Chen Xi came to Liu's mansion just to see it, but he didn't plan to do anything.

After supervising the investigation of the Liu Mansion, Chen Xi also had to consider who would come out to be responsible for the industrial and commercial tax. Due to the lack of talents under his command, he could not find a good candidate for a while.

Just as Shen Xi left the mansion and was about to leave by carriage, a man who looked familiar in the distance bowed respectfully to him.

"General Wang took people back first. I didn't want to see an old friend here. I have to stay and say hello to you." Chen Xi ordered Wang Lingzhi who was following him.

"oh."

Wang Lingzhi responded casually, looked around vigilantly, and then took the people away, but he still left several personal soldiers for Chen Xi.

After the people left, Chen Xi walked towards the greeting person, and from time to time, the eunuchs from the palace saluted him.

Chen Xi waved his hand: "You wait to do things, don't worry about me..."

The crowd dispersed, and only one person was left. The man had a humble smile on his face: "Please pay tribute to Lord Shen." This person was Peng Yu, who had helped Chen Xi rescue Hui Niang from the Ministry of Justice.

Chen Xi nodded and asked Peng Yu to follow him to a secluded corner of the street before looking at the other party again, saying, "Brother Peng is still working in the Imperial Horse Supervision?"

Peng Yu smiled and nodded: "That's right."

Chen Xidao: "I thought you had returned to the Ministry of Revenue, or had another job... Didn't you say you didn't want to stay in the palace, for fear of causing trouble?"

Peng Yu was a little embarrassed and his smile froze. He told Chen Xi that he would move up and down after making a fortune, and strive to leave the Imperial Horse Supervision as soon as possible and return to the Ministry of Revenue to work as a service. Unexpectedly, a few years later and he still stayed in the palace, which means that Peng Yu might not find a way, or he would take the initiative to stay in the palace.

Peng Yu explained: "Master Shen may not know that although the affairs of the inner court are not easy to do, but over time, he found that he could earn more money than working in the Ministry of Revenue. After weighing the pros and cons, he stayed there. The main reason is that he was not that good at hand. If he spent all his money, what happened in the future? Wouldn't it be more troublesome to have no money to handle some money?"

"oh."

Chen Xi couldn't help but smile when he heard this.

He understood what Peng Yu meant. He didn't want to be a worker in the Imperial Horse Prison before, because he was mainly afraid that he would be castrated as a eunuch when doing something wrong. However, after having the money given by Chen Xi, he became confident in doing things and continued to stay in the Imperial Horse Prison to make money.

Chen Xidao: "I promised you that as long as I open the yamen to do business, I will invite you to serve. I wonder if Brother Peng is interested?"

"How dare you, how dare you!"

Peng Yu was shocked and never got old. If Chen Xi was just an ordinary official, he would have dared to accept it, but now he felt his vest chill and his whole body trembled with fear... He worked in the Imperial Horse Supervisor, and knew what Chen Xi's current status in the court was, and he would probably kill people to silence him for the first time.

It’s okay that he didn’t appear in front of Shen Xi, but now he is obsessed with Chen Xi. It is likely that the disaster will come, not some blessing.

Chen Xi saw that Peng Yu could not hide his nervousness and smiled and said, "With your friendship, there is no need to be too reserved. I will talk to you seriously... Let's go, find a place to sit down and have a drink for two. I just happened to be hungry. I wonder if there is a good introduction to the nearby place?"

Speaking of food and drink, Peng Yu was excited and said, "Mr. Shen, you have asked the right person. The villain has no hobbies in his life, so he likes to eat and drink. There is nothing that the villain does not know about the food and drink in the capital. Lord. Shen, please!"

...

...

Peng Yu is indeed a capital city.

He led the way forward, and Chen Xi led a few personal soldiers to follow him and soon arrived at a wine shop. Peng Yu and the shopkeeper seemed to be very familiar with each other. After he called him, he went up to the second floor room. After entering, Peng Yu asked Chen Xi to sit in the top seat, and then picked up the teapot himself and poured tea for Chen Xi. He was extremely respectful in his words.

"... The villain is humble and has no right to have a seat with Lord Shen. Lord is really too proud of the villain..."

Chen Xi smiled and drank the tea that Peng Yujing had served and said, "There are no adults and villains here. When you helped me with your work, you did your best. I am grateful that you are not too late. Today, I will use tea instead of wine. I will toast you a cup."

As he said that, Chen Xi was about to pour tea for Peng Yu.

Peng Yu was so scared that he almost collapsed on the ground and quickly refused: "Sir, I will never use it."

Seeing Peng Yu's fearful attitude, Chen Xi immediately understood that the more he maintained a kind attitude, the more worried the other party would be. After all, the dignified Minister of War and the favorite minister around the emperor did not need to look at him directly when he saw a small person like Peng Yu, let alone pouring tea and handing water.

