Between the vast sea of ​​clouds

It was only later that Qingping found out that Li Yan was also among the officials detained by the feudal lord at that time, and it was by accident that Qingping fished him out.Now that she is still in Changwu, she wrote a letter and told it in detail about what happened to her.

Before Li Yan's letter was finished, the clerk sent Yuan Sui's urgent delivery. In addition to the usual concerns in the letter, Yuan Sui said that the Hezhou case was over and she would return to court to report on her duties soon.

Qingping sighed slightly, the case was settled, and she was happy for Yuan Sui.It's just that Yuan Sui handles the case without discussing personal feelings, which is easy to offend people. It is difficult to guarantee that he will not be involved in the report when he returns to the court.

Just as she was thinking about the official document, someone suddenly broke in without notification. Xu Chengye, a servant of the Ministry of War, took a sign on her desk and said darkly: "Master Li, transfer the resident of Yunzhong County to the police station." Bing, do you have documents from the imperial court?"

Qing Ping glanced at her and said: "Master Xu, am I the hall official or you are the hall official? When does the servant no longer need to salute when he sees Shang Shu?"

Xu Chengye was so angry that he fell back, pinched his nose and said politely: "Master Shangshu, you are in charge of the Ministry of Rites, why do you want to intervene in the affairs of the Ministry of War? If this is the case, why don't you become the Minister of the Ministry of War!"

Qingping served the tea ceremony: "Master Xu is dissatisfied with the Minister of the Ministry of War? After returning to the court, I will definitely relay your words to her."

Xu Chengye sneered again and again: "My lord, there is no imperial document. Your majesty ordered that you transfer the garrison privately. It is already a serious crime, but—" she deliberately elongated her voice, "Before this, you transferred a team with the excuse of borrowing troops It is another felony to come to Zhaoye!"

"Understood." Qing Ping said perfunctorily, "Thank you Master Xu for telling me that if you have nothing else to do, you can step down. There are many official duties here, and I will take care of a state temporarily. It is really not as leisurely as Master Xu."

Xu Chengye was not angry this time, but sat aside and said: "Although your lord is acting as the state shepherd temporarily, the imperial court has sent an imperial envoy. Your lord's previous actions were already inappropriate. There was no order in the middle, and he left Chenzhou privately." The government office has gone to Minzhou, I am afraid that the merits will not be worth it when we return to the court."

Qingping noticed that there was something in her words, so he said: "Master Xu, if you have something to say, you might as well say it directly."

Xu Chengye said: "In the end, my lord is only temporarily acting as the state shepherd, but has no power of state shepherd. Why bother to work so hard and thanklessly? Those individuals only need to talk about it, but the lord's credit belongs to her. The subordinates I also feel worthless for adults!"

Qingping showed a hesitant expression at the right time, as if he was really moved by the persuasion, he let out a long sigh and shook his head vigorously.

Seeing that she was wavering, Xu Chengye hurriedly said: "But you don't have to worry, as long as you play the imperial court together with us and read her book, and I and the other two servants will surely redeem your credit. I don't know what you think ?”

After pondering for a moment, Qingping said: "I have three questions to ask Mr. Xu."

Xu Chengye hurriedly sat upright and said, "My lord, please tell me."

Qing Ping said: "The officials who were sent to inspect the vassal's fief were detained. Your Excellency has the authority to mobilize troops and horses. Why don't you ask the garrison to rescue them?"

Xu Chengye said with some embarrassment: "There is no reply from the imperial court, and I dare not act rashly."

"Oh, that's it." Qingping said lightly, "then the imperial court didn't write a letter, the garrison arrived in Changwu to save people, why did your lord say that the garrison is under the control of the Ministry of War and should be taken care of?"

Xu Chengye said vaguely: "The matter is urgent, and I have to do it."

To put it bluntly, it means seeing an opportunity to make meritorious service, and rushing up to grab credit.Qing Ping was very disdainful towards this person, and said slowly: "Your Excellency came to the government office to say these words to me, is he really thinking of me, or is he envious of seeing people getting promoted every day, and wants to pull him down?"

