Hello Chang’an

 Wei Shuyi left the courtyard and walked straight forward.

He had no clear idea of ​​where he wanted to go. He only felt that the various shocks and complex feelings in his heart had woven into a big net to trap him. It was difficult to break free for a while, and he didn't know what he could do.

He didn't say a word, but his heart was extremely noisy.

It's early after the rain, and the afternoon sun is particularly dazzling. Although the rain has stopped, the remaining raindrops are still hanging on the flowers and leaves of the branches, flowing between the roof tiles and eaves, and hiding in the gaps of the blue brick rockery. Under the refraction of the sun, the wind blows from time to time, and the light and shadow of the water droplets sway lightly. It was as if the whole world was shaking with his heartbeat.

Uncle Wei walked to the outer garden. The spring light was blooming here, and the exotic flowers and plants blooming piled up to create a splendid scene.

He walked through that gorgeous place and stopped by a lotus pond.

The pool is full of lush green lotus leaves, holding swollen raindrops. When the wind blows, the raindrops slide among the lotus leaves. Two droplets roll into one. After another two shakes, one drop of water breaks into several petals again. Rolling and swinging.

Wei Shuyi looked through a pool of swaying waves at a pavilion on the other side.

Looking into the sunlight, his vision was blurry, and he seemed to see a young girl sitting alone in the pavilion. She looked at the koi in the pond and yawned out of boredom - this scene had appeared in their Zheng Guogong Mansion two years ago. On top of the spring flower party held.

Between the overlap of light and shadow, the girl in the pavilion is covered with a hazy halo, as if the sun is lingering and intertwined, and it is also like the cold light coming from the snowy fields of Beidi. It makes people dare not peek, but it is difficult to look away.

Wei Shuyi stared at this illusory scene, and felt an unspeakable sense of injustice in his heart. Her deeds and achievements should have been completely recorded in the history books, instead of being buried in the snow and ice in the north of the Great Wall.

In a daze, he seemed to see the figure in the pavilion tilting his head slightly and looking towards him from a distance.

The sight was extremely unreal, yet extremely fascinating.

Wei Shuyi then stepped forward.

"...Mr. Lang!"

Changji, who was following not far away, suddenly screamed when he saw this, and hurriedly ran forward and stretched out his hand.

"thump!"

Wei Shuyi stepped into the pool and fell into the spring water.

"Come here quickly, Langjun has jumped into the pond!" Before Changji jumped into the water, he did not forget to shout, calling for help.

Damn it, what on earth did Madam and Lang Jun talk about that made Lang Jun and others think of committing suicide!

But Changji quickly overturned this conclusion, because when he stepped forward to rescue him, he saw that his husband had already taken the initiative to come ashore... Did he intend to commit suicide, or was he possessed by an evil spirit?

Recalling Lang Jun's distraught appearance all the way, Changji became more certain.

So when he helped his husband ashore, Changji nervously urged several servants who heard the noise and gathered around him: "Hurry, your husband is possessed!"

Several servants were shocked when they heard this, so should they invite a doctor or a Taoist priest?

Wei Shuyi, who had been shocked by the cold water and had come to his senses, raised his hand to stop Changji from pinching Renzhong for him: "I'm fine, don't make any nonsense..."

Either his body had not fully recovered after the cold, or he was really mentally shocked, and Wei Shuyi fell ill again afterwards.

During the few days when he was sick and on leave, the imperial court issued decrees of rewards to a group of officials who were sent to Dongluo as envoys.

Historically, officials from the Dasheng Kingdom who served as envoys to foreign countries would be promoted more or less upon their return, and this time was no exception.

As the leading official on this mission, Wei Shuyi's promotion was inevitable. Although he was young, he had been serving as a minister for four years. The so-called Dongtai Menxia Shilang is the adjutant of the Menxia Province. There are two ministers under the chief minister. The ministers are in charge of the government affairs of the province and have the same position as the left prime minister. However, due to extremely fierce party disputes in recent years, the position of the servant under the sect has changed frequently. On the contrary, Wei Shuyi, the servant under the sect, is as motionless as an old dog. Therefore, when the position of the servant among the sect is vacant, Wei Shuyi will mostly decide the affairs of the sect.

Now, there is only one person in the position among the servants, named Cui Hao. He is from the Cui family of Qinghe and is the same generation as Cui Ai.

In the early dynasty, Emperor Shengce praised Wei Shuyi for his mission as an envoy, as well as his outstanding political achievements and virtues in recent years, and promoted him to the rank of minister of the province, and co-managed the affairs of the province with Cui Hao.

Since then, since the imperial examination was launched in Dasheng, the youngest number one scholar, Wei Shilang, has become the youngest left prime minister in the history of Dasheng.

