Liu Jin learned about Chen Xi’s return to Beijing at his home.

After a day of hard work in the palace, Liu Jin hurriedly had supper after returning home, washed up a little and went to bed to rest. Before he could even stiffen his pillow, the door was knocked heavily. Then, with his stern shouting, the servant said a lot at the door, which was so shocked that he almost rolled down from the bed, and felt like the sky was about to collapse.

Then Liu Jin hurriedly put on his clothes and left the bedroom, sent someone to call Sun Cong and Zhang Wenmian to meet him. He tidied up his clothes a little, and after discussing with two think tanks, he went to the Leopard Room to meet Chen Xi.

Sun Cong and Zhang Wenmian rushed over after hearing the news.

Zhang Wenmian directly persuaded: "...Shangshu Chen suddenly returned to the capital, obviously he was prepared. It seems that the fire in the Chen Mansion cannot escape from him. If he takes the opportunity to attack you, Eunuch Liu, my father-in-law should understand that he cannot fight hard with this person at present. Just deny that the arson case is related to his father-in-law."

Sun Cong frowned: "Listen to Yan Guang's words, Shangshu Chen deliberately set fire at home?"

Zhang Wenmian looked at Sun Cong and said, "It's not that there is no such possibility. My father-in-law should be prepared as soon as possible."

Liu Jin raised his hand and said, "Okay, okay, what's the point of fighting around? Tell me, why did Chen Xi return to Beijing, you know nothing about it. Did he fly back?"

"Why don't you send someone to inform me in advance?"

As soon as Liu Jin finished speaking, someone happened to come in outside and reported: "Father-in-law, the two envoys you sent to Juyongguan to ask for a visit outside the mansion. In addition, the commander of Longqingwei sent someone to send a message, you..."

"I haven't seen you! It's already this time, is it still interesting?" Liu Jin shouted angrily.

Seeing that Liu Jin was not kind, the person who was spreading the news did not dare to speak anymore.

Seeing that it was getting late, Liu Jin was afraid that the emperor would be bewitched by Chen Xi to take action on him, so he did not dare to delay any further, so he immediately slammed the door and left with an unhappy mood.

On the way, Liu Jin murmured in his heart: "I think you Chenxi is a worm. If you do not treat yourself as a dragon, then I will no longer give you face. When you meet later, you will impeach him in front of him. Your Majesty may not believe it once or twice, but three of them become tigers. Sooner or later, Your Majesty will know that you are a treacherous minister and alienate you!"

When Liu Jin arrived at the leopard room, Qian Ning had been waiting at the door. When he saw Liu Jin getting off the carriage, he hurried forward to salute and greet him.

Liu Jin said sarcastically as he walked: "Qian Qianhu is really capable. I won't inform our family of any news first. I want our family to take care of you in the future?"

Qian Ning did not immediately kneel down and kowtowed to Liu Jin to apologize, explaining: "Please forgive me, father-in-law. Lord Shen came too suddenly. The villain learned the news while serving His Majesty and was unable to escape. His Majesty asked the villain to come out to arrange a banquet before he had time to send a message. The villain was the first to ask his father-in-law to inform you."

Liu Jin was skeptical and asked, "Where is Shen Xi now?"

Qian Ning said embarrassedly: "I am meeting the saint in the 'Peony Villa' in the leopard room. Your Majesty holds a banquet and the food has been served. The singer and dancer are ready. It seems that Your Majesty wants to leave Lord Shen here to rest."

Liu Jin said angrily: "Then what are you doing here? Why don't you go in and listen to what Chen Xi said to His Majesty? Do we need some of these things to you?"

Qian Ning felt a little unhappy when he saw Liu Jin like a mad dog, but at this time he was not strong enough and did not dare to fight Liu Jin head-on, so he said carefully: "Eunuch Liu reminds me that the villain has written it down, so I will go in and listen..."

Speaking of this, Qian Ning burst into tears and felt that he had offended Liu Jin so hard that he had thought about how to remedy it.