Xu Chengye was suddenly punctured by her, and became angry from embarrassment: "How is it possible, nonsense—"

Qing Ping suddenly got up, squinted at her and said: "If you want people to know, you must do nothing yourself. Mr. Xu, you abolished the public because of private interests, and put dozens of people in danger. I haven't read your book yet, but you are talking nonsense here. How intentional it is to play tricks!"

She suppressed her smile, and said: "The law says that if a lower official commits a crime, the cane will be twenty. Mr. Xu, you have repeatedly disrespected the superior, and you have offended many times. Since you are a first-time offender, you will not be punished with a cane. I It will be submitted to the Shudu Procuratorate, and it will be determined whether it is merit or demerit."

Xu Chengye said angrily: "Okay! I'll wait for your lord, and let's see if it's your appointment or my memorial!"

Qingping said fearlessly: "It's up to you. But Mr. Xu, you have to keep in mind that as long as I temporarily act as the governor of Chenzhou for a day, it will not be your turn to make decisions."

Xu Chengye was so angry that he threw up his sleeves and left, presumably out of embarrassment. In the next few days, if there were any official documents, she would only send someone to deliver them, instead of going to the government office to submit them in person.Qingping didn't care about her, if something important happened, he would send someone to discuss with Hu Zhuo by letter.Hu Zhuo took back the land of the aristocratic family in Qiannan, so she was very busy. Even so, she also heard about Xu Chengye, and the differences between the four imperial envoys had gradually become apparent. She said to Qingping in the letter that it was her If you drag her down, you will take the blame and plead guilty to the court.

But before she had time to do so, Qing Ping first received an official document from the imperial court, ordering Zhou Zheng Yao Bin to take care of the affairs temporarily, ordering her to return immediately.A few words in this paperwork have sealed her future.Yao Bin heard about this and came to see her, Qing Ping smiled at her and said, "Master Yao, I didn't lie to you, in the coming year, you will definitely take the position of State Shepherd."

Yao Bin bowed to her and said, "Thank you, my lord."

Qingping replied: "You don't have to thank me, but I want to thank you."

Yao Bin said: "The big and small affairs of Chenzhou are all taken care of by the adults, but I have done nothing. Why should the adults thank me?"

"Looking at the situation in Chenzhou at that time, the Lord's inaction is his doing. Master Yao has done enough to restrain his subordinates and persuade the family." Qing Ping removed the official document on the table and winked at Yao Bin. , "Master Yao thinks?"

Yao Bin said, "I'm just worried about my lord returning to Beijing, I'm afraid it's..."

Qing Ping said: "This is what I want to ask you to do. Since there are people in the DPRK who are interfering with me, please don't speak for me when the time comes, and do nothing to the end."

Yao Bin couldn't hold back anymore: "Could it be that my lord thinks that I'm the kind of villain who avoids the cold and is obsessed with inflammation?"

Qing Ping shook his head and said: "This matter involves a lot, and I'm afraid it will affect Mr. Yan Ge. You are her student, so there is no guarantee that you will not be dragged into trouble. The overall situation in Chenzhou will be entrusted to you to implement new laws, overturn, and reform. Which one can be easily handed over to others to do?"

Yao Bin interrupted when he heard the word restructuring: "Your Excellency, be careful, now is not the time to talk about that."

Qingping waved his hand and said: "Be careful what you say, Master Yao, today is different from the past, you can't hide your clumsiness in the future, if you don't make some political achievements, the position of state shepherd may not be safe. Qianzhou Muliangpu got merits in controlling the flood, Master Yao, I don't know what will happen to you, I really want to see."

Yao Bin always felt a little strange when he heard her words, and tentatively asked: "Your Excellency, you have heard something, the court is going to...?" She wanted to talk about demoting the official, but she felt that the matter did not reach that point, so it is better not to draw conclusions lightly , and stopped the sound in time, thinking of saying good things to comfort and comfort Qingping.

Qingping also accepted her love, chatted some gossip, and gave her some of the experience he wrote the day before yesterday. Yao Bin took the things, and the more he thought about it, the more strange he became. If there is a vacancy in an important position, if the court finally wants to demote your lord, you might as well consider letting him go." After speaking, she felt that the words were a bit blunt, and the intention of wooing was too obvious, so she walked away with a shy face.

