The next day happened to be a day for rest. Early in the morning, Renli put aside all the social activities and waited peacefully in the house.
However, it was not until the sun set in the west that the sedan chair of Prince Consort's Mansion belatedly stopped in front of the mansion's gate, followed by the guard of honor of Ningyang Bo's Mansion.
After receiving the report from his servant, Ren Li couldn't help but be a little surprised.
He originally thought that Jiao Jing would come here in a low-key manner, but he never wanted to be so formal. And Chen Mao, you know, although he was not grounded, he was also told to meditate in the mansion. Why did he even put up a guard of honor this time.
He ordered someone to open the middle door and welcome the two of them into the mansion and sit down.
Jiao Jing didn't waste any time and said directly: "It's getting late, so Marquis Ren shouldn't delay any more. Let's make preparations and go to Chengguo Duke's Mansion."
Ren Li hesitated for a moment, nodded, and also ordered people to go down to prepare the ceremony.
Immediately, he asked: "Are you going to pay homage to Duke Cheng?"
Just over a month ago, the young prince of the Duke of Chengguo requested a favor and rushed to Yao'erling in person. He took the body of Zhu Yong who died in the battle back to the capital from the local guard. Now he is laying a funeral rite in the mansion.
, it has been three days.
This matter is not a secret in the capital, especially among the nobles.
After all, the imperial court did not remove the title of Duke Cheng Guo. As one of the few remaining public palaces in the Ming Dynasty, it represented the top level among the nobles.
Zhu Yong is an old minister who started his career with Emperor Taizong. He has a bold personality and is very popular among civil servants and nobles.
Therefore, there were many people going to pay homage. Most nobles of all sizes would go there, and there were also many civil servants. The Chengguo Duke's Mansion was quite lively during these days.
Of course, this kind of worship is also very particular.
Those who went there on the first day were basically the descendants of the Zhu family, and then there were those who were related to the mansion by marriage, so they were purely family members.
Then, those who went there the next day were several other government palaces and some of the more important civil servants.
From the third day onwards, there were some mansions of aristocratic families with deep friendships.
As for Ren Li, who was neither a relative nor a high-ranking nobleman, and had not had a close relationship with the Duke of Chengguo before, he consciously moved to the back of the queue.
He originally planned to find an opportunity to pay homage and pay homage in two days, but he never thought that Jiao Jing would come to the door today.
But this also explains the guard of honor outside the door.
When you go to someone's house to express condolences, you have to show the most formal attitude. This is etiquette. Otherwise, it will be regarded as disrespectful to the deceased.
Ren Li asked Jiao Jing, but it was Chen Mao who answered.
"Yes, Duke Cheng Guo was loyal to the country and was very kind to me during his lifetime. Now he stopped at the funeral home and went to pay homage. By chance, he met the Prince Consort and Marquis Ren on the way, so we went together."
Seeing Chen Mao telling lies seriously, Ren Li was a little stunned.
He soon understood that this was an external statement.
Given his status, it was actually inappropriate to pay homage to Duke Cheng at this time, but Chen Mao was different. He and Zhu Yong were both former ministers of Taizong and had known each other for decades, so they could certainly be considered to have a deep friendship.
No wonder Jiao Jing insisted on dragging Chen Mao along.
Ren Li nodded and said: "I understand."
While the people below were preparing for the ceremony, he wanted to ask a few more questions, but after taking a look at Chen Mao next to him, he had to swallow his words again.
But at this time, Jiao Jing took the initiative to speak.
"To be honest, Marquis Ren, when I went to Duke Cheng's Mansion this time, it was not just to express my condolences to Duke Cheng. More importantly, I hoped to persuade Lord Zhu to help and rescue the third master."
After saying that, Jiao Jing glanced at Chen Mao next to him.
Seeing this, Chen Mao's face looked a little unnatural, but after a moment of silence, he still spoke.
"Yesterday the prince-in-law came to my house and conveyed the wishes of the Marquis."
"Now the Supreme Emperor is still in Yibei and has not returned. The emperor of the court has entered the city and the third master has been arrested again. The British government is in turmoil. I am very pleased that any prince has such a heart. There have been many conflicts before. It is because of my words and deeds.
That's not right. Now is the time for us to put aside our past grudges and unite sincerely."
Obviously, Chen Mao had little experience in saying this kind of thing. His words were kind, but his tone was tough.
However, this was enough to surprise Ren Li.
You know, this is Chen Mao, a man who is so fierce on the battlefield that he doesn't even lower his head in front of the old British man Zhang Fu, but he can actually be soft-spoken?
He had finally seen what Jiao Jing was capable of.
At that moment, Ren Li quickly stood up and cupped his hands.
"Brother Shunqing is too polite. A little conflict is nothing to worry about. We nobles and nobles are in the same spirit and we have no distinction between each other. No matter who falls into prison, I will try my best to save him, let alone the third master.
"
At this moment, Mr. Ren mastered his acting skills, sighed longly, and said.
"I still think about the time when I served under Marquis Jiang, and was favored by Marquis Chiang. I was able to introduce him to the British Duke. He was kindly cared for and looked after today. How dare I be ungrateful? Although the British Duke is not here now, the British Duke's mansion is still there.
If there is a drive, I will naturally be obliged to do so."
Chen Mao's unnatural expression slowly relaxed.
Seeing that the atmosphere was almost over, Jiao Jing nodded secretly and turned the topic back to the right track.
"Both of you are loyal ministers. It is a good thing that the misunderstanding can be resolved. I believe the Holy Mother will also be pleased. However, the third master's matter is more important now."
As he spoke, Jiao Jing's expression became serious and he said.
"Although we still don't know what happened to the mission, there is no doubt that since the emperor has sent the royal guards, he may have murderous intentions towards the third master. In this case, we must make preparations in advance."
"Yesterday, after I went back, I calculated the number of people we can use now. There are not many real confidants left."
"So this time, we can't just rely on our own strength!"
Chen Mao also nodded and said.
"Yes, the emperor was too ruthless in this inspection of the capital. There are not even ten civil servants in the court who can obey our orders, and there are basically none above the third rank. Therefore, on the one hand, we must continue to win over the civil servants, and on the other hand, we must continue to win over the civil servants.
On the other hand, to save Third Master and others, we can only rely on the nobles."
After listening to what the two said, Ren Li finally understood and asked: "So, this matter will fall into the hands of Duke Chengguo?"
Chen Mao nodded and said: "Yes, the Second Master has already started to take action. The princes of Anyuanhou, Yangwuhou, Dingxihou and others have promised to contribute."
"As for the Marquis of Zhenyuan, Marquis of Yongkang, and Marquis of Longping, they have always been very close to that old man Feng Guogong. In the next few days, the second master will go to find out what they have to say, but we can't hold out too much hope.
"
"So what we can fight for is the residences of Chong'an Marquis, Baoding Marquis, Taining Marquis and others who are close to Chengguo Duke."
"When Zhu Yong was still here, these mansions were subservient to him. Now that Zhu Yong is gone, the love is still there. As long as Zhu Yi is willing to run for us, it will not be difficult for them to come together to rescue the third master."
Ren Li lowered his head and thought about it, and found that what Jiao Jing said yesterday was indeed not unreasonable.
In terms of understanding the intricate forces among the nobles in the capital, he is indeed far inferior to Chen Mao.
Although what he said is simple, not everyone can clearly distinguish the factions of nobles in the capital in just a few words.
At this time, a servant came over to report that the guard of honor had been prepared.
So Ren Li nodded and said: "In that case, we don't have to delay too much. Prince-in-law, Uncle Ningyang, please come!"
This chapter has been completed!