Chen Xi was not in the mood to care whether Zhang Yuan could escape from the control of his relatives.

He has no plan to cooperate with Zhang Yuan for the time being. After all, Zhang Yuan is not in power now. Even if he can steal the position of Sili Supervisor, he is still a eunuch. If someone knows that he, the youngest and most promising civil servant in the Ming Dynasty, he is actually a relationship with the eunuch in the palace, and others will definitely attack him.

In order to maintain his official reputation and reputation, Chen Xi took caution and would not let anyone get the handle.

It was not too early, and I had to enter the palace to meet the saint in the future, so Chenxi had to rest early.

He did not go to any wife's room that day, but went back to his room to sleep alone.

As a court official, Chen Xi was busy with business, and often went out early and came back late, and the yard connected to the study was always under his control. Among Chen Xi's wives and concubines, except Lin Dai, Xie Yuner and Xie Hengnu had to take care of their children. It is unlikely that they would greet him in the middle of the night and fall asleep with him.

Chen Xi was preparing to wash and change clothes, and then went to bed. Suddenly he heard something was happening in the yard outside. He moved to the window and took a look, but saw nothing unusual.

"At this moment, everyone in the mansion has rested. There is a strange noise in the yard. Could it be that it is just a storm?"

I didn't take it seriously and was about to call the maid to make hot water, but then another slight sound came from outside.

Chen Xi immediately became alert and immediately blew out the candlestick in front of him.

Almost at the same time, he heard the window "bang" and was knocked open by a powerful external force, and then a black shadow entered his room, like a ghost.

Chen Xi suddenly realized that he might be in big trouble and the people came very quickly. Although he had never seen martial arts masters flying over the eaves and walls since this era, many people with good fist and foot skills had seen them. At this moment, he subconsciously grabbed the candlestick, pulled out the candles, and looked at the direction of the black shadow rushing towards him, and was fully alert to prevent himself from being attacked.

The black shadow rushed over quickly, and a bright light appeared in front of him. Chen Xi saw that the person who came was obviously going to assassinate, with a sharp blade.

Before, Chen Xi could not be completely sure that the person in front of him was an assassin, but now he can be sure.

Without shouting, Chen Xi held his breath and concentrated. Any panic at this time meant that he might be taken advantage of by the traitor. Chen Xi had no weapons to resist except the sharp candlestick, but fortunately there was a table in front of him that could become a barrier between him and the assassin.

"call!"

The wind sounded, and the assassin had arrived at the table. The two looked at the table. The assassin was wrapped in black night clothes. Seeing Chen Xi holding a candlestick in his hand, he felt the strong murderous aura revealed on Chen Xi's body. He did not expect that Chen Xi could be so calm when suddenly attacked.

The assassin obviously hesitated for a moment, then reacted and attacked Chen Xi, and stabbed the short blade in his hand towards Chen Xi's chest.

But at this time it was no longer an assassination. Both sides were on the surface. Chen Xi was calm and unhappy. A table in front of him was not big, but it was enough to become a barrier between himself and the assassin. If the assassin wanted to assassin, he had to bypass the table.

The assassin tried twice in a row, but was easily bypassed by Chen Xi. Then the assassin began to seek other methods and pushed the table down. In this way, there was no obstacle between him and Chen Xi...

However, Chen Xi is not a vegetarian. He has been on the battlefield and can still react reasonably in such a situation. He took a step back one after another, grabbed a wooden box behind him, and smashed it at the assassin. The assassin originally wanted to jump over the table that was stolen to the ground, but unfortunately he made a mistake. The wooden box flew across and he had to reach out to block it. At the same time, Chen Xi did not seek to escape, but rushed towards him with a sharp candlestick.

“Huh!?”

The assassin made a puzzled sound. Although the sound was not loud, Chen Xi could hear it very clearly.

This is a man, not too old, and he looks like he is in his thirties or forties. At this moment, he didn't have time to think about where the assassin came from. He asked himself that there were too many people who offended, whether it was the Tatars, Liu Jin, or the gentry that he offended during his local duties...

Chen Xi was indomitable and others came to assassinate him. Logically speaking, as a civil servant, he should run away in a hurry, but he bet that the assassin was not capable enough. Under the judging of the situation, he believed that only by fighting to the death would he have a chance to survive.

Chen Xi knew that since the assassin could find his residence accurately, it was obvious that after a long time of preparation, it was somewhat illogical to say that it was sent by the Tatars, but it could only be sent by political enemies or people who had offended before. Moreover, someone behind the assassin should have made suggestions, and even secretly bribed the Shen family's servants, and had a deep understanding of the structure of the Shen Mansion.

