After a few conversations, Gu Qing understood that Ji Wen came with a threat. This famous cruel official acted in a very domineering manner. It could be heard from the murderous tone in his smile that he must force Gu Qing to submit today.

Gu Qing could understand his mood. After all, he was blocking his way to make money. Who else would be in a hurry? Besides, there might be a lot of big names standing behind this list. Li Linfu should be the one with the big head, and so are the remaining small heads.

This huge windfall was worth fighting for by many court officials, and Ji Wen was probably pushed out to be the leader.

Zuo Wei Changshi is just a small character, not even close to the center of power in the court. He just happens to have the small power to sign the pledge list. However, this power cannot bypass him. If there is a flaw in the process, it will be very difficult.

It is easy to be caught by the censors at the Censorship Station. Now the court is divided into three factions, Dong Gong, Li Linfu, Yang Guozhong, and Li Xiang. They are very popular, but they cannot cover the sky with one hand. There are still countless enemies in the court waiting to catch him.

Pull him off his horse.

This is the reason why Jiwen had to take the initiative to come to the door. He should be polite first and then fight. First, he would try to solve the trouble peacefully. If the peaceful means could not solve the problem, then he would wait for their revenge.

The most difficult person is Gu Qing.

From the bottom of his heart, Gu Qing did not want to sign the bond. He did not like to get involved in factions and troubles, and he was not willing to give evidence to Li Linfu. If he signed the bond, it would be the evidence.

But he is even more unwilling to cause trouble and offend powerful enemies.

Li Linfu is the prime minister who is inferior to one person and superior to tens of millions of people. Gu Qing cannot afford to offend him and cannot control him.

Being protected by Concubine Yang doesn't have much effect. Zuo Wei is involved in corruption and government affairs, Concubine Yang can't protect him, and he, Gu Qing, probably won't occupy a very important position in Li Longji's heart.

A very simple analogy, if Gu Qing and Li Linfu fall into the water at the same time, who will Li Longji save?

According to Gu Qing's guess, Li Longji would definitely not save him, but he would not necessarily save Li Linfu. He might watch Gu Qing being drowned, and at the same time, he would let Li Linfu drown in the water until he was eighty percent full, and wait until Li Linfu was about to die.

When the time came, Li Longji's final choice would still be to save Li Linfu. As for Gu Qing, a young boy, he would drown if he drowned. What's the pity?

Talent? What is talent? Is Li Bai's talent high enough? When he resigned and left the palace, did Li Longji retain him?

The Ming Emperor looked down upon the world and only saw beauties, so how could he cherish his ministers? In the prosperous period of the Tang Dynasty, there were not many others, but there were the most talented people. When a group of people died, a new group would immediately replace them, and the world was still bright and prosperous.

Therefore, Gu Qing never dared to overestimate his status in Li Longji's heart. If this trouble comes to light now, it will not be possible to simply file an imperial complaint and everything will be fine. Of course, the corrupt officials of Zuowei will be held accountable, but Gu Qing will not

He must be able to escape unscathed. Maybe Li Longji chopped Gu Qing into pieces in order to appease Li Linfu.

Because Li Linfu is the prime minister under one person, Li Longji can suppress Prime Minister Quan, but he cannot touch Li Linfu. "Prime Minister Quan" and "Li Linfu" are discussed separately in Li Longji's heart. Now Li Longji is deliberately cultivating Yang Guozhong and constantly

He was given an official position so that he could take over Li Linfu's position as prime minister at any time. However, Li Longji would not replace Li Linfu before Yang Guozhong was still young.

Today's Gu Qing is too weak, and he cannot shake the balance of the court that Li Longji personally arranged.

A corruption case involving 100,000 yuan cannot be shaken. The greater possibility is that Li Longji will take it lightly.

Ji Wen sat opposite Gu Qing, but Gu Qing's mind was spinning rapidly.

If you only focus on the current Zuowei corruption case, then it will naturally be clear and black, and you can tell who is the good guy and who is the bad guy at a glance.

However, if we focus on the court, the emperor's thoughts, and the balance of the situation between factions and party members, then there will be no right or wrong in this corruption case. Who is the good guy and who is the bad guy? Li Longji said

After all, considering the overall situation of the court, there is no telling whose butt the blame will fall on in the end. There is a high possibility that Li Longji will get rid of the person who lifted the lid.

After thinking about this clearly, a layer of cold sweat broke out on Gu Qing's back, and he felt a sense of fear in his heart.

In the morning, he was still thinking about whether to go directly to the palace to see Li Longji and take the case to Datian. Anyway, he was not greedy for a penny, but he exposed a group of morons. Even if it was in vain, it couldn't be considered a fault.

?

At this moment, Gu Qing thought more deeply, maybe it was really an unforgivable mistake.

So Gu Qing instantly decided to compromise.

This is due to his instinct of self-preservation. If there is a trouble in front of him that he cannot solve, or if solving it will cause him death, then Gu Qing will choose to avoid it.

Human nature is selfish. The so-called justice and the so-called loyalty to the emperor and the country are just loud slogans to Gu Qing. It doesn't matter if he shouts if his life is safe, but if someone puts a knife on his neck, he will do it.

