Tanhualang

When Shen Jing pushed the door and entered, Zhao Du was wrapped in a robe and was sitting on a chair, flipping through a book Shen Jing bought from the book market, with a brazier under his feet and a cup of hot tea beside him, looking quite relaxed .

Hearing Shen Jing push the door, Zhao Du only raised his eyes, but his eyes were still lingering on the brand new chess book.

Shen Jing Yili knelt down to say hello, Zhao Du then raised his head, waved his hand casually, and said in the same tired voice, "Get up."

Shen Jing stood up, and replied respectfully: "I don't know that the Holy Majesty is coming to the humble house, and I am far away from welcoming you. I hope His Highness will forgive me."

Zhao Du looked indifferent, pointed to the seat opposite, and said: "Although I came here uninvited, I still know the truth that the guests do as they please. Shen Aiqing, sit down, this is your home, don't be too worried about it." What a lot of etiquette. Why do you still have to go to the yamen on the holidays? What are you busy with?"

Quiet but dare not sit down.

The elder Ge who is a first-rank official in the court can only be given a seat in front of the emperor, but it is not the kind of grace that everyone has, let alone a seventh-rank Hanlin.

He stood where he was, lowered his eyes as usual, and replied respectfully: "Return to the Holy One, because of the matter of exchanging salt for food, there are some details that need to be discussed. Mr. Wang from the household department called several adults from the military department, as well as ministers. Wait, let's discuss it together."

"It turned out to be a matter of exchanging salt for food. You drafted the previous report, right? I have read it, and it was done well." Zhao Du never took his eyes off the chess record, and while talking casually, he put the chess record in his hand again. After turning a page, I looked up at Shen Jing, with a languid smile on my face as always, "Among the six departments, people like the household department are the most difficult to entangle. This matter is difficult for you."

Shen Jing cupped her hands: "It's the job of the minister."

Zhao Du leaned on the chair, seemed to be still concentrating on looking at the chess record, turned another page of the game record, then raised his head to look at Shen Jing, and said slowly: "Shen Qing, after the matter of exchanging salt for food is over, I will promote you How do you feel about working in the Ministry of Industry?"

Shen Jing heard the words, hesitated for a while, and replied: "Thank you for your kindness... But according to the rules, the ministers have to serve in the Imperial Academy for two years before they can go to the Six Departments to practice."

"The work of the Ministry of Industry is hard work, and it takes a lot of effort. Now that the treasury is empty, it is not as easy to do as it was in previous years. It is a hard job. But there is also an advantage: the affairs of the Ministry of Industry are closest to the Ministry of Households." Zhao Du slowly grinds Chawan, "As for the rules, rules are dead, but people are alive. If the rules are true, I should have chosen you as the champion. You just say whether you want to or not."

Shen Jing heard the words, without hesitation, immediately knelt down and saluted: "Thank you for your support, and I will obey the will of the Holy One."

"Okay. So, for your first errand, follow Zhuo Dajiang to the south of the Yangtze River to control the water." Zhao Duzhun warned, "Although the affairs of the Ministry of Industry are laborious and laborious, every inch is related to the people. And with the Ministry of Households The relationship is close, and there are many contacts between each other. I heard that Zhuo Dajiang admired you quite a lot and recommended you. With him paving the way for you, it will not be too embarrassing to go. Learn from Zhuo Dajiang, and you You need to work hard, but you need to be pragmatic, and you need to be flexible. To be down-to-earth, let’s train in the Ministry of Industry for a few years.”

After Shen Jing listened carefully, she knelt down again to thank her.

When he got up, Zhao Du pushed the tea bowl on the table beside him, "I'm not used to this tea. Since you don't want to sit down, go and get me a cup of tea."

Hearing the words, Shen Jing hurriedly took out the tea bowl and came out of the room, walked two steps in a hurry, then turned around and asked Zheng Man in a low voice: "Master Zheng, this tea sage said that he is not used to drinking."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Man stepped forward to take the teacup and said in a low voice, "Master Shen, let me come. Just wait a moment."

After speaking, he went to the kitchen with the tea bowl in his hand, and came back with hot tea and a kettle in a moment, and handed them to Shen Jing together: "My lord Shen is tired."

There is a strong bitter taste in the tea bowl, but there is a wisp of strange fragrance in it, I don't know what it is brewed in.Thank you Shen Jing, took it into the study, and carefully offered the tea bowl, Zhao Du reached out to hold the tea bowl, bowed his head and drank slowly.

A strong bitter fragrance immediately permeated the entire study.

Shen Jing stood next to Zhao Du, looking carefully out of the corner of his eye.

The last time I met him in the palace on a snowy day, Shen Jing took a closer look and found that Zhao Du was already sick. His hands holding the tea bowl were thin, his eye sockets were slightly sunken, his complexion was pale, and his cheeks had an abnormal look. Red, between demeanor, has lost most of the sharp color of the past.

While Shen Jing was shocked, she couldn't help but think of the times when she saw Zhao Du several times before.

When I first met him in Jiangnan, I only felt admiration and fear at that time; later, because of Zhao Heng, I met him twice, and I respected him even more.

Until that day when Zhao Du ordered him to persuade Zhao Heng in the heavy snow, and when he came back quietly, all he had was the fear of the superior.

But looking at him now, he couldn't help but feel a little pity for Zhao Du: such painstaking, heart-breaking toil, until now, is almost exhausted, and in the end, he has to keep his brother and wife from each other Killing, painstaking, and calculations.

...Does Zhao Heng have to live like this in the future?

"What is Shen Qing thinking, so preoccupied?"

