Painting Doctor Jinhua

Chapter 172 Entering the government, counterattack against Lu Lingxuan

"Zhen has no great ambitions, he just wants to be your Majesty's favorite minister!"

This unexpected turn of events almost made He Shikai spit out a mouthful of saliva. He had done many shameless things, but this was the first time he heard someone dare to say directly, "I want to be the favorite of His Majesty?"

He had just thought that this kid was a man of steel, a man of integrity and a man of unyielding character, without the arrogance that is common among literati. He had not expected that... Tsk tsk, he was no less servile than him!

After she finished speaking, she looked at Gao Zhan sincerely and explained, "Zhen's family was destroyed by the Hou Jing Rebellion. I am alone in a foreign land without any relatives around me. If it weren't for the rescue of His Royal Highness Lanling Wang, I would have been buried in the war. Now that I have been recommended by him, it is my honor to stand in this Taiji Hall and play chess with Zu Zhongshu of Qi to test my talents.

Therefore, if Your Majesty asks what Zhen’s ambition is, I can only be Your Majesty’s loyal minister to repay Your Majesty’s kindness!

Please take good care of me, Your Majesty!"

These words are spoken with great affection and heart, making people feel pity for his life experience and at the same time more likely to cherish his talent!

Gao Zhan was indeed moved. Seeing this outstanding and talented Jiangzuo man in front of him, he couldn't help but clap his hands and said, "Good, since you have such a heart to repay your gratitude, I will not let you down!" Then he whispered to Li Mi, "What position did you say was vacant last time?"

"Your Majesty, it's the Secretary of the Central Secretariat!" Li Mi replied.

Gao Zhan shook his head after hearing this.

"The Secretary of the Central Secretariat is only a sixth-rank official, how can he match Xie Qing's talent? Since Xie Qing is more talented than Pei Rangzhi, why not give Xie Qing the position of Secretary of the Central Secretariat?"

The Secretary of the Central Secretariat is a third-rank official. In addition to drafting imperial edicts and documents issued by the emperor, he also participates in important state decision-making and confidential affairs to ensure the communication and implementation of government orders. His powers are much greater than those of the Secretary of the Central Secretariat.

Gao Zhan opened his mouth and actually gave a white-clothed scholar who had just entered the officialdom a third-rank official position!

He Shikai thought Gao Zhan must be crazy, and hurriedly advised: "Your Majesty, Xie Zhen is just a scholar with no political achievements. How can he be a third-rank Zhongshu Shilang? What's more, Your Majesty just promised this position to someone not long ago!"

"Who?"

He Shikai lowered his head, pursed his lips, and replied: "Mutipo!"

Gao Zhan was slightly startled and asked He Shikai quietly, "When did I say that I wanted Mu Dipo to be the Minister of the Central Secretariat?"

"Last time, you drank a little too much, and you agreed...to Lord Lu's request!"

"Ridiculous! How old is Mutibo and his talent is mediocre? How can he be compared with Xie Zhen!"

Although Gao Zhan's voice was low, Mu Ti Po, who was not far away, heard every word. His face turned red with embarrassment and anger. He wanted to argue, but Lu Lingxuan grabbed him and stopped him with her eyes.

"That's it! Mu Ti Po will assign another official position to Xie Zhen, and he will be appointed as the Minister of the Central Secretariat!"

When Gao Zhan said this, everyone was shocked. He was promoted to a third-rank official just after entering the official career. Even the famous Zu Ting, Pei Rangzhi who was good at writing poems, and Lu Sidao who was good at writing poems were not so lucky!

But I have to admit that this boy's talent is a little too amazing!

"Your Majesty, Xie Zhen's talent is one thing, but his character is yet to be verified. I never knew that Pan An in the Western Jin Dynasty was also a brilliant writer, and his talent was comparable to that of Zijian. However, Pan An worshipped Jia Mi's carriage and horse, and even imitated the prince's handwriting, which led to the death of the Jin prince by Empress Jia. What good is such a villain, even if he is famous for his talent?"

