Relief

There is only one lamp in the study today.

The lamp-burning hall was half hidden in the darkness, and a vague figure sat in the hall with his head bowed.The footsteps of the middle-aged man stopped outside the threshold for a moment, startled by the rare night in the mansion that was not illuminated by lights in a century.

The middle-aged man walked into the hall with a bow, and saw the old man sitting on the seat hunched over, as if overwhelmed, with an unremarkable candle and a tea bowl on the coffee table in hand.The old man stretched out his hand, but failed to touch the teacup twice, his fingers wiped away from both sides.

The middle-aged man stepped forward quickly, knelt by the coffee table, and offered the old man a tea bowl with both hands.The old man touched the edge of the porcelain tea bowl, his wrist was like a dead branch, with decayed age spots appearing.

"The servant serving today is too slack. You have bad eyesight. You should turn on a few more lamps at night." The middle-aged man had tattoo marks on his cheeks, and his face was fierce, but his posture was full of respect.

The old man was holding the tea, and there was an indistinct face reflected on the surface of the water, so old that he didn't even recognize him.

"Chengtang...can't come back anymore?"

Xu Hu had never heard the prime minister call Hou Daizhao's real name directly, so he didn't react for a while.Ever since Hou Chengtang stepped down from the temple, he has lost the meaning of being an opponent to the prime minister.Now why is there implied sympathy inside and outside the words?

"...The young master of the Yue family killed his group on Ganliang Road."

The prime minister snorted coldly: "The Yue family is meddling in their own business. His kid is playing wild on my territory. I turned a blind eye to it at that time. Now thinking about it, it's really useless."

"What kind of person?" Mr. thought for a while, "Probably the kind of person who often does things for nothing..."

Tang Zongzhu and Xie Zhixu waited for the next sentence in puzzlement.

"Actually, I don't know him very well." Mr. squinted his eyes and smiled, "Do you know that Wang Xiang is from Dingzhou Xingtang?"

Apart from mentioning this matter, Xie Zhixu hadn't realized that Wang Xiang appeared out of nowhere, and no one noticed his existence before he sat down in the top spot.

"Dingzhou Xingtang was built by Qi Guoguo Guan Zhong, a city of famous ministers for a generation," the gentleman sighed, "He can come to where he is today, maybe there were signs at the beginning."

The Wang family of Xingtang is a rich family, and there are officials and businessmen in the family. They have a wide range of connections. As a descendant of the Wang family, they are born with abundant resources.

However, Wang Gan was orphaned when he was young, orphaned and widowed, and was taken care of by several uncles, but he did not receive careful arrangements, and became a shepherd boy in the grassy swamp.The clan built a private school and hired a teacher, but Wang Gan couldn't even afford Shu Xiu, who was an apprentice.The Queen Mother is a far-sighted person. She exchanged the goat milk she had secretly accumulated with the children of the family who are studying. Goat milk is a treasure that only the young masters of the family can enjoy. Wang Gan thus got the opportunity to read and write, but the borrowed books must be returned as soon as possible. , he could only burn the sundial to extract books, and when he had no money to buy lamp oil, he would cover the sky and sit on the ground to borrow the starlight, so his eyes were broken at a young age.

After becoming successful and famous, I have the habit of burning lamps at night, perhaps because I planted the cause when I was young.

Wang Gan has experienced three scientific examinations in his life.It was the first time in Nianhua, because he couldn't make up the travel expenses, had no money and was rude to visit the teacher, so he gave up halfway, and didn't even enter the examination room.The second time was when he worked as a book assistant in Zhizhou Prefecture, he collected all the fees, and asked the prefectural literary officer to study "Shangshu" and "The Analects of Confucius".

Wang Gan was originally just a mere official in the prefecture. He wasted years in a low position. He thought he would talk about the rest of his life. It happened that one day the prefect had a whim and tried to teach everyone the strategy of governing the prefecture. Wang Gan performed particularly well. Appreciate the promotion, but only got a small position as a secretary, and was still abandoned after that.However, when he was rushing to take the exam for the second time for his own future, he was recalled by Zhizhou in the name of talent, and he was filled with passionate indignation.

Nine years have passed since the third exam, and the years have mercilessly turned Wang Gan's youth into a middle-aged man. If he misses another three years, his future will be hopeless.Under such circumstances, he finally learned how to cheat, and used offerings to win the magistrate's accommodation and let him rush for the exam.

However, those young talents with serious backgrounds from major universities failed to pass the exam, and finally got a mediocre post as a county magistrate. The legend of Quanpo.

Jiu Zhezi was an examinee in the same class as him. The two went to the post together, and wrote poems on the wall of Baoqing Temple together when they passed through Jiangling Mansion.Jiuzheban became the place where the two of them parted ways. Jiuzhezi lived from then on, and retreated back to the mountains to fulfill himself. Wang Gan lived from now on. His ordinary life full of rust has ushered in a turning point. Once he entered the court, it was as deep as the sea. , Since then, he has risen steadily and tens of thousands of people kneel down.

"What kind of turning point can bring such a big change to a middle-aged and inactive person?" Halfway through the story, Wu Li and Feng Zhichang also sat at the coffee table.

The gentleman took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, sighed and said, "What kind of students have I taught? Everyone likes to listen to gossip."

The three twirled cakes and drank tea, pretending not to hear.

"People from the palace are waiting outside." Xu Hu reminded in a low voice.

Wang Xiang's stooped back was imprinted on the hard mahogany chair, and he was silent for a moment, knowing the situation today in his heart. "Bring my Bright Heart Sword."

Xu Hu was taken aback.