Zhao Du finished his tea and interrupted his quiet thoughts.

While speaking, he took out the handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped the corners of his lips. Putting down the handkerchief, he picked up the chess book from the table with his dry hands, flipped through it casually, and slowly asked Shen Jing : "Your chess record is interesting, where did you find it? 'Mingxin Publishing House', isn't this bookstore from the capital?"

Shen Jing replied: "My lord, this is from a book club in Suzhou."

Zhao Du paused when he flipped through the book: "Suzhou?"

"Exactly."

"You brought it back from your hometown in Suzhou?"

"It was sent from a friend in Suzhou." Shen Jing explained, "The shopkeeper of this bookstore loves playing chess, so he publishes several volumes of chess records every year. Therefore, I entrusted a friend to send a few copies whenever there is a new book."

Zhao Du raised his head to look at him, and sighed softly: "It's so hard. No wonder."

After finishing speaking, he put down the chess record and tapped the desk beside him: "Take the chessboard and play chess with me. I always heard that Ah Heng said that you are good at chess, and you have nothing to do today, just to see and see."

Responding quietly, he turned around and took the chessboard flag from the bookshelf, put it on the table, and asked Zhao Du to hold the white pieces.

Zhao Du was also polite, and took the lead to make a move, and smiled lightly: "Don't deliberately pass the chess."

The two played chess for a while, and Shen Jing clearly felt that Zhao Du's chess style was very different from Zhao Heng's: Zhao Heng was good at flying the fast flag, rushing straight to kill, with majestic momentum, while Zhao Du was careful in planning, making decisions before moving, and his moves were steady , somewhat similar to Shen Jing himself.

Shen Jing dealt with it carefully on the chessboard. It took less than half an hour for the two of them to complete the layout. Before the winner was decided, Zhao Du threw the chess piece away, leaned back on his seat slowly, and sighed softly: " I'm tired. Let's take a break first."

Shen Jing answered again, got up first to bring hot water, continued tea for Zhao Heng, carefully handed the tea bowl to Zhao Du, and carefully stood aside.

Until now, he still hasn't figured out Zhao Du's reason for coming.

Zhao Du rested for a while, and slowly drank half a bowl of tea before picking up the chess pieces again.

This meeting was not as focused as before. While playing the chess pieces, he slowly asked Shen Jing: "Two days ago, were you embarrassed by Jia Yi?"

Shen Jing was startled and frightened by Zhao Du's omniscience. He hesitated for a moment, and replied cautiously: "I and Mr. Jia... There were some official matters that I didn't clarify for a while. But now it's over."

Jia Yi was almost broken by Zhao Heng. After seeing Shen Jing that time, he wished he could take a detour, so he didn't dare to trouble him again.

Zhao Du looked at the chessboard without raising his head, and nodded with a slight smile: "You can rest assured in the future. I have already ordered Zheng Man to deal with everyone who saw you and King Yu in the palace on the day of heavy snow. No one will mention these things again in the future.”

Shen Jing was terrified, but still respectfully thanked: "...Thank you, Your Majesty."

"You don't have to thank me." Zhao Du clicked on a chess piece and lowered his eyes, "I didn't do this for you, but for King Yu."

"..."

Zhao Du groaned while clutching the chess pieces, whether intentionally or not: "King Yu's reputation is related to the state, so don't be careless. I have to plan for him."

"The Holy One said so."

"Actually, there is one more thing that I have been unable to make up my mind." Zhao Du said, putting the chess pieces that he had held in his hands for a long time back into the chess box, and tapped his fingers on the edge of the chessboard, "That's why I talked to you today." chat."

Shen Jing tightly held the chess piece in her palm, and slowly raised her heart.

"Shen Jing, you are very good."

"...the saint has won the prize."

"It's true that you can't be overrated for your talent, appearance, and bearing." Zhao Du slowly leaned back in his chair, looked at Shen Jing and said, "But the better you are, the more worried I am."

Zhao Du sighed, and continued: "Ah Heng has always been familiar with the general situation, so that day I thought with all my heart that even though I was in contact with you, he would still marry a wife and have children, and continue to have children, with the ancestral temple and society as the first. I didn't expect him to be so indulgent. Self-willed, I don't even care about anything because of you. This really makes me worry."

Shen Jing couldn't sit still anymore, pushed away the chair behind her, stood up mechanically, knelt down on the ground slowly, and kowtowed to the ground: "...Your Majesty."

Zhao Du also stood up, took two steps slowly, and finally walked back to Shen Jing, sighed: "You don't have to be afraid. Shen Jing, you are a rare and available talent, and I am not willing to kill you unless it is absolutely necessary. "

"What's more, I only have one younger brother, Ah Heng." Zhao Du paused, then sighed, "I don't want Ah Heng to hate me because of you."

Kneeling quietly on the ground, touching his head to the ground, he listened blankly to every single word from the heart of the high and mighty emperor, not to mention how he would be punished.

"But if you don't do anything, with Ah Heng's current state, I really can't trust him." Zhao Du raised his head and sighed, full of helplessness, "I have no other choice but to wrong you. Shen Jing, today I , I want to fulfill the words I said at the honor banquet that day, and give you a marriage."

Hearing the words, Shen Jing felt that from the top of her forehead to the bottom of her heart, everything was icy cold.

"In the past few days, I have been thinking about this matter, and I have also considered several suitable ladies in my mind." Zhao Du said slowly, "You don't have to worry about the other party's family background. As long as you choose, I will definitely I will never wrong you by organizing this marriage for you."

"..."

"Shen Aiqing, what do you think about this...?"