After hearing this, Qingping felt emotional, and could only thank her for her kindness from the bottom of her heart.

She knows that she can't help herself whether she goes or stays, but this time, she just wants to be the master.

The night before leaving the Chenzhou government office, a letter suddenly came to report, saying that someone had handed over a greeting card.The visitor came late at night.Either to ask someone or to tell someone something important, Qingping had already fallen asleep, got up again, put on his clothes and went to the hall to meet the guests.

When she saw the man, she was stunned for a moment, then hurried forward, saluted and said, "Teacher, why are you here?"

It was He Yan who came, and Qingping saw that her hair was much grayer, and she looked much older than the previous year.He Yan shook his cloak and said, "I heard that you were leaving, so I thought of coming over to meet you."

Qing Ping invited her to sit in the upper seat, and sat in the lower seat himself, saying: "Yes, the imperial court has issued an official document, and the disciple will leave tomorrow."

He Yan looked at her and said: "Let me ask you, there are only a lot of papers for you now. You came to Chenzhou this time, and you did some things too boldly, and you didn't inform Shangguan. It's hard for your senior sister to help you." Talk. Right now, she can only hold down the papers under her hand and not publish them for the time being. Taking advantage of this gap, you can go to the school to defend yourself now, which is too late."

Qingping hesitated for a while, and decided to tell the truth: "I don't intend to defend myself."

He Yan was very calm and asked, "Do you not want to be an official anymore?"

Qing Ping said in a low voice: "Yes, I don't want to be an official anymore."

"It's a coincidence that you have come to this point. People of your age are still exercising or practicing six books. You have no family background, and you are not smooth enough. Because of this, everything you have gained now is very difficult." He He Ping said slowly, "You haven't started your official career yet, so are you going to give up just like that?"

Qingping replied: "As the teacher said, all of this is hard-won. To be honest, in the past, when students studied, they only wanted to earn a fame and live a decent life. But now I know that it may not be possible to have these things. Live decently. It’s not easy to be an official. Seeing black people become white, and white people being said to be black again, the twists and turns, right and wrong, are not as simple as I thought.”

He Pun said: "It is not easy to have this kind of understanding. It is difficult to be an official. What is the difficulty? Look at this official character. There is a treasure cover on the top and two mouths on the bottom. The two mouths are the mouth and the heart. The word "official" , It is necessary for people to agree with each other, but who can do it? When you see black and white, but you can’t speak freely, you will naturally feel dissatisfied and feel resentful for a long time."

Qingping served tea, and said slowly: "I know the teacher has good intentions, but I have made up my mind, and I don't want to participate in these disputes anymore."

He Bang said: "Then why?"

The sound of beating came from a distance, Qing Ping looked out of the courtyard, Qing Hui had fallen all the steps, it was indescribably quiet and gentle.She thought for a long time, and replied: "I am worried about advancing and retreating. I am not a big talent, and I can't be a pillar. After experiencing such a life in the officialdom, I can see it more clearly. Speaking of it, I am not afraid of the teacher's laughter. I used to look forward to being an official. , I want to serve the imperial court. Now I know that things in the world can't be as expected, this official is always disheartened in front of him, the officialdom is unpredictable, and there are few friends and acquaintances.

He Yan didn't answer, and looked out of the courtyard with her. After thinking for a long time, he said: "You are thinking the same as when I was young. At that time, the late emperor was obsessed with Qingxiu, and he didn't go to court for several years. Corruption and ink were rampant in the officialdom. , the imperial court did nothing. I just lived in the Hanlin Academy like this, wasting away every day, and I didn’t know what I was going to do. Although I have some reputation among my peers, it is not as good as those flatterers. How can they be happy in their hearts when they are promoted? They simply hang up their crowns and leave, and in the blink of an eye, they are already in their twilight years."

Hearing that this was her heartfelt words, Qingping was moved and said: "How can a disciple compare with his teacher, he is absolutely inferior."

He Pu had a great reputation in the past, was rich in learning and talented, and was hand-picked as a servant of the Imperial Academy. Both the DPRK and China wanted to win him over.It's just that she has always been aloof and conceited, and she doesn't want to join forces with others, and hates the officialdom, so she returns to her hometown.Qing Ping knew that she was comforting himself, otherwise Kui Ye would not have come here, and the ups and downs of his heart also added a bit of sadness.

