Chapter 378
Zhao Ruosu has been missing for three days, and the family has already reported to the officials.
Two days before his disappearance, Zhao Ruosu had just resigned from the position of Zhongshu Sheren and was idle at home. His status changed from an official to a commoner. Therefore, his disappearance was not included in the court case, and the relevant documents would not be sent to the emperor. The matter of the Wu family must be explained by Zhao Ruosu, and Han Ruzi will not know about it until now.
Looking around, most of Han Ruzi's trusted people have been sent to the capital, and there are not many left. Cai Xinghai is also the escort and can only leave the Marquis Mansion occasionally. Han Ruzi called Jin Chunzhong and gave him the task of secretly inquiring about the news. , and allowed him to call the old guards from Chaojia fishing village.
It was Zhao Ruosu, but at this time, Han Ruzi couldn't care less about it. He always felt that someone was preventing Zhao Ruosu from being "open and honest" to the emperor, and the only people who could do such a thing were officials in the court.
The night is getting darker and darker, and Han Ruzi's heart is getting more and more anxious. There are enough internal and external troubles. He doesn't want any more loopholes in the court, at least not now.
But he finally had to face reality.
Han Ruzi sent eunuchs to call Meng E as a bodyguard.
Since the emperor married Concubine Jin, there have been a lot of private matters. Meng E is no longer always by the emperor's side as before, but is included in the ordinary guard team. In places not far from the emperor, there is no need to participate in regular rotations.
Meng E arrived quickly, saluted the emperor, and stood in a corner, thinking that the emperor needed her own protection.
That's not what Han Ruzi meant, "Meng E, are you still learning the art of emperors?"
"Yeah." Meng E didn't change, she was as indifferent as before.
"But I don't seem to have seen you in a long time."
"I am reading."
"Oh."
Neither of them spoke. Meng E never felt that silence was embarrassing. After waiting for a while, Han Ruzi could only speak first, "Can you..."
"Can what? Your Majesty."
"Forget it." Han Ruzi originally wanted Meng E to participate in the investigation of Zhao Ruosu's whereabouts, but then changed his mind. Meng E is a martial arts master. It is easy for her to track or monitor a person, and let her find someone who has disappeared without a trace. Officials, it is difficult to be a bit strong.
Han Ruzi suddenly didn't understand why he called Meng E to come, "You stay tonight."
"Won't your majesty go back to the bedroom to rest?"
Han Ruzi shook his head. Since Concubine Shu Deng Yun came here, he no longer refused to have the same room with Concubine Concubine. After all, he was at a young age, so he would not dislike this kind of thing, but he had never been addicted to it. Different, he didn't have any worries about meeting the strange concubine, and he was more willing to stay in the study.
Meng E took this as an order and went out to find the eunuch and put sleeping equipment in the study.
Han Ruzi was lying on the couch, Meng E blew out the candle and slept on the cot by the door. She knew that the other party hadn't closed her eyes, but she didn't speak. After nearly two quarters of an hour, it was Han Ruzi who spoke first, "I still I'm practicing."
"it is good."
"Keep at it, can I become a master?"
Meng E thought for a while, "It is impossible to become a master just by practicing internal skills. You also have to learn all kinds of kung fu, kung fu, knives, and guns. The most important thing is that you have to compete and fight with others frequently. Your Majesty does not have the time, nor is it necessary. The inner function makes His Majesty full of energy, that's enough."
"Indeed." One can't just rely on enthusiasm, Han Ruzi often perseveres more than others at critical moments, relying not only on will and belief, but also the help of internal strength, "I'll just keep practicing like this, I don't need a new method. ?"
"No, if Your Majesty wants the effect to be more obvious, you can let Zhang Zhuhe continue to play the piano for His Majesty, or it may be of some help."
"This person is not very credible."
"Your Majesty only needs the sound of his piano."
"But even the sound of the piano can deceive people, can't it?"
"That's just a little trick of the rivers and lakes. Your Majesty can resist it, and the sound of the piano will not be more powerful than the eloquence of the watcher."
"Okay, you'll make arrangements—not now, but tomorrow night."
"Okay." Meng E, who had just sat up, lay down again.
Silence again, this is a common thing between Han Ruzi and Meng E.
Han Ruzi still couldn't sleep, "Since you are also studying the art of the emperor, I will give you a topic for your debut."
"Um."
"For example... something happened on the righteous island. If you don't solve it, you will lose a good helper. If you solve it immediately, it may split the righteous island. What should you do? What do you think the emperor should do?"
Han Ruzi didn't just ask Meng E for help. After speaking, he also fell into contemplation and considered countermeasures.
After a while, Meng E said, "Does Your Majesty want to hear my answer?"
"Huh? Of course, tell me." Han Ruzi woke up like a dream, almost forgetting that there was another person in the room.
"A righteous island with hidden dangers of division is not worthy of my nostalgia. I would rather solve the problem and rescue that helper."
Han Ruzi chuckled, this is the difference between him and Meng E, Meng E can leave the righteous island, but he can not do without the court, "This is indeed a way."
"What's your majesty's way?" Meng E heard that the emperor had other ideas.