The only thing that matters is survival, justice, etc., stand aside for now.

After making the decision, Gu Qing was still a little confused, but he still showed the friendliest smile, looked at Ji Wen and said, "Mr. Ji, I don't want to get involved in this matter."

Ji Wen was stunned, staring into Gu Qing's eyes, stroking his few sparse rat whiskers and silently thinking about the meaning of Gu Qing's words.

"When Gu Changshi said he didn't want to participate, he meant..."

Gu Qing said with a smile: "It means literally, I don't want to participate, I don't want to sign, and I don't want to cause trouble. I won't add any resistance to you, let alone report this matter. Just treat it as if I don't know anything about it.

I believe that with the abilities of Li Xiang and Ji Langzhong, there must be a way to achieve their goals without me, Ji Langzhong, have I made it clear enough?"

Ji Wen nodded subconsciously, then stared at him suspiciously and said, "You...really don't know how to file a complaint?"

"No, I don't want to get involved in this matter at all, and I also hope that Li Xiang and Mr. Ji will not force me to get involved in this matter. We don't mess with the river. The dozen boxes you gave me are still safe and secure.

Nothing has been touched in the backyard wing, so please take it with you when you leave. How about that?"

Ji Wen looked hesitant.

The signature of Zuo Wei Changshi is a necessary process. If Gu Qing agrees to sign, the completion of this matter can be said to be flawless. But Gu Qing has made it very clear that he does not want to get involved in this matter, so this must be done

The process is not without expediency. It just needs to bribe more officials in the left guard and do some tricks when retaining the list of three provinces. At least it must be seamless and flawless in writing.

Then the group of gossipy officials at Yushitai will have nothing to do with it, and the accomplices in the East Palace and Yang Guozhong will have nothing to do with Prime Minister Li.

The key lies in Gu Qing's attitude. If he can keep his promise and not sue, the matter will still be solved perfectly, and the huge sum of 100,000 yuan will be securely obtained.

Will Gu Qing really keep his promise? The humanity of an official like Ji Wen is almost gone. He doesn't even believe in his own father, so how could he believe in Gu Qing?

But Ji Wen believed in Li Linfu. To be precise, he believed in Li Linfu's power.

Why did Gu Qing compromise? Why didn't he want to get involved in this matter? To put it bluntly, he was afraid. He was afraid of Li Linfu's power. If he was smarter, he would know Li Linfu's position in the emperor's heart, even if the matter was reported to the emperor.

In front of him, he may not be able to sway Prime Minister Li. Everyone knows this fact.

When people have a sense of awe and fear, they know how to advance and retreat as a human being, and know how to surrender to the rules of the game set by the strong. Gu Qing, this young man, is obviously a smart man.

"Gu Changshi means what he says?" Ji Wen asked slowly, staring into Gu Qing's eyes.

Gu Qing smiled and nodded: "Keep your word. Your character is always as high as your talent. Ji Langzhong must believe me."

Ji Wen looked at Gu Qing deeply, then curled up the corner of his mouth, showing a smile that was either mocking or meaningless, and then stood up to leave.

Gu Qing politely sent Ji Wen outside the gate and watched with his own eyes as he took away more than a dozen boxes of heavy gifts. As he watched the carriage leave, the smile on Gu Qing's face gradually stiffened.

"Did I do something wrong?" Gu Qing muttered to himself in a daze.

Is life more important or so-called justice? Everyone's answer is different. Gu Qing has made his own choice.

…………

The next day, after Gu Qing entered Zuowei Yingmao, he went straight to the room where Li Guangbi worked.

Li Guangbi looked a little ugly today. Seeing Gu Qing come in and salute, he just nodded lightly.

"Have you dealt with the list?" Li Guangbi asked.

Gu Qing was silent for a moment and said: "It's taken care of."

"Oh? Tell me how you handled it."

Gu Qing smiled bitterly: "Just pretend you don't know anything. I won't sign the bond and I don't want to provoke them."

"Who is behind this?"

"Ji Wen, the doctor in the household department, and behind Ji Wen...is Prime Minister Li." Gu Qing said honestly.

Li Guangbi was startled, then tightened his lips and his face became increasingly ugly.

Gu Qing sighed: "Uncle Li, don't blame me. I have to admit that I can't afford to offend Prime Minister Li."

Li Guangbi's voice was trembling, and he was obviously trying to suppress his anger: "You can just watch them greedy for thousands of dollars? This is the wealth and wealth that the people of the Tang Dynasty have plucked out of their mouths through their hard work!"

Gu Qing lowered his head and whispered: "That's right, but even if we sue the Emperor, does Uncle Li think His Majesty will punish Prime Minister Li?"

Li Guangbi was stunned for a moment, as if someone had poked a hole in his anger, and he was instantly discouraged. He lowered his head and sighed sadly.

If the emperor is not a wise king, the definition of justice and evil will be very vague. The power to judge good and evil is in the hands of the emperor. The emperor has the ability to reverse good and evil. So, even if he risks his life to fight against evil, what is the point?

Li Guangbi's voice became hoarse: "So, what will they do next?"

Gu Qing whispered: "Bypass my long history, continue to bribe Zuowei officials, and maybe do some manipulation in the process."
Chapter completed!