Even though Chen Xi was confident, he still failed to succeed in one blow, and the assassin retreated.

But in this way, the situation reversed and became Chen Xi's attack and Assassin's defense.

Although Chen Xi looked weak, he was once again and fought to the front line of the battlefield several times. He was strong and looked like an ordinary literati, but he was very strong and had high physical flexibility.

"Bang!"

The assassin retreated and was almost crushed by the box behind him. Although he was familiar with the layout of the courtyard of Shen House, he could not know the decorations inside the house. At the same time, he still entered the dark area of ​​the house from a relatively bright area outside. His eyes needed an adaptation process, which made him know nothing about the situation in the room.

But this is Chen Xi's room, which has the advantage of being in a good position.

Chen Xi first launched an attack with the candlestick. If he failed to make a single blow, the second blow could not be released anymore. After all, the candlestick in his hand was considered a short blade among the short blades and did not have strong lethality. If the assassin came to his senses, the short blade he held in his hand was not a vegetarian.

Chen Xi immediately took a step back, picked up the chair, and smashed it at the assassin.

"Clang!"

The chair hit the assassin's head without any bias. The assassin felt pain and the short blade almost broke out. When he wanted to assassinate Chen Xi again, Chen Xi picked up the stool and prepared for the next wave of attack.

At this time, the situation had changed, and Chen Xi was already prepared. When the assassin saw that the assassin could not be assassinated, he immediately retreated to the door to prevent Chen Xi from hitting his stool.

The assassin retreated to the door, suddenly knocked open the door, jumped onto the high wall in a few steps, and disappeared into the night.

Chen Xi was only scared at this time and felt like he was escaping from death.

He was a little confused about how the assassin came in, and even how he avoided the assassination before.

Everything happened too suddenly, and it felt like something was just a flash of sight and went through the test of life and death. However, Chen Xi was glad that he did not choose to escape or call for help from the beginning, otherwise it would delay the opportunity to fight with the assassin, and would also give birth to unrealistic expectations of escaping or waiting for rescue, and would fall into a desperate situation.

Chen Xi immediately opened the door and came out. The yard was quiet. The arrival of the assassin did not affect the rest of the mansion before. This was also something he was incredible. After all, there were many guards around the mansion. Assassins could easily sneak in and even break into his own house. He had to consider whether there were spies around him.

But he was not too arrogant, for fear that his family would worry about it, which would affect the peace of the inner house.

Immediately, Chen Xi arrived at the front yard.

Zhu Shan was still vigilant. Obviously, the assassin did not come in from here. When he saw Chen Xi, Zhu Shan was a little curious and walked over and asked, "Master, are you doing anything?"

"Go and call your father to come and come to my room with your elder brother." Chen Xidao.

Zhu Shan was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding why Chen Xi told such an order, but she nodded and left in a hurry.

Chen Xi returned to the main hall and thought about the previous assassination. At this time, many mysteries remained unsolved, such as the origin of the assassin, why did the assassin go to his mansion with Zhang Yuan, and how did the assassin avoid security measures and kill him in his room...

After a stick of incense, Zhu Qi came over hurriedly, and at the same time, his son Zhu Hong was also with Zhu Qi.

Like Shen Yongqi, Zhu Hong was transferred to the Beijing Yamen by Chen Xi to work. At this moment, Zhu Hong was still known as a captain and had a small status.

Chen Xi did not let Zhu Hong enter the main hall, but first told the father and son about the assassin.

Chen Xi said bluntly: "...Assassin had sneaked into Chen's mansion before, and he almost succeeded!"

Zhu Qi was shocked and asked quickly: "Mr. Isn't he injured?"

"No."

Chen Xi shook his head slightly, "Fortunately it was not the assassin who came after I fell asleep. I discovered the clues in advance. After fighting, the assassin retreated, but I did not really hurt him. Now I only know that the assassin is a man between thirty and forty years old. He doesn't know anything about the background and origin, and he doesn't even see his appearance."

Zhu Qi quickly saluted: "It's a young man who has not arranged the guards in the mansion. Please ask the master to punish him."

Chen Xi raised his hand to interrupt Zhu Qi and said, "This matter has nothing to do with you. I can't be sure who sent the assassin. In my opinion, there will be a period of silence in the future, but you still have to be careful. You must not inform the other people in the mansion about this matter. Now Wang Lingzhi and Ma Jiu are not in the capital. They usually have to strengthen security work in the mansion and my usual security in and out of the guards. This matter is only a matter of trouble, Mr. Zhu, you are worried about it."

Zhu Qi said: "Master just tell me, the younger one must do as you arrange."

