At dusk, Jiang Jun received a letter from Cao Xi, the third son of the Shaoling Hou Mansion. The letter said that the other party wanted to invite him to the Luoshui River for a drink and a chat. Jiang Jun was full of doubts. This third son of the Cao family had nothing to do with him.
There has never been anything involved, so why did you suddenly think of inviting yourself?
However, it was rare for the other party to invite me. Being able to take the opportunity to make friends with the Third Young Master Cao, and to close the relationship between my family and Shaoling Marquis Cao Zhen, would also be of great benefit to the stability of my father's position in the court.
After making the decision, Jiang Jun immediately packed up his appearance and went out to attend the appointment.
On the banks of the Luoshui River, the afterglow that had not yet set reflected the sparkling water, as if someone had thrown gold shavings into the river. The entire water surface was sparkling with gold, and it was instantly beautiful.
Cao Xi had been waiting by the river for more than half an hour. There was a small case beside him, with a celadon wine pot and two celadon wine bottles on it. Cao Xi was sitting on a small bed.
[Note 1] Above, he was pouring himself a drink and admiring the beautiful scenery.
[Note 1: Hu bed, similar to the small maza in later generations, was originally introduced to the Central Plains by the northern nomads. 】
"Keep Mr. Cao waiting." Jiang Jun, wearing a light robe and a silk cloth crown on his head, walked slowly from a distance.
"Young Master Jiang, you are well." Cao Xi picked up the wine bottle, filled up the other wine bottle, and handed it to the other party: "Please."
"I remember that the first time I met Mr. Cao was at the New Year's Eve banquet a few years ago. Unknowingly, several years have passed, and Mr. Cao's style is still the same." Jiang Jun smiled and sat on the bed opposite Cao Xi with a puff of sleeves.
Go up and sit across from Cao Xi.
"Master Jiang will be the one who will inherit the family business in the future. How can Xi, an idle young man, be compared to Master Jiang? Come on, I would like to offer a toast to Master Jiang." Cao Xi raised his wine bottle and clinked glasses with Jiang Jun.
After the two lit up their glasses, they drank three more glasses in a row.
Cao Xi looked at the setting sun and said with a smile: "It would be a blessing to be able to see such beautiful scenery every day."
"If Mr. Xi likes the beautiful scenery by the river, Jun can often accompany him to have drinks with him in the future."
"I just sighed casually. We both have official duties, so how can we have so much free time?" Cao Xi stood up and smiled at the river: "But then again, since we have the opportunity to drink and talk together like this
Not much, so why not say everything you want to say, what do you say, Mr. Jiang?"
"Master Xi, what do you have to say?" Jiang Jun seemed to notice something amiss in the other person's tone. He frowned slightly and asked cautiously. "Since we drank just now and talked about old times, then
I won't talk nonsense." Cao Xi turned around, looked at Jiang Jun with bright eyes, and said, "If I guessed correctly, the death of Wang Li, the governor of Hanoi, should have something to do with the young master!"
"What did Mr. Xi say?" After hearing this, Jiang Jun's face suddenly changed and he jumped up from the bed. He was still trying to quibble: "Why can't Jun understand Mr. Xi's words?"
"One more thing." Cao Xi calmly took out the pearl hairpin from his arms and asked coldly: "Are Wang Li's wife, children, and family members also detained by your father-in-law, the Marquis of Guannei?"
When he saw the beaded hairpin, Jiang Jun's last psychological defense was finally broken. Veins popped up on his forehead, and he stared in surprise. Cold sweat trickled down his cheeks. Finally, after a while, he was in despair.
Jiang Jun fell to the ground with a pale face, tears streaming down his face.
Jiang Jun's face turned pale and he collapsed on the ground. He burst into tears first, and then he started laughing again.
"Hahahaha..." Jiang Jun laughed wildly as if he had lost his mind: "You people are sanctimonious and upright on the surface, but in reality?"
Jiang Jun asked as he got up from the ground: "You people, you want to be famous, you want to gain profits, you are so uncomfortable! All this is because of your blood, why! And our family,
As for my father, he has been very diligent in the government these years. He used to be as honest as water, but in the end, what did he get in exchange for it!"
Jiang Jun pointed his halberd at Cao Xi and cried: "When I was fourteen years old, I was seriously ill. My father had been honest for most of his life, and his family had little savings. He had no money to treat me, so he was forced to go to hospital.
Do you think he wants to do those greedy things? He doesn’t want to, but what can he do? How could you, the nobles and nobles of the royal family, ever care about the lives of people from humble families like us!"
"..."
Cao Xi was speechless for a moment. He understood that what Jiang Jun said was not completely unreasonable. In today's world, since Emperor Wen adopted Chen Qun's nine-level Zhongzheng system, Emperor Wu's meritocracy has been greatly affected.
It is indeed an indisputable fact that there are no poor families in the upper class and no noble families in the lower class.
"But Mr. Jiang, please understand that my father Cao Zidan, clan father Cao Wenlie, uncle Xiahou Boren, and every general of the Cao and Xiahou clans, none of them were born in a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
, they deserve the honor they have today. Also, Jiang Jun, have you ever thought about it, logically speaking, your Jiang family is not guilty of this kind of thing."