"It's all the same." He Yan seemed to be remembering the past, just smiled and shook his head, got up and said: "It will take dozens of days to go back on this road, you can think again, there are so many troubles in this world , and you don’t have to think too clearly.”

Qing Ping got up to send each other off, saluted and said: "I will bid farewell today, I don't know when I will see you again in the future, I hope the teacher will take care of you."

He Yan smiled and said, "Okay."

The long street was covered by mist in the dark night, Qingping sent He Yan to the carriage, watched her leave, and the master and apprentice said goodbye.

The patter of the rain gently clings to the corners of the eaves of the roof tiles, and falls silently on the bluestone slab, splashing a cluster of small water splashes.

Wu Yue knelt in the middle of the yard, her clothes were already wet by the drizzle, she kept her back straight, and silently stared at the room.

There was a faint movement in the house: "...unfilial...reckless..."

She vaguely remembered what her mother said a few days ago: "Why do I have a daughter like you! It's such a misfortune for the family. If you are allowed to continue, I'm afraid the family will be wiped out!"

Wu Yue looked at her flushed face and asked calmly: "Why is mother so angry? If I don't do this, the Wu family will probably go to the old road of Xie's family in Shanglingnan!"

"What are you talking about...you unworthy girl!"

Winter is coming soon, and the weather is getting colder.Wu Yue knelt for half the night, his drenched clothes clinging to his body, the chill piercing his bones, he was already numb.It's just that no matter how cold it is, it can't compare to the chilling things she overheard her mother and sister said that day.Because the Xie family colluded with the vassal king, all the families were ordered to die, and the remaining properties of the Xie family were taken over by the government. This was nothing, but she heard that her mother seemed to want to take over these properties, so she persuaded her mother that the Wu family should avoid suspicion at this time , Don't touch these industries, if they take over, it will arouse the fear of the court, and the Wu family is dominant in Hezhou, there is no guarantee that they will not become the next Xie family.

That day, she was reprimanded by her mother, but yesterday, who leaked the news, Wu Yue privately saw that Yuan Sui's incident was known by the family members, and now the matter became serious, and several parents who had always been dissatisfied with her were even more serious. Not afraid to add insult to injury, they made a fuss at the clan meeting.Even her grandmother, who always favored her, didn't speak for her. In the end, her mother was out of breath and punished her to kneel in the courtyard to reflect.

Wu Yue didn't feel that she had done anything wrong, and she was not much moved when she heard those aunts clamoring to expel her from the house and remove her name from the family tree.After being drenched in the rain for a long time, listening to those words, she felt more and more relaxed, and the heavy responsibilities that had weighed on her heart were slowly unloaded.When she was a teenager, her mother mentioned the family glory in front of her ears, and she studied hard for several years, but she stopped her official career because of that sentence.That little bit of blood has gradually turned cold, and ambitions are also honed in day-to-day trivial matters.She knelt in the rain for a long time, as if waking up from a big dream.From then on, he was born in the family, and now he has repaid all the grace of giving birth.What this family will look like in the future seems to have nothing to do with her.

Everyone is so greedy, always wanting more, greedy people will not be satisfied, just like her mother and aunt.Wu Yue thought for a while, then got up from the ground, stumbled back to the room to wash.She packed up her things, took off the Guqin sealed up on the high shelf and carried it on her back, and left the house just like that.

She went to Fahe Temple, and the incense in the main hall remained the same, and there was no change.She walked to a longevity card, the water in the porcelain bowl in front of the card had dried up, revealing a discolored knot, she stretched out her hand to hook it up, took it off and put it away in her arms, and whispered to the card: "Ah Ying, I'm leaving. It's inconvenient for me to travel, so I can't take you with me, so I use this jade pendant as if it's you and me going together."

The candle flame flickered suddenly, as if in the dark, someone really echoed her words.Wu Yue smiled and said, "Then let's go."

The ancient trees in the temple stood silently, she stepped over the fallen leaves, and threw herself into the vast rainy night without hesitation.