This move demonstrates the empress' meritocracy and also means that Wei Shuyi will formally compete with the Cui family in the power-sharing game.

The situation was turbulent, and the empress knew that it was no longer appropriate to start a war in the court. However, her desire to fight for power with the nobles remained, and she never let her guard down for a moment.

In addition, Lu Chong, the commander of the imperial army who was responsible for escorting the envoys to Dongluo this time, received letters of praise and approval from Wei Shuyi and others more than once. In the assassination of the men under Kangdingshan's command, although Chang Sui Ning later helped him, before the reinforcements arrived, he was calm and courageous from beginning to end, and tried his best to protect the officials. On the way back and forth, because of the correct decisions he made, the team of envoys escaped from danger several times.

This time the envoy team was able to return safely and safely, and he was indispensable. After discussion, he was promoted from General Zuotunwei Zhonglang to General Zuotunwei, ranking among the sixteen generals of the Forbidden Army in Beijing.

Song Xian, who was also among the envoy officials, was transferred to the Yushitai Palace Courtyard, where he took on the post of serving the Yushi, supervising hundreds of officials. He was placed under the Yushi Zhongcheng and was ranked in the sixth rank.

Tan Li was promoted to the post of Wai Lang, a member of the Duzhi Yuan in the Ministry of Household Affairs, also of the sixth rank, in charge of taxation, stipends, rewards and other matters.

On the first day he took office, Tan Li looked at the thick account book left by his predecessor, Wai Lang, and couldn't help but stare. He tried to ask: "... Didn't this senior officer even make a handover before he left?"

The official who helped him sighed: "I really left in a hurry..."

If you ask how anxious he is, he is still sitting here on duty in the morning and lying in the coffin at night.

"He died of an emergency..." the official said, looking at the bottom of Tan Li's butt, and sighed: "At that time, he was in the position where you were sitting."

Tan Li's expression suddenly changed and he stood up.

The official hurriedly reassured: "Don't worry, sir, all the tables and chairs have been replaced... Our household department has always been very particular about Feng Shui."

As he said that, he raised his hand and pointed at the portrait hanging secretly in the corner. The portrait was very beautifully drawn. At first glance, it looked like the God of Wealth. On closer inspection, he looked like a military general. If he looked more closely, he had the charm of a regular governor.

Looking at the portrait, Tan Li calmed down and sat back with courage. He flipped through two account books and saw that they were either asking for salary and military pay, or there was a deficit in accounting... He couldn't help but feel that the senior officer had left like this. Urgency is a common human condition.

After reading through it for half a day, Tan Li suddenly had a new understanding of his own wealth - although he was poor, he did not owe so many bad debts. If these debts were spread on him, he would not know what to do. live.

The first day he took office was spent with frowns and sighs.

When it was time to go off duty, several officials and scribes came in and said that the new minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs had been selected.

When Tan Li heard this, his mind buzzed - the new minister? What about Minister Zhan? Could it be that... in a hurry, he also gave up and left?

Mr. Zhan is a good man!

I think back to last year, when he first entered the officialdom and knew nothing about it, it was Minister Zhan who pulled him up!

When they last met, Mr. Zhan's face was indeed tired, and the top of his head was indeed sparse, but why... Tan Li's eyes quickly turned red, but since he hadn't heard the news, he still held a trace of luck and stepped forward. After asking around, I found out that Minister Zhan was still alive, but he was in the palace at the moment.

Zhan Mian was not in a hurry to leave, he was just preparing to be promoted.

The former Minister of Household Affairs was very old. Due to the increased pressure in recent years, his hearing and brain power were not very good. When he went to court in the morning, he always got the wrong answer when answering the sage. When I returned to the household department and listened to my subordinates report their accounts, I would always sit there and sigh and mutter: "It's difficult, it's too difficult." 】

Or: [Poor, so poor. 】

I chanted like this no less than fifty times a day for two months.

Therefore, he is now in a state of semi-resignation, staying at home to recuperate, and has a doctor from the Huichun Pavilion come to his door every day to check his pulse.

Tan Li had just returned to Beijing a few days ago and was so busy that he had no time to understand the news.

But Zhan Mian obviously knew it clearly. In the past, a subordinate died suddenly, and in the later, a superior was unconscious. To put it in layman's terms, wouldn't it mean that he was dead and crazy?

Due to the circumstances, although Zhan Mian took over the position of Minister of Household Affairs, it was difficult to feel the joy from the bottom of his heart.

Now, he has developed from worrying about the length of his hair to worrying about the length of his life.

The affairs of state affairs are far beyond what he can change by himself alone. How to survive seems to be the urgent need to think about right now.

While worried, Zhan Mian thought of his teacher. The teacher was the oldest person in the court and also held the position of a minister. How could he still be energetic and clear-headed? What's the secret?