When He Shikai said this, Li Mi sneered and said sarcastically:

"He Shizhong, don't you think the person you are talking about is most like you? Xie Zhen has not yet entered the officialdom, and His Majesty is just expressing his appreciation for his talent, but you suppress him everywhere. Are you imitating the empresses in the harem to compete for favor?"

"you--"

She actually compared him to the women in the harem!

He Shikai's face turned blue and red!

Li Mi added: "Moreover, ever since Xie Zhen came to the Taiji Palace to accept the assessment of His Majesty, you and Lu Junjun have been slandering him everywhere, trying to drive him out of our Qi State. I can't help but suspect..."

"Okay, stop talking!" Gao Zhan suddenly interrupted and looked at "Xie Zhen", "I have made up my mind, where is the Minister of Personnel?"

An official in a purple robe and a beam official came out and said, "I'm here!"

"Give Xie Zhen the appointment letter as the Minister of the Central Secretariat and have him take up the post immediately tomorrow!"

"Yes!"

"That's all for today, everyone please go away!"

Gao Zhan gave the order and was about to leave the Taiji Hall when he heard "Xie Zhen" shouting loudly, "Your Majesty!"

Gao Zhan narrowed his eyes slightly and asked with interest: "What? Do you have anything else to do?"

Xiao Jinyu bowed and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty. I was not an official just now, and my words were not taken seriously. I dared not point fingers at the people in the court. But now Your Majesty has granted me an official position, so I also want to seek justice for the assassination today!"

As soon as she said this, Lu Lingxuan and He Shikai raised their heads suddenly, and looked at "Xie Zhen" with disbelief and understanding!

I thought she didn't say it before because she didn't know or didn't dare to say it, but it turns out that the thunder was buried here!

Gao Zhan would not care about the assassination of a scholar in white. Besides, he was just a scholar. If he died, it was dead. Not many people would care. But if he assassinated a third-rank official of the imperial court, the nature of the matter would be completely different!

Especially now, he has captured the hearts of all the scholars present with such amazing talent!

There is a saying that if you kill Ji Kang, you will lose the hearts of the people. Now, in the hearts of these literati, Xie Zhen is as big as "Ji Kang"!

"That's right! We also ask Your Majesty to take charge and severely punish the murderer, and seek justice for Minister Xie!"

"Could you please tell me who this person is?"

Gao Zhan also sat down and looked at Xie Zhen, whose eyes were bright with anger and who was looking up at him stubbornly!

"I thought you would not hold grudge against the person who assassinated you. He is nothing but a jealous villain," he said.

"Your Majesty, I will not argue with this villain, but my family has dwindled and I am the only one left. If this villain kills me, it will be the same as exterminating my entire family and cutting off the incense of my Xie family. Killing me is fine, but destroying the incense of my Xie family is not. His heart deserves death!"

Tsk... He Shikai's face suddenly twisted, and he wanted to slap this "Xie Zhen"!

Gao Zhan burst into laughter.

"I didn't expect you, Xie Zhen, to be such an interesting person. What you said makes sense. Then tell me who assassinated you. I will make the decision for you!"

Lu Lingxuan couldn't help but turn her head to look at Gao Zhan, her eyes full of surprise and disbelief!

"Yes!"

Xiao Jinyu responded, and turned his gaze to Lu Lingxuan, saying loudly, "The person who assassinated me is Gao Lingjun, Gao Anagong! And he is now in Beigong!"

When Gao Zhan heard the four words "Gao Ana Gong", his face changed, and there was an uproar in the Taiji Palace.

"It turned out to be him! Not long ago, when Princess Lanling was praying for rain at the Bronze Sparrow Tower, someone from the Imperial Guards tried to assassinate her. Commander Gao said it was a personal act, so he easily removed himself. I didn't expect that he would use the same trick again and assassinate the pillar of our Qi State!"

"It seems that General Gao is definitely involved in the assassination of Princess Lanling!"

"Yes, such a villain, how can he be an official? If he continues like this, he will surely harm the country and the people!"

"At the beginning, Gao Anagong went to assassinate Princess Lanling without following your majesty's order. It is clear that there is someone behind him who is instigating him!"