If you have nothing to do, you will either be traitor or steal.

Chen Xi did not insist, so he asked Peng Yu to sit down and asked, "How has Brother Peng been doing business recently?"

Peng Yu was stunned for a moment, and then realized what Chen Xi said about "buying and dealing". If it was found out by the court, strictly speaking, what he did was to be beheaded, and his face suddenly turned pale. With Chen Xi's extremely noble identity, there was no need to deliberately frame it. Just the crimes he committed in normal times were enough to beheaded.

Peng Yu didn't even dare to raise his head and timidly said: "It's okay, it's okay."

Chen Xi smiled and said, "How can you make a lot of money in a year?"

Peng Yu thought to himself: "Is it possible that Lord Shen wants to take back the money he paid in the past? But I didn't take the money by myself. It took almost half of the money to be opened. I squandered the remaining money. Where can I find the money to pay him back?"

Peng Yu said: "Bo has investment, but it cannot be compared with the business that Lord Shen does... Lord Shen, don't make things difficult for the small ones. The small ones have many ways to get it. If the adults still want to buy women, the villain can help him with some things. I will never dare to give you a penny."

Chen Xi shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Who do you think of me? You have someone to do something and don't pay? Is this how the palace usually evaluates me?"

Peng Yu looked up at Chen Xi, then said with a bitter face: "Sir, your reputation in the court is unmatched. Others say you are good, who dares to criticize me?"

"That's what you know, so I feel that my name is not worthy of it?" Chen Xi continued to ask.

Peng Yu heard that Chen Xi was enjoying him and hurriedly said, "Sir, you are a person of temperament and do all the big things. How dare the young ones have any opinions on you? In recent years, you have become a noble person. The status of the young ones is too different from yours. Therefore... When you see you, the young ones are frightened and afraid that you will be blamed."

Chen Xi said: "You said that I am a person of nature, so I will not do anything to repay kindness and revenge. Brother Peng, please don't worry. The matter was over and no one would mention it later. Even if someone wanted to investigate, I would come forward to protect you. This is my promise to you."

"Thank you for your kindness."

Peng Yu stood up and saluted.

Chen Xi nodded and said, "Sit down and talk. When old friends meet, we should always talk about the past. Maybe we can do some more business."

Peng Yu never expected that after many years of meeting the big man Chen Xi, the other party had no airs at all, and sat down with him and drank and chatted.

Peng Yu was very nervous at first, afraid that Chen Xi would mess with him, so he used some special means to prevent him from reporting and exposing him.

After he spread it out, he realized that his worries were superfluous.

"...Mr. Shen, it's not to be hiding. When I got your money, the young man wanted to leave the Imperial Horse Prison earlier and no longer be the dog-legged ones of those eunuchs. But unfortunately, at that time, the villain fell in love with a rich lady who had committed suicide. He was both beautiful and elegant, which made people really hard... Forget it, the villain somehow kept his brain covered with lard and took out all the deposits to open the joints. He finally bought the person, so the Ministry of Revenue could not go back..."

After drinking a few glasses of wine, Peng Yu began to pour bitter water with Chen Xi.

It was like the scene when Peng Yu met Chen Xi. Peng Yu was very talkative because of his work. He just became a lobbyist and made a lot of business. He had a wide range of friends and made friends with middle and lower-level officials from various yamen. These little people were not something Chen Xi could contact.

Chen Xi smiled and said, "It seems that you have to stay in the palace to do things for the sake of the beauty. I can completely understand... Where is this wealthy daughter now?"

"hey-hey."

Peng Yu smiled and said, "Of course I got married home. The villain may be inspired by the adults to enjoy a happy life... He is kind and understanding. He has been studying and literate since he was a child. He has a high temperament and is as beautiful as a flower. He is not from the same class as the villain, but he didn't expect to end up together..."

Once the conversation was opened, Peng Yu went on endlessly. Many of them were all about family matters. Chen Xi didn't want to know, and Peng Yu also revealed it all.

Chen Xi let Peng Yu talk. After a long time, he seemed to suddenly remember something and asked: "Brother Peng, do you still remember the woman who was burned to death in the Ministry of Justice's prison to save people that day?"

Peng Yu was stunned and his expression became nervous: "Why did you ask about that woman? Isn't the matter over?"

Chen Xidao: "I vaguely remember that the woman suffered from tuberculosis and was about to die soon. I wonder if these situations were forged by you or did it happen?"

Peng Yu smiled bitterly and said, "Sir, this villain is not clear. After all, the villain is not working in the Ministry of Justice. He also heard from the people of the Ministry of Justice that day. However, the woman should be sick. As for whether she will soon be alive, I am afraid that she can only know if she asks the person involved... Speaking of which, in recent years, the officials of the Ministry of Justice have changed several times, and they may not be able to find someone if they want to find it."

