Chapter 148: Prince of Jiangling

It was certainly not a coincidence that Pei Xiaolou appeared in Jiangling Mansion. He was not here to escort Zhang Yuelu or Qi Xuansu, but had other important tasks.

Although Pei Xiaolou wanted to learn from Ji Daoren, who was also a disciple of Quanzhen Dao, and be a free and easy person with no real job, his background determined that he could not do so. Because of his family, he has today's status, and he naturally has to give back to his family. Especially at the critical moment when his brother Donghua Zhenren competed for the position of the Grand Master, he could not be restricted.

As for where Pei Xiaolou went, it is not difficult to guess.

Prince's Mansion.

In recent years, the Yuan family claimed that it and the Prince's Mansion were one civil and one military in Jiangling Mansion. It was indeed a bit of a compliment to the Yuan family, or to add a sentence, iron warriors, and flowing literati.

The warriors naturally refer to the Prince's Mansion, which has been a general for generations, and the literati refer to local nobles like the Yuan family. Since the founding of the Great Xuan Kingdom, the status of the Jiangling Prince's Mansion has never changed. Although it is not a vassal king, its operation for more than 200 years cannot be underestimated.

The Yuan family, aristocratic families, have a long history, even dating back to the previous dynasty, but it has not been long since they stood out from the gentry. In other words, it took only a few decades for the Yuan family to become a great gentry from ordinary gentry.

In terms of influence, the Yuan family is far inferior to the Prince's Mansion.

It's just that the Prince's Mansion has always been low-key and rarely shows its influence. Moreover, its focus has long been not on Jiangling Mansion, but more on the temple in the imperial capital. The old Prince retired and returned to his hometown, and the young Prince Qin Wubing took office, all for the purpose of entering the cabinet.

The nobles must have at least one seat in the cabinet, which is a custom passed down from the reign of Emperor Gaozu. Compared with the civil servants representing the Confucian school, the nobles are the emperor's own people. Even if they cannot form a balance, they must form a restraint, and the civil servants cannot be allowed to dominate. If the Confucian civil servants want to monopolize power, the royal family will not agree, and the Taoist school will not agree.

Although the Taoist school has relaxed its control over the Confucian school, it has not completely let go of its vigilance against the Confucian school. On this point, the Taoist school and the nobles have the same position.

Therefore, there is also a Prince's Mansion in the Imperial Capital. Before the old Prince retired, his whole family lived in the Prince's Mansion in the Imperial Capital. This old house located in Jiangling Mansion, on the contrary, has no real owner.

Pei Xiaolou came to the Prince's Mansion. There were guards in front of the door, lined up in order, wearing armor and holding sharp weapons.

However, seeing Pei Xiaolou wearing a Taoist crane cloak, they did not dare to stop him. A sentry officer took the initiative to greet him and asked with a fist: "May I ask what can this Taoist priest do for you?"

As a second-rank Taiyi Taoist priest, it would be a bit embarrassing for Pei Xiaolou to show his certificate. He just said: "Please inform him that Pei Xiaolou, the assistant of Wanshou Chongyang Palace, is here to visit."

Being a sentry officer in the Prince's Mansion, he naturally has good eyesight and knowledge. The sentry officer looked serious: "It turned out to be Master Pei. Please forgive me for my impoliteness. Please wait a moment. I will go and inform him."

Pei Xiaolou was not a person who liked to put on airs. He bowed and said: "Thank you."

The sentry officer turned and entered the Prince's Mansion. Not long after, the Prince's Mansion actually opened the middle door, and an old man in a dark blue uniform strode out.

Pei Xiaolou knew in his heart that half of the middle door today was opened for his brother.

He took the initiative to greet him: "You are so polite, so polite. Pei is flattered."

The old man was the old prince Qin Gongfu, and also the father of Qin Wubing.

Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as old or young princes or big or small princes. There is only one Jiangling prince Qin Gongfu. Qin Wubing is actually the prince's son, equivalent to a duke.

Qin Gongfu has gray hair, is serious, and has a burly figure. He still has many habits of men in black. His waist is straight, and he walks like a dragon and a tiger. Every move seems to be carved out of the mold and remains unchanged.

This is not without reason. The old man spent his entire youth and most of his middle age in the army, and this is the key moment for a person's habits and concepts to be fixed. Therefore, the old prince can be known as an old man in black at a glance. In fact, this is indeed the case. The old prince is not only a pillar among the nobles, but also has a deep influence among the men in black. So it is indeed a high praise to say that the Yuan family is on par with the prince's mansion.

Qin Gongfu extended his hand and smiled faintly, "This is the etiquette, Master Pei, please."

The two entered the Prince's Mansion and came to the main hall. They were separated into host and guest and sat down, and servants served tea.

