"No?"
Zhu Houzhao was stunned for a moment. Wasn't there only one noble family in front of him?
The smile on Xie Qian's face froze. This joke was a little too big.
The civil and military officials were stunned and looked around. Other than this noble house, were there any other houses nearby?
"Your Majesty, look, if you enter this alley, you will reach Governor Li's house.”
Liu Jin pointed to a dark and cramped alley at the side. There was an Embroidered Uniform Guard standing there.
“……”
Seeing the dark alley that Liu Jin was pointing at, Zhu Houzhao and the civil and military officials revealed looks of disbelief. Was Li Changsheng's home really located in such a small alley?
"Eunuch Liu, don't joke around with His Majesty. This is a serious crime of deceiving the Emperor!”
Hearing Liu Jin's words, Xie Qian's face darkened. He said coldly,"If this mansion doesn't belong to Li Changsheng, the Imperial Guard's northern governor, who does it belong to?”
As the official appointed by Emperor Hongzhi for Zhu Houzhao, a true elder of the cabinet, he was not afraid of a eunuch like Liu Jin.
Not to mention that Liu Jin was only a small seal eunuch of the Bell and Drum Bureau, even if he was now a seal eunuch of the Bureau of Rites, Xie Qian would still dare to point at his nose and scold him.
"Elder Xie, do you think I would dare to deceive His Majesty?”
"The Embroidered Uniform Guard is standing there. You don't think that the Embroidered Uniform Guard is guarding there, do you?”
"This is the Embroidered Uniform Guard leading the way!”
"Does Grand Secretary Xie think that the Brocade Guard's intelligence doesn't even know where the Northern Garrison Commissioner of the Brocade Guard lives?”
Liu Jin revealed a cold smile on his face and said to Xie Qian unceremoniously,"As for this mansion, it belongs to a foreign merchant. Usually, no one lives there. Only when this foreign merchant enters the capital can someone live there.”
"You…"
Hearing Liu Jin's words, Xie Qian's face revealed a trace of anger.
The civil and military officials looked at Liu Jin with anger in their eyes. A small eunuch dared to speak to the cabinet elder like this. If it was them, wouldn't this eunuch be even more disrespectful?
However, Liu Jin's last sentence was completely ignored by them.
A rich merchant from another city. What was a merchant to him? Only a small merchant with no background would build a mansion in a slum like the northern part of the outer city.
If they had some connections, they wouldn't have built such a mansion in the northern region of the outer city.
"Alright, stop arguing."
Zhu Houzhao said lightly.
Hearing this, Liu Jin, Xie Qian, and the other officials did not say anything else.
In the eyes of Xie Qian and the others, quarreling with a eunuch like Liu Jin was an insult to the culture.
However, they felt that eunuchs like Liu Jin must be kept away from the Emperor. They must not let these eunuchs affect the Emperor.
He might have to find an opportunity to get rid of Liu Jin.
"Your Majesty, this old servant will lead the way.”
Liu Jin said respectfully to Zhu Houzhao and walked into the alley.
After walking for more than 20 meters, the sky suddenly opened up. After walking out of this small alley, an old mansion appeared in front of Liu Jin.
To be honest, when he saw the dilapidated old house in front of him, he knew that Li Changsheng was probably going to be buried in the Emperor's heart.
It was obvious that this old mansion had not been repaired for decades. There were mottled marks everywhere. Even the copper ring on the door had rusted. The door was so dilapidated that it looked like it would collapse if the wind blew.
If it wasn't for the fact that it was impossible for the Embroidered Uniform Guards to lead them the wrong way, who would have thought that there was such a dilapidated old house in this small alley that didn't look like it was inhabited at all.
Zhu Houzhao followed Liu Jin and walked over. When he saw this old mansion, he first looked around and realized that there was indeed no other way. In such a place, there was only this old mansion. There would not be any more accidents. His mood became extremely carefree. He felt proud and relieved. The anger in his heart had long disappeared. Instead, he had a better impression of Li Changsheng.
"Humph, did you see that?"
"Pavilion Elder Xie, Minister Xie, this is the corruption you mentioned.”
Zhu Houzhao said with a mocking expression on his face. Then, he walked to the front door of Li Changsheng's old residence.
Xie Qian and the others also walked over one after another. When they saw such a dilapidated old house, their eyes became dull.
Hearing Zhu Houzhao's mockery, Xie Qian was expressionless and did not say anything. He still had the ability to maintain his composure.
This was only the surface. It was not like he had never seen what was inside.
In fact, there were some corrupt officials who liked to deliberately make the appearance of their houses miserable, but the interior was magnificent. They spent a lot of money to decorate it beautifully. Just looking at the surface, it was impossible to tell.
All of the officials frowned. Many of them felt that just by looking at the appearance of this old residence, they could not be sure that Li Changsheng, the Imperial Guard's North Garrison Commissioner, was a cat that did not eat fish.
However, there were also some officials who had an ominous premonition in their hearts. They felt that Xie Qian might be in trouble.
Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, Han Wen, Wang Ao, and the other cabinet ministers all had grave expressions on their faces. They felt that Xie Qian was really going to suffer.
If Xie Qian really lost face, the entire cabinet would lose face.
One had to know that Xie Qian was a senior member of the cabinet, one of the three important ministers.
All the officials braced themselves and walked over.
Not long after.
Outside Li Changsheng's old residence, it was already packed with civil and military officials. Many of them were even pushed dozens of meters away. The main reason was that there was not much space for so many civil and military officials to stand here.
"Your Majesty, let this old servant come."
Liu Jin walked to Zhu Houzhao's side and said to him.
Zhu Houzhao nodded and looked at the wooden door that seemed to be about to fall down with a gust of wind."Big partner, be gentle. Don't knock on Li Qing's door.”
"…This old servant will save you."
"If this gate is broken by this old servant, this old servant will replace the gate for Guardian Li and help Guardian Li rest in this ancestral old house.”
Hearing Zhu Houzhao's words, Liu Jin was envious of Li Changsheng. However, he said this with a flattering expression.
He was filled with emotions. How many years had he spent to gain Zhu Houzhao's trust? Yet, Li Changsheng had not even met Zhu Houzhao, yet Zhu Houzhao had already doted on him so much.
"Knock, knock, knock…"
However, despite his envy, Liu Jin reached out and gently knocked on the door.
All the officials were staring at the gate of the Li family mansion.
"He's here. Did something happen at the Zhenfu Department?”
"Didn't I say that I'm going to cultivate at home today?”
A clear voice came from the Li family's old residence.
Upon hearing this voice, Zhu Houzhao and all the officials in the court turned to look at the broken wooden door of the Li family mansion.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]