Mingxin is the sword bestowed by the emperor, although it is not to the position of seeing the sword as if seeing the emperor, it is also a status symbol of the emperor's favored minister. At this juncture, wearing the favored minister's sword to meet the messenger who brought the oral order in the palace, his heart is clear Ruojie.

The envoy was a white-faced young man, whose rank could not be seen in plain robes, but Wang Xiang could often see him beside the emperor—it was Baowen Pavilion who followed the emperor to record his words and deeds for a hundred years After that, it will be enshrined in Baowen Pavilion for future generations to admire.

"I'm guilty of my own fault?" Wang Xiang repeated with a flat expression.

"Your Majesty is willing to give the Prime Minister a chance to read the chapter on guilt at the court meeting tomorrow morning, admitting his inappropriate behavior towards the Wulin of the Central Plains and the Yuefu of Xiliang. Forgive me for being frank and lenient, so that I can avoid the death penalty."

"Oh?" Wang Xiang said coldly.

Xu Hu was so angry that he almost broke Baimian Xiaosheng's throat: "Bold boy! Dare to speak wild words to the prime minister!"

Wang Xiang put his skinny palm on Xu Hu's shoulder to stop him.

The white-faced young man showed no fear, and said calmly: "The humble job is just a messenger, if you have any opinions, you can go to the saint yourself."

Neither of them showed any expression.

Wang Xiangdao: "Words? You can't see it according to the truth."

The white-faced niche stared at Wang Xiang's aging but indifferent face with a frown.

"Everyone in the world knows that the Prime Minister speaks for the Son of Heaven, and everything he does is in accordance with orders. How can he make such claims and even say that he is guilty?"

The white-faced young man pulled the corners of his lips, with a half-smile, half-sarcasm: "Your majesty's words and deeds are humble, but he has never followed the orders of the prime minister."

Wang Xiang was stunned, and the conversation with the emperor in the past rang in his ears.

"Xie Wen's son, Xie Jinghui, is still alive."

"Come, come, have tea."

"My arrangement in Jiangling was perfect, and Xie Jinghui escaped unscathed. It must be Hou Daizhao who got in the way behind his back."

"The tea leaves are all overcooked. That old man, he said earlier that he should not work if his eyes are bad, and he can't do it well. It's only because I told the Ministry of Internal Affairs that he kept bringing tea to his house."

"The exiled Hou has been waiting for Zhao for more than ten years. It is impossible to say that he had a different heart early. Now he is the owner of White Horse Castle. He thinks that his family is rich, and he dares to act recklessly. If he is not punished, he may lose control."

"Father Gong, among the emotions in the world, which one is the most precious, a poor wife, a poor friend, icing on the cake, giving charcoal in a timely manner, a bosom friend is hard to find, and bole is hard to meet? Tell me about it."

The court's first favorite thought he understood the emperor's subtext.

"I understand, sending charcoal in the snow, Bole will never meet. Xie Wen showed Hou Daizhao the kindness to know him when he was down. No wonder he would miss Xie Jinghui and let Xie Jinghui go."

But the emperor just took a sip of tea, suffered from the paste tea, and spit it into the spittoon, until the last thing he left for his favorite minister was only one word——

"Pooh."

In the dimly lit prime minister's mansion, under the starlight in front of the lamp-burning hall, a cold light cut between the eyes of the white-faced Xiaosheng. He calmly watched Wang Xiang pull out the Mingxin sword from his waist. The sword body, which symbolized the heart of loyalty, was extremely clear.

The most worthless thing in the world is loyalty.The white-faced xiaosheng is so mocking in his heart, it is because of his loyalty that he willingly surrendered his trust, and finally ended up in a miserable situation with bruises and bruises.

Holding the hilt of the sword, Wang Xiang looked at Mingxin Sword in the night, as if he had never seriously observed the sword since it was handed over to him.Years of ups and downs in the officialdom made him very happy and angry, until the shocked face of the white-faced niche was split in two under the sword of Mingxin, Wang Xiang still looked indifferent.

Xu Hu was taken aback, seeing Baimian Xiaosheng's body split in half and fell at his feet, the blood pool stained the floor tiles red.

He actually killed the envoy...

"This sword," Wang Xiang said in a calm tone, "has the right to strike first and play later. The only person who can speak and act on behalf of the emperor, the country has only its true face."

Xu Hu didn't dare to say more, he felt that the guards could no longer intervene in this situation, and he lowered his head to avoid suspicion and prepared to drag the body of the envoy away, but from the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Wang Xiang looking down at the face of the sword body, and couldn't help being surprised——

Wang Xiang dazedly wiped the sword with his sleeve. The Mingxin Sword, which was originally as clear as a mirror, was stained with the blood of the white-faced young man and turned into a red-trained sword.

A bright sword is a loyal minister, and a red sword is a courtier.

Wang Xiang wiped the red sword repeatedly, but the color did not fade at all.Xu Hu watched him move, and remembered the first time he met in prison, he asked the high-ranking Wang Xiang that the Mingxin Sword really had miraculous effects, and verified the absurdity of the rumors with his own body, and the two laughed knowingly.

"So that's what it means..." Wang Xiang said clearly.

"It's nothing more than making a wedding dress for someone," the gentleman said lightly when talking about the court affairs, "the emperor wanted to regain the uncontrolled martial arts sect and the family of gold coupons, but he didn't want to be honest. Wang Gan hit this opportunity, as the emperor's most convenient With a knife, if you get honor, you will kill people for it."

"Promoting Yulong to die for the king, that's what it means." Tang Sect Master was very emotional when he heard it.

The persimmon tree is in the green courtyard, and the branches show playful red.The lively color sank to the bottom of the tea bowl, and was swayed by the water, making it lifeless.

Vitality is but an illusion in water.

"He should die now." Mr. picked up the tea bowl and drank the persimmons in the water in one gulp.