Chen Xi observed Peng Yu's expression and saw that the other party didn't seem to be lying. He immediately said, "I have some impression of this woman. The condition is indeed serious, but it seems that it is not tuberculosis, but it is caused by torture... Do you know what crime she committed?"

"I don't know."

Peng Yu shook his head, looking confused.

Chen Xi asked again: "I remember that the woman had a daughter... The woman in the cell was eventually burned to death by changing the prison number, but she didn't know where her daughter went?"

Peng Yu frowned and thought, but couldn't answer for a long time.

Chen Xi asked, "Why, don't you have any impression of it?"

"Sir, time has changed, and the villain really can't remember it very clearly, but I vaguely remember that the little girl was sent to the Jiaofangsi, but many years have passed... It should be the fifteenth year of Hongzhi. Five years have passed in the blink of an eye. I have already left the girl as a big girl. Do you want to find her?"

Peng Yu looked at Chen Xi curiously, not understanding why this noble man wanted to inquire about this.

Chen Xi sighed, lowered his head and said regretfully: "Five years have passed, I have been in a state of uneasy. It is not a good thing to harm people to save people... I did not kill Boren, but Boren died because of me. I asked myself that I am worthy of heaven and earth in doing things, but I still have some regrets in this matter..."

Only then did Peng Yu realize Chen Xi's intention and persuaded: "Your Madam doesn't have to worry about it... Your original intention was to save people, and the woman is not long... The villain heard about something. The woman suffered a lot in prison. She had been looking for a few short-term visions, and later she was seriously ill and had no courage to live. The adult gave her a chance to be a beauty. Isn't it a good deed?"

Chen Xi was unable to convince Peng Yu's robber logic. In his opinion, he had always done this wrong.

He wants to make up for his regrets and try to do something.

Chen Xi said: "Brother Peng, let me say that. I want you to help me find out the whereabouts of the little girl. If she was still in the teachings, I would try to redeem her and live an ordinary life. When I went to visit the prison, I vaguely remember that the little girl was about six or seven years old. That is to say, she is only a eleven or twelve-year-old girl. Even if she is in the teachings, she should just do odd jobs... Can you help me investigate clearly?"

Peng Yu shook his head a little to make himself clearer, then looked at Chen Xi with an incomprehensible gaze, and finally nodded: "Since the adults said that, the villain must help."

Chen Xi took out something from his arms and presented it to him: "This time I went out in a hurry and didn't carry anything valuable, so I used this jade pendant as collateral. If you can find someone, I will give you two hundred taels of silver as reward when you turn around."

Peng Yu quickly waved his hand: "Sir, what are you saying? If you can help you, the villain is so honorable. How dare you collect your money? It's a 200 tael... You are killing the villain!"

Chen Xi asked with a smile: "How much money can you make when you work in the Imperial Horse Supervisor? You gather everything together every year?"

Peng Yu replied with a bitter face: "When the late emperor was alive, there were about 70 to 80 taels, but the situation in recent years was not good, only 30 to 40 taels."

"Okay, you won't lose money if you hand over these 200 taels of silver to you. I thought it was because you thought the money was too small and didn't want to help." Chen Xi said relievedly.

Peng Yu said: "Since that said that, the villain will do his best to do his job... The villain remembered that there was an old woman named Liu Po ​​in the female prison at that time. He knew everything about the female prison. The villain would ask her later... If she didn't know, the villain would ask some old friends... Are you afraid of leaking the past? "

Chen Xi said seriously: "If you find out the news without leaking the secret, it will test your ability to do things. Can you still ask me to give me some advice?"

Peng Yu immediately understood Chen Xi's meaning, and he could do things, but he was not allowed to mention anything in the past. Hui Niang's death was already a certain fact. Now he was just looking for the little girl in the cell. This little girl himself had no direct relationship with the case, and looking for her would not involve the Hui Niang's case.

"Yes, yes, the villain understands!" Peng Yu nodded hurriedly.

Chen Xidao: "Brother Peng, I lack people now. If you can do this, what will happen to me in the future?"

"The villain naturally cannot find it."

Peng Yu did not hesitate and quickly agreed. At first, he was full of fear of Chen Xi, but now he felt Chen Xi's sincerity and gave him money to do things, which made him feel that he was given a heavy gift. Chen Xi is now in the court, so of course he wants to climb to a high point.

Chen Xi said: "Okay, this matter is just an assessment of you. If you do it well, you will come to my side to do things in the future. If the job is bad, then I will arrange for you to go to the yamen you want to go to. I will never treat you badly. There should be many places that can be used in the future."
To be continued...