Liu Jin was completely unwilling to Qian Ning's thoughts. At this time, he was all thinking about Chen Xi and Zhu Houzhao, and walked quickly and quickly arrived at the entrance of the "Peony Villa" that Qian Ning called in the leopard room.

...

...

Liu Jin originally thought that Chen Xi would sue him when he was alone with the emperor, and he complained about his illegal behavior and even relied on him about the arson in his family.

He came over quickly and even thought about his defense. He even prepared to bite Chen Xi and made a big fuss about his passive avoidance of war when performing his duties and staying at Juyongguan and not returning to Beijing. Then he made a fuss about the corruption case in the Northwest and put the blame on Chen Xi.

But when he entered the "Peony Villa" and came to the door of the house where the banquet was held, he found that the situation was very different from what he imagined.

At this time, Zhu Houzhao was chatting and laughing, toasting Chen Xi. Chen Xi raised his glass to Zhu Houzhao with a smile on his face, and then tilted his head to drink, as if he was talking about some interesting topics, and his attention was not on the dance performance in the middle of the room.

Liu Jin was out of breath and wanted to step into the room, but found that it was not suitable. After all, Zhu Houzhao did not issue an edict to see him... He stopped and Qian Ning behind him did not dare to do anything.

At this moment, Zhu Houzhao's voice came from the room: "Eunuch Liu, why did you come so soon? I just bet with Mr. Chen, saying that you can't come here within half an hour. I never thought that I would be a move after all. If you know Eunuch Liu, you will still be Mr. Chen!"

Originally, why didn't Chen Xi complain about Chen Xi in front of the emperor? Hearing this, his anger suddenly rose. Obviously, Chen Xi was sure that he would come. Since that was the case, Chen Xi would take advantage of the complaint before his arrival. The scene of harmony between the monarch and the ministers in front of him was deliberately disguised, as if he was performing a play for him to show.

Liu Jin was angry, but on the surface, he was silent and walked into the house to salute: "I heard that Lord Shen returned to the court, and I was very worried about it. I came over to meet him and said goodbye."

Chen Xi had a smile on his face, and Liu Jin was annoyed when he saw it.

Zhu Houzhao said with a smile: "It turns out that as Mr. Chen said, you two have a good relationship. Mr. Chen said before, "Eunuch Liu, you are concerned about your old relationship when you were leading troops in Quanzhou and Southwest. After hearing the news, you will definitely come and ask me to prepare a banquet for you. Now, you come and have a drink together."

Although Zhu Houzhao's words were peaceful, Liu Jin did not relax his vigilance and glared at Chen Xi fiercely, and had already classified the young man in front of him as his biggest opponent.

Chen Xi seemed to have not seen him and smiled faintly.

Liu Jin sat down in the seat opposite Shen Xi, looking straight ahead: "Master Shen is a civil and martial arts master. When he goes to the battlefield, he always expects the enemy to be like a god. It is not surprising that he can guess the old slave's thoughts. Lord Shen, I haven't seen you for a long time. I borrowed flowers to offer Buddha, and I wish you a cup!"

Chen Xi picked up the wine glass filled with the palace maid in front of him and stood up: "I have always wanted to have a drink with Eunuch Liu, but when I was in Guangxi before, Eunuch Liu left too quickly and didn't have time to have a good drink. Today I will treat it as a way to make up for the regrets that day."

"Your Majesty, I will drink this cup with Eunuch Liu first."

Zhu Houzhao seemed very enthusiastic and said, "Sir, if you want to drink with Eunuch Liu, how can you lack me? I want to drink with you... Okay, those who are fine should leave. Today I will serve as an invitation to Mr. Chen and Eunuch Liu. You are all the officials around me. I hope you will live in harmony in the future and do your best to do your best for the Ming Dynasty. I will have more time to drink here."

Hearing this, Liu Jin couldn't help but look at Chen Xi. If he was an upright civil official, he should advise the emperor to restrain himself and put state affairs first.