Qin Gongfu had served as the Minister of War and had met Master Donghua before. At this time, he naturally talked about Master Donghua first, and then turned to the main topic.

"To be honest, Your Highness, Pei came to Jiangling Mansion this time to take on the mission of Wanshou Chongyang Palace. This visit to Your Highness is also because of this mission and I have something to ask of Your Highness." Pei Xiaolou did not hide his intentions and could be said to be straightforward, "After all, the court and the Taoist sect are all one."

This made Qin Gongfu, who did not want to wade into muddy water, difficult to refuse directly, so he had to say: "Master Pei, please speak."

Pei Xiaolou said: "I wonder if Your Highness still remembers the Jiangnan case?"

"This case involves a lot of people, of course I remember it." Qin Gongfu nodded slightly.

Pei Xiaolou said: "It's just that case... due to various reasons, it was not finally solved. Recently, there are clues that are related to this case and are related to the local Yanqing Chamber of Commerce, so..."

Qin Gongfu didn't need to finish his words. He understood it, but he really didn't want to be involved in the internal struggle of the Taoist sect, and he didn't want to take sides rashly. If the Zhengyi and Quanzhen Daos won, they would naturally remember his kindness, but if the Taiping Dao won, the Li family would not let it go with their vengeful nature.

It's true that he has a lot of black-clothed habits, but after all, he has left the army for many years and is no longer a black-clothed man, but the Prince of Jiangling.

When officials become big, there will be no scholars, no Taoist priests, and no men in black.

Qin Gongfu's reaction was as expected by Pei Xiaolou, and he added: "After all, this case involves the Taoist sect. Your Highness should not intervene rashly, and Pei will not force Your Highness to deal with those Taoist priests who do not abide by the law. After all, it is against the rules. But now there is a large family who is willing to be an accomplice, embezzling Taoist money, and colluding with the local government. The relationship is intricate. If we touch him rashly, I am afraid there will be chaos. After thinking about it, only the old county prince can calm down the situation. ”

Qin Gongfu asked: "I wonder who this big family is?"

Pei Xiaolou said in a deep voice: "The Yuan family."

As the biggest local gangster in Jiangling Mansion, it cannot be said that the Prince's Mansion knows everything about the entire Jiangling Mansion. It can only be said that the Prince's Mansion cannot conceal any troubles. Qin Gongfu certainly knows the details of the Yanqing Chamber of Commerce.

Not directly involving the Taoist sect, not even taking action against the Yanqing Chamber of Commerce, but just targeting a Yuan family, it is indeed not a big deal.

Qin Gongfu said thoughtfully: "It turns out to be the Yuan family. I wonder if Master Pei has any evidence?"

Pei Xiaolou said: "Of course there is evidence."

Qin Gongfu did not ask what the evidence was, and said: "In that case, I will go see the local governor and the chief military officer. It's just that the Confucian sect needs real people to come forward."

Pei Xiaolou stood up, clasped his fists again and said, "This is natural, thanks to the old prince."

…

Yuan Chongzong sat alone in his study, saying nothing.

Someone knocked lightly on the door.

Yuan Chongzong said: "Come in."

A person opened the door and came in. It was the housekeeper of Yuan House.

"How is the matter?" Yuan Chongzong asked in a deep voice. Although Yuan Chongzong didn't have much expression on his face, he could not hide his impatience in his tone.

The butler's expression was very stiff, showing a bit of panic, and he said bravely: "Young Master... Young Master... he is gone."

Yuan Chongzong's eyelids twitched slightly and he said nothing.

The butler grew more alarmed.

The old man was indifferent to the fact that his grandson was gone. Was he wrong? The old man still didn't hear clearly.

So the butler repeated it again with a trembling voice.

Yuan Chongzong finally spoke: "I understand, there is no need to say it a second time."

The housekeeper held his breath and did not dare to say another word.

After a moment, Yuan Chongzong asked: "Where is the master?"

The steward said: "Go back to the old man, he is still leading people to hunt down Master Zhang."

Yuan Chongzong's expression softened slightly: "Is there anything wrong?"

"Nothing went wrong. The master didn't have any skin injuries. It's just that Master Zhang was too slippery and didn't hold back. He hasn't succeeded yet, but it will be a matter of time." The housekeeper hurriedly replied.

"The grandson is gone, but he can still be born again. As long as the Yuan family is still there, it doesn't matter." Yuan Chongzong breathed a sigh of relief.

…

The heavenly man who injured Qi Xuansu stood with his hands behind his back, looking indifferent.

There were many Jianghu people standing behind him, all of them silent.

Two corpses lay side by side at his feet.

Yuan Shangdao, Yuan Fengchan.