Chen Xi nodded: "I feel a little uneasy, and I always feel that something has happened. But our Chen Mansion is not a deep courtyard. If someone plots, I can only strengthen the escort. Tomorrow I will dispatch a few entourages to help guard the garrison. This matter will be left to Dad Zhu."

...

...

Because of the assassin, Chen Xi failed to sleep peacefully all night.

He kept wondering who was assassinating himself.

Liu Jin is most likely, even if it is not Liu Jin himself, it is possible that Wei Bin, Sun Cong and other eunuchs.

In addition to Liu Jin, there are some doubtful objects, such as Zhang's relatives, Jiang Liwei, and even the Gaoji family in the past were within his doubts.

Early the next morning, Chen Xi got up early in the morning to enter the palace to see the emperor, and Zhu Qi was already busy all night.

After Zhu Qi's arrangement, the guards and guards in the mansion were relocated to ensure that the Shen family would not be overwhelmed by thieves.

In order to avoid the people in the mansion learning about the situation, Chen Xi did not make any arrangements for Zhu Qi. Zhu Qi's excuse to strengthen his guardian power was also based on the previous explanation of Chen Xi, saying that the Tatars were invading the territory and were afraid that spies would cause trouble in the capital.

This reason is reasonable. There is no big mistake to be cautious and no one in the mansion doubts.

Chen Xi calmed down and took a carriage to the Forbidden City.

When he arrived at the palace gate, Chen Xi began to wait for the summons.

Previously, Zhang Yuan circulated that Zhu Houzhao ordered Chen Xi to enter the palace, but after all, there was no official imperial edict, so he could only wait for someone to lead the way. But at this time, Zhang Yuan had just left the Leopard Room and accompanied Zhu Houzhao back to the palace.

Zhu Houzhao got up very early that day. On the way, Zhu Houzhao was still asking about the military situation on the front line of Zhang Yuan's Xuanfu. After Zhang Yuan received a face-to-face instruction from Chen Xi, the answer was quite appropriate.

"...Is there no news about Eunuch Liu? How did this battle be fought? It's not that the Tartars have been invading for a long time, and even Zhangjiakou Fort and Xuanfu are very critical. Why is it that there is not only no news of victory or failure, but there is even little other news..."

Zhu Houzhao was a little dissatisfied and felt that he knew very little about the Xuanfu war and was a little embarrassed.

Zhang Yuanxin said, "You are never stopping eating, drinking, and having fun every day. It is not easy to ask a few questions about the military situation on the front line. Unless you can guard the Ministry of War every day like Chen Xi, you can only be a king who keeps your eyes closed and listens."

Thinking of this in his heart, he didn't dare to say it out loud. Zhang Yuan said: "Your Majesty knows little about the war ahead, because the battle in Xuanfu has not started yet. It is estimated that the Tartars are afraid of His Majesty's power."

Zhu Houzhao's face calmed down a little, and said, "I just knew that I wouldn't like to listen to compliments... By the way, Shangshu Chen has received news from him. I will come to see me this morning, right?"

Zhang Yuan said: "I went to report to Secretary Chen yesterday... Or should I go to the palace gate now to welcome Secretary Chen into the palace?"

Zhu Houzhao waved his hand impatiently: "Go, go, I will go back to the Ganqing Palace to wash my face first. I was tired all night and felt a little sleepy. After meeting Shangshu Chen as soon as possible, I will be ready to have a good night's sleep. Oh, by the way, let Qian Ning arrange a few good shows for me tonight. Yesterday's show was too absurd and unruly, so I can't find a strait team to make up for the numbers, otherwise I will be really angry."

Zhang Yuan felt heavy pressure on his shoulders, especially Zhu Houzhao expressed dissatisfaction with the current situation and repeatedly mentioned Liu Jin, which means that he and Qian Ning were not doing enough. If you want to win over the emperor, you must first start with satisfying food, drink and fun, so that you can trust the emperor.

...

...

Zhang Yuan entered the palace from Donghua Gate and went straight to the Meridian Gate to attract Chenxi to meet him.

On the way, he thought about this question carefully: "When it comes to playing with Your Majesty, Qian Ning and I are not as good as Liu Jin. Now to win Your Majesty's favor, it's better to ask my nephew to see what good plans he has... This kid used to like to send martial arts to Your Majesty, as well as shadow puppetry and comic strips. After Your Majesty ascended the throne, he hadn't given these things for a long time..."

With some expectations, Zhang Yuan saw Chenxi waiting to enter the palace at the Meridian Gate.

Zhang Yuan stepped forward and bowed slightly: "Shangshu Chen is polite."

As I spoke, I seemed to have forgotten the anger at Chen Xi when I left the Shen family yesterday.
To be continued...