.
"Second Master, I misunderstood. I didn't mean that. I just feel that our actions have been quite unsatisfactory in recent days."
"Over at the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion, the second master also said it, and he didn't stop. Marquis Ren has just taken office. Although he is trustworthy, he cannot put all his eggs in one basket."
"So I feel that the emperor is now on guard against us. In this case, we cannot sit back and wait for death. We must continue to find some strength to protect ourselves."
Zhang Shi's expression softened and he said.
"Then Brother Shunqing has thought of any good ideas?"
The two of them made a tacit understanding and did not mention what happened just now. Chen Mao also covered up the disappointment in his eyes very well and said in deep thought.
"I wonder if the Second Master still remembers that last time we talked about the boy Zhu Yi who sent his mother's cousin to the palace in order to please the emperor and get back the title of Duke Chengguo?"
Zhang Xi nodded and said.
"It's natural. At that time, Brother Shunqing also suggested that we let out some rumors, saying that the Duke of Chengguo had degenerated and was reduced to relying on pillow blowing. It was simply a shame for our ancestors, and he said
The man in the palace is so greedy for beauty that he treats the title of country as a plaything to please women and rewards them arbitrarily..."
At this point, Zhang Shi suddenly reacted and said:
"Yes, the list that the Ministry of Rites just came out with doesn't seem to include the girl from the Wang family, right?"
A smile appeared on Chen Mao's face and he said.
"Yes, not only no, the emperor also specially sent eunuchs to the Wang family and rewarded them with a lot of gold and silver. He said that the royal family's daughter was deeply loved by Empress Dowager Wu. If there is a need to discuss marriage in the future, the emperor can ask the emperor to grant the marriage in person and name it as the county head.
The gift of marriage."
Hearing this, Zhang Min was stunned for a moment. He didn't know this news before, but soon he understood it, shook his head and said.
"It seems that the rumors concocted by Brother Shunqing have worked. The one in the palace still wants to save face. This kind of thing can be done in private, but if it is brought out in public, I am afraid that it will also be a bit embarrassing.
I can’t hang on, so I have to do this in order to avoid suspicion.”
After saying that, Zhang Shi's attitude finally improved a lot and he smiled.
"Having said that, it's all thanks to Brother Shunqing's suggestion at that time. Otherwise, I'm afraid Zhu Yi would have accomplished this matter."
Chen Mao stroked his beard and said with a calm expression.
"I didn't expect that mere rumors could really work, and the effect seems to be far beyond our imagination."
At this time, Zhang Shi finally became interested and asked, "What do you mean by this?"
Chen Maodao: "The second master may not know yet, but a few days after we released the rumors, Zhu Yi was summoned to the palace."
"It is said that he was very excited when he went in, but he was out of his mind when he came out. On the way back home, he almost fell down when he got into the carriage."
"After I returned home, I locked myself in the study until midnight. In the end, I invited Hu Hui over late at night, and I slowly recovered."
Zhang Xi seemed to have thought of something and asked softly.
"So, if Zhu Yi wants to flatter him, he'll probably get slapped on the hoof. Looking at this, I'm afraid it's not just as simple as being reprimanded, right?"
This chapter has been completed!