Cao Xi looked at Jiang Jun with blazing eyes and said righteously:
"But you are not wrong. Are millions of people in the Wei Dynasty also wrong? Have you ever thought that because of your selfish interests, if Soochow is allowed to rebuild the cavalry, once war is provoked again,
What about the tens of thousands of people on the southern border of the Wei Dynasty? Do you think you can use the family ties of your Jiang family to move the world and cover up all your sins?!"
Jiang Jun finally stopped refuting. After being silent for a long time, with his face ashen and his eyes red, Jiang Jun finally said:
"Okay, I promise you, I will plead guilty and obey the law... Mr. Xi, please prepare pen, ink, paper and inkstone for me so that I can write down what happened..."
Cao Xi sighed, nodded, took out the four treasures of the study that had been prepared in advance, and placed them neatly on the desk.
While weeping, Jiang Jun dipped his pen in ink and began to write a confession.
After a long while, after Jiang Jun finished writing, he bit his middle finger and put a bloody fingerprint on the confession. Then he picked up the written confession, blew it dry with his mouth, and handed it to Cao Xi.
Cao Xi unfolded the silk and glanced at:
"Your Majesty Fu Wei:
Jiang Jun, the guilty minister, was obsessed with money four years ago and was deceived by the thieves of the Eastern Wu Dynasty. He colluded with them and participated in the case of stealing and selling the official horses of the Wei Dynasty. Later, the matter was exposed and Wang Li was imprisoned. Therefore, he made mistakes again and again, hiding behind the scenes.
While in prison, he was threatened so that he was forced to commit suicide. The guilty subject knew that his crime was serious. Moreover, this matter was all done by the guilty subject alone and had nothing to do with anyone else in the court. I hope your majesty will find out clearly. The guilty subject Jiang Jun
,obeisance.
In the fourth year of Taihe in the Wei Dynasty, it was the seventh month of summer."
"Why...Jiang Jun, what are you doing!" When Cao Xizheng was about to ask Jiang Jun why he took sole responsibility for the crime instead of recording the facts, he suddenly discovered that Jiang Jun was already standing in the shallows of Luoshui, and the river was no longer flowing through it.
It stretched around his waist, but he didn't seem to have any intention of stopping.
"Cao Xi..." He was heard shouting from a distance: "Although I am willing to submit to the law, my father's violation of the laws of Wei was all caused by me. I cannot let him be imprisoned. Since ancient times, there has been a dilemma between loyalty and filial piety. I still hope.
Mr. Xi, please forgive me..."
Seeing that the river water had reached Jiang Jun's neck, no matter how much Cao Xi shouted while standing in the cold shallows, he did not look back.
Just when Jiang Jun was about to be submerged by the river, he seemed to suddenly remember something. Jiang Jun stopped, looked back at Cao Xi, and shouted loudly: "Cao Xi, if you want to know where Wang Li's family is?"
Where, you might as well ask Marquis Wuyang..."
Just when Cao Xi wanted to ask further, Jiang Jun had already dived into the Luo River without hesitation. He could not swim, so he did not struggle at this moment. He slowly sank into the river with a smile on his face.
end.
Why...his father needs to be attached to the Sima family in order to survive...
Cao Xi... I hope you can find Wang Li's family...
Let my father no longer have any control... No more control will fall into the hands of others...
"Jiang Jun! Come up quickly! Jiang Jun!" Cao Xi shouted loudly, but the ripples on the Luoshui gradually returned to calm, and there was no more movement.
Night has finally fallen.
The remaining afterglow made Cao Xi's shadow longer and darker.
Finally, his shadow left him, and the water surface turned from red-yellow to deep blue in an instant.
Cao Xi just stared at the setting sun until it disappeared.
Between heaven and earth, it eventually became dark and gloomy.
He held the piece of confession in his hand and let out a long sigh. For some reason, at this moment, he felt no joy at all after solving the case. Instead, he felt an inexplicable desolation and sadness.
In the secret room of Sima Mansion.
Two middle-aged men sat across from each other.
One of them has gray hair and a straight waist, and his spirit is not sluggish, giving people the illusion that he is still young. This is the head of the Sima family, Sima Yi, the Marquis of Wuyang.
The other person was seen to be very respectful when facing Sima Yi. Looking at his face, his brows were furrowed and new wrinkles were added to his forehead. He was obviously worried about something. He was the Marquis of Guan Nei and the Central Protector Jiang
Economic.
"Zitong, you can rest assured about this matter." Sima Yi slowly raised the celadon carved tea cup and took a sip of the fine new tea: "Over there in Tianlao, your son has done a good job, and that Wang Li also
There is no chance to accuse you again."
"But Junhou, will my son be involved in this matter..." Jiang Ji looked worried. He understood clearly that Sima Yi sent his son to Tianlao to threaten Wang Li, just to make him want to
She hugged his thigh tightly. Before Jiang Ji could finish speaking, Sima Yi interrupted him.
"I can't say for sure." Sima Yi gently put down the tea cup, patted Jiang Ji on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "Zitong, you are my right-hand man in the court, of course I must protect him with all my strength.
Don't worry, I will find an opportunity to take care of Wang Li's remaining family members, so you won't have any worries."
Sima Yi still smiled and looked at Jiang Ji who was sweating profusely and respectful. He knew in his heart that Jiang Jun would definitely be found out by the people arranged by His Majesty. It would be better this way. His Majesty's confidants are none other than Cao Shuang and Cao Zhaoji.
If Jiang Jun is really caught out by these people, Jiang Ji will naturally bring hatred to these people. Only in this way can Jiang Ji truly be used for himself.