"In this world, big things become small, and small things become big."
"how do I say this?"
"After Taizu fixed the cauldron, he noticed that some heroes were not very satisfied with him, so he used several cases that aroused public anger to track down and implicated a large number of officials, including some of the most threatening heroes. tricks.”
"Emperor Wu's execution of the world's heroes is also a small matter?"
"That's right. There are also major events that are made smaller. Ordinary people use it more, and the emperor actually uses it often. For example, he only kills the first villain and spares the rest. When Emperor Lie, the elder brother of one of his favorite concubines was involved in buying and selling officials. In order to protect him, Emperor Lie imprisoned the most direct officials, so far, there is no further investigation or involvement."
"Sounds like cover-up."
"Hehe, this is indeed a cover up, but what I'm talking about is the means. In a case, whether it's a gang or an individual, whether it's a long-planned plan or a temporary intention, it's hard to tell before the investigation, it all depends on the emperor's feeling. The emperor said' This case is by no means unusual. The officials below had to dig up a group of accomplices after digging three feet into the ground. The emperor said, "Don't implicate innocent people." Check it out."
"In this way, the problem lies with the emperor. People often complain about local officials, but they are actually looking for the wrong person."
Han Ruzi said with a smile: "It's not that simple, the emperor's words are definite, everyone has to listen to his words, and they have to think carefully, but after using this method too much, the minister can figure out the doorway, and then form his own The means can even deceive the emperor and do things on his own, and the world thinks it is the emperor's will. Swords have no eyes, and those who can hurt others will certainly hurt themselves, and the same is true of the emperor's art."
"Does your Majesty know what means the minister has?"
"Well, they figured out my way, but I only knew what they were and didn't know why." Han Ruzi originally expected to get help from Zhao Ruosu, but an accident occurred.
"Your Majesty is very smart. Sooner or later, he will be able to figure out all the ways of the minister."
"Well, I'm going to make a big deal with them first and see the effect."
If the emperor didn't say anything, Meng E wouldn't ask in detail, she just replied, "Your Majesty really likes... being an emperor."
"What about you? Haven't you been working hard to learn the art of the emperor, hoping to restore Chen Qi one day?"
"I'm trying...but I've never liked this kind of thing from the heart like Your Majesty."
"Like it?" Han Ruzi asked himself, not sure if he really liked it, but he would never give up the throne.
The study was quiet again. There was a slight breathing sound from Meng E's side. She seemed to be asleep. Han Ruzi called in a very low voice, "Meng E?"
There was no answer from the door.
"Would you like to..." Han Ruzi stopped, ran the exercises silently for a while, and fell asleep.
The next morning, Han Ruzi was in the Qinzheng Hall as normal. Zhongshusheren was a minor official, and Zhao Ruosu had already resigned, so his disappearance was not enough to alarm the chancellor.
Han Ruzi assumed that Shen Mingzhi and others did not know about it.
Returning to the Mansion of Marquis at noon, Jin Chunzhong has brought the first batch of news.
For the local officials in the capital, Zhao Ruosu's disappearance was a major event. Lian Danchen, who joined the judicial army, personally investigated the matter and believed that it was not a kidnapping. Zhao Ruosu was not a high-ranking official, and his family was not a very rich man, so he asked around in the direction of vendetta. No clear clue yet.
There is only one point. It is said that Zhao Ruosu went out alone in the evening a few days ago, telling his family that he was going to meet friends, and then disappeared.
Han Ruzi gave a face-to-face instruction, he couldn't just wait like this, and he couldn't just ignore it.
This afternoon, Zhongshu Province sent a new memorial as usual. It was the old official who replaced Zhao Ruosu. He was cautious at every step. He was no worse than Zhao Ruosu. , be sure to put it right and steady, even if no one notices it, it must be impeccable.
The emperor, like before, immersed himself in reading, the old official bowed deeply, and then quietly retreated to the door.
He stepped back with his back to the door, which required a little skill, but he was already used to this way of walking. Even in an unfamiliar room, he would not take a wrong step or bump into something. He has been to the study several times, and he can't go wrong.
But he was silent, and there were people who were more silent than him. When the old official stepped back, he glanced at him to make sure that there was no one behind him. When he was about to reach the door, he bumped into someone.
The old official was caught off guard and rushed forward a few steps involuntarily, holding the desk with both hands before barely standing, facing the emperor who raised his head.
The old official was taken aback, and hurriedly knelt down. There was a buzzing sound in his ears. Just as he was about to plead guilty, he suddenly remembered that there seemed to be a cracking sound when they collided. He couldn't help turning his head sideways and glanced at the door.
The ground was full of fragments of vases, and a eunuch sat there with a pale face, "My God, the crystal bottle left by the great ancestor... Your Majesty spare your life, Your Majesty spare your life, I didn't mean it..."
The old official's eyes darkened, he sat on the ground, his mouth was open, but he couldn't speak.
"What's your name?" the emperor asked calmly.
"I... I... Wei Chen Zhongshu Sheren Nan Zhijin, Your Majesty..."
"Well, he didn't mean it, did you mean it?" The emperor remained calm.