Both he and Duke Zhen were unwilling to associate with Xia Tingzhen, and they were both dissidents in Xia Tingzhen's eyes.
If he was only dissatisfied when facing Xia Tingzhen a few years ago, now, under his dissatisfaction, he had a real sense of crisis.
"Speaking of this old thief Xia Tingzhen, he has been targeting me everywhere recently..." Ji Xiu narrowed his eyes slightly and said: "Although he and I have never dealt with each other, this time I still feel that there is something fishy in this.
"
He can't be said to be very sharp, but he is too familiar with Xia Tingzhen.
Naturally, he can clearly feel the change in the other party's attitude.
Because he was aware of the other party's targeting, he became more and more intolerable, and the dissatisfaction in his heart was simply written on his face - if he didn't be tougher, the old thief would really think that he was easy to bully!
"Could it be related to Xia Han's incident?" the young man whispered.
Ji Xiu put down the tea cup.
"I have also thought about this possibility, but in the Xia Han case, I just gave Xu Ying a reminder - what happened after that has nothing to do with me."
He had already revealed this matter to the young man in a previous conversation.
This person came to recommend himself. Although he does not completely trust the other person now, he can control whether the person in his house leaves, stays or dies——
The other party is already dead anyway.
It's not that he doesn't know the other party's purpose, it just happens that the two of them have the same goal at the moment, so he can barely use it with confidence.
"Perhaps Xia Shoufu relied on that clue to suspect that the whole thing was your master's plan. Therefore, it is not known that Xia Han's death will be entirely blamed on you..."
Ji Xiu felt annoyed when he heard this.
"Because he is incompetent and can't find out who the enemy behind him is, so he takes out his anger on me?!"
In his entire life, this is the first time he has been misunderstood by his enemy!
But he can't always go to the other party to explain, right?
Tell the other party - I was just the one who took the lead in your son's matter at first, and there was someone else who was really behind the scheme? Otherwise, why don't you investigate again?
What's the difference between this and kneeling in front of the other person and begging for mercy?
Moreover, explaining to such a person that begging for mercy would be of no use at all - even if there is no such grudge, depending on the ambition of this person, sooner or later he will be attacked in the future.
After all, there is no point in being soft, and he will never choose to be soft with this treacherous villain!
However, there is one thing that is worth pondering——
"In Xia Han's case, there must be someone behind it to add fuel to the flames."
If the Wucheng Soldiers and Horses Division rescued Xu Ying by chance, then what happened next was by no means something Xu Ying could do alone.
Even if the incident of the Fengtian Temple being struck by lightning was enough to leave Xia Han with no room for escape, no matter how good the opportunity was, someone would need to connect the two things together - that Taoist Xuanqing, that is,
Today's national master is the key to this opportunity.
Thinking of this Imperial Master, Ji Xiu couldn't help but frown slightly.
He always felt that the other person acted as if he knew him...but it was clear that he had never had any interaction with this person before.
Of course, he is the Minister of the Ministry of War, so it is not surprising that the other party wants to get close to him and show friendship.
"I still can't figure out who the person behind the plan is." Ji Xiu had a thoughtful look in his eyes.
He also made guesses about some people, but ruled them out one by one.
"If even the Xia family can't really find out, I think this person is very clever." As the young man spoke, there seemed to be a faint smile of unknown meaning in his eyes.
It is normal if it cannot be found.
How could he, who was so close to her, have ever thought that she might have done it?
Even he was deceived by her...
When it comes to judging people's hearts, he has never failed like this before.
This memory is really profound.
Enough to make him remember this life.
but……
He had no intention of discussing these so-called truths with the Minister of Ji in front of him.
Once people know too much, it is easy to lose sight, which is not conducive to making up their mind to move forward.
Therefore, he continued to speak slowly: "But now it seems that this person is not our enemy at least for the time being - what you should really think about now is how to protect yourself."
The hands in Ji Xiu's sleeves clenched into fists.
Self-protection?
I remember that when the late emperor was in power, he held the strength of the three major battalions of the Beijing army, and Xia Tingzhen did not even dare to fart in front of him!
But now, he wants to 'protect himself' from this treacherous villain?!
The humiliation brought about by this gap made Ji Xiu's eyes grow colder: "In the past, I have always been too lazy to argue with him, but I asked him to make progress step by step! Now that we have to fight, let's settle the old and new grudges together! This time, Ben
Officials must vent their anger!"
The young man smiled in his heart when he heard this.
There’s no need to be so blindly confident and bragging——
"Your Excellency, you still need to treat this matter calmly." After giving some advice, he asked: "I wonder if your Excellency is in the palace tonight, but what kind of conflict did you have with Xia Shoufu?"
Ji Xiu sneered.
"If he dared to conflict with me in the open, I would still look down upon him - but it's a pity that he only dared to play those insidious tricks in secret. As for today, it's just a few words."
A war of words?
The young man thought of Ji Xiu's angry look when he came back, and said: "As far as I know, Xia Tingzhen is not a person who likes to show off his words."
This scheming chief minister is restrained and vicious, and has never bothered to argue with these meaningless arguments.
"You have never been in an officialdom, but you know a lot." Ji Xiu's tone contained no praise or blame. He glanced at the young man and asked, "But so what?"
"I believe that Xia Shoufu may have deliberately spoken out words to anger Your Excellency. In addition to the previous move to impeach Your Excellency, he must also know that the content in that excerpt alone cannot shake Your Majesty's foundation - so I make this judgment.
I just want you to get angry and uneasy and throw yourself into chaos. If you really fall into this trap and act impulsively, it is a big no-no."
Ji Xiu's expression didn't change much, but after thinking about it for a moment, he could tell whether this was right or wrong.
"In my humble opinion, your Majesty needs to calmly and carefully plan this matter, rather than confronting him head-on." The young man said: "In the final analysis, if you want to deal with Xia Shoufu, the key lies in His Majesty's views and decisions. This is the most labor-saving.
A way to do it without damaging yourself.”
Ji Xiu frowned subconsciously.
"I will never do such insidious behavior as provoking words behind my back."
The young man laughed in his heart again.
Can't it be done?
How to explain the previous use of Xu Ying?
Therefore, it's not that it can't be done, it's just that it can't be done - the emperor has reused Xia Tingzhen for many years, and it can't be easily instigated by Ji Xiu's few words.
"Sir, we need to outsmart you in the dark."
Under the lampshade painted with green bamboo, the flames jumped slightly.
There was a knock on the study door, interrupting the low conversation.
"Who——" Ji Xiu asked.
"Father, it's me."
What answered him was a girl's clear and melodious voice.