Zhan Mian then went to ask for advice humbly.

Taifu Chu was not stingy either. He gave two pieces of advice, which were very concise and concise. The first one was called "Don't hold it in" - as the name suggests, don't keep the pressure in your heart. You must master the virtue of going crazy anytime and anywhere. I would rather teach you how to defeat the world. Don’t teach the world to make me angry.

The second one is called "Don't be stingy".

Zhan Mian didn't understand for a moment: "Teacher, what do you mean by this? Is it to let students know how to be charitable and accumulate merit?"

Seeing his pious look, Master Chu lost his patience and said, "I want you to pay a few retainers to help with the chores."

Zhan Mian suddenly realized.

The Wu family is also considering discussing the matter of asking the diners to help with the chores.

Wu Siqing Wu Yu was also promoted, and was also promoted to the Ministry of Hubu, taking the place of the Minister of Hubu who had just been vacated by Zhan Mian.

Wu Zhaobai was very happy when he heard the good news about his father's promotion. He hurriedly came over to congratulate his father. Just when he heard his grandfather talking about introducing several literati staff into the government.

While Wu Zhaobai was still thinking, he heard his sister say: "My daughter is also willing to share her father's worries."

Wu Zhaobai was stunned: "Chunbai, why do you even want to do such a thing..."

As the direct grandson of the third generation of the Wu family, he has not yet had time to recommend himself.

"Chunbai can try to learn from it." Mrs. Wu took the initiative and spoke, looking at his granddaughter with admiration.

Wu Zhaobai hesitated to speak, but did not say anything to refute.

When Chunbai came back from Dongluo on this trip, he was different from before. In the past, he always felt that Chunbai was just pretending, but now Chunbai made him feel that he was no longer pretending, and almost put his competitiveness on the table. On.

And his father said that Chunbai pushed his father away from the knife and saved his life. What's more cruel is that Chunbai also used the knife to kill someone...!

She killed someone!

She has killed people before, so wouldn’t she dare to kill others? Wait... that's a bad sentence... isn't there nothing she doesn't dare to do?

Whenever he thought of this, Wu Zhaobai, who had never even killed a chicken, felt inexplicably panicked in his heart.

And after the long period of reflection last year, most of his self-esteem has been reduced.

Therefore, although he had something to say in his heart, he did not dare to say anything.

"Grandpa, let my brother come with me." Wu Chunbai suggested.

Wu Zhaobai couldn't believe his ears.

He looked over and saw his sister smiling politely at him: "Even if I let my brother help me sharpen my ink, it's better than having him sit around all day with nothing to do."

Wu Zhaobai's expression was distorted when he heard it - how could he feel like he was using waste?

He has read a lot of poems and books, and he knows more than just grinding ink!

Mr. Wu, who was at the top, looked at his granddaughter with eyes that couldn't help but become more and more satisfied.

When Wu Chunbai returned to the residence, the maid took her bath and helped her wring her hair, and then asked: "When the maid was packing the girl's things, she didn't seem to see the dagger that the girl took away before going out... but was it left behind?" Outside?"

That dagger has a different meaning to the girl.

Wu Chunbai said: "It should be, just throw it away, it doesn't matter."

When the situation was urgent that day, she secretly handed the dagger to Mr. Song, but it seemed that he lost it in his panic.

She was so frightened that day that there were corpses everywhere, so she never bothered to look for them.

Thinking of this, when Wu Chunbai was lying on the couch, he couldn't help but recall the experience of that day.

At the same time, Song Xian, who had just closed the official document, looked at the box next to the desk, and suddenly recalled the thrilling brush with death in the ice and snow.

Whenever he thought about this incident, what appeared most often in his mind was the eyes of the woman pretending to be a close follower, who stabbed the knife into the rebel's body with both hands and looked at him in shock.

Looking up, the moon is bright outside the window and the wind is calm.

This rain took away the last bit of coolness in late spring. It's almost the beginning of summer, and everything is becoming more and more prosperous.

In Prince Rong's Mansion far away in Yizhou, the flowers and plants in the back garden are also a colorful scene. Prince Rong Li Yin, wearing a navy blue wide-sleeved regular robe, stands in the pavilion to watch the scenery. A man in black robe appears behind him. He knelt down in the pavilion to apologize.

Li Yin didn't turn around, and asked without anger: "Did you miss it?"

The man replied: "My lord, someone must have taken a step before me."

When King Rong heard this, his eyebrows moved slightly and he tilted his head slightly.

The man told the story in detail, and finally said: "...When we arrived, only Yu Zeng's mutilated body was left under the mountain wall, and his head had been taken away first."

King Rong's clear voice did not fluctuate at all: "Now that the head is gone, is the remains of Yu Zeng still the same?" (End of this chapter)