But Chen Xi seemed to have accepted Zhu Houzhao's statement, picked up the wine glass, toasted Liu Jin, then raised his neck and drank a glass of wine.

...

...

The banquet continues.

Zhu Houzhao was very happy. This time, he met Chen Xi again after a long separation. Chen Xi told him some of his experiences in the northwest, especially the sufferings of the people on the border, which made him feel that his ideological realm was sublimated.

The reason why Zhu Houzhao handed over the government to Liu Jin was that he knew that Liu Jin could only rely on him to get to power. No matter how powerful he arbitrarily abused his power, he could easily erase it with just a command, so he could still be at ease. However, Chen Xi was the minister he relied on the most. No matter his knowledge and ability, he was the best among the people he had ever seen. Not to mention anything else, just those dazzling martial arts novels that others could not write.

Both sides are trustworthy people and have strong abilities, which makes Zhu Houzhao seem generous when he enters the banquet. He doesn't have the ability to drink, but he toasts one cup after another.

Zhu Houzhao sat in the host seat, while Chen Xi and Liu Jin were at the guest seat. After Liu Jin arrived, Chen Xi talked less. Basically, he answered after Zhu Houzhao asked a question. In contrast, Liu Jin said more about his contributions.

After three rounds of drinking, Zhu Houzhao looked at Chen Xi and asked with concern: "Mr. Chen has not encountered any trouble all the way, right? I heard that you have been staying in Juyongguan for some days. I wonder if it is because the military situation in the northwest has changed or something else?"

Chen Xi glanced at Liu Jin.

Needless to say, these are what Liu Jin said when he usually criticized him in front of Zhu Houzhao, and spared no effort to make him fall into a state of doom.

Chen Xi said calmly: "I stayed in Juyongguan. The changes in the military situation in the northwest are only one aspect. In fact, there are more important things to do... Your Majesty is worried."

Liu Jin had already thought of many remarks to refute Chen Xi, thinking that he would make excuses, but he did not expect Chen Xi to speak so bluntly. Although he was a little confused, Liu Jin immediately seized the opportunity to criticize: "Mr. Shen, you have received the order from Your Majesty and returned to the court to serve as the Minister of War. This is the most important task. You are not in a hurry. I am afraid that something is wrong? You have to punish yourself three times and admit your mistakes."

Liu Jin said ingeniously, without deliberately condemning him, but just let Chen Xi punish himself for three cups, which seemed neither light nor serious. But if Chen Xi accepted the punishment, it would mean that he admitted to making a mistake. In disguise, Chen Xi admitted to disobeying the imperial edict, which was extremely evil.

Zhu Houzhao ignored Liu Jin's provocation and looked at Chen Xi and asked, "Mr. Chen, what exactly does it need to stay in Juyongguan? I don't quite understand!"

Chen Xi said calmly: "Reply to Your Majesty, some things are not suitable to tell Your Majesty. Your Majesty only needs to believe that I have no disloyalty to the court. As for what Eunuch Liu said inappropriately, it is not the case in my opinion. As the Minister of War, you should stay on the most dangerous frontline. Returning to the court is actually not of much help to the border situation..."

Liu Jin was stunned. He didn't expect Chen Xi would be so slandering Zhu Houzhao.

Liu Jin was about to refute Chen Xi's words, but Zhu Houzhao seemed to understand: "Yes, when Liu Shangshu served as the Minister of War, he served as the Trilateral General System in the northwest, fought against the Tatars, and finally won... In fact, the Minister of War should be stationed in Xuanfu permanently. I also have plans to set up his position in Xuanfu. What does Mr. Chen think of it?"

Chen Xi nodded: "The emperor ruled the country's gates, this is a good idea. Xuanfu has set up a business, which will strengthen the border protection efforts, and the soldiers also know the purpose of their struggle. Therefore, the business is set up a business, and I think it can be discussed in the court!"
Chapter completed!