"I just don't know who is the mastermind behind this?"

"..."

His Highness Taiji was shouting in anger. Lu Lingxuan gritted her teeth and tried to maintain a calm smile on her face, but Mu Ti Po could no longer hold on. His face was pale and cold sweat broke out on his forehead!

Gao Zhan looked at Lu Lingxuan coldly without saying anything. At this moment, a guard of the imperial army ran towards the Taiji Hall and reported to Gao Zhan:

"Your Majesty, General Gao was assassinated in Beigong!"

As soon as this person finished speaking, Lu Lingxuan stood up uncontrollably!

Gao Zhan was also a little surprised. He hurriedly called the eunuch over and ordered him to prepare the imperial carriage to go to the North Palace!

……

When a group of imperial guards accompanied the emperor's carriage to the North Palace, they saw Gao Anagong's body lying in the ruins. His chest seemed to be pierced by a sword, and blood was spurted all over the ground. Gao Anagong's eyes were still open.

In addition to him, there were seven or eight other men in black around him who were stabbed in the vitals by the sword energy and fell everywhere!

Several guards checked the scene and found another body from a thatched hut in the back garden and carried it out!

"Your Majesty, including General Gao, there are ten people in total. General Gao and these eight people were all injured by the same sword energy, but this one must have fought a desperate battle before his death, and was finally killed by a broken sword piercing his heart!"

"Let them die! Hand over their bodies to the Dali Temple for disposal!" Gao Zhan said calmly, and then seemed to remember something and asked, "Oh, by the way, where is the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Bi Yiyun?"

The Minister of Public Security was in charge of military affairs and criminal justice. In the past, Bi Yiyun made the final review of some of the cases reviewed by the Dali Temple.

"Your Majesty, have you forgotten that he was sent by you on a secret mission to the State of Zhou?" He Shikai answered in a low voice.

Gao Zhan seemed to have just remembered this and nodded.

"Forget it then! This matter ends here. These people will be handed over to the Dali Temple Minister Sima Maozong to deal with. Also, we need to find out who is the mastermind behind them."

When she heard that they were going to investigate the mastermind behind the incident, Lu Lingxuan quickly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Gao Anagong's death is obviously related to Xie Zhen. In order to give an explanation to his family, we need to find out the cause of his death and find out who killed him!"

"Even if it's related to Xie Zhen, wasn't he the one who came to assassinate Xie Zhen first? Lord Lu, how else do you want to investigate?"

Li Mi retorted, and Lu Lingxuan was so angry that she wanted to refute him. Gao Zhan became even more impatient and interrupted him harshly:

"Okay, I'm done with this matter! Lord Lu, do you really want to make me unhappy?"

Gao Zhan is not a fool. The implication of Li Mi's words is very clear. He is accusing Gao Anago of being the person behind him, Lu Lingxuan. And Lu Lingxuan wants to bite back at Xie Zhen, which means she is using him as a puppet.

Although Gao Zhan was indulging in pleasure and ignoring state affairs, he did not want to be treated as a fool. When he shouted, his eyes became particularly fierce, and Lu Lingxuan immediately dared not speak.

"Let's go! Let's go back to the palace. I'm tired today and don't want to hear any more nonsense!"

"Yes, let's go back to the palace!"

With a scream from the eunuch, Gao Zhan's sedan chair was lifted up and driven towards the South City Palace again, surrounded by the imperial guards.

Lu Lingxuan looked at the imperial sedan chair going away, her face gradually turned pale, and then she turned her fierce gaze to "Xie Zhen"!

……

"Mother, what kind of person is this Xie Zhen? Is he a monster? He plays blind chess, writes five poems in seven steps, and even his handwriting is so good that all the scholars applaud him. Even Zu Zhongshu is impressed by him!"

After returning to the Lu Mansion, Mu Ti Po couldn't help but curse angrily.

"How hateful! It would be fine if there was only one Xiao Jinyu, but there is actually another Xie Zhen beside Prince Lanling. Now that Xie Zhen has entered the government, he has taken away his son's official position!"

"It's really infuriating, why can't we kill him?"